Humane Long Island is donating vegan gift bags to every person who adopts a dog, cat, or other fuzzy, finned, or feathered friend from participating animal shelters across Long Island for the next 30 days to both promote adoption and kindness to all animals in the New Year.
“Veganuary” gift bags will include vegan food items such as Beyond Jerky, Hippeas, and Vego candy bars from Cindysnacks vegan market in Huntington – which has just been named Humane Long Island’s 2022 Business of the Year – as well as coupons, literature, stickers, and activity books that make it easy to pursue a healthy, vegan lifestyle.
Participating shelters include Babylon Animal Shelter, Brookhaven Animal Shelter, Cove Animal Rescue in Glen Cove, Kent Animal Shelter in Riverhead, Save-A-Pet Animal Shelter in Port Jefferson Station, Smithtown Animal Shelter, Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation, Town of Huntington Cat Shelter Operated by Little Shelter, and Humane Long Island’s Riverhead Aviary.
John Di Leonardo, anthrozoologist and president of Humane Long Island, says “Whether you’re looking to adopt a fuzzy, finned, or feathered friend this year, Humane Long Island would like to say thank you by offering healthy, cruelty-free gift bags to everyone who rescues a homeless animal during the month of January! We hope these delicious vegan samples will encourage adopters to save 200 more animals each year by simply leaving animals off their plate and out of their wardrobe.”
Patricia Deshong, Executive Director of the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation, says “Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation is proud to save the lives of animals with the goal of finding them their forever homes. Animals are friends, not food! We thank our friend and fellow rescue partner Humane Long Island for taking the lead on promoting a vegan/plant-based lifestyle and fully support this initiative.”
When visitors to the Village of Port Jefferson were approached Saturday, Jan. 7, they thoughtfully and very personally responded to the question: “What was your favorite,most significant or memorable event of 2022?” The themes of health, pets and travel ruled the day.
— Photos by Carolyn Sackstein
Paul and GerriHavran, St. James
“We were on the ferry returning from Connecticut after picking up a truck,” Paul said. “Shortly after leaving Bridgeport, I had a heart attack and died for several minutes. Fortunately, there was a [physician’s assistant] sitting by us. There was an EMT and they went to work on me. They weren’t bringing me back, but the captain saw from the bridge what was going on and sent the crew down with an [automated external defibrillator]. A fireman and the PA administered the AED and brought me back.”
Corinne Minor (left) and Sara Jackson,Selden
Corinne: “We got two cats from my grandmother this past year, when she passed away. Bringing them here and getting them acclimated to our little home has been significant.”
Sara: “I would have to say my health. I went through a whirlwind of surgeries. I am happy and healthy right now. I cannot wait for 2023.”
Ashley Smith,St. James
“Definitely adopting my second dog from Last Chance Animal Rescue. She’s a Redbone Coonhound named Caroline.”
Keith, Lauren and Christine Kmiotek, Brooklyn
Keith spoke for the family. “Our island vacation in St. John, the U. S. Virgin Islands, was very nice. We are beach bums, so what’s nice about St. John is you can go to all the public beaches. It’s open to everybody. You don’t have to pay to get on the beaches. You get tired of one, you get in your car and drive to another. You go around the corner and it’s like a whole new world. The island is that beautiful to explore.”
Chuck Sullivan, Manorville
“Getting on the ferry and going to Vermont. It was the greatest bike trip I ever took. It was with a bunch of good guys.”
Kings Park junior Joe Romano drives the baseline in a road game against East Islip. Photo by Bill Landon
Kings Park junior Joe Romano scores in a road game against East Islip. Photo by Bill Landon
Kings Park junior John Flynn hits a three-pointer in a road game against East Islip. Photo by Bill Landon
Timeout Kings Park
Kings Park senior guard Matthew Garside banks two in a road game against East Islip. Credit: Bill Landon
Kings Park senior Matthew Lyman scores in a road game against East Islip. Bill Landon photo
Kings Park senior guard Matthew Garside scores in a road game against East Islip. Credit: Bill Landon
Kings Park junior Thomas Matonti shoots in a road game against East Islip. Credit: Bill Landon
Kings Park senior forward Scott McConville takes flight in a road game against East Islip. Credit: Bill Landon
Kings Park senior Matthew Lyman banks two in a road game against East Islip. Bill Landon photo
Kings Park junior Thomas Matonti scores for the Kingsmen in a road game against East Islip. Credit: Bill Landon
Kings Park senior guard Matthew Garside drives the baseline in a road game against East Islip. Credit: Bill Landon
Kings Park senior guard Matthew Garside drains a three-pointer in a road game against East Islip. Credit: Bill Landon
Kings Park senior forward Scott McConville lays up for two in a road game against East Islip. Credit: Bill Landon
Kings Park, protecting a two-point lead, opened the second half with a swarming defense that caused several turnovers that the Kingsmen converted into points, slamming the door on East Islip in a road game Jan. 10.
