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'Below the Ocean'
First 25 participants receive free copy of book

Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker has self-published a children’s picture book on ocean pollution titled Below the Ocean: Keeping Our Sea Friends Safe. The book targets young children ages 2-10 years and provides an engaging story about a young seal and her encounters with ocean pollution.

Leg. Sarah Anker

“Having raised 3 children and knowing how important it is to teach our kids about respecting and maintaining our environment, I decided to take the plunge into writing this book, as well as additional children’s environmental books. Long before I ran for public office, I was involved in beach cleanups, advocating for clean water and air, recycling our garbage and preserving open space. We all need to do more, and I hope this book will inspire children and their parents to be environmental superheroes,” said Anker.

The illustrator, Lily Liu, is an award-winning artist who has provided illustrations for several top-selling children’s books. The vibrant colors and adorable characters capture your attention as the main character, Sophia the Seal, encounters ocean garbage and learns how it is affecting sea life and our ocean.

Plastics have been on Earth for close to 70 years and in that time, we have created over 9 billion tons of plastic waste. Most plastics are not recycled and end up as garbage in landfills and in our ocean. Below the Ocean not only informs young readers about ocean pollution, but it also provides insight on what they can do to keep our ocean clean and safe and encourages them to be a Sea Hero. The book is available online at www.amazon.com. For more information go to www.Ankerbooks.com.

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Families with young children are invited to join Leg. Anker for a book launch at Comsewogue Public Library, 170 Terryville Road, Port Jefferson Station on Thursday, July 28 at 2:30 p.m. The educational presentation will feature a reading of the book, a Q&A, book signing and crafts. The first 25 books will be given out for free. To register for this event, call the library at 631-928-1212 or email [email protected].

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Lawn sprinkler. Metro photo

With continued hot and dry weather leading to excessive early morning water use that is pushing water infrastructure to its limits, the Suffolk County Water Authority is urging residents to immediately take steps to conserve water.

Though it is always important to conserve water, during hot and dry periods it is imperative to do so, as residents tend to overwater lawns and set their irrigation timers to the same period of time in the early morning hours. To make sure there is enough water for all residents as well as firefighters and other emergency services, residents are urged to:

• Water only on odd or even days. Lawns do not need to be watered daily. In fact, it can be counterproductive to a healthy lawn, as less frequent watering leads to deeper root growth.

• Set lawn irrigation timers to activate at times other than between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m., which is the time of peak water use. With so many people setting their timers to activate during these hours, water tanks can be nearly emptied by the end of the peak period. This can lead to insufficient water pressure.

• Use a rain sensor or smart sprinkler controller to properly manage lawn watering. These devices not only help to make sure you do not overwater your lawn, but they can save you money on your water bill. SCWA also offers account credit of up to $50 for the purchase of water-saving devices. One of their experts will even come to your home, free of charge, to assess your water use and provide you guidance about how to save water.

You can find out more about SCWA’s WaterWise programs and schedule a waterwise checkup at www.scwa.com.

“If everyone pitches in, we’ll have plenty of water to meet the needs of Suffolk residents and emergency services,” said SCWA Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Szabo. “So please do your part.”

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Photo from PSEG Long Island Facebook

Customers should think twice if someone calls and threatens to immediately shut off their power

Just like the summer itself, scammers are turning up the heat, pretending to be PSEG Long Island or impersonating prominent area utilities, and threatening to turn off service for nonpayment. PSEG Long Island urges customers to understand scammers’ tactics and do the right thing if confronted with a demand for payment: Get the truth from the real PSEG Long Island at 1-800-490-0025.

“Scammers do their best to create the impression of an urgent problem in the hopes that your panic will prevent you from seeing all the clues that they’re not who they appear to be,” said Rick Walden, PSEG Long Island’s vice president of Customer Services. “PSEG Long Island wants customers to know the signs, take a moment to think, and then contact us directly using the number on their bill if they’re still not sure.”

More than 1,400 scam calls have been reported to PSEG Long Island so far in 2022. Many of these scammers are demanding immediate payment via web-based electronic payment services. PSEG Long Island does not accept web-based electronic payment services as a method of payment.

