BLAZE OF GLORY
Tom Caruso of Smithtown snapped this beautiful photo during a walk in Stony Brook Village on June 16. He writes, ‘My wife and I were walking down the road leading to the water when I saw these Orange Daylilies blazing in the light of the setting sun. I shot this image with my cell phone and was amazed at the contrast between the flowers and their surroundings.
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Nesconset-based Paws of War reopened its first pet therapy session last Wednesday, June 23, at the Smithtown Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing Care. The residents at the facility happily looked forward to meeting the trained therapy animals as it’s been over a year since the nonprofit’s team was able to host any sessions.
To start off the program, Paws of War will be returning to the rehab center at a minimum of once a month. The program will prioritize areas on Long Island that have been hit the hardest by COVID-19, and are actively reaching out to other facilities, such as camps and schools, that would like to use their services.
“We just want to bring some kindness and some human connection back,” said Kelli Porti, veteran and community outreach liaison. “It’s amazing what happens when you pet a dog, it brings you a warm fuzzy feeling, and that’s what we’re trying to accomplish, is bringing some happiness and smiles.”
Since 2014, Paws of War has been training and placing shelter dogs to serve and provide for U.S. military veterans and first responders who suffer from the emotional effects of war.
Navy veteran Paul Baran, who served in the Hauppauge Fire Department for over 40 years, was ecstatic to see the therapy dogs. He has owned animals his entire life and is eagerly anticipating the next time the charitable organization will return to the rehab center.
“I’m definitely an animal lover,” Baran said, while gently petting one of the therapy dogs.
The trainers at Paws of War take pride in preparing their animals for therapeutic use, and the number of participating animals has risen from single digits to triple digits in the past four and a half years.
Facility training at the nonprofit’s location has reverted to in-person training, where veterans, their friends and their animals can safely come together again.
A trainer and employee, Rebecca Stromski, explained how exciting it’s been to get back to in-person training. Currently, the facility is holding outdoor training to ensure safe practices, but it dually benefits the dogs and veterans since there are more distractions outside.
“It’s incredible to see the change between the dogs and the people and watching them both light up,” Stromski said. “I love watching that light bulb click.”
As a military spouse herself, she began volunteering for Paws of War in her free time while her husband was deployed. Fast forward to a few years later, and she has become an essential employee to the organization’s team and veterans.
She even adopted a service dog for her husband once he returned home from his deployment.
“He’s been home for two and a half years now, and it’s nice that I can really see how the training works at home too,” Stromski said, while pointing to her bulldog Boba.
Korean War veteran, Andrew Caputo, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps for four years, has always had dogs in his life and was equally as thrilled to see the animals.
While petting the dogs, Caputo reflected back on his life as a serviceman and explained how greatly he wanted to join the military at the young age of 18.
“Being in the Corps was the best experience of my life,” Caputo said. “When the war broke out [in 1950] I wanted to volunteer, but they said I was too young, so I joined the reserves.”
Having uncles and grandparents serve in past wars influenced Caputo to join the Marine Corps at such a young age. After serving with the reserves for two years, Caputo went fully active for the next four years, ending his duty by being honorably discharged.
With the help of Paws of War being able to resume its monthly pet therapy sessions, veterans such as Baran and Caputo can lighten up the room with smiles once again.
“We love our veterans and first responders,” Porti said. “They’re all welcome into our facility. We love when they come in. It’s like a second home to them so we’re happy to open back up and have that again.”
On Wednesday, June 16, Councilwoman Jane Bonner (R-Rocky Point) was joined by Sound Beach Civic Association president Bea Ruberto to honor longtime SBCA board member Kevin McKeown as he steps down from the board. Bonner presented McKeown with a proclamation to thank him for his many years of service to the civic.
McKeown has also been active with the Rocky Point VFW, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Tin Can Sailors Organization. He is also very committed to helping the less fortunate in the community as a volunteer at the St. Louis De Montfort Outreach and Hope House.
He has been a member of the Civic for 11 years and board member for six.
“Kevin has participated in just about every project that the Sound Beach Civic Association has worked on and is always available when called upon,” Bonner said. “I thank him and his wife, Mary, for all they have done in service to the community and I’m sure that he will continue to serve in some capacity.”
Photo and caption from Town of Brookhaven.
The Heckscher Museum of Art, 2 Prime Ave., Huntington invites children ages 5 to 10 to stop by the museum on Thursdays from July 8 to Aug. 12 to take part in their Drop In & Create program from 11 to 11:30 a.m.
