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Benner’s Farm sweetens a winter’s day with some maple sugar

by Giselle Barkley - February 23, 2016

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The community roamed around Benner’s Farm in Setauket in search of sweets on Saturday, Feb. 20, during its annual Maple Sugaring Day. Families learned the history of maple sugaring, how to tap trees, turn sap into syrup and how to make sugar candies. Participants also enjoyed freshly made pancakes with farm-made syrup. Maple syrup, sugar candies and jams were also sold during the event.

In between eating pancakes, learning about maple sugaring and sampling sap from a tree, families roamed the farm to visit the animals and treat some to a leftover pancake. Children played on the Big Swing up in the woods and visited with the resident barn cats, Lightning, Thunder and Storm. A sweet time was had by all!

Small plane crash-lands in Setauket Harbor

by Phil Corso - February 21, 2016

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Plane-Crash-diverw — Divers with the Suffolk County Police Department pursue the aircraft as the missing person search continues. Photo from Margo Arceri

By Phil Corso

Story last updated 2.22.16, 12:30 p.m.

Police are combing through the region where Port Jefferson Harbor and Setauket Harbor meet near Poquott after a small plane crashed there late Saturday night, authorities said.

The small plane, which cops said was a Piper PA-28 carrying four people, went down shortly after 11 p.m. near the vicinity of 108 Van Brunt Manor Rd., Poquott Mayor Dee Parrish said. An extensive response from emergency personnel followed, during which three people were recovered from the water — but one remained missing, and that search was ongoing through the beginning of this week, officials said.

Police said on Sunday that a student pilot, 25-year-old Bronx resident Austricio Ramirez was flying the plane when the problems arose and turned the controls over to his instructor, 36-year-old Queens resident Nelson Gomez, who landed the plane in the harbor.

All the passengers in the four-seater plane were able to exit into the water, after which Ramirez, Nelson and passenger Wady Perez, a 25-year-old from Queens, were rescued by police.

But Suffolk County Police Commissioner Tim Sini said the search and rescue operation remained in effect for one missing person, who was identified as 23-year-old Queens resident Gerson Salmon-Negron, with assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard.

“We’re going to do everything we can to find that individual,” he said.

The three people pulled from the water were being treated at Stony Brook University Hospital, officials said. They have since been released.

Peter Stubberfield of Poquott said he and his wife heard the plane flying immediately above his house off the harbor Saturday night immediately followed by the sound of emergency vehicles.

“Within minutes of hearing the plane, there were about 15 to 20 emergency vehicles right in front of our private drive,” he said. “There were two helicopters flying around continually, so we assumed something was going on in the water.”

Margo Arceri, who lives on the Strongs Neck side of the water where the plane crashed, said she and her neighbors jumped into action as soon as they noticed emergency vehicles making their way into the small North Shore community. Upon stepping outside Saturday night, Arceri said she watched emergency personnel pull survivors out of the water, wrap them in blankets and remove them to the nearby hospital.

As the incident unfolded, Arceri said everyone living along the shoreline did something to help, whether that meant picking up a telephone, making way for emergency responders, or even offering up their personal kayaks for rescuers to use to lift the survivors out to safety.

“Where this occurred, there are only a few homes, but instantly, the neighbors pulled together,” she said. “They say, ‘it takes a village,’ and these neighbors showed a real sense of community. We all pulled together immediately. I just wish it had a happier ending.”

One eyewitness who did not want to be named said she called the police Saturday night after watching the plane fly over her Poquott home and into the water. Seconds after hitting the water, the resident said she heard the survivors in the water yelling to each other.

“It sounded like they were talking to each other — not calling out for assistance. I yelled to them to ask if they needed help, but they didn’t hear me at all,” she said. “Within seconds, I saw a large helicopter overhead.”

Police arrived soon after, the woman said, and she and her husband then offered up their three personal kayaks to rescuers, who used the boats to retrieve the survivors.

“I just wish I had put the phone down and run down to the beach,” the witness said. “I just watched. I saw the lights on the plane go out. I’m having a really horrible time with this whole thing.”

A spokesman with the Federal Aviation Administration said Sunday that the plane was en route to Republic Airport in Farmingdale, after taking off from Fitchburg, Mass., but the pilot was reporting engine issues before attempting a forced landing.

Both the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board were at the scene of the crash from Saturday night into the beginning of this week to help with the search efforts, authorities said. Also helping the Suffolk County Police Department and the Coast Guard were local fire departments and the town harbormaster.

Library kicks off bookmark contest for kids

by TBR Staff - February 19, 2016

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Emma_Clark_Library2_Ruizw — File photo by Michael Ruiz

Let creativity shine at Emma Clark Library’s first ever Bookmark Contest.

