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Yearly Archives: 2018

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Town of Huntington will host a Organ Donor Enrollment Day Oct. 10. File photo by Rohma Abbas

As the Town of Huntington is entrenched in a lengthy legal battle with Long Island Power Authority, its elected officials are looking to reduce its dependency on fossil fuels and move to sources of renewable energy.

Huntington town board unanimously agreed to apply for a $62,500 grant from New York State’s Climate Smart Communities Grant Program at its July 17 meeting. If the funding is approved, the town will move forward with a study of its current energy use and how to transition to using more renewable energy resources.

“There is a nationwide movement of towns pledging to go renewable by 2050 and we want Huntington to be one of those towns.”

– Jenny Strandberg

“There is a nationwide movement of towns pledging to go renewable by 2050 and we want Huntington to be one of those towns,” Jenny Strandberg said.

Strandberg is one of many Mothers Out Front, a grassroots community organization pushing for a transition to 100 percent clean and renewable energy, who asked Huntington officials to move forward with the study and renew their pledge to protect the environment.

“If everyone on the planet lived like the average American, you would need five planets,” said Jennifer Browns, a professor of sociology of LIU Post and Mothers Out Front member. “We need a commitment to 100 percent renewable energy and we need it now.”

Huntington first adopted the state’s Climate Smart Communities pledge in 2012. By taking the pledge, the town made several promises to its residents including trying to “decrease energy use” and “build a climate-smart community.”

Supervisor Chad Lupinacci (R) said in order for the town to become Climate Smart Community certified, it would need to hire a consultant to perform a Government Operations Greenhouse Gas Inventory to
assess what emissions its producing, a 100 percent Renewable Energy Feasibility Study and then a Capital Phase-In Plan to determine and set a schedule to meet the town’s greenhouse gas reduction goals. The estimated cost for those steps is approximately $125,000, according to Lupinacci. The town is seeking funding for half through the state grant.

“The sooner we get it in, the more we can beat people to the top of the line to make sure we show our commitment and we are ready to roll on it,” Lupinacci said.

“Let me state clearly, it is LIPA’s policy to transition to renewable energy 50 percent by 2030.”

– Peter Gollon

The program requires the town provide 50 percent matching funds, for which it will pull $62,500 from the its Environmental Open Space & Park Fund Review Advisory Committee’s Green Project Fund. The committee has already approved the project.

Both East Hampton and Southampton townships on the East End have already become Climate Smart Communities certified by going through this process, according to Huntington resident Tara Kotlia. She said she would like to see the Town of Huntington become the third.

Peter Gollon, a Huntington resident and board trustee for Long Island Power Authority, said if Huntington moves forward with the study and transitions to renewable energy, it would bring the town more in line with the utility company’s long-term vision.

“Let me state clearly, it is LIPA’s policy to transition to renewable energy 50 percent by 2030,” Gollon said.

He stressed that LIPA and the power  companies will continue to push renewable energy as the future, and encouraged the town to do the same.

“It’s clear different communities must engage, set examples for each other and move toward clean energy, renewable energy as soon as possible,” Gollon said. “Huntington must continue to be a leader

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Downtown Kings Park. File photo by Rachel Shapiro

Town of Smithtown officials have tried to negotiate a fair price for two Kings Park properties for years and are now considering bringing down the hammer.

Smithtown town board voted unanimously to schedule a public hearing Aug. 14 on utilizing the process of eminent domain to forcibly take ownership of two vacant lots off Pulaski Road, which are currently owned by Matthew and Marguerite Lupoli. The measure is being considered as a step toward securing Kings Park’s downtown revitalization.

“Actually, the appraisal for eminent domain came back offering the Lupolis more than they wanted initially for the property.”
– Ed Wehrheim

“My hope is that we don’t have to go there,” Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R) said. “We’ve done an eminent domain appraisal. Actually, the appraisal for eminent domain came back offering the Lupolis more than they wanted initially for the property.”

A June 4 real estate appraisal of the two adjacent wooded lots determined the fair market price to be approximately $270,000 for the roughly 12,800 square feet, according to town spokeswoman Nicole Garguilo. The property is located south of Park Bake Shop off the intersection of Pulaski Road and Main Street.

