Events

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Episcopal Church Runners prepare for last year’s Soles for All Souls race. Photo from All Souls

Members of a local congregation will be pounding the pavement Oct. 1 to raise funds for their historic church, one that was designed by renowned architect Stanford White in 1889.

All Souls Episcopal Church’s 90 members are inviting runners and walkers of all ages and denominations to join them as they participate in the 9th annual Soles for All Souls 5K Race/2K Walk. Dan Kerr, race and church membership chairperson, said it’s the second year he is heading up the event. His wife Susan Kerr and friend Mary Ellen Doris started the race after the late priest in charge, Mother Ann Plummer, asked members, “Why don’t you do something to get the community more active.”

Dan Kerr congratulates his wife Susan on her win during last year’s race. Photo from All Souls

Susan Kerr, the church’s head of fundraising, said Doris suggested the race, but she herself was skeptical at first if the church committee could pull it off. However, Doris had experience with running and was confident that it would be a success, and the first year they attracted approximately 100 runners.

The two organized the race together every year until Doris moved to South Carolina.  Kerr continued to chair the race until her job as a physical therapy assistant required her to work more hours. That’s when she passed the baton to her husband, and he stepped in to head up the race.

Relieved of her organizational duties, Kerr said last year at 62 years old she competed in her first race and came in first in her division in Soles for All Souls. She said as a former power walker, who began her quest to run by taking it one mailbox at a time, she believes anyone can take up running.

“Enjoy the process and compete only against yourself,” she said.

Kerr said her husband has been doing a great job organizing the race these last two years. She said he is fastidious in his organization and has taken the event to the next level and brought in more sponsors.

“He really knows how to get out there and get sponsors, advertising on the back of shirts,” she said.

Dan Kerr said approximately 120 serious and casual runners and walkers participated in last year’s race. He said his wife and Doris carefully planned the route before the first race in 2009 wanting to make sure it was exactly five kilometers and both challenging and scenic.

“The people who run it tend to be people who are serious runners,” he said. “They run in a lot of races, and they always tell us our race, although it’s small, is one of the best planned and has one of the most beautiful routes, especially when they come to the end when they come down Sand Street on the last leg and they get to run along the harbor.”

Episcopal Church
Runners prepare for last year’s Soles for All Souls race. Photo from All Souls

The church’s senior warden Steven Velazquez has run in the race for five years along with his daughter Veronique, while his wife Suzanne helps at the event. He said the fundraiser brings the members of the church together as they promote and work on it, and Dan has been doing a phenomenal job.

“It connects our small church together, it binds us together,” Velazquez said.

He said many children run in the race, and now that they’re getting older, keeping up with them is becoming more challenging. While he used to run on a regular basis and participate in Northport’s Great Cow Harbor 10K Race, he broke his leg a few years ago and hasn’t been able to run as much in recent years.

“I’m not the greatest runner but I’m happy to complete it,” he said.

The race begins at 9 a.m. Oct. 1 rain or shine. To register, go to www.active.com and search for Soles for All Souls. Fee is $25 for adults and $10 for children under 18 before Sept. 24 and $30 for adults and $15 for children afterward and on the day of the race. The day will include pre-race stretching led by Inspired of Port Jefferson, and the band Down Port will perform after the race. Nonperishable food items and toiletries will be collected for the food pantry at St. Cuthbert’s Church in Selden.

All Souls Episcopal Church is opened every day to visitors and located at 61 Main St., Stony Brook.

By Alex Petroski

Like a scene from a popular HBO show, Port Jefferson was overrun with dragons for as far as the eye could see Sept. 16. The Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce hosted its fourth Dragon Boat Race Festival at Harborfront Park and in Port Jefferson Harbor Saturday. The annual event features boat races, food, vendors, traditional Chinese ceremonies and customs, and musical performances.

