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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.

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Fire Prevention Day for the Port Jefferson Fire Department is Oct. 16. File photo

In recognition of National Fire Prevention Week, the Port Jefferson Fire Department will host its annual Fire Prevention Open House Sunday, Oct. 16, from 12 to 3 p.m.

The event will be held at the Port Jefferson Fire Department located at 115 Maple Place, Port Jefferson.

Residents in the Port Jeff community will have a chance to take an up-close look at the department’s fire fighting equipment, practice the proper way to exit a burning building and learn about the important aspects of being a firefighter, all through hands-on interactive experiences.

In addition, flu shots will be available thanks to a cooperative effort between state Sen. Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) and Walgreens.

For more information call 631-473-8910.

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Smithtown Town Hall. File photo

By Sara Ging

Smithtown released a $103.2 million budget at a town board meeting Oct. 4, which stays within the 0.68 percent tax levy cap, includes no layoffs and is an overall increase of about $2 million from last year’s budget.

Supervisor Patrick Vecchio (R) proposed the use of surplus funds to establish two capital reserves: $2 million in open space preservation, and $2 million to establish a sewer fund.

“Both of those will go a long way to improve Smithtown’s quality of life,” Vecchio said at the meeting.

The reserve for open space preservation would provide funds for the purchase of sensitive land or land that can be sanitized. The supervisor said there is a need for more open space in the town, and this reserve helps keep money aside when space becomes available. There are no specifics for the sewer system yet, which Vecchio called a “rainy day fund,” also saying that if the money is not used, it will be absorbed in next year’s budget.

Unlike the nearby Town of Huntington, Smithtown’s proposed budget would not pierce the state property tax cap — residents would actually experience a small tax reduction under this plan as compared to last year. According to the town, the budget increase between 2016 and 2017 is partially offset by an increase in last year’s revenue from mortgage taxes, both from new home sales and from refinancing.

The funding of most departments is “status quo,” according to Vecchio. Policies to lower maintenance and energy costs, such as the use of LED lighting, are also credited with financial savings in the past year.

The highway department received $5.5 million in paving funds, which allow for the paving of 30 miles of roads in 2017. In addition, $750,000 is included for sidewalks.

Proposed salaries for town board members include about $111,000 for the supervisor, and almost $66,000 for each of the four town council members.

A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m. at the Eugene A. Cannataro Senior Citizen Center on Middle Country Road in Smithtown.

Additional reporting by Victoria Espinoza

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Dr. Samuel L. Stanley

By Dr. Samuel L. Stanley

Implementation of Stony Brook University’s new Plan for Equity, Inclusion and Diversity is off to a great start, with several initiatives underway to take us to the next level in enhancing student, faculty and staff diversity and building an inclusive community.

Gender equality is one of the focal points of our plan. As one of 10 University IMPACT Champions worldwide for UN Women’s HeForShe movement, Stony Brook is committed to being a national leader in gender equality and serving as a model for other colleges and universities.

HeForShe encourages men and boys to become agents of change in achieving global gender equality by building on the work of the women’s movement as equal partners, crafting and implementing a shared vision of gender equality that will benefit all of humanity. For Stony Brook, HeForShe provides a visionary and sound foundation from which we can work to improve diversity and the human condition on our campus and beyond.

To highlight our commitment to achieving gender equality, Stony Brook University co-hosted the HeForShe second anniversary event, welcoming world leaders, activists, change-makers and celebrities to the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan on Sept. 20. At the event, we celebrated the launch of the first HeForShe IMPACT 10×10×10 University Parity report, which charts Stony Brook’s progress toward gender equality along with nine other leading universities from around the world.

Some of our progress includes building gender sensitization programming and gender equality themes into our mandatory freshman seminar class; forming a HeForShe Steering Committee of students, faculty and staff to oversee the implementation of our commitments; and hosting the first SUNY-wide HeForShe conference last March to work with all 64 SUNY campuses in developing programs to increase gender equality, giving us the potential to impact the experiences of more than 459,000 students and almost 90,000 faculty and staff.

Stony Brook is also now a leader in the field, offering the first-ever master’s degree program in masculinities studies within the university’s Center for the Study of Men and Masculinities led by Distinguished Professor of Sociology Michael Kimmel.

