Pictured at the Youth Award Ceremony in Hauppauge are from left Legislator and Minority Leader Jason Richberg, who sponsored this legislation, Legislator Rob Trotta and Jacob Wolmetz
In 2020, the Legislature established the Annual Youth Award to recognize an exceptional young person in each Legislative District. Legislator Trotta named Jacob Wolmetz, a sophomore at Hauppauge High School, as his district Youth Award recipient. Shannon Griffin, the social worker at the school, nominated him.
Jacob is President of the Social Awareness/Students Against Destructive Decisions Club and Vice President of Model United Nations. He is also involved with the Student Council, Ignition (a freshman mentoring program), Natural Helpers, and on the Principal Honor Roll. He is the student representative for Cohen’s Strong Mental health, a program that works with Northwell Health to promote mental health in schools. In that capacity, Jacob has advocated for funding in Albany and Washington, DC.
Active in the French Honor Society, Jacob received both the bronze and silver medals from Le Grands Concours, a national French contest, in which he placed sixth in the country on the 2024 exam.
Legislator Trotta said, “Jacob is a bright young man who has accomplished a great deal for his age. All of his school extracurricular activities and his efforts to solicit funding to promote mental health in schools impresses me. He clearly has developed leadership skills, and other qualities of humanity so desirable in young people. I wish him much success with his future endeavors.”
Pictured at the Eagle Scout Court of Honor from left: New York State Senator Mario Mattera, Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta, Eagle Scouts Ryan Bennett, Steven Cirarolo, Brendan Kieran and Joshua Prew and New York State Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick.
Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta recognized four new Eagle Scouts from Boy Scout Troop 7 at their Eagle Scout Court of Honor at Sts. Philip and James Church in St. James last month. Held on June 9, fellow scouts, troop leaders, family, friends and several dignitaries attended the ceremony to congratulate and support the new Eagle Scouts.
All of the young men acquired the necessary merit badges and demonstrated their leadership skills, as well as completing their Community Service Project to attain the rank of Eagle Scout, which is the highest rank in scouting.
Ryan Bennet, of St. James and a senior at Chaminade High School, designed and built a pergola over a baptismal font at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Ronkonkoma.
For his project, Steven Ciraolo, of St. James and a junior at Smithtown High School East, made educational signs explaining the life cycle of trees and installed them along a nature trail at Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown.
Brendan Kieran, of Smithtown and a sophomore at Chaminade High School, created a new basketball court at Sts. Philip and James School/Parish. He installed two new basketball hoops and outlined the full court.
Also doing a project at Sts. Philip and James, Joshua H. Prew, of Lake Grove and a sophomore at St. John The Baptist High School, cleared the overgrown shrubbery and installed two benches adjacent to the basketball court so the children have a nice outdoor seating area.
“Coming to the Eagle Scout Court of Honor is the best part of my job. The fact that each of you achieved the rank of Eagle Scout while still a teenager is an enormous accomplishment and this recognition will be with you for the rest of your lives and you will always be held to a higher standard because of this achievement,” said Legislator Rob Trotta.
Explore Long Island volunteer opportunities, observe guide and service dog demonstrations, learn about volunteer puppy raising, and more!
Guide Dog Foundation and America’s VetDogs, sister Long Island-based national nonprofit organizations that provide service and guide dogs to veterans, first responders, active-duty service members, and to those who are blind, low vision, or with other disabilities, at no cost, will host their Second Annual Open Houseon Tuesday, July 23 from 3 to 7 p.m. at their campus at 371 East Jericho Turnpike in Smithtown.
The event will include guide and service dog demonstrations, program graduates giving testimonials, informational tables on puppy raising, various local volunteer opportunities, tours of the facility, and more! No registration required. FREE to attend.
America’s VetDogs is proud to be one of a select few accredited assistance dog schools in the United States that is now able to provide a veteran with a specially trained service dog in 12-months or less. With over 800,000,000 veterans living in New York, America’s VetDogs is dedicated to providing life-changing service dogs to our nation’s heroes with disabilities faster and at no charge to them.
