Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta with his dog Buddy. Photo from Susan Eckert
By Jenni Culkin
Suffolk County Legislator Robert Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) will be holding a food drive for pet food in his office from now until Thursday, April 30.
Donations will be accepted during the normal business hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the normal business days of Monday through Friday.
The drive is going to bring pet food to the Harry Chapin Food Bank so that those who are assisted by the food bank can feed their pets as well as themselves.
Trotta also said he believes that pets can be an extremely important part of people’s lives, especially when they’re down on their luck.
“Pets keep many people going, giving them comfort and a reason to survive in difficult times,” said Trotta.
Trotta himself has a dog named Buddy.
The office is currently accepting donations of canned and dry cat or dog food, dog treats, birdseed, fish food, kitty litter and small toys that are unused.
According to Long Island Cares, the organization that runs the food bank, dog and cat food are items with high demand because the costs of heating a home, buying medications, paying the bills, and putting food on the table prevent some people with financial hardships from properly caring for their pets without assistance.
Long Island Cares has been providing pet food for its clients since 2009. There is hope that the people of Suffolk County can continue the pet food donation trend well into this frigid winter over five years later.
Donations can be dropped off at 59 Landing Ave. in Smithtown throughout the duration of the drive, Trotta said.
Emma, one of the Angela’s House children, rides a pony earlier this year. Photo from Bob Policastro
By Jenni Culkin
The Town of Smithtown will host a night of saying thanks to a group known for its generosity.
The Watermill Caterers of Smithtown is set to hold a special gala on Thursday, March 19, to honor two important contributors to the nonprofit group, Angela’s House.
Hundreds of children and their families reach out to Angela’s House each year to provide them with a safe and comfortable place to go to ease the pressure of caring for a child with specific medical needs: 24-hour nursing care, case management, family counseling and other beneficial programs sustain the caring and attentive environment of the organization.
The two honorees, Ron and Rob Brigati of White Post Farms, donate their time, effort and resources toward an annual summer party for the residents of Angela’s House and their families. Their actions provide a carefree summer day to relax and take a breather from their daily responsibilities.
“The smiles and joy that they see as a result makes it very special,” Ron Brigati said.
Now it was time for Angela’s House to return the favor, the organization said. At $100 per ticket, local residents can enjoy an evening at one of the area’s most distinguished wedding halls by socializing at a cocktail hour, a reception and a formal dinner. Guests will also have the opportunity to win prizes during auctions and raffles. The money raised from the event will go toward the children that Angela’s House assist on a daily basis.
The iconic Smithtown statue, “Whisper the Bull,” welcomes residents as they enter the township and is a symbol of the community’s long and storied past. File photo by Elana Glowatz
By Jenni Culkin
There is cause for celebration among Smithtown residents this year. The town was founded 350 years ago, and the Smithtown Historical Society is preparing to get its residents involved in festivities and immersion in the town’s proud history.
“This town has been inhabited for 350 years,” said Kiernan Lannon, executive director of the Smithtown Historical Society. “It’s self-evident that this is a milestone!”
Lannon said the Smithtown Historical Society’s mission is to “preserve and present the town’s history,” and in order to develop an itinerary for the 350th annual celebration, the town’s historical society developed the 350 Foundation — a group of volunteers comprised of representatives from various organizations in the town.
On March 3rd, 1665, Richard Smythe, the town’s founder, was granted the Nicholls Patent. The patent gave him the right to the territory that encompasses present-day Smithtown. Originally, it was believed that Smythe was told that he could have all of the territory that he could circumnavigate on the back of a bull.
The bull story is so important that it has become the icon that represents Smithtown. The bull statue, affectionately named “Whisper the Bull,” welcomes residents as they enter the town boundaries.
The story proved to be only a legend, but it still has a place in this year’s celebration of the town’s history.
The Bull Smythe Relay is proof that the bull story is still sentimental to the people of Smithtown. The relay is the first of the 350th anniversary events that the 350 Foundation is planning, scheduled for March 1, which will mimic the torch relays that are performed during the Olympics.
The relay will cover approximately 36 miles within the town, each mile sponsored by a different person, organization or family. The public is welcome to come and watch the Bull Smythe Relay and support the participants.
Town historian Bradley Harris helped spearhead the planning of this year’s 350th celebration after Town Supervisor Patrick Vecchio penned a letter to him asking him to help plan the events.
