Yearly Archives: 2016

Irish coffee: From Ireland to San Francisco

by Bob Lipinski - March 18, 2016

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Irish-Coffee-w — After a hearty St. Patrick’s Day meal, serve Irish Coffee, strong coffee sweetened with a hint of sugar and Irish whiskey then topped with freshly whipped cream, with dessert. Stock photo

By Bob Lipinski

What would March 17, St. Patrick’s Day, be without a couple of whiskey-laced Irish coffees?

“The mistress of the house should always be certain that the coffee be excellent; the master that his liquors be of the first quality.” — Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, 1755–1826, French politician and writer

Like many other drinks whose origins are clouded in mystery, Joe Sheridan (1909–1962) introduced Irish coffee in 1942. He was the head chef of a catering company at the Flying Boat terminal located at Foynes Field (now Shannon Airport) in Limerick from 1938 to 1945. Joe wanted to provide passengers a suitable drink after hours of cold planes and bumpy flights. Flight attendants would ease the pain by adding a shot of whiskey to hot coffee. The whiskey became Irish when the flights arrived or departed from Shannon Airport in Ireland.

Irish coffee

Ingredients: 1 teaspoon brown sugar; 1 1/2 ounces Irish whiskey; 3 to 4 ounces strong coffee (not espresso); heaping tablespoon of whipped heavy cream

Directions: To make an Irish coffee, first fill a 6-ounce stemmed glass with very hot water to preheat and then empty. Place the brown sugar into the bottom of the glass and then add the Irish whiskey. Put a spoon into the glass and then pour in the hot coffee and fill three quarters and stir. The purpose of the spoon is to absorb the heat so the glass does not break. Then stir gently and add a heaping tablespoon of freshly whipped heavy cream, not one of the dairy creamers or premixed cream from an aerosol can. Serve without stirring.

Irish Coffee Story — Buena Vista Hotel in San Francisco, CA

The Buena Vista Hotel in San Francisco (or the BV as locals call it) is the birthplace of Irish coffee in America and continues to be frequented by tourists and locals, all enjoying their Irish coffee. According to its website…

“The historic venture started on the night of November 10, in 1952, Jack Koeppler, then-owner of the Buena Vista, challenged international travel-writer Stanton Delaplane to help re-create a highly touted ‘Irish Coffee’ served at Shannon Airport in Ireland.

Intrigued, Stan accepted Jack’s invitation, and the pair began to experiment immediately. Throughout the night, the two of them stirred and sipped judiciously and eventually acknowledged two recurring problems. The taste was ‘not quite right’ and the cream would not float. Stan’s hopes sank like the cream, but Jack was undaunted. The restaurateur pursued the elusive elixir with religious fervor, even making a pilgrimage overseas to Shannon Airport.”

In the 50 years since it was introduced, the Buena Vista has served more than 30 million Irish coffees! On a good day, the Buena Vista serves about 2,000 Irish coffees. It is the largest single consumer of Irish whiskey in the United States. The Buena Vista and its coffee has been a trivia question on “Jeopardy!”

Bob Lipinski, a local author, has written 10 books, including “101: Everything You Need to Know About Vodka, Gin, Rum & Tequila” and “Italian Wine & Cheese Made Simple” (available on Amazon.com). He conducts training seminars on wine, spirits and food and is available for speaking engagements. He can be reached at www.boblipinski.com or boblipinski2009[at]hotmail[dot]com.

Establishing perennial vegetable beds

by Ellen Barcel - March 18, 2016

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Egyptian-Walking-Onion-sets-growing-greens-of-their-ownw — Egyptian walking onions. Stock photo

By Ellen Barcel

When growing fruit in the garden, we generally think of shrubs (blueberries, raspberries etc.) and trees (apple, peach, pears etc.), rarely annuals. But, when it comes to veggies, it’s sort of the opposite — we think of annuals (tomatoes, corn, green beans, radishes, lettuce etc.), which need to be replanted every year.

But, there are veggies that are perennials, veggies where you establish a bed of them and they return year after year. I’ve said it before, I really like the “plant once and enjoy for many years” form of gardening. First, some things to be aware of when establishing certain veggies in beds:

• Select a sunny site with well-drained soil.

