Smithtown Messenger Archive Oct.5, 2023

‘Mister Environment’ Disclosure Forms Show Englebright’s Oil Investments

By Matt Meduri

Perhaps one of the biggest upsets of the 2022 New York State elections was that of Ed Flood’s (R-Port Jefferson Station) ousting of long-time incumbent Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket). Englebright served in the Suffolk County Legislature from 1983 until his 1992 election to the Assembly. Englebright served there until his defeat last year.

Englebright’s downfall was in part due to perception of his lack of connection to community as well as the rapidly-changing political lean of northern Brookhaven. The coattails of Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) in his near-upset gubernatorial win are also credited with Englebright’s loss.

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Kicks 4 Cancer: Hauppauge’s Most Cherished Event’s 15th Anniversary

By Kaitlyn Foley

Every September, students sulk with the idea of going back to school. However, in Hauppauge, the sulking quickly comes to an end as soon as the date for Kicks 4 Cancer approaches. This year, October 3 hosted the town’s event, filling the day with pink in every form possible. “Say it, fight it, cure it!” sings through the hallways as the schools Kicks 4 Cancer fight song.

The boys and girls varsity soccer teams played in their annual pink games, the boys at 4:00p.m. and the girls at 6:00p.m. against Westhampton. Both teams came out on top and let up zero goals for the other teams

Leading up to Kicks 4 Cancer, the school district has a “spirit week” to garner more excitement for the event. Students dress up daily according to different themes throughout the week. The final day, Kicks 4 Cancer, is Pink Out. Everyone wears as much pink as possible, including spray painted hair and pink stickers. The soccer teams have their own pink uniforms for the event, and they continue wearing them throughout the month of October.

The tradition of Kicks 4 Cancer in Hauppauge began in 2008 to honor and support Courtney Tompkin, a beloved Hauppauge High School student diagnosed with brain cancer at the age of seventeen.

Courtney was a junior in high school when she was diagnosed and passed away just shy of a year later. She was known to be a beautiful person inside and out, who had positive charm and resilient character.

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‘Mister Environment’: Disclosure Forms Show Englebright’s Oil Investments

Now, Englebright is eyeing a political comeback in the form of returning to the Suffolk Legislature. The Fifth District is currently vacant after termlimited Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) resigned to take a job with the New York State Parks Department earlier this year. The race was already shaping up to be competitive due to lack of incumbency and a close call for Hahn in the 2021 red wave. Anthony Figliola (R-East Setauket) is parlaying his name recognition from his 2022 Congressional run and hoping to flip a long-held Democratic seat.

Englebright’s involvement in the race initially seemed to give Figliola a run for his money.

The problem is: Englebright seems to have always been running for his own money, even if it meant acting as an environmentalist by day, and an oil magnate by night.

Recently-obtained financial disclosure forms show that Englebright, formerly Chair of the Assembly’s Environmental Conservation Committee, not only stalled efforts to introduce fracking in Upstate New York, but also invested in fracking companies in Kansas and Texas.

The financial disclosure forms filed with the Legislative Ethics Commission are individually submitted for each fiscal year. Members of the legislature are required to disclose all forms of income to the commission each fiscal year. For fiscal years 2012, 2013, and 2014, The Messenger can confirm that Englebright’s own handwriting acknowledges his investment in out-of-state oil companies.

While out-of-state investments and profits are not necessarily unethical, it calls his environmental character into question. In 2011, Englebright sponsored Assembly Bill A6541A, the Look Before You Leap Act of 2012, which set a five-year moratorium on high-volume hydraulic fracking for the purpose of investigating the effects of said fracking.

Fracking is the process of injecting liquid at high pressure into rocks or other geological formations to force open existing fissures for the purpose of oil or gas extraction.

In a Facebook post dated March 6, 2013, Englebright wrote:

“Due to continued safety questions, Assembly votes to enact fracking moratorium; two year moratorium would allow for continued review of health and environmental impacts. Concerns have repeatedly been raised about the potential impact of using horizontal drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas from certain shale formations in New York State. The Assembly Bill (A.5424/Sweeney) would prohibit the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) from issuing permits for drilling in certain areas of the state including Marcellus and Utica shale formations in order to allow for the continued examination of fracking’s potential effect on public health and the environment.”

