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Yearly Archives: 2016

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File photo

A young man was seriously injured on Thursday night as a car slammed into him and three others on Jayne Boulevard.

The Suffolk County Police Department said 19-year-old Jonathon Caba suffered a serious head injury in the Port Jefferson Station crash, which happened close to 9:30 p.m. Both he and 22-year-old Yaviel Calderon, who had a leg injury, were treated at Stony Brook University Hospital while the two others — Jerry Vargas, 18, and Aneudi Dilone, 20 — refused medical attention.

All four victims are from Port Jefferson Station, police said, as is the driver.

According to police, a 22-year-old man was driving north on Jayne in a 2004 Mercedes Benz close to Erie Street when he hit the four pedestrians, who were allegedly walking partially in the road.

The driver had a panic attack and was treated at John T. Mather Memorial Hospital, police said.

Police impounded the Mercedes for a safety check and detectives from the SCPD’s 6th Squad are investigating the crash.

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Raccoons are naturally occurring hosts for the Leptospira bacteria. Stock photo

By Matthew Kearns, DVM

May and June always kick off the annual checkup season and with all our exams, we discuss vaccines. When I talk about vaccines like distemper, rabies, kennel cough and Lyme, I always see a nod of understanding. However, when I bring up the leptospirosis vaccine, the quizzical look on people’s faces always reveals a lack of knowledge on this disease.

I think the reason is that as little as 10 years ago, leptospirosis was limited to very rural areas primarily where dogs had more of a risk of coming in contact with wildlife. The more “suburban sprawl” we see brings us (and our pets) in closer contact with the natural reservoirs of this disease. 

Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection caused by various strains of the Leptospira bacteria.  This bacteria is carried by many wild animals. Naturally occurring hosts are raccoons, opossums, foxes, skunks and various rodents. Raccoons and skunks are scavengers as much as hunters, so they will commonly venture into our yards to knock over garbage pails etc., in search of food.

It has also been estimated that approximately 90 percent of rats in major cities carry leptospirosis, so it has become more of an urban threat than previously realized. These hosts shed, or pass, the bacteria in their urine, contaminating both the environment and water sources. Not only can these hosts carry the bacteria without showing symptoms of disease, they also can shed the bacteria for extended periods of time.

Once in the soil or water, the Leptospira bacteria is very hearty and can survive for weeks to months waiting for another host. The bacteria can gain access to a new host through the membranes of the mouth (drinking contaminated water) or through abrasions and cuts on the skin (from the soil). Once in the bloodstream the bacteria travels to the kidneys and starts to divide.  When the bacterial numbers are high enough, the new host will start shedding bacteria via the urine. 

No specific breed of dog appears to be more susceptible or resistant to the infection. However, middle-aged dogs (as compared to young or old) and male dogs (compared to female) appear to be at higher risk. It is theorized that middle-aged male dogs are more likely to wander and get into more trouble (so far as coming in contact with a natural host). 

The most common organ system affected is the kidneys, but the Leptospira bacteria can also affect the liver, lungs and central nervous system.  Once the bacteria reaches the kidneys replication, as well as inflammation, damages kidney cells.

The symptoms of leptospirosis can be quite general in the beginning. Anything from a drop in appetite and an increase in thirst to vomiting, severe lethargy and in some cases death.

The good news is that leptospirosis is a bacterial infection that can be treated with antibiotics and other supportive care (IV fluids, IV medications etc.). The bad news is many times the initial infection is cleared but there is permanent damage to the kidneys. 

An effective vaccine is now available to prevent this disease. So, check with your veterinarian if your dog is at risk (dogs that get out of the yard, are in contact with many other dogs, have wildlife nearby and standing water) and should be vaccinated.  Let’s keep our dogs safe this summer.

Dr. Kearns practices veterinary medicine from his Port Jefferson office and is pictured with his son Matthew and his dog Jasmine.

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William Bacon’s notebook where he recorded leaving Alderwasley on June 12 1794, leaving the Port of Liverpool 10 days later and arriving in New York on Aug. 23. Photo from Beverly Tyler

By Beverly C. Tyler

“Here is not merely a nation but a teeming nation of nations.” – Walt Whitman, preface to Leaves of Grass – 1855

For almost 400 years, America has welcomed immigrants from around the world to its shores. They came here for many reasons, but principally to find a better life for themselves. As we prepare to celebrate American Independence Day on July 4, we remind ourselves that the strength of our nation is in its people, the men and women who came here for political, economic or religious freedom and, in the process, made America greater.