• Many perennial veggies produce poorly or not at all in the first year since they’re just becoming established. So, think of perennial veggies as a multiyear project. Once established this year, some will produce for 20, 30 or more years.

• Amend the soil with compost and test it to make sure it is the proper pH and has enough nutrients to support the crops you want to grow.

• Remember to water, fertilize and weed throughout the growing season, even after you’ve harvested, or you’ll have a poor crop the next year.

• There are ways to make the veggie bed look attractive: Make it a raised bed with stones around it, for example, and plant some attractive flowers around the bed as well. Make sure the flowers don’t shade out the vegetable crop.

• If you are setting up a bed for several varieties of plants, make sure that they all have similar requirements.

• Mulch helps to keep weeds out of these beds and helps to keep moisture in the soil.

Some perennial veggies to consider for your garden include:

Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) is a spring vegetable, native to Europe, Asia and Africa. There are a number of varieties, including white. Plant the asparagus crowns in early spring, as soon as the soil can be worked. They do particularly well in a raised bed. Gardener’s Supply Company notes that “it’s critical to eradicate all the weeds and grasses from the planting area — even if this requires a full year of advance preparation.” As I said above, growing perennial vegetables is a multiyear commitment. Harvest in spring and early summer. Once this time frame has passed, allow the plants to continue growing. They will produce lacy foliage that can be four or more feet all. The better care you take of the plants at this time, the more prolific they will be next year. Cut back in fall and wait till next spring for a healthy crop.

Egyptian walking onions (Allium proliferum) are cold hardy. Sometimes called winter onions, tree onions or perennial onions they produce bulblets at the end of the stalk where flowers would normally form, not underground. When the stalk bends over and touches the ground, the bulblets will take root, establishing a new plant, hence the name walking onions — they seem to walk across the ground. They come out in early spring, sometimes even through the snow. Once you harvest a plant it will not grow back, but since each plant can produce so many bulblets on many stalks, as long as you don’t harvest all of every plant, you’ll have plenty for the future. They grow in zones 3 to 9 (Long Island is 7). These perennial onions can be found in a number of catalogs. Go to www.egyptianwalkingonions.com for further information.

Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) is in the same family as mustard, broccoli and cabbage. The roots are used as a spice, particularly for red meat, chicken and fish. It does well in hardiness zones 2 through 9. In the fall, the roots are dug up, some kept for consumption and one main root replanted for next year’s crop. Alternately, only dig up some of your plants. The Horseradish Council (www.horseradish.org) has many recipes for using this delicious but hot spice.

Rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum) is botanically a veggie, although it’s used as a fruit, particularly with strawberries, in sweet pies and jams. It’s planted in a similar way to asparagus. Prep the soil, removing all grasses and weeds and plant the crowns in early spring. Don’t expect much of a crop the first year. When harvesting, leave at least some stalks on each plant so it will thrive for the next year. While the plants will produce enormous leaves, remember, it is the red stalks that are edible, not the toxic leaves. A high nitrogen fertilizer is recommended when the ground has just thawed. The rhizomes of rhubarb plants can be divided every three to four years when the plants are dormant.

There are other perennial vegetables, including artichokes and Jerusalem artichokes. And yes, strawberries (which are a fruit) are established in beds as well.

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.

Early Christian Avenue play looks back

by TBR Staff - March 18, 2016

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baseball-CB-3X5w — A baseball game at Chicken Hill field. Photo from Beverly Tyler

By Beverly C. Tyler

“Seek out the spot where the Setalcott Indians first camped. They called it ‘land at the mouth of the creek.’ You’ll know when you come to it because you’ll be standing on Holy Ground. From there it’s an easy step to Christian Avenue.” — Glenda Dickerson

The first lines of the play about the Christian Avenue community, produced in 1988 at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, took us back to a time before recorded history in Setauket, a time when Indian family groups occupied all of Long Island.

These natives left no monuments to be remembered by, no changes that would permanently alter the landscape. As a result, we know very little about their lives. The archaeological remains discovered at the places where they worked, lived and died provide only scant clues.

