Village Times Herald

Lee Zeldin. File photo by Victoria Espinoza

The fight against opioid abuse took a step further this week as U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) plugged new legislation. The freshman congressman is a co-sponsor of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, which plans to spend $8.3 billion in funding to help combat widespread drug addiction, especially to heroin.

CARA passed through the House of Representatives last week with a bipartisan vote of 407 to 5.

Zeldin, who is a member of the Bipartisan Task Force to Combat the Heroin Epidemic, said he has been a proud supporter of this bill for more than a year now.

“As a co-sponsor of CARA, I have been a vocal supporter of this bill since it was first introduced at the beginning of last year,” he said in a statement. “Over the past year … I have worked closely with our local community, hosting multiple drug task force round tables here on Long Island, to bring together local elected officials, law enforcement, health professionals, community groups, parents, concerned residents and those in recovery, to discuss and develop a more localized solution to address this crisis.”

Zeldin has held heroin events in Smithtown and Brookhaven to meet with community members and keep the discussion open.

The specifics of CARA include $80 million in funding to help prevent and treat addiction on a local level through community-based education, prevention, treatment and recovery programs; $160 million for the expansion of medication-assisted treatment options; and $103 million to establish a community-based competitive grant program to address and treat the problems of heroin and opioid addiction and abuse. Additional funding will also help supply police forces and emergency medical responders with higher quantities of naloxone, known more commonly as Narcan, a medication that is proven to reverse an opioid overdose.

“We must always continue our fight to provide local communities with the resources necessary to help stop and prevent drug abuse through treatment, enforcement and education.”
—Lee Zeldin

Another part of CARA’s funding focuses on pain management and prescription.

According to the bill, the Department of Health and Human Services is required to assemble a Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force, which will review, modify and update the best practices for pain management and prescribing pain medication, and examine and identify the need for, development and availability of medical alternatives to opioids.

The grant aspect of CARA is connected to the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. CARA is set to amend that bill to authorize the Department of Justice to award grants to state, local and tribal governments to provide opioid abuse services, including enhancing collaboration between criminal justice and substance abuse agencies; developing, implementing and expanding programs to prevent, treat or respond to opioid abuse; training first responders to administer opioid overdose reversal drugs; and investigating unlawful opioid distribution activities.

CARA currently has 44 co-sponsors and is set to go to a vote in the United States Senate.

The North Shore is not immune to the heroin crisis. According to a New York State Opioid Poisoning, Overdose and Prevention Report from 2015, Suffolk County has the highest heroin-related overdose fatalities of any county in New York.

Zeldin said he hopes the Senate will act fast to approve the bill.

“I implore the Senate to act quickly to pass this bill, so that we can start providing the necessary resources to those in need,” he said. “While there is not just one piece of legislation that will solve this crisis, we must always continue our fight to provide our local communities with the resources necessary to help stop and prevent drug abuse through treatment, enforcement and education.”

Joanna Kiryluk during her trip to the South Pole in 2009. Photo from Joanna Kiryluk

By Daniel Dunaief

She traveled to a place she felt might have been as unfamiliar as visiting the moon or Mars. The project that is such a large part of her life is looking for signals sent from well beyond those relative celestial neighbors.

Joanna Kiryluk, an assistant professor of physics at Stony Brook University, didn’t travel off the planet, although she visited a remote location that was considerably different, less populated and at a higher altitude than the sandy beaches of Long Island. In 2009, Kiryluk traveled to the South Pole as a part of the aptly named IceCube project, which was completed in 2010. Kiryluk and hundreds of other physicists around the world are studying the information gathered from detectors drilled deep into the ice below the surface.

Kiryluk is studying tau and electron neutrinos, which are created as products of cosmic ray interactions and carry very high energies. Scientists do not know which sources in the universe are capable of creating such high energies. Unraveling this is one of her research goals. The neutrinos produced by collapsing stars, or supernova, typically have energies that are about a million times smaller than the high-energy neutrinos discovered by IceCube.

Neutrinos have very small masses and travel at speeds close to the speed of light, Kiryluk explained. Since they interact with matter weakly, they pass through most objects without any interactions. On rare occasions, however, these neutrinos collide with a neutron or a proton, causing a characteristic reaction that provides a clue about where they are, what energy they had when they collided, and, perhaps where they originated.

