HERE COMES SPRING!:
Bev Tyler captured these stunning images of songbirds at a feeder in a Setauket backyard on March 30. Above, a male red-bellied woodpecker, left, a black-capped chickadee.
Send your Photo of the Week to [email protected].
Benner’s Farm, 56 Gnarled Hollow in Setauket had quite a busy week as many of their sheep and goats gave birth, with the help of Jean Benner. All of the babies on the farm will be named after trees this year. Campers on Monday morning had the chance to see Oak and Maple being born. Stop by during Easter weekend and say hello. Visitors can hold the baby ducks, rabbits and chickens and feed and pet the farm’s other residents. The farm will be open on weekends from noon to 4 p.m. through May 21. For more information, call 631-689-8172.
MEET BELLA! This little girl is Bella, who, as her name implies, is beautiful inside and out. A pug/beagle mix, she is 5 years young, spayed, microchipped and up to date on all her vaccines. Bella’s family was no longer able to care for her, so they ended up having to bring her to Kent Animal Shelter. She is great with other dogs, cats and children, is full of energy, very sweet and affectionate and just loves to play! She would love to find her forever home — could that be with you?
Kent Animal Shelter is located at 2259 River Road in Calverton. For more information on Bella and other adoptable pets at Kent, please call 631-727-5731 or visit www.kentanimalshelter.com.
Update: Bella has been adopted!
The community sent a resounding message of approval for two different library budgets April 4 — a vast majority of voting residents are happy with the services provided by their local libraries and are willing to pay for more.
The Port Jefferson Free Library’s $4.2 million budget passed with a 143 to 10 margin. The 2017-18 financial plan is about 1.2 percent more than last year’s version and will cost homeowners on average about 49 cents more monthly in property taxes compared to last year.
“We are very flattered and pleased at the support we get,” Library Director Tom Donlon said in an email. “This year we juggled a few budget lines around, and tried to focus on where our community wanted us to go. We increased the book budget as well as the programming budget in order to deliver the materials and services that Port Jeff has come to expect.”
More than 1,000 children participated in summer reading programs offered by the library in 2016, and 270,000 items were checked out during the 2016-17 fiscal year, according to a budget newsletter sent out to the community. Library administration was also proud of a teen garden established in 2016, which allowed children and teens to grow vegetables for local soup kitchens. A new, easy-to-use website was launched by the library last year, and the board also plans to update the community on some possible improvements to the facilities coming in the near future.
Additional books and programs, along with an increase in staff salaries, benefits and retirement payments represent the largest drivers of the budget increase. The gap in those increases is closed in large part by a near $200,000 savings compared to last year in transfers to the capital fund and debt services fund. The library also will offer fewer print and nonprint newspapers and periodicals this year.
The Comsewogue Public Library’s budget was passed with 102 yes to 14 no votes. The total operating budget for 2017-18 will be about $5.6 million, up 2.7 percent from last year. Like its Port Jeff counterpart, Comsewogue Public Library’s budget increases can be attributed for the most part to increases in staff salaries and benefits. Additional money was also factored into the current budget for some furniture and equipment upgrades. The library will see a savings in the coming year in computer equipment and supplies, as well as in debt service payments.
The average homeowner in the district will be required to pay about $4 more in taxes for the 2017-18 fiscal year compared to last year.
“The 2017-18 proposed operating budget is designed to ensure that the library continues to provide a high quality service program at a reasonable cost,” a letter to the community from the library said. “The public library serves everyone in the community, from babies to seniors.”
Port Jefferson Station resident and library trustee Edward Wendol was also elected to remain in the position on the board that he’s held since 1972. Wendol, who ran unopposed, has previously served as the board president and was named a Port Times Record Man of the Year in 2003. Library administration said he “has provided guidance and oversight to the organization,” in a letter sent to residents along with an informational budget newsletter.
“I’m very happy to be on it, and I’m happy to be elected continuously,” Wendol said in a phone interview. He added his primary objective in his next term is to move along a heating and air conditioning plan for the library. “I think we’re a good asset to the community.”
History is repeating itself, at the boat ramp in Port Jefferson Marina located at the north end of Barnum Avenue in Port Jefferson Village.
