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Port Times Record

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Pixabay photo

By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief,
Publisher

Houses are like children. They need constant care and rescuing, especially in this current bout of tempestuous weather we’ve been having. Sometimes they have several needs that just pile up on each other.

The trouble started Saturday, when we plugged the vacuum cleaner into an electric strip and the lights went out. So did the computers. After much hunting and flipping of fuses in the fuse boxes, we finally found the culprit and restored the electricity—but not the computers. That took another long and arduous retracing of procedures, with the help of a kindly electrician, who came over despite his hernia operation four days earlier, until they  worked.

Vowing never again to plug the vacuum into the power strip, we thankfully continued on with our lives. We might have even felt a little smug about figuring out how to solve the various problems. 

That is, until Monday. Now, no one I know loves Mondays. Unless they work on the weekends and have the day off. So it was not a pleasant beginning to the anyway unwelcome start of Monday, when we found that the fearsome winds of Sunday night had knocked down a heavy tree. It had fallen across the driveway, innocently forming a perfect right angle with the blacktop, making the driveway passable only for deer.

Eventually we got out, only to be informed that the toilet bowl in the office was having a bad day. According to prior plans, the plumber had come to restore the grout at the base of the pedestal, from which tiny amounts of water had been seeping onto the floor. In the process, he heard something snap, he said, and suddenly the minute (my-NOOT) leak turned into a gusher. 

We rushed around the building, fumbling for the intake valve. Before we could turn off the water, the plumber somehow stopped the flow, but the problem was not solved. He told us that he needed to replace a particular part. Of course, Monday was Presidents Day, a holiday for plumbing supply stores the world over. After a fashion, our plumber was able to put the crisis on hold until the following day, but not until considerable hysteria was expended, along with the water.

We went home Monday evening, consoling ourselves that these were only inanimate material losses. At least we had personally survived unscathed.

At 7:12 the next morning, a text message arrived, informing us that the managing editor, our only managing editor, had a temperature of 102.3 degrees. She gamely told us that she could do some of her work remotely, but it was going to be a difficult day since the papers are due at the printer Wednesday afternoon. We took some prophylactic action, helped by the good nature and generosity of others, and hoped for the best.

The miseries weren’t over. When we got home, the mixer we were using, that had been valiantly making pulp of the raw fruits and vegetables for a smoothie, suddenly stopped. Just like that, in the middle of making dinner. Unplugging, replugging, restarting, shaking, switching receptacles, giving it a rest, were all to no avail. It was as if a ghost had snuck into the house and jinxed the heretofore powerful mixer, which wasn’t nearly old enough to have died on the job. We looked up the brand on the internet to see if instructions might help us solve the trouble. We found lots of instructions, all of which we had already tried, and the dumb machine just remained on the kitchen counter, silently defying us.

Exasperated, we moved into the living room, picked up the daily newspaper and were ready to turn our attention to exogenous problems about which happily we had no responsibility to solve. 

And there it was. One more impotent machine before us. One more challenge to try and fix. The humidifier that we rely on to keep the heat from drying out our biological pipes, as well as our house, was not sending up its normal stream of vapor. I capitulated and went to bed. 

Those few days, there must have been something in the water. 

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An ill swan in Old Field. Photo by David Goldblum

By Sabrina Artusa

Residents across the county are noticing swans straying from their habitats, wandering onto roads, drive-ways and parking lots, often disheveled and disoriented. 

Lisa Jaeger, who runs an animal rescue business, has already picked up six swans this year, a number she says is above normal. In fact, Jaeger was relocating a swan that was found on 25A only hours before her phone interview with TBR News Media. In her ten years of running her business, Jaeger said she has never noticed such an influx of displaced, sick or even dead swans.

“It is very bad. One of them we found dead on the beach on Shore Road” Jaeger said. “It’s horrible. It’s just horrible.”

Swans are extremely territorial creatures and after mating, reside in one area for the rest of their lives. They may leave that area if pushed out after fighting with another swan or if they are confused and unable to navigate back. Lead poisoning is the likely cause. 

“[Lead poisoning] is very common,” Adrienne Gillepsie, wildlife rehabilitator at Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center in Hampton Bays. “Every single swan that we admit to this center, and we get a lot, has lead poisoning.”

Jaeger frequently travels to the rescue center to drop off swans, if they have room. The Evelyn Alexander Rescue Center is the only wildlife center in Suffolk County that has a large waterfowl pen. Other centers have smaller pens and are only capable of taking a few waterfowl. 

