Councilwoman Jane Bonner (C-Rocky Point), right, and Park Ranger Molly Hastings at the stewardship center. Photo from Brookhaven Town
Town officials recently toured the newly reconstructed boardwalk at the Marine Environmental Stewardship Center at Cedar Beach.
The 500-foot-long loop begins and ends at the center, which is located off of the nature trail at the beach, and offers visitors two resting off shoots with benches. Visitors can stroll along the walkway to see a variety of wildlife and watch the sunset.
The boardwalk isn’t the only thing residents can see at the center. The center is open until Labor Day, Sept. 7, Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.In addition, the center is hosting a variety of summer programs open to people of all ages throughout the month of August:
The Giving Tree Aug. 8, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Discover how dependent we are on trees. Trees give us cleaner air, food, medicine, shelter and much more.
Shellfish Facility Tour Aug. 14, from 10 to 11 a.m. Tour the grow-out facility at Cedar Beach. Learn why we are giving nature a helping hand.
Marine Life Jeopardy Aug. 15, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. All ages. Play with family and friends together or as opponents; you choose. Test your knowledge of Long Island Marine life.
Nature Center Tour Aug. 21, from 10 to 11 a.m. Take a tour of the newly upgraded Nature Center. Environmental displays, touch screen interactive computers, marine tanks and touch tanks.
All programs are free and registration is required. To register call Ranger Molly Hastings at 631-751-6714 or email at [email protected]. Leave your name, number of people attending and the program name.
Karl O’Leary with his sons Cooper (left) and Cameron (right) at the Walt Whitman Birthplace ceremony this May. Photo from Karl O’Leary
By Stacy Santini
Most of us can look back on our lives and remember one person who impacted our journeys in such a profound manner that they will never be forgotten and their influence comes alive over and over again as we carry on with our daily activities.
For the pupils at Mount Sinai Middle School, that person is certain to be Karl O’Leary. An English teacher fascinated with poetry since the age of 7, O’Leary holds close the teachings of Walt Whitman and is dedicated to cultivating enthusiasm for life and thinking way outside the enclave of his classroom.
The cover of Testimonial Tales. Photo from Karl O’Leary
Coaching his students to take life on he says, “It is good to experience life and go beyond the boundaries; school is not just within four walls but about challenging themselves not for a grade but who they are, who they want to be.” O’Leary knew rather early that he couldn’t just preach this Whitmanesque philosophy. He had to and wanted to live it, to be tangible proof of his convictions. He embraces the simple life and dwells among nature as often as possible, albeit hiking Long Island’s Paumanok Path or camping for several weeks in rural New Hampshire with his family.
O’Leary is committed to the poet he admires so much by seeing, observing and listening, finding simplicity in a noisy world. He also involves his students in the numerous workshops and activities The Whitman Association offers at Whitman’s Birthplace in Huntington, encouraging fundraising and giving back.
O’Leary has published a book of poetry entitled “Testimonial Tales,” which is an ode to his wife Melanie. Meeting her through a friend, it quickly became apparent that she was “the one.” As with so many other enchanted lovers, O’Leary states, “When you know you just know.” Filling a small bed and breakfast in Cape Cod with immediate family members, they quietly exchanged their vows and began building a life together in the Village of Belle Terre. They started a family and today have two children, ages 3½ years old and 15 months.
Karl O’Leary with his wife Melanie. Photo from Karl O’Leary
The collection of poems documents their lives together — milestones, relationship transitions and daily rituals.The message is simple but strong and unalterably beautiful. O’Leary wrote Melanie a poem every week since their courtship and felt it was time to share his sentiments with the rest of the world. When he is asked specifically why he decided to publish the book, he boldly states, “For one, Melanie deserves it, my wife is everything, and two, I tell my students to be proud of their work and get it out there in the world. How could I tell them those things if I did not do the same?”
O’Leary’s goal for the future is to certainly write more, and he is eager to put together another collection with poems and prose he has written over the years. For him, publishing his work is not about fame or money but to fulfill himself, to look back and be content with himself that he did indeed try. Give of yourself, celebrate yourself were essential themes for Whitman and apparently for Karl O’Leary too. Students pay attention.
‘Testimonial Tales’ by Karl O’Leary is available at Barnes and Noble stores and at www.amazon.com.
Courtney Clasen reaches for the rim. File photo by Bill Landon
By Clayton Collier
Going through the process of choosing a college for a high school senior is tough enough, but for one student-athlete, factoring in both academics and athletics made the decision all the more difficult.
