Donna and Kelly McCauley, front row, third and fourth from left, with their Girl Scout troop. Photo by Jenn Intravaia Photography
By Ernestine Franco
If you missed last year’s Butterfly Breakfast for a Cure fundraiser in Miller Place, you’ll have another chance to attend next week. And, no, this is not a fundraiser to help butterflies. It is a fundraiser to support research of the worst disease you have never heard of.
The event, to be held on Saturday, April 23 at Applebee’s Restaurant at 355 Route 25A with seatings from 8 to 9 a.m., will be held in support of DEBRA of America, an organization that provides assistance and education to families with children born with the genetic condition of epidermolysis bullosa.
Young people who suffer from this disease are called “butterfly children” because their skin is so fragile it blisters or tears from friction or trauma. Currently, there is no treatment or cure for this disease.
Although this event if often associated with Rocky Point resident Donna McCauley, she wants to make it clear that her daughter Kelly is the driving force behind the fundraiser.
“Three years ago, Kelly was inspired to get more involved with DEBRA of America. She has always felt a lot of compassion for those afflicted with my skin disease, having watched me and her Uncle Bob deal with its many challenges through the years. Her first year as a Young Ambassador for DEBRA, Kelly hosted a small fundraiser at the Rocky Point High School where she raised almost $500,” said McCauley in a recent email. “So, giving credit where credit is due, her dad Michael and I could not be prouder of what a kind, giving and compassionate young lady she has become,” she added. Last year’s event raised almost $5,000.
As they have in the past, members of Donna McCauley’s Girl Scout troop, of which Kelly is a member, will volunteer their time as servers for the breakfast. So come and “enjoy a short stack for a tall cause.”
Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for children 10 and under, and include pancakes, sausage, scrambled eggs and a beverage (coffee, tea, juice or soda). There will also be a Buy-a-Chance auction with some fantastic prizes. Tickets can be purchased online at www.debra.org/butterflybreakfast2016 or by calling 631-821-6740.
Greg Crimmins, CEO, co-founder and scientist at Remedy Plan
Say what you will about Gen-Xers, but the founders of Remedy Plan could just change the world.
Greg Crimmins, CEO and co-founder of Remedy Plan, is a molecular and cell biologist, working on a way to stop the spread of cancer.
Yes, you read that correctly. A way to stop cancer. That’s huge.
Though they’re not there yet, the plan is very much in place — “Stop the spread of cancer without stopping your life.”
With Vice President Joe Biden chairing the first meeting of the Cancer Moonshot Task Force in February, we are all reminded of the toll the deadly disease takes on its victims, their families and their friends. And any new perspectives are welcome in the battle to end the disease’s tyranny.
Departing from the traditional approach to cancer treatment, Remedy Plan won’t kill cancer cells. Crimmins said it will contain them so that they can’t spread.
Cancer cells, he explained, are actually cells that have regressed to an embryonic state and hold properties that are only present in the very early stages of human development.
“We’re not attaching molecular atomic bombs to try to kill any cells at all,” he said.
“We are targeting embryonic properties of cells which are not present in any healthy cells.”
Traditional cancer treatment. Image courtesy of Remedy Plan.
Based on co-founder Ron Parchem’s research in embryonic stem cell biology and Crimmins’ background creating phenotypic screens, the former University of California, Berkeley classmates were able to develop a tool to easily identify the most dangerous cancer cells and to “measure quickly and effectively which drugs can remove the metastatic properties of cancer cells,” Crimmins said.
He talked about what it was like when he and his friend realized that they were on to something big.
“It was that moment where this sort of light gets flicked on, and everything that was dark all of a sudden, you can see it for a moment….” Crimmins said.
“The potential was so big, and the science was solid.”
Remedy Plan approach to cancer treatment. Image courtesy of Remedy Plan.
So big and so solid, in fact, that Crimmins, 35, turned down a tenure-track position at the University of Maryland to pursue Remedy Plan and to begin screening drugs to determine the initial group of potential candidates.