The challenge — open to all children living in the Three Village Central School District in grades kindergarten through sixth — is to create an original bookmark. The winning entries will be printed and distributed at the library throughout the year. Winners may see their artwork in the hands of their friends, and they can be proud that their creations encourage Three Villagers to read.

To pick up an official entry form and bookmark template, kids may stop by the Children’s Reference Desk or download the form at www.kids.emmaclark.org. The entry deadline is March 31.

Winners will be chosen in three categories — K to second grade, third and fourth and fifth and sixth grades — and announced on May 2 to kick off Children’s Book Week, a national annual celebration and the longest running national literacy initiative in the country, first established in 1919. Join the contest and be a part of a nationwide celebration of reading.

If you have any questions, please email [email protected] or call 631-941-4080, ext. 123. The library is located at 120 Main Street, Setauket.

Winter has bitter history in Three Village

by TBR Staff - February 19, 2016

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Hawkins-Mount-House-Stony-Brookw — Circa 1750 Hawkins-Mount House in Stony Brook at Stony Brook Road and Route 25A. Photo by Beverly Tyler

By Beverly C. Tyler

Our winter weather seems to have as much effect on us today as it did in the 19th century, even though we are well- protected from the effects of the weather in our homes and in our cars as we travel from place to place.

During the winter of 1800-1801, Dr. Samuel Thompson noted the changes in the weather as he ran the operation of his extensive farm in Setauket and cared for the sick. He wrote in his journal, “Thursday, Nov. 13, 1800. Wind [from the] west, cloudy and very thick air with smoke and so dark at nine or 10 o’clock as to light a candle to eat breakfast by – Some rain – but breaks away and the weather is cool.”

Later in the month the weather changed, “Nov. 21, wind northeast (blowing) very hard. Begins to snow long before day continues to snow all day – very cold storm.” On Saturday, the northeast wind continued to blow and on Sunday he wrote that the snow fell all day.

The life of the farmer and other residents in Setauket and Stony Brook continued to be busy through the winter months. There were no crops to tend, as in the summer, but the animals had to be taken care of and the weather seemed to make little difference in the routine.

Heat for the family home in 1800 consisted of a wood fire in the fireplace. Large amounts of wood were cut and stacked each fall, but this usually had to be supplemented by trips into the woods to gather more firewood during the winter.

Thompson’s house — the restored Thompson house on North Country Road in Setauket — has a great central chimney with four fireplaces that provided the only heat for the large saltbox-style farmhouse.

The activity at the Thompson farm continued despite the weather.

“Dec. 30 … Cloudy – snows some – weather cool – kill my cow and ten sheep. George Davis’ wife came here and bought eight pounds of flax. Mr. Green [Rev. Zachariah Green, Setauket Presbyterian Church pastor] came here said Mrs. Akerly was better … Snow this night.”

It was a normal part of the farm routine for local residents to come to the Thompson farm to buy flax, to spin and weave into cloth, or to buy hay for their animals or meat and other farm produce. Thompson and his wife would often have visitors who would spend the night at the farm and leave the next day.

“Dec. 31 … Robbin [indentured farmhand] and Franklin [his oldest son, Benjamin Franklin] cut up the cow and the sheep. Sharper [a black slave farmhand who lived on the Thompson farm] salts them. Salla [Sarah] Smith works here at taloring (sic). Makes a coat and jacket for Killis [farmhand] and a pair of trowsers (sic) for Franklin. Miss Lidda Mount and Miss Sissa Mount come here for a visit, dined here and drank tea here. Mrs. Akerly remains much [sick] so I make her the third phial of antimonial solution.”

The daily routine of life at the Thompson farm continued much the same through the winter. Friends were entertained at tea or at dinner, neighbors and relatives arrived to buy farm produce, and Thompson prescribed for the sick.

Winter weather through the 19th century did not prevent local residents from maintaining their regular activities. In 1819, Henry Hudson was teaching school in Stony Brook in the “Upper School” located on Main Street south of the millpond.