When the English settlers first came to the “land at the mouth of the creek,” they brought with them their knowledge of how to change the land to make it conform to their patterns of life. They dammed the stream and built a gristmill. They built permanent homes, erected walls and fences, cleared the trees and planted grains, and they buried their dead with permanent stone markers. The early settlers also dealt in another kind of property; they bought and sold Black slaves.

The first recorded notation of slavery in the three villages is listed in the Town records of 1674. “Richard Floyd, of Setakett, sold the … Negro, named Antony, to John Hurd, of Stratford.” It is also recorded that Floyd had purchased Antony two years earlier from Robert Hudson of Rye.

This story of the arrival of black slaves into the Setauket community was detailed in June of 1988 for theatergoers who took a bus tour to the Christian Avenue Community as part of an evening that culminated with the exhibit and play “Eel Catching in Setauket.”

The bus tour took the “eel catchers” — theatergoers — to the Bethel A.M.E. Church on Christian Avenue, where they were given a short message about the church and the community and led in a song and a word of prayer. A tour of the Laurel Hill Cemetery was followed by a fellowship meal served by members of the Christian Avenue community in the Irving Hart Post American Legion Hall.

The “eel catchers’” bus ride back to the Fine Arts Center of the State University at Stony Brook included a tour of some of the locations in Setauket that are part of the oral history and folklore of the Christian Avenue community. Much of the oral history was preserved in the May 1988 Journal of the Three Village Historical Society, which was given to each “eel catcher.” In one oral-history interview, Violet Rebecca (Sells) Thompson brought the Christian Avenue community full circle to the first settlers on Long Island. “ … I went to school in Setauket Union School up on the hill — Education Hill. There were a lot of nationalities. I think we were the only Indians in there … we were the only Americans in the class. … The rest of the kids were Irish … Polish … Lithuanians, all from Europe.”

The play “Eel Catching in Setauket” was in the Fine Arts Center. The exhibits and photographs of the Christian Avenue community were placed all through the theater room and the “eel catchers” wandered through the exhibit viewing the artifacts of the community residents.

The play was a series of vignettes based on the collected materials, performed by eight actors and actresses under the direction of Glenda Dickerson. It took place in the center of the exhibit-theater and around the various exhibits while the “eel catchers” watched and listened to the drama unfold all around them.

The Three Village Historical Society exhibit, “Eel Catching in Setauket” and “A Living Library-The African-American, Christian Avenue Community,” was displayed in Brookhaven Town Hall during the month of February.

Dead body found at Port Jefferson area beach

by Elana Glowatz - March 18, 2016

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Plane-Crash-diverw — Divers with the Suffolk County Police Department pursue the aircraft as the missing person search continues. Photo from Margo Arceri

Story last updated on 3.22.16, at 11:20 a.m.

By Elana Glowatz

A dead body found on a beach near Port Jefferson Harbor is not the man who went missing following a plane’s crash-landing at the end of February.

The Suffolk County Police Department said Thursday that Homicide Unit detectives are investigating the man’s death, but it appears he drowned. Authorities identified him as 28-year-old Marlon Lewis, who is homeless.

A Port Jefferson Village code enforcement officer found the body at about 1:45 p.m., police said, at which point police officers responded to the scene at the beach.

Code Chief Wally Tomaszewski said in a phone interview that the code bureau’s Sgt. Steve Grau spotted Lewis’ body in the water near the Centennial Park beach from his position on the village’s dock, in front of the Village Center. The sergeant originally thought the victim was a woman because he was in a dress, according to the chief.

Tomaszewski said the code officers have seen Lewis around the village for the last five years or so, usually uptown in the morning, and he would get food at a soup kitchen in the downtown area on Mondays.

According to police, the Suffolk County medical examiner’s office will perform an autopsy.

Lewis’ body washed up almost four weeks after a small plane, carrying four people, crash-landed in Setauket Harbor near Poquott.

The Piper PA-28 had taken off from Fitchburg, Mass., and was headed for Republic Airport in Farmingdale on Feb. 20 when it experienced engine trouble and the student pilot, 25-year-old Bronx resident Austricio Ramirez, handed the controls over to his instructor.

