Mount Sinai School District's board of education during its March 8 meeting. File Photo Photo by Kyle Barr
By David Luces
The Mount Sinai School District is looking at a budget that could see a decrease in debt services and changes to school textbooks and special education.
The district continued its presentation of its proposed 2019-20 school budget at a district board meeting Feb.13. Between the January and February presentation, the district has shown approximately 23 percent of the budget, which is just about $13 million out of the $62.5 million proposed total budget for the next school year.
At the February meeting, after hearing the needs from parents, the board said it is supporting the recommendation to make the Consultant Teacher Direct Instructor program full day for children in grades 1 through 4 in the elementary school. CTD instructors provide services and support students with disabilities in his or her general education classes. This would increase the special education budget to $4.3 million, $98,780 more than the previous school year.
“It will align with the full-day program at the middle school,” Superintendent Gordon Brosdal said. “To create that [at the elementary school] it would take the hiring of two special education teachers.”
District officials said they will examine class size and registration to figure out how many teachers they would need overall. In addition to the planned full-day program, the teachers will be supplied with additional textbooks.
“This is a pretty big add,” the superintendent said. “But we believe this is the best for our kids and what their needs are.”
“We believe this is the best for our kids and what their needs are.”
— Gordon Brosdal
Officials also stressed the need to replace older textbooks in the middle and high school. The district would be replacing sixth-grade algebra II textbooks, replacing middle school science textbooks, seventh- and eighth-grade English books along with social studies textbooks.
The superintendent said that some of the textbooks in the middle and high school are over 20 years old. The total for the new textbooks will cost the district $75,550.
“[With the newer textbooks] everything is accessible online,” he said. “You could have the lesson in class and then see it again
at home.”
In conjunction with newer textbooks, the board will also renew IXL site licenses, which is a platform that offers students K-12 educational practice outside the classroom.
“We have seen many students use this —we are reacting to the popularity and use it,” Robert Sweeney, president of the Mount Sinai board of education said. “When students go home they can go through lesson plans, online help — it is helping them do better in
their classes.”
A highlight of the Jan. 16 meeting was the announcement of a 25-year-old bond loan that is expected to be paid off in full at the end of the year.
“This is good news for us,” Brosdal said. “Finally, that bond on the high school that we got years ago to borrow money will be paid off this year.”
With the bond being paid off, the school district is projected to see a decrease of close to $1 million in debt services.
The next budget presentation will take place on March 20 at 8 p.m. in Mount Sinai Middle School. Topics of discussion will be operations, maintenance, grounds/security, athletics,
salaries and benefits.
Marie Mack, front, and her family and friends celebrated her birthday Jan. 27. Photo from Betty Mulligan
By Jane Swingle
Our grandparents Charles Petersen and Anna Kenney were married in 1913 and had three children. Their son, John Anthony, was born in 1917 and lived for 10 days. Their daughter, Marie Gertrude, our mother, was born in 1919 and has been living for 100 years. Mary Catherine was born in 1920 and lived for 24 hours.
Marie, who eventually married to become Marie Mack, always wanted a sibling and was told as a child that if she put salt on a windowsill, she would get a brother and if she put sugar on a windowsill she would get a sister. She said she remembers that at one time she had sugar or salt on 11 windowsills. Unfortunately for Marie, she remained an only child, and Jan. 18 of this year she celebrated her 100th birthday. A surprise birthday party was held for her Jan. 27 with over 90 guests in attendance.
Marie Mack during her birthday celebration Jan. 27. Photo from Betty Mulligan
She was loved dearly by her father who in 1898 joined the Navy during the Spanish-American War at the age of 15. She remembers him having a dry sense of humor (we’re sure she herself got this from him). He was a good cook and she always looked forward to a batch of potatoes, eggs and onions after work. Her dad loved coming out to Long Island to vacation and in 1928, when Marie was 10 years old, he bought the house in which she currently resides. They had spent their summers in the same house beginning in 1924, the same house that was the Mount Sinai Post Office and General Store from 1908 until 1922.
Her mother was very different from her father. She was very melancholic most of the time unless she was taking the Putnam Avenue trolley to downtown Brooklyn to go shopping. She crocheted beautiful baby outfits for her grandchildren and loved going to the movies. Marie said her mother had a beautiful smile and always wondered why she didn’t smile more often.
They lived at 83 Saratoga Ave. in Brooklyn in what was known as the “Railroad Flats” where they paid a monthly rent of $25. As a child she remembers the iceman delivering blocks of ice two to three times a week to keep their food cold. Milk was delivered at 4 a.m. and they had dumbwaiters so they didn’t have to carry everything upstairs. They lived on the third floor and once Marie even put our sister Elizabeth, “Betty,” in the dumbwaiter so she didn’t have to carry her up all those stairs.
