By Bill Landon
Ward Melville was the class of the field in fencing Feb. 9 where both the boys and girls teams won the Suffolk County fencing championship at Newfield High School.
Brandeis University recruit and Patriot standout Ben Rogak, who is a four-time all-county fencer, clinched his third consecutive Suffolk title notching a 24-2 season and has amassed a 101-16 career record.
According to head coach Jeff Salmon, Rogak is the best épéeist in Ward Melville history.
By Bill Landon
Shoreham-Wading River’s girls basketball team had their work cut out for them in an out-bracket playoff game against Sayville Feb. 11. The Wildcats had faced Sayville twice during the regular season and lost by 19 and 22 points, respectively. However, this was a different Wildcat team with a swarming defense that held Sayville at bay, leading by five at the half and then by three to open the 4th quarter. Sayville was able to tie the game with 4 minutes left as both teams struggled to find the rim. Tied at 41 all with six seconds left, the officials called a foul on the Wildcats, sending Sayville to the line shooting two. Sayville made the first but missed the second as the Wildcats rebounded the ball with less than four seconds remaining. SWR managed to get a shot off, but it missed its mark as time expired in a heartbreaking 42-41 loss.
Co-captain and senior Michele Corona led the way for the Wildcats with 22 points, fellow co-captain Abby Korzekwinski, a junior, netted 8 while eighth-grader GraceAnn Leonard banked six. The loss concludes the Wildcats season with a 9-10 record in League V with a 9-12 record overall.
Many Port Jefferson village residents woke up one morning at the end of January to find their garbage would be taken by a different contractor.
In a letter dated Jan. 28 sent to all Port Jeff residents signed up with them, Ronkonkoma-based Quick-Way Sanitation Corp. said it would no longer be servicing the village and, as of Feb. 1, its contracts would move over to Yaphank-based Maggio Sanitation.
“Since garbage facilities have been raising dump fees on a monthly basis, we are no longer able to offer our current price and would have to raise residents [sic] astronomically,” read the letter signed by President of Quick-Way Joseph Litterello.
A representative from Quick-Way said they had no additional comment.
Residents then received an additional letter from Maggio dated Feb. 1 saying their company would be servicing their account, and they would provide residents with two new garbage totes, one for trash and one for recycling, within the next eight to 10 weeks.
On a post of the Unofficial Port Jeff Villagers Facebook group Feb. 3 village Mayor Margot Garant said she was not notified by the company about the change. She said in additional posts the changeover did not have anything to do with the village government in particular.
“Now you have things like the Brookhaven town landfill closing soon — there’s a lot of issues with garbage nowadays.”
— Joe Colucci
Joe Colucci, the president of Middle-Island-based Colucci Carting, posted to the unofficial Port Jeff Facebook page Feb. 10 saying that if 500 residents call with interest, he would expand his operation to include residential garbage pickup, though during a phone interview he said he is also considering if 300 residents show interest he will provide services to the village. So far, Colucci said he has received about 30 calls over the weekend. Pricing for garbage pickup would be $35 per month and $70 bimonthly.
“It’s got to be beneficial for me to go in,” he said.
Colucci said he was curious why Quick-Way didn’t simply raise its fees instead of ending service, though he has seen the cost of carting garbage increase for several decades.
“The cost to dump garbage has [gone] up significantly, almost $100 a ton to get it out of the Island,” he said. “Now you have things like the Brookhaven town landfill closing soon — there’s a lot of issues with garbage nowadays.”
According to the official Port Jefferson Facebook page, there are eight sanitation companies currently allowed to operate in the village, still including Quick-Way, Maggio and Colucci Carting, as well as Islandia-based Jet Sanitation Services, Bay Shore-based National Waste Services, Holbrook-based Superior Waste Services of New York, Brentwood-based V. Garofalo Carting and Babylon-based Winters Bros. Hauling of Long Island. Some of these companies have, for the most part, only serviced local businesses or provide dumpsters.
Town of Brookhaven residents pay an annual fee for their garbage and recycling pickup, but since Port Jeff village is an incorporated government, it has operated on different rules, asking residents to set up their own garbage carting contracts.
The official Port Jeff Facebook post also said any company can apply to operate in the village with a one-year license, first by providing the village with a $2,500 bond payment, provide proof of liability, property and workmen’s compensation insurance, and by paying a processing fee of $50 plus $10 per truck operating within the village.
A North Shore-based animal rescue group has managed to save two young calves before they were slaughtered at a New Jersey farm, and now the animals have found sanctuary with a Wading River farm.
Frankie Floridia, president of the nonprofit animal rescue group Strong Island Rescue, said he learned about one of the animals from being tagged in a Facebook post. The four-day-old calf was born in Amish country in New Jersey, but was to be sent off to slaughter to not waste the mother’s milk production. Floridia drove up there and learned there was another calf, roughly the same age, that they could also save from the slaughterhouse.
