Smithtown board Trustee Theresa Knox said the discussion is still ongoing for whether the district will edit down the current code of conduct for strip searches on students. File photo
By Ted Ryan
The Smithtown board of education said at last week’s meeting they want to remove a section of the district’s code of conduct that allows school officials to conduct strip searches in emergency situations.
The specific section of the code allows school administrators to perform a strip search when there is “probable cause to believe that there is an emergency situation that could imminently threaten the safety of the student or others.”
The current version of Smithtown’s code describes a strip search as one that requires a student to remove any or all of his or her clothing, other than an outer coat or jacket, socks, cap, shoes, or sweatshirt.
The board said they wanted to remove this from their code of conduct because it is against the district’s personal policy to perform strip searches.
“We don’t conduct strip searches here … there is an anti-strip search, anti-physical search policy in place,” school district attorney Eugene Barnosky said. “That’s always been the policy of this district, and it’s never been violated.”
This change was passed in 2001, two years after two students brought firearms into Columbine High School in Colorado and killed 12 classmates and one teacher.
Barnosky spoke on how Smithtown came up with a policy on strip searches after Columbine.
“Everyone got together, school boards, the school’s superintendent associations and put together this draft document — which ninety percent of the school districts on Long Island have adopted,” he said at the meeting. This update for strip searches was a statewide policy for New York, as a guideline for what the rules should be in the case of a student bringing a weapon to a school. The actual wording and execution of these rules are up to the schools — which is why Smithtown is changing its policy now.
This change in language still has to be approved with a vote during the July meeting.
Trustee Theresa Knox said this is not the end of the discussion.
“Indeed it [change in the code] will not be approved until the July meeting — and even at that time [it] could face amendment again,” she said, adding that whatever changes are put in place, the code will still “be in accordance with what the law is.”
These changes in the Smithtown district’s code of conduct are still awaiting approval for a meeting in July.
A bus company employee driving a minibus hit an East Northport woman Tuesday morning.
Suffolk County Police Second Squad detectives are investigating the crash, which happened on Railroad Avenue in East Northport, at the driveway of Baumann and Sons Buses, where Joanne Fuller-Astarita, the victim and an employee of that business, was hit by a minibus turning into the location at about 10:15 a.m.
Fuller-Astarita, 57, of East Northport, was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the minibus, Robert Heartland, 61, of Huntington Station, was not injured.
The minibus was inspected at the scene by officers from the Motor Carrier Safety Section. The investigation is continuing.
A welcome volunteer, rose of Sharon, produces colorful, cup-shaped flowers in the summer and fall. File photo
By Ellen Barcel
Many times a plant appears in the garden that the gardener didn’t plant. A weed? Perhaps, but it really helps to know what seedlings and young plants look like so that you can see if a “volunteer” is a prize or a pain.
Among the not-really-wanted plants that easily volunteer in the garden include dandelions, onion grass, garlic mustard, wineberries, multiflora roses and oriental bittersweet. While onion grass is a mild nuisance, just mow over it, garlic mustard easily grows to a foot or more in height and is really unsightly.
Wineberries are an invasive plant, related to raspberries, that can be spread by birds. The berries are definitely edible, but not nearly as tasty as raspberries. If you want raspberries, then plant them and pull out the wineberries — carefully because they have thorns.
Multiflora roses are attractive, with many (hence the term multiflora) blooms in early June borne on arching canes. Years ago, they were planted by many Long Island gardeners because of their rapid growth and dense habit. They were even sold as a living fence for cattle. But, and here’s the big but, they are extremely invasive. Like wineberries, be careful pulling them out because of the thorns.
Another volunteer that is extremely invasive is oriental bittersweet. It’s very pretty with its red berries that break open to reveal yellow seeds, but it’s definitely invasive. Lesser celandine has pretty yellow flowers in the spring but, again, is very invasive.
Note that wineberries, multiflora roses and oriental bittersweet as well as lesser celandine are all on Suffolk County’s Do Not Sell List. However, there are so many here already and they are so easily spread, especially by birds, that it’s still a battle getting rid of these invasives.
