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Village Times Herald

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From left, Hip Hop Legends Half-pint (Son of Bazerk) and DJ Johnny Juice (Public Enemy) will participate in the next TeachRock training workshop for local teachers at LI Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame. Photo courtesy of LIMEHOF

As part of the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHoF) partnership with rock and roll legend Steven Van Zandt’s TeachRock organization announced earlier this year, LIMEHOF will host the second in a series of free TeachRock workshops for teachers sponsored by Harmony Insurance at LIMEHOF’s Stony Brook location, 97 Main Street, Stony Brook, on Sunday, October 15 from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

These workshops are free (registration required) for teachers in the Long Island and New York City area. This workshop has a 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop theme and Hip-Hop artists Half-Pint from Son of Bazerk and DJ Johnny Juice from Public Enemy have recently announced they will participate. Both artists also have backgrounds in education.

“TeachRock champions the integration of arts in public education through a groundbreaking, transformative methodology, promising a paradigm shift for generations to come,” said Tom Needham, LIMEHoF’s Educational Programs Director. “This approach can propel high school graduation rates and foster lasting change.”

These are free workshop events, sponsored by Harmony Insurance, open to local area teachers with registration. Teachers can register on TeachRock’s workshop registration page https://teachrock.org/LIMEHOF/.

The workshops will be taught by TeachRock Star Teacher Stephanie Arnell who is a veteran Freeport Public Schools educator who has helped her district embrace arts integration and had fun doing it! She’s excited to share her tips and the free TeachRock lesson plans she uses with local educators. All attendees are granted free access to the museum following the event and are eligible for NY CTLE credits through TeachRock.

“We are so excited to have two of Long Islands Hip-Hop icons join us in discussing the dynamic growth of rap music, culture and sampling since the early days of the art. These legends share their stories and experiences from the 80s to present,” said Arnell. “Looking at curriculum through a musical lens keeps students engaged while they don’t even realize they are learning. For example, learning the history of MLK Day through Stevie Wonder’s song “Happy Birthday” or using data from Beyonce’s Instagram account to practice calculating ratios.  I’ve seen in my classroom the way students’ gravitate towards TeachRock lessons and I’m excited to spread that enthusiasm to teachers and students on Long Island.”

Launched in 2002 by Van Zandt and the Founders Board of Bono, Jackson Browne, Martin Scorsese, and Bruce Springsteen, TeachRock.org provides free, standards-aligned resources that use music to help K-12 students succeed in science, math, social studies, and language arts, among other subjects. TeachRock improves students’ lives by filling every classroom with the sound, stories, and science of music. Nearly 60,000 educators—representing all 50 states—are registered at Teachrock.org.

“TeachRock teachers don’t tell kids to take out their earbuds, they ask them what they’re listening to and then make connections between their favorite music and the core curricula they need to master to succeed in life,” said TeachRock founder Steven Van Zandt. “This partnership will help my TeachRock team create more of those educators whose cool class keeps kids coming to school.”

The workshops are made possible by Harmony Insurance. “Harmony Insurance is proud to sponsor TeachRock’s Long Island Music Workshops for teachers, aiming to inspire and educate through music,” Harmony Insurance said in a statement.

“We’ve seen for years how the shared interest in music helps forge connections between teachers and students, and every year we witness how arts-integrated math, science, and social studies classes pull students from the margins and inspire them to participate,” said Bill Carbone, TeachRock Executive Director. “We’re thrilled to partner with LIMEHOF to help as many LI teachers as possible get excited about inspiring their students through the arts.”

For more information about LIMEHoF’s education programs please visit https://www.limusichalloffame.org/teachrock/

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Safety Town. Photo from TOB

In participation of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s National Teen Driver Safety Week, the Brookhaven Highway Department will be offering a Teen Driver Safety Program at Safety Town in Holtsville on Thursday, Oct. 19, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Teenagers 15 and older and their parents are invited to participate in an interactive experience exhibiting the dangers of texting or drinking and driving. During this intense, real-life program, certified instructors with many years of defensive driving and accident investigation experience will talk with participants about the importance of developing safe habits when traveling the roadways. Teens will then use electric cars to complete obstacle courses designed to simulate driving while texting and impaired. Pre-registration is required.

