A North Shore resident locks his car before going into work. Photo by Victoria Espinoza
It may seem like a no-brainer, but according to the Suffolk County Police Department many North Shore residents are forgetting to lock their cars.
The department recently launched a new “Lock It or Lose It!” campaign aimed at encouraging residents to lock their parked vehicles.
Police Commissioner Tim Sini said the department is looking for the public’s help to bring down this type of petit crime.
“Every day, the hard-working men and women of the Suffolk County Police Department are out there in force doing their best to keep crime down,” he said in a statement. “Oftentimes, though, it is the partnership with the public that helps get us the results. The first line of defense is [to] lock your doors. Also, make sure if there are valuables in your car, they are not in plain view.”
Although it may seem simple, many Long Islanders are leaving their cars unlocked.
A periodic check of Suffolk County police reports will turn up dozens of incidents of items stolen out of unlocked cars parked in driveways, parking lots or other locations.
The department has partnered with Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and multiple television and radio stations to routinely broadcast a 30-second public service announcement during the next month to remind residents to lock their vehicles.
“Unlocked vehicles give criminals an additional bonus of stealing sensitive personal documents resulting in identity theft without a victim realizing the fact until it’s too late,” Crime Stoppers President Nick Amarr said in a statement. “The Lock it or Lose It campaign is a way to remind residents how they can help prevent becoming the victim of a crime.”
According to the department, most vehicle break-ins are crimes of opportunity, and if a vehicle is locked, a criminal will usually move on. Locking car doors should substantially decrease the likelihood of being victimized. Approximately 312 cars are targeted every month in Suffolk County, according to a statement from the police.
On the North Shore, cell phones, wallets, credit cards, cash, GPS, cell phone chargers, laptops and tablets are among the most common items taken when someone breaks into a car.
Campaigns just like Suffolk County’s are becoming the norm throughout the country, as police departments in many states try to remind residents they can help reduce crime in their neighborhoods.
Firemen salute the American flag during the East Northport Fire Department's 9/11 memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11. Photo by Kevin Redding
By Rich Acritelli
It was 15 years ago this week, Sept. 11, 2001, that Americans were putting their children on school buses and going about their daily routines when our nation was attacked. Terrorists boarded and later commandeered passenger planes that were fully loaded with fuel and flew them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the fields of Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The terrorists that took over Flight 93 originally planned to strike the Capital building or the White House, but cries of “Let’s roll” rang out, and the passengers fought back against the perpetrators.
While Mike Piazza of the New York Mets was an exceptional baseball player, he also served as a leader for his team and the community, and even helped with a humanitarian drive that was based out of Shea Stadium to aid the recovery workers. He spoke about that day during his Baseball Hall of Fame induction speech in July.
“To witness the darkest evil of the human heart and how it tore many loved ones from their families will forever be burned in my soul.”
— Mike Piazza
“Sept. 11, 2001 is a day that forever changed our lives. To witness the darkest evil of the human heart and how it tore many loved ones from their families will forever be burned in my soul,” the transplanted New Yorker, who was born in Philadelphia, said. “But from tragedy and sorrow came bravery, love, compassion, character and, eventually, healing. Many of you give me praise for the two-run home run on the first game back on Sept. 21 to push us ahead of the rival Braves. But the true praise belongs to police, firefighters, first responders, who knew they were going to die, but went forward anyway.”
The New York Yankees, who were in pursuit of another World Series title, visited firehouses, and players had tears in their eyes moments before they played in games.
Today, Americans are watching a hotly contested election. It was 15 years ago that many citizens put aside their political beliefs to be unified against a common enemy. Rescue crews traveled from all over the nation to head toward the remains of the World Trade Center, yellow ribbons were tied on trees across the United States and the undeniable will of our people was quickly demonstrated to the world. While it seems like yesterday that we watched these horrific events occur, there are current high school students that may have lost a parent that day. It is these boys and girls who were so young that they do not easily recollect their loved ones that were amongst the almost three thousand Americans killed tragically. This is not just another historic day to briefly remember — it is still with our citizens on a daily basis. Our children have lived under the heightened security at our airports, infrastructure centers like Pennsylvania Station and the George Washington Bridge, and during major sporting events. During every home game since 9/11, the New York Yankees invite veterans and rescue workers to be honored, as both teams line up to listen to “God Bless America.”
Our North Shore communities were a considerable distance from the destruction of the World Trade Center towers. But unflinchingly, local rescue and support workers from these towns traveled every day and spent hours away from their families to be at ground zero. May we never forget the sacrifices of members of these numerous agencies that are currently suffering from 9/11-related illnesses. It should also be remembered that while our North Shore towns are miles from the city, these communities and schools lost residents and graduates as a result of these acts of terrorism. Thank you to all our rescue workers and military branches that continue to protect the security and values of the United States, at home and abroad.
