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TBR Staff

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TBR News Media covers everything happening on the North Shore of Suffolk County from Cold Spring Harbor to Wading River.

By Carin M. Smilk

The overcast skies may have kept some people away July 25, but even a little drizzle didn’t dampen the spirits of attendees at the ninth annual Jewish Summer Festival sponsored by Chabad of Stony Brook at West Meadow beach.

The evening included a kosher barbecue, concert with Israeli singer Yoel Sharabi and entertainment for all. A lively game of “Simon Says” with Steve Max kept adults as occupied as the kids.

The festival may be the last summer gathering before Chabad finishes the construction of a new state-of-the-art building on Nicolls Road in Stony Brook. A 13,000-square-foot facility will open in the coming months.

“It’s an exciting time for the Jewish community in central Suffolk County,” said Rabbi Motti Grossbaum. “We will be able to offer more Jewish classes, programs and events for all age groups, fostering increased Jewish opportunities, services and celebrations for all.”

For more information about Chabad at Stony Brook or to hear about available dedication opportunities in the new center at 360 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook, visit www.chabadSB.com or call 631-585-0521 x101.

By Anthony Petriello

A decomposing beaked whale, not
typically seen near shore, found in Miller Place July 19 caused a stir on social media. Photo from Andrea Costanzo

Pictures of a carcass of a mysterious creature that washed up on the beach in Miller Place discovered by a resident July 19 have been circulating around the local community on Facebook. The photos were provided to TBR News Media by Facebook user Andrea Costanzo, who said they were taken by her father. According to the Suffolk County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the creature has been identified as a beaked whale, a type of whale typically found in the deep ocean, although the exact species of beaked whale is yet to be determined. When found, the whale was in advanced stages of decomposition, making it difficult to determine what exactly it was, conjuring thoughts of the Loch Ness monster or other mythical creatures on social media.   

The SPCA speculated that the whale had gotten sick and swam into the Long Island Sound seeking shelter. The whale was taken off the beach and transported to the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society in Hampton Bays. According to AMCS Executive Director and Chief Scientist Rob DiGiovanni, very little has been determined as to why the whale became sick or how exactly it ended up on the Miller Place beach due to the advanced stage of decomposition of the animal, making it difficult to ascertain many facts. It was determined through necropsy, however, that the whale did not die due to the ingestion of marine debris such as plastic or metal.

Beaked whales dive for an hour, sometimes two, and surface for just a few minutes to take a series of rapid breaths before diving again, according to New Scientist, an online science and technology magazine. They routinely reach 3,200 feet beneath the surface, while some have been measured as far as 10,000 feet down.

PROTECTING ITS TURF

Gerard Romano of Port Jefferson Station encountered this guinea hen on a recent  outing to Satterly Landing along Shore Road in Mount Sinai. He writes “It was unreal. This bird was approaching my car in a threatening manner. A gentleman in another car laughingly advised me that more were on the other side of the car and had me surrounded. The way this bird walked reminded me of their ancestral raptors.”

Send your Photo of the Week to [email protected].

Sachem Public Library’s new outdoor nature classroom will feature a cascading water table similar to the one depicted above. Stock photo

By Sabrina Petroski

For several weeks now, visitors to Sachem Public Library in Holbrook have noticed a flurry of activity outside of the children’s wing. Now the state-of-the-art award-winning library is finally ready to unveil its latest offering, Discovery Grove, with an official ribbon cutting ceremony on July 27.

The new outdoor nature classroom will be a place for children from birth through sixth grade to experience the great outdoors in a safe environment. The fenced-in area will be open year round during daylight hours for the community to enjoy. 

The Dig In area at Sachem Public Library in its final stages. Photo from Sachem Public Library

According to the head of Children’s Services, Amy Johnston, she and her colleague Lisa Stevens came up with the idea in response to the movement by author Richard Louv called No Child Left Inside. Louv coined the term Nature Deficit Disorder, stating that the younger generations spend too much time indoors on electronic devices and lack a connection with the outside world. 

Both Johnston and Stevens felt a duty to their community to help more children get “down and dirty” while exploring the beauty of nature and the world around them.

“We both have a passion for getting children outside,” said Johnston in a recent phone interview. “We grew up being outside all the time, and we’ve noticed that kids are not going outside as much.” 

Discovery Grove will feature an area with a cascading water table, a digging area, an art area, large building blocks, sticks and logs, a stage where kids can use outdoor musical instruments to put on shows, as well as a community garden. 