“It’s never going to be anything other than an open field or parking lot,” Garguilo said. “Those are the limited possibilities due to the lots’ size and condition.”

Wehrheim said the town attorney’s office will continue to reach out to the property owners in attempts to negotiate a purchase price.

If an agreement cannot be reached, the public hearing scheduled for 2 p.m. Aug. 14 will move forward. Based on the hearing, the town board can make a determination on the use of eminent domain and then make a formal offer on the property before taking the matter to court if needed.

Smithtown town officials have been eyeing these wooded lots for municipal parking dating back to 2013.

A petition started by Park Bake Shop owners, Lucy and Gabe Shtanko, in 2013 received more than 600 signatures from Kings Park residents asking town officials to purchase the lot for municipal parking. Wehrheim said a 2014 appraisal determined its fair market price at $230,000, but Matthew Lupoli wasn’t interested in selling at that time.

There is a town municipal parking lot across the street from the Kings Park Fire Department on Main Street, next to the Kings Park branch of The Smithtown Public Library.

“It’s never going to be anything other than an open field or parking lot.”
– Nicole Garguilo

The western portion of Main Street — dubbed Restaurant Row — is the one area that could possibly use more municipal parking, according to the results of a 2018 market analysis study of downtown Kings Park presented by Larisa Ortiz, urban planner and principal of Larisa Ortiz Associates, to the town board Jan. 25.

“The municipal lots are inconvenient for restaurants,” reads the 62-page report.

The Restaurant Row area, which includes several eateries such as Cafe Red and Relish, averages 4.7 parking spots per 1,000 square feet of retail space. This is less than the two other areas of Main Street — known as the “civic heart,” near the Kings Park library and Long Island Rail Road station, and “car-centric
retail,” which is centered around Tanzi Plaza and the Kings Park Plaza shopping center.

Ortiz’s other suggestions for improving the current parking situation in the downtown area included restriping several existing lots — such as Relish’s — to accommodate more spaces and increase their efficiency.

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Allison Frasca in a scene from 'Dean Darling.' Photo from the 'Dean Darling' Facebook page

As film lovers packed the Staller Center at Stony Brook University last weekend for the Stony Brook Film Festival, one movie had a bit of local flavor.

“Dean Darling,” which had its world premiere at the festival July 21, was partially filmed in Smithtown and features an actress who grew up in Setauket, Allison Frasca, who plays the character Jaclyn. Alan Inkles, director of the Staller Center, said Calogero Carucci, who wrote and directed the film, created a beautiful piece where one of the strengths was the director’s choice of actors.

“As the protagonist, she enters the film and brings a powerful energy that complements the very subtle performance of Douglas Towers, the male lead.”

— Alan Inkles

“All of the cast were terrific, but without a doubt, Allison’s work was the real glue to keeping the film together,” Inkles said. “As the protagonist, she enters the film and brings a powerful energy that complements the very subtle performance of Douglas Towers, the male lead.”

Frasca said “Dean Darling” centers around a 20-year-old who, after his two parents die in a car accident, searches for answers through relationships and filmmaking. She said Jaclyn is a free spirit who is a breath of fresh air in main character Dean’s life, and when he meets her, he sees the potential to find happiness in the future.

The actress said she was impressed with Carucci’s work, which is influenced by new age French cinema, and she found the film’s visuals to be beautiful. During auditions and callbacks, she discovered filming would
occur in Smithtown, and Frasca said she was thrilled to have the opportunity to film in a town she remembered from her childhood.

Her parents were in attendance for the screening, and her father Anthony said it was the first time he saw his daughter’s work on the big screen, and he and his wife Andrea were proud of her.

“It was really kind of riveting seeing her on the big screen because she’s just so charismatic,” he said.

The father said in addition to his daughter’s acting, he thought all the actors were talented and he enjoyed the storyline.

Allison Frasca in a scene from ‘Dean Darling.’ Photo from ‘Dean Darling’ Facebook page

“I thought that the message of the film — the importance of family and friendship — was uplifting,” he said.

Frasca, who now lives in Manhattan where she performs in stage productions and films, is currently working in the Off-Broadway play “Wicked Frozen.” She said she was honored to be in the film festival that takes place just a few miles from where she grew up and were she visits her parents and two brothers, Andrew and Alex, frequently. It was while growing up in the village and attending The Laurel Hill School in East Setauket that she developed a love for acting and also what goes on behind the scenes.

