Huntington’s Independence Day was remembered with reenactments by the Huntington Militia on Sunday, July 17.
The group hosted a Huntington Independence Day event at the Arsenal Museum in Huntington and Village Green
The main activity was a reenactment of the 1776 events in the Town of Huntington. The day also included a reading of the Declaration of Independence, musket and cannon drills, practice musket drills for children, period craft, cooking demonstrations and tours of the arsenal.
Despite Americans across the nation challenging librarians for their material choices, Suffolk County libraries have dealt with few issues.
According to the recent The New York Times article, “With Rising Book Bans, Librarians Have Come Under Attack,” librarians across the U.S. have found themselves on the front lines of book banning movements, often criticized publicly or on social media. Some have even quit their jobs or have been fired over debates about removing books from a library’s shelves.
A controversy involving a library on the North Shore of Suffolk County recently revolved around a Pride Month display, which included books, in the children’s sections in The Smithtown Library branches. On June 21, the library board trustees voted 4-2, with one member absent, to remove pride displays, which included signs and books, in the children’s sections in its Smithtown, Commack, Kings Park and Nesconset branches. According to a couple of trustees, they voted to remove the displays due to patrons coming to them complaining about particular items. Two days later, the board held an emergency meeting and reversed its decision, again 4-2, with one board member abstaining.
The reversal came after criticism on social media from the community, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and the New York Library Association. The board also received hundreds of emails after their initial decision.
The Suffolk Cooperative Library System is an association that helps public libraries in the county provide traditional and innovative service to their patrons.
Derek Ivie, SCLS youth services coordinator, said to his knowledge the libraries which are part of the local system have not received as many challenges about books as many in the nation have faced, especially regarding LGBTQ+ and social justice materials.
“Nationally it’s definitely a different story, and I would even say in other parts of New York state, it’s a different story,” Ivie said. “I have colleagues in other systems in New York who have shared stories where they are having patrons come in and complain about specific books. So, while it’s not happening locally, it is something that is happening in places around our county.”
Ted Gutmann said in his more than 10 years as library director of Emma S. Clark Memorial Library in Setauket, he is only aware of a handful of complaints about books or other materials during his tenure. He said the reasons and topics of the material vary. The director said the most recent criticism he can remember was about a video in the adult section.
Debra Engelhardt, Comsewogue Public Library director, said during her decade as director, she has not had a patron fill out the paperwork needed to place a complaint about library material or displays. Like many other libraries, a form can be found on the library’s website. She said people sometimes comment or ask employees questions face to face about different displays featured during the year.
“Some of them are a little more negative and some of them are more positive, but with every one, we have the opportunity to have a conversation with a community member and help them to better understand why we’re here and what we do,” Engelhardt said.
Training and choosing
Ivie said while patrons may find library pages, clerks or employees training to be a librarian who don’t currently hold a specific degree, for the most part, when a staff member holds the title of librarian, they have earned a master’s of library sciences.
He said most libraries have selection or collection policies that outline how books should be chosen. These policies can be found on most libraries’ websites. He said librarians also take into consideration reviews and patrons’ requests. Ivie added the reviews are by peers throughout the world.
“Trust the experts that are sitting in your libraries,” he said. “They have done training. They’re reading the literature itself. They’re reading the reviews. They know what they’re doing. They know the needs of a community and the people who are walking through their doors.”
Engelhardt said she feels that librarians should be celebrated, and that a library’s impact on a community is immeasurable. She described a library as a safety net as it provides an opportunity for community members to learn about whatever they wish, and many in a community may feel seen because of a book or library display.
“Our job as a public library is that we present an all-inclusive service program,” Engelhardt said. “We’re always touting the fact that everyone is welcome, and everyone is respected. It’s a safe space to learn to grow.”
Gutmann applauded librarians.
“We serve everybody from children to adults, and there’s a wide range, a multitude of subjects and viewpoints historically and otherwise represented in the collections,” he said. “That’s what our public libraries are for. I think our librarians do a great job at maintaining those collections.”
Long Island Vettes, a local Corvette club, hosted the inaugural Plycar Motorama All GM Car Show in Nesconset on July 10.
The show featured Buicks, Cadillacs, Chevrolets, GMCs, Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles from various decades.
During the event, funds were raised to benefit The Last Hope Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation. Attendees also enjoyed live music from VHS Cover Band.
The Northport Volunteer Fire Department’s 96th annual Firemen’s Fair opened July 11.
