Suffolk County Police 6th Squad detectives are investigating a motor vehicle crash that killed a Rocky Point woman in Yaphank May 2.
Tracyann Fields, 27, was driving a 1999 Nissan Altima northbound on County Road 101, north of Long Island Ave., at around 9:15 a.m. when she lost control of the vehicle, struck a post and a sign and her vehicle overturned, according to police.
Fields was transported by the Yaphank Fire Department to Long Island Medical Center in East Patchogue where she was pronounced dead.
The vehicle was impounded for a safety check and the investigation is ongoing.
Shoreham-Wading River board of education president Robert Rose, on left, and second-time candidate James Smith, are running for two open trustee seats. File photos
By Kyle Barr
Two trustee seats are up for grabs on Shoreham-Wading River’s board of education, and running for them are a veteran and a newcomer.
Current board President Robert Rose is seeking another term and second-time candidate James Smith is seeking election to the board following the stepping down of current trustee Michael Yannucci.
Both candidates are running unopposed.
Yannucci said he decided to not run for re-election so he can spend more time with his young children.
“Despite the fact that we have an uncontested board election this year, residents should continue to stay engaged and attend board meetings,” Yannucci said. His advice to the rest of the board upon leaving is that they should look to engage and communicate with district residents. “Even if they don’t have kids in school, their taxes are still affected by our decisions.”
Rose is running for his third three-year term on the board.
“I decided to run for re-election because I think I add a lot to the board with my experience,” Rose said. “I also really enjoy giving back to my community.”
“Despite the fact that we have an uncontested board election this year, residents should continue to stay engaged and attend board meetings.”
— Michael Yanucci
The board president said he knows his way around schools with his more-than 20 years of experience as an educator. He’s been the assistant principal at Smithtown High School East for the past 12.
“I would like to continue to play a role in making Shoreham-Wading River an outstanding district by working collaboratively with the administration and teachers to develop policies and programs that support student learning and help our students become career and college ready,” Rose said.
Smith, who ran last year unsuccessfully, has been a Shoreham resident for the past six years and in that time has not hesitated to get involvedin the community. The father of four enrolled in the district, joined the PTA and became its vice president. He has worked with kids as a coach through Sound Beach Soccer Club and Father Joe’s Soccer. Smith said he wants to push for greater psychological and emotional resources for students.
“I just wanted to have greater input in the district,” he said. “I think the district has made great strides over the last couple [of] years, but I definitely want to see more resources dedicated, especially now in
today’s environment, toward the mental and physical well-being of our students.”
Shoreham Wading-River is including a provision in its adopted budget for hiring an additional psychologist to help with the current workload. There is presently one at the high school, one at the middle school and three shared between the two elementary school buildings.
Smith said he believes there need to be even more psychologists and social workers engaged with students in school.
“I definitely feel the district needs to shift more toward emotional intelligence,” Smith said. “We’re stretched very thin. We need this emphasis on mental health, especially with all the school shootings we’ve seen over the past few years.”
Board elections will take place with the budget vote Tuesday, May 15 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Shoreham-Wading River High School auxiliary gym, located at 250A Route 25A in Shoreham.
This version corrects how many psychologists there are presently at the elementary schools.
Rocky Point board of education trustee Ed Caswell, on left, is running for re-election. Newcomer Gregory Amendola, on right, is also running following the step-down of Vice President Scott Reh. File photos
Two candidates are running for two open Rocky Point board of education seats this May.
Following the news of Vice President Scott Reh choosing to step down,incumbent Ed Casswell is choosing to run again, while newcomer Gregory Amendola chose to throw his hat in the ring for the open seat.
Reh, Mount Sinai’s athletic director, said he felt it was time to step down after nine years on the board.
“I did it for three terms, but it was very time consuming,” Reh said. “I think the board’s doing a great job. I think I’m leaving it in very good hands. I was honored and privileged to serve on it. I wish everyone the best of luck.”
Casswell, a 26-year Rocky Point resident, is serving his third year on the board.
“I’m hoping to continue serving to help oversee the operations of the district, specifically our charge to be fiscally responsible, provide opportunities for students — for college and career — and to strengthen safety protocols districtwide,” Casswell said.