According to Neely McCahey, the library director, the board of trustees is hoping this will be a way for the library to extend the services it offers the community. 

There will be programs available exclusively in the grove, including one titled Dig In. Facilitated by Stevens, 4- and 5-year olds will receive nature experience through art, movement and free play, which will lay a foundation for environmental literacy for the children of the Sachem district.

“We hope to show children that it’s okay to get wet and we will have boots and rain ponchos on hand for kids to use during inclement weather,” said Johnston. “It’s okay to be slightly uncomfortable being cold,” she explained, adding, “these are all learning moments that children aren’t often exposed to.”

McCahey agreed, saying, “We want parents to let [their children] experience things, to fall down, bump their knees, and get dirty. I think parents nowadays think dirt is not good, but kids need to get their hands in the dirt and take some calculated risks. Safe risks like climbing and jumping are good things,” she said. “I hope Discovery Grove will be a place where parents feel comfortable letting their children run free.”

The community is invited to the ribbon cutting on Friday, July 27, from 4 to 6 p.m. with a rain date of Aug. 3. The event will be attended by elected officials, chamber of commerce members, civic groups, the board of trustees and other library colleagues who have made donations to the creation of Discovery Grove.

“We are excited to bring this to our patrons as another extension of what we do here at the library,” said Johnston. “We’re not just books anymore, we are a community center where parents and children can come and experience all different things. We will be working closely with parents and caregivers, encouraging them to embrace new ideas and behaviors while experiencing Discovery Grove with their children. It is here for them, created for them, and we hope that they will take full advantage of this opportunity to explore and grow together!”

Sachem Public Library is located at 150 Holbrook Road in Holbrook. For more information, visit www.sachemlibrary.org or call 631-588-5024. 

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It’s the end of July so it’s likely the minds of students, administrators and parents have drifted far away from the hallways of their schools, away from school board meetings and discussions about funding safety improvements. It’s understandable. But following an in-office, exclusive interview with Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. (D) July 20, county residents should sleep well knowing he has allowed himself no such break.

Hardening schools for the worst-case scenario — an intruder entering a local school with the means and intent to impose lethal, widespread harm — has become a top priority for districts across the country since the February shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead. In the absence of substantive action on tightening gun laws with commonsense reform coming from the increasingly feckless Washington anytime soon, local municipalities and schools have had to get creative.

This week, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) signed a bill permitting the county to pursue bond funding for a mobile application that government employees and school administrators will be able to download and use to directly contact law enforcement in the event of a shooting at a school or government building. In the aftermath of Parkland, Bellone announced an initiative that would allow districts interested in participating to grant access to school security systems to the Suffolk County Police Department, so that in the case of an emergency, law enforcement can see exactly what’s going on in the school. New York State passed its own set of bills in the spring as well, mostly geared toward allocating funds to districts interested in securing infrastructure or hiring additional security or mental health personnel.

These plans are a great start, especially, again, since we would all turn blue in the face holding our breath waiting for Congress. But Toulon raised some issues that seemed to us like they needed to be heard.

When asked if he could wave a magic wand and grant one thing to all 69 of Suffolk’s school districts to make them more secure, he identified establishing uniform practices countywide for training security — armed or otherwise — so that responders have a better feel for what they’re walking into should one of these dark days strike close to home. Uncertainty about what to expect between police and school district security should be the last thing either should be worried about in the midst of a frantic mission to save lives.

Further, Toulon said he has made his office available to districts interested in having their security practices assessed on a voluntary basis. So far, he said just 10 of the 69 districts have taken him up on the offer. We’d like to see that number reach 100 percent by the end of this year.

In addition, the sheriff’s office plans to host a forum for Suffolk school superintendents Aug. 16 at St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue to talk broadly about school security and to share ideas. The offices of the sheriff and county executive have not let this issue fade away during the summer months, and we hope schools haven’t forgotten either.

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Suffolk County Police Department officer James Behrens assists Luis Ramirez back to shore after his canoe capsized in Miller Place. Photo from SCPD

By Anthony Petriello

A Suffolk County Police Department officer’s quick thinking and decisive actions saved lives on the morning of July 11 in the Long Island Sound off the coast in Miller Place.

Trouble arose in the water at about 9:20 a.m. that morning, but luckily for two Suffolk County residents enjoying the day canoeing on the North Shore, officer James Behrens of SCPD’s 6th Precinct arrived on the scene quickly to assist when the vessel capsized.

