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Yearly Archives: 2015

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By Ed Blair

“I don’t entirely approve of some of the things I have done, or am, or have been. But I’m me. God knows, I’m me.”

Iconic actress Elizabeth Taylor’s self-appraisal references a life that ranged from the sensation of stardom to the sensationalism of tabloids. She was one of the last superstars of the Hollywood studio tradition, and her life and career, both on and off screen, were a source of entertainment for decades.

Elizabeth Taylor. Photo from the WMHO
Elizabeth Taylor. Photo from the WMHO

Audiences can listen to the legendary actress’ tale as the Ward Melville Heritage Organization presents “The Elizabeth Taylor Story” May 9 through June 17 at its Educational & Cultural Center, 97P Main St., Stony Brook. The popular musical theater and high-tea luncheon series returns to the center with a tribute to the enduring screen idol. The 1963 setting for the St. George Productions finds singer Eydie Gorme (played by Rosie Flore) headlining a musical comedy spring spectacular, with Taylor (portrayed by Lisa Mondy) as the her guest. Along with her faithful domestic, Rosie (played by Kim Dufrenoy), Gorme will talk with her glamorous visitor and delve into the roller coaster ride that marked both a distinguished acting career and an often turbulent personal life. A light lunch of finger sandwiches will follow the show.

The cast members weighed in with their thoughts about the star of the show.

“I think people will walk away with a different perception of Elizabeth Taylor. As she tells her story, you realize that she herself never took her stardom seriously. She felt fabricated by the movie studios, which staged her look as well as with whom she was seen. She never really wanted all the hoopla and drama that went with being a celebrity,” said Dufrenoy.

Added Rosie Flore, “Celebrities and icons are people too. They live, love, laugh and hurt just the way we all do.”

Portraying the former movie idol, Monde said, “Elizabeth Taylor represented glamour. She represented style; she represented Hollywood stardom. At times her personal life overshadowed her screen accomplishments, but in the end, after eight marriages and numerous life-threatening illnesses, Elizabeth Taylor was a survivor.”

Born in London in 1932 to American parents who took their St. Louis art dealership abroad, Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor returned with them to the United States at age 7, as the family fled the impending war in Europe. The Taylors resettled in Los Angeles, where a family friend suggested that the arrestingly attractive Elizabeth be given a screen test at a movie studio. Her radiant good looks and charisma captivated the camera lens, and, by the time she was 10, the fledgling actress was appearing in films at Universal, MGM and 20th Century Fox. After playing several small parts, she rocketed to stardom, playing opposite Mickey Rooney, in the 1944 hit “National Velvet.” Now a child star with a contract with MGM, young Elizabeth scored another big success for her role in “Little Women” in 1949.

Blossoming into a voluptuous-figured, violet-eyed beauty as she entered her twenties, Taylor soon found herself playing opposite some of Hollywood’s top leading men. She received Academy Award nominations for her roles in “A Place in the Sun” (1951), “Raintree County” (1957), “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (1958), “Suddenly Last Summer” (1959) and “The Taming of the Shrew” (1967). She garnered two Oscars for her role as a call girl in “BUtterfield 8” (1960) and for her definitive roll as Martha in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” in 1966.

She also appeared famously in “Giant” with James Dean (1956) and with Richard Burton in “Cleopatra” in 1963 for which she was paid the then-stunning sum of one million dollars. Taylor became an international star and appeared solo on the cover of People Magazine 14 times.

Taylor was a significant voice in the battle against AIDS, helping to raise funds for research and playing a major role in focusing public opinion on the epidemic. For her tireless efforts, she was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal in 2001.

“It is bad enough that people are dying of AIDS,” she said, “but no one should die of ignorance.”

Performances of “The Elizabeth Taylor Story” will run from May 9 through July 17 and take place on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and select Fridays at 11:30 a.m. and on Sundays at 12:30 p.m. Advance reservations are required. Tickets are $48 general admission, $45 seniors. For more information or to make a reservation, call 631-689-5888 or visit www.wmho.org.

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Some of Toni Frissell’s work includes photographs taken of the Kennedy family. Photo from Leighton H. Coleman III

By Jenni Culkin

The artistic photography of the late North Shore resident Toni Frissell will be on display at the Village Hall in her hometown village of Head of the Harbor from May 29 to June 11. The Village Hall will be featuring some of Frissell’s rarest works from private collections.