Create fun works of art in a variety of materials inspired by artwork in the Museum’s Collection! Each week’s project will be exciting and different! Held outside on the Museum Terrace, this program is weather-permitting. In the case of inclement weather, the program will be held the following day. Families are invited to come into the Museum following the program at 11:30 am to explore the galleries!
Fee is $10 per child, adults free payable at the door. No registration necessary.
Fee includes all art supplies and general admission to the museum from 11:30 to noon.
Rain dates are Fridays, July 9 to Aug. 13.
For more information, call 631-380-3230 or visit www.heckscher.org.
By Warren Strugatch
Economic development sounds good. In fact, it sounds great. Reasonable people will tolerate immense inconvenience resulting in financial betterment — for their community and for themselves. Unfortunately, the $150 million megadevelopment planned for Flowerfield, Gyrodyne’s approximately 70-acre campus along 25A in St. James, is to true economic development what a wolf is to sheep’s clothing: a mis-planned, ecologically tone-deaf cover for self-serving overdevelopment.
When the Town of Smithtown made Gyrodyne’s subdivision application public, its details — the 150-room hotel, the 250-unit assisted living facility, and — most ominously — a 100,000-gallon-a-day sewage treatment plant sited above a vulnerable watershed — earned the immediate ire of prominent environmentalists and civic activists. Opponents vastly outnumbered supporters at the one public forum the town held, in late 2019.
Supporters, following the staunch, pro-business lead of Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R), touted the project as an engine of economic growth. When plans for the subdivision were unveiled, the supervisor lauded the proposed sewer plant as a solution to perhaps the town’s most pressing economic problem, its lack of commercial sewer treatment services. Wehrheim promised to speak with Gyrodyne officials about providing sewage treatment services to the Lake Avenue business district. His remark forged a connection between wastewater treatment access for business and Gyrodyne gaining permission to build.
As a dry sewer line was installed under Lake Avenue, the supervisor’s theme was echoed approvingly by chamber presidents, business district champions and labor leaders. It certainly sounded good. Who could possibly object?
That argument, however, has been thoroughly debunked. Early this year Gyrodyne acknowledged in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it could not provide treatment services to Lake Avenue businesses nor anyone else not located on its premises. The town, however, has yet to acknowledge this reality. Many residents are still not aware that allowing Gyrodyne permission to build will not mean sewer treatment access.
Local business and labor leaders, along with town officials, continue to make the economic development argument, refocusing on job creation for residents and tax-base expansion. These are canards as well. In fact, few full-time jobs will be created. Construction jobs will be temporary and cannot by law be restricted to Smithtown residents. Most permanent jobs will be relatively low-paying hourly work in the service sector, such as housekeeping posts and positions as health care attendants. Creating high-paying jobs in industry clusters — the key definition of economic development — is not in the cards.
As for expanding the tax base, that too is problematic. About 20 years ago, Stony Brook University — Flowerfield’s immediate neighbor to the east — acquired about three-quarters of the property through eminent domain. The moment the property was annexed by the state, it fell off the tax roll, costing the Town of Brookhaven a fortune in lost revenues. As for the prospect of the university acquiring Flowerfield’s remaining acreage, Gyrodyne has acknowledged in papers filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it’s sought to make the property more appealing to the university. The company has not ruled out the university purchasing what it left behind on the Smithtown side of the town line in 2005, similarly removing it from the tax roll.
Since the megadevelopment was proposed, opponents have documented how this project has run roughshod over environment safeguards, ignored the planning profession’s best practices, and disregarded community quality of life. In contrast, supporters have cited economic arguments, suggesting we grant developers the benefit of the doubt.
Sound economic development is indeed a strong advantage. Given the transformational nature of this project, and its planning history, can any community afford to be that trusting?
Warren Strugatch is president of Select Long Island, an economic development advisory organization.
By Daniel Dunaief
Detectives often look for the smallest clue that links a culprit to a crime. A fingerprint on the frame of a stolen Picasso painting, a shoe print from a outside a window of a house that was robbed or a blood sample can provide the kind of forensic evidence that helps police and, eventually, district attorneys track and convict criminals.
The same process holds true in the world of disease detection. Researchers hope to use small and, ideally, noninvasive clues that will provide a diagnosis, enabling scientists and doctors to link symptoms to the molecular markers of a disease and, ultimately, to an effective remedy for these culprits that rob families of precious time with their relatives.
For years, Ken Shroyer, the Marvin Kuschner Professor and Chair of Pathology at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, has been working with a protein called keratin 17.
