Times of Smithtown

Brandpoint photo

At the same time that the United States battles against the more infectious Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus, hospitals in Suffolk County are experiencing similar trends among those infected and who need medical attention.

The Delta variant accounts for over 80% of those infected in the county, according to Dr. Gregson Pigott, commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services. The percentage of positive tests has climbed from below 1 percent earlier in the summer to between 2 and 3 percent.

“People over 65 find themselves more vulnerable and more ready to accept the vaccine. Younger people can consider themselves invincible. That is leading to greater hospitalizations than we’ve seen among those who are under 65.”

Dr. Sunil Dhuper

Those figures are likely even higher “given that it is all dependent on the numbers of persons being tested and why,” Dr. Susan Donelan, medical director of Healthcare Epidemiology at Stony Brook University, explained in an email.

Meanwhile, the percentage of law enforcement members in Suffolk County who are vaccinated is lower than that for the county as a whole. According to the county Police Department, through May, 47% of law enforcement had received a vaccine compared with 57% for the county. Acting SCPD Commissioner Stuart Cameron is encouraging members to get vaccinated.

Health care workers are concerned about the general ongoing trends with the virus.

“The numbers are alarming,” said Dr. Sunil Dhuper, chief medical officer at St. Charles Hospital. “There’s a heightened level of awareness amongst the staff of what’s happening locally and at the state and national level.”

Unlike those who contracted the virus and needed hospitalization in 2020, the majority, about 53%, are between the ages of 19 and 64, according to Pigott.

Additionally, about 99% of patients hospitalized for COVID complications are unvaccinated, according to Dr. Adrian Popp, chair of Infection Control at Huntington Hospital/Northwell Health and associate professor of medicine at Hofstra School of Medicine.

He added that the vaccinated patients are either asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, which means that the risk of hospitalization or mortality is significantly lower even among those with breakthrough infections than for those who are unvaccinated.

The lower number of hospitalized patients who are over 65 likely reflects the comfort level they have with the inoculation.

“People over 65 find themselves more vulnerable and more ready to accept the vaccine,” Dhuper said. “Younger people can consider themselves invincible. That is leading to greater hospitalizations than we’ve seen among those who are under 65.”

The percentage of people fully vaccinated in Suffolk County is 57.8% as at Aug. 4.

“The vaccine has been shown to be safe and effective,” Pigott wrote in an email. “We encourage all residents to get vaccinated to protect themselves and their loved ones, and so that new vaccine-resistant variants of SARS-CoV-2 [the virus that caused the pandemic] do not have the opportunity to emerge.”

Area hospitals have been watching the infection and vaccination trends in the area closely.

St. Charles and Northwell are currently engaged in corporate discussions about when to start testing patients who are vaccinated but might be carriers.

The New York State Department of Health guidelines recently suggested that as long as the positive testing rate was below 2%, hospitals didn’t need to test patients if they are vaccinated when they have elective surgeries.

We are very concerned about that now,” Dhuper said.

St. Charles Hospital is considering whether to start doing nasal swabs for all patients getting elective surgery to prevent putting patients and employees at risk.

Meanwhile, at Huntington Hospital, employees who do not get the vaccine will need to be tested weekly or biweekly, according to Popp.

As for people concerned about being around others who may have the virus without displaying symptoms, he added that it is “difficult to know when you are exposed.”

The only way to know if someone is infected is to get tested with the COVID PCR nasal swab.

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hasn’t changed its definition of exposure, which includes being within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes indoors with an infected person, Popp recognized that “one can argue that transmission of infection may occur in less than 15 minutes.”

The Huntington Hospital doctor added that riding in an elevator or sharing a car ride with an infected person for under 15 minutes is “very risky due to the small, enclosed space without ventilation associated with the Delta variant that is 50% more transmissible.”

Better treatment

Doctors, nurses and other health care professionals have benefited from their experience with the virus. Hospital administrators feel prepared to handle the variety of symptoms patients have when they need medical attention.

“We now have clear parameters regarding the use of remdesivir, steroids, and other agents,” SBU’s Donelan explained in an email. “Proning is now a proven patient management technique. The role of anticoagulation is well understood.” The proning term means putting a patient in a prone position so the individual is lying face down.

Dhuper said the length of COVID stays at St. Charles have declined because of better treatment and the overall better immune status of those who contract the virus.

“We have come up with better management in terms of who needs to be ventilated, and who needs to be in a prone position prior to ventilation,” he said.

As for the implications for schools, which will reopen for the fall within the next month, medical care professionals urged parents and educational administrators to remind students of the same messages from earlier in the pandemic.

Students should wear masks, social distance, wash their hands and, most importantly, get vaccinated if they are 16 and above, Popp urged.

Current drug trials are underway for children under 16, with results expected in December, Popp said, which means that students in that age group will attend in-person classes with the same protections, albeit amid a more transmissible form of the virus than last year.

Dhuper reminded residents that the response to the virus can range from asymptomatic to extended hospital stays or death.

