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Yearly Archives: 2018

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Baked Stuffed Clams

By Barbara Beltrami

At this time of year, I love to ask any Italian-Americans I know what they are cooking for Christmas Eve because so many of them celebrate it with a grand meal that includes seven or more different kinds of fish, a custom most sources attribute to the Roman Catholic tradition of the fasting vigil awaiting the midnight birth of Jesus. 

What I enjoy about the answers I get is the incredible variety of fish courses that each family considers the absolutely inviolable menu. The only constant, as far as I can tell, is baccala, or salt-cured cod, and from there the meal proceeds on to a pasta, usually with some sort of seafood sauce, clams, shrimp, something fried and, in many extravagant cases, finally lobster. 

If you think of Christmas Eve as a special night or occasion, if you like fish, if you like Italian food, then by all means use these recipes and others or get yourself invited to one of these hours long repasts that surely is not just one of the highlights of the holiday but also one of the best Italian-American culinary traditions.

Baccala (Dry Salted Cod)

YIELD: Makes 4 to 6 servings.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound dry salted cod, cut into 3-inch pieces

1/3 cup olive oil

2 large onions, coarsely chopped

3 pounds potatoes, scrubbed and coarsely chopped

One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes with juice

2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained

1 tablespoon fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried

½ cup chopped fresh parsley

1 garlic clove, minced

1½ teaspoons hot red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS:

Changing the water at least 6 times, soak the cod in a bowl or pan of cold water for 24 hours in a cool place. Taste a piece to determine if it is too salty. If it is, soak longer. In a large pot heat oil, add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent. Add potatoes and stirring frequently, cook until golden brown. Add 3½ cups water to pan and bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and cook 5 minutes. Uncover pot, add tomatoes, capers, oregano, parsley, garlic and pepper flakes; stir; gently lay cod on top, cover pan and carefully turning fish once midway through, simmer until it is cooked through, about 30 minutes. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature with garlic bread and black or green Italian olives.

Spaghetti with Anchovy Sauce

YIELD: Makes 4 to 6 servings.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound spaghetti

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 to 6 salted or oil-packed anchovies, rinsed

½ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS:

Cook spaghetti according to package directions, reserving ½ to 1 cup of pasta water. Meanwhile, in a small skillet combine oil and garlic and cook over low heat until garlic is softened but not browned. Add anchovies and with a fork, mash well; add pepper flakes, stir and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside to keep warm, then toss with cooked spaghetti, adding some of the pasta water if too dry. Serve hot or warm with a well-chilled dry white wine and breadsticks.

Baked Stuffed Clams

Baked Stuffed Clams

YIELD: Makes 4 to 6 servings.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups bread crumbs, seasoned with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

½ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Freshly squeezed juice of one lemon

24 cherrystone or littleneck clams, scrubbed and opened, top shell discarded

2 cups clam juice

2 lemons cut into wedges

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 F. In a medium bowl combine bread crumbs with salt and pepper; then add oil, garlic, parsley and lemon juice. Place clams in nonreactive baking pan and carefully pack about two teaspoons of bread crumb mixture on top of each one, Being careful not to wash away bread crumbs, pour clam juice around clams. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until bread crumb mixture starts to brown. Remove from oven, drizzle a little of cooking liquid over them and serve hot with lemon wedges and prosecco.

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By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

As we marinate in the warmth of the holidays, we have a chance to spend time with friends and family.

We’ve chosen most of our friends ourselves. OK, maybe that’s not exactly true, as we inherit friends from our parents when we’re young: “Oh, why don’t you play with Timmy, who is the son of my best friend whom I met when I was your age”; and from our children when we’re older: “Hey, dad, can you hang out with Allisa’s parents while we wander through Great Adventure theme park.”

Despite the somewhat limited pool of people from which to choose our friends, we often pick those people who share similar values, a sense of humor or a tolerance for politicians.

We don’t have the same luxury with our families. We have nutty family members who say and do all kinds of things that make us cringe, that cause us to laugh long after the events are over or who simply make us scratch our heads.

We often think it’s the other family members who are the oddballs but, in truth, we’re all pretty strange.