Senior forward Matthew Garside led the way for Kings Park with six triples, a pair of field goals and six free throws for 28 points in the 63-48 League III victory. Teammates Matthew Lyman banked 12 and Thomas Matonti netted 8.
The win lifts Kings Park to 5-1 in league play, 7-5 overall as East Islip falls to 2-5 in the division.
The Kingsmen retake the court Friday night with a home game against Deer Park with a 6 p.m. start.
I heard from a friend, who heard from another friend whose neighbor’s cousin is the babysitter of someone who works in Congress. So, it has to be true.
Here’s the deal: I know some of the concessions Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) made to become speaker of the house.
The person who heard it fourth hand was in the bathroom, minding his own business, trying, from what I understand, to make his best guesses at Wordle on his phone while battling an upset stomach when three of the principal negotiators in the process entered the bathroom and spoke in whispers.
The first concession is that McCarthy must begin each day by saying the words “we are all equal, but some are more equal than others,” at which point he’s supposed to subtly make the letters G and O in sign language with his hands to show that he’s thinking about “Animal Farm” author George Orwell.
Then, he has to look at the audience carefully to see if Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has had a bad night. If Gaetz gives him a particular signal, he’s not allowed to bang his gavel too loudly, to prevent a headache from getting worse.
Once he’s gotten everyone’s attention, he then agreed that he’ll lead the house in the Pledge of Allegiance, pausing when he reached the “under God” section to make it clear that religion is not only okay, but that many people, particularly those who might not have otherwise voted for him, believe in God.
When President Joe Biden (D) gives his state of the union address, he will give at least 15 head shakes, five winces and nine arched eyebrows. At the end of the speech, to defend former president Donald Trump (R), he plans to take a page out of the previous speaker’s playbook by picking up the copy of Biden’s speech and tearing it up in disgust as it were the first chapter of a book he’d like to ban from libraries around the country.
Speaking of beyond belief, McCarthy has then agreed that if Rep. George Santos (R-NY), whose name might have changed by the time this is relevant, is still in the house, McCarthy should ask him to sing a few songs.
For starters, according to Santos’s resume, he has won at least three Grammy awards, which means he has a wonderful and lyrical singing voice.
When things get too tense during deliberations with other Republicans, let alone the Democrats who are ruining the government and the country, McCarthy has a playlist for Santos. He’s going to sing the Meghan Trainor song, “Lips are Movin,” with a slight modification in the wording.“If my lips are moving, then I’m lyin’, lyin’, lyin’, baby.”
If things continue to be tense for hours, as a politician continues grandstanding, Santos can provide a Billy Joel encore, again with a slight tweak:
“Honesty is such a lonely word
I am certainly so untrue
Honestly is hardly ever heard
And rarely what I give to you.”
Following the example of Trump, McCarthy also agreed to hug a flag in public at least three times a year, to normalize the behavior and to demonstrate his commitment to America and the country’s values.
He also promised to support at least 13, for the original colonies, investigations in his first year as speaker, with a commitment to at least another dozen in his second.
Finally, in a subtle gesture meant to celebrate the political right, he planned to stand to the right of the podium and only to hit the gavel with his right hand while pausing to emphasize the word “right” every time he utters it.
Why are we Americans so fascinated by the British royal family? Well, surely not all of us are, but enough to make even the staid The New York Times write daily stories about Prince Harry and Meghan leading up to the release of Prince Harry’s book, “Spare,” this past Tuesday. On that day, the story went front page and continued on an entire broadsheet inside page. Just about every news outlet has covered the Prince Harry and Meghan Show.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have read each and every story in the New York Times. So I’m trying to figure out the appeal for myself and those who are similarly addicted. It’s not as if we would want to have a king or queen in the United States. Heaven forbid. So what, then?
