A community favorite returned after a year’s absence due to COVID-19 attendance restrictions last year.
Stony Brook Community Church held its annual Apple Festival on church grounds Oct. 2. Hundreds of attendees saw the return of the event that included live entertainment, craft and antique vendors, a bouncy house and more. Attendees also had the chance to try out an old-fashioned apple press and buy apple treats.
After a scoreless first half, it was Huntington senior Theadora Carnesi’s foot that did the talking in the second half when the midfielder stretched the net three times to win the game, 3-1, on the road against William Floyd.
Carnesi’s hat trick came courtesy of Gianna Forte who notched two assists in the Division I matchup Oct 5. Senior goalkeeper MaKaylah Frazier had six saves.
The win lifts the Blue Devils to 5-5 in their division as Floyd falls to 5-4.
Huntington retakes the field Oct. 7 where the Blue Devils host Smithtown West at 4 p.m.
The Ward Melville Patriots homecoming game ended on a high note. While the score was close, when all was said and done, the team edged out Central Islip, 13-12, in a Division 1 game. The Patriots now are 3-1 in the league while Central Islip fell to 1-3.
Ward Melville will travel to Brentwood Oct. 9. Game starts at 1:30 p.m.
Setauket Presbyterian Church has a new addition, and the congregation is inviting community members to share in their joy.
On Oct. 16 the church will host an organ dedication. This year a new Glück Pipe Organ was installed in the sanctuary incorporating pipes from the church’s old organ, and after playing the instrument the last six months to make sure it was hitting all the right notes, it is now ready to be formally dedicated with world-renowned organist David Enlow from New York playing at the dedication event.
Jean Hrbek, a longtime church member, said while some fundraising was done most of the money came from the Gillespie Trust. The fund was established in 2016 when the church, along with five other philanthropic entities, was named a beneficiary of a $100 million charitable trust from the estates of Kingsley Gillespie and his son, Kenyon Gillespie. Setauket Presbyterian receives 10% of the annual 5% distribution required by law of such trusts every year.
Hrbek said an organ was first installed in the 1812-dated church in 1919 and was replaced in 1968. She said the new full pipe organ, with 1,200 pipes and designed by company president Sebastian M. Glück, is a beautiful addition to the church and the sound is incredible.
“It just fills the whole sanctuary,” she said. “It’s really magnificent.”
Because an organ needs to be custom-built to the place it is going to be played in, it was constructed inside the church, Hrbek said. The designer also took into consideration the church’s architecture when designing the new organ so it blends in.
Interim Pastor Kate Jones Calone said watching the building and installation process was amazing and an interesting learning experience.
“I learned a lot from seeing how they built the instrument and also thought about what was the right kind of instrument for this particular worshipping community … the technical skills that went into it was incredible. It is really fascinating to watch, and despite the fact that I’ve been hearing organs play all my life, I had never really seen this process up close.”
The church’s director of music Noby Ishida said the 1968 organ was used every day until recently. He added that as an organ gets older, listeners can notice the difference in the sound. He said a lot of parts wear out over time. Leather is one of the significant parts and as it ages it gets looser. The material can even become porous and develop holes. Ishida said while it’s customary for organ pipes to be sent out to be cleaned, over time constant repairs can lead to costly mechanical issues.
The new organ has the latest equipment, too, with an electronic device where it can be prerecorded with presets, according to Ishida.
“Everything is modernized, so that you focus on playing the organ,” he said.
The musical director said every church has its own acoustical space, including the size of the sanctuary and things such as carpeting which absorbs sounds, and the Presbyterian church has carpeting, so some extra pipes were needed. Ishida said even the pedals add to the quality as they provide the bass underpinning that he said gives the “foundation of the harmony.”
Jones Calone said that music is a meaningful part of worship life and sacred music is written for the organ. She added that music even helps many people learn scripture. The pastor sees the new instrument as an investment that will enrich worship life for current as well as future congregants.
“I think a lot of people, myself included, find that music in worship lifts us up, it strengthens us, it challenges us,” she said.
The pastor said the congregation is looking forward to the community hearing the organ on Saturday, Oct. 16, at the church. There will be two dedication events at 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Setauket Presbyterian Church is located at 5 Caroline Ave.
Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R) made a special appearance at the Smithtown Chamber of Commerce meeting Sept. 29 to speak about the existing and new improvements the town will be making.
According to Wehrheim, approximately $10 million has been spent in St. James to renovate the business district on Lake Avenue and there are plans to add sewers to the area.
“Once we sewer the business district we can really start to dig in and do some really great downtown revitalization projects, and more importantly it’s going to clean up the environment,” he said.
All three of the business districts, including Nesconset, are currently operating off antiquated septic systems, which can be harmful to the environment.
Lake Avenue has been completely repaved with new curbs, sidewalks and decorative crosswalks, according to the supervisor. The abandoned Irish Viking bar has also been bought out as the town plans to add off-street parking as well as a small park in the newly acquired space.
“It’s going to be a beautiful park when it’s completed,” the supervisor said. “The construction is underway, but I am not sure of a completion date yet. I hope it will be finished by early spring. It will be a great amenity for the St. James community.”
A number of new businesses have made their way into Smithtown over the years including the Blue Bean Cafe, Sweetwaters coffee and tea shop and Douglas Elliman Real Estate. He added before the pandemic Stop & Shop renovated its store at a cost of nearly $11 million.
“The point I want to make is that the efforts we are putting into this business district are bearing fruit,” Wehrheim said. “Throughout COVID, our vacancy rates in the business district of Smithtown were lower than any other municipality in Suffolk County.”