Only two days after the relay, on March 3, there will be a special town board meeting. A time capsule opening will follow the meeting. The capsule was buried in 1965, during the town’s 300th anniversary celebration.
Town Councilwoman Lynne Nowick says that she can remember attending the 300th anniversary and said the events were historically a great historical celebration for the Town of Smithtown.
“The 350 committee is doing a fabulous job,” she said.
The dedicated 350 Foundation has a tentative calendar of events stretching from late February to December of this year. Not all of these events are held by the historical society.
The Smithtown Performing Arts Center is also hosting a musical performance called “The Spirit of Smithtown,” which will be playing in late May and early June. The Smithtown Library is also formulating a schedule of events that is to be announced within the last few weeks of February. Even the public schools in Smithtown’s school districts are planning an art show and contest.
East Northport man was also a firefighter and veteran
Elaine and Salvatore ‘Sam’ Macedonio Sr., on vacation in Italy last year. Photos from Mark Macedonio
By Julianne Cuba
East Northport firefighter, veteran and retired police officer Salvatore “Sam” Macedonio Sr., a former member of what was once the Town of Huntington Police Department, died from complications with lung cancer earlier this month. He was 87.
Macedonio, survived by his wife, Elaine, and his children, Gary Macedonio, Mark J. Macedonio, Lisa M. Macedonio Olofson and Salvatore Macedonio Jr., had served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.
Following his military service, Macedonio joined the Town of Huntington Police Department as a patrolman in 1954. When the department merged into the Suffolk County Police Department in 1960, Macedonio was one of its first members.
Mark Macedonio said his father was loved very much and he will be sorely missed.
“He knew everybody in the Town of Huntington and everybody knew him,” he said. “He was a very well-known fellow. From his early days growing up in Huntington until the very end, he was a very approachable, kind, person. He was a great listener and peacemaker.”
Macedonio retired from the 2nd Precinct of the Suffolk County Police Department as a senior patrolman in 1973. Since his retirement from the police force, Macedonio had co-founded Vor-Mac Auto Collision Inc. in Greenlawn, which he co-owned with his wife for more than 20 years. During that time, he was also a volunteer firefighter at the East Northport Fire Department for more than 40 years; and he was active for more than 20 of those years.
Sam Macedonio in 2011, at the national World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. Photo from Mark Macedonio
Following in her father’s footsteps, Macedonio Olofson — along with her husband, Brian, and their two daughters, Katherine and Nicole — joined the East Northport Fire Department as volunteers.
Macedonio Olofson, an EMT and lieutenant of the rescue squad, is also a school nurse at the Norwood Avenue Elementary School in Northport.
“He always taught us to give back to the community and that’s what I’m doing,” she said. “I volunteer all my free time to give back to the community.”
As the middle child in a family of 13 children, family always came first to Macedonio, his daughter said.
Born in Locust Valley on March 11, 1927, Macedonio was forced to quit high school to work on his parent’s farm — Cedar Hill Farm in East Northport — in the midst of the Great Depression. Macedonio was able to receive his high school diploma following his military service.
Henry Johnson, an 86-year-old Huntington Station resident, had worked on the Town of Huntington Police Department the same years Macedonio did.
“I just about never worked with him, but he had a good reputation, he was a hard worker and he was a good police officer,” Johnson said.
As a patrolman, Macedonio led a very distinguished career, his daughter said; he had been issued many commendations, including for bravery, meritorious service and outstanding performance of duty, as well as two heroic life-saving events in the early 1960s, Olofson recalls.
“He was widely known to many Huntington Township residents as a result of his active life, service to the community, humility and great love of all people,” she said.
Former Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer sang Macedonio’s praises in an email statement, calling the East Northport man “a special kind of person” who was a “master of verbal judo” and could defuse volatile situations.
“He had no ego issues and brought a steadying and calm influence to his police duties,” Dormer said. “He loved the police department and when we would run into each other over the years, he would always bring up his days serving the people of Huntington Township and Suffolk County. He was so proud to be a cop.”
The Ronjo magic shop is full of tricks and costumes. Photo by Jenni Culkin
By Jenni Culkin
Ronjo has a little something magical for everyone. The magic and costume shop has card tricks, coin tricks, novelty items, pranks, juggling props and swords, magicians, knife throwers, ventriloquists, jugglers, balloon artists and party planners. There are costumes, accessories, makeup, masks, wigs and so much more on display from the moment a customer walks through the doors.