Frissell was a prominent photographer on the North Shore of Long Island throughout the 20th century. Her work in photography included fashion pieces, wedding snapshots and various photojournalistic photos.

“She had a very good eye and a sense of style,” said Leighton H. Coleman III, the village historian for the village of Head of the Harbor. “They were very personal and engaging photos.”

Frissell also used her photographic talents to illustrate children’s books throughout the 1940s. According to Coleman, these books have become extremely valuable and highly sought after by collectors.

Frissell’s work was featured in vintage magazines such as Vogue and Life.

“She had her own career and she was a trailblazer in her career,” Coleman said in an interview last week.

Visitors can also expect to learn more about Frissell during their time at the event. A micro-exhibit of the history of the Frissell family, photographs of Frissell by other famous photographers and  a copy of “Toni Frissell: Photographs 1933-1967” authored by her daughter will be available to view throughout the exhibit.

Some of Frissell’s family members and former sitters will be attending the exhibit. Her granddaughter, who followed in Frissell’s footsteps, will be one of the people in attendance.

The Village Hall will begin hosting the historic exhibit on May 29 with an opening reception at 5 p.m. The exhibit will be open to the public every afternoon through June 11.

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District Attorney Tom Spota speaks at a press conference about Patrick O'Sullivan, who was convicted of raping a woman in Stony Brook in 2012. File photo by Michael Ruiz

The East Moriches man convicted of raping and sodomizing a woman in Stony Brook was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Thursday at Suffolk County Criminal Court in Riverhead, the district attorney said.

Patrick O’Sullivan has been convicted of raping a woman while she was housesitting in Stony Brook in 2012. Photo from Robert Clifford
Patrick O’Sullivan has been convicted of raping a woman while she was housesitting in Stony Brook in 2012. Photo from Robert Clifford

Patrick O’Sullivan, 23, pleaded guilty to charges of rape, criminal sexual act, burglary, sexual abuse and conspiracy in relation to the Nov. 20, 2012, incident, at a residence where his victim was house-sitting. Suffolk County District Attorney Tom Spota said the man wore a mask and carried a loaded rifle when he entered the house through an unlocked door. He fired his weapon twice and sexually assaulted the victim after restraining her with duct tape.

While in custody at the county jail following his arrest, O’Sullivan was also charged with conspiracy after prosecutors said he tried to hire a hit man to kill the victim and another person he believed would testify against him, Spota said. The plot was foiled when the man he tried to hire notified the police.

The conspiracy charge alone landed O’Sullivan a concurrent prison term of up to 25 years, Spota said.

O’Sullivan appeared before Judge Barbara Kahn in county court Thursday morning for sentencing.

At the sentencing, he apologized to the victim, who also provided a statement. He said he hoped she could one day forgive him, a spokesman for Spota said.

In a moving testimony, the woman, who is not being identified because she is the victim of a sex crime, relived the horrific experience and the subsequent days before an arrest was made.

“For over an hour that night I was terrorized, tormented and violated. He showed me bullets and told me I shouldn’t make him use them,” she said in court Tuesday. “He left me in a house tied up, naked, violated, broken and alone. It was 10 days before an arrest was made, 10 days when I couldn’t bring myself to walk outside my house. It was eight months before I could return to work.”

The victim called her attacker a sociopath who made the conscious decision to commit “purely evil acts” of violence against her and said the memories of her attack will always be with her.

“There aren’t words to accurately describe the sheer panic, terror and fear when someone walks into a room and they are dressed in all black, wearing a ski mask and pointing a rifle directly at your head,” she said. “It is a moment that never leaves you. It is a moment in time that changes you forever.”

O’Sullivan waived his right to appeal in February and a permanent order of protection was issued for the victim, the district attorney said.

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Dangerous duo
Two men from Commack — one a 22-year-old, the other 23 years old— were arrested at the precinct in Smithtown and charged assault with intent to cause serious physical injury. Police said the two men, while working in concert with one another, punched and struck a male victim in the head with an object, causing physical injury, on July 5, 2014. One man was arrested on April 26, the other man was arrested on May 3.

