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An aerial view of Plum Island. Photo from U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

By Wenhao Ma

The future of Plum Island, a government-owned isle located in Southhold Town, east of Orient Point, is still unclear, but one North Shore legislator wants to ensure it remains in the government’s hands.

U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) announced on July 7 that the House of Representatives passed another one of his legislative proposals to save Plum Island from being sold to private developers. It was his second piece of legislation passed on this issue since May.

Currently, the federal government owns Plum Island, but a 2008 law required that the government sell the property to the highest bidder.

Zeldin said he think this is the wrong path for the island, which has served as the site for the Plum Island Animal Disease Center for decades.

U.S. Rep Lee Zeldin, far right, listens during his visit to Plum Island. Photo from Zeldin's office.
U.S. Rep Lee Zeldin, far right, listens during his visit to Plum Island. Photo from Zeldin’s office.

“It is time for the United States Senate to act and pass my proposals, so that we can pursue a better direction for Plum Island that would allow for continued research, public access and permanent preservation of the island,” Zeldin said in a statement

Zeldin’s amendment to the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act of 2017 prohibits any of the funding within the appropriations bill to be used to market or sell Plum Island.

Both of Zeldin’s proposals were passed with bipartisan support in the House. The May bill would reverse the 2008 federal law that mandated the public sale of Plum Island by the government to the highest bidder. Now, Zeldin is looking for support from the Senate.

“The Senate also must pass this legislation to ensure that Plum Island is not sold to the highest bidder, but rather is preserved for generations to come,” he said.

The congressman said he would work on providing alternative uses for the island, such as a transfer of ownership to another federal agency, the state or local government, a nonprofit, or a combination for the purpose of education, research and conservation.

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s website, Plum Island was “the nation’s premier defense against accidental or intentional introduction of transboundary animal diseases,” including foot-and-mouth disease, a viral illness most popular in children under the ages of five.

Homeland Security took over ownership of the island in 2003. Five years later, Congress passed Public Law 110-339, which allowed the General Services Administration to close the disease center and sell the island to the highest bidder in order to fund the building of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, Kansas — the replacement for the existing center, due to the age and safety levels of the old facility.

Environment groups from both Long Island and Connecticut have been strongly opposing the law, saying that handing the island to private developers could bring damage to the natural environment and resources.

“The Neck” — A view of Plum Island. Photo by Robert Lorenz
“The Neck” — A view of Plum Island. Photo by Robert Lorenz

“Its location at the convergence of two major estuaries provides an essential habitat for a rich variety of resident and migrating wildlife,” said Kevin McAllister, founder and president of the Sag Harbor-based nonprofit Defend H2O, which protects and restores the environmental quality of groundwater, surface waters, wetlands and beaches on and around Long Island. “Selling the island to developers would open the gates to more water pollution. Giving it away would be a major blow to conservation efforts and be an unconscionable act by the government.”

Jason Garnett, program director of Soundkeeper, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the Long Island Sound, agreed, saying that Plum Island is an important rest location for migrating birds and waterfowl.

“By preserving ecologically important, open coastal spaces such as Plum Island, we are doing the right thing for future generations of people and the creatures that depend on [the island’s] ecological services of clean air and water,” Garnett said.

Soundkeeper was among many organizations and individuals that filed a lawsuit in federal court on Long Island two weeks ago against the Department of Homeland Security and General Services Administration, that accused the department of violating federal laws and failing to protect endangered and threatened species by intending to sell Plum Island.

John Turner, spokesman for the Preserve Plum Island Coalition, is one of the plaintiffs in the suit.

“We think that the government needs to comply with the existing law,” he said.

Zeldin said he is supportive of the local groups’ efforts to prevent the sale of Plum Island.

Besides activist groups, Southold Town also took actions to save the island.

Three years ago, the town passed a zoning law that created two zoning districts on the island, making one a research district and the other a conservation district, where no housing nor any kind of development would be permitted. If the island is sold, a new buyer would have to follow those zoning laws. According to a 2016 Homeland Security report, Alternatives for Final Disposition of Plum Island, the new zoning “sets forth a limited number of allowed uses, restricting the development potential of the property.”

Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell (R) said the town has been working well with local environment groups to prevent an uncertain future for the island.