The justification for the bill is listed as: “The relatively new drilling method known as high-volume hydraulic fracturing, or fracking carries significant environmental risks. Among the adverse environmental impacts associated with fracking such as heavy truck traffic, road building and site clearing, the process itself involves drilling into the earth and pumping millions of gallons of water under high pressure into the ground that is mixed with sand and laced with industrial chemicals which the industry is not legally bound to disclose. The poisonous fluid fractures the shale and releases natural gas deposits for collection. In addition to the chemically laden water pumped into the drillsite, highly corrosive salts, carcinogens like benzene and radioactive elements like radium all can occur naturally thousands of feet underground and combine with the frocking [sic] fluids to create millions of gallons of highly salinated toxic wastewater.”

This was followed up by a 2020 ban on fracking in New York State, citing health concerns from the chemicals used in fracking, some of which have been linked to cancer, mutations, and other adverse effects. Additionally, the release of methane gasses linked to fracking is said to be more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide.

While Englebright helped put the moratorium on

fracking in New York, which could have been an economic boon to the alreadydepressed parts of western New York, he was simultaneously investing in fracking ventures in Kansas and Texas.

Englebright’s handwritten disclosure statements show that he invested at least $1,000 in Nueces Valley Resources. The written statement reads:

“Nueces Valley Resources to unit in oil field redevelopment in Kansas.”

“Red River Securities / Regal Oil Corporation Energy Company one-half unit natural gas development in Texas.”

His 2014 disclosure shows two statements of the Texas investments, indicating two separate ventures. The 2015 showed that the Kansas investment was sold and that the two Texas operations were “inoperable” and that Englebright’s “actual ownership” of all three had ended.

The 2012, 2013, and 2014 statements contained a note that all investments were “entirely outside of New York State.”

Nueces Valley Resources was acquired by Bayside Petroleum, Inc., in 2009. According to HartEnergy: “Nueces Valley held producing oil interests in South Texas and northeastern Kansas. Bayside expects to begin a remedial program on certain wells located on the South Texas properties after an initial study. Also, Bayside anticipates increasing the daily production from the more than 200 wells on the Kansas properties by redesigning the enhanced oil recovery procedures on these wells.”

It appears Englebright’s investment in “redevelopment” goes hand-in-hand with Bayside’s remedial efforts in South Texas and northeastern Kansas. Bayside’s business “includes the wholesale distribution of crude petroleum and petroleum products.”

Red River Securities, disclosed by Englebright in his statements, was involved in a scandal in 2017. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) “enables investors and firms to participate in the market with confidence by safeguarding its integrity. We deploy deep expertise, leading technology and extensive market intelligence to serve as the first line of oversight for the brokerage industry - all at no cost to taxpayers.”

In 2017, FINRA “expelled Plano, TX-based broker-dealer Red River Securities, LLC, barred its CEO Brian Keith Hardwick, and ordered the firm and Hardwick to jointly and severally pay $24.6 million in restitution to customers for fraudulent sales in five oil and gas joint ventures. The hearing panel found that the respondents engaged in a pattern of misrepresentations and omissions that spanned nearly four years and involved sales in the risky joint ventures.”

Outside of the ethical complications surrounding Englebright’s ventures, his current campaign also took a donation from the Eastman Chemical Company. Once a subsidiary of Kodak, today Eastman “is an independent global specialty materials company that produces a broad range of advanced materials, chemicals and fibers for everyday purposes.”

A 2022 article by the Tennessee Lookout says: “For nearly a decade, the Eastman Chemical Company has been emitting unsafe levels of sulfur dioxide into the communities surrounding its Kingsport, Tenn. plants in violation of national air quality standards.”

The article also says: “The coal-fired plants are the source of the sulfur dioxide emissions, which can damage human respiratory systems and contribute to acid rain.

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s ‘Air Pollution Control Division has been working with the Environmental Protection Agency for nine years to lower the sulfur dioxide release levels around the Eastman Chemical Company’s facility in Kingsport and must continue until attainment is achieved,’ the audit said.”

One of Englebright’s final moments of productivity was the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act in 2019, which hopes to end New York’s reliance on fossil fuels. The legislation sets a goal of generating 70% of the state’s energy through renewable sources by 2030 and 100% by 2040.

In 2021, Englebright sponsored the “Green Amendment,” which asserts that “each person shall have a right to clean air and water, and a healthful environment.”