On Sept. 12, Stony Brook welcomed Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, executive director of UN Women and under-secretary-general of the United Nations, who delivered a timely and provocative lecture to our students, faculty and staff. To quote Mlambo-Ngcuka: “There aren’t enough universities in the world that have put this issue at the center of our work. It is in universities where we produce thought leaders and people who can truly change the world.”

Stony Brook is proud to be a pioneering university in our progress toward gender equality. Visit stonybrook.edu/diversityplan and stonybrook.edu/heforshe for more information.

Dr. Samuel L. Stanley Jr. is the president of Stony Brook University.

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Splashes of Hope staff members pose. Photo from Heather Buggee

By Wenhao Ma

Splashes of Hope, a nonprofit organization based in Huntington that provides murals for medical and social service facilities to create welcoming environments that facilitate healing turned 20 this past month.

Years ago Heather Buggee, creator of Splashes of Hope, was just an art school student with a close friend who was suffering from Hodgkin’s Disease. While he was being treated, Buggee said the two friends talked about how positive imagery and an appealing environment would help patients relax and support the healing process while they stayed in a hospital.

Her friend did not survive the illness— but Buggee decided to keep their dream alive.

In 1996, Buggee created Splashes of Hope.

“Environment is very much a part of the healing process,” Phil Rugile, president of Splashes of Hope board said in a phone interview. “Splashes fills that gap, and if nothing else gives a child a few minutes of respite from whatever scary event brought them to the hospital in the first place.”

Senior mural artist, project manager, and daughter of Buggee Sarah Baecher said the organization was started in her mother’s basement. Now Splashes of Hope is located inside Coindre Hall, a mansion built in 1912 that is now owned by Suffolk County, fit with an office and art studio. They have been there for the past 15 years.

There are four artists working daily in the office, but Baecher said the nonprofit has more than 50 volunteers on Long Island and more than 100 nationwide. With the help of volunteers, Splashes of Hope has worked on projects across the country and world.

“To date we have ‘splashed’ thousands of focal points and murals in children’s hospitals across the U.S., local Veteran’s homes, shelters, psychiatric clinics, cancer centers, nursing homes, orphanages in Ukraine and hospitals in Paris, Cairo, Nicaragua and Rome,” Buggee said in an email.

To create murals, artists would first visit the hospital or facility to see how their creation would best fit in the room. Then they can either paint directly on the walls in the facility or on removable panels in their studios, which are later installed in the facility.

“We work with the staff in the hospital and see what kind of theme they need for patients,” Baecher said. “In asthma centers, we want something where you can breath, like an open sky with some birds flying around. In psychiatric centers, you don’t want stimulus. We do a lot of open water scenes.”

Other than painting for public facilities, Splashes of Hope also does murals for the bedrooms of children with life-threatening illness, with artwork that shows off their favorite things.

Ethan Chang, 13, is one of the children who received a mural , Chang has degenerative brain disease, and five years ago, he was granted a wish by Make-A-Wish Foundation, an organization that grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. Dave Gussaroff, who was Chang’s “wish granter” at that time, called Splashes of Hope and asked if they could do a mural for Chang’s bedroom.

Since then, Chang and his parents, Thomas and Ann-Marie, have been involved with the organization. According to his mother, Ann-Marie, Chang loves painting with Baecher and Buggee, and several of his paintings are now hung in the organization’s studio.

“I’m here because of [Buggee],” Ethan’s mother said in an interview, who is now a volunteer for Splashes of Hope. “She got my son interested. Then he brought my husband and me in. You can feel her love and passion for what she does and it makes you want to be a part of it. There’s a million places that we could have chosen and wanted to spend time and volunteer for. And we have done volunteer work for other organizations. But when you come here, there’s a different feel.”

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Billie Phillips, the original owner of Billie's 1890 Saloon, will retake control of the Port Jefferson property on Main Street. File photo by Elana Glowatz
Billie Phillips, the original owner of Billie’s 1890 Saloon, will retake control of the Port Jefferson property on Main Street. File photo by Elana Glowatz

By Billie Phillips

My name is Billie E. Phillips. Thirty-five years ago, my late first wife and I, borrowed every dollar we could and spent every dime we had to open up the Bar/Restaurant, Billie’s 1890 Saloon. Like every venture into the hospitality business, it was a gamble. We were very fortunate. Through the first years it became apparent that Billie’s was becoming a special place for the community, a place for stories to be told, laughs to be had, and new memories to be made.

