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Yearly Archives: 2017

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Inside the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Yaphank. File photo by Kevin Redding

By Kevin Redding

Suffolk County Sheriff Vincent DeMarco has sent a clear message to undocumented immigrants who choose to break the law, by announcing the county will no longer need a judge’s order before detaining and holding illegal inmates wanted by federal immigration officials.

Suffolk County Sheriff Vincent DeMarco. File photo from Kristin MacKay

The policy reversal, which DeMarco believes will be good “for the country, not just the county,” has taken Suffolk off the list of “sanctuary cities” — regions that protect undocumented immigrants by not prosecuting them solely for violating federal immigration laws in the United States. The county’s removal from the list is something DeMarco has been in favor of for some time.

The sheriff initiated a review of the sanctuary policy alongside county Legislator Tom Cilmi (R-Bay Shore) as soon as the policy was adopted more than a year ago, after concerns that it creates public safety problems by allowing the release of criminal immigrants back to the communities as opposed to letting agents within Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, work on deporting them.

Although the announcement has been met with opposition from various immigration advocacy groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, DeMarco said nothing has really changed in regards to how undocumented immigrants in the system are handled. He said this merely narrows in on those who entered the country illegally, have committed and been convicted of crimes and have found themselves in the criminal justice system.

According to DeMarco, “it’s not necessarily a policy change,” because since he became sheriff in 2006, ICE agents have been stationed in the county’s correctional facilities. For the past 10 years they have been putting detainers on inmates eligible for release who were either convicted of felonies, “significant misdemeanors,” three or more misdemeanors not considered significant or pose a threat to national security. The department had free reign to explore and investigate any inmate that came in.

It hadn’t been an issue to hold anyone of federal interest until the involvement of the ACLU in 2014.

DeMarco said he received a letter from the group citing two federal lawsuits stating that holding illegal immigrants solely on detainer without a judicial warrant would lead to an onslaught of lawsuits. In these cases, ICE asked municipalities to hold these inmates for an extra 48 hours after they normally would’ve been released to give the agents time to conduct their investigations and pick them up for potential deportation. The courts ruled this as a violation of the immigrants’ Fourth Amendment rights, to illegal search and seizure, without probable cause or a warrant.

“[DeMarco is] doing exactly the right thing both for the community and for the federal government.”

— Jessica Vaughan

In October, DeMarco had a meeting with the Department of Homeland Security and was advised that ICE had adjusted its detainer and administrative warrant paperwork to include probable cause, which means agents can now hold onto someone for an extra 48 hours without requiring a signed warrant from a judge if they are suspected to have immigrated illegally.

DeMarco said the change isn’t too significant in Suffolk County.

“People are trying to make an issue out of something that’s been going on here for more than 10 years,” he said. “This isn’t a problem for the county because ICE agents are stationed at the jail. In a rural county upstate or out West where there isn’t ICE presence within a certain amount of miles, it makes sense for them to hold them for 48 hours.”

While the reversal comes less than a month before the Trump administration inherits the White House and leads a much-anticipated attack against sanctuary city and immigration policies, DeMarco insists that the shift isn’t political.

“When ICE changed their paperwork, they didn’t know who the president was going to be,” DeMarco said. “They were just addressing concerns found in federal lawsuits.”

According to a representative from the Center for Immigration Studies, an independent not-for-profit that removed Suffolk from its list of sanctuary cities, ICE agents don’t go around patrolling the streets looking for criminal immigrants. Instead, agents depend on local law enforcement, like the sheriff’s office, to keep them in custody so they can be deported — “otherwise they flee.”

“[DeMarco is] doing exactly the right thing both for the community and for the federal government,” CIS director of policy studies, Jessica Vaughan, said. “It was his initiative that resulted in the reversal of the policy. Full cooperation with ICE is going to help Suffolk County with some of the more pressing public safety problems, like the resurgence of MS13 [street gang] activity there.”

Cilmi said this is a step in the right direction.

