A man attempting to cross Main Street on Saturday night was seriously injured when a Volkswagen struck him.
According to the Suffolk County Police Department, the pedestrian, 67-year-old Huntington Station resident Matthew McKay, was crossing the street in Huntington at about 9:20 p.m., just west of Nassau Road, when an eastbound Jetta hit him.
McKay was being treated at Huntington Hospital for serious injuries, police said. The 2016 Volkswagen’s driver, a 57-year-old Centerport woman, was not hurt.
Detectives from the 2nd Squad are investigating the incident. Anyone with information is asked to call them at 631-854-8252.
Rich and Carolyn Mora are keeping their Setauket-based wine shop thriving. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Mora’s Fine Wine & Spirits just gets better with age.
The small Setauket business owned by Rich Mora and his wife Carolyn, has served liquors to local communities for more than two-and-a-half decades. The business’s online presence also allows it to serve communities at the national level.
Rich Mora purchased the property from previous owner Robert Eikov in 1989 hoping to pursue his love of wine. Eikov and his wife Blanche ran a butcher shop out of the store for several years before they turned it into a liquor store around 1965.
Eikov used to butcher and sell meat in the main part of the building where Rich Mora sells his wine.
Eikov and his wife built the store after they got married and lived in an apartment behind the store.
“I always had a good palate. I’m good at judging wine and picking good wine [so] I wanted to be in the business,” Rich Mora said. “I decided I wanted to work for myself.”
Rich Mora was a science teacher in the area before he bought the business. He said the wine business was blossoming around the time he acquired the business.
Carolyn Mora became involved with the business after the duo met in 1999. She said she loves being involved in the business not only because she loves wine and spirits but also because she like providing her clients with good quality liquors.
While the Moras have a variety of wines from all around the world, the pair can’t purchase a large quantity of liquors like bigger stores.
“We try to be very … selective of what we purchase for the store so that people know when they come in here, they’re going to get something different,” Carolyn Mora said.
For Port Jefferson resident Damen Reschke, the variety of wines and spirits is one of the store’s best attributes, saying that the Moras’ selection beats those found in bigger liquor stores on the island.
Every Saturday between 3 and 6 p.m., residents can sample various wines at the liquor store’s weekly wine tastings. The tastings are one of Rich Mora’s several programs or events residents can attend.
Setauket residents Louis and Loretta Gray have gone to Mora’s wine tastings for the past 10 years. They said they enjoy learning where and how various wines were created and other facts they pick up at the tastings.
“It’s very personable,” Loretta Gray said. “You get to know all the individuals who represent the companies, and we like to support our local businesses.”
Elaine Learnard and her wife Ann-Marie Scheidt have purchased Mora’s wine for several years. According to Learnard, the pair typically buys wine at the tasting “because we’re being exposed to something we both don’t know about.” She added that when it comes to wine recommendations, Mora never fails to suggest something good.
In 2009, Rich Mora went the extra mile when he helped Learnard and her wife when they got married. He arranged the wines and helped store the wines to keep them cold for the summer wedding.
“The leader sets the tone. He’s a very, very nice person; therefore all the people who work for him are very nice,” Learnard said.
Despite the store’s small size, residents can choose from the more than 900 facings of liquor on display. Residents can pick up three bottles of wine for $10.99 or empty their wallets for the Moras’ most expensive bottle of liquor, priced at $14,000.
While a bigger establishment would give the Moras more room to expand their business, they are content with their small business.
“I wouldn’t mind if we stay small physically and grew big on the Internet,” Carolyn Mora said. “ I would love to see the store be known as the best little wine store in the world.”
Harborfields High School. Photo by Victoria Espinoza
Harborfields’ boys’ basketball team has become one of the most celebrated at the high school in recent years, with the boys winning the League V title for the eighth straight year.
Although this is only John Tampori’s first year as head coach of the Tornadoes, he has been the assistant coach for the last 11 years, and has been able to seamlessly keep their tradition of domination alive.
Tampori served under Chris Agostino, who left the school left last year for Elmont Memorial High School as the school’s new athletic director.