“We specialize in entertainment,” said Ronald Diamond, owner of the shop on Route 112 in Port Jefferson Station. “We can do it all.”
Ronald Diamond performs a card trick at the Ronjo magic shop. Photo by Jenni Culkin
Diamond is a professional magician and entertainer who has years of experience working with different age groups. He believes that magic is an art form that serves a purpose higher than just entertainment.
He attributes his success to good business practices, like customer service skills and product knowledge. He also gives credit to the current manager of the store, Peter Albertson.
Born in Flatbush, Diamond’s family moved to Suffolk County in 1966. The shop owner began his adventure at seven years old, when he was introduced to magic and took it up as a hobby. In May 1974, when he was 15, he began to take magic from hobby to profession.
“It made me feel confident,” Diamond said about performing magic. “It helps people with public speaking and it is used as a way to connect.”
Diamond, a husband and father of two girls, lives in the Town of Brookhaven, where he says he can relate to and understand the needs of his local customers. He believes he can spread his confidence and social skills by offering private magic lessons for adults and children and running a magic club during the first Friday of each month. During the nicer weather, Diamond runs a free magic show that accepts donations for designated charities.
According to the businessman, magic can boost even the most distinguished professionals, such as health professionals and lawyers, by helping them develop social connections with the people they work with.
In 1978, Diamond began expanding his store’s specialties to include costumes and other dress-up items, a transition that began when his performers started asking him if he could provide them with a mask or a costume to further entertain their audiences.
“We are not Halloween, we are Hollywood!” Diamond said, sharing his motto for Ronjo’s costumes.
People are impressed by the quality and selection of the store’s costumes, he said, especially when compared with chain stores that tend to carry only three sizes or one-size-fits-all costumes. Ronjo’s shelves have costumes for many seasons and holidays, including the Easter bunny, Santa Claus and some comical green St. Patrick’s Day outfits.
Ronjo also manufactures its own tricks — about 40 right now — and distributes them worldwide, and Diamond has published a couple of his own magic booklets.
In recent years, Ronjo has upped its game, becoming a “green” store that uses LED lighting and prints on both sides of the paper and cards they use.
“This is not a job,” Diamond said about his business. “It is a lifestyle for me.”
Mackenzie Wardrope with baby Addy and husband Gregory. Photo from Mackenzie Wardrope
By Jenni Culkin
Her struggle has become one that is shared with the entire community.
Residents have been giving comfort, hope and encouragement to 1-year-old Adelaide “Addy” Marie Wardrope and her family as she battles a rare genetic disorder rarely seen by area doctors. It was recently discovered that Addy, the granddaughter of Three Village resident Bridget McCormick, has a mutated SCN8A genome and is one of only a handful to ever be diagnosed with such a condition.
“She gets horrible seizures where she will hold her breath for two minutes and turn purple,” said Mackenzie Wardrope, Addy’s mother, “It’s been the hardest experience of my life.”
Wardrope now lives in Maryland with baby Addy and her husband Gregory but grew up in the Three Village community and still checks in with her mother, McCormick, who works in the soup kitchen at St. James Roman Catholic Church.
According to the Frontiers in Genetics academic journal, “the mutation causes seizures, developmental delays, and other neurological complications.” But even through the struggle of conditions, Wardrope remains extremely optimistic.
“She’s an amazing fighter,” Wardrope said about her daughter, mentioning countless hospital visits where Addy would try to lift her head up even under sedation.
Wardrope said she credits much of her early support to a Facebook page dedicated to Addy, where other families going through similar situations as Addy find inspiration to be courageous and fight through the disease.
The family’s tie to the community has given them a strong support system, Wardrope said. Approximately 3,000 families attend the St. James Roman Catholic parish and many of them are involved with helping with or donating to Addy’s fund.
One of Addy’s supporters, Tony Casale of St. James Roman Catholic Church’s and the Kiwanis Club of the Three Village-Brookhaven Township, has been acting as Addy’s Long Island advocate. Casale works with McCormick at the church.
“A lot of people from the church have been very generous since they started the fund,” Casale said.