In 1934 Marie saw our future dad, John Howard Rogers,working in a candy store and continued to eyeball him until they finally started dating in 1935. They went to their first prom at the Hotel George and she remembers wearing a pink taffeta long gown, silver shoes and our dad gave her her first corsage. They continued to see each other and in 1941 they were married and had their reception at her home on Saratoga Avenue. Our sister Ann Marie was born in December 1942, but our dad left soon after she was born for the Pacific front in April 1943. He did not see his daughter again until 1945 when he returned from the war. During the time that he was away our mother moved back in with her parents — she had only 35 cents to her name. She became an air raid warden and was given a certificate for selling war bonds.
When dad returned from the war, they became very busy making a family and in 1946 Elizabeth was born, followed by Nancy in 1951, Jane in 1953, John in 1954 and Thomas in 1956.With this expanding family they could no longer live in Brooklyn so they moved to Woodhaven in 1948, then to Rockville Centre in 1962 and eventually to Mount Sinai in 1968.
When asked when her favorite years were, Marie told us during the 1950s when she was raising her children. She got us through chicken pox, measles, mumps, ear infections, the teen years and the death of our father in 1969. She went back to work in 1970 at the Probation Department in Yaphank and remained there until 1977 when she married Bernard Mack. She again lived in Woodhaven for a short time after they were married but moved back to her home in Mount Sinai.
In 1996 when going into her attic to open a window she fell through the ceiling and shattered her knee, which required surgery and many months of rehabilitation. During this time Bernard passed away, but she rallied around again with her children pushing her to recover and get well.
She often wonders why she has lived so long. On many occasions she has said: “I’m not good enough to go to heaven, not bad enough to go to hell, so I guess I’m still here to torment all of you.”
Marie Mack during her birthday celebration Jan. 27. Photo from Betty Mulligan
When we think about her life spanning 100 years, we are astounded with all the changes that she has experienced in her lifetime. She was born before most people had electricity in their homes. She remembers gas lamps still being used, when there was no TV, no computers, no cellphones and when it cost 2 cents to mail a letter. She has lived through the Great Depression, World War II, the civil rights movement, the women’s movement, 9/11 and 18 presidents. She was even born before they started slicing bread in 1928.
She credits her long life to her family for keeping her – in her words – “Alive, alert and stimulated.” She’s had many bumps along the way, especially the passing of our brother John and our sister Ann Marie, but she’s always had a positive attitude and has always wished our father could have been with her to share this journey. What amazes all of us is her incredible memory – she remembers names of friends when she was a child, teachers’ names, games she played, street names where she used to live, movies, actors, books she read and all the places she has ever worked. As a child she enjoyed going to Coney Island for hot dogs, the hurdy-gurdy man who played the accordion with his monkey, putting hot bricks in her bed at night to warm her feet and attending the World’s Fairs in both 1939 and 1964.
When asked what important lessons she wanted to pass on to her children, her 12 grandchildren and her eight great-grandchildren, she told us to always remember how important family is, to be respectful, considerate and always take the time to listen. She was the best teacher of these lesson and we couldn’t have asked for a better mother.
Jane Swingle is a resident of Norwich and echoes the sentiments of her siblings, Betty Mulligan, Nancy Rogers and Tom Rogers. Their mother Marie Mack has lived in Mount Sinai for close to 50 years.
Students from different classes pass each other as they arrive, leave and pass by Setauket Post Office. In the foreground is Steve Hintze, one of 12 Founders Day guides and former Three Village Historical Society president. Photo from Beverly C. Tyler
By Beverly C. Tyler
This year, April 11 and 12, will mark the 14th year that Three Village fourth-grade students have come to the Setauket Elementary School auditorium to learn about the murals depicting the history of Setauket and Brookhaven, and the sixth year the Founders Day program has included the Original Settlement Walking Tour.
Last year during the Founders Day walking tour, one fourth-grade student had something to share.
“I don’t like history, but I like this,” he said.
Billadello, second from left; Katherine Kirkpatrick, middle, author of ‘Redcoats and Petticoats’; and historian Beverly Tyler with students Eve and Lily Rosengard on Culper Spy Day last September. The Rosengards helped to produce a video about historic murals at their school. Photo from Beverly C. Tyler
Last year on April 23 and 24, about 450 Three Village fourth-grade students came to the elementary school auditorium in celebration of Brookhaven Town Founders Day to learn about the area history through the murals of Vance Locke, a local artist who completed the murals in 1952. Then, for the next two hours, each class, led by guides from the Three Village Historical Society, explored the Original Settlement area that surrounds the Setauket Village Green. Students were introduced to painter William Sidney Mount and Culper spy Abraham Woodhull at the Setauket Presbyterian Churchyard and to residents Emma S. Clark, Thomas Hodgkins and Ward Melville at the Caroline Church Cemetery. At the Village Green, students learned about the Setalcott Native Americans, Brookhaven’s original English settlers, and the diversity of immigrants who lived and worked here, as well as the varied ancestry of the Three Village area soldiers whose deaths in war are memorialized here.
