Authors Posts by Katherine Kelton

Katherine Kelton

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Photos courtesy Miller Place UFSD

By Katherine Kelton

The Miller Place Union Free School District Board of Education met on Oct. 30 and discussed the many approved constructions of the schools, ranging from elementary to high school. They also addressed school changes following a threat against the high school. 

Superintendent Seth Lipshie shared safety plans for the school district, including using explosion detection canine searches at the high school and North Country Road Middle School. The searches will be unannounced.

Additionally, the district has employed armed guards at stations outside of each school. To enter any building, a person must have administrative permission and identification. 

All staff will complete two tutorials: School Safety for New York and Student Mental Health. During the year, each school will have four lockdown drills. 

For the Be Heard portion of the meeting, three concerned parents spoke about the threat against the school a week before the meeting, yet parents were not notified for days following. One parent said, “There’s really no excuse, in my opinion, for the fact that we were not notified last week.”

Another parent proposed that a committee review the Code of Conduct, including the word “threat,” as a violation against the school. She also wanted to develop a crisis management plan. 

President Lisa Reitan also addressed a Be Heard from the last meeting, where a parent spoke about the summer assignments for AP and Honors classes. Reitan stated, “The district is compiling data about assigning summer projects for AP and Honors classes.” Many other high schools around Long Island, including Ward Melville, have been doing away with summer assignments due to parental complaints. 

Trustee John Galligan attended the New York State Department of Education online meeting where regionalization was introduced. The department hopes to incentivize interdistrict cooperation over sharing education resources, such as the BOCES  program. Although BOCES is already a shared resource for many Long Island schools, regionalization would provide subsidies for such schools.

Regionalization plans are to be created every five years. The first draft of the school planning process was due Nov. 1 and will be implemented in the 2026-2027 school year. The Department of Education also stated that there would be no attempt to consolidate school districts, something Reitan is concerned about. She said, “The biggest con is local control. We are Miller Place, y’know.”

School Business Official Colleen Card spoke about the recently approved revitalizations of the district’s schools. Most significant are the plans for Miller Place High School: a ventilation system, a new art room and showers for the boys’ locker room. Andrew Muller Primary School is wrapping up construction on the gymnasium with an upcoming fire marshal inspection. Andrew Muller also finished building a kindergarten playground. Laddie A. Decker Sound Beach School recently installed a ventilation system as well.   

Lipshie also recapped the district’s celebrations and news. The Safe Halloween event, held at the high school, was a great success at raising funds for the Miller Place UFSD. Boy’s varsity soccer earned a play-off qualification. Girls field hockey won the Division 2 Regular Season Championship and is now 16-2. 

In upcoming events, Lipshie highlighted the sixth- and seventh-grade dance, the Miller Place Driver’s Safety Program, winter sports starting on Nov. 18 for the high school and Nov. 4 for the middle school and college admissions workshops. More information about the events can be found on the Miller Place School District website (www,millerplace.k12.ny.us).

The next BOE meeting will be Nov. 20, at approximately 8 p.m., at the Miller Place High School.   Photos courtesy Miller Place UFSD

By Katherine Kelton

Daylight saving time ended on Sunday, Nov. 3, giving Americans an extra hour to enjoy — except in Hawaii and most of Arizona.

On Long Island, this meant an earlier sunrise and saying goodbye to sunsets after 6 p.m. The next day in Port Jefferson, people enjoyed quintessential fall weather on the ferry to Connecticut. TBR News Media asked these passengers: How did you enjoy your extra hour?

Mary Rose and Alan Goldberg, East Setauket

Mary Rose and her husband Alan were in Massachusetts when the “fall back” happened. The pair were visiting their daughter. Even though the two had a “very long conversation the night about falling back and getting that extra hour,” they forgot the day off until they were about to leave their hotel. For them, the extra hour meant time to “sit around and chat, visit our daughter, hang out and be together.”

Monica Landivar, Stamford, Conn.

Monica Landivar, on left, from Stamford, Connecticut, on a day trip to Port Jefferson, shared the practical benefits she enjoyed from daylight saving time: “To be totally and completely honest, it was relaxing. And also, the good thing was that I had extra time to do some work around the house.”

Alenna Lin

Alenna Lin, Stony Brook University

Alenna Lin, a freshman at Stony Brook University, enjoyed the extra hour to reorientate her schedule. “I spend many hours studying for all my classes, so my sleep schedule naturally gets destroyed, especially after two back-to-back midterms last week,” she said. She could “go to bed an hour early, wake up at a reasonable time and be more awake during lectures.”

Amal Sani, South Setauket

A senior at Ward Melville High School, Amal Sani shared details of her three-day weekend, saying, “I had Monday off for senior skip day, so I had an extra hour and an extra day to do work.” She was sitting in Local’s Cafe in Port Jefferson doing college applications and school work, which she said she has been very occupied with. “Daylight savings was much needed,” she added.