“People have to know that [these outcomes] can happen in any age group,” he said. “It all depends on the viral load and the immune response. The bottom line is that you have to protect yourself, and you have to protect your family and the community around you. The only way we can be ahead of the curve is by taking the vaccine.”

Coach Ken Eriksen during practice with Team USA Softball. Photo by Jade Hewitt from USA Softball

Some days, you win a close race against the best in the world by a fingernail, the way Michael Phelps did in 2008 in the 100-meter butterfly.

Coach Ken Eriksen with members of Team USA softball team. Photo by Jade Hewitt from USA Softball

Other days, your team, after thousands of hours of practice, working hard, watching video and dancing on a bus — more on this later — you lose by that same margin.

That’s how Team USA Softball’s coach Ken Eriksen, who contributed his last volunteer hour to traveling around the world on behalf of the country, felt after losing 2-0 to Japan in the gold medal game at the Tokyo Olympics.

“The difference between gold or silver is almost microscopic,” Eriksen said. “Japan had a good day.”

A turning point in the gold medal game came in the bottom of the sixth inning when American third-basemen Amanda Chidester lined a ball that hit off her counterpart at third base and into the shortstop’s mitt, who threw to second base to get a double play, ending a potential American rally from a 2-0 deficit.

“When that play occurred, that’s the first time in the game that I said, ‘This may not be our day,’” Eriksen, a 1979 graduate of Ward Melville High School said.

The head coach was pleased with the preparation and effort from a team of 15 players, including pitching legends Cat Osterman and Monica Abbott, who returned for one more chance at an Olympic medal.

“I thought we played a very good tournament,” Eriksen said from Tampa, Florida, where he has been the University of South Florida head softball coach for the last 24 years.

Outside the lines, the Olympics presented numerous challenges. Even on their way to the Olympics, it was clear this would be a unique experience, as the only people on the flight to Japan were either athletes or the military.

Once in the country, they had numerous restrictions as a result of the Delta variant.

“The Japanese wouldn’t let you do much,” Eriksen said.

The team and coaches went to the ballpark and spent much of their time at the hotel. They couldn’t go outside and socialize with other athletes. Inside the village, they had to put on their masks everywhere.

Each morning, the players and coaches had a COVID saliva test, which built anxiety as the team waited for results in the afternoon.

“There was no release of stress to go out and just relax,” Eriksen said. “Elite athletes need that pressure release and coaches need it.”

Indeed, in addition to restrictions placed on the team, the athletes regularly heard from Japanese citizens who were upset that the Olympics even took place.

“Everywhere we went, we heard protests,” Eriksen said. “It’s unnerving. You’re there in allegedly the greatest athletic event in the world and in the host country, they don’t want you. When you’re hearing voices coming over megaphones behind a police line, it’s not normal.”

To counterbalance the stress and help the team, Eriksen said he slackened the reins, giving his players the green light to get “goofy.”

“People think of athletes as having ice in their veins. They are human beings.”

— Ken Eriksen

Led by infielder Valerie Arioto, 32, the team danced on the bus. Arioto did the “greatest rendition of Cher” and Kelly Clarkson, Eriksen said. The head coach also allowed the team to listen to music while practicing, giving them a chance to blow off steam while preparing for upcoming games.

Mental health

Eriksen said the softball team had already focused on the mental health aspects of the game, which gymnast Simone Biles brought to the world’s attention when she withdrew from the team and several individual events.

“We’ve been ahead of the curve on this for three or four years,” Eriksen said.

While people talk about softball and baseball as games of failure because a batter is considered successful if he or she gets on base once in three tries, Eriksen said the softball team describes the experience as a “game of opportunity,” by defining successes in ways other than batting averages.

Eriksen is grateful to Biles and Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka, who withdrew from Wimbledon rather than face questions from the media, for raising the issue of mental health for athletes.

“People think of athletes as having ice in their veins,” he said. “They are human beings. The pressure on anybody that wears a U.S. uniform … is almost unfair.”

The rest of the world has improved in numerous sports, including softball, in part because American coaches have helped train them, Eriksen added. Through the Olympics, American players compete against their college roommates or coaches who worked with them earlier in their careers.

After the gold medal game ended in heartbreak for players who put everything they had into the game, Eriksen said he shared a few words with the team.

“This game will not be the toughest they’ll ever play,” he recalled. “The toughest game will start tomorrow: the rest of their life.”

He encouraged players to call him for any future support.

Having been an assistant coach with the gold-medal winning team in Athens in 2004, Eriksen recognized that the game fades quickly.

“Within five minutes, you have the realization that it’s over and the climb is the most exhilarating part,” he said.

Eriksen was pleased to have the support and leadership of 38-year-old Osterman and 36-year-old Abbott, who served as inspirations to their teammates. He described the two pitchers as the Nolan Ryans of their era.

“What God gave these people is absolutely rare,” Eriksen said, as they have maintained their athleticism well into their 30s.