The National Transportation Safety Board released a report two weeks later that said the aircraft, flying at about 2,000 feet, had low amounts of fuel and had been operating for about five hours since last having its tank filled. The engine eventually lost power and the instructor, 36-year-old Queens resident Nelson Gomez, tried to head for the shoreline, but it was too dark to see it.

That’s when the instructor landed the plane on the water, and told his passengers to take a life vest and exit the plane. However, according to the NTSB report, they were not wearing the vests when they got out of the plane, which floated for about five minutes before sinking nose-first.

Emergency personnel rescued Ramirez, Gomez and a third man, Wady Perez, a 25-year-old from Queens. But the fourth passenger, 23-year-old Queens man Gerson Salmon-Negron, is still missing.

Mount Sinai kids learn compassion through community service

by Desirée Keegan - March 18, 2016

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Mount-Sinai-Community-Service-and-Outreach-Club-2016w — The Mount Sinai MIddle School Community Service and Outreach Club lends a helping hand by becoming actively engaged in the community for local and national charities and organizations. Photo from Lindsey Ferraro

Raising thousands of dollars for North Shore-based and national organizations and bringing smiles to those in need of cheer is no small feat. But fifth- through eighth-graders at Mount Sinai Middle School are making a habit of it.

Lindsey Ferraro, a co-advisor for the school’s Community Outreach and Service clubs for the last three years, said students learn compassion and empathy.

“It amazes me more so every year how dedicated our club members and the school community are to bettering the world,” she said. “Our students have gone above and beyond to help out the community.”

The Mount Sinai Community Service and Outreach Club sings holiday carols at a local nursing home. Photo from Lindsey Ferraro

The club adopted a family this past holiday season, created cards for soldiers, visited the Woodhaven nursing home in Port Jefferson Station to sing holiday carols, held a clothing drive for the homeless and raised over $1,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

“You know you’re helping out someone much less fortunate than you, and it feels really good,” eighth-grader Jake Ritchie said. “It feels really good to know that I make a statement and take a stand in my community to help out.”

Ritchie, who has been a member of the club since he was in fifth grade, said the club is also collecting books for a Stony Brook book drive and helping Girl Scouts receive a bronze award. He said even his classmates lend a hand.

“They have been helping out,” he said, “We make speeches in front of our classes to encourage kids to help out. It’s a lot of fun.”

Mount Sinai Middle School Principal Peter Pramataris said he also sees students outside the club donating to the club’s causes.

“It’s always great to see the school building come together as a whole,” he said. “I reside in the district, too, and whenever there’s a family with some hardship, a loss or a health issue, the community always steps up to help each other. It’s a testament to the families we have in our community and the value system that they have from home and that we reinforce at the school. These students take their own time, and they do it unselfishly. I’m proud to be their principal.”

The club has also raised more than $2,000 in two weeks for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Pennies for Patients fund, with a week of fundraising left to go. Next, the school will be working on its Light It up Blue campaign, where members of the club will sell puzzle pieces in light of Autism Awareness Month for Autism Speaks.

The Mount Sinai Community Service and Outreach Club wraps presents raised for and donated to local families. Photo from Lindsey Ferraro

Nicole Kotarski, who has been a co-adviser for five years, said the club fosters independence and creativity.

“We’ve had several students bring us ideas if they like a particular organization, and we tell them to figure out how to make it happen,” she said, adding that she asks students to organize contact information, ideas for fundraisers and how to make the school aware of them. “The goal of our club is to make a difference in others’ lives. These students are definitely the most driven students. They’re the ones that make the effort to become actively engaged in the community.”

Ferraro and Kotarski agreed that the students are doing an amazing job, and they’re proud of the student’s hard work and effort.

“They really do care and they’re learning — they’re not in it for anything else,” Ferraro said. “They do such a good job raising awareness throughout the school … and really making, especially the people around the holidays, feel loved and cared for.”

That’s what makes being a part of the club so special for fifth-grader Matthew Stancampiano.

“I like doing this because it helps me help the less fortunate people in our community,” he said. “We can accomplish bigger things in a group. It makes me feel happy that I am able to help other people.”

