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Yearly Archives: 2015

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Is there divine  in all of us, or only in the people who share our religion? If your God, my God, anyone’s God, created the Earth and all the people, animals and planets on it, then does She want those who are true believers to annihilate and destroy the other people She created because they don’t believe in Her?

What? You don’t think God could be female? That’s a topic for another column. Recently, I read about a charitable act. At the end of the article, I saw that people were commenting about how that charity could only come from someone of their religion — I’m not going to indicate what religion it was.

The commentors were convinced that it couldn’t have come from someone who followed a different religious discipline. Why? If there are elements to ourselves that are a combination of destroyers and builders, lovers and haters, sinners and saints, why should something extraordinary or even inspirational be limited to one religion?

Couldn’t everyone’s God speak through or act through one person, regardless of his background or religion, to inspire others to greater heights, to do something incredibly beneficial to his or her fellow human beings without selecting only those people who go to the right building, speak the right language and follow the right religious practices? Maybe we need to close our eyes to see the divine  in everyone.

Religion has this way of bringing out the best in us and, at times, the worst. We sometimes feel that we’ve received some message from a divine being who tells us that we must right the wrongs of people who are outside our religous group. Centuries after the Crusades, humans still resort to weapons to make our point with those who have other religious beliefs.

I understand the fear, especially in an era when every politician with national aspirations describes a boogeyman (or woman). I also understand the reality that there are people bent on destroying us and that we can’t go naively into that good night, imagining we live in a utopian world where we can ignore threats. It’s real and it dominates the headlines every day.

This isn’t about the extreme cases, where we have to be vigilant against killers who, for whatever reason, feel they are doing something important in their lives by killing others before dying. That doesn’t seem like much of a way to honor anyone’s God.

This is about the way we relate to each other and the way we think of religious groups outside our own. Why should something spectacular or incredible have to originate from the mind or heart of someone from our religion?

Turning this around, do you like everyone in your church, temple or mosque? Do you routinely sit during services and feel a universal kindred spirit with everyone in that room that you don’t feel with the people in your child’s classroom at school, at your daughter’s ballet recital or at a concert where the music seems to echo around the room long after our kids have stopped strumming?

Would you randomly pick a name out of the hat at your house of worship and be equally thrilled to host any of those people in your home for a week, a night or even a long dinner?

Religion can offer us a chance to see and imagine that the best is yet to come in anyone around us. We don’t have to give up our own religion and it doesn’t lessen our religion to believe that something spectacular lies just beneath the surface of another person passing by us, even if that person doesn’t share our religion.

If we are all God’s children, wouldn’t She (or He) want us to put more effort into getting along with our siblings?

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File photo

The Smithtown Town Board is changing the way it allows the public to speak during its regular meetings.

The board voted 4-0 at its Nov. 19 meeting to amend Chapter 76 of the town code, which regulates public participation at town meetings, adding a three-minute limit to remarks and restricting the sharing of that time with other speakers. In an interview, Smithtown Supervisor Pat Vecchio (R) said the amendments were borne out of the nature of recent Town Board meetings in which some speakers spoke aggressively or with hyperbole.

“Members of the public and Board members shall be allowed to state their positions in an atmosphere free of slander, threats of violence, or disorderly conduct which disturbs the peace and order of the board meeting,” the amendment said.

Councilman Ed Wehrheim (R) was not present at the meeting.

According to the amendment, speakers must submit their names to the town clerk before a meeting if they wish to speak, while also specifying what they will be commenting on. The speakers will be allotted three minutes, which starts at the beginning of their remarks and includes any time that passes during questioning or colloquy, the amendment said. That time cannot be shared with other speakers.

Over the last several years, residents often approached the board with specific concerns, oftentimes directed at council members who serve as liaisons to specific departments. But now, those kinds of concerns cannot be directed solely at a specific member of the board, as the amendment said that remarks could only be addressed to the board as a body, and speakers cannot mention any specific member.

The new additions to the town code also included a chance for board members to warn speakers that they may be cut off at any time if they violate the new rules.