A part of embryological development, keratin 17 was, at first, like a witness who appeared at the scene of one crime after another. The presence of this specific protein, which is unusual in adults, appeared to be something of a fluke.
Until it wasn’t.
Shroyer and a former member of his lab, Luisa Escobar-Hoyos, who is now an Assistant Professor at Yale, recently published two papers that build on their previous work with this protein. One paper, which was published in Cancer Cytopathology, links the protein to pancreatic cancer. The other, published in the American Journal of Clinical Pathology, provides a potentially easier way to diagnose bladder cancer, or urothelial carcinoma.
Each paper suggests that, like an abundance of suspicious fingerprints at the crime scene, the presence of keratin 17 can, and likely does, have diagnostic relevance.
Pancreatic cancer
A particularly nettlesome disease, pancreatic cancer, which researchers at Stony Brook and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, including CSHL Cancer Center Director David Tuveson, have been studying for years, has a poor prognosis upon diagnosis.
During a process called surgical resection, doctors have been able to determine the virulence of pancreatic cancer by looking at a larger number of cells.
Shroyer and Escobar Hoyos, however, used a needle biopsy, in which they took considerably fewer cells, to see whether they could develop a k17 score that would correlate with the most aggressive subtype of the cancer.
“We took cases that had been evaluated by needle biopsy and then had a subsequent surgical resection to compare the two results,” Shroyer said. They were able to show that the “needle biopsy specimens gave results that were as useful as working with the whole tumor in predicting the survival of the patient.”
A needle biopsy, with a k17 score that reflects the virulence of cancer, could be especially helpful with those cancers for which a patient is not a candidate for a surgical resection.“That makes this type of analysis available to any patient with a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, rather than limiting it to the small subset of cases that are able to undergo surgery,” Shroyer said.
Ultimately, however, a k17 score is not the goal for the chairman of the pathology department.
Indeed, Shroyer would like to use that score as a biomarker that could differentiate patient subtypes, enabling doctors to determine a therapy that would prove most reliable for different groups of people battling pancreatic cancer.
The recently published report establishes the foundation of whether it’s possible to detect and get meaningful conclusions from a needle biopsy in terms of treatment options.
At this point, Shroyer isn’t sure whether these results increase the potential clinical benefit of a needle biopsy.
“Although this paper supports that hypothesis, we are not prepared yet to use k17 to guide clinical decision making,” Shroyer said.
Bladder cancer
Each year, doctors and hospitals diagnose about 81,000 cases of bladder cancer in the United States. The detection of this cancer can be difficult and expensive and often includes an invasive procedure.
Shroyer, however, developed a k17 protein test that is designed to provide a reliable diagnostic marker that labs can get from a urine sample, which is often part of an annual physical exam.
The problem with bladder cancer cytopathology is that the sensitivity and specificity aren’t high enough. Cells sometimes appear suggestive or indeterminate when the patient doesn’t have cancer.
“There has been interest in finding biomarkers to improve diagnostic accuracy,” Shroyer said.
Shroyer applied for patent protection for a k17 assay he developed through the Stony Brook Technology Transfer office and is working with KDx Diagnostics. The work builds on “previous observations that k17 detects bladder cancer in biopsies,” Shroyer said. He reported a “high level of sensitivity and specificity” that went beyond that with other biomarkers.
Indeed, in urine tests of 36 cases confirmed by biopsy, 35 showed elevated levels of the protein.
KDx, a start up biotechnology company that has a license with The Research Foundation for The State University of New York, is developing the test commercially.
The Food and Drug Administration gave KDx a breakthrough device designation for its assay test for k17.
Additionally, such a test could reveal whether bladder cancer that appears to be in remission may have recurred.
This type of test could help doctors with the initial diagnosis and with follow up efforts, Shroyer said.“Do patients have bladder cancer, yes or no?” he asked. “The tools are not entirely accurate. We want to be able to give a more accurate answer to that pretty simple question.”
Reviewed by Jeffrey Sanzel
Netflix’s Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet explores the idea that humanity has pushed the planet beyond survival and sustainability. While ably hosted by the ever-reliable Sir David Attenborough, the dominant voice is Swedish Professor Johan Rockström, an informed and articulate scientist with a range of facts and concepts that he introduces over the one hour and fifteen-minute running time.
There are few topics — if any — more important than the future of Earth. And while some make claims against it, climate change, global warming, and other man-driven destructions are real and present dangers, ones that seem to be growing geometrically. This documentary attempts to explain these issues by setting down a theory of boundaries. It then proceeds to explain how they are being crossed.