The Guide Dog Foundation is currently in urgent need of volunteer puppy raisers. Puppy raisers welcome a pup into their homes at around 8 weeks of age. The raiser will provide crucial socialization experiences for the pup by taking them to grocery stores, on public transport, and more. Puppy Raisers will also attend regularly scheduled classes alongside other local raisers. The Guide Foundation covers all cost associated with raising, the volunteer puppy raiser is asked to cover the cost of food. At around 14-18 months of age, the dog will return to the Foundation in Smithtown to begin formaltraining.
It costs more than $50,000 to breed, raise, train, and place one assistance dog, but Americas’ VetDogs and the Guide Dog Foundation provide their services completely free of charge. All funding comes from the generous contributions of individuals, corporations, foundations, businesses, and community organizations.
This week’s shelter pet is Esme, a beautiful domestic short-haired, ten-month-old girl who adorns a stunning gray tuxedo coat. This sweet baby girl had thought she found a forever home months back, only to be returned due to an unexpected change in her family’s living situation. Despite this gut wrenching turn of events, Esme and the team at the shelter are hopeful that her chance at being a cherished forever family member will arrive before her first birthday.
At first she may seem a little shy or reserved when making Esme’s acquaintance. However, with a little time and patience Esme will warm up to new faces with endless affection and purrs. This exquisite young lady is simply irresistible to any kitten-loving human and would bring a lifetime of joy and memories to one lucky family. Caretakers believe that Esme would be best suited in a home with older children, possibly cats and dogs.
If you are interested in meeting Esme, please fill out an application to schedule time to properly interact with your prospective soul mate in a domestic settingThe Town of Smithtown Animal & Adoption Shelter is located at 410 Middle Country Road, Smithtown. Visitor hours are Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Sundays and Wednesday evenings by appointment only).
For more information, call 631-360-7575 or visit www.townofsmithtownanimalshelter.com.
We look forward to it all year. Your kids can’t wait to be free from school and you can’t wait to sip a cool drink by the pool.
But, the sun is a powerful entity. While it is clinically proven to lift your mood and regulate your circadian rhythm, the sun is chiefly responsible for one-in-five Americans developing skin cancer by the time they are 70 — and just five sunburns can double your chances of melanoma.
So, what can we do to continue enjoying the warmth of summer, while also remaining protected? First, let’s break down the forms of skin cancer most caused by sun overexposure.
Melanoma: The most dangerous of skin cancers, it can present itself anywhere on the body. If you are seeing large brown spots with dark speckles, moles that change in color, size or feel, moles with irregular borders and portions that appear black or blue, itching and burning or dark spots on your palms, soles, fingertips or toes, you should seek out a medical professional.
Basal-cell carcinoma: The most common type of skin cancer, usually found on areas of the body most exposed to the sun. This form typically grows slowly and rarely spreads (metastasizes). However, if left untreated, it can invade nearby tissues and cause disfigurement. It often appears as a flesh-colored, scar-like or pearl-like bump and is often shiny or waxy. The edges of the lesion are typically smooth and may have a rolled border. It bleeds easily when scratched.
Squamous-cell carcinoma: This form presents slightly differently from melanoma and basal-cell carcinoma. Squamous-cell carcinoma occurs on sun-exposed areas as a firm, red nodule or a flat lesion with a scaly, crusted surface.
Merkel-cell carcinoma: This type presents as a painless, firm bump or nodule on the skin that grows fast as a red, scaly or ulcerated area on the skin and/or a new mole that changes in size, color or shape.
Sebaceous gland carcinoma: This is a very rare but aggressive form of skin cancer that begins in the body’s oil-producing, sebaceous gland. It can often be mistaken for pink eye, as it usually starts on the eyelid, and can cause growths to ooze fluid. The cancer can also develop in hairy areas of the body due to the fact that sebum is released by the hair follicle.
Luckily, there are many ways to avoid the risks of the beating sun. Here are some tips to stay safe this year. According to Harvard Health Publishing, at Harvard Medical School:
1. Always wear sunscreen, applying it at least every two hours but do not rely on it alone. Seek shade often and whenever available. SPF 30 and up is recommended, with SPF 30 protecting against 97% of ultraviolet B rays.