“There’s no cause for protesting because, from a practical standpoint, nothing has really changed and it has nothing to do with undocumented immigrants who are living here,” he said. “As long as they’re following the law, it doesn’t affect them at all. Those who aren’t will see this is not going to be tolerated.”

He said he suspects that the vast majority of the immigrant population living in the county — documented or undocumented — would be supportive of policies that affect drug dealers and gang members who continue to “wreak havoc” in the areas where they live.

“No one wants crimes in their communities,” he said.

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Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae star in ‘Carousel’. Image courtesy of Fathom Events

In honor of the 60th anniversary of “Carousel,” Fathom Events and Twentieth Century Fox will bring the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic to select cinemas nationwide on Sunday, Jan. 8 and Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 2 p.m. and again at 7 p.m. Starring Gordon MacRae as Billy Bigelow and Shirley Jones as Julie Jordan, “Carousel” features one of the most impressive and emotionally moving of all Rodgers & Hammerstein scores, as well as stunning cinematography — the 1956 film was shot largely on location in coastal Maine. Its score includes such classics as “Soliloquy,” “What’s the Use of Wond’rin,” the rousing “June Is Busting Out All Over” and the haunting, inspiring “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” The screenings will also include an exclusive interview between Shirley Jones and the president of Rodgers & Hammerstein, Ted Chapin.

“‘Carousel’ has always been dear to me, a film that remains beautiful, challenging and inspiring,” said Jones. “It was 60 years ago that we immortalized Rodgers & Hammerstein’s gorgeous musical, but when I think back on the memories it feels like no time at all has passed. I hope both longtime fans and new audiences will find it just as fresh and just as wonderful as ever.” “Movie musicals become an entirely different experience when viewed on the big screen and shared with an audience,” Fathom Events Vice President of Studio Relations Tom Lucas said. “We are proud to be presenting one of the best and most unique musicals of the 1950s, showcasing a truly extraordinary achievement of American moviemaking.”

Participating movie theaters in our neck of the woods include Island 16 Cinema De Lux in Holtsville and Farmingdale Multiplex Cinemas. For more information, please visit www.fathomevents.com.

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By David Dunaief, M.D.

Dr. David Dunaief

When we think of losing weight, calories are usually the first thing that comes to mind. We know that the more calories we consume, the greater our risk of becoming overweight or obese and developing many chronic diseases, including top killers such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Despite this awareness, obesity and chronic diseases are on the rise according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

How can this be the case? I am usually focused on the quality of foods, rather than calories, and I will delve into this area as well, but we suffer from misconceptions and lack of awareness when it comes to calories. The minefield of calories needs to be placed in context. In this article, we will put calories into context, as they relate to exercise, and help to elucidate the effects of mindful and distracted eating. Let’s look at the studies.

Impact of energy expenditure

One of the most common misconceptions is that if we exercise, we can be more lax about what we are eating. But researchers in a recent study found that this was not the case (1). The results showed that when menu items were associated with exercise expenditures, consumers tended to make better choices and ultimately eat fewer calories. In other words, the amount of exercise needed to burn calories was paired on the menu with food options, resulting in a significant reduction in overall consumption.

The example that the authors gave was that of a four-ounce cheeseburger, which required that women walk with alacrity for two hours in order to burn off the calories. Those study participants who had menus and exercise expenditure data provided simultaneously, compared to those who did not have the exercise data, chose items that resulted in a reduction of approximately 140 calories, 763 versus 902 kcals.

Even more interestingly, study participants not only picked lower calorie items, but they ate less of those items. Although this was a small preliminary study, the results were quite impactful. The effect is that calories become a conscious decision rooted in context, rather than an abstract choice.

The importance of mindful eating

Most of us like to think we are multitaskers. However, when eating, multitasking may be a hazard. In a meta-analysis (a group of 24 studies), researchers found that when participants were distracted while eating, they consumed significantly more calories immediately during this time period, regardless of dietary constraints (2).

This distracted eating also had an impact on subsequent meals, increasing the amount of food eaten at a later time period, while attentive eating reduced calories eaten in subsequent meals by approximately 10 percent. Distracted eating resulted in greater than 25 percent more calories consumed for the day. When participants were cognizant of the amount of food they were consuming, and when they later summoned memories of their previous eating, there was a vast improvement in this process.