For Shoreham-Wading River’s Courtney Clasen, who committed to play basketball at Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina, the first decision to be made was whether to remain on the court or the soccer pitch.
“It wasn’t an easy decision at all,” said Clasen, who also ran track. “I’m passionate about both sports. However, I saw a future in basketball. It was hard answering coaches when I didn’t know what sport I wanted to pursue.”
Clasen’s father, Craig, said his daughter’s decision was somewhat unexpected as they had long believed she would play soccer in college.
“It was a little surprising because she had been involved with club soccer since like sixth grade,” he said. “But I’m proud of her, she’s an incredible student, she’s an incredible athlete and she worked her tail off.”
Courtney Clasen said the decision between the two sports she loved weighed on her, only becoming more difficult throughout her junior year as her passion for basketball became stronger.
Courtney Clasen races downcourt with the ball. File photo by Bill Landon
“I was an emotional basket case and I was extremely overwhelmed,” she said. “I remember breaking down in class several times my junior year because there wasn’t enough time for it all and I couldn’t make a decision.”
Opting to play Athletic Amateur Union basketball last summer, she began receiving interest from Coastal Carolina after seeing her play in a tournament in Washington, D.C.
“She’s a flat out athlete that does great things on both ends of the ball,” said Jaida Williams, the head women’s basketball coach at Coastal Carolina. “I believe her competitive edge is what made Courtney stand out above anyone else.”
Clasen said it was her official visit that convinced her to become a Chanticleer.
She enjoyed the warm weather and said it felt like home to her. Clasen recalled that she was immediately struck by the fact that the university’s mascot coincidentally wore the number 54, the same as her late-classmate Tom Cutinella, who died from a head injury in October following an on-field collision during a football game.
“I kind of stopped right in my tracks and got the chills really bad,” said Clasen of the mascot’s number, which represents 1954, the year of Costal Carolina’s founding. “No one really understood why besides my parents until my parents explained it.”
Clasen, who described herself as friendly with Cutinella, said seeing the number 54 really hit home.
“He was one of those kids that everyone was friends with,” she said.
Clasen verbally committed to Coastal Carolina in January and signed her National Letter of Intent in April. The plan for the forward is to redshirt her academic freshman year.
“It gives me a chance to get stronger and develop my game further,” she said. “It’s actually the option I prefer since I chose to play basketball over soccer in college so late.”
Williams said redshirting a year will give Clasen the opportunity to focus solely on basketball.
“During her entire career she’s been a dual-sport athlete,” Williams said. “I am excited to see the progress that Courtney will make when her focus is primarily on basketball.”
Shoreham-Wading River’s girls’ basketball head coach Adam Lievre said he is pleased to see his star athlete move on to the next phase of her life, though Clasen filled a number of roles on his squad that now need to be filled.
“She did it all,” he said. “We relied on her to be our main scorer, passer, rebounder and to block shots. We have very big shoes to fill going forward.”
As much as he enjoyed coaching the Academic All-County athlete, Lievre said it is the Clasen off the court that he will remember most fondly.
“As a person,” he said. “She is someone I would want my kids to turn out to be like.”
Jason Kontzamanys takes on Dan Losquadro on Nov. 3
Road paving is just one of the issues highway superintendent candidates will debate. File photo by Erika Karp
Jason Kontzamanys has been working in the Town of Brookhaven parks department for a decade, but the Democrat said he is looking for a new challenge, which prompted his decision to face off against Republican incumbent Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro in November.
Jason Kontzamanys is running on the democratic ticket against incumbent Republican Dan Losquadro. Photo from the candidate
In a recent interview, Kontzamanys, 45, of Port Jefferson Station, spoke about his plans for his campaign and what he would do if elected to the position. He said his years of experience working as a maintenance mechanic in the parks department and with blue-collar workers makes him the man for the job.
This is Kontzamanys’ first time running for office and the Comsewogue High School alumnus recently went back to school to earn his master’s degree in social studies education from Dowling College. He plans to obtain his doctorate in education administration and become a school administrator.
“I knew I could make a difference,” he said about accepting the nomination.
Kontzamanys said he believed the biggest issue plaguing the department is the overuse of subcontracting.
“The taxpayers should be upset as well,” he said. “The taxpayer is paying for a unionized workforce and they’re not being worked to their full potential.”
Kontzamanys began working for Brookhaven at the landfill and currently works out of the parks department’s base in Holtsville, where he helps with “all aspects of construction and maintenance,” he said. This has given him the opportunity to be versatile and get to know the whole town, he said.