While his wife Allison, an environmental scientist, started a new job at the Environmental Protection Agency in D.C., Crimmins spent about three months — and his savings — sleeping on a friend’s couch in San Francisco getting the project off the ground.
Crimmins and Parchem, a professor at Baylor College of Medicine, assembled an advisory team of scientists from Tufts School of Medicine, University of California, Berkeley and University of California, San Francisco Helen Diller Cancer Center.
To raise seed money for the project, the founders developed a business plan before going to investors, applying for grants and even launching an Indiegogo campaign.
While most people don’t exactly associate crowdfunding with a for-profit biotech start-up, the $102,925 the campaign raised was crucial to Crimmins being able to test 1,000 FDA-approved drugs.
Remedy plan technology uses fluorescent markers that change colors when certain parts of the DNA are “turned on” in a cell. Red marks the area in the cell where embryonic properties are present. This indicates how metastatic a cell is. When testing for potential drug candidates, a change from red to green or blue means the drug is reducing or “turning off” the metastatic properties. Courtesy Remedy Plan.
“Part of doing a crowdfunding campaign is you’re pulling all of these people in. You’re letting them be a part of science,” said Allison Crimmins, who also functions as director of strategy for Remedy Plan.
“You have a responsibility too — you’ve got to maintain these updates or blog or something that lets them be a part of your successes and failures along the way,” she said.
Their more than 280 contributors helped them surpass their $100,000 goal and made it possible for Crimmins to leave his “day” job — he was a research fellow at the Food and Drug Administration — to open his lab in Rockville, MD earlier this winter.
Ultimately, they will need about $1.5 million and are continuing to approach angel investors. The funds will go toward hiring additional staff and testing drugs for safety and their ability to stop metastatic cancer in animal models. It will also go toward optimizing the chemistry of the drug candidates that are most likely to make the cut for clinical trials.
Though this could take a few years, Crimmins is in it for the long haul.
“This is something that could change the system of cancer treatment if we’re successful,” he said.
Bob Koch, above, of Koch Tree Services in Mount Sinai, hangs up the flags each year for Heritage Park’s “Parade of Flags.” Photo from Fred Drewes
Bob Koch is no stranger to giving back.
The single father of three and owner of Koch Tree Services in Mount Sinai is known for his generosity and willingness to always lend his services, or just a helping hand.
“I get emotional talking about him, because he’s just such a wonderful person,” daughter Kara Koch said. “Anybody he meets, he always gives them a chance and makes sure to think the best of them. He really goes above and beyond for everybody and anybody.”
According to Bob Koch’s son Jeremy, his grandfather started the business and his dad took over, working on some major jobs while heading the company. Bob Koch helped clean up Battery Park in Manhattan after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, planted trees and plants at Heritage Park in Mount Sinai, helped local businesses plant trees for Christmas tree lightings and he does basic maintenance and upkeep around the area. He donates much of the time he spends on these community projects.
Bob Koch and two workers plant a dogwood and other trees along the Avenue of America. Photo from Fred Drewes
Nick Aliano Sr., who owns Aliano Real Estate in Miller Place, said Koch helped plant a nearly 30-foot tree at the Aliano Shopping Center to honor his son Robert, who was run over by a car and battled through a long recovery. Despite the first tree dying and the replacement tree almost succumbing to the same fate, Koch made it his goal to keep the tree alive.
“He wanted the tree to make it — it was his mission,” he said. “It would cost thousands and thousands of dollars to do what he did, and we didn’t ask him for a favor; he offered it. He’s a special guy. Behind the lines, Bob is putting back into the community. A lot of people don’t even see it. That’s the kind of guy he is. He doesn’t make an announcement about it.”
The Miller Place Fire Department holds an annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the tree, which Robert Aliano lights, and where Koch is mentioned for his generosity for the wonderful things he does for his community.
At Heritage Park, Koch sometimes sends his crew in to help with landscaping and cleaning up, according to Heritage Trust Office Manager Susan Peters.
“Everything he does here has been totally volunteer,” she said. “He has made the park more beautiful and more inviting, and he’s done so many things that we couldn’t afford to do.”