2. Wear sun-protective clothing, preferably made of polyester, nylon, wool and silk, to block the UV rays.
3. Avoid the sun between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., when the sun’s rays are the strongest.
4. Be aware that some medicines and skin care products can increase your skin’s risk of UV damage. These include certain antibiotics, as well as some prescription medicines that are used to treat mental health disorders, high blood pressure, heart failure, acne and allergies. If you are taking prescription medication, and you normally spend a great deal of time outdoors, ask your health care professional whether you should take any special precautions to avoid sun exposure.
5. Early detection is key, with survival rates up to 99%, when caught. If something seems abnormal, have it checked ASAP.
Now that you are armed with all this information, get out in the sun and have a safe but great summer.
Suffolk County Police Third Squad detectives are investigating a wrong-way, head-on, motor vehicle crash that injured three people in West Islip on July 14.
Jimmy Graham was driving a 2014 Audi A8 westbound on the eastbound side of the Sunrise Highway Service Road at Malts Avenue when his vehicle crashed head-on with a 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee that was traveling eastbound at approximately 9:35 p.m.
Graham, 40, of Central Islip, was ejected from the Audi. He was transported to Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip in critical condition. A passenger in the Jeep, Chelsea Zamzam, 32, of East Northport, was transported to the same hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. Her husband, and the driver of the Jeep, Bryan Zamzam, 43, also of East Northport, was transported to South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore for treatment of serious injuries.
Both vehicles were impounded for safety checks. Detectives are asking anyone with information on the crash to contact the Third Squad at 631-854-8352.
Nassau County International Cricket Stadium at Eisenhower Park. Courtesy Don Lockerbie, T20 USA
By John Broven
The 2024 International Cricket Council Men’s T20 World Cup final, held June 29 in Barbados, featured India and South Africa. Both teams had starred locally June 3-12 in Eisenhower Park at a temporary modular facility, grandly named Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.
The site was chosen after NIMBY opposition ruled out first-choice Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. Credit should go to Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman (R) for spotting the opportunities for the local economy and tourism.
The eight games were blessed with almost perfect sunny cricket weather. There was a short rain delay for the key India vs. Pakistan game, which India won and effectively knocked out their intense rival from the tournament. Crowds swarmed to see their Indian and Pakistani heroes from back home. Every one of the 34,000 seats was sold within minutes of the ticket office opening, resulting in a scalpers paradise. The attendance was only slightly less for USA’s honorable defeat by ultimate tournament winners India on the concluding Wednesday. All told, more than 150,000 fans saw the Nassau stadium games.
Overlooked features of the competition included USA, a non-cricketing nation, making it to the Super Eight stage and war-torn Afghanistan progressing to the semifinals stage.
T20 cricket at Eisenhower Park
So, how was my experience of international cricket on Long Island? Quite simply, it was wonderful. It was a joy to see top-class cricket again after many years living over here. Even with the rapid-fire T20 format, with matches hardly lasting four hours, the serenity, charm and strategy of the game came shining through. Somehow the introduction of loud recorded music was only a minor distraction.
The batting, bowling and fielding were all spellbinding on what was acknowledged to be a “slow” wicket, where the ball didn’t come quickly onto the bat. As is often said in cricket terminology, the state of the wicket was the same for both teams.
With friend Richard Tapp, who traveled all the way from England for the tournament, I had tickets for the games on Friday, June 7 (Ireland vs. Canada) and the Saturday (South Africa vs. The Netherlands). Both matches swung back and forth, with Canada edging the first game and the Netherlands almost pulling off a shock defeat after South Africa had lost their top four batsmen cheaply.
Meet-and-greet at Westbury LIRR station
The pleasurable experience started as soon as we disembarked June 7 at Westbury station from Stony Brook. A kind gentleman on the platform led us to the shuttle bus area where we were greeted cheerily by LIRR and NICE bus officials. If there were any fears of being stuck in traffic to Eisenhower Park, they were soon dissipated when we realized that the main arteries, Post and Merrick avenues, were dedicated to bus traffic. A lady driver said that the journey would be 8 1/2 minutes — and so it was.
