A Brentwood student shows roots of salt marsh cord grass Spartina alterniflora. Photo by Rebecca Grella
Brentwood students and superintendent explore the BIOBUS. Photo by Rebecca Grella
Brentwood students, BIOBUS personnel and Brentwood UFSD superintendent Richard Loeschner assessing the habitat restoration project at Sunken Meadow State Park. Photo by Rebecca Grella
Suffolk County Legislator Sammy Gonzalez Speaks to Brentwood students and BIOBUS personnel. Photo by Rebecca Grella
The BIOBUS. Photo by Rebecca Grella
Student researchers from Brentwood Union Free School District have been working as environmental interns for New York State Parks in a program that was developed by Dr. Rebecca Grella and Regional Parks Environmental Manager Annie McIntyre. Grella is a Brentwood high school teacher and an affiliated Stony Brook University instructor.
Brentwood student researchers have been involved in marsh restoration efforts for the last three years and have collected informative ecological data at Sunken Meadow State Park. The district has partnered with the EarthBus partnership with the BIOBUS education program, which aims at increasing the diversity of student participation in geosciences and developed by SBU’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) and the Department of Geosciences in the College of Arts and Sciences
It is one of the Brentwood district’s most recent collaborative grants supported by the National Science Foundation to advance STEM for students and educators.
State Sen. Mario Mattera talks with constituents at an outdoor concert in Nesconset. Photo from Mattera's office
State Sen. Mario Mattera’s (R-St. James) life looks a whole lot different than it did last year.
State Sen. Mario Mattera
The decision to run for senator in November 2020 was one that he had to make quickly. During a recent visit to the TBR News Media offices, he said he remembers when Jesse Garcia, chairman of the Suffolk County Republican Committee, gave him a call March 26 last year asking if he wanted to run for New York State Senate. He had to make his decision in 24 hours.
Mattera said he was surprised to be asked to run for the Senate because he thought there was a possibility he would be asked to run for a more local office. Garcia told him, “You get along with everybody, so you will work on both sides of the fence.”
Mattera, who describes himself as “an elected official and not a politician,” agreed as he has friends on both sides of the political aisle. He said he wasn’t going to stop working with those he has met along the way who care about labor and people.
“I have friends on the other side and I’m not going to ruin that relationship, because politics gets ugly,” he said. “I’m not that way. I’m the bare bones, let’s get the job done, roll your sleeves up and let’s work together and get it done.”
Mattera represents the 2nd District, which includes Smithtown and parts of Brookhaven and Huntington. He is a former Suffolk County Water Authority board member and has been a business agent with the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters with Plumbers Local #200 for more than four decades.
A Smithtown resident for more than 50 years, he moved from Nesconset to St. James in 1996 where he lives with his wife, Terry, and his two daughters Jessica and Jayme.
The state senator serves as the chief Republican on the Consumer Protection Committee, as well as the Corporations, Authorities and Commissions Committee. He is also a member of the Labor and Transportation standing committees.
The last few months the new senator has been researching and working on a few crucial local matters.
COVID-19
Like most elected officials, Mattera has been dealing with COVID-19 issues. The senator said he is proud of the work his staff has done in making sure residents found vaccination appointments.
“Our office was amazing at finding out who had [the vaccines],” he said. “They were going on social media to find out where the vaccines were being held and working with the veterans hospitals.”
Regarding schools, Mattera said he believes all children need to return to school five days a week in person in the fall. He pointed to districts such as Three Village and Hauppauge for successfully providing the option this past academic year. He added he feels it will be important to have staff on hand to provide emotional support for students, as returning after a long period of virtual or hybrid learning may be difficult for some children.
“Mental health is very serious,” he said. “You have no idea what happened during this time with certain children with what they went through being home. That’s what I’m concerned about, and we need to make sure we’re staffed properly for this and be prepared.”
State Sen. Mario Mattera, left, greeted constituents during the 2021 Kings Park Day. Photo by Rita J. Egan
Infrastructure
Mattera said he is looking for his district to have the best sewage treatment plant. He has been working with state Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) to find a good solution for Smithtown and the surrounding area. While there has been talk about Gyrodyne LLC., which owns the Flowerfield property in St. James, having a proposed sewage treatment plant and the potential for sewer lines from Lake Avenue in St. James to be hooked up to it, nothing has been promised by Gyrodyne and Mattera said he doesn’t believe this is the best solution.