Accumulated wisdom

After all his years on the diamond, first as a baseball player at Ward Melville and in college at USF, and then as a coach, Eriksen shared a few thoughts.

When he was hired, his athletic director at USF told him never to get in a conversation with parents because he’ll always lose. Twice in his career, he removed players from the team because their parents questioned him about playing time.

As for being around men’s and women’s teams, he suggested a difference among athletes of each gender.

“Women have to feel good to play good, men have to play good to feel good,” he said.

In his coaching career, he recalled one moment that mirrored a scene from the Kurt Russell movie “Miracle,” in which the actor played Coach Herb Brooks from the 1980 ice hockey team that defeated the Russians amid the Cold War in Lake Placid.

Before tryouts ended, Russell gave a stunned Olympic hockey league director his list of players.

In 2019, Eriksen said he, too, handed the Olympic softball league director a list of the 15 players who would be on the team before tryouts ended.

Eriksen said he is comforted by his decision to retire from coaching Team USA.

“If I never get on an airplane again, I’ll be okay,” he said. “Sometimes, it’s good to wake up in your own bed, drink coffee on the back porch and listen to the birds.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) File photo by Sara Meghan Walsh

By Rita J. Egan and Julianne Mosher

Local elected officials weighed in after New York State Attorney General Letitia James (D) released a report saying independent investigators concluded that Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) harassed multiple women — including current and former employees — from 2013-20.

The investigation began in March and James appointed the investigators, according to a press release from the Attorney General’s Office.

“This is a sad day for New York because independent investigators have concluded that Governor Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women and, in doing so, broke the law,” James said in the press release. “I am grateful to all the women who came forward to tell their stories in painstaking detail, enabling investigators to get to the truth. No man — no matter how powerful — can be allowed to harass women or violate our human rights laws, period.”

According to the press release, Cuomo was also interviewed. The report said the governor denied the most serious allegations. He also gave “blanket denials” or said he had no recollection of specific incidents.

During an Aug. 3 recorded statement, Cuomo denied the allegations and said there are generational and cultural differences in the way he expresses himself compared to others.

U.S. Congress

U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY1), who has been named the presumptive Republican nominee for governor in the 2022 race, in a statement demanded that Cuomo resign or be impeached.

“Cuomo institutionalized widespread abuse within his administration and tried to silence his many victims, which enabled him to continue openly preying on those around him,” Zeldin said in the statement. “Over the last few months, Cuomo has continued his attempts to undermine the investigations into his wrongdoing and those carrying them out, and I have no doubt he will continue to do so following the release of the report.”

Zeldin’s neighboring congressman, Tom Suozzi (D-NY3), released a joint statement along with congressmen Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY8) and Gregory Meeks (D-NY5). The representatives said in the statement that the attorney general “conducted a complete, thorough and professional investigation.”

“The investigation has found that the governor engaged in abusive behavior toward women, including subordinates, created a hostile work environment and violated state and federal law,” the statement read. “We commend the brave women who came forward and spoke truth to power. The time has come for Governor Andrew Cuomo to do the right thing for the people of New York state and resign.”

State Senate

State Sen. Mario Mattera (R-St. James) also thanked “the brave women who courageously stood up to tell their stories of harassment” in a statement.

“This is truly a sad day for our state, and it is time for the governor to do the right thing for the good of New York’s future,” Mattera said. “Since these troubling allegations were first brought to light, I have supported an independent investigation to uncover the full truth and bring justice for these women. Now that the attorney general’s report has confirmed and corroborated these disturbing actions, I am renewing my call for the governor to resign immediately.”

Mattera said in the statement that if the governor does not resign that the state Assembly should impeach him: “While I would hope that the hardworking men and women of New York can be spared the expense and damage such action would cause, it is vital that the Assembly Democratic Conference act on behalf of the residents if Governor Cuomo continues to refuse to step aside.”

Mattera added that the scandal has gotten in the way of recovering from the pandemic.

“The reality is that this continuing cloud hanging over our state is impeding our ability to govern,” he said. “It cannot be allowed to impede the much-needed work that must be done to recover from the ongoing COVID crisis.  The residents of our state need to know that their government will not allow any distractions to impede those efforts to rebuild our economy, help our businesses grow and create the jobs that our residents need.”

State Sen. Jim Gaughran (D-Northport) agreed in a statement Cuomo must resign, saying it would be “in the best interest of the state.”

“The attorney general’s findings of sexual harassment and violations of New York State’s sexual harassment policy are credible and deeply troubling,” Gaughran said. “I thank the women who bravely spoke out about the governor’s reprehensible conduct.”

State Sen. Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk) said that he called on Cuomo to resign in March.

“Today, after the findings of the attorney general’s report, I renew my call for him to resign immediately,” he said in a statement. “If the governor, driven by his arrogance and hubris refuses to resign, then the Assembly Democratic Conference must take immediate action and begin impeachment proceedings.