This year 30 dragon boat teams competed in a recreational division, and four club teams squared off on the open seas in a more competitive one. Teams consisted of 20 rowers, one steersman and one drummer for the races around the inner harbor. The festival is the brainchild of Barbara Ransome, director of operations at the chamber, who said she got her inspiration after she attended a dragon boat race festival in Cape May, New Jersey, a few years back.

“We’ve got it down from an organizational perspective,” Ransome said in a phone interview after the event. “Everything went very well and very smooth.”

Ransome said she thought this year yielded larger attendance numbers — she speculated several thousand — than previous years, and said she is happy the event is growing. She said about 140 people utilized a free shuttle service provided to take attendees from their cars to the park, which was about 40 percent more than during last year’s event.

In the recreational group, a team from the Long Island School of Chinese called Huaxia Dragon took home the gold with a time of 58.06 seconds, narrowly edging Seas the Day, a team of rowers from St. Charles Hospital, who finished in 58.10 to capture silver. A New York City-area rowing club called The Collective won gold in the club division with a time of 58.27 in the final heat. The New York City Police Department rowing club came in second, finishing just two-tenths of a second behind The Collective.

Ransome said upon request from teams that competed in 2016, this was the first year racers were separated into groups based on experience levels, and she thought it was a good decision.

Port Jefferson Dragons, a Port Jefferson Village team, prepared extensively for the 2017 race, according to Ransome, so the group was bumped up as the fourth team in the club division. As a modest underdog, Port Jefferson Dragons got on the podium with a third-place finish.

“That was very impressive,” she said. “They did extraordinarily well.”

The Confucius Institute at Stony Brook University, an educational partnership between the school and China’s Office of Chinese Language Council International, was once again a sponsor of the event. According to a staff member at the institute, its directors were pleased with the event.

“We basically support any cultural events in the area that promotes Chinese culture, so it makes sense,” the staff member said.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) sent Assistant Director of Constituencies for Asian American Affairs Joanne Choi to the event as a representative on his behalf. Suffolk County Legislators Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) and Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai), Brookhaven Town Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station) and Village Mayor Margot Garant were among the other elected officials also in attendance.

A maximum occupancy restriction was placed on the village-owned pier for the event, which has been found to need repairs following the 2016 race. Ransome said the guidelines were strictly adhered to, and actually made the event easier for timekeepers and organizers.

Denise Dragiewicz and her husband Marc during a recent visit to Indonesia. Photo from Denise Dragiewicz

By Kevin Redding

“There’s a battle outside and it is ragin’ … for the times they are a-changin.’’

The words and music of Bob Dylan will serve as a fitting soundtrack at Madison Steak House in Hauppauge Sunday, Sept. 24, during a special fundraiser to highlight and benefit the work of Eyes of the World Films — a New Jersey-based documentary company that focuses on the environment and socially relevant issues.

The Complete Unknowns, a Dylan cover band that spans the singer/songwriter’s six-decade catalog, take the stage at 5 p.m. and will rock the house with a mix of Dylan’s popular tunes and deep tracks until the end of the event at 8 p.m. Guests will enjoy a four-course dinner menu, have the opportunity to win raffle prizes that include a variety of Dylan memorabilia, and learn about Eyes of the World’s upcoming projects during the company’s quarterly fundraiser.

“Bob Dylan’s music really speaks to my heart and really opened my eyes as to what’s going on in the world when I was younger,” said Denise Dragiewicz, former Smithtown resident and the president of Eyes of the World Films. She directs and edits the company’s documentaries while her husband, Marc, a biologist, serves as environmental consultant and chooses each film’s subject and locations. “And that’s exactly what we’re trying to do — open people’s eyes to what’s going on with the environment and get people engaged.”

All proceeds from the fundraiser will go toward the production and completion of two new films being developed by the husband-and-wife duo.

“The Burning of Borneo’s Peat Swamp Forest,” which has begun filming in Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, and will be the company’s fifth documentary, explores the degradation of Indonesian forestland in recent decades by way of out-of-control fires brought on by the region’s dry season.