The pipes that were put down at Lake Avenue can be hooked up to the north or south, and he said there are other potential locations for a sewage treatment plant that could be beneficial not only to St. James but other parts of Smithtown, especially the Route 25 corridor.
He said it’s important to avoid problems such as brown tide and negatively affecting the shellfish and wildlife. One of the concerns of residents and environmentalists in both Smithtown and Brookhaven is the effect a sewage plant on the Gyrodyne property would have on Stony Brook Harbor
“Let’s compromise,” he said. “Let’s find the right location that we’re going to replenish the aquifer, not that we’re going to keep on dumping any kind of discharge from a sewage treatment plant that’s going to be going out to the ocean 3 miles, and it’s going to be going up and dumping out into the Sound anymore.”
He pointed to Nassau County that has big sewage problems, he said, because they didn’t plan properly and discharge dumps both into the ocean and Sound and the need to avoid such problems in the area.
As for Lake Avenue, he said a revitalization project first started when former state Sen. John Flanagan (R-East Northport) was able to secure $3.9 million of state funds to put down dry sewer lines. However, the town has not received the funds yet due to procedures stalling during the pandemic.
He said he’s been working on getting Smithtown the $3.9 million as soon as possible. Mattera said despite being a freshman senator he’s not afraid to keep asking.
“I will not stop until the town receives that money,” he said, adding just a signature is needed.
He also pointed to the roadwork done on Route 25A from Nicolls to Port Jefferson being severely needed and called some local roads “a disaster.” He and his chief of staff recently checked out the road near St. Catherine of Siena Hospital in Smithtown and recorded cars avoiding the potholes. He said many constituents have called in complaining about the flat tires that they have gotten. On the day of the TBR interview, roadwork was scheduled for that area but had to be delayed due to rain.
“That shouldn’t be an emergency situation that we call DOT up,” he said. “It should be something that, in other words, guess what guys, you should be looking at all of our roads and saying this is a necessity for all of us.”
Landfill
The Brookhaven landfill will be closed in 2024, and Mattera said he is concerned as many in the district are affected by this. He said one option that’s been brought up for dealing with the garbage is incinerator plants and sending the ash out, but it’s not feasible due to environmental reasons.
“We need to fix this problem now,” he said.
He’s conduct research and sat down with a waste disposal business to talk about the possibility of packaging garbage in boxed railroad cars out east. They would then go directly to a site in Pennsylvania or Ohio.
“The only solution right now, and I’ve done my research, is to have a facility like this,” he said.
He is currently looking at how it would affect the community, the jobs such a facility would create and how it would affect the area it is potentially going to in another state.
“In the meantime, we are protecting our environment in a way here,” he said. “Are we protecting it somewhere else? That’s the only thing that I’m lost about.”
Reanna Fulton, above, with her sons Blake, left, and Bryce on Memorial Day 2021. Photo from Reanna Fulton
In April, members of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3054 in East Setauket voted for their first female post commander, Reanna Fulton.
Fulton, bottom row center, met President George W. Bush in May 2003. Photo from Reanna Fulton
Fulton, 41, has been with the post since 2004. Former post commander Jay Veronko, who moved to Florida before the end of 2020, said she was the right person for the job.
“Reanna, regardless of her gender, was the obvious choice for commander as she was one of the most motivated and involved members of the post while I was commander,” Veronko said. “She felt, as I did, the future of the post was in getting younger veterans to join, more community involvement and to maintain our great relationship with the Three Village Dads, Rotary Club and Daughters of the American Revolution. The fact she was the first female commander of the Setauket post is noteworthy, but I believe the membership that voted her into the leadership position saw, as I did, the best path forward for the post was in her election to post commander.”
After Veronko left, Fulton served as commander pro tempore until June when her term officially began. As a member for almost two decades, she said after she joined another woman also became a member but after a while she left, so Fulton remains the only female.
When she first joined she said it was a bit uncomfortable, but she said it was due to not having any connections at the time, and the members feeling strange that a female was around.
Fulton, who is also junior vice commander of the Suffolk County VFW, said in addition to hoping to add more women she wants to recruit more veterans in general.
“We’ve taken a different perspective on what we envision our posts to be, because for so long it’s been this hidden gem in the community,” she said. “When I grew up, I never knew it was there until somebody recruited me.”