“Any person making offensive, insulting, threatening, insolent, slanderous or obscene remarks or who becomes boisterous or who makes threats against any person or against public order and security during a Board meeting or engages in any disorderly conduct which disturbs or disrupts the orderly conduct of any meeting shall be called to order by the presiding officer,” the amendment said. “If, after receiving a warning from the presiding officer, a person persists in violating the rules of decorum, the presiding officer may order that person to leave the meeting.”

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Comsewogue sophomore Victoria Blaney shoots while Rocky Point's Madison Hrysko defends. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

Comsewogue sophomore Nora Gabel makes a play. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue sophomore Nora Gabel makes a play. Photo by Bill Landon

Behind Nora Gabel’s 23 points and eight steals, the Comsewogue girls’ basketball team led coast to coast in Tuesday’s League V opener on the road at Rocky Point, turning a 9-4 lead after one quarter to a 43-22 victory.

Comsewogue controlled the tempo from tipoff, dominated the time of possession and hit the scoreboard over and over.

By halftime, the Warriors battled their way up to a 20-8 lead, but Comsewogue head coach Joe Caltagirone said he knew Rocky Point would be athletic, despite not knowing how they’d be offensively.

“They put a little ball pressure on us and they contested all of our shots,” Caltagirone said of Rocky Point, adding he was pleased with how his team played defensive. “Offensively, I think we have a little ways to go to get to where I want to be this season.”

Despite several turnovers in the first half, the Warriors got their rhythm in the second as the team found the rim. Gabel, a sophomore guard, lit up the scoreboard for Comsewogue with 11 points, which included a pair of three-pointers. Rocky Point senior forward Julia Jauhiainen scored all of her five points in the third quarter, as her team trailed 33-13.

With 5:52 left in the game, Comsewogue worked to unwind the clock, and the teams traded points as time expired.

Gabel, who nailed three treys on the evening, said that she was surprised by the margin of victory.

Comsewogue freshman Julianna Watson goes up for a layup. Photo by Bill Landon
Comsewogue freshman Julianna Watson goes up for a layup. Photo by Bill Landon

“In the huddle before the game, I said we have to be hungrier than they were,” Gabel said. “So we went out there and played our hardest and we left it all out on the court.”

Following Gabel for the Warriors was junior guard Megan Turner with seven points, and forwards Sam Collins, a junior, and Victoria Blaney, a sophomore, chipped in four points apiece.

“They’re a strong team, but I don’t think we played up to our standards,” Turner said. “Defensively we’re strong, but our offense needs a little work.”

Rocky Point senior guard Michaela Peacock and junior center Allyson Greenstein matched Jauhiainen with five points each.

Rocky Point head coach Scott Lindsay said Comsewogue is always a tough team to play because they’re physical and have two strong guards.

“They play a strong defense up top, which caused a little problem when they started pressing,” Lindsay said. “With our second group, I was really impressed with how they were moving the ball. We’re improving from game to game — they played hard the whole way and I think we’re building on something here.”

Comsewogue will host Harborfields in its first home game of the season on Thursday. A 5:45 p.m. tipoff is scheduled.

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Butchers Blind will be one of the last bands performing at the Sunday Street Concert series' old venue. Photo from Charlie Backfish

By Ellen Barcel

The University Cafe at Stony Brook University will be closing early in 2016 due to renovations of the Student Union, but that doesn’t mean that the wonderful series of Sunday Street Concerts, which have been held there for more than a decade, will be ending.

First, going out with a really special performance, the Sunday Street Concert series will present its final show at the University Cafe on Saturday, Dec. 12, which will include Butchers Blind, Chris Connolly and Bryan Gallo, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10.

“For our last hurrah at the cafe, we’re presenting some of Long Island’s finest young musicians in a very special evening to benefit WUSB-FM and the Sunday Street Series as it moves to its new venue,” said Sunday Street Concert series producer Charlie Backfish.

Then, changes will take place. One is that the venue itself will change, effective 2016. Future concerts will be held down the road in the Gillespie Room of the Carriage Museum at the Long Island Museum, in Stony Brook. Wine, beer and cider will be available there.