“The Amish had taken [it] away from its mother because it was a male, and they don’t need the calves — they don’t want to waste the milk they’re selling.,” he said.
Back on Long Island, Justin Bakewicz, a member of the family-owned Bakewicz farm in Wading River, had recently experienced a terrible loss. Bakewicz had purchased two, four-month-old calves in January. The health of one of them, named Bo Duke, started to fail. The family brought the calf to Jefferson Animal Hospital in Port Jefferson, and then brought him home and kept it in their kitchen while theyconnected him with an IV and gave him constant shots. Unfortunately, the calf passed away Feb. 8.
“It was a real big disappointment to me, my family and the community — everyone was a big part of it,” Bakewicz said.
Only a few days later, people started to tag the farm owner on the Facebook post about the calves Strong Island Rescue had saved. Bakewicz said his mother, Marianne, thought it might be too soon for new calves, but once he saw the scampering young Jersey bull calves he knew they were right for him.
“We heard that Bakewicz had a calf that passed away a couple days ago, and [Justin] was saying ‘it was like fate,’” Floridia said.
Bakewicz said the two young animals are full of energy.
“The two babies — they’re like puppies,” he said. “One is one week old he’s so full of Vitamin D and I turned around, and there was the other one. I said, ‘well I can’t say no. I got to take them both.’”
The farm owner has taken to raising the calves in his own house where he feeds them from large milk bottles three times a day. Bakewicz has even taken them out for walks.
“I’m walking these things like dogs,” Bakewicz said. “I walked them around my block today and every neighbor was sticking their heads outside going ‘what the hell is that I thought it was a Great Dane.’ Everybody in the neighborhood is excited to watch them grow.”
It will be another week or two of watching the young bulls grow large enough they can move out to the farm.
The farmer asked the community for suggestions of names, and it has settled on Buzz and Woody, after the movie “Toy Story.” The names were suggested by Christin Paparelli Santillo who will receive a free t-shirt.
By Desirée Keegan
Area wrestlers once again rose to the occasion and racked up some hardware as a result.
Thirteen North Shore wrestlers placed first or second, 15 third or fourth and another 13 fifth or sixth at the Division I Suffolk County championships at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood Feb. 9-10.
And it was Hauppauge’s junior class that stole the show. Luke Smith (113 pounds), Danny Mauriello (152) and Michael Tyrell (182) all placed first to help the Eagles to the team title and Bill Knapp award. Mauriello, who won his match against Kings Park senior Stefan Major with a 5-3 decision, was named the Jack Mahoney Champion of Champions. Sophomore Chris Boudreau (138) placed third for Hauppauge; freshman Mikey Manta (99) and sophomore Andrew Maiorini (113) placed fourth; and junior Anthony Dibartolo (132) placed fifth.
Rocky Point was next in line with five count placers, highlighted by junior 132-pound Logan Sciotto’s pin of Islip’s Sean Peterson at 2:41 for the county crown. Senior Corey Connolly also made it to the finals, and dropped a 3-0 decision to Copiague’s Paul Illicete at 170 pounds. Junior Evan Matias (120) and senior Kris Ketchum (145) finished third, and senior Justin Amendola (113) placed fifth.
Commack, Kings Park, Newfield, Smithtown West and Ward Melville each had four wrestlers place. Commack senior Joey Slackman, who pinned his 285 opponent London Castillo of Brentwood in 36 seconds, had the most pins in the least amount of time, taking down four wrestlers in 3:22. Miller Place got three grapplers to the podium, Centereach and Huntington had two placers, and Harborfields and Northport each had one.
By David Luces
Hundreds lined up and waited to donate blood during the 9th annual Glen Ciano Blood Drive Feb. 9. The event, hosted by the Commack Fire Department and Suffolk County Police Department, is held in honor of a police officer and volunteer firefighter who died in the line of duty 10 years ago this month.
Ciano, who served for more than 20 years as a police officer at the 2nd Precinct in Huntington, died while assisting another officer at a traffic stop Feb. 22, 2009. While at the intersection of Vanderbilt Motor Parkway and Commack Road in Commack, his vehicle was struck by a 2007 Dodge Magnum and burst into flames upon hitting a nearby telephone pole. Commack firefighters responded to the scene.
Ciano is survived by his wife, Sue, and two children, Samantha and Daniel.
“The Suffolk Police Department will never forget Glen and the dedicated service he provided to our communities,” Suffolk Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said. “Though I didn’t have the honor of working alongside Glen — I’ve heard stories about the type of officer he was and his presence is missed to this day.”