In Frank Melville Memorial Park, the fourth-grade boys and girls learned about gristmills, millers, blacksmiths, post offices, general stores and one of the Original Settlement’s 17th century homes. At the Setauket Neighborhood House — a home this writer grew up in — students heard about the structure of the building and how it progressed from a hotel, with stagecoach service from the Lakeland railroad station, to a tourist home with station wagon service from the Long Island Rail Road’s Stony Brook station, and finally to its use as a meeting place for the entire community.
At the circa 1740 Amos Smith House, students learned about the eight generations that lived in the home and how it grew to accommodate the four generations that included from five to nine children, parents and at least one grandparent in a three-bedroom house.
Each fourth-grade class also discussed the differences as shown in the images of the house in 1740, 1900 and today. Donna Smith, historical society director of education and Founders Day committee member was told by one of her tour group students, “My favorite part was seeing the house Mr. Tyler grew up in and how it is so different.”
The last stop, at Patriots Rock, a remnant of the last glacier and a Native American meeting place, provided an opportunity to learn about the Revolutionary War Battle of Setauket in 1777 and Caleb Brewster, who as an artillery officer directed the cannon fire, and who was also an important member of the Setauket-based Culper Spy Ring.
“Founders Day is more than learning about our local history,’ said Barbara Russell, Brookhaven Town historian and Founders Day committee member. “It is a historical experience for our Three Village fourth-grade students. … Learning that the Emma S. Clark Library is not just the place to find books or attend a program, but is an architecturally interesting structure that was built by a local resident [Hodgkins] as a gift to the community, and there really was a person named Emma S. Clark is enlightening to fourth-graders. Then they walk toward the Caroline Church and see the Hodgkins and Clark headstones — it all comes together in this fascinating look on a student’s face that they have just put it all together.”
“My favorite part was seeing the house Mr. Tyler grew up in and how it is so different.”
— Fourth-grade student
At the end of the tour each student receives a copy of “Discover Setauket, Brookhaven’s Original Settlement,” a walking tour guide companion prepared by the historical society, courtesy of Three Village Central School District. Students, who can now be considered knowledgeable guides to the area’s local history, are encouraged to take their family members on the walking tour.
The elementary school’s fourth-grade students were so inspired by the 2018 Founders Day tour that they decided to produce a video story of each of the Vance Locke murals in the school’s auditorium. The students were led by Andy Weik, school district lead teacher for instructional technology, and fourth-grade teacher Eric Gustafson. The students recorded the videos, and they were produced with a QR code added at the base of each mural. All but two were completed in time for Culper Spy Day, Sept. 15, a communitywide celebration of the spy ring with a wide range of community organizations and businesses taking part. For the first time, due to the student videos, the elementary school auditorium was opened on a Saturday to take part in the celebration. Four of the Vance Locke murals are scenes of activity in Setauket and Brookhaven during the Revolutionary War. Several of the students who worked on the video stories were present in colonial costumes in the auditorium to answer questions and talk to some of the 800 people who bought tickets for the event, as well as a few who wandered in to see what was happening.
At the historical society, we hope, for the foreseeable future, that every fourth-grade student will continue to experience the wonder of our local history and be excited to learn more of the stories of the people who lived here and what they contributed to our history.
Beverly C. Tyler is Three Village Historical Society historian and author of books available from the society at 93 North Country Road, Setauket. For more information, call 631-751-3730 or visit www.tvhs.org.
The William Miller House in Miller Place has seen a face-lift to its windows thanks to local support. Photo from Edna Giffen
By Edna Giffen
For those who live in or visit Miller Place, when driving through our elegant historic district, stop and take a look at the notable changes in our showcase home, the William Miller House located at 75 North Country Road in Miller Place.The façade of the 1920 flagship home shines with bright, newly painted restored windows.
One of the windows before restoration. Photo from Edna Giffen
On Dec. 5, Jeremiah McGiff of antique restorers Wild Boar Restoration, with the assistance of his cousin Mike McGiff, began this carefully rendered, crucial project. The sash was removed and taken back to the original wood.Thankfully, the windows were in relatively good condition and only needed minor repairs.Frames were also taken back to bare wood and repaired as needed (which again proved to be minimal). The sills sustained the most severe damage. As part of this contract the doors on the east end of the house and the first-floor window on the east side of the house were also restored.Old glass was used for the window panes except for one pane in the east room that was old and had some indecipherable writing on it. Copper was added above the windows and doors to prevent water from getting behind them. The window in the east door was left crooked as it had been found.
