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TVHS Director Mari Irizarry

The Three Village Historical Society (TVHS) has  announced that Mari Irizarry has been appointed by the Board of Trustees as its new Director. Her appointment comes at an opportune time in the Society’s history, as it will unveil powerful new augmented reality experiences this spring that complement the Spies! exhibit and, plans for the Dominick-Crawford Barn Education Center groundbreaking.

Irizarry has worked with TVHS since 2016 and has emerged as a dedicated visionary after the forced restructuring, in January 2021, brought about by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Mari brings over 20 years’ experience as a leader in non-profit and government sectors, in NYC and Long Island, focusing on leadership, programming, strategy, marketing, and communications.

“The Board is ecstatic to have Mari lead the Three Village Historical Society as we begin our next endeavor of expanding programming in the Three Village area with the addition of the Dominick Crawford Barn Education Center,” said Jeff Schnee, President of the Board of Trustees. “We are thankful that Mari has devoted so much of her time and expertise to the growth of the Society. She has walked with me every step of the way since the Society had to shift operations with Covid-19. In the end, we were compelled by Mari’s unique combination of energy, thought leadership, and experience, as well as her rare ability to toggle effortlessly between vision and action. We could not be more excited about this appointment!”

“I am very proud and honored to be part of this great organization that has been a staple of our Three Village area for nearly 60 years,” said Irizarry. “I look forward to building strategic partnerships and continuing to build on this incredible legacy which has already contributed so much to our community.”

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File photo

Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad and Arson Section detectives are investigating a fire that killed an East Setauket woman and injured a man and infant in the early morning hours of Feb. 18.

Sixth Precinct officers responded to the home, located on Old Town Road, after a 911 caller reported a fire at the location at 12:01 a.m. Stephen Ortner, a resident of the home, was able to escape through a second-floor window onto a roof ledge and hand his 10-month-old son to a passerby below, who then handed the child to rescuers. Ortner was then able to climb down to the ground, according to SCPD.

According to Dave Sterne, the Setauket Fire District’s manager, Ortner tried to get back inside to help the child’s mother, Lisa Ostrowski. However, when department Chief Richard Leute arrived on the scene and saw him, he advised the father not to do so as the house was engulfed in flames. Ortner then jumped and Leute caught him.

Ostrowski, 31, the mother of the child, was not able to escape the home and was found dead once the fire was extinguished. Stephen Ortner, 30, and his son Leo Ortner were transported to Stony Brook University Hospital, where the father was treated for serious injuries and his child for non-life-threatening injuries.

There were no other occupants of the home and no other injuries were reported.

A preliminary investigation has determined the cause of the fire to be non-criminal in nature.

Ortner and Ostrowski’s aunt Barbara Iannuzzi-Prass set up a GoFundMe page, Tragic Fire support for Lisa, Baby Leo and Steven. As of Feb. 19, more than $42,000 was raised from nearly 600 people.

Ianuzzi-Prass wrote on the page that Ortner and Ostrowski were engaged. She reported that both Ortner and his son were in the ICU with severe burns and in critical but stable condition.

“Lisa will need a proper funeral and Steven and Leo will need to restart their lives once they are out of the hospital,” Ianuzzi-Prass wrote.

Open auditions

Theatre Three, 412 Main St., Port Jefferson will hold open auditions for all roles in the ABBA musical Mamma Mia! on Thursday, March 3 and Tuesday, March 8 at 7 p.m. Seeking strong singer/actor/dancers ages 16 and older. Performances will be held from May 21 to June. 25. Bring a headshot/resume if available. For more information, visit www.theatrethree.com/auditions.htm.

 

Photo courtesy of LIM

The Long Island Museum, 1200Route 25A, Stony Brook welcomes families for Winter Break Fun in the Carriage Museum on Thursday, Feb. 24 from noon to 3 p.m.

Step back in time and explore their world class carriage collection! You’ll see amazing vehicles that show you what the world was like before cars!  Docents will be onsite to share information, hands-on objects, and activities. All ages are welcome and admission is FREE!

*Please note, the Carriage Museum will be the only building open this day due to exhibition installation in other buildings.

Covid safety protocols remain in effect; physical distancing will be required and all visitors over the age of 2 must wear face masks while indoors. The LIM follows CDC-prescribed cleaning protocols for all buildings.

For more information, visit www.longislandmuseum.org.

#15 Anthony Roberts takes a shot at last Sunday's game. Photo from Stony Brook Athletics

In a scoring performance not seen since Jameel Warney’s 2016 America East Championship output, Anthony Roberts lit up the scoreboard to help the Seawolves to a second consecutive win on Feb. 13 in Bangor, Maine.

He hit nine 3-pointers, the most by any player in Seawolves program history, as Stony Brook cruised to an 85-74 victory at the Cross Insurance Center. He finished the day with 40 points, the seventh time that milestone has been hit by a men’s basketball player.

A 10-3 run in the first half help the Seawolves seize the lead, with Tykei Greene chipping in half during that stretch. Maine would pull ahead as much as four in that stanza at 26-22, but the Seawolves responded again with a 13-3 run, during which 11 of the points came from Roberts, to take the lead for good.

The Seawolves were able to gradually extend their lead as large as 16 in the second half, keeping Maine at bay with the lead being double figures for the majority of the final ten minutes.