A second change is that the concerts will be open to all ages. “That’s particularly good news because we have had parents wanting to bring their children to shows but had to say ‘no’ due to the university policy for the cafe,” said Backfish.

The Sunday Street Concert series will welcome Sloan Wainwright on Jan. 17 to its new venue at the Long Island Museum. Photo from Charlie Backfish
The Sunday Street Concert series will welcome Sloan Wainwright on Jan. 17 to its new venue at the Long Island Museum. Photo from Charlie Backfish

A third change is sponsorship. “This new direction for us is an interesting partnership between the Sunday Street Series, WUSB Radio (90.1 FM, the university’s own radio station), the Greater Port Jefferson Arts Council and the Long Island Museum,” said Backfish. “LIM has been expanding their programming to include music (the North Shore Pro Musica is already holding their concerts there), the GPJAC supports live performances in our area, and the Sunday Street Series of WUSB was seeking a new venue in order to continue. This all was a perfect match.”

Backfish, who is the director of field experience and student teaching in the Department of History at SBU, also hosts the radio station’s Sunday Street morning program, from 9 a.m. to noon. featuring acoustic, folk and singer-songwriter music.

“I’ve had a lot of performers joining me on air during my radio program, Sunday Street, on Sunday mornings on WUSB. Norm Prusslin, the former general manager of WUSB, suggested thinking about having some of these artists follow up a radio appearance with a show at the University Cafe, at that time a new venue,” he said. “It seemed like a very good idea and the result has been this series, which has now had 175 shows during its existence.”

What will not change is the great lineup of musicians who will be performing. The first concert of the new year is scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 17, at 3 p.m. when Sloan Wainwright, known for a variety of American music styles including pop, folk, jazz and blues, will be performing. Tickets are $22 in advance, $27 at the door (cash only), if available. “Sloan Wainwright is a great singer whose amazing alto voice powers songs of others as well as her own songs. No surprise since she is part of a well-known musical family, with her brother Loudon Wainwright, and her nephew Rufus and nieces Martha and Lucy,” added Backfish.

The second scheduled 2016 performance will be on Sunday, Jan. 31, at 3 p.m. when Willie Nile will be performing. Advance sales are $25, $30 at the door (cash only), if available. “Willie Nile is a legendary figure on the rock music scene who came to prominence with a debut album hailed by critics. He writes powerfully and always delivers high-energy performances … Since his most recent album is a collection of his songs played on a grand piano, we’re looking forward to Willie making use of the grand piano in the Gillespie room at LIM,” said Backfish.

Another thing that won’t change includes the annual Dylan show. “Our annual celebration of Bob Dylan’s birthday in May has always been special since we assemble a group of musicians who are devotees of Dylan’s work … We’ll continue this tradition at the LIM on Saturday, May 21, at 7 p.m.,” said Backfish. “Coincidentally, the museum at the time will be presenting a traveling exhibition from the Rock and Roll Museum and Hall of Fame,” he added.

The future schedule includes the Scottish band, The Paul McKenna Band in March, Ian Matthews and Plainsong in a tribute to Richard Farina in April and John Gorka, also in April. For details and tickets for the 2016 performances go to www.sundaystreet.org or www.gpjac.org.

The museum, which curates a large number of Setauket artist William Sidney Mount’s paintings, is a very appropriate venue for concerts. Mount not only had many musical themes in his paintings but also played the violin himself as well as designing a violin. “You can almost hear echoes of” him at the museum, noted Backfish.

The Sunday Street Concerts received a warm “reception from the folks at the Long Island Museum,” he added. “I’m really happy we were able to do this. The people at the LIM … want to expand their music — it’s very timely.” Backfish noted that the movement to the Long Island Museum really “expands what the museum does since they already are the venue for North Shore Pro Musica’s concerts.”

The move to the LIM “parallels some of the things they will be doing. For example, an exhibit on traveling music festivals … It couldn’t be better timing,” noted Backfish, adding, “We’re delighted that the LIM has been so supportive in enabling us to continue this series in a great new venue.”