Summer fun seekers enjoyed carnival rides, games, festival food and more.
The fair continues until Saturday, July 16, and is open from 7 to 11 p.m. on the fire department grounds, located on Steers Ave, off of Ocean Ave in Northport.
Residents of the Northport-East Northport school district have waited anxiously for the recent report by the New York State Department
of Health.
According to a NYSDOH study, the investigation of cancer incidents in the school district between 1999 and 2018 was initiated by the department “in response to an inquiry from members of the community who shared information about leukemias and other cancers diagnosed among members of the Northport High School graduating class of 2016 since their graduation and among other children and young adults in the Northport area.” The report also mentioned health concerns cited about Northport Middle School students.
In January 2020, the district decided to close the middle school for a few months after the consulting firm hired by the district, P.W. Grosser Consulting, tested the soil on the grounds and found elevated levels of benzene in two separate septic systems on site. Before a cleanup, three science classrooms in the middle school’s G-wing were closed out of an abundance of caution. During the investigation, it was found science rooms had sinks that drain into the leaching pool, where the mercury and silver were found. While odorless fumes could have potentially migrated through the piping into classrooms, the drain systems rely on P traps that prevent that from occurring, according to the district at the time. Air quality results in the G-wing classrooms were later found to be normal.
The DOH’s primary source of data was the New York State Cancer Registry. For the years after 2018, registry data was not official at the time of analyses, according to the DOH report.
“We identified 4,593 cases of cancer among district residents, compared with 4,454 that would be expected,” the report read. “This 3% excess was statistically significant, meaning it was unlikely to occur by chance.”
An increase in pancreatic cancer, malignant melanoma of the skin, uterine (corpus) cancer and prostate cancer made up the excess. The report went on to say, “There were significantly fewer than expected numbers of cases of stomach cancer and lung cancer. Numbers of cases of leukemia, other blood cancers (Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas and multiple myeloma), and 13 other types of cancer examined separately were not significantly different from expected.”
While the community around East Northport Middle School had about the expected cases, the area around Northport Middle School had 7% higher-than-expected levels of cancer.
Regarding the number of 2016 high school graduates who came down with leukemia, the study concluded, “It is possible that the elevated occurrence of leukemia among 2016 graduates could be related to factors not possible to uncover, including environmental exposures.”
Robert Banzer, district superintendent of schools, sent out a letter June 23 to community members to notify them that the study was completed. In the letter, he said, “The district fully cooperated with the NYSDOH during this process.”
After summarizing the findings in the letter, he said, “We appreciate the hard work of the NYSDOH in this endeavor and look forward to continuing to provide our students and staff with a safe learning environment.”
Lawsuits and disappointment in health study
Attorney Lilia Factor, of Melville-based Napoli Shkolnik PLLC, said her law firm has filed three lawsuits for nine plaintiffs so far against the Northport-East Northport school district. One of them is a proposed class-action lawsuit on behalf of all Northport Middle School students. The others are on behalf of individuals who have become sick. She is aware of at least five other lawsuits in total as other law firms have filed lawsuits against the district in the Suffolk County Supreme Court.
On July 12, according to Factor, the court consolidated lawsuits for the purposes of exchanging documents and depositions. A most recently filed case from Napoli Shkolnik was not included as a judge has not been assigned yet.
Tara Mackey is one of the plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit. She said her daughter suffered from migraine headaches while studying at Northport Middle School and developed asthma. When Mackey brought her daughter to the doctor for her headaches, carbon monoxide was found in her blood.
“She had to get blood tests every four to six weeks for the remainder of time that she was in the school, and it just showed a pattern of when they would test her blood after, say, five days a week of school, she would have very high levels of carbon monoxide in her blood and then when they tested it during holidays or summer break, it was perfectly normal,” Mackey said.
Factor said while Mackey’s daughter was fortunate not to get cancer, she and other students are at a higher risk of developing illness later in life due to latency periods, a fact she said the NYSDOH report acknowledges. If the class-action suit is successful, anyone who becomes sick in later years would be covered. In cases such as this, a fund is established where people can be tested or a protocol would be distributed to local doctors to know what to look for if a patient attended Northport Middle School
“We want there to be a medical monitoring program established for everyone so that they can screen people and watch them, and if they develop any symptoms of a serious illness that’s associated with these contaminants to try to catch it early,” Factor said.
Mackey said the health issues can weigh heavily on families, and many of them faced criticism in Northport when they brought the problems to the district. She and her family moved to South Carolina after they were harassed by community members creating uncomfortable situations.
