Kent's comedy fundraiser will help homeless animals like Chad.
Kent Animal Shelter in Calverton kicks off its celebration of 50 years of providing a no-kill haven for homeless, abused and abandoned animals in search of a permanent home, with An Evening of Laughter comedy fundraiser at Hotel Indigo, 1830 West Main St., Riverhead on Friday, May 10 at 7 p.m. The event will feature the talented comedians of Laughter Saves Lives. $30 per person in advance, $35 at the door includes snacks, cash bar, Chinese auction and a 50/50 raffle. To order, please call 631-727-5731 or visit www.kentanimalshelter.com.
Sophomore midfielder Summer Agostino passes to teammate Courtney Quinn a 9th grader in the Patriots 17-12 victory over Smithtown East at home March 29. Photo by Bill Landon
Senior attack Sophia DeNicola rips a shot at the cage for Smithtown East March 29. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East goalie Sandy Thervil makes the save against Ward Melville March 29. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville senior Lexi Reinhardt rips a shot on goal against Smithtown East at home March 29. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville senior Lexi Reinhardt gets checked by two Smithtown defenders in the Patriots 17-12 win at home March 29. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville senior Lexi Reinhardt looks for an open cutter against Smithtown East at home March 29. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville senior Lexi Reinhardt cuts inside in the Patriots 17-12 victory over Smithtown East at home March 29. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville senior Lexi Reinhardt fires at the cage in the Patriots 17-12 victory over Smithtown East at home March 29. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville junior Kristin Quinn rips a shot on goal in the Patriot 17-12 victory over visiting Smithtown East March 29. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East senior defender Kelsey O’Hare brings the ball out against Ward Melville March 29. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville junior Julia Fabiano looks to pass inside against Smithtown East at home March 29. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East senior attack Isabella Costa sets up the play against Ward Melville March 29. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East senior attack Isabella Costa takes a shot at the pipes against Ward Melville March 29. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East senior midfielder Gabrielle Schneider passes the ball against Ward Melville March 29. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East senior Gabriella Schneider gets mugged in a game against Ward Melville March 29. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville sophomore Emma Elmen shoots from close range against Smithtown East at home March 29.. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville senior Courtney Carollo looks for a cutter in the Patriots 17-12 victory over Smithtown East at home March 29.. Photo by Bill Landon
Senior midfielder Courtney Carollo fires at the cage scoring 1 of her 4 goals for the Patriots March 29. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East celebrates after scoring a goal against Ward Melville March 29. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville celebrates after scoring a goal against Smithtown East March 29. Photo by Bill Landon
Smithtown East sophomore Alayna Costa draws a crowd against Ward Melville March 29. Photo by Bill Landon
By Bill Landon
After the Ward Melville girls lacrosse team dominated the first half of the game outscoring Smithtown East by eight goals, the Bulls regrouped for the second half and drew within four goals twice before the Patriots dropped the hammer to put the game away, 17-12, at home March 29.
Ward Melville senior Courtney Carollo led the way with four goals and three assists, 10th grader Summer Agostino, followed with three goals and two assists, and senior Lexi Reinhardt had an assist and found the cage four times. Also pictured above center, two Patriots celebrate a score against the Bulls.
Smithtown East senior midfielder Gabrielle Schneider topped the charts for the Bulls with three assists and two goals, sophomore Alayna Costa split the pipes four times, and her older sister Isabella Costa had two assists and two goals.
As of April 1, the win puts the Patriots at 1-1, and the loss drops Smithtown East 2-1 in Division I.