For her research, Kiryluk recently received the prestigious National Science Foundation Career Award, which provides almost $900,000 to support her work over the next five years. “It’s a great honor,” said Kiryluk. “The chances of success for such proposals are small and, in this sense, it was also a pleasant surprise.” Kiryluk said the funding will enable her to employ two graduate students per year. Part of the money will also be used for educational purposes and outreach. Kiryluk has reached out to high schools including Brentwood and Riverhead High School to involve students and teachers in research. Kiryluk is also a proponent of a Women in Science and Engineering program, or WISE, that encourages the “involvement of under-represented groups” in science, including women.

Kiryluk credits her Ph.D. advisor, Barbara Badelek, a professor at the University of Warsaw in the Department of Physics and a professor at Uppsala University, for believing in her and in her ability. She suggested that such support was critical to her success and her focus. Badelek met Kiryluk in 1994 and supervised her undergraduate and Ph.D. work. Kiryluk was “immediately recognized as a remarkably good student: hard working, trying to achieve a deep understanding of problems and very enthusiastic,” Badelek explained in an email. Badelek added that she is “very pleased to see her maturity and growing scientific prestige.”

In the IceCube project, Kiryluk is a part of an experiment that involves over 300 scientists from 48 institutions from around the world. IceCube, which took seven years to build, was manufactured as a discovery experiment to find high-energy neutrinos, which originate from astrophysical sources. People who have known Kiryluk for decades suggest that she has the right temperament for such an ambitious joint effort.

Kiryluk is “quiet and calm, but works hard and never leaves things because she finds some difficulties,” explained Ewa Rondio, the deputy director for scientific matters at the National Centre for Nuclear Research in Poland, who met Kiryluk when she was an undergraduate. Kiryluk’s goal is to measure the energy spectrum of these neutrinos. “We are interested in fluxes,” she said. These fluxes and energy spectra of high-energy neutrinos will provide insights in the sources and mechanisms of the most powerful accelerators in the universe.

A cubic kilometer of ice, IceCube, which has enough water to fill one million swimming pools, is large enough to capture more of these rare neutrino events. The key to unraveling what these signals indicate is to understand their energy and direction. The detectors don’t collect information from the neutrinos directly, but, rather from the interaction with particles in the ice. The neutrino interactions in ice produce a flash of light in the South Pole ice that the scientists measure with sensors. They study the pattern, the arrival times and the amplitude of this light at the sensors. This information can help determine the neutrino energy and direction.

Kiryluk is looking for high-energy events that are “most likely coming from outside of our galaxy,” she said. These particles are distributed all over the sky. While IceCube is capable of collecting data from the highest energy particles, it hasn’t yet gathered enough of these events to provide conclusive information at this range.

Kiryluk visited the South Pole for two weeks in 2009 before IceCube was finished. She was involved in the commissioning of the newly deployed detectors for the data acquisition system. The detectors are between 1,500 and 2,600 meters deep, which helps them “suppress any background events,” such as cosmic rays that are produced in the atmosphere. The facility is 3,000 meters high and has low humidity, which means it’s “easy to get dehydrated,” Kiryluk said. She described the working and living conditions at the South Pole as “modern.”

A native of eastern Poland, Kiryluk arrived on Long Island in 2001, when she worked at Brookhaven National Laboratory. She lives in Rocky Point. Kiryluk said the physics department is “growing.” Since her hire, nine assistant professors have joined the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Stony Brook University. As for her work, Kiryluk is inspired to understand how IceCube can be used as a “probe to study astronomy,” which enables her to be a part of the process of discovering “what is out there.”

The 2016 Stony Brook Film Festival will host the world premiere screening of ‘No Pay, Nudity’ on July 26. Photos from Staller Center

By Donna Newman

Just when summer becomes routine, the Stony Brook Film Festival appears like an oasis. Whether you’re a cinephile or just an entertainment seeker, beginning next Thursday — and running for 10 nights — you can escape the doldrums by entering a unique venue shared with a thousand friends you’ve yet to meet. For 21 years, the Stony Brook Film Festival has offered Long Islanders an alternative to the usual multiplex summer blockbusters.