The decimation has also hit the areas surrounding Sabangau National Forest, home to the largest breeding population of orangutans, and, as of now, 80 percent of orangutan habitat has been wiped out — a major focus of the film.

A short version of that documentary, made up of footage shot in Palangka Raya last winter, recently won the YALE e360 Environmental Video Contest, and the duo hopes to use any funds they raise to return to the location and finish production on a feature-length film on the subject. For the larger film, Denise Dragiewicz said, they are concentrating on a young Dayak activist named Emmanuela Shinta, who is attempting to convince the Indonesian government to protect the remaining forest.

“Indonesia has been on the path of environment destruction for many decades,” Dragiewicz said. “Many areas, including Palangka Raya, where we are filming, have had to deal with horrendous fire seasons that last months at a time [and] not only do these fires damage remaining forestland and what is left of the orangutan habit, but the smoke and murky, yellow haze that is the offspring of these blazes have been causing serious health problems.”

“The environmental films produced and put out are generally about the bigger picture of global warming and the storms,” she continued, “but you don’t really see these little community stories and how global warming is hitting people on a smaller level and that’s what we’re trying to show.”

Marc Dragiewicz, who regularly works in environmental conservation with specific expertise and experience in rainforests, said of the film, “This is the largest project we’ve worked on yet and it’s important. It’s a subject that’s really happening right now and affecting a lot of people. It’s kind of a cautionary tale that if we’re not careful, we’re going to lose our wildlife and we’re going to have some really bad air coming up in the future.”

The other film, titled “In the Dark,” is still in preproduction and will be the duo’s first feature narrative, revolving around the sexual violence against women and children in South Africa.

The filmmakers’ documentaries have played at a variety of film festivals around the world and appear on several environmentally friendly websites like Life of Terra and Sustainability TV.

They said an ideal goal from this fundraiser would be $5,000. Of course the films will cost more than that but every little bit helps, Denise Dragiewicz said.

“The more we’re able to raise, the more we’re able to produce these types of documentaries and that’s really important to me,” she said. “The fundraisers are a real celebration of art and passion, and we hope we can not only raise funding but also draw more people into being aware of the importance of preserving our natural habitats.”

Michael Weiskopf, lead singer of The Complete Unknowns — a six-piece band that formed 10 years ago out of a love for Dylan’s music — said when Dragiewicz contacted him to play the fundraiser, he was drawn in by her passion.

“I thought, ‘this is a serious filmmaker and this is a serious subject,’” Weiskopf said of orangutan conservation. “I’m interested in helping living things that can’t speak for themselves … so it’s a good cause to get involved in.”

As a self-professed “unapologetic Bob Dylan devotee,” Weiskopf said he looked forward to the event and attendees should expect to hear a wide variety of Dylan songs, old and new.“When you have 600 plus songs to choose from, it’s always interesting,” he said.

The fundraiser starts at 4 p.m. at Madison Steak House, 670 Motor Parkway in Hauppauge on Sunday, Sept. 24, and will cost $25 for the bar and $50 for dinner and the show. You can buy tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3047480.

Visit www.eyesoftheworldfilms.com and www.michaelweiskopf.com for more information.

Huntington High School. File Photo

Huntington High School found itself in the crosshairs of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) latest initiative that takes aims at cracking down on Long Island gang activity, much to the surprise of school officials.

Cuomo announced Sept. 13 his plan for deployment of a new Gang Violence Prevention Unit, which will deploy state troopers to monitor gang activity and recruitment in the alleged top 10 “high-risk” Suffolk County schools. Huntington High School made the list.

The prevention unit will immediately assign 10 state troopers, one to each of the 10 schools in the six targeted districts which includes Brentwood, Central Islip, Huntington, Longwood, South Country Central and Wyandanch. Cuomo said these districts were chosen as they were identified by local law enforcement as having the highest concentration of gang violence and vulnerability to recruitment efforts.

