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Village Beacon Record

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Miller Place Superintendent Marianne Higuera and Board of Education President Johanna Testa discuss the proposed budget for the 2016-17 school year during the Feb. 24 meeting. Photo by Alex Petroski

Miller Place Superintendent Marianne Higuera presented her proposed budget for the 2016-17 school year. The proposed budget of $70,602,887 would be $596,007 higher than the budget for the current school year. All instructional and non-instructional programs from the current school year would remain intact.

“We expect some things might look a little bit different, but we’re not looking to eliminate any programs,” Higuera said following the presentation, which was made by school business official Colleen Card. “We’re not looking to eliminate any teams, any clubs; and we’re going to be able to maintain all of our programs from this year to next year.”

Though the budget would increase by a small amount, the school board unanimously approved a tax levy decrease of 0.14 percent on Feb. 24. That means that the district will have about $62,000 less revenue from tax dollars in 2016-17 compared to the current school year.

Despite less tax revenue, the proposed budget would be balanced by a $3.5 million fund balance and additional state aid thanks to a partial restoration of money lost to the Gap Elimination Adjustment, which deducted about $13 million from funding to Miller Place since its inception several years ago. The adjustment deducted money from districts across New York State as a means to eliminate a deficit. Higuera’s proposed budget accounts for about $20.5 million in state aid.

The district will also benefit from a small amount of required retirement payments this year, Higuera said.

Johanna Testa, president of the board of education, heaped praise on the district’s administration after the presentation.

“Keeping all programs and being able to propose a budget that keeps all of our academic programs and increases our capital project funding when we’re in a negative tax levy cap, that’s really amazing,” Testa said.

The school board and administration will convene again on Mar. 2 for a budget workshop meeting at Miller Place High School. Budget adoption will take place on Mar. 30.

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The town’s Prom Boutique is open from March 7 to June 17. File photo

Brookhaven Town wants to make prom special even for teenagers who cannot afford it.

The Prom Boutique will open at Brookhaven Town Hall in March “so young ladies who qualify for assistance can be dressed from head to toe, helping to make their prom dreams come true,” according to a press release from the town.

There will be a free selection of gently used gowns, handbags and costume jewelry, as well as makeup and fragrances, between March 7 and June 17. The hours of the second-floor boutique will be Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will also be special evening hours on March 10, April 7, April 21, May 26 and June 9, which will run from 5 to 7:30 p.m.

Appointments must be made by calling 631-451-8011, and all clients’ identities will be kept confidential.

If anyone is interested in donating clothes and accessories to the initiative, which is an effort of the Department of Housing and Human Services’ Youth Bureau, they can be dropped off at the boutique on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. All clothing must be dry cleaned and pressed before it can be accepted.

Visit www.brookhaven.org for more information.

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Louise Pizzuto has taught in Mount Sinai for 28 years. Photo from the Pizzuto family

Saying Louise Pizzuto was born to teach is an understatement.

Pizzuto, 62, started working as a special education teacher at Mount Sinai Middle School in September 1988. After 28 years, the mother of two is retiring to spend more time with her family. The Mount Sinai Board of Education announced Pizzuto’s retirement from her current position in the high school’s Special Education Department. Her last day is June 25.

The Smithtown resident became an integral part of the school district early on in her career.

After seeing some special needs students continuously fail and repeat classes, only to drop out of school after the government passed the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, Pizzuto pushed for courses to accommodate her students. No Child Left Behind set higher standards that her students couldn’t reach on their own.

“They [kept] raising the bar, but my students didn’t have their academic abilities raised,” Pizzuto said. “In order to meet [the requirements] and close the gap somewhat, we had to really start putting in place some programs.”

The addition of more leveled classes or self-contained classes allowed these students to be taught and learn at their own level. More residents started moving to the school district when these programs were established. They were also incorporated into the high school after it was established in September 1991. Pizzuto was no stranger to going above and beyond for those who needed her help.

“When given students with special needs, she would give up her lunch period to audit a class so that she could learn different methodology to teach her students,” said longtime friend Gloria Musto.

Pizzuto also dedicated whatever free time she had, before, during and after school, to help her students.

