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Famed Comsewogue Superintendent, Cherished Community Member Rella Passes Away

by TBR Staff - February 22, 2020

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Comsewoguegraduation2019-37_062619_kyle-barr — Superintendent Joe Rella a his last graduation ceremony, 2019. Photo by Kyle Barr

By Kyle Barr and Monica Gleberman

Dr. Joe Rella, the beloved former Comsewogue superintendent who spent just over 25 years in the district, passed away Feb. 21, with Moloney Funeral Homes and the district confirming his death late Friday night. He was 69.

Community members flocked to social media to share their thoughts and memories about their superintendent affectionately known around the district as just “Rella.”

Comsewogue Superintendent Joe Rella with students who participated in Joe’s Day of Service. Photo from CSD

“So much of what I learned about community was through his unceasing example of what it meant to serve the place you call home,” said Kevin LaCherra, who graduated in 2009. “To bring people in, to find out what they need, to fight like hell to get it and then to pass the torch.”

Rella entered the district as a part-time music teacher, making only $28,000 in salary. He would move on to become a full-time music teacher, then the high school principal and finally, superintendent of schools, which was his final position, held for nine years.

In an interview with TBR News Media before his retirement and final graduation ceremony in 2019, Rella had likened the act of running a school district to music, all based in a learning process for both the students and for him.

“Because one thing you learn, there is no such thing as a mistake, it’s a springboard to your next part of the piece,” he said.

The district planned to decorate school buildings with blue-and-gold ribbons come Monday and make counselors available for students who may need it, current Superintendent Jennifer Quinn said Saturday. The district was closed Wednesday, Feb. 26 to allow teachers and students to attend his funeral.

Quinn had worked with Rella for 13 years. In a phone interview Saturday, the current superintendent had nothing but great things to say about her predecessor and mentor. If anything, she said Rella “did not want people to remember him sadly. He wanted them to smile and laugh. He just loved everybody.”

Rella’s wife, Jackie, passed in 2016 following a struggle with breast cancer. The superintendent himself had been diagnosed with stage 4 bile duct cancer in 2017. Despite his sickness, he would stay on in the top position for another two years.

Comsewogue Superintendent Joe Rella congratulates a member of the class of 2016 during graduation June 23, 2016. File photo by Bob Savage

It was that dedication, even in the face of sickness and loss, that built up so much trust between him and the community over the years. Quinn said he was humble, always the one to take the blame if plans didn’t work out, but he was always ready to heap praise on others.

“He made everyone important,” she said. “He never shied away from a tough problem and tried to make everything better — he always did.”

Others in the district said Rella’s example pushed them to do more and to do better. Andrew Harris, a special education teacher in the high school, created Joe’s Day of Service in 2018. Named after the then-superintendent, the program asked students to do volunteer work around the school and the greater community. Students have traveled all the way to the Calverton Cemetery in both 2018 and 2019 to clean graves and plant flags.

Harris said there are hundreds of examples of Rella’s kindness, such as driving over an hour to take care of a teacher’s mother who was suffering from cancer.

“In many ways, just like they call the middle of our country the ‘flyover states,’ Port Jefferson Station used to be like a ‘drive-through town’ — people were on their way to another town as the destination,” Harris said. “That all changed with Dr. Rella’s leadership. No matter where you went, and especially as a teacher, when you say you are from Comsewogue and Port Jefferson Station, people know where you came from and the legacy. It makes us all proud to say it.”

The school board accepted Rella retirement in November 2018. He had said in previous interviews his diagnosis did not factor into his decision to retire, and it had been his and his wife’s intent to make that year his last.

“Joe and Jackie were the face of Comsewogue for many years,” said John Swenning, school board president. “Their dedication and support to our administrators, teacher, staff, parents and most importantly our students is nothing short of legendary. Dr. Rella is the Italian grandfather that every kid deserves to have. He will be missed dearly.”

School board trustee Rob DeStefano had known Rella since his sophomore year in Comsewogue high, when the to-be super had joined the district as the new music teacher. DeStefano would be elected to the board coinciding with Rella’s appointment as head of schools. One memory that cemented the famed superintendent in his mind, according to a previous column he wrote for TBR after Rella’s announced retirement, was during a jazz band concert he and his wife got up on stage and started to dance the Charleston.

Rella speaks out against standardized testing in 2015. File photo

Despite the loss, the Rella name lives on in the district, particularly in the high school courtyard, full of sunflowers, named Jackie’s Garden after his late wife. As the superintendent participated in his final high school graduation ceremony last year on June 26, students rolled out a new plaque, naming the high school auditorium the Dr. Joseph V. Rella Performing Arts Center.