In addition, the prevention unit will coordinate with the Suffolk County Police Department to launch an “Educate the Educators” program, aimed at helping teachers and faculty recognize early warning signs of gang involvement.

“Our number one job in government is to keep all New Yorkers, and especially our children, safe,” Cuomo said in a statement. “By partnering with our schools, we will be better prepared to stop gang activity before it starts and end this heinous cycle of violence. This is just one step in our ongoing efforts to eradicate the threat of MS-13 and ensure that every student remains on a path to a bright future.”

Huntington Superintendent James W. Polansky said he was “deeply disappointed” by the manner in which the governor presented the initiative. Polansky made clear to residents it was not a coordinated effort with the district in a letter sent to the community dated Sept. 14.

“Much of our dismay stems from the fact that at no point were we approached,” Polansky said in a statement. “At no point did any state official or otherwise reach out and ask what we need or don’t need. At no point did anyone request a visit or invite a conversation of any sort. At no point have we received even fragments of information about this proposal.”

Upon questioning state officials about Cuomo’s proposed plan, Polansky said the district received a thorough apology and admission that the “ball was dropped.”

The superintendent stated in his Sept. 14 letter that Cuomo had mischaracterized the Huntington school district and that his words, “frankly, offend all members of the school community.”

“In fact, numerous students were the first to point this out first thing in the morning,” Polansky wrote. “Unfortunately, we continue to witness education and politics rarely prove to be a productive combination.”

As of Sept. 19, a state trooper has not been assigned to Huntington High School as part of the prevention unit, according to school spokesman Jim Hoops. The district does have a school resource officer assigned from Suffolk County police since 2004 to monitor issues that arise, which is shared with the South Huntington school district.

Lloyd Harbor resident Frank D’Amelio, Jr. , CEO of Nature’s Answer in Hauppauge, cuts a pink ribbon to celebrate the formation of the company’s Nature’s Answer Foundation. Photo by Sara-Megan Walsh

By Sara-Megan Walsh

A Hauppauge company’s employees are heading out on a cross-country tour to raise funds for cancer research and awareness inspired by the memory of a Kings Park woman.

Nature’s Answer, a family-owned manufacturer of nutritional supplements, will celebrate the formation of its charitable arm, Nature’s Answer Foundation, with six employees embarking on a more than 4,000-mile motorcycle ride beginning Oct. 1.

“We are a health-oriented company and this ties closely in with the company’s mission of promoting well-being,” said vice president of operations Tom Connelly, of Stony Brook.

The Road 2 Wellness Tour motorcycle ride came together as part coincidence and part in loving memory, said Nature’s Answer CEO Frank D’Amelio, Jr.

The Road 2 Wellness Tour motorcycle ride came together as part coincidence and part in loving memory, said Nature’s Answer CEO Frank D’Amelio Jr. Photo by Sara-Megan Walsh

D’Amelio, of Lloyd Harbor, said an employee asked for the company to participate in Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, an American Cancer Society fundraising event Oct. 15 at Jones Beach. Nature’s Answer general counsel Scott Seedall, an avid motorcycle enthusiast, then asked D’Amelio if he would join him for a motorcycle ride after the company’s annual trade show in California.

“When it was suggested we ride, I connected the events together,” said Nature’s Answer CEO. “I said let’s do it for [the] cause and that Monday is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.”

D’Amelio said his sister-in-law, Maria Bellock, 46, of Kings Park, died of breast cancer in July 2016. He witnessed firsthand how devastating cancer can be.

“Riding 4,200 miles is child’s play compared to what she went through,” he said.

Bellock’s brother Larry Chiarenza, of Commack, is Nature’s Answer vice president of sales and will be riding cross country.

“Cancer is very taxing on the caregivers as well as on the patient,” he said. “It’s a very difficult process to go through.”