Scandinavian Fair honors heritage

by Heidi Sutton - March 17, 2016

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Children and their parents flocked to the St. James Lutheran Church in St. James last Sunday afternoon for a Scandinavian Children’s Heritage Fair.

Representing Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark and Finland, the event was hosted by the Sons of Norway. Children took part in a Little Vikings tour by playing Uff Da Bingo while learning Norwegian words, weaving Danish heart baskets out of felt and decorating shields and swords. They also took part in Norwegian rosemåling (decorative painting), rock painting and troll making.

Guests were also able to sample delicious traditional desserts including Lefse, Norwegian Krumkaker cookies, heart waffles, sandkaker and Swedish coffee bread. The event also offered many types of Scandinavian-themed souvenirs for sale.

Harborfields promotes high school principal

by Alex Petroski - March 17, 2016

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Harborfields-high-school-w — Harborfields High School. Photo by Victoria Espinoza

Harborfields High School Principal Rory Manning was unanimously approved for a promotion by the board of education Wednesday.

He will be taking over as the assistant superintendent for administration and human resources. Francesco Ianni currently holds the position, though he has been tabbed to take over as district superintendent as of January 2017, when the current superintendent, Diana Todaro, retires.

“Dr. Manning, I have to say has performed a truly exceptional job in his position of high school principal,” Todaro said Wednesday at a board of education meeting at Oldfield Middle School. “When we began to seek a candidate for the position of assistant superintendent for administration and human resources we immediately, without hesitation, considered Dr. Manning for this position. Following several interviews and discussions our decision was confirmed, and it was clearly evident to us that he was the best candidate for this position and there was no need for us to conduct the so-called ‘nationwide search.’”

Manning has been the high school principal at Harborfields since 2012. Prior to that he spent time at Sachem High School East as both a principal and assistant principal from 2006 through 2012. He received a doctorate in education, educational administration and supervision from St. John’s University in 2011.

“I’d like to apologize to the board, because today when the proposition to hire Dr. Manning as our assistant superintendent comes up, I’m breaking protocol and saying a resounding ‘yay,’” student representative to the board of education Trevor Jones said, prior to the unanimous vote to approve Manning. “I know my vote doesn’t count, but that’s a fantastic man sitting over there.”

Jones’ address concluded with a standing ovation, and a hug from Manning.

Harborfields High School Principal Rory Manning smiles. File photo — Harborfields High School Principal Rory Manning. File photo

Manning was praised by Jones, Todaro and members of the community for initiatives relating to educational technology that he has been a part of while at Harborfields.

“It absolutely blew me away,” Manning said about the kind words shared about his new position in the district, and the work that he’s done so far. “Trevor Jones and our students, they’re just outstanding and Trevor really speaks from his heart. It really shows. Our students, my students, inspire me to be better everyday. That’s what keeps us going on the hard days, keeps us motivated on the good days. It’s just special working with these kids and their parents, the teachers, the superintendent, the board; it’s just a pleasure to work with everybody here. They call us the Harborfields family, and it really feels that way.”

Harborfields High School received a 2016 National Blue Ribbon award nomination, a distinction given to outstanding public and non-public schools by the National Blue Ribbon Schools program with the U.S. Department of Education. Winners will be selected in September, according to a release on the district website.

“Whenever Dr. Manning talks about the fact that we’ve been nominated as a Blue Ribbon school, he always talks about the students and our teachers who do amazing work,” Jones said. “He never gives himself credit. He deserves some.”

Town buries time capsule for 2066 celebration

by Alex Petroski - March 17, 2016

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Smithtown350TimeCapsule20160303_PatBiancanello_01w — The Smithtown time capsule sits in the hole it will remain inside for 50 years. Photo by Pat Biancanello

Smithtown’s Sesquarcentennial year, which began on March 3, 2015, has come to a close.

Smithtown concluded its yearlong 350th birthday celebration this past March 3 with the burial of a time capsule on the lawn in front of Patrick R. Vecchio Town Hall.

“I think it surpassed anything that any of the members of the committee might have guessed or hoped for,” Maureen Smilow, of Smithtown 350 Foundation, said in a phone interview. She was one of the members of the foundation, which was responsible for organizing the events over the course of the year.