William Bacon, my great, great, great grandfather left his home in the midlands of England on June 12, 1794. He booked passage on a ship out of Liverpool on June 22 and arrived at New York’s South Street Seaport on Aug. 23. He then traveled to Patchogue, arriving on Aug. 28. Letters from his father and brothers between 1798 and 1824 and numerous trips I made to the villages of his youth provided the basis for this fictional letter to his father and mother based on other letters he wrote after his arrival in America.

In 1794, England was at war with France, as was most of Europe. The resultant curtailment of trade was having a very negative effect on the British economy. The impressment of American merchant ship crews by the British had brought America and England very close to war again. President George Washington was in his second term as the first president of the United States and had recently appointed Chief Justice John Jay to negotiate a treaty of commerce with England.

On Long Island, Selah Strong was again elected as president of the trustees of the Town of Brookhaven, a post he had held almost every year since the end of the Revolutionary War. In Patchogue, the Blue Point Iron Works, run by a Mr. Smith, was in full operation and looking to England, especially the midlands, for young men like William Bacon, who came from a long line of lead miners and iron workers:

“July 4, 1794
M. Matthew Bacon
Alderwasley
Parish of Wirksworth
Derbyshire, England

My Dearest Father & Mother

I am writing this letter at sea. We are twelve days out from Liverpool and expect to arrive in New York before the end of next month. Today is Independence Day in America and, as this is an American ship and crew, they celebrated the day with canon fire and decorated the ship with flags. A special meal was prepared and the other passengers and I were included in the feast. Sitting with these new friends and enjoying their hospitality, I realized for the first time how much I already miss home and family.

Last month, the day before I left, as I sat on the hillside above our home, I realized that there was a part of me that would stay there forever. The green hills of Alderwasley will remain forever in my memory, as will your kind smile and patience with me as I prepared to undertake this journey.

My resolve in going has not diminished in spite of my love for my family, for my home, and for the gentle rolling hills I have so often walked. The position in Mr. Smith’s iron works I regard as a chance to flourish in a land of opportunity as many others have done before me. America also offers the chance to live free of the will of the Lord of the Manor. He has been good to you, and generous, but he owns the very hills and valleys where I was born and grew up. In America, I can work and be anything I wish to be.

Please write and tell me if any from Wirksworth or Alderwasley have volunteered for the cavalry or infantry and how the war with France goes. I will send you the prices of pig and bar iron in English money as well as the prices of beef and mutton in the same as soon as I can. If brother Samuel is still in Jamaica after I arrive, ask him to come and see me when he goes through New York. The same for my brother Matthew if he comes to Philadelphia to trade, as he plans.

I continue with great hope and anticipation and a deep sorrow at parting.

Your loving son, William Bacon”

One book to read this week is “A Nation of Immigrants” by John F. Kennedy. This important and detailed book was written as Kennedy prepared to ask Congress to revise our immigration law. Published in 1964, “A Nation of Immigrants” can be read in just a few hours.

Beverly Tyler is the Three Village Historical Society historian and author of books available from the Three Village Historical Society.

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Award recognizes best girls' lacrosse team in Suffolk County

The Mount Sinai girls' lacrosse team earned the Founder's Cup after claiming it's second consecutive Class C state title. Photo from Al Bertolone

Mount Sinai is still dominating the girls’ lacrosse world.

For the second time since 2013, the Mustangs earned the Long Island Metropolitan Lacrosse Foundation’s Founder’s Cup, which is given to the best girls’ high school lacrosse team in Suffolk County.

“This team definitely overcame adversity to get back to where we wanted to,” sophomore Camryn Harloff said. “Considering we lost huge stars on our team, everyone wrote us off and never thought we could make it up there again, so this season has definitely meant a lot to us, showing everyone that we still have it in us. And we aren’t done yet.”

The Mustangs’ motto was “clear eyes, full hearts can’t lose,” and the girls stayed true to that, losing just three games — one being a Division II matchup — the entire season.