A former motorcyclist, Chiarenza said the two-week ride will be a challenge as he’s never ridden further than 100 miles before.

“[Maria] would probably think I’m nuts because I haven’t ridden in 30 years,” he said. “I never had any intention of riding again but it’s for such a good cause. How could I not?”

Other riders include Kasra Hosmand, of Bay Shore; Tom Mandelo, of Lake Ronkonkoma; and John Hank, of Huntington.

“Riding 4,200 miles is child’s play compared to what she went through.”

— Frank D’Amelio , Jr.

Father Anthony Asir of St. Thomas More Parish in Hauppauge blessed the bikes Sept. 18 at a kickoff event held at the company’s Hauppauge location.

“I hope this can help bring people out of the darkness into the light, from ignorance into awareness,” Father Asir said. “May they go as your ministers bringing cancer awareness where they ride.”

The two-week tour will include stops in numerous cities to raise awareness with highlights including several American Cancer Society Hope Lodges, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory before ending at the Jones Beach walkathon Oct. 15.

Money will be raised through donations from sponsors and the sale of promotional items. In addition, the company will donate 10 percent of its total sale proceeds for the month of October. Overall funds raised will go to charities including the American Cancer Society, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and St. Jude hospital.

“With that funding, we can start new research projects which are risky, too risky for the government to support,” said Diane Fagiola, senior director of philanthropy for CSH Lab. “This fundraising is huge for us.”

Camila dos Santos, a junior faculty at the lab, said these funds allow researchers, like her, to get an initial data set to help support “out-of-the-box” research ideas and be more competitive for federal grants.

Those interested can visit www.road2wellnesstour.com to learn more, follow the riders on their trip and donate money.

Also, the Road 2 Wellness Tour can be followed on Twitter through #Road2Wellness.

A Larkfield Road home is at the center of a lawsuit by its two former owners against Town of Huntington, Councilman Eugene Cook and his two business partners. Photo by Sara-Megan Walsh

Two former East Northport landowners are suing Huntington Town, Councilman Eugene Cook (R) and his two business partners for $5 million over alleged loss of property rights.

A federal lawsuit filed Sept. 11 in U.S District Court for the Eastern District of New York claims that town officials have intentionally overlooked zoning code violations at a multi-family home on Larkfield Road — but only after it was purchased by TGJ 2014 LLC in 2014. The company is owned by Cook and two business partners, Huntington real estate agent Timothy Cavanagh and Commack attorney Joshua Price.

The former homeowners, Mary Ann Dellinger, of Huntington, and her brother, Carmen Tomeo, allege the town officials’ efforts to unfairly enforce zoning codes on the five-family dwelling caused them to lose money in the sale, according to their attorney Christopher Cassar. The house was purchased for $400,000 by TGJ 2014.

“This house was their primary asset,” Cassar said.

The plaintiffs claim the Larkfield Road home’s use as a multi-family dwelling predates the creation of Huntington Town code in 1934, according to court documents. Cassar said the family has a March 11, 2007 letter from the town which grandfathered the property’s right to be legally occupied as a five-family residence.

The lawsuit alleges town code enforcement officers began to issues summonses in 2012 against the property owners demanding it be returned to a single-family home, despite earlier promises.

“Town of Huntington has permitted and tolerated a pattern and practice of unjustified, unreasonable and illegal use of the enforcement of town code against the plaintiffs,” the lawsuit reads.

Cassar said the town’s actions caused Dellinger and Tomeo to have difficulty selling the house, as two prior deals fell through. One potential buyer would have paid $900,000 for the property, according to Cassar, half a million more than Cook and his partners paid.

The former homeowners also claim the $5 million sought is for damages including loss of income from the property, loss of property value, embarrassment, harrassment, loss of liberty and infringement of their property rights, according to court records.

In 2015, town officials  hired attorney Edward Guardaro Jr., of the firm Kaufman, Borgeest & Ryan LLP, to look into the East Northport house, to determine whether it was a legal rental and if the work being performed was legal.