Each year, festival director Alan Inkles assembles a diverse program of independent films. Different genres and cultures, subjects and languages are represented. Some films have casts with names we recognize. Others introduce talented unknowns. “This year’s films and shorts are absolutely the best out there,” said Inkles. “With a pass, folks can see all 34 — or they can pick and choose what appeals to them via the movie trailers on our website.”

Inkles is especially pleased with the selection this year. “I think this is the best festival ever!” Of course, he says this every year. But he truly believes it. And there are reasons for us to believe as well. For one, there were more entries to choose from than ever before. Inkles and his staff evaluated more than 3,000 films. The festival’s established acclaim in “Indie” circles has producers and filmmakers jockeying for a slot, and the relationships established over the past 20 years help Inkles obtain top quality movies.

Both the Opening and Closing Night films were on Inkles’ “must have” list, and he got both! “The Carer,” a joint venture of the UK and Hungary, stars Brian Cox (“Bourne Identity”) as a legendary Shakespearean actor, now old and ill. Costar Coco König, in the title role, makes her screen debut. Director János Edelényi will attend a Q-and-A about this English language picture.

Closing Night features a Swedish film: “A Man Called Ove,” based on Fredrik Backman’s New York Times bestseller of the same name. The author collaborated with Director Hannes Holm on the screenplay. This dramatic comedy is about love, family and (according to the festival brochure) the importance of the right tools. The director will be in attendance.

Veteran SBFF entrant John Putch returns bringing “The Father and the Bear” for its world premiere. This homage to his parents (actress Jean Stapleton and William Putch) was shot on location at the Totem Pole Playhouse in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania — a summer stock theater the elder Putch guided as artistic director for 30 years. Wil Love, an actor who performed there, plays the lead.

Dr. Delaney Ruston, who recently joined Stony Brook Medicine as an assistant professor and filmmaker in residence, has created award-winning documentaries about mental health issues. Her latest is “Screenagers,” an interesting probe into the excessive use of cell phones and screens. It explores the burning question: How much screen time is too much?

Another world premiere is “No Pay, Nudity.” “This hilarious comedy was a labor of love for Director Lee Wilkof and the entire cast,” said Inkles. “The audience is going to love it — and they’ll be the first to see it!” Wilkof said this about his tribute to “working actors”: “We live in a time where instant fame is often the measure of success and a body of work accounts for very little.” The film stars Gabriel Byrne, Nathan Lane — who was slated to attend at press time — Frances Conroy and Boyd Gaines as actors awaiting job offers in the lobby of Actor’s Equity.

This year the festival joined the online submission platform www.FilmFreeway.com. “We’re always looking for ways to make a great festival even better,” said Inkles, “and adding this resource has increased our options.” Contracts Administrator Kent Marks, doubling as festival associate director, did the lion’s share of early Freeway evaluations, freeing Inkles to pursue high-profile premieres.

“I’m grateful to Island Federal Credit Union and its president and CEO Bret Sears for his generosity,” noted Inkles. “To have a major sponsor that is so encouraging and supportive — it’s truly a dream relationship.” This is the second of a 10-year partnership between Island Federal and the university.

The SBFF runs 10 nights. Most night’s screenings begin at 7 p.m. Starting times for the second film varies. Check the schedule. (In some cases, Q-and-As may delay the start of the second feature.) The Opening and Closing Night films begin at 8 p.m. There are bonus features on Saturday and Sunday evenings, beginning at 5 and 6 p.m., respectively.

A Festival Pass to see all the films is $85 and offers perks including: a preferred seating line, seating guaranteed up to 15 minutes prior to start, and — new this year — a commemorative film pass and lanyard, exclusive access to party tickets, a SBFF insulated cooler, and pass holder discounts at local restaurants that run through Labor Day. A $225 Gold Pass includes seating in the section reserved for filmmakers and guests, as well as tickets to the Opening and Closing parties. Individual tickets ($12, $10 seniors, $5 students) will be sold subject to availability.

Find online access to the entire program, tickets and trailers at www.stonybrookfilmfestival.com or call the Staller Center Box Office (631-632-ARTS) for information.

Cheick Diallo addresses the crowd after being selected by the Los Angeles Clippers. Photo from Sara Stelzer

By Clayton Collier

The NBA was a dream worth the wait for Cheick Diallo; even if it meant waiting a little longer than anticipated.