“We are very fortunate to be involved in this,” said Neil Watson, executive director of the LIM. “This is our second season of North Shore Pro Musica. The museum is a cultural hub. We are trying to engage as many people as we can, create as many experiences as possible. I was interested in creating a singer/songwriter series after Pro Musica. When Charlie came to us about losing their space, the collaboration with him grew — a great marriage. We have a wonderful space and sound system and Charlie has the experience booking the talent. I’d like to do a jazz series in the future. We are beyond thrilled, so happy about it. People can experience the museum not only through their eyes but their ears.”

Regarding the future LIM music exhibit beginning in May, Watson noted, “It’s an opportunity to look at culture … All festivals were a lightning rod for more than just music.” He added that during the exhibit there will be talks, panel discussions and additional music.

Backfish will welcome Watson and Joshua Ruff, director of collections and interpretation of the museum, as his guests on Sunday morning, Dec. 13, on his show on WUSB (90.1 FM and wusb.fm) to discuss the partnership of the Sunday Street Series with the Long Island Museum.

The Long Island Museum of American Art, History and Carriages is located at 1200 Route 25A in Stony Brook. It is a Smithsonian affiliate. For further information on the museum, visit www.longislandmuseum.org or call 631-751-0066.

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Linda Van Aelst photo by Michael Englert/CSHL

Countless forks in the road lead to the creatures that swim, crawl, walk, and fly around the Earth. Some of these moments have a significant effect on the fate of the individual, taking it from the early stages when it’s filled with potential into a bone, a muscle or a brain cell.

In some cases, the process goes off track. The signals, pathways and processes take a different turn, sometimes because of a change in a gene or a protein.

Linda Van Aelst, a professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, explores how changes in intracellular signaling involving enzymes called small GTPases can lead to disease. She and her team of six graduate students and postdoctoral researchers focus on Ras and Rho GTPases and their regulators, which control cellular growth and the kinds of changes that lead to the shapes of cells, organs or tissues.

Alterations in the genes involved with these enzymes can lead to a range of diseases. “Mutations have been linked to cancer-related processes, including metastasis, as well as to neurodevelopmental and neurological disorders,” Van Aelst said.

Bo Li, an associate professor at CSHL, suggested that Van Aelst, who provides guidance and direction as his mentor, is a leader at the 125-year old research facility.

Van Aelst is “well known for her innovative work on signaling molecules in the cell, including Ras and Rho,” Li said. Her work is “really innovative.”

Van Aelst studies these enzymes by taking what she described as a “bottom up” approach, exploring their development and their role in cellular and developmental processes in the context of the brain. She explores how any perturbation can affect behavior and, once she sees a change, looks for differences in the circuitry development.

Van Aelst looks at the process from the beginning, with the genes, through the protein network. She has sought to understand how some changes lead to metastatic cancer that spreads to a single organ, while others spread generally throughout the body.

Because she is exploring mutations at a basic level, Van Aelst can get involved in a range of diseases and abnormalities, from epilepsy to schizophrenia to mental retardation to cancer.

“Clinicians send me information and want to see if maybe I can use the tools in different mutations in my research” to understand what might be happening with some of their patients, Van Aelst said.

She also gets calls from the parents and family members of patients, who would like to know if a cure is available for a genetic condition linked to something she’s studied.

Van Aelst knows she needs to be “cautious” because she doesn’t want to give false hope at a time when the research may not have pointed the way towards a specific therapy.

With any clinical trials, she has to “make it clear that the findings are not yet mature enough for further development,” she said.

While she’s conducting basic research to understand the process and mechanisms involved, Van Aelst is aware and eager to help an audience desperate for more information and, down the road, a novel treatment.

She does “see the urgency. It’s important that the patients and the family of the patients and the scientists communicate and it is clear what we understand, what can be done, and how far we can do it.”

Van Aelst hasn’t become involved in a therapeutic study yet, but she has reached the point where she knows aberrations in some processes. She hopes to get engaged in the near future in the next step.

“We don’t have something now in hand, but we have several hints” from cellular processes and proteins, she said.