Cassar said the town has issued a summons on the property, since Cook and his company took ownership, over issues with an exterior staircase and debris. However, the attorney said the town did not ever issue a code violation against it for being a multi-family dwelling.

Huntington has not been served with the lawsuit as of Sept. 20, according to town spokesman A.J. Carter, and he declined to comment further on the matter. Cook also declined to comment on the lawsuit after the Sept. 19 board meeting, as did Cavanagh. Price returned calls but did not comment on the matter.

A rendering of what the front of the proposed new St. James firehouse would look like. Image from St. James Fire District

Residents within the St. James Fire District voted “no” Sept. 19 to tearing down the Jefferson Avenue firehouse and replacing it with a bigger and better one.

The $12.25 million capital bond proposal sought to knock down the existing 7,404-square-foot firehouse on Jefferson Avenue and build an updated 22,458-square-foot structure in its footprint. The proposal was rejected by voters, with 775 “no” votes and 459 “yes” votes.

The concept of the new firehouse — which would have been more than three times as large as the current building — served to accommodate for modern requirements of firefighters while also taking care of renovations and repairs within the pre-existing infrastructure, which sustained significant damage in an August 2016 storm.

The estimated cost of the proposed facility would have made for an approximate increase of $118 to $198 a year for taxpayers based on their home’s assessed value.

“On behalf of the entire St. James Fire District, we would like to thank those community members who came out to vote today in our bond election,” the district’s board of commissioners said in a statement. “We are disappointed that the proposal was defeated. … As commissioners, we will now regroup and begin discussions of what our next steps might be. We will continue to keep the community informed throughout the process. As always, we will continue to respond to all emergencies in the quickest manner possible, as it is our duty and privilege to protect the residents of St. James.”

Prior to the vote Sept. 19, St. James fire commissioners said they would move forward with selling the Route 25A/Lake Avenue building — which was purchased by the district for $500,000 in 2013 —  regardless of what residents’ decision was.

As they exited the voting booths, residents explained their stance on the proposal.

“I voted ‘no’ because the tax increase is too much and I was disappointed that the only plan that was put forth was a $12 million plan,” a resident who asked to remain anonymous said. “There was no B plan or C plan and I also don’t understand the sale process of the 25A building. If they’re going to sell it, then why don’t they use that money to renovate? It’s silly. Nobody needs more taxes at this point.”

Jerry Ruggieri, a 50-year resident, agreed.

“I voted ‘no,’” Ruggieri said. “I live two blocks down the road and I think it would cause havoc on Jefferson Avenue. They have two facilities that are more than enough to satisfy the town as far as fires and I don’t think we need the expense, in this day and age, creating a new fire department. We don’t need it. We’re fine.”

Victoria Johnston, however, voted “yes”.

“I just feel as though it’s in our town’s best interest to go with this new firehouse so that these guys have the best,” Johnston said. “These are people who wake up at 3 a.m. to go save your family members. They give up time with their families to come out and save yours. For a little bit more, everything could be good for them and be good for so long. I don’t get how you can say no to them.”

This version corrects the amount of “yes” and “no” votes casted.

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File photo by Victoria Espinoza

The Suffolk County Police Department Impound Section will hold an auction of more than 130 vehicles including cars, SUVs, pickups and vans Sept. 30 in Westhampton at the Suffolk County Impound Section Facility. Motorcycles will also be available to bid on. For a full list of items, visit www.suffolkpd.org. The auction will begin at 8 a.m. Interested buyers can view the vehicles ahead of the auction from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 29.

Buyers must register to bid in the auction. Registration will be held at the Impound Section during preview hours and on the day of the auction. Proper identification is required to register. To register to bid as a business, a state tax certificate must be produced. All vehicles are sold as is and all sales are final.

The Suffolk County Impound Section Facility is located at 100 Old Country Road Westhampton, New York 11977.