She said post members hope the community outreach will “bridge that gap between the old perception of what the VFW was to what we envisioned it now for us to be more family oriented.”
Fulton lives in Setauket with her husband Chris and sons Blake and Bryce, and said she looks forward to them being involved.
In June the post hosted an event for its members and families, which was different from the annual chicken barbecue fundraiser it holds every August for the community, an event that is not planned this year due to COVID-19.
“It was more about us as a group of veterans so that we can invite our families down and get to meet each other and have those relationships,” she said.
Military service
The new post commander first came back from deployment in 2003 after serving in the U.S. Navy on active duty during the 9/11 era. She said at the time veterans like her weren’t sure how they would be classified. To join the VFW, vets need to have been deployed overseas and have received a recognized campaign medal. Eventually the military campaign was deemed War on Terror.
Reanna Fulton when she was on active duty. Photo from Reanna Fulton
The 1997 Ward Melville High School graduate entered the Navy in 1998, and after leaving active duty in 2003, she was in the Navy reserves from 2006-09.
The vet said she tried college for a bit after high school, but she knew joining the military was her true calling after being inspired by her father.
“One of the reasons that I did join the Navy in the first place — it wasn’t like it came out of the blue — my father was in the Navy during Vietnam, and then my grandfather was in the Army in the post-World War II occupation of Germany,” she said. “So for me, I always had that in me and knew that and that was one of the reasons I was so interested in it because of my father.”
In July of 2002 she was deployed on an aircraft carrier and was stationed in the Persian Gulf for six months as part of Operation Southern Watch.
“Just to keep an eye on things,” Fulton said. “That was during the time there was some tension in Afghanistan.”
Around Christmas time they were ready to return home, but they were given orders to turn around. She was in the Middle East for Operation Iraqi Freedom and finally returned to the States in May 2003.
She said when she first enlisted she never imagined anything like 9/11 and the aftermath. She was in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, when the USS Cole was bombed in Yemen by the terrorist group al-Qaida in October 2000.
“My first thought was, oh my God, I’m leaving for a ship in like three months,” she said.
Fulton said she knew things like that could happen, but it wasn’t something she thought about all the time.
“Aircraft carriers like mine — USS Abraham Lincoln — are fortunate enough to have many ships and a submarine in our battle group to protect us,” she said. “Our mission was first to monitor what was happening in the Middle East and then later to get our airplanes up with bombs for ‘shock and awe’ and the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003.”
She said while serving she was mostly on the carrier, the crew did stop off in Bahrain twice. While the country is more lenient than others in the Middle East about what women should wear, it is more conservative than the United States.
“It’s interesting because you’re briefed every time you get off in a different port, so you knew as a woman what to wear,” she said. “We had to wear a shirt that was completely buttoned up with long sleeves and long pants with shoes. You couldn’t show any skin. We were allowed to show our faces. So, that was how we had to leave when we left — off the base, that’s how we had to look.”
Joining the military, Fulton said she wanted to gain discipline so when she returned home she could go back to college, and that’s what she did. She holds a master’s degree and a postgraduate administrative certificate for education at Stony Brook University. Currently, she’s a supervisor of technology for a local school district, and she’s enrolled in her third year of the doctoral program in leadership and organizational change at Baylor University.
For women looking to join the military, Fulton has advice.
“Expect the unexpected, and just stick to your goals,” she said. “What are you there for? What do you want to get out of it?”
This is a philosophy she applies as the new commander of VFW Post 3054, and she’s looking forward tomeetingcommunity members, especially veterans and their families.
A Smithtown lawyer is hoping to achieve something new in the town by becoming the first female supervisor.
Maria Scheuring recently won the approval of Democrats during the June primaries and will be running on Election Day to unseat town Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R) who is seeking his second term.
If she wins, Scheuring will be the first female supervisor in the Town of Smithtown, and the first Democrat to win since Patrick Vecchio ran in 1977. He switched to the Republican Party in 1990, his run in 1977 making him the first Democrat on the Town Council in 16 years.
Scheuring said “it’s about time for some female representation” and whether a candidate is Democrat or Republican shouldn’t matter.
“In a town that is majority female, we deserve to have our voices heard,” the candidate said. “Since this is a town race, it should not be partisan. To me, it doesn’t matter, Democrat or Republican, because national issues simply do not correspond to our town’s issues. What does matter is values, commitment and transparency. That’s what I want to bring to Town Hall.”