“I did it for three terms, but it was very time consuming. I think the board’s doing a great job. I think I’m leaving it in very good hands. I was honored and privileged to serve on it.”
— Scott Reh
The trustee has been a member of the North Shore Little League for 10 years and is currently the principal of Center Moriches High School.
“I feel it is important to be an active member of a community,” he said. “High levels of altruism and service among citizens help create vibrant communities. This has always been my driving force and calling. I believe in these notions and love serving.”
Gregory Amendola is a 13-year resident who said he’s running to try and get the community more involved and informed on how the school district makes decisions.
“I wanted to be a voice for the kids in the district — I want to make sure every kid in the district is spoken for,” Amendola said. “I’m big on communication, and I still feel like there’s people in the dark who don’t even know we have board meetings. I feel the district for the most part is doing well, but I just want people to be more informed about what’s going on.”
Amendola works as a dental ceramist, making prosthetics like crowns, bridges and other implants. He was vice president for the Long Island Sharks football team board, has previously run St. Anthony’s CYO soccer club and has been parent liaison for the junior varsity and varsity Rocky Point Wrestling teams.
“My grandparents lived in Rocky Point before I moved here with my wife, so I always had a connection to the town,” he said. “It still has that small-town feel.”
Amendola said that he’s excited to be working with the rest of the board.
“I don’t have anything that I want to change right out of the gate,” Amendola said. “I want to get involved, find my place, find my rhythm, then as we go further I want to make my voice heard.”
The trustees vote will take place along with the budget vote May 15, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Rocky Point High School gym, located at 82 Rocky Point-Yaphank Road in Rocky Point. In July, at the board’s organizational meeting where the elected members from May will assume their trustee positions, the board will elect a president and vice president.
The district is hosting a meet the candidates night May 2
Mount Sinai School District's budget and trustee vote is May 15 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Mount Sinai Elementary School, located at 118 North Country Rd. in Mount Sinai. File photo
By Kyle Barr
Two are running for two open seats on Mount Sinai’s board of education this month, with eight-year board veteran and president Lynn Capobianco stepping down.
Capobianco said she will not be seeking re-election, saying she believes it’s time for different community members to lend their voices to the discussion.
Lynn Capobianco. File photo
“All my children are through school, my youngest is now a freshman in college and I think it’s time for new faces and new voices to come in,” she said.
Incumbent trustee Michael Riggio is running for a second term and newcomer Steve Koepper is running first time. Both are running unopposed.
Riggio, the board’s vice president, is a 12-year resident of Mount Sinai finishing out his first three-year term. He has a 12-year-old daughter enrolled in the district.
Riggio is a retired officer of the New York Police Department’s counterterrorism unit who now provides security consulting. He said Mount Sinai’s push toward new security measures is something he has advocated for since he first arrived to the board.
“That’s one of the things I ran on three years ago,” Riggio said. “The new security’s working out, and it’s great to see it finally taking shape.”
Riggio said his focus is on making smart financial decisions to make sure school programs don’t get cut.
“Let’s say for example you have a senior and you have a kid in eighth grade,” Riggio said. “The senior was exposed to all these special programs and had great teachers, then, when the eighth-grader gets here, you want him to have the same things as the senior. You don’t want to tell the eighth-grader, ‘oh, we cut this program,’ and this is all gone because we have fiscal problems.”
Michael Riggio. File photo
Koepper and his family moved into their Mount Sinai home in 2000. He has previously volunteered on the district’s bond committee. The father of two said he understands the financial part of schools well, as he’s currently the superintendent of buildings and grounds for the Sayville school district.
“I have been involved with the community as a firefighter for over 15 years,” Koepper said in an email. “I felt now was a good time to offer more of my volunteer time in service to educational process to help shape the future of Mount Sinai schools. There are problems like declining enrollment that need to be looked at, and I’m here so that we can work together and move forward.”
He also has a 12-year-old daughter and a 3-and-a-half-year-old son in the district. Capobianco endorsed Koepper for the open seat.
“[Koepper] did a great job on the bond committee, so I think he will be a nice fit for school board,” she said.
