2020 Valedictorian Christine Iasso and Salutatorian Kyle Onghai. Photos from PJSD
Earl L. Vandermeulen High School is proud to announce that seniors Christine Iasso and Kyle Onghai have been named valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively, of the Class of 2020.
Iasso’s well-rounded education and extracurricular activities include being a member of the Academic team, Environmental Club, Interact Club, Mathletes team, captain of the junior varsity basketball team and a junior counselor at vacation Bible school. She also took advantage of the impressive MIT LaunchX, a program that teaches entrepreneurial skills and mindset through starting real companies, with interactive lectures, business simulations, entrepreneur panels and the actual design and launch of a company.
The valedictorian will major in sustainable agriculture and food systems at the University of California, Davis.
Onghai’s interests in math, investing, entrepreneurship, research and scientific journals have paved the way to being a National Advanced Placement Scholar, a National Honor Society member, a recipient of a Regents scholarship, captain of the Mathletes team and president of the Latin Club, where he has received five gold medals in the National Latin Exam. He has been honored in advanced calculus on the county level and has been an award winner in the school’s Physics Bowl, Quiz Bowl, Robotics and Science Olympiad. Onghai received the President’s Volunteer Service Award for his church altar service and for working in the patient education department at Stony Brook University Hospital. He took part in the Simons Summer Research Program at Stony Brook University as a researcher in biomedical engineering using MATLAB and quantitative ultrasound. He has been on the varsity tennis team for all four years of high school along with other local athletic pursuits. His musical accomplishments as a cellist and pianist have led him to the Young Artist Program at Stony Brook University and as a participant in Levels 1-6 of the New York State School Music Association Festival. Onghai will attend UCLA and major in mathematics.
The Our Lady of Wisdom Regional School is closing at the end of this school year, according to the Diocese of Rockville Center. Photo by Kyle Barr
Our Lady of Wisdom Regional School in Port Jefferson will have closed by the end of the school year and will not reopen for fall2020. The coronavirus pandemic has hurt the institution, and Catholic officials said COVID-19 has exacerbated issues of progressively lagging enrollment.
The Our Lady of Wisdom Regional School is closing at the end of this school year, according to the Diocese of Rockville Center. Photo by Kyle Barr
According to a release by the Diocese of Rockville Centre, the school, located on the grounds of the Infant Jesus R.C. Church in Port Jeff, along with two other Catholic schools on Long Island, have suffered from increased competition from public and other secular schools. This has led to more and more financial support needed from local parishes.
“Following much analysis and discussion with stakeholders at both the diocesan and parish levels, the pastors of the parishes that support each school have made the difficult decision to close,” the diocese states in the release.
Parents will need to work with the diocese’s Department of Education and other school officials to enroll their kids in different Catholic schools on Long Island.
“COVID-19 has had a significant financial impact on all of the parishes and schools within the diocese, resulting in the difficult decision to close these three Catholic elementary schools in order to eliminate the unsustainable financial stress on their parishes,” said Sean Dolan, a diocese spokesperson.
The diocese said in the release the school has declined in enrollment by 37 percent to just 66 students in kindergarten through eighthgrade. It is 31 percent, or 79 students, if you consider students from nursery through eighth-grade.
The school was financially supported by four local parishes, including Infant Jesus, St. Gerard Majella in Port Jefferson Station, St. James R.C. Church in Setauket and the St. Louis de Montfort in Sound Beach. The diocese said the four supporting parishes provide around $475,000 in operating support to the school, which accounts for more than 45 percent of the school’s total revenues.
Our Lady of Wisdom Principal John Piropato and other school leaders did not return requests for comment.
The school was established by the Daughters of Wisdom, an order that has deep ties to Long Island, in 1938, then called the Infant Jesus Parish School. It was renamed to Our Lady of Wisdom in 1991. The sisterhood was largely uninvolved with it once it became a regional school, according to Sr. Cathy Sheehan of the Daughters of Wisdom.