“It was an awesome feeling knowing the cup was back in our possession,” senior Caroline Hoeg said. “This final season is bittersweet. Leaving such an amazing team, season and career behind, back in Mount Sinai, makes me upset, but it makes me realize how lucky I truly am. I know there are great things ahead, but I will forever remember this team and season, and I know they’re going to keep continuing to prove people wrong.”

The Mount Sinai girls' lacrosse team won the Founder's Cup, which is given to the best girls' lacrosse team in Suffolk County. Photo from Al Bertolone
The Mount Sinai girls’ lacrosse team won the Founder’s Cup, which is given to the best girls’ lacrosse team in Suffolk County. Photo from Al Bertolone

After all the doubt, the girls topped stiff competition in Bayport-Blue Point and Cold Spring Harbor for the Suffolk County and Long Island titles, and took that momentum all the way to the state finals, where the team won its second consecutive title.

“It is a great honor and shows that hard work pays off,” junior Hannah Van Middelem said of winning the cup. “This season has been very special. We really came together as a team and played our hearts out.”

Harloff said her teammates stepped up and rose to the challenge, taking on leadership roles and doing what they needed to do to make this season go as smoothly as it did.

“Meaghan Tyrrell was a huge aspect in our offense, Emily Vengilio was a brick on defense and especially Hannah Van Middelem in net,” she said. “And of course, we can’t forget how clutch Erica Shea was on the draw. She came up big in the times that we needed her.”

Junior Leah Nonnenmann said that like head coach Al Bertolone said, the team doesn’t rebuild, it reloads, and that’s exactly what the girls did.

“My teammates and I were so anxious sitting at the awards dinner waiting for the winner to be announced and when it was us, you could see the excitement in all our faces,” she said. “And when you looked at our parents, you could see how proud they all were.”

Tyrrell said the entire experience and the feelings that come along with it are hard to put into words, but she’s proud of her team’s accomplishments, and is also looking forward to what lies ahead.

“It is one of the most honored awards a team can be given, so we were very proud of ourselves,” she said. “This season has meant so much to me because everyone thought that after our past seniors graduated, we would fall off the face of the lacrosse world. Coming back and working so hard to prove that we can be as great, and getting back up to states and winning just completed our season perfectly. It makes me excited to see what next season brings. And the season after that.”

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Audience members view a show in the planetarium. Photo by Jennifer Vacca

On June 29, the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum in Centerport will observe the 45th anniversary of the opening of its planetarium, now known as the Charles and Helen Reichert Planetarium.

The anniversary coincides with the final stage of the planetarium’s technological update — the installation of a cutting-edge SkyLase laser light show system with entertainment programs, from Audio Visual Imagineering Inc. (AVI). The planetarium’s advanced GeminiStar III system — which includes a Konica Minolta Infinium-L star projector, full-dome video and surround-sound — offers audiences a spectacular, immersive experience.

Suffolk County built the $1 million planetarium in 1971 as a way to increase visitorship and to produce operating income to supplement the museum’s original $2 million trust fund. The planetarium enhanced the museum’s ability to carry out the science education aspect of its mission and honored William K. Vanderbilt II’s love of science and astronomy — and his use of celestial navigation when he traveled the world’s oceans in the early twentieth century.

In 1987, after welcoming more than 2.2 million visitors, the Vanderbilt refurbished the planetarium, acoustically redesigned its newly renamed Sky Theatre, and equipped it with the latest audio equipment. The planetarium classroom received a makeover, too, with the addition of a then-advanced VCR (video cassette recorder) and video laser-disk equipment

Above, the entrance to the Charles and Helen Reichart Planetarium. Photo by Jennifer Vacca
Above, the entrance to the Charles and Helen Reichart Planetarium. Photo by Jennifer Vacca

Then in 2013,  following an extensive $4 million makeover and technological update, the Vanderbilt Planetarium became one of the finest and most advanced in the United States and the largest astronomical facility on Long Island. Suffolk County provided $3.9 million of the financing for the planetarium renovation. Private donations totaling $160,000 financed building enhancements: new theater seating; an improved heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system; a lobby face-lift and a new gift shop. Following the reopening, the planetarium received the most generous gift in the museum’s history. Charles and Helen Reichert pledged $1.7 million over 20 years to support the planetarium, its programs and its future. In their honor, the facility was named The Charles and Helen Reichert Planetarium.