The actress said she remembered an eighth-grade production of “West Side Story” where there was trouble with the construction of the set. She decided to do something about it and brought crepe paper and paint home to create the scenery herself. Frasca said every time auditions were posted for a school play, she would go straight to her computer to research the story and characters. Her love for performing continued through her years at St. Anthony’s High School in Melville, and she majored in theater at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Frasca said she has a lot of fond memories of driving around the back roads of the Three Village area exploring with her brothers and cousins, and visiting West Meadow Beach to walk down Trustees Road and fish with her father.

She said due to her love of local history, she chose Setauket Presbyterian Church to film a comedy she wrote and produced, “Which Witch is Which.” And one summer, she and her cousin Matthew Colucci visited the Three Village Historical Society to pick up maps to help them stake out every historic sign in the area.

“Every time someone comes to visit I’m like, ‘And here is the site of the Battle of Setauket,’” she said, adding she calls herself a history nerd.

Frasca said her dream role is to play Anna Strong, a member of the Culper Spy Ring who would send signals to a courier by hanging garments in a specific formation on her clothesline in Strong’s Neck.

“It’s a bravery that doesn’t get put to the test anymore, thank goodness,” she said.

Until her dream role comes around, Frasca said she will revel in the joy of being part of the Stony Brook Film Festival as she returns to reality in the city.

“It was amazing being part of the festival,” she said. “I remember walking into the Staller Center to watch Bernadette Peters or ‘The Nutcracker’ when I was young so it was surreal walking into that theater and seeing myself on that enormous screen.”

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‘Dutch Plate and Tulips,' watercolor

Artist Statement:

’ My goal is to design a watercolor that is an exciting, moving feast that celebrates my heritage. I paint objects that have deep personal meaning, attempting to push the medium by layering colors so the painting is saturated with richness, depth and clarity.’ —  Eleanor Meier

By Irene Ruddock

Eleanor Meier

Setauket artist Eleanor Tyndall Meier is a contemporary realist still life painter. A former art educator, her work has been published in the New York Times, New Art International and Splash: Watercolor Discoveries. Meier has received many awards in juried exhibitions, both nationally and internationally, and she is a signature member of the Baltimore Watercolor Society as well as exhibiting with the Rhode Island, Houston and Adirondack Watercolor Societies.

A former president of the Catherine Lorillard Art Club, Meier is currently on the advisory council at Gallery North and the steering committee of The Long Island Museum’s LIMarts, where she was chosen to be August’s 2018 Artist of the Month at the museum’s Visitors Center.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Meier as she prepares to move her art studio to Centerport.

You have a breathtaking array of awards and accomplishments. What do you consider your most meaningful? 

After retiring from a career of teaching art to high school students, many of whom are dear friends today, I had the opportunity to paint and make art a daily activity, to exhibit and to develop friendships with other committed artists. Using skills developed as a teacher I now find a special fulfillment in planning research trips to galleries, colleges, museums and other art centers.

How do you design your compositions? 

‘Kimono and Apples,’ watercolor

I paint large still life tableaux that are filled with treasured objects arranged on patterned and textured fabrics. The images consist of solid forms that reflect shifting nuances with webs of shadow. Using themes such as kimonos, Delft china, silver Revere bowls, cups and saucers, colored glass, white objects — whatever deeply moves me and excites the mind’s eye. I try to design the arrangements so that the painting will be infused with a sense of myth, mystery and magic. 

How do you choose the objects for your paintings? 

I use objects that have been passed from generation to generation, objects that have the potential for significance because of past association. They may be grand or humble, glistening or tarnished, but they must animate the surface, breathing energy and vigor into my compositions. 

Is there another art form that you enjoy? 

Since the human figure is one of the most enduring themes in the visual arts, I find that drawing from the live model inspires all my artistic endeavors. I find it is a needed exercise to sharpen the vision, improve eye-hand coordination and to energize the right side of the brain.

Are there artists from whom you draw your inspiration? 