Despite the Republicans’ stronghold on Smithtown, Rich Schaffer, chairman of the Suffolk County Democratic Committee, believes Scheuring has a lot to offer the town.
“Maria’s experience as an attorney and small business owner, and her involvement in the Smithtown school district supporting and advocating for music education makes her an exemplary candidate to bring new leadership to the Town of Smithtown,” Schaffer said in an email. “Maria’s strong roots in the community and incredible work ethic is going to not only motivate Dems to come out and vote, but also give her the cross-party support she needs to win the race.”
Background
Scheuring moved to Smithtown from the Bronx in 2006. While she spent most of her formative years in the borough, moving there when she was 12, she was born in Poughkeepsie, and in her earlier years, she moved around to a lot to places such as New Jersey, Texas and Mexico City.
Her parents were Catholic missionaries who both held doctorates in theology and eventually taught at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, where Scheuring earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She said with her sister and brother being close in age to her, that was the only option, since her parents couldn’t afford college for all three at the same time, and they could go to the university for free since their parents taught there.
After achieving her master’s degree, she went on to Fordham University School of Law and obtained her doctorate. She was an assistant district attorney for the Bronx District Attorney’s Office for a few years, before working as an associate attorney for private practices and eventually opening up her own law office.
The divorced mom of three teenagers said her legal career covers everything from guardianship to visiting clients in nursing homes to looking over music contracts. She said her love of music started when she was 11 years old and picked up a guitar. She was in school bands throughout high school and college. While her career plans took another direction, she’s involved in Patchogue’s Alive After Five music series and has enjoyed teaching at Musicology in Smithtown.
Run for supervisor
The candidate said her son Maddox, who interned for Nancy Goroff who ran for U.S. Congress last year on the Democratic ticket, turned her onto politics. Scheuring said he was participating in a Zoom meeting when she heard they needed people to run for Smithtown Town Board.
“I feel like I’m at the point where my kids are getting older and one just graduated high school,” she said. “Should I move or should I do something to try to make it a little better?”
She decided to try to do something to make it a better place to live. She said she feels Smithtown residents have so much at stake.
“You invest so much in this town and in your property and community, but what are you getting back?” she said.
Among her goals, if elected, are downtown revitalization, protection of the environment, affordable housing and transparency. She said like many she feels there are too many abandoned storefronts in the town.
“There are a lot of abandoned storefronts,” she said. “I don’t think that there’s any incentive to get restaurants here.”
She added she went to Bay Shore one night and thought of restaurants in Smithtown that left the town and reopened elsewhere. She said other areas have more restaurants and a livelier evening environment and in turn bring in more revenue and have a stronger community.
She said she believes that most people want to live in a more vibrant town, and while they may not want it as developed as Patchogue, they would be open to something like Sayville or Bay Shore.
“Those are nice towns, those are not overdeveloped,” she said.
She also added that many of the proposed housing in the area is not as affordable as developers have promised. She said revitalization should include discussions with community members including civic groups.
Scheuring also added that she feels the proposed Flowerfield development in St. James isn’t good for the town. Plans include the building of an assisted living facility as well as a hotel and sewage treatment plant.
“Whatever they want to do there, I don’t know how anyone could agree with that,” she said. “There’s just no feasible way that could keep this town the way it is. I think a lot of people are against that no matter what party affiliation.”
Members of WMHS Class of 1980, shown above at a prior reunion, will get to celebrate their 40th reunion one year later on July 31. Photo from Lesley Hunter
As pandemic restrictions lift, more leisurely activities are showing up on people’s calendars, among them high school reunions.
Members of WMHS Class of 1980, shown above at a prior reunion, will get to celebrate their 40th reunion one year later on July 31. Photo from Lesley Hunter
For one Ward Melville High School class, it’s all about plus one. Toward the end of 2019, members of the Class of 1980 began planning their 40th reunion. A few months later, planning came to a stop due to COVID-19 restrictions. Now the class is gearing up for their 40+1 reunion at Danfords Hotel, Marina & Spa in Port Jefferson, July 31.
The class was one that grew up during a time when the area saw an increase in population with people arriving due to jobs at the recently built Stony Brook University and the construction of homes in the alphabet section of Stony Brook.