Before working in Mount Sinai school district, Pizzuto worked at Concord High School in Staten Island, and stumbled into special education because there was a shortage of special needs teachers at the time. She was able to get a second masters in special education while she worked at the high school.

Pizzuto’s daughter Amanda Pizzuto-Montemarano said her mother goes above and beyond for her students, recalling a time her mother took a student to the doctor for an examination. The student was abusing drugs at the time, and was getting sick. Pizzuto paid for the visit, and helped other students similarly, while giving them the tools they needed to succeed.

Although the high school wasn’t the only educational facility she worked for prior to Mount Sinai, Pizzuto said she fell in love with the program because of the kids she helped.

While her career at Concord differed from her experience in Mount Sinai, making a difference in people’s lives is always the priority for Pizzuto. As a special needs teacher, Pizzuto put her students before the lesson, and by learning their strengths and weaknesses, provided background information on a subject to help them learn the curriculum at their grade level.

Her daughter said going into retirement is a big step.

“She is going to miss teaching terribly,” Pizzuto-Montemarano said. “But now she has grandchildren and they’re going to have the greatest teacher, like me and my brother had.”

Pizzuto’s son Paul-Eric has dyslexia, and used to sneak books home from school. She started spending hours helping her son grasp material from school. He said growing up with a mother who was not only a teacher but a special education teacher, was a gift.

Longtime friend and co-worker Michele Gaffney, of Baiting Hollow, said Pizzuto motivated her to get her masters in teaching when Pizzuto and her family moved to the Island. The two started working in the school district on the same day.

“She really optimizes what a teacher is,” Gaffney said. “She goes the extra mile. She’s just fabulous. Mount Sinai will never have another one like her.”

But Pizzuto hopes for the best.

“I told the principal when I handed them my retirement papers that I just hope that they replace me with another teacher that remembers the students before the curriculum,” Pizzuto said.

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The southern pine beetle has been spotted in the Rocky Point Pine Barrens Preserve. Photo by Giselle Barkley

In light of the uptick in southern pine beetle populations on Long Island, environmental officials are looking to weed out the issue in the Rocky Point Pine Barrens Preserve.

Last December, the Department of Environmental Conservation proposed a timber thinning to combat the beetle’s presence in the state park. The prospective contractor wouldn’t only harvest pine trees in the park, but also cut down hardwood trees to use for personal benefit. New York State Sen. Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson), Assemblyman Fred Thiele (D-Sag Harbor) and Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) voiced their opposition to the proposal on Feb. 11.

According to their statement, the project mainly involves the selling of scarlet oak trees rather than harvesting the beetle-infested pitch pine trees in the park. The property was not preserved to provide contractors with lumber, but to preserve the land, as the pine barrens property sits on the Island’s purest waterway. No bids were made on the contract thus far.

“We were going to do this thinning out as a preventative measure, and [the proposed plan] was their response, and we didn’t feel that it was logical,” Englebright said. “This doesn’t address that this crisis is advancing.”

The southern pine beetle appeared in Long Island en masse, in fall 2014, and has devastated thousands of acres of Pine Barrens property, according to Englebright. The beetle, which creates tunnels in the tress, targets all types of pine trees, including pitch pine trees like those found in the Rocky Point Pine Barrens Preserve. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation found infested pine trees in October 2014.

“When the extent of the infestation became known, it was apparent that there needed to be a lot of control efforts,” said Anthony Graves, the Town of Brookhaven’s chief environmental analyst. “But there was no funding. … the State was trying to figure out a way to go ahead and engage control efforts [with the opposed timber harvest plan].”

According to Richard Amper, executive director of the Long Island Pine Barrens Society, there are not many cases of beetle infestation in the park. However, the Connetquot River State Park in Oakdale lost around 3,600 acres of pine trees to the Southern Pine Beetle. Graves added that wind could have picked up the small beetles and carried them from New Jersey to the Island.

Warmer winter weather over the past few years has also contributed to the increase in pine beetle populations.

In the DEC’s proposal, it added that harvesting the trees will also help other trees grow. It added that harvesting is a common practice when combatting this type of infestation. There’s no mention of harvesting oak trees in its preventative thinning plan. Amper said the reasoning was odd, as the pitch pine trees are much taller than the oak trees that are currently marked in the park.