The William Miller House was first restored in the early 1980s shortly after the Miller Place Historical Society had purchased it. The windows were part of the restoration and at that time they needed few repairs, but time and the weather were not kind to the windows. The panes face the south, thereby receiving sunlight for much of any day of the year. Trees, which once occupied the front lawn and had protected the house, had all been removed due to disease by the late 1990s. Rain and snow continually contributed to the deterioration of the windows over time.
In 2020, the William Miller house will be 300 years old. The historical society has been working on repairs to ready the home for this momentous event. A new roof replaced the old one in early 2018. The windows had been chosen as the next major project to be tackled. Through the years the windows lost putty around the glass and panes would fall out and need to be replaced. None of the front windows could be opened because it was feared they would fall apart.
Windows after restoration. Photo from Edna Giffen
Fundraising commenced, including sending out information to the communities of Miller Place and Mount Sinai. The first job to tackle was the six main front windows. However, the cost for the restoration of these six was considerable at $16,800. It would be necessary to do two windows at a time. Then one day, current historical society Treasurer Gerard Mannarino received a phone call from a family in Miller Place who wished to donate the total cost of restoring the six front windows. The members of the board were stunned, ecstatic, and relieved.Work could now begin.
Additional funds from two donors, Jack Soldano, of Comics for a Cause fame, and fundraisers sponsored by the historical society were available to restore the remaining front windows, the east side window and the doors on the east end.
The change has been truly dramatic. All the windows but one date from the 1720s, 1730s or 1750s.
Thirteen windows remain to be restored, and fundraising is ongoing. We remain hopeful that these too will be brought to their original luster.
Meanwhile, we invite you to enjoy a freshened view of history. Come and see how a labor of love and generosity has placed a new lens and stunning façade on a shining landmark in our community.
Edna Giffen is a 12th-generation Mount Sinai resident. She is a local historian, archivist and current record keeper and recording secretary of the Miller Place-Mount Sinai Historical Society.
Gun control activist Linda Beigel Schulman speaks next to a picture of her son Scott. Photo by David Luces
By David Luces
As the first anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, passed by Feb. 14, gun control advocates and Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are gearing up for another round of gun debate.
U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) alongside gun violence prevention groups advocated for support for a proposed federal bill that would require background checks on all sales of firearms at a press conference Feb. 19.
“We are not trying to take anyone’s guns away — we are trying to prevent people who shouldn’t have a gun from getting one in the first place.”
— Tom Suozzi
H.R. 8, or the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019, was first introduced in early January by U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (D-California). Suozzi is a co-sponsor of the bill.
The congressman announced that H.R.8 had passed the House Judiciary Committee and would next be put to vote on the House floor.
“It will go to the floor in the next week or two,” he said. “I feel good that this bill will pass the House of Representatives — the challenge is whether or not we can get the votes in the Senate.”
The bill would also see the end of a known loophole in firearm sales.
“There is a gun show loophole,” Suozzi said. “We are not trying to take anyone’s guns away — we are trying to prevent people who shouldn’t have a gun from getting one in the first place.”
Currently under federal law, individuals who are convicted felons of domestic abuse, those who have a restraining order or those who have been found using controlled substances are restricted from purchasing guns. Gun control activists have argued the gun show loophole has made it possible for private and unlicensed sellers to market firearms to buyers without going through a background check process.
“I stand here today with Congressman Suozzi to fully back his support of reasonable gun control,” Dix Hills resident Linda Beigel Schulman of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America said.
Schulman’s son, Scott, was a teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida and was one of 17 individuals killed in the Parkland shooting. She said she first met the congressman at a March for Our Lives rally.
“He spoke with me about the shooting, and I knew his concerns, his support was genuine,” Schulman said. “He is fighting for the safety of all of us.”
“Just this Friday there was another workplace shooting — this has to stop.”
— Linda Beigel Schulman
Suozzi said many guns that are brought into New York State illegally are purchased through this loophole. He pointed to a statistic that said over 70 percent of gun crimes that have occurred in New York have been caused with firearms that originated out of the state, according to a 2016 report from the New York State Attorney General’s office.
Schulman said the bill is a bipartisan attempt to pass common sense gun control legislation and that safety from gun violence is not a partisan issue.
“If asked the question: Do you want to be safe, your children to be safe? Have you ever heard anyone answer no?,” she said.
