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Mount Sinai lacrosse knocks off Shoreham

by Desirée Keegan - April 7, 2015

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Mount-Sinai-boys-lacrosse-Dan-Keenan-040715_Keeganw — Mount Sinai’s Dan Keenan maintains possession and changes direction in the Mustangs’ 6-5 win over Shoreham-Wading River Tuesday. Photo by Desirée Keegan

The Mount Sinai boys’ lacrosse team is hoping its proficient experience will pave the way for the Mustangs to race off to a successful season.

With a team full of seniors, Mount Sinai head coach Harold Drumm said his players are comfortable and playing more relaxed this year.

“By doing that, I think they’re starting to get a sense of the ability that the overall team has and I think if we continue to work hard and play physical with the lacrosse ability we have, I think we’ll do really well,” Drumm said.

Mount Sinai’s R.J. Voos tries to control the loose ball as a Shoreham-Wading River defender goes to block him in the Mustangs’ 6-5 win over the Wildcats Tuesday. Photo by Desirée Keegan

Mount Sinai started off the season with a 6-5 loss to Comsewogue and bounced back with a 12-7 win over Bayport-Blue Point before falling to Miller Place, 11-3, prior to entering Tuesday morning’s game against Shoreham-Wading River.

Although the Mustangs raced ahead to an early lead, the Wildcats battled back to close within one goal twice, but ultimately couldn’t level the score as Mount Sinai walked off the field with a 6-5 victory.

“This is a great win for our program,” Drumm said. “We beat Shoreham one time in the last 11 years I think, so it’s a great win for us.”

After Mount Sinai shot off three goals in the first quarter, Shoreham-Wading River junior Jason Curran put the Wildcats on the board with 2:48 left to play in the second quarter, to bring the score to 3-1.

Coming out of the halftime break, Shoreham-Wading River went into the huddle shouting “Takeover on 3. 1… 2… 3… Takeover!” And the team tried to do just that.

With 10:32 remaining in the third, Shoreham senior Ryan Bray found the back of the net to make it a one-goal game.

Three minutes later, Mount Sinai senior Dan Bullis saw a Shoreham-Wading River defender slide away from the crease and snuck in front of the net, and lobbed the ball in past the goalkeeper for a 4-2 advantage.

Bullis followed up his goal with two assists as he first passed the ball to senior Dan Keenan on the left side of the cage who whipped it in, and then dished the ball to junior R.J. Voos with 9:50 left to play for a 6-2 advantage.

“We played pretty good, it was a quality game,” said Mount Sinai senior goalkeeper Charlie Faughnan, who made seven big saves. “I just wanted to stop the ball. I don’t really think about it and just make the saves. I felt good [between the pipes] and the defense played [well].”

Shoreham-Wading River sophomore Chris Gray scored the next two goals to pull his team within two points, and Bray added his second goal of the morning with 52.6 seconds left to play to make it a one-goal game for the second time.

Mount Sinai’s Dan Bullis, who scored a goal and added three assists, makes his way around the cage while Shoreham-Wading River’s Bobby Puckey waits prepared to make a save. The Mustangs topped the Wildcats Tuesday, 6-5. Photo by Desirée Keegan

“We turned the ball over to them four or five times in the last 10 minutes very unnecessarily, and against teams like Shoreham, it could have very easily come back and the next thing you know we lose the game by a goal,” Drumm said. “So we have to learn from all of those mental mistakes.”

Junior Shane Walker’s multiple wins in a row at faceoff kept the team in the game.

“The beginning of the game was a little rough,” Walker said. “I was a little slow, but toward the end of the game I had some big wins that helped get us the ‘W.’ I think our offense is shooting well. A few of the shots were over the pipes so I think we need to show lower a couple times, but overall it was a good game.”

Bray and Gray finished with two goals and an assist each for Shoreham-Wading River, while Curran finished with a goal and an assist. Senior goalkeeper Bobby Puckey made nine saves in the game.

For the Wildcats, Bullis scored a game-high four points off one goal and three assists, Keenan added a hat trick, senior Zack Rudolf tacked on a goal and senior Tony DiMonti rounded out the scoring with an assist, as Mount Sinai improved to 2-2 in League III. The Mustangs handed the Wildcats their first loss of the season, as Shoreham-Wading River dropped to 2-1.