“I’ve known the players, some of them are three- or four-year varsity players,” Tampori said in a phone interview. “They knew me as well. I knew what I was stepping into. I knew exactly what was going on.”
The transition appears to be just as easy for the players, as the team is currently undefeated in the league and look to be in a great spot in the Suffolk County playoffs, which kick off this Friday.
John Tampori has been with the Harborfields Tornadoes for more than a decade. Photo from Tampori
Tampori said he didn’t want to bring too many changes in as the new coach.
“When things are working, you don’t want to change too much,” he said. However, after losing the Suffolk County A Championship last year, he said he wanted to focus on improving shot selection on offense.
“Playing smarter was a thing I had in mind going into this season,” Tampori said. According to the head coach, that included working the ball into a shot that players are more capable of making, and better time management of the game clock.
Harborfields Athletic Director John Valente said Tampori has exceeded expectations.
“Coach John Tampori had some big shoes to fill when Chris Agostino left,” Valente said in an email. “Coach Tampori has stupendous knowledge of the game and knows all the right buttons to push for the team and players to reach all their goals this season. I couldn’t be prouder of the job he has done this season taking over from a successful coach who he served as an assistant coach to for six years. This is now Coach Tampori’s basketball program.”
For this season, Tampori said the starting five are all very special players, and have really contributed to how successful this season has been.
“They all play super hard in practice and get each other better,” he said of the five, who include seniors Alex Bloom, Dan Morgan, Malcolm Wynter and Robert Pecorelli, and junior Alex Merhige.
For what he enjoys the most about coaching the team, he says it comes down to the type of boys they are.
“We’ve always had really good students — as far as their grades — and they must come from really good families, because they’re all very respectful, polite, and just solid, good young men,” Tampori said. “Even when they get off the bus, they say thank you to the bus driver. That’s a little thing, but it still shows who they are.”
As far as the next few weeks and the Suffolk County Championship, Tampori doesn’t like to look too far ahead.
“I just talk about one game at a time,” he said. “I don’t want anybody to look ahead and forget what’s in front of us.”
Aside from boys’ basketball team, Tampori is a special education teacher at the high school, and also coaches boys’ and girls’ junior varsity tennis teams in the fall.
“I enjoy the faculty and the type of students you have,” he said of teaching at Harborfields. “You get really nice kids, they respond to what you have to say to them, it’s a nice environment to work in.”
Diana Todaro speaks during the budget presentation at the board of education meeting on Wednesday night. Photo by Victoria Espinoza.
Budget season has come to the Harborfields Central School District, and residents could be in for a budget that pierces the tax levy cap.
At a Board of Education meeting on Wednesday night, Assistant Superintendent for Administration and Human Resources Francesco Ianni presented options the district has to choose from for the 2016-2017 budget, calling it an “evolving process.” Harborfields was given a small tax levy cap increase from the state, which means that the district may have to consider piercing the cap if they want to provide any new programs, or face a budget with no additions to stay within the cap.
“Approximately 17 percent of the annual budget that is coming from state aid, but that number is fluctuating everyday,” Ianni said at the meeting. “Reserve funds will account for about 7 percent, and 76 percent of the budget is coming from the community.”
The main concern with this year’s budget, Ianni said, is the .37 percent tax levy increase cap, which is limiting the district’s ability to even rollover last year’s budget. A rollover budget is the same budget as the year before.
The 2015-2016 budget was roughly $80 million, and if a rollover budget were used this year, the total would be approximately $81 million, with an increase of $1,159,907.
If the rollover budget passed, there would need to be a tax levy increase of .84 percent, according to the district, which is .47 percent more than what the state is mandating. If the district abides by the state tax levy increase cap, they will be $287,408 short of the rollover budget total.
Those variables leave the district with some options, Ianni said.
A budget within the tax levy would be $81,346,454, the district said. This would require the district to not only refuse any new mandates or potential additions like full-day kindergarten, but also to cut costs.