“Programs such as this are crucial in showing young, new drivers the tremendous threats drunken or distracted driving can create,” said Brookhaven Town Highway Superintendent Daniel P. Losquadro. “We want to make sure students understand that when they’re behind the wheel of a car, it is entirely within their control to prevent a tragic accident caused by driving while distracted or impaired.”

Located at the Holtsville Ecology Site, 249 Buckley Road in Holtsville,  Safety Town is a miniature village with an indoor and outdoor educational facility. Throughout the year, Safety Town hosts bicycle safety rodeos, car seat inspections, teen distracted driving programs, and defensive driving classes.

Call 631-451-5335 for more information or to register.

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Dr. Harold Paz. File photo by Stony Brook Medicine/Jeanne Neville

Two years after he joined Stony Brook University as executive vice president for health sciences, Dr. Harold “Hal” Paz is no longer one of the most senior members of New York State’s southern flagship university staff.

An internal SBU announcement that went out Friday, Oct. 6, from the office of President Maurie McInnis indicated that Paz, whose page on the Renaissance School of Medicine website no longer links to information about him, will be replaced on an interim basis by Dr. William Wertheim.

Wertheim joined Stony Brook in 1996 and had been serving as the vice dean for graduate academic affairs at the Renaissance School of Medicine, where he had previously been interim dean.

Wertheim is also an Endowed Chair in Graduate Medical Education at the School of Medicine and is president of the Stony Brook Medicine Community Medical Group.

While Stony Brook didn’t offer a reason for Paz’s departure, officials indicated it is “not our practice to discuss personnel matters.”

Paz had come to SBU from The Ohio State University, where he was executive vice president and chancellor for health affairs and chief executive officer of the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center.

Paz, who was Chief Executive Officer of Stony Brook University Medicine, reported to McInnis and was a member of her senior leadership team.

When Stony Brook announced that executive vice president and provost Carl Lejuez joined the university in May 2022, the university signaled that Lejuez would work collaboratively with Paz.

Paz had also been working with academic, hospital and clinical leadership and with community partners in his role.

The announcement of Paz’s departure from SBU, which came two years and two days after his official start date, did not include a list of any of Paz’s achievements, initiatives or contributions to the university.

Before joining The Ohio State University, Paz was the executive vice president and chief medical officer for CVS Health/Aetna, serving as a leader in the company’s domestic and global businesses. He also served as dean of the College of Medicine at Pennsylvania State University and CEO of the Penn State Hershey Medical Center and Health System.

Paz had succeeded Dr. Kenneth Kaushansky, who retired as senior vice president of health sciences, in June 2021.

Paz serves on the National Academy of Medicine Leadership Consortium, the board of directors of Research America and the Curai Health advisory board.

In April, Paz was appointed to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Accelerating Treatments and Improving Quality of Life committee.

Wertheim’s tenure

Wertheim started his Stony Brook career by leading the Medical Consult Services. He later served as associate program director and director of the primary care track of the Internal Medicine residency, then Internal Medicine residency program director, and then executive vice chair of the Department of Medicine and associate dean for clinical outreach.

Wertheim has also served as the president of the medical staff at Stony Brook University Hospital.

Wertheim graduated from Harvard University and New York University School of Medicine. He completed his residency at the University of Michigan Hospitals, where he served as chief resident.

Wertheim worked as a clinical faculty member at the University of Michigan’s Veterans Administration Hospital. In New York, he worked at The Brooklyn Hospital Center.

The letter from the president’s office announcing the changes urged the community to “join us in congratulating Dr. Wertheim on his appointment and welcoming him to his new role.”

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Dr. Susan Hedayati, right, and Dr. Peter Igarashi attend the ASCI/AAP meeting in Chicago Spring 2023. Photo courtesy Hedayati

She is bringing two important parts of an effective team back together.

Dr. Susan Hedayati — pronounced heh-DYE-it-tee — recently joined the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University as vice dean for research. Hedayati was most recently a professor of medicine and associate vice chair for research at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Hedayati plans to help improve Stony Brook Medical School’s national and international reputation by coupling frontline research with translational and patient-oriented care and studies.

The combination of a research and clinical care focus will provide for the “betterment of the health of Long Island population of patients,” Hedayati said.

In addition to enhancing clinical care, such an approach would “facilitate funding of investigator-initiated [National Institute of Health] grants and aid in the recruitment and retention of excellent M.D.-investigators,” she explained in an email.

She said she is eager to build an institutional clinical trials infrastructure that would involve a dedicated research support team.