On Feb. 12, he wrote, “ South East wind, I tend school [about 40 students.] Clouds come up to snow at four this afternoon – grows cold – storms hard. I spend the evening at Benah Petty’s with company of young people. Go to Nath. Smith’s to lodge – severe storm. Feb. 13. Snowstorm – cold. I tend school – continues to storm. At four … I go to Joseph Hawkins’ and stay. Feb. 14. Clears off, snow about 10 inches deep – drifted very much. I go to Mr. Green’s meeting [Rev. Zachariah Green] – return to Nath. Smith’s then go to Charles Hallock’s. He tends the meeting and [we were] much engaged [talking about the meeting] and time pleasingly spent. Go to Jedidiah Mills’ this evening. Feb. 15. I tend school, 45 schollars (sic) – continues stormy or more hard [snow or rain] at 4 p.m. – snow goes fast – warm and wet. The company takes a sleigh ride to Setauket. I make out my school bill this evening. Return to Nath. Smith’s at eight to supper. Sloppy uncommon bad walk. Feb. 16. Pleasant sleighing – gone warm. I tend school – 42 schollars – I leave Nath. Smith’s, make three days board. I collect some school money. I make a beginning to the Wido(w) Mount’s to board on the second quarter. Feb. 17. Grows colder – blustering. I tend school. I go to the Wido(w) Mount’s. Comes on to snow at nine this evening – sharp night – some sleighing though poor in the road, considerable snow. Feb. 18. Severe cold, bluster. I tend school – 41 schollars. This cold day. This is the appointment for the bible class. Mr. Green [Rev. Zachariah] comes here at five o’clock with a missionary priest. I return to Mount’s.”

Henry boarded about three days with each family of his students while he taught in Stony Brook. His travels during the week included going, usually on foot, from the Widow Mount’s — the Hawkins-Mount house in Stony Brook — to the Setauket Presbyterian Church. As a schoolteacher on a limited income, Henry did not have a horse and would often walk great distances.

His home, until 1846 when he moved to East Setauket, was at the family’s farm in Long Pond of the Wading River area. After the quarter or half year was over, he walked back to his home, and during the following years, he taught school in South Setauket, Nassakeag, Moriches, and East Setauket often walking from home to school each week. In some years he would walk to Patchogue and back in the same day, or to Riverhead.

Life in the wintertime was hard. The cold was a constant companion and the wood fireplaces could not provide the warmth that we consider to be a normal part of our lives now.

Beverly Tyler is the Three Village Historical Society historian and author of books available from the Three Village Historical Society.

Police blotter: Suffolk County incidents and arrests, Feb. 8-14

by TBR Staff - February 18, 2016

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Unfair fight
On Feb. 9 police arrested a woman from Port Jefferson for assault after they said the 40-year-old attempted to enter her victim’s bedroom at the Fairfield Falls apartment complex on President’s Drive. The victim tried to prevent the suspect from entering the room and was holding a steak knife to protect herself. During the struggle to open the bedroom door, the suspect allegedly took the knife and cut the victim. Police arrested the woman at the scene at 9:37 a.m.

Not so bright
A 40-year-old woman from Miller Place was arrested for driving while ability impaired in a 2012 Hyundai Tuscon on Feb. 8 after crashing into a light pole near the corner of Route 25A and Miller Place Road. Police arrested her at the scene.

Underage and over the limit
Police arrested a 16-year-old boy for driving while ability impaired on Feb. 8. The Selden teen was driving a gray 2005 Acura west on Jericho Turnpike when he failed to maintain his lane. Police arrested him at the corner of Dawn Drive in Centereach around 2 p.m.

On the road again
On Feb. 14, a 21-year-old man from Coram was arrested for leaving the scene of an accident, after police said he crashed his 2004 Mercedes-Benz into a parked 2015 Jeep Wrangler on Barone Drive on Feb. 5 and fled the scene.

Cruisin’ over the rules
Police arrested a man from Smithtown on Feb. 10 for driving with a suspended license and false impersonation. According to police, the 29-year-old had been driving a Nissan Altima on Norwood Avenue in Port Jefferson Station and when pulled over had allegedly given police a different person’s name.

Caught at knifepoint
On Feb. 10, a Rocky Point resident was arrested for assault. Police said the 43-year-old man cut someone with a knife at a residence on Teepee Road. The victim was taken to John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson.

Suspect was uber upset
An unknown person punched and broke a window of the Islandwide taxi on Main Street in Port Jefferson. Police said the incident happened on Feb. 11 around 9:56 p.m.

I spy an iPhone
Between 3 and 11:15 a.m. on Feb. 13, someone stole an iPhone from another person at Junior’s Spycoast bar on Main Street in Port Jefferson.

Roll out
According to police, on Feb. 13 between 1 and 9:30 a.m., an unidentified person stole an all-terrain vehicle from a residence on Tyler Avenue in Miller Place.

Big larceny
On Feb. 9, someone stole a wallet from a locked office in Big Lots at the Centereach Mall.

Going on Holiday
Someone stole a 1996 Acura from a residence on Holiday Park Drive in Centereach on Feb. 12 around 1 a.m.