But if the district decided to pierce the tax cap, Ianni presented several different budgetary routes the district could take. One is what he described as the simple rollover budget, which would require less than .5 percent of an increase in the tax cap and bring the total budget to $81,633,862.
“But, what if we add some mandates?” Ianni asked during the presentation.
The district presented a potential budget that included mandates like an additional librarian, AIS teacher and an English as a New Language teacher, which would bring the budget to $81,833,862 and a tax levy increase of 1.17 percent.
Ianni said the third possible scenario is the most costly because of additions like $600,000 for full-day kindergarten, $20,000 for a teacher’s assistant testing room and anywhere from $100,000 to $150,00 for a BOCES cultural arts program. The total here brings the budget to about $82.6 million, and would bring the tax levy cap to 2.57 percent.
Ianni said the district has not made any decisions yet as to which budget they would pursue, and would continue to discuss options at various workshops and community forums over the coming weeks.
The next upcoming budget meeting was scheduled for March 5 at 9 a.m.
The home at 182 Shore Road near Satterly Landing. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Hurricane Sandy left many homes in shambles, including 182 Shore Road in Mount Sinai.
The storm flooded the property, which stands near Satterly Landing, four years ago. The owner sold the parcel to New York Rising, which is a home recover program that Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) initially established to help homeowners affected by Sandy, Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.
Town of Brookhaven purchased the piece of land last October-November and will allow nature to take over, as the space is not suitable for construction or reconstruction of a home.
“[There] will always be a problem with flooding, so we’re just going to incorporate it into Satterly [Landing],” said Councilwoman Jane Bonner (C-Rocky Point).
Brookhaven is also evaluating another property on the block that has beenaroundfor two decades, examining it because of issues with its structure.
Coleus looks stunning in a decorative planter. Photo by Ellen Barcel
By Ellen Barcel
Last week we took a look at how you can turn your need to garden, even in tiny places, into a reality. We looked at some generalities then. Now, we’ll take a look at some specific plants that can be grown in small spaces.
Flowering annuals Any number of flowering annuals can be grown in hanging baskets, including hanging geraniums, petunias, chenille plants and fuchsia. Look for plants that trail down like nasturtium or sweet potato vine. But you can also grow herbs in hanging baskets, perhaps even mixed in with the ornamentals.
Full-sized tomato plants can be grown in a large tub or specially designed planter while grape or cherry tomatoes can be grown in hanging baskets. Photo by Ellen Barcel
Hostas Hostas are wonderful plants for a shady area. They come in a wide variety of sizes, so select carefully if you have a tiny place. One of my favorites is ‘Mouse Ears,’ but there are many tiny hostas, some variegated. Consider ‘Blue Mouse Ears,’ which grows to eight inches tall; ‘Chartreuse wiggles,’ a 10-inch-tall plant with narrow golden leaves; or ‘Bedazzled’ just eight inches tall with blue green leaves trimmed in yellow.‘Crumb Cake’ is just four inches tall. Most will spread, easily two or three times their height. They can be grown in a small rock garden or a small container or around the edges of a larger planter.
Dwarf hydrangeas Hydrangeas are beautiful shrubs filled with colorful and long lasting flowers. But, be very careful here. Some hydrangeas can easily reach 10 to 15 feet tall or more. In general, Hydrangea paniculata tend to be large shrubs or small specimen trees; however, there are dwarf varieties. Again, oakleaf hydrangeas tend to be large shrubs, but ‘Ruby Slippers’ is a dwarf variety that reaches just three to four feet tall and produces flowers that come out pink and deepen to red as the summer progresses. They grow in full sun to partial shade. The flowers will not turn blue, however, in acidic soil.
Tomatoes Tomato plants are divided into two types of plants: indeterminate, that is, vining plants that continue to grow throughout the growing season, and determinate plants, bush-type plants that flower at the end of each branch and cease growing. Indeterminate plants can be grown in large pots or tubs since they have the room to produce a large root system. Determinate plants do better in a smaller hanging basket since there is a smaller amount of soil in hanging baskets. Cherry tomatoes are ideal for hanging baskets. I’ve even seen them growing in outdoor restaurants, both functional and decorative. Put one or two per basket, possibly interspersed with herbs or flowers. Remember the fertilizer since tomatoes are heavy feeders.