His funeral, held Wednesday, Feb. 26, at St. Gerard Majella R.C. Church in Port Jefferson Station, drew huge crowds of family as well as school officials and community members.

Those same Community members and school officials gathered outside the high school Wednesday morning before the funeral. At just after 10 a.m., a hearse bearing Rella and a procession drove around the circle outside the high school, his final visit to the institution residents say he cared so deeply about. Members of both the Port Jefferson and Terryville fire departments hung a giant flag above the ground for the hearse to drive under. Residents and students held blue and yellow signs, all thanking the superintendent for his life of work and service.

Quinn said they will be working out the details for a larger memorial sometime in the near future.

“He embodied the Comsewogue culture — pushed it and all of us forward,” said 2019 graduate Josh Fiorentino. “To say I know how he wanted to be remembered would be a lie. However, I and many others will remember him as a Warrior. The truest of them all.”

History Comes Alive at St. James Elementary

by TBR Staff - February 22, 2020

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Fifth-graders at St. James Elementary School in the Smithtown Central School District held a wax museum for their classmates and families Feb. 14.

After researching a historical figure of their choice, the students dressed the role and became part of the living museum. They portrayed famous historical people, sports stars and entertainment legends. When someone “buzzed” them, the figures came to life and were able to animate themselves and give a biographical history of their character.

Students Celebrate Valentine’s Day at Thomas J. Lahey Elementary School

Education

by Rita J. Egan - February 22, 2020

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Students at Thomas J. Lahey Elementary School got in the spirit of Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14.

Third-graders visited math teacher Nancy Sordi and learned to measure different ingredients, like glue and red food dye, to make Valentine’s Day slime. Some students chose to make their slime even more festive with glitter and heart-shaped confetti.

Down the hall, fourth-graders in Danielle Donohue and Jane Dayton’s class prepared Valentine’s Day care packages to send to troops overseas. Students sorted lollipops, candy bars and cookies between three boxes that will be shipped to soldiers stationed in the Middle East. Additionally, each of the students designed a Valentine’s Day card to be sent with the care packages.

Legislators Honor Ward Melville High School Filmmakers at BOE Meeting

by TBR Staff - February 19, 2020

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SFSAwardWinner_3VBOE_2-12-20_Paldy — A student shakes hands with Valerie Cartright after receiving an award for a video created to highlight health and safety benefits of sidewalks. Photo by Andrea Paldy

By Andrea Paldy

The Three Village school board welcomed Town of Brookhaven and Suffolk County officials Feb. 12 for a special presentation.

Town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R), Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station) and county Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) presented awards to four Ward Melville High School students for their public service announcements advocating for sidewalks to ensure safety in the community.

Sidewalks for Safety, a local grassroots organization, sponsored a video contest to encourage high school students to highlight the health and safety benefits of sidewalks in neighborhoods and around schools. Student projects were sponsored by the Ward Melville art department.

Contest winners were Benjamin Dombroff and Nicole DeLucia, who tied for first place and received $500 each. Mia Schoolman was awarded second place and Elyas Masrour placed third.

Three Village resident Annemarie Waugh, founder of Sidewalks for Safety, addressed those gathered for last week’s meeting and presentation. The organization’s vision for the community is to have “a minimal number of strategically placed sidewalks on only a few connector roads to enable students and residents to walk safely,” she said.

Ward Melville Principal Bill Bernhard also spoke. He recalled an appointment with Waugh six years ago, when he was principal at Paul J. Gelinas Junior High School.

“We had a rather unorthodox meeting,” Bernhard said. “We took a walk around the neighborhood. It was a picturesque, beautiful day … and what we saw, besides the beautiful nature, was something rather disconcerting, which was the lack of available places for our students to walk — our lack of sidewalks.”

The Town installed sidewalks in front of the junior high school in 2016. The $300,000 project also included a pole with flashing LED lights that could be activated by pedestrians with the push of a button.

Waugh indicated that there is still more to be done.

“Our roads are not comfortable for pedestrians and cyclists,” she said. “They are full of dangerous blind corners and speeding, distracted drivers.”

The student videos, which were screened during the meeting, echoed those concerns.

“Walkable communities are associated with higher home values,” Waugh said. “Imagine your kids being able to walk safely to school, to walk safely to their friends’ houses. Imagine being able to jog safely to West Meadow Beach. Imagine being able to walk for a coffee and to walk to local shops.”