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“The Neck” — A view of Plum Island. Photo by Robert Lorenz

One of the things that instills great pride in North Shore residents is the unparalleled natural beauty of the place we call home. We are grateful to those who came before us for their discernment and diligence in protecting and preserving that — which, once developed, is lost forever.

Conservationists and environmentalists have worked to ensure that open spaces, clean water, nature preserves and pine barrens will continue to exist for future generations to enjoy.

A controversy is roiling Long Islanders and activists nationwide, over the proposed sale of Plum Island by the federal government. In 1954, the island was the secured location of an animal research facility run by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. More recently, responsibility for the island has shifted to the Department of Homeland Security.

Today, Plum Island, an important, pristine, ecological habitat, is in danger of being sold to a developer. The island has seen little human traffic in the last 70 years, which has enabled about 80 percent of the land to revert to its natural state. It is now home to some of our most imperiled species.

As the Plum Island Animal Disease Center has become outmoded, plans are afoot to create a new center in Manhattan, Kansas. To defray the cost of the new facility, the government wants to sell the 843-acre coastal island to the highest bidder.

We applaud the efforts of Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) to block the proposed sale. The House of Representatives has passed two of his legislative proposals to date. Zeldin urges the Senate to act and pass the proposals as well, and we agree with his sentiments. We are hopeful that we can pursue a better direction for Plum Island than just private ownership, one that would allow for continued research, public access and permanent preservation.

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A group of kids decked out in Pokémon attire as they search for Pokémon in town. Photo from Benjamin Harris

By Rebecca Anzel 

The latest trend sweeping the nation is a throwback from the 1990s with a modern-technology twist: a augmented reality Pokémon game played on smartphones, and residents of Huntington are not immune. Hundreds of kids, teenagers and adults alike took to the streets this week to interact in this new game.

This latest offering from Pokémon evolved the franchise beyond the original cards, television show and video games. Pokémon GO allows players to create an avatar, called a trainer, and walk around their neighborhoods catching various Pokémon. Players can battle one another and get free in-game items from locations chosen by the game.

“Seeing all these people in my town is so new and great, especially when we can all bond over the same thing,”
— Gerard Anthony

The game is getting people of all ages out of their houses and into their neighborhoods. The only way to catch Pokémon is to walk around searching for them, and players have been posting on social media about how far they have traveled around their neighborhood.

One 22-year-old Greenlawn resident said she saw more than 50 kids hunting for Pokémon at parks in Northport and Huntington in one afternoon.

Megan McLafferty introduced the game to two kids she babysits because she thought, “it would be a fun activity to do outside with the kids — and they loved it.”

She said the kids really enjoyed searching different spots for Pokémon.

“I like that it gets you outside, it gets you moving, and it gets you to interact with other people,” she said in an interview. “It seemed like a lot of people were in big groups together [searching for Pokémon].”

Gerard Anthony, an 18-year-old Northport resident agreed that Pokémon GO is a great game to play in groups.

“Seeing all these people in my town is so new and great, especially when we can all bond over the same thing,” Anthony said in an interview. “I am able to go into Northport by myself and meet a new group of people each day.”

The only way to catch Pokémon is to walk around searching for them, and similarly, the only way to get a refill of free in-game item, like pokéballs is to go to Pokéstops.

One of those stops is the Emma S. Clark Memorial Library in East Setauket. Director Ted Gutmann said once he discovered this, he had to try it. “I caught a few in my office,” he said. “So they’re here!”

The library is busy this time of year because of its summer reading program, but Gutmann said being a Pokéstop is attracting more visitors than usual.

A man captures a Pokemon. Photo by Victoria Espinoza
A man captures a Pokemon. Photo by Victoria Espinoza

“The hope is, once they get in here, they’ll stop and read a book or attend one of our programs,” he said.

Gutman added that the library had tried its hand at augmented reality a while ago, implementing the technology in its newsletter. It abandoned the effort because it was not getting enough use at the time, but now that Pokémon GO is increasing the popularity of augmented reality, he said the library may revisit the project.

“There are lots of opportunities to use the technology beyond the game,” he said.