“I want to look at the season game by game, and just try to play comfortable and play hard,” Drumm said. “We want to keep going and keep winning.”

This version corrects Shane Walker’s grade level and the spelling of Tony DiMonti’s name.

Kids celebrate the magic of spring

by Erika Karp - April 7, 2015

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Children were delighted by tricks and treats at the Brookhaven parks department’s Spring Happening in Centereach on April 7.

The spring celebration featured a show by magician James Amore, along with crafts, games and face painting. In addition, some talented kids paraded their best spring hats for the special occasion. Claire Wagner, 7, of Sound Beach, whose hat featured New York City’s Empire State Building, took home the best hat award.

Brookhaven Town's Spring Happening

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Brooklyn Bagels treats kids to Easter egg hunt

by Erika Karp - April 6, 2015

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The hundreds of Easter eggs scattered throughout Rocketship Park in Rocky Point were snatched up in a flash on Saturday during Brooklyn Bagels’ annual egg hunt.

Children of all ages eagerly searched the park for the treat-filled eggs, while Rocky Point’s Creative Zone offered plaster and face painting activities, and Jen Chi Faces drew caricatures.

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Father needs help funding daughter’s care after near drowning

by Elana Glowatz - April 6, 2015

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rob-kayla-marianetti_glowatzw — Rob Marianetti is raising money to help fund his daughter Kayla’s care. Photo by Elana Glowatz

A smile, a swallow or a step mean a lot to Rob Marianetti.

It was not long ago that his daughter was unresponsive, following a bathtime incident, and doctors told him there was no hope she would get better. But Marianetti isn’t giving up on Kayla, and coming up on her third birthday she can make some sounds and move her arms and legs.

“I’ve been on a mission to get my daughter back,” he said.

When she was 17 months old, while Marianetti was at work — for Setauket-based Hurricane Tree Experts — Kayla was having a bath in her Port Jefferson Station home and was left unattended for eight minutes, the father said. She was found floating and unresponsive.

Marianetti rushed to the hospital to see Kayla while doctors were working on her. He said he was trying to get into the room with her and was banging on a door to the point where a police officer had to intervene. He learned a few weeks later, he said, that his daughter came back to life while he was banging.

“She was blue and she was done. She was done — and she came back.”

Kayla spent time at St. Charles Hospital and Stony Brook University Hospital, and Marianetti and his wife — who is no longer “in the picture,” he said — got the little girl started on different therapies right away, so she would not deteriorate.

Rob Marianetti is raising money to help fund his daughter Kayla’s care. Above, Kayla before her bathtime accident. Photo from Rob Marianetti

The whole time Kayla was in the hospital, Marianetti never left her side, the father’s aunt, Susan Calvi, said: “Slept there every day.”

Out of all the nation’s experts Marianetti saw, he said, just one, neurologist Dr. Chris Sinclair at John T. Mather Memorial Hospital, encouraged him to fight.

Sinclair said he’s seen a similar case of brain injury before, in which a child was perhaps even worse off than Kayla in the beginning but after a couple of years was walking and talking.

“So I’ve seen it before but I also know how flexible, in a sense, the brain of a young child is.”

Sinclair explained that there are connections between brain cells that allow the cells to communicate with one another, and in Kayla those have become damaged. But those connections can be regrown in a developing brain.

“When someone’s so young, [the future] is a lot brighter than it would be for someone who is an adult because the brain is still developing,” Sinclair said. “I think the sky’s the limit for her.”

Kayla has multiple therapy appointments each day, whether it’s hyperbaric therapy, which involves putting her in an oxygen-rich environment; physical therapy, to move her toward sitting up, standing and walking; vision therapy, as neurological issues have made her legally blind, even though her eyes themselves are fine; or speech therapy, which is used both to teach her to communicate and to eat on her own.

“By me doing all this stuff, it’s friggin’ working, man,” Marianetti said. Kayla has stood up, laughed, swallowed a small amount of pudding and taken a few steps. “Now remember, she couldn’t move a year ago. … I have hope.”

One big hurdle for Marianetti, however, is money. He’s gone through his savings, he said, and Kayla’s therapy appointments cost $8,000 a month. Then there’s other medical costs, as well as living expenses like food, diapers and electricity.

The treatments are expensive, the dad said, but “how can I not continue what I’m doing when she’s making progress?”