Englebright, LaValle and Thiele requested $3.5 million in the 2016-17 state budget to properly address the infestation without unnecessary harvesting. Graves said the best and cheapest way to deal with the beetles is to cut down infected trees.

“The cutting of the heavily-infested stands is widely accepted by federal and state agencies that have been dealing with this problem for the last 100 years,” Graves said. “In the U.S., it’s a long-term problem with the beetles damaging commercial forests. It’s that long-term information that’s being used to drive the plan.”

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Get out
A 47-year-old man from Laughlin, Nevada, was arrested on Feb. 21 for entering a home on Otsego Place in Commack just before midnight, police said. He was charged with criminal trespassing.

Unlicensed driver
On Feb. 20 at about 9:30 p.m., a 32-year-old man from Medford was driving a 2015 GMC on Middle Country Road in Nesconset without a license, police said. He was charged with second degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle.

Dude, where’s my car?
Between Jan. 2 and Feb. 20, a 28-year-old woman from Sound Beach drove a 2015 GMC despite being 50 days beyond the return date set by the car’s owner, police said. She also ignored notices by certified mail to return the car, according to police. She was arrested on Feb. 20 in Nesconset and charged with operating a vehicle without the owner’s consent.

Drugs in the park
A 22-year-old man from Bohemia had heroin and marijuana on him in the parking lot of Lakeland County Park in Islandia at about 10:30 a.m. on Feb. 17, according to police. He was charged with two counts of fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Traffic stop yields pot
Just before 8 p.m. on Feb. 17, a 29-year old woman from Smithtown was stopped for a traffic violation in Smithtown, and was found to have marijuana on her, police said. She was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.

Egghead, cannon arm
An unknown person threw eggs at a 2016 Subaru and a 2005 Acura, both parked in the driveway of a home on New Highway in Commack, at around midnight on Feb. 21, police said. The eggs caused scratches, dents and some discoloration to the two cars, according to police.

Shades swiped
Police said an unknown person stole 17 pairs of sunglasses from Macy’s at the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove at about 5 p.m. on Feb. 20.

Off-road escape
A snow blower and two all-terrain vehicles were stolen from a shed outside a home on Wood Road in Centereach around midnight on Jan. 25, police said.

Broken window
An unknown person damaged the rear window of a home on Havemeyer Lane in Commack at about 3 p.m. on Feb. 18, according to police.

Wallet walks off in the night
A wallet with cash was stolen from an unlocked 1999 Toyota that was parked in front of a home on New Highway in Commack at about 3 a.m. on Feb. 18, police said.

Subway smash and grab
At about 11 p.m. on Feb. 19, an unknown person smashed the window of Subway restaurant on Hawkins Avenue in Lake Grove and stole a cash register containing money, according to police.

Not the key to success
Police said an unknown person keyed the passenger side and hood of a 2008 Pontiac Solstice in the parking lot of New York Sports Club in Huntington on Feb. 19 at 7 a.m.

Missing looking glass
An unknown person stole a telescope from a garage on Darrow Lane in Elwood on Feb. 20 at 1:40 p.m.

High times
On Feb. 19, a 29-year-old woman from Central Islip was arrested for having marijuana and prescription pills in her possession, according to police. She was arrested on Larkfield Road in Elwood and charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal possession of marijuana.

Not quite Accura-te
A 29-year-old man from Huntington was arrested on Feb. 20 after police said he crashed into a 1998 Acura while driving south on Route 110 in Melville in a 2004 Honda Accord. He was charged with driving while intoxicated.

Don’t take the call
A 44-year-old man from Kings Park was arrested on Feb. 19 at 7:15 a.m. on Larkfield Road in East Northport after police said he called a woman and harassed her on Dec. 22. He was charged with second-degree aggravated harassment.

Getting saked at Saks
Police said a 28-year-old man from Springfield Gardens was using fake identification to open a new credit card on Feb. 19 at Saks Fifth Avenue in Huntington. According to police, he had a fake driver’s license and credit card, which he used to apply for a Saks Fifth Avenue credit card and then buy $3,500 worth of merchandise. He was charged with second-degree possession of a forged instrument.