Earlier this year, Van Aelst and her lab published results in the journal Cell Reports in which they found two proteins that provide a critical role in creating the structure of something in the nervous system called a chandelier cell.

Named for the way axonal arbors branch out, these chandelier cells play an important role in affecting neurons nearby. Their size and structure give them the ability to affect the function of other nerves, either turning them on or off, depending on the signal.

Changes in chandelier cell cartridges and/ or function have been reported in disease states such as epilepsy and schizophrenia, she said.

Van Aelst helped provide an important piece of information about these cells by uncovering the important role two proteins play in their structure.

When the function of proteins called DOCK7 and ErbB4 were disrupted, the chandelier cells have fewer branches or boutons. She discovered that DOCK7 triggers the activity of ErbB4.

Van Aelst’s research on chandelier cells “offers insight into how diseases like epilepsy might occur,” Li said.

Now a resident of Oyster Bay, Van Aelst grew up in the Flemish-speaking part of Belgium and was originally interested in archeology and history.

In biology, however, she was intrigued by how “one gene talks to other genes. How does it work? What does it signal? How does it control this or that function?”

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A new sidewalk runs along Highlands Boulevard in upper Port Jefferson. Photo by Elana Glowatz

They blazed the path and now they’re going to light the way.

With a new sidewalk already paved along Highlands Boulevard, keeping pedestrians out of the road, Port Jefferson officials are now working on installing streetlights on the route.

A new sidewalk runs along Highlands Boulevard in upper Port Jefferson. Photo by Elana Glowatz
A new sidewalk runs along Highlands Boulevard in upper Port Jefferson. Photo by Elana Glowatz

The village board of trustees on Monday approved spending $28,000 for Flushing-based Welsbach Electric Corp. to put in eight decorative streetlight poles and light fixtures along the winding sidewalk, between the entrance to the Highlands condominiums and Oakland Avenue in uptown Port Jefferson.

That dollar figure is higher than an original $17,000 cost approved in August. Mayor Margot Garant explained at Monday’s board meeting that the village needs more lighting than initially expected.

“We had originally contemplated putting three Dickens lanterns in,” she told the trustees, referring to the antique-style streetlights the village uses. But the “village lanterns are not known for their best illumination. So if we were to light [it] properly, it would need one Dickens lantern every 50 feet.”

However, the bumped-up expense, which will come out of the village’s surplus if the public works department budget cannot cover it, does not represent the entire lighting cost for the stretch of sidewalk. That price tag would have been “more than we have in the budget,” Trustee Larry LaPointe said.

Instead the village will put in the eight streetlights, 150 feet apart, according to Garant. “Just to give it some light at this point in time, and then we can fill in as we continue to go.”

The streetlights will use LED bulbs.

The new roughly 0.2-mile sidewalk on Highlands Boulevard has been in the works for a while, with the idea first coming up a few years ago, when residents coordinated an effort to petition the government to preserve the village-owned grassy area along the road. It was discussed as a safety issue because pedestrians had to walk in the street to get from the condos to the uptown business district.

Board members approved a parkland designation for the 6-acre grassy parcel earlier this year, a move that limits the land’s future use or development. Village officials have discussed the possibility of adding benches or walking paths there, but have expressed a desire to keep the park’s use passive.

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Diabetes just won’t go away. It seems that every time I write about the disease, the news is doom and gloom about how it has become a pandemic. The prevalence, or the number with the disease, and the incidence, or the growth rate of the disease, always seem to be on the rise, with little end in sight.

Depression and stress

We don’t want to make you depressed or stressed, especially since these conditions combined with diabetes can have dangerous outcomes. In fact, in a recent observational study, results showed that diabetes patients with stress and/or depression had greater risk of cardiovascular events and death, compared to those with diabetes alone. When diabetes patients had stress or depression, there was a 53 percent increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease (1). And in those diabetes patients who had both stress and depression, there was a two-times greater risk of death from heart disease than in those without these mental health issues. These results need to be confirmed with more rigorous study.

Something to brighten your day!