He set up a fundraising page, at www.gofundme.com/n19qgc, to ask for help. As of Wednesday morning, the fund had reached $18,000.

His goal is to have Kayla at least be able to walk, talk, eat and see on her own.

“I’m not leaving her like this,” Marianetti said. “I’m going until either she gets better or I die.”

Senior class president sues school district

by Barbara Donlon - April 3, 2015

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Claims district violated his First Amendment rights

Miller-Place-Rally-for-Kyle-040215-Donlon5w — Miller Place High School senior Kyle Vetrano, second from left, was punished for ad-libbing a line during the school’s variety show last month. Photo by Barbara Donlon

A Miller Place High School student is suing the district for allegedly violating his First Amendment rights after he was punished for making an ad-libbed remark about the superintendent’s salary during a variety show.

At the Thursday, March 26 variety show, Kyle Vetrano, senior class president, appeared in a skit poking fun at the high school’s new bathroom policy, which allows one student at a time to use the bathroom in an effort to combat drug use and sales. According to the senior, he improvised the line that later got him into trouble.

“Is this what our superintendent gets paid all that money for? To write bathroom policy,” Vetrano said in the skit.

Following the remark, Vetrano said school administrators told him that he was not allowed to participate in the Friday night performance and was banned from school grounds during the show, as the line was not included in the pre-approved script.

“Kyle exercised his political speech rights, which are not to be violated by any government agency what so ever, including his own school,” Vetrano’s attorney John Ray, of Miller Place, said at a press conference held outside the high school on Thursday.

Miller Place High School senior Kyle Vetrano’s supporters rally on his behalf. Photo by Barbara Donlon

Vetrano’s mom, Christine, said the district is bullying her son, which is why they decided to take a stand and file the lawsuit.

The high school senior said he told a harmless joke with no malicious intent and was singled out by the district because it was the superintendent he made the remark about. He claims other students also veered off script, but were not reprimanded or punished.

Vetrano said he apologized to Superintendent Marianne Higuera numerous times, but was allegedly told that if he continued to bring up the situation, his senior prom, awards night and graduation privileges could be revoked.

“I think as an American in this country we have a right to freedom of speech and I’m just embarrassed that the district I have been a part of my entire life completely violated my first amendment rights,” Vetrano said.

When reached for comment, the district’s public relations firm, Zimmerman/Edelson, Inc. referred to a letter from Higuera posted on the district’s website.

According to the March 31 letter, students were made aware of the consequences for breaking the rules, which have been consistent year-after-year. Higuera said she was not present at the performance, but was advised of the ad-libbed line.

“This current ad-libbing situation is simply an issue of rules and consequences and not about me as the superintendent,” Higuera stated in the letter.

According to Higuera’s letter, the district will continue to discuss the “one-person at a time” bathroom policy.

About 50 people rallied at the press conference. They marched and held signs in support of the senior.

“What do we want? Free speech!” the crowd shouted as they marched up to the district office.

The family is suing for monetary damages, but has yet to decide on an amount, according to Ray.

“I was the only one who ad-libbed about the superintendent, but my comments were not with any mal-intent,” Vetrano said. “They didn’t call her out by name and they were part of a skit that was completely satirical and comedic in nature.”

Will Brown is leaving a lasting legacy in Albany

by TBR Staff - April 3, 2015

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Men’s coach continues to push program to new heights

Brown-Hooley-Pointw — Will Brown coaches Hooley on the sideline during a game. Photo from the University at Albany

By Clayton Collier

The University at Albany Great Danes have only been a Division I men’s basketball program since 1999, but their accomplishments in the past decade are not short-lived.

Miller Place native Will Brown Jr., who recently completed his 14th season at the helm of the men’s hoops team, has taken the program from a team initially accustomed to the lower portion of the America East standings, to one with three-straight NCAA Tournament berths and five within the last decade — the most recent of which came on the strength of a miracle, last-second 3-pointer by junior guard Peter Hooley to punch the Great Danes’ ticket to the Big Dance.

Becoming a regular in March Madness is no small task for a mid-major program like Albany, but then again, Brown is not one to balk in the face of a challenge.

Before Brown was a coach, the 43-year-old was a standout basketball player at Miller Place High School. Coached by his father, Bill Sr., Brown was never mistaken for getting preferential treatment. In fact, it was made clear that Brown was to be held to a higher standard than his teammates.