An expensive habit
Police arrested a 24-year-old woman in Smithtown on April 28 and charged her with two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, in one instance, with intent to sell. Police also said she had a bench warrant out for her arrest. On April 23 by 3:23 p.m., police said she sold a quantity of heroin to someone in exchange for cash. She was arrested on April 28 at 6:10 a.m. on Blydenburg Avenue in Smithtown.

Ford-ified with tape
An 18-year-old woman from Holbrook was arrested in Smithtown at the precinct on April 27 and charged with third-degree criminal mischief, with damages greater than $250. Police said the woman damaged a 2005 Ford, scratching the car with her key and affixing duct tape to the vehicle’s paint.

Boozy temper tantrum
A 32-year-old man from Stony Brook was arrested in Smithtown at 5:25 a.m. on April 26 and charged with resisting arrested and disorderly conduct: obstructing traffic. Police said the man, who was highly intoxicated, and arrested at the corner of Edgewood Avenue and Glenrich Drive in St. James, was standing in the middle of the street, obstructing traffic and being violent and belligerent as cars tried to pass.  He also refused to comply with an officer’s demand to place hands behind his back. When he was transported to the 4th Precinct, he refused to get out of the police vehicle, but eventually did.

The smoking gun
A Smithtown man filed a report on May 3 against his male neighbor on Route 111, claiming the neighbor was yelling at him. Police said the dispute erupted over an ongoing issue: the neighbor smoking on his patio. The complainant told police smoke drifts into his property.

Tire troubles
Two cars were damaged in separate incidents on Pine Acre Drive in Smithtown sometime between 11 p.m. on April 27 and 5 a.m. on April 28. Police said an unknown person punctured the front driver-side tires of a 2008 Toyota Highlander and a 2013 Dodge Ram using an unknown object.

Plate stolen
Someone took a license plate affixed to a 2008 Kawasaki motorcycle parked at LA Fitness on East Main Street in Smithtown sometime on April 27.

Storefront damaged
Someone gouged the front door and frame of Andre’s Precision Auto on Smithtown Boulevard, causing damage near the locks, sometime between 8 p.m. on April 30 and 9 a.m. on May 1.

Gimme my money
A man at Americas Best Value Inn on Nesconset Highway in Nesconset told police on April 26 that another person he knows at the inn pushed him because he asked him for $25 he wanted back. No one pressed charges, police said.

Bad reality checks
A 19-year-old man from Huntington was arrested in Huntington on May 2 and charged with two counts of petit larceny. Police said that, in separate incidents, he took the checking account numbers of two individuals and cashed checks. The incidents occurred on April 3 and April 13.

Crash ‘n go
Police said a 46-year-old Hauppauge male was arrested on April 28 in Huntington at the 2nd Precinct and charged with leaving the scene of a car accident. Police said the man was driving a 2008 Toyota on Broadhollow Road in Melville on April 10 at 2 p.m. and he collided with a 2000 Jeep, causing damage to the rear end of the vehicle. He failed to stop and speak with the driver.

Burglarized bling
A 40-year-old man from Huntington Station was arrested in Huntington on April 27 at the 2nd Precinct and charged with fourth-degree grand larceny of property valued at more than $1,000. Police said that sometime between 1 a.m. and 11 p.m. on April 26, the man removed an iPad, gold and a watch.

Popo push
A 22-year-old woman from Central Islip was arrested in Greenlawn on April 30 at about 9:20 a.m. and charged with second-degree obstructing governmental administration. Police said she pushed a police officer trying to take down a police report.

Best friends forever
A man claimed his friend punched him in the face and kicked him on May 2 on East 13th Street and Varney Avenue in Huntington. The victim was taken to the hospital.

Prints, kettle missing
A Huntington man told police that he discovered several items missing when he went to his dad’s house on Marine Street to help him pack his belongings. The items included a Currier and Ives lithographic print and a solid copper kettle. The incidents occurred sometime between April 21 at noon and April 25 at 3 p.m.

Cat fight
Two female friends punched, kicked and pulled each other’s hair at a house on Park Avenue in Huntington. The incident was reported on May 3 and no one is pressing charges.