Lance Reinheimer, executive director, said, “We are especially grateful to the Reichert family, Suffolk County and private donors for their extraordinary support of the Museum, its education programs, and its enduring value to Long Island.”

The Charles and Helen Reichert Planetarium, located on the grounds of the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum, 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport, offers daytime shows on Tuesday at 2 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at noon, 1, 2, 3 and 4 p.m. Evening shows are held on Fridays and Saturdays at 8, 9 and 10 p.m. Year-round viewing of the night sky (weather permitting), is held on Friday evenings from 9 to 10 p.m. (free with show ticket; $3 without show ticket). For more information, call 631-854-5579 or visit www.vanderbiltmuseum.org.

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Infinite Tucker grabs gold in 400 hurdles and relay

The Blue Devils relay team stands atop the podium. Photo from Huntington athletics
The Blue Devils relay team stands atop the podium. Photo from Huntington athletics

By Desirée Keegan

Huntington’s 4×400-meter relay team had a target on its back all season.

After being indoor national champions in the winter, and then garnering league, division and state titles, the pressure was on once the squad stepped out onto the national stage last weekend.

The boys may have been nervous — especially after finding out they weren’t the No. 1 seed — but head coach Ron Wilson gave them words of encouragement, and once they lined up to compete, he could tell by their faces that they meant business.

‘We all sat together before the race and talked about how it’s our last hurrah and we all wanted to do it for [Infinite Tucker] because it was his last time running with us.’ —Kyree Johnson

“I could see that they had the same facial expressions they had at the state championship, the same facial expressions at the national championship back in March,” he said. “There is a certain look they each have where they don’t really communicate with one another, but get mentally ready to compete. Can we dominate? That was the big question that we asked ourselves — and we did.”

The Blue Devils’ fantastic four won in 3 minutes, 10.93 seconds, at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor championship at North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro Sunday night, setting a New York State record, knocking down the previous one which had stood for 50 years. The team also garnered the fastest time in the United States for 2016 in the event, and broke the national record of 3:11.6 set in 1966. The time easily eclipsed the school and county marks.

Infinite Tucker crosses the finish line first in the 400 intermediate hurdles. Photo from Huntington athletics
Infinite Tucker crosses the finish line first in the 400 intermediate hurdles. Photo from Huntington athletics

The finish ended a long campaign exactly the way the athletes wanted it to. And the boys especially wanted to do it for senior Infinite Tucker, who garnered a national medal in the 400 intermediate hurdles just an hour and a half before competing with his team.

“We all sat together before the race and talked about how it’s our last hurrah and we all wanted to do it for him because it was his last time running with us, and running for high school,” junior Kyree Johnson said. “We all just stepped it up a little bit, tried our hardest and that was exactly what everybody did.”

Junior Lawrence Leake, as per a suggestion from assistant coach Eli Acosta, was switched to the first leg of the race, moving junior Shane McGuire to the second. Leake admits he was nervous, but said the coaches helped him get mentally ready to compete.

“They always have a positive attitude, give words of encouragement before races, and always reassure me that I’m capable of whatever I put my mind to,” he said.

Wilson told Leake and McGuire that if the boys each finished in 48 seconds, the title could be theirs for the taking.

Leake didn’t break out of the box that well, taking a bad step off the block, but quickly regained his stride and finished the first 200 in 23 seconds, which was right on track. After finishing the second 200 in 25 seconds, he passed the baton to McGuire, who said he went to the line super nervous, but didn’t want to let his teammates down.

“When I got the baton, I went out quick,” he said. “I ran 23 in the first 200 and I was still kind of in the back, so when we hit the last straight away I saw the other teams died out and I sprinted as hard as I could to give it to Kyree.”

Wilson said once the two legs finished in their target times, with both boys earning new personal bests, he knew the race was won.

The Huntington 4x400-meter relay team walks off the track national champions. Photo from Huntington athletics
The Huntington 4×400-meter relay team walks off the track national champions. Photo from Huntington athletics

“I already knew it was over,” he said. “Kyree and Infinite are not going to let anyone deny them the top spot on the podium.”