Since then and after my sale of Billie’s it has maintained its standing as part of the fabric of the community. Unfortunately, as most of you know, Billie’s sustained a kitchen fire and has been closed since late June. Since then, the current tenant’s lease was cancelled for reasons many people have speculated about, but most people have no true knowledge of.

Rumors have spread to the point that petitions were started to save the building from being torn down. The building will not be torn down and the bar and restaurant you have grown to love will continue on in the tradition of Billie’s 1890 Saloon for as long as I have a say in the matter.

After a brief tour of the building by the landlord, I was asked if I would be interested in leasing the property, as a new lease would not be offered to individuals of the previous corporate tenant for reasons that were explained to me. After some contemplation, I felt the reasons were understandable.

At the end of the day, I could not stand by and watch Billie’s 1890 Saloon be taken over by anyone without ties to the Port Jefferson community. In a decision that was very difficult to me because of friendships I have with people connected to Billie’s, in many capacities, my family and I have assumed control of the space used by Billie’s 1890 Saloon. It is my hope people will begin to understand this could have been the end of Billie’s as they knew it, and to some it will probably still feel this way. However, to those that are skeptical, please know my family and I will endeavor always to maintain the intangibles that make Billie’s such a special place in the hearts of so many.

Billie Phillips is the original owner of Billie’s 1890 Saloon, located on Main Street in Port Jefferson.

 

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The Harborfields football team takes to the field for its homecoming matchup Oct. 8. Photo by Bill Landon
Harborfields' Class of 2020 float makes its way to the football field during homecoming. Photo by Bill Landon
Harborifelds' Gavin Buda reaches to make a running catch. Photo by Bill Landon
Harborfields' Joe Panettieri and Rocky Point's Petey LaSalla fight for possession of the ball. Photo by Bill Landon
The homecoming crowd cheers on the Harborfields Tornadoes Oct. 8. Photo by Bill Landon
A Harborfields cheerleader roots for the Tornadoes from the sidelines. Photo by Bill Landon
Harborfields' P.J. Clementi fires the ball over the middle. Photo by Bill Landon
Rocky Point's Peter LaSalla is taken down by Harborfields' Sean Dall and James Baskam. Photo by Bill Landon
Harborfields cheerleaders get the crowd excited during halftime. Photo by Bill Landon
The Harborfields band performs during halftime. Photo by Bill Landon
The Harborfields kickline team performs during halftime.Photo by Bill Landon
Harborifelds' Andrew Loiacono leaps up to grab a pass. Photo by Bill Landon
Harborfields' Gavin Buda makes an acrobatic catch while being tackled to the ground. Photo by Bill Landon
Rocky Point's Petey LaSalla races through the open hole. Photo by Bill Landon
Harborfields' P.J. Clementi gains yards on a keeper play. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

The fourth quarter showed something the Tornadoes did little of all game: throwing.

Trailing by six points in the final minutes, the Harborfields football team came out hurling the ball against Rocky Point — making a push to tie — but time ran out on a fourth and long for a 20-14 homecoming loss.

Harborfields junior quarterback P.J. Clementi worked the sidelines and gained heavy yardage as the clock wound down to a minute left, airing the ball to junior wide receiver Gavin Buda, whose acrobatic catches and ability to get out of bounds after the grab brought the Tornadoes into Rocky Point’s zone. On a fourth and long, the Tornadoes were unable to convert as time expired.

“Rocky Point came out more physical than us in the beginning and that took away our [speed] and our running game, which forced us to pass, which is fine with us,” Harborfields head coach Rocco Colucci said. “These kids got a lot of heart, they fight to the bitter end no matter what the score is, no matter who we’re playing — they always believe they have a chance to win.”

Rocky Point struck first when junior running back Petey LaSalla punched into the end zone following a 22-yard run three minutes into the game. With senior quarterback Sean McGovern’s extra-point kick good, the Eagles were out front 7-0. McGovern shared the quarterback duties with junior Damian Rivera all afternoon.

“These kids got a lot of heart, they fight to the bitter end no matter what the score is, no matter who we’re playing — they always believe they have a chance to win.”

—Rocco Colucci

The Eagles struggled with their running game, and neither team scored in the second, as Rocky Point squandered a field goal attempt in the seconds before halftime.