Catching up
Police busted a 20-year-old man from Holtsville for grand larceny, more than three months after he allegedly stole cash and credit cards from a 2000 Toyota Corolla parked near Middle Country Road in Selden on Nov. 2. Police arrested him on Feb. 20 around 7:45 p.m. at the 6th Precinct.

Formulaic thief
Between 8 and 8:40 p.m. on Feb. 15, someone stole baby formula from a store on Route 25A in Sound Beach.

You’re suspended!
A Port Jefferson Station man was arrested on Feb. 17 for unlicensed operation of a car. Police said he was driving a 2011 Ford Fusion when he was pulled over on the corner of Canal Road and Shenandoah Boulevard. Officials discovered he was driving with a suspended license and arrested him at the scene. It was not clear why the man was pulled over.

Teens in trouble
On Feb. 15, a 19-year-old Rocky Point man was arrested for driving while ability impaired in a 2002 Mercedes, after he was going west on Route 25A in Miller Place and was involved in a car crash. Police discovered the teen was intoxicated and arrested.
A 19-year-old man from West Babylon was arrested on Feb. 18 for driving while ability impaired on Route 25A in Miller Place, after an officer pulled over the teen for speeding in a 2012 Volkswagen. Police arrested him at the scene around 1:31 a.m.

Old enough to know better
On Feb. 17, police arrested a 60-year-old man from Mount Sinai for driving while ability impaired in a 2002 Hyundai on North Country Road, after he was in a car crash.

Another one?
Police arrested a Miller Place resident on Feb. 18 at 3:15 a.m. for driving while ability impaired. Authorities said the 41-year-old man was pulled over for speeding west on Route 25A in a 2005 BMW.

Why do so many drivers do this?
A 27-year-old man was arrested for allegedly driving while ability impaired on Feb. 18. Police pulled over the Mastic resident after he failed to maintain his lane while driving a 1998 Audi on Stony Brook Road in Centereach. He was arrested at the corner of Stony Brook Road and Westcliff Lane.

Prescription for handcuffs
Police arrested a 27-year-old woman from Rocky Point on Feb. 18 for criminal possession of cocaine and prescription pills without a prescription. It was not clear why officials first approached the woman, but she was arrested on Twilight Road.

Picking apart pickups
On Feb. 17, someone stole four chrome wheels from two different Dodge Ram 1500 pickups. The incidents occurred on Nesconset Highway in Port Jefferson Station.

Going postal
According to police, on Feb. 19 around 2:10 a.m., someone used an incendiary device to damage a mailbox on Jefferson Landing Circle in Port Jefferson.

Fountain of money
Someone stole a wallet with credit cards and identification from an unlocked Honda Pilot. The incident happened between 10 p.m. on Feb. 15 and 10:21 a.m. the following day, near Fountain Road in Rocky Point.

Smash and cash
An unknown person broke the front glass door of a store on Mark Tree Road in Centereach and stole the cash register. Police said the incident occurred on Feb. 17 around 10:30 p.m.

Stony broken
On Feb. 18 around 10 p.m., an unknown person broke a window on a 2015 Porsche parked at AMC Loews theater in Stony Brook. The person stole a camera, Chanel bag, backpack and a car key to a different car.

Dodge this
According to police, an unidentified individual threw an object that dented and scratched a moving 2014 Dodge Ram on Feb. 17, on Henry Avenue in Selden.

Hungry bandit
On Feb. 20 around 7: 50 p.m., someone stole a bag of food from Wild by Nature on Route 25A in East Setauket.

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Adrienne Esposito speaks against a plan to dump dredge spoils in the Sound as county Legislators Sarah Anker, Kara Hahn and Al Krupski look on. Photo by Giselle Barkley

It’s been about six months and North Shore leaders are still fighting against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ proposal to continue dumping dredge spoils into the Long Island Sound.

Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) stood alongside fellow county Legislators Al Krupski (D-Cutchogue) and Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) on Tuesday at the William H. Rogers Legislature Building in Hauppauge to voice their opposition to the plan and ask Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and New York Secretary of State Cesar Perales to reject the proposal. George Hoffman of the Setauket Harbor Task Force and Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, were also among the leaders who voiced their opposition to the plan.

The Army Corps has dumped dredge spoils into waterways leading to the Sound for decades. Its final proposal, known as the Long Island Sound Dredged Material Management Plan, was completed on Jan. 11 and suggested dumping 30 to 50 million cubic yards of dredge material cleared out from Connecticut waterways over the course of another 30 years.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has supported the Army Corps’ proposal. Stephen Perkins, a member of the EPA’s dredging team, said the spoils are tested before being dumped to ensure they meet certain safety standards.

But critics say the state can reject the plan under the federal Clean Water Act.

Dredge dumping has caused toxic chemicals to be dispersed throughout the Sound over the years, affecting the ecosystem and many water-dwelling species, including fish and lobsters.

“If this was private industry doing this, I don’t think they’d go very far,” Krupski said. “They’d probably end up in jail.”

Over the past 11 years, the local government has spent $7 million to address environmental issues in the Sound, a fragile body of water, according to Anker. Some of that went toward creating a Long Island Sound study.

According to Esposito, New York State rejected a similar plan that the Army Corps proposed in 2005, and ordered that group and the EPA to slowly reduce the amount of dredge spoils being dumped into the Sound. She called for the plan to go back to the drawing board.

“We’ve committed so much resources, money, time and energy to protecting this water body,” Hahn said. “And then to just dump potential harmful and toxic waste spoils into our waters is a darn shame.”

Anker agreed, saying that the Sound creates upward of $36 billion of economic value on the Island.

Instead of dumping dredge spoils into the Long Island Sound, Esposito suggested using it to restore wetlands, rebuild beaches and cap landfills, among other methods of disposal.

“The Sound is dying and what they’re trying to do now is bury it in dredge spoil,” Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) said at the press conference.

The local leaders also criticized the EPA for supporting the Army Corps.

“On one hand, they are advancing a nitrogen-reduction plan,” Esposito said. “And on the other, they’re turning a blind eye to the disposal of the large quantities of dredge materials which cause significant nitrogen loading into the Sound.”

A public hearing on the dredging plan will be held on Tuesday, March 1, at the Port Jefferson Free Library, at the corner of Thompson and East Main streets. That event runs from 5 to 7 p.m., with registration for public speakers starting at 4:30 p.m.

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File photo

A Mount Sinai woman was killed on Friday night when the car she was riding in struck another vehicle just down the road from the post office and the Mount Sinai Elementary School.

According to the Suffolk County Police Department, 39-year-old Ekaterina Blednykh was riding in a 2000 Toyota Camry on Route 25A at about 11 p.m. when the car’s driver, 25-year-old Tejas Acharekar from Port Jefferson, attempted to make a left onto Chestnut Street to start heading south. The Camry collided with a 2005 Hyundai Sonata that had been going east on Route 25A.

Bednykh was pronounced dead at John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson, police said, while both Acharekar and the Sonata’s driver, 23-year-old Mastic Beach resident Kacy McLaughlin, were treated for non-life-threatening injuries at Stony Brook University Hospital.

Detectives from the SCPD’s 6th Squad are investigating the crash. Anyone with information is asked to call them at 631-854-8652.

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Rocky Point varsity wrestling team placed first in the Suffolk County Dual Meet Championship. Photo from Rocky Point school district

Rocky Point High School’s varsity wrestling team recently earned another high honor when the team captured the League V Tournament Championship.

On back-to-back weekends, the team shone on the mats to earn two consecutive regional titles. During the League V tournament, 12 Rocky Point All-League wrestlers competed and four of them captured the championship. In addition, the entire coaching staff received coach of the year honors.

The team then captured a first-place win at the Suffolk County dual-meet championship. 

Facing off against the top teams in the county, the top seeded Eagles captured a win during the quarter-final match against No. 8-seeded Half Hollow Hills East, competed against No. 5-seeded Lindenhurst and clinched their championship title by defeating No. 3-seeded Hauppauge, 38-33.