Long before people voted each other off shows or islands in situations that seemed completely contrived in reality TV shows, family members confronted the awkward moments when they saw each other, year after year, at holidays, birthdays, special occasions and, perhaps, uncomfortable or less-than-ideal moments.

Families provide us with opportunities to test ourselves and our theories without worrying about losing a job, losing a friend or losing our minds. We can challenge ourselves and our families with ideas percolating in our heads, but that may not be exactly what we believe.

Our families receive the best and the worst of our impulses, as we step forward to help each other, but also encourage independent growth and development.

As older members of families, we hope to lead not only by our words but by our examples. Failing that, however, we hope that our spouses, children, parents and siblings can see us for the range of our contributions to the family, and not just for that ignominious moment that we’d just as soon forget.

Families offer reality checks on the myths we create for ourselves. “No, Dan, you didn’t win that horseback-riding ribbon because you had such a great ride. You fell off the horse and the judges felt sorry for you when you landed in horse manure. Good try, though.”

These moments when families hold up mirrors to us can help ground us, keeping us from becoming too proud or mighty. On the other side, however, when we’re feeling down, families can serve as the perfect counterweight, suggesting that we have succeeded in more difficult circumstances and that they are certain of a positive outcome, even if we harbor significant doubts.

Movies about families often run the gamut of emotions, from slapstick, to comical, to serious and even bruising, as rivalries that run amok can become the origin of dysfunction even when we step away from these familial contacts.

Certainly, therapists often start and end with the family dynamic, drawing an understanding of habits we may not know we have until we look back at the lives and roles that brought us to this point.

At their best, families can inspire and encourage, while suggesting that we can and should believe in ourselves while we pursue our goals. Ultimately, families who demonstrate unconditional love and support, even if they do laugh at us periodically, set the kind of example that makes the accomplishments of the next generation possible. Here’s to everything we give, get and laugh about from the people we call family.

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TBR News Media held a free screening of its first feature film, 'One Life to Give,' at the Staller Center for the Arts at Stony Brook University in June. Photo by Heidi Sutton
Leah Dunaief

By Leah Dunaief

The end of the year has snuck up on us. Have you noticed that the pace of the passing years seems to have accelerated? This is our last regular issue for 2018, and it seems fitting to take a bird’s-eye look at where we’ve been and what lies ahead.

Most immediately coming are the next two issues of special note, that of Dec. 27 and Jan. 3. The first is People of the Year, and we call it our only all-good-news issue. This is the 43rd year we are honoring outstanding residents for going that extra mile and thereby helping to make our hometowns the special places they are. In doing so, they quietly elevate the quality of our lives.

We solicit nominations for this issue from you, our readers, community leaders and neighbors. The editorial board meets with focus groups in the last quarter of the year over breakfast or lunch to discuss nominees and to further inform us of what is happening here, sometimes quietly, sometimes not so much. It is a treat for us to interact with the community on such a pleasant mission. We also get suggestions via emails, texts, phone calls and even an occasional petition; our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts are available, too.

We then take those names back to our conference room and amid lively discussions, select those whose stories we print in the People of the Year issue. Sometimes the ones that don’t fit become feature stories we run in the new year. I have been told that there are collectors who have all 43 issues. What a shelf life!

The second, the Year in Review, is new this year and is done in pictures in a kind of Life magazine treatment. It is on special white stock to help enhance the photo reproduction and is in full color. Life magazine — for whom I worked when in my early 20s and is no more — eat your heart out! A chronology of the way we were, we suspect that it, too, will have a long shelf life. 

Some special offerings of this past year certainly should include our first full-length movie, “One Life to Give,” which was screened in June at the Staller Center for the Arts at Stony Brook University to a full house of more than 1,000 viewers. The story follows the early years of the Revolutionary War, specifically through the lives of Nathan Hale and Benjamin Tallmadge, and the start of Washington’s Culper Spy Ring that was headquartered in Setauket. 

I am pleased to be able to tell you that we have filmed a sequel, called “Traitor,” that takes place four years later. It is now 1780, and with great luck the Patriots have captured British spymaster, John André. Again Tallmadge is central to the plot that reveals the discovery of Benedict Arnold’s betrayal and the ultimate fate of André. It will be screened in the spring and you will all be invited.