Diallo, at 6 feet, 9 inches, 220 pounds, widely expected to be a late first-round pick, was selected 33rd overall by the Los Angeles Clippers. The 19-year-old forward’s draft rights were acquired by the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for the 39th and 40th overall picks. A 2-for-1 is a hefty price to pay in any exchange, but Pelicans general manager Dell Demps knew they had to get Diallo.

“You talk to people and say, ‘Is he a good kid?’” Demps said. “And they say, ‘No, No.  He’s a great kid. He’s a phenomenal kid.’  In our interview process with him, when he walked out of the room, everybody just thought, wow.  We all said, ‘Did you hear that?  Did you listen to this guy? You want to root for him.’”

Cheick Diallo blocks a shot for the University of Kansas. Photo from Sara Stelzer
Cheick Diallo blocks a shot for the University of Kansas. Photo by Jeff Jacobsen

Demps said that first phone call with Diallo was one to remember.

“We talked to him on the phone, and he was so fired up and we were so fired up,” he said. “We were sitting there screaming and yelling on the phone.”

Rev. Ronald Stelzer, head basketball coach at Our Savior New American School, Diallo’s high school in Centereach, made a point to be at the Barclays Center to see his star pupil get selected.

“I was so happy to see how he reacted when he got picked,” Stelzer said “He was really excited and happy; beaming. Sometimes kids get picked a little later than expected and they get all mopey. Cheick had this child-like exuberance to have this chance to play in the NBA now.”

Diallo goes to New Orleans following his freshman year at the University of Kansas, where he averaged 3.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 7.5 minutes per game, while also amassing 0.85 blocks per game, ranking 12th in the Big 12.

“I was surprised Cheick didn’t go in the first round based on preliminary reports I got,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said in a release. “The big thing is he was able to go 33rd and that will hopefully put him in a position to sign and get a guaranteed contract.”

Minimal collegiate playing time aside, Diallo was a highly sought after talent out of high school. The 2015 McDonald’s All-American picked up offers from the University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, Syracuse University and Villanova University, among others, before eventually deciding on Kansas.

A native of Kayes, Mali in Africa, Diallo came to Our Savior New American as a 15-year-old freshman. It wasn’t until a few years later that Stelzer said his coaching staff began to see professional-level talent out of Diallo.

“By his junior year, we knew he had something really special,” he said. “We have a lot of kids who have had talent, but he had a little extra athleticism. Combine that with an extremely hard worker, and he just launched.”

 Cheick Diallo during his high school years with Our Savior New American head coach Rev. Ronald Stelzer. Photo from Sara Stelzer
Cheick Diallo during his high school years with Our Savior New American head coach Rev. Ronald Stelzer. Photo from Sara Stelzer

Diallo’s former college rival, Buddy Hield, also went to the Pelicans with the sixth overall pick. The reigning John R. Wooden Award winner now joins a rotation that will include Diallo and All-Star big man Anthony Davis.

“That mix of speed and athleticism and power is a great combination,” Stelzer said. “It’s the kind of situation where [Cheick] could make an immediate impact.”

Stelzer said his assistant coaches and Diallo’s host family were essential in getting Diallo from high school onto the next stage.

“We’ve been blessed, and we have a lot of people who have contributed in a team effort to make it possible,” he said. “I wish him the best. It was a pleasure to coach him; he’s a fine young man.”

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The Emma S. Clark Memorial Library. File photo by Elyse Sutton

By Rita J. Egan

A North Shore library is working hand-in-hand with its veterans to help them gain access to their necessary benefits.

The Emma S. Clark Memorial Library in Setauket invites veterans across the community to attend an outreach program hosted by the Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center at the library, which is scheduled for Thursday, July 14. Nancy McCaffrey, adult programs librarian at Emma Clark, said she sees many veterans visiting the library on a regular basis wearing their various armed forces hats and shirts. With the library’s help, she said she hoped those veterans could discover the various benefits available to them at the library’s outreach event.

“We assist veterans with enrollment, in getting health care through the VA system, we update their information, and sit with them one-on-one to discuss their personal benefits.”
—Wendy Robertson

She said the goal of the program — the first of its kind held at Emma Clark Library — would help to disseminate information to the veterans as well as help update their statuses.

“There are a lot of good programs out there for them that they may not be aware of,” McCaffrey said.