Marybeth Baxter, Long Island coordinator of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence agreed with Schulman, stating that universal background checks are paramount for the safety of New York, other states and the nation.
“Just this Friday there was another workplace shooting — this has to stop,” Schulman said. “If the universal background check prevents just one shooting, then it has done it purpose, it has saved lives.”
Kale, Roasted Butternut Squash and Almond Salad. Stock photo
By Barbara Beltrami
Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean that you have to wait for spring and summer for interesting salads. In fact, on the contrary, winter veggies offer some great opportunities for crispy crunchy salads that take the blah out of winter fare and are hearty and oh-so-good for you. Of course, there’s kale, the new wonder veggie, roots such as beets and carrots and all the members of the cabbage clan with Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli and, of course, cabbage itself, both green and red. Cooked, raw or a combination of both, deftly dressed and seasoned, a winter salad can become a whole meal in a bowl.
Kale, Roasted Butternut Squashand Almond Salad
Kale, Roasted Butternut Squash and Almond Salad. Stock photo
YIELD: Makes6 servings.
INGREDIENTS:
3 tablespoons wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon orange juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced
1 large onion, chopped
2 bunches kale, washed, stemmed and sliced cross-wise into half-inch strips
½ cup toasted sliced almonds
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a shallow baking pan with aluminum foil. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, ¼ cup olive oil, honey, orange juice and salt and pepper and set aside. In a large bowl, toss together the squash, onion and remaining 2 tablespoons oil; spread in foil-lined pan and bake, turning once or twice, until squash is tender but not mushy and onions are golden. Crumple kale by “massaging” with both hands; transfer to serving bowl and toss with squash and onions, dressing and almonds. Garnish with pomegranate seeds if desired. Serve warm with bread dipped in extra virgin olive oil.
Fennel, Red Cabbage, Orange and Red Onion Salad
YIELD: Makes6 servings.
INGREDIENTS:
1 fennel bulb trimmed and diced
½ small red cabbage, thinly sliced, then chopped
2 oranges, peeled and thinly sliced
½ red onion, thinly sliced, rings separated
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon or ¼ teaspoon dried
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl toss together the fennel, cabbage, oranges and onion. In a small bowl vigorously whisk the oil, vinegar, garlic, tarragon and salt and pepper; pour over salad and toss again to thoroughly coat. Serve at room temperature with meat, poultry or fish.
Golden Beet, Brussels Sprout and Kohlrabi Salad with Creamy Herb Dressing
YIELD: Makes8 servings.
INGREDIENTS:
4 golden beets, peeled, trimmed and cut into 8 wedges each
4 medium bulbs kohlrabi, peeled and cut into 8 wedges each
1½ pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved lengthwise
1 head Boston or romaine lettuce, washed and separated into leaves
¼ cup chopped fresh dill
2/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
½ cup sliced scallions
¾ cup mayonnaise
½ cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 F. Wrap beets and kohlrabi separately in aluminum foil. Bake until fork tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Meanwhile, steam Brussels sprouts until tender but still bright green, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove and place in ice water for 2 minutes; drain. Arrange lettuce leaves on a platter; top with beets, Brussels sprouts and kohlrabi. Place dill, parsley, scallions, mayonnaise, yogurt, vinegar, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until mixture is well blended. Sprinkle vegetables with salt and pepper to taste and pour dressing over them. Serve warm or at room temperature with crusty multigrain bread.
A scene from Theatre Three’s ‘From the Fires’ Photo by Peter Lanscombe, Theatre Three Productions Inc.
By Sabrina Petroski
“Just another body for the ovens.” Haunting, isn’t it? This sentence comes from Theatre Three’s educational touring show “From the Fires: Voices of the Holocaust.” This play, the story of two young Jewish girls living through the reign of Hitler and the persecution of the Jewish people, has been presented in schools and community centers across the tristate area, going as far south as Washington and Virginia, and as far north as Richmond Hill, outside of Toronto, Canada.
“From the Fires” was written by Jeffrey Sanzel, the executive artistic director of Theatre Three in Port Jefferson and has been touring since 1996. According to Sanzel, he has always been passionate about the Holocaust and making sure the atrocious events of the past never disappear.
The cast
Nicole Bianco
Marci Bing
Michelle LaBozzetta
Douglas J. Quattrock
Jeffrey Sanzel
Steven Uihlein
When Theatre Three was looking for a new show for its educational program, Sanzel began searching for a show within the topic of the Holocaust, but none of them seemed right. Eventually, he decided to write one, immersing himself in research, finding survivors to interview and spending three days at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. After five months of writing, the cast, including Sanzel, went into rehearsal with an unfinished script, which was edited and rewritten over the six weeks of rehearsal.