Palumbo added that “the attorney general’s report makes it clear that he is no longer fit to serve the people of New York as its top executive.”

He said that he commends “the brave women who showed the courage to expose the pervasive culture of abuse and harassment in the top echelons of our state government.”

State Assembly

Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio (R-Riverhead) released a statement on the report saying the evidence is damning.

“No one should suffer the systemic and frankly disgusting sexual harassment that the governor engaged in. This was a nonpartisan and independent investigation. I am calling once again on Gov. Cuomo to step down,” she said. “He cannot serve the people of New York any longer. He should be ashamed of himself and, finally, do what is right. If not, he should be impeached immediately while he faces prosecution and ongoing criminal investigation by the Assembly Judiciary Committee.”

Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) said in a statement that if the governor didn’t resign, impeachment would be necessary.

“I support and commend the numerous women who courageously spoke the truth,” Englebright said. “They deserve justice. The attorney general’s findings are clear and condemning. If Governor Andrew Cuomo refuses to resign then the Assembly must act with deliberate speed to impeach.”

Assemblyman Mike Fitzpatrick (R-St. James) in a phone interview said when the allegations first surfaced, he believed the governor was entitled to due process, but now he feels the governor should resign or be impeached and said the governor is a liability for Democrats.

“He’ll try to protect his legacy,” Fitzpatrick said. “He’ll try to protect the family name, but I think he’s already tarnished that and ruined his legacy. It’s a shame.”

Fitzpatrick added he and other elected officials hope that Cuomo will also be held accountable for the handling of nursing home deaths and what resources were involved in the writing of his recent book.

“Each one alone would merit impeachment,” Fitzpatrick said.

Pixabay photo

We thought that the end was near with the coronavirus, but unfortunately the new Delta variant has people across the country concerned. 

While many people — 68% of New Yorkers ages 18 and older — have been fully vaccinated, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said this week that 21 Long Island zip codes have low vaccination rates. The state will spend $15 million to target these communities in an effort to get more people vaccinated. 

During his press conference on Monday, Cuomo said that new daily cases have been jumping due to the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus. 

Cuomo added that about 75% of adults in the state have received at least one dose of the vaccine, but 25% have not — which is a total of 3.5 million people. Only 0.15% of people in the state who are vaccinated have become infected with the virus.

While things have opened up again, and life seems to be back to normal, the Delta variant can change that quickly. In areas that Cuomo named, which included parts of Rocky Point, Miller Place, Selden, Port Jefferson Station and Lake Grove, the $15 million funding from the state budget will be used to strengthen communication, expand public education and enhance ongoing outreach efforts throughout diverse communities.

But that isn’t enough. 

The fact that so many people are choosing not to get vaccinated, and who are not being careful in doing so, is concerning. We understand that there are people who have extreme health issues that prevent them from getting the jab, and we respect that. We understand that everyone has the right to choose to be vaccinated, but when there is a public health crisis that has taken the lives of so many innocent people, how could one not choose to get the shot? 

There is a lot of false information out there, and it’s sad to see that no one trusts science anymore. What happened to March 2020 when everyone was in this together? Why did something like a shot to prevent getting sick become so polarizing? Why are people fighting in supermarkets if they choose to wear a mask for protection, and someone who is anti-mask disagrees? 

Of all the new and recent COVID-19 cases statewide, 72% come from the Delta variant. Don’t we want to get back to normal? Weddings are finally allowed to include more than 50 people. Meetings are in-person again. We have a lot to look forward to, and it would be so disappointing to fall back to where we were last year because of fear or misinformation. 

Protect yourself. Protect your friends and family. This can be prevented.

METRO photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

One day, you wake up and your kids who called noodles “noonies” are getting ready for college.

No, not exactly. It’s a long journey filled with skinned knees, ripped tee shirts — don’t ask — eye rolling and muttering between clenched teeth. Still, here we are, as our kids prepare to move on from the educational minor leagues. Along the way, we went through numerous milestones. Please find below a few of the phases in our journey.

— Deer in the headlights. I’ve seen deer in my headlights. The only difference between them and us when we first brought our children home is that the deer’s eyes are open much wider. We almost instantly became sleep-deprived. Other than that, we had that frozen not-sure-where-to-move feeling, knowing we had to do something, but not exactly sure what or in what order to take care of those needs.

— Hating everyone. People meant well back in the days when our children were young and cried. Numerous people, who didn’t live with or even know our needy infants, offered unsolicited advice about what this scream or that scream meant. Strangers would tell us how our daughter’s cry meant she had gas, was hungry, needed her diaper changed, or was hot or cold. Yes, thanks, those are the options. Thanks for the help!

— Cooking the plastics. Yup, back in the early days, I was so sleep deprived that I put plastic bottles in a pot of boiling water to sterilize them and fell asleep. It wasn’t until I smelled the burning plastic that I realized how long I’d been out.