Another first for us this past year was the Cooks, Books & Corks event at the Bates House off Main Street in Setauket. Many local authors came with their books for sale, and many local restaurants came with their specialties for tasting on a sweet summer evening. There was wine and unending good food for both the body and the mind. Our engaging headline speakers were Guy Reuge from Mirabelle Restaurant, internationally famous naturalist Carl Safina and the inspirational dean of the School of Journalism at SBU, Howard Schneider. The event raised money to fund a journalism intern next summer. In answer to the many times we have been asked, yes, we are planning to do it again.

A new print offering this past year was the sleek Washington’s Spy Trail booklet. In 1790, Washington took a slow, ceremonial coach trip along what is now 25A, from Great Neck to Port Jefferson, to honor the Setauket spies who had contributed so much to the victory of the colonists. The booklet marks the route, which this year sports road signs, with information about various points of interest along the way. We will again be publishing the story with updates.

I am running out of space, but there was a lot more that we innovated this past year with much more to come in 2019. Meanwhile thank you for your participation. We could not do any of this without you.

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Port Jeff sophomore Aaron Held controls his opponent as he went 2-1 @132lbs at the Bob Armstrong Memorial tournament Dec. 15. Photo by Bill Landon
Port Jeff eighth grader Liam Rogers who went 2-1 on the day whose teammates are his 2 brothers Brendan and Tyler, at the Bob Armstrong Memorial tournament Dec. 15. Photo by Bill Landon
Port Jeff junior Jack Niedeberger sends his opponent to the mat @195lbs who placed 3rd overall at the Bob Armstrong Memorial tournament Dec. 15. Photo by Bill Landon
Port Jeff freshman Anthony Evangelista brother of county champions Dom & Joey, went 3-0 on the day @ 126lbs Dec. 15 at the Bob Armstrong Memorial tournament. Photo by Bill Landon
Port Jeff 1st-year wrestler Nick Kim who hails from the Cajun State battles @145lbs at the Bob Armstrong Memorial tournament Dec. 15. Photo by Bill Landon
Port Jeff’s John Walkham from the top at the Bob Armstrong Memorial tournament Dec. 15. Photo by Bill Landon
Port Jeff freshman Jon Balfoort defeats his opponent @126lbs notching his 1st varsity win at the Bob Armstrong Memorial tournament Dec. 15. Photo by Bill Landon

Port Jefferson’s Royals fought hard at the at the Bob Armstrong Memorial Cup multi-school wrestling tournament held at Earl L. Vandermeulen High School Dec. 15.

Port Jeff’s Rick D’Elia, at 120 pounds, took top spot on the podium in for the Royals wrestling team

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Mount Sinai’s 3rd year varsity wrestler Ryan Shanian looks to pin his opponent @145lbs at the Bob Armstrong Memorial tournament Dec. 15. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai 4-year varsity wrestler and team leader Mike O’Brien is in control @132lbs who won his match 5-3 in the finals at the Bob Armstrong Memorial tournament Dec. 15. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai’s John Yeahmans in control @138lbs at the Bob Armstrong Memorial tournament Dec. 15. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai 2nd varsity wrestler GianLuca Ferrara squares off against his challenger at the Bob Armstrong Memorial tournament Dec. 15. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai 8th grader Derek Menechino a 1st-year varsity grappler takes down his opponent at the Bob Armstrong Memorial tournament Dec. 15. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

Mount Sinai Mustangs showed off their wrestling chops Dec. 15 during the annual Bob Armstrong Memorial Cup multischool wrestling tournament at Earl L. Vandermeulen High School in Port Jefferson.

In five different weight classes Mount Sinai’s Jack Tyrell, Joe O’Brien, Joe Goodrich, Mike Sabella and Matt Campo each took the top spot on the podium.

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UPDATE: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED

Ice sculptors wanted

While the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum, 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport is currently celebrating the holidays with tours of the decorated mansion, it is looking ahead to its next major event, Ice Fest at Eagles Nest. The museum is seeking ice artists to feature their work at the museum’s first ice sculpture festival, to open in February 2019.

