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Monthly Archives: April 2017

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Artist Sean Murtha restores a large painting. Photo from Vanderbilt Museum

Twelve fish and five flamingos recently left their home in The Hall of Fishes at Centerport’s Vanderbilt Museum in the care of taxidermist George Dante, for a trip to his Wilderness Preservations studio in West Paterson, N.J., and some much-needed care and repair.

Dante’s work is part of the Marine Collections Conservation Project, and complements the extensive work being completed during the next few months by staff curators on nearly 1,500 of the Vanderbilt’s fluid-preserved ocean specimens. Over the past several years, significant gifts from the Roy M. Speer Foundation and the Robert D.L. Gardiner Foundation have allowed the Vanderbilt to undertake these much-needed conservation and restoration efforts.

Above, taxidermist George Dante (left) and artist Thomas Doncourt in the Vanderbilt Museum’s Hall of Fishes. Photo from Vanderbilt Museum

Dante, an accomplished taxidermist, he has been working with the Vanderbilt over the past several years to conserve and preserve some of the animals in its Stoll Wing dioramas. Now he’s begun to work on some of the Museum’s critically damaged or decaying marine specimens, which Mr. Vanderbilt gathered during his global ocean voyages and collecting expeditions in the early 20th century. Collaborating with Dante are gifted artists Sean Murtha and Thomas Doncourt.

Murtha is repairing and restoring the background painting in a large Hall of Fishes diorama of flamingos and their clay pedestal nests along the coast of Cuba, Dante is cleaning and restoring the flamingos and Doncourt is restoring the clay flamingo nests and foreground vegetation.

“This phase of the project will address the dry mounted fish specimens that were originally prepared by Mr. Vanderbilt’s curator, William Belanske,” said Stephanie Gress, director of curatorial affairs for the Vanderbilt. “His original paintings of these fish, done at the time they were caught, served as a color reference for the mounted fish skins. A dozen have been removed from display and are being carefully conserved by George Dante. He will address not only the damage and loss to the hand-painted skins, but also restore missing fins and tails. As many of these specimens were prepared nearly a century ago, they are extremely fragile and difficult to work with.”

Sean Murtha said he is restoring the Flamingo diorama painting to its former appearance. “We’re not updating or changing it, but trying to erase the damage that has occurred to it over the past nearly 100 years,” he said. “The original was painted by William Belanske, and therefore has historic importance. Over the years, moisture has affected the background painting in a few different ways, discoloring it in many places and in a few areas causing the paint to crack and flake off.

“I am removing very loose chips of paint, stabilizing it with an acrylic polymer, and then painting in the missing areas, to match the color and style of the original. Meanwhile, George and Tom are conserving and restoring the birds and plants. When everything comes back together, it should have the impact that it did originally,” added Murtha.

Thomas Doncourt is consulting on foreground conditions and restoration, including ground surfaces and plant models, he said. “The challenge is to coordinate work between Sean and George,” he said. “I remove foreground objects and materials so they can have access to the specimens and the background painting.”

Doncourt’s restoration work will include repairing the clay nests, made of painted plaster, and the branches and leaves of the rhododendron, fashioned out of beeswax. “Then I will work with George to return the specimens, nests and foliage to their original places and make it look like nothing ever happened to disturb the scenic beauty.”

During his epic global journeys in the 1920s and 1930s, William K. Vanderbilt II (1878-1944) collected thousands of specimens of vertebrate and invertebrate sea life for the museum he was building on Long Island. His Hall of Fishes houses what is considered the world’s most extensive privately assembled collection of marine specimens from the pre-atomic era.

The Vanderbilt marine collection comprises 13,190 historic aquatic specimens housed in the two-story Hall of Fishes; in the Habitat, a natural-history diorama hall; and in an invertebrate gallery. The collection, in addition to the fluid-preserved marine life, includes vertebrate and invertebrate specimens, dried or preserved through taxidermy.