Johnson also knew the national championship was only seconds out of reach.

“When I saw Lawrence run a really good leg and I saw Shane picking it up, I had a feeling that we were going to take it,” he said. “I was relieved. When I got the baton I just gave it my all. Just to go down there with all my friends and being able to compete with the people that I’m very close with was a great experience. Everything we accomplish together will stay with us forever. It’s not like a season thing. We have a friendship that has turned into a brotherhood.”

And that brotherhood is what helped them pull it out, as the team topped their best record by five seconds.

“We wanted to make the last time we all ran together special,” McGuire said.

And they did.

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This map depicts the new territories for Tackan and Mount Pleasant elementary schools. The teal and lime green sections were formerly Branch Brook territory. The purple section represented Mount Pleasant territory before the changes. The orange section represented Tackan territory before the changes. The purple and teal sections will make up Mount Pleasant territory beginning in 2017-18, and the orange and lime green will become Tackan territory. Image from Smithtown administration

Branch Brook parents finally have some clarity after months of debate, anger and sadness.

Since November 2015, it has been unclear where Smithtown school district residents who send their kids to Branch Brook Elementary School, one of the district’s eight currently open elementary schools, will be sending their kids when Branch Brook closes ahead of the 2017-18 school year. At a board of education meeting Tuesday, Superintendent James Grossane announced which of his five proposed plans and one parent-proposed sixth option he would be selecting, which he was charged with doing by the board after they voted to close Branch Brook in February.

Grossane chose Option 4, which has been amended since the options were introduced about eight months ago, but includes most of the main points. Fifty-nine percent of current Branch Brook families will be attending Mount Pleasant Elementary in the fall of 2017, while the remaining 41 percent will move to Tackan Elementary School, according to Grossane.

Branch Brook territory is currently bordered to the east by Southern Boulevard, which meets the southern border at Townline Road. The northeastern corner of Branch Brook territory is the corner of Smithtown Bypass and Southern Boulevard. A few neighborhoods north of Smithtown Bypass and east of Terry Road are currently Branch Brook. The western border includes a large chunk of Smithtown Bypass, then splits and heads directly south to meet Townline Road near Helen Avenue.

The new district lines will use Terry Road, which becomes Smithtown Boulevard south of Smithtown Bypass, as a dividing line. Homes east of Terry Road that were Branch Brook territory will now be Tackan, while the west side of Terry Road will be Mount Pleasant, with some exceptions.

Grossane left the door open to the possibility of keeping students who would have been fifth-graders in Branch Brook in 2017-18 together, sending them all to Tackan for that year, though he said that is not ideal.

“There’s going to be quite a few students from Branch Brook in either building in each classroom, so no one will be alone,” Grossane said, which should somewhat ease a concern parents of Branch Brook students raised throughout the process, that changing schools could be traumatic and difficult for young kids.

The redrawing of lines will also alter the feeder system to the district’s two high schools, though Grossane said he will give families the option of keeping their younger children on track to attend one of the two high schools if the family already has older kids at one, to avoid having a family with kids in different high schools.

Grossane said both Tackan and Mount Pleasant will be operating at about 93 percent of their capacity during 2017-18, but the class sizes for both schools should remain below the district’s preferred average size of 28 students.

At least one Mount Pleasant parent and PTA member was glad to hear students in no school other than Branch Brook would be displaced as a result of the closure and subsequent redrawing of district lines.

“Thank you very much Dr. Grossane for not removing any Mount Pleasant students who are currently enrolled, and I want to say welcome to the Branch Brook family,” Deb Phillips said during the meeting Tuesday. “You are going to love Mount Pleasant. … There’s so many great things, and we welcome you with open arms.”

A transitional committee will begin meeting in the coming weeks and months to handle the mechanics of the changes. The committee will include administrators and principals from all three applicable elementary schools.