Mount Sinai School District is hosting a meet the candidates night May 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the Mount Sinai Middle School auditorium. The school is located at 114 North Country Road in Mount Sinai.
Superintendent Marianne Higuera discusses the proposed budget at a school board meeting. File photo by Barbara Donlon
Another end to the school year brings another round of budget votes. Local school districts adopted 2018-19 budgets saw increases with attempts to expand programs, repair infrastructure and increase security measures around campus.
All budget and board elections votes will take place May 15.
Shoreham-Wading River High School. File photo by Desirée Keegan
Shoreham-Wading River
The Shoreham-Wading River board of education adopted a $74,776,072 budget, an increase of $701,500 from the 2017-18 school year.
“The district’s exceptional programs, and the performance of its students academically, artistically and athletically are a great source of pride to our community,” Superintendent Gerard Poole said in an email. “The 2018-19 proposed budget fully maintains all current student programs and includes additional new student offerings.”
Poole said new offerings include high school electives and clubs in elementary and secondary school. The expanded budget also allocates for hiring a new middle school psychologist. The district plans to contract with an outside agency for any problems that go beyond the work of in-house psychologists.
The tax levy, or the money a district raises through property taxes to fund its budget, has dropped half a percent, a $269,775 total decrease from last school year.
In an April 18 presentation on the proposed budget, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Glen Arcuri said that the tax levy decrease is due to an increase of state aid, specifically building aid for renovations.
“The district spent money, successfully completing them as aggressively as the district was able to,” Aruci said. “This allowed the money to be returned back to the taxpayers because the formula requires the district reduce the tax levy by the return of the building aid.”
The budget also expands elementary enrichment clubs, the middle school’s chromebook program, security measures — including an anonymous reporting app — and includes money for maintenance projects and one-time equipment purchases like two new maintenance-work vans.
A budget hearing will take place May 1 at 7 p.m. at Shoreham-Wading River High School. The budget vote will take place May 15 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Shoreham-Wading River High School auxiliary gym, located at 250A Route 25A in Shoreham.
Rocky Point High School. File photo by Desirée Keegan
Rocky Point
The Rocky Point board of education adopted a $86,128,785 budget, an increase of $2,842,439 from the 2017-18 school year.
The largest increases came from teacher benefits and new general education initiatives, like STEM initiatives, new Advanced Placement courses and special education services.
“The proposed budget is one that was developed with an eye toward our district’s mission – to develop each child’s full potential in a nurturing and supportive, student-centered environment in order to provide a foundation for lifelong learning,” Rocky Point Superintendent Michael Ring said in an email. “Our budget planning process also placed a strong focus on the fiscal health of our district and the commitment we have to taxpayers to operate in the most financially-efficient manner possible.”
The budget includes a 3.1 percent tax levy increase at $1,536,959 from last year. Board officials said that the increase stays within the tax levy increase cap.
“We kept things current,” board Vice President Scott Reh said. “We didn’t cut anything. We kept the programs in place and I think we were very responsible.”
A budget hearing will take place May 1 at 7 p.m. in the High School auditorium. The budget vote will be May 15 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Rocky Point High School gym, located at 82 Rocky Point Yaphank Rd. in Rocky Point.
Miller Place High School. File photo by Kevin Redding
Miller Place
The Miller Place board of education adopted a $72,685,864 budget, an increase of $1,495,189 from the 2017-18 school year.
“The budget increase at 2 percent maintains all current academic programs, clubs and athletics, as well as maintaining our capital project planning, and we’re pleased we’re presenting that within the tax cap,” Superintendent Marianne Cartisano said.
Under the proposed budget the tax levy will see a 2.8 percent increase of $1,261,274 from the previous year. The increase stays within the tax levy increase cap, meaning a cap-piercing vote won’t be necessary.
The proposed budget plan include a $530,000 transfer to capital funds, boasts the inclusion of new initiatives, including new high school courses Chemistry Honors, Virtual Enterprise — a course on learning about global business and enterprise — and Engineering Design using VEX Robotics, which design kits used to design automated devices and robots.