Food fight
On April 29, an employee at Wendy’s in Port Jefferson Station reported that a co-worker scratched their arm, causing minor redness. No charges have been filed.

Bulking up
An unknown person stole three protein bars from a gas station on Route 112 in Port Jefferson Station on April 29 shortly after 4:30 p.m.

Clipped
A man was making a deposit at Bank of America in Port Jefferson Station on May 1 when he left his money clip on the counter. When he returned shortly after, the money clip and the cash it contained were missing.

Fore!
The windshield of a 2013 Honda was damaged on May 3 while parked at a residence on Village Green Drive in Port Jefferson Station. An errant golf ball from the neighboring golf course may have been to blame.

Mystery fire
An unknown person set a grassy median, property of Suffolk County, ablaze on County Road 83 in Mount Sinai on May 4. If caught, the person could face a fifth-degree arson charge for the 2:30 p.m. incident.

Bandits
Two unknown males entered a residence on Canal Road in Miller Place shortly after midnight on April 30 and stole property including cash, a rifle and a wallet.

Through the window
An unknown person entered a Patchogue Drive home in Rocky Point through an unlocked window on April 30 at some point between 9:10 a.m. and 9:10 p.m. The suspect rifled through drawers, closets and medicine cabinets and stole jewelry, a Sirius radio docking station and a laptop.

Tale of the robber
A woman discovered property from her 2015 Nissan Murano was missing while on her way home from North Shore Public Library in Shoreham on April 28. Police said a tablet and its case, a wallet — including a driver’s license and debit and credit cards — were stolen from the unlocked car while it was parked at the library.

Flagged
An unknown person destroyed a flagpole at a residence on Briarcliff Road in Shoreham in the early morning of May 2. The person broke the pole in half and then stole the flag.

Secret garden
An unknown person entered and stole items from a garden nursery on Middle Country Road in Centereach between May 1 and May 2. According to police, the person entered through an unlocked door and stole two iPhones, one iPad and assorted coins.

Passed out
A 23-year-old Centereach man was arrested on May 2 after police observed his vehicle stopped at the center of Huron Street and Dillon Avenue in Port Jefferson Station. Police said the man, who was impaired by drugs, was passed out in his 2002 Hyundai and the keys were still in the car’s ignition.

Teen angst
Four West Babylon teens were arrested in Selden on first-degree robbery, displaying a firearm, on April 28. According to police, the four teens — three aged 17 and one aged 15 — entered a Middle Country Road gas station shortly after 10 p.m. and threatened an employee with what appeared to be a weapon and demanded money.

Household items stolen
Someone stole household items and cleaners after walking through the garden department at the Walmart on Nesconset Highway in Setauket-East Setauket on April 26.

Phone jacked
Someone playing basketball at Sayville Coastal Sports on West Road in Setauket-East Setauket told police that he returned to his gym bag to find his iPhone stolen. He reported the incident on April 26.

Window screen damaged
A female complainant told police that she opened a window in her home on Old Town Road in Setauket-East Setauket and found the screen cut. The window was not damaged. The report came in on April 25.

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Projections could mean scaled back tax rate next year

Huntington school board members attend a town board meeting last year. File photo by Rohma Abbas

Huntington school district taxpayers could see a little extra cash in their wallets next year, if tentative numbers projecting a greater tax base pan out, the district said this week.

School officials announced on Tuesday that the total value of all its assessed properties is expected to rise in 2015-16 by just under one percent — from about $44.8 million this year to $45.3 million in 2015-16. The district cited figures from an April 30 letter it received from Huntington Town Assessor Roger Ramme.

That projection is also significantly higher than an estimate officials used to craft next year’s proposed $120.3 million budget, which district residents will weigh in on in a vote on May 19. If that budget is approved and the hike in assessed valuation becomes a reality, then taxpayers could see an estimated tax increase of just .83 percent, instead of the 2.27 percent officials estimated.

“The tentative spike in assessed valuation translates into good news for taxpayers,” Superintendent Jim Polansky said in a statement on the district’s website. “It can be attributed to a number of factors, not the least of which is an increase in fully taxed properties within district boundaries. While we expect some downward adjustment between now and the fall board meeting during which the tax rate is set, we anticipate that it will be considerably lower than initially projected.”