Adding Hedayati to the medical school faculty at Stony Brook University, where she will also serve as the Lina Obeid chair in biomedical sciences, also brings two prominent kidney specialists who have different approaches to their work back together again.

Dr. Peter Igarashi, dean of the Renaissance School of Medicine and a nationally recognized nephrologist, had recruited and collaborated with Hedayati when she joined the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center after winning first place in a clinical research award at the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation Young Investigator Forum.

When Igarashi first met Hedayati as a judge of the fellowship competition, he suggested that her expertise stood out clearly.

“She has enormous content expertise in the field of nephrology and internal medicine more broadly,” he said.

He was also impressed with her “passion” for research and her “devotion to patients and research,” which has also made her a “perfect fit” for her current position at Stony Brook University.

Combining research and clinical care will enable SBU to provide one-stop shopping at facilities like the specialty practices in Commack and the one recently opened in Lake Grove in the former Sears building at the Smith Haven Mall, he said.

Patients can receive clinical care at the same time that they can enroll in clinical trials for potential treatments of some conditions.

Hedayati “set that up at the University of Texas at Southwestern, and I’m hoping she’ll be able to grow that capability here,” Igarashi said.

Igarashi also described Hedayati, who was offered the job after a committee conducted the search, as “personable and likable.”

Complementary strengths

Igarashi described the different research approaches he and Hedayati take as “complementary” strengths.

Igarashi’s research is basic, wet lab science, while Hedayati has focused on translational and clinical research.

Their backgrounds will “be very helpful for elevating the entire research enterprise, not only in basic science but also in clinical and translational research,” Igarashi noted.

For her part, Hedayati suggested that her short-term goal is to build the physical infrastructure for clinical research and clinical trials.

Such efforts will require a clinical research staff infrastructure composed of research coordinators, research managers, regulatory personnel and biostatisticians.

“I’m hoping that, within a year, we’re going to be making some big strides in those directions,” Hedayati said.

She also hopes to build upon the existing medical scientist training program for M.D./Ph.D. students to establish a physician training program for residents to retain M.D. investigators in academic and biomedical research careers. That, she suggested, is a pool that is dwindling nationally.

Ongoing research

Hedayati, who is transferring most of her grants to Stony Brook, plans to continue conducting her own research.

She has been studying the link between chronic kidney disease, which affects about one in seven people, and other conditions, such as premature cardiovascular disease, susceptibility to depression and the role of inflammation.

“This is an area that’s prevalent, but understudied,” said Igarashi. 

She is searching for nontraditional biomarkers associated with kidney function decline, especially in patients with heart failure.

Patients with heart failure are at increased risk of acute and chronic kidney failure.

Igarashi is confident that Stony Brook’s new vice dean for research will serve patients on Long Island and beyond.

“She would not have taken this job unless we assured her that she would be able to continue to see patients in the clinic as well as in the hospital,” said Igarashi. “That is a core value for her.”

Echoing those sentiments, Hedayati suggested she has a “patient-centered approach in everything I do.”

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The Songs Of Jimmy Webb concert will be held on Oct. 15.

By Rita J. Egan

Local musicians are preparing to celebrate the music of a Long Island songwriter, composer and singer.

WUSB’s Sunday Street Concert series at the Long Island Museum in Stony Brook on Oct. 15 will showcase the music of longtime Nassau County resident Jimmy Webb. 

The singer/songwriter has enjoyed worldwide success with hits such as “Up, Up and Away,” “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “MacArthur Park” and more sung by iconic singers, including Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Art Garfunkel, Linda Ronstadt, Tony Bennett, Josh Groban and countless others.

The only artist ever to have received Grammy Awards for music, lyrics and orchestration, Webb was inducted in the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame in 2018.

Co-producers Charlie Backfish and Pete Mancini have lined up Long Island musicians Gene Casey, Caroline Doctorow, Andrew & Cole Fortier, Delaney Hafener, Claudia Jacobs, Brian Kachejian, Ray Lambiase and Tom Moran for the concert titled The Songs of Jimmy Webb.

Mancini, who has worked with Backfish and Webb, is a singer and musician who will also perform two of Webb’s hits, including “Met Her on a Plane.” His favorite rendition is from country rock/folk rock musician Iain Matthews, who recorded the song on his album Journeys from Gospel Oak.