I admire the works of Dine, Demuth, O’Keefe, Rothko, Beal and Freckleton. I have studied Dine’s work, noting that he selects an object that has meaning to him, uses it and transforms it into an exciting icon. I am drawn to the richness and luminous color in Rothko’s paintings, the use of the diagonal in the exciting compositions of Beal and Freckelton, the delicacy of a Demuth apple and the singular focus as found in an O’Keefe flower. I also attend galleries, studios and museums in New York City, Houston, Italy and Geneva — wherever in the world I travel.

Can you tell us about the Catherine Lorillard Art Club?

‘Cups and Plates,’ watercolor

The organization is a 130-year-old organization of women artists started by a bequest from Catherine Lorillard Wolfe, who was the only female on the board of founders of the Metropolitan Museum. The club exhibits yearly at the National Arts Club and the Salmagundi Club, attracting world class women artists. As an artist working alone, I find that being involved with this prestigious art organization has given me the opportunity to befriend many dedicated professionals and to share ideas which stimulate the creative process.

You are on the steering committee for LIMarts, an art group associated with The Long Island Museum. What can you tell us about that? 

Working with the innovative Neil Watson, executive director of the museum, has been fun. His interest in giving Long Island artists opportunities to exhibit their work has been exciting and inspiring. I am honored to have been chosen to be Artist of the Month and will be exhibiting at The Long Island Museum’s Visitor Center, 1200 Route 25A, Stony Brook through the month of August.

Soon you will be moving to Centerport. What will you miss most about this area?

I will always be involved in this area. The Three Villages and surrounding towns have become a vibrant area for art on Long Island. The many museums, galleries and artist studios have all raised the presence of art, making it an important center for art exhibits, art talks and art education. It is an exciting community in which to live and I am happy to have a small part in its new presence on the art map of Long Island. 

As a leader in the art world, what has art meant to you over the years? 

Art has always been my life and passion. I now have the time to paint every day, to exhibit, to work on various art-related committees, to plan art trips to the city and other venues. It makes life happy and fulfilling.

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Sachem Public Library’s new outdoor nature classroom will feature a cascading water table similar to the one depicted above. Stock photo

By Sabrina Petroski

For several weeks now, visitors to Sachem Public Library in Holbrook have noticed a flurry of activity outside of the children’s wing. Now the state-of-the-art award-winning library is finally ready to unveil its latest offering, Discovery Grove, with an official ribbon cutting ceremony on July 27.

The new outdoor nature classroom will be a place for children from birth through sixth grade to experience the great outdoors in a safe environment. The fenced-in area will be open year round during daylight hours for the community to enjoy. 

The Dig In area at Sachem Public Library in its final stages. Photo from Sachem Public Library

According to the head of Children’s Services, Amy Johnston, she and her colleague Lisa Stevens came up with the idea in response to the movement by author Richard Louv called No Child Left Inside. Louv coined the term Nature Deficit Disorder, stating that the younger generations spend too much time indoors on electronic devices and lack a connection with the outside world. 

Both Johnston and Stevens felt a duty to their community to help more children get “down and dirty” while exploring the beauty of nature and the world around them.

“We both have a passion for getting children outside,” said Johnston in a recent phone interview. “We grew up being outside all the time, and we’ve noticed that kids are not going outside as much.” 

Discovery Grove will feature an area with a cascading water table, a digging area, an art area, large building blocks, sticks and logs, a stage where kids can use outdoor musical instruments to put on shows, as well as a community garden. 

According to Neely McCahey, the library director, the board of trustees is hoping this will be a way for the library to extend the services it offers the community. 

There will be programs available exclusively in the grove, including one titled Dig In. Facilitated by Stevens, 4- and 5-year olds will receive nature experience through art, movement and free play, which will lay a foundation for environmental literacy for the children of the Sachem district.

“We hope to show children that it’s okay to get wet and we will have boots and rain ponchos on hand for kids to use during inclement weather,” said Johnston. “It’s okay to be slightly uncomfortable being cold,” she explained, adding, “these are all learning moments that children aren’t often exposed to.”

McCahey agreed, saying, “We want parents to let [their children] experience things, to fall down, bump their knees, and get dirty. I think parents nowadays think dirt is not good, but kids need to get their hands in the dirt and take some calculated risks. Safe risks like climbing and jumping are good things,” she said. “I hope Discovery Grove will be a place where parents feel comfortable letting their children run free.”