The Hall of Fishes constituted the beginning of today’s Vanderbilt Museum complex. Constructed in 1922, it began as a one-story structure open to the public each Wednesday during the years Mr. Vanderbilt lived on the estate.

The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum is located at 180 Little Neck Road in Centerport. For more information, call 631-854-5579 or visit www.vanderbiltmuseum.org.

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Photo courtesy of Kent Animal Shelter

MEET BELLA! This little girl is Bella, who, as her name implies, is beautiful inside and out. A pug/beagle mix, she is 5 years young, spayed, microchipped and up to date on all her vaccines. Bella’s family was no longer able to care for her, so they ended up having to bring her to Kent Animal Shelter. She is great with other dogs, cats and children, is full of energy, very sweet and affectionate and just loves to play! She would love to find her forever home — could that be with you?

Kent Animal Shelter is located at 2259 River Road in Calverton. For more information on Bella and other adoptable pets at Kent, please call 631-727-5731 or visit www.kentanimalshelter.com.

Update: Bella has been adopted!

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The children's section of the Port Jefferson Free Library. File photo by Heidi Sutton

The community sent a resounding message of approval for two different library budgets April 4 — a vast majority of voting residents are happy with the services provided by their local libraries and are willing to pay for more.

The Port Jefferson Free Library’s $4.2 million budget passed with a 143 to 10 margin. The 2017-18 financial plan is about 1.2 percent more than last year’s version and will cost homeowners on average about 49 cents more monthly in property taxes compared to last year.

“We are very flattered and pleased at the support we get,” Library Director Tom Donlon said in an email. “This year we juggled a few budget lines around, and tried to focus on where our community wanted us to go. We increased the book budget as well as the programming budget in order to deliver the materials and services that Port Jeff has come to expect.”

More than 1,000 children participated in summer reading programs offered by the library in 2016, and 270,000 items were checked out during the 2016-17 fiscal year, according to a budget newsletter sent out to the community. Library administration was also proud of a teen garden established in 2016, which allowed children and teens to grow vegetables for local soup kitchens. A new, easy-to-use website was launched by the library last year, and the board also plans to update the community on some possible improvements to the facilities coming in the near future.

Additional books and programs, along with an increase in staff salaries, benefits and retirement payments represent the largest drivers of the budget increase. The gap in those increases is closed in large part by a near $200,000 savings compared to last year in transfers to the capital fund and debt services fund. The library also will offer fewer print and nonprint newspapers and periodicals this year.

The Comsewogue Public Library’s budget was passed with 102 yes to 14 no votes. The total operating budget for 2017-18 will be about $5.6 million, up 2.7 percent from last year. Like its Port Jeff counterpart, Comsewogue Public Library’s budget increases can be attributed for the most part to increases in staff salaries and benefits. Additional money was also factored into the current budget for some furniture and equipment upgrades. The library will see a savings in the coming year in computer equipment and supplies, as well as in debt service payments.

The average homeowner in the district will be required to pay about $4 more in taxes for the 2017-18 fiscal year compared to last year.

“The 2017-18 proposed operating budget is designed to ensure that the library continues to provide a high quality service program at a reasonable cost,” a letter to the community from the library said. “The public library serves everyone in the community, from babies to seniors.”

Port Jefferson Station resident and library trustee Edward Wendol was also elected to remain in the position on the board that he’s held since 1972. Wendol, who ran unopposed, has previously served as the board president and was named a Port Times Record Man of the Year in 2003. Library administration said he “has provided guidance and oversight to the organization,” in a letter sent to residents along with an informational budget newsletter.

“I’m very happy to be on it, and I’m happy to be elected continuously,” Wendol said in a phone interview. He added his primary objective in his next term is to move along a heating and air conditioning plan for the library. “I think we’re a good asset to the community.”

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File photo

Suffolk County Police arrested a Dix Hills man for fatally shooting his girlfriend in Dix Hills Thursday night, April 14.