Breaking Boundaries opens with a discussion of the stability of Earth’s temperature and climate for 10,000 years; this allowed for the development of the modern world. The documentary then proceeds to cite examples of our destructive behaviors and how they have negatively impacted various ecosystems, including the Amazon, the Great Barrier Reef, etc. Rockström’s refrain is, “It is not about the planet. It is about us. About our future.” Perhaps he is trying to appeal to our self-centered nature rather than our desire to correct what we have broken. Unfortunately, his slightly skewed sense of humanity is probably well-founded.
The film starts with a glimmer of hope, but five minutes in, the bad news is announced: over the past fifty years, we have pushed ourselves out of the norm that existed the previous 10,000 years. And there may be no fix for this situation.
Over the next fifty minutes, a disjointed narrative attempts to explain the nine planetary boundaries — the distance from the safe zone to the danger zone to the high risk/critical zone. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has caused droughts, heatwaves, forest fires, and flooding. Ocean acidification, the dangers of aerosols, and novel entities of human pollution are just some of the ideas introduced. Thus, there is an immediate need not just to reduce but to fossil-free within three decades.
Scientists meditate on the destruction of the icecaps, evaluate the reduction of flora and fauna to the point of extinction, and offer a great number of numbers that sometimes seem like … a great number of numbers. (Overwhelming statistics and an extraordinary list of theories make for a bit of confusion.) Finally, the film circles back to the four boundaries that have been crossed and possibly irrevocably (but maybe not?): climate, forest loss, nutrients, and biodiversity.
Every bit of this is important information. But the problem comes down to this: Breaking Boundaries is a documentary dealing with a life-and-death topic in a clumsy and wrong-headed approach. Director Jonathan Clay has underestimated his audience, deciding that an MTV assault is the only way to connect. As a result, the bells and whistles drown out the material. Yes, they are alarm bells and fire whistles, but this is an onslaught, not an explanation.
One talking head goes so far as to refer to the “Mad Max future.” A drinking game based on the repetition of “tipping point” and “irreversible” would put the players out in under twenty minutes. There is probably truth in every statement and comment. But judicious editing would have allowed for a variety of tactics, rather than what comes across as a relentless, one-note attack.
The effects are overwhelming and non-stop, with even the most sedate moments backgrounded with a strange light show. (Was this Mr. Clay’s first time with a green screen?) The graphics seem to be inspired by the 1980s’ Tron. Or perhaps Saturday Night Fever. Everything explodes on screen, making for restless, jittery filmmaking. The result wholly lessens the film’s integrity.
Many moments succeed in capturing the beauty of nature. If a bit generic, they serve as a strong reminder of what is being destroyed. Some disturbing images are not sensational but instead are telling: wild animals who now live close to settled and “civilized” areas are shown in droves on highways and the environs of cities. While we are always warned not to anthropomorphize, there is a palpable fear in their eyes.
There are two moments of resonating humanity. First, a scientist discussing the bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef becomes choked up, clearly a spontaneous and honest reaction to what he has seen. Second, a conservationist revisits one of the sites where she had studied birds before its incineration. The destruction of fifty million acres of Australian land caused the displacement or death of an estimated three billion animals. While she looks at the bleak landscape, she says, “This is an ecological catastrophe.” But this is also highly personal and, again, powerful in its simplicity.
If only the director had trusted moments like these. Instead, he chose window dressing that makes the experience a late-night infomercial for the predictions of Nostradamus.
After fifty-nine minutes of apocalyptic prognostication, there are twelve minutes of “but-it-can-all-be-saved.” We need to bend the global curve of emissions, cutting 6 to 7% per year. We can draw down the carbon by planting more trees. Changing our diets to healthy foods will contribute to the saving of the planet. We can eliminate waste by turning the linear cycle into a circular one by recovering raw materials (and benefit the economy). Finally, we must turn towards renewable energy. “The window is still open.” Rockström believes that 2020 to 2030 is the decisive decade: what happens in these ten years will determine what happens over the coming centuries.
Perhaps there is no longer a way to make people listen — and more importantly, take action — without being sensationalist. However, this film will win no converts and will probably not engage the already aware and committed. The call is to act as “earth’s conscience — it’s brain — thinking and acting with one unified purpose — to ensure that our planet forever remains healthy and resilient — the perfect home.” It is not just a noble purpose but an essential one. There have been, and there will be many valuable examinations of this subject matter. Unfortunately, in the end, Breaking Boundaries is not one of them.