On the other hand, there are a number of volunteers that are welcome in the garden. Reseeding plants that you’ve put in the garden are wonderful. They may not be perennials but they’re almost as good. In this category includes the money plant (Lunaria) with its purple flowers and silvery seed pods.
Many years ago, a small tree planted itself in my back yard. Curious as to what it was, I left it alone and it matured into a gorgeous tree covered in pink flowers in the spring. I never did figure out what it was — there were a number of possibilities. It could have been some variety of cherry, but it never bore fruit, so I never did find out. It was a welcome volunteer and sadly missed when one spring, it became obvious that it didn’t make it through the previous harsh winter.
Another volunteer that is most welcome in my garden was also filled with pink flowers. Again, I couldn’t figure out exactly what it was until it started to produce peaches. Unfortunately, the variety were small and bitter, so I don’t use them instead allowing the local critters to dine. But, I don’t take the trees out either, because they produce nice shade and those beautiful flowers.
I’ve had rose of Sharon and holly also seed themselves in the garden, both welcome plants. On the other hand, the thistle that seeded itself by my front door, while interesting, was a danger. Tiny maple trees (Norway maple, Acer platanoides) try to take over my garden — they’re everywhere. Simply cutting them off at ground level with a pruning shears usually works, and small ones can be easily pulled out especially after a rain.
Another beneficial volunteer is clover in the lawn. It’s a nitrogen fixing plant that takes nitrogen from the air and stores it in its roots. It attracts pollinators and is low maintenance. However, many broad- spectrum weed killers will kill it, so read the label carefully of any products you consider using.
When you find any of these volunteers, remove the nasty ones, but allow some of the questionable ones to grow a while and mature so that you can figure out whether you have a bonus in the garden or not. They may provide you with a beautiful tomorrow in your garden.
An excellent book to help you identify some unknown plants and decide whether or not they’re keepers is “Weeds of the North East,” by Richard H. Uva, Joseph C. Neal and Joseph M. DiTomaso. The volume is published by Comstock Publishing, a division of Cornell University Press. It has color photos of the plant, closeups of the leaves, flowers and seeds. It’s a great resource.
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.
Tranquility Garden owner Walter Becker sits on a bench in his Mount Sinai backyard. File photo
On July 9, visit private gardens in Mattituck and Mount Sinai, open to the public rain or shine, through the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Program, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission to each garden is $7, benefiting the Garden Conservancy, and children 12 and under are free.
Tranquility Garden is located at 42 Jesse Way, Mount Sinai.
The Becker garden can be described as an explosion of color, fragrance, sound, and texture. Hundreds of perennials, shrubs, trees and annuals are combined with water features, lawn art and recently relocated garden trails that allow the visitor to enter the owner’s vision of an impressionistic garden painting. Unique shrubs and flowers and winding paths permit the visitor to stroll and enjoy all that nature has to offer.
Visit www.opendaysprogram.org, or call 1-888-842-2442 for more information.
Sundaes holds fundraiser for former Warriors ball player
Friends who attended the fundraiser at Sundaes in Port Jeff Station signed a birthday card for Daniel Colasanto. Photo from Wayne Colasanto
By Desirée Keegan
It may have been raining, but the Comsewogue community was shining with its support for a local.
Sundaes, a self-serve frozen yogurt, ice cream and gelato shop in Port Jefferson Station, held a fundraiser for Daniel Colasanto, a Comsewogue High School graduate who was hit by a car on June 16 and suffered severe head trauma as a result of the accident.
On July 1, which was coincidentally Colasanto’s 19th birthday, between 5 and 8 p.m., the local business donated 20 percent of its sales to the family. The campaign generated $700 in donations, which not only included the funds from sales and a 50/50 raffle, but extra cash that patrons wanted to donate in his honor.
“They say once a Warrior always a Warrior, and it is so true.”
