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Yearly Archives: 2021

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The sand dredging component of the East Beach renovations was completed earlier this year. Photo from Margot Garant

As part of the ongoing renovations of Port Jefferson’s East Beach, the village recently completed the bidding process to rebuild of the beach’s retaining wall. 

During the village’s virtual board of trustees meeting on March 1, Mayor Margot Garant announced the milestone — a project that has essentially been going on since Hurricane Sandy hit Long Island in 2012. 

“We’re happy to see this project underway,” she said. “Everything’s in order.”

According to Garant, a construction meeting will be held with village administrator Joe Palumbo in the upcoming week, with plans to start the wall’s renovations before beach season starts. 

Along with East Beach, the retaining wall at Highlands Boulevard will also be included. 

A view of the current retaining wall at East Beach that will undergo a makeover thanks to the village’s bid approval. Photo from Margot Garant

In a recent newsletter from the village sent to residents, it stated that the project was awarded to Galvin Brothers and Madhue Contracting, both of Great Neck, as a joint venture for a total of $474,830. The expenses for the structural repairs are included in the budget and were part of a bond anticipation note. 

Garant said this action will be a “springboard” as the village awaits DEC permits to finalize the East Beach project. After the retaining wall, revegetation of the bluff at the beach will be next on the list. The village is currently waiting for confirmation to see if it is eligible for FEMA reimbursement as a result of bluff loss at the site during Tropical Storm Isaias. The funds could help pay for the bluff’s restoration.

Earlier this year, sand dredging at East Beach, near Mount Sinai Harbor, was finalized — a project that took nearly a decade to complete, cost several million dollars and was a collaborative effort between the village, town, county, state and federal governments. Close to 80,000 cubic yards of sand was brought back to the beach. 

This retaining wall will continue to help keep the beach looking the way it does now. 

“It’s retention of our assets,” Garant said. “Plus, protecting our environment is critical.”

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Photo from Pixabay

Last week marked milestones that most Long Islanders would prefer to forget.

It was March 5, 2020, when the first confirmed case of the coronavirus was reported on the Island in Nassau County, and then a few days after, there was one in Suffolk. 

A year later, while we can somewhat see the light at the end of the tunnel, we’re not quite there yet.

Many people would say we lost a year of normalcy with a good majority of employees working from home, restaurants and other businesses operating at reduced capacity — some even shuttering their doors for good. The biggest loss to COVID-19 was more than 3,000 people in Suffolk County in the last year dying from the virus. This means 3,000 families have lost their loved ones.

We’ve come a long way since the novel coronavirus was first discovered in Wuhan, China. Scientists and researchers had to scramble to find ways to protect people from a virus that was unfamiliar to the human body, so much so that it not only could make them incredibly ill but also take their lives.

There were shutdowns, social distancing guidelines, the requirement of facial coverings and frequent handwashing to keep us healthy, while pharmaceutical companies were on the fast track creating vaccines that would teach our bodies how to clobber the silent and invisible enemy.

But was this year really lost to any extent? We have come out of adversity stronger and wiser.

Those of us who are reasonably healthy have learned so much. More than ever, we know not to take our health and loved ones for granted. We have discovered just how resilient we can be, finding alternatives to celebrating special events, having meetings with coworkers, buying groceries and more. Many business owners have come up with innovative ideas so they can keep their doors open.

We have also seen disparities during the pandemic, especially when it comes to public health, as Black and brown communities have had more cases than others. These disparities are unacceptable and remind us that we can and must do better by our neighbors.

So many of us know someone who has been affected by the coronavirus, whether they had mild or severe symptoms, were hospitalized or died. And as we find ourselves at the one-year mark, even with the vaccines being rolled out, we still must curtail our activities, social distance, wear masks and frequently wash our hands.

But as more and more people get vaccinated, the light at the end of the tunnel will continue to get brighter. Our residents will carry on — maybe with masks in hand and keeping their distance, but at the same time applying the lessons they have learned and honoring those who can no longer do so.

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From left, Dan Oliveri presents a check to Tom Manuel, founder of The Jazz Loft Photo from The Jazz Loft

The Jazz Loft, a music venue and museum located in Stony Brook Village, has recently completed an ambitious renovation project of its basement, now known as the “Coal Bin.” 

