Participants paddle across Northport Bay in a previous Distant Memories Swim. File photo by Rohma Abbas
Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center, Inc. announced that Bryan Proctor, a Huntington resident and a physical education teacher, will lead a team of swimmers in the 12th Annual Distant Memories Swim on Tuesday, July 28, to draw attention to the disease that impacts more than 60,000 families on Long Island.
In its lifetime, the swim has raised in excess of $100,000 for those with Alzheimer’s disease and their unpaid caregivers. Opening ceremonies are expected to begin at 9 a.m. Proctor and his teammates will take to the water at 9:15 a.m.
The swim will start at Asharoken Beach and move across Northport Bay to Knollwood Beach in Huntington — a distance just under three miles. The swim will also help raise funds for Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center, Inc. The goal is to raise $20,000.
The issue is close to Proctor, as his grandfather and aunt died from the disease.
“Bryan is a champion for those with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Mary Ann Malack-Ragona, executive director and CEO of Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center, Inc. “He is a role model for the youth of our country.”
Over 5 million people in this country are currently living with Alzheimer’s.
“It is my hope that substantial funds will be raised to assist Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center,” Proctor said.
For more information about this event, visit www.memoryswim.org. For more information about ADRC, please contact Malack-Ragona at (631) 820-8068 or visit www.adrcinc.org.
Rep. Lee Zeldin took to Kings Park on Sunday to join the fight against drug abuse, an issue that is plaguing communities on Long Island and across the nation.
Zeldin (R-Shirley) announced his backing of two bills in Congress — the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015, H.R. 953, and the Stop Overdose Stat Act, H.R. 2850 — which seek to help those struggling with drug abuse and prevent future abuse. Zeldin is co-sponsoring both bills.
“It’s clear we must come together as a community and a nation to combat this growing issue,” Zeldin said.
According to the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, the percentage of state high school students who reported use of heroin more than doubled between 2005 and 2011, from 1.8 percent to 4 percent.
“We can’t treat them and street them, which is what is currently happening in our emergency rooms,” said Linda Ventura, treasurer of Families in Support of Treatment, known as F.I.S.T., a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and educating families which are struggling with a loved one’s addiction. “There should be no more shame with someone struggling with this disease, no, stigma — that has to go.”
Ventura, who is also involved with the Suffolk County Prevention Resource Center, is more than just a member of activist groups. She lost her son, Thomas, in March 2012 to drugs.
Bill 953 would help people grappling with drug abuse obtain the services needed to put them on the road to recovery. It would provide up to $80 million in the form of grant funding to help treat and prevent addiction through community-based education and prevention programs, and treatment and recovery programs.
The grants would further help expand prescription drug monitoring programs and provide police forces and emergency medical responders with higher supplies of Narcan, a prescription drug that reverses opioid overdoses.
The legislation has 20 co-sponsors — both Democrats and Republicans — and was introduced by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI).
“It’s a good bill on its merits alone, and it doesn’t matter what names or letters are attached to it,” Zeldin said.
Bill 2850 would provide an additional $25 million over a five-year period for Narcan production and distribution and provide more medical professionals and families with the lifesaving drug.
The act, introduced by Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD), would also establish a preventative research task force that would look into ways to prevent future overdose deaths, while taking a preventative approach against drug abuse.
Zeldin was joined by members of the community including Suffolk County Legislators Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) and Leslie Kennedy (R-Nesconset); Kim Revere, president of Kings Park in the kNOw, a task force promoting a drug-free community; and Dr. Andrew Kolodny, chief medical officer of Phoenix House, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center. The congressman wanted to show the only way to win the battle was to remain united.
Like Ventura, the fight was personal for some of those in attendance at Sunday’s press conference.
“I lost my son, Timothy, in August of 2009 after a 14-month struggle with prescription drugs, which eventually led to heroin,” said Teri Kroll, secretary for F.I.S.T.’s board of directors and a member of the resource center. “He passed away after eight and a half months of sobriety.”
Saji Francis, the doctor who prescribed Timothy the drug he eventually became addicted to, was arrested shortly after Timothy passed away. In 2010, Francis was convicted of illegally selling prescription pills and sentenced to six months in jail.
Kolodny, who also serves as the director of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing, explained how many people start abusing drugs after taking prescription medications.
“To control this epidemic we need to prevent new people from getting this disease, and treat those who are suffering,” he said. “We also need to get doctors and dentists to prescribe more cautiously. If not, these overdose levels with continue to rise.”