Town Supervisor Patrick Vecchio (R) was also involved with many of the events over the course of the year.

“I think that the public who participated in the events will take a lot out of it because they were living history,” Vecchio said. “For me the last year was a wonderful experience.”

“The gala ball that was held in the midst of basically a blizzard turned out to be a huge success,” Vecchio said when asked which of the events were most memorable for him. The gala dinner-dance was held at Flowerfields in St. James last March.

A time capsule buried in 1965 in front of Town Hall was opened to kick off the celebrations on March 3 a year ago. The Sesquarcentennial year got off to a rocky, yet funny start.

Supervisor Pat Vecchio makes his contribution to the Smithtown time capsule. Photo by Pat Biancanello

“The smell was unbelievable,” Smilow said about the moment the half-century-old milk can was opened. “Everyone on stage had to stand back, it was horrendous,” she said laughing.

The can was not properly sealed when it was buried, so over the course of 50 years moisture got in and reeked havoc on the contents, which were arguably not that exciting had they been in mint condition. The milk can contained two hats, a phone book, a local newspaper, a flyer for pageant tickets and an assortment of coins.

Before members of the town board assembled in colonial costumes at the Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts to open the capsule, they first had to find it.

Members of the parks department searched for the 1965 time capsule in the area they believed it was buried, but after a lengthy search that involved poking a metal rod into the Town Hall lawn, finally it was found. A few days later, it was discovered that the town engineering department, who buried the capsule 50 years ago, had left a map with the precise location.

“That was more humorous than anything else,” town historian and Smithtown 350 Foundation member Brad Harris said in a phone interview. “Had we known there was a map in engineering all that time, we would have saved a great deal of effort and time by the parks department.”

Harris said that he envisions the Smithtown residents who open the 2016 time capsule in 2066 will have a more pleasurable time opening this one, thanks to the efforts of Smilow. They will find a smartphone, baseball cards, menus from town restaurants, letters from community members and Smithtown students, and pieces of memorabilia from the 350th anniversary celebration events, among many other things.

“This time, my good friend Maureen Smilow, really was very careful about how things went in there and how they would be preserved,” Harris said. “We took care so that they would be there for people who open it. We hope they will get a cross section of what the community was like. I think it was a great time capsule.”

Smilow said she ordered a marker for the new stainless-steel, waterproof time capsule. That way it will be both easy to find and preserved in 50 years.

Smilow mentioned the parade that took place on Sept. 26 as one of her favorite events from the year. She said there were more than 2,000 people marching in the parade, which was led by Richard Smith from Nissequogue, who is a direct descendent of the town’s founder Richard Smythe.

Harris said one of his favorite events was the fireworks display that was on the same day as the parade, at Sunken Meadow State Park.

“They were spectacular,” he said.

Some other memorable events included the unveiling of Richard Smythe’s life-size statue in front of the Damianos Realty Group building on Middle Country Road in September and the recognition of Marie Sturm last March, the oldest native-born resident of Smithtown.

Recently appointed Smithtown Highway Superintendent Robert Murphy, who attended High School East and lived in Smithtown for most of his life, said that he was glad to learn more about the town that he grew up in during the year in an interview Tuesday.

Harris reflected on what the Smithtown 350 Foundation accomplished in executing all of the events, both large and small.

“I just think the year and the celebrations we pulled off over the course of the year made it a memorable one for the members of the community,” he said. “I think they’ve got lasting memories of the Town of Smithtown and some of its history. I hope that’s what sticks.”

Smilow was also proud of how successful the year was.

“It was a great year,” she said. “Everyone was really happy. It was just amazing how we had all of these people from different walks of life, different ages and backgrounds coming together.”

Cougars baseball can replace senior losses from last season

by TBR Staff - March 17, 2016

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8947 Anthony Rivera, Infielder, 1st year — Anthony Rivera make a catch in the infield. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

Having lost seven seniors from last years’ squad, there are big shoes to fill on the Centereach baseball lineup that the new senior leadership will be looking to fill this season.

