The Stony Brook women’s basketball team fell to Monmouth, 63-56, on March 2 at home. Breauna Ware notched a game-high 23 points and team-best eight rebounds for the Seawolves.
Along with a dominant performance from Ware, Zaida Gonzalez added 16 points and three steals as Shamarla King helped out with nine points and six rebounds.
The Stony Brook defense caused its share of mistakes in Sunday’s game, forcing 13 Monmouth turnovers. On the glass, the squad pulled down 29 rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Stony Brook kept it close in the first quarter, only trailing by one through the opening frame.
The Seawolves then outscored the Hawks 15-14 in the second quarter, to bring the game even at 25. Ware, Gonzalez, and King accounted for Stony Brook’s buckets.
The contest remained level after halftime before Stony Brook went on a last second 6-0 run with a pair of treys from King and Ware. Stony Brook knocked down six three-pointers in the quarter to score 18 of its 22 total points to take a 47-41 lead into the fourth.
Monmouth then erased the lead, outscoring the Seawolves 22 to 9 for a 63-56 comeback win as Stony Brook lost their fifth straight.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
Next up, the team will head to Hofstra for the Battle of Long Island on March 6. This will be the 17th all-time meeting between the Seawolves and Pride in program history, the second time this season. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. with coverage available on MSG Networks and FloCollege.
It could be a text from a co-worker, addressing you by name and asking for a favor: Could you please go pick up a gift card for them? They will pay you back. It is urgent, the unknown sender will tell you, using the name of a trusted friend, boss or co-worker.
Using information online, “smishing” scams, a play on the acronyn SMS and the word “phishing”, can exploit existing workplace relationships and take advantage of the anonymity afforded by technology to potentially scam you out of hundreds of dollars.
Scammers targeting workplace relationships attempt to take advantage of a person’s sense of occupational duty and responsibility to coerce them into making decisions they otherwise would have been skeptical of. For instance, an employee here at TBR News Media recently got a suspicious text, ostensibly from a coworker who works remotely. The text was urgent — the coworker was in a meeting and couldn’t talk on the phone, but needed, for some reason, a gift card.
This type of request is odd, but under the right circumstances, it is tempting to ignore the alarm bells ringing in our head and to simply comply. It is natural to want to be helpful, especially in work-matters and the texts, hectic, confusing and vague, puts pressure on the receiver to assent.
This type of smishing scam preys especially on new employees—they are unfamiliar with the customs of the company and more likely to excuse bizarre behavior, they may be hesitant to turn down their boss or coworker as they want to make a good impression, and they don’t yet have the contact information of their coworkers, so the impersonation may not be detected immediately.
The older generation, less versed in technology, may have a harder time discerning what is a “normal” text and what is abnormal. Younger generations that grew up with technology are more adjusted to its customs and still fall prey to scammers. Older generations are at a disadvantage, making them especially vulnerable.
Luckily, there are a series of measures we can take to safeguard both our personal information and our finances.
•Do not click on any unknown links you receive from an unknown sender. The link could be corrupt.
•Do not respond.
•Verify the identity of the sender by contacting them in an alternate way.
•Delete the texts.
•Trust our instincts. If something seems strange, we should hold off on responding.
Dr. Christopher Gobler, a professor in the School of Marine and Atmosphere Sciences (SoMAS) at the State University of New York at Stony Brook’s Southampton campus, will be honored by the Sierra Club’s Long Island group for his outstanding environmental contributions at a buffet luncheon at Seatuck (in the Scully estate), 550 SouthBay Ave.,Islip on March 15 at 1 pm.
Gobler has been a professor at SoMAS since 2005. He has been Director of Academic Programs, Associate Dean of Research, and is now co-Director of the Center for Clean Water Technology (CCWT).
He has been recognized by the Sierra Club’s Long Island group as a recipient of their 2024 Outstanding Environmentalist award for educating not only the students at the University, but the public as well about the state of our waters, the need for them to be cleaned up, and how to go about it. He’s also being recognized for his work and research toward a better understand our surrounding waters.
Stony Brook University’s website says “The major research focus within his group is investigating how anthropogenic activities such as climate change, eutrophication, and the over-harvesting of fisheries alters the natural biogeochemical and/or ecological functioning of coastal ecosystems. Within this realm, major research efforts include the study of harmful algal blooms (HABs) caused by multiple classes of phytoplankton in diverse ecosystems as well as the effects of coastal ocean acidification on marine life.”
The luncheon is open to the public. Contact Ann Aurelio, [email protected] by March 10th for more information or to register to attend. There is a suggested donation of $25.