A Rocky Point Middle School student draws symbols associated with 9/11 during class. Photo by Victoria Espinoza
By Alex Petroski & Victoria Espinoza
The world changed Sept. 11, 2001. For those who were alive and old enough to grasp the enormity of the event, what happened that day is very complicated and difficult to comprehend, even 15 years later. For those who weren’t born yet or were too young to remember the events, it’s even more challenging to comprehend. That is the task facing North Shore global and American history teachers welcoming eighth- and ninth-graders into their classrooms for the 2016 school year.
Student artwork done after a 9/11 lesson. Photo by Victoria Espinoza
Wendy Blair-Braxton, an eighth-grade history teacher at Elwood Middle School, planned several days worth of lessons to help her students get an in-depth understanding of the events that transpired on 9/11.
Blair-Braxton started her lesson Sept. 9 by showing her students photos of 9/11, without telling students what the photos depicted.
“They had different reactions, some students said terrorism, some didn’t even realize we were talking about 9/11,” she said in a phone interview.
Blair-Braxton said after the students realized what the subject was, she showed videos about 9/11, to help put the students in the shoes of those at Ground Zero.
“I tried to teach the emotional aspects of 9/11,” she said. “It really did hit home for a lot of the students. I also explained to the kids, once you live through this type of history, all the emotions come back every time you revisit it. You get the chills, and the goosebumps down your spine.”
She said many of her students became emotional after seeing the video and photos of the Twin Towers falling, and the classroom became “dead silent.”
The eighth-grade teacher said many students didn’t realize just how many aspects of their lives were affected by the attacks.
“They didn’t realize added security now at airports was because of this,” she said.
The Elwood students’ lessons eventually went into further detail about the Patriot Act, terrorism and the Department of Homeland Security, as Blair-Braxton said she tried to show the students how 9/11 was a turning point in the United States.
Students were asked to write reflections on index cards, as Blair-Braxton played songs like “My City of Ruins” by Bruce Springsteen, a popular ballad that took on new meaning after 9/11 and helped raised funds for first responders.
After the lesson, students wrote down their thoughts on reflection cards.
“We had a child who was actually questioning if there were people in the building when it went down. So a lot of them really don’t have any clue.”
— Erica Alemaghides
“I feel like I shouldn’t be that affected by what happened on 9/11, since I had no personal connection to anything that happened,” one student wrote. “Then why do I feel like it does affect me? It’s probably because of a mixture of shock and sadness realizing that it affected our country and everyone inside of the country is the country.”
Grasping the subject wasn’t any easier for a classmate.
“I feel that I can’t describe 9/11 in detail,” the student wrote. “I know all the videos, and people’s stories of how they reacted, but I wasn’t there. I don’t have any personal experience with the incident. I think 9/11 had the largest negative impact in the history of the U.S. New York City is known as the city that never sleeps, but for long after the incident the city slept. The whole city was silent. I feel horrible for all the people who lost their lives, and the people who lived on, carrying the crestfallen emotions of the deceased. 9/11 will never be lost in history.”
Erica Alemaghides, a social studies teacher at Rocky Point Middle School, said she tried to approach the lesson from a different perspective this year compared to years past.
“I feel it’s important to teach them about everything, all the facts having to do with it, because they really don’t know anything,” she said. “We had a child who was actually questioning if there were people in the building when it went down. So a lot of them really don’t have any clue. They’ve heard of it, but a lot of them didn’t even really know what terrorism is, or they just don’t understand it.”
She said some students didn’t realize how many planes were hijacked that day, and weren’t aware of the attack on the Pentagon and the plane crash in Pennsylvania.
Alemaghides’ new lesson plan required students to choose an artifact that might have been found in the rubble, which they then replicated and explained in a personal reflection.
She said she wanted students to understand how the nation changed after the deadly attacks, and what was done to make America safe.
“You don’t want everyone thinking every time you go into a building you have to worry about that happening,” she said.
A Rocky Point Middle School student draws symbols associated with 9/11 during class. Photo by Victoria Espinoza
Port Jefferson high school global history teacher Jesse Rosen, who teaches ninth grade, said in a phone interview that his goal in teaching about 9/11 hasn’t changed much over the years. He prefers to approach the subject from a humanistic point of view, with minimal discussion of the global implications.
“I feel like it’s still so close and people still know someone who was affected that the humanistic aspect of it is where I want to stick,” he said in a phone interview.
Rosen teaches the lesson around a story originally revealed in an ESPN piece for the show “Outside the Lines” about “the man in the red bandana.” The piece tells the story of Welles Crowther, a former lacrosse player at Boston College, who carried a red bandana with him everywhere he went. Crowther died in the attacks, and his family later learned of his heroism on that day when they heard stories about a man with a red bandana helping to save people trapped in the building.