“I’m just glad everyone came out of the situation okay,” Behrens said. 

Behrens responded to a 911 call citing men yelling for help in the water off of Landing Road in Miller Place. Thinking fast, he said he removed his bulletproof vest and gun belt and grabbed a life ring from his police cruiser. The original report said there were four victims in the water, according to the officer, so Behrens determined his life ring would not be sufficient for the rescue. Behrens said he saw a paddleboard in the yard at a nearby residence, the owner of which was not home, and commandeered it for the rescue. He then proceeded into the water for an approximately 600-foot swim out to the capsized canoe. 

Although the victims were wearing life preservers, the water that day was extremely choppy, and the men were having trouble staying above the waterline, according to Behrens. Shortly after he reached the men and aided them onto the paddleboard, Town of Brookhaven Bay Constable Steven Bennett arrived on a boat and assisted Behrens in pulling the first victim, Edgar Guirola-Hernandez, 33, of Brentwood, out of the water. 

Suffolk County Marine Bureau Officers Neil Stringer and Christopher Erickson arrived aboard Marine Delta and pulled the second man, Luis Ramirez, 44, of Centereach, as well as Behrens, out of the water. The victims were evaluated by the Miller Place Fire Department at the Cedar Beach Marina and refused further medical treatment, according to a press release from the SCPD. 

“He went above and beyond,” said SCPD Sgt. William Gibaldi, of Behrens’ efforts, who was at the scene shortly after the men were rescued. “Officer Behrens was very quick thinking, grabbing a paddleboard and doing what was necessary to save the men.”

The Goodgrief app

By Amanda Perelli 

When Huntington resident Kim Libertini isn’t teaching, she’s working on building a digital social network for others, like herself, who are coping with personal loss and grief.

Libertini found help dealing with her personal loss through private messaging with Robynne Boyd, of Atlanta, and now the two have created a tool they hope will help others do the same. The plan for Goodgrief, a mobile app that allows grieving individuals to anonymous connect and chat one-on-one with each other, started in late 2016. 

Kim Libertini and Robynne Boyd are co-founders of the Goodgrief app

“I had lost my partner,” Libertini said. “It was the summer of 2015. I was in the process of navigating the grief path. A friend that knew my partner that passed also knew Robynne, who at the time was going through a different form of grief.”

Boyd’s marriage had ended before she learned that her mom was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. A mutual friend felt Libertini could understand Boyd’s situation, as the Huntington resident had been previously divorced and her mother had died of illness. So he introduced them in a group text message. 

“Eventually we just privately started chatting,” Libertini said. “We kind of navigated our different grief paths for the course of a year, just through texting, and in a year we built a friendship backward.” 

The two women started talking about their grief and losses first, according to Libertini, but as their relationship grew, they started sharing surface-level details with each other about their families and day-to-day lives. 

“As we were developing this friendship through texting and this support system for each other, we realized we were onto something and that we should offer this to other people,” Libertini said.

After researching the concept online, Boyd and Libertini failed to find a private one-on-one service — not a Facebook support group or blog. Together, they moved to fund a new app through a partnership with Winnona Partners, an Atlanta-based mobile developer. 

The Goodgrief app

Users of the Goodgrief app create a profile including details such as their age, type of loss, who they lost, how long ago the event occurred and can note extra features such as his or her religious affiliation if it is important. Each individual can then choose if he or she wishes to make a connection based on factors such as someone of the same gender or grieving from the same type of loss. Personal contact information, such as phone number or email, is not revealed by the app unless users choose to exchange it after connecting. 

The app has had more than 700 downloads and 500 active users since its soft launch in January. Boyd and Libertini have utilized users’ feedback to improve the experience, revising and adding more features to the app. Boyd, a writer, came up with the name Goodgrief. 

“Goodgrief is clearly a term we use when we feel overwhelmed and as if there is too much to cope with,” Libertini said. “Simultaneously Goodgrief can mean that there is good to be found.” 

The Huntington resident said she is grateful for the deep friendship she’d built with Boyd in sharing their pain and helping one another cope. 

Using social media, Libertini said the women have been trying to spread the word of Goodgrief, and hope the app’s community will continue to grow. She wanted to see the app help others, like it’s helped her. 

“It’s been a silver lining,” Libertini said. “When you experience a tragic loss it’s often very difficult to accept what’s happening. I think it’s given me some type of purpose. It’s given me focus, and it’s given me the ability to see something that’s very terrible that’s happened to me as something good for someone else.”

