We recently held our sixth annual adult coloring contest and once again the response was overwhelming! We received many colorful entries from readers all along the North Shore who used many different types of medium including colored pencils, gel pens, glitter, stick-on gems and markers to create their masterpieces.
This year’s entries were reflective of how popular adult coloring has become and how relaxing it is. Jacyln Visco of Wading River wrote, “I really enjoy this contest. This is so much fun!” while Alice McAteer of Port Jefferson Station was appreciative of our community paper in general, saying “Thank you for keeping us informed and entertained. I look forward to my weekly issue even when the world around us is isolated.”
Although it was extremely difficult to choose a winner as every entry was beautiful and unique in its own way, our judges ultimately chose the coloring page by Ally Liff of Setauket who edged out the competition by adding intricate details to the background and adding a Locally Grown logo to the teapot vase.Ally receives a three-year subscription to any one of our six papers, courtesy of Times Beacon Record News Media.
And surprise, all other participants will receive a one-year subscription as a thank you for entering our contest! Congratulations to all! Be safe and be well.
With restrictions finally lifted, people from across Suffolk County — and even Connecticut — were able to finally celebrate the Fourth of July with a favorite traadition.
The Port Jefferson Fire Department Independence Day Parade was cancelled, along with most other events, last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But this year, things seemed back to normal with hundreds of people gathered on the sidewalks of Port Jefferson village, decked in their most patriotic wear, to celebrate America’s birthday.
“I’m just glad that we’re back to some sort of normalcy,” said Todd Stumpf, department chief. “We’re glad to see the public back together to help celebrate the country’s birth.”
Vintage cars drove down the road, waving American flags out of their windows as excited kids and their families waved from the sidewalk. Children ran to their parents who marched in uniform when they spotted them from the sidelines. Dancers waved red, white, and blue pom poms whiles pipes and drums played their sounds. Even the Batmobile made an appearance.
Although the parade included Port Jeff and Terryville, members from South Shore, eastern, and western Suffolk County departments joined together to march along Main Street on July 5.
Since the Fourth of July was on a Sunday this year, the fire department decided to host the parade a day later, on Monday, to respect the local churches throughout the village.
“From our end it ran really smooth,” said Steve Erland, third assistant chief. “It’s just so nice to bring it back to the community.”
Old Mans (Mount Sinai) was a small hamlet of 16 families in 1775, but seven young men volunteered for service during the Revolutionary War.
Two sets of brothers were among this group. All of them traveled to parts of the country they never would have done if not for the army, including northern and western New York, Canada, Pennsylvania, and finally Yorktown, Virginia. Often armies walked for miles before a battle, food was always short, clothing did not meet the needs of the weather, and illness was always present. By the end of the war most of the men were worn out.
New York including Long Island was finally evacuated by the British Nov. 25, 1783. All New York units were disbanded Nov. 15, 1783 at Newburgh, New York. The men had to find their own way home, and once home, there was little time to rest and recuperate from the war as they had to support themselves and their families.
All seven of the men survived the war, but not all of them moved back to Old Mans. Each of them did return to work, most were laborers, but one was a tailor, one a boatman, and one a farmer. They could work as they expected, but as they grew older, they were finding the effects of deprivations during the war started to affect their abilities. But they had to continue as there was no other income for their families. This changed in 1818.
Congress was divided on the issue of providing pensions for the veterans. It was a contentious debate for 30 years, but by 1818 the pension act was passed. Veterans could apply for pension relief, as could their widows and the disabled. The major portion of the application was a deposition from the veteran or his widow given in front of a Justice of the Peace, written by a clerk.
Other individuals could provide supporting evidence of service. Oral histories were required as few records survived or were not available to the individuals. Few of the men could find any paperwork including their discharge papers. The deposition had to include dates of service, which unit or units, officers, battles, discharge. Recall of this amount of information, especially after 30 years, proved to be difficult for some men more so than for others.
To qualify man had to have served at least nine months, must be “in reduced circumstances” and “in need of assistance from their government.” All seven men proved they qualified for a pension.
Richard Davis, age 18, was the first to sign up in May of 1775. He was assigned to the 2nd Regiment of the New York Line of the Continental Army. When his term of enlistment was up, he reenlisted for the duration of the war. He achieved the rank of sergeant.