“I feel strongly that positive can come out of negative,” he said.
Rosen shared student responses following the lesson.
“Everything we have learned about Welles shares a common theme: he was a hero,” ninth-grader Katelynn Righi wrote. “For someone to risk their life to help other people shows a lot about that person. It shows their courage, bravery and that they will do anything to make sure others are alright. He decided to be a hero because that’s who he was.”
Centereach's Tom Robbert and Smithtown East's Matthew Selman fight for possession of the ball. Photo by Bill Landon
By Bill Landon
After 80 minutes of regulation, it was the overtime period that decided the League III boys’ soccer game Saturday afternoon between Centereach and visiting Smithtown East. Both teams were hungry for the first win of the season, but it was Centereach who prevailed, scoring nine minutes into the first overtime period to win the game, 2-1.
Centereach’s Ryan Lauer blocks a pass intended for Smithtown East’s Vincent DiStasi. Photo by Bill Landon
Centereach, accustomed to playing on grass, scored first when senior co-captain Ryan Lauer, a midfielder, dished the ball to sophomore midfielder Matt Gorski, who drove his shot to the right corner of the net for the lead with 3:56 remaining in the first half.
“We played well today, and I was pleased with our performance,” Gorski said. “I didn’t expect that it would go to overtime, but it was a good battle and I’m glad we came out with the victory.”
Fresh off a loss from crosstown rival Smithtown West, the Bulls looked to even their record when Luke Eschbach answered the call. The senior forward drilled one past the goalkeeper off a feed from junior defenseman Matthew Selman, to make it a new game eight minutes into the second half.
The Bulls, more comfortable on turf, showed no difficulty on grass as both teams moved the ball up and down the field with ease, but with few shots on goal.
As time expired in regulation play, both teams prepared for a new game in the first 10-minute overtime period.
Smithtown East head coach Mike Menendez said he expected to have his hands full with today’s game.
“Centereach is always a tough team,” he said. “Their boys play hard, they play well on their field and they were the team that came out on top. They were able to get the win so hats off to them.”
Centereach’s Elmer Alfaro heads the ball. Photo by Bill Landon
Centereach senior midfielder Elmer Alfaro charged up the left sideline out-dribbling his opponents, when he spotted teammate Ivis Trejo, who managed to find and open space in front of the cage. The co-captain dished the ball off to Trejo, and the junior midfielder blasted his shot passed the keeper to win the game.
“Smithtown’s a tough team — we came out a little flat but we played better in the second half,” Trejo said. “We had good possession today and we had good defense.”
Centereach head coach Jon Galfano said he was impressed with Alfaro’s play, especially leading up to the game-winning goal.
“Elmer Alfaro — just that run down the sideline at the end and then for him to have the wherewithall to pass it to a wide open Ivis [Trejo] was just beautiful to watch,” he said. “Elmer is one of those kids that I can put him anywhere on the field and he just knows what to do. Nobody works harder and he’s just a great kid.”
The head coach said he saw a much-improved team from the one that lost to West Islip, 2-1, two days prior.
“I felt that we lacked effort … in that first game of the season, but today we bounced back — these kids fought and fought hard and never gave up,” Galfano said. “As a coach, that’s all you can ask for. I’m very proud of them.”
Firemen and residents hold their hands to their chest during the East Northport Fire Department's 9/11 memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11. Photo by Kevin Redding
Firemen hold their hats to their chest during the East Northport Fire Department's 9/11 memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11. Photo by Kevin Redding
Firemen read off the names of those who perished on 9/11 during the East Northport Fire Department's 9/11 memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11. Photo by Kevin Redding
Residents hold their hands to their chest during the East Northport Fire Department's 9/11 memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11. Photo by Kevin Redding
Firemen salute the American flag during the East Northport Fire Department's 9/11 memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11. Photo by Kevin Redding
An East Northport firemen speaks during the East Northport Fire Department's 9/11 memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11. Photo by Kevin Redding
The Northport-East Northport school choirs sings during the East Northport Fire Department's 9/11 memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11. Photo by Kevin Redding
Firemen hold their hats to their chest during the East Northport Fire Department's 9/11 memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11. Photo by Kevin Redding
Firemen salute the American flag during the East Northport Fire Department's 9/11 memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11. Photo by Kevin Redding
Firemen salute the American flag during the East Northport Fire Department's 9/11 memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11. Photo by Kevin Redding
