Kathy McLeod retired back in 2013, but she still kept a tradition of mailing her former students a keepsake when it was their turn to graduate.
Photo by Julianne Mosher
Kathy MacLeod taught in the Miller Place School District for 36 years.
Mostly a fourth-grade teacher, she created years ago a project that would eventually become a tradition for her students and their families.
“The students had to write a letter to themselves that I would save and mail to them when they were ready to graduate from high school,” she said. “And they were just adorable.”
MacLeod would have the students write to their future selves about their families, hobbies, what they learned in school and what they thought they’d be doing as a senior.
Ariel’s self portrait.
“Sometimes, they were very funny, like, I’ll be driving a Lamborghini or, you know, I’ll be playing Major League Baseball,” she said. “And some would be more realistic, saying that I’ll be driving a car or working at McDonald’s.”
The first batch of letters had to wait eight years to eventually be mailed out, with a reminder of the graduating year when they were to be dispatched.
And the majority of the time, MacLeod said, the students forgot the assignment from their elementary school days.
The Miller Place High School graduating class of 2021 was different, though, as this was MacLeod’s last batch of letters.
In 2013, she decided to retire, but retirement didn’t mean stopping from sending out the last eight batches of letters her students wrote. Over the last eight years, she sent the envelopes back to them with copies of what the children wrote to themselves.
Sadly, this was her last group to graduate.
“The parents love it,” she said. “They’re very emotional when their kids are getting ready to graduate, and it’s like a voice from the past.”
MacLeod is so devoted, she always finds a way to get the letter into the right hands — one former student she had to track down in Arizona, and the girl was thrilled.
“Teaching there was the best job I could have had in the best school,” MacLeod said. “It really was a wonderful place to work.”
Along with the letter and the self-portraits she encouraged them to draw, MacLeod attaches a photo from the students’ fourth-grade class picture. The kids look different now.
“I remember them like it was yesterday,” she said. “It’s so funny seeing them grown up.”
Of the class that has just graduated, the students recently received their letters that their previous teacher mailed out.
Andrew’s self portrait.
Andrew Bova, 17, said the blast from the past was very different than what he previously remembered.
“I wrote to myself that I’d be a professional Islander player,” he said. “Now I’m going to Emerson College for musical theater.”
Bova said it was a blast from the past and reading what he thought of his life when he was 8 years old was nostalgic.
He said can’t thank her enough for this fun memory.
“She’s by far my favorite teacher,” he said. “I really appreciate her.”
Ariel Martin, another student, said that her 8-year-old self thought she would have pink streaks in her hair and would be going to Harvard after high school.
She decided instead to Chapman University in California for film production.
“I just want to give her a big ‘thank-you’ for holding onto these and sending them out to all of us,” she said. “To this day, she’s my favorite teacher.”
MacLeod said it’s bittersweet that she won’t have to head to the post office with a large envelope in 2022.
Photo by Julianne Mosher
“I just wanted to remind them how proud I am of them, how creative and fun the class was,” she said. “But this class in particular, they were such a creative, loving bunch. It wasn’t an easy last year and a half, and I just think they came through with flying colors.”
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.
As we sail into the summer season, the Grand Carousel at the Shoppes at East Wind in Wading River offers a ride through nostalgia and a trail to making new memories.
An extension of the East Wind Hotel and Spa, the Shoppes is celebrating its 5th anniversary this year and, according to Marketing Director Charlotte Coté, the carousel has been the focal point since its opening in 2016.
“Creating a quaint shopping village with specialty stores, food and more, the carousel became the centerpiece enjoyed by individuals of any age,” she said. “The custom indoor heated pavilion not only provides entertainment throughout the year but also protects the beauty and elegance of the carousel from the outdoor elements.”
Purchased specifically for the Shoppes’ indoor pavilion, the carousel was built by Chance Rides Incorporated of Wichita, Kansas in 1993, before residing at the Parmatown Mall in Parma, Ohio. It then sat in storage until it was rescued and shipped to Long Island.
The handicap accessible ride is designed to resemble the elegance and majesty of carousels from yesteryear. An Americana carousel, it has an oak floor, beveled glass mirrors, a standard pietop with a lighted crown, as well as wildlife and horse designs created by ride manufacturer Bradley & Kaye Amusement Company.
All jumpers, its animals include twelve galloping horses in the style of “country fair,” adorned with bright colors and jewels, a cat, a zebra, a reindeer, a rooster, a rabbit, and a dragon. The carousel also features a chariot and pipe organ calliope-style music.
A favorite of both the young and the young at heart, the carousel’s appeal is shared by both visitors and staff.
“Everyone has a memory of riding a carousel and that is what makes it special,” said Coté. “We see many local families returning time and time again with their children. Our operators enjoy seeing the joy in people’s faces, riding the carousel for the first time, and parents and grandparents reminiscing [about] their carousel rides when they were kids,” she added.
For Carousel Manager Robert Cutinella, who said his favorite carousel animal is the reindeer, the public’s appreciation and amusement are the best aspects of the ride.
“What makes our carousel so special is that everyone has big smiles from the time they walk in … picking out an animal (not an easy decision, even for me), enjoying the carousel’s music, and the experience of the ride. It makes everyone feel like a kid again,” he said.