“We are looking for all ice sculptors who would like to participate in this exhibit and showcase their talents,” said Jim Munson, the Vanderbilt’s operations supervisor. “We are looking for live demonstrations as well as ice sculpture displays that will help advertise the artists’ businesses,” he added.

In return for their effort and contribution, participants will receive signage that identifies their business at each sculpting site, recognition on the Vanderbilt website, publicity releases sent to regional media, free advertising for six months on the Vanderbilt Reichert Planetarium dome, a one-year associate membership, which includes free passes to planetarium shows and guided mansion tours and more. 

To secure a spot in this year’s Ice Fest, or to obtain more information, please contact Jim Munson at 631-379-2237 or email [email protected].

 

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Photo by Donna Newman

St. James R.C. Church, 429 Route 25A, Setauket invites the community to experience the beauty and wonder of its traditional Neopolitan Nativity scenes, courtesy of Rev. Gerald Cestare, every day through Jan. 13 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. (except Christmas Eve/Day and New Year’s Eve). 

Celebrating its 30th anniversary, this year’s display, located once again in the Parish Center, contains thousands of figures, buildings and miniatures; even if you have seen this display in the past, there is always something new! Fr. Jerry invites everyone to share in this wonderful depiction of the true gift of Christmas, a tradition handed down to him from his grandfather. Free event. Call 631-941-4141.

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Studies show that walking a modest distance can reduce triglyceride levels. Stock photo
Reducing carbohydrates may be more important than restricting calories

By David Dunaief, M.D.

Dr. David Dunaief

Triglycerides are part of the lipid, or cholesterol, profile. They get less attention than the other substances, HDL (“good”) and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, but they’re no less significant. 

For 30 years, we have debated whether a high triglyceride level is a biomarker for cardiovascular disease — heart disease and stroke — or an independent risk in its own right (1, 2). Either way, triglycerides are important.

What are they? The most rudimentary explanation is that they are a kind of fat in the blood. They are composed of sugar alcohol and three fatty acids. Thus, it’s no surprise that alcohol, sugars and excess calorie consumption may be converted into triglycerides.

Risk factors for high triglycerides include obesity, smoking, a high carbohydrate diet, uncontrolled diabetes, hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid), cirrhosis (liver disease), excessive alcohol consumption and some medications (3).

What levels are normal? Optimal levels are <100 mg/dL; however, less than 150 mg/dL is considered within normal range. Borderline triglycerides are 150–199 mg/dL, high levels are 200–499 mg/dL, and very high are >500 mg/dL (3).

While medicines that focus on triglycerides, fibrates and niacin can lower them significantly, this reduction may not result in clinical benefits, such as reducing the risk of cardiovascular events. The ACCORD Study, a randomized controlled trial, questioned the effectiveness of medication; when these therapies were added to statins in type 2 diabetes patients, they did not further reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and events (4). Instead, it seems that lifestyle modifications may be the best way to control triglyceride levels. Let’s look at the evidence.

Exercise — timing and intensity

If you need a reason to exercise, here is a really good one. Study results showed that walking a modest distance with alacrity and light weight training approximately an hour after eating (postprandial) reduced triglyceride levels by 72 percent (5). However, if patients did the same workout prior to eating, postprandial triglycerides were reduced by 25 percent. This is still good, but not as impressive. 

Participants walked a modest distance of just over 1 mile (2 kilometers). This was a small pilot study of 10 young healthy adults for a very short duration. The results are intriguing, nonetheless, since there are few data that give specifics on the optimal amount and timing of exercise.

Exercise trumps calorie restriction

There is good news for those who want to lower triglycerides: Calorie restriction may not be the best answer. Instead, we probably should be looking at exercise and carbohydrate intake.

In a well-controlled trial, results showed that those who walked and maintained 60 percent of their maximum heart rate, which is a modest level, showed an almost one-third reduction in triglycerides compared to the control group (maintain caloric intake and no exercise expenditure) (6). Those who restricted their calorie intake saw no difference compared to the control. This was a small study of 11 young adult women. Thus, calorie restriction was trumped by exercise.