The community is invited to the ribbon cutting on Friday, July 27, from 4 to 6 p.m. with a rain date of Aug. 3. The event will be attended by elected officials, chamber of commerce members, civic groups, the board of trustees and other library colleagues who have made donations to the creation of Discovery Grove.

“We are excited to bring this to our patrons as another extension of what we do here at the library,” said Johnston. “We’re not just books anymore, we are a community center where parents and children can come and experience all different things. We will be working closely with parents and caregivers, encouraging them to embrace new ideas and behaviors while experiencing Discovery Grove with their children. It is here for them, created for them, and we hope that they will take full advantage of this opportunity to explore and grow together!”

Sachem Public Library is located at 150 Holbrook Road in Holbrook. For more information, visit www.sachemlibrary.org or call 631-588-5024. 

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Photo courtesy of Smithtown Animal and Adoption Center

MEET WILLOW!

This sweet girl is Willow, a 2-year-old female pittie mix patiently waiting at the Smithtown Animal and Adoption Center since March. Dubbed a “whole body wagger” by the staff, Willow will give you the greatest welcome home greeting you have ever experienced and loves to be petted behind those big, tall ears. Willow is okay with some dogs but not cats and would love some kids to call her own, to play with her all summer long! She comes spayed, microchipped, fully vaccinated and would make a great family pet.

The Smithtown Animal and Adoption Center, located at 410 E. Main Street in Smithtown, is open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays by appointment. For more information on Willow or other adoptable pets at the shelter, call 631-360-7575. 

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Properly drafted prenuptial agreements ensure that assets ... remain separate.

By Linda M. Toga, Esq.

Linda Toga, Esq.

THE FACTS: I am widowed, have two grown children and will soon be getting married to Joe. Joe also has children from his first marriage. We are both financially independent and have agreed that our assets will remain separate. When I die, I want my children to receive the bulk of my assets.

THE QUESTION: Should I ask Joe to sign a prenuptial agreement? 

THE ANSWER: The quick answer to your question is Yes. Properly drafted prenuptial agreements ensure that assets that are held by one spouse at the time of the marriage remain separate and that marital assets are only those assets that the spouses intentionally commingle. 

In other words, if, at the time of the marriage, you have a brokerage account worth $200,000, that account will not be subject to equitable distribution in the event the marriage terminates in divorce unless you add Joe’s name to the account.

However, if you choose to use some of that money to purchase a house with Joe, the assets you invested in the house will no longer be deemed your separate property and will be subject to equitable distribution in the event of a divorce. You and Joe need to discuss how you want your separate assets to be treated in the event of a divorce and have a prenuptial agreement prepared that reflects those wishes.  

In addition to addressing how your separate property will be treated, your prenuptial agreement should address how your retirement accounts and pension plans are to be handled. Some such accounts and plans require the account holder or the plan participant to obtain the consent of his/her spouse if that spouse is not going to be the beneficiary on the account/plan. 

If you have such an account or pension plan and you want to name your children as the beneficiaries, you will want Joe to waive any rights he may have to the assets held in the account or managed by the plan. 

While most people understand the importance of prenuptial agreements in connection with divorce, such agreements are equally, if not more important, when one of the spouses dies. That is because a well-written prenuptial agreement addresses the rights of a surviving spouse to share in the estate of his/her deceased spouse. 

In New York, spouses have priority over other family members to administer the estate of a person who dies without a will. That means that if you do not have a will at the time of your death, the Surrogate’s Court will give Joe, and not your children, priority to become the administrator of your estate. 

In addition to having the right to handle the estate of an intestate spouse, under the intestacy statute that governs the estates of people who die without a will, the surviving spouse is entitled to the first $50,000 of the testamentary estate and 50 percent of the balance of the estate. In your case, Joe would be entitled to more than half of your estate, leaving your children with less than they would be entitled to if you had not remarried. 

Even if you have a will at the time of your death, Joe, as the surviving spouse, can exercise his right of election. That means that he can claim one-third of almost all of your assets regardless of whether you owned the assets jointly with another person or designated other people as beneficiaries via a beneficiary
designation form. 