Lead poisoning affects the swans’ central nervous system and can cause the swans to neglect their grooming, becoming dirty and odorous as a result. They can become sluggish and confused or lose control of their legs and wings and become grounded. When this happens, the swan may try to eat dirt or sand, compounding their sickness. 

“If they don’t get treated, it is a death sentence and it is very, very slow. They are uncoordinated, they can drown, they get hit by cars…they slowly just go downhill because they don’t have that medicine or treatment,” Gillepsie said. 

Gillepsie estimated that when she started 12 years ago, only around half of swans that were brought in had lead poisoning; now, she said it was essentially a guarantee that a bird would show high levels of lead when given a blood test. 

Gillespie and her team administer a treatment called chelation therapy, a 5-day treatment that flushes the toxic metals from the swan’s system. They administer dimercaptosuccinic acid to extricate the heavy metals. This treatment is repeated until lead levels are low enough for the swan to be released.

Swans must be returned “exactly where they came from.” They are invasive and aggressive, so relocating them is problematic not only to other swans, but also to the surrounding ecosystem. 

The cured swans return to their nest site, ingest the same contaminated vegetation or lead shots. Gillespie said they regularly get “repeat offenders”.

Other birds like hawks, owls, loons, ducks, and canadian geese can also get lead poisoning, but not as frequently as swans. 

Lead shot and pellets were outlawed in 1991. The sale of lead fishing sinkers under one-half ounce or less was banned in New York in 2002 as it was the leading cause of death for the common loon. 

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By Dylan Friedman

A proposed 48-unit apartment complex in Port Jefferson Station, Brook Meadows, has sparked a potential boundary restructuring between Brookhaven Town and Port Jefferson Village. Developer Northwind Group wants to annex the project site on Baylis Avenue to Port Jefferson Village. 

This unusual move comes after Northwind’s initial attempt to secure a zoning change from Brookhaven Town for the 5.6-acre parcel at 16 Baylis Ave. failed amid community and official opposition.

Baylis Avenue, a dead-end street with only 6 properties, presents a unique situation. While physically located within the Town of Brookhaven, its sole access point is via Sheep Pasture Road, which lies within Port Jefferson Village.

If both the town and village consent to the annexation, Brook Meadows would be assessed by Port Jefferson’s land-use boards instead of those of Brookhaven’s.

However, Ira Costell, president of the Port Jefferson Station-Terryville Civic Association, said in a recent Newsday article that he thinks the annexation “has the feel of a backdoor move to circumvent both the town and the residents of Port Jefferson Station” to bypass town zoning laws. 

“If this was a constant process and policy now, we are eating away at the margins of what’s been long-term, long-established as the governmental jurisdiction. It still remains part of our school district. Everybody around that parcel will be Port Jeff Station residents. I mean, what’s the logic behind this,” Costell said.  

There is a public hearing, scheduled for March 6 at Brookhaven Town Hall in Farmingville, is poised to be pivotal in determining the fate of the Brook Meadows development and its implications for municipal boundary adjustments. 

Ultimately, the fate of the annexation and the Brook Meadows project will hinge on a joint decision by Brookhaven Town and Port Jefferson Village.

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Stony Brook University. File photo

This month, Stony Brook University anticipates the induction of a new president: an exciting time for students. Who will this new leader be and how will they shape the school? What do they have planned for the bustling university? What expertise do they bring? 

Simultaneously, the fate of the monetary foundation of SBU’s research is uncertain. The new president will be stepping into the role amidst changes that would redefine the school’s research aspirations. New York had previously received $5 billion in funds from the National Institutes of Health–an amount that was cut on Monday. The move was blocked by a federal judge after 22 states, including New York, filed a lawsuit against it.

“[The policy] will devastate critical public health research at universities and research institutions in the United States. Without relief from NIH’s action, these institutions’ cutting edge work to cure and treat human disease will grind to a halt,” the lawsuit reads. 

The plan creates ambiguities on a local level as institutions envision a future without millions in funding. The SUNY system’s downstate flagship university is not excluded. “From working to cure Alzheimer’s disease to improving cancer outcomes, from supporting 9/11 first responders to detecting brain aneurysms, your research is essential to our national security and economic leadership. NIH’s cuts represent an existential threat to public health.” SUNY Chancellor John King wrote in a statement released on Monday.