“They’re there to address interest in different programs,” board President Johanna Testa said of the new classes. “Science Technology Engineering and Math is a big interest in our community — robotics falls right into that area. It’s trying to be timely and up-to-date with what’s going on in our world.”
A budget hearing will take place May 8 at 8 p.m. at Miller Place High School. The budget vote will be May 15 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the North Country Road Middle School gym, at 191 North Country Rd. in Miller Place.
Mount Sinai High School. File photo by Barbara Donlon
Mount Sinai
The Mount Sinai board of education adopted a $60,203,745 budget, an increase of $931,220 from the 2017-18 school year.
Earlier projections put the total budget at $60,469,490, but an increase in state aid, as well as a number of retiring Mount Sinai teachers. have brought the total down.
The largest increases in this year’s budget came from security improvements, including finalizing a bid to hire armed guards. One of the top bids is from the Hauppauge-based security firm Pro Protection Security Inc.
“We just feel that it’s important to have anything that’s a deterrent,” Superintendent Gordon Brosdal said. “When they’re not just in the building, but they’re actually checking ID’s at the gate, it gives people a second thought.”
The budget vote will also include two propositions to be voted on. One is a $750,000 increase to the capital reserve, and the other is a $5,000,000 capital project, coming from the unassigned fund balance, to pay for partial renovations to the high school roof, as well as improvements to the turf, track, bleachers, press box, sidewalks, nets and concrete plaza, while also enhancing security features like perimeter fencing and gates around the school property.
There is a tax levy increase of 1.95 percent, an increase of $766,589 from the previous year.
“I am hopeful and optimistic that it will pass,” board President Lynn Capobianco said. “I think it’s a fiscally sound budget.”
Capobianco was concerned that residents voting on the two other propositions would misunderstand what they are voting for.
“The capital project funds do not come out of the budget,” she said. “It will not raise the tax levy.”
A budget hearing is scheduled for May 8 at 8 p.m. at the middle school auditorium. The budget vote will be May 15 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Mount Sinai Elementary School, located at 118 North Country Rd. in Mount Sinai.
This version corrects the time and place of the Mount Sinai School District budget vote.
Shoreham-Wading River quiz bowl teammates Mahdi Rashidzada, Andrew Honold, Timothy Ibrahim and Julia Petreczky. Photo from Ann Gianfalla
The Shoreham-Wading River varsity quiz bowl team Brainstormers showed up this April when they went undefeated all the way through the finals of the Long Island Regional Quiz Bowl.
To the team, consisting of senior captain Timothy Ibrahim and juniors Julia Petreczky, Andrew Honold and Mahdi Rashidzada, competing at such a high level never felt overburdening or stressful.
“It’s funny because we’re not really that competitively minded,” Ibrahim said. “There wasn’t one person who answered the questions, we all answered the questions together, and everybody was really pulling their weight.”
The team finished the season ranked No. 1 in eastern Long Island and No. 5 among all participating Long Island schools. On April 11, the Brainstormers competed in the Quiz Bowl finals at Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School. The team won two out of three games in the preliminary rounds but didn’t make it through the quarterfinals. Faculty advisor Ann Gianfalla said that this was the best Shoreham-Wading River had done in years.
“It’s funny because we’re not really that competitively minded. There wasn’t one person who answered the questions, we all answered the questions together, and everybody was really pulling their weight.”
— Timothy Ibrahim
“We always have a good, competitive team, but in the years since I’ve been advising the Brainstormers we’ve only ever got into that sudden death part of the finals one other time,” Gianfalla said. “I think they are all feeling really good about the season. Once you go to the finals the competition gets much deeper very quickly.”
Each contest is broken up into different rounds. The first round includes 15 toss-up questions where there’s no penalty for guessing. Round 2 tasks the team with coming up with answers to five questions. Round 3 is a lightning round to answer 10 questions in 60 seconds. Round 4 penalizes teams for wrong answers.
“I think the great thing is that we had a really diverse team,” Ibrahim said, talking about how each teammate possesses an array of knowledge to help answer questions across the board. “We can all look to this one person, and they got it.”