Campaign disclosure reports show a $1,000 donation from Eastman Chemical Company, with the address listed in Kingsport, Tennessee, to Friends of Steve Englebright on December 7, 2022. The money has been sent to Englebright’s campaign for this year’s Suffolk Legislature race.

These issues have not been brought to light during the campaign. Englebright recently received the endorsement of the New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV), a social welfare organization headquartered in New York City stating that they “fight climate change, conserve land and water, and protect public health in New York State through political action.”

Englebright’s 2013 Disclosure Statement

Englebright’s 2022 donation from Eastman Chemical Company

Edith L. Slocum Teacher

Brings Mindfulness to the Classroom

In reading “My Magic Breath” by Alison Taylor and Nick Ortner to the class, Ms. Marrazzo’s students (pictured left) gained an understanding of the power of using their breath and how to use it to calm down, focus and manage difficult emotions such as worry. “Teaching children to use tools to become mindful at a young age has countless positive effects,” said Ms. Marrazzo. “They are creating healthy coping habits that can last a lifetime.”

She followed up the reading with an activity, creating “jellyfish breathing cups.” The cups are a clear visual for students to become aware of their breath, using a plastic cup as the jellyfish body and streamers as the tentacles. “As students breathe out, they see the jellyfish’s ‘tentacles’ move and know that they are helping themselves mentally,” said Ms. Marrazzo.

Aside from her 21-year teaching career, Ms. Marrazzo has been a yoga practitioner for the past 15 years and last year, obtained a certification in children’s yoga and mindfulness. In looking for ways to share the benefits of these practices, Ms. Marrazzo began a yoga and mindfulness club at Edith L. Slocum Elementary for third to fifth graders and incorporated a weekly yoga practice into her second-grade classroom.

As part of the students’ weekly practice, Ms. Marrazzo began using mantras with her secondgrade students and said the positive benefits were evident. From there, she began writing mantras as part of a children’s yoga lesson plan which naturally evolved into the first draft of her book. Ms. Marrazzo’s children’s book, “Everyday Mindful Mantras for Minis,” is a tool that can be used to build children’s self-confidence and help them cope with big feelings and difficult situations. The book will be available in November.

Sachem Board of Education Honors Success

During the Sachem Board of Education meeting held on September 27, several recognitions showcased the district’s excellence in the classroom and on the athletic field.

Director of Athletics, Health, Physical Education and Health Services Gary Beutel presented Sachem High School East Principal Andrew Larson and Sachem High School North Principal Louis Antonetti with athletic awards from the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA).

NYSPHSAA designated Sachem High School North as a School of Distinction. To qualify for this prestigious award, 100% of the school’s varsity athletic teams qualified for and received the Scholar-Athlete Team Award during their respective seasons. Additionally, Sachem High School East was recognized as a School of Excellence for having garnered Scholar-Athlete Team Awards by 97% of the school’s athletic teams.

High School East junior Arianna Schuman was also recognized for her community service and dedication to Angela’s House, a local nonprofit that assists families who are caring for medically fragile children. As part of her Girl Scout Gold Star Award, Arianna refurbished two gardens at the Angela’s House Stony Brook location. She filled the gardens with new bushes and plants and created a rock garden that features stones painted with the names of children who passed away.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Christopher J. Pellettieri said Arianna “embodies the culture of caring” that is emphasized throughout the district.

There was also a presentation highlighting the district’s science and mathematics curriculum for grades K-12. Math teacher Shannon Murphy gave a demonstration of the school’s drones that are being utilized in the STEAM program.

At the beginning of the meeting, the board of education and administrators stood in front of the SmartBoard, which contained well-wishes to the Farmingdale Dalers, to demonstrate support in the district’s time of need.

Second graders in Erin Marrazzo’s class at Edith L. Slocum Elementary School in the Connetquot Central School District learned about the benefits of mindfulness breathing during a special lesson.

Both Sachem High School principals were presented the School of Excellence and the School of Distinction awards from the NYSPHSAA.

High School East student Arianna Schuman was honored for her work with Angela’s House (Credit - Sachem Central School District).