About The Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s oldest volunteer directed environmental organization. It was created in 1892 in California. It now has over 700,000 members nationwide. It is nation’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization with three million members and supporters.
Participants on a Holi cruise that sailed out of Pier 36 in New York City last year. Photo courtesy Indu Kaur
By Sabrina Artusa
As spring brings blue skies, blooming flowers of violets and yellows and flourishing green vegetation, Indian Americans look forward to Holi — the festival of colors — which falls on the first full moon in the Hindu month of Phalguna.
Indu Kaur on a Holi cruise that sailed out of Pier 36 in New York City last year. Photo courtesy Indu Kaur
The holiday celebrates the coming of spring and the overall triumph of good, love and light over darkness and evil. On the day of the full moon, March 14 of this year, people in India play in the street, coloring each other’s faces with powder and water; children throw water balloons, sometimes at strangers, all in the good fun and light-hearted troublemaking of the holiday.
“Holi Hai” is the predominant saying, meaning It’s Holi. In India, neighborhoods celebrate the holiday, drinking, eating fried pastries and throwing colored powder. Here, on Long Island, celebrations are more intimate.
“Over in India, everybody in every neighborhood is celebrating,“ said Arvind Vora, who moved to Long Island 55 years ago at the age of 24. “There was no need to travel or make all sorts of arrangements/planning.”
When he arrived, he wrote in an email, there were hardly 10 families that celebrated in the area. By the mid-1970s, he said, he started celebrating again to bring the cheer of the holiday to the children of the family.
Indu Kaur, owner of the Curry Club at SaGhar in Port Jefferson and the Meadow Club in Port Jefferson Station, has hosted these gatherings in the past, treating friends and family to “gujiya,” a deep-fried pastry and plenty of color.
“Holi in India is an all-encompassing celebration — it’s loud, vibrant and spills onto the streets with massive crowds throwing colors, dancing to dhol beats and sharing sweets with neighbors, friends, and even strangers,” Kaur said. “While the essence of joy and color remains the same [on Long Island], the scale is usually smaller, and people are mindful of space, weather and local regulations.”
Baldeep Singh, a friend of Kaur’s, was invited to one of Kaur’s “all-out” Holi celebrations. He also lived in India for 10 years. While whole neighborhoods get involved in the celebration like a “huge party,” Singh said that he enjoyed celebrating with friends and family.
“Everyone’s in a great mood, everyone’s happy,” he said. “It is a representation of spring when flowers are in bloom. Everything is starting afresh and everyone is together having a great time. It is a lot of people really just living it up and being grateful.”
Generally, people use organic, biodegradable materials for the colors, but some people use permanent colors that won’t come off easily. Singh remembers going to work after Holi, and some people showed up with purple faces and skin sore from scrubbing, although “no one really judges you.”
Indu Kaur on a Holi cruise that sailed out of Pier 36 in New York City last year. Photo courtesy Indu Kaur
“Holi reminds us to embrace playfulness, throw colors at each other, laugh out loud, indulge in sweets, dance freely and bond with family. It’s a time to heal our souls, connect with loved ones and share pure happiness,” Kaur said.
Holi has two different mythological origins. According to one legend that is central to the celebration of Holi in Barsana and Mathura, the mischievous Krishna fell in love with Radha, a fair-skinned milk maid. Self-conscious about his darker skin, he applied colors to Radha’s face. Today, their love story is re-created in some areas of India and honored through Holi.
For larger celebrations comparable to those in India, some people travel either to New York City or even down south to Georgia.
“It would be fun if the U.S. starts recognizing Holi,” Singh said. “I could really see a lot of people just having fun.”
Non-Hindus in India celebrate the holiday as well, including Vora, who said he celebrates in the same way non-Christians celebrate Christmas.
This Holi, Kaur will dress in a white Indian outfit with a colorful scarf, known as a dupatta, Punjabi jutti shoes and silver earrings. Together with her friends and family, she will usher in the new season “dancing freely, throwing colors and indulging in sweets, bringing a rare sense of carefree happiness.”
Thomas Jesaitis proudly standing with his field of corn. Photo courtesy Bev Tyler’s collection
By Beverly C. Tyler
“I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, and particularly to the present government of Russia of whom I have heretofore been a subject; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.”Naturalization oath taken by Thomas Jesaitis on May 24, 1919.
Al and his wife Doris Jesaitis in front of their East Setauket home. 1986 photo by Bev Tyler
Alphonse (Al) Jesaitis remembered fondly his parent’s story of their immigration to America in 1904. “He (Thomas Jesaitis) married my mother (Olga)…a Finn.She was at Helsinki and she was a dressmaker. He started to travel to the United States. They went to Germany, then from Germany to Scotland and that’s where Ann (Al’s sister) was born. Then from there they went to Brooklyn.They had to go on a boat and they come on steerage.They didn’t have much money.”