Ibrahim is currently on the wait-list for Binghamton University, where he hopes to major in history, focusing on the late Bronze Age period. The juniors look forward to returning to the team next year.
The Brainstormers said they believe it’s not so much a matter of buckling down and studying, as questions could be anything from all parts of history, mathematics, culture and so on. The team practiced speed on buzzers and the rules for different rounds, but the main strategy was relying on each team members’ penchant for trivia.
“I was really interested in math and science, Andrew really excels at history — he knows all these crazy facts in wars I couldn’t name off the top of my head — and Julia is really into art, music and pop culture,” Rashidzada said. “Julia and Andrew just dominated in the third round when we had to name all these different bands that I haven’t even heard the names of.”
Gianfalla broke down the team’s strategy with a simple ethos.
“Basically, we just go there with four really smart kids ,” Gianfalla said, “and win.”
Eric Swanson and his parents lead the Pleasantville and Shoreham-Wading River boys lacrosse teams out onto the field during the Lax Out Cancer fundraiser games April 28. Photo by Bill Landon
By Desirée Keegan
Cindy Swanson, of Shoreham, said she thought she’d never be so closely affected by cancer, but that changed when her 2-year-old son Eric was diagnosed with a rare form of the disease in March 2017.
Eric had a large tumor in his jaw, with additional bone lesions attacking his clavicle, elbow and C7 vertebrae. He was diagnosed as a multisystem Langerhans cell histiocytosis cancer patient — which affects one in 200,000 children — as the disease was attacking his lymph nodes and skin.
Eric was one of four beneficiaries of the Shoreham-Wading River 10th annual Lax Out Cancer event, which features lacrosse games, a dinner and raffle, the proceeds of which are donated to local families struggling as a result of the deadly disease.
The 2018 Lax Out Cancer fundraiser beneficiaries Port Jefferson Station’s Jackson, Miller Place’s Blake and Shoreham’s Eric. Photo by Bill Landon
“It’s very heartwarming,” Swanson said of the community support she received, especially at the April 28 event. “You always think that something like this is never going to happen to you, but it does happen to you. Things like this — it’s amazing, just the support for the kids to feel special.”
Eric is currently in the midst of 52 weeks of chemotherapy at Stony Brook University Hospital. Noted as a kind, caring kid with an infectious smile, the Shoreham resident loves playing with trucks and learning about dinosaurs, according to his mother. His favorite thing to do is pretend to be a fireman. He was walked out onto the field by two of them during the opening ceremony.
“I think that it’s a wonderful thing for the community to get together and help families in need, and we all know what these families are going through — they need all the help that they can get,” said Shoreham-Wading River Wildcat Athletic Club President Ed Troyano. “I think that it’s really a testament to this community when they give their time and contribute to the cause. When you look around today, you see the commitment and their time to put an event like this together — I’m grateful for all of the volunteers who do this year after year. I’m humbled by it.”
Blake Doyen, a 15-year-old Miller Place lacrosse player; 11-year-old Jackson from Port Jefferson Station; and 13-year-old Kaelyn McCandless from Lindenhurst were the other beneficiaries of the Shoreham-Wading River boys lacrosse game against Pleasantville, and the girls lacrosse game against Rocky Point. The boys junior varsity squad also faced off against the junior varsity team from Pleasantville.
“It’s huge to participate in the Lax Out Cancer event,” senior Shoreham-Wading River lacrosse player Tim Cairo said. “Pleasantville is a great team, and for them to come all this way for the cause today is great.”
Blake was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in February, an aggressive acute leukemia that progresses quickly and affects the lymphoid-cell-producing stem cells, in particular, a type of white blood cell called T lymphocytes, which make antibodies that help fight infection. He has started intensive chemotherapy at Stony Brook hospital, where he will receive treatment for the next three years. Blake is an energetic and enthusiastic teen who, although not able to return to school or play lacrosse for the remainder of the year, is determined to fight this disease until he wins, so that he can get back to doing all the things that he loves, according to his family.
“You always think that something like this is never going to happen to you, but it does happen to you. Things like this — it’s amazing, just the support for the kids to feel special.”