A man is being treated for serious injuries at Stony Brook University Hospital after driving into Port Jefferson Harbor via the ramp at about 5:30 p.m. April 6, according to the Suffolk County Police Department. The car was found submerged underwater and at least one good Samaritan helped remove the man from the car. Members from the Suffolk County Marine Bureau dive team went in the water to search for possible additional victims, and the police said the investigation is continuing.
Several similar incidents have occurred since an episode in December 2005 when then-60-year-old Setauket resident Richard Levin drove into the water on the same ramp and onlookers had to pull his unconscious body from the fully submerged car. Levin died days later as a result of the incident.
“People are dying here and it’s a simple fix,” Christopher Kelsch, one of the people who witnessed Levin’s death 12 years ago and tried to help, said after seeing news of the April 6 incident.
Kelsch was given a Carnegie Medal by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, for his attempts to save Levin’s life. Kelsch had to be rescued by firefighters as a result of his efforts, and suffered from hypothermia in the aftermath. He was also called to give testimony about the incident when Levin’s family sued Brookhaven Town for negligence, a suit that was dismissed by the New York State Supreme Court.
The Carnegie Medal recipient said during the interview he wanted to reach out in part to make the 2017 victim and family members aware he would be glad to help them if they sought him out.
“Somebody needs to shine a serious spotlight because Dr. Levin died at that location,” he said.
A Brookhaven Town spokesperson said in an emailed statement there are clear signs and traffic measures in place to warn residents of the ramp’s location.
“The Port Jefferson boat ramp has existed at its current location for generations,” the spokesperson said. “A number of measures are in place including a multitude of ‘Do Not Enter’ signs, road arrows and other traffic control measures to clearly indicate that this is not an entrance.”
Port Jefferson Village Mayor Margot Garant is taking the issue seriously, and said she asked the village’s code enforcement chief to compile data for her regarding the number of times similar incidents have happened at that location, and she plans to present the data to Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine to reiterate calls for preventative action to be taken by the town. Garant said in a phone interview she had heard the driver was in stable condition as of Saturday, but she was told he had taken a turn for the worse since.
“It’s only a matter of time before this happens again,” Garant said. She added at the present time she plans to call on the town to do something to solve the problem and no plans of possible village actions are currently being discussed. Garant said Port Jefferson Village and Brookhaven Town cofunded a waterfront revitalization plan years ago, which included a proposal to move the town ramp elsewhere.
“This is town-owned property — they have to step up and resolve this once and for all,” Garant said. She added that additional signage beyond two “do not enter” signs or some sort of barricade would be “minimal” steps the town could take.
For 25 years, Hauppauge resident Bob Policastro has made it his mission to give medically fragile children and their families a place to turn to — not just for specialized nursing care but love and normalcy.
As founder and executive director of Angela’s House, a nonprofit organization that offers an extensive array of services for families to support children with severe medical conditions, the 57-year-old has worked tirelessly since 1992 to address the gap in New York’s health care system when it comes to helping chronically ill kids.
He said he was determined to be a voice for these parents and kids in the community after experiencing firsthand just how underhelped they are.
When his daughter, Angela, was born in August 1989, Policastro said everything went wrong.
“She lost a lot of blood and oxygen, and suffered severe brain damage, that left her very frail,” he said.
As there had been no permanent place on Long Island equipped to handle the technological and medical needs of frail children, Policastro and his wife, Angie, had a tough time finding a specialized home or facility to provide their daughter the nursing care she desperately needed.
They ended up finding a specialty hospital two and a half hours away in Connecticut, but the long drive just to see his daughter left an emotional and physical scar on Policastro.
After Angela died a little after her first birthday, a grief stricken Policastro got to work.
Now there are three large group homes that look and feel more like cozy resorts to choose from, with Angela’s House locations in East Moriches, Smithtown and Stony Brook.
Each location contains 24-hour nursing, local therapists and doctors on hand, and houses up to eight kids between the ages 6 and 16 with varying conditions. The residences offer top-of-the-line medical and monitoring equipment hidden within the warmth and beauty of a caring home.
And although the children that inhabit it are those who have suffered accidents, disease, developmental delays and more, Angela’s House helps provide them the freedom and opportunity to have a simple childhood.
During a walkthrough of the large Stony Brook house, which opened in 2013 and is dedicated to kids who rely on ventilators, Policastro pointed out one of the children’s bedrooms.