Members of the Davis Town Meeting House Society, with Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker, received a grant from the Legislature to improve Coram’s Lester H. Davis House. Photo from Legislator Sarah Anker's office

By Desirée Keegan

The Davis Town Meeting House Society has raked in some needed cash flow.

The nonprofit organization that works to protect Coram’s Lester H. Davis House received a $5,000 omnibus grant from the Suffolk County Legislature to assist with community event and program planning.

“We were very excited and very happy,” society president Maryanne Douglas said on receiving the grant. “We’re buying things to improve and further our community outreach and to help us finish our renovations.”

Coram’s Lester H. Davis House. File photo

After applying and being approved for the grant, the society presented a detailed list of expenditures to the Legislature, which then approved the purchases of various items and allocation of funds. The organization will spend the money and provide receipts to Suffolk County, which will then reimburse the society.

Some items on the purchase list include sconces to light the upstairs of the house, archive boxes, stamps and ink cartridges to send out newsletters, a PA system and a rack to display artifacts, according to Douglas. Other funds are allocated for guest speakers, like the 3rd New York  Regiment, which recently performed a reenactment for the organization.

“We aren’t completely electrified, so lighting is a big deal,” she said.

The society currently operates out of the Swezey-Avey House at the corner of Yaphank-Middle Island Road and Main Street in Yaphank, but anyone is free to visit the Davis house, at the corner of Mount Sinai-Coram Road and Middle Country Road.

The grant from the Legislature to help Coram’s historical Lester H. Davis House will help grow community outreach, like paying for a presentation by the 3rd New York Regiment at the organization’s community yard sale. File photo

Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) presented the check to the organization.

“The members of the society do a wonderful job preserving the beauty and integrity of the Davis House, while providing educational programs for residents,” Anker said. “I’m proud to present the grant and I look forward to continuing to partner with the organization and its members to improve the quality of life in our community.”

Upcoming meetings and presentations at the Swezey-Avey House include Elizabeth Kahn Kaplan’s “George Washington’s Long Island Spy Ring,” Oct. 2; Jonathan Olly’s “Midnight Rum — Long Island and Prohibition,” Nov. 6; and Paul Infranco’s “Camp Upton,” Dec. 4 at the society’s annual holiday party.

The Davis Town Meeting House Society is also in the midst of its annual membership drive.

For more information about the organization, to volunteer, or to receive a membership application, visit www.davistownmeetinghouse.org.

More than 4,000 runners raced through Northport streets Sept. 16 in the 40th annual Great Cow Harbor 10K. Competitors traveled from as far away as California and Washington state, to Lantau Island in Hong Kong to take on the rolling hills, and ranged in age from nine to 86.

The early morning fog with clouds threatened rain, but held off, making for a hot and humid day.

The weather didn’t appear to slow and runners down, and it was a downhill footrace for first place in the men’s division nearly ending in a photo finish. Donald Cabral, 27, of Hartford, won the men’s division finishing the 6.2-mile course in 29 minutes, 24 seconds. Following close on his heels were second-place finisher Craig Lutz, 24, of Flagstaff, Arizona in 29:28 and third-place finisher Timothy Ritchie, 30, of New Haven with a time of 29:32.

Natosha Rogers, 26, of Littleton, Colorado, took first place in the women’s division with a time of 33:23 for the same 6.2-mile course. Second place went to Kaitlin Goodman, 30, of Providence, who finished in 34:27, and third place was awarded to Oregon resident Renee Metevier, 35, with a time of 34:41.

Each and every finisher was cheered to the finish line by hundreds of local residents, friends and family who lined the sidewalks ringing cow bells, a part of the race’s tradition. Others held signs encouraging participants to “keep moo-ving” and stay “moo-tivated.”

The last to finish the course were a group of five firefighters who ran in dressed in full gear, including oxygen tanks, waving the American flag and others honoring firefighters and police.