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Jeffrey Sanzel in front of a portrait of the late Brent Erlanson by Al Jones in Theatre Three’s lobby. Photo by Heidi Sutton

By Katelyn Winter

Theatre Three in Port Jefferson has been a treasured fixture in the community for 47 years. Each year, the theater presents a Mainstage season of musicals, plays and “A Christmas Carol” while the Second Stage serves as an intimate venue for its annual Festival of One-Act Plays and Friday Night Face Off. The theater’s Children’s Theatre presents original musicals and acting classes are offered throughout the year. 

This summer, exciting events like the Sizzling Summer Concert Series and the Director’s Dinners, where you can dine with directors and designers pre-show, offer new ways to appreciate theater arts.

The upcoming Mainstage season has an especially personal meaning for Jeffrey Sanzel, who has been the artistic director there since 1993. I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Sanzel in his office at Theatre Three.

What can you tell us about the upcoming Mainstage season? Are any of the shows a personal favorite, or do you have a connection to them in any way?

Well, that’s an interesting question, because “A Christmas Carol” obviously I’ve made a life out of. I’ve been doing “A Christmas Carol” since 1988 so that has a very personal connection.

However, this season we’re actually doing an original play that I wrote called “Where There’s a Will.” I first wrote it 30 years ago, and a youth theater in Cleveland did it last fall. I hadn’t looked at it in 28, 29 years. The director of that company and I knew each other from the original production, so we had talked about it — I pulled it out, I did some rewrites, and they did it.

I went and saw it, and then I passed it around our staff, and people read it and said, you know, this is really worth looking at. So I’ve been in the process of rewriting it, and we’re doing that next April. So that has an incredibly personal connection for me. It kind of spans, when you look at the beginning of my career to where I am now, all of that.

Do you have any other hobbies, beyond playwriting?

No, I don’t really have any … wait, that’s not true. I started playing the ukulele two years ago! I started taking lessons two years ago, but that’s the first time I’ve ever had anything that is not directly related to theater.

In theater, actors wear costumes. But what’s your favorite article of clothing in your own closet?

I’m very partial to ties. I love ties, and there’s actually a story behind that. Our associate artistic director, Brent Erlanson, who actually was here before me, was an actor, a costumer, a musician, a composer and a designer — just a jack of all trades. We worked together for over 20 years. He passed away eight years ago, but he always used to give me shirts and ties for birthdays and Christmases, because he felt my wardrobe was really drab. And he’d give me these vibrant ties, and as I mentioned he passed away.

Now we have an actor who’s worked for us, off and on over the last few years, Brett Chizever. I told him that story, so he has started to, at every opening, bring me a different tie. So I have this whole collection that spans from Brent Erlanson to Brett Chizever, so it kind of ties the arc of my time here together.

Wow, that must be a lot of ties!

It is. I mean, he started doing this a few years ago, and originally Brett was just giving me ties for the shows he was in. Then it was the shows I was directing. Now every time he comes to an opening, there’s a tie. One time he hadn’t seen me before the show, and I did the pre-show speech, and I walked off the stage and up the aisle and out stretched a hand with the tie in it.

So, in your opinion, what makes doing theater here in Port Jefferson so special, as opposed to someplace else?

Well, we’re part of a community. And we’re part of a tradition that was started by Jerry Friedman, and then passed onto Bradley Bing, and then to me. We have this rich history, and we’re coming up on our forty-seventh season. We’ve had thousands of people come through our doors, as performers, craftspeople, musicians and designers, as well as patrons. There’s something about being in the same place, in this very cultural community, and watching things evolve over the years. This has been almost my entire adult life. I came here when I was 22, and I’m going to be 50. I’ve spent more of my life here than I haven’t.

Outside of Theatre Three, what is  the best show you’ve seen recently?

I saw “Fun Home” last week, which I thought was a beautiful production. I think it’s one of the best directed, designed and acted productions I’ve seen in years. It’s extraordinary — what they’ve done to tell the story. The artistry is jaw-dropping, and I thought that was impressive. I try to see a lot of shows, but it can be difficult because I’m here all the time. In the last year, I saw and loved “Something Rotten,” which was pure fun. I thought it was just terrific. It was smart, and funny, and spoke volumes to theater people. Also “Matilda” I thought that was a glorious mess. It’s kind of all over the place, but it’s so much fun. I’ve been theater-going my whole life, but as of right now, those are the things that jump out at me.