Fred Drewes, who has also donated a lot of his own time to landscaping the property, said the environment Koch has created at the park will be admired for generations to come.
“I feel grateful and blessed by his willingness and graciousness to help make our small local park seem so large and enjoyable for so many people,” he said.
At “The Wedge,” Koch has donated and planted trees along the parking lot, as well as a tree for an annual lighting around Christmas, and helped with the planting of trees along the park’s “Avenue of America.”
There is also a Parade of Flags that is arranged on national holidays. Koch’s daughter Katie once asked her father if waking up early to hang flags for each state “drove him crazy.”
“He responded, ‘You know Katie, one thing that’s important is you always give back,’” she recalled. “He always made that a big thing. It’s never a job to him.”
Bob Koch, of Koch Tree Services in Mount Sinai, hangs up the flags each year for Heritage Park’s “Parade of Flags,” above. Photo from Fred Drewes
She finds that positivity and care is contagious: “He’s such a hard worker,” she said. “The man sometimes works six or seven days a week and still has time to give to his family and the community, and he does it with a smile.”
Carmella “Miss Mella” Livingston of Miss Mella’s Footsteps to Learning, a child care center in Coram, said Koch donated time to take care of her property and planted a tree in honor of her late husband.
“He’s taken care of it all as a good community gesture,” she said. “Besides being very community-oriented, very generous and very kind, he’s also very upbeat, very happy. He’s definitely an asset to the community, but also as a dad. It’s a beautiful thing to see someone who is so giving.”
Although he works quietly, neighbors have taken notice.
Katie Koch recalled driving down the street with her father last year, slowing down for a sign someone hung up on their front porch: “It said, ‘Thank you Bob Koch for everything you’ve done,’” she said. “I remember thinking how proud I was that that was my dad. He’s the most selfless person I know.”
According to Kara Koch, who is an office assistant at Koch Tree Services, her father has inspired his family and everyone in the community to always be positive and the best you can be.
“He’s taught me how to love, how to care, how to be responsible, how to be successful,” she said. “Seeing what he does, it makes me want to be the kind of person he is, and if I can be half the person he is, I’d be a very happy girl.”
Brookhaven Councilwoman Valerie Cartright, right. File photo by Elana Glowatz
Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station) is continuing her Community Connect Campaign to stay in contact with residents and will hold mobile office hours in which she will meet with constituents in different locations throughout her council district so that they don’t have to travel all the way to Town Hall.
The first mobile office will be at New Village Recreation Center at 20 Wireless Road in Centereach on April 25, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The councilwoman will go to the Setauket Fire Department station at 394 Nicolls Road in East Setauket on May 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
From there, on June 16, she will head to Comsewogue Public Library at 170 Terryville Road in Port Jefferson Station from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Those who want to stay informed through email can sign up for both emergency alerts and updates on town-related business affecting the 1st Council District by visiting that district’s page under the “elected officials” section of the town’s website, at www.brookhaven.org, and completing the “Join Councilwoman Cartright’s Mailing List” form.
Once the weather is warm enough, plant your gift plants outside. Stock photo
By Ellen Barcel
Spring is the time when plants in full bloom become popular gifts — there’s Easter and Mother’s Day in particular. I remember my father always bringing a plant to his mother on Mother’s Day. Sometimes events, such as showers, use potted, blooming plants as table decorations. But, the question becomes, how does one care for these gift plants, especially after the flowers have faded?
◆ First, keep the plant indoors, especially if it’s still cold, as long as it has flowers. Keep it out of drafts and in a bright location. If specific instructions come with the plant, then do follow them.
◆ While some plants can eventually be moved to your garden as the weather warms, not all will be cold hardy. Again, read the instructions that come with the plant.
◆ It is important to keep the leaves growing on forced bulbs, so don’t cut them down when the flowers have faded. Those leaves are producing food for the bulbs for next year.
◆ Water the gift plant as needed. Many times stores don’t always water them enough, either to keep them light weight for sale or because they just don’t think to do it. I recently received a gorgeous hyacinth plant but the soil was bone dry. The first thing I did was water it when I got it home.