Guest speaker Paul Failla recites a poem to the crowd during a 9/11 memorial at Harborfront Park in Port Jefferson Sept. 11. Photo by Bob Savage
Those in attendance at Harborfront Park in Port Jefferson for a 9/11 memorial hosted by the Order of the Sons of Italy hold candles Sept. 11. Photo by Bob Savage
Those in attendance at Harborfront Park in Port Jefferson for a 9/11 memorial hosted by the Order of the Sons of Italy hold candles Sept. 11. Photo by Bob Savage
Italian and American flags surround the crowd that gathered at Harborfront Park in Port Jefferson to honor the memory of those lost on 9/11 during a memorial Sept. 11. Photo by Bob Savage
The Wading River Fire Department raises an American Flag over the new Thomas Cutinella Memorial Field before a home opener against Center Moriches on Sept. 9. Photo by Bill Landon
Those in attendance at Harborfront Park in Port Jefferson for a 9/11 memorial hosted by the Order of the Sons of Italy hold candles Sept. 11. Photo by Bob Savage
Deacon Carlito Roman and Anthony Rotoli, Jr. speak during a 9/11 memorial held by the Order of the Sons of Italy at Harborfront Park in Port Jefferson Sept. 11. Photo by Bob Savage
A wreath is placed near a memorial remembering fire fighters lost in the line of duty at the Port Jefferson Fire Department during an event Sept. 11. Photo by Alex Petroski
A wreath is placed near a memorial remembering fire fighters lost in the line of duty at the Port Jefferson Fire Department during an event Sept. 11. Photo by Alex Petroski
A wreath is placed near a memorial remembering fire fighters lost in the line of duty at the Port Jefferson Fire Department during an event Sept. 11. Photo by Alex Petroski
Members of the Port Jefferson Fire Department pay their respects to remember those lost on 9/11 during a ceremony at the Port Jefferson Fire Department Sept. 11. Photo by Alex Petroski
A ceremony is held to remember those lost on 9/11 at the Port Jefferson Fire Department Sept. 11. Photo by Alex Petroski
A bell is sounded after the names of each Brookhaven resident who lost their life on 9/11 is read during a ceremony at the Port Jefferson Fire Department Sept. 11. Photo by Alex Petroski
Bagpipes are played to honor Brookhaven residents lost on 9/11 at the Port Jefferson Fire Department Sept. 11. Photo by Alex Petroski
A scene from Commack school district's 9/11 memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11. Photo from Commack School District.
A scene from Commack school district's 9/11 memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11. Photo from Commack School District.
A scene from Commack school district's 9/11 memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11. Photo from Commack School District.
U.S. Rep Steve Israel speaks at Commack school district's 9/11 memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11. Photo from Commack School District.
A scene from Commack school district's 9/11 memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11. Photo from Commack School District.
A scene from Commack school district's 9/11 memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11. Photo from Commack School District.
A scene from the St. James Fire Department 9/11 memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11. Photo by Kevin Redding.
A scene from the St. James Fire Department 9/11 memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11. Photo by Kevin Redding.
A scene from the St. James Fire Department 9/11 memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11. Photo by Kevin Redding.
A scene from the St. James Fire Department 9/11 memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11. Photo by Kevin Redding.
A scene from the St. James Fire Department 9/11 memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11. Photo by Kevin Redding.
A scene from the St. James Fire Department 9/11 memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11. Photo by Kevin Redding.
A scene from the St. James Fire Department 9/11 memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11. Photo by Kevin Redding.
A scene from the St. James Fire Department 9/11 memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11. Photo by Kevin Redding.
A plaque commemorates the pear trees added to the memorial during the past year from the Survivor Tree at Ground Zero in the memorial park at the Setauket Fire Department's Nicolls Road building. Photo by Greg Catalano.
Firefighters place caps over hearts in memory of those lost during the Setauket Fire District's 9/11 Memorial Commemoration Sept. 11th. Photo by Greg Catalano,
Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R). Photo by Greg Catalano,
A speaker at the Setauket Fire District's 9/11 Memorial Commemoration Sept. 11th. Photo by Greg Catalano,
Visitors to the Setauket Fire District's 9/11 Memorial Commemoration Sept. 11th light candles. Photo by Greg Catalano,
A fire chief provides the flame to kindle memorial candles at the Setauket Fire District's 9/11 Memorial Commemoration Sept. 11th. Photo by Greg Catalano,
Lighting candles at the Setauket Fire District's 9/11 Memorial Commemoration Sept. 11th. Photo by Greg Catalano,
New York State Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) addresses the group. Photo by Greg Catalano.
Fire officials place a wreath during the 9/11 Memorial Commemoration at the Setauket Fire District Sept. 11th. Photo by Greg Catalano.