The Hilltop Motel, which the supervisor said was operating untoward activities such as prostitution and drug sales, is now gone, and in its place on Jericho Turnpike are 98 55-and-older apartments which are 100% occupied with 19 people on the waiting list. The complex has plans to expand even further.
“When we first took office, we talked about picking up blighted sites, and that has so far been very successful,” Wehrheim said.
Suffolk County Police Major Case Unit detectives are investigating a robbery that occurred at a Smithtown bank Oct. 2
A man entered TD Bank, located at 714 Smithtown Bypass, at approximately 11:50 a.m. and allegedly handed a teller a note indicating he had a gun and demanding cash. The teller complied with the suspect’s demands and gave him cash from the drawer. The robber fled on foot.
The robber was described as white, approximately 5 feet 9 inches tall with a heavy build and short black hair. He was wearing a Dallas Cowboys face mask, a dark sweatshirt, red or orange shorts and black sneakers.
Detective are asking anyone with information on the robbery to call the Major Case Unit at 631-852-6555 or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.
It may not be Pamplona in Spain, but the Smithtown bulls ran down the streets of the town Sept. 25.
More than 140 runners took off from the Smithtown school district administration building on Main Street and New York Avenue for the 15th annual Running of the Bull. Damianos Realty Group and the Smithtown Chamber of Commerce hosted the 5K run which took runners into Juniper Avenue and down New Mill Road and Cygnet Drive.
The event honored John Damianos, the late principal and legal counsel of the realty group who died unexpectedly in 2019. As in past years, the beneficiary was Angela’s House, the nonprofit which offers families and professionals help with medically frail children.
Before the 5K race, families took part in a 1K fun run, many of whom stayed afterward to cheer on loved ones, including Willis Sommervell, below right, who won the main event in 19 minutes, 3.59 seconds and Maria Marascia, the first female to cross the line with a time of 19:46.43.
A celebration of a local harbor returned Sept. 25.
After canceling last year due to COVID-19, the Setauket Harbor Task Force was able to hold its annual Setauket Harbor Day at the Town of Brookhaven dock and beach on Shore Road in East Setauket.
The free event included boat tours of the harbor, kayaking, marine science exhibits and more.
The local nonprofit, which advocates for improving water quality and protecting and restoring marine habitats, hosts the annual event to help residents reconnect with the harbor.
By Daniel Kerr
Runners and walkers of all ages gathered in front of the historic All Souls Church in Stony Brook Sunday morning, Sept. 26, for the 13th annual SOLES for All Souls 5K Race/2K Walk.
Brookhaven Councilman Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) presented a proclamation congratulating the church for bringing the event to the community and described All Souls and its various outreach activities as “the heart and soul of Stony Brook village.”
The Reboli Center for Art & History hosted the registration and awards ceremony. Bill Clark, from Setauket, provided live music throughout, and Stony Brook’s Ken Esser played the bagpipes to inspire the runners at the corner of Christian Avenue and Hollow Road.
Joseph Mora from Fayetteville was the overall winner of the 5K with a time of 18 minutes, and Ashley Jean-Raymond from Copiague was the overall female winner with a time of 20 minutes. Proceeds from the event will benefit the church’s project to make the chapel accessible to all with a possible ramp, tram or other alternative.
A stalled project in the Three Village community is finally moving forward.
In 2016, former state Sen. John Flanagan (R-East Northport) secured a $1 million grant for the Town of Brookhaven. The funds were for a water quality improvement at East Setauket Pond Park, which lies on the western side of Se-Port Delicatessen on Route 25A. The town is slated to add $360,000, according to the Highway Superintendent’s office.
According to Laurie Vetere, co-founder of the Setauket Harbor Task Force, the work that was supposed to begin in 2018 is finally underway. On Sept. 16, the Town of Brookhaven held a pre-bidding meeting on the site for the repair of the failing bulkhead at the Shore Road park. Bids are due to the town on Oct. 14.
The project, in addition to the reconstruction of the park’s bulkhead, will also include dredging the pond to remove sediment, removing phragmites and redesigning the stormwater conveying system, which will catch contaminated sediments and floatables before they enter the pond. Stormwater from Route 25A can wash into the pond, while the current water treatment structure is faulty and allows sediment to build up. The stormwater then goes into the harbor. Sediment can include sand that’s put down on the roads, pet waste and items that fall off of trucks and cars.
Bids for other projects will be held at a later date. The restructured stormwater conveying system would enable the sediment to go into a catch basin and then settle, allowing only the water to go into the harbor.
“It will prevent bacteria and other sediment from going into the pond and then into the harbor,” Vetere said.
She added Hurricane Ida exacerbated the problem. The task force’s main objective was “to call attention to the harbor and what needed to be done” after feeling it was being neglected.
“This was one of our first projects,” the co-founder said. “We’re all excited about it and now, five years later, it’s finally coming to fruition.”
Vetere said the goal after sediment and phragmite removal is to add some native planting that won’t obscure the pond. The hope for the future is to add more plants to the park and walkways to make it more accessible.
George Hoffman, president of the Three Village Civic Association and a harbor task force co-founder, agreed that the restoration would improve water quality. He added the work would be “the first step in revitalizing Setauket’s neglected downtown district.”
The harbor and pond is important to the history of Setauket, he said, which once was the commercial center of Setauket. He added Roe Tavern was once just a block from the harbor pond. The tavern, which was relocated to another location in East Setauket, is known for providing George Washington lodging in 1790.
“The original settlers in the mid-17th century landed at Setauket Harbor and founded a settlement that became Setauket,” he said. “The renovation of the pond and park will help us reconnect the pond to the downtown area.”
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