The authors concluded that reducing distracted eating may be a method to help in both weight loss and weight management, providing an approach that does not necessitate calorie counting. These results are encouraging, since calorie counting frustrates many who are watching their weight over the long term.

The perils of eating out

Most of us eat out at least once in a while. In many cultures, it is a way to socialize. However, as much as we would like to control what goes into our food, we lose that control when eating out. In a study that focused on children, the results showed that when they ate out, they consumed more calories, especially from fats and sugars (3).

Of the 9,000 teenagers involved in the study, between 24 and 42 percent had gone to a fast-food establishment and 7 to 18 percent had eaten in sit-down restaurants when asked about 24-hour recall of their diets on two separate occasions.

Researchers calculated that this resulted in increases of 310 calories and 267 calories from fast-food and sit-down restaurants, respectively. This is not to say we shouldn’t eat out or that children should not eat out, but that we should have more awareness of the impact of our food choices. For example, many municipalities now require calories be displayed in chain restaurants.

Quality of calories

Blueberries are one of the most nutrient dense and highest antioxidant foods in the world.

It is important to be aware of the calories we are consuming, not only from the quantitative perspective but also from a perspective that includes the quality of those calories. In another study involving children, the results showed that those offered vegetables for snacks during the time that they were watching television needed significantly fewer calories to become satiated than when given potato chips (4). The authors commented that this was true for overweight and obese children as well, however, they were more likely to be offered unhealthy snacks, like potato chips.

In a study published in JAMA in June 2012, the authors state that we should not restrict one type of nutrient over another but rather focus on quality of nutrients consumed (5). In my practice, I find that when my patients follow a vegetable-rich, nutrient-dense diet, one of the wonderful “side effects” they experience is a reduction or complete suppression of food cravings. As far as mindless eating goes, I suggest if you are going to snack while working, watching TV or doing some other activity, then snack on a nutrient-dense, low-calorie food, such as carrots, blueberries or blackberries. If you don’t remember how many vegetables or berries that you ate, you can take heart in knowing it’s beneficial. It can also be helpful to keep a log of what you’ve eaten for the day, to increase your cognizance of distracted eating.

Therefore, rather than counting calories and becoming frustrated by the process, be aware of the impact of your food choices. Why not get the most benefit out of lifestyle modifications with the least amount of effort? Rather than having to exercise more to try to compensate, if you actively choose nutrient-dense, low-calorie foods, the goal of maintaining or losing weight, as well as preventing or potentially reversing chronic diseases, becomes attainable through a much less painful and laborious process.

References: (1) J Exp Biol. 2013; Abstract 367.2. (2) Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 April;97:728-742. (3) JAMA Pediatr. 2013;167:14-20. (4) Pediatrics. 2013;131:22-29. (5) JAMA 2012; 307:2627-2634.

Dr. Dunaief is a speaker, author and local lifestyle medicine physician focusing on the integration of medicine, nutrition, fitness and stress management. For further information, visit www.medicalcompassmd.com or consult your personal physician.

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Far left, historian Georgette Grier-Key; second from left, teacher Monica Consalvo; second from right, alum Michael Tessler; and, far right, Mayor Margot Garant with seventh-grade students from the Port Jefferson Middle School. Photo from Monica Consalvo

​MAKING HISTORY: On Dec. 22, seventh-grade students of the Port Jefferson Middle School attended an assembly that focused on how the village’s residents aided the efforts of the Patriots in winning the Revolutionary War. Port Jefferson Mayor Margot Garant, historian Georgette Grier-Key and alum Michael Tessler engaged the students in a fascinating display of how the Culper Spy Ring operated as well as having the opportunity to view Loyalist soldier Nehemiah Marks’ letter informing his comrades that Phillips and Nathaniel Roe, among others, helped supply Setauket-based spy Caleb Brewster with information to pass on to the Patriots.