He also has his Class A Commercial License to operate heavy equipment.
Bringing the subcontracted work in house is one of the first steps Kontzamanys would take to help boost the department’s morale, which he alleged is almost non-existent. He said keeping an open-door policy would also help boost spirits.
“You have to keep an open mind, because everybody has the right to be heard, whether it’s a taxpayer or an in-house union member,” he said.
Kontzamanys also said he has a vision to modernize the department and reduce the department’s debt service.
Jason Kontzamanys is running on the democratic ticket against incumbent Republican Dan Losquadro, above. File photo by Erika Karp
Losquadro, who was elected as superintendent in 2013, said in a phone interview that he disagreed with Kontzamanys’ notion that subcontracting was bad for the department and the workers aren’t being used. Losquadro said there was a tremendous backlog of work that needed to be done when he took office.
“We needed to go out and contract for that work to keep up with the volume,” he said.
He added that department crews are still responsible for responding to day-to-day complaints and completing routine work. He said the response time for services performed has greatly improved and the fixed-cost contracts gave the department the ability to attend to a high volume of work.
“I think it has been a great boon for the taxpayer,” Losquadro said.
Losquadro also responded to Kontzamanys’ claim that morale was down in the department, stating it is “exactly the opposite,” as he as tried to maintain a direct and open line to his employees.
Making the department more environmentally friendly is also crucial to Kontzamanys, he said, and he spoke about going after federal grants for solar sidewalks and solar panels on highway department land.
Looking at the big picture, Kontzamanys wants to explore additional shared services between municipalities in order to create a synergy between them. For example, collectively bidding on asphalt could help drive down the price.
“I don’t want to just manage, I want to completely transform,” he said.
A local effort to ban a popular ingredient in beauty products has support on the federal level.
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman visited Long Island recently to announce the Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015, a bipartisan federal bill that would ban cosmetics containing plastic pellets called microbeads, which are frequently smaller than 1 millimeter in diameter and are found in face washes, shampoos, beauty products and other soaps.
Because of their size, most wastewater treatment systems are unable to filter out the microbeads, so they are released into local waterways like the Long Island Sound. But microbeads accumulate toxins in the water, and fish and birds ingest them. Public health could be at risk if the fish are reeled in and eaten.
Schneiderman reported that about 19 tons of the small pellets pass through New York wastewater treatment plants each year.
Gillibrand’s bill has sponsors and co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle, most of them from the Midwest, according to a press release from the senator’s office. It is similar to a New York state-level bill of the same name, which is Schneiderman’s effort to prohibit the sale and distribution of products containing microbeads.
“These tiny pieces of plastic have already caused significant ecological damage to New York’s waterways,” Gillibrand said, “and they will continue to do so until they are removed from the marketplace.”
The state bill passed the Assembly in the last session but was not put up for a vote in the Senate, despite having more co-sponsors than the number of votes it would have needed to pass.
New York is not alone in pushing to ban microbeads — Illinois has already given them the axe, and other states are considering similar legislation.
Many local residents first heard about the issue when Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) led her colleagues to passing a law that required the county to study how a microbead ban would affect health and the economy.
She commended officials for their anti-microbead effort on the national stage.
“The threat posed by microbead waste is of national consequence,” Hahn said in the press release. “The cumbersome task of tackling this issue [from] municipality to municipality and state to state will never prove as effective as a federal approach.”
Adrienne Esposito, the executive director of the local Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said there are other effective alternatives to microbeads, such as apricot shells, salt and oatmeal.
“The public expects facial soaps and toothpaste to clean our face and teeth, not pollute our waters,” Esposito said. “Plastic microbeads pollute our waters, contaminate our fish and shellfish, and could end up back on our dinner plates. They are completely unnecessary.”
People should go through several bottles of sunscreen in one season. Using an ounce of sunscreen is ideal, as companies measure the SPF of a sunscreen by applying that amount of sunscreen to the body. Photo by Giselle Barkley
A little dab here and a little dab there. That’s usually how people apply sunscreen to their skin, according to Dr. Michael Dannenberg of Dermatology Associates of Huntington, chief of dermatology at Huntington Hospital. But with around one in five people developing skin cancer on their scalp, a dab of sunscreen isn’t enough.
Skin cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers in America, and cases for scalp cancer have increased in the past several years. While those who don’t have hair may be more prone to getting scalp cancer in comparison to those with hair, anyone can develop any form of skin cancer on this area of their body.