Sachem North Raises Thousands for Pulsera Project

Since 2017, the Interact Club at Sachem High School North has partnered with the Pulsera Project, a nonprofit organization that connects Central American artists with students in the U.S. through the sale of colorful, handwoven bracelets, or “pulseras” in schools. In this time frame, the Interact Club has sold bracelets on behalf of artisans in Nicaragua and Guatemala at fair trade prices, raising a total of $16,715 for the organization. To thank Sachem High School North for its generosity and contributions to the Pulsera Project, the organization sent the school a handwoven banner.

The Pulsera Project provides High School North students with a cultural exchange.

The building’s hallways are brightened with colorful art, while it is simultaneously providing a market for the artisans. All money from the sales is invested in people and gives them opportunities for higher education, access to healthcare, loans for housing and businesses, environmental initiatives and more.

The Interact Club brings together students to develop their leadership skills while providing service to several causes. Through their work, students have embraced the Pulsera Project’s philosophy that service is a two-way street. They have gained valuable experience at a young age that has encouraged them to be responsible global citizens.

Middle Country Central School District Stands in Solidarity with Farmingdale

In a heartfelt display of support, unity, and grief, students and teachers from the Middle Country Central School District wore green to honor the memory of two Farmingdale School District educators who tragically lost their lives and the many Farmingdale students who were injured in a horrific bus crash on their way to band camp in Pennsylvania.

“The Middle Country Central School District extends our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the educators who lost their lives,” said Dr. Roberta Gerold, Superintendent of Schools. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those families as well as our hope for a speedy and full recovery for those students who sustained injuries as a result of this unimaginable and frightening accident.”

Students, teachers, and community members in the Middle Country Central School District sported Farmingdale’s color green. The color green also symbolizes hope, renewal, and growth. By wearing green, the students and staff of the Middle Country School District wanted to create a visual reminder of their unity and support for the Farmingdale community.

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Editorial ‘Mr. Environment’ Has Some Explaining To Do

The world of politics is a dark one. Sure, nobody is perfect, and many people let the perfect be the enemy of the good when it comes to candidates. We need to remind ourselves that politicians - sorry, elected officials - are people too and they’re not perfect and will fall short because, as people, we all do.

That said, politics is a world of game-playing, hobnobbing, and deal-making, some for more honest efforts than others, but it’s occasionally sprinkled with a touch of deceit, hypocrisy, and selfishness.

Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) did more than just sprinkle those attributes into his current campaign — he dumped them all in.

Steve Englebright was a Suffolk County Legislator from 1983 until he was elected to the Fourth Assembly District in 1992. He served in Albany for thirty years, all of which were in the majority party as a Democrat, and he even rose to the rank of Chair of the Environmental Conservation Committee. Englebright made the environment the focal point of his tenure in Albany, going as far as sponsoring a ban on hydraulic fracking in New York State and sponsored legislation that banned commercial fishing of menhaden and baitfish.

The recent shark attacks have been attributed to his legislation, as largerthan-usual schools of fish have attracted sharks that have inadvertently attacked swimmers this summer and last summer. While many would not try to contest ocean territory from sharks, it seems like a fairly logical conclusion that banning fishing leads to increased shark presence. Even if it is a laudable and valid goal in terms of environmental protection, legislative oversight is the real problem. When asked about the consequence, Englebright simply said: “I’m not sure that one could have predicted there would be the seriousness that this has become.”

We’re assuming that Steve is also unsure of how his business ventures while chair of the powerful environmental committee, a position he assumed in 2015, could have possibly turned out, other than profitable, when the science on fracking was still so fresh.

Documents that have recently been obtained by The Messenger show that Steve not only denied residents of his state an economic booster shot through oil and gas fracking, but he actively benefitted - or at least tried to benefit from it - through his personal investments.

Each year, members of the State Legislature must file a financial disclosure form with the Legislative Ethics Commission. In addition to a salary obtained from teaching at Stony Brook University, while an Assemblyman, and dealing in real estate in Prince Edward Island, Canada, Steve was investing in oil field redevelopments in Kansas and Texas - while he was serving in the Assembly on a staunchly proenvironment record.

In 2013, Steve sponsored Assembly Bill 6451, an act to enact the “look before you leap act of 2012” relating to the “imposition of a 5 year moratorium on high volume hydraulic fracturing for the purpose of conducting an investigation of the effect of hydraulic fracturing.”