What customers should know about payment scams

  • Scammers impersonating PSEG Long Island most frequently threaten to shut off power immediately unless payment is made.
  • Many scammers use phone “spoofing” technology to make their number display on your phone as “PSEG Long Island.”
  • PSEG Long Island will never request that customers use one specific method of payment.
  • Scammers typically want their victims to transfer money via a web-based electronic payment service, a prepaid debit card, or even Bitcoin, sometimes asking people to buy a prepaid card at the nearest convenience store and then to read them the PIN over the phone.
  • PSEG Long Island does not accept web-based electronic payment services, prepaid debit cards or Bitcoin as payment.
  • Sometimes phone scammers will demand a deposit for a priority meter installation. PSEG Long Island does not require a deposit for meter installations.
  • If a customer has doubts about the legitimacy of a call or an email — especially one in which payment is requested — they should call the company directly at 1-800-490-0025.

What customers should know about shutoffs

  • On July 12, after more than two years of suspending service shutoffs due to a pandemic-related state of emergency, PSEG Long Island resumed service shutoffs for accounts that do not respond to repeated efforts to establish a payment agreement.
  • Shutoff of service for nonpayment is a last resort that only occurs after PSEG Long Island makes multiple efforts to contact and help the customer.
  • Customers with unpaid balances who do not already have a deferred payment agreement should call 1-800-490-0025 so PSEG Long Island can assist them.
  • If previous outreach efforts are unsuccessful, a PSEG Long Island representative will make a final attempt to contact the customer of record, in person, to accept a payment and avoid a shutoff.
  • When service is terminated, a service suspension notice will be left at the location with instructions on how to work with PSEG Long Island to reconnect.

In-person visits

Occasionally, scammers may go door to door impersonating PSEG Long Island employees, flashing a fake ID and/or claiming to be a utility collection representative. The impostors may wear “uniforms” or affix false company signs to their vehicles. The scammers generally ask for personal information, which real utility representatives do not do, or offer bogus discounts. Again, if customers have any doubts, they should not let the person in, and should call 1-800-490-0025 to verify.

PSEG Long Island employees must carry a company ID and present it when requested. If customers have doubts, do not let the person into the house and call 1-800-490-0025 to have a customer service representative verify that an employee has been dispatched to the location. An actual PSEG Long Island employee will respect the customer’s decision and remain outside. If the person escalates their efforts to enter the home, customers should consider calling 911.

Fake websites

Some scammers purchase web domains that closely resemble the actual URL of a utility and create a fraudulent replica of the legitimate website. Their plan is to dupe users who click on these fake sites via search results, or type in an inaccurate web address. Once on the spoofed site, a visitor is presented a number of bill payment options, all pointing back to an outside bill pay site.

PSEG Long Island always uses the “.com” domain. Its real website can be found at www.psegliny.com.

How actual PSEG Long Island reps handle phone calls

Customers should also know what PSEG Long Island will and won’t discuss over the phone. A genuine PSEG Long Island representative will ask to speak to the Customer of Record. If that person is available, the representative will explain why they are calling and provide the account name, address and current balance. If the person on the phone does not provide the correct information, it is likely the customer is not speaking with a PSEG Long Island representative.

If the Customer of Record is not available, the PSEG Long Island representative will not discuss the account at all and ask that a message be left for the Customer of Record to call 1-800-490-0025.

PSEG Long Island is a member of the Utilities United Against Scams (UUAS) collaborative. UUAS, a consortium of more than 145 U.S. and Canadian electric, water, and natural gas utilities and their respective trade associations, has helped to create awareness of common and new scam tactics and to cease operations of nearly 5,000 toll-free numbers used against utility customers by scammers.

For more information on various payment scams reported in the PSEG Long Island service area and around the country, visit https://www.psegliny.com/myaccount/customersupport/scamsandfraud.

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'The Whale's Daughter'

Voting for the 2022 Kids’ Book Choice Awards is now underway with Long Island author Jerry Mikorenda in the running in two prestigious categories.

The Northport author’s teen novel The Whaler’s Daughter was nominated in the Favorite Character Crush category for the character of Figgie, and himself for Best Stellar Storyteller.

“It’s an honor just to be considered with all these great authors and I’m particularly happy to see the character of Figgie recognized,” said Mikorenda. “He’s just about the coolest indigenous dude you ever want to meet, and the best friend ever to have on an adventure.”