Again, it was LaSalla who got the call to start off the scoring for the second half.

Early in the third, the junior broke several tackles, bounced outside and went the distance on a 32-yard run. McGovern’s foot put his team out front, 14-0.

LaSalla said he never doubted the outcome of the game.

“Not for a minute did we think we were going to lose,” he said. “Our defense really stepped up big today. We had a really good back field and we were able to shut them down, which forced them to throw the ball.”

After a sustained drive, Harborfields finally got on the scoreboard when senior running back Mark Malico ran off left tackle and took the ball 1 yard for six points. Harborfields senior kicker Thomas Beslity added another to make it a one-score game to trail 14-7.

“They’re always a tough team — we’ve had trouble with them in the past — obviously we had some trouble with them today,” Malico said of Rocky Point. “We turned it on [late] and we found our niche with our passing game with some nice catches on the sideline.”

On the ensuing kickoff, McGovern fielded the ball on his own 6-yard line, and sprinted up the left side, crosing midfield and jetting down the righ side line for a 94-yard kickoff return to stretch the Eagles lead to 20-7, with the extra-point attempt failing.

“We just had to stay consistent — every man has got to do their job and [not] overdo it,” McGovern said. “We battled through everything today between the turnovers and them coming back in the last two minutes, so we stayed calm and worked together.”

“We battled through everything today between the turnovers and them coming back in the last two minutes, so we stayed calm and worked together.”

—Sean McGovern

Harborfields switched to its passing attack with seven minutes remaining. Clementi worked the routes and the sideline, and connected with senior wide receiver Andrew Loiacono for a 70-yard catch and run to set up the Tornadoes’ next score. Clementi threw a screen pass to sophomore running back Thomas Sangiovanni, and he turned the corner jetted down the sideline for the touchdown. Beslity split the uprights to close the gap, 20-14.

“We analyzed our defense,” Sangiovanni said. “We had to execute the plays perfectly, we had to change a couple of things up and it worked out. [Rocky Point] just played harder than us in the end.”

Harborfields’ defense took a stand and a clock-eating drive forced the Eagles to punt with three minutes left. Rocky Point head coach Anthony DiLorenzo said he wasn’t surprised that the game was decided in the final seconds.

“We knew this was going to be a four quarter football game,” he said. “They’ve put it on film every week. We’ve done [that in only] two games so far, so our message all week was that this was going to be a four quarter game.”

Clementi went to the air picking apart the Eagles’ secondary, moving the chains downfield as he marched his team to Rocky Point’s 30-yard line with 1:37 left in the game.

On fourth down with 38 seconds, Clementi threw a strike to Buda crossing over the middle, but Rocky Point junior linebacker Alec Rinaldi knocked down the pass to seal the win.

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Mike Meola. Photo by Kevin Redding

By Kevin Redding

For Mike Meola, owner of Darkside Productions’ Haunted House in Wading River, summer begins and ends in June. After that, he’s in full Halloween mode. While others are at the beach in July and August, Meola surrounds himself with hanging scarecrows and skeletons, working tirelessly every year since 1998 to build the props, animatronics and elaborate, horror movie-quality sets that turn a vacant potato barn and a quiet stretch of fields on Route 25A into one of the most popular and visited haunted attractions in the country throughout October.

The North Shore native and full-time carpenter lives and breathes the spooky season, and his passion for scaring — and entertaining — people of all ages has brought a lot of attention to Darkside, which was recently featured on Buzzfeed’s list of “25 Haunted Houses Across America That Will Scare the Crap Out of You.” What started out as a mere love of Halloween and horror as a kid has escalated to a booming family business that has now entered its 19th season.

What got you interested in haunts?

I’ve been doing this since I was a kid. I used to build these haunted walk-throughs in my basement. I love Halloween, I always have. And back when I was growing up, there was no Spirit Halloween or anything so you had to make your costume and scour all different places to find what you wanted to use to build your costume. You would think way in advance, because you couldn’t just walk in the store and get it. After Halloween, I was already starting to think “what do I wanna be next year?” and went to clearance sales and any place where you can find a mask or something, and then run around for the rest. So it just really came from a love of Halloween.

What were your favorite horror movies growing up?