— Carrying everything: We couldn’t go four blocks without a diaper bag filled with everything, including the special toy each of them needed, diapers, wipes, ointment, sunscreen, bug spray, rain jackets, boots, and extra clothing.

— Straining our backs: Picking the kids up and playing with them was fun when they were under 20 pounds. When they reached 50 and above, holding them the entire length of a ski slope became impossible.

— Crazy sports parents: This phase lasted much longer than it should have. It was only when the kids reached late middle school that I appreciated the fresh air, the sparkling sunlight and the excitement of the moment. Exercise and making friends are the goal. Everything else, including winning, is gravy.

— Giving them space (aka, it’s not about us). As they reached adolescence, our children needed to make their own decisions. Tempting as it was to jump in and redirect them or even to kiss them before they left the car for middle school, we bit our tongues as often as we could, leaving us feeling lonely and nostalgic in our cars as they joined their friends.

— Beautiful naps: Giving them space allowed us to do what we wanted. After years of living our lives while monitoring and helping theirs, we had a chance to do exactly what we wanted, which started with restorative naps.

— Sending them into space. We aren’t putting them in a Jeff Bezos rocket ship or sending them to the International Space Station, but we are preparing to give them an opportunity to explore the world outside our house.

— Looking at the calendar differently. With both of them on the way to their futures, we can choose places to visit that didn’t interest them. We can visit these places when school is in session, which should mean lower costs for us.

— Telling other people how to take care of their kids: With our free time, we see parents struggling with young children. We, of course, know better. Or maybe not.

METRO photo

By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

At this time of renewed attention to COVID-19, I recommend escapism. I have managed it, and this is how I did it. I immersed myself in two books, one after the other. They weren’t great classics, just hand-me-downs from a person whose reading tastes I respect. He gave me both books, and like a magic carpet ride, they took me to a different time and place with interesting characters for travel companions.

I enjoy historical fiction, and interestingly enough, both books use the siege of Leningrad by the Nazis during World War II as a critical context for their plots. Although we are being laid siege today by a malevolent virus, that act of war almost exactly 80 years ago was far different. Hitler wanted to bomb the city into oblivion, believing that Eastern Europeans were worthless, and survivors were to be starved to death. The German army was under orders not to accept any truce offer that might be extended to them by the city leadership. The siege began on Sept. 8, 1941, and ended, after 872 days of torment, on Jan. 27, 1944. The pre-war population of about two and a half million was reduced at the end to about 800,000 by extreme famine, disease and artillery strikes, one of the most destructive blockades in history. To make matters even worse, that first winter saw temperatures plummet as low as – 40 degrees. The dead piled up in the streets. There were even instances of cannibalism. The survivors were marked forever.

This is a major catalyst of the first book, “Winter Garden,” by best-selling author, Kristin Hannah. It is the story of the relationship between a mother and her two daughters, and between the daughters themselves, that bears the aftereffects of what has been termed by historians as attempted genocide in Leningrad. Anya is a cold and disapproving mother to her children, and they feel cast out to survive emotionally, each in their own way as they grow up. The glue that holds the family together is the father, and when he becomes terminally ill, the dysfunction of the women is clearly revealed. The writing is dramatic and manages to sustain a heart-rending pathos as the plot builds. I tried to keep a dry eye as I read, but in vain. Each continuing episode tugged at my heart and my tears flowed anew with just about every chapter. The surprise ending is a stunner.

Having barely recovered from Hannah’s epic story, I plowed into “City of Thieves,” by David Benioff. Unlike “Winter Garden,” in which the siege of Leningrad is considered for its profound and intergenerational consequences half a century later, Benioff’s main characters deal with the horror as it is unfolding. Seventeen-year-old Lev and 20-year-old Kolya somehow manage to make this into a coming-of-age story, with some laugh-out-loud dialogue even as they are fighting to survive. But don’t be misled. This account of the tragedy of Leningrad is, if anything, more brutal for its contemporaneous setting. 

The two young men, through a bit of incredible yet somehow acceptable events, are sent off by a Soviet colonel amidst a starving city in search of a dozen eggs. It might as well be the holy grail for Arthurian medieval knights. In the course of the quest, they see and sometimes experience some of the individual terrors of the siege in what Benioff claims is historically accurate fashion. Benioff has delineated the plot according to specifics in Harrison Salisbury’s book, “The 900 Days,” and Curzio Malaparte’s “Kaputt.” 

The latter, a novel published in 1946 by an Italian war correspondent, is about the descent of European civilization on the Eastern Front during World War II, and the former, written in 1969, is by the respected American journalist detailing the definitive story of the prolonged battle. Benioff cites them as sources for his novel.

They were hardly light reading, these two books my friend gave me, but they certainly kept my attention. They also taught me a bit, as good books do.

A former St. James resident, who is remembered for saving an 8-year-old plow horse from a slaughterhouse and turning him into a champion, died June 25 in Stanardsville, Virginia, at the age of 93.