The Whaler’s Daughter (Regal House Publishing), is a historical seafaring novel that takes place in 1910 on a whaling station in New South Wales, Australia. There twelve-year-old Savannah Dawson lives with her widowed father. She’s desperate to prove to him that she can carry on the family legacy, but no one wants a girl in a whaleboat—that is, until Figgie helps Savannah hone her whaling skills and learn about the Law of the Bay. The story is about unexpressed grief, and how friendship can turn revenge into repentance, anger to empathy, and hurt into hopefulness.

“This award program is great on so many levels because it gives the intended audience final say over the results while also teaching the importance of civic participation and the responsibility of voting,” added the author. “I’d encourage all eligible kids to vote for their choices.”

The Kids’ Book Choice Awards are the only national book awards chosen solely by kids and teens. The Children’s Book Council is the nonprofit trade association of children’s book publishers in North America, dedicated to supporting the industry and promoting children’s books and reading. The first round of voting is underway and goes until August 20.

KBC Vote 2022

https://everychildareader.net/finalists-2022-vote/

Favorite Character Crush

https://everychildareader.net/choice/15-18-favorite-character-crush-2022/

Best Stellar Storyteller

https://everychildareader.net/choice/15-18-best-stellar-storyteller-2022/

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Pixabay photo

The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum, 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport hosts Cactus Kids, a workshop for children ages 8 to 12 which introduces junior gardeners to the joys and challenges of raising cacti, on Thursday, July 28 at 1 p.m. Participants will plant a cactus pot, discover how to take care of their specimens, and explore the unique attributes that allow cacti to thrive in hot desert environments. Workshop will take place in the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum’s “Superintendent’s Cottage,” which is located across the street from the main campus. Plants and workshop materials are included in the price. $35 per child, $25 members. To register, visit www.vanderbiltmuseum.org or click here.

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Stock photo

Northport Public Library, 151 Laurel Ave., Northport will host a Job Fair on Wednesday, July 27 from 10 a.m. to noon.  Meet representatives from Elara Caring, SCOPE, Forest Hills Financial Group, NYS Dept of Corrections, NY Life, Citation Healthcare Labels, Developmental Disabilities Institute, Retail Management Inc, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Circor, Suffolk County Police Dept, Suffolk Transportation and more! Bring your resume and dress to impress. To register, visit bit.ly/NorthportDOL. For more information, call 631-261-6930.

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The Liverpool Shuffle

Harborfields Public Library, 31 Broadway, Greenlawn hosts an outdoor concert by Beatles tribute band The Liverpool Shuffle on Wednesday, July 27 at 7 p.m.

Originally formed in 2003 by Joe Refano, (formerly of Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone and Micky Dolenz’ Monkees Band), The Liverpool Shuffle brings together veterans of the New York Music Scene with a combined 200 years of musical experience between them. They are all avowed BEATLEMANIACS and it shows! The Liverpool Shuffle provides a fun, entertaining LIVE BEATLE SHOW with a real emphasis on the music. They play it the way The Beatles did!

Join the Liverpool Shuffle on the front lawn of the Library for an exciting outdoor concert. Tickets are not required, the concert is open to all. This event is sponsored by the Friends of the Library. In the event of rain, the performance will be postponed.  A rain date will be announced if needed.

For more information, call 631-757-4200.

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Without remediation, the clubhouse at the Port Jefferson Country Club may fall off the bluff within years. File photo by Raymond Janis

During a public meeting at Village Hall on Monday, July 18, Mayor Margot Garant presented to the board of trustees the options for the upland projects to stabilize the East Beach Bluff.

The Port Jefferson Country Club, a village-owned property, is now at risk of losing its clubhouse as coastal erosion has withered away the bluff. Without remediation, the clubhouse is likely to fall off the cliff within years.

Proposals to address the problem have been hotly contested by the public, with one faction favoring preserving the clubhouse and the other favoring a retreat plan. During the meeting, the mayor presented the board with both options, outlining the logistics and some of the expected costs for each.

The upper wall

The first option is a 47-foot-deep steel wall between the clubhouse and the edge of the cliff. This wall would be capped by timber, which Garant said would be safer, cheaper and more aesthetically appealing than a concrete cap.

To slow further erosion, the plans include extensive revegetation of the bluff. This would also avert additional expenses related to drainage.