Squamous cell and basal cell carcinoma are common for those who are frequently exposed to the sun and those who are losing hair. Melanoma can also develop on the scalp. In 1935, one in 1,500 people developed melanoma, but the rate has since increased. Now, one in 50 people have a lifetime risk of developing melanoma.
According to Dr. Tara Huston, a surgeon in the Melanoma Management Team for Stony Brook Medicine, there will be 74,000 new cases this year of melanoma in the United States alone. Huston also said that this form of skin cancer usually requires a surgeon’s attention, as it calls for “a larger excision margin than either basal or squamous cell skin cancer.”
Huston and her team help patients with various forms of skin cancer. While dermatologists treat skin cancers like melanoma if caught early, people with more advanced stages of skin cancer may need surgery and additional treatment to recover. A patient’s lymph nodes are also examined. Lymph nodes are responsible for the drainage of certain parts of the skin. Doctors can further repair issues found from examining the nodes associated with the cancer in that area.
Sunburns, above, and increased sun exposure increase an individual’s risk of getting skin cancer like Melanoma, which accounts for four percent of cases, but 75 percent of skin cancer-related deaths according to Dr. Huston. Photo from Alexandra Zendrian
Although skin cancer of the scalp is not difficult to detect, Dr. Dannenberg says it can be missed because it is on the head. Lesions can vary based on the form of skin cancer on the scalp. Yet, it is easy to detect, especially when people receive frequent haircuts. According to Dannenberg, his office receives countless referrals from barbers and hairstylists who may find a cancerous lesion on their client’s heads.
Huston agreed with Dannenberg regarding the role of barbers and hairstylists, as a number of skin cancer lesions are identified by these professionals.
Squamous cell carcinoma appears in dull, red, rough and scaly lesions, while basal cell carcinoma appears as raised, pink and wax-like bumps that can bleed. Melanoma on the scalp appears as it would on any other part of the body — irregularly shaped, dark-colored lesions.
While sunscreen is more often associated with skin protection, dermatologists like Dannenberg also recommend protective clothing and hats. Cloth hats allow the wearer’s head to breathe while protecting the scalp. Hats with a three and a half inch or more rim offer the best protection, as they cover the head while protecting the ears and other parts of the face or neck. While people can also use straw hats, the hats should be densely woven and not allow sun to penetrate. Hats as well as sunscreen and protective clothing should be used together to provide people with the best form of sun protection.
“Nobody is completely compulsive about putting on that hat every moment they walk out the door,” Dannenberg said. “Likewise, even for people [who] are using sunscreens, people tend not to use enough of it and they don’t reapply it as often as necessary.”
One ounce of sunscreen might be hard to hold without dripping down the side of someone’s hand, but it is the amount of sunscreen people should use on their entire body. Dannenberg also says that sunscreens usually last for about three hours before people need to reapply.
Since few people follow the directions when applying sunscreen, Dannenberg as well as the American Academy of Dermatology recommend people use sunscreens with at least SPF 30. Using sunscreens with higher SPF counts means that people can under apply and still get some degree of sun and ultraviolet radiation protection.
Huston said individuals who don’t want to wear sunscreen or those with a history of tanning should seek a dermatologist and schedule appointments at least once a year to conduct a full body skin examination.
According to Huston, operating on areas of the head like the ears, nose, eyelids, lips and scalp is difficult because of the surrounding tissue.
“Reconstruction of a 2 cm defect on the nose may require multiple stages/surgeries in order to optimize the aesthetic result,” Huston said in an e-mail interview.
While some patients need skin grafts upon the removal of a cancerous lesion, Huston said, “incisions on the scalp can lead to alopecia, or hair loss along the incision line, if it stretches, and can be very upsetting to patients.”
Both Huston and Dannenberg emphasized the importance of protecting the skin and skin cancer education. Dannenberg hopes that the rates of skin cancer will decrease if people are more consistent about protecting their skin with protective attire, sunscreen and hats.
“We’ve been talking to people for years about wearing hats…telling them that as fashion always seems to follow need, that these hats are going to be coming in style,” Dannenberg said. “We’re hoping that over the next 10 or 15 years, we’ll be able to get a drop in the incidences of skin cancer.”
Exploring A 2004 Ford Explorer was stolen after its owner left the vehicle and went to an ATM on Route 112 in Port Jefferson Station on July 26 at around 1 a.m. A wallet containing credit cards was left in the car, and police said the cards were used.