After Thomas arrived in New York in 1904, he went to work as a stevedore on the docks. Ann Hilliard, Thomas’ daughter recalled. “Father came over first.He got a room and when we came here we slept on the floor.” Thomas and Olga Jesaitis’ next three children, Alfonse, Thomas and Olga, were born in Brooklyn between 1905 and 1908.The last two, Val and Anthony, were born in Setauket.
Al Jesaitis remembered those years. “They decided to come to Setauket. Of course, they were talking to some people—to a lot of Lithuanians and Polish and, of course, then they thought they could come out here. He got a job as a groundsman with Tinker (Poquott)… So he worked there for a while and then when Tinker died…he went to the shipyard (in Port Jefferson) because that was the time that they were paying a pretty good salary…That was during World War I. So he worked there for quite a while and he used to get a part-time job at noon time to oil the booms – the top of the booms – the thing that swings around. After he did it for a while he said ‘Gee, I got too big a family, I might fall out and get killed.’So he quit. But he didn’t quit his regular job.
“We bought a place up at Barker’s farm on the end of Old Post Road [now Old Post and Canterbury Blvd.]. When we were there for a while, the main thing he was interested in was becoming a citizen of the United States. So Mrs. Bartow took him to Riverhead in a Model T Ford to get his first papers. Of course to get the second papers and finally become a citizen you had to wait three years…That automatically made my mother a citizen…When he came home he was happy ‘cause he made the first step. So he went out in the woods and he cut a big hickory tree – nice slim tree – trimmed it all up and he said, ‘this is gonna be our flag pole when we become a citizen.’
Al Jesaitis in his fireman’s rig. Photo courtesy Bev Tyler’s collection
“So three years later [on May 24, 1919], Mrs. Bartow took him back, he got his papers and he came back and he was happy, and up went the flag. And when the flag went up, course all the kids went out. And then my sister Ann, she took an enamel dish pan and a big wood spoon – you oughta see that dish pan after she got through – banging, banging, banging, you know. Then we were singing and I forget just what the song was, whether it was ‘My Country T’is of Thee’ or whatever it was, but we all sang it. That was the happy day. That’s why it’s so important about having the flag up there cause it means something to me to have a flag – we always have a flag up.”
Al Jesaitis joined the Setauket Fire Department at the age of 18, eventually serving as chief from 1952-54. During those years Jesaitis started firefighter training. He served in the Navy during WWII and learned how the Navy fought ship fires. He also served as a Setauket school board member. During that time Ward Melville asked him to review properties for new schools. “In only one case did I disagree with Mr. Melville,” he said. “There was this moonshiner set up where the Nassakaeg school was to be built. We didn’t know who they were and I was afraid they would stay in the woods around the school. Of course we went ahead with the school. Charlie [Bickford] and I took the empty moonshine barrels to Randall’s, cut them in half and made planters out of them.” After Setauket’s merger with the Stony Brook School District, Jesaitis left the board to become Three Village School District Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds.
Jesaitis had a soft, wry sense of humor, and together with his best friend, Charlie Bickford, he could tell amusing and believable stories about the people in Setauket. Jesaitis was asked once about what was done with the chamber pot that was kept under the bed to use on cold nights when going to the outhouse was the last thing on people’s minds. “Well”, he said, “we’d just leave it until morning, it froze, of course. Then we’d take it down to the kitchen and put it on the stove to thaw.”He made it sound so logical that the story was never questioned. Jesaitis and Bickford got a good chuckle out of that.
Al Jesaitisdied on Oct. 1, 1992.He was the proud son of immigrant parents who, along with hundreds of thousands of others, came to America to find a better life and in turn made life better for all of us.
Beverly Tyler is Three Village Historical Society historian and author of books available from the Three Village Historical Society, 93 North Country Rd., Setauket, NY 11733. Tel: 631-751-3730, www.TVHS.org
#21 Andre Snoddy scored eight points, including the game-winning basket, and pulled down 13 rebounds. Photo from Stony Brook Athletics
Stony Brook men’s basketball defeated Hofstra, 59-56, on Feb. 27 at Stony Brook Arena. The Seawolves ended the game on an 8-0 run, capped off by an Andre Snoddy dunk and block on the opposite end to seal a regular-season sweep of their Long Island rivals.