However, there is good news. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the incidence, or the rate of increase in new cases, has begun to slow for the first time in 25 years (2). There was a 20 percent reduction in the rate of new cases in the six-year period ending in 2014. This should help to brighten your day. However, your optimism should be cautious; it does not mean the disease has stopped growing, it means it has potentially turned a corner in terms of the growth rate, or at least we hope. This may relate in part to the fact that we have reduced our consumption of sugary drinks such as soda and orange juice.

By the way, the answers to the quiz questions are 1) d and 2. True, but not all patients have a weight issue.

Get up, stand up!

It may be easier than you think to reduce the risk of developing diabetes. This goes along with the answer to the first question: standing and walking may be equivalent in certain circumstances for diabetes prevention. In a recent, small, randomized control trial, the gold standard of studies, results showed that when sitting, those who either stood or walked for a five-minute duration every 30 minutes, had a substantial reduction in the risk of diabetes, compared to those who sat for long uninterrupted periods (3).

There was a postprandial, or post-meal, reduction in the rise of glucose of 34 percent in those who stood and 28 percent reduction in those who walked, both compared to those who sat for long periods continuously in the first day. The effects remained significant on the second day. A controlled diet was given to the patients. In this study, the difference in results for the standers and walkers was not statistically significant.

The participants were overweight, postmenopausal women who had prediabetes, HbA1C between 5.7 and 6.4 percent. The HbA1C gives an average glucose or sugar reading over three months. The researchers hypothesize that this effect of standing or walking may have to do with favorably changing the muscle physiology. So, in other words, a large effect can come from a very small but conscientious effort. This is a preliminary study, but the results are impressive.

Can prediabetes and diabetes have similar complications?

Diabetes is much more significant than prediabetes, or is it? It turns out that both stages of the disease can have substantial complications. In a recent study of those presenting in the emergency room with acute coronary syndrome, those who have either prediabetes or diabetes have a much poorer outcome. ACS is defined as a sudden reduction in blood flow to the heart, resulting in potentially severe events, such as heart attack or unstable angina (chest pain).

In the patients with diabetes or prediabetes, there was an increased risk of death with ACS as compared to those with normal sugars. The diabetes patients experienced an increased risk of greater than 100 percent, while those who had prediabetes had an almost 50 percent increased risk of mortality over and above the general population with ACS. Thus, both diabetes and prediabetes need to be taken seriously. Sadly, most diabetes drugs do not reduce the risk of cardiac events. And bariatric surgery, which may reduce or put diabetes in remission for five years, did not have an impact on increasing survival (4).

What do the prevention guidelines tell us?

The United States Preventive Services Task Force renders recommendations on screening for diseases. On one hand, I commend them for changing their recommendation for diabetes screening. In 2008, the USPSTF did not believe the research provided enough results to screen asymptomatic patients for abnormal sugar levels and diabetes. However, in October 2015, the committee drafted guidelines suggesting that everyone more than 45 years old should be screened, but the final guidelines settled on screening a target population of those between the ages of 40 and 70 who are overweight or obese (5). They recommend that those with abnormal glucose levels have intensive lifestyle modification as a first step.

This is a great step forward, as most diabetes patients are overweight or obese; however, 15-to-20 percent of diabetes patients are within the normal range for body mass index (6). So this screening still misses a significant number of people. I don’t know why they didn’t stick with the original recommended population, although, this too might still miss the younger population, which is also at risk.

Potassium: it’s not just for breakfast anymore

When we think of potassium, the first things that comes to mind are bananas, which do contain a significant amount of potassium, as do other plant-based foods. Those with rich amounts of potassium include dark green, leafy vegetables; almonds; avocado; beans and raisins. We know potassium is critical for blood pressure control, but why is this important to diabetes?

In a recent observational study, results showed that the greater the exertion of potassium through the kidneys, the lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and kidney dysfunction in those with diabetes (7). There were 623 Japanese participants with normal kidney function at the start of the trial. The duration was substantial, with a mean of 11 years of follow-up. Those who had the highest quartile of urinary potassium excretion were 67 percent less likely to experience a cardiovascular event or kidney event than those in the lowest quartile. The researchers suggested that higher urinary excretion of potassium is associated with higher intake of foods rich in potassium.