As much as 60% of the NIH grant budget can be devoted to indirect costs such as infrastructure and maintenance. These costs, known as facilities and administrative costs, help support research and would be lowered to 15%. “[The plan] will cost SUNY research an estimated $79 million for current grants, including more than $21 million over just the next five months.” King wrote.

The new president will be juggling the specific priorities of Stony Brook while navigating federal legalities of policies that will undoubtedly affect one of the institution’s major focuses, research. As president, they will have the power to shape the university in momentous ways, leaving their trace for years to come just as previous presidents have. They will also have to adapt to federal directives. The current changes on the national educational stage would put pressure on any university president and could affect the economy of surrounding areas, particularly as the university is the largest single-site employer on Long Island.. As we await the announcement of this new leader, who will have to navigate national funding in addition to the countless other challenges of assuming the top job, we recognize that their success is our success.

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Port Jefferson Village Hall. Photo by Heidi Sutton 2023

By Peter Sloniewsky

In the new year, the Port Jefferson Country Club’s governorship has remained an issue among the trustees and the public. 

Prior to the Board of Trustees meeting on Jan. 29, Mayor Lauren Sheprow wrote to the membership of the country club that she was planning to introduce a resolution that would solicit a Request for Expression of Interest  to create a 10-year strategic plan for the club at a cost of no more than $50,000. An EOI is a competitive process used to get information from potential consultants about interest in a project and does not require any actual investment. 

Tom Natola. Photo courtesy of portjeffcc.com

This plan would include both capital and operations planning for the course and the campus and comes after a number of controversies stalled last year’s planning efforts. Debates over junior membership, initiation fees and other components of the membership package stretched across the month of December before being cut short by a surprise announcement by General Manager Tom Natola that rates, playing and access policies would not change between 2024 and 2025. 

At the Jan. 29 meeting, the trustees both debated Sheprow’s proposal and engaged with one another about resolving the current controversy of junior membership rates. After a recommendation from the town attorney, Sheprow removed the $50,000 number. 

Trustee Robert Juliano questioned why the club’s Board of Governors  or Country Club Management Advisory Council were not just asked to develop such a strategic plan. The town attorney stopped this discussion, stating that it was a non-public matter of “job performance.”  Sheprow later told TBR News Media that she “first requested that [Natola] develop a strategic plan in October of 2023” before coming “to the conclusion that professional assistance may be needed.” 

Trustee Kyle Hill also moved to push this job to the BOG and CCMAC and showed a reluctance to spend money on such a plan whether that was the intention of the resolution or not. He also argued that the membership of the club had not been adequately consulted, and that there was a risk for “reputational damage” to the board of trustees as a result. Regardless, the EOI was passed 3-2 among the trustees, with trustee Stan Louks (who previously served as liaison to the country club) and Hill opposed. 

CCMAC Chair Lisa Perry told TBR News Media that CCMAC had not met to discuss the proposal of a consultant-driven strategic plan, but that Sheprow had mentioned her intention to take this approach. Sheprow also defended this approach to TBR News Media: “With the complexities of all the moving parts surrounding the property … I consider it my direct responsibility, for the best interests of all our residents/taxpayers, to take lead on this, and soliciting expressions of interest was the first step to help educate the Board of Governors and the CCMAC on what services are available.”

However, later public comment showed some discontent with this strategy. Resident Matt Franco called to disband the BOG and implement bylaws. Looking ahead, he also argued that the $50,000 for a strategic plan would have to come from a rainy-day fund, and that the goal of a general manager at the club should be to take lead on designing that 10-year plan. 

The trustees also unanimously certified a set of rules for the club for 2025 identical to the 2024 rules (as Natola’s announcement had promised) with the change of moving juniors start times from 2 p.m. to 10 a.m. 

Just two days later, in a surprise to the club’s members, Sheprow announced the resignation of Natola. Rather than immediately seeking a replacement, she wrote that a combination of the BOG, CCMAC and the return of   Louks as liaison to the club would lead its governance. Sheprow told TBR News Media that it is “a best practice for any country club to have a general manager” but stated faith in Louks to assist in managing the club for the time being. Perry also asserted to TBR News Media that, while the CCMAC had not yet met, she had faith in the club’s other management along with Louks to keep things running smoothly. 

In hindsight, Sheprow told TBR News Media “a bylaws document for the BOG is essential to define the makeup and roles and responsibilities of the BOG,” but also that this was “another long outstanding deliverable anticipated from the GM.” She also reflected that the BOG had done well in 2023 (when it was re-formed) but that, once controversies arose, “it became evident that a resident majority is important.” Alternatively, Perry claimed that she would “personally be in favor of the BOG having an equal number of residents to nonresidents,” but noted that it does currently have a resident majority. 