Morning mischief
Between midnight and 9:40 a.m. on Feb. 14, an unknown person stole money and a key from an unlocked Jeep parked on Cedarhurst Avenue in Selden.

Pocketed
On Feb. 12 around 2:30 a.m., an unidentified person stole a pocketbook from a residence on Krispin Lane in Setauket-East Setauket. The pocketbook contained a wallet, credit cards and a phone. Police didn’t say how the suspect entered the home.

Copping some pipes
Police said an unidentified person entered a residence on Annandale Road in Stony Brook through an unlocked garage door and stole copper piping on Feb. 11.

Hibachi heist
A 50-year-old woman from Kings Park was arrested on Feb. 14 for stealing money from someone’s wallet at K60 Japanese Steakhouse in Lake Grove on Jan. 15, police said. She was charged with grand larceny.

Matinee street fight
On Feb. 13, at about 1 p.m., a 21-year-old man from Port Jefferson was arrested for punching another man in the face following an argument at a location near the Islandia Shopping Center, police said. The victim was treated for injuries at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, according to police. The man was charged with third-degree assault.

Fight night
At a home on Elder Drive in Smithtown just before 9 p.m. on Feb. 13, an 18-year-old woman from Commack was arrested for pulling a woman out of a car and shoving her into the side of the car following an argument, police said. The victim was taken to St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown and treated for minor injuries. The suspect was charged with third-degree assault.

Rush hour road rage
At the intersection of the Northern State Parkway and Commack Road, a 62-year-old man from Commack drove his 1998 Nissan Pathfinder into a 2014 Volkswagen GTI just after 5 p.m. on Feb. 12, police said. He was charged with second-degree reckless endangerment.

Miller’s marijuana house
A 22-year-old man from Dix Hills was arrested for smoking marijuana in the parking lot of Miller’s Ale House on Veterans Memorial Highway in Commack at about 10:30 p.m. on Feb. 12, police said. He was in the driver’s seat of a 2014 Honda. He was charged with fifth-degree criminal possession of marijuana.

Bagged with stolen goods
Sometime between Feb. 1 and Feb. 11, a 27-year-old man from Babylon stole jewelry, DVDs and an Amazon Kindle from a home on Arjay Lane in Commack, police said. He was arrested while trying to sell the jewelry at Best Auto Express Inc. in Selden, according to police. He was charged with possession of a hypodermic needle, criminal possession of stolen property and third-degree burglary.

Blackjack bust
On Middle Country Road in Smithtown on Feb. 11, a 26-year-old man from East Northport seated in a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee was found to have a blackjack, which is a small, easy to conceal club-type weapon, police said. He was charged with fourth-degree possession of a weapon.

Interlocked
A 29-year-old man from Patchogue was pulled over by police near exit 59 heading west on the Long Island Expressway at about 7 p.m. on Feb. 11. He was found to be driving his 2006 Ford Explorer without an interlock device, police said. He was charged with use of a vehicle without interlock.

Sonata spree
At a home on Calvert Avenue in Ronkonkoma at about 11 p.m. on Feb. 13, an unknown person caused damage to tires on a 2011 Hyundai Sonata and a 2005 Hyundai Sonata, police said.

Storm door smashed
At about 2 p.m. on Feb. 13, an unknown person damaged the storm door of a home on Lake Shore Road in Lake Ronkonkoma, according to police.

That stinks
A 27-year-old man from Commack was arrested on Feb. 14 after police said he stole cologne from Saks Fifth Avenue on Walt Whitman Road in Huntington at 10:15 a.m. He was charged with petit larceny.

Why did the chickens cross the road
On Feb. 14, a 25-year-old woman from Wheatley Heights was arrested for stealing 34 packs of chicken breasts from Stop&Shop on Wall Street in Huntington on Jan. 3 at about 1:15 p.m., according to police. She was charged with petit larceny.

Lots of drugs
Police said a 22-year-old man from Huntington Station had marijuana and Xanax in his possession on East Pulaski Road in Huntington Station on Feb. 14 at 2:30 p.m. He was arrested and charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of marijuana.

Crash into me
Police said a 24-year-old woman from Greenlawn failed to maintain her lane while driving a 2007 Chevy on Feb. 13 at 3:45 a.m., and crashed into a 2015 Honda parked on Oakwood Road in Huntington. She was charged with driving while intoxicated.

Weed on waterside
On Feb. 12 a 21-year-old man from Selden was arrested after police said he had marijuana on him during a traffic stop on Waterside Avenue in East Northport at noon. He was charged with fifth-degree criminal possession of marijuana.

Oh Lord! (& Taylors)
A 28-year-old man from Port Washington was arrested on Feb. 12 at 7:45 p.m. after police said he tried to return eight shirts to Lord & Taylor in Huntington that he had stolen. He was charged with fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property.