When asked if the two co-founders have plans to meet face-to-face in future, Libertini said, “We’ll probably save that for Oprah.” 

By Anthony Petriello

St. Charles Hospital’s renowned rehabilitation department has a new second-in-command. Laura Beck, a current employee at the hospital and a Miller Place resident, was recently promoted to Vice President of Rehabilitation.

Beck will be responsible for overseeing both inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation for St. Charles as well as recently implemented programs geared toward sports medicine; treating lymphedema, a condition that leads to fluid build-up and swelling; and vestibular rehabilitation, an exercise-based program aimed at alleviating balance and gait issues.

St. Charles Hospital’s new Vice President of Rehabilitation Laura Beck. Photo from St. Charles Hospital

Beck has been working at St. Charles in various positions for 26 years, and she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Therapy from Quinnipiac College, which is now Quinnipiac University. Her first position as a physical therapist was at St. Charles, and she returned to college and received her Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration and Policy from Stony Brook University.

“I am very excited for the opportunity,” she said. “St. Charles has an extremely long history, over 110 years, of excellence in rehabilitation that I am very proud to be a part of, and I am very excited for the chance to further our program, continue to grow, and continue the tradition of rehab we have had here for so many years.”

Beck has had served in many roles in her tenure at St. Charles. She started out as a staff physical therapist in 1991 and was promoted to a senior level physical therapist in 1994. Two years later Beck was promoted once again to supervising physical therapist, overseeing other therapists while still seeing patients herself. Beck started her focus on outpatient rehabilitation in 2000, when she was promoted to center manager of the Port Jefferson outpatient office.

Acknowledging her knowledge and acumen in rehabilitation, the hospital promoted her to director of Outpatient Rehabilitation, Pediatric Rehabilitation Services, and Offsite Contracts in 2003. In that position, which she held until just recently, she oversaw the daily activities of all nine of St. Charles’ outpatient rehabilitation locations across Long Island, which treat more than 10,000 patients every year, according to the hospital’s website.

Jim O’Connor, the executive vice president and chief administrative officer of St. Charles Hospital, was optimistic about Beck’s ability to fill the position and further the progress the rehabilitation department has made.

“There is a lot of opportunity to grow services … I don’t know that change is the word, I just think we have to continue to grow, stay current, and stay topical with evidence based practice.”

— Laura Beck

“Laura brings a wealth of experience to her new role for which her responsibilities include leading and directing all administrative functions of both the Inpatient and Outpatient Rehabilitation Departments,” O’Connor said. “Additionally, she will provide leadership oversight in the development of short- and long-range goals for programmatic development and financial planning as well as recommend new or revised policies and operational procedures in all administrative areas.”

Beck said she is prepared to seek new opportunities for the rehabilitation department and work to update and improve the services that are already being provided at the hospital and at outpatient locations. When asked if she would make any changes to the rehabilitation department as a whole, Beck remained pragmatic.

“There is a lot of opportunity to grow services,” she said. “We are the only inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Suffolk County, so I think we have a lot of opportunities to grow and improve the technology that is available to our patients. I don’t know that change is the word, I just think we have to continue to grow, stay current, and stay topical with evidence based practice.”

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File photo from USPS website

By Amanda Perelli

The Port Jefferson Station post office has a new postmaster.

Matthew Bertsch, previously the United States Postal Service postmaster in Syosset for three years, started his position in April and said since then has worked to ensure all day-to-day operations go smoothly. He said his top priority is to make sure mail gets delivered, accurately and timely to the community.

“It really is all about the community,” Bertsch said. “I want everyone to understand that my door is always open to them. If there’s an issue, just ask for a little understanding and I’ll be more than happy to discuss with them what the issue is and how we can resolve it.”

When he’s not at work, he umpires baseball at the collegiate level and helps with varsity football. Living in Selden with his wife and three daughters, he said he’s very family oriented.

He encouraged members of the community to stop by the post office, located at 544 Jefferson Boulevard, at any time to discuss possible improvements or suggestions on what the post office can do to better serve them and the community.

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The Tyler Brothers General Store once housed the Setauket post office. Photo from Beverly C. Tyler

By Beverly C. Tyler

My great-aunt Annie, Anna Louise Tyler (1863–1943) lived her entire life in the house I grew up in on the corner of Main Street and Old Field Road in Setauket. For more than 80 years, from about 1850 to 1931, the Tyler Brothers General Store stood on the same corner in front of the house close to the road. For all those years the Tylers also served as postmasters, and the post office was located in the general store.