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Clinton Kelly

BOOK SIGNING: Port Jefferson Station native Clinton Kelly will appear at the Book Revue, 313 New York Ave., Huntington on Monday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. The Emmy award-winning television co-host of “The Chew” will be signing copies of his new book, “I Hate Everyone, Except You,” a hilariously candid, deliciously snarky collection of essays about his journey from awkward kid to slightly-less-awkward adult. For further information, call 631-271-1442 or visit www.bookrevue.com.

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Esther Takeuchi with photo in the background of her with President Obama, when she won the 2009 National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Photo courtesy of Brookhaven National Laboratory

By Daniel Dunaief

Pop them in the back of a cell phone and they work, most of the time. Sometimes, they only do their job a short time, discharge or generate so much heat that they become a hazard, much to the disappointment of the manufacturers and the consumers who bought electronic device.

Esther Takeuchi, a SUNY distinguished professor in the Departments of Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering and the chief scientist in the Energy Sciences Directorate at Brookhaven National Laboratory leads a team of scientists who are exploring what makes one battery work while another falters or fails. She is investigating how to improve the efficiency of batteries so they can deliver more energy as electricity.

Esther Takeuchi with a device that allows her to test batteries under various conditions to see how they function. Photo courtesy of Brookhaven National Laboratory

The process of manufacturing batteries and storing energy is driven largely by commercial efforts in which companies put the ingredients together in ways that have, up until now, worked to produce energy. Scientists like Takeuchi, however, want to know what’s under the battery casing, as ions and electrons move beneath the surface to create a charge.

Recently, Takeuchi and a team that includes her husband Kenneth Takeuchi and Amy Marschilok, along with 18 postdoctoral and graduate students, made some progress in tackling energy storage activity in iron oxides.

These compounds have a mixed track record among energy scientists. That, Takeuchi said, is what attracted her and the team to them. Studying the literature on iron oxides, her graduate students discovered “everything from, ‘it looks terrible’ to, ‘it looks incredibly good,’” she said. “It is a challenging system to study, but is important to understand.”

This offered promise, not only in finding out what might make one set of iron oxides more effective in holding a charge without generating heat — the energy-robbing by-product of these reactions — but also in providing a greater awareness of the variables that can affect a battery’s performance.

In addition to determining how iron oxides function, Takeuchi would like to “determine whether these [iron oxides] can be useful and workable.” Scientists working with iron oxides didn’t know what factors to control in manufacturing their prospective batteries.

Takeuchi said her group is focusing on the linkage between small-scale and mesoscale particles and how that influences battery performance. “The benefit of iron oxides is that they are fairly inexpensive, are available, and are nontoxic,” she said, and they offer the potential of high energy content. They are related to rust in a broad sense. They could, theoretically, contain 2.5 times more energy than today’s batteries. “By understanding the fundamental mechanisms, we can move forward to understand their limitations,” she said, which, ultimately, could result in making these a viable energy storage material. T

akeuchi is also looking at a manganese oxide material in which the metal center and the oxygen connect, creating a tube-like structure, which allows ions to move along a track. When she started working with this material, she imagined that any ion that got stuck would cause reactions to stop, much as a stalled car in the Lincoln Tunnel leads to long traffic delays because the cars behind the blockage have nowhere to go.

Takeuchi said the ions don’t have the same problems as cars in a tunnel. She and her team believe the tunnel walls are porous, which would explain why something that looks like it should only produce a result that’s 5 percent different instead involves a process that’s 80 percent different. “These escape points are an interesting discovery, which means the materials have characteristics that weren’t anticipated,” Takeuchi said. The next step, she said, is to see if the researchers can control the technique to tune the material and make it into the constructs that take advantage of this more efficient flow of ions.

Through a career that included stops in Buffalo and North Carolina and West Virginia, Takeuchi, who has over 150 patents to her name, has collected numerous awards and received considerable recognition. She won the 2009 National Medal of Technology and Innovation, a presidential award given at a ceremony in the West Wing of the White House. Takeuchi developed compact lithium batteries for implantable cardiac defibrillators.