Mad Dog junior attack Thomas Stock flushes out from behind the cage looking for a cutter in a Middle Country one-goal victory over visiting Huntington March 28. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington freshman attack Robbie Smith scrambles for a loose ball against Middle Country on the road March 28. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington freshman attack Robbie Smith clears the ball against the Mad Dogs March 28. Photo by Bill Landon
Middle Country defenseman RJ Smith goes coast to coast to bury his shot on goal in a Middle Country one-goal victory over visiting Huntington March 28. Photo by Bill Landon
Middle Country defenseman RJ Smith pushes up-field in a Middle Country one-goal victory over visiting Huntington March 28. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington senior attack Pat Durand rips one at the cage against Middle Country March 28. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington senior attack Pat Durand rips one at the cage for the score against Middle Country March 28. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington senior attack Pat Durand (L) circles out from behind the net against Middle Country March 28. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington junior attack Nick Mattio drives towards the crease against Middle Country March 28. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington sophomore midfielder Liam Hassett brings the ball out against Middle Country March 28. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington senior attack Jordan McCoy looks for a cutter March 28. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington senior attack Jordan McCoy #3 flushes out from behind the cage March 28. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington senior attack Jordan McCoy #3 flushes out from behind net pursued by Middle Country defenseman Brian Lake March 28. Photo by Bill Landon
Middle Country senior attack Jacob Hyman flicks the ball inside in a Middle Country one-goal victory over visiting Huntington March 28. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington sophomore midfielder Jack Krisch pushes up-field against Middle Country’s Anthony Cabral March 28. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington sophomore midfielder Jack Krisch scoops up a loose ball against the Mad Dogs on the road March 28. Photo by Bill Landon
Middle Country’s Erik Worsoe #4 celebrates a goal scored by teammate Kaleb Pullis #2 in a Mad Dog one-goal victory over visiting Huntington March 28. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington junior midfielder Cole Pillion wins another possession at faceoff against Middle Country March 28. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington’s Cole Pillion takes off from the X against Middle Country March 28. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington junior midfielder Cole Pillion takes possession at a faceoff against Middle Country March 28. Photo by Bill Landon
Middle Country defenseman Brian Lake clears the ball up-field in a Middle Country one-goal victory over visiting Huntington March 28. Photo by Bill Landon
Middle Country midfielder Anthony Cabral passes on the wing in a Mad Dog one-goal victory over visiting Huntington March 28. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington goalie Aidan McDonald with one of his 4 saves on the road against Middle Country March 28. Photo by Bill Landon
By Bill Landon
The Middle Country boys lacrosse team trailed by one goal against the visiting Huntington Blue Devils going into the fourth quarter, but the Mad Dogs managed to retie the game 9 all. With one minute left in regulation, Middle Country’s Kaleb Pullis answered the call when he blasted a shot that stretched the net for the game winner defeating the Blue Devils, 10-9, March 28.
It was Pullis’ second goal of the day where Middle Country attack Thomas Stock stood atop the leaderboard with three goals and three assists. Matthew Robbert and Jacob Hyman both scored twice, and the long stickman RJ Smith went coast to coast earlier in the game for his goal.
The win, as of April 1, extends the Mad Dogs winning ways to 4-0 in Suffolk Division 1 where the Blue Devils drop to 1-2.
Almost four years ago, Michael Medico of Northport made his first foray into fiction writing with “The Sainted,” a spiritual thriller released in 2015. Back then, he talked with us about spending more than 40 years in marketing and advertising before his retirement.
It seems appropriate, then, that Medico’s latest book is a satirical take on today’s media and politics. The book, “Absolutely Positively Real Fake News: A Jaunty Romp Through the Deep State, Media Industrial Complex and the Progressive Mind,” is a series of fictitious news articles based on real people or events, with an outlandish twist.
The idea came about while Medico was dealing with writer’s block over the third book in “The Sainted” trilogy. He decided to set it aside for a while and experiment with something fresh and fun.
“I’ve always been a political junkie, and at some level consider myself a humorist,” said Medico in a recent interview. “I thought I would use my humorous take on things to write about the absurdities that have happened in recent times, and the way that they’re portrayed and talked about on TV, in the news, and especially online.”
Taking on the pseudonym Sir Telsunn Margraves, Medico weaves stories that focus on contemporary issues in politics, pop culture, sports and more.
Take, for example, comedian and political commentator Samantha Bee, who hosts the late night news satire show “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” on TBS. What would it be like if she interviewed the Clintons? Medico imagines the conversation in the book, including a moment when Hillary admits she sews her own signature pantsuits.
“With every piece of fake news we see, there is always some element of truth present,” Medico said. “That’s the most important element to these stories, and it’s what people are going to connect with and respond to.”
Readers who are willing to do a little of their own digging might be surprised to discover some of the zaniest details in the book are actually true. Did you know that former FBI director James Comey was briefly considered a sex symbol on Twitter? And did you hear that Comey once hid behind some curtains to avoid an awkward run-in with President Donald Trump? While they may sound unbelievable, these facts are the seeds of truth in one of Medico’s stories.
“I want people to think deeply about the news they’re consuming, I want them to ask questions, but just as importantly I want to make them laugh,” Medico said. “We have to be able to poke fun at things and find the humor in what’s going on.”
For those who can’t get enough of the fun, Sir Telsunn runs his own fake news blog, complete with rousing discussion in the comments section, at www.realfakenewsthebook.com.