— Cindy Swanson
Jackson, a second-time beneficiary of the event, taking part in it last year, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia — a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow with excess immature white blood cells — in December of 2013. He finished his treatment and was in remission, but cancer returned. He had to undergo intense chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, according to his family, and is struggling with complications from graft-versus-host disease, a condition that occurs when donor bone marrow or stem cells attack the recipient. Jackson, noted as a lover of sports, superheroes and video games, was in the hospital from December until March and will continue his chemotherapy treatment for the next two years.
Kaelyn has been fighting brain cancer for the last two years. She has received the maximum dose of radiation and chemotherapy, but her last two scans have shown something has returned at the tumor site. Doctors are in the process of planning their next course of action on the youngest of seven children.
“I’m thankful that I can be a small part of this — to be able to give back to the community,” Shoreham-Wading River head boys lacrosse coach Mike Taylor said. “I am very happy that we are continuing such a significant event. I feel so fortunate to have such a special group of parents, and a supportive community. It is very important to me to have our athletes involved in and understand the importance of being a concerned and productive community member. It is my goal as their coach to develop these young men into strong leaders, students, employees and family members through athletics and community service events.”
Former Lax Out Cancer proceed recipients also attended the event. So far, $1,540 has been raised of the $5,000 goal through a GoFundMe page. Visit to find out more about the recipients and to donate.
Bill Landon contributed reporting
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Three of the four families were able to come out for the Lax Out Cancer fundraiser. Photo by Bill Landon
The Swanson family at the 2018 Lax Out Cancer fundraiser April 28. Photo by Bill Landon
Shoreham-Wading River's Michael Wood reaches for possession on the faceoff. Photo by Bill Landon
Shoreham-Wading River Wildcats Athletic Club President Ed Troyano welcomes a past event recipient. Photo by Bill Landon
Members of the Pleasentville boys lacrosse team present a donation during the Lax out Cancer event. Photo by Bill Landon
Shoreham-Wading River senior Tim Cairo passes the ball. Photo by Bill Landon
Shoreham-Wading River volunteers cook during the fundraiser. Photo by Bill Landon
Shoreham-Wading River's girls lacrosse team competed during the Lax Out Cancer fundraiser. Photo by Bill Landon
Shoreham-Wading River youth lacrosse players compete during halftime. Photo by Bill Landon
Baskets were raffled off as another way to raise money during the 2018 Lax Out Cancer event. Photo by Bill Landon
Kenneth Kindler, on right, leads hikers through the new Ray Corwin Trail in the Central Pine Barrens. Photo by Kyle Barr
A new Pine Barrens trail bears the name of Ray Corwin, the first director of the Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning and Policy Commission. Those who remember him said he was as calm, yet grand as the woods he loved so much.
“Ray Corwin was a friend, but he was also an inspiration,” state Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) said. “This trail is an invitation, [like he did], for people to get involved.”
Ray Corwin was the first and 17-year executive director for the Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning and Policy Commission. File photo
The Port Jefferson resident passed away suddenly in 2010 at the age of 56. People who knew him said he worked day and night for 17 years to protect the approximately 50,000 acres of the Pine Barrens core, as well as preserve the natural beauty and resources of the area.
In the late 1980’s, Corwin envisioned a trail that would go from Route 25A in Shoreham all the way down to Smith Point County Park in Shirley, according David Reisfield, president of the Long Island Greenbelt Trail Conference. Corwin was also active for more than 25 years in the greenbelt conference, a hiking and preservation group, and was the group’s vice president at the time of his death.
“We are at this point trying to bring his dream to life,” Reisfield said. “Even as we stop at Yaphank now, we will eventually work our way all the way down to Smith’s Point. We’ll bring his dream to fruition.”
Local officials and environmental advocates came together at the Ridge Trailhead to officially open the new 12.1-mile trail from Rocky Point to Yaphank bearing Corwin’s name April 28.
When years of court battles over Suffolk’s pine barrens resulted in a 1993 state law creating Long Island’s 100,000-acre pine barren preserve, environmentalist Richard Amper said there was only one man both sides trusted to oversee the new sanctuary, and that was Corwin.