“We endured a lot of harassment, along with a lot of other parents, from people in the community that didn’t want bad press about any potential environmental issues that could lead to health problems for people in the school and the community, because people feared for their property values,” she said. “It just made a very uncomfortable situation for many of us, and we moved because we couldn’t keep our kids safe.”
She added, coincidentally, two other families, who she didn’t know while living in Northport, moved near her.
Factor said while it is good that the DOH conducted the report, the study didn’t look at other factors such as families who have moved away and may have been diagnosed with an illness.
“They would not be part of those statistics, which were in themselves pretty disturbing,” Factor said.
She added the DOH didn’t talk to or survey community members and medical providers.
“It’s good that they did something, but it really needs to be a lot more comprehensive if they really want to understand cancer incidence in this community.” Factor said.
The attorney and Mackey added there have been other illnesses that have surfaced such as scleroderma and aplastic anemia. Mackey said that she was also disappointed that the study was cut off at the year 2018 as she has heard of more cases of cancer that have been diagnosed recently and therefore not counted.
“I just think all of the families and the parents, children themselves, they at least deserve the facts and the full facts,” the mother said. “Nothing can change at this point. We can’t change what happened to our children, but at least we can take charge and be observant and try to keep them in the best health possible and at least know what to look for.”
With the help of a local assemblyman, a high-tech tool used to fight crime is returning to Huntington Station.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney (R) and state Assemblyman Steve Stern (D-Dix HIlls) held a press conference at the DA’s office on July 8 to announce that Suffolk County Police Department’s 2nd Precinct will once again be utilizing ShotSpotter. The system detects where a gun is fired and then relays the information to local law enforcement.
It will be relaunched in Huntington Station, which was chosen due to a spike in gun violence in that community.
The DA’s office will receive a $250,000 county grant for the system. Tierney appeared before the Suffolk County Legislature to request funding for a countywide program in June to which Stern immediately responded.
“The money that Assemblyman Stern has given us will save lives,” Tierney said. “ShotSpotter will prevent shootings, because criminals will know that the police will be there in near minutes. Quick response by police will also allow police to quickly render aid to any victims.”
He added the technology will help the DA’s office to start its investigations earlier. Tierney said that while it’s not “a cure-all,” ShotSpotter is a tool in an overall approach.
As part of a $1 million public safety package, Stern also secured $500,000 for the DA’s office to enhance and update electronic surveillance equipment; $250,000 for the SCPD to purchase mobile plate readers; and $10,000 for Tierney’s office from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Grant. The latter funds can be used at the DA’s discretion for law enforcement, prosecution and crime prevention matters.
Stern thanked community members for their input, including Erica Rimmer who lost her son Luis Cameron Rimmer-Hernandez last summer when he was shot and killed. Rimmer and her family were in attendance at Friday’s press conference.
“I will always be the first to say that the best ideas always come from my neighbors, and that’s what makes today so important,” the assemblyman said. “This is an effort, really from all of us, particularly our district attorney, who has made it his business — and that of his outstanding staff — to go out to the community and learn from residents what’s important to them.”
He added Suffolk County residents value quality of life and public safety.
“That means that we must always have the most-qualified local law enforcement,” Stern said. “We must always have the very best trained public-safety officials. That also means that it’s imperative to have the most advanced and cutting-edge technology, which is such an important part of fighting crime today and going forward into the future.”
The county eliminated funding for ShotSpotter in 2018. At the time, it was deemed ineffective; however, technology has advanced significantly, according to Tierney. The DA added that the system now uses an app, where the ShotSpotter notification will go straight to a squad card instead of a call going to a dispatcher. The police officers will be given a map with directions, number of shots, location, and the system can provide the elevation of shots.
Tierney said that 50% of all shootings between 2019 and 2022 occurred in 22 square miles in Suffolk spread out over nine areas in the county. In addition to Huntington Station, the communities are Wyandanch, Brentwood, Central Islip, Bay Shore, Gordon Heights, Mastic Beach, North Bellport and North Amityville and represent 10% of Suffolk. He said the hope is to extend the ShotSpotter system to every such area in the 22 square miles.
“We want to provide safety for all of the citizens in those communities,” he said.
The Setalcott Nation hosted their 15th annual Corn Festival & Pow Wow at Setauket Elementary School Saturday and Sunday.
The last two years the festival was not held due to the pandemic. For its return, the 2022 festival’s theme was “We Are Still Here.”