Port Jefferson’s Main Street is also a huge attraction for players. With a multitude of Pokéstops and gyms, the promise of Port Jefferson tempted Chris Aguilar, 23, to travel from Riverhead two days in a row.

Aguilar said there were so many people in the streets on the first night he was in the area, July 13, that mobs of trainers were crossing the streets. They did not begin to clear out until about 2:30 a.m.

“This game is bringing people together in an unprecedented way,” he said. “It’s like an age gap doesn’t exist between players,” who can speak to each other on almost an equal level about the game and trade tips.

Other local hotspots to catch Pokémon include Heritage Park  in Mount Sinai and Sylvan Ave. Park in Miller Place.

Just two days after the game’s release, players were spending an average of 43 minutes and 23 seconds per day playing Pokémon GO, a higher rate than popular apps including Instagram, Snapchat and Whatsapp.

According to SimilarWeb, an information technology company that tracks web analytics, Pokémon GO has so many daily active users that it is projected to soon have more users than Twitter.

But some people are concerned about the safety risks associated with Pokémon GO.

Pedestrians are now wandering around towns, with their eyes faced down at their smartphones. Law enforcement agencies, institutions of higher education and public transportation systems have spoken of the dangers of walking around consumed by a smartphone.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) held a press conference Tuesday to remind residents to exercise caution while playing.

“The safety and well-being of our residents, especially children, is our highest priority,” he said in a statement.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Tim Sini echoed his sentiments at the event.

“There have also been accounts of people using the application while driving,” Sini said. “We are encouraging not just parents, but all users, to practice caution to avoid injury to self and others.”

Stony Brook University also contributed to the conversation, reminding students to watch where they are walking while playing.

Mark Szkolnicki, a student of the university, said that he is always careful.

“I grew up in a bad area, so the whole mugging-for-phones thing has been something that I’ve been cautious of forever,” he said. “But I worry for the youth because it’s a cool concept and it could really grow, but those kinds of obstacles really put a downer on the whole gaming community.”

Stony Brook Office for Marine Sciences Secretary Christina Fink agreed. She said it is important to keep in mind that if players are going hunting for Pokémon at night, they should go with at least one other person.

Reporting contributed by Victoria Espinoza.

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Author R.J. Torbert, left, talks about his new book with John Valeri of The Hartford Book Examiner. Photo by Wenhao Ma

By Wenhao Ma

The story of a Port Jefferson murderer — albeit a fictional one — was discussed at length by a novelist and his fans in the village on Saturday.

Author R.J. Torbert brought his new book “No Mercy,” which was released in June, to a question-and-answer session with more than a dozen readers at Port Jefferson Free Library on July 16. “No Mercy” continues the story of fictitious Detectives Paul Powers and Bud Johnson of Port Jefferson, who dealt with the mysterious murderer Ghost Face, in Torbert’s first novel, “The Face of Fear,” which was released in 2013.

“He turned [the Ghost Face mask] into a home town classic.” —Joseph Borozny

“When [readers] look at the cover, they think it’s a horror story,” Torbert said in an interview after the event, referring to the Ghost Face mask on the cover. “[But] this is a relationship story, a love story,” he said.

Torbert is the licensing director of Fun Wold, a Halloween costume company. His company created the Ghost Face as part of the Fantastic Faces series back in 1991.

Torbert noted that there are many differences between his books and “Scream,” the movie that made the mask famous back in the 1990s. He said that he did not design the iconic mask, but he did come up with the name Ghost Face and has been protecting its name and trademarks for years, and even fought to keep the character wearing the mask in the movies from doing anything bad enough to give too dark of a stigma.

Author R.J. Torbert poses with a fan of his newly released novel. Photo by Wenhao Ma
Author R.J. Torbert poses with a fan of his newly released novel. Photo by Wenhao Ma

“[In the first novel], the person who wore the mask was not necessarily a bad person,” Torbert said.

He said that he had always wanted to write a book, but what turned his idea into action was a novel he read on a plane. He was so disappointed with the story that he started writing on that book. What he wrote eventually became “The Face of Fear.”

“He turned [the Ghost Face mask] into a home town classic,” Joseph Borozny, a Port Jefferson resident and a fan of Torbert’s books, said, adding that Torbert used the Ghost Face character to create something that’s real, not just fictional.