Not kool, man An unknown masked man demanded money and took off with the whole cash register from the Kool Mart on Hallock Avenue in Port Jefferson Station, at around 9:20 p.m. on July 21.
Forgetful A wallet left behind at a 7-Eleven on Old Town Road in Port Jefferson Station didn’t make it back to its owner. Police said the owner reported returning to the convenience store on July 20 to find someone else took it.
Bumper cars A 51-year-old Port Jefferson Station woman was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of an incident involving property damage on July 21. According to police, the woman was driving a 2013 Chevy Traverse on July 1 in Setauket when she struck the right side of the rear bumper on a 2006 Honda minivan and fled the scene.
Shattered A resident on Main Street in Port Jefferson awoke to glass breaking at around 3 a.m. on July 26 and reported a door pane had been broken.
Knocked down A man was knocked unconscious on West Broadway in Port Jefferson at around 1:40 a.m. on July 25. Police said the man was punched in the face, fell on the pavement and struck his head. He was transported to a local hospital for medical treatment.
Not fast enough A woman who had dropped her cell phone in a Miller Place parking lot on Route 25A on July 20 reported that someone else claimed and took the phone before she returned.
Garden Road getaway A Garden Road resident in Rocky Point returned home on July 20 at around 3:30 p.m. to find the front door open and several items, including two flat-screen TVs, jewelry and an Xbox 360, stolen.
Game on At around 8:30 p.m. on July 25, a man entered a Game Stop in Centereach and demanded cash. Police said he displayed what appeared to be a weapon wrapped in a white cloth. The store clerk obliged and the man fled with cash.
Mission: Impossible At around 10:30 p.m. on July 21 an unknown person or persons broke through the wall of a Middle Country Road store in Centereach to gain entry to the adjacent shop and attempted to pry open a vault there but was unsuccessful.
Dine and dash Someone stole a leather wallet from a 2006 Toyota parked at the Suffolk Diner in Centereach at around 1 p.m. on July 20.
It’s personal A 24-year-old Middle Island woman was arrested in Selden on July 22 and charged with second-degree forgery after she forged a signature on a personal check and chased it.
Off-road thief A Clearview Avenue resident in Selden reported on July 24 that between 1 and 6 a.m. someone stole a 2005 Yamaha ATV from the backyard.
A quick DWI Police said a 22-year-old man from Setauket was arrested in Stony Brook on July 25 at 1:42 a.m. and charged with driving while intoxicated. Police said the man was pulled over driving north on County Road 97 in Stony Brook because he was speeding.
DWI crash A 23-year-old woman from North Massapequa was arrested in Stony Brook on July 24 and charged with driving while intoxicated after being involved in a motor vehicle crash. Police said the woman was driving a 2014 Nissan southbound on Quaker Path in Stony Brook at about 6 p.m. when she was involved in the crash.
Tablet grab Someone entered an unlocked 2010 Honda Civic parked at a Bentley Lane home in Stony Brook on July 25 and stole an iPad tablet. The incident occurred sometime between 5:13 and 8 p.m.
That Chase Someone stole money from the Chase bank account of someone who lives on Pheasant Court in Stony Brook. The incident happened sometime around 9:18 p.m. on July 24.
Infiniti window shattered Someone entered a locked 2012 Infiniti by shattering the rear driver side window and stole money from the car. The car was parked at World Gym in Setauket on Mark Tree Road. The incident happened sometime between 2 and 3 p.m. on July 24.
Stop & Punch Police said a woman reported that a man punched her in the face while at Stop & Shop on Route 25A in Setauket-East Setauket on July 24 at 9 p.m. She said the punch caused a cut lip.
Stop for a DWI A 32-year-old man from Medford was arrested in Smithtown on July 25 at about 2:30 a.m. and charged with driving while intoxicated. Police said he was pulled over at Route 25 and Terry Road in Smithtown after failing to stop for a red traffic light.
To the left, to the left Police said a 34-year-old man from Nesconset was arrested on July 23 at 12:07 a.m. and charged with driving while intoxicated. According to police, the man, who was driving westbound on Lake Avenue in Nesconset, was pulled over after he failed to signal left and was observed speeding.
Sloppy DWI A 20-year-old woman from Setauket was arrested in Nesconset on July 23 and charged with driving while intoxicated. Police said she was driving eastbound on Route 25 at 2:20 a.m. in a 2009 Jeep and failed to maintain a single lane of travel, driving onto the shoulder of the road.