Rachel Goldsmith is crowned Miss Teen New York last October. Photo by Richard Krauss
By Rita J. Egan
After being crowned Miss Teen New York International in October, Dix Hills resident Rachel Goldsmith is ready to represent her state and share the stage with teens from around the globe. The New York competition was the first time the 14-year-old entered a pageant, and she is thrilled about competing at the Miss Teen International Pageant in Jacksonville, Fla., on July 30 and August 1.
Rachel Goldsmith is crowned Miss Teen New York last October. Photo by Richard Krauss
When she won the crown at the New York pageant, Rachel said everything was a blur to her. “It was nothing like I ever experienced before,” she said.
However, the recent graduate from West Hollow Middle School is no stranger to the pageant circuit. Growing up she, along with her father Steven and brothers Daniel and Jonathan, would watch her mother, Lidia Szczepanowski-Goldsmith, participate in pageants and win titles such as Mrs. New York America and Mrs. New York International.
Rachel said she remembers her mother looking so beautiful on stage and thinking to herself that she wanted to be in pageants, too. She also remembers how much fun the family would have traveling and attending the events.
“The whole thing was just a really positive family experience. It was positive for my mom; it was positive for the future. It was amazing overall,” Rachel said.
The pageant participant said she is looking forward to meeting contestants from all over the United States, as well as the world, at the Miss Teen International event in Florida. She is also eager to present her platform, which is to raise awareness when it comes to teen suicide.
Rachel said she went through a rough time in middle school at first. However, she quickly learned to reach out to her parents and others. Her experience led Goldsmith to research teen depression and create the website U Will B Ok, where teens can visit for information and to share their stories.
“Middle school is that one time where if you ask any parent or older teen, they’ll all say that, ‘Yeah, middle school is awful.’ And, it’s that time when kids don’t really know who they are — they’re still discovering themselves, and they are in groups and they’re trying to figure out how to treat people. There are a lot of cliques. They don’t know who they are as a person, so they need to click off of other people to feel like they belong somewhere, and sometimes around that time it’s really hard for the kids that aren’t in the cliques,” Rachel said.
Rachel Goldsmith, Miss Teen New York International, receives a proclamation earlier this year from the Town of Huntington Board of Trustees, from left, Councilwoman Tracey Edwards (D); Councilman Mark Cuthbertson (D); Supervisor Frank Petrone (D), Councilwoman Susan A. Berland (D) and Councilman Gene Cook (I). Photo from Town of Huntington
Her mom understands the demands on teenagers nowadays, with their studies, testing and extracurricular activities. While Rachel does extremely well in school academically and is a high honor roll student, her mother said, like many young teens, she had a hard time fitting in at first.
“It was very difficult at that transition time, where everyone is trying to find themselves, because she didn’t fit in anywhere,” Szczepanowski-Goldsmith said.
Over the last few years, Rachel has become more comfortable in her own skin and said she has adapted a punk fashion sense. Her mother said when you meet her, her daughter is the epitome of what you wouldn’t expect from a beauty queen. However, while her everyday style may not say pageant winner, her volunteer work does.
In addition to her website, for several years Rachel has been the teen ambassador and a volunteer for the National Organization for Women’s Safety Awareness Inc., where she has participated in fashion shows and sold merchandise to raise money. The pageant winner also visits veterans and organizes parties with the organization Yes We Care Inc.
Rachel, who in her spare time enjoys archery, scuba diving and watching “The Walking Dead,” dreams of one day becoming a special effects makeup artist for movies, where prosthetics and makeup are needed to create monsters and zombies. She said if that doesn’t work out, she would love to do something in a creative field such as graphic design, illustrating, marketing or journalism.
Rachel Goldsmith is interviewed before being crowned Miss Teen New York last October. Photo by Richard Krauss
For now, Rachel directs her energy toward preparing for the upcoming pageant, and she said she and her mother are having a lot of fun doing so. Szczepanowski-Goldsmith says her daughter’s decision to participate in this competition has provided them with more mother-daughter time. The two not only shop together to find the perfect outfits, but her mother also helps her prepare for the interview segment, sometimes even asking her questions in the car.
Rachel said she isn’t nervous about whether or not she’ll be Miss Teen International when she starts Half Hollow Hills High School East this September. She said she has learned from her mother to enjoy the overall experience of participating in pageants, including the preparation.
“You can’t just focus on the moment. You have to look at what it took to get to that point,” her mother said.
Szczepanowski-Goldsmith has also taught her daughter to go into a pageant with no expectations, and most important of all, to just be herself. “I just want her to have a positive experience. I know how wonderful and how much fun it was for me, and I think that it’s really all about the journey, and I think she’s going to have a great time,” Szczepanowski-Goldsmith said.