“Absolutely Positively Real Fake News: A Jaunty Romp Through the Deep State, Media Industrial Complex and the Progressive Mind” is available at Book Revue, 313 New York Ave., Huntington, and through major online retailers including Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Medico will appear at Book Revue on April 4 at 7 p.m. for a reading from the book, Q&A session and meet and greet. For more information, call 631-271-1442. RSVPs are requested. Send an email to [email protected].
Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai)and the Sound Beach Civic Association will host an opioid overdose prevention and Narcan training class at the Sound Beach Firehouse, 152 Sound Beach Blvd., on Monday, April 8 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. This class meets the NYS Department of Health requirements and includes training on how to recognize opioid overdose, how to administer Narcan and steps to take until EMS arrives. Participants will receive a certificate of completion and an emergency resuscitation kit that includes Narcan. Free but advance registration is required by calling 631-854-1600.
Micayla Beyer, center, with teammates Luke Solak and Melanie Young at a recent fundraiser. Photo from Micayla Beyer
A team of Stony Brook University students is preparing for the journey of a lifetime to help those in need, all while bringing awareness to the lack of access to clean water in impoverished villages around the world.
Micayla Beyer, 21, a senior who is majoring in physics and German, is heading up a group of 14 SBU students. The team will climb up the 19,341-foot Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa, stopping along the way to help villages with limited access to clean water. The trip is in conjunction with WaterAid, an international nonprofit dedicated to improving access to clean water, hygiene and sanitation in the world’s poorest communities. Beyer said she learned about WaterAid through the organization Choose a Challenge, which pairs student travelers with a cause. To be eligible for the week-long Kilimanjaro trip, which begins May 29, each team member has to raise $6,000.
Nearly 100 SBU students attended an information session held on campus to learn more about the trek and the charity. Photo from Micayla Beyer
Kaylie White, engagement and support care associate for WaterAid America, said the organization has been working with Choose a Challenge for more than a year now, and the philanthropic treks can be a learning experience for students.
“Often on adventure trips like the Kilimanjaro one, students will be faced with lack of access to clean water and modern toilets as well, which is an opportunity for them to think more critically about how important those basic necessities are,” she said.
White said the trip challenges students both physically and emotionally, as they learn about the problems that are caused by a lack of access to clean water, dependable toilets and good hygiene.
“We hope that after participating in this trek, students will continue to be advocates of our work and spread awareness for the global water crisis,” White said.
Beyer, a 2015 Harborfields High School graduate, said she feels it’s important for people to know that there are areas in the world where residents don’t have access to clean water, and who sometimes have to travel miles to the nearest water source. Many times children will also help to retrieve the water, she said, and therefore are unable to attend school.
The college student said the trek, which will be her first trip outside of North America, is something that can be done with minimal training as the students only need to carry a personal backpack while guides and porters help to carry heavier items such as tents. She said she and the others will be grateful for the help as she admits, “we’re probably not as fit as we should be.”
To help students prepare, White said she and her colleague Elena Marmo, help students with their fundraising goals. They encourage efforts like bake sales and on-campus events, and in the past, some students ran 5ks for donations. She said Beyer has been an incredible advocate for WaterAid at SBU.
White said the plan is to have eight students from SBU participate in the trek, which will raise $25,000 for the organization and fund projects at two schools overseas to install clean water technologies, bathroom facilities, handwashing facilities and hygiene programming.
“That will make an incredible difference in the lives of children — allowing kids to grow up healthy and strong, staying in school so they can pursue their dreams,” White added.
Team member Mary Bertschi
Mary Bertschi, 22, a SBU marine biology major, plans to join Beyer on the mission. She said she was excited to participate because she studied in Madagascar in the fall of 2017 where she learned how many poor villages have limited access to clean water and toilets. During that trip, she and other students tested the parasite loads in young people in five different villages and found 85 percent of those tested had at least one waterborne parasite. She also learned that one in nine people doesn’t have access to clean water.
“That stuck with me,” Bertschi said.
While in Madagascar, Bertschi said SBU students had ways to clean water, including LifeStraw filters, but they did have to bathe at times in the dirty rivers and streams. She said the mild introduction to limited access to clean water was eye-opening for her.
Both students are near their goals of raising $6,000, and March 30, Greenporter Hotel in Greenport, where Bertschi works, will hold a fundraiser for the nonprofit.
Bertschi said the students will have to be realistic about how much ground they can cover on the mountain and will have to watch for altitude sickness, but she said the challenges during the trip will be worth it.
“I hope people recognize what a large issue this is, the lack of access to clean water, and the lack of access to toilets and sanitation and hygiene education,” Bertschi said. “I feel like that is something that a lot of people don’t really understand the severity.”
Beyer said she and her teammates are already learning from the experience.