“‘From the Fires’ has had an amazing response,” said Sanzel in a recent interview. “If it hadn’t we wouldn’t still be touring it this many years later! There has been an incredibly positive reaction.”
According to Sanzel, there are many schools, synagogues, churches and community centers all over Long Island that book the show every year or every other year. Michael Serif, a history teacher at Friends Academy in Locust Valley, first experienced “From the Fires” at Seaford High School in 2001. Since then, Serif has requested to bring the 40-minute play to every school he has worked in, including Locust Valley High School and Friends Academy. The theatrical piece is performed for grades 6 to 12.
“I’ve seen the play probably close to a dozen times in several different schools, and every time when the show is complete you can hear a pin drop in the audience,” said Serif in a phone interview. “The kids are so very deeply affected by the play.”
“From the Fires” depicts the Holocaust through the eyes of Rachel and Evy, two young girls from Berlin who grew up watching the world turn from a peaceful place to a place where people are ripped from their homes and murdered because of their religion.
John S. D’Aquila served as a medic in the 11th Armored Division during World War II, under Gen. Patton and was a witness to the horrors of the death camp at Mauthausen as a member of the liberating force. File photo
It begins with the liberation of the Mauthausen Concentration Camp in 1945 by a young soldier, then flashes back to 1937 where the audience sees Rachel, Rachel’s father and Evy go through all the changes in the laws and their lives; Rachel’s father losing his business, Rachel and her father going into hiding; Rachel, Evy and Rachel’s father being deported; Rachel’s father being killed in a gas chamber; and Rachel carrying Evy through the hardships they experience at the concentration camp. Sanzel says that having the story told by two young girls resonates more with younger viewers.
“One comment that a teacher made to their students was that part of the play’s power was that it reminds you that the people who went through this were just like you,” said Sanzel.
“The kids in the audience can see themselves in Rachel and Evy. Any survivors they would have met would be in their eighties and nineties, and they don’t think of them as themselves. ‘From the Fires’ puts it in perspective; it follows two kids who could be any two kids, and it gives it that universal connection.”
The play has a small cast, with each actor portraying up to half a dozen roles throughout the show, and keeps to a minimalistic set. A very important part of the show, according to Sanzel, is how the gradual change in the laws is shown.
“From the Fires” is meant for young audiences so there is no graphic content shown on stage. “You get to see their day-to-day lives, the change in the laws, and then of course the concentration camp,” said Sanzel. “It’s all an emotional appeal. There’s nothing graphic in the play so it’s angled to be watched from that standpoint. On stage you can’t really re-create the horrors of the Holocaust, so we emphasize the personal — the personal losses, the personal survival.”
‘Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it, and that’s why it’s so important to keep teaching it. ‘
— Jeffrey Sanzel
“From the Fires” is a work of historical fiction, one character is based on a real person. In May of 1945, Army medic John D’Aquila aided in the liberation of the Nazi death camp in Mauthausen, Austria. D’Aquila, a Theatre Three board member at the time the play was being created, was the inspiration for the American soldier who provides the framing device. While Sanzel was researching and writing the play, D’Aquila shared his personal experience, voicing things he had never said before.
“It was the first time he had ever spoken about his experience of liberating the camp because they were told when they went home not to talk about it, just to go back to their lives” said Sanzel. “He became the basis for the American soldier that opens and closes the show, and over the years [D’Aquila] would come to many of the road performances and in-house shows to speak. It became a passion for him to be connected to this because it was cathartic.” A resident of Belle Terre, D’Aquila passed away in 2014 at the age of 91.
After every performance the cast holds a Q&A, where the audience can ask questions about the performance, about the cast or about the Holocaust in general. Sanzel said that the questions he hears the most are, “Are you Jewish?” and “Did this actually happen?”
“From the Fires” opens doors to educating younger generations that reading from a textbook doesn’t. According to Serif, many of the history and English teachers within Friends Academy take the play and use it as a teaching opportunity, talking about it in class for days after and even referring back to it throughout the rest of the year.
“The children often ask complicated questions, so we give them our best answer and then encourage them to go back to their classes and talk about it in more detail,” explained Sanzel.
According to Sanzel, there are two main reasons he does the show. The first is to keep this event in history alive, so after those that experienced it firsthand are gone the stories don’t disappear with them. The second is to teach kids that they can stop things like the Holocaust from happening again. It all boils down to bullying, seeing someone being harassed and choosing to say something instead of sitting idly by while it happens, or even joining in. The Holocaust was made up of people joining in or ignoring the bad things because it didn’t personally affect them.
“There’s a danger in people thinking of history as ‘back then,’ that’s how we begin to let go of things and we can’t,” said Sanzel. “Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it, and that’s why it’s so important to keep teaching it.”