Remembering Infant Jesus School
For the many students who went there over the past 80 years, many remember it as a strict place of learning, whether that fostered a sense of discipline or a harsh atmosphere. Once it transformed into a regional school, many said the place fostered a unique sense of community one couldn’t get from the other expanding school districts on Long Island.
Displants from the Port Jefferson/PJS area, folks who live as far away as New Mexico, chimed in remembering their old school.
Eileen Powers-Benedict said going to the Infant Jesus School engendered a strong sense of order that helped them get ahead in their school careers. The oldest of nine children, five brothers and three sisters, she would enter the school in 1961 while the last of the Powers children would graduate in 1985. Her father, William Powers, a deacon, was a frequent clergy visitor. Her mother, Tatty Powers, was a volunteer who did readings to those in prekindergarten through first grade. Powers-Benedict’s three children also went through the school.
She said while she understands why the school had to close, she is disappointed other parents will never have the choice to send their children there.
“The education for my siblings and me was all business, some of us came out a year ahead in foreign language and mathematics, although individualized instruction was not in style,” she said. “There was a tremendous air of compassion that supported students and their families in times of trouble and strife.”
Michael Langan, who now lives in Ridgefield, Connecticut, was one of six children of World War II veterans Robert and Elizabeth Langan. He would graduate from the Infant Jesus School in 1968.
He remembers even before the convent went up next to Infant Jesus church in the late ‘60s, when the nuns lived at a convent at St. Charles Hospital. The nuns would walk to the school or have a station wagon take them in bad weather.
Many of the nuns who taught at the school when he was there, Langan said, originated from Ontario, Canada. Many had marked French accents. Back then, he said behavioral discipline was very much the norm, including some amount of corporal punishment.
“But in fact that was true of public and parochial schools back in the ’50s and ’60s,” he said,
Back then, he remembers, class sizes were much larger than today, with around 50 students.
One particular nun, Sr. Mary, he said, had “a beautiful soul — emblematic of the dedication of the Daughters of Wisdom who served the people of the Port Jefferson area for so many years.” She passed away this year on April 8.
Not everyone accepted the nun’s punishment lightly. Deborah Keating, who now lives in Florida, said she graduated eighth-grade from the school in ’69, describing it as “a nightmare,” saying that some nuns could be abusive.
“Sr. Ann Michael, if you saw her coming, you knew you had better pray for your life,” Keating said.
Though at the same time, her brother, who she said had Down syndrome, attended the Maryhaven facility in Port Jeff, which is also run by the Catholic church. There, she said the staff was very kind to him, and he went on to work as a janitor in the Maryhaven facility, He has since retired after working there 25 years, and lives with Keating at her home in Florida.
Things did change, especially as the years went by and the school changed names and leadership. MaryKate Henry, who lives in Babylon village, grew up in a middle-class household in Coram that she said worked hard to provide the Our Lady of Wisdom tuition for her and her siblings. She went there as it transformed into a regional school, and graduated eighth-grade in 2000 with a class of just 19. Her largest class size was in fourth=grade with 36 kids taught by one teacher. To this day, she still has friends that went there in her elementary years.
“That’s what I loved about OLOW — as we called it — everybody knew everybody, who your parents were and what they did and everyone was there for each other,” she said.
Faith was very much a part of the Catholic school, and she said that sense of religiousness has carried over into today. Her kids now attend the Babylon school district, and with a relatively small class size, she said it’s one of the things she hopes to have for her kids, a place that fosters community.
Tommy Marzano, a co-owner of Faradays of Smithtown, said more people prefer eating outside than in. Photo from Google maps
With Long Island entering Phase 3 of reopening, businesses are looking to bounce back and recover from the shutdown. Restaurant owners are hoping to take advantage of the addition of indoor dining during the summer months. Here’s how owners reacted to the first week of Phase 3.
The Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Chamber of Commerce reminded residents their stores are open for Phase Two after a chamber meeting June 16. Photo by Joan Nickeson
“It has been going really smooth really, better than I expected,” said Indu Kaur, director of operations of The Meadow Club in Port Jefferson Station.
At the family’s newest restaurant, SaGhar, on East Broadway in Port Jeff, the rooftop floor and patio has been very busy. Kaur said they plan on accommodating patrons who want indoor seating in the front room of the restaurant that is facing the water. The Curry Club, which the family also runs in Setauket, currently offers outdoor seating at its patio and will have limited indoor seating.
“We will keep them six feet apart, there will be different entrances and exits for outdoor and indoor seating,” Kaur said. “For outdoor seating you will go down different staircases when you enter and leave. Also, we’ve placed hand sanitizers throughout the building.”
Kaur said they have gotten good feedback from customers on the outdoor dining layout at SaGhar.
“They’ve told us they like the overall ambiance, the decoration of space and are enjoying the outdoor entertainment we are providing,” she said. “Business has started to come back.”
With the start of summer and the upcoming Fourth of July weekend, Kaur said they will look to possibly increase tables with the influx of people venturing into the village. In addition, they are in the process of training 20 new employees to add to the staff they already have.
“We will try to accommodate walk-in customers as much as possible, but we advise to make a reservation,” she said. “We want to make sure everyone is safe and feels comfortable.”
Charlie Lefkowitz, president of the Three Village Chamber of Commerce, said business owners in the area are “cautiously optimistic” about the current and next stages of reopening. They’re hoping that they can return to normal business operations soon.
“There has been a lot of burden put on these businesses; restaurants and retail stores have had to contend with reduced volume of sales, capacity and selling space,” Lefkowitz said.
The chamber president added that while take-out orders helped bring in funds for restaurants, outdoor/indoor dining options will allow for these establishments to bounce back. He added that the chamber will continue to assist businesses in any way it can and help them navigate and understand Phase 4.
“They are excited for the summer months and are looking forward to the business it could bring,” he said.
Lefkowitz said he thinks post-COVID we will see outdoor seating and retail space during the spring and summer time.
“I think it’s something every municipality on Long Island should consider, from what we’ve heard if given the choice, people have preferred outdoor seating,” he said.
Tommy Marzano, co-owner of Faradays in Smithtown, said customers have been apprehensive about eating indoors with the majority of them preferring the restaurant’s outdoor seating.
“They prefer being outside — some of them don’t want nothing to do with being indoors even if everyone is six feet apart,” he said.
Marazano is hopeful that customers will eventually become more comfortable eating indoors again, though he acknowledged it could be a problem in the fall/winters months if COVID is still around and outdoor dining is not an option. He said takeout and delivery options could come back into play for restaurants.
Nonetheless, the feedback from customers has been positive, many raving about the restaurant’s garden and patio area.
“They are happy to have some bit of normalcy and be able to have a dining experience again,” he said. “We’ve had people tell us that this was the first place they wanted to go eat out, it means a lot that the community wants us to succeed.”
Sports Leagues/Recreational Sports for Phase 3
Shoreham-Wading River senior mid-fielder Elizabeth Shields out maneuvers a defender at home against John Glenn. Photo by Bill Landon
Beginning July 6, certain youth and recreation sports will be allowed to restart on Long Island.
Baseball, softball, gymnastics, field hockey, cross-country, soccer, noncontact lacrosse, doubles tennis, rafting, paintball, water polo and swimming will be allowed to begin games and competitions.
Here is a list of youth sports leagues and facilities on the North Shore that will restart during July:
Baseball/Softball
• The Town of Brookhaven Baseball is tentatively set to begin its summer season on July 13. the 2020 Varsity Wood Bat Tournament in Brookhaven will run July 8-12.
• The Town of Brookhaven Fastpitch Softball League will commence its summer season in July.