The spirit of the event was captured by bus passengers discussing their presence with others. There was an Indian national who failed to get tickets for the “big game,” but was attending because he wanted to experience live international cricket in the United States. He said he was a fast bowler from New Jersey and played in a cricket league on Long Island with matted pitches (as opposed to grass). A French lady, who lives now in Nassau, said she wanted to experience the occasion even though cricket is as foreign in France as it is in the United States.
After leaving the shuttle bus, we approached the ticket and check-in areas. There were nervous moments as tickets were available only electronically and then on the day of the match. Luckily, the combination of ICC’s ticketing agency and Apple’s iPhone did the job. We had taken the precaution to acquire see-through bags for check-in, but that didn’t save from the trashcan a tasty deli sandwich or a bug spray, which proved to be unnecessary anyway.
Impressive stadium
As we walked the perimeter of the vast modular stadium it was hard to believe that it had been constructed from nothing since January. This included the cricket outfield grown from Kentucky bluegrass in New Jersey and the pitches, which were prepared in Florida based on guidance from the famous Adelaide Oval in Australia.
We were handed big red placards marked “6” — the equivalent of a baseball homerun — and “4,” which were waved vigorously whenever a boundary was struck, adding to the party-like atmosphere.
Our seats in the East Grandstand were perfect for watching the games although there was quite a lot of stair climbing, which was quite hard on the elderly. There was no shortage of bar, food and soft drinks facilities with merch stalls, ice cream vans and, importantly, restrooms and first-aid.
The Friday crowd was on the small side at just over 5,000 people. Although cricket is not a major game in Ireland or Canada, I had expected a larger contingent of Irish and Canadians. Saturday was much fuller, thanks to many enthusiastic South African supporters regaled in green and gold. There were quite a few Netherlands fans, too, dressed in familiar bright orange. The visible security force quietly kept order throughout. Indeed, good humor pervaded at all times among the attendees reflecting the uniqueness of the event.
A touching moment before each game was the competitors’ two huge national flags being unfurled across half the ground by local schoolchildren dressed smartly in white.
There was a strong local connection with T20 USA venue development director, Don Lockerbie, being the son of Bruce Lockerbie, former dean of faculty at The Stony Brook School.
The future of U.S. cricket
Cricket is seemingly destined to be a minnow sport in the U.S., but there’s no doubt that the Long Island T20 series did the game proud — more so than the matches held in Dallas and a weather-hit Florida. As expected, the coverage by the national media was spotty, but credit to the New York Times, News12 and Newsday for their reporting. I think the New Yorker’s doubting headline “If you build it (a cricket stadium on Long Island) will they come?” was well-answered in the affirmative.
English-born John Broven, of East Setauket, is an award-winning American music history author and a copyeditor with TBR News Media. This article is a follow-up to “International cricket coming to Long Island” (Feb. 29).
Suffolk County Police Third Squad detectives are investigating a three-vehicle crash that seriously injured a motorcyclist in West Islip on July 12.
Dominic Dentici was operating his 2000 Yamaha eastbound on Sunrise Highway between Higbie Lane and Udall Road when he lost control of the motorcycle and struck the rear of a 2023 Tesla, causing him to be ejected from the motorcycle, at 4:17 p.m. Keith Ward was operating his 1994 Harley-Davidson eastbound behind the Tesla. Ward lost control of the motorcycle in an effort to avoid the crash and struck the rear of the Tesla.
Dentici, 31, of Ronkonkoma, was transported to Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip for treatment of serious injuries. The driver of the Tesla, Ashish Kaushal, 37, of Lindenhurst, was also transported to Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. Ward, 48, of Island Park, was transported to South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact the Third Squad at 631-854-8352.
The Girl Scout troop prepares soil for native plants. Photo courtesy of Earth Care
By Katherine Kelton
The Conscience Bay Quaker Meeting House in St. James has been convening since 1961. This meeting house in St. James has started its own Earth Care Committee and its first goal is incredibly close to home for the Quakers.
On the meeting house’s grounds, two former horse paddocks were mowed and maintained as a lawn. The Earth Care Committee plans to convert the lawn into a meadow through a process of rewilding. An expert at Cornell Cooperative Extension informed the committee of a problematic barrier of invasive species around the paddocks, further complicating their goal of having a self-propagating native meadow.