The name is a salute to juke joints of the early 20th Century, such as Herb McCarthy’s Bowden Square which featured a basement space for music called the Coal Bin, which was literally located in the coal bin area of the building’s basement. The new Coal Bin at the Jazz Loft will serve as a functional work space as the Jazz Loft continues its mission of archiving and preserving Jazz history.

Funding for the project came from a $40,000 grant from The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation, Inc. and a matching gift from Jazz Loft patron Dan Oliveri. 

The Jazz Loft’s basement section was updated and transformed into a multi-use work space which will be utilized by Stony Brook University (SBU) student interns,  who will begin an archiving, inventory project and digitalizing project of the more than 10,000 historical Jazz artifacts in the possession of the museum. The interns will be using a program designed by students enrolled in a very unique class at the University called “Benevolent Computing,” offered by the Department of Computer Science within the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The course is directed by SBU professor Tony Scarlatos and  such as its name suggests, explores the phenomenon of how software applications can  affect positive social change in the world.

“The Jazz Loft’s mission is dedicated to the preservation, education and performance of Jazz and we now have a fantastic workspace for us to properly archive and store our Jazz collection,” said Jazz Loft founder Tom Manuel. “It is an honor to have this project supported by the Robert David Lion Gardiner, which has also enabled us to preserve a part of our building that is 250 years old.”

According to Manuel, the museum currently possesses paper records, sheet music, personal possessions of Jazz legends past and present, posters, photos, diaries, manuscripts, programs, musical instruments, vinyl record collections and more that require cataloging and storage.

The Jazz Loft is located at 275 Christian Avenue in Stony Brook. Visit www.thejazzloft.org for further information.

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Benten’s Kenneth Lee was surprised and grateful when he heard his friends and community members wanted to start a GoFundMe page for him that will help pay his overhead. Photo by Julianne Mosher

A Miller Place woman is asking sushi connoisseurs to help support a local business who was hit hard thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Benten Sushi and Fine Japanese Cuisine on Route 25A has been struggling to keep their doors open, like many restaurants and small businesses, over the course of the last year. 

Marlene DuBois, a friend of Kenneth Lee — who has owned the spot for nearly two decades — decided to start up a GoFundMe online, to help support him as he adjusts to this new normal. 

“He’ll never ask for help,” she said. “But he was mentioning there were some problems and I knew this was a serious thing.”

DuBois said she and Lee have been friends for about 30 years, since his family opened up their first location in Mount Sinai, but she’s also a good customer — noting that the sushi at Benten is different than all the rest. 

“He is a real stickler for authenticity,” she said. “It’s super fresh, he’s the only person who gets fish from local Long Island fishermen.”

Compared to other local sushi joints, he offers pure authenticity. A quiet business owner, when Lee mentioned his stress maintaining his shop throughout the pandemic, DuBois said something had to be done. 

“If we go on for another six months to a year in the pandemic, all our local eateries are going to be gone,” she said. “Any mom and pop shop that we can help, and support is important.”

DuBois created the online fundraiser in early February and to date it has over $2,500 of generous donations that will go to Lee’s location.

And he was shocked when he found out his friend was doing this. 

“I am so grateful,” he said, modestly. “It’s been very tough.”

Lee said the funds his friend raised will go to upkeep of the restaurant, which has been too expensive to fix in COVID times. 

DuBois said that supporting a restaurant, like Benten, is crucial as Long Island nears the one-year mark of quarantine. 

“If people don’t want to donate to the GoFundMe, I’m just trying to encourage them to order from him,” she said. “Support your favorite restaurants… It’s important.”

Visit gofundme.com for more information

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Stock photo

Get ready to lose an hour of sleep, but gain an extra hour of daylight! Daylight Saving Time begins at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 14. That’s when you’ll move your clocks forward by one hour and “spring ahead.” The event is also a good time to change the batteries in your smoke detectors. Daylight Saving Time ends Sunday, Nov. 7 this year when we’ll move our clocks back an hour and lose an hour of daylight.