Stony Brook started strong offensively, with Luster paving the way for the Seawolves to build an early double-digit lead, 21-11, at the 7:42 mark of the first half.
Hofstra could not cut into Stony Brook’s lead much and the Seawolves extended the advantage to 11 points, 27-16, on a Quin Gorman triple with less than four minutes to play.
The Pride battled back and scored twice in the final minute to make it a five-point game heading into the locker room.
Trailing 31-26 coming out of the break, Hofstra evened the contest at 38 all and took its first lead since the opening minute of action on an Aranguren basket that bookended an 8-0 Pride run.
The lead began to change hands after baskets back and forth down the stretch.After the Seawolves grabbed a five-point lead on a Collin O’Connor trifecta, Hofstra scored eight straight to go back in front, 51-48, on a Davis basket that led to a Stony Brook timeout with 5:34 to play.
Ben Wight connected on a triple, just his second of the season and eighth of his career, to even the score again.
Hofstra grabbed a five-point advantage again, but Stony Brook fought to make it a one-point game in the final minute. The Seawolves had possession out of a timeout with 31 seconds to play. Wight found a cutting Snoddy for a dunk inside with 13 seconds remaining to give Stony Brook a 57-56 lead.
Snoddy made the decisive play on the opposite end of the court, blocking Aranguren’s driving layup and corralling the rebound in the final seconds.
Snoddy made two free throws with 1.5 seconds left.
The team stays home, celebrating senior day festivities against Elon on Saturday, March 1. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Stony Brook Arena, with the contest airing nationally on CBS Sports Network.
Members of the Anna Smith Strong Chapter of the NSDAR present a check and donated books to Brian Debus in front of the group's showcase at Emma Clark Library. Photo courtesy of NSDAR
The Anna Smith Strong Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR), the recipient of a grant as part of the NSDAR America 250 celebration, recently donated a check for $500 to Emma S. Clark Memorial Library in Setauket to purchase historical books for the library.
The check was presented by Chapter Regent Nancy Dorney and chapter members to Director Ted Gutmann and Head of Children’s Services Brian Debus in order to purchase books on the Revolutionary War and our first president in honor of the upcoming 250th birthday of our country.
In addition to the check, several historical books were also donated from the private collection of DAR chapter member Patricia Cunningham.
The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution is a non-profit, non-political volunteer women’s service organization, founded in Washington, D.C., on October 11, 1890, incorporated by an act of Congress in 1896. Theirmission is to promote historic preservation, education, and patriotism. Any woman 18 years or older who can prove lineal descent from a patriot of the American Revolution, is eligible for membership. To learn more about the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution please visit www.dar.org,or the chapter’s website: https://annasmithstrongnsdar.org.
Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police Fourth Precinct Crime Section officers are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate the woman who allegedly stole merchandise from a Lake Grove store this month.
A woman allegedly stole two pair of shoes from Dick’s Sporting Goods, located in the Smith Haven Mall on February 17 at approximately 12:40 p.m. The shoes were valued at approximately $330.
Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information about these incidents can contact Suffolk County Crime Stoppers to submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-800-220-TIPS, utilizing a mobile app which can be downloaded through the App Store or Google Play by searching P3 Tips, or online at www.P3Tips.com. All calls, text messages and emails will be kept confidential.
Jean Prysock, who passed away on June 28, 2024 at the age of 97 in North Carolina, leaves behind an extraordinary legacy and The Jazz Loft in Stony Brook is a big part of that story. Prysock, who was married to jazz great Arthur Prysock, was never one to take a back seat and embodied the old adage that if “you want something done, give it to a busy person.”
Her life was full with volunteer work and helping others. In her later years she became a key spark in establishing The Jazz Loft (TJL). As a founding board member, Prysock worked with founder and president Tom Manuel, attending initial meetings with The Ward Melville Heritage Organization board and their President, Gloria Rocchio, as the idea of TJL became a reality.
Tom Manuel and Jean Prysock
“Jean tirelessly worked public relations for The Jazz Loft when we first opened in 2014,” Manuel said. “She donated her husband’s archives and that was a big addition to our collections. It opened the door for others that followed. She was an incredible mentor to me, and a real pioneer in so many shapes and forms, and more importantly, one of my dearest friends.”
Born and raised in the Bedford Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, Prysock graduated from Franklin K. Lane High School, receiving awards for her dedication to others and her athletic abilities.
Prysock was married to Arthur for 49 years. The couple met at the Savoy nightclub, where Arthur was performing with the Buddy Johnson Band.
“My dad thought my mom would be an easy pickup, but she wasn’t,” laughed daughter Jeanartta. But Prysock’s best friend Gloria was dating Arthur’s brother and that made for an introduction.