It looked like a kid’s paradise, with a bed covered in stuffed animals, the floor littered with toys, Nickelodeon on TV and a window that gives a beautiful view of the property’s nearby woods — a far cry from the hospitals and institutions in which many of the children at the house had been living.
“For me, it’s about the kids and giving them a safe and loving life,” he said. “I feel really blessed that these kids who have been given a limited lease on life can make the most of it in ways the average person could never dream possible, or can touch people in ways that change them forever. It’s remarkable to see a nonverbal kid, [many of house’s children can’t talk], that has a smile that can light up a room. It’s a great responsibility and I feel honored to be put in a position where I can try to help as much as I can.”
Deborah Church, nurse manager at the Stony Brook location who does everything for the kids from providing medical stability to planning birthday parties to giving them a hug when they need it, said Angela’s House is the best place for these children to be if they can’t be home.
“It’s nice to have the parents smile and know they can go out and have a life, and come and visit their children and see they’re so happy, safe and well taken care,” Church said. “This is a happy home for them to live. These kids can be as normal as possible and always have a smile on their face.”
Gathered around a kitchen table, Policastro and Church talked with 15-year-old Torren, who had been confined to a hospital and nursing home for the first 12 years of her life because of a respiratory illness, about her Sweet 16 next month. Torren will wear an extravagant dress, dance to her favorite band, OneRepublic, and eat nachos with her friends at the house.
Torren, who wheels her ventilator around inside a travel suitcase in order to feel less self-conscious about her condition, said her favorite parts about living in the house are the staff and outings — which include trips to the bank and local stores, as well as pumpkin patches in the fall.
Stephanie Caroleo has been working at Angela’s House for six years.
“The most rewarding aspect is when you come to work and you truly feel like you make a difference every day,” she said. “Every day we make a difference in the lives of these kids, and you see it in their face, in how they speak with you and the relationships we develop.”
When asked what’s kept him motivated for the last 25 years, Policastro pointed to Ella, a little girl in a wheelchair smiling from ear to ear. “That,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what mood you’re in, if you bump into one of these kids and you see that smile, oh man, that’s golden.”
The Shard Art Shoppe in St. James held a ribbon cutting and grand opening on Thursday, April 6. The shop, located at 2 Flowerfield, Suite 27 in St. James, offers mosaic glass art for sale, in-store parties and art classes for the community. “Creating mosaics is something that has brought me a great sense of joy and accomplishment. Therefore, I am thrilled not only to be able to share my pieces with others, but also to bless people with an opportunity to create their own masterpieces in my new store,” said owner Anna Fenimore. For more information, call 917-217-3958 or visit www.theshardartshoppe.com.
On March 27, Stony Brook University’s Cancer Center received a donation of $40,000 from the Ward Melville Heritage Organization (WMHO), which were funds raised from WMHO’s 23rd Annual Walk for Beauty and Hercules Run held on Oct. 23 of last year in historic Stony Brook Village.
Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) and co-chair, Walk for Beauty; Gloria Rocchio, president, Ward Melville Heritage Organization and co-chair, Walk for Beauty; and Carol Simco, co-chair, Walk for Beauty, officially presented the check to Dr. Yusuf A. Hannun, director, Stony Brook Cancer Center, and vice dean, Cancer Medicine. Joining them were Dr. Jun Lin and Dr. Scott Powers, cancer researchers whose projects received funds raised from the 2015 Walk for Beauty, and Dr. Lina Obeid, dean for research, Stony Brook University School of Medicine.
Also present, but not shown, were Councilwoman Valerie M. Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station), WMHO Trustee Anna Kerekes and Walk for Beauty committee members. Since its inception in 1994, Walk for Beauty has raised over $1.365 million toward breast cancer research. Funds raised also help to supply items such as wigs and prostheses for SBU Cancer Center patients. The event is an all-volunteer initiative with no administrative costs.
Registration is now open for the 2017 Walk for Beauty, which will take place on Sunday, Oct. 22. Visit www.wmho.org/wfb for more information.
Thanks to all the children who entered our Spring Coloring Contest! We had so many wonderful submissions making for some stiff competition. Congratulations to Gwendolyn Mangels, 6, of Port Jefferson, Allison Vendetto, 6, of Lake Ronkonkoma, and Kaiden Kristinsson-Bailey, 6, of Coram. All three children received a family four pack to Theatre Three’s ‘The Adventures of Peter Rabbit.’