The purpose of his bill was stated as: “This bill seeks to place a 5 year moratorium upon hydraulic fracturing in New York State in order to learn from the fracking experiences of other states, and particularly neighboring Pennsylvania, and requires the state university centers at Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo and Stony Brook to conduct an investigation into the cumulative impacts of hydraulic fracturing across the country, which is necessitated by the exemptions granted to the oil and gas industry from major federal environmental laws that protect our air, lands, and water.

The justification for the bill is stated as: “The relatively new drilling method known as high-volume hydraulic fracturing, or fracking carries significant environmental risks. Among the adverse environmental impacts associated with fracking such as heavy truck traffic, road building and site clearing, the process itself involves drilling into the earth and pumping millions of gallons of water under high pressure into the ground that is mixed with sand and laced with industrial chemicals which the industry is not legally bound to disclose. The poisonous fluid fractures the shale and releases natural gas deposits for collection. In addition to the chemically laden water pumped into the drillsite, highly corrosive salts, carcinogens like benzene and radioactive elements like radium all can occur naturally thousands of feet underground and combine with the frocking fluids to create millions of gallons of highly salinated toxic wastewater.”

Steve also went out of his way to use Pennsylvania as an example from which to learn about the potential dangers of fracking, singling out then-Governor Tom Corbett (R):

“Next door in Pennsylvania there has been a doubling of active wells from 36,000 in 2000 to 71,000 in 2010. Governor Tom Corbett has been quoted as saying Pennsylvania will become the next Texas of the gas industry. He has recently given new powers to the Secretary of Community and Economic Development that give authority to override Environmental Protection and other agencies if he thinks they are slowing Marcellus explosion, despite over 1400 violations of environmental lain [sic] that DEP cited against gas drillers just last year.”

Apparently, the prospect that Pennsylvania would “become the next Texas of the gas industry” was just so tempting for Steve that he had to go to Texas - and Kansas - to cash in on the deal himself.

His financial disclosure forms from 2012, 2013, and 2014 show his Great Plains investments with one company, Red River Securities, being slammed for fraud and misleading investors in 2017. Steve stipulates in the 2014 form, shortly before his ascension to the chairmanship of the Environmental Conservation Committee, that he sold his Kansas venture and that the two Texas ventures were inoperable and that his actual ownership had ended.

So, Steve thinks that hydraulic fracking is so terrible that it needs to be banned in New York, but subjecting the residents of Kansas and Texas to such environmental hazards is fine as long as he can make a quick buck?

Moreover, even if no one is in direct harm from such practices, is the climate any better off? Steve dedicated his final years in Albany to putting the state on the path to carbon-neutrality. His entire tenure was about the environment. His business ventures in oil fracking weren’t during his time at the County Legislature in the 1980s, nor were they in his formative years in the Assembly; this was ten years ago.

But even if this was somewhat removed from his recent activity in Albany, Steve landed a nice donation from a scandal-plagued chemical company. He received $1,000 in a campaign donation just this December for his run for the County Legislature this year.

Eyeing a comeback to the Legislature, Steve, 77, is asking the same people who denied him a thirtieth-year in Albany to send him to Hauppauge. Anthony Figliola (R-East Setauket) is putting up a strong fight for the Fifth District, once a Democratic stronghold that now finds itself squarely in the eye of the political hurricane.

Steve received $1,000 from Eastman Chemical Company, a Tennessee-based “independent global specialty materials company that produces a broad range of advanced materials, chemicals and fibers for everyday purposes.”

The Tennessee Lookout said in 2022 that “for nearly a decade, the Eastman Chemical Company has been emitting unsafe levels of sulfur dioxide into the communities surrounding its Kingsport, Tenn. plants in violation of national air quality standards…The coal-fired plants are the source of the sulfur dioxide emissions, which can damage human respiratory systems and contribute to acid rain.” The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Air Pollution Control Division had been working with the EPA for nine years to lower the sulfur dioxide release around Eastman’s facility in Kingsport, Tennessee.

Why would this chemical company, who appears to have contributed to some chemical spills of varying toxicities, endorse not only an ardent supporter of the environment, but one from Setauket for a local county race?

Overall, it seems that “Mr. Environment” flirted with the prospects of a new form of technology to benefit himself, while simultaneously cheating residents of his own state from a much-needed form of economic innovation. Additionally, he invested in fledgling oil companies financed by a shady firm.

Steve Englebright needs to publicly address the disclosures and the contradiction with his own values and espoused passions. Additionally, the New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV), by far one of the most politically active and prominent environmental and social welfare organizations, needs to review their endorsement of Englebright for the race in the Fifth District for Suffolk County Legislature.