Harry de Leyer’s work and the bond with the horse named Snowman was documented in the 2011 book “The Eighty-Dollar Champion” by Elizabeth Letts and the 2016 film “Harry & Snowman” where the skill and heart of both were celebrated.

The well-known tale of him and Snowman, who was also known as “The Cinderella Horse,” began in 1956 when he saved the animal from a slaughterhouse in Pennsylvania for $80. De Leyer was late for a horse auction, but when he saw one of the last horses he knew the animal had potential to train young riders at The Knox School in Nissequogue where he worked.

“I came to this country with nothing in my pocket. Then I met Snowman and he made my name in this country.”

— Harry de Leyer

The equestrian and horse trainer would go on to turn the worn-out workhorse into the winner of the United States Equestrian Federation Horse of the Year in 1958 and land the “triple crown” of show jumping in the same year. Snowman also made history in 1959 as the first horse to win the Open Jumper Championship two years in a row. In 1983, de Leyer went on to represent the United States at the World Championships.

“I came to this country with nothing in my pocket,” de Leyer said in the 2016 documentary film. “Then I met Snowman and he made my name in this country.”

In the documentary, de Leyer talks about the time he attempted to sell Snowman to a doctor who lived a few miles away. A couple of days later, Snowman showed up at de Leyer’s property. The horse trainer thought the doctor may have left a gate open, but the new owner said that Snowman had jumped the gate. A few days later, after the doctor heightened the gate, Snowman once again came back to de Leyer. It was then the trainer realized the horse’s jumping potential and bought him back.

De Leyer was born in 1927 in Sint-Oedenrode, Netherlands, according to his obituary from Moloney Funeral Home. He was the oldest of 13 children, and his family was part of the underground during World War II and helped many Jews escape the Nazis through the Netherlands. De Leyer and his first wife, Johanna, came to America after de Leyer’s family sent the dog tags of a deceased soldier that they never met home to his parents.

He and Johanna were sponsored by the soldier’s family when they arrived the United States. His first job in the country was working on his sponsor’s farm in North Carolina where his talents for training and jumping horses were recognized.

Soon after they arrived in America, the couple headed for Long Island and raised eight children in St. James. In the 1970s de Leyer and Johanna divorced. Later in life, he had a farm in East Hampton and then moved to Virginia. He also married again to his second wife, Joan.

While living in St. James, in addition to being the riding instructor at The Knox School, he also gave lessons at his St. James home, Hollandia Farms.

After his passing, The Knox School posted on its Facebook page.

“Mr. de Leyer came to Knox in 1954 and was a beloved trainer and member of the school community,” the post read. “His legacy lives on in the hearts of those who remember how Mr. de Leyer saved Snowman from slaughter and turned a gentle giant of a plow horse into a champion jumper.”

The post announced that a stall in the school’s historic equestrian center will be dedicated to the memory of Harry and Snowman in the future.

Jackie Bittner, owner of Hidden Lake Farm Riding School in Southold, attended The Knox School for four years and took riding lessons from de Leyer. She said she was fortunate to keep in touch with him through the years and considered him a best friend. As a trainer, Bittner said, de Leyer was strict.

“Rightfully so,” she said. “He really wanted you to do the right thing and to be a good rider. He tried to make everyone a good rider.”

She said sometimes she would doubt if she was able to do a trick on a horse.

“He asked you to do all kinds of things, and I say, ‘Oh, I don’t know,’ but you would do whatever he asked with the horse, because he was just the type of person that you wanted to please.”

Janis Lando remembers taking lessons from him at Hollandia Farm when she lived in Smithtown.

“I rode as an early teen and remembered flying over fences without hands on the reins,” she said. “He believed in the soft-mouth approach and more control with one’s legs. I also recall him slipping a quarter under the knee, and he expected you to hold it there as you rode.”

When Laurette Berry was 13 years old and her family first moved from Manhattan to Stony Brook, she said her father signed up her and her siblings for lessons with de Leyer after a neighbor recommended him.

“The very first lesson we were jumping,” she said. “We had never been on a horse before in our lives. With Harry, you either were a daredevil or he wasn’t interested.”

“You were sitting on the horse’s back, but he was in full control of them. He was such a good trainer, and the horses just did whatever he wanted them to do.”

— Laurette Berry

After a few lessons, their father decided to go to another trainer as he was afraid his children would get hurt, but Berry remembers how in control de Leyer was of his horses during the short time she trained with him.

“He was like the ringleader in a circus where the animals just went,” she said. “You were sitting on the horse’s back, but he was in full control of them. He was such a good trainer, and the horses just did whatever he wanted them to do.”

A few years later, Berry became involved in the Smithtown Hunt Club where she encountered de Leyer once again. The club would conduct hunts all over Suffolk County from St. James, Old Field and even in the Hamptons. She remembered one time during a hunt being in the water in Head of the Harbor and seeing pieces of ice. She said de Leyer forged ahead as he did in other hunts as he wasn’t afraid of anything.

Barbara Clarke, of Bridgehampton, also was involved in the foxhunts with de Leyer in the ’70s.