At the Battle of Saratoga in 1777, he received a scalp wound from a musket ball, but he was able to continue to fight and was at the surrender of British General John Burgoyne and his entire army. He participated in many of the major and minor battles with the final battle at Yorktown where General Charles Cornwallis surrendered.
Richard was discharged on June 6, 1783.He settled in New York City where he worked as a boatman.By 1790 he had moved back to Old Mans where he married and raised his family and continued as boatman. In 1818 he applied for a pension due to his “bodily infirmities being afflicted with rheumatism and was frequently incapable of attending to his business.” Upon his death his wife, Temperance, applied for a widow’s pension which she received based on the information she knew of her husband’s war time activities. They are buried in the Phillips-Davis Cemetery on North Country Road, Mount Sinai.
Jeremiah Kinner, age 18, enlisted for one year in the militia company of Captain Selah B. Strong in February 1776. His first assignment was to a lookout post at Mt. Misery (Belle Terre) to watch for possible invasion of the British and Tories by way of Long Island Sound.
In August 1776 he was pulled with his company to the west end of Long Island as a part of the regiment commanded by Colonel Josiah Smith, Brigade of General Nathaniel Woodhull. Their assignment was to collect all the cattle and drive them east out of the reach of the British. This activity was thwarted by the British and resulted in the capture of General Woodhull.
Jeremiah with many of the other militia men were able to reach the patriot lines in Brooklyn and were evacuated to Manhattan where they fought with the rest of the army while retreating north up Manhattan to the Bronx and Westchester.
When his year enlistment was up, he was discharged by Lieutenant Caleb Brewster and returned home to Old Mans. He remained home “until the British took possession of that part of Long Island.”
He left the island moving to Goshen, Orange County, New York. Once he settled in, he joined the local militia under Captain McDowell of Colonel Tuston’s regiment. At the Battle of the Minisink he was wounded in the knee and was next to Colonel Tuston when the colonel was killed. Jeremiah was sent back to Goshen to recover from his wound which took six months. For the rest of the war the militia unit joined the Continental Army in battles in western New York.
At the end of the war he returned to Old Mans where he married and raised his family. He was a laborer and did not apply for a pension until 1833 when he was 74.
Nathan Phillips, age 22, enlisted for one year in the 4th Regiment of the New York Line Captain Daniel Roe’s company in March of 1776. He served as the company fifer. When he was discharged in March of 1777, he returned home where he spent the rest of his life. He married and raised his family. He was a laborer by trade. He applied for a pension “owing to my bodily infirmities being afflicted with rheumatism and in indigent circumstances.”
Photo from Edna Giffen
Chapman Davis, age 17, younger brother of Richard, enlisted in the spring of 1776 and assigned to the 2nd Regiment of the New York Line of the Continental Army. He participated in the Battle of Saratoga and the surrender of General John Burgoyne. He fought throughout the war and was at the final battle at Yorktown and the surrender of General Charles Cornwallis. After the war he married and moved to a farm in Aquebogue. He applied for a pension and received it in 1819 but was required to reapply in 1820. By that time, he was a widower with four children the oldest being 20 years old. He was suffering from ill health and having difficulty working his farm. His farm was 250 acres worth $2,788, but his mortgage was $2,800.
He gave his deposition before David Warner one of the judges in the Court of Common Pleas, however by 1820 the paperwork was a printed form which had to be purchased. The Judge requested the Pension Board to accept the handwritten application as “Mr. Davis is a very poor man and not able to be at the expense of making out a new declaration.”
Joshua Davis, age 19, joined the 4th New York Line as a private in April 1776 where he served until 1778 when General Washington had him, he transferred to the Whaleboat service under Captain Caleb Brewster. Brewster chose the men he wanted in his unit and “he would choose Long Island men as they knew the harbors and waterways of Long Island.” Joshua grew up on the family farm adjacent to Old Mans harbor. It is also probable that he and Brewster knew each other as Brewster grew up in Setauket.
Caleb Brewster is known for his activities as a member of the Culper Spy Ring, but that was not all he did. He made frequent forays to Long Island to collect intelligence of British activity on Long Island. One such foray had him observing the Maryland Loyalist Militia which was bivouacked in Miller’s Place 1778.He also fought British and Loyalist ships that were sailing on the sound.