Where does this leave us for the prevention of diabetes and its complications? You guessed it: lifestyle modifications, the tried and true! Lifestyle should be the cornerstone, including diet, stress reduction and exercise, or at least mild to moderate physical activity.

References:

(1) Diabetes Care, online Nov. 17, 2015. (2) cdc.gov. (3) Diabetes Care. online Dec. 1, 2015. (4) JAMA Surg. online Sept. 16, 2015. (5) Ann Intern Med. 2015;163(11):861-868. (6) JAMA. 2012;308(6):581-590. (7) Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. online Nov 12, 2015.

Dr. Dunaief is a speaker, author and local lifestyle medicine physician focusing on the integration of medicine, nutrition, fitness and stress management. For further information, go to the website www.medicalcompassmd.com or consult your personal physician.

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By Fr. Francis Pizzarelli, SMM

It is hard to believe that another holiday season is upon us. Our neighborhoods are decorated with lights, bows and wreaths. There’s a different spirit in the air despite the national and international landscape of fear, hate, terror and violence.

People really seem to make an effort to reach out especially to those in need during this time of year. Countless high schools, middle schools and elementary schools are sponsoring cake sales, toy drives and other creative initiatives to raise money for the poor and needy.

I am continually amazed at people’s compassion and generosity. Our local young people are dynamic and amazing. Recently a student from the Knox School reached out and said they wanted to do something special for the homeless.

A woman from Sound Beach shared a compelling story about a new pizzeria — a local woman wanted to buy two pizzas for a needy family and asked if the owner would match that. He did that and something more. He posted a coupon on his bulletin board for a free drink and slice of pizza for anyone who might need it; thanks to social media dozens of people were buying a soda and a slice for a needy person.

Allegedly a person who was down on his luck and very hungry took a free slice of pizza and a drink. His luck changed and he is now fully employed and came back to that pizzeria and posted a coupon for free slice and drink and a big note saying thank you for feeding me when I was down and out!

In Miller Place the Teachers Association did something very courageous with the support of their superintendent and school board. They sponsored a walk around their football field, with the slogan “Don’t Start, Be Smart.” They raised a few thousand dollars on that sunny fall afternoon and gave the proceeds to a local residential rehab. They sponsored this walk after one of their bright young alumni overdosed on heroin. He was an honors senior at the State University of Stony Brook.

During this holiday season there are hopeful signs that people do care and want to make a positive difference in the world. However, we still have to do so much more.

Too many vibrant bright young people are falling between the cracks. The heroin epidemic is out of control. The level of denial is still infectious. It is easy to blame the homeless who have no fixed address and/or no voice; they are the victims too!

What is deeply frightening is that a growing number of our young well-educated young people are having their heroin dropped off at their homes. Local drug dealers are now showing up at 12-step meetings all over and selling potentially lethal drugs to people in early recovery who are struggling to take it one day at a time. It is becoming a vicious nightmare.

We need to create a coalition of caring citizens that represents families, schools, churches, synagogues and mosques across the county. We need to stand together and challenge our government bureaucracy that has become deaf and blind to this epidemic and demand more beds for detoxification and long-term residential treatment.

During this season of hope let us light a candle  for all those who have lost their fight to live and remember those who are struggling to live one day at a time, those who are battling addiction and those with serious mental health issues. Let us not shun them but welcome them with open arms and compassionate hearts.

Fr. Pizzarelli is the director of Hope House Ministries in Port Jefferson.

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From left, Valerie Sanks and Linda Scalcione with the many blankets donated this year. Photo from Scalcione

By Ernestine Franco

Everyone likes to curl up with a warm blanket as temperatures drop. So do the dogs and cats that live at the various animal shelters around Long Island. One Rocky Point woman is helping shelter animals keep warm one blanket at a time.

A few years ago Valerie Sanks and her son Matt decided to collect blankets that would be donated to the shelters for the animals.  During the holiday season in 2013 they collected 150 blankets.