“He was always enthusiastic and brought a lot of riders with him,” she said. “He loved it. He loved nothing better than following a pack of hounds through the woods.”

Clarke remembered de Leyer from when her sister-in-law Janice attended The Knox School, and Clarke would go to some of the horse shows to see the students compete, including at Madison Square Garden. She said he always made sure the girls were safe on the horses and described him as the “Pied Piper.”

De Leyer is predeceased by Johanna and Joan and his sons Joseph, Harry Jr. and William de Leyer. He is survived by his children Harriet de Leyer, Martin and Debbie de Leyer, Andre and Christine de Leyer, John and Maria de Leyer and AnnMarie de Leyer as well as his grandchildren Charissa, Cassandra, Johnathon, Kyle, Jason, Travis, Dylan, Michaela, Andre, Johanna, Emma, Philip, Heather, Jeffery and Shane; great-grandchildren Brayden and Addison and great-great-grandchild William Harry.

Photo by Julianne Mosher

A new website dedicated to addiction and mental health resources has been unveiled to provide residents with easy-to-access services for those who are struggling. 

On Thursday, July 22, Suffolk County legislator and chairwoman of the county Legislature Health Committee, Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai), joined county Department of Health Services Commissioner Gregson Pigott, county Division of Community Mental Hygiene Services Director Cari Faith Besserman, together with members of the county Department of Information Technology and the county Addiction Prevention and Support Advisory Panel outside the William H. Rogers Building in Hauppauge to announce the launch of the website suffolkstopaddiction.org.

The webpage was created by Resolution No. 34-2021, introduced by Anker and unanimously passed earlier this year. 

The legislation directed the county Department of Information Technology and the Department of Health to collaborate to create a comprehensive webpage dedicated to addiction, mental health, substance use disorder prevention and rehabilitation services. The webpage features sections that include important emergency numbers, substance use disorder and mental health information and resources, and a list of treatment providers compiled by the county Division of Community Mental Hygiene Services.

Photo by Julianne Mosher

“I want to thank the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, the Division of Community Mental Hygiene Services and the Department of Information Technology for their tireless work they put into creating this webpage,” Anker said. “With the concerning rise in addiction and mental health issues after a challenging year, our hope is that this webpage will help increase the accessibility of the possibly life-saving resources that are available through the Suffolk County Health Department and improve our ability to reach those who are in need of help in our county.”

Anker sponsored the resolution in response to the growing opioid and substance abuse epidemic in the county and across the U.S. 

During an October public hearing, Victoria Sunseri, a Suffolk County constituent in the medical field, noted that it was difficult for providers to locate mental health and/or addiction resources for their patients. The panel members echoed the importance of providers being able to connect a person to treatment options and for residents to find important information in a user-friendly way. In response, Anker facilitated the creation of the webpage singularly dedicated to addiction and mental health resources and services.

“Throughout the pandemic, we have received a surge in calls from individuals seeking mental health resources from crisis intervention to addiction rehabilitation,” Sunseri said. “This mental health hub will serve to empower individuals by reducing the time and frustration they might experience while seeking help appropriate to their needs and by streamlining reception of services through increasing the salience of who does what, where and how.”

This comes just days after the county Legislature convened July 12 to consider and vote on certificates of necessity concerning settlements with several defendants in the county’s pending opioid litigation. These certificates were approved promptly after legislators met in executive session to discuss details related to the litigation.

On Feb. 3, 2015, county legislator and current presiding officer, Rob Calarco (D-Patchogue), introduced legislation to establish a six-member committee to determine the viability of legal action against drug manufacturers and ascertain Suffolk’s costs due to the over-prescription of opioids. 

Following this study, Calarco spearheaded the resolution that authorized the special counsel to commence legal action(s) against all responsible parties. The law firm of Simmons Hanly Conroy LLC was retained, on a contingency basis, to represent the County of Suffolk in this complex litigation. 

Suffolk County was one of the first three counties in the United States to act against opioid manufacturers in 2015. The counties of Orange and Santa Clara in California and the city of Chicago took similar action in that same period. These settlement dollars will be used in accordance with any requirements outlined in relation to such settlement and, in all likelihood, will be put toward educational programming, treatment and other related efforts to remedy the impacts of this crisis. 

According to a Calarco press release following the July 12 special meeting, settlements were approved with Rite Aid of New York $1.5 million; CVS $3.5 million plus the additional amount of $500,000 if certain settlements are reached with other defendants; Walmart $3,062,500; Walgreens $5 million; Johnson & Johnson a sum between $8.4 million and $19.8 million over 10 years “to be used for restitution and abatement and agreeing not to manufacture, sell or promote opioids going forward”; and between approximately $10.4 million and $19.6 million over nine years from the Purdue/Sackler family. 