— Daniella Pajonas
“I almost started crying — that’s unreal,” said Sundaes manager Gina Prezitali, who lives in Sound Beach, when she found out how much money was raised. “A couple of the girls here are close with him. We’re a family here; we care about each other, and that was the largest turnout I’ve ever seen, and most money we’ve raised. It was unbelievable the way everyone came together. It gave me chills.”
Warriors young and old flocked to Sundaes to show how much they cared, and after purchasing ice cream, many of them told the cashiers to keep the change.
“It’s crazy — we had a woman come in here and she graduated from Comsewogue in 1976,” Sundaes employee Daniella Pajonas, who is a neighbor of, and graduated with Colasanto, said. “They say once a Warrior, always a Warrior, and it is so true.”
Within the first 15 minutes of the event, the line wrapped around the inside of the building, and never died down after that.
“There’s so many people here,” Pajonas said. “It feels so good. I graduated with all of these kids. I feel so lucky that I grew up here.”
By the first half hour, nearly 100 community members had walked through the doors, most of whom stayed and packed the tables and benches, shared stories, showed support with their #PrayforDan T-shirts, and signed a birthday card.
Daniella Pajonas works the register at Sundaes during the event. Photo by Desirée Keegan
“He’s an amazing person,” Samantha Donlon said. She graduated from Comsewogue in June. “He’s funny, he’s sarcastic, he’s very athletic, a fun person to be around and always someone you can count on. Everyone, even people who didn’t know him, are reaching out a helping hand. I think it’s amazing, and I’m proud to be a part of the Comsewogue community.”
The fundraiser comes following a string of support from the area. Chick-fil-A has donated food to the hospital three days a week, where as much as 50 friends at a time pack the 11th floor Ronald McDonald Lounge in Stony Brook University Hospital’s trauma center to show how much they care. Other local eateries have also donated food, and Port Jeff Sports made the T-shirts that close friends and family wear in support of the former Warriors baseball and football standout, who is now on the baseball roster at The College of St. Rose. Besides local companies, family and friends, and even people who didn’t know Colasanto are lending a helping hand in whatever way they can.
“It’s so amazing to see how everyone can come together in this family’s time of need, and it’s amazing to see how many lives Dan touched, and how it’s affected everybody,” said Nicole Blase, Colasanto’s girlfriend of three years. “I love him with all my heart. He helped make me the person I am today; he’s my number one. He’s so genuine, caring, and most of all, funny. He brightens up the room, and he puts a smile on everyone’s face. He’s just an amazing person, and I would give anything for him. Just pray for Dan.”
Poquott town board swearing-in ceremony draws a crowd. Mayor Dee Parrish, left, takes the oath of office as Trustee John Mastauskas looks on. Photo by Kevin Redding
By Kevin Redding
On Tuesday, July 5, following an unusually tense and complicated election, the dust seems to have finally settled within the Village Hall of Poquott.
With a newly elected member and all that political turmoil behind them, the mayor and board of trustees can now get things done.
Incumbent Mayor Dolores “Dee” Parrish’s re-election came in the form of 239 write-in votes, after opponent Barbara Donovan launched a heated lawsuit to remove her name from the ballot.
Trustee John Mastauskas holds his hand up as he is sworn in. Photo by Kevin Redding
After her swearing in, Parrish led a very brief meeting that began with Three Village resident, and fellow write-in candidate, John Mastauskas being sworn in as a trustee.
Following the meeting, Mastauskas said that he’s proud and excited to stand by Parrish. Together, their main focus for the future will be the building of the community dock, which has been in high demand by the beach community’s residents, but ignored by past administrations,
Another issue to be dealt with is making sure that speed limits on the roads are controlled, by way of heightened resident awareness and enforcement.
“That’s been a big issue, for me especially,” Mastauskas said. “I watch people flying up and down my street daily. We’ve got kids playing, A lot of our driveways are on hills. Kids go chasing a ball down to the street.
“All it takes is one person driving a little bit too fast, looking at their phone, changing their radio station, and then that’s it. Then we got a big problem on our hands. We want to try to eliminate that [altogether].”