The Port Jefferson Board of Trustees will meet again on Feb. 26.

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Florence Aghomo in Madagascar. Photo courtesy Florence Aghomo

By Daniel Dunaief

Don’t say “no” to Florence Aghomo.

A graduate student at Stony Brook University who was born and raised in Cameroon, Aghomo’s ability to get past no, don’t, and shouldn’t led to a continent-hoping life complete with a recent compelling discovery in the rainforest of Madagascar.

Working on her PhD research in the laboratory of Distinguished Professor Patricia Wright, Aghomo went north in Ranomafana National Park when almost every other researcher has gone south in the national park. She was searching for a type of lemur called the Milne-Edwards’s Sifaka when she came upon a large hole on a steep surface.

The fossilized hippo bones, including a tusk and a mandible. Photo courtesy Patricia Wright

She suggested to her guide that it was a cave. Her guide insisted she was wrong. When she spoke with Wright, her advisor also was unconvinced.

Aghomo, however, was sure that what she saw was similar to the caves she studied in the class of Adjunct Lecturer Dominic Stratford, who has a dual position at Wits University in South Africa.

In November, several months after Aghomo’s initial discovery, a team of scientists trekked into the remote part of the rainforest in the north.

“It’s very, very difficult terrain,” Wright said.

The group found 13 caves, one of which, to their amazement, contained fossilized bones.

“This is impossible,” Wright recalled thinking. “Bones don’t fossilize in the rainforest. Everyone knows that.”

But, as the evidence suggested, they can and they do.

The researchers initially thought the unexpected bones were a pig.

“I’m saying, ‘No, it’s not a wild pig,’” said Wright. “That is a hippopotamus. They couldn’t believe it.”

Indeed, while three species of pygmy hippopotami have been discovered in parts of the island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent, none have been discovered in the rainforest.

Once the group at Centre ValBio, the research station in Ranomofana National Park run by Wright, confirmed the discovery, Wright immediately took two actions.

First, she wrote to Stratford.

“This is what we found and it is your fault for teaching Florence how to look for a cave,” Wright said. “It’s your responsibility to come over and help us. I’m not a paleontologist and you are.”

Stratford described the first few weeks after the discovery as frantic, as he had to grade papers, apply for a visa and make complicated travel plans – all before any possible rain washed away this remarkable discovery.

Stratford was thrilled with the finding.

“It was great to know that something you teach at Stony Brook University in the middle of the Northeast has helped somebody make a discovery on the other side of the planet in a rainforest,” said Stratford. The discovery “couldn’t be further away from where we are right now, sitting here in the snow.”

She Wright also wrote to the Leakey Foundation to secure emergency funds to bring experts to the area quickly before the rainy season threatened to wash away this remarkable find.

“This was a really great opportunity to use these emergency funds and is exactly the kinds of things we want to do,” said Carol Ward, co-chair of the Scientific Executive Committee for Paleoanthropology at the Leakey Foundation. “To find a cave system in this rainforest that’s preserving these fossils is really special.”

Acidic rainforest soils make the discovery of fossils in these areas rare.

Seeing the bones

Once Aghomo was able to see the fossilized bones, Wright appreciated the variety of information they these fossils might contain.

The bones had a mandible with molars that “look like flowers,” Wright said. “They had a really nice wear pattern.”

Based on the amount of wear on the teeth, Wright estimates that the individual hippo might have been a young adult when it died.

The collection of bones also included a tusk and several leg bones.

Stratford, who helped carefully excavate the bones with researchers from the University of Antananrivo (Tana), believes this pygmy hippo likely died in the cave. He is hopeful that they might find other parts of the same hippo’s skeleton that got washed into different parts of the cave.

Relatively speaking, this hippo has a smaller cranium and longer legs than similar species on the island nation. Wright suspects that the hippo is a different species from the three that have been categorized in Madagascar.

The bones are sitting in a refrigerator at CVB and Wright hopes to bring them to Stony Brook by some time around May, when Stratford and others might be able to examine them.

Researchers are hoping to answer several questions about the animal, including the age of the fossil as well as the food in its diet based on whatever they can extract from the teeth.

Searching other caves

Researchers, meanwhile, have discovered a tusk from another hippo in another nearby cave.