I liked all the killer movies — “Halloween,” “Friday the 13th,” “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” I thought Freddy was great for his interactions; most of the other ones didn’t speak or anything, but Freddy had really cool wise-ass phrases to say to everybody. The movie that scared me though when I was a kid was “The Exorcist.” That movie was terrifying. A killer getting shot a hundred times, getting up, getting burned, getting blown up, coming back isn’t scary to me. But the supernatural, that is scary.

What sets Darkside apart from other haunted attractions?

We’re a stand-alone haunt. We’re not a building that becomes a haunted house just for October. So when you get here, the moment you get out of the car, you’re in your own horror film. We’re in this deserted place in Wading River, so as soon as you exit the safety of your car, you get that sense of “Oh my God, I am in for a completely different experience!” because everything around you is haunted and in that foreboding atmosphere.

We don’t curse at you, we don’t grab you, we don’t touch you, we don’t do any of these “extreme” type things … because we don’t have to do that to scare you. We’re really good at setting up our scares, we’re really good at setting the scene and decorating, and our actors are phenomenal. Everything looks real! Once you enter the gates, you are in our world. The outside world completely ceases. And you won’t find a lot of off-the-shelf stuff here, because we build almost everything. It’s atmosphere. You have to have a great set, great lighting, great sound to build that tension. And the biggest challenge is creating this completely terrifying environment in the most safe environment [people] are in. They’re completely safe and yet they feel like they’re in imminent danger at all times.

How much work goes into Darkside each year?

People don’t realize the tremendous amount of work that goes into building an event like this. They think that it’s here, and little elves come and set it all up for me and I just come and open the door. Haunting is hard, hard work. We have to do repairs and maintenance, and come up with new room designs, build them. You’re doing that until the moment you open. On Friday at 6:59 p.m., there’s something I’m fixing or setting up before those doors open at 7. You’re never done.

Why do you think people love to be scared?

It’s exactly the same as riding a roller coaster. You know you’re safe, you know you’re strapped in and yet when you start going up and down and all over, you feel like you shouldn’t be there. It’s the same with a haunted house. It’s that adrenaline rush. It takes about 25 minutes to go through this place. Roller coaster rides are like two minutes long, but they feel like they’re five seconds. It’s the same thing here. People are screaming “I wanna get out! Is this over yet?!” and then they get out, and they’re so disappointed that it’s over. Even though they just want to get out, they don’t want it to end. I call it “vacation let down” the minute the door opens and they’re outside and safe.

Has the haunt more or less stayed the same over the years?

No, we change it every year. We’ve change the house completely in the last five years. We constantly change, add things, move things around, because we want to keep you guessing. If you came last year, we want to show you something different this year. Every year we say “how are we gonna top this show? There’s no way we’re gonna top this” and then every year we come up with something and add to that show, and it just makes it so much better.

What’s your all-time favorite room at Darkside?

One of the greatest things we’ve ever had was called “the falling wall.” We had this giant wall that came down right at you. It was just so unexpected, ya know? You walk in, and expect an actor or something, you never expect this 12-foot wall to come crashing down at you. That was a really cool effect and one of those things people still talk about. The fire marshall the other day was like “You have to bring that back! That was such a killer room!”

How many people do you hire every year?

During the season, we have about 40 [scare] actors. A lot of our actors come back every year, but we do interviews and auditions. We teach them how to be professional actors. They can work in any haunted house anywhere in the United States after working here. We teach them everything they need to know about timing, reading people, quick improvisation … we really try to personalize the show for each group that comes through. If we catch your name or something that you said, we’ll have a response. The actors have to be quick, have to pay attention, and it’s hard work. It’s physical activity, you jump and you move and you run. A lot of people don’t expect that.

How involved is your family?

We’re as grass roots as you can get. All my kids, my fiance, my mom, and my sister work here. My brother used to work here before he moved. It’s been a family business ever since we started. My son is an actor here but he also helps me build and set up, my daughter was an actor here but now she’s running our concession, my mom does tickets, my sister does the daytime show tickets, my other daughter is an actor here. Kathy, my fiance, is a manager. It’s great, it brings us all together. I’m surrounded by family and if they weren’t working here, I’d never see them in October!

What age group seems to enjoy Darkside the most?

I’d say our biggest fan base is older. We do get a lot of teenagers, but we have a lot of older people who love Halloween and love haunted houses. They know that this is a great show and if they’re coming to one, they’re coming here. You would think that it would be all teenage girls, but it’s not. It’s really a lot of 25 to 35, 35 to 40-year-olds. It’s an older crowd, which is cool because we’re scaring them! To me, a kid is an easy scare. I want to scare adults!