◆ Select an appropriate location in your garden and, when it’s warm enough, transplant the gift into the soil, if appropriate.
Tulips Forced tulips make great gift plants. When they have finished blooming, move them out to the garden, but remember the squirrels just love tulip bulbs. A friend of mine noted that she stopped trying to plant tulips in her garden, saying, “I might as well just hand the bulbs to the squirrels.” If you have found a way around this problem, move them into the soil so next year you’ll have a lovely display. Once the leaves have died down, usually mid-summer, they can be removed, but not before.
Daffodils Daffodils are also very popular as forced gift plants. They have the advantage of being distasteful to squirrels. I have a small clump of miniature daffodils that were given to me in a pot many years ago by a friend for my birthday. I planted them outside and year after year they come back, earlier than any other daffodils, beautiful and sunny. One way of trying to keep squirrels away from your tulips is to ring the tulips with daffodils, sort of hiding the tulips from the hungry rodents.
Hyacinths Hyacinths are known for being among the earliest to bloom in spring and with having a beautiful, sweet scent. As with daffodils, keep the leaves growing and, once the flowers have died back, move the plant to a sunny place in the garden.
Once the weather is warm enough, plant your gift plants outside. Stock photo
Hydrangeas Hydrangeas are another popular gift plant. Check the tag that comes with the plant carefully, as not all hydrangeas are cold hardy in our area. I saw an absolutely gorgeous intense, blue-flowered one a number of years ago, and almost bought it, only to notice that it was cold hardy in zones 8 and above. It would not have survived our winters. However, if it’s not cold hardy, it can be used as an annual. Hydrangeas, in general, don’t like an extremely sunny location, or drought, so when you move them outside, take this into consideration.
Easter lilies Easter lilies are generally cold hardy in zones 7 and up (i.e., warmer climates), so you can try to move your Easter lilies outside into the garden. But, while this is in theory, in practice, I’ve never had them overwinter outside, so I generally treat them as annuals.
Azaleas Azaleas are beautiful gift plants with some added benefits. In general, they are cold hardy on Long Island, so this is a really great gift for the avid gardener. If year after year you give Mom another azalea, in just a few years, her garden will be filled with beautiful, spring-flowering shrubs. Another advantage of azaleas is that some varieties are evergreens so that they make nice foundation plantings, growing larger and filled with more flowers each year.
Gardenias The sweet scent of a gardenia plant draws many to it as a gift plant. Most gardenias are hardy in zones 8 to 11 (Long Island is zone 7), meaning that you can grow them outside only in the mild weather. Come autumn you must bring the plant indoors and grow it as a houseplant. This means you need to keep it potted, rather than planted in the soil. There are some varieties, ‘Kleim’s Hardy,’ for example, that claim to be hardy into zone 7, but as with Easter lilies, you’re taking a chance that they will survive our winters. I’d rather keep a beautiful gardenia as a houseplant.
So, enjoy those gift plants, but follow through appropriately.
Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. Send your gardening questions to [email protected]. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.
In 1907 a graduate student at Columbia University, Fernandus Payne, did a project supervised by his mentor, T.H. Morgan. He spent two years growing fruit flies in the dark. That’s 69 generations of fruit flies (or about 1,500 years if it were done on humans). Payne tested samples every 10 generations and found there was no change in eye color, a robust red, and there was no change in the flies’attraction to light. They moved toward light.
In 1954 at Kyoto University, Syuti Mori placed some fruit flies in darkened containers and they have been bred and raised in the dark ever since. That’s about 1,500 generations (in humans it would be about 40,000 years in the dark).
Mori wondered what changes would take place in the dark that would differ from the original control flies from which they were separated. He and his colleagues found that there were changes. The flies developed larger bristles (which can detect contact with objects and sense what they are) and they developed a greater sensitivity to hormones that are released as sex attractants.