Romaine commended the students.

“Your students really know how to advocate and make a point,” he told school board members.

Also honored last week were members of the Setauket Elementary School student council, who raised more than $700 for Australian Wildlife Rescue, and varsity athletes who competed in fall sports.

The school board also finalized the 2020-2021 school calendar. The first day of school will be Sept. 8, 2020.

PJ Rotary Honors Most Motivated Student for February

by Kyle Barr - February 14, 2020

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February Most Motivated Student 1 — From left, Rotarian Kathy Taveira, teacher Christina Carlson, Narin Karakurum, Principal Bob Neidig and Rotary Club President Paul Vigliante. Photo from Larry Hohler

On Tuesday, Feb. 11, the Rotary Club of Port Jefferson welcomed Port Jeff Middle School sixth-grader Narin Karakurum at its luncheon at Cafe Spiga in Mount Sinai and presented her with its Most Motivated Student of the Month Award.

Narin was accompanied to the luncheon by Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Christine Austine, Assistant Superintendent for Business Sean Leister, Principal Bob Neidig, sixth-grade special ed teacher Christina Carlson and Narin’s parents, Dr. and Mrs. Karakurum.

Neidig introduced Narin to his fellow Rotarians, describing her as an excellent student with a GPA in the high 90s for the first two quarters of the school year, who is also well-appreciated by faculty, staff and fellow students because of her generous, sweet and kindhearted nature.

Narin’s science and coding teacher praised that Narin goes above and beyond class requirements, seeks help when she has questions, and “brings her own background knowledge to the table when discussing different topics.” The teacher recalls during the Thanksgiving Food Drive, Narin “went out of her way on multiple days to bring in large boxes of food for those in need.”

Narin’s teachers of writing, reading and math, as well as Carlson, who nominated Narin for this award, all lauded her cheerful disposition, her active participation in class, her excellent work ethic and her obvious desire to learn. Furthermore, school representatives said Narin reaches out to help friends and peers and is seen as being mature and bright, yet humble. The principal ended his presentation of this superlative youngster by thanking her for setting a great example for all of those around her and helping to promote a positive and caring school.

Local Cardiac Arrest Survivor Reunites with Samaritans Who Saved His Life

by David Luces - February 14, 2020

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Dennis Dillon SBU — Dennis Dillon, left, thanks the people who helped him survive a near-fatal heart attack last year. Photo by David Luces

“The kindness and compassion in these people’s heart is why I’m here [today],” Dennis Dillon, 62, said of the group of good Samaritans who he said rushed to his aid after he went into cardiac arrest during a boating trip at Port Jefferson Harbor Aug. 31 over Labor Day weekend.

The Mount Sinai native, along with his family, reunited Feb. 8 with the rescuers for the first time since the incident. The 10 individuals were presented with the Stony Brook University Heart Institute’s Heart Saver Community Award.

Mount Sinai native Dennis Dillon stands alongside the good Samaritans and doctors who saved his life a year ago. Photo by David Luces

After Dillon returned from a swim, he went into cardiac arrest after experiencing back and arm pain as well as nausea. His wife, Tricia, immediately began CPR and within minutes good Samaritans began assisting with CPR and sent up a flare to ensure that an ambulance would be standing by. Dillon’s heart was then shocked twice by an AED (defibrillator) and was brought back to shore where he was taken to the heart institute.

Doctors said the father of three had a 100 percent blockage of the left anterior descending coronary artery, a key artery known as LAD that moves blood to the heart. The condition is dangerous because of its low survival rate, and is often referred to as “the widowmaker.”

“Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, which Mr. Dillon suffered from, is associated with a 5 to 9 percent survival rate,” said Dr. Puja Parikh, interventional cardiologist and co-director of the Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Program at the heart institute. “It is a true
testament to the bystanders that were present that day, the measures they took before he [Dillon] came to the hospital definitely helped.”

Dillon’s treatment included a drug-eluting stent to his LAD, a tiny metal tube coated with a medication to clear the artery and keep it clear, and tracheal intubation to ensure an open and unobstructed airway. His body temperature was lowered when brought to the coronary care unit, to allow time for his brain and body to heal. Prior to discharge, the catherization team implanted a small internal cardioverter defibrillator in order to avert another cardiac crisis. After 11 days, the Mount Sinai native was released Sept. 11.

According to the heart institute, a heart attack victim’s chances of survival goes down by about 10 percent for every minute that CPR is not initiated.

Officials from the institute reiterated that anyone can use an AED if need be. Pictures on the device gives individuals a visual guide on where to put the pads. It also talks to you and won’t go to the next step until the previous task is completed.