In 2014 Sanks placed a post on her Facebook page requesting donations of blankets. By Dec. 17 of that year, her house was overtaken by 610 blankets, 600 cat-nip toys, and many boxes of dog biscuits and cat treats.

This year her goal is to collect 1,080 blankets and 2,000 cat toys as well as treats for all the animals that will be spending this holiday in one of the many shelters across Long Island. Throughout the year Sanks volunteers at the Brookhaven, Riverhead and Southhold shelters. The blankets and toys that she collects will be distributed to these shelters.

Linda Scalcione, a friend of Sanks and a Rocky Point resident, said that Valerie and her son “visit, help train and walk the dogs at the different shelters. Valerie goes above and beyond your average volunteer. She wants the dogs and cats that spend time at the shelters to be comfortable and for them to feel loved.”

If you would like to help Sanks reach her goal of helping shelter animals spend a warm holiday, friend her on Facebook or send donations to P.O. Box 262, Rocky Point, NY 11778. You can also send any blankets or donations to any of the three shelters: Brookhaven at 631-451-6950, Riverhead at 631-369-6189 and Southold at 631-765-1811. They all know Valerie Sanks.

Of course, if instead of donating a blanket, you want to provide a home for one of the animals, that would be great with Sanks. After all, all she wants is “for all the animals to one day have their fur-ever homes!”

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Legislator Kara Hahn, Councilwoman Valerie Cartright, WMHO Chairman of the Board of Directors Richard Rugen, Supervisor Ed Romaine, Town Clerk Donna Lent and WMHO Trustee Mary VanTuyl. Front row from left to right: WMHO President Gloria Rocchio, Town Historian Barbara Russell, WMHO Trustees Anna Kerekes and Charles Napoli. Photo from Jack Krieger

The American Revolution might be a thing of the past but it’s made a mark in Long Island’s present.

After three and a half centuries the historic Brewster House in East Setauket is still standing thanks to the Ward Melville Heritage Organization.

On Monday Dec. 7 at 3 p.m. Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) and Town Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station) and the WMHO celebrated the house’s 350th anniversary.

President of the WMHO Gloria Rocchio said nine generations of Brewsters lived in the house after the town sold the house to Nethaniel Brewster on Oct. 24, 1665. She added that the house may be older than 350 years as it was already built when the town sold the property.

WMHO acquired the property in 1948 after John Ward Melville purchased the house from Jennie E. Smith and Robert Elderkin — they were the last members of the Brewster family to own the home. Additions were made to the home before Melville purchased the property — the home was transformed from a one-room cottage to its current multiple-room structure. Nineteen years after purchasing the home, Melville began restoring the dilapidated house.

The Brewster House was as a tavern and general store during the American Revolution. Members of the Brewster family resided in the upstairs portion of the home. At the time, Joseph Brewster entertained British Troops at the home. Joseph Brewster’s cousin Caleb supposedly frequented the house often during the revolution — he was a member of George Washington’s Culper Spy Ring alongside the Roe brothers. The Roe brothers resided in Port Jefferson, which was once called Drowned Meadow.

In light of the house’s long history, Cartright read the original deed that transferred the property to the Town of Brookhaven during the celebration. The town originally acquired the property before WMHO obtained the house many years ago. Both Romaine and Cartright said the house is the oldest building in Brookhaven. It’s age and it’s history made the house worth preserving.

“You don’t want to take these historical homes and modernize them. You want to keep the historical culture,” Cartright said. “Ward Melville Heritage Organization understands the importance of keeping the historical significance of these homes so that’s why we’re happy to work with them.”

Ward Melville established the WMHO on Dec. 29 1939. It was initially known as The Stony Brook Community Fund. While Melville established the organization with the goal of rehabilitating Stony Brook Village and merge history with the area’s natural beauty, the organization has since expanded on his vision.

Currently they continue to spread awareness about Long Island’s history and help to preserve historic sites like the Brewster House.

Romaine added that preserving parts of the community’s history would help the community’s future.

“We have to understand that we’re part of a continuum of history. To do that we’ve got to look back as well as look forward because by looking back we get a clear vision of how to look forward.”

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