Borozny brought his family to the event, including his 14-­year­-old son, Joey, who received a Ghost Face mask from Torbert as a gift. “If you like horror movies,” Joey said, “this is the guy you’ll love to meet. And he’s a real nice guy.”

After the question-and answer-portion, Torbet signed copies of the book and posed for photos with fans.

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Blue road signs promoting the I Love NY campaign sprung up in Port Jeff on Route 25A this month, but will be replaced with smaller ones following community outrage. Photo by Alex Petroski

By Joseph Wolkin

When they opened up their eyes, they saw the signs.

Port Jefferson Village residents were furious when a New York State agency added three highway-sized road signs on Route 25A, a state road, essentially in the middle of the night earlier in July. The signs were part of the I Love NY campaign from the Empire State Development office.

“They’re outrageously huge,” Mayor Margot Garant said. “They’re metal, they’re huge and they plopped them on the middle of our sidewalks without any notice.”

Blue road signs promoting the I Love NY campaign sprung up in Port Jeff on Route 25A this month, but will be replaced with smaller ones following community outrage. Photo by Alex Petroski
Blue road signs promoting the I Love NY campaign sprung up in Port Jeff on Route 25A this month, but will be replaced with smaller ones following community outrage. Photo by Alex Petroski

Garant, who was caught off guard by the road signs, immediately contacted the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D). After she had several meetings and phone calls with state officials, the community also spoke up. After an overwhelming volume of pleas heard by state officials, the signs were removed Saturday and, according to Garant, will be replaced with significantly smaller ones in the coming weeks.

According to the mayor, community members emailed the governor’s office and requested the signs be taken down. Additionally, a Twitter campaign was created in order to showcase the town’s fury over the signs. The three styles of large, blue signs featured the slogans “Welcome to New York,” “Explore New York History,” and “Experience New York Attractions,” with prompts to visit www.iloveny.com, a site geared toward tourists visiting the state.

“Apparently, the explanation I got was it was a [New York State] project that was on a deadline and I would probably think they wanted the deadline to be around the Fourth of July since it was right before it,” Garant said. “Because it was a heavy push with little explanation, as a result all of the communities [involved] went nuts. We had no input and weren’t given any notice. We just woke up one morning and there were these massive signs.”

Chyresse Wells, a spokeswoman for the Empire State Development office acknowledged their plan to replace the signs following the backlash.

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement with local leaders which addresses their concerns but continues to promote the world-renowned I Love NY campaign,” she said in an emailed statement. “New York State tourism has generated a record-breaking economic impact of $102 billion across the state, supporting over 894,000 jobs and generating $8 billion in state and local taxes in 2015.”

State road signs in Port Jeff Village being taken down after community outrage. Photo by Drew Biondo
State road signs in Port Jeff Village being taken down after community outrage. Photo by Drew Biondo

Village Trustee Bruce Miller received input on the issue from parents of parochial school students at Infant Jesus Roman Catholic Church regarding the poor and deteriorating quality of signs on lower Myrtle Avenue.

While Miller said road markings have been criticized, he did not know there would be several large signs placed on Route 25A. He added that little has been done to address the problem of deterioration of existing signs, an issue he said he has presented to the board of trustees in the past.

Bruce D’Abramo, another village trustee, tweeted his satisfaction to the removal of the signs in response to the news that Montauk was having its signs downsized as well.

“Port Jefferson Village rejoiced as our NY State signs came down as well,” D’Abramo said. Montauk, East Hampton and Port Jefferson were three of several Suffolk County communities saddled with the giant signs with alleged little notice.

Reporting contributed by Alex Petroski.

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Lee Zeldin. File photo by Victoria Espinoza

The fight against opioid abuse took a step further this week as U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) plugged new legislation. The freshman congressman is a co-sponsor of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, which plans to spend $8.3 billion in funding to help combat widespread drug addiction, especially to heroin.

CARA passed through the House of Representatives last week with a bipartisan vote of 407 to 5.

Zeldin, who is a member of the Bipartisan Task Force to Combat the Heroin Epidemic, said he has been a proud supporter of this bill for more than a year now.