Every year, Wendy Robertson, community relations coordinator with the Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center, reaches out to as many locations as possible on Long Island. She said the venues include American Legion halls, fire departments and public libraries on the island. The coordinator said the organization averages around 70 to 80 outreach programs a year in Suffolk and Nassau counties.

Robertson said libraries are a great location for such a program because while some veterans may not belong to a local post of The American Legion or Veterans of Foreign Wars, many tend to frequent libraries.

The coordinator said it’s important for veterans to regularly update their information with the Department of Veterans Affairs as well as educate themselves about new programs available to them. She said many have received information a long time ago, and a lot of it has changed.

“The outreach program is to offer information, and update veterans on what their benefits are, and what their entitlements are with the VA,” she said. “What we do is assist the veterans with enrollment, in getting health care through the VA system, we update their information, and we also sit with them one-on-one at the events to discuss their personal benefits.”

Robertson said that veterans’ needs change as they grow older, and the VA can assist them with things such as hearing aids or health attendants. The program will also allow veterans to learn about new health care options as well as find out about six locations on Long Island now offering VA care.

The coordinator said attendance to the events varies depending on the time of year and location. She said anywhere from a few hundred to a handful of veterans can attend.

“A lot of the veterans feel that they are taking away from somebody else, and that’s really the opposite, so that’s what our mission is to give them what they are entitled to,” Robertson said.

The Veterans Outreach Program will be held on Thursday, July 14, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and there’s no need to register. However, veterans are asked to bring a copy of their DD214 or separation papers. The Emma S. Clark Memorial Library is located at 120 Main St. in Setauket. For more information, call 631-941-4080, ext. 107, or visit emmaclark.org or northport.va.gov.

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Children play in the prekindergarten playground at Nassakeag Elementary School. File photo

By Andrea Moore Paldy

After a heartfelt send-off of its high school graduates, Three Village school district prepares to welcome its newest and youngest students to prekindergarten at Nassakeag Elementary School.

SCOPE at Three Village Prekindergarten will expand to welcome three-year-olds this fall and make some tweaks to the district’s fledgling program.

The new three-year-old program, offered for the first time in September, will meet three days a week for 2.5 hours. It will cost $215 a month.

Kristin Rimmer, formerly Nassakeag’s assistant principal and preschool liaison for the tuition-based program, told the school board that parents and children have responded positively to the program for four-years-olds.

She said parents surveyed said they would recommend the program or send their younger children.

The collaboration between Three Village and SCOPE Education Services offers a “play-based” curriculum that “supports students’ cognitive, social and emotional learning” and helps prepare them for kindergarten in the district, Rimmer said.

Each class is led by a state-certified teacher and assistant, and incorporates New York State’s Prekindergarten Foundation for the Common Core.

Students are introduced to “Fundations” — the phonics programs used in Three Village — guided reading, and foundational math and technology skills, Rimmer said. SCOPE Education Services, which runs both universal (free) and fee-based prekindergartens across the island, staffs and runs the day-to-day operation.

A majority of the 32 students enrolled in the first year attended the half-day classes. The price of a full-day — $1,100 a month — was a deterrent for families, Rimmer said.

So, in the coming year, there will only be half-day classes. Eliminating the full-day option will lower tuition because the program will no longer have to cover the pricey full-day certification fee that is paid to the state Office of Children and Family Services.

The cost for a four-year-old to attend five days for 2.5 hours a day will be reduced to $300 instead of $400 a month.

The new three-year-old program, offered for the first time in September, will meet three days a week for 2.5 hours. It will cost $215 a month.

The three-year-old program, Rimmer said, will be similar to the four-year-old program in its approach and will prepare students for the four-year-old class.

Rimmer said another area that will see improvements is pickup and drop off, which some parents felt was a missed opportunity for parents to connect with teachers.

Rimmer commented, “I am optimistic that the changes we are proposing will make prekindergarten more accessible to all, while continuing to reach the level of programmatic success we achieved this year,” she said.

By William Grayson

The “Culper Spy Adventure,” a special presentation by TBR News Media, is an immersive digital attraction that will allow locals and tourists alike to be recruited into the ranks of General Washington’s secret Setauket spy ring. Accessed by scanning a special QR code on a panel of the Three Village map due out later this summer, you will begin an interactive 45-minute journey that puts you into the starring role of your very own secret spy adventure!