“I’ve been kind of modeling my version after his just because it’s guitar-based and his vocal is incredible,” Mancini said. The musician described learning about Webb’s discography as a “mind-blowing experience.”

“There are so many tunes that go under the radar,” he said.

Caroline Doctorow said she was thrilled when Backfish called her. Among her favorite Webb songs is Wichita Lineman, sung by Glen Campbell.

“To my ears, it’s still one of the best records I’ve ever heard,” she said. “It has that very iconic electric guitar part. A lot of people have sort of borrowed from that sound.”

She described Webb as a “master” comparable to Bob Dylan and folk singer and songwriter Nanci Griffith. 

“When you study their songs, there’s a lot of magic to them, and you can’t quite dissect them in terms of songwriting technique,” she said.

Doctorow is working on “If These Walls Could Speak” and “Galveston.” She said the key to singing an iconic song is picking one that fits the singer’s voice and listening to other versions to get an idea of what one likes and doesn’t like.

Gene Casey said when asked to perform, he knew he wanted to sing “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” a song he has performed in his solo acts.

“I always marvel at the fact that Jimmy Webb was like 23 years old, or around that age, when he wrote a very, very mature song,” he said. “There are thousands of songs about people being left behind, but it’s rare to find a good song about the person who was leaving. I’ve always been attracted to what a great song that was.”

He said he was surprised when Backfish called again and asked if he would consider performing “MacArthur Park,” too. Backfish told him about the Waylon Jennings version. Casey described it as a “stripped down and more countrified” version compared to Richard Harris’ song with orchestrated strings.

“A good song is a good song. It doesn’t matter what arrangement is used,” Casey said.

Backfish described Webb’s music as “a catalog that transcends different genres” and said he is looking forward to hearing what the musicians have planned.

“Each artist will pretty much put their own stamp on a Jimmy Webb song, so it may not be exactly the way it initially was recorded, but it will be an interpretation of it, which I think makes it an interesting evening,” he said.

The Long Island Museum, 1200 Route 25A, Stony Brook presents The Songs of Jimmy Webb in the Carriage Museum’s Gillespie Room on Sunday, Oct. 15 at 5 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance at www.sundaystreet.org, $25 (cash only) at the door.

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Victoria Wyeth returns to the Reboli Center on Oct. 21. Photo courtesy of Reboli Center

This spooky season, The Reboli Center for Art and History, 64 Main Street Stony Brook Village invites the community to a Costumes & Cocktails with the Wyeths fundraiser event on Saturday, Oct. 21 from 7 to 9 p.m.

“The late artist Joseph Reboli loved the fall, especially Halloween and pumpkins and enjoyed painting the vivid colors of the season and capturing the magic and moodiness of autumn,” according to Lois Reboli, founder and president of The Reboli Center for Art and History. The noted Wyeth family is also enamored by this time of year and Victoria Wyeth will share spooky, seasonal stories and a slide presentation of works of art inspired by the autumn by her famous grandfather, Andrew Wyeth, as well as her uncle, artist Jamie Wyeth. The Wyeths were known to have special fun on Halloween including wearing pumpkins on their heads!

“We are thrilled to welcome back Victoria to our Center for this fun filled event, which includes a Halloween themed costume contest with the best outfit winning a $100 gift certificate to the Design Shop,” added Lois Reboli. Costumes are optional, but everyone is encouraged to express their spirit of the season whether focusing on the intense and vibrant colors of pumpkins and harvests or the mysteries imagined by the gloomy dusk and dark nights. In addition to Victoria’s presentation about the Wyeths fascination with Halloween, there will be time for questions, followed by cocktails and delicious hors d’oeuvres.

This Halloween event is sponsored by the Ferentinos Family. Tickets cost $100, $75 of which is a tax deductible donation, and may be purchased on line at www.rebolicenter.org or by calling the Center at 631-757-7707. Reservations are required.

The Reboli Center for Art and History is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, please call 631-757-7707.

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Pixabay photo

Sideshows, also known as street takeovers, are an increasingly pervasive crime phenomenon within Suffolk County and a critical public safety risk.

A sideshow is an informal and illegal public demonstration involving automotive stunts, often at vacant lots or public intersections. These gatherings usually are among young men, who illicitly schedule and promote these activities through social media.

During a recent community meeting at Hauppauge’s main firehouse, Suffolk County Police Department 4th Precinct Inspector David Regina shared alarming footage of recent nighttime gatherings and dangerous auto races at Hauppauge Industrial Park.