The fund, which is contributed to by the GoFundMe.com website, has raised $9,835 as of Wednesday.
“Hugs and kisses to the Wardrope family. You’re in my thoughts and prayers,” Pamela Oelerich posted on GoFundMe with her $50 donation.
In addition to Oelerich’s kind donation, 93 other people left money with the fund within four months. Some left sweet messages while others made their donations anonymously. No matter what the intention of the donor, each donation is just one more step toward peace of mind and ease for Addy’s parents in Maryland, her family said.
The Kiwanis Club and Ward Melville High School’s Key Club have also been a tremendous source of leadership and advocacy for Addy’s situation.
Kyra Durko, president of the Ward Melville Key Club and a Village Times Herald person of the year for 2014, has also put forth a huge effort toward helping Addy and her family through their times of trouble. She created a website for the events for Addy and has reached out to the Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts in her area, providing the young people with the opportunity to help lead a charitable cause.
“This is what the Key Club is all about,” Durko said about the time she spent planning events for Addy.
The Kiwanis Club also plans on raising approximately $1,000 during their family game night fundraiser, Casale said.
“Thank God for the Key Club and the Kiwanis,” Casale said about the events that are being orchestrated in Addy’s honor. “Even if we don’t solve the problem, there’s an idea of giving a little bit of hope to this family.”
To contribute to Addy’s medical fund, visit www.gofundme.com/addysmedical. Or, attend the talent show in Addy’s honor at Ward Melville High School on Feb. 26 or the family game night on Feb. 28 at the Setauket Neighborhood House.
Jane O’Sullivan creates her romantic stories from home in Setauket. Image from Jane O’Sullivan
By Jenni Culkin
In a green-and-white rustic home that overlooks a small lake in Setauket, resident Jane O’Sullivan recently wrote her first romance novel, “Lady Elinor’s Wicked Adventures,” which takes place in the Victorian era of Italy.
She published the book under the pen name Lillian Marek and maintains a Facebook page under the same name with hopes of conveying some interesting thoughts, ideas and opinions from readers.
The book has earned a rating of 4.6 stars on Amazon.com. Her book received a similar average rating of 4.5 stars on the Barnes & Noble website.
O’Sullivan, who was once an editor with Times Beacon Record Newspapers, said she always loved to read and write, dating back to when she was just a little girl.
“I can’t remember ever wanting to do anything else,” she said, “I read just about anything I could get my hands on. My mother used to say, ‘Will you stop reading and go out and play?’”
O’Sullivan is now a proud wife, mother of two and a grandmother of four, who has lived in Setauket since the year 1974. Before Setauket, O’Sullivan was a resident of Jackson Heights, Queens.
She made the switch from a busy urban life to a quiet suburban life in Setauket after she found out that her hometown would not provide the education that she had in mind for her children.
Jane O’Sullivan photo from the author
Her parents, who lived in Sound Beach, connected her with a real estate agent who eventually introduced her to her current lakeside house. O’Sullivan affectionately described the area as a “comfortable place to live.” She also said that when she drives through the locale, it almost feels like the countryside to her.
“I believe age is strictly mental,” O’Sullivan said with a smile on her face, “but I am definitely old enough to be retired.”
As O’Sullivan entered her retirement, a friend suggested mystery and romance novels as a new endeavor.
After reading some of the recommended books, including titles such as “Mr. Impossible,” O’Sullivan recalls the desire to try writing her own romance novels.
O’Sullivan said her friends and readers often ask her why she chose to write romance novels.
“Writing romance isn’t much different from writing regular novels, except that you have to make it end happily,” O’Sullivan said. She compared it to solving a mystery at the end of a mystery novel. Mystery novels would be incomplete without naming a culprit at the end just as romance novels would be without a “happily ever after,” she said.
And she is not done just yet. O’Sullivan is set to release three new books, including “Lady Emily’s Exotic Journey,” due out in August.
“It’s an adventure story,” O’Sullivan said of her next book. She added that the story takes place in Assyria and features river pirates, which she said would make the story an interesting read. Lady Emily, she said, is the sister of the main character in her first book in the same general time period.
Marky Ramone poses with his memoir. Photo by Chris Mellides
By Chris Mellides
Long Islanders filled Book Revue storefront in Huntington Tuesday night for a special appearance from Marky Ramone, drummer of the seminal punk band the Ramones.