Be sure to look for our next contest for Mother’s Day in Arts & Lifestyles!
The Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce will present its 8th annual Health & Wellness Fest on April 22 at the Earl L. Vandermeulen High School, located at 350 Old Post Road in Port Jefferson, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
The Port Jefferson Chamber has brought together a large number of health and wellness professionals to offer our visitors the latest information for all stages of life including pre-birth, childhood, adulthood and elder years. In addition to exhibitors from traditional medical fields, there will also be specialists in the areas of physical fitness, nutrition and holistic medicine. The exhibitors will focus on prevention, early detection and treatment measures and techniques.
We are delighted and honored to, once again, have our three renowned medical establishments — Stony Brook Medicine, John T. Mather Memorial Hospital and St. Charles Hospital at our fest this year. They offer a wealth of professional health and wellness expertise and are providing free health screenings, special demonstrations, free giveaways and much more healthy living information.
It’s all about food and fun!
Our tag line this year is still Eat Well, Live Well, emphasizing the fact that we are what we eat! Did you say you liked eating healthy food? Well you will not be disappointed at this year’s Health & Wellness Fest. St. Charles Hospital is sponsoring their “food court” featuring all healthy food. A variety of breakfast and lunch items will be offered including overnight oatmeal, strawberry bars, smoothies, lentil soup and cauliflower pizza with toppings and fresh veggies with dip and hummus. Participants will be able to choose their selection with St. Charles’ Executive Chef Bill Dougherty and their dietitians, nutritionists and staff to assist with questions about healthy eating and diet.
At 9:30 after you have had a filling breakfast you can burn those calories off with a mini-yoga class with Diane MacDonald, a life transition coach, yoga teacher and co-founder of It Takes of Village Wellness here in Port Jefferson. For those of you who like to watch their fun, at 11:30 a dynamitic dance couple from the Arthur Murray Dance Studio of Port Jefferson Station will demonstrate the beauty of ballroom dancing, showing off the many different styles of couple dancing! To complete your visit to this year’s fest have some fun checking your balance, learn more about exercising or stop by for some craft activities at our Port Jefferson Library table. There is something for everyone!
Healing, service and animals
This year at the 8th annual Health & Wellness Fest, attendees will learn the value of the healing powers of animals. We are very pleased to highlight three vendors that specialize in service animals. First, and very exciting, we will have miniature therapy donkeys! These four-legged adorable donkeys have been rescued from circumstances that no one would want to entertain. Their “zen-like” grounded qualities aid in the healing of seniors, children and people with disabilities. Enjoy petting one with their Converse sneakers and discovery these gentle, kind beasts.
Dogs play so many roles in our society today and two of our vendors feature the relationship dogs can have with our service men and women. Patriotic Services Dog Foundation is a nonprofit organization focused on serving our veterans by raising the awareness for their needs and providing service dogs to those who may benefit from long-term mental and physical assistance. So come and meet Indee, short for Independence, a fox red Labrador and owner Glen Moody. Our other animal vendor is Paws for War, who also train and place rescued dogs to serve and provide independence to our United States military veterans who suffer the emotional effect of the war. We appreciate all that these animals do for us and let’s give thanks to them and the service of our military men and women!
Family Fun Run kicks off fest
The Royal Educational Foundation invites you to participate in the Fourth Annual Power of One Family Fun Run in Port Jefferson on Saturday, April 22. This event is designed to encourage physical activity and is intended to celebrate the positive influence we can have on one another and our community. Port Jefferson High School social studies teacher Jesse Rosen will be honored at the event with the Power of One Award for his significant positive impact on the village and school community. Whether you wish to walk or run, the 2-mile course is open to all ages.
The run begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Village Center, 101 E. Broadway, continues through the streets of Port Jefferson Village, and ends at the High School Bowl and the Chamber of Commerce’s Health & Wellness Fest. For more information or to register, visit www.pjref.com (click on the Power of One Fun Run tab). You may also register the day of the run between 7:30 and 8 a.m. at the Village Center. Advanced registrants need to check in no later than 8:15 a.m. The proceeds of this fundraiser will be used to enhance the quality of education in the Port Jefferson School District.
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