Fleeing footwear
Police said an unknown person stole three pairs of shoes from Famous Footwear on New York Avenue in Huntington Station just after noon on Feb. 13.

Tree takes the hit
On Feb. 14, a 37-year-old woman from Glen Cove was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated. According to police, she drove a 2003 Honda into a tree on 25A and North Lawrence Hill Road in Cold Spring Harbor at 12:30 a.m.

Interview gone wrong
A 22-year-old woman from Hauppauge was arrested on Feb. 14 on Kendrick Lane in Huntington at 11 p.m. after police said she became belligerent while a police officer was interviewing her and pushed the officer. She was charged with second-degree harassment with physical contact.

No gloves no love
A 27-year-old man from Bay Shore was arrested on Feb. 12 at 5:40 p.m. after police said he stole three pairs of gloves and multiple scarves from Bloomingdales on Walt Whitman Road in Huntington. He was charged with petit larceny.

Lessons I learned from my psychotic mother

by TBR Staff - February 18, 2016

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By Elof Carlson

My mother was a paranoid schizophrenic.

She had been married before in a traditional Jewish arranged marriage to her father’s business acquaintance. He told his daughter, “Ida, this is Max. He will be your husband.” She had two children with her husband, my half-brother Ben and my half-sister Sadie. The marriage failed and eventually they separated, and the children were placed in a Hebrew orphan asylum in New York City.

My mother tried to get her children back, but when she stormed the desk of a charity worker she was instead committed as insane to Pilgrim State Hospital. After three months she was released, and one winter day in Manhattan as she sold key rings on the streets, she tried to warm up in a hotel lobby. The doorman told her to warm up downstairs in the employee’s room. There she met my father, a Swedish-born, lapsed Lutheran, merchant mariner who settled in New York City. He took her to dinner and they began a courtship.

Max obtained a divorce and my parents were married in New Jersey. A year later, my brother Roland was born and a year and a half later, in 1931, I was born.

I began to realize my mother was different when I was about 5 years old. She would get hysterical. She had fights with our father. When she got angry at our behavior, she would smash dishes on the floor and we would scoot under the bed. I got used to meals left half-eaten at restaurants or movies whose ending I did not get to see when she would leave, because she thought people were staring at her or talking about her.

But I also realized she was very protective. My brother was born with a congenital heart condition. She made sure he did not exert himself and took us to the parks to play rather than to play with neighborhood children. She took us to art shops and museums, or cooled us off during heat waves by going back and forth on the Staten Island Ferry.

She took us to bookstores and shared with our father, an elevator operator, the importance of learning and the arts. Every day she would take her violin and play for us for an hour, especially the music of Stephen Foster, Fritz Kreisler and other light classical selections. When we were teenagers, she began going out in the evening and playing as a street musician.

I think my father stayed in a bad marriage because he did not want to see his two children also ending up in an orphan asylum or foster home.

I learned from my mother that she was not insane all the time. She had her good days and I never doubted her love for us. She encouraged our efforts at art and praised our passion for reading. I also admired her ability to do a lot with very little money.

She liked to visit her daughter in California and would get a one-way ticket by train, get off during a rest stop, play her violin for donations from passengers and continue on until she got to California. She only took a sneaker bag for her clothes and her violin case as luggage. It taught me how creative I could be when I lacked the traditional ways to do things.

When I was at Tougaloo College teaching in an all-black school, I found the library had no books or journals on human genetics. So I called the medical school in Jackson, Mississippi, and arranged to bring four students at a time in my car to its library. I taught the students how to use the “Index Medicus” to select articles. We read together taking notes at the library table. I learned about my students’ lives during the car trip to or back from the library.

I would not have improvised had it not been what I learned from my mother.

Elof Axel Carlson is a distinguished teaching professor emeritus in the Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Stony Brook University.

Sex offenders start dropping off registry

by Elana Glowatz - February 17, 2016

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By Elana Glowatz

Suffolk County is entering obscure territory this year as some sex offenders drop off the state registry and others have lost restrictions on where they can live.

Laura Ahearn has advocated for local governments to have the power to regulate where registered sex offenders live. File photo

It was exactly one year ago that the New York State Court of Appeals ruled that local laws restricting where sex offenders could live were invalid, following a lawsuit from a registered offender from Nassau County who challenged his own government’s rule that prohibited him from living within 1,000 feet from a school. Judge Eugene Pigott Jr. wrote in his decision that “a local government’s police power is not absolute” and is pre-empted by state law.