“As a co-sponsor of CARA, I have been a vocal supporter of this bill since it was first introduced at the beginning of last year,” he said in a statement. “Over the past year … I have worked closely with our local community, hosting multiple drug task force round tables here on Long Island, to bring together local elected officials, law enforcement, health professionals, community groups, parents, concerned residents and those in recovery, to discuss and develop a more localized solution to address this crisis.”

Zeldin has held heroin events in Smithtown and Brookhaven to meet with community members and keep the discussion open.

The specifics of CARA include $80 million in funding to help prevent and treat addiction on a local level through community-based education, prevention, treatment and recovery programs; $160 million for the expansion of medication-assisted treatment options; and $103 million to establish a community-based competitive grant program to address and treat the problems of heroin and opioid addiction and abuse. Additional funding will also help supply police forces and emergency medical responders with higher quantities of naloxone, known more commonly as Narcan, a medication that is proven to reverse an opioid overdose.

“We must always continue our fight to provide local communities with the resources necessary to help stop and prevent drug abuse through treatment, enforcement and education.”
—Lee Zeldin

Another part of CARA’s funding focuses on pain management and prescription.

According to the bill, the Department of Health and Human Services is required to assemble a Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force, which will review, modify and update the best practices for pain management and prescribing pain medication, and examine and identify the need for, development and availability of medical alternatives to opioids.

The grant aspect of CARA is connected to the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. CARA is set to amend that bill to authorize the Department of Justice to award grants to state, local and tribal governments to provide opioid abuse services, including enhancing collaboration between criminal justice and substance abuse agencies; developing, implementing and expanding programs to prevent, treat or respond to opioid abuse; training first responders to administer opioid overdose reversal drugs; and investigating unlawful opioid distribution activities.

CARA currently has 44 co-sponsors and is set to go to a vote in the United States Senate.

The North Shore is not immune to the heroin crisis. According to a New York State Opioid Poisoning, Overdose and Prevention Report from 2015, Suffolk County has the highest heroin-related overdose fatalities of any county in New York.

Zeldin said he hopes the Senate will act fast to approve the bill.

“I implore the Senate to act quickly to pass this bill, so that we can start providing the necessary resources to those in need,” he said. “While there is not just one piece of legislation that will solve this crisis, we must always continue our fight to provide our local communities with the resources necessary to help stop and prevent drug abuse through treatment, enforcement and education.”

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Captain Pete Murphy. Photo courtesy of Pete Murphy

When Pete Murphy was 12 in the 1970s he could often be found plying the waters of Port Jefferson, exploring and fishing in a 12-foot aluminum boat with a small outboard motor. Today, he’s Captain Pete Murphy, and for the past 20 years he’s been running Sea Tow Port Jefferson, helping old and new friends stay safe on the popular recreational waters of Long Island Sound.

Now 50, Murphy is perfectly at home on these busy waters. After graduating from Ward Melville High School in 1983, he joined the Navy and served as a Boatswain’s mate until he was honorably discharged in 1987. Boatswain’s mates are masters of seamanship, and the training helped Murphy in his career.

“In the Navy I learned how to drive a small boat, how to maintain boats and also did a lot of maintenance on the ships,” Murphy said. “When I got out I worked for three companies on Long Island. We built docks and one company had a small barge with a crane on it that we pushed around from job to job.”

In 1996 Murphy discovered the opportunity that changed his life: He purchased the Sea Tow Port Jefferson franchise from the original owner, Capt. Joe Frohnhoefer, who founded the franchise in 1991. “Sea Tow was right in the realm of what I was doing, and it was on the harbor where I grew up boating,” he said. “It just made sense. I took over the franchise on July 3, 1996, the day before the July Fourth weekend.”

Murphy started with two boats, no staff and only 36 members in his Area of Responsibility, which extends along 25 miles of coastline from the Nissequogue River in Kings Park east to Wading River, and halfway across Long Island Sound. He also serves Smithtown Bay, Port Jefferson and Mount Sinai. “For the first two years I did everything by myself,” Murphy said. “It was slow growth. Now we have thousands of members, and I have expanded the fleet and the staff.” These days his fleet includes three boats, all in the water in Port Jefferson: a 26-foot Boston Whaler with twin outboards and two 24-foot inboard-powered Privateers. Murphy has one full-time captain and two-part-time captains.