We understand that some elected officials occasionally fall short, but Englebright’s conduct while in the Assembly seems intentionally self-motivated and signals a clear betrayal of values and dishonesty to his constituents.

Correction: Brookhaven Messenger 09/21 ‑ Candidate Spotlight: Legislator Nick Caracappa

Legislator Caracappa discussed his work regarding his 2021 letter to then-Governor Cuomo regarding the abysmal state of the Long Island Expressway (LIE). Caracappa’s letter was signed by all eighteen Suffolk Legislators and all ten Suffolk Town Supervisors. His frustrations were with the timeline, not the lack of money, of the full repairs of the LIE, then slated for 2024-2025.

Legislator Caracappa is endorsed by the Long Island Builder’s Institute (LIBI), not the Long Island Business Institute.

Legislator Caracappa’s efforts to ensure workforce housing is for the benefit of all young professionals, not just our teachers or medical workers. These were just two of the many examples Legislator Caracappa outlined. We shortened the list for the sake of brevity without stipulating that these were not the only two examples.

“ADA-compliant housing,” referring to housing that is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, was intended to be printed instead of “IDA-Compliant housing.”

Mail-In Ballots Were Rejected By Voters, But Albany’s Partisan Politics Wins The Day

By Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay

Governor Hochul (D) and her political allies have made great efforts to convince New Yorkers they are motivated by improving our democratic processes, but actions speak louder than words. The push to widely expand mail-in voting runs contrary to what voters expressed in a statewide referendum in 2021, yet New York is prepared to implement it anyway.

The move, while portrayed as a way to “protect democracy” and increase voter participation, is motivated entirely by political considerations. Access to absentee ballots already exists. Inperson voting is an important part of our democracy, and it represents the best way to combat voter fraud and other electoral foul play. We know this to be the case, and voters in New York made that clear by overwhelmingly rejecting mail-in ballot expansion when it came up just two years ago.

In our system of government, the voice of the people takes priority above all else. Our electoral process is built on the principle that what happens at the ballot box determines the course of action. On mail-in ballots, the results of the 2021 election were deliberately overturned, and New Yorkers should be very concerned.

Luckily, Democrats’ bold-faced rejection of our most fundamental democratic principles will likely be blocked in court. It is clear that in order to actually expand mail-in voting a constitutional amendment is needed; that is the reason it appeared on the ballot in the first place. Now, time, energy and resources are going to need to be wasted to restore election procedures that never should have been tampered with in the first place.

Attention Needed at Brookhaven Animal Shelter

As the owner of three much-loved dogs, I would be very upset if, by accident, any of them got loose and had to wind up in the Brookhaven Animal Shelter. I don’t trust them to care for the animals they pick up, given that they now do not allow volunteers to come into the building and are making them sign non-disclosure agreements (NDA) even to volunteer there.

I’m wondering what one of them saw or reported on to elicit such a paranoid reaction. Some of them have volunteered there for over 15 years, a record unmatched by many other organizations. I think the NDA requirement should be removed immediately and some deadline dates and named responsibility be added to the prospective list of improvements that appeared in the article on the shelter in Newsday recently, if local dog owners are to believe anything is really happening.

Mary K. Chelton East Patchogue

These changes represent a troubling pattern where New York’s election laws are being turned upsidedown. In addition to the expansion of absentee voting, recent laws to move local elections to evennumbered years and dictate where constitutional challenges to election outcomes can occur have also been pushed onto an unwilling electorate. These measures will undoubtedly drown out local issues and favorably impact the governor and her allies, and one can only wonder if they would even be on the agenda if not for their political value.

The motivation behind these changes is obvious: preservation of New York’s one-party rule. Forcing

through a law that was summarily rejected at the ballot box is bad enough. Claiming to be doing so in the name of democracy is a level of disingenuous political rhetoric we haven’t seen in quite some time.

If you have any questions or comments on this or any other state issue, or if you would like to be added to my mailing list or receive my newsletter, please contact my office. My office can be reached by mail at 19 Canalview Mall, Fulton, NY 13069 and by email at barclayw@nyassembly.gov You may also find me, Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay, on Facebook or on Twitter at @WillABarclay.