Born Marc Steven Bell, the 62-year-old Brooklyn native spent 15 years drumming for the iconic band and has played with a variety of musicians dating back to his high school years. He is the only surviving member of the iconic group, and visited the North Shore to take part in a Q&A session before signing memorabilia and copies of his new autobiography, “Punk Rock Blitzkrieg: My Life As A Ramone.”
Leading to the night’s event, roughly 100 rabid Ramones fans anxiously awaited Bell’s arrival. Among them was Smithtown resident Cynthia Cone, 42.
Cone said that when she was a teenager, she dated a drummer who turned her on to the Ramones, and it wasn’t long before she was hooked.
“Their shows were so high-energy,” said Cone. “If you listen to their bootlegs, it’s almost like you hear the countdown, and then it takes you a second to register what they’re even playing because they were so raw.”
Despite not achieving the success they deserved while the band’s original members were still alive, Cone said there’s no denying the Ramones’ impact.
“You hear so many bands like Rage Against the Machine, and even hip hop artists [credit] the Ramones. They were just such a huge influence across the board.”
Bell started playing drums in 1971 for the hard rock group known as Dust and would later audition for New York Dolls before working with Wayne “Jayne” County and Backstreet Boys. Later, he played with Richard Hell and the Voidoids, joining the band for the recording of their first record, “Blank Generation.”
In 1978, while drinking cheap beer at the legendary dive bar and venue CBGB, Bell was approached by bassist and soon-to-be band mate Douglas Glenn Colvin, also known as Dee Dee, and was asked to play drums for the band.
Asked about being on the road with the Ramones, Bell shared his experience touring America in the band’s van and likened it to being trapped in a floating mental institution on wheels.
“We had our trusty Ford Econoline 15-passenger van and we all had our assigned seats, Bell said. “We had a lot of quality time together and we were all different individuals — maybe that’s why the music was so great.”
Later, Bell discussed his band’s role in the 1979 Roger Corman-produced cult classic, “Rock ‘N’ Roll High School,” a musical comedy in which rebellious teens get even with their school principal against the backdrop of Ramones musical performances scattered throughout the film.
“[Film director] Allan Arkush came to New York and saw us play [and] he loved it. We toured our way from the east to west coast in 1979 and the next thing we knew, it was ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll High School,’” Bell said. “Making the movie was interesting [and] it was pretty funny seeing four aliens, me, Johnny, Joey and Dee Dee, in the movie amongst the normals.”
Singer/songwriter Sophie Hintze. Photo by Michael Rosengard, North Island Photography
By Sue Wahlert
2014 was a fabulous year for 17-year-old Setauket resident Sophie Hintze. After a culmination of artistic sufferings and successes, the Ward Melville High School senior was recently courted and signed as a singer/songwriter by BMG Chrysalis, an international company focusing on the management of music publishing and recording rights.
“Sophie is the youngest person that I have committed to. This girl has it!” said Kris Muñoz, senior director, business & legal affairs for BMG Chrysalis. Muñoz continued, “We need to have folks with drive, energy and work ethic. Sophie has all of this and more!” Through a journey that began at home in Setauket, continued at school, and branched out into the world of theater and jazz performances in New York City, Hintze has reached a place most 17-year- olds only dream of.
With the loving support of her parents, sister and others, she began her job with BMG, a company that will nurture her full potential as a songwriter and singer. Dina LaPolt, of LaPolt Law in Los Angeles, who represents Hintze and artists such as Steven Tyler, Mick Fleetwood and Deadmau5, brought Hintze to the attention of music companies after hearing her song, “Better Off Alone.” LaPolt remarked upon meeting Hintze, “She has a star quality that is not something that comes lightly. It has only happened a few times in my career,” similar to when she met Stacy Ann Ferguson, better known as Fergie.
Lise Hintze, Sophie’s mother, recollects, “Being a singer was her dream since she was a little girl.” Sophie talked about her early beginnings with music, “When I was in elementary school, I would secretly write songs in a book, which I still have. I would sing these songs to my dog, Maybelle and my family. I wouldn’t tell them it was mine, and if they reacted, I knew it was something good. To this day, I still do this. Great songs demand attention.”