• The Three Village Youth Baseball and Softball League will start its season July 8.
• North Shore Little League will not have a summer season, but its fall season will begin Aug. 15 and continue through the middle of October.
• The Town of Brookhaven Adult Softball Slowpitch League will open beginning Sun July 12 and play through October. There will be no separate fall ball season.
• St. James/Smithtown Little League will begin practicing July 6 and a soft opening day will be held July 11. The baseball/softball season will run July 13-29.
• Huntington Tri-Village Little League will resume games July 25 with the season ending in late October
Soccer
• Brookhaven Youth Soccer League will begin its season July 18 and last until Aug. 22.
Tennis
• Port Jefferson Country Club at Harbor Hills tennis courts are open to play.
• The Town of Brookhaven’s pickleball/tennis courts located at 286 Hawkins Road, Centereach, are open. At this time, the courts will only be opened to Brookhaven residents.
• Huntington Town tennis courts are open to residents and the public.
• The Suffolk County Junior Tennis League in Smithtown will begin summer matches from July 13 to Aug. 20.
After months in which COVID deaths robbed families throughout Suffolk County of grandparent, parents, siblings, sons and daughters, the county reported no deaths from the virus for the second time in three days.
“From where we’ve been to where we are today is a world of difference,” County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on a daily conference call he’s conducted with reporters since the third week of March. “The last two out of three days is a good indicator of where we are and the positive direction we continue to move in.”
Bellone described the other numbers for the virus as “also very good.”
The number of new positive tests was 42, out of a total of 4,047. The positive tests represented about 1 percent of tests, which is about the recent rate. The total number of positive tests since the pandemic began in the county stands at 41,420.
The number of residents who have the antibody but haven’t had a positive test stands at 19,270.
The number of hospitalizations was one of the few figures that moved in an unfavorable direction, as seven additional people entered the hospital with COVID-19, bringing the total to 73.
The number of people in the Intensive Care Unit declined by one.
Hospital bed use was at 70 percent, with 57 percent of ICU beds occupied.
An additional six people were discharged from the hospital. The county distributed 34,000 pieces of personal protective equipment over the last day.
Finally, Bellone is hosting a webinar on July 7th at 10 am to provide information to residents interested in entering the food truck business.
“Outdoor dining has proven successful during the COVID-19 pandemic, and food trucks are uniquely positioned to adapt to the challenges posed by this crisis,” Bellone said in a statement.
Suffolk County currently has 228 mobile vending vehicles, which offer food, coffee and dessert. The webinar is a part of Suffolk Count’s Business Recovery Unit. Residents interested in attending the webinar can register here.
Bethpage Ballpark in Central Islip. Photo from LI Ducks website
The Long Island Ducks will not take the field this season, as New York State wouldn’t allow the baseball team to allow fans to attend an abbreviated season.
While Major League Baseball teams, at least for now, can make a shortened season work without fans because of television and advertising revenue, the Ducks couldn’t make a fan-free season work.
“I’m disappointed the Ducks won’t be on the field,” County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on his daily conference call with reporters. Bellone had hoped that the state would support capacity limits, especially in an outdoor environment which would lower the risk from the transmission of COVID-19.
Bellone said the state’s decision with the Ducks shouldn’t have any impact on youth sports, in which parents are hoping to watch their children return to fields after their sons and daughters spent months away from the competition, the teammates, and the opportunity to enjoy summer games and competition.
Viral Numbers
The number of residents who tested positive for the coronavirus was 46, bringing the total to 41,386. A total of 3,312 people were tested, which means 1.4% of the tests had a positive result, which is among the higher levels of positive tests in recent weeks.
While the percentage is higher than it’s been recently, Bellone said he doesn’t put too much stock in any one day’s results.
Hospitalizations declined by six, with 66 residents now hospitalized with COVID-19. That is the first time since March that the number of people battling against the virus in the hospital was below 70.