Charlie Lefkowitz, who along with fellow former classmates Kim Keady, Lesley Hunter and Paul Magidson is planning the reunion, said with members of the planning committee living across the country, a lot of planning was already being conducted using email, phone and Zoom.
Lefkowitz said at the beginning of last year, they began to see the slowdown in responses. Even though New York State lifted restrictions slightly at the beginning of last summer, the committee knew the 50-person limit wouldn’t be enough to accommodate everyone and people from out of state wouldn’t be able to make it.
“Pulling the plug was not a very hard decision, because a lot of people were coming from, especially in California and from Massachusetts, states that were so restrictive,” Lefkowitz said.
While they tossed around the idea of canceling the reunion altogether, they finally decided to plan a reunion for 2021.
Keady, who lives in Louisville, Kentucky, said it helped that their former classmates had trust in them that they could pull it off.
“We were really lucky because our classmates just had faith in holding steady and pausing, and they just trusted us,” she said.
“People have lost folks and been very fearful for good reason during this time. I think that gratitude levels are going to be really high.”
— Kim Keady
Lefkowitz said while there are still some people who can’t attend due to other events or health reasons, in the last few months the response has been overwhelming with more than 100 attending so far. He added that planning was still touch and go at first at the beginning of the year because even though restrictions were being lifted, there were still some state-mandated requirements at the time such as no dancing and wearing masks when not eating. He said once the number of vaccinations increased and the infection rate decreased the group became more optimistic.
“Everyone’s saying it’s 40+1,” he said. “We’re one year older and one year wiser.”
Hunter, who will be traveling from California, said a friend who is an epidemiologist looked at the venue to check out the airflow in the party room, and they are making sure Danfords keeps the doors of the room open. She indicated it made the decision to go ahead easier after their friend looked at the room.
“She said you don’t know what’s going to happen next year,” Hunter added. “It’s the best as we know it could be this summer.”
Keady said she believes the reunion will be even sweeter.
“People have lost folks and been very fearful for good reason during this time,” she said. “I think that gratitude levels are going to be really high.”
The reunion will include a memorial event the night before at West Meadow Beach for those who have passed through the decades followed by drinks and cocktails at The Bench in Stony Brook, one of their former hangouts. Keady and Hunter added that the Class of 1981 has been invited to join them, too, making it not only “plus one” for the added year but the added class.
For more information, visit www.wmhsclassof80.com.
Joseph Mastriano, third from left back row, and Maddie Mastriano, second from right in back row, with friends during their first lemonade stand fundraising event in Stony Brook’s S-section in 2013. Photo by Alyssa Melillo
It’s been said that all good things must come to an end.
Joseph and Maddie in 2017 when the Three Village Kids Lemonade Stand was first held on the grounds of R.C. Murphy Junior High School. Photo by Rita J. Egan
Joseph and Maddie Mastriano, organizers of the Three Village Kids Lemonade Stand fundraising event, are currently planning the ninth and last one. The annual event, which to date has raised more than $100,000 for Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, will be held Aug. 9 at R.C. Murphy Junior High School.
Maddie, who will be turning 21, is attending Loyola University in Maryland and is a rising senior majoring in advertising and public relations. Joseph recently graduated from Ward Melville High School and is set to attend Stony Brook University in the fall. While he is undecided on his major, he is minoring in video game design.
The Mastrianos said the lemonade stand will leave them with tons of good memories due to the community members, local athletes and even celebrities who came out to show their support.
“I like to see everybody who comes to support us,” Joseph said, adding he realizes many are going out of their way from work or taking time out of their busy days.
Maddie added that friends and families have even come out of state from New Jersey and Connecticut to show their support. One highlight through the years was Chef Barret Beyer, from “Hell’s Kitchen” Season 11, helping them make a special fruit lemonade.
She said visits from Cheryl Pedisich, Three Village Central School District superintendent, are always appreciated as she has supported the endeavor since the beginning. Maddie added she also loves it when Joan Alpers, director of Child Life Services at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, stops by.
Alpers said Joseph and Maddie are “amazing young people with, I imagine, extremely wonderful careers in front of them.” She said while the ending of the annual event is bittersweet, she hopes more young people will be inspired by the Mastrianos’ work.
“I’m so excited for all the good work that Maddie and Joseph have done, and I’m wishing Joseph a wonderful college career, and at the same time it’s bittersweet,” Alpers said. “We have had such a great connection with them, and we’ve not only enjoyed them but they’ve been so helpful in the community for us. But we understand that kids need to move on.”