The assessed valuation won’t be concluded until the fall, and it’s likely the assessed valuation will slip from now until then, when the tax rate is set, the district noted. But if the assessed valuation is finalized at an amount that’s greater than what was used to develop the 2015-16 budget, the school board, “would be in a position to reduce the earlier projected tax rate increase, appropriate less money from the district’s fund balance or some combination of the two,” according to the statement.

This wouldn’t be the first year Huntington school district enjoyed a greater-than-budgeted assessed valuation.

“Trustees have a long history of returning to residents, through a lower tax rate, any increased revenues the district derives from a late-breaking rise in assessed valuation,” according to the district. “That tradition is
expected to continue in the fall, should the tentative increase hold in
large part.”

Town officials could not immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday.

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The Lusitania is docked in Liverpool sometime before 1912. Photo from the Michael Poirier Collection

Nancy Dorney will spend several hours at Pier A in New York City on May 7 honoring relatives she never met.

A retired shop owner from Stony Brook, Dorney will join officials from Great Britain, Ireland, Germany and other countries to pay tribute to those who took a journey that ended abruptly and in many cases tragically exactly 100 years earlier when a German submarine torpedoed and sank the British ship Lusitania off the coast of Ireland as it was heading for Liverpool.

Among the 1,198 killed that afternoon were 128 Americans, which included 39-year-old pianist Charles Harwood Knight and his 42-year-old sister Elaine. The Knights were Dorney’s great-great-uncle and aunt and, for a time, were also her grandmother Millicent Lawrence’s guardians. After the sinking, which took 18 minutes, the Knights, who were traveling in first class, were never found.

The Knights “disappeared off the face of the Earth because they decided to take the ship that day,” Dorney said.

The sinking of the Lusitania, like the loss of the Titanic three years earlier, raised questions about what actions could have prevented the death of so many at sea. It also triggered active discussion about what role the United States could or should play in World War I.

The German government had warned of an aggressive campaign to sink ships around the British Isles that they believed were carrying munitions and reinforcements for the war. Some thought the Lusitania, which, at 24 knots, was the fastest cruise ship active at the time, could avoid becoming a target. The ship, however, had shut down one of its boilers to keep down costs, bringing its top speed to 21 knots, said Michael Poirier, co-author of the book “Into the Danger Zone: Sea Crossings of the First World War.” In the waters where the Germans had been patrolling, the ship was only going 18 knots, said Poirier.

The Lusitania “was handicapped by not speeding through the danger zone,” Poirier said. There are so many “what ifs,” he added.

In the aftermath of the sinking, opinions in the United States were sharply divided over the proper course of action. Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan, who had run for president three times and was an outspoken member of the Democratic Party, urged the country to steer clear of involvement.

Bryan thought the sinking didn’t immediately require farm boys from the middle of the country to risk being “killed for the rights of wealthy Americans to travel through war zones,” said Michael Barnhart, a distinguished teaching professor in the History Department at Stony Brook.

Even if America didn’t enter the war, Bryan didn’t want the sinking to become “a line in the sand,” where, if the Germans cross that line in the future, America “paints itself into a corner and has no option but to go to war,” Barnhart continued.

Teddy Roosevelt personified the other side of this argument, urging the United States to come to the aid of the British. Roosevelt viewed the sinking of the Lusitania “as an example of barbarism,” Barnhart said.

Political cartoonists at the time described the Germans in terms similar to the way people view ISIS now, Barnhart said.

Sensing that the country wasn’t eager to become involved in war, President Woodrow Wilson demanded that “Germans give the citizens of neutral nations a chance to get away in lifeboats before the ship on which they had been sailing was sunk by a German submarine,” explained Richard Striner, a professor of history at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland. The Germans told Wilson the British had deck guns on their passenger ships that the British could use if the submarines surfaced. Wilson, Striner continued, suggested the British get rid of these guns but, not surprisingly, the British refused.

Ultimately, however, Wilson did what Bryan feared, indicating that future attacks would bring the country closer to war. In protest of the president’s posturing, Bryan resigned. In 1917, the Germans “realized that turning the U-boats loose would bring the U.S. into the war,” Barnhart said, but, they resumed their attacks anyway amid a shift in political winds in Germany. The United States joined the war on April 6, 1917.