The number of people in the Intensive Care Unit with symptoms from the virus increased by one to 24.
Hospital capacity remained below pre-set caution levels. Overall hospital occupancy was at 67%, while ICU bed occupancy was at 59%.
Nine people were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours.
After a day without any fatalities from complications related to COVID-19, two people died in the last day. The death toll from the coronavirus stands at 1,981.
The county distributed 5,000 pieces of personal protective equipment in the last 24 hours.
Police acquired several million dollars worth of drugs during a seizure of several Suffolk County residents. Photo from DA's office.
Suffolk County district attorney, Tim Sini (D), announced three people in Suffolk and two from New Jersey were indicted in an alleged multimillion dollar drug trafficking ring, with officials saying they seized over a million in cash, 19 kilograms of drugs and numerous guns during the takedown.
Police took millions of dollars in cash from three Suffolk County residents as part of a drug smuggling ring bust. Photo from DA’s office
Sini announced in a press release that James Sosa, 25, of Wading River, Anthony Leonardi, 46, of Coram, and Brian Sullivan, 24, of Lake Grove, and two other individuals from New Jersey allegedly helped purchase and ferry narcotics, including cocaine and heroin, from the West Coast to Long Island partially during the pandemic. The group used residential homes in Lake Grove, Wading River, Port Jefferson Station, Coram, Selden and Brentwood, the DA said.
Sini worked with Suffolk County Police Department, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General.
“The magnitude of this drug distribution ring is enormous; they were responsible for peddling millions of dollars in narcotics on an almost weekly basis,” Sini said in the release. “Not only did this organization continue their illicit operation during the coronavirus pandemic, they were also exploiting the limited availability of certain narcotics during the health crisis to generate even greater profits off their sales.”
The DA, Suffolk police and DEA launched the investigation in May 2019 investigating Sosa, Sullivan and their associates. The group allegedly used multiple methods to get the drugs to the East Coast, including cross-country trips in vehicles and airplanes and even through the mail. Police executed warrants June 27 at locations within the six hamlets, which the DA said resulted in seizing 16 kilograms of cocaine, 2 kilograms of heroin, about $1.5 million in cash, around 4,000 oxycodone pills, nine firearms, along with “numerous luxury vehicles” and equipment the DA said is used for packaging and selling drugs. The police had also seized an additional kilogram of cocaine earlier in the investigation. The cocaine had an estimated street value of $1.6 million and the heroin was worth about $520,000.
Dashawn Jones, 33, of Passaic, New Jersey, was charged with allegedly operating as a major trafficker and first-degree drug possession. Anthony Cyntje, 22, also of Passaic, was charged with first-degree drug possession and was described as being employed as a correction officer in New Jersey.
“This investigation exemplifies how drug traffickers have been impacted by the coronavirus; adapting smuggling methods, transportation routes and money laundering operations to maintain security and social distancing,” said Ray Donovan, New York DEA special agent in charge.
Sosa, who was charged with two counts as a major trafficker, among other counts, was arraigned June 28 with bail set from $7.5 million cash or bond. Sosa’s attorney, Glenn Obedin, a criminal defense lawyer in Central Islip, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sosa, Sullivan and Jones each face 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the top counts, Leonardi 12 1/2 to 25 years and Cyntje 8 1/3 to 25 years, Sini said.
For the first time since June 12, Suffolk County reported no deaths from COVID-19.
“I do hope and pray that it will not be another 17 days for me to be reporting zero deaths again,” County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on his daily call with reporters. “Hopefully, this is the start of something we will continue to see.”
The total number of deaths from the virus in the county remained at 1,979.
The number of positive tests, meanwhile, was 33, bringing the total to 41,339. With 4,481 people receiving tests in the past day, the positive tests were among the lowest the county has had in weeks, at 0.7 percent.
The number of people who tested positive for the antibody who didn’t have a positive COVID-19 test was 19,074.