A sweet potato vine spills over a large planter. Photo by Ellen Barcel
Herbs Herbs are great for a small garden since most of them are small plants to start with. Most herbs prefer a sunny location; so take this into consideration when selecting a planting location. Herbs can be grown in pots, even grouped together in a large pot, but a really great place is in a sunny window box. If the window box(es) are located outside your kitchen window, so much the better. Just open your window and pick the herbs you need.
Small herbs include sage (some are larger than others, for example, pineapple sage can easily reach two feet tall, and has beautiful red flowers while common sage is smaller), thyme (common thyme, lemon thyme, lime thyme, orange thyme, red creeping thyme, French thyme, etc.), parsley [curly parsley, flat leaf parsley, Chinese parsley (cilantro), etc.], mint (chocolate mint, orange mint, spearmint, banana mint, variegated mint, pineapple mint, apple mint, etc.). Note that orange mint has a hint of an orangey flavor, pineapple sage a hint of a pineapple flavor, etc.
Basil, chives, dill and oregano are a few other herbs that you can grow in a window box. Scented geraniums have the advantage of pretty flowers as does nasturtium.
Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. Send your gardening questions and/or comments to [email protected]. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.
Centereach senior Kevin Callahan drives the baseline around Ward Melville junior Dominic Pryor. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville junior Dominic Pryor reaches for the ball on a rebound. Photo by Bill Landon
By Bill Landon
Centereach achieved something this season that hasn’t happened since 2010: they made it to the postseason. Not only did the boys’ basketball team make the playoffs, the No. 14 seed hosted No. 19 Ward Melville on its own home court. The Cougars were able to close within eight points midway through the final quarter, but that was the closest they would get, as the Patriots floored it in the final minutes to put the game away, 59-41.
Ward Melville stretched its legs early, and edged ahead 12-4 after eight minutes of play. The Patriots’ defense was swarming, blocking several shots.
While the Cougars struggled offensively, the Patriots found their 3-point range during the second quarter, with senior Mathew O’Hea netting one, and teammate Mathew Hudzik, a junior, swishing his second trey of the game, to put the team out front 22-13 at the halftime break.
Ward Melville opened the second half much like it did the first, with 3-pointers from O’Hea and Hudzik. Centereach countered when Kevin Callahan fouled from 3-point land. Despite thunderous calls from the visiting crowd, the senior swished all three attempts.
Centereach junior Jon Agostino drives the lane as he makes his way to the rim. Photo by Bill Landon
“We haven’t made it in a while — it’s a different mindset and it’s a big deal,” Callahan said. “It’s a big crowd and lot of people come out, so it’s a lot of pressure.”
Centereach senior Justin Eck also nailed a 3-point field goal, to make it a 10-point game with two minutes left in the third.
“We focused on this round just like we did with the in-season games,” Eck said. “We needed to focus on our game plan. … We focused on execution — we tried to stay loose and play our game.”
Centereach junior Jon Agostino hit his second 3-pointer to make it a nine point game, and both teams traded points before the Cougars, on a defensive steal, converted the opportunity to draw within eight points with 4:03 left in regulation.
“Tonight we fed off of our defensive energy,” Ward Melville head coach Alexander Piccirillo said. “We thrived on stops, or holding someone to just one shot or forcing a bad shot, and that translates to the offensive side of the ball.”
Hudzik executed his fifth trifecta of the evening to re-extend the Patriots’ lead, and with time running out, Centereach was forced to arrest the clock. The Cougars sent Hudzik to the line after a foul, and the junior went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe to put the game out of reach.
Centereach senior Justin Eck scores a layup while Ward Melville junior Mathew Hudzik reaches for the block. Photo by Bill Landon
“We looked at the film from our loss to Commack [10 days ago] and we learned from that,” said Hudzik, who scored 21 points on the evening. “We did our best to do everything right that we did wrong in that game.”