With a lot left to be done, Parrish is hopeful. “[Mastauskas] is a new energy in the Village,” she said. “Now it’s time to move forward and do what the residents want, and keep doing all the good things that we’ve accomplished the past two years.”
Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine and Councilwoman Jane Bonner. File photo
Long Island residents who go to National Grid for their gas may be paying more come January 2017, but not if the Town of Brookhaven has anything to say about it.
The Brookhaven town board passed a resolution, with a unanimous vote June 30, opposing the company’s proposed rate increase that was announced in January. Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) sponsored the resolution, though all six board members asked to be added as co-sponsors prior to voting.
“This is an outrageous rate hike — it will impose a burden,” Romaine said in a phone interview last week. “We think it’s far too great.”
The increase would cost National Grid’s approximately 570,000 Long Island customers about $160 annually on top of what they already pay, according to a statement from the company in January. The increase would be about 12 percent.
Wendy Ladd, a spokeswoman for the company, responded to the resolution in an email Tuesday.
“We feel our proposals and the costs associated with them are essential to provide customers with safe and reliable gas service, enhance storm resiliency, expand the availability of gas service, help reduce methane, support our neediest customers, and to make the investments required to upgrade and modernize aging infrastructure and grow the system to meet the needs of a 21st century clean energy economy for years to come,” Ladd said.
Romaine said there is a precedent for the town intervening in battles over costs with utility companies. Last year, Brookhaven took on Long Island Power Authority in a similar case.
“LIPA now knows that we, if nothing else, will be watchdogs for the citizens of Brookhaven,” Romaine said.
National Grid New York’s President Ken Daly commented on the matter in January.
“National Grid has invested more than $4.5 billion over the past decade to modernize and build a safer and more reliable natural gas system for our customers. During this period of time, we have also maintained stable delivery rates for our customers,” he said in a statement. “Now, as we respond to the need to invest even more into our aging gas networks and prepare for the future needs of our customers, the investments required to provide this service have increased. The proposals will allow us to accelerate our gas main replacement program, improve critical customer service, and ensure that we have a modernized and technologically advanced natural gas system for our customers and the communities we serve, now and in the future.”
The Brookhaven town board is not against a rate hike altogether, though members said they would like to see it greatly reduced.
The resolution read in part: “the cost of living on Long Island is already astronomical partly due to high utility costs, placing a heavy burden on the residents of Long Island … residents are leaving Long Island in search of better opportunity and a lower cost of living.”
The resolution concluded with the board’s intention to “send a letter in opposition to the proposed rate hikes by National Grid and the Department of Public Service.”
National Grid’s January statement said the rate increases would allow them to significantly increase the gas main replacement program and improve technology in flood-prone areas, among other benefits.
The proposal will be reviewed by the New York State Department of Public Service before it is approved.
Ute Moll in her lab at Stony Brook University. Photo by John Griffin
Some day, people may be able to breathe easier because of a cancer researcher.
No, Ute Moll doesn’t work on respiration; and, no, she doesn’t study the lungs. What Moll, research scientist Alice Nemajerova and several other collaborators did recently, however, was explain the role of an important gene, called p73, in the formation of multiciliated cells that remove pollutants like dust from the lungs.
Initially, scientists had studied a knockout mouse, which lacked the p73 gene, to see if the loss of this gene would cause mice to develop cancers, the way they did for p73’s well-studied cousin p53. Researchers were surprised that those mice without p73 didn’t get cancer, but found other problems in the development of their brains, which included abnormalities in the hippocampus.
While each of these mice had a respiratory problem, researchers originally suspected the breathing difficulties came from an immune response, said Moll, the vice chair for experimental pathology and professor of pathology at Stony Brook University.
A board-certified anatomical and clinical pathologist who does autopsies and trains residents at Stony Brook, Moll took a closer look and saw an important difference between these mice and the so-called wild type, which has an intact p73 gene.
Moll on a recent trip to Africa says hello to Sylvester the cheetah who is the animal ambassador in Zimbabwe. Photo from Moll
“Microscopic examinations of many types clearly showed that the multiciliated cells in the airways were severely defective,” she explained. “Instead of a lawn of dense long broom-like motile cilia on their cell surface which created a strong directional fluid flow across the windpipe surface, the [knockout] cells had far fewer cilia, and the few cilia present were mostly short stumps that lost 100 percent of their clearance function.”