As for Dorney, she has delved deeper into the lives of distant relatives who were important for her grandmother. Charles Knight, who people called by his middle name Harwood, was an accomplished pianist and, as Dorney described, a bit of a character. He forgot the organ music he was supposed to bring to a family funeral and played a somber version of a ragtime song from 1896, called “There’ll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight.”

The last anyone heard from the Knights was when they sent a note to Dorney’s grandmother that contained a list of first-class passengers aboard the Lusitania, with names including Alfred Vanderbilt and Charles Frohman. A theater producer, Frohman helped develop such stars as Ethel Barrymore and John Drew, relatives of current actress Drew Barrymore.

As the former owner of Pride’s Crossing, a housewares and furniture store in Stony Brook, Dorney said she has an appreciation for what she’s learned about the Lusitania. The woodwork on board was “beautifully made and included interior design and artwork that were magnificently done.”

Dorney and those attending the wreath-laying ceremony in New York will heed the words Poirier said are so often connected with the sinking of the Lusitania: “Lest we forget.”

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Councilman Mark Cuthbertson. File photo

A new iteration of a proposal to build a senior assisted living facility near a wooded Huntington neighborhood will be the subject of a town board public hearing next month.

The board scheduled the hearing on Tuesday to consider changing the zone on the six-acre property to allow the Massachusetts-based Benchmark Senior Living to proceed with the project, which would be located on the corner of East Main Street and Washington Drive. Benchmark is looking to rezone the property from C-3 Special Business and R-10 Residential to R-HS Residential Health Services District to make way for the facility.

The project has gone through several versions. The proposed number of units has been brought down from 87 to 69 units. Also, the building will be two stories instead of three, and the proposed on-site sewage treatment plant has been moved to the northwest corner of the lot, adjacent to commercial property.

A 40-foot wide natural buffer along Old Northport Road will be built, and the gross floor area would be slightly reduced from 70,567 square feet to 66,995.

Some residents who live near the property have opposed the plan, citing size, traffic and noise concerns. A group of residents, who call themselves United Homeowners of Huntington, has formed to oppose the plan.

Jane Carter, a resident who belongs to the group, asked the town board at the meeting on Tuesday to keep the zoning on the property in tact. She said the project “hasn’t changed enough.”

William Bonesso, a Uniondale attorney representing Benchmark for the project, also attended the Tuesday meeting. In an interview last year, he spoke of a need for the project.

“Fortunately or unfortunately, we’re living on an island that’s aging,” he said.

Councilman Mark Cuthbertson (D) sponsored the resolution to schedule a public hearing. He said in an interview with reporters after the meeting that the public hearing was a chance to evaluate whether the public’s concerns about the project are addressed

“It’s been kicking around,” he said. “They came up with what they believed was a different plan so let’s put it before public hearing, decide whether it should go forward.”

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Joe Saginaw pole vaults. File photo by Darin Reed

A convincing victory at Rocky Point Tuesday, 102-34, kept the Huntington boys’ track and field team undefeated at 5-0, in first place in League V.

Scott Gulizio races in a previous contest. File photo by Darin Reed
Scott Gulizio races in a previous contest. File photo by Darin Reed

But first, the boys claimed a 93-48 win over visiting Hauppauge last Tuesday, April 28, where Huntington’s athletes turned in strong performances across the board, winning most of the contested events.

The Blue Devils throwers had the greatest day of all, sweeping both the shot put and discus. It started with junior Vernon Alexander, who, on his first attempt, tossed the shot put nearly 48 feet, but kept his eyes on the moving object too long and ended up fouling when he stepped over the toe board. He rebounded in his second attempt and threw 45’8 for third place, a personal best for the teenager.

Senior Matteo McNeil finished first in shot put after tossing the weighted ball 47 feet. Senior Jimmie Nelson took second place with a throw of 45’11. Junior Amaru Jones hit a personal best of 44’10 on his first attempt to finish fourth.

In the unseeded section of the shot put, senior Aubrey Brewster threw a personal best of 40’8 and junior Tasean Betts threw 43’9.