In other words, Joe would be entitled to one-third of an account you owned jointly with your children and one-third of your pension or retirement plan. To ensure that your estate is handled by the person of your choosing and that your assets pass to your intended beneficiaries regardless of whether you have a will, it is important to have Joe sign a prenuptial agreement waiving his spousal rights. The waiver should address both the administration of your estate and the right of election. Since prenuptial agreements are generally reciprocal, you should be prepared to waive the same rights in the prenuptial agreement as Joe. 

If you decide a prenuptial agreement is the best way to proceed, you should retain an experienced attorney well in advance of your marriage to prepare the agreement. To ensure that the prenuptial agreement you sign is enforceable, Joe should have separate counsel so that he cannot argue that he did not understand the rights he was waiving or the consequences of signing the agreement. 

Linda M. Toga provides personalized service and peace of mind to her clients in the areas of estate planning, wills and trusts, Medicaid planning, estate administration, marital agreements, small business services, real estate and litigation. Visit her website at www.lmtogalaw.com or call 631-444-5605 to schedule a free consultation.  

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My earliest memory of my sister is of a very young child, sitting in a stroller, reaching out her arms to hug me. She wasn’t able to talk yet, but I was two years older and interpreted her coos and cries for the rest of the world. Most often what she wanted was to be loved, and I would run over and wrap my arms around her.

We were a loving family. The world was a happy, secure place; this despite the fact that the time was World War II.

We lived in an apartment house in Manhattan. When my mother went shopping, she would push the stroller along the sidewalk, and I would hold on to the metal sidepiece and skip alongside. It was at those times that I sensed something was wrong. People would smile down at me but then stare at my sister.

Then I heard the word and asked my mother about it. It was the first time I ever saw my mother flinch. I was immediately hushed and told not to use that word again. I didn’t until I was in my teens.

The word my mother, a courageous woman of tremendous fortitude and intelligence, recoiled from was RETARDED. My sister Maxine was, and is, retarded.

My sister was not accepted among “normal” people and never would be. She was a social disgrace. And all the while, she laughed and played. She was able to talk now and would often say, “I love you.”

Reality forced itself on my mother when she went to register my sister for public school in first grade. The principal, a blunt, middle‐aged woman, took my mother aside and stated simply, “Maxine cannot go to a normal school. She’s retarded. Just keep her home. Retarded children don’t live very long, anyway.”

My sister was lucky. She had a family that would always look after her. But what is to happen to those others? Retarded children become retarded adults. And then what? What happens to them when their parents die and there is no one to pick up the burden? What happens to those who have the advantage of the latest programs and training but now need a place to live?

Only those very few retarded at the lowest end of the intelligence spectrum cannot function, at least to some minimal degree, within a home. The state has attempted to set up hostels for these retarded adults within a home like setting, assigning five or six to each house under the care of a supervisory couple. Communities, by and large, have reacted to these hostels with hostility, fearing for their property values and uncomfortable with the ever‐present social stigma.

I find that few know anything about retardation, and I suspect that this lack of contact is responsible for the hostility the retarded face. Many think retarded people are deranged or emotionally unstable. Those are fears, not facts. Retarded people are inherently gentle and unaggressive, which makes them defenseless. The retarded are simple human beings with the same basic needs of all of us: food, clothing, shelter — and especially love.

It might seem, from my account, that it took great sacrifice to live with my sister, and in some ways, it did, particularly from my mother. But in other ways, it taught us so much. Maxine taught us compassion for the disadvantaged. She also served, curiously, to test the mettle of all we met. Those who were reluctant to accept her proved not to be worth our company. Her life showed us, by example, what the most important values should be. Maxine did not understand affect, materialism or hypocrisy. She did not understand social embarrassment. She has the same basic concern for the dog that lives in the next apartment as she does for its owners. It is a respect for all life, and for her, life is music, and laughter and love.

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If I could only talk, I could tell some exciting stories.

For starters, many people think of me as a nuisance. No, I’m not a politician, journalist or lawyer. And, no, I don’t write parking tickets or tell you why you should join my religion and how I’ll promise you bliss in this life or the next one.

I’m much closer to earth. In fact, you could say that I’m closer to earth than almost everyone.

You see, I’m a speed bump. Now, hold on, I’m not some metaphor, like the layers of an onion. Don’t you hate how onions have become the metaphor of choice for complicated stories?