The Dillon family said they planned on buying an AED for their boat in case they ever find another person in a similar situation who needs aid. “I will never be able to repay any of these people, but I can pay it forward by trying to help someone else,” Dennis said.

Doctors will be hosting community events throughout what is American Heart Month. On Feb. 26 from 9 to 10 a.m. Brittany Kickel, chest pain center coordinator, will host Avoiding Common Heart Health Mistakes at the Smith Haven Mall food court. For more information, visit heart.stonybrookmedicine.edu.

Port Jeff Elementary Unveils Book Vending Machine

by Kyle Barr - February 13, 2020

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Second-grader Sophie Franck was one of the first children to use the Port Jeff elementary school's new book vending machine. Photo by Kyle Barr

We all know that expectant feeling of a vending machine when the twin arms uncoil around the prize, whether it’s a soda or snack, waiting for it to clang in the bottom of the bin and placate our hunger.

Librarian Selinda Stout shows the tokens used for the book vending machine. Photo by Kyle Barr

Though in the Port Jefferson elementary school, it’s not sugar and salt suffused snacks plopping into the bin, but a copy of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” or “The Baby-sitters Club.”

The Edna Louise Spear Elementary School unveiled the new “Bookworm” vending machine Feb. 11 that stocks more than 300 books, with 20 different books for the separate grade levels, both fiction and nonfiction. Instead of using money, the vending machine receives tokens which students get for going above and beyond in the library or in any of their normal classrooms. Though these book vending devices have popped up in several other states like Florida and in upstate schools like in Buffalo, the new machine is one of the first of its kind in Suffolk County.

Selinda Stout, the school’s librarian, said students could get a token for good behavior, especially if they’re trying to read beyond their grade level or deciding to read a new genre.

“If there’s a teacher who sees a student working hard all week who deserves a token, they can get it from me, then they can come down and choose a book,” Stout said. “I think this will bridge the gap of reading — I think kids will be very excited to take it home themselves, and I think it will bring really good behavior into the library and into the classroom.”

The first seven children to get a book from the vending machine ranged from pre-K to fifth grade. Their choices ran the gamut, with young second-grader Sophie Franck picking “Molly’s Story,” and third-grader Rahym Khan deciding on “Who Is Derek Jeter?” Fourth-grader Elizabeth Yin, whom Stout said was reading “well above her grade level,” chose “More Laugh-Out-Loud Jokes for Kids.” Pre-K student Maggie Masone chose “Pete the Cat,” and was aided by Stout who lifted her up to press the buttons. Each book is for the student to keep.

Principal Tom Meehan joined librarian Selinda Stout and seven other students from pre-K through fifth-grade to release the new book vending machine. Photo by Kyle Barr

The idea came by elementary principal, Tom Meehan, when he was reading news one morning and came across a school in Florida which had installed one of the vending machines. He contacted the school librarian to discuss it, and shortly thereafter she wrote a grant application to the Port Jefferson Royal Educational Foundation, a nonprofit that uses funds to help out the district with special projects or to supplement its curricula when it doesn’t necessarily have the budget available.

Foundation treasurer, Laura Zimmerman, said the foundation thought the vending machine was a great idea and gathered around $4,100 for purchasing and installing it. Overall it was a 10-month process from inception to delivery, but the school kept the machine covered for several weeks until its official unveiling.

Meehan said the machine is especially important getting books into kids’ hands for them to keep, adding as students get older, “we find they stop reading as much as they used to.”

Superintendent Jessica Schmettan said if the vending machine proves successful, they could look into putting such a device in both the middle and high schools.

“The more we can get books into a kid’s hands the better,” she said. “This is a great investment for them.”

The Port Jeff Royal Education Foundation will be hosting its major fundraiser April 25 with the Jill Nees-Russell Family Fun Run and is still accepting participants.

Cold Spring Harbor students learn about Ötzi the Iceman

by Rita J. Egan - February 7, 2020

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Analyzing Ötzi

Fifth-grade students from Cold Spring Harbor Central School District’s Lloyd Harbor Elementary School took part in a field trip to Cold Spring Laboratory’s DNA Learning Center’s Human Inheritance exhibition featuring Ötzi the Iceman on Jan. 6.

Students studied the 3-D replica of the 5,000-year-old mummy and learned how, through analysis of Ötzi’s stomach and intestines, many pollen types were revealed and studied to help scientists learn exactly when Ötzi died.