Takeuchi is currently a member of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation Nomination Evaluation Committee, which makes recommendations for the medal to the president. Scientists who have known Takeuchi for years applaud the work she and her team are doing on Long Island. “Dr. Takeuchi and her research group are making great advances in battery research that are very clearly promoted by the strong relationship between Stony Brook and BNL,” said Steven Suib, the director of the Institute for Materials Science at the University of Connecticut.

Indeed, at BNL, Takeuchi has used the National Synchrotron Light Source II, which became operational last year. The light source uses extremely powerful X-rays to create incredibly detailed images. She has worked with three beamlines on her research. At the same time, Takeuchi collaborates with researchers at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials at BNL.

Although she works with real-world experiments, Takeuchi partners with scientists at Stony Brook, BNL and Columbia University who focus on theoretical possibilities, offering her an insight into what might be happening or be possible. There are times when she and her team have observed some interaction with batteries, and she’s asked the theorists to help rationalize her finding. Other times, theorists have suggested what experimentalists should search for in the lab.

A resident of South Setauket, Takeuchi and her husband enjoy Long Island beaches. Even during the colder weather, they bundle up and enjoy the coastline. “There’s nothing more mentally soothing and energizing” than going for a long walk on the beach, she said.

In her research, Takeuchi and her team are focused on understanding the limitations of battery materials. Other battery experts believe her efforts are paying dividends. Suib said the recent work could be “very important in the development of new, inexpensive battery materials.”

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Here we are, in a new year, and I am going to start off with a cautionary tale. I was just about to take a shower when I felt a small bump on my left thigh. I thought that was strange since I hadn’t before felt anything there but it was just beyond my view as I fingered the spot and craned my neck to try and see. Then, to my amazement, the bump came off in my hand, revealing itself to be a tick. Ugh!

The legs were moving so it was clearly alive and rather large, so I guessed it was a dog tick. With wonderful coincidence, I happened to have an appointment with the dermatologist that afternoon, so I put the tick into a little plastic baggie and brought him this present. Although I half expected him to just throw it away, he in fact filled out the paperwork and sent it to a lab.

Now I am sharing this with you because I suspect that, like me, you thought tick season had ended with the start of winter. I even stopped putting Frontline on my golden retriever, figuring any ticks would have gone into hibernation or been killed off by the colder weather. But I should have realized that the calendar and the weather aren’t always in sync. We have been enjoying fairly mild temperatures for this time of year and, as it turned out, so have the ticks.

Now I don’t know if the tick fancied me rather than my dog, or if he just found me as I was walking across the lawn or brushing against a bush while putting out the garbage. However it happened, I was, so to speak, stuck with him until that lucky moment when my fingers brushed against his body. Anyway, I got a call from the doctor four days later with the surprising news that despite its large size, the critter was an engorged deer tick.

Not good. We all know that deer ticks can carry Lyme disease and transmit it to humans when they suck up to you. We have had several deer sightings in the neighborhood, especially around a wooded piece of property nearby. To me they are beautiful, graceful animals, and I watch them with admiration as they run. But I certainly don’t appreciate the bugs they can bring and leave behind as a souvenir of their visits.

The doctor asked me if I preferred waiting for the blood test, six weeks away, to determine if in fact I had been infected or if I wanted to go on the antibiotic regime immediately. I chose the latter and began taking 100 mg of doxycycline, with lots of water but no food as seriously instructed, every 12 hours. But the story doesn’t end there.

After only two pills, I developed a headache that just wouldn’t quit. This is apparently a not uncommon side effect with this medicine. So I was then transferred to 500 mg of amoxicillin three times a day for at least 20 days and advised also to take a daily probiotic, though not within two to three hours of each other, and to eat lots of yogurt. As we know, that only partially works to offset the distress to the gastrointestinal tract that accompanies regular doses of antibiotics. Plus I have broken out in splotches of itchy rashes, another unhappy side effect.

Bottom line: A tick bite can be a nasty thing, bringing along all sorts of minor and even major miseries. So from my experience, I hope you will check your skin regularly, even hard to see places, and not assume that a tick is just another summer pest.

Oh, by the way, Happy New Year!