Become a time traveler as you arrive in the year 1780, crossing paths with legends and heroes: Abraham Woodhull, Anna Smith Strong, Caleb Brewster, George Washington himself! Enjoy interactive games between each episode that are filled to the brim with intrigue, action and fun! Created with the whole family in mind, the “Culper Spy Adventure” is great for all ages. We are also offering a special American Sign Language version as well as a handicap-accessible edition! Join the revolution later this summer!

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Karen Overin who plays Anna Smith Strong in this interactive journey.

Tell us about Anna Smith Strong.

Anna Smith Strong grew up in Setauket; she was a little bit older than most of the characters involved in the Culper Spy Ring. She was almost like a mentor in a lot of respects. She was very passionate about her home. Her residence was taken over by the British and she lived for a time in her servant’s quarters. AMC’s “TURN” portrays her as a barmaid when in reality she was much closer to an aristocrat. She was married to Selah Strong who had been imprisoned by the British for a time. She had grown children and did everything she could to make sure that they’d grow up in a free country.

Do you see similarities between you and Anna Smith Strong?

She wanted to protect her family at any costs, even if it meant betraying the crown. I’m also very passionate about my family and my children. She was a strong woman, and she knew what she wanted and would go after it no matter what. So yes, I do feel Anna and I have a bit in common.

What efforts did you take to make the film historically accurate?

We were striving for authenticity to the best of our ability. I’ve got a background in costuming since 1995. I like sewing, I like creating costumes, I like creating visuals. In a production like this you have to work so hard to achieve believability and accuracy. Nobody can be wearing a ring made after 1780, every hairstyle has to match something that would make sense for the time. We were blessed that we had a lot of men who weren’t folically challenged. We were able to have genuine pony tails and hairstyles that reflected life in 18th century America. We really made an effort to do it right.

Did you know anything about the Culper Spy Ring before filming?

When we were researching the characters and the history, we never realized just how much happened right here. I love that we’re able to bring the history to life and share it with the community. It’s amazing how history had forgotten this incredible chapter. It’s truly an honor bringing it back to life.

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Peter Gustafson, the longest-serving member of the Stony Brook Fire Department (64 years), enjoys the rededication of Stony Brook Village with Fire Commissioner and guest speaker Walter Hazlitt, who attended the original dedication on July 3, 1941. Photo by Donna Newman

On July 10, the Ward Melville Heritage Organization celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Stony Brook Village Center with a day of festivities, music, antique cars, and special remembrances.

A gathering on the village green brought together the trustees of the WMHO, community members, and representatives of government from the state, the county, and the town.

Curious passersby also stopped to listen as each of the speakers gave his or her own perspective on the little New England village that Ward Melville first dedicated in the summer of 1941.

The longest serving member of the Stony Brook Fire Department, Peter Gustafson, sits in the department’s antique truck dating from 1939. Photo by Donna Newman
The longest serving member of the Stony Brook Fire Department, Peter Gustafson, sits in the department’s antique truck dating from 1939. Photo by Donna Newman

The first to address the assemblage was Walter Hazlitt, a longtime resident of Stony Brook who was present at the first dedication ceremony. He was a teenager then and remembers all the hoopla and watching the parade.

The WMHO has film from that dedication. It is on view as part of a special summer exhibit, “It takes a team to build a village,” at the Educational & Cultural Center.

“The project that was started by Ward Melville was the [impetus] that made Stony Brook what it is today,” said Hazlitt. “The story [of this new center] was in several New York newspapers,” he added, remembering the tourists who began to come here. He opined that Melville started something grand, and Governor Nelson Rockefeller continued Stony Brook’s growth by establishing — with Melville’s help — a state university that is “unparalleled.”