“It’s hard when you’re in tenth grade and your dad kicks you out of practice and you have to call your mom to pick you up,” Brown said.

The coach said it wasn’t until he began leading his own team that he fully understood that his father was pushing him in order to reach his max potential.

“Bill Brown was an amazing coach,” Miller Place athletic director Lisa Lally, who coached girls’ basketball while Bill Brown was the boys’ head coach, and taught Will Brown when he attended the school, said. “He knew what his son was capable of, what potential he had, and I think he pushed Will. I think there were probably some very interesting times around that dinner table after practice.”

To prevent such interesting times, Brown’s mother Diane implemented a house policy: leave the arguments from practice in the gym.

“We weren’t allowed to talk hoops, that was mom’s rule,” Brown said. “But very rarely did we pay attention to that rule.”

Will Brown discusses plays with his Great Danes during a timeout. Photos from the University at Albany

As Brown progressed in high school, he began to see recruiting interest from major college programs like the University of Notre Dame and Seton Hall University. At the end of his sophomore year however, Brown found himself laboring more and more to continue to complete practices that once came easier to him. He began losing weight dramatically — something was wrong.

Brown was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at the beginning of his junior year of high school, at one point causing him to miss six or seven weeks of school. The fluctuation in weight wreaked havoc on Brown’s energy level and subsequently, his ability to practice.

Per doctor’s orders, Brown sat out of soccer season for his junior and senior years and committed himself to getting his weight up in order to be able to participate in basketball.

Brown Sr. said he found himself in a difficult situation, as he was hesitant to push his son, given his condition.

“It’s almost like you’re walking on eggshells; it was hard as a parent,” Brown Sr. said. “You want to push him, but you don’t want to push him. I had to use him as a guide. I listened to what he told me.”

Brown told his father he wanted to get to work.

“When he said ‘dad can we go up to the gym?’ that’s when we went. I would never say ‘Hey Will, let’s go and work out;’ I let him come to me,” Brown Sr. said. “I would say ‘let’s call it quits’ and he would say ‘no, let’s do a little more.’”

Brown committed to the University of Pennsylvania to play basketball, but transferred to Dowling College to be closer to home after another bout with Crohn’s disease. Brown continued to work diligently to maintain his weight and finished his collegiate career with more than 1,000 points and 500 assists.

Upon graduation, Brown’s parents assumed he would get a regular, nine-to-five job. Instead, Brown followed in his father’s footsteps and entered the world of coaching, and shot rapidly up the ranks. Beginning as an assistant coach at the College of Saint Rose, Brown moved on to his first head coaching job at Sullivan County Community College, where he compiled a 90-10 record in three seasons.

Soon thereafter, Brown was hired as an assistant on Scott Beeten’s coaching staff at Albany. Beeten would be reassigned from the head coaching position just before conference play in December of 2001. The University named Brown, at just 29 years old, interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

“I thought I had it all figured out, I never understood why coaches weren’t successful,” he said. “I quickly learned when you’re an assistant, it’s easy to make suggestions. When you move one seat over, you have to make the decisions.”

Now, 14 seasons later, Brown has made Albany a nationally recognized name. Five NCAA tournament berths and 215 wins later, Brown has taken his “baby” to never before seen heights.

This past season was one to remember, in particular, for Brown’s Great Danes. Conference season began with the tragic news that Peter Hooley’s mother, Sue, had taken a turn for the worse in her battle with cancer.
Hooley flew home to his native Australia to be with his mother in her final moments, missing nearly a month of the basketball season. Upon his return following her passing, coach Brown found himself experiencing a similar dilemma to his father many years ago, although his and Hooley’s situations were vastly different, in terms of reintroducing a star player back into basketball following hardship.

“The tough part for me was that I like to ride my captains and my better players pretty hard. I get after them; I challenge them. Peter is no different,” Brown said. “But I did find myself kind of trying to lay off Peter a little bit, give him some space and some time.”

Hooley said Brown allowing him to work at his own pace was helpful in allowing him to get himself refocused on basketball.

“He’s been a father figure over here in every way,” he said. “I think coming in he knew what I was dealing with back home and he checked in on me every single day. He almost knows what it is like to be in that situation. It certainly helps me to keep going.”