Visitors to the Setauket Fire District's 9/11 Commemoration Sept. 11th. Photo by Greg Catalano,
A procession of firefighters in full dress uniforms enter the 9/11 Memorial Park at the Setauket Fire District's Commemoration of Sept. 11th. Photo by Greg Catalano,
A standard bearer carries the Setauket Fire Department flag at the Setauket Fire District's 9/11 Memorial Commemoration Sept. 11th. Photo by Greg Catalano,
The Setauket Fire Department 9/11 Memorial lists victims of the World Trade Center on the bottom and first responders who gave their lives on the pillars at the top. Photo by Greg Catalano.
Fire departments, town and village governments, and schools all participated in memorial events to commemorate the lives lost during Sept. 11, 2001. Residents came to show support, as well as help read off the names of those who perished, lay wreaths and take a moment to honor the American lives lost, and all the first responders and civilians who helped save lives at Ground Zero.
A man touches the wall to pay respect to someone he lost on Sept. 11, 2001 at Rocky Point Fire Department’s 9/11 memorial service. Photo by Giselle Barkley
Residents throughout Suffolk County will have their choice of memorial ceremonies to attend this Sept. 11.
Huntington
The East Northport Fire Department will be hosting its annual memorial service this Sunday, with two separate events, both being held at the Ninth Avenue side of the firehouse at the 9/11 Memorial Monument on Sept. 11. The morning ceremony will begin at 9:45 a.m., and the evening candlelight vigil will begin at 8 p.m. Both ceremonies are set around an eight-foot, 8,000-pound steel beam from Ground Zero that the department received from the Port Authority. During the ceremony, firefighters will read victim’s names, and sirens will sound to commemorate the collapse of the twin towers. The Northport High School Tights will sing the national anthem and “America the Beautiful,” with “Amazing Grace” played by the Northport Pipe & Drum Band. There will be a 21-gun salute from the Marine Corps League and the release of memorial doves.A memorial banner will be displayed on a fire engine that lists all of the victim’s names. A Suffolk County Police Department helicopter will be doing a flyover during the ceremony.
Huntington Town will also be holding a small ceremony at Heckscher Park at noon this Friday, Sept. 9.
Smithtown
Members of the East Northport Fire Department participate in the annual 9/11 memorial service on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015. Photo by Victoria Espinoza
The Commack School District will be presenting a candlelight ceremony of remembrance. It will be held at the Commack High School football field at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11. The 9/11 Memorial Players, Mimi Juliano, Mark Newman and Joe Zogbi, will perform music, and honorary guest speakers will attend.
The St. James Fire Department will also be hosting a service at 6 p.m. Sunday at the 9/11 memorial at the firehouse. Local legislators will speak, the Smithtown High School band and choir will perform, and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9486 will perform a gun salute. The names of Smithtown residents and community members who lost their lives on Sept. 11 will be read including New York Police Officer Glenn Pettit, New York Fire Department Chief Lawrence Stack, New York Fire Department Chief Donald Burns, Port Authority Officer Jean Andrucki and New York Fireman Doug Oelschlager.
Brookhaven
The Order Sons of Italy in America will host its seventh annual 9/11 tribute. The candlelight remembrance is at 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11, at Harborfront Park at Port Jefferson Village Center located at 101A East Broadway. The event will feature guest speakers and refreshments. All are welcome. For more information contact Anthony Rotoli Jr. at 631-928-7489.
The Sons of Italy Lodge was renamed the Vigiano Brothers Lodge to honor Port Jefferson residents. John Vigiano Jr. was a firefighter and Joseph Vigiano was a police detective.On Sept. 11, 2001, both Vigiano brothers responded to the call to the World Trade Center, and both were killed while saving others. John Vigiano Sr. is a retired NYC firefighter whose two sons followed him into service.The attacks of 9/11 inflicted a tremendous loss on his family and also on our country. Therefore, we honored these two heroes and their family by naming the Sons of Italy Lodge after them in Port Jefferson.
The Port Jefferson Fire Department will host its annual 9/11 memorial ceremony on Sunday, Sept. 11, at 9:30 a.m. At the Maple Place firehouse, firefighters and residents will gather to pay their respects to those who died in the terrorist attacks in 2001, including first responders from the Town of Brookhaven who perished while answering the call of duty at the World Trade Center. The ceremony includes a memorial service in which the names of the town firefighters who died that day will be read aloud.
An official plays the bugle at Port Jefferson Fire Department’s 13th annual 9/11 memorial ceremony. Photo by Giselle Barkley
The Rocky Point Fire Department 9/11 Memorial Committee invites the communities of Rocky Point and Shoreham to its 15th Annual 9/11 Memorial Ceremony on Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. This ceremony will take place at the 9/11 Community Memorial site which is located on the corner of Route 25A and Tesla Street in Shoreham, next to the Shoreham Firehouse. Light refreshments will be served after the ceremony.