Carbohydrate reduction, not calorie restriction

In addition, when calorie restriction was compared to carbohydrate reduction, results showed that carbohydrate reduction was more effective at lowering triglycerides (7). In this small, but well-designed study, patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease were randomized to one of two diets, lower calorie (1200–1500 kcal/day) or lower carbohydrate (20 g/day). Both groups lost similar amounts of weight and significantly reduced triglycerides, but the lower carbohydrate group reduced triglycerides by 55 percent versus 28 percent for the lower calorie group. The reason for this difference may have to do with oxidation in the liver and the body as a whole. However, the weakness of this study was its duration of only two weeks.

Fasting versus nonfasting blood tests

The paradigm has been that, when cholesterol levels are drawn, fasting levels provide a more accurate reading. Except this may not be true.

NHANES III data suggest that nonfasting and fasting levels yield similar results related to all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality risk. LDL levels were similarly predictive, regardless of whether a patient had fasted or not. The researchers used 4,299 pairs of fasting and nonfasting cholesterol levels. The duration of follow-up was strong, with a mean of 14 years (8).

With regards to stroke risk assessment, nonfasting triglycerides may be more valuable than fasting. In a study involving 13,596 participants, results showed that as nonfasting triglycerides rose, the risk of stroke also rose significantly (9). Compared to those who had levels below 89 mg/dL (the control), those with 89–176 mg/dL had a 1.3-fold increased risk of cardiovascular events, whereas those within the range of 177–265 mg/dL had a twofold increase, and women in the highest group (>443 mg/dL) had an almost fourfold increase. The results were similar for men, with a threefold increase.

The benefit of nonfasting is that it is more realistic and, according to the authors, also involves remnants of VLDL and chylomicrons, other components of the cholesterol profile that interact with triglycerides and may affect the inner part (endothelium) of the arteries.

What have we learned? Triglycerides need to be discussed. Elevated triglycerides may result in heart disease or stroke. The higher the levels, the more likely there will be increased risk of mortality — both all-cause and cardiovascular. Therefore, we ideally should reduce levels to less than 100 mg/dL.

Lifestyle modifications using carbohydrate restriction and modest levels of exercise after a meal may achieve the best results, though the studies are small and need more research. Nonfasting levels may be as important as fasting levels when it comes to triglycerides and the cholesterol profile as a whole; they potentially give a more realistic view of cardiovascular risk, since we don’t live in a vacuum and fast all day.

References:

(1) Circulation. 2011;123:2292-2333. (2) N Engl J Med. 1980;302:1383–1389. (3) nlm.nih.gov. (4) N Engl J Med. 2010;362:1563-1574. (5) Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2013;45(2):245-252. (6) Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2013;45(3):455-461. (7) Am J Clin Nutr. 2011;93(5):1048-1052. (8) Circulation Online. 2014 July 11. (9) JAMA 2008;300:2142-2152.

Dr. Dunaief is a speaker, author and local lifestyle medicine physician focusing on the integration of medicine, nutrition, fitness and stress management.    

٭We invite you to check out our new weekly Medical Compass MD Health Videos on Times Beacon Record News Media’s website, www.tbrnewsmedia.com

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File photo
New name honors long-standing support from Renaissance Technologies families

By Kenneth Kaushansky, M.D.

Dr. Kenneth Kaushansky

There’s an old adage that things get better with age: The relationship between Stony Brook University and the families of Renaissance Technologies is certainly proof of that, having maintained a close connection for more than 35 years.

Throughout the years, 111 families at Renaissance Technologies have donated more than $500 million to the university. Now in recognition of their contributions and generosity, Dr. Samuel L. Stanley Jr., Stony Brook University president, recently announced that Stony Brook University School of Medicine will now be known as the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University. This new name was recently voted on and approved by the board of trustees of the State University of New York. 

The relationship began in 1982 when Jim Simons, the former chair of the Department of Mathematics at Stony Brook University, made a $750 unrestricted gift to the university’s annual fund, becoming the first at Renaissance Technologies to contribute to the Long Island institution. 

Since that time, current and former employees of Renaissance Technologies and their families have donated more than $500 million to date in support of Stony Brook’s students, faculty and primarily research in life sciences and medicine. This significant investment has improved the quality of medical education at Stony Brook, creating 34 endowed faculty chairs and professorships, nine innovative academic and research centers and $35 million for student scholarships and fellowships.