While sideshows may be afflicting Hauppauge and its surrounding communities for now, Regina noted that this trend is gaining traction regionally and nationally.

Here on Long Island, our roadways are dangerous enough as is. Just a week ago, Regina told the Smithtown Town Board that motor vehicle crashes of practically every variety were up within the 4th Precinct. We don’t need to add another safety hazard to our roadways, especially one as preventable as street racing.

Like many fads, our laws and criminal penalties have not yet caught up with this crime phenomenon. Officers alerted to these sideshows are often hamstrung, requiring two signed affidavits from separate business owners before initiating enforcement measures.

Suffolk County Legislators Leslie Kennedy (R-Nesconset) and Steven Flotteron (R-Brightwaters) are currently exploring changes to county law that would close this loophole.

We advise each incumbent and prospective county legislator within our coverage area to take this matter seriously. There are plenty of vacant lots throughout the North Shore, and this issue could soon be heading to our own backyards.

To those who may report a sideshow event, remember to stay out of the line of harm. These are raucous, dangerous gatherings. They should be handled by experienced law enforcement professionals, not private citizens.

We do sympathize with the young and adventurous auto racers who may wish for an outlet for their natural inclinations and energies. So often, our society shames and punishes this demographic without considering root causes or potential solutions.

If these young men seek the thrill of auto racing, then we should make alternative means available to them. The East End, for example, has long offered sanctioned auto racing at the Riverhead Raceway, located on Old Country Road near Tanger Outlets in Riverhead. This quarter-mile oval track is the only one of its kind on Long Island, providing sanctioned auto racing to local residents.

A similar venue in western Suffolk could provide the necessary outlet for the beleaguered racers among us while promoting public safety. We ask our county officials to explore such an alternative, perhaps siting the raceway at an existing county property.

Still, public awareness of this issue is crucial. If you see or hear of an illegal sideshow event, please notify SCPD immediately. And remember always to be vigilant when getting behind the wheel.

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File photo by Raymond Janis

Curriculum literature

I recently read a book about a boy in high school.

He had a supportive basketball coach who passed along quotes like “The quality of a man’s life is in direct proportion to his commitment to excellence, regardless of his chosen field or endeavor.”

He had a teacher that inspired him to do more with his life than previous generations. We should all want our children to achieve more than we have. This is a key part of the American dream. As such this book is patriotic in the best sense of the word.

There are too many inspiring role models in the boy’s life to list here.

This book provides a valuable perspective of a Native American who grew up on a reservation. A perspective that would be foreign to many of us if not for books like this one.

Some passages in the book are uncomfortable to read. Like a teacher admitting at one point the goal was to kill Native Americans; not literally but instead killing their culture. It’s uncomfortable, but unfortunately that is part of our history. Those that don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it, and those that prevent history being taught fully intend to repeat it.

The title of this book is “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” and the 11th-grade students at Ward Melville High School are lucky to have it as part of their curriculum.

Recently, some parents accused this book of being smut because of a few sentences referring to self-pleasure. Something not unique to this book and something most students are aware of by high school if not sooner.

It’s pretty clear that based on their objectives, the so-called Moms for Liberty and those associated with them are not truly for liberty. Instead, they should be called “Moms for Tyranny.” Their goal is to take away the freedoms of other people. Whether it’s an attempt to have a book removed or it’s an attempt to infringe on others civil liberties, it’s a level of tyranny that never should have left the dark ages.

A famous ship captain once said, “No one is so important that they can usurp the rights of another.” On that note, no one should ever infringe on a student’s liberty to read a great and patriotic work of literature as part of their curriculum.

Ian Farber

Setauket

How to pay for transit improvements

A Long Island Rail Road train arrives at Stony Brook train station during rush hour. Photo by ComplexRational from Wikimedia Commons

Here is how to pay for the transit initiatives outlined in last week’s editorial [“Interconnected trails: Local transit reimagined for Long Island,” Sept. 28, TBR News Media].

Federal funding is available to pay for Long Island Rail Road electrification of the Port Jefferson Branch. The project must be included in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority 2025-2044 20-Year Needs Assessment plan and upcoming 2025-2029 Five-Year Capital Plan.