He has started another business, Murphy’s Marine Service, to install the temporary moorings for Port Jefferson each spring and take them out in the fall. In addition, he runs a taxi service for boat owners to their boats on the mooring balls. “It definitely keeps me busy,” said Murphy, who has a 100-ton U.S. Coast Guard master’s license, which he recertifies every five years through on-going training. “The mooring and the taxi service are a perfect complement to Sea Tow.”

Murphy and his wife of 15 years, Melissa, have five children: Abigail, 16; Matthew, 14; Peter, 12; Lilah Grace, 7; and Liam, 5. “We have a 24-foot Four Winns, and we love to go boating,” he said. “The fishing is great in the Sound for fluke, bluefish and striped bass. It’s a great family activity to get out in the boat, and the kids love it.” The Long Island Sound has a 7-foot tidal swing, but Murphy’s Area of Responsibility is relatively clear of rocky areas or sand bars.

“When I first started the business I had to charge most people for what I did, because they weren’t members,” Murphy said. “Back then people saw me at boat shows and didn’t like me much. Twenty years later they love Sea Tow. It’s a big change in perception, and a credit to Sea Tow and the value it brings to people.”

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Cheick Diallo addresses the crowd after being selected by the Los Angeles Clippers. Photo from Sara Stelzer

By Clayton Collier

The NBA was a dream worth the wait for Cheick Diallo; even if it meant waiting a little longer than anticipated.

Diallo, at 6 feet, 9 inches, 220 pounds, widely expected to be a late first-round pick, was selected 33rd overall by the Los Angeles Clippers. The 19-year-old forward’s draft rights were acquired by the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for the 39th and 40th overall picks. A 2-for-1 is a hefty price to pay in any exchange, but Pelicans general manager Dell Demps knew they had to get Diallo.

“You talk to people and say, ‘Is he a good kid?’” Demps said. “And they say, ‘No, No.  He’s a great kid. He’s a phenomenal kid.’  In our interview process with him, when he walked out of the room, everybody just thought, wow.  We all said, ‘Did you hear that?  Did you listen to this guy? You want to root for him.’”

Cheick Diallo blocks a shot for the University of Kansas. Photo from Sara Stelzer
Cheick Diallo blocks a shot for the University of Kansas. Photo by Jeff Jacobsen

Demps said that first phone call with Diallo was one to remember.

“We talked to him on the phone, and he was so fired up and we were so fired up,” he said. “We were sitting there screaming and yelling on the phone.”

Rev. Ronald Stelzer, head basketball coach at Our Savior New American School, Diallo’s high school in Centereach, made a point to be at the Barclays Center to see his star pupil get selected.

“I was so happy to see how he reacted when he got picked,” Stelzer said “He was really excited and happy; beaming. Sometimes kids get picked a little later than expected and they get all mopey. Cheick had this child-like exuberance to have this chance to play in the NBA now.”

Diallo goes to New Orleans following his freshman year at the University of Kansas, where he averaged 3.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 7.5 minutes per game, while also amassing 0.85 blocks per game, ranking 12th in the Big 12.

“I was surprised Cheick didn’t go in the first round based on preliminary reports I got,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said in a release. “The big thing is he was able to go 33rd and that will hopefully put him in a position to sign and get a guaranteed contract.”

Minimal collegiate playing time aside, Diallo was a highly sought after talent out of high school. The 2015 McDonald’s All-American picked up offers from the University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, Syracuse University and Villanova University, among others, before eventually deciding on Kansas.

A native of Kayes, Mali in Africa, Diallo came to Our Savior New American as a 15-year-old freshman. It wasn’t until a few years later that Stelzer said his coaching staff began to see professional-level talent out of Diallo.

“By his junior year, we knew he had something really special,” he said. “We have a lot of kids who have had talent, but he had a little extra athleticism. Combine that with an extremely hard worker, and he just launched.”

Cheick Diallo during his high school years with Our Savior New American head coach Rev. Ronald Stelzer. Photo from Sara Stelzer
Cheick Diallo during his high school years with Our Savior New American head coach Rev. Ronald Stelzer. Photo from Sara Stelzer

Diallo’s former college rival, Buddy Hield, also went to the Pelicans with the sixth overall pick. The reigning John R. Wooden Award winner now joins a rotation that will include Diallo and All-Star big man Anthony Davis.