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Taking credit is easy. It usually means you are patting yourself on the back for something you did or helped do that went well, or that went the way you desired.

In annual reviews, in résumés or on college applications, it’s a great idea to take credit for the ways you contributed, led or facilitated positive outcomes. It’s a way of sharing your potential for future successes with other colleagues, co-workers, bosses or schools.

It’s a fine line because taking credit for, say, the weather on the day of a picnic seems inappropriate and far fetched; or taking credit for something for which your primary role was to cheer for a particular outcome also seems inaccurate.

The other side of the credit coin is accepting responsibility for mistakes or results that fell short of your expectations or hopes.

I read that President-elect Donald Trump has congratulated himself on consumer confidence and the stock market surge since the election.

His election could be a contributing factor in the optimism of consumers or in the personified mind of the stock market.

I wonder, though, when life for Americans doesn’t go the way we would all like, will he also accept responsibility? Will the man who will be the leader of the free world be able to see his role in problems, learn from mistakes and show the kind of flexibility that other world leaders will consider inspiring or redemptive?

When things don’t go the way he or we the people might like, he has blamed others. His favorite target, and a favorite villain for many presidents over the years, has been the media. It’s an easy target because someone can always disagree with the facts or can come up with an alternative theory for them.

I would encourage the man who is so comfortable patting himself on the back — and who seems to be surrounding himself with people who are so supportive of him — to learn to look in the mirror and grow with this enormous job.

Learning isn’t easy or necessarily natural. That’s especially true when you’re confident you know more than anyone else, even intelligence officials, and when you rely on your business or street smarts to win every battle.

Maybe it’s especially challenging for him to accept that he needs educating as a president, in a job which requires him to be decisive and consistent.

At the same time, the president-elect has this opportunity to be a role model in the way he grows with the job.

I wonder, though, how he would deal with a leader with the same personality, self-confidence and strong will that he showed throughout the election cycle. Would he be able to adjust to the way someone else used his own playbook? Perhaps we have already seen glimpses of that, in the way he admires Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, with whom he seems to be sharing a daily global spotlight.

People on both sides of the political aisle probably agree that Trump is a character. It would be a wonderful moment if they all recognized at some point that he also had the kind of character that inspired others to learn, grow and compete against the best in the world.

Instead of recognizing and highlighting other people’s shortcomings, failures or deficiencies, Trump might also take a moment to see ways he himself can improve. If he shares his learning curve, he might provide a new route for others to do their best.

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Congressman Tom Suozzi takes a selfie with his family after being sworn into Congress. Photo from Suozzi’s office

Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) has wasted no time getting to work, opening his district office at 478A Park Ave. in Huntington last week, and getting sworn into office Tuesday, Jan. 3, in Washington D.C.

The office, which opened on Dec. 27, is located at Sunny Pond Farm, inside two historic homes dating back to the American Revolution, which have been preserved and converted into an office space. The homes are located on the property of former Huntington Congressman Silas Wood who represented Long Island in the early 19th century.

Suozzi said he wanted to choose an area that would be easily available for all of his constituents.

“Getting things done for the people of Long Island is our number one priority,” Suozzi said. “This office will help us serve the district. I wanted to locate the office on the Suffolk-Nassau border, so it would be accessible, but I also wanted to locate the office on a property that paid tribute to our nation’s history.”

The congressman said he will also have another satellite office in Queens.

The former Nassau County executive officially became a member of the 115th Congress this week.

“It’s a great honor to be entrusted as your voice in the nation’s capital,” he said. “I look forward to working with all of you and my colleagues in Washington, from both sides of the aisle, to get things done for the families of Long Island and Queens.”

Suozzi defeated Republican challenger Jack Martins (R-Mineola) in November, and inherits former Congressman Steve Israel’s (D-Huntington) seat, who announced late last year he would not be seeking re-election.

“This race has really been about the values my dad taught,” Suozzi said during his post-results speech at The Milleridge Inn in Jericho Nov 8. “I’m going to need everyone in this room to help me because if I stick my head up and say something that’s not the normal thing to be said, they’re going to try and smack us down.”