Photo from Edna Giffen
During Benjamin Tallmadge’s raid on the Fort at the Manor of St. George, Joshua Davis was one of the men guarding the boats in the Old Mans Harbor. His discharge papers included a Badge of Merit for his faithful service.
After the War Joshua became a tailor, married, and raised his family in Greenfield, Fairfield, Connecticut. As he grew older his eyesight started to fail him and his general infirmity caused him to find employment for more than one day a week. He also had lameness in his left leg and back making it impossible to rise from his bed. He is buried with his family in Greenfield, Fairfield, Connecticut.
George Norton, age 22, grew up on Shore Road. He enlisted in the 4th Regiment of the New York Line of the Continental Army in the spring of 1776. He entered as a private, but eventually was promoted to sergeant and served for seven years. Upon discharge he also received the “Badge of Merit for seven years of faithful service.”
After the War he returned to Old Mans, married, and raised a family. By 1818, he is in indigent circumstances. In 1820 he was brought into court and upon examination by the judges he is declared insane and incapable of taking an oath. His wife, Elizabeth, appeared in the court stating he is generally insane and incapable of attending to his business. She had been taking care of everything. Two of their sons, wives, and children, and their own 14-year-old son lived in the house. His support comes mainly from the several properties he owned.
Jonathan Kinner, age 18, younger brother of Jeremiah, enlisted in the Continental Army being assigned to the 4th Regiment of the New York Line in 1777. In 1778 General Washington ordered Jonathan transferred to the Whaleboat service, Captain Caleb Brewster where he served for the rest of the war.Again, he was chosen because he was “a Long Island man.”
When he was a child his family moved from Brooklyn to a farm on Old Mans Harbor adjacent to the farm of Joshua Davis’ family. When he was discharged, he also was awarded the “Badge of Merit for length of service.” He remained in Connecticut, married, and raised his family in Weston. He applied for and received a pension in 1819 but was required to reapply in 1820 giving a detailed inventory of his property and household goods. He is buried in Connecticut with his family.
The Revolutionary War brought about freedom from Britain, but the long years of fighting took its toll on many of the men and their families.
Edna Davis Giffen is the Recording Secretary of the Miller Place-Mt. Sinai Historical Society. She enjoys doing history research of Mt. Sinai and Miller Place, and helping others learn about their community.
Dominick Pernice. Photo from St. Catherine of Siena
Dominick Pernice, RT, MBA, has been named chief operating officer at Catholic Health’s St. Catherine of Siena Hospital (SCSH). For the past 13 years, Mr. Pernice has served as the administrative director of imaging services and cardiac catheterization at SCSH and St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson.
In his new role, Mr. Pernice will oversee SCSH’s daily hospital operational and administrative functions; design and implement business strategies, plans and procedures; set comprehensive goals for performance and growth across all clinical services lines; and continue to ensure patient safety and patient satisfaction.
“We are very fortunate to have Mr. Pernice as part of St. Catherine’s senior leadership team,” said James O’Connor, SCSH president. “Over Mr. Pernice’s long career at St. Catherine and St. Charles hospitals, he has proven his steadfast leadership, strategic planning and keen decision-making skills in addressing various operational issues. In addition, Mr. Pernice was instrumental in developing the imaging services at Ambulatory Care in Commack. As St. Catherine’s COO, Mr. Pernice will further enhance our hospital’s mission in providing the highest quality of care to our patients.”
Prior to joining Catholic Health, Mr. Pernice served as assistant director of radiology, supervisor of magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound, evening imaging supervisor and radiologic technologist at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park. Mr. Pernice earned his Master of Business Administration at C.W. Post University and is a Six Sigma Green Belt.
This year’s graduation ceremonies were worthy of more celebration than ever before.
The Class of 2021 has been through an unbelievable two years of academics.
As the school year of 2019 began, everything was the same as usual, and then March of 2020 saw drastic changes. One minute, students were studying in school, attending clubs, practicing for plays or out on the fields, the next they were home learning remotely with no extracurricular activities.