Wright is excited about the possibility of finding other fossilized bones in caves created by granite boulders that tumbled down a steep slope. Some of the caves have water running at the bottom of them, which can be meters down from their entrance. Scientists used ropes to descend into the caves.

Wright, who has won a range of awards from her research on these quirky lemurs and was the subject of the Morgan Freeman-narrated film “Island of Lemurs: Madagascar,”  believes some of these caves may reveal a whole new set of fossil lemurs.

Wright hopes to return to Madagascar next summer to do the rest of the excavation with paleontologists.

As for Aghomo, the eagerness to blaze her own trail that led her to find these caves in an isolated area is part of a lifelong pattern in which persistence and a willingness to follow difficult paths has paid off.

When she was younger, Aghomo wanted to work in the forest. Her father, Jean-Marie Fodjou, however, suggested such difficult physical work might not be especially challenging for a woman.

Her father didn’t think she would be comfortable walking distances in difficult terrain, crossing rivers, and carrying heavy loads.

Aghomo, however, recognized that it’s “something I want to do.”

The path to Stony Brook wasn’t immediate either. The first year she applied to the graduate program, she sent her application to the wrong department.

In her second year, she was accepted in the Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences but found it difficult to get a visa. Finally, in her third year, she was accepted and received her visa.

This past December, Aghomo won the Young Women in Conservation Biology Award from the Society for Conservation Biology, which recognizes the work of young women in Africa who advance conservation biology.

Recently, Aghomo was back home with her father, who is “so proud of me.”

While she didn’t listen to his advice about staying out of the rainforest, he is pleased that he urged her to pursue her interests to the best of her ability.

“He told me, ‘Do it as well as you can,’” said Aghomo.

Despite the challenge of trekking to parts of a Madagascar rainforest that others don’t generally visit, of following her own path into the forest and of persisting in her efforts to start a PhD program at Stony Brook, Aghomo remains committed to following her own path.

She is hopeful that the discovery of fossils in a few caves in Madagascar leads to additional searches in other rainforests.

After this finding, perhaps paleoanthropologists will “think of searching in Central African countries for fossils.”

As for Ward, she believes the fossilized bones from an extinct species might provide information about human interactions with the world and climate and environmental change that “we might learn from today. There might be lessons about what’s happening now that [we can get] buy looking at what happened in the past.”

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Pete and Mary Mantia

By Luciana Hayes

Valentine’s Day isn’t just about love, it’s also about stories. But are stories really like the ones we see in movies and read in books? 

This Valentine’s Day TBR News Media chose to ask the people of Long Island about the moment they fell in love and took a better look at the movies of peoples’ lives

Pamela and Vincent Giglio

Pamela and Vincent Giglio of Northport

Pamela and Vincent met in August, 1977 at a club called the Penrod in East Meadow when “disco was really big”. After parting ways, they then ran into each other again three weeks later at another club and the rest is history. They will be celebrating their 45th anniversary this summer and will be spending this Valentine’s day with their new grandchild.

Brian and Josette Lebowitz

Brian and Josette Lebowitz of East Setauket

Josette and Brian met on a blind date that was set up by a mutual friend. They married in October of 2019 and will be spending the upcoming holiday with their family.

Taly D. and Leron D. of South Setauket

Taly and Leron met on a Jewish dating website called JDate. The two plan to celebrate this Valentine’s day early and casually.

Mary and Pete Mantia

Mary and Pete Mantia of Patchogue

Mary and Pete met in a supermarket just after Pete had finished serving in Vietnam. They will be spending this Valentine’s day in the city with their family and friends.

Diane and Jeremy Flint of East Setauket

Diane and Jeremy met in the sunshine state of Florida while playing in an adult coed soccer team. They later married in Iceland before moving to Long Island to start a family. They plan on spending Valentine’s day as a family by making heart-shaped pizzas and sweet treats.

Happy Valentine’s Day from Times Beacon Record News Media!

 

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Students from Great Neck South Middle School, left, and Ward Melville High School during their final Science Bowl matches that secured their first-place wins. Photos by David Rahner and Kevin Coughlin/BNL
Both teams will compete for the National Science Bowl title in April

Bright minds from Great Neck South Middle School and Ward Melville High School won first place at regional middle and high school Science Bowls — fast-paced question-and-answer academic competitions — hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton on Jan. 30 and Jan. 31.

The Science Bowl tests students’ knowledge on a range of science disciplines including chemistry, biology, physics, mathematics, astronomy, earth, and computer science.