“I don’t think we would have advanced the Pine Barrens cause as quickly as we did without someone like Ray Corwin.”
— Ken LaValle
State Sen. Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) said the knowledge of the jogger and veteran hiker, the first executive director of the Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning and Policy Commission, could never be replaced.
“I don’t think we would have advanced the Pine Barrens cause as quickly as we did without someone like Ray Corwin,” LaValle said. “It’s great to recognize such a great man, and even though it took eight years, it’s never too late to recognize someone who gave us so much.”
The Ray Corwin Trail connects to existing trails that start just off Route 25A in Rocky Point. The new walkthrough boasts sights of the glacial erratic boulder known as “Turtle Rock;” the Warbler Woods, which are home to more than 30 species of warblers; a pitch-pine/oak forest; a red maple/black gum swamp; and the colonial-era Longwood Estate.
“We’re a sole source aquifer and it’s so important to protect those lands, because that’s our drinking water,” said John Wernet, forester for the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Reisfield said the project took so long because those working on it had to work with the DEC, local governments and the Town of Brookhaven, much in the way Corwin did when he was alive.
The ribbon-cutting, done by state Sen. Ken LaValle, unveiled the new Ray Corwin Trail. Photo by Kyle Barr
In his past, Corwin was originally responsible for developing a management plan for protecting the 50,000 acres in the pine barrens core, which cannot be built on, and enforcing rules of that plan and state legislation for regulating development in the 47,000-acre compatible growth area. Before taking the helm of the pine barrens commission, he had worked as a computer scientist and mathematician for Grumman Corp.
“This trail epitomizes what Ray tried to accomplish,” said John Pavacic, the current executive director of the Central Pine Barrens Commission. “It’s something that took work across all areas of government, as well as local groups.”
Creating a trail, according to trail advocate Kenneth Kindler, is as much engineering, planning and maintaining as it is using the area’s natural landscape to define the trail’s shape. He said that Corwin brought environmentalists and local officials together to protect the Pine Barrens.
“I remember him telling me once that I was focused too much on ATV’s ruining the trail’s ground,” Kindler said. “He said we couldn’t alienate people — that we needed as many people as we could to get involved. That was just the type of person he was. He was a people person — he could bring people together.”
The Eagles' 5-2 victory helps them remain atop the League VI leaderboard
Rocky Point's Trey Miller attempts to steal third on Kings Park's Joe Tardino. Photo by Bill Landon
By Bill Landon
The Eagles know that if Joe Grillo has the ball, they’re in good hands.
The starting pitcher tossed seven strikeouts over six innings, not allowing a run on five hits, and walked three in the Rocky Point baseball team’s 5-2 win over visiting Kings Park April 23.
Rocky Point’s Joe Grillo hurls a pitch from the mound. Photo by Bill Landon
The senior put in work on both sides of the ball. He also went 1-for-2 with an RBI and two walks to help the Eagles remain atop the League VI leaderboard. Rocky Point sits at 8-2, while Kings Park drops to 8-5 after the first of a three-game series.
“Joe just had good stuff — he was pitching [for] contact, his pitch count was down,” Rocky Point head coach Andrew Aschettino said. “We certainly didn’t play our best baseball game today, which makes the win that much more satisfying. We’re capable of playing a more complete game. We struggled to get the blow to put the game out of reach.”
Rocky Point peppered the scoreboard across the first four innings to take a 4-0 lead into the top of the fifth, with almost everyone in the lineup contributing to the score. Grillo got on base with a walk to start things off in the first, and was brought home on a single by senior third baseman Mike Gunning. Grillo hit an RBI-single before stealing second with two outs in the bottom of the second, with sophomore short stop Dillon Cassidy on third, and after senior center fielder Ryan Callahan drew a walk to load the bases, Gunning was also walked to bring home Cassidy for a 3-0 lead. The final out was made to strand the rest of Rocky Point’s runners. After a scoreless third, junior catcher Alexander Bonacci knocked a double that drove in Callahan after he stole second for a 4-0 cushion.