Mori is now retired, but his colleagues continue to follow the new generations raised in the dark. They found 84 differences in their genes and they have already detected those affecting the bristles and those affecting sex hormone production and detection. Each gene difference is being isolated and its function is being worked out. They hope eventually to identify those genes that are random events that have no role in the adaptation to living in the dark and those that do have a role to play in living in the dark. They also hope, when the project is completed, to copy the appropriate mutations and insert them into control flies not raised in the dark, to see if these altered flies are as efficient as the 1,500th generation flies living in the dark.
This would be a nice contribution to the analysis of an evolutionary process because it would show the molecular basis for the differences between the two adaptive strains (one by selection and the other by genetic engineering) and how they differ from flies not grown in the dark.
Long-term experiments are relatively rare in science, especially those that are continued after the retirement or death of the original investigator. Both Payne’s experiment, more than a century ago, and Mori’s, which is ongoing, show how science is limited by what it knows and by what tools are available to advance our understanding.
In 1907 Morgan and his students had not yet worked out X-linked inheritance, mapping genes or determined mutation frequency. That genes were composed of DNA was not demonstrated until 1944. That DNA provided a mechanism for how mutations arise was not worked out until the late 1950s. Working out complete genomes of multicelled organisms did not occur until the 1990s. Inserting genes to specific places in the chromosomes was not possible until this decade. The experiments that can be done today were impossible even to imagine 100 years ago.
Elof Axel Carlson is a distinguished teaching professor emeritus in the Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Stony Brook University.
A view of a spine captured using the O-arm. Photo from Alexandra Zendrian
By Victoria Espinoza
Huntington Hospital has been under the leadership of Dr. Gerard Brogan for the past year, and since he assumed his post, the hospital has implemented new surgical procedures, protocols and equipment to ensure patients are offered the most advanced and effective treatment they can get.
Brogan, the executive director, first joined the team at Huntington in January 2015 but has been a resident of the town for the past 20 years.
Dr. Gerard Brogan, has been exectuive director of Huntington Hospital for about 15 months. Photo from Alexandra Zendrian
“My philosophy is I want to work at a hospital where I would go as a patient or would send my family to,” Brogan said in a phone interview. “If anything happens to me in Huntington, I am coming to this ER.”
Huntington recently became the first hospital on Long Island to offer the O-arm, a surgical imaging system that generates a three-dimensional computer model of the spine. This over $1 million equipment helps doctors have a more precise view of what they are operating on during surgeries, like screwing nails into the spine.
During the operation, the neurosurgeon refers to the monitors, which provide real-time verification of the location of surgical tools and implants with submillimeter accuracy.
The first surgery using the O-arm was successfully completed at the end of March, and according to Brogan, six more successful surgeries have followed.
The executive director said this equipment ensures “the ultimate in surgical precision,” and that the use of this machinery is “an indication how cutting-edge our hospital is.”
“If you want to be a leader for excellence, you need this capability,” he said.
Dr. Robert Kerr, chief of neurosurgery at Huntington Hospital, was the first to use the O-arm.
“When you have to place a stabilizing screw into the spine and it passes within millimeters of the spinal cord, nerve root or vital arteries, there is no substitute for the kind of accuracy the O-arm provides to a neurosurgeon,” Kerr said in a statement.
Changes at the hospital are coming in even bigger packages.
A view of a spine captured using the O-arm. Photo from Alexandra Zendrian
The hospital is currently in the middle of creating an entirely new $43 million emergency department, which Brogan said will cut down waiting times, help diagnose patients faster and overall improve the quality of a patient’s stay while in the emergency department.
He said some of the protocol changes have already been implemented in the current emergency department, cutting down patients’ wait time by an average of 48 minutes, due to methods like including physicians when a patient is first being triaged and beginning blood work sooner, but added that he is excited to see further changes implemented.
“I think for the patients, the experience is going to be just phenomenal,” Brogan said.
Awards have followed the success of Huntington, with the hospital recently named a national 2016 Leader in LGBT Healthcare Equality by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. The hospital is one of 11 named to this list, in the Northwell Health system. The nursing staff at the hospital also received Magnet Recognition for excellence in nursing for the past 12 years, a national recognition that less than eight percent of hospitals worldwide have earned.