At right, (back row) Councilwoman Valerie Cartright, Suffolk Legislator Kara Hahn, trustee Jim Murdocco, trustee Mary Van Tuyl, WMHO Chairman Richard Rugen, trustee Charles Napoli, NYS Assemblyman Steve Englebright, NYS Senator John Flanagan and trustee Charles Pieroth; (front row) WMHO President Gloria Rocchio, trustee Kathleen Mich, and trustee Laura Huang Ernst. Photo by Donna Newman
At right, (back row) Councilwoman Valerie Cartright, Suffolk Legislator Kara Hahn, trustee Jim Murdocco, trustee Mary Van Tuyl, WMHO Chairman Richard Rugen, trustee Charles Napoli, NYS Assemblyman Steve Englebright, NYS Senator John Flanagan and trustee Charles Pieroth; (front row) WMHO President Gloria Rocchio, trustee Kathleen Mich, and trustee Laura Huang Ernst. Photo by Donna Newman

Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) spoke of her idyllic childhood in Stony Brook.

“Small things have changed; so much has stayed the same,” she said. “It is the same extraordinarily beautiful view. You turn around and you look out over Hercules, you look around at the green space we have in our community — where we come together at special moments — this is the most magical, special place.”

State Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) also gave his take on the village.

“Historically — and I love the fact that we have these antique vehicles here — this is the first mall in America,” he said. “That’s quite remarkable. Ward Melville and his designer Richard Haviland Smythe envisioned a coming of age of the automobile, and they designed accordingly. This is the first shopping mall designed for the automobile specifically, and for that reason, if for no other, this is a part of our national heritage.”

Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station) and Supervisor Edward Romaine (R) represented Brookhaven Town. Cartright spoke of reading that the Melville family came across the site by accident.

“Being a woman of God,” she said, “I don’t believe in accidents … I truly believe they were divinely guided here.”

Romaine spoke of Ward Melville’s boldness, calling him “a visionary.”

“He convinced store owners that this wasn’t going to drive them out of business, that this was the way to go,” he said. “And the results endure to this day, 75 years after [the village] was dedicated. Its lesson is what good planning — what having a decent vision for the future of a community — is all about.”

File photo

Though political fighting and manipulation of the media to wage a war may seem like a 21st-century concept, Clinton and Trump will not be breaking any ground this summer and fall when the mud inevitably continues to fly.

By Rich Acritelli

With the presidential election of 2016 upon this nation, it has been a hard fight between former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and businessman Donald Trump. Today, Americans are watching these opponents utilize “mudslinging” and “deceitful” techniques to gain votes, but these tactics have been used almost from the start of this republic.

When President George Washington decided to retire after his second term, his vice president, John Adams, and the former secretary of state, Thomas Jefferson, ran for presidency in 1796. Both of these men liked each other personally, but detested each other politically. This was during the establishment of political parties between the Federalists (Adams) and Democratic-Republicans (Jefferson).

Alexander Hamilton was a dominant leader within the Federalist Party who believed Adams was not psychologically capable of being president. Hamilton urged Federalist politicians from South Carolina to withhold any votes that would help Adams win the election; Hamilton wanted Thomas Pinckney, a Federalist from that state, to become the next president. If Pinckney won, Hamilton estimated it was possible for Adams to gain enough support to be a runner-up as a vice president. Hamilton was unable to achieve this political scenario, and Adams won the election. Jefferson became his vice president from the rival Democratic-Republican Party.

Hamilton again threw his influence into the presidential election of 1800. Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied, and Congress decided the contest. Hamilton supported his chief opponent in Jefferson, due to his notions that Burr was a political tyrant, and motivated congressional leaders to vote for Jefferson to become the third president of the United States. This was also the last election that sought “a winner take all” process for the presidency and vice presidency. The government established the system of running mates elected together to represent either party in the White House after that.

In 1860, the country watched a junior politician in Abraham Lincoln seek the highest position in the land. He was a self-educated leader, a respected lawyer and a one-term representative in Congress. While he did not have the political clout of the other candidates, he served within the Illinois General Assembly. Although it is believed slavery was the cornerstone of his values, he pushed for revisions within the tariff, free labor, the Transcontinental Railroad and the Homestead Act of 1862. He ran against many strong Republicans, and while he defeated William Seward from New York, he later made his rival into a trusted member of his cabinet as secretary of state.

During his failed attempt to win a seat in the U.S. Senate against Stephen Douglas, Lincoln debated he would never support the expansion of slavery in the new states and territories. It was these property rights concerns that the southerner never forgot when Lincoln decided to run for the presidency. When he proved to be a serious candidate, Democratic newspapers that opposed the end of slavery, wrote that Lincoln was “semiliterate, ignorant, an uncultured buffoon, homely and awkward,” according to historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. Although Lincoln was perhaps our greatest leader, both Republicans and Democrats were highly unsure about his motives and abilities to lead the nation at the cusp of the Civil War.