“It was a big road win for us. I’m really proud of our guys for rallying shorthanded and with all of the stuff they’ve been forced to deal with. It has been a very difficult couple of weeks for us. Tykei was able to play a really nice game for us and Anthony Roberts played at an extremely high level,” said head coach Geno Ford.

The team headed from the northern-most league opponent to the southern-most, heading to UMBC on Wednesday night in Baltimore, Md. Results were not available as of press time.

Head coach Ashley Langford celebrates her team's victory during last Monday's game. Photo from Stony Brook Athletics

The Stony Brook women’s basketball team bounced back after a tough loss to Maine to defeat UMBC, 64-48, on Feb. 14 in Baltimore, Md. The Seawolves improve to 21-3, 12-2 America East on the season.

Graduate forward Leighah-Amori Wool lit up the scoreboard for Stony Brook leading all scorers with a season-high 23 points. Wool is the latest player to knock down 20+ points since graduate forward India Pagan finished with 21 against Binghamton on Jan. 19.

Senior guard Anastasia Warren and Pagan followed behind Wool also finishing in double-figures on the night. Pagan finished with 14 points and added 10 rebounds to secure her fifth career double-double and second on the season. Warren filled the stat sheet for the Seawolves chipping in 12 points and grabbing a season-high nine rebounds.

 Stony Brook came out strong with an early lead, but the Retrievers would eventually take a 28-22 lead off a 9-0 scoring run in the second quarter. The Seawolves were able to gain momentum in the second half and come out on top after a layup from Wool to 9:38 to go in the third quarter. Stony Brook would not trail for the remainder of the contest.

The team was back in action Feb. 16 when they took on UMBC back home at The Island. Results were not available as of press time. 

Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad and Arson Section detectives are investigating a fire that killed a Selden man this evening.

Sixth Precinct officers responded to the home, located at 357 Magnolia Drive, after a 911 caller reported a fire at the location at 6:20 p.m. After the fire was extinguished, Earl Rahman, 81, a resident of the home, was found dead. There were no other injuries reported.

A preliminary investigation has determined the cause of the fire to be non-criminal in nature.

William Contreras

Update: Williams Contreras, who was reported missing on February 12, has been located and is unharmed.

Below is the original release:         

Suffolk County Police Second Squad detectives are seeking the public’s help to locate an East Northport man who went missing last week. Williams Contreras was last seen leaving the home of a family member, located at 4 Grange St. in Huntington, on February 11 at approximately 1:30 p.m. He was reported missing by a family member on February 12 at approximately 5:30 p.m. Contreras was driving his gray 2008 BMW SUV, New York registration KES 6264.

Contreras, 33, of 45 Burr Road in East Northport, is Hispanic, 5 feet 6 inches tall and 140 pounds. He has curly brown hair, brown eyes, a violin tattoo on his left forearm and wears glasses. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a black zip-up hooded sweatshirt, and gray Adidas shoes.

Detectives are asking anyone with information on Contreras’ location to call the Second Squad at 631-854-8252 or call 911.

Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich

On Feb. 7, Brookhaven Town Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich announced that the Town has relocated the glass recycling bins from the parking lot across from the Three Village Inn in Stony Brook to the Setauket Fire Department at 394 Nicolls Road in East Setauket. 

This new location will offer greater convenience for Town of Brookhaven residents to recycle their glass. Only glass bottles and jars are accepted and they do not need to be separated by color. Glass collected from the Town’s twelve drop-off locations is crushed and used to replace sand in construction, saving natural resources and reducing waste.

“This project was completed thanks to the efficient teamwork of both the Setauket Fire Department and the Waste Management Team from the Town of Brookhaven. Thank you to everyone involved in making our community cleaner and greener,” said Councilmember Kornreich. “I encourage everyone to make full use of this resource for the well-being of both our community and the environment.

Other Town of Brookhaven glass recycling bins are located at:

Brookhaven Town Hall One Independence Hill, Farmingville, NY 11738
Brookhaven Landfill 350 Horseblock Road, Brookhaven, NY 11719
Manorville Compost Facility Papermill Road, Manorville, NY 11949
Holtsville Ecology Center 249 Buckley Road,  Holtsville, NY 11742
Rose Caracappa Sr. Center 739 Route 25A, Mt. Sinai, NY 11766
New Village Recreation Center 20 Wireless Road, Centereach, NY 11720
Henrietta Acampora Recreation Center 39 Montauk Highway, Blue Point, NY 11715
Mastic Recreation Center15 Herkimer Street, Mastic, NY 11950
Fireman’s Field 25 Middle Country Road, Ridge, NY 11961
Comsewogue Library 170 Terryville Road, Port Jefferson Station, NY 11776
Center Moriches Library 235 Main St. Center Moriches, NY 11934

For more information, call 631-451-6963.

 

METRO photo

Diabetes Prevention Program

If you have prediabetes, you can take control and reduce your risk of developing diabetes. St. Charles Hospital, 200 Belle Terre Road, Port Jefferson will be conducting a free Diabetes Prevention series starting Tuesday, March 8 from 6 to 7:15 p.m. The program will provide a  trained lifestyle coach, CDC approved curriculum and group support during the course of the year. Pre-registration is required by calling 631-853-2928.