Albany went 8-0 in Hooley’s absence. In the conference tournament, with Hooley back on the court, the Great Danes found themselves in a familiar location — the America East championship game against Stony Brook University.

Down by two with seconds to go and Stony Brook out of timeouts, the Great Danes had the ball. Hooley drained a 3-point basket to win the game for Albany, 51-50, off an offensive rebound, and punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. Hooley, who pointed to the sky after the buzzer sounded, said he had his mother to thank for the ball reaching the net in the final moments.

“That ball shouldn’t have been kicked to me,” he said. “There’s no way that that should’ve fell to me; there’s no way they should have had no time-outs; there’s no way that ball should have made it to me to get a shot off. Everything was set up perfectly and what mum would’ve wanted.”

With their season completed following a 69-60 loss to the University of Oklahoma in the second round of the NCAA tournament, Brown and the Great Danes set their sights on next year. With so much success, one could see Brown as a larger than life figure, but his father still fondly remembers those early days in the gym.

“Just to be there when these arenas are owned with 15-20,000 people, and you have all the glitz and the glamour, and you have all the national news there,” Brown Sr. said of seeing his son coach in the Big Dance. “As a father you sit back, and to this day, I look down, I see Will, and I still see a kid from Miller Place.”

Police blotter: Suffolk County incidents and arrests, March 23-29

by TBR Staff - April 1, 2015

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Dodge ATM
On March 27, a resident of Market Street in Port Jefferson Station reported that a wallet had been removed from a 1997 Dodge Ram.

Dial S for stolen
Two unknown males stole a cell phone from a victim on Main Street in Port Jefferson Station. According to police, the incident occurred at around 4:30 a.m. on March 27.

Unlocked
A resident of Lincoln Avenue in Port Jefferson Station reported cash had been stolen from a wallet that was left in an unlocked 1997 Honda on March 25.

Jeepers!
A 2011 Jeep was stolen from a residence on Crescent Drive in Port Jefferson Station. Police were notified of the grand larceny on March 25.

Tased and confused
A 48-year-old Port Jefferson man was arrested for resisting arrest and criminal possession of stolen property on March 29. Police said the man was found at 7-Eleven on Old Town Road in possession of a stolen 1994 Jeep Wrangler, and lunged at an officer when confronted. The officer deployed their TASER.

Faking it
A resident of Thames Street in Port Jefferson Station fell victim to identity theft, and notified police on March 23 that an unknown person had used personal info and made financial transactions.

Keg stand
An unknown person or persons removed an empty beer keg from Port Jefferson-based Schafer’s storage yard on March 25.

Needed directions
An unknown person took a GPS, cash and paperwork from an unlocked 2008 Honda on Sheep Pasture Road in Port Jefferson on March 24.

Double the drugs
A 25-year-old Port Jefferson Station man was arrested in Port Jefferson on drug charges on March 26 after police found him seated in a 2004 Chevy with an electronic smoking device that contained marijuana. In addition, police discovered cocaine in his possession.

Off-roading
A 48-year-old Mount Sinai woman was arrested on multiple charges on March 25, after police said she drove a 2002 Mercury Mountaineer in reverse and into a neighboring home on Osborne Avenue in Mount Sinai. The woman was charged with reckless driving, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief.

Feeling deflated
A woman reported her 2005 Honda Accord’s two rear tires had been punctured while parked outside the Applebee’s on Route 25A in Miller Place. The incident occurred on March 23.

We’ve been hit!
A resident of Rockledge Court in Rocky Point reported their home had been struck with several paintballs and a window screen had been broken on March 29 between 11:15 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.

Master of disguise
A 32-year-old Rocky Point man was arrested on a false impersonation charge on March 27. Police said the man, who did not have his license on him, was stopped at Prince Road and Harding Street for a traffic violation and gave police a false name.

Smashed
A resident of Harrison Avenue in Centereach reported the window of a 2000 Chrysler had been smashed at some point between March 25 and March 26.

DWI on road to Independence
Police arrested a 53-year-old Centereach man in Selden for aggravated driving while intoxicated after he was involved in a March 29 car crash by Independence Plaza.

Rockin’ Robin
Four Selden residents were arrested on March 27 for criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell. According to police, three men, ages 31, 34, and 43, and a woman, age 33, were arrested at a residence on Robin Road. The defendants had heroin in their possession.