He added regardless of the results of the presidential election, “we really need to do some soul searching,” referencing health care coverage, the shrinking middle class, immigration reform, climate chance, gun violence and the tax code. He said there’s more important work to be done.

“We have to figure out what’s going on in the country,” he said. “We need to figure out how to bring people back together again to work together.”

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Members of the Smithtown Youth Bureau hard at work. Photo from Stacey Sanders.

Smithtown is well aware that a community can’t prosper without happy and healthy kids, which is why it continues to give its young people a voice in how things operate.

Supervisor Pat Vecchio (R) announced the appointment of four residents to the Youth Advisory Board, a group of 19 high school students and nine adults from across the town who work alongside the Smithtown Youth Bureau and advise the town board on ways to address and accommodate the needs of young people in the community, at a public meeting Jan. 3.

The newly appointed members, Esther Jung, Julie Delaney, Denise Massimo and Kathleen Knoll Ehrhard, were accepted through an application on the town board website. As part of the process, each candidate had to write a brief letter to Vecchio detailing what they would like to accomplish in terms of youth matters and why they believed they would be valuable assets to the town.

For Jung, a 16-year-old junior at Commack High School, an issue she’s passionate about is her generation’s overattachment to technology, which she said she hopes to find a solution to in her time on the Advisory Board.

“Everyday at school I see students on their phones in class and I think the community would benefit if we brainstormed on how to limit teens and adolescents from consuming their time with technology,” Jung said. “We could have a more face-to-face conversation with people and go back to where we were once before.”

Each of the new members’ terms commenced Jan. 1, 2017, and will run through Dec. 31, 2019.

According to town code, Smithtown recognizes its youth deserves special attention and assistance in dealing with their needs, and the Youth Board acts as the voice of Youth Bureau policy.

With a third of its members under the age of 21, the board is certainly a fitting representation of its target demographic.

“These are young people that know how to interact with other young people,” Councilwoman Lynne Nowick (R) said. “They go to schools to help out, are involved with various local activities, and serve as liaisons between the town board and young people. I see it as a great interaction and we’re very proud to have them.”

Members meet once a month to develop and coordinate activities that help make the lives of their families and other children better and encourage community participation.

Just in the past year, the Advisory Board worked together with the Youth Bureau to bring Global Youth Service Day to multiple school districts, celebrating and mobilizing those in Smithtown under 21 who have improved their communities through service, as well as a Safe Summer Nights Pool Night at the Smithtown Landing Country Club for grades 6 and up. The board has developed community education seminars and empowerment programs for students focusing on a range of important topics, like the dangers of underage drinking.

A fundraising campaign was held to provide school supplies to kids in need as well as a food drive for Smithtown Emergency Food Pantry. Working predominantly with schools, volunteers help the bureau provide enrichment programs, intervention programs for kids experiencing difficulties or exhibiting behavioral issues, substance abuse prevention programs and anger management programs.

Stacey Sanders, executive director of the Youth Bureau and secretary of the Advisory Board, said the board has a needs assessment committee, a youth empowerment committee, a social media committee and a board training committee.

“The board helps keep the supervisor and [town officials] aware of the needs and beliefs of what’s needed, what residents are actually feeling — adults and youth — and the problems faced in the community,” she said.

Alexis Davitashivili, a junior at Commack High School who joined the Advisory B`oard in September, said her favorite initiative so far was when she and other student volunteers went to a local grocery store and placed approximately 1,100 stickers on alcohol cases to try and put a stop to underage drinking. The stickers read “Your Actions Matter! Preventing underage drinking is everyone’s responsibility.”

“It’s important for young people to get involved in their community because they’re kind of the faces of the community,” she said. “Although older people are involved, not all younger children listen to adults. Hearing things from a teen or someone close to your age is going to have more of an affect on them and the community as a whole. It might even help the adults open their eyes, like ‘oh if a child can do it, so can I.’”

If you’re a high school student or adult interested in joining the Youth Advisory Board, call the Youth Bureau at 631-360-7595 for more information.

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