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Unfair fight
On Feb. 9 police arrested a woman from Port Jefferson for assault after they said the 40-year-old attempted to enter her victim’s bedroom at the Fairfield Falls apartment complex on President’s Drive. The victim tried to prevent the suspect from entering the room and was holding a steak knife to protect herself. During the struggle to open the bedroom door, the suspect allegedly took the knife and cut the victim. Police arrested the woman at the scene at 9:37 a.m.

Not so bright
A 40-year-old woman from Miller Place was arrested for driving while ability impaired in a 2012 Hyundai Tuscon on Feb. 8 after crashing into a light pole near the corner of Route 25A and Miller Place Road. Police arrested her at the scene.

Underage and over the limit
Police arrested a 16-year-old boy for driving while ability impaired on Feb. 8. The Selden teen was driving a gray 2005 Acura west on Jericho Turnpike when he failed to maintain his lane. Police arrested him at the corner of Dawn Drive in Centereach around 2 p.m.

On the road again
On Feb. 14, a 21-year-old man from Coram was arrested for leaving the scene of an accident, after police said he crashed his 2004 Mercedes-Benz into a parked 2015 Jeep Wrangler on Barone Drive on Feb. 5 and fled the scene.

Cruisin’ over the rules
Police arrested a man from Smithtown on Feb. 10 for driving with a suspended license and false impersonation. According to police, the 29-year-old had been driving a Nissan Altima on Norwood Avenue in Port Jefferson Station and when pulled over had allegedly given police a different person’s name.

Caught at knifepoint
On Feb. 10, a Rocky Point resident was arrested for assault. Police said the 43-year-old man cut someone with a knife at a residence on Teepee Road. The victim was taken to John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson.

Suspect was uber upset
An unknown person punched and broke a window of the Islandwide taxi on Main Street in Port Jefferson. Police said the incident happened on Feb. 11 around 9:56 p.m.

I spy an iPhone
Between 3 and 11:15 a.m. on Feb. 13, someone stole an iPhone from another person at Junior’s Spycoast bar on Main Street in Port Jefferson.

Roll out
According to police, on Feb. 13 between 1 and 9:30 a.m., an unidentified person stole an all-terrain vehicle from a residence on Tyler Avenue in Miller Place.

Big larceny
On Feb. 9, someone stole a wallet from a locked office in Big Lots at the Centereach Mall.

Going on Holiday
Someone stole a 1996 Acura from a residence on Holiday Park Drive in Centereach on Feb. 12 around 1 a.m.

Morning mischief
Between midnight and 9:40 a.m. on Feb. 14, an unknown person stole money and a key from an unlocked Jeep parked on Cedarhurst Avenue in Selden.

Pocketed
On Feb. 12 around 2:30 a.m., an unidentified person stole a pocketbook from a residence on Krispin Lane in Setauket-East Setauket. The pocketbook contained a wallet, credit cards and a phone. Police didn’t say how the suspect entered the home.

Copping some pipes
Police said an unidentified person entered a residence on Annandale Road in Stony Brook through an unlocked garage door and stole copper piping on Feb. 11.

Hibachi heist
A 50-year-old woman from Kings Park was arrested on Feb. 14 for stealing money from someone’s wallet at K60 Japanese Steakhouse in Lake Grove on Jan. 15, police said. She was charged with grand larceny.

Matinee street fight
On Feb. 13, at about 1 p.m., a 21-year-old man from Port Jefferson was arrested for punching another man in the face following an argument at a location near the Islandia Shopping Center, police said. The victim was treated for injuries at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, according to police. The man was charged with third-degree assault.

Fight night
At a home on Elder Drive in Smithtown just before 9 p.m. on Feb. 13, an 18-year-old woman from Commack was arrested for pulling a woman out of a car and shoving her into the side of the car following an argument, police said. The victim was taken to St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown and treated for minor injuries. The suspect was charged with third-degree assault.

Rush hour road rage
At the intersection of the Northern State Parkway and Commack Road, a 62-year-old man from Commack drove his 1998 Nissan Pathfinder into a 2014 Volkswagen GTI just after 5 p.m. on Feb. 12, police said. He was charged with second-degree reckless endangerment.