Children playing with lemonade-colored slime at the Three Village Kids Lemonade Stand Aug. 8, 2018. Photo by Amanda Perelli
The fundraising event began in August of 2013 when the siblings decided to make lemonade and sell it outside their home with some friends. At first, they thought of splitting the few dollars raised between friends, but their mother suggested donating it to charity and they chose the local children’s hospital.
“If I were to go back into my 11-year-old self, I don’t think I would have imagined this lasting more than a summer,” Maddie said. “I couldn’t have seen it going the way it’s progressed, and I think it’s just a reflection of the community.”
Formerly known as the S-Section Kids Lemonade Stand, the booth attracted more and more people each year. Hundreds of residents from all over the school district and even local celebrities came to their home in 2016. Knowing that the lemonade stand was attracting too many people for a neighborhood booth, the Mastrianos moved the event to the grounds of R. C. Murphy Junior High School in 2017, and 500 people attended over the course of another hot August day. Besides lemonade, the kids have expanded to offer food, activities and live music, and also in 2017 they were among TBR News Media’s People of the Year.
Also, that year, the siblings began finding sponsors for the event. Many local businesses as well as larger ones such as Chick-fil-A and Island Federal Credit Union pitched in to help.
Bret Sears, president and CEO of IFCU, in an email statement said the Mastrianos approached them a few years ago.
“Remarkable is the word that comes to mind when asked about Maddie and Joseph Mastriano,” Sears said. “Two young kids who had a goal of helping those at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, and who have let nothing stop them from doing just that — not even a pandemic. When Island met them a few years ago and learned about their cause, it touched our hearts, and we knew becoming their corporate sponsor was something we needed to do.It just felt right.They certainly are two role models whom the youth of our communities should strive to emulate, and we are truly proud to call them our partner.”
In addition to all their sponsors and volunteers, the siblings said they are especially grateful for their parents and the support they have given them from their first lemonade stand.
“They’re just so supportive, and I don’t know who else would just willingly give up their front yard like they did those first couple years,” Maddie said.
She added that their parents have always been there to help to drive them around and in any way they could before, during and after the event.
“They just help us do everything they possibly could with keeping us as the lead and letting us guide them,” she said.
Maddie said it’s been surreal seeing some of the volunteers growing up, from elementary school children to young teenagers in middle school.
“It’s really cool to see how we’ve helped impact others and helped shape them wanting to give back to others in the community,” she said.
Joseph echoed the sentiment.
Police officers from Suffolk County Police Department’s 6th Precinct enjoy some lemonade in 2019. Photo by Rita J. Egan
“It’s just a nice experience to see how much everybody really cares about helping the community,” he said. “I love seeing the teamwork of all of our volunteers trying to make the event better, and then I love seeing just random community members coming in to try to help us.”
One volunteer who has been helping out the last few years is neighbor Courtney DeVerna, 11. Courtney said while she is sad that it’s ending, she is also proud of everything the lemonade stand accomplished.
“I just think that Joseph and Maddie are great people for doing this for so long,” Courtney said.
She remembers going to the lemonade stand when it was first held in front of the Mastrianos’ house.
“My mom told me when you get older, you’ll be able to volunteer, and I felt like I could do something for the community, and it was not only that, it was just so much fun,” she said.
Maddie said Aug. 9 will be an emotional day.
“Everyone uniting for the cause that we find so special — it’s amazing,” she said. “It’s hard to put into words.”
Last year, the siblings along with family members and friends were able to hold the event in a modified way despite the COVID-19 pandemic. During the afternoon, they hosted a drive-thru event at Murphy with fewer volunteers and later that day a virtual event that featured a Minecraft version of the stand. Despite the changes, the lemonade stand raised $35,000 for the children’s hospital.
As of now, the Mastrianos said they have to follow the same format this year but, if guidelines change, they do have a plan for a more traditional event. The goal is to raise $50,000 this year and fundraising has already begun with a GoFundMe page and teams from each school who are vying for the annual Lemonhead award that is given out to the team that raises the most money.
The siblings said they won’t forget how the community, elected officials, student-athletes and more who have supported them. Most of all they have been left with life lessons.
For Maddie, she said working on the lemonade stand shaped her college major as she has created the graphics for the posters and T-shirts.