To visit Rachel’s website, go to www.uwillbok.com. To find out more about the Miss Teen International Pageant, visit their official site at www.missteeninternational.us.
The shore at the Centerport Yacht Club is open. Photo by Rohma Abbas
The push to clean up Suffolk County’s water quality saw a major milestone on one Centerport shorefront Monday.
Lawmakers and community members gathered at the Centerport Yacht Club on Northport Harbor on a hot summer day to mark the reopening of the beach, which had been shuttered for seven years because of its poor water quality. The harbor is celebrating a cleaner bill of health thanks to multi-governmental efforts to reduce pollution — most significantly through recent upgrades to the Northport wastewater treatment plant.
“Today is unprecedented due to the efforts of many stakeholders,” Suffolk County Legislator William “Doc” Spencer (D-Centerport) announced at a press conference inside the clubhouse. “…This is the result of a lot of hard work.”
Officials cut a ribbon to mark the reopening of the beach at Centerport Yacht Club. Photo by Rohma Abbas
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D), Spencer and a number of Huntington Town officials including Supervisor Frank Petrone (D) cut the ribbon opening the beach, and the county officials hand-delivered a beach permit to the supervisor.
The Suffolk County Department of Health Services, with oversight from the New York State Department of Health, conducted more than 600 tests in 20 locations at the beach since April, Spencer said. The results found that the quality of the water meets “required stringent standards,” Spencer’s office said in a statement.
Northport Harbor, once the “epicenter of red tide in the Northeast,” has seen a dramatic reduction of nitrogen, from 19.4 lbs. per day to 7.5 lbs. And there’s been no red tide in the harbor in the last three seasons, Spencer’s office said.
Officials said a significant upgrade to the Northport sewage treatment plant had a huge hand in turning the tide.
Bellone, who said the county is facing a “water quality crisis,” recognized Northport Village officials for being on top of the issue. He called the rehabilitation of Northport Harbor an “example of what we need to do around the county.”
Petrone and Bellone said Spencer had a big hand in making waves on the issue.
“The doctor’s orders worked,” Petrone said.
Young bathers dive into the waters of a newly reopened beach at the Centerport Yacht Club. Photo by Rohma Abbas
The issue of Northport Harbor’s water quality gained steam among Centerport Yacht Club members when Joe Marency, past commodore, was at the helm about five years ago. He praised the beach reopening at Monday’s press conference.
“There’s still a lot to do but this is a big step in the right direction,” he said.
At the close of the press conference, lawmakers gathered outside the club on the water. They excitedly uprooted a “no swimming” sign posted there, and Bellone and Spencer exclaimed, “Who’s going in?”
Assemblyman Andy Raia (R-East Northport) waded into the water, ankle-deep. It took a pair of bold bathers seconds to dart towards the shore and dive in.
“It’s beautiful and warm,” said Randall Fenderson, one of the swimmers who emerged from the water.
Fenderson, who presently lives in Santa Monica, California, said he grew up in the area and has a personal connection to the beach, and was sad to see it closed.
A group of children also made their way to the water, include Greenlawn sisters Paige and Madelyn Quigley. The girls, 6-years old and 10 years old, also said the water felt nice.
Inspector Edward Brady, the precinct's commanding officer, is sent off in style
Police Inspector Edward Brady shakes hands with officers at his farewell on Friday, July 17. Photo by Victoria Espinoza.
Suffolk County Police Department’s 2nd Precinct said goodbye to its leader of more than five years on Friday afternoon with a salute and gathering of his friends and family.
Inspector Edward Brady served on the police force for 36 years, joining in October 1979 after graduating from the police academy. He became the commanding officer of the 2nd Precinct in 2009, and served at the helm for approximately five and a half years.
Brady was honored at the Huntington Town Board meeting, on Tuesday, July 14, where he was given a proclamation from Councilwoman Tracey Edwards (D), who also attended the salute to Brady on Friday afternoon.
Officers applaud Police Inspector Edward Brady during his farewell at the 2nd Precinct on Friday, July 17. Photo by Victoria Espinoza.
“It was certainly emotional walking out,” he said. “The people I worked with here I have close relations with, some of them for many years. Some of the people here today I was in the police academy with back in ’79, so that’s 36 years of knowing them, of working with them, of going through difficult times with them, so it was emotional but it feels good to see this many people show up.”
3rd Precinct Deputy Inspector Christopher Hatton of Miller Place will take over for Brady.
Officers discovered a young man lying in the street after he was shot in Huntington Station on Saturday night, July 18.
Suffolk County police responded to a call shortly after 8 p.m. on 11th Avenue, across from Clifford Court, where they found Luis Hernandez with a gunshot wound in his leg.