State regulations already prohibit certain sex offenders who are on parole or probation from living within 1,000 feet of a school or other child care facility, according to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, but the local laws went further. In Suffolk County, Chapter 745 made it illegal for all registered sex offenders — not just those on parole or probation — to live within a quarter mile of schools, day care centers, playgrounds or their victims. But following Pigott’s decision, that law, while still technically on the books, is no longer enforceable.

To make matters more complicated, Jan. 1 marked the beginning of the end for some of the lowest level sex offenders on the state registry.

Offenders are grouped into one of three levels based on their perceived risk of committing another sex crime. On the lowest rung, Level 1 offenders who have not received special designations for being violent, being repeat offenders or having a “mental abnormality or personality disorder” that makes the person “likely to engage in predatory sexually violent offenses,” according to the Division of Criminal Justice Services, are only included on the registry for 20 years from their conviction. The New York State correction law enacting that system has just turned 20 years old, meaning the earliest offenders added to the registry are beginning to drop off.

The Sex Offender Registration Act obligates Level 2 and Level 3 offenders, as well as those with the additional designations, to remain on the registry for life, although there is a provision under which certain Level 2 offenders can appeal to be removed after a period of 30 years.

At a recent civic association meeting in Port Jefferson Station, Laura Ahearn from the advocacy group Parents for Megan’s Law — which raises awareness about sex crime issues and monitors offenders — gave examples of offenders set to come off the registry this year, including a man who raped a 4-year-old girl, and another who raped and sodomized a woman.

But it doesn’t stop there.

“It is thousands over time that are going to drop off,” Ahearn said.

A database search of Level 1 offenders along the North Shore of Suffolk County turned up many offenders who had been convicted of statutory rape or possession of child pornography, and who had served little to no time in jail. However, there were more serious offenses as well.

“You know when an adult man or an adult woman rapes a 4-year-old, that is just shocking. That [should be] a lifetime registration.”
— Laura Ahearn

Some of the undesignated Level 1 offenders who were convicted shortly after the Sex Offender Registration Act was created include a Smithtown man, now 43, convicted of first-degree sexual abuse against a 19-year-old; a 61-year-old Rocky Point man who sexually abused a 12-year-old girl more than once; a Huntington man, now 40, who sexually abused an 11-year-old; and a Rocky Point man convicted of incest with a 17-year-old.

Ahearn’s group has argued that sex offenders are more likely to reoffend as time goes on. According to Parents for Megan’s Law, recidivism rates are estimated to be 14 percent after five years and 27 percent after 20 years.

One midnight in January, Suffolk County police arrested a 48-year-old man, later discovered to be a registered Level 1 sex offender, in Fort Salonga after the suspect was allegedly caught undressed inside a vehicle with a 14-year-old boy. Police reported at the time that the two arranged the meeting over a cellphone application and there had been sexual contact.

The man had been convicted of sexual misconduct with a 16-year-old girl in 2003 and was sentenced to six years of probation. His new charges included criminal sex act and endangering the welfare of a child.

“So it makes no sense logically” to let Level 1 offenders drop off the registry after 20 years, Ahearn said in Port Jefferson Station. She has advocated for the terms to be extended or to have offenders appeal to be removed from the registry, like Level 2 offenders can after 30 years, so it can be decided on a case-by-case basis.

It’s a “you-know-it-when-you-see-it kind of thing, because you know when an adult man or an adult woman rapes a 4-year-old, that is just shocking,” she said. “That [should be] a lifetime registration.”

Even if the offenders remain on the registry, the court ruling that struck down restrictions on where most offenders can live has made matters trickier.

Ahearn said the fact that multiple layers of local government had enacted restrictions contributed to the situation.

“What happened is it got out of control,” she said.

County and town laws previously restricted sex offenders from living near schools and playgrounds. File photo

Below the Suffolk County level, for example, the Town of Brookhaven had its own restrictions that prohibited offenders from living within a quarter mile of schools, playgrounds or parks.

There are bills floating around the state government that would tighten restrictions on where certain sex offenders could live, but the only one that has gained traction is a bill state Sen. Michael Venditto (R-Massapequa) sponsored, along with state Sen. John Flanagan (R-East Northport), that would return to local governments the power to regulate where offenders can reside.

“Local laws designed to protect children against registered sex offenders are enacted in response to unique conditions and concerns of specific communities and should act in complement with existing state law,” the bill’s summary read.

Although the bill passed the Senate last year, it died in the Assembly. But Venditto reintroduced his proposal this year.

For more information about sex offender laws or to search for sex offenders in a specific neighborhood, visit the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services at www.criminaljustice.ny.gov or the Parents for Megan’s Law group at www.parentsformeganslaw.org.