The teams’ first place wins secured them an all-expense-paid trip to the National Science Bowl, where they’ll compete with students from around the country. The National Science Bowl is scheduled to take place from April 24 to April 28 near Washington, D.C. 

“The regional Science Bowl competition brings together some of the best and brightest STEM students from our region. We must inspire these students by highlighting career pathways and training opportunities, setting them on the path to become the next generation of STEM professionals,” said competition coordinator Amanda Horn, an educator with Brookhaven’s Workforce Development and Science Education Office. 

The winning teams also received a banner to hang in their schools, the top four teams received trophies, and the top three received medals. The first-place high school team won $500 and the second-place team won $250. All prizes and giveaways are courtesy of the event’s sponsors, Brookhaven Science Associates and Teachers Federal Credit Union.

Middle School Science Bowl Top Four

Great Neck South Middle’s first-place team, from left to right, Diane Caplain (coach), Zale Zhang, Nathan Li, Ryan Tsai, Leeann Lee, and Nathan Wong (coach). Photo by David Rahner/Brookhaven National Laboratory

The regional middle school Science Bowl on Jan. 30 was open to schools from Long Island and New York City.

Team members from Great Neck South Middle School spent hours the day before the middle school competition studying as much as they could, said student Ryan Tsai. Each team member specialized in a different subject.

“I would like to thank the math people for doing math,” said Tsai, who focused on chemistry questions.

Looking ahead to the National Science Bowl, captain Nathan Li added, “We’re looking forward to not getting last place and also just having a good time.”

First Place: Great Neck South MS (Team 1)

Second Place: Hunter College MS

Third Place: Paul J. Gelinas JHS

Fourth Place: R.C. Murphy JHS

High School Science Bowl Top Four

Ward Melville High School’s winning team, from left to right, Philip Medina (coach), Harry Gao, Anna Xing, Sean Skinner, Jason Yin, and Gunes Sunar. Photo by Kevin Coughlin/BNL

Ward Melville Senior High School is sending a team to the National Science Bowl for the third straight year.

To prepare for the regional high school competition on Jan. 31, the team studied even more than they did last year since two previous members graduated since then, said captain Sean Skinner. They also practiced how to buzz in to answer questions as fast as possible, he said.

“Most of us have read a textbook cover to cover in our main fields,” Skinner said, noting that each team member specialized in a subject or two. He added that he was happy with the teamwork Ward Melville showed. “Everyone was really positive and focused; that was awesome to see,” Skinner said. “I think my favorite thing is working together with other people to solve a problem that goes between both of your skills.”

First Place: Ward Melville Senior HS

Second Place: Great Neck South HS

Third Place: Roslyn High School

Fourth Place: General Douglas MacArthur Senior High School

Encouraging STEM participation

Science Bowl competitors learned about research happening at Brookhaven Lab straight from scientists, engineers, and postdoctoral researchers at the STEM Expo. (David Rahner/Brookhaven National Laboratory)

Both competitions kicked off with an introduction to Brookhaven Lab’s role as one of 17 DOE national laboratories and its unique facilities that aid researchers in making groundbreaking discoveries.  

Gary Olson, deputy site manager at the DOE-Brookhaven Site Office, encouraged students and their teachers to explore STEM training opportunities available through DOE programs.

“We need your minds. We need your inputs. We need your collaboration with your peers who are sitting next to you, in front of you and behind you to make those world-class discoveries, those scientific leaps of sorts, those transformational things, whatever they may be,” Olson said.

Students also heard from two early-career scientists at Brookhaven Lab about their areas of research.  

Amie Dobracki of the Environmental and Climate Sciences Department shared with middle schools why researchers study aerosols and their impacts, and how the tiny particles are key ingredients in the formation of clouds.

Success! These middle school students quickly cracked codes to unlock treats during the STEM Challenge. (David Rahner/Brookhaven National Laboratory)

Ejiro Umaka of the Physics Department explained how sPHENIX, one of two detectors that captures particle collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, a DOE Office of Science User facility for nuclear physics research at Brookhaven, helps scientists further understand the nature of matter in our early universe.

During a STEM Expo organized by the Lab’s Workforce Development and Science Education Office, students were the ones asking questions. Scientists from across the Lab’s disciplines offered demonstrations that revealed the basic principles of vacuum chambers, electron beams, software that operates instrumentation used to view materials at the nanoscale, and more.