Missing jewels Someone stole a jewelry box on the bathroom vanity of a home on Nissequogue River Road in Smithtown sometime between July 25 at 10 a.m. and July 26 at 9 a.m.
Hotel heist A woman from Madison Street in Smithtown told police she gave someone a deposit on what she thought was a six-night stay at a hotel, but the person had no connection to the hotel. The bank transfer occurred on July 17 at about 10 p.m.
Car parts jacked Tires and rims were stolen off of a 2015 Chevy parked at Enterprise Rent-A-Car on East Main Street in Smithtown on July 21 at 8:45 p.m.
A dark day Someone took Ray-Ban and red Maui Jim sunglasses and jewelry by breaking a rear driver-side window of a BMW parked at Carrabba’s Italian Grill on Smithtown Bypass in Smithtown on July 22.
School graffiti reported An unknown person made graffiti at the R.J.O. Intermediate School on Old Dock Road in Kings Park by spray-painting two walls sometime between noon and 1:49 p.m. on July 25.
Cadillac grab Someone stole a 2009 Cadillac containing property from St. Johnland Nursing Center on Sunken Meadow Road in Kings Park sometime on July 23 at 11:20 p.m. to July 24 at 8:30 a.m.
Lights out Someone damaged the left taillights of two vehicles on Ellen Place in Kings Park on July 23 sometime between 11:30 and 11:45 p.m. There have been no arrests.
Astros second baseman and catcher is originally from Kings Park
Craig Biggio and wife Patty greet the crowd at an MLB Hall of Fame induction parade. Photo by Clayton Collier
By Clayton Collier
Much like he did during his 20-year playing career, Craig Biggio left it all out on the field Sunday.
However, instead of an orange-and-white Houston Astros jersey and eye black, the former catcher and second baseman was donning a navy blue suit and a touch of perspiration seeping from his forehead on the hazy summer afternoon, with the hair above his ears just beginning to show signs of graying.
Instead of coming to bat before a packed Astrodome or Minute Maid Park, Biggio took to the podium in front of an estimated 45,000 people on the grassy plain behind the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown to accept his induction into the MLB Hall of Fame.
Grinning ear-to-ear as he began his 17-minute speech, Biggio spoke at length about the place where the journey to his now-Hall of Fame career began, “in a little town, Kings Park, New York.”
A young Craig Biggio tags out a base runner for Seton Hall University. Photo from Seton Hall
Senator John Flanagan (R-East Northport), who represents the Second Senate District, congratulated Biggio in a statement on his Facebook page saying the longtime Houston Astro is “an inspiration to young local athletes by showing them that they can achieve greatness if they work hard every day.”
Biggio, a member of the 3,000-hit club, said he acquired his work ethic from his parents, Yolanda and Lee. The seven-time All-Star’s voice became shaky as he described them: “two hard-working people who are no longer here. But I know they’re watching.’’
His father was an air-traffic controller who never missed a game. Every day, Biggio said, his father would tie a rope around his waist, then to the backstop while he threw to the young slugger during batting practice to prevent him from lunging at the plate.
“It worked,” Biggio said in his acceptance speech, hours before his plaque was installed in the MLB Hall of Fame. “But I came home every day with rope burns around my waist.”
Biggio said although sports were important, he had a number of commitments that kept him busy.
“Growing up in Kings Park, I had three responsibilities: school, sports and I had a job,” he said. “My job was I had a newspaper route.”
Baseball was not the only sport Biggio thrived in at Kings Park. The now 49-year-old was awarded the Hansen Award, recognizing the best football player in Suffolk County in 1983. Kevin Johnson, the then-assistant football coach at Kings Park, said at the time, he thought Biggio was better at football than he was baseball. Earlier this week at dinner, Johnson said he and then-Kings Park baseball coach John Rottkamp pinned Biggio down to the question of whether he thought his talents were superior in baseball or football.
“He picked the sport with the larger ball,” Johnson said with a laugh. “He thought he was a better football player at the time, too.”
Craig Biggio, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson and John Smoltz are MLB Hall of Fame inductees. Photo by Clayton Collier
Biggio had received interest from major football programs such as Boston College and Oklahoma State University, among others, but Johnson said the schools were looking at him as a punt and kickoff returner — a rough position on the body for any athlete, let alone a 5-foot, 10-inch, 165-pound high school senior.
“That’s not a safe occupation in football when you’re undersized,” Johnson said. “When we found out what colleges were going to do with him, right away we were a little nervous that he was just going to get so banged up. Then the Seton Hall scholarship fell into place.”