Farm sticks to tradition with Maple Sugaring Day

by Giselle Barkley - February 17, 2016

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Benners-Maple-Sugaring-2012-their-personal-pics-015w — Kelan Benner boils down the sap over a wood fire in a previous year. File photo

February is always sweet at Benner’s Farm in Setauket.

The farm, located at 56 Gnarled Hollow Road, will hold its annual Maple Sugaring Day on Saturday, Feb. 20, from noon to 4 p.m. Although the Benners tapped their Norway maple trees last month, the community can come down to learn about the sugaring process from how to tap the trees to boiling down the sap.

Those who wish to attend the event will see the Benners collect and boil the sap down to syrup, see how to make maple sugar candies and enjoy fresh flapjacks drizzled with the syrup collected earlier that day. Owner Bob Benner will also teach residents about the history of maple sugaring and its ties to Native Americans.

While sticky sweet syrup is the main focus of the farm’s Maple Sugaring Day, families can sip hot chocolate and visit Benner’s farm animals during the event. Maple syrup, sugar candies and other maple-based products will also be available for sale.

The Benners started maple sugaring shortly after establishing the farm 39 years ago. The family started its annual maple sugaring event when they opened the event to the public around 1978.

“The event came after we started maple sugaring … we had been tapping our trees [and] as we have lived on the farm. More and more things we share with the public because they’re interested,” said Benner.

According to Benner around 100 people attended the event in the first few years alone. While the sugaring process has changed over the years, the Benners stick to boiling down their sap over a wood fire. Benner said the smoke from the wood enhances the syrup’s flavor.

While sugar maple trees are traditionally used for sugaring events, Benner said people can collect sap from a variety of trees. The farm produces around two to three gallons of syrup annually, but this year may be a little different. The warmer weather earlier this winter gave the trees more time to produce and store more sap, which helps the tree blossom during the spring.

“This is really the beginning of spring because the trees are making sugar [to have enough energy to blossom], Benner said. “Most plants do something like that but maple makes a lot.”

Scouts and small groups can register separately for the farm’s Maple Sugaring tours on Feb. 19 to the 21. Admission for these tours is $10 per person.

Admission for the public event on Saturday, Feb. 20, from noon to 4 p.m. is $8 for adults and $6 for senior citizens and children under 12 years old. Proceeds benefit Homestead Arts, a non-for-profit organization that was established to increase interest in homesteading, folklore and agricultural arts. For more information, call 631-689-8172 or visit the farm’s website at www.bennersfarm.com.

Three Village church keeps building bridges

by Phil Corso - February 16, 2016

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BethelAMEChurchStonyBrook02_Melillow — Bethel AME Church in Setauket. File photo by Alyssa Melillo

“It changed, so how can we?”

That is the question Rev. Greg Leonard of Setauket’s Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church has asked the Three Village community, and that is the question residents will have the chance to answer at a special service planned for next week. Leonard and more than 100 members of his church hosted a moving ceremony in the aftermath of June’s horrific shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Carolina, and he said Black History Month was an appropriate time to reflect.

“At the previous meeting, we started to build bridges to one another and we want to continue doing this,” he said. “And with this being Black History Month, Bethel wanted to take leadership and hold an event at which all people — because black history isn’t just for black people — can come together.”

Bethel AME scheduled the gathering for Saturday, Feb. 27 at 3 p.m. at the church, located at 33 Christian Ave. in Setauket.

Rev. Gregory Leonard leads a service at Bethel AME Church in Setauket. File photo by Alyssa Melillo

The event flyer that Bethel AME Church has been distributed promoted the hash tag #PrayForCharleston, which went viral following the June 17, 2015 shooting that killed nine African Americans at a church in South Carolina. The flyer also challenged the Three Village community with moving the dialogue forward to address racial issues and injustice across America.

“The primary issue we’re talking about is change,” Leonard said. “It’s about how this change happens on a community-wide basis, and also on an individual basis.”

North Shore native Leroy White lost his second cousin DePayne Middleton Doctor in the tragedy and said the outpouring of support from Three Village families was overwhelming in the days following the shooting.

“What we saw was a community coming together so well that it was almost unbelievable,” White said in an interview in June. “The response was so overwhelming that we were taken aback by the number of people who showed up. It showed me that this is one of the better communities in America.”

Since the shooting, Leonard said he has already seen strides made across the country to enhance the discussion about race in America. He cited the removal of the Confederate flag outside a state building in South Carolina back in July as a pivotal moment showing what could be achieved through common understanding.

“That was a revolutionary moment,” he said. “I think no matter how people might have felt, the remembrance of the tragedy and also the great grace the people had in terms of forgiveness after the fact can begin to build bridges, even to people who feel they might oppose your stance on any particular matter.”