Gifts have supported areas where the personal interests of the Renaissance families intersect with the strategic investment needs of the university, such as Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, basic science research, imaging, health care for those who are underserved, cancer research, medicine and the Staller Center for the Arts.

This incredible engagement by Renaissance employees and their 111 donor families — very few of whom attended our university — has created a true “renaissance” at Stony Brook. 

As dean of the School of Medicine, I’m so proud that our school will carry their name in recognition of the excellence they’ve helped create at Stony Brook. During the Campaign for Stony Brook alone, more than 72 Renaissance Technologies employees and their families donated $166.5 million that directly benefited Stony Brook Medicine and the School of Medicine and a total of over $400 million to the university as a whole. 

The Renaissance School of Medicine is the top-ranked public medical school in New York State and ranks 57th in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report. 

A member of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and a Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME)-accredited medical school, the Renaissance School of Medicine was established in 1971. With 25 academic departments, it trains over 500 medical students and more than 750 medical residents and fellows annually.

The investments in medicine and throughout Stony Brook by Renaissance families have transformed the university and the communities it serves by deploying the most inventive new solutions to the most important issues of our time. 

And as the years go on, things will only get better as their contributions ensure continued access to groundbreaking medical treatments and leading-edge, innovative medical care for the residents of Suffolk County and beyond.

Kenneth Kaushansky, M.D., is the senior vice president of Health Sciences and dean of Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University.

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John McMorris finishes the run with his son's picture in hand. Photo by Kyle Barr
Scouts raced in uniform. Photo by Kyle Barr
Scouts raced in uniform. Photo by Kyle Barr
Troop 161 Scoutmaster Matt Yakobowksi races. Photo by Kyle Barr
Troop 204 Scoutmaster Joe Argento finishes race. Photo by Kyle Barr
Troop 204 uniform. Photo by Kyle Barr
A Boy Scout finishes the race. Photo by Kyle Barr
Shoreham-Wading River Middle School cross country runners race to support Troop 161. Photo by Kyle Barr
Chase Junell from Frelsburg Texas was first to cross the finish line. Photo by Kyle Barr
The race starts. Photo by Kyle Barr
John and Alisa McMorris hold a photo of their son. Photo by Kyle Barr
Danelle Rose helps get race started. Photo by Kyle Barr
Boy Scouts help give out water bottles. Photo by Kyle Barr

More than 400 people crowded onto the Shoreham-Wading River High School soccer field Dec. 15 to race in the first annual Andrew’s Run, but one family especially that crossed the finish line did so to cheers and applause that resounded all across the North Shore community.

John McMorris, the father of 12-year-old Boy Scout Andrew McMorris who died in October, walked and ran with his son’s framed photograph clenched in his hand. As he and Andrew’s mother, Alisa, strolled over the finish line that morning, John stuck up his hands in triumph, knowing it would go to support his son’s memory.

“This is how the community comes together,” he said. “The community is the only way we’ve been able to heal — to continue to heal.”

Andrew, who was a seventh-grader at Albert G. Prodell Middle School in Shoreham, died Oct. 1 after an alleged drunk driver struck him and four of his fellow Scouts in Boy Scout Troop 161 while they were walking along the shoulder of David Terry Road in Manorville during a hike. The McMorris family said
Andrew was going to do his first practice for the middle school cross country team that same day, but his life was ended before he could fulfill that ambition. 

The run was brought together through the efforts of 16-year-old Miller Place High School student Danelle Rose, who helped prepare everything from the race’s route across the fields at SWR High School to coordinating with the school and the Strong Island Running Club professional time takers, who donated their services for free to the run.

All the funds are going to support Boy Scout Troop 161 in their effort to build a new 3,200 square foot Adirondack cabin at Baiting Hollow Scout Camp in Wading River, which will be named McMorris Lodge in honor of Andrew. The run raised over $8,000 for the lodge.

Several members of local Boy Scouts, including those from Troop 161 and Troop 204 from Miller Place, ran in the race, some in their full Boy Scout uniforms. While weather forecasts called for rain that Saturday morning, Troop 161 Scoutmaster Matthew Yakaboski said it was a sign that good things may still come from tragedy.

“I think Andrew was shining down on us today,” Yakaboski said.

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