At a recent Board of Education meeting for the Middle Country Central School District, Suffolk County Legislator Nick Caracappa was recognized and awarded with a Certificate of Appreciation.
The certificate was the Board of Ed’s way of thanking the Legislator for his efforts in successfully eliminating Stagecoach Elementary School in Selden as a polling location for general and special elections. Caracappa, a former Middle Country School Board member himself is currently in negotiations with the Suffolk County Board of Elections to eliminate polling locations from other schools in the district as well.
“Thank you Legislative Caracappa for following through on protecting our students by removing the voting from Stagecoach Elementary. We certainly appreciate the partnership,” stated Middle Country School’s Board of Ed. President, Dr. Karen J. Lessler. Superintendent Dr. Roberta Gerold commented, “Middle Country thanks Legislator Caracappa for his commitment to the safety and security of our district – we appreciate him!”
“Our children’s safety is the number one priority in these efforts,” stated Legislator Caracappa. “I acted on this measure not only as an elected official, but as a father. I am humbled by the recognition for what was truly a community effort. My thanks go out to the Selden Fire Department, along with Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine for providing alternate polling sites for voters. Additionally, I thank Dr. Lessler, Dr. Gerold, and the entire Board of Education for acknowledging me with this Certificate of Appreciation.”
By Claire Leone
As anyone off the street can tell you, this year has been anything but ordinary.
But unfortunately, a person on the street might be able to tell you how this year has been all too ordinary for them.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, homelessness and food insecurity has been on the rise right here on Long Island. The Science and National Honor Societies of Comsewogue High School chose to act on this problem and give people hope, while addressing an underlying issue that’s been contributing to food waste all along.
Unbeknown to many, the restaurant industry has to throw away large amounts of perfectly edible food to preserve their freshness and quality standards for the next day’s sales.
It’s not just scraps from your plate that end up in the garbage, but as our student volunteer found out, also bags worth of food that can be distributed and eaten by the local population.
We have a large problem with food waste in this country — any misshapen, overly large or small or mishandled food has to be thrown away. Approximately 40% of food is lost to this problem.
Along with myself, Grace Togerson co-founded this program, while David Shubert also participated by doing longstanding pickups from restaurants.
The plan was simple — pick up and drop off food donations. But even though that idea was simple, the execution was a lot more difficult to pull off the FRESH (Food Rescue Experiment Serving the Hungry) program.
With weeks of cold calls, flyer preparations, rewrites and meetings, the program got on its feet with amazing participation from local businesses: Mount Sinai Bagel Cafe, Bagelicious Cafe, Gilshar Greek Cafe and churches, Saint Gerard Majella and Genesis Church.
Since May, these contributors have been lending a hand to solve this problem of food waste and insecurity twofold and have made a large impact in decreasing landfill input and hunger on Long Island.
Both Mount Sinai Bagel Cafe and St. Gerarg Majella Church expressed their support by saying they were “very grateful” to have played a part in adding to and stocking the food pantry.
Now that the school year is ending and our senior year is too, me and the other two volunteers are looking towards the future with our wonderful advisor, Mrs. Shane Goldberg.
Mrs. Goldberg will continue accepting donations over the summer, and the program will continue in full swing with student volunteers for the whole of the next school year.
Right now, this is also an opportunity to call on any local business or donor recipients who would like to participate in this program.
If any would like to participate, please call Comsewogue High School at (631) 474-8179.
This little experiment has shown me how big of an impact a few dedicated individuals can have, and I hope that it has shown you how anyone can make a difference even when we’re just a single person off the street.
Claire Leone is a graduating senior at Comsewogue High School. She is a member of the National Honor Society, as well as the National English Honor Society.
The Friends of the Port Jefferson Library recognizes the role and contribution of libraries in the lives of young people.
For this reason, they offered an opportunity for graduating high school students, with a Port Jefferson Library card, who have contributed to the library as well as the Port Jefferson community a chance to win a scholarship.
Winners were selected by members of the Friends of the Library after reading scholarship applications and essays. Awards were given to those that exemplified having been part of the library community.
We are excited to announce the winners of the second annual Friends of the Port Jeff Library’s scholarship are Hailey Hearney and Peggy Yin.
Both applicants showed that the library has been an essential part of their lives and how it has guided them in their future pursuits.
Organized in 1998, The Friends of the Port Jeff Library have actively supported the library with special events and programming over the last few years. The Friends of the library is a group of individuals, families and organizations working to improve the library’s facilities, technologies, collections and special programs to benefit the community.
Congratulations Hailey and Peggy!
Photos and caption from the Port Jefferson Free Library
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