Darkside Haunted House, 5184 Route 25A, Wading River is open through Oct. 31. Tickets are available at the door or online at www.darksideproductions.com or at www.ScreamLI.com.

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Footsteps for Furniture walkers assemble on the Greenway Trail. Photo by Susan Risoli

By Susan Risoli

People who cannot afford furniture sleep on the floor, do homework on the kitchen counter, and dream of a day they might invite friends over.

Open Door Exchange is a one-year-old, Setauket-based organization that offers gently used furniture to those who need it. The group held a walkathon Sept. 24 to raise funds and awareness for its mission.

Founder of the Open Door Exchange in Setauket, Kate Calone, examines a piece of furniture. Photo by Susan Risoli
Founder of the Open Door Exchange in Setauket, Kate Calone, examines a piece of furniture. Photo by Susan Risoli

On a rainy morning, 40 people gathered to walk the Setauket-Port Jefferson Station Greenway Trail. Lake Grove resident Frank Miranda said he ventured out on the blustery fall day because “I’m a big fan of Open Door; all my friends are here’.”

As the event got underway, online pledges totaled $1,890 toward the walk’s fundraising goal of $2,500, said Open Door Exchange member Diane Melidosian of Stony Brook.

By the time walkers reached the trail’s end, the clouds cleared and sunlight filtered through the windows of the exchange’s nearby warehouse, behind Fun 4 All in Port Jefferson Station.

The all-volunteer group is an outreach of the Setauket Presbyterian Church. Founded last year by parishioner Kate Calone, the organization accepts donated furniture. Merchandise can either be dropped off at the warehouse, or volunteers will pick it up, by appointment.

Keeping furniture out of landfills is one of the group’s goals, and member Sheila Towers said volunteers have been known to pull over to the curb and scoop up perfectly good pieces placed outside with the trash.

The furniture is given free of charge. Calone said many of her clients are veterans, people transitioning to housing after being homeless or living in shelters, or families displaced by a disaster. After networking with social service agencies, Calone learned that providing furniture was often beyond their scope and their budgets.

“Other organizations were saying to us, ‘We’re just [giving furniture] piecemeal,’” Calone said. “So we said, ‘Okay, maybe that’s a gap we can fill.’”

“They get furniture, but we get just as much from doing this.”

—Sheila Towers

Open Door Exchange needs more dressers, small kitchen tables and chairs, and twin bed frames. Anyone looking for an alternative holiday gift idea is encouraged to donate to the “mattress fund,” Calone said, because she does not accept donated mattresses, but will purchase one if she or other volunteers find out someone is sleeping on the floor.

Even in this gritty industrial park, volunteers make the warehouse cheerful. A vase of dried flowers adds a splash of color to a furniture display. Visitors are greeted with snacks. Dignity is given to clients who come to pick out furniture. Calone said that was one of her intentions in starting the program.

“When any of us go to the furniture store to shop, we get to think about what we would like, and what would look nice in our home,” she said. This is no jumble of discarded stuff, but a space carefully set up so people can browse.

Volunteers of all abilities and ages are welcome, for one time — or on a continuing basis — as an individual or with a group. 

Open Door Exchange needs help with a variety of tasks, from driving a truck and picking up furniture, to greeting clients and doing an intake, to dusting the furniture.

Sheila Towers said the name of the organization reflects the exchange that flows between clients and volunteers. “They get furniture, but we get just as much from doing this,” she said. “Seeing the people take their furniture home and how happy they become, it’s a great feeling.”

To reach Open Door Exchange, call 631-751-0176 or visit www.opendoorexchange.org.

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File photo

This week’s issues of Times Beacon Record Newspapers are set up a little differently.

Suffolk County has one of the highest rates of death from heroin and opioid overdoses in New York State, and we feel this growing drug abuse problem deserves a special journalistic spotlight. So we dedicated this issue to looking at the different angles of approaching the heroin and opioid problem. In this week’s paper, you will find facts: How much the substance abuse trend has grown throughout the past few years; how our local communities, governments, police departments and residents have adapted to fight back against this movement; and reflections from recovering addicts and parents who have lost children to drug overdoses.

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