Police said Eric Bermudez confronted his girlfriend, Regina Flecha, on Burroughs Avenue, north of Kenmore Street, at approximately 7:30 p.m. and shot her multiple times. Bermudez then pulled Flecha into his vehicle and drove away from the scene. Two 3rd Precinct detectives observed Bermudez’s vehicle speeding on Fifth Avenue in Bay Shore and pulled over the vehicle when they discovered the victim. Bay Shore-Brightwaters Rescue Ambulance responded to the traffic stop and transported Flecha, 37 of Dix Hills, to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore where she died a short time later.

Homicide Squad detectives charged Bermudez, 36, of 10 Black Pine Court, with second-degree murder.

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When I was in college, I wrote an essay in a seminar. In such a small class, we read everyone else’s writings each week and needed to be prepared to share our observations or else face the ignominy of our teacher either excusing us from the room or glaring at us until we cracked.

One of the other writers had written this spectacular story about four people at a dinner party. She had moved the reader through the thoughts of each of the characters, until she got to the fourth person, whose social anxiety receded when he started choking. His inability to control noises that interrupted her stories irritated his wife, who glared at him until he read her vexed expression and retreated to the kitchen. Separated from the group, he choked to death. The ending was so powerful that I was sure my prose was inferior.

When my turn came, I waited through the usual polite beginning, as my classmates shared what they thought worked. Great, I thought, it won’t take long before we transition to the unnerving category of “what could he have done better.”

It took some time before people starting quibbling with my choice of words. Certainly, I could maneuver through the minor discomfort of a new word here or a different turn of phrase there.

Professor Brilliance sat in his green corduroy pants, with his oversized left foot rising and falling diagonally above his right knee to his rhythm, tilting his head to the side, awaiting a worthy insight.

“Well,” he said, scanning the room slowly, “has anyone spotted clichés?”

Oh no! Clichés? Clichés! I thought I had scrubbed out the clichés. I quickly scanned words that floated unevenly above the page, hoping to find any and expose them before anyone else did.

His foot stopped, and so did my breathing.

“No,” he nodded slowly, “I didn’t see any, either.”

This had to be only a temporary respite before the scissors started slicing.

“Now, let’s go over the introduction to this fine piece,” he said.

Was that sarcasm? Did he mean that it was fine, or was he acknowledging its shortcomings?

As we went line by line through the piece, my writing held up to the scrutiny. Some of my classmates even defended a few phrases, suggesting that they found them perfectly fine just as they were.

The professor saved his lone arrow for his final remark.

“This is a solid piece of writing,” he said, before adding, “for someone your age.”

And there it was, ladies and gentlemen. The backhanded compliment that sent me back to the children’s table, wondering what the adults might be discussing.

Now that I’m older than Professor Brilliance was when he shared that line, I have considered whether he had a point and the answer is, yes and no.

My experiences have changed my perspective. I recognize the value of history, even if I despised memorizing dates and names for a test. I also understand the Chinese devotion to their elders, not because I’m older, but because I have an increasing appreciation for all the decisions my parents and their generation made.

At the same time, when I hear the ideas my children share, I don’t minimize them in the context of their shorter lives. Instead, I recognize the wisdom that comes from their experiences in a handheld techno world they maneuver through more deftly than I.

All these years later, I guess I’d have a comeback to my professor’s observation. “Maybe you’re right,” I’d say, “or, maybe, I’m young enough to know better.”

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History is repeating itself, at the boat ramp in Port Jefferson Marina located at the north end of Barnum Avenue in Port Jefferson Village.

A man is being treated for serious injuries at Stony Brook University Hospital after driving into Port Jefferson Harbor via the ramp at about 5:30 p.m. April 6, according to the Suffolk County Police Department. The car was found submerged underwater and at least one good Samaritan helped remove the man from the car. Members from the Suffolk County Marine Bureau dive team went in the water to search for possible additional victims, and the police said the investigation is continuing.