“If we are going to do something [at Huntington Hospital],” Brogan said, “we do it as well, if not better, than anywhere else in the country.”
Above, the Playbill cover features the musical, “Hamilton.” Photo from Beverly Tyler
By Beverly C. Tyler
“A tailor spyin’ on the British government! I take their measurements, information and then I smuggle it!” (Hercules Mulligan, “Hamilton,” Act I)
We laughed, we cried, we cheered, we groaned, and we left the theater emotionally drained, but also intellectually invigorated. We had just been a part of a new, fast-paced, almost non-stop hip-hop musical that chronicles Alexander Hamilton’s life. Hamilton is portrayed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who also wrote the script, music and lyrics. The historically accurate musical, adapted from the book of the same name by Ron Chernow, takes us from Hamilton’s rise from poverty to a position of power during the Revolutionary War, close to his commanding General, George Washington. It then moves to the forming of a new nation with Hamilton, the other founding fathers, and the people closest to him. The musical also includes his Royal Majesty King George III, portrayed magnificently by Jonathan Groff. “You say the price of my love’s not a price that you’re willing to pay. . . When you’re gone I’ll go mad, so don’t throw away this thing we had. ‘Cuz when push comes to shove, I will kill your friends and family to remind you of my love.”
Only the swift tempo of rap speech could transport us through the myriad of historical events, social situations, and love-hate relationships that existed between these men and women, some well known and many deserving to be better known. From the start of the Revolutionary War, to the duel between Aaron Burr and Hamilton that resulted in his death and his elevation to a revered position in American history, we are transported, along with the cast, feeling more like a congregation than an audience, through the triumphs and tragedies of Hamilton’s life. A brief part of the story includes his relationship with Hercules Mulligan, a patriot and Revolutionary War spy who gathered information on British activity in Manhattan and forwarded the intelligence to Hamilton and General Washington through Robert Townsend (alias Samuel Culper Jr.) and the Culper Spy Ring.
“Hamilton” has deservedly been playing to sold-out audiences since it opened last year at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in Manhattan. If you are looking for advance sale tickets, consider purchasing them now for next spring or summer. I saw the show on Wednesday, April 6, with tickets I purchased at the theatre box office last July.
Now the drama of the Revolutionary War and the Setauket-based Culper Spy Ring continues on Monday, April 25, with the start of the ten-episode, third season of “Turn” on AMC (channel 43 in this area). Lacking the historical accuracy and dramatic impact of “Hamilton”, “Turn” still has us watching the drama of ordinary Long Island men and women, working behind enemy lines, to free us from the domination of the British empire. Watch “Turn,” then come and learn the real and equally dramatic story of the actions and the lives of the people connected with the Culper Spy ring as detailed at the Three Village Historical Society exhibit, “SPIES!”
The exhibit and society headquarters are at 93 North Country Road in Setauket. The exhibit is open every Sunday from 1- to 4 p.m. Walking tours that include the spy story are conducted every month. Check the web site: www.tvhs.org for dates, times and locations.
Beverly Tyler is the Three Village Historical Society historian and author of books available from the Three Village Historical Society.
Julien Rentsch has been playing the piano for several years. Photo by Alex Petroski
By Alex Petroski
Eighth-grader Julien Rentsch is already a celebrated music man in his community.
Julien, a 14-year-old at J. Taylor Finley Middle School in Huntington, has been composing music for years and the Finley Honors Orchestra has helped bring his music to life.
For the past two years, the orchestra has performed Julien’s pieces during their concerts under the direction of music teacher and conductor Matthew Gelfer.
“I think having a student like Julien in my orchestra is kind of what you hope for as a music teacher,” Gelfer said in a phone interview.
This past March at a concert at Huntington High School, Julien accompanied the orchestra on the piano during a performance of his piece, titled “Free Spirit.”
Julien Rentsch plays cello in the Finley Honors Orchestra. Photo from Darin Reed
“It’s really cool,” Julien said in an interview on Friday. “It was amazing just to hear onstage and the crowd and everything.”