In the discus circle, the competition was even more exciting. Nelson and rookie Kenny Charles battled it out for top honors. Both athletes notched personal bests, with Nelson’s measuring 139’10 and Charles throwing 131’2. McNeil finished third with a throw of 118’2.

Infinite Tucker leaps over the hurdles. Photo by Jeannie Kopstein
Infinite Tucker leaps over the hurdles. Photo by Jeannie Kopstein

On the track, senior Scott Gulizio won the 3,200-meter and was second in the 1,600. Junior Kyle O’Brien finished second in the 3,200. Sophomore Shane McGuire continued to display his potential. He closed ground late in the 800 to take second place.

Sophomore Kyree Johnson and junior Infinite Tucker dazzled the crowd.

“Both athletes performed at the top of their game,” Huntington head coach Ron Wilson said.

Tucker won four events, including the long jump, with a leap of 22’6.5, the 110 high hurdles in 14.6 seconds, 400 intermediate hurdles in 55.2 seconds and the high jump with personal best leap of 6’6.

Exzayvian Crowell lands on the other side. Photo by Jeannie Kopstein
Exzayvian Crowell lands on the other side. Photo by Jeannie Kopstein

Johnson won the 100 dash in a personal best time of 10.6 seconds, took first place in the 200 dash in 22.2 seconds, finished second behind Tucker in the long jump with a leap of 21’1 and anchored the 4×400 relay team to a first place victory. That relay also included McGuire as the lead leg, Tom Kopstein as the second leg and Gulizio as the third leg.

Sophomore Alaa-el-dien Elfaham captured the triple jump. The teenager soared 38’10.5 on his first jump to lock-up the victory.

Senior Sondy Jean-Baptiste also had a good day, finishing second in the high jump at 6’2, the triple jump at 38’4 and third in the long jump, with a personal best leap of 20’1.

Senior Joe Saginaw won the pole vault with a height of 11 feet. Elfaham and junior Connor Grosso took second and third, respectively, with efforts that measured 9’6. Placings were decided by the fewest misses.

Huntington has a dual meet remaining against defending League V champion Eastport-South Manor. The Blue Devils will compete in the Chrissy Games at Bellport on Saturday May 9 and in the Suffolk Freshman and Sophomore Championships at Longwood on Tuesday, May 19. The division championships are set for Wednesday, May 27 and Friday, May 29.

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The town is offering free mulch and compost, above, to town residents as supplies last. Photo from Brookhaven Town

Brookhaven Town has started giving away free mulch and compost to residents as part of a push to get some more green around town.

The mulch and compost will be distributed, upon submitting proof of residency, as supplies last. The material is not bagged, so people must provide their own containers and load the mulch and compst into their vehicles themselves.

Local distribution sites are open at Brookhaven Town Hall in Farmingville, on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Percy Raynor Park on Route 347 in South Setauket, on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on weekends from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and the Rose Caracappa Center on Route 25A in Mount Sinai, on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on weekends from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The material is also available at the Holtsville Ecology Center off Buckley Road from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday; at the town landfill on Horseblock Road in Brookhaven hamlet on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. and on Saturday from 7 a.m. to noon; and at the town compost facility on Papermill Road in Manorville on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1 to 3 p.m.

All six sites are open to residents, but commercial vehicles may only pick up mulch and compost at the landfill and the compost facility, where there will be a fee of $12 per yard.

For more information about the mulch and compost distribution program, call Brookhaven Town at 631-451-TOWN.

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Centereach’s Nick Kostulas makes contact with the ball. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

Newfield’s Brandon Alberto hurls a pitch from the mound. Photo by Bill Landon
Newfield’s Brandon Alberto hurls a pitch from the mound. Photo by Bill Landon

The Newfield Wolverines hosted their crosstown rivals Centereach for district bragging rights Tuesday afternoon. The Cougars jumped out to a three-run lead, but the Wolverines battled back in a game that was decided on the final pitch of the seventh inning, where Newfield found its way out of a bases loaded scare, to hold on to a 10-7 win.

Centereach struck first when junior Victor Corsaro hit a solo home run over the left center fence. With runners on first and second, senior Joe Calabrese hit a line drive to left field to load the bases. Senior Nick Kostulas scored from third on a passed ball at the plate to help his team go up, 2-0. Centereach squandered a scoring opportunity with bases loaded when Newfield senior pitching ace Brandon Alberto worked his way out of the jam — fanning the batter at the plate to retire the side.