For more information or to book a performance, contact Theatre Three’s touring coordinator Marci Bing at 631-928-9202 or [email protected].
February means heart health awareness, but taking care of your heart requires a year-round commitment that has lifelong benefits. What will you do differently to take better care of your heart?
Dr. Joanna Chickwe
Heart disease can affect anyone, regardless of gender, age or background. That’s why all of our cardiac care experts at Stony Brook University Heart Institute remain focused on how to best prevent heart disease and heal the heart.
When you come to Stony Brook Heart Institute, you can depend on quality and expertise for every aspect of your cardiac care — care that exceeds national outcomes. A few examples:
• Our renowned team of interventional cardiologists have long been on the forefront for treating acute myocardial infarction, or heart attack. In fact, we exceed national outcomes and have the best outcomes on Long Island when it comes to bringing lifesaving heart emergency care to heart attack victims, as reported on the Hospital Compare* website.
• Our heart surgeons have a high degree of expertise in providing advanced approaches to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) — a surgical procedure that uses blood vessels from other areas of your body to restore blood flow to your heart. Our Heart Institute has received a three-star rating — the highest awarded — from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) for overall patient care and outcomes in isolated CABG surgery. This distinguished award is in recognition of the isolated CABG procedures we performed from January to December 2017. The STS ratings are regarded as the definitive national reporting system for cardiac surgery.
• For patients with severe aortic stenosis (narrowing), Stony Brook is a leader in advancing the transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedure and is one of a select number of sites in the U.S. to offer this minimally invasive procedure for patients who are considered high, intermediate or low-risk for open surgery. Stony Brook has excellent long-term data on patient outcomes with TAVR, and we are a tertiary referral center for evaluation of aortic valve disease.
• And, for patients with heart failure, a condition where the heart can’t pump enough blood to meet the needs of the body, our world-renowned experts at the Heart Failure and Cardiomyopathy Center help patients to restore their quality of life, limit their symptoms and understand their disease. We are proud that our patient outcomes for survival with heart failure are the best on Long Island and among the best nationally, according to Hospital Compare.
While we hope that you and your family never need acute cardiac services, you can be assured knowing that Long Island’s only Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI and Resuscitation is right in your community.
And, if you suspect a heart attack, please remember it’s best to call 911. Ambulances are equipped with defibrillators and most are equipped with 12-lead EKGs (electrocardiograms), which means they can transmit results to the hospital while en route. At Stony Brook, we assemble the treatment team and equipment you need before you arrive.
Want to do something today to learn about your heart health? Take a free heart health risk assessment at www.stonybrookmedicine.edu/hearthealth. Seeking a solution to a cardiac problem? Call us at 631-44-HEART (444-3278). We’re ready to help.
*Hospital Compare is a consumer-oriented national website that provides information on how well hospitals provide recommended care to their patients managed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Dr. Joanna Chikwe is the director of the Stony Brook University Heart Institute, chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery and the T.F. Cheng Endowed Professor of Surgery.
Operation Space members assemble a rocket at Vanderbilt University. Photo from Joshua Farahzad
Former Ward Melville High School graduates are finding out how valuable past connections are while they keep their eyes on the sky.
Joshua Farahzad and Hugh Ferguson graduating from Ward Melville in 2017. Photo from Joshua Farahzad
When Joshua Farahzad, a 2017 Ward Melville graduate, decided to give building a rocket a try, he began to solicit college and graduate students from around the U.S. and Canada for his team, which he called Operation Space. Along the way, fellow 2017 Ward Melville grads Hugh Ferguson and Brandon Cea joined the mission.
Farahzad, who is currently a sophomore at Duke University majoring in electrical engineering and economics, led a group of 40 college and graduate students in building two hypersonic rockets last summer. While many colleges have groups of students trying to do the same, Farahzad set out to assemble a group from various universities by emailing every college in the U.S. and Canada to work on a rocket remotely, learning the art of collaboration along the way.
After receiving resumes from fellow rocket enthusiasts, he and Operation Space team members remotely designed and built a rocket that is capable of reaching Mach 6-plus speeds, which is six times the speed of sound. Farahzad said the group is planning its first launch in late May at Spaceport America in New Mexico, and the goal is to break the student altitude record of 330,000 feet to reach the Kármán line, recognized as the border between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.
Farahzad said Operation Space, in a way, took root in Ward Melville when he was in teacher Bob Spira’s Advanced Placement physics class during his junior year. Spira showed the class “October Sky,” a movie about students who try to build rockets. As a part of the final project, the students built one themselves.
“I remember really, really loving that,” he said. “I never did it before.”