St. John’s head baseball coach Ed Blankmeyer, then an assistant coach at Seton Hall University under Mike Sheppard — and now Blankmeyer’s father-in-law — was responsible for recruiting Biggio to the Pirates. Blankmeyer said it was Biggio’s hard-nosed style of play, in spite of his small stature, that initially struck him.
“He played bigger than his size,” said Blankmeyer, who has amassed 688 wins in his 19 seasons as head coach of the Red Storm. “He had some outstanding skills. He could run like the wind, he could hit, he had outstanding instinct, but whether he played good or bad, you always found something good about Craig Biggio and the way he played the game. He played with an intensity; he played with a big heart. You had to go away liking the guy, that’s what it was. I just loved the way he played.”
Despite the multitude of football offers and a draft selection by the Detroit Tigers out of high school, Blankmeyer signed Biggio.
“Not many coaches can say they’ve had an opportunity to recruit and coach a big league player,” said Blankmeyer when asked about the satisfaction in knowing he signed Biggio. “But a guy who played 20 years with one organization, who played three positions, an All-Star and now a Hall of Famer? Boy I tell you, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime situation.”
A young Craig Biggio rounds the bases for Seton Hall University. Photo from Seton Hall
After Seton Hall’s catcher Tony DeFrancesco was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 1984, there was a spot to fill at backstop. Sheppard called upon his star recruit, who had experience at catcher, to move back behind the plate.
“Craig used to call himself the retriever who became a receiver because he used to chase the ball back to the backstop,” Sheppard told WSOU, Seton Hall’s student radio station. “But let me tell you, he was so fast he could chase it to the backstop and still throw the guy out at first base.”
Biggio played on a Seton Hall squad consisting of future major leaguers Mo Vaughn, John Valentin and Marteese Robinson. They would capture the Big East regular season title all three years Biggio played for the Pirates and earned an NCAA Regional bid in 1987.
Off the field, Biggio converted to Catholicism and met his future wife, Patty.
“Seton Hall is very special to us,” Patty Biggio said. “It’s where our family began. It’s the roots of our relationship.”
Sheppard’s teams prided themselves on a scrappy style of baseball. Biggio said that it was simply the culture of the athletics program at the time, playing on a field he described as a “dirty, nasty bubble.” A far cry from the current playing grounds of the well-manicured turf of Owen T. Carroll Field. Most of all, Biggio said he remembers a common phrase of coach Sheppard.
“Coach Shep’s motto was, ‘Never lose your hustle,’ which is something I took to my pro career,” he said in his speech.
“He was part of the journey,” Biggio said in his post-induction press conference. “How do you get to the Hall of Fame? You got to have a little bit of talent and a lot of people to help you along the way, and Shep was one of those people.”
Biggio was drafted in the first round of the 1987 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros, going on to play the entirety of his two-decade career in an Astros uniform.
Adam Everett, a teammate of Biggio’s from 2001 to 2007, said he learned a great deal from Biggio about how to play the game the right way.
Craig Biggio, right, is all smiles with MLB Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson as he receives his induction plaque. Photo by Clayton Collier
“There’s only one way to play, and that’s hard,” he said. “I owe a lot of my career to him and I really appreciate what he did for me.”
Biggio amassed 3,060 hits, 661 doubles and was hit by a record 285 pitches while playing second base, catcher and outfield at various points in his major league career. He also drew 1,160 walks and stole 414 bases.
What many do not know, however, is Biggio’s extensive charity work, particularly as the national spokesman for the Sunshine Kids, an organization supporting children with cancer. Biggio said his interest in helping children battling cancer came when a boy from a family on his paper route came down with leukemia.
“The Sunshine Kids are a big part of my life and one of the reasons I stayed in Houston for 20-plus years and continue to live there today,” he said.
It was because of his work with the Sunshine Kids and others that he was awarded the Roberto Clemente Award, something Johnson said is more indicative of who Biggio truly is, rather than his baseball statistics.
“I think that says more about him as a person than all the facts and figures that he amassed over the years,” Johnson said. “People have a tendency to look at what he did as a baseball player, but the Roberto Clemente award says much, much more about him as a person.”
Though Biggio has lived in Houston for more than 25 years, his impact on Kings Park is still felt.
“It’s great having an alum like Craig Biggio, because we can always refer to him to our current student-athletes as to what is possible and what can happen through hard work,” current athletic director Bill Denniston said.