According to Centereach head coach Ed Miller, having endured a long playoff drought, this season was a testament to the commitment of his Cougars senior leadership.
“They came out and shot the ball well, and you can’t take anything away from them,” he said of Ward Melville. “They made it very difficult to play against them. Alex does a great job over there and they’re in the right spots.”
Miller added that he was proud of his team, and admired their sense of urgency and the contribution each of them made this season.
“They’ve set the stage they laid the groundwork to get our program back to where we want to be,” he said. “I know the effort that they put into the off season, so it was my seniors that I was most impressed with.”
Ward Melville junior Noah Kepes said his team’s preparation for this game was the same as it was for the regular season, and will be for the rest of the postseason.
Ward Melville junior Mathew Hudzik scores one of his five 3-pointers. Photo by Bill Landon
“We tried to not get all in our heads, because it’s a playoff game,” he said. “We’ve been working on defensive slides every day in practice. Just the same thing we’ve been doing — it’s like any other game.”
The Patriots hit the road tomorrow, Feb. 13, to take on No. 3-seeeded Half Hollow Hills West, with tipoff scheduled for noon.
“We’ll get a film from somebody in their league, we’ll get a scouting report, we’ll get a good practice in tomorrow and then we’re going to get on the bus and go over there,” Piccirillo said. “We’re going to defend like crazy; we’re going to be ready for them, and I hope they’re ready for us.”
A scene from ‘The Finest Hours.’ Photo from Walt Disney Pictures
By Rich Acritelli
Last week Walt Disney Pictures released “The Finest Hours,” a film based on the story of four Coast Guard members that braved a nor’easter that caused havoc off the coast of Cape Cod in 1952. From the beginning, you will notice an impressive cast that works well together to bring this story to light. Directed by Craig Gillespie, the film stars Chris Pine (Boatswain’s Mate First Class Bernard “Bernie” Webber), Casey Affleck (Robert Sybert), Holliday Grainger (Miriam Pentinen), Ben Foster (Seaman Richard Livesey) and Eric Bana (Chief Warrant Officer Daniel Cluff).
Gillespie depicts the simple life of the 1950s with the customs of enjoying a nice drink, meal and the chance to attend a town dance. This film starts by showing Coast Guard service member Webber as an easy going and hard-working man who goes on a blind date with Miriam Petinen. While they are opposites, they fall in love with each other.The movie depicts a different kind of love with Miriam asking the cautiously mannered Bernie to marry her. After an awkward moment, he states that they will get married, but only after he receives permission from his commanding officer.As Webber works on getting approval from Chief Cluff, a terrible storm hits the shores of Cape Cod.
Gillespie does a good job in casting Bana who is a proven actor who could handle the rigors of military films (“Black Hawk Down,” “Munich,” and “Lone Survivor”). Before Webber can ask for approval, Cluff is faced with anxiety from two different fronts.First, he understands that a rescue operation for the SS Pendelton is being conducted from the headquarters in Boston, but he is unsure how his men fit into the rescue endeavor. Second, he is a southern officer who has not yet gained the respect of these northern men who openly doubt his professional abilities.
As rescue efforts are mounted, Webber is ordered to take three Coast Guardsmen to search for the Pendleton.It is believed that this is a suicide mission that will only lead to the death of these men. Webber has to maneuver through hazardous waters in a vessel that is too small to handle the fury of these poor maritime conditions.
The film does a masterful job of showing the strains that are placed on these men to locate this ship. They display a comradeship that never losses focus of their objective to locate the Pendleton.
With Webber organizing the rescue efforts, the Pendleton and its crew is commandedby Sybert played by Affleck who is masterful in showing a man who is conflicted by his superior knowledge of this ship, but a man who is deemed to be a loner.
It becomes apparent that the ship will sink after it is split in half by the storm.Sybert refuses to accept his crew’s position that they should abandon ship in their small rescue boats. He firmly states that they will be killed from the rough waters. Sybert believes that they have to run the tanker ashore if they aregoing to have any chance of seeing their loved ones. At the same time, Webber’s crew is risking their lives to reach the Pendleton: Their compass malfunctions from the multiple times that their ship takes on water from the tenacity of the massive waves.