“This path from signing up for the trek to reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro is the hardest thing any of us have gone through — it requires incredible time management, self-discipline, a positive attitude, insane creativity and networking skills, all to fundraise the 6K each and summit the third tallest mountain in the world,” Beyer said. “The best part about this whole thing so far is that we’re making an impact on so many people’s lives and bringing awareness of this water crisis to Long Island where we have some of the best water imaginable.”
To learn more about the Kilimanjaro trek, visit us.wateraid.org/team/185472.
Suffolk County police arrested six people March 30 for selling alcohol to minors at businesses located within Brookhaven Town in the 6th Precinct.
Police said they conducted several stings in response to community complaints, and 6th Precinct Crime Section officers conducted an investigation into the sale of alcohol to minors during which 17 businesses were checked for compliance with the law.
The following people were arrested and charged with unlawfully dealing with a minor:
German Estevez-Rodriguez, 40, of East Setauket, employed at Upper Main Street Deli, located at 1600 Main Street in Port Jefferson
Joseph Ragan, 18, of Coram, employed at Speedway Gas Station, located at 1445 Route 112 in Port Jefferson Station
Isaiah Tyler, 19, of Coram, employed at Speedway Gas Station located at 1956 Route 112 in Coram
Nurettin Keski, 45, of Brentwood, employed by Valero Gas Station,located at 1274 Middle Country Road in Selden
Buenaventura Benitez, 45, of Smithtown, employed at NY Food & Drinks, Inc. located at 2505 Middle Country Road in Centereach
Ervin Rhames, 21, of East Patchogue, employed at Speedway Gas Station, located at 501 Route 112, Port Jefferson Station
Eleven establishments within the 6th Precinct complied and refused to sell alcohol to minors.
All six people arrested were issued field appearance tickets and are scheduled to appear at first district court in Central Islip May 28.
Mount Sinai Superintendent Gordon Brosdal. File Photo by Kyle Barr
Mount Sinai residents finally have the full view of their school district budget, coming up on the annual vote in May.
The Mount Sinai School District continued its presentation of its proposed 2019-20 school budget at a district board meeting March 20. The March presentation gave residents the remaining 78 percent of the total budget.
The total proposed budget figure for the 2019-20 school year will be $60,926,615, which is a slight increase of 1.2 percent from last year’s amount. This year will also see a tax cap increase of 2.17 percent and the district’s tax levy amount would increase close to $900,000.
At the meeting, Superintendent Gordon Brosdal said the fund balance would decrease this year. For the 2017-18 school year, $5 million was transferred to capital projects to which the public approved to cover a new turf field, bleachers, press box, field events fencing and one-third of a new roof for the high school.
“The board wants to set a capital reserve of $850,000,” Brosdal said.
Including the $750,000 in funds put last year in capital reserve, the district will have $1.6 million for future capital projects. Brosdal proposed to use $1.5 million for two projects: the cost of another partial repair of the high school’s roof and to replace the middle school’s HVAC system.
“This room here, if you recall, last spring we had to move out of this room to the high school because the HVAC system died last year,” the superintendent said. It caused a lot of hot surrounding classrooms, and [it’s something] you can’t fix, it has to be replaced.”
The district’s $25 million bond failed to pass in December, 2018 with a vote of 664-428. The district said it had intended to use the bond to fix the high school roof, along with providing new classrooms to some aging parts of the school buildings.
Residents will be able to vote on the potential capital projects in May.
Another issue discussed was student enrollment. According to Brosdal, the district will see a steady decrease in the number of students it has in its schools.
The current student population is 2,240, and by 2022-23 the district enrollment could drop to 1,909.
“The numbers are dwindling at an alarming rate,” Brosdal said.
The superintendent said the problem can already be seen in the kindergarten level. The current kindergarten class has a total of 142 students and next school year they are only projecting 89 students.
“Should these numbers bear fruit, it will have ramifications all over the schools,” he said. “We have to look at everything and be fiscally sound. It’s going to affect a lot of decisions that have to be made.”
Other highlights of the meeting were that the Teacher Retirement System rate decreased to 8.86 percent, and district officials said they will likely save over $376,000.
“We are lucky that the teachers retirement system didn’t hammer us this year,” Brosdal said. “It went down significantly from last year.”
The district will look to improve outside lights at schools and parking lots, citing visibility issues and will be bidding again for a security company for the high school. The district is looking for four armed and two armed guards.
Brosdal said they are not certain on the exact amount they will receive in state aid. In Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) initial executive budget the district would receive $18,251,235. But with Cuomo considering proposing a new budget, the district won’t have an exact number until April.
The next budget meeting will be on April 17, and the district must adopt a budget in time for a community vote on May 14.