Proms were canceled, graduation commencements were put on hold until July where seniors graduated with just a fraction of their class at a time, as ceremonies needed to be spread out over a few days.
The beginning of the 2020-21 school year varied depending on what school district a child attended. For some there was a hybrid schedule, others fully remote and for a few in-person instruction five days a week, if they chose to do so.
Then things began to change slowly but surely as the calendar flipped to 2021. Students were given the green light to return to their classrooms every day as the year progressed. Activities after studies resumed and the fields were filled once again with football, field hockey, baseball, lacrosse and so much more.
While masks were still worn and plastic dividers remained, students began to emerge from their cocoons like butterflies ready to take on the world. Proms were held and graduations were celebrated with the whole class.
Last year school administrators, faculty members, students and parents banded together to come up with resourceful ideas such as car parades and staggered ceremonies to commemorate the momentous occasion of completing high school. This year after weathering the storm, students witnessed that a light at the end of the tunnel can exist no matter how dark that tunnel may seem at times.
They have emerged strong and resilient which can be seen in the sports championship wins across the North Shore and the smiles on the graduates’ faces.
Education is a valuable resource but, in the last two years, teenagers have stepped away from their desks with more important lessons than any high school class can provide. Life has taught them that with some flexibility, resourcefulness, resilience and optimism they increase their odds of making it over any hurdle to achieve success.
Graduates, take the lessons you gained in your cocoon and take flight as a butterfly would. A whole new world awaits all of you, and we look forward to hearing all about the wonderful things you accomplish.
This past week, I spent more time personally and professionally speaking with other people than I had in over a year.
I give myself mixed reviews. Two anecdotes capture the range of my experiences. During one meeting, my brain had its own mini dialog, even as I tried to stay focused on details about a story I was researching. Here’s a sample of that internal dialog:
Wait, why is he looking away? Should I not have had that salad earlier? Do I have something green in my teeth?
No, hold on, maybe it’s that you’re tired and your eyes are closing. Open your eyes wider to indicate that you’re paying attention. No. NO. NO! Too wide! Now, he’s wondering why you’re staring so intently at him.
Okay, he’s looking at you again. Oh, no, I have to scratch my face. What do I do? Ignore it. Yes, that’s working. No, it’s not. Now, my face itches even more. Come on face, suck it up. No, I have to scratch. Maybe I can coordinate the scratch with the moment when he looks away. Come on, look away!
Great, now he’s looking at me without blinking, like Jack Nicholson in “A Few Good Men.” Wait, I’m listening. Really, I am, but I’m a tad distracted. It’s not my fault. It’s my face’s fault.
I’m focused. I have a good question ready, but I still need to scratch my face. Look away. LOOK a-WAY! It’s not working. Instead of scratching, I’m twitching. Now he’s staring at the part of my face that itches and twitches.
I’m going to lean on my hand and scratch subtly, while listening intently and making solid, but not scary eye contact.
Okay, so, maybe that was a slight exaggeration, but it was an imperfect and slightly distracted moment in the real world.
Later in the week, I had another opportunity to multitask. Just as I started walking across a courtyard to a meeting, it started pouring.
I walked quickly. Running didn’t seem like a great choice because panting, dripping and sweating is never a good look for me.
When I arrived, an incredibly supportive executive assistant asked me if I wanted a hot tea, coffee, towel or water. I said I’d be fine.
Once I got in the office, I immediately realized, dripping onto, into and around the chair of one of my favorite sources, that his air conditioning was among the strongest in the area. In addition to the cool air in the room, I felt a slight breeze, which made me feel as if each droplet of water clinging to me might soon turn to ice.
As I spoke to him, rocking slightly back and forth, putting my hands under my legs to keep them warm, I was well aware of how ridiculous I must have looked. At the same time, I appreciated the in-person nature of the experience, which wasn’t an option six months earlier.
I enjoyed how the multitasking necessary to stay on track was so much different than the challenges of Zoom, where my primary concerns were whether the background in the screen included messy clothing, whether I was looking at the right place on the screen, and whether my dog would decide to bark at the five-year-old learning to ride a bike in front of our house.
Venturing further out than I have in over a year from the turtle-shell life felt like stepping back into a familiar but altered role. Despite the momentary and awkward setbacks, it was a welcome return to a three-dimensional world.