In honor of the 15th anniversary of the events that took place on Sept. 11, 2001, the Setauket Fire District will host a community 9/11 remembrance ceremony Sunday, Sept. 11, beginning at 10 a.m. The program will take place at the district’s 9/11 Memorial Park, located at 394 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook. The ceremony will include brief remarks from department representatives, a moment of silence and the official dedication of the two “survivor trees” recently planted in the fire district’s 9/11 Memorial Park. These trees were seeded from the 9/11 survivor tree located at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center. Light refreshments will follow the ceremony, and attendees will be invited to visit the different sections of the expanded Setauket 9/11 Memorial Park, which also includes a stone monument inscribed with the names of those lost on 9/11 and a patriotic water display.
The Alumni Association of Stony Brook University will sponsor a commemoration of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, throughout Monday, Sept. 12, with a field of pinwheels on the Academic Mall. This is the third year that the event will be held. Students and faculty are invited to take a moment to remember those lost.
John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson. File photo
Free prostate screenings will be offered on Saturday, Sept. 10, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at John T. Mather Memorial Hospital.
The screening, which will take place in the Fortunato Breast Health Center, will include a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening and a digital rectal exam. No fasting is required.
A limited number of screenings are available. Registration is required. To make an appointment, call Mather’s Public Affairs Department, Monday-Friday, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., at (631) 476-2723.
Prostate cancer screenings are recommended for men age 50 and older who have not had a screening in the past 12 months.
John T. Mather Memorial Hospital is located at 75 North Country Road in Port Jefferson.
Prepare for disaster in Port Jefferson. File photo
Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) are teaming up to help North Shore residents prepare for a natural or man-made disaster. The lawmakers will host a free NYS Citizen Preparedness Training event Sept. 10 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Port Jefferson Village Center, located at 101 East Broadway.
Participants will learn how to develop family emergency plans, how to stock up useful supplies and will receive a free disaster preparedness kit containing vital items if a disaster were to strike.
“The state training and kits will help New Yorkers be the most trained and best-prepared citizens in the country,” a release from Hahn’s office said.
Those interested in participating should visit www.prepare.ny.gov to register in advance of the event.
A woman Nicole sits on the grass in Port Jefferson remembering those who were lost to and those who survived heroin addiction during the third annual Lights of Hope event on Aug. 31. Photo by Nora Milligan
Rebecca Anzel
When Daniel Scofield died in 2011 from a heroin overdose, his mother Dori decided to do something.
“I wasn’t going to keep [his death] under the carpet,” she said. “I just said, ‘I’ve got to bring this out into the world. My son was my life and I’m not going to bury his addiction with him. I have to help others. I have to bring awareness.’”
In April 2014, the founder of Save-A-Pet Animal Rescue and Adoption Center started Dan’s Foundation for Recovery, a not-for-profit organization that provides assistance to those suffering from alcohol or substance abuse. The group uses its donations to help an addict get help — it assists addicts in covering insurance copayments, treatment and travel costs to recovery centers in other states.
Scofield co-hosted Lights of Hope on Aug. 31 at Memorial Park in Port Jefferson. The event, which is in its third year, brought together families and friends to remember those who died from a drug overdose and to support those who are recovering from drug addiction.
Lit luminaires light up the night during the third annual Lights of Hope event in Port Jefferson on Aug. 31. Photo by Nora Milligan
The event’s other co-host was Public Relations Director Debbie Gross Longo of the New York Chapter of Magnolia New Beginnings, an advocacy, education, support and addiction resource group.
“Each year, unfortunately the crowd gets bigger,” Longo said. “We lose about 129 kids a day throughout the United States. This is something that is an epidemic. It has gotten out of control and there’s no reason for it.”
Longo’s son was a soccer player at Ward Melville High School. He was so talented, she said, he was being scouted by colleges. That was before he tore his quadricep.
The doctors at John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson prescribed him oxycodone, and he became addicted. The price per pill of oxycodone is expensive — about $45 each, Longo said. So he switched to heroin, a much less expensive but more potent drug. Before long, his personality began to change.
“The changes happened pretty quickly until I couldn’t ignore it any longer, and that’s when he went to rehab,” she said. “It didn’t work the first time, it didn’t work the second time and it didn’t work the third time.”
Longo said her son is now living in a sober community in Florida helping other addicts get into recovery.
According to a 2015 New York State Opioid Poisoning, Overdose and Prevention report, there were 337 heroin-related deaths in Suffolk County between 2009 and 2013 — more than any other county in the state during that period.
“We come together to celebrate the lives they lived, we’re celebrating the recovery and we’re celebrating the people who are still struggling. We will never give up hope. Where there is life, there is hope.”
—Tracey Budd
In a brief speech at the Lights for Hope event, Scofield stressed the importance of helping those addicted to the drug get into recovery. Earlier that day, she said, she helped a young girl who lost her mother get into the Long Island Center for Recovery in Hampton Bays as well as three other young people get into a rehabilitation facility in Arizona.