Natural Organic Reduction Legislation

How deceased bodies (remains) are cared for is one of the latest issues to be examined through an environmental lens. For example, last December New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law legislation allowing “Natural Organic Reduction” (NOR) as a form of final disposition. On behalf of 900+ member funeral homes across the state, the New York State Funeral Directors Association (NYSFDA) wanted to share information on this new option.

Before I go further into this type of disposition, please keep in mind the State is in the regulatory process and how NOR works in New York is evolving. Therefore, facilities are not currently set up and equipped to perform this type of disposition. It’s also important to note, cemeteries in New York are the only facilities allowed under the law to offer this new service to consumers.

So, what exactly is NOR? When signed into law, NOR became the third legal form of final disposition, along with burial (42.4% in 2022; NY) and cremation (53.5% in 2022; NY). NOR is an accelerated method of human decomposition. This new technology and process involves placing deceased human bodies in vessels where they are covered with wood chips and aerated, transforming the bodies into soil. Again, the State is still defining its process.

This form of disposition was first introduced to the death care industry in 2015-16 with a human composting study at Washington State University, the Urban Death Project (now Recompose). Catching the attention of Washington State legislators, it became allowable by law in May 2019 and took effect in May 2020. In 2021 Colorado and Oregon legalized the process and in 2022 California and Vermont followed suit. New York is the sixth state to legalize this form of disposition.

For those interested in this type of disposition, we encourage you to do your research. NYSFDA has compiled information on our consumer website, www.goodatgoodbyes. com. We will continue to update the information as new details are determined.

Licensed Funeral Directors are compassionate experts fully responsive to what a person desires for their own funeral and final disposition. Once regulations and protocol are in place in New York, NYSFDA members will work to honor and uphold the wishes of anyone choosing Natural Organic Reduction as a method of final disposition.

John O. D’Arienzo, President New York State Funeral Directors Association (NYSFDA) D’Arienzo Funeral Home, Inc., Brooklyn

TheMessenger’s Crystal Ball Ratings Changes - 10/05

By Matt Meduri

With just about a month left until Election Day, The Messenger has collected more information on the state of the races across Suffolk County and we’re ready to unveil ratings changes for this month.

Current Rankings at a Glance

The tables at the bottom of pages 12 and 13 display our current race ratings for the seven Town Supervisor races on the ballot this year, as well as eighteen Suffolk County Legislature seats.

A “Safe” rating indicates that these seats are not competitive and are viewed as a “safe bet” for the incumbent party.

A “Likely” rating means that these seats are at the fringe of competition and have the potential to become more engaged. For the incumbent party, this means that the seat is fairly safe but still warrants watching. Additionally, this includes our mindfulness of watching the margins on election night, as margins in seats with this rating might be thinner than usual. For the nonincumbent party, a “Likely” rating means that the race is fairly certain to flip.

A “Leans” rating means that while one party has a distinct advantage, this is a competitive and engaged race.

A “Toss Up” rating means no party has a clear advantage and this race could easily go either way.

Currently, we rate the County Executive race as “Likely Republican,” on the grounds that Brookhaven Town Supervisor (R-Center Moriches) Ed Romaine will end the GOP drought in Suffolk and use his long-storied and well-respected political career to flip control of the office.

We rate eight County Legislature seats as “Safe Republican,” creating a large hurdle for Democrats to clear if they expect to recapture control of the body. Only one seat is ranked as “Safe Democrat.” We currently expect the GOP to flip two Legislative seats: the First and Fifth Districts.

In the First District, we previously discussed our belief that Catherine Stark (R-Riverhead) is favored to flip this seat, not only due to Ed Romaine’s previous representation of the area and his expected down ballot energy from the top of the ticket, but also the fundamentally Republican nature of the district. Stark is also a legislative aide to Al Krupski (D-Cutchogue), whose moderate brand of politics has understated the deep-red roots of the North Fork. The district includes parts of eastern Brookhaven, northern Southampton, all of Riverhead, Southold, and Shelter Island.

In the Fifth District, we boldly moved the race to favor Anthony Figliola (R-East Setauket), who unsuccessfully ran for the Republican Primary in the First Congressional District election in 2022.

This time, Figliola is eyeing one of the most quickly-changing areas of Suffolk County: northwestern Brookhaven, anchored by traditionally blue areas of Stony Brook, Setauket, and Port Jefferson. Former Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) is running for another stint in the Legislature after previously serving there in the 1980s-1990s, and then as an Assemblyman from 1992 until his 2022 defeat by Ed Flood (R-Port Jefferson Station).