Farahzad said he knew he wanted to include Ferguson, who while in high school started the nonprofit Mission Toothbrush with him. The group, which is still run by Ward Melville students, collects oral care products for those in need. Later into the rocket project, during a trip home Farahzad said he was talking to Cea, and he realized how valuable his friend, who is a West Point cadet, would be to the plan.
The Duke student said after planning remotely with other Operation Space members, they managed to prefabricate electronics at Rutgers University in New Jersey and structures at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, which is also where the students finally met in the summer of 2018.
“We never met each other before,” Farahzad said. “We had been working on it for less than two months. We tried to piece it all together at Vanderbilt over a course of week. Some things worked, some things didn’t work.”
Farazad said the group decided to build two rockets in case one got damaged. The rockets were shipped to Princeton University in New Jersey where they will be housed until take off.
Ferguson said he was happy when Farahzad, one of the first people he met when he moved to the Three Village school district, approached him about the project. He said their experience with Mission Toothbrush provided a solid foundation to work on future projects.
Ferguson said they learned that when you have an idea you just have to jump in, and it’s important for young people to follow their interests no matter what their personality or skill set.
Brandon Cea and Joshua Farahzad. Photo from Joshua Farahzad
“It has taught me that do things you’ll be the most interested in and most fulfilled in, and because of that, I think you’ll do your best work, and it will be the best for your personal growth as well as be the best for the cause,” Ferguson said.
Now a sophomore at Northeastern University studying computer science and economics, Ferguson has helped Farahzad with recruiting, creating a business plan, and working on the web side of things. He said the project, and how quickly the rocket was built, reminds him of hackathons where students create an app or computer program in 24 to 48 hours. He added having a focused idea and proper planning is the key, and he also realizes how important a network is when it comes to working on a project of this size.
“Your network is much bigger than you think, probably better than you think,” he said. “If you really put the effort in, I think you know a lot more people than you think you do or who can help you, at least.”
As for the connection with Cea, Farahzad learned that his former classmate founded the West Point Space Engineering and Applied Research Program, an interdisciplinary team focused on enabling the next generation of space-capable leaders. Cea says for their projects the team can source BKNO3, an explosive compound, which cannot be procured or tested by civilian universities. Farahzad said Cea partnering with Operation Space allows them to get the explosive material they need for their rocket.
The West Point cadet, who describes Farahzad as inspirational, is happy to be working with his fellow classmate and is looking forward to the launch day.
“While it would be the crowning achievement of most students, it’s just the first step of an exciting partnership between a couple of Ward Melville alumni,” he said. “The future lies in space, and the best shot we have is through the building of the civilian-military relations. I don’t know what problems we’ll want to tackle next, but we can be content in the fact that it hopefully won’t be rocket science, and if it is, we already know how that’s going to go.”
Farahzad is looking forward to launch day too and said while a date has notbeen scheduled yet, the second rocket will be launched at a later date.
“I’m just happy to get to launch and see this whole thing, which feels very abstract, become real,” he said. “As long as everyone is safe, whatever happens after we hit the button will be a bonus.”
For more information about Operation Space, visit operationspace.org.
Two men smashed the front window of the Rocky Point Barbershop in the Rocky Point business district and stole store memorabilia Feb. 20, store security camera footage shows.
Security camera footage from Rocky Point Barbershop shows two men robbing the front display case. Image from Rocky Point Barbershop
The two individuals, one wearing a hood and the other a bandana, broke the front window of the barbershop, located at 576 Route 25A at around 2:45 a.m., store owner Yavuz Can said. The robbers didn’t manage to trip any alarms as they went in, despite motion sensors on the inside. Store employees did not learn about the breakin until later in the morning, and police were contacted around 8 a.m.
The shop, known in the area for its $10 men’s haircuts, kept a number of expensive memorabilia in the front case under the register. Can said the men stole hundreds of dollars worth of collectible coins from the case. The robbers also took display hand grenades and eight display knives, which the shop owner said were valued at about $60 each. Also stolen was a 20-gauge shotgun and shells, worth around $175. Yavuz added the broken front door glass would cost the store around another $400 to replace. The robbers did not steal from the cash register.
“This hasn’t happened before,” the shop owner said.
One of the figures captured on video at the break-in. Photo from Rocky Point Barbershop
Suffolk County Police confirmed the shop had been broken into that morning and that items were taken, though they could not confirm any information on the ongoing investigation.
Yavuz asked anybody who might recognize the people in the video to contact Suffolk County Police.
Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information about these incidents can contact Suffolk County Crime Stoppers to submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-800-220-TIPS, texting “SCPD” and your message to “CRIMES” (274637) or by email at www.tipsubmit.com.
All calls, text messages and emails are kept confidential.
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