“That mix of speed and athleticism and power is a great combination,” Stelzer said. “It’s the kind of situation where [Cheick] could make an immediate impact.”

Stelzer said his assistant coaches and Diallo’s host family were essential in getting Diallo from high school onto the next stage.

“We’ve been blessed, and we have a lot of people who have contributed in a team effort to make it possible,” he said. “I wish him the best. It was a pleasure to coach him; he’s a fine young man.”

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Above, from left, Leah Schmalz, Chris Cryder; Assemblyman Steve Englebright, Sue Orifici of the Port Jefferson Village Center and photographer Robert Lorenz enjoy the art reception last Thursday night. Photo by Heidi Sutton

By Heidi Sutton

The Port Jefferson Village Center hosted an artist reception for its latest exhibit, The Natural Beauty of Plum Island, last Thursday evening. The show, which runs through Aug. 30, features photographs by Robert Lorenz and paintings by John H. Sargent, who were granted access to the island over the course of two years.

The paintings and photographs on the second floor of the center quickly draw you in with scenes of beautiful rocky beaches and flower meadows, sunsets with unobstructed views — visions of an island pristine and untouched. One quickly realizes that Plum Island is a local treasure. It is also in peril.

The island has been put up for auction to the highest bidder by the federal government. Operated by the Department of Homeland Security, it is the site of the former U.S. military installation Fort Terry (c. 1897) and the historic Plum Island Lighthouse (c. 1869), which went dark in 1978. It is most known, however, for housing the Plum Island Animal Disease Center, established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1954. The center is relocating to Manhattan, Kansas, and the sale of the island (estimated at $60 million) will help defray the cost of the new facility.

Above, Chris Cryder gives a virtual tour of Plum Island. Photo by Heidi Sutton
Above, Chris Cryder gives a virtual tour of Plum Island. Photo by Heidi Sutton

Activists from all over the country have joined forces to try to protect the natural and cultural resources of Plum Island from development by coming up with conservation options and have been holding public forums to keep the community in the loop. So it was only natural to hold one of those forums Thursday, in conjunction with the art exhibit.

The evening started off with a visual presentation titled Preserving Plum Island for Future Generations by Save the Sound’s Special Projects Coordinator Chris Cryder. Save the Sound is a bi-state program with the Connecticut Fund for the Environment and has been locked in a legal battle with the government to save the island since 2009. Cryder is also the outreach coordinator for the Preserve Plum Island Coalition.

Located off the tip of the North Fork of Long Island in the town boundaries of Southold, where the Long Island Sound and Peconic Bay meet, Plum Island is part of an archipelago of peninsulas and islands that includes Great Gull Island, Little Gull Island, Fisher’s Island and Rhode Island. The land was “formed 22,000 years ago when the last glacier was here … and deposited its boulders and glacier materials,” explained Cryder, noting that the area contains a very rich marine life.

The 843-acre coastal island, which is about three miles long, has not had much human disturbance since World War II, according to Cryder. “At one time, this island was completely denuded, but 80 percent of the island — over 600 acres — has been allowed to return to its natural state and … has become home to some of our most imperiled species,” he said. “It’s a really special place. You feel like you’re in a whole other world.”

According to Cryder, there are over 16 rare plants on the island, six of which are endangered, including Spring Ladies’ Tresses. The island, which features nine miles of beach, forests, marshes, dunes, flower meadows and over 100 acres of interior wetlands, is also home to over 220 bird species, including the endangered piping plover and the rare roseate tern. Large colonies of grey seals and harbor seals, the northern right whale and leatherback sea turtles congregate in the area. “We feel it is a one-of-a-kind island, probably the most important coastal habitat on the whole eastern seaboard right now,” added Cryder.

From left, Assemblyman Steve Englebright and naturalist John Turner discuss the fate of Plum Island with the audience. Photo by Heidi Sutton
From left, Assemblyman Steve Englebright and naturalist John Turner discuss the fate of Plum Island with the audience. Photo by Heidi Sutton

A panel discussion, which included naturalist John Turner, spokesperson for the Preserve Plum Island Coalition, and Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) followed the presentation. Moderated by Leah Schmalz, program manager for Save the Sound, both panelists spoke on the importance of saving this jewel from development and discussed the current status of legislation pending in Congress.