Julien’s parents are both professional photographers, so the arts were a major part of his upbringing. He started playing piano when he was 6 or 7, though Julien said he is not a tireless worker who practices constantly. His father, Andreas Rentsch, agreed.
“It comes almost naturally,” Rentsch said of his son’s musical abilities. “He has that ability to transform his notes into beautiful music without really, I would say, trying too hard.”
Julien said he has a process for composing music. He starts by coming up with melodies to be played on the piano, then adds and subtracts separate tracks from five different instrument groups. He said he works like a chef, adding a dash of strings or a pinch of horns until his recipe is a perfect blend. Julien has three complete pieces composed for full-size orchestras.
Mother Helen Rousakis said she enjoys watching her son on stage, working with the rest of the orchestra.
“I had a perfect view and [Julien was] just having a ball,” Rousakis said of last year’s performance. “He was laughing, he was making eye contact with others. I was just blown away by the camaraderie, how they all just love to work together.”
Julien Rentsch practices the piano at his home in Huntington. Photo by Alex Petroski
Julien and both of his parents stressed the impact that Gelfer has had on Julien as a musician.
“Julien is just such a mature kid,” Gelfer said. “A lot of composers can be really precious about their work and what they do, [but] he came at it with a collaborative attitude.”
When it comes to the future, this 14-year-old knows exactly what he wants: to compose musical scores for films one day. He enjoys the work of John Williams, who composed music for the “Star Wars” and “Harry Potter” films, among others.
For now the rest of Julien’s time is filled as a multisport athlete and a musician at Greenlawn’s St. Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Shrine Church, where he plays piano for the junior choir and church fundraisers.
“If I’m into something, I’m just into it,” Julien said about his love of music. “I don’t stop.”
Grace Marie Damico, St. James
Q: Will you vote in the primary?
A: Yes.
Q: Why?
A: Because I think that the country is in dire straits right now, and the more people that get out and vote for who they prefer, the better the country will be. Hopefully we can bring this country back.
John Hayes, Coram
Q: Will you vote in the primary?
A: Yes
Q: Why?
A: Because it’s too dangerous not to vote. It’s a very important election. I believe Donald Trump is a very dangerous man. I believe that every vote counts against him. If you don’t vote, it’s a vote for Donald Trump.
Charles Spinnato, Port Jeff
Q: Will you vote in the primary?
A: Yes. I want to choose who I want to vote for [and] who I want to be the nominee for the Republican Party. So I would vote in the primaries to make that choice. [It’s a] very interesting election this year.
James Turrill, Mastic
Q: Will you vote in the primary?
A: I’ve never voted in the primaries before but I want to.
Q: Why?
A: I’m fed up with politicians. Look what [U.S. President Barack] Obama has done to this country. He’s destroyed it. I want somebody not like him.
By Giselle Barkley
The 2016 U.S. presidential candidates from both sides of the aisle made their way to New York to continue rallying support this week.
And by next Tuesday, New Yorkers can make a difference when they vote for their nominee in the closed primary.
Suffolk County Republican Chair John Jay LaValle said this is the first primary in three decades where New York State’s vote is this relevant.
“By the time the vote gets to New York, it’s usually over and it’s a functional exercise when the candidates run,” LaValle said.
When asked how running in New York differed from campaigning in other states, LaValle said, “New Yorkers like to hear it straight.” The Republican chair added that voters in this state are very engaged, intelligent and are more skeptical when it comes to casting a vote.
But Lillian Clayman, chair of Brookhaven’s Democratic Committee said “unless there’s this huge ideological chasm with the candidates,” running in New York isn’t much different than in other states.
The presidential primaries allow voters to help determine the presidential nominees for their respective parties. Of the nominees, GOP frontrunner Donald Trump is doing well on Long Island, LaValle said. He added that people are getting tired of hearing the typical political rhetoric they hear from the other 2016 presidential candidates.
Although Clayman said she doesn’t know what’s to come for next week’s primaries, she said Democratic nominees, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) have energized residents, even those who usually don’t vote during the primaries.
Registered voters can choose their nominees on Tuesday, April 19.
Visit elections.ny.gov for more information on deadlines and where residents can vote.
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