Anna Louise Tyler, center, was an early postmaster, while her sister Corinne, right, ran the general store. Photo from Beverly C. Tyler

Anna Tyler was appointed Setauket’s 11th postmaster Nov. 12, 1897, and she served the community until 1915. At the time of her appointment, she was 34 years old. She was the niece of Capt. Israel Bennett Tyler (1830–1895) who served as postmaster 19 years from 1870 to 1885 and again from 1889 to 1893.

In 1895, after the death of Israel Tyler, Capt. Charles Tyler, my great-grandfather, carried on the store until two years before his death, when he became ill and passed away June 12, 1899. From 1897 on, the post office and store were run by Annie and Corinne Frances Tyler, spinster daughters of Capt. Charles Tyler.

The mail was brought to Stony Brook and Setauket by the Long Island Rail Road. For most of that time, mail was delivered twice a day. It was carried to the store and post office and handed to Annie Tyler for many years by Adolph Pfeiffer who began mail service with a horse and wagon. In the winter months, he used a horse and sleigh. According to an article in the Three Village Herald in 1965, “Occasionally when the roads were almost impassable, the mail was taken by Mr. Pfeiffer on horseback, or even on foot — pulling the bags on a sled. Later with the advent of the automobile, he became agent for the Franklin automobile, and these as well as other makes of cars were used for transporting the mail.”

The entrance to the post office in the West Setauket store was through a side door on the left (north) side of the building. The northern third of the store was the post office and the remainder, from the front door over, was the general store. Annie Tyler was postmaster and her sister Corinne (1858–1941) ran the general store.

The general store was the center of the small community, which included about 100 families and numbered less than 800 people. The school on the Village Green, the churches and the new library around the Green and the grist mill on the lower pond were also a part of the community’s hub. The general store and post office building was a center for communication and gossip as well as a place to tell stories and swap
information about the latest farm equipment, the weather and, of course, politics.

“We were a big family, and we was always down there. Sometimes Poppa paid once a week. They kept track of it and I could get anything. They never asked no questions.”

— Lucy Keyes

Telephone lines were first installed from a central office in Northport in 1896. In the last few months of 1899, central offices were established in Port Jefferson and Smithtown. According to historian Kate Strong, the first telephone subscribers in Setauket were her father Selah B. Strong, her uncle Thomas S. Strong, Annie Tyler’s store and the Setauket railroad depot.

Lucy Keyes, who was born in 1900, remembered in a 1989 interview that when she was 6 or 7 and going to school on the Village Green, she would walk home, stopping first at the post office.

“They were such nice ladies,” Keyes said. “Miss Annie took care of the mail … Miss Annie used to make money orders and everything … We went there to pay land taxes.

“Miss Corinne took care of the store. They kept it open even during lunch — Miss Corinne and Miss Annie switched. It was open until after mail at night. There were two mails — a morning and an
evening mail. We used to trade with Sears and Roebuck and Montgomery Ward. It came in the mail.”

Keyes recalled that Corinne’s brother Henry Tyler helped her at the store.

“Momma and Poppa brought all their groceries there,” Keyes said. “We bought canned goods, salt pork, potatoes, bread and even bananas in later years. We were a big family, and we was always down there. Sometimes Poppa paid once a week. They kept track of it and I could get anything. They never asked no questions.”

Lucy Keyes was one of 12 children of Jacob and Hannah Hart born between about 1880 and 1910. An 1889 “day book” for the “Tyler Bro” store lists “Jacob Hartt” 34 times in a two-month period. One entry included “1 box blueing, 1 jelly roll, 4 barrels, 3 butter tubs, 1 box, 1 bag flour, 5 candles, 1 loaf bread, 1 bot. vinegar, 1 lb lard,” all for $2.42.

Keyes remembered a candy case in the store that contained a number of selections.

“You would get four or five round things for a penny,” she said. “Jawbreakers, three or four for a penny; and stick candy was a penny a stick.”

By 1915, the automobile was beginning to change the buying habits of local residents who found a wider range of goods and services in specialty stores. The telephone was bringing gossip and information directly into the home, and Parcel Post was bringing catalog shopping into the home. The post office in Setauket was also becoming an independent operation and would soon outgrow the general store where it had coexisted for so many years.

Beverly C. Tyler is Three Village Historical Society historian and author of books available from the society at 93 North Country Road, Setauket. For more information, call 631-751-3730 or visit www.tvhs.org.