Maybe it has to do, like most eccentricities, with our early childhoods. Shortly after I learned to read, I loved fairy tales about princes and princesses, wicked stepmothers and dragons. Thanks to the Brits, we have a replay of such stories for our adult lives. Well, sort of. It depends to whom one assigns the role of dragon.
But in fairy tales, they live happily ever after. For us adults, the royals’ stories have a reality component. We know there is no such thing because we all have families. And families disappoint each other, fight with each other, malign and divorce each other and otherwise disgrace each other. But families don’t usually put their “dirty linen” out in public. Yet here is that gilded group, in theory living the best possible lives as kings and queens, princes and princesses, causing each other unbelievable grief. It’s a rom-com gone dystopic.
The other part of this drama is its permanence. Like the soap operas of old, the stories just keep unfolding as time progresses. Again, in my elementary school years, when I would come down with some infectious disease, my mom would prop me up with lots of pillows in my parents bed, and I would listen to the half-hour soaps on the radio. Sometimes my mother would come into the bedroom to listen to one of her favorites. (Incidentally, that was before television.)
She was totally hooked on “Our Gal Sunday,” whose preamble each day would ask the question, “Can this girl [named Sunday] from a little mining town in the West find happiness as the wife of a wealthy and titled Englishman?” This may offer a clue to our captivation with the British Royals. In the case of Harry and Meghan, she, of course, is an American. While she doesn’t come from a little mining town in the West, she doesn’t have that as a strike against her, she is biracial, an actress and divorced.
Divorced! Divorce prevented Wallis Simpson from becoming Queen. Divorced caused Princess Margaret to lose her true love, Peter Townsend. And although Diana and Charles were finally allowed to get divorced, that was only as a relief from the constant acrimony.
As far as being an actress, Prince Philip, Harry’s grandfather, was quoted as having advised Prince Harry, “We don’t MARRY actresses.”
And what can we say about biracial? A glimpse into racial attitudes among the court was the recent kerfuffle involving Queen Elizabeth’s former lady-in-waiting, Susan Hussey, and her insistent questioning of a Black British guest at Buckingham Palace as to where her family came from. The implication was decidedly not Great Britain. Hussey was stripped of her duties and publicly apologized.
So the current situation with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who have chosen as their refuge the (usually) sunny shores of Southern California, has many threads of interest for Americans. And probably the real appeal of the current tribulations of the House of Windsor is its relief from the hard, very hard, news of our time: the war in Ukraine, the immigration mess at the southern border and the spread, denial not withstanding, of the coronavirus, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) germs.
After over a decade in dormancy, the Port Jefferson Civic Association was resurrected Monday, Jan. 9.
PJCA joins the vibrant civic community throughout the TBR News Media coverage area. From Port Jefferson Station/Terryville to Three Village, Mount Sinai to Sound Beach, Centereach to Selden, and Smithtown to Huntington, civic associations work to improve this area continually.
Civic associations perform a critical public service. We often find powerful and monied interests run roughshod over ordinary folk. With their legal teams, public relations personnel and deep pockets, these special interests often do as they please — with the tacit or even express approval of local politicians.
But who is there to represent the citizens? Who ensures that the people are heard and that their will is implemented by local government? The civic associations.
In our democracy, the people are sovereign. The people empower the politician to carry out their will. But this is often not the case as politicians sometimes advance their own agendas out of a sense of grandiosity and self-importance.
A well-organized civic association serves as a valuable check on power. Through its members, the civic body comes to represent the shared values and interests of the community, directing local officials toward more representative policy outcomes.
Some of the best-informed and most engaged citizens are civic members. For this reason, they offer valuable feedback to local politicians. Civic associations, therefore, benefit and enhance local government.
Moreover, a civic association is a platform for residents to stay up to date and informed on local topics such as future planning, development proposals and redistricting. Through this forum, members can exchange ideas, debate pertinent issues and identify potential solutions.
We hold that a bottom-up approach is necessary. Power, policy and vision should come from the people, not the politicians. Through the discussions at civic meetings, elected representatives can carry the people’s collective vision into fruition. The civic-centric model represents the ideal of local governance.
The staff of TBR News Media congratulates the members of the Port Jefferson Civic Association. We look forward to following their work and the continued successes of civic groups throughout our coverage area.
For those who are not affiliated with a local civic, we highly encourage you to join. Now is your opportunity to get involved, to make your voice heard and to leave a positive mark on your community.