They were married on June 6, 1948.
They bought their first home in Jamaica, N.Y. Arthur and Prysock loved to entertain and their home was known for great parties, good food and the best BBQ around. Christmas Eve parties were Prysock’s specialty and people came from far and wide, which eventually required her to transform the party into a ticketed dinner-dance.
Following Arthur’s death in 1997, Prysock did not slow down, filling her days with a variety of volunteer opportunities and positions on advisory boards.
Prysock volunteered at the Veterans Hospital in St. Albans, Goldwater Hospital and Harlem Hospital. Prysock organized shows for the patients at Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, featuring her talented husband. She was active in the PTA at P.S. 140 in Queens. She eventually received a position on the P.S. 140 Board of Education, and headed the Higher Horizons program.
In addition to her school and community work, the sport of bowling called. For 22 years Prysock volunteered at Cardinal Lanes, and had a league of young bowlers known as the Prysock Junior Bowlers. Bowling became a big part of her life. Through communication with Charlie Venable, a pro bowler, she got involved with the pro bowlers at Paramus Lanes, becoming a sponsor of the team The Prysock Five. Jean was the first female recipient of an award for dedication to the world of bowling.
“You couldn’t tell my mom ‘no’ to anything,” remembers Jeanartta. “That just made her more determined. She would find a way.”
When a local Portuguese family suffered a house fire resulting in the death of several children, Jean organized a fundraising effort to raise money so that the family could relocate to a new home.
Even though the community was divided by race, income and ethnicity, Jean brought everyone together and not only raised enough money for the family to buy a new home, but she also organized an interracial-interfaith group hoping to bring better understanding between all people.
The National Conference of Christians and Jews presented her the Ambassador of Good Will award and she was also recognized by local professional business groups and was named to the Nassau County Advisory Board of Volunteers Services.
Prysock leaves behind two daughters, Jeanartta and Jeanine; grandchildren Jara, Arthur, and Jeanisha; and great grandchildren Kiya, Kaily, and Hibiki..
Prysock’s motto was “Respect yourself and others will do the same. And remember no one owes you anything. Learn to love, learn to be better and the world will become a better place to live. When you help someone else up the hill, you help yourself.
With the end of President Donald Trump’s (R) 30-day pause for tariffs on Canada and Mexico fast approaching, TBR News Media spoke with local business owners regarding their thoughts on the tariffs. Explained simply, the tariffs would increase the cost of goods imported from each country by 25% (with energy imported from Canada taxed at 10%), a concern relevant to local businesses that rely on such goods to operate. These come in addition to other recent tariffs placed by the newest presidential administration, such as 10% levy on Chinese goods. When asked for their thoughts, both interviewees spoke first on the impact of past tariffs.
Claudia Dowling, owner of Claudia Dowling Interiors in Huntington, describes how the 2019 tariffs cost her “well over 30%” of her profit for that year. “Having written an order for a client, I felt it necessary to keep to the original pricing we agreed on. However, after the product arrived and [was] delivered, my final invoice … had one to sometimes three tariffs added.”
She elaborated how in the years since COVID–19 hit, freight costs became especially high, making it hard to turn a profit, and how this could be further inflated by new tariffs. And while larger companies can reduce these costs by relying on Amazon, she said this was not an option for smaller businesses like hers.
“I have to eliminate many vendors making it impossible to fill my store. It goes on and on. The small business community is in more trouble than ever.” While she has been in her business for 50 years, she is now concerned about staying afloat.
Howard Stern, owner of East Bay Mechanical Corp. in Yaphank, has already seen his business impacted by the separate proposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum set to start on March 12. He described how even though he relies on domestic steel, he has seen those prices already go up in response, resulting in an approximate 20% increase in his metal costs.
“It affects washing machines, it affects AC units, it doesn’t just affect the sheet metal … but everything that goes along with it, because everything requires metal and, unfortunately, it goes up but it never comes back down … even when the tariffs are lifted,” he said.
Stern also describes how tariffs affect costs at each step of the way “so by the time the end consumer gets on it, that 20% in raw material has been stepped on three to four times by four different people, so the end consumer is paying that tariff four times.”
According to both the January Navigator Research Poll and the February Harvard Caps/Harris poll, approximately three in five Americans expect new tariffs will increase costs for consumers. The Navigator polls indicate a slim majority believes tariffs will be worthwhile if they can protect American manufacturing and jobs, but also that a majority believes the tariffs will hurt American consumers more than foreign countries. Further costs to Americans could come from retaliatory tariffs too, as Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau previously promised to implement.
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