In starting Dan’s Foundation, Scofield “wanted mostly to help kids that sought treatment now — not 10 days from now,” she said. “In 20 minutes, they’re gone. You have a small window of opportunity to help them and you’ve got to do it when you can do it.”
Scofield’s son David, 28, went through heroin recovery. His mom said her sons were best friends and they did everything together, including using heroin.
“I struggled with this disease for a long time,” he said to those who attended the Lights for Hope event. “I found a way to live sober. I found a different way to live my life.”
Event attendees decorated white paper bags with the name of a loved one who died from heroin or who recovered from it, and a message. Toward the end of the evening, a candle was placed inside each bag, and they were arranged in a large circle around the cannon in the park.
“We come together to celebrate the lives they lived, we’re celebrating the recovery and we’re celebrating the people who are still struggling,” Tracey Budd, a Rocky Point resident and founder of North Shore Drug Awareness Advocates, said. “We will never give up hope. Where there is life, there is hope.”
Budd’s son Kevin died in September 2012 from a heroin overdose. Her daughter Breanna has been drug-free since May 2014.
She said the stigma of addiction has changed dramatically since 2008 at the height of her son’s struggle with heroin. There is now a community of families that support each other through a child’s struggle with addiction or an addict’s death.
Tracey Budd, a Rocky Point resident and founder of North Shore Drug Awareness Advocates, displays her luminaire in memory of her son Kevin during the third annual Lights of Hope event in Port Jefferson on Aug. 31. Photo by Nora Milligan
“It’s sad to say, but when you feel the hug of another mother who’s lost a child, even if you’ve never met, no words need to be spoken,” Budd said. “It’s a connection that we wish we didn’t have, but we do, and it’s actually pretty amazing.”
Middle Island resident Hugh Rhodus said the worst part of the heroin problem on Long Island is going to a funeral for a young person. He recently attended the funeral of a friend’s 24-year-old nephew.
“Going to a kid’s funeral is the hardest thing, but unfortunately we do it all the time,” he said. “It’s so hard to do. Kids that age laying in a casket is awful.”
Rhodus and his wife helped their daughter Amanda through her 13-year struggle with heroin. He said when they first tried to get her help, they took her to Mather Hospital, where they waited for a couple of hours after speaking with a nurse in a “room in the back.” Eventually, they were told to go to a hospital in Nassau County because Mather Hospital was unable to help Amanda.
“It’s your daughter, she’s sick, she’s a drug addict and that’s how we found out how powerful the stigma was,” Rhodus said. “We fought for years to get her in and out of treatment — it was tough. It was really tough.”
Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) praised families and recovering addicts for not giving up.
“We can’t give up,” she said. “Everybody has to be engaged and participate because it is our lives and our children’s lives and our loved ones lives that’s on the line.”
Algae built up on a lake where birds and other marina life inhabit. File photo
By Rebecca Anzel
Long Island’s economic prosperity and quality of life are at risk from an unlikely source, but both the Suffolk County and Town of Brookhaven governments are taking steps to combat the issue.
Bodies of water in the county face nitrogen pollution, which leads to harmful algae blooms and a decrease in shellfish population, among other environmental defects. Critically, nitrogen seeps into the Island’s groundwater, which is the region’s only source of drinking water.
Fishing, tourism and boating are billion-dollar industries in Suffolk County — approximately 60 percent of the Island’s economy is reliant on clean water. County property values are also tied to water clarity, according to a Stony Brook University report.
Nitrogen enters ground and surface water from various sources of runoff, such as landscaping, agriculture and pet waste. But the largest contributor of nitrogen pollution is failing septic systems, which County Executive Steve Bellone (D) designated as “public water enemy No. 1.”
Elected officials and environmental advocates gathered at the home of Jim and Donna Minei, recipients of a Innovative and Alternative Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems through the Suffolk County Septic Demonstration Pilot Program. Photo from Steve Bellone’s office
Which is why Bellone signed into law last month a resolution that amended Suffolk County’s sanitary code to help protect the county’s aquifer and surface water by improving wastewater treatment technologies to combat nitrogen pollution as part of the county’s Reclaim Our Water initiative.
“It doesn’t help our tourism industry, our quality of life or our ecosystems,” county Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) said of issues with the Island’s water. “Tackling the nitrogen problem, while not a sexy issue, is a very important one.” Hahn is chairwoman of the county’s Environment, Planning & Agriculture Committee.
Town and county officials are tackling the problem by utilizing what Hahn called a “multipronged approach.” Brookhaven is working to track any issues with outfalls, where drains and sewers empty into local waters, and Suffolk County is employing alternative septic systems.