At podium, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announces $450,000 in federal funds to rid the Lawrence Aviation Superfund site of its remaining buildings. Photo by Raymond Janis
Public officials of all levels of government, business and civic leaders, and community members gathered Monday, Jan. 9, before a derelict building at the Lawrence Aviation Superfund site in Port Jefferson Station.
Once a dumping ground for toxic waste, policymakers are now plotting a course of action for this 126-acre property. After taking decades to rid the site of harmful contaminants, officials and community groups are working toward an ambitious proposal to convert the site into a multipurpose community hub, accommodating a solar farm, a railyard and open space for local residents.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called the press conference to announce the injection of $450,000 in federal funds secured through the recent omnibus budget. This money will be used to help demolish the remaining buildings at the property.
“We’re here today to showcase one of the final puzzle pieces needed to demo 14 dangerous buildings here,” Schumer said. “I am here today to say that the train that is on this journey is ready to leave the station.”
The Senate majority leader added that these funds would advance three community goals. “One, a railroad-use project to help the LIRR with logistics; industrial redevelopment of a 5-megawatt solar farm,” and lastly, add 50 construction jobs to the local economy.
At podium, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D). Photo by Raymond Janis
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) described the considerable intergovernmental coordination and logistical obstacles to get to this stage.
“This project, as reflected by all of the people that have come together and all the levels of government, is critically important to the community,” he said.
Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) discussed the long and arduous road to revitalizing the site and the decades that have passed as this community blight lay barren.
“These buildings have been condemned for over 25 years,” he said. “This has been a Superfund site for almost 25 years. Finally, we will see these buildings come down.”
Former New York State Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) also attended the press event. During his time in Albany, he championed the site’s conversion for environmental and community purposes.
“We have a plan that will enhance our community and create new jobs,” he said. “This property stood out as a place in peril of a potentially bad decision,” adding, “Instead, we have a very thoughtful plan.”
Englebright, a geologist by trade, also touched upon the environmental impacts that redevelopment will offer through these plans. He said local harbors, groundwater and surface waters would benefit as this dark episode in local history concludes.
At podium, Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R). Photo by Raymond Janis
“The harbor, which is the beginning of our town, has been poisoned by the solvents that were poured into the ground here,” the former assemblyman said. “That is a thing of the past because of the federal involvement with the Superfund cleanup.”
He added, “All the levels of government are working together here, which is a beautiful thing. It’s a model for what government should be able to do all the time.”
Jen Dzvonar, president of the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Chamber of Commerce, also offered her perspective. She said public improvements such as these indirectly support and promote local businesses.
“Any improvement in Port Jefferson Station is major,” she said. “By getting the blight away from the area, we will increase businesses. A solar farm is coming. They’re creating 50 construction jobs. It just heightens Port Jefferson Station and the desire to come here.”
Representing the Village of Port Jefferson were Mayor Margot Garant and Deputy Mayor Kathianne Snaden. Both stressed the importance of this undertaking, conveying their support for neighboring Port Jefferson Station in its community aspirations.
Garant viewed the plans as an opportunity to improve the Port Jefferson Branch line of the Long Island Rail Road. “We’re really in support of this because of the MTA portion of it,” she said. “To clean up this site, to put it back to public use, to not have the county paying taxes on it, is good for everybody.”
For Snaden, the project will bolster the village’s neighbors, representing a vital regional investment. “I think it’s great,” she said. “It’s a cleanup of the site. It’s knocking down these falling buildings, adding to the betterment of the entire community and the region at large.”
Schumer said the next step would be to ensure that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development expedites these funds, ensuring the prompt demolition of the buildings and swift redevelopment of the site.
Susan Walsh Lauria, Eileen Anders and Penny Ferraro at the Northport Library. Photo from Friends of the Northport-East Northport Public Library
By Julianne Mosher
Penny Ferraro spent her entire adulthood in Port Washington. When her children moved east, the newly widowed Ferraro decided to start a new life in Northport and get involved within her community.
Eileen Anders, center, gets ready to dig at the East Northport Library with Friends of the Library members Penny Ferraro, left, and Doreen Earl, right. Photo from Friends of the Northport-East Northport Public Library
Five years ago, she joined the Friends of the Northport-East Northport Public Library group where she met Eileen Anders.