Anumber of small local businesses applied for and received, in the course of the pandemic, money to pay their employees as their customers and revenues dwindled. Some $800 billion was made available by the federal government through the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP as it was known for short, and overseen by the Small Business Administration. The actual lenders were banks, 5,200 of them, and they made a small percentage on what they loaned.
But according to an analysis in The New York Times, that was nothing compared to what two newcomers made as they rushed to the scene. These two companies pocketed more than $3 billion in fees, and they weren’t even lenders. It was all legal. Here’s how they did it.
Since the banks were getting a percentage of what they loaned, for each set of paperwork processed, they logically favored making larger loans for their efforts. These invariably went to larger companies. The result was that the smallest companies, asking for the smallest amounts of money, who were perhaps the ones most needing the help, were overlooked. Blueacorn was founded last year to help companies get PPPs. “Tiny businesses, self-employed individuals and minority communities are left out in the cold,” explained the CEO to The NYT.
The federal government realized this discrepancy and, last December, raised the fees for small loans, later encouraging even unprofitable solo businesses to ask for help. Both Blueacorn and the second company, Womply, which already existed but in a different niche, rushed to advertise their processing services with the PPP on behalf of these tiny businesses. Their ads were on New York City subways, billboards and Facebook, according to NYT reporters Stacy Cowley and Ella Koeze, offering “free money for those who qualify.” During that time, from late February to May 31, the companies processed 2.3 million loans, with most less than $17,000, and then turned them over to banks.
Those interested banks, now promised by the government 50% of loans valued at less than $50,000, with fees up to a maximum of $2,500, could find making small-dollar loans more profitable. At least that was the intent of Congress in December of last year when it made the change.
For Blueacorn, in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Womply, in San Francisco, finding the banks, putting them together with the borrowers and doing their paperwork in a standardized way, proved more profitable than for each of the banks to do the work themselves on behalf of the smallest businesses. Now all the lenders had to do was pass the paperwork to the government and fund the loans.
Largely as a result of these two companies, lenders made 5.8 million loans this year as opposed to 3.6 million in 2020. The average loan size dropped from over $100,000 dollars last year to $41,560 in 2021. The six most active lenders this year partnered with one or both of those companies.
Blueacorn worked with just two lenders: Prestamos CDFI, a non-profit, and Capital Plus Financial. Just for contrast, Prestamos made 935 PPP loans last year, totaling $27 million and 494,415 loans for $7.7 billion in 2021, according to The NYT, until applications halted.
Womply used 17 lenders and processed 1.4 million loans, totaling more than $20 billion dollars, some 7% of PPP money loaned this year.
Here is the payoff for the two companies. Because Congress wanted to make smaller loans more lucrative, Prestamos made $1.3 million for its lending last year and $1.2 billion this year, but will keep “only a fraction of its earnings.” Blueacorn, because if its agreement with Prestamos, will get a “significant” portion of the $1.2 billion Prestamos is collecting. Capital One Financial, a public company and thus more transparent, earned $464 million in fees for its PPP loans during the quarter but only kept about a third or $150 million.
So Blueacorn gets some $1 billion this year and Womply anywhere from $1.7 billion to $3 billion. That dwarfs any other PPP loans or fees. Thank You, Uncle Sam!
“We closed on March 16, 2020 and started planning how we would reopen on March 17, 2020.”
That is how co-founder and Artistic Director of the Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts Ken Washington described the process of arranging to reopen the theater after it had to close due to the pandemic.
Located at 2 East Main Street in Smithtown, the theater offers plays, concerts, and educational services to the community.
“We’re scheduling a mix of fun new programs and rescheduling the shows that needed to be postponed, to fulfill those promises to the patrons who stood by us during this time,” said Associate Managing Director Kelly Mucciolo.
Mainstage Theater
The cast of Green Day’s American Idiot in rehearsal at the Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts. Photo by Gabriella Fugon
Its first mainstage show since March of 2020, Green Day’s American Idiot, is scheduled to open July 9 and will run every Friday and Saturday night at 8 p.m. through July 31. “Throughout the next six months we will be adding to the schedule … as certain things become available, and audiences become more comfortable gathering in an indoor environment,” explained Washington.