Several similar incidents have occurred since an episode in December 2005 when then-60-year-old Setauket resident Richard Levin drove into the water on the same ramp and onlookers had to pull his unconscious body from the fully submerged car. Levin died days later as a result of the incident.

“People are dying here and it’s a simple fix,” Christopher Kelsch, one of the people who witnessed Levin’s death 12 years ago and tried to help, said after seeing news of the April 6 incident.

Good Samaritans and SCPD Marine Bureau divers help a driver submerged in
Port Jefferson Harbor April 6. Photo by Andrew Tetreault/Fully Involved Media Group

Kelsch was given a Carnegie Medal by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, for his attempts to save Levin’s life. Kelsch had to be rescued by firefighters as a result of his efforts, and suffered from hypothermia in the aftermath. He was also called to give testimony about the incident when Levin’s family sued Brookhaven Town for negligence, a suit that was dismissed by the New York State Supreme Court.

The Carnegie Medal recipient said during the interview he wanted to reach out in part to make the 2017 victim and family members aware he would be glad to help them if they sought him out.

“Somebody needs to shine a serious spotlight because Dr. Levin died at that location,” he said.

A Brookhaven Town spokesperson said in an emailed statement there are clear signs and traffic measures in place to warn residents of the ramp’s location.

“The Port Jefferson boat ramp has existed at its current location for generations,” the spokesperson said. “A number of measures are in place including a multitude of ‘Do Not Enter’ signs, road arrows and other traffic control measures to clearly indicate that this is not an entrance.”

Port Jefferson Village Mayor Margot Garant is taking the issue seriously, and said she asked the village’s code enforcement chief to compile data for her regarding the number of times similar incidents have happened at that location, and she plans to present the data to Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine to reiterate calls for preventative action to be taken by the town. Garant said in a phone interview she had heard the driver was in stable condition as of Saturday, but she was told he had taken a turn for the worse since.

“It’s only a matter of time before this happens again,” Garant said. She added at the present time she plans to call on the town to do something to solve the problem and no plans of possible village actions are currently being discussed. Garant said Port Jefferson Village and Brookhaven Town cofunded a waterfront revitalization plan years ago, which included a proposal to move the town ramp elsewhere.

“This is town-owned property — they have to step up and resolve this once and for all,” Garant said. She added that additional signage beyond two “do not enter” signs or some sort of barricade would be “minimal” steps the town could take.

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Stock photo.

Northport

The Northport-East Northport school district has proposed a $163.3 million budget for 2017-18, which includes a slight reduction in staff due to a consistent trend of decreasing enrollment and several projects to improve school grounds and facilities. The budget stays within the school’s state-mandated tax levy cap — increasing the tax levy by 1.57 percent — and is a 1.22 percent increase from last year’s total budget.

Northport-East Northport Superintendent Robert Banzer. Photo by Victoria Espinoza

The district has presented multiple budget presentations throughout the month of April, which have focused on personnel and benefits; administrative and instructional changes; and buildings and ground changes.

Superintendent Robert Banzer said during the March 16 meeting the district expects to see an enrollment drop of 146 students next year, with the largest decreases in grades four, six, and 11. This has led the district to propose eliminating a teaching position at Fifth Avenue Elementary School, two at Norwood Elementary School, one at Ocean Primary School and two at East Northport Middle School for grade six. The change would result in an increase in class sizes for elementary school classes.

One health position and four positions from the art, music and physical education realm will be removed, as well as a few staff support positions. In total the proposed 2017-18 budget includes funding for seven fewer positions than the current year’s budget.

Several Northport-East Northport residents and parents of students wrote to their board, pleading for class sizes not to be changed.

“I am writing to request that class size remain the same and not be increased,” Colleen and Kevin Mahoney said. “Both [of our] children have had a wonderful education in our district. I believe this to be due to smaller class size. As a teacher, I know first-hand every extra child in a class means less individual attention to others.”

Parents Caryn and Jonathon Ciaio shared the same concerns.