The Cougars looked loose and the camaraderie was easily heard as three different batting teams drilled through a simulated scrimmage. In-between batters, nets shielded the players on the first and third baselines as they batted ground balls to the infielders. Head coach Michael Herrschaft, who was thankful for the good weather compared to years past where snow forced the teams indoors, manned the electric ball launcher — firing high fly balls to the outfielders, and not a minute was wasted.

Herrschaft said this year will be a test as to who can step up and make a difference at this level of play.

“It’s a lot of unknowns, because they haven’t proven themselves [at the varsity level],” the coach said. “They’re going to have to step it up and show that they can handle it at this level.”

Having missed the postseason last year, the Cougars are looking to make a run this season.

Senior pitcher and first baseman A.J. Glass said that despite some tough League IV competition he is optimistic about his team’s chances.

“When we take the field I’d like to think that we’re the team to beat in this league, but West Islip has a very good team,” Glass said. “They’ve proven themselves many times — they swept us last season and we don’t want to let that happen again. We want to show them that we’re playoff contenders just like they are.”

The Cougars will size up their competition in three scrimmages before their league opener. They’ll host Longwood for a scrimmage on March 18, take on crosstown rival Newfield on March 21 and play Longwood again, this time, on the road, two days later.

“Right now this early in the season, you don’t know what you have until you see them facing varsity-caliber kids,” Herrschaft said. “Of the seven seniors that graduated from last year, most of them were starters, so it is a new group.”

Matt Traube snags the ball up high for the tag at second base. Photo by Bill Landon

Nick Juvelier, a senior who didn’t try out for the team last season, likes his team’s chances with each returning player being a year older and a year stronger.

“We have to bat as well as we did last season, because most of our seniors last year batted over .300, and our juniors didn’t,” he said, adding that a positive he sees is sophomore Nick Corsaro, who will be a starter this season.

Kevin Amaya, a junior, minimized the loss of the seniors from a year ago because he knows the sophomores and juniors on the squad have a special bond.

“The underclassmen always look up to the seniors, but we’ve all been playing together as a squad, juniors and sophomores, since I was in seventh grade,” he said.

Centereach opens their season on the road against North Babylon March 29 with the first pitch scheduled at 4 p.m.

“If their infield play and their bats equal their character,” Herrschaft said, “it’s going to be a fun season.”

Having lost seven seniors from last years’ squad, there are big shoes to fill on the Centereach baseball lineup that the new senior leadership will be looking to fill this season.

Herrschaft said this year will be a test as to who can step up and make a difference at this level of play.

Having missed the postseason last year, the Cougars are looking to make a run this season.

Senior pitcher and first baseman A.J. Glass said that despite some tough League IV competition he is optimistic about his team’s chances.

Anthony Rivera drives a ground-ball hit. Photo by Bill Landon

Nick Juvelier, a senior who didn’t try out for the team last season, likes his team’s chances with each returning player being a year older and a year stronger.

Kevin Amaya, a junior, minimized the loss of the seniors from a year ago because he knows the sophomores and juniors on the squad have a special bond.

“The underclassmen always look up to the seniors, but we’ve all been playing together as a squad, juniors and sophomores, since I was in seventh grade,” he said.

Centereach opens their season on the road against North Babylon March 29 with the first pitch scheduled at 4 p.m.

“If their infield play and their bats equal their character,” Herrschaft said, “it’s going to be a fun season.”

Dodo may not have been so dumb

Power of 3

by Daniel Dunaief - March 17, 2016

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dodo-birdw — A model of the dodo bird on display at the American Museum of Natural History’s new exhibit. Photo from American Museum of Natural History, R. Mickens

When Eugenia Gold and her husband Josh got their dogs, she wanted to name them. She chose Rex and Maia, which reflects her work. The couple has a history that dates back over 17 years and includes attending the high school senior prom together.

History is at the center of what Gold studies, as she explores the transition from dinosaurs to birds.