Police said Hernandez was standing in the street in front of his house when he was shot, and the shooter’s identity is still unknown. Police said Hernandez was in stable condition at Huntington Hospital.
However, Alexandra Zendrian, director of public relations for North Shore-LIJ Health System, said on Tuesday in a phone interview that no one by the name of Luis Hernandez was in their directory.
Attempts to contact Hernandez this week were unsuccessful.
The shooting happened mere blocks from Huntington Manor Fire Department’s annual fireman’s fair, where many residents of Huntington Station were enjoying a fireworks show.
“Another one of our children [is] being wounded, what is it going to take to stop this?” June Margolin, a founder of Huntington Matters Neighborhood Watch said on Monday. Huntington Matters Neighborhood Watch was founded in 2014 due to the number of young casualties the community had suffered in the past two years.
The organization aims to unite citizens and law enforcement to deter crime and make the community safer.
The Huntington Station community is still feeling the effects of violence against its youth. On Thursday, July 16, friends and family of 18-year-old Maggie Rosales, 25-year-old Danny Carbajal and 23-year-old Sarah Strobel gathered at Depot Road Park for a memorial ceremony dedicated to the three Huntington Station youths that fell victim to crimes over the last two years.
Rosales was found stabbed to death, on Lynch Street in Huntington Station last October. Carbajal was shot in the head in July 2014 outside his Huntington Station home. Strobel’s body was found off the side of a path in Froehlich Farm Nature Preserve in October 2013.
While police have charged Adam Saalfield of Huntington Station with Rosales’ murder, the other two victims have not yet seen justice, which is currently the same situation Hernandez is in.
“The police are working harder with us and I am looking forward to the new inspector at the 2nd Precinct, I hope there will be new ways to address this problem,” Margolin said. “But to me it doesn’t seem like this issue is slowing down.”
Friends, family of young victims dedicate memorial to trio
Friends, family and town officials gather to remember Maggie Rosales, Danny Carbajal and Sarah Strobel in Huntington Station on Thursday. Three trees were planted in their honor. Photo by Mary Beth Steenson Kraese
Friends and family of three Huntington Station youths who were killed over the last two years came together on Thursday evening to dedicate trees and a memorial stone in their honor.
The Huntington Town-sponsored memorial ceremony took place at Depot Road Park and featured friends and family of 18-year-old Maggie Rosales, 25-year-old Danny Carbajal and 23-year old Sarah Strobel, as well as a number of community members.
Rosales was found stabbed to death, lying on Lynch Street in Huntington Station last October. Carbajal was shot in the head in July 2014 outside his Huntington Station home. Strobel’s body was found off the side of a path in Froehlich Farm Nature Preserve in October 2013.
Friends, family and town officials gather to remember Maggie Rosales, Danny Carbajal and Sarah Strobel in Huntington Station on Thursday. Three trees were planted in their honor. Photo by Mary Beth Steenson Kraese
Town officials attended the memorial service and offered some words, town spokesman A.J. Carter said on Friday. Many community members took part in the effort, including Kathleen Kufs and Jim McGoldrick, two individuals who organized the event.
“To be honest with you, it was a sad thing that we had to do this, but in a way it brought the community together,” McGoldrick reflected in a phone call on Friday. “And the community is very concerned about our children, and our teenagers especially.”
While there’s still more to do, McGoldrick said “things are getting better” in Huntington Station. He said he got involved in efforts to extinguish crime in the neighborhood after Rosales was found dead in the street in front of his home.
Kufs said she came up with the idea for the memorial a few months ago. She wanted “to have a place for the families and friends of these poor young people who were murdered, a place to go for peace and reflection and for the community to remember that these young lives were lost but not forgotten, and also to shed light on the fact that two of them are still unsolved.”
Police have charged Huntington Station man Adam Saalfield with Rosales’ murder, but the other two victims have not yet seen justice.
“There’s no closure,” McGoldrick said. “Danny and Sarah’s murderers have never been caught. People are very concerned about that.”
Huntington Town Councilwoman Susan Berland's (D) proposal to speed up graffiti removal got the green-light this week. File photo by Rohma Abbas
Rules for dealing with graffiti in Huntington Town just got stricter.
The town board on Tuesday unanimously approved amendments to Town Code backed by Councilwoman Susan Berland (D). The changes create a faster process of all graffiti removal from both residential and commercial properties, and an even speedier timeline for removal of bias or hate graffiti.
Berland’s amendments were subject to a public hearing in early June.
“I’m very glad it passed, especially unanimously,” she said in a phone interview. “It’s important we have graffiti laws that will try to control this issue and also stop graffiti before it gets done.”