With her passion for writing, she was already laying the path for her future successes. However, the beginning did not go smoothly for Hintze. In junior high, she was rejected from a school play and it was devastating, albeit a blessing in disguise. Hintze said, “I felt like a failure, but I believed I had the talent and I wasn’t going to let anyone stop me.”
So with the support of her mom and dad, she turned to theater workshops in New York City to keep her dream alive. Her first stop was Broadway Workshop, a company that develops and produces educational workshops and full-scale productions.
Her first audition with Broadway Workshop, for “Legally Blonde,” was met with immediate success. Hintze recalls, “It was insane. They asked if I was free the next day for a callback!” This encouraged Hintze and she continued with Broadway Workshop into 10th and 11th grades, playing Calliope in the musical comedy “Xanadu” and Miss Gardner in “Carrie.” With a dedicated spirit, Hintze’s mother drove her to New York City every Saturday and Sunday. “Being around the caliber of talent in New York City fueled me. Their support has been overwhelming,” said a grateful Hintze.
During her time with Broadway Workshop, Hintze cemented her desire to become a performer. She also began singing with the Matt Baker Trio at Le Cirque, Somethin’ Jazz Club and the Metropolitan Room, starting at the age of 15. Additionally, she took on the role of Rapunzel in “Into the Woods” at her high school.
Then, in the summer of 2013, she was singing at Frank Melville Memorial Park during one of its Wind Down Sundays concerts, and songwriter/producer Anthony D’Erasmo approached Hintze and asked if she would be interested in recording some of her music. It was during this time she wrote and recorded “Better Off Alone,” a song that became the catalyst for her new career.
This valuable song, which Hintze copyrighted, became the center of a dispute with a music library. The Hintzes reached out to LaPolt for guidance. LaPolt gave them advice, and as an aside, Sophie e-mailed her the recording of “Better Off Alone.” That was the spark that ignited all that was to follow. LaPolt said, “I was like, this is an amazing song!” After sending the song to a few colleagues in the business, it landed in the hands of Kris Muñoz, who said to LaPolt, “Don’t send that song to anyone else!” While LaPolt had other offers for Hintze, a choice was made and Thomas Scherer, executive vice president of writer services at BMG, flew out to the BMG offices in New York City to meet with Hintze.
Scherer echoed the thoughts of both LaPolt and Muñoz, “She has tremendous star quality!” BMG was ready to make a commitment to this young songwriter, to work with her to develop her talents. In August of 2014, Hintze found herself at the offices of BMG in Los Angeles overlooking the Hollywood Hills, where she signed her contract as both a songwriter and an artist.
“We want Sophie to develop into a normal human being,” said Muñoz, referring to Hintze finishing high school and attending college in September at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
BMG’s Muñoz said, “We want to take Sophie’s existing talent and see how she blossoms.” The process involves introducing her to writers and producers to see what kind of music she can produce for other artists. Hintze reiterated BMG’s support, saying, “They are very supportive of me, and I couldn’t ask for a better team.
They are home to some of my biggest inspirations in the industry and I feel honored to be a part of the BMG family. My goal isn’t to be famous — it is to be successful.”
2015 holds great promise for Hintze, with amazing opportunities for learning, creating, and making her mark in the music industry. Check her out at www.sophiehintze.com.
Linda Ventura memorializes her late son Thomas by putting her face at the forefront of the ongoing battle to curb illegal drug use and its unintended consequences. Photo from Linda Ventura
By Chris Mellides
The legislative office building in Albany hums with activity as concerned Long Island parents and members of the addiction treatment community prepare to convene with state assemblymen and insurance company executives for a roundtable discussion.
King’s Park residents Linda Ventura and Maureen Rossi, who both endured the long drive to the state capital the previous night, break away from their group moments before the meeting and casually walk to the nearest bathroom.
Inside the brightly lit lavatory, where toilet paper lines the old tiled floor, Ventura reaches into her purse and retrieves a piece of Tupperware, like she has many times before, and together with Rossi the two of them pray.
Ventura, a mother of three, watched helplessly as her eldest son Thomas succumbed to his heroin addiction two years ago. And now his ashes, tucked neatly inside that plastic container, serve as a reminder of why she tirelessly works toward spreading opiate awareness and tirelessly lobbies for political change. For such efforts Linda Ventura has been selected as one of the People of the Year by this paper.