The MTA must ask for and obtain permission from the Federal Transit Administration to enter this project in FTA’s Capital Investment Grant New Starts Core Capacity Program. MTA Chairman John “Janno” Lieber, LIRR Acting President Robert Free, U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer [D-NY] and Kirsten Gillibrand [D-NY] along with the next Suffolk County executive must also be on board in support.

Apply for federal and state funding to purchase smaller buses and create new services. Suffolk County Transit was created in 1980 as a county-run oversight and funding agency for a group of private contract operators, which had previously provided such services on their own.

These companies manage the maintenance and operations of their buses. Buses are paid for by grants from the FTA with the 20% local share split between Suffolk County and state Department of Transportation. Both Suffolk County and NYSDOT provide operating assistance to cover shortfalls from farebox revenues.

Suffolk County Transit and Huntington Area Rapid Transit Bus both use FTA grants to pay for buses, paratransit vehicles, fareboxes, radio communication equipment, bus shelters, bus stop signs and other capital improvements required by private operators to continue providing safe and reliable service that riders count on. They can be used to pay for additional transportation service to serve residents, especially those who reside in low-density neighborhoods.

Operating subsidies are required to establish new service or increase the level of service and reduce the amount of time one waits for a bus on existing routes. Same for adding more off-peak, evening and weekend service. Many of the less dense towns will also have to step up and provide financial assistance to help pay for new services to communities with little or no bus service.

Funding for MTA or Suffolk County Transit is a four-way dance between what riders pay at the farebox and a combination of capital and operating assistance from Suffolk County, Albany and Washington via the FTA.

Everyone needs to have skin in the game. TANSTAAFL — “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch” — or in this case, bus or train ride.

Larry Penner

Great Neck

The writer is a transportation analyst and former director for Federal Transit Administration Region 2

WRITE TO US … AND KEEP IT LOCAL

We welcome your letters, especially those responding to our local coverage, replying to other letter writers’ comments and speaking mainly to local themes. Letters should be no longer than 400 words and may be edited for length, libel, style, good taste and uncivil language. They will also be published on our website. We do not publish anonymous letters. Please include an address and phone number for confirmation. Scan the QR code above or email letters to [email protected] or mail them to TBR News Media, P.O. Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733

 

 

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By Kelynn Z. Alder

Up next for Gallery North, 90 North Country Road, Setauket is a unique exhibit titled Animal Spirits and Ancient Rituals: New Work by Kelynn Z. Alder, on view from October 5 to November 12.

Animal Spirits and Ancient Rituals is Kelynn Z. Alder’s first solo exhibition at Gallery North. It features paintings, monoprints, and drawings that all reference Alder’s Mexican cultural heritage. Many of the paintings are from the artist’s personal experiences in the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico during the Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festivities in Chamula, a town run entirely by the Tzotzil speaking Maya. In Chamula, as in most of Mexico, festivities and religious practices are a merging of ancient Indigenous rites, rituals and beliefs, meshed with Catholicism.

By Kelynn Z. Alder

“Día de los Muertos is a celebration of both the living and the dead,” Alder states, “And the underlying theme of this work has much to do with the cycle of life and death — My reaching back to my ancestors… My rising consciousness of my own mortality… The continuation once I’m gone and become myself an ancestor.”

Blending the styles of the Mexican muralists and the impressionists, each painting in Animal Spirits and Ancient Rituals evokes the artist’s ancestral searching, yearnings, experiences, emotions and opinions — while encouraging others to reflect upon their own ancestry and personal journeys. Alder’s prints feature the artist’s personal interpretation of La Lotería – a traditional Mexican board game as well as an inspirational templet commonly used by many artists.

The daughter of an immigrant, Alder skillfully weaves the rudimentary pictures of La Loteria into Indigenous, political and religious iconography to create a complex arrangement of memory, political commentary, and symbolism. Indeed, through vivid paintings of Chiapas and the bold imagery of La Loteria, Animal Spirits and Ancient Rituals transports us to Alder’s inner visual world, while also offering important messages confronting the migrant crisis between the Mexican and U.S. border.

An opening reception will be held Saturday, October 7, from 5 to 7 p.m.

By Kelynn Z. Alder

As a complement to the exhibition, Gallery North will present a multi-site, guided tour in collaboration with the Long Island Museum on Sunday, October 15, from noon to 3 p.m. The collaborative event will include guided tours of Alder’s exhibition, Animal Spirits and Ancient Rituals, and SOMOS/We Are: Latinx Artists of Long Island, an exhibition guest curated by Alder at the Long Island Museum.