Do you have a go-to order at any restaurant in Port Jefferson for those late hours at work?

Yes, at The Pie, the lunch special. It’s the chicken teriyaki sandwich, which is definitely my go-to.

That sounds delicious. Looking toward the future, are there any shows you’d like to direct or see on the Theatre Three stage?

Well, I’ve gotten to a lot of shows on my bucket list. I’ve gotten to do “Next to Normal,” I got to do “Les Miserables” and “The Laramie Project.” As far as classics go, I love “Hello, Dolly!” We did that years ago when I was first here, and I didn’t get to direct it but that show just has a special place in my heart. There’s also a playwright Simon Grey, and I just love all his plays. He wrote one called “The Common Pursuit,” which is about academia, and I just think it’s a brilliant, beautiful play. I don’t know if it’s something we’d ever do, but as far as bucket lists go, it’s on there. And “The Madwoman of Chaillot,” by Jean Giraudoux, which I just love. I think it’s a beautiful, fantastical, dramatic show. It’s one of those things where on the page it’s okay, but if you saw it would be so vivid, so exciting!

What do you like the most about your work at Theatre Three?

Working with actors. I think what I’ve enjoyed the most, out of anything I do, is that interaction. The dynamic of working with actors on scripts, on developing roles, on character. As a director, the real heart of the work I get to do here is that.

Theatre Three’s 47th season opens with “Legally Blonde the Musical” on September 17. In the meantime, head over to one of its Sizzling Summer Concerts, the first of which is The Ghost of Jim Morrison: The Doors Tribute Band on Friday, July 8, at 8 p.m. For more information, visit www.theatrethree.com.

Author Katelyn Winter is a rising junior at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa.,  majoring in English and creative writing. She is from Stony Brook and hopes to one day work in the publishing industry.

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Sylvan Ave. Park in Miller Place will see an expansion as a result of a land swap. Photo by Desirée Keegan

Miller Place’s popular Sylvan Avenue Park will soon be significantly larger.

Thanks to a land swap agreement between the Town of Brookhaven and Rocky Point developer SMW Property Holdings, the park will gain land in exchange for parkland in Rocky Point. The site, near Rolling Oaks Golf Course in Rocky Point was originally zoned commercial, when a Burger King restaurant was built, though the town purchased it about 10 years ago with the plan to make it a clubhouse for the golf course. The clubhouse never came to fruition.

“We had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to almost double the size of Sylvan Avenue Park in Miller Place, so we jumped on it,” said Brookhaven Councilwoman Jane Bonner (C-Rocky Point), who spearheaded the effort to make the deal happen.

The Town of Brookhaven submitted a home rule message to the New York State Legislature to allow for the swap, which put the decision in the state’s hands over Brookhaven’s local jurisdiction. This is a requirement in New York State in any deal involving a land swap.

Open space land near Rolling Oaks Golf Course in Rocky Point, is being swapped to make way for an expansion at Sylvan Ave. Park in Miller Place. Photo by Desirée Keegan
Open space land near Rolling Oaks Golf Course in Rocky Point, is being swapped to make way for an expansion at Sylvan Ave. Park in Miller Place. Photo by Desirée Keegan

Also, in New York State, to eliminate parkland in one area, it must be replaced with equal or greater valued parkland somewhere else. The development company offered the area they owned near Sylvan Avenue Park, which is larger than the would-be commercial site they are taking over, to the town for the parkland near Rolling Oaks.

The land swap was approved by the ways and means committee, the rules committee and the State Assembly in Albany last week. Brookhaven’s six board members voted unanimously in favor of the request to the state during a special meeting a week prior.

Miller Place Civic Association President Woody Brown said he appreciates anyone advocating for more park space in Miller Place.

“That’s a heavily used park,” he said. “It’s got a lot of activities on it. Expanding parks in a community is always a good thing.”

Brown offered some thoughts about what he might like to see the additional space at Sylvan Avenue Park eventually used for.

“I always think of central park,” he said. “It’s got your active areas where you can play basketball and baseball and all those kinds of active sports, but then it also has places where one can informally throw a Frisbee or play hacky sack. Then it’s got other areas where one can go and contemplate in nature or fly a kite.”