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The Old Field Lighthouse. Photo by Huberto Pimental

Old Field residents will choose from three candidates for two trustee seats on the village board when they go to the polls March 16.

Incumbent Stephen Shybunko, a manufacturing business owner, and Adrienne Owen, the lead member of production supervisory at Renaissance Technologies, will be running on The 1927 Party ticket, while Rebecca Van Der Bogart, a global account manager for the furniture company Herman Miller, is running on The Good Neighbor Party ticket.

Mitchell Birzon will be running for village justice to fill the remainder of the term left open after the death of justice Ted Rosenberg in September. The term will conclude April 1, 2022, and Birzon is unchallenged.

Stephen Shybunko

Shybunko is the only incumbent on the ballot and has been a trustee for more than 12 years. He was first appointed to the village board and went on to be elected six times. He is currently the deputy mayor, and has served in the position for eight years after being appointed by former Mayor Michael Levine and then current Mayor Bruce Feller. Shybunko said before running again he discussed his intentions with his family and received encouragement from the mayor and the other board members.

“I genuinely enjoy the interaction with residents and get great satisfaction in governing on a local level where results are quickly realized and change can be instituted swiftly when needed,” he said.

Living in Old Field for 30 years with his wife, Kerry, and raising three children, Kyle, 31, Stephen, 30, and Kathryn, 25, he feels that maintaining the beauty of the village is important.

“Being good stewards and maintaining the beauty and diversity of the environment is always important,” he said. “Balancing the fragile ecosystem with property development is a task that requires knowledge, experience and the ability to respect and listen to all stakeholders.”

Shybunko said he believes he possesses the qualities to take on that task, and he is “always willing to learn more and educate myself on best practices going forward.”

“Old Field’s waterfront properties and continuing development provides both a challenge and an opportunity to lead the way on responsible development,” he said.

In a letter to residents, he listed the board’s achievements during his tenure, including “sound village finances.” He said Old Field has continuously enjoyed “the lowest fiscal stress scores as reported by the New York State comptroller,” among all towns, villages and school districts in the state. With only two years left on a 10-year loan that was used for roads, the village will save $180,000 on taxes when the loan is paid off, Shybunko said. He said he currently doesn’t see any large expensives on the horizon for Old Field.

Adrienne Owen

While Adrienne Owen may be a new candidate on this year’s ballot, she is extremely familiar with the Old Field board. Her husband, Jeff, is currently a board member. After serving six terms, her husband decided not to run in 2021.

She said in an email it was Feller who planted the seed in her head about running at a birthday party back in 2019. She spent seven years on the board at Harbor Country Day School in St. James, and when she started, she said she had no related experience.

“I am an eager learner,” Owen said. “While a non-for-profit school board and an incorporated village board are different, the fundamentals of board service are the same. My experience on the HCDS board made me see how fulfilling giving my time and my energy to an organization I really cared about could be.”

She said she doesn’t see the village “facing any issues of great significance.”

“The board has always been populated with strong leadership during my residence,” she said. “Mike Levine was a dedicated mayor for a very long time, and Steve Shybunko has been a devoted deputy mayor. I am thrilled Steve is continuing the tradition of running for trustee with an Owen.”

While she doesn’t see any huge issues in the village, Owen added processes and procedures can always be improved.

“I think I will provide a fresh perspective in this regard,” she said. “I have extensive experience working on tight and balanced budgets, and I have good management skills. I will approach all issues by doing my own due diligence and listening to all perspectives.”

Owen has lived in the village with her husband since 2008 and their son, Grant, is about to turn 15.

Like Shybunko, she wishes to see new beautification projects in Old Field.

“We are about to embark on a major restoration and renovation of the Old Field Lighthouse,” she said. “I am secretary of the Old Field Lighthouse Foundation and, if elected, I will be the liaison between the board and the foundation.”

Rebecca Van Der Bogart

Van Der Bogart is also a new name on the ballot for trustee, but familiar with village business.

She volunteers with the Crane Neck Association and is on the zoning board of appeals for Old Field. She and her wife, Hayley Devon Ogle, have lived in the village since 1997.