“I think it really has helped me see that I can do advertising in the future if I really want to,” Maddie said. “I don’t know if that’s the path I’m gonna take, but it has shown me that I’m capable of doing that if I end up wanting to.”
For Joseph, he said it has helped him get out of his shell.
“I was a very, very shy kid,” he said. “I still kind of am, but the lemonade stand definitely threw me out there into the world.”
For more information, visit: www.threevillagekidslemonadestand.com.
A scene from Commack's 2021 graduation. Photo from Commack School District
A scene from Commack's 2021 graduation. Photo from Commack School District
A scene from Commack's 2021 graduation. Photo from Commack School District
A scene from Commack's 2021 graduation. Photo from Commack School District
A scene from Commack's 2021 graduation. Photo from Commack School District
A scene from Commack's 2021 graduation. Photo from Commack School District
A scene from Commack's 2021 graduation. Photo from Commack School District
Commack seniors and their families headed to the Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium Stadium at Stony Brook University June 25 for their graduation ceremony.
The Commack School District left words of advice for the graduates on the district’s. website.
“Take advantage of all the opportunities that life presents you; push yourself out of your comfort zone every once in awhile; continue to surround yourself with a strong support system while never hesitating to lift others up when they need it; and be sure to utilize these very important words every single day — please, thank you, and I’m sorry. Stay curious, stay humble, stay grounded, and most importantly — stay true to yourself!”
Alexis Fetzer receives her diploma. Photo from Tami Fetzer
New graduate Gianna Bruno takes a picture with her parents Peter and Cari Bruno, both 1986 HHS graduates. Photo from Cari Bruno
Students walk out on the field. Photo from Hauppauge school district
Students walk out on the field. Photo from Hauppauge school district
Students walk out on the field. Photo from Hauppauge school district
Students walk out on the field. Photo from Hauppauge school district
Nicole Petrocelli recieved the Joseph Mondello Memorial Award and two scholarships. Photo from Christopher Crean
Alyssa Adragna shows off her decorated cap. Photo from Lisa Adragna
The Hauppauge Eagles celebrated their graduation on the school’s football field June 25.
Among the speakers were Principal Chris Cook, board of education member Michael Buscarino, Superintendent Dennis O’ Hara, valedictorian Melody Chang and salutatorian Alexander Vasilakopoulos.
Members of the Anna Smith Strong Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution with WMHO trustees, above, celebrate a $9,848 grant from NSDAR. Photo from WMHO
A historic house on North Country Road in Setauket is about to get some maintenance work to ensure it remains as a Three Village staple.
RDLGF Executive Director Kathryn Curran joins the WMHO trustees after the foundation awarded WMHO a $30,625 matching grant. Photo from WMHO
The Ward Melville Heritage Organization recently received two grants totaling $40,473 from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation and the Anna Smith Strong Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. WMHO will use the funds — a matching grant of $30,625 from RDLGF and $9,848 from NSDAR — to replace the roof of the Thompson House, built circa 1709. The replacement will help to keep the home structurally sound.
“To have grants from two of the most prestigious organizations is a wonderful gratification to the organization,” said Gloria Rocchio, WMHO president.
Rocchio added the grants will also help with a new program that is slated to begin in the spring of 2022. During the pandemic, Rocchio said, more information was uncovered about the house’s inhabitants.
The program will include stories about a visit from 10th President John Tyler (1841-45) and his wife, Julia Gardiner; correspondence between Benjamin Thompson and third President Thomas Jefferson (1801-09); and George Washington’s Culper Spy Ring (1778-83).
Rocchio said she found the new information fascinating, and WMHO educators also are excited about what they unearthed.
Kathryn Curran, RDLGF executive director, said the WMHO continues to evolve in serving the community in new ways. The foundation provides grants to organizations that preserve New York history, especially in Suffolk County.
“Their research on the Thompson House will add another layer to Long Island’s regional history,” she said. “The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation supports restoration of historic properties for organizations with educational outreach at the forefront of their mission.”
The second grant, according to Rita Newman, regent of the Anna Smith Strong Chapter, is one of the largest amounts given by NSDAR in both the state and the nation. The nonprofit, named after one of the Culper spies, promotes historical education.
Newman said it was a pleasure to sponsor WMHO’s request.