Civic responsibility
A 1997 Honda Civic parked at a residence on Hawkins Road in Centereach was discovered stolen between March 28 and March 29.

Thief won’t listen
Numerous headphones were stolen from the Centereach CVS on Middle Country Road on March 28 between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Out of the closet
Two unknown males broke into an apartment on Stanley Drive in Centereach and took items from a bedroom closet on March 23. According to police, the complainant said the men had a handgun and fled through the front door in an unknown direction.

Bad reality check
A 37-year-old man from Brentwood was arrested at the 4th Precinct in Smithtown on March 28 and charged with issuing a bad check while knowing he had insufficient funds. Police said he wrote a bad check to Side Lumber & Supply Co. The man was arrested at about 10 a.m.

Disenchanting
A 25-year-old man from Islip was arrested in Smithtown on March 26 and charged with petit larceny. Police said the man stole Magic the Gathering cards from a location on Route 454 in Islandia on Jan. 28.

Driving outside the lines
A 23-year-old woman from Centereach was arrested in Commack on March 28 and charged with driving while intoxicated. Police said that at about 2:30 a.m. she was driving a 1999 Dodge on Route 14 in Commack when police pulled her over for failing to maintain her lane.

Inn trouble
A 19-year-old man from Brentwood was arrested in Commack on March 28 at 12:30 a.m. and charged with two counts of grand larceny in the fourth degree. Police said he stole more than $1,000 in cash from someone’s wallet at the Commack Motor Inn and stole a credit card from a different person at the inn. He was also charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.

Cut short
Police said a 38-year-old man from Bay Shore was arrested in Commack on March 28 and charged with third-degree burglary. Police said the man stole razors from Costco on Garet Place after being prohibited from entering the store.

Identity stolen, phones purchased
An unknown person used the identity of a Larson Avenue man from Smithtown to purchase cell phones and equipment from Verizon Wireless worth more than $2,400. The crime was reported to happen sometime on March 28 at 7:30 p.m.

Not so safe
A safe was looted on March 28 at Developmental Disabilities Institute on Hollywood Drive in Smithtown. The cash belonged to the residents of the location.

Window damaged
An unknown person threw a bottle of wine through the rear window of 3 Guy’s Hobbies on Lawrence Avenue in Smithtown. The incident was reported to police on March 28 at 3:05 p.m.

Egged
A Roy Drive home in Nesconset was egged, according to police. The incident was reported on March 29 at 10 p.m.

Mean streets
An incident of road rage took place in St. James on March 25. Police said a male complainant reported that he was driving west on Route 347. As traffic was merging, someone cut him off, he said, and a shouting match between both drivers ensued. The other driver threatened to kill the complainant and then drove away.

Gimme my pizza
Police said two men were arrested in connection to an incident that occurred at Little Vincent’s pizzeria on New York Avenue on March 29. At about 1:29 a.m., a 20-year-old from Commack was arrested and charged with criminal mischief, with intent to damage property, after he punched the front door of the pizzeria after being asked to leave. A 20-year-old from Smithtown was also arrested in connection to the incident and charged with second-degree obstructing governmental administration, as he tried to obstruct officers making an arrest.

Check it
A 34-year-old woman from Melville was arrested in Huntington on March 28 at the 2nd Precinct and charged with third-degree grand larceny. Police said that between Nov. 1 at noon and Dec. 31 at noon, the woman attempted to steal money by altering checks.

What a pill
Police said a 31-year-old man from Huntington was arrested in Huntington and charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. Police said that on the corner of New York Avenue and Gerard Street, on March 27 at 8:26 a.m. he was driving a 2004 Jeep with a suspended or revoked license. The man also possessed prescription pills without a prescription.

Busted with drugs
A 22-year-old woman from East Northport was arrested in Huntington Station and charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and loitering. Police said she was loitering at about 11:55 a.m. on March 26 at a location on West Jericho Turnpike, where she was later arrested. She was also found in possession of heroin.

Fake checks
An unknown person took two checks from a Huntington female complainant, forged signatures without permission and attempted to cash them sometime between March 16 at 9 a.m. and March 18 just before midnight. The incident was reported on March 28.