The first three words of Biggio’s Hall of Fame plaque read “gritty spark plug,” an appropriate description of a player known for giving it his all in every game. In return, the game of baseball has given the local paperboy from Kings Park turned-MLB great an even greater gift, immortality.
“I gave the game everything I had every day,” Biggio said. “In baseball, tomorrow is not guaranteed, and I tried to play every game as if it was going to be my last. I want to thank the game for everything. The game has given me everything: my family, my friends, respect, but most of all memories of a lifetime.”
Brookhaven’s Youth Bureau is collecting school supplies. File photo
The start of school is right around the corner, and the Brookhaven Town Youth Bureau is making sure no student goes back empty-handed.
Through Aug. 24, the bureau is collecting back-to-school supplies at locations throughout the town, including Town Hall in Farmingville, the Highway Department in Coram, the Rose Caracappa Senior Center in Mount Sinai and all Astoria Bank branch locations.
Pens, calculators, backpacks, notebooks, lunch boxes, folders, glue and binders are among the items needed and that will be distributed to needy families. Last year, the bureau collected enough supplies to help more than 1,500 children, according to a press release from the town.
For more information or to find additional collection bin locations, visit www.brookhaven.org or call 631-451-8014.
Eight affordable rental housing parcels in the works
Veterans roll up a flag at a press conference on the Housing our Homeless Heroes initiative. The county Legislature will vote on a measure to transfer properties to create affordabe housing for homeless veterans at its Sept. 9 meeting. File photo by Rohma Abbas
Suffolk County has gained some footing in the war against veteran homelessness.
Last week, officials announced a proposal to transfer eight tax-defaulted properties over to nonprofit groups that will be charged with developing them into rental housing for homeless veterans or those who are at risk of becoming homeless. The units will be overseen and managed by the non-profit organizations.
The move is part of the Housing our Homeless Heroes legislative initiative, a package of four bills sponsored by Legislator Steve Stern (D-Dix Hills). Officials say there are about 750 Long Island veterans who are either homeless or who are expected to be homeless by the end of 2015.
In a phone interview on Monday, Stern said the county Legislature would vote on the transfer of the properties at its Sept. 9 meeting. He said he expects the resolution, which he is co-sponsoring with County Executive Steve Bellone (D), to gain unanimous support.
Stern, who is the chairman of the county’s Veterans and Seniors Committee, said in addition to housing resources, the veterans will receive additional services through these nonprofits, such as job training and placement; primary and mental health care; disability management and health care coordination; family counseling; financial training and substance abuse services.
“The Housing our Homeless Heroes initiative is the housing part of providing assistance to our veterans and families,” Stern said. “But it can never be just about four walls and a roof.”
Once transferred, the nonprofits would foot the construction bill through roughly $10 million in state and federal grant funding available for such projects, Stern said. Funding for the construction will be provided in part from the New York State Homeless Housing Assistance Program and United States Department of Housing and Urban Development HOME Investment Partnerships Program.
Two parcels in Central Islip will be transferred to the Concern for Independent Living for the construction of three single-family homes. Bay Shore-based United Veterans Beacon House has proposed to rehabilitate an existing home on a Copiague parcel, and build a single-family unit on a Yaphank parcel.
In addition, the Association for Mental Health and Wellness is proposing to build a new four-bedroom house for three senior disabled veterans and a live-in house manager on two parcels in Mastic; rehabilitate a house in Riverhead for one veteran family; and build a new set of four, single room occupancies for veterans on a parcel in Medford.
The Legislature approved the Housing our Homeless Heroes initiative last year, and Bellone signed the legislation into law just days before Christmas. The four laws tackle the issue of veteran homelessness from different angles — one establishes a partnership between agencies and community advocates that serve veterans and their families and helps them set up an informational web portal on the county’s website to direct them to services available across all levels of government and within the nonprofit sector. Another maximizes access to available housing for veterans. The third amended the county’s human rights law by adding veterans as a group of individuals protected against discrimination in housing and employment opportunities. The last bill will require a veteran services officer to work at the county’s Department of Social Services on a regular basis. The officers must be veterans as well, in order to establish a peer-to-peer relationship between those they are helping.
“As an agency committed to ensuring empowering people to overcome the impact of health and mental health disabilities, it is our intent to devote these houses to assist male and female veterans who have been affected by service-connected and post-service transition mental health challenges,” Michael Stoltz, chief executive officer of the Association for Mental Health and Wellness said in a statement. “I thank Suffolk County for partnering with our organization to further assist us in supporting our veterans.”
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