Gallery North’s portion of the event will include a printmaking demonstration with Alder and Lorena Salcedo Watson, followed by a tour of Alder’s solo exhibition. Gallery North will also host an ArTalk with Alder and Lyn Pentecost, former Director and Co-Founder of the Lower Eastside Girls Club on Saturday, November 4 at 3 p.m.

The exhibition, reception, and ArTalk will all be free and open to the public. Information on registering for the guided tour and print demonstration can be found at gallerynorth.org.

This exhibition is generously sponsored by bld Architecture, Jefferson’s Ferry, and Suffolk County’s Department of Economic Development and Planning.  The exhibition, reception, and ArTalk will all be free and open to the public. Information on registering for the guided tour and print demonstration can be found at gallerynorth.org. For more information, call 631-751-2676.

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A scene from the 15th annual SOLES for All Souls Race/Walk on Oct. 1. Photo by Nancy Clark
A scene from the 15th annual SOLES for All Souls Race/Walk on Oct. 1. Photo by Nancy Clark
A scene from the 15th annual SOLES for All Souls Race/Walk on Oct. 1. Photo by Nancy Clark
A scene from the 15th annual SOLES for All Souls Race/Walk on Oct. 1. Photo by Nancy Clark
A scene from the 15th annual SOLES for All Souls Race/Walk on Oct. 1. Photo by Nancy Clark
A scene from the 15th annual SOLES for All Souls Race/Walk on Oct. 1. Photo by Nancy Clark
A scene from the 15th annual SOLES for All Souls Race/Walk on Oct. 1. Photo by Nancy Clark
A scene from the 15th annual SOLES for All Souls Race/Walk on Oct. 1. Photo by Nancy Clark
A scene from the 15th annual SOLES for All Souls Race/Walk on Oct. 1. Photo by Nancy Clark
A scene from the 15th annual SOLES for All Souls Race/Walk on Oct. 1. Photo by Nancy Clark
A scene from the 15th annual SOLES for All Souls Race/Walk on Oct. 1. Photo by Nancy Clark
A scene from the 15th annual SOLES for All Souls Race/Walk on Oct. 1. Photo by Nancy Clark
A scene from the 15th annual SOLES for All Souls Race/Walk on Oct. 1. Photo by Nancy Clark
A scene from the 15th annual SOLES for All Souls Race/Walk on Oct. 1. Photo by Nancy Clark
A scene from the 15th annual SOLES for All Souls Race/Walk on Oct. 1. Photo by Nancy Clark
A scene from the 15th annual SOLES for All Souls Race/Walk on Oct. 1. Photo by Nancy Clark

Several weather-related prayers were answered when the rain stopped, and the sun shined brightly on the 15th Annual SOLES for All Souls 5K Race/2K Walk on Oct. 1. The large crowd assembled in front of the historic Stanford White designed chapel at 61 Main Street in Stony Brook Village, including runners dressed as a hot dog and a mustard container, a Bumble Bee and a butterfly, and a chicken.  Retired Suffolk County Police SGT Mark McNulty played the bagpipes to inspire the runners as they began their trek up Hollow Road.  Former Suffolk County Poet Laureates Barbara Southard and Dr. Richard Bronson led the annual march of the Live Poets Society.

After The Brave Trio sang the National Anthem, Brookhaven Town Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich thanked the runners and walkers for participating in this very special annual event to celebrate the role of All Souls in the community and to raise funds to make the church and accessible to all. He presented All Souls Senior Warden Dan Kerr with a Certificate of Appreciation from the Town of Brookhaven recognizing the many ways All Souls serves the community.

Felipe Garcia from Port Jefferson Station was the overall race winner with a time of 20:14 and Christa Denmon from Endwell, NY was the overall female winner the second year in a row with a time of 21:58.  All Souls Vicar Father Tom Reese awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals at the Olympic-style ceremony to various age groups from 13 & under to 80 years old. Emma Lehayne from Stony Brook won the gold for the female 13 and under group and Rolf Sternglanz from Stony Brook won the gold for the male 80 and over group. Local musician Bill Clark & Friends (including Councilmember Kornreich) serenaded the crowd before and after the Awards ceremony at the Reboli Center for Arts and History.

Submitted by Daniel Kerr/ Director of SOLES for All Souls

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