Since 2011, a total of 1,084 donations have been accepted in Ciano’s honor, according to the New York Blood Center. These pints of blood have helped save the lives of more than 3,000 people, Yadira Navarro, business development manager for the blood center, said.
Due to unstable winter temperatures, the flu season and other challenges, blood donations Saturday were vital as the NY Blood Center said it’s in the midst of an emergency blood appeal, according to Navarro. Before the blood drive, the center’s blood had only enough pints in the storage to get through three to four days of standard operations — a healthy blood supply level is about 6 to 7 days.
“You are honoring such a wonderful officer who really served his community and this is one way where we can be a hero and save lives,” Navarro said.
“Every year it means a little more.”
— Sue Ciano
Patrick Fazio, commissioner of the Commack Fire Department, said there’s no better way to honor Ciano’s life than donating blood. Smithtown resident Brian Moore who was among the hundreds who showed up Saturday, said giving blood can help so many lives.
A total of 234 pints of blood were donated at this year’s event, exceeding last year’s number of donations at 222.
“Every year it means a little more,” said Ciano’s wife, Sue. “I see friends, family — I meet new people every year.”
Sue Ciano said she stays at the blood drive for the whole day, talking to as many people as she can, and says events like these means her husband won’t be forgotten.
Suffolk County’s Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to those individuals who might be responsible for decapitating six birds found in Smithtown and Great River.
The Town of Smithtown’s Public Safety Department received an anonymous phone call Feb. 4 reporting three dead birds were found near the Maple Avenue and 4th Avenue entrance to Millers Pond County Park, according to town spokeswoman Nicole Garguilo. The public safety officers then immediately notified the Suffolk SCPA.
Roy Gross, chief of the nonprofit animal advocacy group, said his volunteers working in cooperation with Smithtown park rangers and Suffolk County Police Department found the bodies of two chickens and a blue jay that had been beheaded lying next to a bloodied cardboard box.
“People do these animal sacrifices, and it’s absolutely illegal. They will say they are allowed to do it because it’s a religious right. It is not.”
— Roy Gross
The following day, Feb. 5, the SCPA received a report of three decapitated birds, two chickens and a dove, left alongside Wheeler Road in Great River. Gross said additional items left at the site raised questions as to whether the animals’ deaths were ritualistic in nature.
“We’ve had numerous cases over the years,” he said. “It has all the indications of a religious animal sacrifice.”
The SPCA contacted Marcos Quinones, a retired New York police detective of 36 years and renowned occult specialist, on these two cases. Quinones said he has worked with law enforcement officials at federal, state and local levels on various causes related to occult matters.
“Santeria is a nature-based religion, and it varies based on what god or goddess you worship, each has an element of nature they are thought to control,” he said. “If you needed something from them, you would do a ritual.”
Quinones said based on the location of the six birds’ bodies and items left with them, he believes the birds were killed elsewhere and brought to the pond as a religious offering for Oshun, goddess of the rivers and lakes.
“Santeria is basically a good, nature-based religion, but sometimes people take something good and misuse it,” the occult expert said. “You have to ask yourself what’s the purpose of this ritual?”
Under New York State law, to kill an animal without any intention to consume it is illegal, according to Gross.
“People do these animal sacrifices, and it’s absolutely illegal,” he said. “They will say they are allowed to do it because it’s a religious right. It is not.”
In February 2018, the Suffolk SPCA found the bodies of two hens frozen in the ice at Millers Pond. Gross said the chickens’ heads were found a short distance away, but it was originally thought that other animals may have ripped it apart from the body as potential food.
“We canvassed the area to see if anyone had chickens that were lost,” the chief said. “We did a thorough investigation but couldn’t get any information on it.”
“If there’s an arrest and conviction, that’s a check I’m happy to write.”
— Roy Gross
Gross said twice the SPCA has found a cow’s tongue nailed to a tree across from Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Great River. Upon further investigation, SPCA volunteers discovered candle wax, pins and nine slips of paper bearing individual names had been inserted inside the cow’s tongue, according to Gross. Another time the cow’s tongue was attached by a fishing lure and left out with a bowl of livestock feed as an offering.
“Imagine if a child had come along and grabbed it or seen something like that,” Gross said. “It’s bad enough for an adult, walking along and seeing a tongue hanging from a tree or a beheaded animal. It’s barbaric and should not exist in this day and age.”
If an arrest is made, Gross said the individual will face misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty to wildlife or farm life, which carries a maximum penalty of up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine for each offense.
The SPCA is asking anyone who may have information related to the recent discoveries in Smithtown and Great River to contact the nonprofit organization at 631-382-7722. All calls are confidential.
“If there’s an arrest and conviction, that’s a check I’m happy to write,” Gross said.