7-Eleven brawl
A male complainant reported that he and another man got into a verbal dispute at 7-Eleven on New York Avenue in Huntington. Both men fell to the ground and got into a fight, and both were transported to Huntington Hospital. The incident was reported on March 26 at 7:40 a.m.

Items stolen
An unknown person entered a 2005 Toyota Tundra on Joseph Court in East Northport and stole sunglasses, a GPS and cash sometime between March 21 at 8 a.m. and March 29 at 8 a.m.

Missing jewelry
Police said assorted jewelry was stolen from a home on Dalton Lane in East Northport sometime between 9 a.m. on March 24 and noon on March 25.

Purse taken
Someone removed a purse containing cash, a driver’s license and a credit card from a 2009 Honda Pilot parked on Croley Street in Greenlawn. The incident was reported on March 28 at 8:23 p.m.

Rocky Point nixes green building tax exemption

by Erika Karp - April 1, 2015

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RockyPointBOE-102714-KARPw — Rocky Point school board trustee, John Lessler, middle, said he wanted to further review the financial effects of the exemption. File photo by Erika Karp

Green buildings in Rocky Point are no longer eligible for a school tax exemption.

Just three months after the Rocky Point school board granted a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — commonly known as LEED — buildings tax exemption, the board voted to withdraw it.

Trustee Melissa Brown made the motion, which passed 4-1, shortly after 11 p.m. at the school board meeting on March 23. Trustee Scott Reh, who voted for the exemption in December, cast the single dissenting vote.

Brown said she made the motion in light of the “uncertainty of our financial future.”

It was the second time a motion was made to rescind the exemption.

The first time was in January, when Trustee John Lessler wanted to further review the financial ramifications the exemption would have on other taxpayers.

Lessler’s motion failed, 3-2, with him and Trustee Sean Callahan voting in the minority. The two trustees had originally voted against the tax break.

At the time, Lessler said he believed it was a property owner’s private decision to build to LEED standards and not one that should be subsidized by the school district.

The exemption applies to residential and commercial buildings.

“It’s a heavy implication in the future if more and more of these homes do it,” he said.

Depending on the level of LEED certification, property owners could have avoided paying school taxes for a certain number of years. New buildings with the highest level of LEED certification would have been exempt for the first six years, then would have received reduced taxes in the following four years.

The state enacted the LEED exemption program in 2012, authorizing local municipalities and school districts to grant the exemption. In 2013, Brookhaven Town crafted its own tax break based on the state initiative. The town has yet to receive any applications for the exemption, according to Jim Ryan, Brookhaven’s tax assessor.

Rocky Point would have been the first area school district to offer the exemption. Neighboring districts such as Miller Place, Shoreham-Wading River, Mount Sinai, Comsewogue, Port Jefferson and Middle Country have not filed to offer the exemption, according to The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.

Rocky Point resident Danny Andersen brought the program to the district’s attention last year and urged the board to adopt it. Andersen could not be reached for comment regarding the board’s decision.

Board President Susan Sullivan, who voted to adopt the exemption and to rescind it, said the board could revisit the matter in the future once it receives more information. The school district has granted tax exemptions in the past, including last year’s veterans tax exemption. Under that program, veterans get a certain reduction in their school taxes and other taxpayers make up the difference.

Miller Place BOE adopts budget

by Barbara Donlon - April 1, 2015

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Retirement incentive offered to teachers

Marianne-Higuera-Miller-Place-BOE-Donlon1w — Superintendent Marianne Higuera discusses the proposed budget at a school board meeting. File photo by Barbara Donlon

Eight veteran teachers from the Miller Place school district will take advantage of a recently approved retirement incentive, according to district Superintendent Marianne Higuera.

The teachers are set to retire at the end of this school year, and will be given a one-time lump sum of $20,000, according to the agreement reached between the district and the Miller Place Teachers Association at the end of February.

“We wish them the best as they begin to not set their alarm clock,” Higuera said in an interview following a March 25 school board meeting.

In order to receive the incentive, the teachers must be at least 55 years old, a full-time salaried district employee and have served a minimum of 10 years in the district and the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System. They’ll be eligible to receive any applicable contractual retirement benefit, as well.

According to Higuera, the school district plans on replacing each position with a new hire as long as the budget, which the school board adopted on March 25, is approved. While she wouldn’t name the teachers retiring, Higuera said they work in the art, music, speech and elementary fields. It is unclear what sort of savings, if any, the district will enjoy from the retirements.