Jeffrey Reynolds, president and chief executive officer of the Family and Children’s Association, was among those concerned parents and addiction treatment advocates who joined the dozens of insurance executives at the round table meeting.
He recalls the tension choking the room and the moment a state legislator asked Ventura to make her case for why she thinks insurance companies are handling treatment coverage poorly.
“Linda opened her purse, took out a Tupperware, put it on the table and said, ‘This is my son Thomas. This is what outpatient treatment looks like.’ And the room was stunned,” said Reynolds. “You know I’ve seen it all and done it all and heard it all, and it left me and everybody else in the room speechless.”
Reynolds says that he met Ventura roughly two years ago through a mutual contact and that his work with her became much more focused when they started their legislative push.
“She has been at the forefront of our push for a number of bills in Albany. The thing about Linda is that addiction messed with the wrong mom,” Reynolds said.
Ventura, 54, was born and raised in Oceanside and moved to Kings Park in 1993, where she’s continued her work as a financial advisor.
In March 2012, her son Thomas died from a heroin overdose. He was 21. In the years leading up to his death, Ventura says that a tumultuous family life had put stress on her children.
“My mom and dad passed and my ex-husband’s mom passed. Every year we lost one of them and him and I were going through a divorce,” Ventura said. “So there was a lot of loss, tremendous loss in the family and Thomas was especially sensitive.”
At 15 years old, Thomas began smoking marijuana and drinking beer, and by his senior year of high school Ventura recognized that her son had a problem with prescription painkillers. During the fall after his graduation, Thomas went to his first rehab.
That’s when Ventura said she realized how difficult it was to get insurance coverage for her son’s treatment.
“While he was covered under his dad’s policy, the family as a whole was entitled to one stay at a rehab. So we used that the first time that he went. It was then covered under me,” Ventura said. “We heard things through the next few years and [were told] that he’s not high enough for treatment, which still boggles my mind.”
In order to receive continued coverage for treatment services, Thomas had to continually fail at outpatient services before he could be approved for more comprehensive residential treatment, according to Ventura, who claims that this rule was “insane.”
After her son’s fatal overdose, Ventura said she knew that she needed to bring awareness to the opiate problem affecting Long Islanders, and help to change how insurance providers offer coverage to families seeking help for their sons and daughters struggling with addiction.
On the one-year anniversary of her son’s death, she launched Thomas’ Hope, a nonprofit foundation that promotes drug awareness, prevention and advocacy. Through this effort, Ventura has spoken at numerous events to raise awareness and has raised money to assist families battling with substance abuse.
During a Thomas’ Hope fundraiser Ventura met Maureen Rossi, chairperson of Kings Park in the kNOw (KPITK), a grassroots nonprofit designed to help eradicate illegal drugs from the Kings
Park Community.
“From the first time I heard Linda speak, I knew she had the gift — she has an outstanding ability to reach people,” Rossi said. “I was impressed with her work and shortly after I hired her to speak at our annual Preventing Destructive Decisions event. Linda’s actions and words move mountains.”
Together, Ventura and Rossi joined parents and community leaders in what would be several legislative visits to Albany.
Late this spring, they pushed for passage of Senate Bill S4623, which would reign in the insurance companies and force them to pay for treatment when it’s warranted. That bill and a number of others passed the state Senate and will go into effect April 1, 2015.
County Legislator Robert Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) represents Suffolk’s 13th District, has followed Ventura’s work with KPITK and has recognized the impact she’s made on the local community and on New York state as a whole.
“She went up to Albany and she got 13 different pieces of legislation passed, and the most important one is that insurance companies will be paying for treatment programs,” Trotta. “She’s driven, she’s smart, capable and she knows what’s going on. She’s really led the charge.”
Ventura said she hopes to see a sober high school brought to Long Island this year that would serve as “a place kids can come back to and be treated differently when they come out of rehab.” She also said she plans to discuss prescription protocol and the need for better education among medical professionals who prescribe controlled substances when she returns to Albany.
When it comes to stomping out the heroin and opiate epidemic on Long Island Ventura said it’ll have to be done as a group effort.
“New York and Long Island is the epicenter of the epidemic, which is something we should not be proud of,” Ventura said. “We can’t legislate ourselves out of it and we can’t police our way out of it. Those things are important measures to take, but everybody’s got to step up to the plate.”
Prev