To celebrate Native American culture, attendees had the opportunity to see Aztec dancers and Taino dancers, listen to storytelling, flute players and traditional drums. Visitors were also able to participate in some of the dances.
Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook), lower right, was also on hand to welcome everyone.
The Village Chabad once again welcomed community members to its Jewish Summer Festival on July 10. The event took place for the first time since 2018 on the Chabad’s property on Nicolls Road in East Setauket.
In 2019, the Chabad held its grand opening celebration for its new building in place of the summer festival, which was held at West Meadow Beach in previous years. The last two years, the festival was unable to be held due to the pandemic.
Approximately 250 people attended this year, according to Rabbi Motti Grossbaum.
Attendees enjoyed a barbecue and activities, which included face painting and giveaways. Tali Yess provided the music, and The Red Trouser Show, from New Hampshire, also performed stunts for everyone.
A familiar runner jogging along Stony Brook roads stands out from the others.
“My claim to fame is that I’m still running at 85,” Steven Fuchs said.
The Stony Brook resident said he has been running for more than 40 years, and earlier this year he traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, for the USATF 2022 Masters 5 Km Championships, where he placed first in the men’s 85-and-over category, finishing the race in 45 minutes, 31 seconds.
He was modest about the win.
“I was very excited about it,” he said. “It was great fun, but there’s not many people running anymore at my age.”
His daughter Dorothy O’Brien on the other hand was impressed.
“It’s pretty amazing,” she said. “I think it’s inspiring.”
Fuchs said runners who register trace their running history to find out what times they have achieved in past races. The grandfather of five said he believes this deters some from the national race because they aren’t inspired to travel when they see others signed up who have run faster in other races. However, he said it’s always fun to travel, get together with fellow runners and talk about their love of the sport.
Fuchs said when he was younger he was always competitive, and he recommended the sport as well as the races to others.
“It’s great exercise, and I enjoy it,” he said. “People who are runners are wonderful people.”
Not one to slow down, Fuchs is still involved in real estate investment, which has been his decades-long career.
To keep moving, he said, “is a great lesson in life.” And his advice is to “pick an activity that you can continue with.”
In the past, he played tennis but had problems with one of his shoulders, and he said he’s been lucky that his knees have held up so he can continue to run, which he attributes to finding the right pair of running shoes.
“What I like particularly about running is that I don’t have to get a foursome together to play golf, or I don’t have to get a partner to play doubles in tennis,” he said. “I just put on my sneakers at 2 or 3 in the afternoon and run all by myself.”
He tries to do so daily to West Meadow Beach and back home, and is no stranger to the local races. His first race was one in the 1970s that started at Emma S. Clark Memorial Library. Through the decades, he has participated in local races, including Soles for All Souls organized by All Souls Episcopal Church in Stony Brook, the Smithtown Running of the Bull, Lt. Michael P. Murphy Run Around the Lake in Ronkonkoma as well as several in Sayville.
While he sticks now to 5K races, when he was younger he said he ran longer ones, including the 10K, which is approximately 6.2 miles, and half marathons.
“As I get older, the distances tend to get shorter,” the runner said.
He’s learned with training that a runner has to take it easy at times.
“You can’t knock your brains out every time you go out to train,” Fuchs said. “I just jog around very slowly, and where I put my effort is the day of the race. That’s my real work day.”
His secrets to keeping fit through the years include running and eating right. He also doesn’t smoke or drink alcohol.
“For me it has worked,” he said. “I’m lucky.”
He recommends running for those looking to stay in shape and his advice is to get the right shoes.
“You’re not necessarily in competition all the time,” he said. “You can go at your own pace. You can do it when you want to do it.”
Fuchs recommends the races as a good opportunity to get together with those who share the same interest, and he plans to travel to the national championships in 2023.
“I fully expect to be back again next year,” he said.
An SUV crashed into the double doors of Mario’s restaurant located in the Old School House Square shopping center in East Setauket on Friday, July 1.
Restaurant manager Ann Tipley said she was standing at the front counter when it happened, and the car stopped a few feet from her. She said it was scary to witness.
“Fortunately, no one got hurt,” she said. “It was just a big mess.”
The door has already been replaced, and Tipley said they are currently waiting for the glass for the door.
The Setauket Fire Department and police officers responded to the incident, and the driver and passenger of the SUV remained on the scene.
Staff members quickly cleaned up the broken glass, and the restaurant remained open for business.
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