American Idiot provides an opportunity to reunite individuals who share a passion for performance. The rock musical, based on the 2004 Green Day album of the same name, follows the stories of three disaffected young men in a post-9/11 world.
“Rock music and musicals have always been my favorite part of working in theater.American Idiot has very powerful music, and some very poignant lyrics that hit a little bit differently when you think about them in the context of the world today,” said resident Musical Director Melissa Coyle.
The cast of Green Day’s American Idiot in rehearsal at the Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts. Photo by Gabriella Fugon
Scheduled to open the week the theater was forced to close, American Idiot was selected as the mainstage’s first post-lockdown production because of that fact. “We wanted to honor the ticket holders who have supported us during the pandemic,” Mucciolo said. Although the cast and crew are largely different from the planned 2020 production, most have had previous connections with the Smithtown theater.
“The talented cast has made it very easy to put together this really exciting show. It’s been a fun challenge to present this mostly sung-through show and pull out different story elements within the score and script,” said director Ronald Green III, who has acted in other plays at the theater and has been it’s resident costumer since 2011.
Although not yet fully published, the new mainstage season strives to be a mix of the missed lost potential of 2020 and the hopeful possibility of 2021. In addition to American Idiot, the theater will offer I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change from Aug. 21 to Sept. 19, with the cast of 2012 largely reprising their roles. And Menopause the Musical touring group returns from Oct. 1 to Nov. 14.
Children’s Theater
For the second summer in a row, children’s theater will be held on the grounds of the Smithtown Historical Society beginning with Moana Jr. from July 15 to Aug. 14, followed by Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus from Aug. 28 to Sept. 17; and Spookley the Square Pumpkin: The Musical from Sept. 25 to Oct. 31. Kids shows then move home to the Smithtown Performing Arts Center, with Frozen Jr. from Nov. 20 to Jan. 17.
Moana Jr. was chosen to launch the children’s theater’s new season because it was so well-received in 2020. When surveyed, children’s theater patrons indicated that the show was one that they would most like to see again.
From left, Zach Podair as Pua, Gabriella Fugon as Moana, and Lorelai Mucciolo as Hei-Hei in last year’s production of Moana Jr. Photo by Courtney Braun
Jordan Hue and Courtney Braun co-directed both the upcoming production and last year’s run of Moana Jr., a 60-minute adaptation of the Disney film. The coming-of-age tale follows the adventures of Moana and her quest to return the heart of Te Fiti and save the world.
“I think Moana brought us together during a difficult time and gave us a sense of community. We are looking forward to bringing it back to show we made it through the storm and further celebrate,” said Hue. “It’s a fun, dynamic, energetic piece of theater that engages young people and celebrates a culture different from our own, which has great value.”
Similarly, Braun was drawn to the project because of its spirit of inclusivity and message of self-discovery. Additionally, she found solace in being with familiar faces when so much of life was uncertain and so many individuals felt isolated.
“[It] was an experience that I will never forget — from the community support, actors, family and theater support we have really pushed through some of the most unimaginable times. Moana really provides a lesson for each individual audience member. A journey of self-love and passion for some, the importance of family for others, and most importantly — a strong message of perseverance and overcoming fears,” Braun said.
Smithtown Performing Arts Center’s arrangement with the historical society permitted children’s theater performances to proceed last summer and run through fall, which in turn fostered an ongoing rapport with actors and audiences, according to Mucciolo. “We were extraordinarily lucky to be able to partner with the Smithtown Historical Society last summer to bring live theater to Smithtown in an outdoor setting with our Kids Performing For Kids productions. Being able to get back with our student performers and connect with our audiences again in an exciting new setting was very emotional,” she said.
These performances, which fully adhered to social-distancing and mask mandates, enabled a feeling of relative familiarity for audience, actors, and staff.
“At least once per show a patron would come up to us in tears because they were able to give their children a normal, fun experience in the middle of a scary, uncertain time, and that was a feeling we could all connect to. It’s been one of the most rewarding experiences,” Mucciolo added.
Summer camp
A step towards relative normalcy is a relief for patrons, students, and staff. The theater’s summer intensive theater education camp continues this trajectory, offering two sessions: “Historical Musicals” from July 5 to 23, and “Jukebox Musical” from July 26 to Aug. 14. The former addresses musicals that took place or were influenced by significant historical events, while the latter focuses on musicals that create stories around the songs of popular artists.