Hospitalizations continued to trend slightly lower. The number of people in the hospital overall fell by three to 72. The number of people in Intensive Care Units with COVID-19 also declined by three to 23.
Hospital bed occupancy was at 68 percent, down from 70 percent the day before. ICU bed occupancy was at 62 percent.
An additional 20 people were discharged from the hospital in the last day.
Separately, the county announced a plan, starting today, to walk back some protective measures put in place for Suffolk County Transit. In March, the county asked residents to use fast fare. Busses did not take cash, riders had to board from the back of the bus, and residents needed to leave the first few rows of the bus vacant to protect drivers.
Now that the county is in Phase 3, Suffolk County Transit has re-instituted front door boarding and will accept cash, even as it is encouraging riders to use the mobile app.
The county has provided protective barriers on all busses to keep the drivers safe from infection. Riders are still required to wear face coverings until further notice.
Finally, officers in the Third Precinct arrested Pablo Figuero, a convicted sex offender, last night at 10:20 pm. He was found in a parked car on Suffolk Avenue in Central Islip and was charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the 7th Degree. He was taken for arraignment today and will be held in jail. Bellone said he is wanted out of New Mexico.
Police said they responded to an incident in Port Jefferson Harbor Sunday when 16 people were found sick with carbon monoxide poisoning on a boat docking at a Port Jeff marina.
Captain Ryan, a 35-foot private boat, was traveling from City Island in the Bronx to Port Jefferson when multiple people onboard became sick with carbon monoxide poisoning at around 2 p.m. June 28. Suffolk County Police said the boat was able to dock at Danford’s Marina with 16 out of 17 people on board sick. Marine Bureau and 6th Precinct police officers, members of the Port Jefferson Fire Department, members of the U.S. Coast Guard, Brookhaven Town Bay Constables and Fire Marshals responded to the dock and determined there was carbon monoxide inside the cabin of the boat, effecting 12 adults and four children ages 10 to 13.
The origin of the carbon monoxide is under investigation but has been ruled non-criminal, police said. After a safety inspection of the vessel, two tickets were issued for having expired safety flares and having less than the required number of life jackets aboard.
The patients were transported via ambulance to Stony Brook University Hospital, St. Charles Hospital and Mather Hospital for treatment.
Suffolk County continued to keep viral numbers low. The number of new cases in the last day was 53, bringing the total since the beginning of the COViD-19 epidemic to 41,306.
The number of people who have tested positive for the antibody was 18,970.
The hospitalization figures remained relatively flat. In hospitalizations as a whole, two people left the hospital. The total stands at 75.
The number of people in the Intensive Care Unit with the virus was 26, which is an increase of 1.
An additional 10 people were discharged from the hospital.
Capacity remained at safe levels, with hospital occupancy at 70 percent and ICU bed capacity at 63 percent.
One person died in the last day, bringing that total to 1,979.
County Executive Steve Bellone (D) reminded Suffolk County residents as they grapple with the mental health toll from the public health and economic crisis of the services that can help.
Residents can reach out to the Family Services League at FSL-LI.com. They can also call a hotline that is available 24 hours a day and seven days a week at (631) 952-3333.
Residents who know people who are struggling with their mental health or substance abuse that are exacerbated by COVID-19 should reach out to these services, Bellone urged.
As for the viral data, the numbers continued to move in a favorable direction for a region that is still recovering from the virus.
Over the last 24 hours, an additional 45 people tested positive, bringing the total to 41,253. These positive tests represented less than a percent of the total tests.
An additional 18,816 people tested positive for antibodies.
Hospitalizations remained steady, with one person leaving the Intensive Care Unit, bringing that total to 25.
Hospital occupancy was at 70 percent, while ICU occupancy was at 60 percent.
An additional three people died in the last 24 hours, bringing the total for the region to 1,978.
The county distributed 20,000 pieces of personal protective equipment in the last day.
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