“I’ve been fascinated with Plum Island, mostly from a distance, for years,” said Englebright, who visited the island for the first time this spring, with Senator Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) and the Supervisor of Southhold. “I was very impressed; I felt like I was in a movie,” he said, describing seeing basking seals and the many bird species. “From my perspective, I would love to see Plum Island become a part of Orient State Park. It would be a spectacularly popular site for naturalists and families and groups of all kinds to visit.”

“We ultimately have no doubt that we will prevail in stopping the sale of Plum Island,” said Turner, “because the island sells itself … in terms of historical significance, the cultural significance, ecological and environmental significance. There are very few places like Plum Island anywhere and it’s in the public domain and it should stay in the public domain.”

“…most people go by on the [Cross Sound] Ferry and see the island and have no idea what’s happening and every time we talk to a group like this we find people saying ‘how is it that the federal government is really thinking about selling this?’” said Schmalz. “One of the ways to get involved is to sign a petition [by visiting www.savethesound.org]. It’s a very easy way to put your name on record saying you want this island to be preserved.”

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Though political fighting and manipulation of the media to wage a war may seem like a 21st-century concept, Clinton and Trump will not be breaking any ground this summer and fall when the mud inevitably continues to fly.

By Rich Acritelli

With the presidential election of 2016 upon this nation, it has been a hard fight between former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and businessman Donald Trump. Today, Americans are watching these opponents utilize “mudslinging” and “deceitful” techniques to gain votes, but these tactics have been used almost from the start of this republic.

When President George Washington decided to retire after his second term, his vice president, John Adams, and the former secretary of state, Thomas Jefferson, ran for presidency in 1796. Both of these men liked each other personally, but detested each other politically. This was during the establishment of political parties between the Federalists (Adams) and Democratic-Republicans (Jefferson).

Alexander Hamilton was a dominant leader within the Federalist Party who believed Adams was not psychologically capable of being president. Hamilton urged Federalist politicians from South Carolina to withhold any votes that would help Adams win the election; Hamilton wanted Thomas Pinckney, a Federalist from that state, to become the next president. If Pinckney won, Hamilton estimated it was possible for Adams to gain enough support to be a runner-up as a vice president. Hamilton was unable to achieve this political scenario, and Adams won the election. Jefferson became his vice president from the rival Democratic-Republican Party.

Hamilton again threw his influence into the presidential election of 1800. Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied, and Congress decided the contest. Hamilton supported his chief opponent in Jefferson, due to his notions that Burr was a political tyrant, and motivated congressional leaders to vote for Jefferson to become the third president of the United States. This was also the last election that sought “a winner take all” process for the presidency and vice presidency. The government established the system of running mates elected together to represent either party in the White House after that.

In 1860, the country watched a junior politician in Abraham Lincoln seek the highest position in the land. He was a self-educated leader, a respected lawyer and a one-term representative in Congress. While he did not have the political clout of the other candidates, he served within the Illinois General Assembly. Although it is believed slavery was the cornerstone of his values, he pushed for revisions within the tariff, free labor, the Transcontinental Railroad and the Homestead Act of 1862. He ran against many strong Republicans, and while he defeated William Seward from New York, he later made his rival into a trusted member of his cabinet as secretary of state.

During his failed attempt to win a seat in the U.S. Senate against Stephen Douglas, Lincoln debated he would never support the expansion of slavery in the new states and territories. It was these property rights concerns that the southerner never forgot when Lincoln decided to run for the presidency. When he proved to be a serious candidate, Democratic newspapers that opposed the end of slavery, wrote that Lincoln was “semiliterate, ignorant, an uncultured buffoon, homely and awkward,” according to historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. Although Lincoln was perhaps our greatest leader, both Republicans and Democrats were highly unsure about his motives and abilities to lead the nation at the cusp of the Civil War.

Though political fighting and manipulation of the media to wage a war may seem like a 21st-century concept, Clinton and Trump will not be breaking any ground this summer and fall when the mud inevitably continues to fly.

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