The adopted 2015-16 budget, which will be up for a vote on May 19, stays within the district’s tax levy increase cap of 2.85 percent.

If the district’s total assessed property value stays flat, residents will see a tax rate of nearly $260 per $100 of assessed value, an increase of a little more than $7 from the current year.

The proposed $70 million budget increases are just shy of $1 million from the current year, and all programs are maintained. In addition, the district will add new instructional initiatives, student support services and extracurricular activities. New courses, such as sports medicine, a performance class and an English elective will be offered.

The district will also implement an English language learners program, for students whose primary language is not English. According to the district, there are 25 students who speak 11 different languages and the program is catered toward those students.

According to a budget presentation, the district will increase its contribution to its capital fund by $50,000 to bring the total yearly contribution to $150,000. The monies will be used for future capital project work.

The budget also allocates for a one-time payment of $32,673 for a food services software program, as the district still uses pen and paper to track lunch purchases.

Earlier this year, board President Mike Unger said he was pleased the district stayed within the tax cap, while still maintaining programs and staff.

“This is all due to the fiscal excellence of our district and sheds light on the collaborative relationship we share with our valued employees and partners in education,” Unger said. “This is a great budget for the students, parents, staff and taxpayers.”

State’s budget comes with new education regulations

by Erika Karp - April 1, 2015

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Cuomo_StonyBrook5w — File photo by Erika Karp

Just a few hours before the New York State Legislature approved the state’s 2015-16 budget, which includes a number of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s education reform initiatives, school districts across the North Shore finally got to know how much aid they’ll receive next year.

The state aid runs showed districts getting more than they expected, since many budgeted around a 1.7 percent increase. Earlier this year, Cuomo (D) announced state aid would only increase by $377 million — a 1.7 percent increase from this year — if his state education reforms didn’t pass the Legislature.

And while not all of the initiatives passed, a few did, so the aid increased by about $1.4 billion statewide.

“This is a plan that keeps spending under 2 percent, reforms New York’s education bureaucracy, implements the nation’s strongest and most comprehensive disclosure laws for public officials and makes the largest investment in the upstate economy in a generation,” Cuomo said in a statement.

But not all were convinced the education initiatives would reform public schools.

The Education Transformation Act of 2015 amends the teacher evaluation system, changes the time to gain tenure from three to four years and creates two designations for failing schools. The hot-button item, though, was the teacher evaluation system.

Under the act, the State Education Department will develop a new teacher evaluation system by June 30, which school districts will then have to locally negotiate and enact by Nov. 15 in order to receive their allotted aid. The system also includes a component based on students’ performance on the state’s common core-aligned tests. The evaluation system was last changed in 2013.

In a phone interview on Wednesday morning, Middle Country Central School District Superintendent Roberta Gerold, who is also president of the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association, said she believed the change to the system was misguided, and wished elected officials would have learned that “rushing into a system that doesn’t have details attached” — as was the case in 2013 — doesn’t work.

Some Assembly members said they shared Gerold’s concerns.

Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) voted against the Education, Labor and Family Assistance State budget bill, which Cuomo issued on Tuesday with a message of necessity. When asked about the reforms, Englebright immediately interjected, “they are not reforms,” he said.

He said he voted against the measure because it was unclear as to how it would impact students.

“[It] doesn’t mean we can’t make improvements, but those improvements need to make sense,” he said.

Englebright strayed from his fellow party members by voting against the bill, which he said was a difficult decision.

“The people who sent me [to Albany] are the ones who I finally had to vote in accordance with,” he said.

Assemblyman Andy Raia (R-East Northport) said in a press release the education measure “takes away local control and is downright insulting to principals, administrators and teachers.”

While most North Shore Assembly officials voted down the education component, Mike Fitzpatrick (R- St. James) voted yes. In a phone interview Wednesday, Fitzpatrick said he stood by his decision.

He said he believed the reforms would bring more accountability to the system, which needed to be reformed. Fitzpatrick also said the amendments take away some of the New York State United Teachers union’s power. The union referred to the changes as a disgrace and the evaluation system as a sham.

“Good teachers, and they know who they are, they don’t have anything to worry about,” Fitzpatrick said.

Rohma Abbas contributed reporting.

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