Miller’s marijuana house
A 22-year-old man from Dix Hills was arrested for smoking marijuana in the parking lot of Miller’s Ale House on Veterans Memorial Highway in Commack at about 10:30 p.m. on Feb. 12, police said. He was in the driver’s seat of a 2014 Honda. He was charged with fifth-degree criminal possession of marijuana.

Bagged with stolen goods
Sometime between Feb. 1 and Feb. 11, a 27-year-old man from Babylon stole jewelry, DVDs and an Amazon Kindle from a home on Arjay Lane in Commack, police said. He was arrested while trying to sell the jewelry at Best Auto Express Inc. in Selden, according to police. He was charged with possession of a hypodermic needle, criminal possession of stolen property and third-degree burglary.

Blackjack bust
On Middle Country Road in Smithtown on Feb. 11, a 26-year-old man from East Northport seated in a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee was found to have a blackjack, which is a small, easy to conceal club-type weapon, police said. He was charged with fourth-degree possession of a weapon.

Interlocked
A 29-year-old man from Patchogue was pulled over by police near exit 59 heading west on the Long Island Expressway at about 7 p.m. on Feb. 11. He was found to be driving his 2006 Ford Explorer without an interlock device, police said. He was charged with use of a vehicle without interlock.

Sonata spree
At a home on Calvert Avenue in Ronkonkoma at about 11 p.m. on Feb. 13, an unknown person caused damage to tires on a 2011 Hyundai Sonata and a 2005 Hyundai Sonata, police said.

Storm door smashed
At about 2 p.m. on Feb. 13, an unknown person damaged the storm door of a home on Lake Shore Road in Lake Ronkonkoma, according to police.

That stinks
A 27-year-old man from Commack was arrested on Feb. 14 after police said he stole cologne from Saks Fifth Avenue on Walt Whitman Road in Huntington at 10:15 a.m. He was charged with petit larceny.

Why did the chickens cross the road
On Feb. 14, a 25-year-old woman from Wheatley Heights was arrested for stealing 34 packs of chicken breasts from Stop&Shop on Wall Street in Huntington on Jan. 3 at about 1:15 p.m., according to police. She was charged with petit larceny.

Lots of drugs
Police said a 22-year-old man from Huntington Station had marijuana and Xanax in his possession on East Pulaski Road in Huntington Station on Feb. 14 at 2:30 p.m. He was arrested and charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of marijuana.

Crash into me
Police said a 24-year-old woman from Greenlawn failed to maintain her lane while driving a 2007 Chevy on Feb. 13 at 3:45 a.m., and crashed into a 2015 Honda parked on Oakwood Road in Huntington. She was charged with driving while intoxicated.

Weed on waterside
On Feb. 12 a 21-year-old man from Selden was arrested after police said he had marijuana on him during a traffic stop on Waterside Avenue in East Northport at noon. He was charged with fifth-degree criminal possession of marijuana.

Oh Lord! (& Taylors)
A 28-year-old man from Port Washington was arrested on Feb. 12 at 7:45 p.m. after police said he tried to return eight shirts to Lord & Taylor in Huntington that he had stolen. He was charged with fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property.

Fleeing footwear
Police said an unknown person stole three pairs of shoes from Famous Footwear on New York Avenue in Huntington Station just after noon on Feb. 13.

Tree takes the hit
On Feb. 14, a 37-year-old woman from Glen Cove was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated. According to police, she drove a 2003 Honda into a tree on 25A and North Lawrence Hill Road in Cold Spring Harbor at 12:30 a.m.

Interview gone wrong
A 22-year-old woman from Hauppauge was arrested on Feb. 14 on Kendrick Lane in Huntington at 11 p.m. after police said she became belligerent while a police officer was interviewing her and pushed the officer. She was charged with second-degree harassment with physical contact.

No gloves no love
A 27-year-old man from Bay Shore was arrested on Feb. 12 at 5:40 p.m. after police said he stole three pairs of gloves and multiple scarves from Bloomingdales on Walt Whitman Road in Huntington. He was charged with petit larceny.