Eugenia Gold poses during a trip to the Gobi desert with the American Museum of History. Photo from Gold

Gold, who joined the Department of Anatomical Sciences at Stony Brook University as an instructor in August, recently completed her Ph.D. at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. At the Upper West Side museum, she focused on how the neurobiology of theropod dinosaurs — a group that includes Tyrannosaurus rex — changed as flight evolved. While scientists aren’t suggesting that a version of T. rex developed flight, they do consider birds as living dinosaurs in the same way humans are mammals.

In her research, Gold studied the extinct dodo bird. Using a CT scan of the bird’s skull, she explored the relative size and shape of the brain.

Gold found that the flightless dodo bird was likely not as mentally deficient as legend has it. “We discovered that the dodo has a brain size in proportion to its body size, so it was likely not as stupid as we thought, but rather as intelligent as common pigeons.” She compared it to eight other pigeon species, seven of which are close relatives of the dodo and one of which is the common pigeon, which is a more distant relative.

“It falls right on the line in terms of brain-to-body size,” Gold said. “If we take that as a rough proxy, it’s probably about as smart as a pigeon.”

Dodo birds developed their reputation for lacking intelligence because they weren’t afraid of sailors and because they went extinct so quickly. They didn’t run away or hide when humans came, largely because they didn’t have any experience with them. “They were easily herded onto ships,” said Gold. “That led to a reputation of being stupid.”

In studying the dodo’s brain, Gold also found that these birds had an enlarged olfactory bulb, which they share with its closest relative, the solitaire bird. They used these olfactory bulbs to smell out ripe fruit and find prey buried in the dirt or sand or hiding under leaves.

Gold based her study of the dodo on an individual skull that was in the Natural History Museum in London. The recent development of CT scanning enabled her to conduct this research.

Members of Gold’s department appreciate the skills and expertise she brings to Stony Brook. “We value both her commitment to our teaching mission as well as her research program,” said Alan Turner, an associate professor in the Department of Anatomical Sciences. “Her research background and application of advanced brain imaging like CT and PET are complementary to those of us in the department that use similar techniques for other types of studies of morphology.”

Gold’s work with the dodo bird will be a part of a new exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History called Dinosaurs Among Us. The exhibit will open to the public on March 21 and will feature the work of several graduate students from the lab of Mark Norell, the Macaulay Curator in the Division of Paleontology at the museum and the division’s chair. The exhibition, which will be in the LeFrak Family Gallery on the fourth floor of the museum, will feature a 23-foot feathered tyrannosaur and a four-winged dromaeosaur with a 22-inch wingspan and patterned plumage. It will also include a fossil cast of a relative of Triceratops that had simple feathers on its body.

Norell said Gold’s work involved a “really long, intensive analysis.” Gold conducted something called “geometric morphometrics” in which she mathematically described brains and parts of brains.

Norell said Gold’s work is one element of the coming exhibition at the museum. “This exhibition is about the biology of dinosaurs,” he said and includes the work of several of his students, including information about dinosaurs’ eggs and nests, brains and flight mechanics.

In addition to conducting her own research at Stony Brook and working to publish other chapters in her thesis, Gold will be teaching a human anatomy course to medical school students. She took a human anatomy class when she was in graduate school.

Gold and her husband live in Ronkonkoma, where they appreciate the quiet neighborhood and the availability of much more space than they had in Manhattan.

Working at the Museum of Natural History was “a constant reminder of how amazing science is,” she said. “It’s refreshing to see so many people enjoying natural history and the fruits of our labor.”

In her earliest memories, Gold said she liked dinosaurs. She especially appreciates the Archaeopteryx because it is a transitional fossil between birds and dinosaurs. She also favors the Velociraptor in part because of the movie “Jurassic Park.” Unlike in the film, however, members of the Velociraptor genera are small and feathered.

Gold appreciated the opportunity to travel to the Gobi dessert on an archeological dig, where she slept out under the stars.

Recently, Gold said she was walking around the museum and was distracted by a conversation she was having with a colleague. She looked up and saw a cast of a new 122-foot long titanosaur fossil, which came to the museum in January. The remains of the dinosaur came from the Patagonian desert region of Argentina. Born in Argentina, Gold said she felt a connection to this fossil.

“The titanosaur is so amazing that it makes you feel small,” she said. “It was one of those moments where I felt like a child again.”

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