Three Village BOE tackles science and English

by Andrea Moore Paldy - February 16, 2016

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Engelbright&Vorwald1_3VBOE_Feb16_Paldyw — State Assemblyman Steve Englebright, right, is applauded after paying a surprise visit to the Three Village board of education meeting last week in honor of Gary Vorwald. Photo by Andrea Moore Paldy

The science department chair at P. J. Gelinas Junior High School received special recognition at the most recent Three Village board of education meeting.

Gary Vorwald has taught science in Three Village since 1997 and has led the Gelinas Science Olympiad team to several championships. He also has received awards in his own right. Among them, he was named a New York State master teacher in 2015. In the same year, the New York Earth Science Teachers Association gave him its first Distinguished Earth Science Teacher award.

In Vorwald’s honor, State Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket)paid a surprise visit during the board meeting. The Gelinas science teacher and paleontologist had just completed a presentation on the secondary science curriculum with colleagues Marnie Kula and Patrick McManus.

Englebright praised Vorwald.

“He has brought distinction to his work, but that’s not what he tried to do,” said the assemblyman, who also is a geologist and lecturer at Stony Brook University.

“What he tried to do is bring opportunities for learning for our children. The other things just happened because he was successful in bringing out the best. … He’s a scientist as well as a teacher. We’re so very fortunate that he brought his mastery of science and his unquenchable desire to learn as an inspiration for our kids.”

During their curriculum presentation, Vorwald and his colleagues emphasized dedication to science instruction.

“We want to keep kids jazzed about science,” said Kula, Ward Melville High School science and InSTAR chair.

The department’s goal, she said, is to help students to be hands-on, active learners.

“I’m happy to say that science is alive and well in Three Village,” Kula said, mentioning the district’s Regents scores, which surpass the state’s pass and mastery rates.

She added that while students are only required to take one physical and one life science for an Advanced Regents diploma, 60 to 65 percent of each graduating class exceeds the minimum requirements by taking both chemistry and physics.

Ward Melville offers every AP science course available, as well as several science electives that include astronomy, consumer chemistry and forensics.

Perhaps the best-known program at the high school is its three-year Independent Science Technology and Research (InSTAR) program. Its participants have received numerous honors in competitions such as The DuPont Challenge, Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision, Siemens and the Intel Science Talent Search.

Opportunities for students to engage in science outside the classroom include the Robotics team at the high school and Science Olympiad and Science Bowl at all three schools. Students can also take part in beach cleanups and partnerships with Stony Brook University and the Brookhaven National Lab Open Space Stewardship program.

Vorwald said that the district’s science educators are preparing for an update in science standards. He explained that New York is developing new standards, based on Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), a framework for K-12 science education. New York state science teachers are providing feedback “to tweak and modify” the standards, he said, adding that the edits will be submitted to the Board of Regents for possible adoption this spring.

Once the new standards are adopted, the department will develop a new curriculum. McManus, science chair at R.C. Murphy Junior High School, said additional goals are to bring coding to the junior high schools and to continue to bring more technology and upper-level advanced courses to the classroom.

English as a New Language

Perhaps less well known is the district’s English as a New Language (ENL) program, previously known as English as a Second Language. This program provides specialized instruction to English language learners at Nassakeag Elementary School, Gelinas and Ward Melville.

The district differentiates instruction according to proficiency level. There are “stand-alone” classes that follow the research-based Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol model. This means students learn English and develop academic skills to prepare them for success in a non-ENL classroom. Integrated classrooms offer grade-level instruction in English taught either by a teacher certified in English and ENL or taught with a co-teacher.

As of December 2015, the district has a total of 55 ENL students. Forty-seven percent of the district’s ENL students speak Spanish as their “home” language, while 25 percent speak Chinese and 9 percent, Korean. Other “home” languages include Russian, Japanese, Gujarati, Lithuanian, Greek, Tagalog, French and Hebrew.

Board Policy

In other news, the board voted to allow the use of district credit cards.

District credit cards will be used mostly for maintenance projects, said Jeff Carlson, assistant superintendent for business services. He said the cards would be used for purchases from stores such as Lowes and Home Depot, so that workers wouldn’t have to travel for parts.

The use of district credit cards represents a significant policy change.

“At a different time in our history in Three Village, we specifically established a policy that forbade the use of credit cards because there had been abuses,” BOE head Bill Connors said.

“We’re at a very different time. Plus we have the checks and balances in place now that we didn’t have back at a different time in our history.”

Carlson’s office will review disbursements monthly. The district has an internal auditor and a claims auditor who will also review the records.

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