Tint meter used to detect the level of colored tint on car windows. Photo from SCPD video on illegal tints
Driving around Long Island, it’s most likely you have seen vehicles with a dark sheen of having their windows tinted.
Suffolk County police have said some may have been illegally darkened, but still managed to pass inspection. A 2017 New York State law requires window tint testing during annual motor vehicle inspections, though Suffolk County police had seen an increase in window tint violation summons issued in the two years since the new law took effect.
In response, police conducted a three-month sting operation from November 2018 to January of this year on 11 state inspection stations that were suspected of passing vehicles with illegally tinted windows. One turned out to be an automotive place in Selden.
Police used a decoy vehicle that had tinted windows that blocked 95 percent of light at these inspection stations. Operation Black Glass, as police called the sting operation, found that two of the 11 stations passed the decoy car and issued inspection stickers.
Staria Auto of Selden and Baldwin Automotive of East Patchogue were the two inspection stations that illegally passed the decoy vehicle. The other nine stations correctly did not issue an inspection sticker to the decoy, police said.
Suffolk Police Chief Stuart Cameron provided an explanation of the origins of the operation.
“If a car has illegally tinted windows, it should be failed and taken off the road until the tint is removed and the car is made legal.”
— Stuart Cameron
“Late last year I was driving on the expressway and I was still noticing a significant number of vehicles on the roadways with tinted windows, far more than I would expect to see after this law was in effect for two years,” Cameron said. “I wanted to see what the issue was — why wasn’t this law working like it was anticipated to.”
County Executive Steve Bellone (D) stressed the issue of officer safety when it comes to illegally tinted windows and traffic stops.
“It’s one of the most dangerous situations a police officer can be involved in because there is extreme unknown,” Bellone said. “The danger associated with traffic stops gets heightened by the fact that there are vehicles on the road that have [these] tinted windows.”
The state requires tinted windows to block only up to 30 percent of light, barring medical exceptions for the driver, officials said.
The offending stations were referred to the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles, which could impose penalties on their inspection licenses.
Police issued close to 6,000 summonses last year, far more than before the new law took effect.
Cameron enlisted the help of the criminal intelligence section and asked them to do a comparison against the window tints summons officers have written, to the inspection stations that had issued an inspection certificate to those cars, to see if there was a pattern.
Eleven inspection stations stood out and were targeted in the sting.
Cameron reiterated officer safety, saying anything could be happening when you can’t see what’s behind these windows.
“[These inspection stations] have an obligation to uphold a New York State law when cars are being brought in to be inspected,” the county police chief said. “If a car has illegally tinted windows, it should be failed and taken off the road until the tint is removed and the car is made legal.”
Bellone said Suffolk residents should notput officers’ safety at risk, for essentially a cosmetic addition to a vehicle.
“It’s not something we are going to tolerate, we are going to do everything to protect officers who are out there protecting us each and every day,” he said.
Emma S. Clark Memorial Library in Setauket. Photo by Elyse Sutton
Emma Clark Library, 120 Main St., Setauket will host a lecture titled “The Genealogy of Historical Architectural Styles in the Three Villages: Rationalism, Romanticism and the Vernacular” on Monday, April 1 at 7:30 p.m.
Joseph Betz
Guest speaker will be Joseph Betz, an architect, professor and former chairman of the Department of Architecture & Construction Management at Farmingdale State College. Betz has served the public as a member of the Town of Brookhaven Planning Board and is currently a member of the Historic District Advisory Committee.
The question of, “What style do we build in?” first began in the 18th century as part of a transformation of consciousness that occurred in the Enlightenment. These styles can be grouped into two main categories: rationalism and romanticism. The first reflects a new rational philosophy of science and democracy, with its origins in Greek thought, while the other reflects a romantic escape into the past and has an emotional attachment with the good old days, religion and a fear of change. Both categories are influenced by local building traditions and forms.
The evening will examine the many historical architectural styles in the Three Villages and place them into these two main conceptual categories, giving the participant an easy way to identify and understand the meaning of these buildings.
Co-sponsored by Three Village Historical Society and Three Village Civic Association, the presentation will give an appreciation for the historic districts in the Town of Brookhaven and why these districts should be preserved as a learning environment for future generations.
Free and open to all. No registration necessary. For more information, call 631-941-4080.
It seems appropriate, then, that Medico’s latest book is a satirical take on today’s media and politics. The book, “Absolutely Positively Real Fake News: A Jaunty Romp Through the Deep State, Media Industrial Complex and the Progressive Mind,” is a series of fictitious news articles based on real people or events, with an outlandish twist.
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