The first thing Ferraro noticed about Anders was that she was “a quiet, constant presence,” who could lead a group, but also was one to follow suit.
“If you come up with an idea, she’s right there,” Ferraro said. “She’s a team player.”
Anders, a retired public-school teacher from East Northport, is known locally for her involvement with several different causes. A past secretary of the Friends of the Library, she is also heavily involved with the Huntington Historical Society, the Long Island Horticultural Society, the Heckscher Museum and more.
For her active devotion to local horticulture and history, TBR News Media names Anders as a 2022 Person of the Year.
“I have known Eileen for several years as we meet at a Friends of the Northport-East Northport Public Library meeting,” said Susan Eckert, of Northport, and a 2021 TBR News Media Person of the Year. “At her suggestion, I also joined the Long Island Horticultural Society. We have since gone together to garden and house tours and other cultural and artistic events.”
Eckert said that Anders’ love for teaching followed her into retirement where she continues to educate people in her role as a volunteer.
“She’s so active in her community in different organizations throughout Nassau and Suffolk,” she said. “It’s wonderful she shares her knowledge about gardening with us.”
Ferraro agreed. In the few years she’s known Anders through the different nonprofits and organizations they volunteer with together, she said that she is always ready to tackle a mission and does it with a smile.
For example, last year the Friends of the Library decided to start what would be a two-year task of planting daffodil bulbs in the courtyards of the Northport and East Northport libraries. A small handful got together last year to plant 100 bulbs – 50 in each location. When 2022 came a year later, several factors came in the way of having the same number of volunteers – rainstorms, scheduling and illnesses. Ferraro said that Anders didn’t mind and the two took it upon themselves to plant another 100.
Eckert said that her colleague’s love for horticulture goes beyond the courtyards of the local libraries. Anders is a master gardener who has conducted workshops on gardening through programs sponsored by Cornell Cooperative Extension, and is on the board of directors at the Long Island Horticultural Society where she at one time coordinated the monthly program.
Anders is also a history buff who conducts tours at Planting Fields Arboretum’s Coe Hall mansion in Oyster Bay, volunteers as a docent in training at the Heckscher Museum in Huntington, is a former tour guide at Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay and is a current member of Preservation Long Island.
Just recently, Ferraro mentioned that Anders, who again will drop what she’s doing to help out the cause, joined at the last minute to volunteer at the Holiday Historic House Tour with the Huntington Historical Society.
This volunteerism impresses Ferraro. “Volunteering is important because we can’t get things done by ourselves,” she said. “You need to have a group of people who are passionate about certain issues and ideas.”
And she believes Anders does just that.
“She epitomizes contributions to the community without grandstanding which is absolutely amazing,” Ferraro said. “Eileen has energy, stamina, intelligence, curiosity and everything going for her that makes her a very valuable person to our community.”
Earlier this year, Hope Kinney, left, shown with Herb Mones, Three Village Community Trust president, was able to secure a $4,000 grant from her employer, Investors Bank, to help restore the immigrant factory houses in Setauket. Photo from Three Village Community Trust
Hope Kinney is a familiar face in the Three Village area.
Hope Kinney collecting donations for The Salvation Army. File photo
Whether at an event organized by the Rotary Club of Stony Brook, Three Village Community Trust, local chamber of commerce or working with students and businesses with the Three Village Industry Advisory Board, residents will see Kinney there with a smile on her face, scurrying around to help out.
For her dedication to her community, Kinney is one of TBR News Media’s People of the Year.
The admiration is mutual. Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) nominated Kinney for Suffolk County Woman of Distinction in the 5th Legislative District in 2020.
“Hope Kinney’s impact is ingrained within many of the layers that comprise our community,” the legislator wrote in an email. “From her highly visible leadership role with, and on behalf of, local business to her continual support of organizations committed to societal improvement, Hope is dedicated to serving neighbors and community with purpose. There is so much to honor Hope Kinney for, and I believe, this recognition translates our thankful community’s gratitude into celebration of her uplifting and selfless spirit.”
For years, Kinney has been involved with the now-defunct Three Village Kiwanis Club and Rotary Club of Stony Brook. She became the president of the latter in the summer of 2020 and took on the challenge of organizing club events while navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. She scheduled Zoom meetings, and as more businesses were able to open up planned socially distanced lunches. She also put together a virtual online fundraiser for the Port Jefferson-based nonprofit Give Kids Hope, which provides food and clothing for local residents in need.