“This is very disappointing and we feel strongly this decision would not be in the best interests of our children or the community,” they said. “We feel very strongly that smaller class sizes has been extremely beneficial for our children and allows for an appropriate balance of time and attention between students.”

Nearly 100 parents of third-grade students at Fifth Avenue Elementary School signed a petition to keep class sizes the same.

The buildings and grounds budget is proposed to decrease by $3.7 million or 13.6 percent from last year’s total. The budget includes plans to repair and reseal tennis courts at East Northport Middle School, repair driveways and sidewalks, replace bleachers at William J. Brosnan School, and more. The 2017-18 transportation budget includes the purchase of one new bus.

Middle schools students will see new educational opportunities if the proposed budget is passed, with plans to create robotics and automation study units for seventh- and eighth-graders; bring advanced manufacturing technology for wood and metal technology education; and the purchase of mini 3-D printers. Robotic electives and engineering courses are also in the budget.

But one Northport resident and former board of education candidate doesn’t think the current budget offers enough STEM opportunities for students.

“Northport-East Northport is trailing behind other districts when it comes to introducing STEM opportunities in the lower grades, especially in middle school,” Shawne Albero said in a letter to the board. She urged the board to offer more robotic clubs for younger students.

For art and performing arts students, the budget includes the purchase of a high performance potter’s wheel, a digital soundboard and wireless microphone system for the high school auditorium.

The board will hold a hearing on the finalized budget May 4, and the community will have the chance to vote May 16.

Harborfields

Harborfields Superintendent Francesco Ianni. Photo by Victoria Espinoza

After submitting and passing a cap-piercing budget last year which required 60 percent support from district residents on election day, this year the Harborfields Central School District has proposed a budget that stays within the state-mandated cap, while maintaining current programs — including the recent addition of full-day kindergarten. The proposed $84.4 million budget is about  $1.6 million more than last year’s total. If passed the tax levy will increase by 0.16 percent. Superintendent Francesco Ianni said at a March 22 meeting the district is expected to receive about $16 million in state aid.

Ianni said the proposed plan maintains class size guidelines, advanced placement and elective courses, music performing groups, athletics and full-day kindergarten. The budget would also add grounds staff for long-term maintenance, expand science research, special education programs, as well as enhancing the curriculum plan and initiatives, including the Harborfields 2.0 Technology Initiative, which is described as a plan to strategically align resources for longer-term sustainability.

“Through this spending plan, resources have been reallocated so that the district is able to enhance certain programs and services without incurring additional costs,” Ianni said in a statement. “There are a lot more science programs going to the high school, and we’re very proud of that,” he said at the March 22 meeting.

Ianni explained expanded science research would include adding three more sections to the introductory class, and the district’s special education program would be extended to make it a true 12-month program, so students no longer have to go off-site during the summer months. He also said Harborfield’s  tech initiative, which supports the integration of more technology throughout the district, would include launching a Google Chromebook pilot program for four ninth-grade teachers to integrate the use of Chromebooks into the curriculum. The devices are laptops powered with Google applications and are ideal for collaborative classroom work. The district hopes to have Chromebooks fully integrated into the school’s curriculum by the 2021-22 school year.

The budget will be adopted April 19, and the public hearing is set for May 9. District residents will have their chance to vote May 16.

Huntington

Huntington school district’s proposed $126.2 million budget would expand enrollment in Advanced Placement and high school elective courses, upgrade facilities, add summer enrichment classes and more. The district’s state-mandated tax levy increase cap is set at 1.86 percent, and the district comes in below that at a 1.42 percent tax levy increase. The total budget calls for a 2.42 percent increase from last year’s total. Unlike other schools in the area, Huntington is experiencing an increasing trend in enrollment, which will help revenue going forward.

Superintendent Jim Polansky. File photo by Rohma Abbas

The largest chunks of cost increases come from instruction and employee benefits. Other budget cost drivers include increased traffic costs, computer technologies, network maintenance and increased utility costs. Construction of a security vestibule at Flower Hill Elementary School is a $100,000 proposed project, and other specific costs outlined in the budget include $30,000 for a teacher’s center, and $25,000 for computer equipment.