“When this is installed with all of that vegetation, you’re not going to need any more drainage because that wall will become a stopgap and the vegetation will just soak everything up,” Garant said.

The conceptual layout of the planned design also accommodates two regulation-size tennis courts along with three pickleball courts.

Garant said this project would be approached in two phases. The first phase involves a section of wall aimed at preserving the clubhouse, while the second involves an extension of the wall for racket sports amenities.

Still without hard figures on the expected cost of the wall, Garant recommended that the board move forward with exploring this option. “I recommend putting the upper wall out to bid and getting a hard number on that,” she said.

Managed retreat

The alternative proposal involves the demolition of the current clubhouse, immediate installation of a drainage system along the bluff, and the renovation and expansion of The Turn pub and grub facility to accommodate the existing clubhouse operations.

This retreat plan, based on an estimate provided to the mayor, would cost the village approximately $5 million to $6 million.

The board is likely several weeks away from making any decisions on this matter. 

For additional background, see The Port Times Record’s April 7 story, “On the edge: Port Jeff Village weighs the fate of country club.” 

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"Horseshoe Crab Rising" 48" w x 34" h, by Hank Grebe

An artist’s little black book is often a secret stash of intimate expressions, innermost thoughts, and experimental techniques that lay the groundwork for their final piece. Now some of those secrets will be revealed at the next art exhibit at the Smithtown Township Arts Council’s Mills Pond Gallery in St. James. The juried show,  titled Little Black Book, opens July 23.

‘Eva and the Socks’ by Kyle Blumenthal. Images courtesy of STAC

Juror Carol Fabricatore invited artists to enter works that captured the spirit, movement and emotions of their subject. When selecting the pieces for the show she looked for “works inspired by life…works that conjured narratives…that took us to places we had never seen… or introduced us to people and places.”

Artists build their work through inspiration, references, sketches, models, underpaintings and other modes of planning. Entrants were required to submit writeups digital images, sketches, etc. that showed the evolution of each piece they entered into the show.  

The result is 60 works of art by 40 artists created using a variety of mediums including acrylic, charcoal, collage, colored pencil, gouache, graphite, ink, oil, pastel and watercolor.

Exhibiting artists include Amal, Ross Barbera, Shain Bard, Nancy Bass, Hema Bharadwaj, Kyle Blumenthal, Renee Caine, Nan Cao, Benjamin Cisek, Caryn Coville, Yunyi Dai, Kirsten DiGiovanni, James Dill, Jacob Docksey, Amanda Dolly, John Edwe, Ella Emsheimer, Nicholas Frizalone, Ayakoh Furukawa-Leonart, Hank Grebe, Susan Guihan Guasp, Stefani Jarrett, Roshanak Keyghobadi, Myungja Anna Koh, Mark Levine, Yuke Li, Edward Mills, Adam Mitchell, Amuri Morris, Patricia Morrison, Eddie Nino, Moriah Ray-Britt, William Reed, Melanie Reim, Marie Roberts, Dominick Santise, Fang Sullivan, Tracy Tekverk and Nina Wood. 

Little Black Book will be on view at the Mills Pond Gallery, 660 Route 25A, St. James through Aug. 27. Gallery hours are Wednesdays to Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and weekends from noon to 4 p.m. Admission is free. The public is invited to an opening reception on Saturday, July 23 from 1 to 4 p.m. For more information or directions, visit www.millspondgallery.org or call 631-862-6575. 

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Rosie

This week’s featured shelter pets are Rosie (tortoise shell) and Tabitha (calico), who ended up at the Smithtown Animal Shelter after their mom passed away.

Tabitha

These beauties are 12-13 years young sisters. While they enjoy each other, they are not bonded. The shelter would love to see them go together but won’t require it.  

Rosie is outgoing and affectionate with absolutely anyone she meets.  Tabitha is still a bit shell shocked at the transition from her quiet home to the shelter and has been a bit withdrawn. They have never lived with dogs, but have lived with three  other cats. Rosie would do well in any home while Tabitha would do best in a quieter home. 

The Smithtown Animal & Adoption Shelter is located at 410 Middle Country Road, Smithtown. Visitor hours are currently Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Sundays and Wednesday evenings by appointment only). For more information, call 631-360-7575 or visit www.townofsmithtownanimalshelter.com.

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