This finding, which was published in the journal Genes & Development, could have implications for lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, which affects more than 330 million people around the world and is the third leading cause of death.
The discovery provides “the long-awaited explanation for the diverse phenotypes of the p73 knockout mice,” wrote Elsa Flores, a professor of molecular oncology at the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, in a commentary of the work.
In an email, Flores said Moll is a “wonderful collaborator and colleague” whose “meticulous” work is “held in high regard.”
Carol Prives, Da Costa professor in biological sciences at Columbia University, suggested this was a “very significant finding.”
Moll and her scientific team went beyond showing that the loss of the p73 gene caused the defective or missing cilia. They took stem cells from the trachea, which can grow on a culture dish into a range of other cells. With the proper nutrients and signals, these stem cells can grow back into a fully differentiated respiratory epithelium.
The organotypic culture had the same defects as the knockout mice. The scientists then used a lentivirus to insert a copy of the functioning p73 gene. The cells in the culture developed a complete set of long, motile cilia.
“It’s a complete rescue experiment,” Moll said. “This closes the circle of proof that” p73 is responsible for the development of these structures that clean the lungs.
In addition to the lungs, mammals also develop these cilia in two other areas, in the brain and in the fallopian tubes.
There could be a range of p73 deficiencies and some of these could be indicative of vulnerability or susceptibility to lung-related problems that are connected to incomplete cilia. This could be particularly valuable to know in more polluted environments, where the concentration of dust or pollutants is high.
Moll plans to “find tissue banks from COPD patients” in which she might identify candidate alleles, or genes, that have a partial loss of function that would contribute to the reduction in the cilia cells.
While Moll will continue to work on respiration and p73 in mice, she described her broader research goals as “gene-centric,” in which she studies the entire p53 family, which includes p53, p63 and p73.
Colleagues suggested that she has made important and unexpected discoveries with p53.
“She was among the first to show that in some pathological states, p53 is sequestered in the cytoplasm rather than in the nucleus,” Prives, who has known Moll for 25 years, explained in an email. “This led to her original and very unexpected discovery that p53 associates with mitochondria and plays a direct role in mitochondrial cell death. She was very courageous in that regard since the common view was that p53 works only in the nucleus.”
Moll was raised in Germany and earned her undergraduate and medical degrees in Ulm, the same town where Albert Einstein grew up. She lives in Setauket with her husband, Martin Rocek, a professor of theoretical physics at SBU. The couple has two sons, 26-year-old Thomas, who is involved in reforestation in Peru, and 29-year-old Julian, a documentary filmmaker focusing on environmental themes.
Moll is also focused on the environment.“If humankind doesn’t wake up soon, we are going to saw off the branch we’re sitting on,” she warns. One of Moll’s pet peeves is car idling. She walks up to the windows of people sitting in idling cars and asks if they could turn off the engine.
As for her work with p73, she feels as if she is “just at the beginning. This is a rich field.”
The improved Port Jefferson Village website includes new features like paying parking tickets online. Image from village website
Port Jefferson Village is now accessible to residents and visitors in ways it never was before.
The village launched its upgraded website in June after countless hours of research, planning and development, and at this point the hard work seems to have paid off and then some.
“We just really wanted a much more vibrant [site], something that gives off the vibe of the village and we also felt that there was not a place where residents could get information that they really needed,” Mayor Margot Garant said in an interview last week.
A view of the website from a mobile device. Image from village website
Village officials interviewed half a dozen companies, Garant approximated, before settling on a collaboration between two that just happened to operate out of the same building on Main Street. The project cost the village about $40,000 all told, Garant said.
Kendra Beavis of Moka Graphics and Drew Linsalata of The Gotham Bus Company put their heads together to handle the data and design of the site. Garant said during the process she realized how much of an advantage it would be to have people who work right in the village working on a site that would serve as a gateway to Port Jefferson.