I’m a mound-over-a-road speed bump, designed to force cars racing through school areas, regions filled with small children playing on and around streets, and people approaching dangerous curves to slow down.

Kids don’t start hating me, just as they don’t start hating most things. In fact, small children often enjoy the miniature carnival ride I provide when their parents roll over me during a stroll. Sometimes, parents and children make excited noises as they approach, with their voices rising and falling as they reach the top of my back and then come back down.

As children get older, they like to ride their bicycles, skateboards, hover boards and scooters over me, often at high speeds, as they hope to catch some air. I’m like a skateboarding park with training wheels for children who haven’t graduated to more advanced, and dangerous, versions of high-speed obstacle courses.

Bus drivers sometimes use me to distract a raucous collection of children who are eager to get home. In fact, one of my speed bump friends on Main Street in Setauket described how kids at the back of the bus bounced up and down on their seats, hoping to reach my friend at exactly the right time so that the force of the bump caused them to launch into the air.

But then, as they get older, some kids find me as frustrating as their parents do. They want to go faster, because they’re late to meet friends, need to get to a job interview, or can’t be bothered looking at signs on the side of the road that introduce me. They sometimes call me a speed bump, speed hump or even a speed cushion.

They reach me at speeds that are dangerous for a car’s alignment, axle or wheels. The ones that race too quickly over me often shout something unpleasant in my general direction, especially if they hear a crunch or a crack in the car below them.

But, you see, more often than not, that means I’ve accomplished my goal. If they remember to slow down next time, they will protect their cars and, more importantly, the people who live, walk, work and, best of all, play in the area.

They may not think of the younger versions of themselves, or about their own children, as they slow down, but I don’t care. I’m not there to protect their car or to help them get somewhere more rapidly.

If they choose another route — maybe one that involves a highway — I’ve also gotten them away from local roads. Speed bumps like me serve a purpose, whether or not people enjoy me and the stripes they sometimes put on me.

And, as you know, school will be starting in a few weeks. I know because I’ve seen some of the back-to-school signs that pass slowly over me on the way to the stores.

Maybe, some day, self-driving cars will automatically slow down through areas where people are out and about. Until that day comes, I’m here for you and your children.

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It’s the end of July so it’s likely the minds of students, administrators and parents have drifted far away from the hallways of their schools, away from school board meetings and discussions about funding safety improvements. It’s understandable. But following an in-office, exclusive interview with Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. (D) July 20, county residents should sleep well knowing he has allowed himself no such break.

Hardening schools for the worst-case scenario — an intruder entering a local school with the means and intent to impose lethal, widespread harm — has become a top priority for districts across the country since the February shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead. In the absence of substantive action on tightening gun laws with commonsense reform coming from the increasingly feckless Washington anytime soon, local municipalities and schools have had to get creative.

This week, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) signed a bill permitting the county to pursue bond funding for a mobile application that government employees and school administrators will be able to download and use to directly contact law enforcement in the event of a shooting at a school or government building. In the aftermath of Parkland, Bellone announced an initiative that would allow districts interested in participating to grant access to school security systems to the Suffolk County Police Department, so that in the case of an emergency, law enforcement can see exactly what’s going on in the school. New York State passed its own set of bills in the spring as well, mostly geared toward allocating funds to districts interested in securing infrastructure or hiring additional security or mental health personnel.

These plans are a great start, especially, again, since we would all turn blue in the face holding our breath waiting for Congress. But Toulon raised some issues that seemed to us like they needed to be heard.

When asked if he could wave a magic wand and grant one thing to all 69 of Suffolk’s school districts to make them more secure, he identified establishing uniform practices countywide for training security — armed or otherwise — so that responders have a better feel for what they’re walking into should one of these dark days strike close to home. Uncertainty about what to expect between police and school district security should be the last thing either should be worried about in the midst of a frantic mission to save lives.

Further, Toulon said he has made his office available to districts interested in having their security practices assessed on a voluntary basis. So far, he said just 10 of the 69 districts have taken him up on the offer. We’d like to see that number reach 100 percent by the end of this year.

In addition, the sheriff’s office plans to host a forum for Suffolk school superintendents Aug. 16 at St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue to talk broadly about school security and to share ideas. The offices of the sheriff and county executive have not let this issue fade away during the summer months, and we hope schools haven’t forgotten either.

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