Unflinchingly, Webber is faithful to his duty to find the Pendleton and save the crew of thirty-two men from drowning.
The film concludes with the residentsof Cape Cod helping Webber bring the men to safety. Members of this community along with Webber’s fiancée figure out the location of the tanker and they travel to a nearby dock where they turn on all of their car lights as beacons of hope to guide the rescuers to safety.From start to finish, “The Finest Hours” portrays the devotion of the Coast Guard to overcome the gigantic weather strains that are caused by Mother Nature.
‘The Finest Hours,” rated PG-13 (for intense sequences of peril), isnow playing in local theaters.
The waterfront revitalization program hearing is scheduled for Feb. 24 at the Kings Park branch of the Smithtown Library. File photo by Rachel Shapiro
The Town of Smithtown has its sights set on the waterfront.
With a date set for Feb. 24, Smithtown announced it would be sponsoring the first of several public workshops in which the town will seek community input on the development of a revised local waterfront revitalization program. It has been nearly 26 years since the town adopted its last program, and the issues have changed — so the public will have a chance to weigh in at a workshop on Feb. 24 at the Kings Park branch of the Smithtown Library at 6:30 p.m.
In a statement, the town Planning Department said the existing revitalization program has served as a guide for Smithtown for more than 25 years in helping establish objectives, programs and standards to promote the beneficial use of coastal resources.
“Many changes have occurred in understanding coastal issues and management, in government laws and programs addressing coastal management, and in the conditions and circumstances affecting Smithtown’s coastal resources and uses,” the Planning Department said in the statement. “While the general directions established by the current LWRP are sound, after more than 25 years a complete rewrite of the LWRP is taking place to reflect these changes.”
The town said that Charles McCaffrey, an expert in state coastal management programs, policies and laws, will be consulting the town after making it through a competitive bidding process for such consultation. McCaffrey said he would be drafting each section of the new program for the town, which will be reviewed by elected officials in Smithtown, and met with community input. The process will include updating and re-structuring the existing plan to address changes in the overall pattern of development in the coastal area, the condition of the natural resources of the coast, current and future public use and access to the coast, and the needs of users that depend on a coastal location.
The draft plan will also identify federal and state actions necessary to advance the town’s program.
This first public workshop will focus specifically on identifying the issues of concern to the community and review the work done to date on updating the boundary of the waterfront area and the developed coast section of the plan. All interested parties are encouraged to attend.
The Kings Park branch of the Smithtown Library is located at 1 Church St. in Kings Park.
Brookhaven Town and American Safety Inc. are teaming up to offer defensive driving classes to help keep residents safe on local roads.
Classes consist of two three-hour sessions or one six-hour session and reward participants with certificates of completion and professional advice on how to avoid crashes. The courses help drivers save money on car insurance and allows them to remove up to four points from their licenses.
The Rose Caracappa Senior Center on Route 25A in Mount Sinai will host classes from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on four upcoming Thursdays, including March 17, May 19, Sept. 15 and Nov. 17.
At Brookhaven Town Hall in Farmingville, in the second-floor media room, courses will alternate between the three-hour sessions and the six-hour sessions. They will be held on:
• Tuesday, Feb. 23, and Wednesday, Feb. 24, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.
• Tuesday, March 22, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Tuesday, April 19, and Wednesday, April 20, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.
• Tuesday, May 24, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Tuesday, June 21, and Wednesday, June 22, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.
• Tuesday, Sept. 20, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Tuesday, Oct. 18, and Wednesday, Oct. 19, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.
• Tuesday, Nov. 22, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Tuesday, Dec. 20, and Wednesday, Dec. 21, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.
The courses cost $25 for veterans and seniors ages 55 and older; and $40 for all others. To register or for more information, call 631-476-6449 for the Rose Caracappa center and 631-363-3770 for Town Hall.
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