Newfield’s bats did the talking in the bottom of the second, when senior Joe North ripped a two-run homer to center field to close the gap, 3-2.

Newfield senior Joe Pepe followed with a base-clearing rip to deep right to break out to a 4-3 lead, and senior J.J. Lindgren smacked a deep shot to the fence for a two-RBI double and the 6-3 advantage.

“We played defense, we hit the ball well and that’s what you’re supposed to do,” North said. “But J.J.’s home run was the difference. It cleared our minds, and they got down over it.”

Centereach’s Austin Turner fires from the mound. Photo by Bill Landon
Centereach’s Austin Turner fires from the mound. Photo by Bill Landon

Centereach senior Austin Turner took over on the mound in an attempt to quell the scoring fest and closed out the inning.

Centereach pulled within one run in the top of the fourth when Corsaro blasted one through the infield gap to drive in senior John Boss. Kostulas struck again with a line drive down the right side to bring Corsaro home and make it a one-run game, 6-5.

“We tried to get back in it there late,” Boss said. “We never give up. We’re resilient. We never get down on ourselves, but we came up short today.”

With runners at the corners, Centereach tried a suicide squeeze as the runner on first took off to draw a throw so the runner on third could head home. Newfield didn’t fall for it though, and ran down the third base runner for the out.

Lindgren’s bat was the difference-maker again, when he smacked a deep shot over the left field fence to tally two more RBIs and a run, for a commanding 9-5 lead.

“It was our defense today that won it for us — we didn’t make many errors; we played the cleanest baseball that we’ve played all year,” Lindgren said. “And the key is we followed that with hitting.”

Again Centereach would make a pitching change when A.J. Glass took to the mound to go the rest of the way.

Newfield’s Joe Pepe makes a throw from third to get the runner at first. Photo by Bill Landon
Newfield’s Joe Pepe makes a throw from third to get the runner at first. Photo by Bill Landon

“We struggled with command with our starting pitcher and that was an issue,” Centereach coach Mike Herrschaft said. “So you come in with three other relievers and you’re hoping that they can hold the fort down, but it just didn’t happen.”

With a runner on base, the Wolverines proved they weren’t done when senior Jared Prevete drove one deep into the gap, to score sophomore Jacob Vanessendelft, to edge ahead 10-5.

Centereach threatened in the top of the sixth inning when Corsaro’s shot to left center loaded the bases, and again it was Kostulas’ bat that answered the call as he drove one deep into no man’s land for two RBIs that trimmed the deficit, 10-7.

“We played a great game,” Corsaro said. “We made a few mistakes in the field, but other than that it was solid all around. We did hit the ball, and we pitched pretty well today.”

With a base runner on first, the Cougars defense turned a double play to end the inning.

“We definitely hit the ball better,” Newfield coach Paul Pedersen said. “We played defense, but any time you get into a blue-red matchup in a district game, it’s scary. These kids know each other. They’ve played together their whole lives and it’s a rival. It doesn’t matter what the records are, it’s a game that nobody wants to lose.”

Newfield’s Bobby Vath throws relief. Photo by Bill Landon
Newfield’s Bobby Vath throws relief. Photo by Bill Landon

Newfield freshman Bobby Vath took over for Alberto on the mound the rest of the way, and with the Cougars’ last at- bat, Kostulas took to the batter’s box with the bases loaded and his team trailing by three.

With two outs, Vath battled the hitter, who protected the plate as the count grew full. Kostulas smacked a deep fly ball to center field, but Newfield tracked it down for the final out.

“We hit the ball hard, and we play them again tomorrow, Pedersen said. “We’ll try to minimize the strikeouts, put the ball in play and stay mistake-free on defense.”

Results of Wednesday’s matchup were not available by press time, but with Tuesday’s result, Newfield improves to 4-9 in League IV, while Centereach dropped to 3-10.

The Cougars begins a new series with Half Hollow Hills West at home on Monday, May 11, with the first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. Newfield will travel to West Islip on Monday at 4 p.m. for the first game of the Wolverines’ final series of the regular season.

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