This appeal perfectly complements the 28 free standing shops. Connected by brick-paved walkways and the carousel’s pavilion, they run the gamut from bespoke tailoring and boutique clothing to fine dining and assorted sweets.
“We’ve been going to East Wind for Mother’s Day and Easter Day brunches since before I had kids,” frequent visitor Helen Partlow said. “Once we had kids, we would take the whole family, including grandparents, and go to the carousel.”
She enjoys the carousel and shops with her family and showcases them through her role as publisher of Port Jefferson Macaroni Kid, a subset of a national publishing platform for parents.
“I think it’s a nice place to go when you’re already going somewhere, to add it to your day, or to go for a short visit … I’ll take them to the carousel, have ice cream, and pizza. We also go to the specialty food stores,” Partlow added.
Tweets Ice Cream Café serves a wide variety of tasty treats, such as classic ice cream flavors, specialty milkshakes, and Starbucks. “The kids get what they like and I get something fancier,” she said. Partlow describes Brezza Pizza Kitchen as one of the “best pizza places.”
Specialty food shops present niche or specific selections. The Cheese and Spice Market, for instance, has artisanal and farmstead cheeses and charcuterie take-out boxes, platters, and gift baskets.
Yet out of East Wind’s many options, perhaps what most appeals to Partlow is the carousel. “It represents one of those symbolic things that all kids seem to like, but aren’t always [available],” she said. “It represents a stage of childhood, where they are still into imagination and play. It will be a nice memory that I will look back on as they grow up.”
Coté sees the carousel as a symbol of the joy the Shoppes at East Wind may bring to the public. “The Shoppes is not just shopping. It is a place where families can come, enjoy the outdoors, grab a bite and have fun for a few hours and the carousel is a welcoming addition to that experience. The carousel is a beacon of happiness at The Shoppes.”
Located at 5768 Route 25A, Wading River, the Grand Carousel is open seven days a week. Operating hours are Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Fridays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The price of a ride on the carousel is $5 for one token (one token per ride) or 5 tokens for $20. Current COVID protocols are observed. For more information, visit www.eastwindlongisland.com.
*This article first appeared in TBR News Media’s Summer Times supplement on 06/24/21.
The North Shore Community Band’s free summer concert series is back! Enjoy big band hits, movie themes, classical favorites, Dixieland jazz and rousing Sousa marches. Concerts will be held on July 10 and 24 in the St. Mark’s Church parking lot, 105 Randall Road, Shoreham; and July 17 on the Wading River Congregation Church lawn, 2057 North Country Road, Wading River at 7 p.m. Bring seating. For more information, call 631-833-5991 or visit www.nscbli.org.
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!
The Rocky Point Civic Association (RPCA) hosts its 10th annual Rocky Point Garden Tour on Saturday, July 17 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Held rain or shine. Tickets are $15 per person and are available for purchase at Heritage Paint, 637 Route 25A; Flowers on Broadway, 43 Broadway; and Heart, Mind & Spirit, 106 Prince Road, Rocky Point through July 17. All proceeds will benefit the RPCA. Questions? Call 631-521-5726 or email [email protected].
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.
Suffolk County corrections officer Candice Ogiejko was killed in a car crash last week. On Monday, members from her department said their goodbyes outside of St. Gerard Majella R.C. Church.
Photo from the Suffolk County Sheriff’s office
The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office is mourning the loss of one of its own.
On Wednesday, June 23, Candice Ogiejko, of Port Jefferson Station, was killed in a car accident while driving in Yaphank just before 9 p.m.
Photo from the Suffolk County Sheriff’s office
As one of the departments newest members, the 25-year-old had just completed her second year on the force, working in the Riverhead Correctional Facility.
“The entire staff of the Sheriff’s Office is mourning the loss of correction officer Candice Ogiejko,” said Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. (D). “Correction officer Ogiejko was just 25 years old and had her entire life and career ahead of her. She will be greatly missed by her loving family, as well as her extended family in law enforcement.”
According to Suffolk County police, Ogiejko was driving a 2019 Dodge Ram northbound on County Road 101, when the vehicle veered toward the center grass median.
When the driver overcorrected, she lost control of the vehicle, which skidded across the lanes and crashed into the northeast corner of Old Dock Road. The vehicle struck curbing, fencing and several large trees before eventually coming to a stop down an embankment near a parking lot, at approximately 8:40 p.m.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) expressed his condolences on his Facebook page.
Suffolk County corrections officer Candice Ogiejko was killed in a car crash last week. On Monday, members from her department said their goodbyes outside of St. Gerard Majella R.C. Church. Photo from the Suffolk County Sheriff’s office
“On behalf of all of the residents of Suffolk County, our thoughts and prayers are with the friends and family of correction officer Candice Ogiejko,” he wrote.
On Sunday, June 27, a wake was held at Moloney’s Port Jefferson Station Funeral Home. A funeral Mass was held on Monday at St. Gerard Majella R.C. Church, with the burial at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Coram.
Members of the Sheriff’s Office lined up in Class A dress uniforms to bid farewell to Ogiejko outside of the church. The Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard served as pallbearers as taps was played on a bugle.
Prev