“We wanted a nice hometown look — they get us,” Garant said.
The new site has features tailored to residents. Information about recycling bins, leaf pickup, birth and death certificates, along with the ability to sign up for recreational events or pay for parking or even parking tickets were some of the highlights Garant mentioned which should serve to improve the residents overall web experience.
Though the list is much longer.
Garant said the village essentially crowdsourced ideas by asking various departments what they most frequently receive phone calls about on a daily basis. Now, most answers are a click away.
Another component had village employees like Jill Russell, who handles media relations for Port Jefferson, enthusiastic about the upgraded site’s features for visitors.
“I think one of the things that I really pushed with the site, the missing link was the visitors’ side,” Russell said in a phone interview Wednesday. Visitors can now get a feel for restaurants in the area, activities and other events before they even arrive in the village.
“I, for one, am very excited,” Russell said.
Garant and Russell both expressed excitement about another possibility that is still in the works for the site — information for prospective business owners about requirements and permits for opening a business, and eventually even listings of available spaces.
The site is not complete as more information and features are still being added.
Check out the new village website at portjeff.com on desktops or mobile devices.
An interactive historical experience powered by TBR News Media
George Overin as Caleb Brewster. Production still from Circadian Studios and TBR News Media
By Alecsa Kazenas
The “Culper Spy Adventure,” a special presentation by TBR News Media, is an immersive digital attraction that will allow locals and tourists alike to be recruited into the ranks of General Washington’s secret Setauket spy ring. Accessed by scanning a special QR code on a panel of the Three Village map due out later this summer, you will begin an interactive 45-minute journey that puts you into the starring role of your very own secret spy adventure!
Become a time traveler as you arrive in the year 1780, crossing paths with legends and heroes: Abraham Woodhull, Anna Smith Strong, Caleb Brewster, George Washington himself! Enjoy interactive games between each episode that are filled to the brim with intrigue, action and fun! Created with the whole family in mind, the “Culper Spy Adventure” is great for all ages. We are also offering a special American Sign Language version as well a handicap-accessible edition! Join the revolution later this summer!
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with George Overin who plays Caleb Brewster in this interactive journey.
Tell us a little bit about Caleb Brewster. Who was he?
Caleb was a former whaler who didn’t like a humdrum life. He was an adventure seeker! He was his own man. He wouldn’t wear a uniform while serving his country and would fire at the British whenever he could. Being a trained whale boat captain, he could pilot his boat out of reach of the British guns quickly and safely. Though they wanted to capture him, the British never could.
What is your favorite memory from filming the “Culper Spy Adventure”?
Working with this wonderful cast and crew has been a joy that I will always remember! We all helped each other. Whether with character development or with something technical. The whole filming process has been a treat! Every scene I was involved in, every cast member I worked with, every direction given, everything just seemed to come together perfectly. Like it was meant to be. I hope we’ll be filming more in the near future!
What was it like bringing a character back to life two centuries after his death?
This was an honor for me! Growing up, I never even heard of a Long Island spy ring during the Revolutionary War. When I was approached by Michael Tessler about filming the “Culper Spy Adventure,” I knew I had to find out who Caleb Brewster was. I had gotten three books about the spy ring to read,watched the first season of “Turn” and attended a lecture on the subject. While I still only feel like I’ve just scratched the surface, I was able to start to “feel” Caleb. I will be looking for information on him for as long as I play him.
What do you think Caleb Brewster would think of this project?
I truly think Caleb would be proud of the efforts made. I’m sure he’d take me aside to discuss how he did what he did. Wouldn’t THAT be a great class to sit in on! When the Revolutionary War ended, the Culper Spy Ring just kind of dissolved. Everybody went their own way. Nobody really discussed what they did and the parts they played to help win the war. There were no parades or big honors given. If Caleb Brewster and the rest of the group could be here and see their history, their lives being exalted today, I believe they would be pleased. They would be modest and maybe a little embarrassed. After all, they were serving a Great Cause! And they all had the hearts to do what they did!
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