Municipalities like Brookhaven are required by New York State to inspect each point where waste systems empty into a body of water and create a map of their location. It is part of a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit because, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, storm sewers collect pollutants like bacteria, motor oil, fertilizer, heavy metals and litter, and deposit them directly into bodies of water.
In addition to conducting the inspections of outfalls necessary to comply with the MS4 permit, the Town of Brookhaven conducts a DNA analysis of any outfall that has indications of impacting water quality. Since 2007, Brookhaven has spent more than $880,000 on this state requirement, Veronica King, the town’s stormwater manager, said.
“You want to put your resources where it makes the most sense,” she said. “Instead of dumping millions of dollars into structural retrofits that don’t address the true problem, the DNA analysis helps us to prioritize and make educated and cost-effective decisions.”
Town Councilwoman Jane Bonner (C-Rocky Point) said Brookhaven contracts with Cornell Cooperative Extension because it maintains a DNA “library” of Long Island wildlife, which it uses to identify the source of any pathogens in collected stormwater. For instance, if the DNA tests conclude they came from pets, Brookhaven might conduct an educational campaign to remind residents to clean up after their furry friends. If the pathogens come from a human source, there might be an issue with a septic system.
“This type of analysis could prove of great importance because any patterns identified as a result of this study can help determine what next steps can be taken to improve water quality where necessary,” Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station) said.
Brookhaven has applied for a state grant to help pay for these DNA tests and outfall inspections for the first time this year, because, King said, this is the first time New York State has offered a grant to cover the work.
The DNA tests are important, Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) said, because they help to identify ways to decrease the amount of nitrogen seeping into groundwater.
“The amount of nitrogen in the Magothy aquifer layer has increased over 200 percent in 13 years,” he said of one of the sub-layers that is most commonly tapped into in Suffolk, although not the deepest in the aquifer. “Cleaning up our waterways is not going to be done overnight — this is going to take a long time — but the waterways did not become polluted overnight.”
Suffolk County launched its Septic Demonstration Program to install cesspool alternative systems in 2014, called Innovative and Alternative Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems (known as I/A OWTS), on the property of participants. Manufacturers of the technology donated the systems and installed them at no cost to the homeowner.
The county’s goal in testing these alternative systems is to lower the levels of nitrogen seeping into groundwater. According to a June 2016 Stony Brook University report, “the approximately 360,000 septic tank/leaching systems and cesspools that serve 74 percent of homes across Suffolk County have caused the concentrations of nitrogen in groundwater to rise by 50 percent since 1985.”
More than 10,000 of the nitrogen-reducing systems are installed in New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts and Rhode Island — all areas with similar environmental concerns to Suffolk County — according to the county executive’s office. County employees met with officials from these states to help shape its program.
“Tackling the nitrogen problem, while not a sexy issue, is a very important one.”
—Kara Hahn
The I/A OWTS installations worked out so well during a demonstration program that on July 26, the county passed a resolution to allow the Department of Health Services to regulate their use.
Typical cesspools are estimated to cost between $5,000 and $7,000 to install. The low nitrogen systems cost between $12,000 and $20,000, Hahn said. She added that as more areas facing similar environmental concerns require lower nitrogen standards and, as the technology improves, the cost of cesspool alternatives will go down.
Until then, Hahn said county officials have been discussing the possibility of subsidizing the cost of installing the I/A OWTS. It might begin requiring new homes to install low-nitrogen systems instead of traditional cesspools. Or, upon an old system’s failure, it might require an I/A OWTS be installed.
“We hope to eventually be able to help in some way,” she said.
County Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) said she hopes local businesses begin producing the alternative systems that the county determines best work for the area since it would “keep the economic dollar here” and provide jobs.
In January, Brookhaven will be the first town, Romaine said, that will begin mandating new constructions within 500 feet of any waterway to install an alternative wastewater treatment system.
“I think alternative systems work,” he said. “In many ways, even though we’re a local government, we are on the cutting edge of clean water technologies.”
Both the initiatives by Brookhaven and Suffolk County “go hand and glove,” George Hoffman, of the Setauket Harbor Task Force, said. Many of Suffolk’s harbors and bays are struggling due to stormwater and nitrogen pollution, including Great South Bay, Lake Ronkonkoma, Northport Harbor, Forge River, Port Jefferson Harbor, Mount Sinai Harbor and Peconic River/Peconic Bay.
“Living on an island on top of our water supply and with thousands of homes along the shores of our harbors and bays, it never made sense to allow cesspools to proliferate,” he said.
The success of the initiatives, though, depends on residents.
“The public needs to be always recognizing that whatever we do on land here on Long Island and in Suffolk County affects not only the drinking water beneath us but the quality of our bays and waterways, streams and rivers all around us,” Hahn said. “It’s critically important that folks have that understanding. Everything we do on land affects our water here on the Island.”
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