“WMHO is an outstanding community-minded organization which plays an active part in preserving, restoring and regularly holding educational programs at the Thompson House andother historic structures, which they also own and maintain in our area,” she said.
Newman added that the house is a valuable asset not only on a local level but also to state and national history. The chapter participates in events held at the house, which is listed on the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places.
“During the American Revolution, the Thompson House was the home of Dr. Thompson, patriot, physician and farmer,” she said. “Among his patients listed in his ‘cash receipt book’ circa 1787, are members of George Washington’s Culper Spy Ring. It is a long-standing belief that our chapter’s namesake, Anna Smith Strong, who lived in Setauket during the American Revolution, was an important member of the Culper Spy Ring.”
A scene from Ward Melville High School's 2021 graduation June 27. Photo by Rita J. Egan
A scene from Ward Melville High School's 2021 graduation June 27. Photo by Rita J. Egan
A scene from Ward Melville High School's 2021 graduation June 27. Photo by Rita J. Egan
A scene from Ward Melville High School's 2021 graduation June 27. Photo by Rita J. Egan
A scene from Ward Melville High School's 2021 graduation June 27. Photo by Rita J. Egan
A scene from Ward Melville High School's 2021 graduation June 27. Photo by Rita J. Egan
A scene from Ward Melville High School's 2021 graduation June 27. Photo by Rita J. Egan
A scene from Ward Melville High School's 2021 graduation June 27. Photo by Rita J. Egan
A scene from Ward Melville High School's 2021 graduation June 27. Photo by Rita J. Egan
A scene from Ward Melville High School's 2021 graduation June 27. Photo by Rita J. Egan
A scene from Ward Melville High School's 2021 graduation June 27. Photo by Rita J. Egan
A scene from Ward Melville High School's 2021 graduation June 27. Photo by Rita J. Egan
A scene from Ward Melville High School's 2021 graduation June 27. Photo by Rita J. Egan
Valedictorian Chana Lyubich speaks during the commencement ceremony. Photo by Rita J. Egan
A scene from Ward Melville High School's 2021 graduation June 27. Photo by Rita J. Egan
A scene from Ward Melville High School's 2021 graduation June 27. Photo by Rita J. Egan
A scene from Ward Melville High School's 2021 graduation June 27. Photo by Rita J. Egan
A scene from Ward Melville High School's 2021 graduation June 27. Photo by Rita J. Egan
A scene from Ward Melville High School's 2021 graduation June 27. Photo by Rita J. Egan
Salutatorian Allen Hu speaks during the commencement ceremony. Photo by Rita J. Egan
Connor Huges with his perfect attendance award. Photo by Rita J. Egan
A scene from Ward Melville High School's 2021 graduation June 27. Photo by Rita J. Egan
A scene from Ward Melville High School's 2021 graduation June 27. Photo from Three Village Central School District
Ward Melville High School Principal William Bernhard is pictured with special award recipient John Woram. Photo from Three Village Central School District
A scene from Ward Melville High School's 2021 graduation June 27. Photo from Three Village Central School District
Hundreds of smiling faces filled the front lawn of Ward Melville High School as the Class of 2021 received their diplomas Sunday, June 27.
Valedictorian Chana Lyubich and salutatorian Allen Hu were among the speakers at the commencement event. Both said they were grateful that there was only one graduation ceremony this year. Last year, the high school held 11 separate socially distanced graduation ceremonies in July to comply with New York State COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines.
Lyubich and Hu thanked their teachers and administrators for helping students navigate the various challenges during the last two academic years. Lyubich said during the pandemic the graduates learned that plans can change in an instant, and “it’s OK to not know where the future will lead us.”
“Now it’s a good time for us to learn and explore because as we mature we not only learn more about the world, but also about ourselves,” she said. “And in the past year, a lot of national issues have been brought to the forefront of discussion, and we might be under the misconception that if you don’t follow a specific path, you won’t contribute to the solution. It can be seen in order to make an impact you need to make grand gestures and bring immediate change. In actuality, lasting change is often more gradual and is brought about through the actions of everyday people. All of us — regardless of our future careers and trajectories — can make the difference in the world through the small choices that we make.”
During the ceremony, Principal William Bernhard gave out two awards. John Woram was recognized for his bravery and courage in fighting cancer. Connor Hughes received a perfect attendance award for all 13 years of school.
After the graduates received their degrees, as the bells rang from the school’s tower, they threw their caps in the air.
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