Barbara Ransome, the clerk of grounds at the meeting house, works with the Earth Care Committee for which Amy G. is the clerk. They spoke with TBR about the process.
“In this first phase of removing these invasive plants, we needed contractors and equipment. Which was funded by our own meeting house. For the planting materials we got a small grant from the New York Yearly Meeting,” Ransome said.
The Yearly Meeting is a gathering of state Quaker congregations. The Conscience Bay Quakers applied for an Earth-care grant from the Yearly Meeting with an “inclusive application,” as Ransome described it. The group received $500, the largest grant allowed to be given as a result of their application.
The grant money covered some of the cost of the native species, although Amy G. admitted that securing enough plants to cover such a large area is “quite expensive.” Consequently, the newly-cleared area will be replanted in stages with the work ongoing as funds, plants and volunteers are sourced.
The pair enlisted the help of local native plant grower, Mindy Block, who owns Quality Parks in Port Jefferson. Block works to provide native plants to locals and is working to cultivate more species. She provided the group with milkweed and native grasses, along with a variety of other plants that it hopes will begin to self-propagate and spread to create a native habitat.
Amy G. explained that one of the beliefs of Quakerism is respecting the Earth’s ecological integrity and being “good stewards of the environment.” She shared that an attendee of the society inspired these efforts when he mentioned how burning fossil fuels to mow the horse paddocks was not aligned with the values of the Quakers.
Ransome said, “In unity, the Quaker meeting house decided to go forward with an Earth Care Committee not to mow the paddocks.” From there the committee decided to take on a plan for rewilding the grounds, which refers to allowing native plants to take over the area and self-propagate. However, the process has not been an easy transition.
The committee wanted to ensure the meadow could thrive independently as part of its plan to take a combination active-passive approach. In the beginning stages, the committee will take an active approach to planting native species and clearing the border of invasive plants around the paddocks.
The end goal would be to allow habitat to develop where creatures can live and be undisturbed by machines and people. Ransome provided an example of a tree falling, where she believed it is beneficial to allow it to stay because it can become a home to small animals.
“Our first step in outreach was the Girl Scout troop, who we invited to help plant the native grasses and plants,” Amy G. said. The committee hopes to invite them back each year to continue to learn about plants and invest in a long-term community project. The committee also hopes to involve other groups and anyone who wants to get involved.
The St. James attendees and members meet weekly in person or via Zoom for worship. Quakerism is also known as the Religious Society of Friends. Ransome wants people to know that “there is a concern for climate change — this is one way the Quakers are dedicated to being good stewards of the Earth.”
Those interested in joining the Earth Care Committee do not have to be practicing Quakers, nor do they have to fill out any formal application. Ransome urges those interested to contact her via email at: [email protected].
The Food and Drug Administration last week approved donanemab, or Kisunla, an intravenous treatment for early stage Alzheimer’s disease, adding a second medication for mild stages of a disease that robs people of memory and cognitive function.
Nikhil Palekar, Medical Director of the Stony Brook Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease and Director of the Stony Brook Alzheimer’s Disease Clinical Trials Program. Photo courtesy Stony Brook Medicine/Jeanne Neville
The monoclonal antibody drug from Eli Lilly joins Leqembi from drug makers Eisai and Biogen as ways to reduce the characteristic amyloid plaques that are often used to diagnose Alzheimer’s.
While the medications offer ways to slow but do not stop or reverse Alzheimer’s and come with potential significant side effects, doctors welcomed the treatment options for patients who are at risk of cognitive decline.
Dr. Nikhil Palekar, Medical Director of the Stony Brook Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease and Director of the Stony Brook Alzheimer’s Disease Clinical Trials Program, has been in the field for about two decades.
“Only in the last three years have I finally become quite optimistic” about new treatments, said Palekar, who is a consultant for Eisai. “We’ve had so many failures in the last few decades” with the current medications targeting the core pathologies.
That optimism comes at a time when more people in the United States and around the world are likely to deal with diseases that affect the elderly, as the number of people in the United States who are 85 and older is expected to double in the next 10 years.