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Joe Cognitore, commander of VFW Post 6249, dedicates much of his time to helping veterans and his local community. File photo

“He’s a gentle giant.”

That’s what Rocky Point High School social studies teacher Rich Acritelli had to say about Rocky Point’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Fischer-Hewins Post 6249 Commander Joe Cognitore.

“He’s always got the community at his heart,” said Acritelli, who first met Cognitore in 2005 when he asked the post to come down and do a color guard for one of his programs. “He’s such a gentleman, a good guy and he has a good combination of common sense, leadership and also humor.”

Cognitore, who has lived in Rocky Point since 1983, served in Vietnam from April 1969 through March 1971, where he held the ranks of acting platoon sergeant and acting platoon leader. He earned the Bronze Star and the Combat Infantry Badge, as well as the National Defense, Vietnam Service, Vietnam Campaign, and Air medals.

He first became active in the VFW in 1991, where he sent packages to troops overseas.

Brookhaven Councilwoman Jane Bonner (C-Rocky Point) first met Cognitore right after Sept. 11, 2001, when she was working with the North Shore Beach Property Owners’ Association on a planned blood drive. She said he donated cases of water and soda to the event.

“He’s one of the nicest men that I’ve ever met in my whole entire life,” she said. “He’s a very active participant in all things that make Rocky Point great, but he’s also a really big asset to us in Brookhaven. Joe’s always my first phone call for anything veteran-related.”

Since his start at the post, his role in the VFW and in the community has only continued to grow. The commander also raises money for the Joseph P. Dwyer peer-to-peer group and helped fund the building of two houses for returning veterans in Sound Beach.

Bea Ruberto, president of the Sound Beach Civic Association, met Cognitore five years ago, when she reached out to him for help with the hamlet’s Veteran’s Memorial Park. Ruberto said the plans stalled because of a loss of funding.

“He sat down with us and spoke for hours,” she said. “He’s great. He’s very, very generous with his time. Had it not been for his input I’m not sure we would’ve gone in the direction we did and got the funding for the park.”

Cognitore also worked with Acritelli on the 9/11 memorial at the Diamond in the Pines Park in Coram, helping raise more than $40,000. The two are also working on helping to plan the ninth annual Wounded Warriors golf outing.

“We raised a lot of money for local guys,” Acritelli said. “Joe personifies everything that a citizen should be. He is always working for the betterment of his community. He’s going to be a tough guy to replace at the VFW post and in the state because he does so much.”

Cognitore said he was passionate about not only doing what he can for veterans but the community at large. He has used Post 6249 to host several other events including senior, Cub Scout and Girl Scout meetings, local soup kitchens, and to raise money for local families in need of assistance and for scholarships at Rocky Point and Shoreham-Wading River high schools.

“It’s contagious,” he said. “It’s a lot of work, a lot of time and a lot of effort, and we’re all volunteers here at the post.”

This dedication earned him induction into the New York State Senate Veteran’s Hall of Fame in 2005. He received this honor from New York State Sen. Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson).

“I was floored,” he said of the nomination. “It was nice, and a great feeling. It recognized a veteran for their service and being a veteran, but also, for what you’ve done outside the veteran realm, and we help the community. The post is opened to mostly everybody.”

Frank Tepedino, of Saint James, who is a former MLB player for the New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves, has worked with Cognitore on several fundraisers and spoke with him at different events.

“It’s unbelievable the work that he does,” he said. “A man that takes that much time to ensure that nobody is left behind — he’s always out there to help any cause. He knows a lot of people and he’s surrounded himself with good people and he can get a lot done because of it.”

Ruberto said Cognitore opened her eyes to the countless returning veterans that struggle, realizing that helping returning vets should be more of a concern that honoring fallen soldiers.

“He made me aware of the number of homeless vets that are out there, or the home in Yaphank that feeds and houses vets, so it’s because of those conversations with him that made a light go off,” she said. “He’s very passionate about doing whatever he can for veterans.”

Cognitore said he gets so much enjoyment out of what he does that it doesn’t matter how much time he puts into it, as long as the final outcome is helping someone in need.

“It’s like a full time job,” he said. “Getting everything set up and running around takes a lot of time, but it’s well worth it.”

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