 

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A scene from the 34th annual Cedar Beach Blues Festival. Photo by Katherine Kelton

By Katherine Kelton

Doc Blues, the stage name of Mount Sinai doctor, Mark Gresser, along with The Port Jefferson Arts Council, the Long Island Blues Society, and WUSB 90.1 FM presented the 34th annual Cedar Beach Blues on the Harbor festival in Port Jefferson on Sept. 21 and 22.

The two-day event at Harborfront Park showcased 18 blues artists across two stages, drawing in crowds eager to enjoy the soulful sounds. Sunday saw an increase in foot traffic thanks to the nearby Port Jeff Farmers Market, where attendees swayed to the music while holding bags of fresh produce.

Despite being mid-September, the weather was unexpectedly warm, with families gathering in folding chairs, enjoying food, and soaking in one of the last hot days before autumn officially arrives.

While the festival primarily catered to older residents of Port Jefferson and the surrounding areas, many young children accompanied their parents. Admission was free, and attendees could purchase food and drinks from local restaurants just minutes from the venue.

The event was sponsored by The Long Island Blues Society. Ronnie Shapiro, vice president of the society, told TBR, “I love blues because it’s one of the few truly American music styles. It was born in America. It encompasses everything from dance music to sad tunes.

“Even the Rolling Stones played the blues. It’s a truly American art form,” he continued.

When asked about community turnout, Shapiro added, “Unfortunately, we don’t get as big of one as we would like. We’d like to see more. I don’t think people know what to expect when they come to a blues show. They might think of an old man with a corn cob pipe and banjo sitting on the porch.”

“But it’s so much more—there’s a little country mixed in. Rock and country both came out of the blues, [and there is really something for everyone to enjoy.]”

By Katherine Kelton

To kick off Stony Brook Seawolves home football season, the university held the first of its Dean’s Challenge, when three deans of different colleges “guest coach” a game for three games, for a total of nine schools competing. Each dean competes to bring in the most people from their respective unit for a trophy, book scholarship and bragging rights. 

The Stony Brook Development Team launched the first inaugural Stony Brook Athletics Dean’s Challenge for the fall 2023 semester. The mission is to build partnerships and bridge the gap between academics on campus and athletics.

Each school was given an opportunity to rally fans for football games during the fall season. The School of Social Welfare had the greatest attendance and was named the winner, receiving the Dean’s Challenge Trophy and a $250 book scholarship courtesy of the Athletic Department.

The first game this season included guest-coach David Wrobel, the new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He said, “We thought as a nice way to build community and get people out to the game, we would bring all kinds of food in addition to giving out tickets and college swag.”

CAS had the largest number of attendees and secured $500 for student programming. 

Wrobel, who joined Stony Brook this fall after a previous tenure at the University of Oklahoma, explained his decision to come to Long Island. “The thing I love about this university is that it’s exactly what a public research university has to be,” he said. “It focuses on ensuring that kids from different backgrounds and financial circumstances have access to an incredible research-centric experience.”

Wrobel said of the football team, “I hope the football players do brilliantly, there’s a new coach [Billy Cosh] so that’s fantastic. The football players are also fantastic student-athletes.”

The other two deans who competed at Saturday’s game were Stacy Jaffee Gropack of the School of Health Professions and Peter Diplock of the School of Professional Development.

Aside from the healthy rivalries inside the university, other groups set up their tents, served food and played games. Their kids cartwheeled and threw footballs around. Stony Brook merchandise tents were scattered around as well. 

Fans watched the football players in their tracksuits walk into the locker room. The marching band, cheerleaders and dance squad paraded around the perimeter of the tailgate area before performing in front of LaValle Stadium. 

The light rain did not scare off tailgaters as many came prepared. Todd Rose, father of freshman player Ian Rose, said, “We’re from Connecticut. We were here for all the rainy games last year and it seems we are this year too.” 

Todd Rose and his mother walked around handing out 3D printed badges and beaded necklaces that demonstrate team spirit. “We like to go to New Orleans and when you walk around they have all these beads and they have all the Major League sports teams and then they have your colleges,” he explained. “But, I never saw one for Stony Brook, so what I did was I took the picture and built it into my 3D printer, and designed it myself. I just give it to the parents of the players. So we know when a person is a parent of a player.”

Rose huddled under the tent with his wife, eldest son and mother alongside other football parents. James Amburn, father of Jacob Amburn, another freshman player, came from Berkshire County, Massachusetts, to watch the game. “I wasn’t too sure about Stony Brook at first,” he said. However, after they toured the school and the surrounding community SBU was a clear choice. “The atmosphere, the people are great, Port Jefferson is nice. Just a great experience,” he added. 

The Seawolves beat Stonehill Skyhawks, 37-10, with an impressive two touchdowns in the first quarter. The next home game will be against Morgan State Bears Sept. 28 at 3:30 p.m.