Along with the budget, voters must also weigh in on two other propositions the school board has presented. Proposition 2 asks voters to approve release of funds already in the district’s capital reserve fund for completion of state-approved projects. This would have no impact on the tax levy or tax rate, and if the community does not vote for it, the money remains in the capital reserve fund but can’t be used for any other purpose. Proposition 3 asks voters to approve the creation of a new building improvement fund in the capital reserve, with the purpose of completing district-wide renovation and reconstruction projects.

“Use of the district’s building improvement funds have helped considerably to keep 60-year-old buildings in top shape with needed improvements and upgrades, all of which are delineated within a long-term capital plan,” Superintendent James Polansky said. “Establishment of a new fund will allow the district to continue such work responsibly, as well as to keep debt levels at their currently low levels.” This action would also have no impact on the tax levy or tax rate.

Budget adoption is set for April 18, and the public hearing is May 8. Residents will be able to vote for or against the budget and the two propositions May 16.

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Bob Policastro smiles with Ella, a young girl with a respiratory issue. Photo by Kevin Redding

For 25 years, Hauppauge resident Bob Policastro has made it his mission to give medically fragile children and their families a place to turn to — not just for specialized nursing care but love and normalcy.

As founder and executive director of Angela’s House, a nonprofit organization that offers an extensive array of services for families to support children with severe medical conditions, the 57-year-old has worked tirelessly since 1992 to address the gap in New York’s health care system when it comes to helping chronically ill kids.

He said he was determined to be a voice for these parents and kids in the community after experiencing firsthand just how underhelped they are.

A view of one of the kid’s bedrooms. Photo by Kevin Redding.

When his daughter, Angela, was born in August 1989, Policastro said everything went wrong.

“She lost a lot of blood and oxygen, and suffered severe brain damage, that left her very frail,” he said.

As there had been no permanent place on Long Island equipped to handle the technological and medical needs of frail children, Policastro and his wife, Angie, had a tough time finding a specialized home or facility to provide their daughter the nursing care she desperately needed.

They ended up finding a specialty hospital two and a half hours away in Connecticut, but the long drive just to see his daughter left an emotional and physical scar on Policastro.

After Angela died a little after her first birthday, a grief stricken Policastro got to work.

Now there are three large group homes that look and feel more like cozy resorts to choose from, with Angela’s House locations in East Moriches, Smithtown and Stony Brook.

Each location contains 24-hour nursing, local therapists and doctors on hand, and houses up to eight kids between the ages 6 and 16 with varying conditions. The residences offer top-of-the-line medical and monitoring equipment hidden within the warmth and beauty of a caring home.

And although the children that inhabit it are those who have suffered accidents, disease, developmental delays and more, Angela’s House helps provide them the freedom and opportunity to have a simple childhood.

During a walkthrough of the large Stony Brook house, which opened in 2013 and is dedicated to kids who rely on ventilators, Policastro pointed out one of the children’s bedrooms.

It looked like a kid’s paradise, with a bed covered in stuffed animals, the floor littered with toys, Nickelodeon on TV and a window that gives a beautiful view of the property’s nearby woods — a far cry from the hospitals and institutions in which many of the children at the house had been living.

Bob Policastro smiles with Torren who suffers from a respiratory issue. Photo by Kevin Redding.

“For me, it’s about the kids and giving them a safe and loving life,” he said. “I feel really blessed that these kids who have been given a limited lease on life can make the most of it in ways the average person could never dream possible, or can touch people in ways that change them forever. It’s remarkable to see a nonverbal kid, [many of house’s children can’t talk], that has a smile that can light up a room. It’s a great responsibility and I feel honored to be put in a position where I can try to help as much as I can.”