Under the guidance of DNA Learning Center educator Megan Capobianco, the students studied pollen grains under the microscope and then went on a scavenger hunt, which included skulls dating back 6 million years, bacterial illnesses, eye color, blood type and more. The fifth-graders learned that not only pollen was found in Ötzi’s digestive system but also wild goat, red deer, plants and wheat.

The DNA Learning Center is located at 334 Main St. in Cold Spring Harbor. Upcoming Ötzi the Iceman museum tours for the public include Feb. 8 at 9 a.m. and March 7 at 12:30 p.m. For more information, call 516-367-5170 visit www.dnalc.cshl.edu.

Photos courtesy of Karen Spehler/ CSHSD

Schumer Calls for EPA Investigation on Northport M.S

by TBR Staff - February 4, 2020

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Northport Middle School closed after contamination concerns. File photo

A local U.S. senator is calling for a federal agency to assist in the toxic chemical investigation at Northport Middle School, which is closed for the remainder of the academic year.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), in a Feb. 3 letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief, Andrew Wheeler, urged the EPA to join local and state regulators in conducting an investigation of toxic chemicals at the school and near the campus, as well as in the Northport-East Northport school district.

“Our children’s and workers’ health is too important to risk, therefore I urge EPA perform a comprehensive site investigation and take whatever action necessary to address any contamination found,” Schumer wrote.

The decision to close the middle school came after an investigation by Bohemia-based PW Grosser Consulting Inc. — the district’s environmental firm — which revealed elevated levels of mercury vapor outside one of the classrooms. Tests also found elevated levels of benzene in soil samples from septic systems around the school.

The school’s closing has resulted in the district relocating 660 sixth- to eighth-graders to other buildings, according to Schumer.

The senator expressed other big concerns.

“Just under 3 miles down the road from Northport Middle School, a [New York State Department of Health] review revealed that there was a statistically significant higher rate of leukemia among the Northport High School’s graduating class of 2016,” he wrote. “Consequently, the NYSDOH has launched a wider investigation into cancer occurrences throughout the Northport-East Northport school district.”

In the letter, Schumer included information from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. According to the public health agency, the major health effects of long-term exposure to benzene include damage to bone marrow and a decrease in red blood cells. Schumer added that long-term exposure to benzene in the air has been shown to cause leukemia according to multiple health agencies, while the EPA has determined benzene to be carcinogenic to humans.

“In the case of Northport Middle School, mercury vapors are especially concerning as, in this form, the mercury more easily reaches the brain,” he wrote.

Schumer urged the EPA “to utilize all of its available authority, as well as its considerable technical expertise, to quickly investigate and address the possible contamination around Northport Middle School and within Northport-East Northport school district.”

Mount Sinai School District Begins to Unveil 2020-21 Budget

by David Luces - February 1, 2020

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MountSinai_HighSchool_Donlonw — Mount Sinai High School. File photo by Barbara Donlon

Mount Sinai parents will begin to see portions of the school district’s 2020-21 proposed budget figures in the next few months. At a Jan. 15 board of education meeting, district officials unveiled 12 percent of the budget, which included central administration, insurance, central printing, BOCES, transportation, technology and debt services among others.

The tentative total budget figure for 2020-21 looks to be $61,009,700, a slight increase from last year’s number.

Board of education/central administration costs would be increasing by $19,000 in the upcoming school year.

Superintendent Gordon Brosdal said the chunk of that increase would go into costs for an additional budget vote and cover the translation of all documents/public notices into Spanish. That would cost the district $14,000.

“It is a state mandate that hit us and other districts this year,” he said. “Any election/public notices has to be translated into Spanish. The state says we have to do this, but they are not giving us any money to do this.”

Another mandate that will be implemented is the addition of a data protection officer in response to a number of school districts experiencing hacks last year.

Purchasing cost will increase by $2,050 in 2020-21 due to the district utilizing a co-op organization that assists in securing materials and supplies.

“We have been using Educational Data Services — they do a lot — they work with vendors and we don’t have to do the bidding,” Brosdal said. “In the long run it will save us money.”

Technology will see an increase of over $65,000, in part due to the district getting rid of antiquated equipment as well as adding sets of laptops, replacement items like projector lamps, printer repairs, iPads and smart board parts.

Tax Anticipation Notes for 2020-21 are estimated at 3 percent. Debt services would decrease by over $6,000. Central printing, insurance, BOCES administration will increase collectively by $22,000.

The next budget meeting will be Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. Topics discussed will be pupil personnel services, building principals, instructional and adult ed/driver’s ed.

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