Camp is a facet of the theater’s education program, which also has theater arts classes for children. They resumed this past September, with all participants adhering to the appropriate health guidelines.
“The students were thrilled to return to the theater, and we were ecstatic to see each other again. We offered dance technique classes and musical theater performance classes,” Coyle said. “Despite the restricting CDC guidelines which were adhered to, where the students had to stay physically distant and masked at all times, they were still able to see their friends, work together on and off the stage, and find joy together during this very difficult period.”
Sharing a purpose with the public was reportedly a primary motivation of Washington’s when he established the Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts with his wife, Laura, in 2002. The historic building, which was built in the early 1930s, was originally a single screen cinema house before being purchased by United Artists and transformed into a discount movie theater. By 1999, it was set for demolition. A petition to save it garnered more than 8,000 signatures.
“We bought and renovated the theater to fulfill the lifelong dream of offering theater arts and entertainment to the community of Smithtown and the surrounding communities,” Washington said.
“This building has always held a lot of memories for the citizens of Smithtown, both for the people who knew it as a movie theatre and for the people who have loved it for eighteen years as a performing arts center,” said Mucciolo. “Bringing patrons back into this building is emotional and special.”
Tickets to mainstage productions are $45 for adults, $40 for seniors. Tickets to Menopause the Musical are $55, $50 seniors. Tickets for children’s theater is $18 per person. Visit www.smithtownpac.org or call 631-724-3700 to order. Box office phone hours are Tuesday to Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 3 to 8 p.m.
The Suffolk County Volunteer Firefighters Burn Center at Stony Brook University Hospital — the only designated burn care facility in Suffolk County, has 10 safety tips this July 4th Weekend.
Many will spend the holiday in their backyards for barbecues, cookouts or build fire pits where there’s a greater risk to sustain a burn injury. To avoid injury, Steven Sandoval, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery and Medical Director of the Suffolk County Volunteer Firefighters Burn Center at Stony Brook University Hospital, says “The best way to do this is to prevent the burn in the first place with safety tips and precautions to eliminate potential dangers.”
✳ Fireworks are safe for viewing only when being used by professionals.
✳ Sparklers are one of the most common ways children become burned this holiday, even with a parent’s supervision.
✳ Do not have children around any fireworks, firepits, barbecues or hot coals. Teach them not to grab objects or play with items that can be hot. Go through a lesson where they learn to ask permission.
✳ Limit the use of flammable liquids to start your fire pits and barbecues. Use only approved lighter fluids that are meant for cooking purposes. No gasoline or kerosene.
✳ Don’t leave hot coals from fire pits and barbecues laying on the ground for people to step in.
✳ When cleaning grills, the use of wire bristle brushes can result in ingestion of sharp bristle pieces requiring surgery.
✳ If you are overly tired, and consumed alcohol, do not use the stovetop, fire pit or a fireplace.
✳ Stay protected from the sun. Use hats and sunblock, and realize that sunblock needs to be reapplied after swimming or after sweating.
✳ Use the back burners of the stove to prevent children from reaching up and touching hot pots and pans.
✳ Always use oven mitts or potholders to remove hot items from the stove or microwave. Assume pots, pans and dishware are hot.
“If burned do not go anywhere but a facility that specializes in burn treatment,” says Dr. Sandoval.
To reach the Suffolk County Volunteer Firefighters Burn Center at Stony Brook University Hospital, call 631-444-4545. For immediate help, call the burn unit directly at 631-444-BURN.
File photo of Blydenburgh County Park by Rita J. Egan
On June 30, Suffolk County Police arrested a man after he stabbed another man at Blydenburgh County Park in Smithtown. The stabbing occurred June 30 at approximately 2:35 p.m.
Brian O’Connor allegedly got into an argument and physical altercation with another man at a camp ground at the park. O’Connor went into his vehicle, allegedly retrieved a knife and stabbed the 60-year-old victim. The victim was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Fourth Squad detectives charged O’Connor, 62, of Middle Island, with Assault 2nd Degree. He was scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on July 1.
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