For the last three years, the rotary club has organized the Three Village Holiday Electric Parade. During the pandemic, due to COVID-19 restrictions, a drive-thru version of the event was held at Ward Melville High School.
Judi Wallace, treasurer of the rotary club, credits Kinney for keeping the organization going during the pandemic. She described Kinney as “a wonderful person” and “super community oriented.”
“Three Village means everything to her,” Wallace said.
Kinney is always looking for ways the rotary can assist individuals or groups who have a need in the area, Wallace said.
She added, “Hope is always thinking and always coming up with great ideas in order to do things in the community.”
Wallace said it was Kinney who brought back the 5K race organized by rotary and The Bench in Stony Brook.
“She just comes up with an idea and follows through, and that’s the most important thing in the world,” Wallace said.
The same year Kinney became president of the rotary club, she joined the Three Village Community Trust board and is currently its treasurer.
Herb Mones, president of TVCT, said it’s refreshing and a big help to a volunteer-based organization such as TVCT to have someone such as Kinney who is always ready to chip in when asked.
“She is always the first to say, ‘I can do that,’ and helps and takes on different responsibilities when the need is there,” he said. “She does it in an upbeat, happy way of feeling that she is contributing and helping the community.”
Hope Kinney standing in front of the Rotary Club truck in Hicksville about to receive 4,000 masks in 2020. Photo from Hope Kinney
She was recently able to secure a $4,000 grant through her employer, Investors Bank, which will go toward the restoration of the immigrant factory houses in Setauket. Kinney has also spearheaded the trust’s gala in November, which Mones said is the most successful fundraiser for TVCT.
“She’s always got an ear to the community and understands things that are going on and that becomes very helpful in so many different ways,” Mones said.
Kinney juggles all her volunteer roles while working full-time as the branch manager at Investors Bank, formerly Gold Coast Bank, at its Setauket location on Route 25A.
Kinney started her banking career at Capital One in 2004. When the bank had layoffs in 2018, she was recruited by John Tsunis, Gold Coast’s founder, as branch manager.
In a 2020 interview with The Village Times Herald, Kinney talked about balancing her career and volunteerism with spending time with her husband, Joseph, and three children Justin, Michael and Rachel. To handle all her responsibilities, she said she tries to stay organized and not get overwhelmed.
“I take it day by day,” Kinney said. “I put it on the calendar, and I’m able to look at the calendar and then I go day by day … I guess that’s the secret — work with each day.”
Jennifer McNaughton, center, in a recent photo with her sons Ryan, left, and James. Photo from McNaughton family
A late November day in Western New York saw temperatures drop into the 20s with the wind chill making it feel close to zero.
Jennifer McNaughton with her boys when they were younger. Photo from the McNaughton family
Leftover snow from one of the biggest blizzards in modern history whistled around the football stadium at St. Francis High School in Hamburg in suburban Buffalo and there were no amounts of hot cocoa, blankets or layers of clothing that could make the conditions close to bearable.
Adding to the misery, the St. Anthony’s Friars football team that sat on a cold, dark bus for seven hours in search of a New York State Catholic championship, was getting destroyed — losing by 20 at halftime.
Despite this frozen hellscape of a situation Nov. 30, there was no other place Jennifer McNaughton, a St. Anthony’s Friars mom, would rather have been.
McNaughton, of East Northport, has two sons, Ryan and James. Ryan is a sophomore and plays on the offensive line for the Friars and senior James is currently one of the most successful long-distance runners on Long Island as a member of all three Northport Tigers track and field teams. Jennifer has always been extremely active in their academic and athletic careers from the time that they were small.
There’s a Mrs. McNaughton, or a Jen, in every town in America. You know — the mom who knows the correct link to order the gear, has practice and game schedules committed to memory, and always carts around a well-stocked cooler of Gatorade in the back of her truck.
From Cub Scouts den mother to Northport Tigers cross country booster club president to football mom, she is especially busy during the fall sports season, traipsing around the tristate area every weekend to support both of her boys. She is involved with several charitable endeavors and is one of the most well-liked and respected citizens of Northport.
Around the village, McNaughton cannot walk a short distance without someone stopping her to say hello, ask her a question or just shoot the breeze. But in late August, with the 2022-23 school year just days away, she started to have trouble walking a few feet for any reason at all and would lose her breath doing the simplest of tasks. After a few days of this, she and her husband, James, decided it was time for her to see the doctor.