Among the items Van Der Bogart would like to see improved in the village is communication among residents. She said sometimes residents are too quick to report a problem to the village, like a floodlight shining in their window, before communication with their neighbors. She believes in being a good neighbor and that’s why she picked it as her platform.

“I know it sounds funny, but I believe that people should communicate with each other, and work together and make this community — make our neighborhood — as great as it could be,” she said. “Have dialogue with each other, try to help each other.”

Van Der Bogart added as a resident she tries her best to attend village meetings and believes she will bring a different perspective to the board. She said while Old Field is known for having wealthy people, that’s not the case for every resident.

“We’re not all millionaires, and I think that should be represented on the village board,” she said.

Van Der Bogart added not only as a neighbor but also as a businessperson her goal is to make sure that everybody has a better experience when dealing with village government, likening it to a customer-service approach.

In the past, Van Der Bogart has worked with the village to curb issues brought on by deer such as eating vegetation and Lyme disease. On the village’s deer committee, she worked with the New York State Department of Conservation, local elected officials and deer hunters. She also investigated villages such as Quogue to see how they approached their deer problems, she said, not wanting to have massive amounts of deer killings.

“I said, ‘You know, here’s the problem, people are starting to get sick now, people who are getting tick-borne diseases,’” she said. “There’s a direct correlation that the more deer, the more ticks, the more tick-borne diseases.”

The village changed the code to allow residents to use deer fencing. With this, Van Der Bogart said homeowners could protect their properties and health without resorting to hunting.

“So, it kind of was the happy medium for everybody, and I felt really proud of working on that,” she said.

The election for two trustees and village justice will take place Tuesday, March 16, from noon to 9 p.m. at the Keeper’s Cottage, 207 Old Field Road. 

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Stock image

By Iryna Shkurhan

In the Village of Head of the Harbor, two trustee incumbents, Daniel White and Jeffrey Fischer, are running for another two-year term March 16.

Daniel White

Both candidates are currently serving in their eighth year as trustees for the village. As a result of the pandemic, this past year brought new budget challenges due to a shortfall of court and sales tax revenues. But both candidates credit working effectively and diligently with their team to prevail through unforeseen circumstances.

“The village faces significant problems this year because we have a very tight budget as a result of a pandemic, and I think that I can contribute to the overall effective functioning and improvement of life in the village,” White said.

During his service so far, White worked with his fellow trustees to initiate modern radio communications for the highway trucks. Most recently he also helped secure funding for reflective stainless steel clips on the fire hydrants so the firemen can find them easily, even when covered with snow.

“It seems very small, barely worth mentioning, but it can make a significant difference in a situation where if it’s not there, it could be a problem,” White said.

White, 66, has worked as a fidelity lawyer for Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi PC firm for the past three years, specializing in fidelity and surety law. His past law experience includes serving as assistant district attorney in Kings County.

He has lived in St. James at intervals since 1965. Currently White and his wife reside in the home he grew up with their two labradors, Daisy and Holly.

White also served as president of Preservation Long Island, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving Long Island’s diverse cultural and architectural heritage, and completed his extended term in June. He also served on the organization’s board for 13 years.

White and Fischer align with the village statement on the proposed Gyrodyne development project in St. James, which raised concerns about negative traffic and environmental impacts on the village. They are concerned about the possible consequences of a proposed treatment plan on the property so close to Stony Brook Harbor and drastic changes to historic Route 25.

“I think that the historic corridor along Route 25A in that section is a resource that we must conserve and that we must preserve,” said White, who views the proposed location of the site as the “wrong place.”

Jeffrey Fischer

Gyrodyne has proposed to subdivide its 75-acre-property to build a 150-room hotel with a restaurant, two assisted living centers, two medical office parks in addition to a 7-acre sewage treatment plant.

Fischer believes that a moratorium needs to be placed on this project until further studies are conducted on the environmental impact, as well as from a traffic standpoint.

“Our biggest concern right now is the potential Smithtown master plan Gyrodone property,”  Fischer said. “It can have such a negative impact on our village.”