Science Bowl competitors also toured the National Synchrotron Light Source II, a DOE Office of Science User facility at Brookhaven.

Teams that did not move on to the competition’s final double elimination rounds had the chance to further test their know-how at a STEM Challenge. They quickly put their minds together to solve puzzles that revealed codes to unlock boxes filled with treats. The teams with the fastest times won gift bags.

Middle school STEM Challenge results: First Place: New Hyde Park Memorial High School;  Second Place: Great Neck South Middle School (Team 2); Third Place: Plainedge Middle School

High school STEM Challenge results: First Place: Lindenhurst High School; Second Place: Long Beach High School; Third Place: Jericho High Schoo

Brookhaven National Laboratory is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit science.energy.gov.

 

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Pictured from left, Dr. Joseph Marino, Northwell SVP Anesthesia Service Line; Dr. David Park, Anesthesia Chair at Mather Hospital; Steven Cortes; Michael Lampasona, Nurse Anesthesia Manager at Mather; and Kevin McGeachy, President, Mather Hospital. Photo courtesy of Northwell

Steven Cortes, a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist at Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson, was honored on Feb. 3 with a lifesaver award from Northwell’s Anesthesia Service Line for his role in saving the life of a house fire victim.

On Oct. 14, 2024 Mr. Cortes finished his 10-hour shift and began driving home to his wife when he came upon an active house fire in his neighborhood. The first person on the scene, he called 911, then assisted in rescuing a 62-year-old disabled man trapped in the blaze. 

The paramedics on the scene tried unsuccessfully to place a breathing tube in the man. Steve rushed in and successfully intubated the man on his first attempt. After securing the patient’s airway, he remained at his side in the ambulance and aided in the resuscitation efforts on the way to the closest hospital. 

“Steve spent the entire evening and night displaying an extraordinary level of compassion and selflessness,” said Michael Lampasona, Nurse Anesthesia Manager at Mather Hospital. “He truly exemplifies the mission, vision, and values of Northwell Anesthesia.”

“Steven’s quick thinking, training and experience helped save a life that night,” said Mather President Kevin McGeachy. “I congratulate him for showing the highest level of dedication and professionalism, the kind of extraordinary patient care for which Mather is known.” 

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File photo by Raymond Janis

Relocate the PJ country club, stop the project

I appreciated Lynn Hallarman’s February 6 article, “Report finds no maintenance or repairs carried out on Port Jeff East Beach Bluff project”. It provides a great recap of how the village got to where we are in relation to the Bluff/Country Club. 

Near the end of the article, we learn that the Mayor said, in a written email to the paper, that an open forum will be held where GEI will present the Phase 2 project design and path forward for Phase 1 remediation and restoration. “ 

It appears to me that this presentation will not provide options for residents to consider or gather input on how the residents would like to move forward but, instead, it will tell us what’s going to happen and how much we will pay via our property taxes.

I believe that this will not be the end of this nightmare. There will be other multi-million dollar work that needs to be done after Phase II is completed. This includes millions for a drainage system to prevent more damage to the campus, the restoration of Phase I project that partially failed, ongoing expensive upkeep including DEC-required yearly inspections, and a grandiose plan for a future sports complex (tennis courts, pickleball courts and more). When will the spending stop?  Enough is enough and remember this is just a temporary fix. Nature will eventually win. All we will accomplish is postponing the inevitable and pushing the problem into the future. 

We need to remember that the main purpose of this project was to protect the Country Club building from falling off the cliff since it provides a major income to the Village. Yet, I hear that the current tenant has not paid their rent in months. Maybe this is a sign that we need to stop, retreat and build a new smaller facility in a safer location that would serve not only this generation but future generations. 

Robert Grimm,

Port Jefferson Village

BESS facilities are inefficient

In battery energy storage systems (BESS) fabricated using lithium-ion storage cells, the possibility of an uncontrollable thermal runaway fire, such as the recent event in Moss Landing, California, is a serious problem. However, there is another problem, which may cause even greater concern. This is the possibility of prolonged blackouts, due to an insufficient number of BESS installations, brought about by the occurrence of several consecutive days of overcast weather, during which little or no solar energy will be provided by the sun.

We have been told that climate change is an existential problem, and that all emissions of carbon dioxide must be eliminated. One apparent solution, which is apparently under serious consideration, would be to replace our existing power plants with solar arrays, with BESS installations to be charged with energy when sunlight is available, and will then provide power to the grid during times when the sun’s rays are not present, such as at night or during periods of overcast skies. This raises the question: in the worst case, how much energy must be stored, and how many BESS units will be required to make this energy available to prevent a blackout?