Deborah Church, nurse manager at the Stony Brook location who does everything for the kids from providing medical stability to planning birthday parties to giving them a hug when they need it, said Angela’s House is the best place for these children to be if they can’t be home.

“It’s nice to have the parents smile and know they can go out and have a life, and come and visit their children and see they’re so happy, safe and well taken care,” Church said. “This is a happy home for them to live. These kids can be as normal as possible and always have a smile on their face.”

Gathered around a kitchen table, Policastro and Church talked with 15-year-old Torren, who had been confined to a hospital and nursing home for the first 12 years of her life because of a respiratory illness, about her Sweet 16 next month. Torren will wear an extravagant dress, dance to her favorite band, OneRepublic, and eat nachos with her friends at the house.

Torren, who wheels her ventilator around inside a travel suitcase in order to feel less self-conscious about her condition, said her favorite parts about living in the house are the staff and outings — which include trips to the bank and local stores, as well as pumpkin patches in the fall.

Stephanie Caroleo has been working at Angela’s House for six years.

“The most rewarding aspect is when you come to work and you truly feel like you make a difference every day,” she said. “Every day we make a difference in the lives of these kids, and you see it in their face, in how they speak with you and the relationships we develop.”

When asked what’s kept him motivated for the last 25 years, Policastro pointed to Ella, a little girl in a wheelchair smiling from ear to ear. “That,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what mood you’re in, if you bump into one of these kids and you see that smile, oh man, that’s golden.”

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From left, Barbara Franco from the Smithtown Chamber of Commerce, Jim Fenimore Jr., Trisha Wiles, Michael Fenimore, shop owner Anna Fenimore, Jim Fenimore Sr., Nicholas Fenimore, Kevin McEvoy of The Atelier at Flowerfield and Bill Garthe of the St. James Chamber of Commerce. Photo by Heidi Sutton

The Shard Art Shoppe in St. James held a ribbon cutting and grand opening on Thursday, April 6. The shop, located at 2 Flowerfield, Suite 27 in St. James, offers mosaic glass art for sale, in-store parties and art classes for the community. “Creating mosaics is something that has brought me a great sense of joy and accomplishment. Therefore, I am thrilled not only to be able to share my pieces with others, but also to bless people with an opportunity to create their own masterpieces in my new store,” said owner Anna Fenimore. For more information, call 917-217-3958 or visit www.theshardartshoppe.com.

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CHECK PRESENTATION: From left, Dr. Lina Obeid, Leg. Kara Hahn, Dr. Yusuf A. Hannun, Gloria Rocchio, Dr. Scott Powers, Carol Simco and Dr. Jun Lin. Photo from WMHO

On March 27, Stony Brook University’s Cancer Center received a donation of $40,000 from the Ward Melville Heritage Organization (WMHO), which were funds raised from WMHO’s 23rd Annual Walk for Beauty and Hercules Run held on Oct. 23 of last year in historic Stony Brook Village.

Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) and co-chair, Walk for Beauty; Gloria Rocchio, president, Ward Melville Heritage Organization and co-chair, Walk for Beauty; and Carol Simco, co-chair, Walk for Beauty, officially presented the check to Dr. Yusuf A. Hannun, director, Stony Brook Cancer Center, and vice dean, Cancer Medicine. Joining them were Dr. Jun Lin and Dr. Scott Powers, cancer researchers whose projects received funds raised from the 2015 Walk for Beauty, and Dr. Lina Obeid, dean for research, Stony Brook University School of Medicine.

Also present, but not shown, were Councilwoman Valerie M. Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station), WMHO Trustee Anna Kerekes and Walk for Beauty committee members. Since its inception in 1994, Walk for Beauty has raised over $1.365 million toward breast cancer research. Funds raised also help to supply items such as wigs and prostheses for SBU Cancer Center patients. The event is an all-volunteer initiative with no administrative costs.

Registration is now open for the 2017 Walk for Beauty, which will take place on Sunday, Oct. 22. Visit www.wmho.org/wfb for more information.

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