By Bill Landon
Centereach and Newfield high schools’ fencing teams competed in the Suffolk County championships Feb. 9.
It was Newfield foilist Jake Hempe who stole the show winning his third straight Suffolk County title at Newfield High School where his team finished second overall falling to Ward Melville in the final round.
The Cougars as a team finished sixth overall.
By David Luces
County legislators are looking to restrict the sales of several plastics, some harmful to health and others harmful to the environment.
Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket), along with members of the Legislature’s Single-Use Plastic Reduction Task Force announced four policy initiatives intended to reduce plastic and polystyrene waste in the county at a press conference Feb.13.
“Today we announce policies that will come to define our county’s environmental legacy for generations to come,” Hahn said in a press release.
“Long Island has some of the highest cancer rates in the country.”
— Sarah Anker
Hahn and the task force have outlined regulations directed at local businesses and the county. One of the proposed bills focuses on polystyrene, banning it in food service products including plates, cups, containers and trays. It would require businesses in the county to use biodegradable products, though the bill would exempt items used to store uncooked eggs, raw meat, pork, fish, seafood and poultry.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services classified styrene as a potential human carcinogen and, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, polystyrene manufacturing process is the fifth largest creator of hazardous waste in the United States.
“[Styrene has] recently been upgraded from a possible carcinogen to a probable carcinogen — a cancer causing chemical,” Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) said. “Long Island has some of the highest cancer rates in the country.”
Hahn said polystyrene and plastics are causing a waste management problem as well.
“You see waste in waterways, on our beaches, on our roadways,” she said.
A second bill would require single-use plastic beverage straws and stirrers to only be given in Suffolk County by request as a means of reducing plastic consumption. As an alternative to plastics, businesses would give customers biodegradable products, such as paper straws. There is an exception for those who have a disability or medical condition.
Hahn and the task force also plan to prohibit the use of plastic products in all Suffolk County parks as part of their third initiative.
Legislator William “Doc” Spencer (D-Centerport) supports the proposed bills.
“We see that these things are happening — I know with the plastic bag ban there was some push back,” he said. “But it is nice to be able to do something that will make a difference and that works.”
In conjunction, the task force proposed a requirement that all future contracts with concessionaires at county parks include a restriction on the use of plastic and nonbiodegradable cups, utensils and
beverage straws.
Hahn and the task force advised the issue of waste produced by these products is a more urgent problem than some people realize, and the county needs to clean up its act.
“We as a society as a whole need to continue to research and study this issue and product.”
— Kara Hahn
These bills are a continuation of Hahn’s and others countywide initiative to reduce single-use plastic straws. One project, called Strawless Suffolk, started in July 2018 and looked for 100 seaside restaurants in Bellport, Greenport, Huntington, Northport, Patchogue and Port Jefferson Village take a pledge to stop using plastic straws by Sept. 3, 2018.
Hahn cites some landfills on Long Island are almost at full capacity and said that it not just about recycling more, rather its reducing the use of plastic items and to reuse things.
“We as a society as a whole need to continue to research and study this issue and product,” she said.”
To further decrease the use of plastic products, a fourth initiative will call to replace existing water fountains with new ones designed to allow bottle filling at county facilities that have 10 or more employees and in county-owned parks that have water dispensers.
“People will be less likely to use plastic water bottles and will be able to fill their own reusable bottle if they bring it with them to our county buildings, parks and beaches,” the Setauket legislator said.
The two nonlocal laws in the initiatives package, the installation of water fountains in county facilities and the concessionaires requirement, could be passed as early as March 5, depending upon legislative discussion and a vote. The other two local laws that apply to businesses in the county will require a public hearing, but could end up as law as early as April 9.
“Plastic waste has become a tangible threat to our $5.6 billion tourism-driven economy,” Hahn said. “We are Long Islanders, our identity is tied to the water.”
New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) is calling for state police officers to investigate who is behind anti-Semitic graffiti discovered in Nissequogue River State Park.
New York State police received a call Feb. 10 from a jogger who discovered a swastika and a hateful white supremacist slogan written in chalk along the bike path in Kings Park.
“This abhorrent act of hate is deeply disturbing, especially at a time of great division and in the wake of the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in this nation’s history,” Cuomo said.
The governor’s remarks referenced the shooting at The Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in October 2018 that killed 11 people.
“The message is deeply troubling to those who live in Kings Park community and all those who continue the fight against hated,” state Sen. John Flanagan (R-Smithtown) said in a statement. “I want to make it clear that all elected officials and community leaders are united in saying that hateful symbols must never be tolerated and those responsible must and will be held accountable for their actions.
The state police’s Hate Crimes Unit is investigating the matter. Anyone who may have any information on the vandalism is asked to call 631-756-3300.
Prev