He said an area dedicated to more relaxing activities as a complement to the existing fields and courts used for sporting activities could improve the park.

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Quarterback Matt O’Hea looks to make a pass downfield. Photo from Chris Boltrek

By Joseph Wolkin

Quarterback Matt O’Hea looks to make a pass downfield. Photo from Chris Boltrek
Quarterback Matt O’Hea looks to make a pass downfield. Photo from Chris Boltrek

Ward Melville has recently made headlines for having another pitcher drafted to the New York Mets, following in the footsteps of Steven Matz.

But for the second year in a row, the high school is sending multiple football players to the collegiate level. In 2015, five Patriots were sent to either Division II or III schools, highlighted by former All-County quarterback Jeff Towle, who set the standard by making the jump to Pace University.

Quarterback Matt O’Hea, linebacker Patrick Morelli, defensive end Tom Lorusso and running back Nick Cervone will each be playing college football come this fall.

Led by second-year head coach Chris Boltrek, the Patriots finished the year 5-3, sixth out of 14 teams in Division I Section 11, ending with a playoff loss at Connetquot.

While the team usually makes headlines for baseball or lacrosse, Boltrek hopes to continue the recent trend of sending football players to that next level.

“I think it’s a reflection of their hard work and dedication to the sport, the team and the program,” Boltrek said. “You can see what football does for student-athletes. It provides them with opportunities. We’re talking about helping students get into a Division III school with great academics, and it helps them get into that school they might not have gotten into before. When you have that, it really gives you the ability to have more options when high school is over.”

And that was one of Boltrek’s main goals when he took over the program.

“It’s about continuing this process and hopefully getting them into larger schools,” he said. “One kid has been in Division II, and the other eight are all Division III. There’s a difference in competitiveness and the level of competition as you go from division to division. There is definitely more Long Island football out there in recent memory, and I’m trying to get the Ward Melville guys to be a part of that as well.”

With each of this year’s recruits being sent to Division III teams, Boltrek feels there will be more opportunities for future players, and he wants to get the attention of the bigger schools.

“I think it just comes with success, and hopefully, the work the coaches and kids put in turns into success on the field,” he said. “We’ve been trending in the right direction. The longer you can keep that up, the better chance you have at becoming [like] the lacrosse program or the baseball program because they’ve been consistently successful for years.”

O’Hea threw for 1,933 yards in nine games his last season, giving him the 11th most passing yards in New York. With a 119.2 passer rating, he was named to the second team All-Long Island, along with the first team All-Division, offensive MVP, and was Ward Melville’s Male Athlete of the Year.

Running back Nick Cervone moves the ball. Photo from Chris Boltrek
Running back Nick Cervone moves the ball. Photo from Chris Boltrek

O’Hea is heading off to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where he will fight to become a starter. Looking to continue his success off the field, he plans on majoring in mechanical engineering.

“I’m going to have to go there and work for it,” O’Hea said. “My high mechanics throughout high school haven’t been up to par, so I need to work more on my mechanics when I go to college.”

Playing quarterback his whole life, O’Hea made the transition to wide receiver last year. However, he returned to his original position during the 2015-16 season, tossing 20 touchdowns in his final year with the Patriots. He grew up playing basketball and baseball, but evidently decided football was his focus because of what he calls “a college year.”

“A lot of it is about attracting kids to come out for football,” Boltrek said, using O’Hea as an example. “The good lacrosse athletes do not specialize. We have to get them to play football and make them recognize that playing football will actually help them with their other sports.”

Morelli will be going to Hamilton College in the fall, and Lorusso is traveling to Endicott College in Massachusetts.

Named one of the captains of the Patriots, Lorusso emerged as a team leader in his sophomore year, and started every year after, at defensive end and tackle, along with playing fullback and offensive tackle. Leading Ward Melville with three sacks, Lorusso also had a team-high nine quarterback hurries. He became a second team All-Division honoree this year, and was named the team MVP.

Cervone is joining the Allegheny College Gators in Pennsylvania this fall. Serving as one of the team’s captains this past season, he received the team leadership MVP, along with leading the team with 680 rushing yards and nine touchdowns.

As a result of Boltrek’s dedication and drive to push his players, his athletes are now off to college, attempting to build on what they started with the Patriots.

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