Though Kings Park junior starting pitcher John Dougherty struggled early, Grillo got into some trouble of his own after allowing a single and a walk. Kings Park senior Rich Kim, who hit the single, stole third after classmate Brett Harmon’s walk to put runners at the corners, and junior Andrew Bianco brought them home with a shot deep to right field to cut the lead in half, 4-2.
Kings Park’s Garrett Bower rips the cover off the ball. Photo by Bill Landon
In the top of the sixth, the Kingsmen once again had runners on the corners with one out, but Grillo was able to force a pair of routine infield grounders to end the inning.
Junior left fielder Trey Miller hit an RBI-single that brought home Gunning after he gunned his way to third following his double to give the game its final score. the Eagles ended the game on a double play in the top of the seventh.
“Trey [Miller] coming in and getting some ground balls helped shut the door,” Aschettino said. “And we were able to close it out on our second chance at a double play, so to end it the way we did was huge.”
Grillo said even when Kings Park made it a two-run game, and despite having to pitch his way out of trouble twice, he never thought his game was in jeopardy.
“I had faith in my fielders at all times, and my arm felt good today — I felt confident the whole time,” he said. “[But we have to work on] our situational at-bats, we have to do a lot more to make better contact and if we continue to have sound pitching we’ll be there.”
Rocky Point travels to Kings Park April 25 for game two, which has a 4 p.m. start. The final game of the series is slated for 4 p.m. back on the Eales’ turf April 26.
Testing qualifies student for USA Mathematical Olympiad
Shoreham-Wading River senior Keyi Chen scored a 94.5 out of 150 points. Photo from Keyi Chen
If Shoreham-Wading River High School senior Keyi Chen wasn’t in class, he could have screamed in triumph.
Chen had taken the American Mathematical 12 math exam — one of the most prestigious and extensive national high school math exams — back in March. One text from his father told him he would move onto the next phase of the exam circuit, the American Invitational Mathematics Examination.
“When my dad texted me that I made it, I just screamed in my seat, inaudibly though,” Chen said. “Finally, in senior year, I was able to make it to the AIME.”
Shoreham-Wading River senior Keyi Chen. Photo from Shoreham-Wading River school district
Mathematical Association of America-produced AMC 12 is a nationally recognized, 25-question exam that covers all high school level math excluding calculus. Chen scored a 94.5 out of 150 points, which was within the top 5 percent of students who took the test. He has been taking other AMC tests for several years, but in March he was able to take the AIME. The tests lead all the way to the International Mathematical Olympiad.
“It was really exciting,” Chen’s father Hucheng Chen said. “We knew he had the capacity and capability, but we were still excited to learn that he had qualified.”
Keyi Chen’s math teachers were also proud of their student’s multiple math accomplishments.
“In addition to being very bright, Keyi works diligently to increase his understanding and awareness of mathematical content,” Shoreham-Wading River High School math teacher Ellen Fraser said via email. “He often comes outside of class to ask questions on material that is beyond the curriculum. He has also been practicing with released questions from past exams to prepare for the AMC.”
Chen was taught math starting at 2 years old, according to his father, who said his son was interested from a young age.
“Ever since I was little I always enjoyed numbers,” Chen said. “Starting in kindergarten I was able to do the basic math functions — addition, subtraction, multiplication and division — which you learn in second grade.”
“Ever since I was little I always enjoyed numbers.”
— Keyi Chen
His affinity for math grew, and in middle school, he was introduced to multiple math competitions. His parents helped organize his participation in these competitions.
“We tried to present as many opportunities to him as we could with math competitions in middle school,” Chen’s father said. “We had to organize them on our behalf because usually the school doesn’t do that.”
The senior said he enjoys the way that math, when distilled, starts to connect with the forces that hold the world together.
“I’ve enjoyed how you can boil down numbers — math and physics all intertwine with each other,” Chen said.
He hasn’t yet confirmed his scores with his teacher to see if he qualifies for the olympiad yet, but Chen plans to attend Johns Hopkins University and major in physics after graduation. He plans to get a doctorate
and become a college-level professor in physics and mathematics.
“I’m really interested in being a professor,” Chen said. “I like the idea of being able to apply this critical thinking and mathematical problem-solving and hopefully spread it to other young people who have the same sort of mentality.”
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