Photo by Julianne Mosher

“When we began to experience this crisis, it quickly became apparent that our constituents were being overprescribed opioids, and this negligence is what led to the widespread addiction in our community,” Calarco said. “Pharmacies had a responsibility to track the distribution of these medications carefully. Their failure to do so furthered the impact of this crisis by allowing individuals to pharmacy shop to obtain more of these powerful drugs. The pharmaceutical companies and their affiliates knew that they were pushing a highly addictive drug that was unsafe for long-term use. Yet, they proceeded anyway, all in the name of turning a profit.”

He added that while these settlements cannot repair the damage done or bring back those who we lost to the grips of this epidemic, it has already made a substantial impact. Doctors are now prescribing medication differently, and two of the major manufacturers of these dangerous medications will cease production for good. 

“With this settlement, we are going to have substantial resources that we’re going to be able to put into this epidemic that’s been plaguing our county for so long, and to be able to make sure that our residents had the ability to get connected to treatment services to prevention services,” Calarco said at last Thursday’s press conference. “There are windows of time, where you have clarity, and you recognize that you need help. … We need to make sure that we have the resources there for you at those windows, so you can take advantage of that help. That’s what this resource guide is about — it’s about making sure that you know where to go.”

Tara Salay at her studio in Setauket. Photo by Rita J. Egan

Tara Salay is a big believer in the natural healing aspects of yoga.

Tara Salay at her studio in Setauket. Photo by Rita J. Egan

The former physical therapist turned yoga instructor specializes in teaching yoga to those with chronic pain and pelvic health issues. Recently, she opened a business in Setauket.

The St. James resident said working as a physical therapist for five years she regularly advised patients with chronic pain and pelvic issues to take yoga classes. Unfortunately, many patients couldn’t find a class that helped them. Before the pandemic, she began to think about opening a yoga studio that would cater to these individuals, but as businesses had to shut their doors due to state mandates, Salay took to the virtual classroom to introduce her business.

“It was the push that I needed in a way because I had all the plans before, and then I was, like, I have the time now let me just do it,” she said.

With COVID-19 restrictions being lifted, Salay eventually was able to rent a space part-time and then a month ago began renting full-time and opened up her studio in the Port Jefferson Chiropractic building on Route 25A near Washington Street. Right now, she doesn’t have a name for the studio and operates under her name. Her goal is “to bring awareness of how yoga can help people who are dealing with chronic conditions.”

Chronic pain and pelvic issues are common. Salay said issues in the pelvic area range from problems for both women and men with the bladder, actual pain in the pelvis, sexual dysfunction or even bowel issues. She added some people will go to physical therapy with pelvic pain and will feel better, but then will face a stressful situation and the issues will return.

“That’s why yoga is really great for it, because it works on the mind-body connection and teaches them how to relax those muscles so they’re not tensing up every time that they’re stressed out,” she said.

“My teacher training was just so transformational for me personally that I just wanted to transition. I just want to dedicate myself to doing yoga. I’ll use my knowledge as a PT but this is what I’m doing now.”

— Tara Salay

The instructor said yoga is more than different poses but also about breathwork and meditation, and many are hesitant because they think they can’t handle the poses, which sometimes look difficult.

“We can make it work for your body,” Salay said. “There’s more to yoga that I think people aren’t aware of, and they think that you have to have a certain body type or be flexible or be able to get into these crazy positions to do yoga, and that’s definitely not true at all.”

With her physical therapy experience, she said she has a deep understanding of the body, and she can guide her clients to help keep them safe. Salay has been practicing yoga for more than 10 years, and when she decided she wanted to open a yoga studio took the classes to become a teacher. Originally, she thought she would incorporate her yoga training into her physical therapy, but the reverse happened.

“My teacher training was just so transformational for me personally that I just wanted to transition,” Salay said. “I just want to dedicate myself to doing yoga. I’ll use my knowledge as a PT but this is what I’m doing now.”

In addition to opening a yoga business, the 30-year-old is planning her wedding to her fiancé, Scott, later this year. She said to balance everything she has some help with planning the wedding that she is keeping on the small side, and she meditates every morning to center herself for the day and stay positive. For those trying to open a new business while juggling life’s responsibilities, she has advice.

“Take one step at a time and have a set schedule and try your best not to overwhelm yourself,” she said. “I was trying to do two blogs a week. I had to do one a week. It was setting my priorities on where I really needed to spend my time and making that clear.”

Currently, Salay offers private lessons or classes for small groups by appointment only. She said, as her clientele grows, she would like to offer set classes targeted toward certain conditions such as pelvic pain or osteoporosis.

The studio is located at 416 Main St., Setauket. Classes are still available online for those who may not be comfortable practicing in public just yet or may not live nearby. For more information, visit her website: drtarasalay.com.

After a threat of storms postponed the Kings Park Chamber of Commerce’s Summer Nights in the Park: Monday on Main on July 19, the event was rescheduled for July 26. This time around, Monday night went on without a drop of rain.

The event included live bands along Main Street, dance performances, face painting, local photographers and authors displaying their works, a classic car show and more.