The rates of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia is about 13 percent for people between 75 and 84 and is 33 percent for people over 85 according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
The Alzheimer’s Association issued a statement welcoming the addition of Kisunla to the medical arsenal.
“This is real progress,” Joanne Pike, Alzheimer’s Association president and CEO, said in a statement. The approval “allows people more options and greater opportunity to have more time.”
To be sure, Leqembi, which was approved in June of 2023 and Kisunla aren’t a guarantee for improvement and come with some potentially significant side effects.
Some patients had a risk of developing so-called amyloid-related imaging abnormalities, which includes brain edema, or ARIA-E or hemorrhaging, or ARIA-H in the brain.
ARIA can resolve on its own, but can, in rare cases, become severe and life-threatening.
Patients taking these medications receive regular monitoring, including MRI’s before various additional treatments.
Patients are “monitored carefully” before infusions to “go over symptom checklists to make sure they don’t have neurological symptoms,” said Palekar. “If they have any symptoms, the next step is to head to the closest emergency room to get an MRI of the brain, which is the only way to know if a side effect is causing symptoms.”
Nonetheless, under medical supervision, patients who took the medication as a part of clinical trials showed a progressive reduction in amyloid plaques up to 84 percent at 18 months compared to their baseline.
The benefits for Leqembi, which is given every two weeks, and Kisunla, which is administered every four weeks, were similar in terms of slowing the effect of cognitive decline, said Dr. Marc Gordon, Chief of Neurology at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks.
“Neither of them is a cure for Alzheimer’s,” said Gordon. “These medications are not a home run, but at least we’re on base.”
Not eligible
Not everyone is eligible to take these monoclonal antibody treatments.
These drugs are not available for people who have progressed beyond the mild stage of the disease. Clinicians advised those who are showing potential signs of Alzheimer’s to visit their doctors before the disease progresses beyond the point where these drugs might help.
Additionally, people on blood thinners, such as Eliquis, Coumadin, and Warfarin, can not take these drugs because a micro bleed could become a larger hemorrhage.
People who have an active malignant cancer also can’t take these drugs, nor can anyone who has had a reaction to these treatments in the past. The people who might likely know of an allergic reaction to these drugs are those who participated in clinical trials.
Doctors monitor their patients carefully when they administer new drugs and have epinephrine on hand in case of an allergic reaction.
Patients with two alleles – meaning from both parents – of a variant called APOE ε4 have a higher incidence of ARIA, including symptomatic, serious and severe AIRA, compared to those with one allele or non-carriers.
If patients have this variant on both alleles, which occurs in about 15 percent of Alzheimer’s patients, Gordon and Palekar both counsel patients not to take the drug.
“We don’t think the risk is acceptable” for this patient population, Gordon said.
Ultimately, Palekar believes patients, their doctors and their families need to make informed calculations about the risks and benefits of any treatment, including for Alzheimer’s.
Beyond drugs
Palekar added that recent studies have also shown that an increase in physical exercise and activity, such as aerobic activity three times a week for 45 minutes each time, can “significantly help in patients with cognitive symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease,” he said.
After consulting with a physician to ensure that such activity is safe, patients can use a stationary bike or take walks which can benefit their bodies and their brains.
Additionally, various diets, such as the mind diet that combines the mediterranean diet and the DASH diet, which emphasize eating green leafy vegetables and berries among other things, can benefit the brain as well.
Patients also improve their cognitive health by continuing mental activity through games as well as by retaining social connections to friends, family and members of the community.
Like many other people, Palekar witnessed the ravages of Alzheimer’s first hand. As a teenager, he saw his aunt, who was smart, caring and loving, stare out the window without being able to communicate and engage in conversation as she battled the disease.
As a condition involving amyloid plaques, tau proteins, and inflammation, Alzheimer’s disease may require a combination of treatments that address the range of causes.
“There’s going to be a combined therapy,” said Gordon. “Just like when we’re treating cancer, we don’t have just one drug. It’s going to be important to figure out the sequencing and whether drugs are given sequentially or cumulatively. It has to be a multi-faceted approach.”
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