Though political fighting and manipulation of the media to wage a war may seem like a 21st-century concept, Clinton and Trump will not be breaking any ground this summer and fall when the mud inevitably continues to fly.

Setauket artist Jim Molloy paints the Gamecock Cottage plein air at a previous Wet Paint Festival Photo by Jeff Foster

By Melissa Arnold

For many, spending time outdoors is a great way to de-stress and recharge. And for the artistically inclined, it’s easy to feel inspired when you’re face-to-face with a profoundly beautiful scene.

These ideas are at the heart of the annual Gallery North/Joe Reboli Wet Paint Festival, which kicks off its 12th year this weekend in Stony Brook. The festival, hosted by Gallery North in Setauket, was launched to honor the memory of beloved Long Island painter Joseph Reboli. Since then, artists from across the island have gathered to paint outdoors in a variety of Three Village locations.

Stony Brook artist Barbara Siegel has painted at the festival for almost a decade now, and she said there’s nothing quite like “plein air,” or outdoor, painting. “Plein air painting gives you a beautiful opportunity to truly capture a moment — you see with your own eyes the lighting, shadows and detail of a place, in real time — you just don’t get that being inside,” she explained.

This year, the artists are headed to the historic Gamecock Cottage on West Meadow Beach in Stony Brook. According to Brookhaven town historian Barbara Russell, the cottage was purchased in 1876 by William Shipman for hunting and fishing. It earned the name Gamecock from either its bird-shaped weather vane or Shipman’s love of raising wild birds. “It’s really an interesting place,” Russell said. “And it defies understanding how it still exists, considering it’s been hit by every major storm and hurricane in our area since (the 1800s).”

Participating artists:

Rose Barry

Renee Blank

Sheila Breck

Yow-Ning Chang

Robin Clonts

Anthony Davis

Denise Douglas-Faraci

Greg Furjanic

Jim Kelson

Kathee Shaff Kelson Junee Kim

Elizabeth Kolligs

Arntian Kotsa

Lee Ann Lindgren

Esther Marie

Linda Davison Mathues

Eileen A. McGann

Muriel Musarra

Paula Pelletier

Linda Prentiss

Joan Rockwell

Stephen Rosa

Joseph Rotella

Oscar Santiago

Barbara Jeanne Siegel

Angela Stratton

Rita Swanteson

Natsuko Takami

Susan Trawick

Rae Zysman

Artist Muriel Musarra of Stony Brook has been a part of the festival from the beginning, and the Gamecock Cottage is a familiar subject for her artwork. “I’ve painted the Gamecock Cottage several times before from different angles — everyone loves it,” she said. “I’m looking forward to painting it again because something about the scene is always different. You never see the same thing twice.” The cottage was built out of solid wood in a Carpenter Gothic style and includes ample ornate trim, Russell said. Restoration has been underway for some time now, and historians at the festival will give visitors a rare look at the interior.

Gallery North Director Judith Levy said the festival will feature nearly 30 artists painting throughout the weekend, beginning Friday morning, July 15. On Saturday at 10:30 a.m., Russell and Bev Tyler of the Three Village Historical Society will lead a historical walking tour beginning at the West Meadow Beach Pavilion. The tour will move down Trustees Road and end at the cottage. Along the way, the group will learn how the beach and surrounding area was used by a variety of civilizations, from the Native Americans to the Colonials and beyond. A selection of artifacts from various time periods will be on display inside the cottage.

Following a weekend of painting, the finished artwork will be available to view and purchase at Gallery North from July 19 through July 24. An exhibition reception will be held on Thursday, July 21 from 5 to 7 p.m. “It’s a lot of fun,” Levy said of the festival. “There’s a lot of camaraderie among the artists and they all enjoy getting together to paint.”

The 12th annual Gallery North/Joseph Reboli Wet Paint Festival will be held at the Gamecock Cottage, Trustees Road and West Meadow Beach, Stony Brook. Painters will be on-site from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, July 15, and Saturday, July 16, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 17. Gallery North is located at 90 North Country Rd., Setauket. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, call 631-751-2676.