Fischer, 64, has lived in St. James for the past 27 years with his wife and two children.  He is the president and CEO of Atlantic Business Systems, an IT company in Hauppauge that he started 33 years ago. During the past four terms as trustee, he served on the finance board and is responsible for maintaining and balancing the budget.

“With the financial shortfalls that were unforeseen, due to COVID, it’s been challenging,but you know, we’ve prevailed,” Fischer said.

He has also served on the zoning board of appeals for 17 years, for ten of those years he was chairman of the board.

Fischer spearheaded the joining of the St. James fire district for the village, rather than being a customer of the fire district. The initiative was approved this year, giving residents the opportunity to vote in the fire district elections and join as volunteers or commissioners.

“I love doing it,” Fischer said. “I work with a great team of people. Our mayor and my fellow trustees are outstanding people to work with, and we’re getting a lot accomplished.And, I really enjoy it.”

Voting will take place March 16 at Head of the Harbor Village Hall located at 500 North Country Road, St. James. The polls will be open from noon to 9 p.m.

“We live in a wonderful community and people are willing to help in all kinds of ways, and I want to work to focus on getting participation even greater, so that we can make things better,” White said.

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Photo from Pixabay
Elof Axel Carlson

By Elof Axel Carlson

When I’ve gone to a performance of La Bohême or Les Misérables I see a common theme that is not only European but may be universal. The young express their disappointment of the world in which they are raised and seek change by revolution and protest. The old see the world as manageable, despite its failings, and feel threatened by the discontents of youths who will destroy a way life as they know it. For the young, the privilege, bigotry, inequality, and neglect are considered wrongs that need correcting. For the old, the new brings to mind authoritarian rule by mobs and dictators. Where does science fit into that conflict?

Scientists like to claim a neutrality in what they do as scientists. For those in basic science they are not motivated by political and private usage of their findings. Their quest is adding new knowledge of our perception of the universe.  How it is used is the job of everyone. 

We do not blame a scientist who invents a pocket watch if that watch is used in a bomb to assassinate a nation’s leader. But applied science is different. If a scientist is hired to design an intercontinental missile to deliver a hydrogen bomb that will decimate a city thousands of miles away, that scientist is very much aware of the potential use of that weapon in war and rationalizes that he or she is just making a deterrent necessary for peace. 

It becomes harder to make such a rationalization if the scientist is hired to design a gas chamber designed as a public shower to kill 20 people at a time with cyanide gas pouring into that sealed chamber. It then becomes a war crime if the side using those gas chambers loses the war. The only plausible defense for the scientist is to claim he or she was forced under possible threat of death to design the chamber.    

Science provides the tools  and  findings of basic science and applies them to society. Both protestors and those protecting private property as police or militia may use the same shields and weapons in their confrontations. What distinguishes them in their acts are the values they accept. 

In general, the young are more likely to be among the protesters, the adults who have learned to live the contradictions of society will tend to be older and supported most vigorously by the older members of society who accept their privileges without a sense of guilt. 

I am a liberal (in the sense of the tradition of Franklin Roosevelt and the Democratic Party through most of the 20th and 21st century). I do not consider those provisions of the government as identical to totalitarian socialist states and more than Republicans consider their support of capitalist inequality as identical to such right wing totalitarian governments under Mussolini, Peron, Franco, Trujillo, or other anti-socialist and anti-Communist outlooks.  

Not all concern over science is based on politics. There are disagreements among scientists on issues such as the contributions of natural and synthetic gases to world climate changes or the rising levels of ocean water.  There is disagreement on the exposure or individuals of populations from low doses of ionizing radiation. There is disagreement on the carrying capacity of land for increases in the human population (each person needs food, shelter, health, and work to sustain a family). 

Unfortunately, science literacy is not good for most of the world’s population and politics rather than scientific evidence is more likely to dominate the debates on these issues which are highly dependent on how science is used or abused. 

Elof Axel Carlson is a distinguished teaching professor emeritus in the Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Stony Brook University.

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Brian Orlando shows off the new beer he collaborated with to fundraise for suicide prevention. Photo by Julianne Mosher

A local radio personality and a brewery owner are combining forces to combat suicide.

Brian Orlando, a DJ with Connoisseur Media’s 94.3 The Shark, has made it his mission to bring awareness to depression and to help those who are struggling.