Residents of Huntington Town will now have 10 days after they receive a summons to remove graffiti from their property. If the 10 days expire and the graffiti has not been removed, the town can send Huntington Town General Services Department employees in to remove the graffiti. The resident will be charged for the cleanup fee, as well as a $250 administrative fee.
If the owner fails to play the cleanup bill within 30 days, the property will be added to a graffiti blight inventory, which would cost homeowners $2,500, and commercial property owners $5,000. Owners who do not pay the fee will have the bill become a lien on their property.
Berland is most excited about the section regarding graffiti containing hate speech.
“I think people agree that hate language should not be tolerated in any circumstance, so that’s a really important aspect for me,” Berland said.
The time frame is much shorter for graffiti with hate crime, with a total of three days to remove it once a property owner gets notice of violation, before the town takes action.
According to Berland, the amendment could become effective in about 45 days.
“Overall this will encourage owners of properties to make sure their properties are maintained properly,” Berland said.
Joseph DiTroia and Gamal Smith are the new assistant principals. Photo by Darin Reed
On July 7, the Huntington school board appointed three new faces to serve in administrative roles at different levels. The meeting took place at Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School auditorium and ended with the appointment of Kathleen Acker, Joseph DiTroia and Gamal Smith as superintendent and assistant principals, respectively.
According to a press release, trustees approved the appointment of Acker who will serve as the superintendent for finance and management services for the Huntington school district’s administrative team. Before joining this team, Acker was a business education teacher for six years at Walt Whitman High School. Since 2010, Acker was also the high school’s principal.
But before she was in charge of overseeing 250 Walt Whitman staff members and nearly 1,900 students, Acker was the school’s assistant principal for six years. She attended Long Island University Post, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in management. She then attended Stony Brook University for her Master of Science in technological systems management. Acker, who will assume the appointed position on Aug. 3, also has an advanced graduate certificate for school district administration, which she received while attending Stony Brook.
Acker will replace Sammy Gergis starting Aug. 3 and receives a salary of $185,000 for this position. Acker is up for tenure Aug. 3, 2019.
Both DiTroia and Smith will serve as assistant principals at Huntington High School and assumed their positions on July 8. Both individuals will receive a salary of $137,041. DiTroia will also handle master scheduling duties. According to Jim Hoops, public information coordinator for Huntington school district, the assistant principal who handles those duties are required to work 10 extra days in addition to the normal school year workdays. While Smith is not replacing a current faculty member, DiTroia will replace Brenden Cusack, according to a Huntington school board meeting agenda.
Kathleen Acker will be the school’s new assistant superintendent for finance. Photo by Darin Reed
For DiTroia, life before Huntington High School included serving as a teaching assistant for two years at Plainedge High School. For nine years, he was also a social studies teacher at William Maxwell Career and Technical Education High School in Brooklyn, followed by becoming the dean of discipline. His accomplishments include serving as the dean of students and positions as the assistant principal of Alfred G. Berner Middle School in Massapequa and North Babylon High School, respectively.
DiTroia received a Bachelor of Arts in history while attending the University of Delaware. He also acquired a Master of Science in secondary education from Queens College.
Smith attended Clarkson University, where he received a Bachelor of Science in biology and premedicine. He attended Mercy College and obtained a Master of Science.
Before the board appointed him as one of the assistant principals, Smith worked at Richmond Hill High School as a teacher and lab instructor. While working at John Adams High School, Smith served as the dean of students. He was also the assistant principal at John W. Dodd Middle School and PS 212 in the Bronx.
Smith held the positions of assistant principal and science department chairman at Dr. Richard Izaquierdo Health & Science Charter School, was a science teacher and the dean of students for PS 254, and the principal of Nassau BOCES Positive Alternative Twilight High School.
DiTroia and Smith could not wait to get to work, as they began familiarizing themselves with the high school as well as Huntington faculty and staff members only several hours after the board appointed them to assistant principal positions. DiTroia and Smith are both up for tenure July 8, 2019.
A bicyclist collided with a Jeep in Huntington on Thursday afternoon, seriously injuring the rider.
The Suffolk County Police Department said the bicyclist, 54-year-old Huntington Station resident Paul McQueen, was riding north on Park Avenue, just past Dix Hills Road, when he turned into the path of a 2000 Jeep.
McQueen was in serious condition at Huntington Hospital after he was struck, police said. The 75-year-old Jeep driver was not hurt.
Police impounded the Jeep for a safety check.
Detectives from the SCPD’s 2nd Squad are investigating the crash. Anyone with information is asked to call them at 631-854-8252.
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