The reported annual electrical energy consumption for Suffolk County is approximately 10,800,000 MWh/year, or 1233 MWh/hour. A large BESS facility can provide 1400 MWh, from a full charge. This is the energy required by Suffolk County for 1.135 hours. During a normal winter day, let us assume that we have 8 hours of sunlight to charge the batteries, followed by 16 hours of darkness. Thus, under ideal conditions, each 16-hour period would require the stored energy of 14 fully charged BESS stations. Now let us consider the effect of one or more overcast days, during which we would lose the ability to charge the BESS batteries on those days. In this case, for one lost day, the fully charged batteries would need to provide power for 16 + 24 hours, or 40 hours. This would require a total of 35 BESS stations, an increase of 21 stations. In a similar manner, for each additional consecutive day lost, an additional 21 stations will be required, if we are to avoid a blackout, with no electrical power. For example, to maintain power with 2 overcast days, we will need 35 + 21 = 56 BESS stations For 3 days, 77 stations will be required. And so on.

These projections are based on our present level of energy usage, which is a mere 10,800,000 MWh/year. If recent predictions are to be believed, this may be a precursor to very large increases in the near future. These will be due to AI memory storage requirements, widespread (possibly mandatory) use of EV’s, electrification of the LIRR (as championed by the prolific Larry Penner) and alternative methodologies for home cooking and heating, to name but a few.

Should these applications eventuate, we will, of course, need to increase the number of BESS installations accordingly.

George Altemose

Setauket

Cancer prevention month

February is National Cancer Prevention Month. Did you know that almost half of all cancer cases are preventable? The Cancer Prevention in Action program at Stony Brook Cancer Center wants to share how you can prevent cancer for yourself and your loved ones.

Vaccinate: The HPV (Human Papillomavirus) vaccine can reduce your child’s risk of six types of cancer later in life. HPV is a common virus, responsible for about 36,000 cancer cases annually in the U.S. These cancers include cervical, vaginal, vulvar, penile, anal, and oropharyngeal–cancers of the mouth and throat. The HPV vaccine can prevent 90% of these cancers by preventing the virus that causes them. If your child is nine or older, talk to your child’s healthcare provider to schedule. For those who were not vaccinated in childhood, you can still get your HPV vaccine through age 45. Talk to your healthcare provider about your vaccination needs, or get vaccinated at your local pharmacy if you are 18 or older.

Get screened: Cancers such as breast, cervical and colorectal cancers can be detected early through screening tests. These three cancers account for one out of four of all cancer deaths in New York State. Finding cancers early can save lives, as treatment is more likely to be successful. Some cancer screenings can even identify and remove pre-cancerous cells before they develop into full-blown cancer. Examples of cancer screenings are mammograms, pap smears, fecal tests and colonoscopies. Talk to your healthcare provider about what screenings are recommended for your age and risk factors, and how often you should be screened.

Sun safely: Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. Overexposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun and indoor tanning beds is the primary cause of all skin cancers. The use of indoor tanning beds has been linked to increased rates of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, and should be avoided. Protecting your skin from the sun when outdoors, even in the winter months, can also help reduce your skin cancer risk. Precautions to take include wearing sunscreen daily, reapplying every two hours when outdoors, covering up with wide-brimmed hats, UV sunglasses, long-sleeved clothing, and seeking shade, especially during the midday sun are all proven ways to reduce risks.

Live healthy: Having a healthy lifestyle is a way to lower your cancer risk. Quitting smoking and vaping, reducing alcohol intake, maintaining a healthy body weight, and staying physically active are all forms of cancer prevention. Health coverage enrollment has also been shown to reduce cancer risk by improving your access to preventive care.

In New York State, nearly one in four deaths is due to cancer. The CPiA program at Stony Brook Cancer Center is working to change this by educating the community on cancer prevention, mobilizing communities to take action against cancer, and supporting local organizations, businesses, and municipalities to implement policies that prevent cancer.

The best time to take action against cancer is before it starts.

To learn more cancer prevention or to get involved with CPiA at Stony Brook Cancer Center, go to www.takeactionagainstcancer.com or contact us at 631-444-4263 or at [email protected].

CPiA is supported with funds from Health Research, Inc. and New York State.

Annalea Trask,  Program Coordinator, Cancer Prevention In Action

Stony Brook Cancer Center

 

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