Back in 2017, when his hero, and Soundgarden front man, Chris Cornell took his own life, Orlando was devastated. He began writing a song hoping to shine a light on the taboo topic of suicide, and to show that music can heal all wounds. 

A close up look at the QR reader and label on the Never Alone beer packaging. The code leads to a music video created by Orlando in memory of those who lost their lives to suicide. Photo by Julianne Mosher

He teamed up with Northport native (and the lead singer of 90s band Wheatus) Brendon B. Brown, Vinnie Dombroski of the band Sponge, Kevin Martin from Candlebox, and One Direction touring drummer Josh Devine to create “Choose Song.” 

In January 2019, the group, along with dozens of Long Island locals, filmed its music video at 1940’s Brewing Co. in Holbrook, starring Orlando’s friend, and fellow Shark DJ, Ashley Massaro, of Smithtown. 

Massaro lost her own life to suicide a few weeks before the video was set to release. 

“We watched it together,” Orlando said. “It was just a couple of weeks before she passed, and I know that she loved the video. She loved being here.” When Massaro passed away, everyone thought it was too soon to release the video online. Eventually, in July 2020, they decided to post it to YouTube, and share her story with the world. 

“There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about her,” he said. “I want people to realize that when they do see the video, they’re looking at somebody that fought to the end, even though she had problems, she was trying to help other people. That’s why she was here.”

Massaro rose to fame in 2005 after winning WWE’s Diva Search. Two years later, she was a contestant on “Survivor: China.” In 2016, she was one of several former wrestlers who sued the WWE, alleging they sustained head injuries on set that were not properly cared for, causing her severe depression. 

“When people see the video, they realize anybody from any walk of life can suffer from depression,” Orlando said. “And hopefully that’s an inspiration to reach out on that can and get help so you don’t become a statistic.”

The can he mentions is the new beer that  1940’s Brewing Co. crafted this month. Jon Brengel, head brewer and owner, was instrumental in the movement, since the video was first filmed inside his brewery. 

Jon Brengel with Brian Orlando inside 1940’s Brewery in Holbrook. Photo by Julianne Mosåher

Brengel, of Huntington, approached Orlando about creating a beer and a logo that he hopes can save lives. 

“As you try to bring people together with music, we tried to do the same thing with beer,” he said. “I thought it’d be really appropriate to have something to support mental health.”

For every sale of the “Never Alone” beer, proceeds will go to suicide prevention. They also added a QR code to the label, which brings customers to the music video’s page, and other information like the National Suicide Hotline. 

Brengel said the idea to create a beverage for a cause was thought of in December. By February, they brewed a brand-new citrus New England India IPA (flavored after Orlando’s favorite drink, tequila), and created the symbolic design.

The light blue label features a concert setting, with hands reaching up (to the singer or symbolizing reaching out for help). Crinkled paper decorates the background, symbolizing every note written and never sent. In red ink, it reminds anyone looking, “With music, you are never alone.”

Blending the duo’s love for music, hanging out with friends and having a good time, along with the reminder that help is available for whoever needs it, the craft beer was born. 

Brengel said he hopes his beverage will rekindle friendships and bring more people together. 

“Living in the world we live in now, not having that contact, and not being able to see people as often as you want, I think the song really is a reminder to reach out to that person you haven’t spoken to in a while,” he said. “We were very cautious of the stigma of alcohol and mental health matters, but I think the idea is that this QR reader and label will be a reminder for you to reach out to the people you miss.”

Orlando said there is always going to be a stigma about drinking, “But the truth of the matter is, breweries like this are just the places to go to and be together — listen to some good music and be with good people.”

Photo by Julianne Mosher

The ultimate goal, he said, is if the person consuming the drink is feeling down or having a bad day, the QR scanner is right there on the lable, and will direct them to an inspirational video, reminding them they are never alone. 

Orlando said that since the video’s release, nearly 20,000 people have viewed, shared and commented on it, saying that the song helped save their life. 

“That’s what the song is supposed to be there for to help people,” he said. 

The Choose Song beer is available at the 1940’s Brewery and at local distributers.

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