The news was not good.
She was diagnosed with massive bilateral pulmonary embolism, in which hundreds of tiny clots impede blood flow in her lungs. Left unchecked, this disease is often fatal and even when checked, it can have extremely negative outcomes. Her first thought was about her family.
“It was James’ senior season and Ryan had made it on to one of the best football teams on Long Island and there was so much good coming to our family this year,” McNaughton recalled thinking in the doctor’s office. “Instead, everyone would remember it as ‘the year that mom died.’ That was very difficult for me to come to grips with.”
Her sons were not thinking about their athletic careers when they learned of her diagnosis.
“My mother has gotten me to the place where I am today,” said Ryan, who is one of a handful of underclassman to get starting reps for the Friars in 2022. “She has supported my brother and I for as long as we can remember in every conceivable way. When they told us what she had, it really knocked us off our feet. We weren’t expecting it to be something so serious. We were stunned.”
After a five-night hospital stay, where she was administered a course of blood thinners, McNaughton’s condition started to abate, and she was able to ease into normal activities around mid-September. Many of these activities entail getting her boys to where they need to be. But make no mistake about this — James and Ryan do not just compete at places like Hauppauge, Connetquot or Longwood like most Suffolk County high school athletes.
Jennifer McNaughton with her sons when they were younger. Photo from the McNaughton family
Ryan, who comes in the form of a sandy-haired, blue-eyed wrestler, had a stretch of four straight road football games that spanned September and October. Jen and husband James made stops in Piscataway, New Jersey; Rockland County; and the Bronx — twice. She saw every snap.
For James, who is a wiry and reed-thin 6 feet, 2 inches tall with dark eyes and wavy, jet-black hair, the mother routinely traveled to the Armory in Upper Manhattan; the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island; and even as far as Cicero, which is near Syracuse and is a six-hour drive.
“Whether I run well or don’t run well, it’s always good to know she’s there supporting me,” said Northport senior James, who was the fastest Long Island runner at the New York State cross country championships last month. His mother’s illness “was a huge shock and not something any of us contemplated dealing with. It felt like everything was going upside down.”
Upside down or not, Jennifer McNaughton was determined not to let this setback interfere with her boys and their sports or her other business and philanthropic pursuits. She was moving forward.
“I started to feel better, and I love watching my boys compete,” she said. “I also love being with the other parents who are supporting the teams because it’s like being in a family. These are the moments that I live for.”
Currently on a maintenance program with the blood thinners and her condition improved, she’s intent on organizing cross country team dinners and acting as emcee for raffles at Napper Tandy’s Northport, raising money for charities like the St. Baldrick’s Foundation for pediatric cancer whose Northport chapter has raised over $6 million since its inception in 2002.
She’s also a volunteer for Splashes of Hope, which supports county homeless shelters, veterans centers and children’s hospitals through the appreciation of art; and the Barbara Frost Community Fund, which raises money for underprivileged kids in Northport and is named for the beloved teacher at Bellerose Elementary who was killed by a drunk driver in 1993.
On top of these acts of philanthropy, McNaughton has since rebooted her successful party planning and private bookkeeping businesses that had been on pause.
Her friend and fellow Northport mom, Patricia Campoli, is happy to see McNaughton undertaking the things she loves to do.
“Between running a household, her jobs, volunteer work and her two boys, I really don’t know how she does it, said Campoli, whose two sons, Michael and Christian, are on the Northport Tigers football team. “She is so full of knowledge on everything that happens in the community, and she is a wonderful person and a great friend who does everything with a smile on her face. I’m so happy she’s back because I know she loves doing as much as she can, and we love having her here.”
McNaughton has reasons to smile. “I feel so lucky to still be alive,” she said. “I get up every morning and I cry tears of joy and thank God that I’m still here to do the things I took for granted before my illness.”
For her family, and all the people whose lives she touches around the village, they too feel lucky. As a little bit of added fortune, the St. Anthony’s football team overcame that three-touchdown deficit from St. Francis to win the state Catholic championship, 27-20, on that snowy day near Buffalo — some delicious icy frosting on the 2022 McNaughton family cake.
There are many aspects to Jennifer McNaughton’s benevolent work for the Northport community and her devotion to family, especially in the face of her recent illness, which is why TBR News Media names her a Person of the Year for 2022.
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