We only expect one Town Supervisorship to change hands: Southold, based on Legislator Al Krupski’s (D-Cutchogue) moderate record and well-respected career on the North Fork. The other six Town Supervisor races appear mostly safe for either party, with three favoring the GOP and three favoring the Democrats.

Additionally, only three town council districts warrant less-than-safe ratings. In Brookhaven, the Setauket-based First District has a rating of “Leans Democrat,” based on the traditionally Democratic hue this area of Suffolk tends to display. We think, however, incumbent Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) is in for a race against political newcomer Gary Bodenburg (R-Port Jefferson).

Brookhaven’s Fourth Council District is currently rated as “Likely Republican,” based on the Republican-leaning environment, Ed Romaine’s expected down ballot coattails to fellow Republicans, and Councilman Michael Loguercio’s (R-Ridge) three terms of incumbency. This slightly-Democratic district was narrowly flipped by Loguercio in 2015. He was re-elected in 2019 by just five points.

Finally, in Islip, the Third District boasts a “Likely Republican” ranking, as this is the first election in which Islip’s newly-drawn districts will have elected respective councilmembers. Members of the Town Council were previously elected in an at-large councilmanic system until a 2018 lawsuit overturned the system and led to the institution of drawn council districts. The Third District, represented by term-limited Councilman John Cochrane (R-Brightwaters) is being contested by Mike McElwee (R) and former Assemblywoman Christine Pellegrino (D).

The Third District stretches from Islip hamlet to West Islip and reaches up to Baywood. Bay Shore, Brightwaters, and West Bay Shore are also included in the district. We believe the politically swingy neighborhoods, the bluer areas near Brentwood, and the open-seat status of this district gives Democrats an outside chance at capturing it.

Ratings Changes

Southold Town Supervisor (Open Russell): Leans Democrat Likely Democrat (Flip) Suffolk Leg. District 6 (Open-Anker): Toss Up - Leans Republican (Flip) Suffolk Leg. District 17 (Donnelly): Safe Democrat - Leans Democrat

Southold Town Supervisor

In Southold, we believe Al Krupski is firmly in the driver’s seat. While not in our immediate district coverage, we still believe handicapping this race on some level is pertinent to our coverage of the race for the County’s First Legislative District. Krupski, a well-known moderate Democrat - or considered conservative in some circles - is forgoing a final term in the Legislature to run for this seat. Southold, despite a Republican bastion on the North Fork, does have a penchant for electing Democrats in some positions. Krupski leveraged his past in town government to win landslide elections to the Legislature.

Suffolk County Legislature - District Six

In the Sixth District for the Suffolk Legislature, we believe political newcomer Chad Lennon (R-Rocky Point) is primed to flip this deeply-Republican territory that, since 2012, has been represented by Sarah Anker (D-Mt. Sinai). Anker is term-limited, giving Democrats an uphill climb to hold this seat that, like the First District, has anomalously been in their corner for the past decade.

Anker has been no stranger to competitive races, with only her 2017 and 2019 elections resulting in larger, though not landslide, victories. In 2021, she won the lion’s share of absentee ballots to hold her seat by just sixty-three votes out of nearly 17,000 ballots cast between her and her GOP opponent. A Conservative candidate ran a third-party campaign that took eight percent of the vote, essentially spoiling it for the GOP. Anker’s seat was the tipping-point seat for a GOP supermajority that year. This year, it seems that the GOP will have no trouble flipping this seat, as Anker’s incumbency will not be a factor in a ruby-red part of Suffolk County.

Anker’s chief of staff, Dorothy Cavalier (D-Mt. Sinai), is carrying the Democratic and Working Families line in this election, but the political environment and geography benefit her opponent, Chad Lennon, a former active-duty Marine and current reservist, as well as a practitioner of military and Veterans law.

The Sixth District contains a mix of working-class suburbs and upscale communities on the North Shore. It retains some bluer aspects from neighboring Port Jefferson, namely by containing Mt. Sinai and Miller Place. The District includes redder hamlets like Middle Island, Shoreham, Rocky Point, Yaphank, Ridge, Sound Beach, and East Shoreham.

Suffolk County Legislature - District Seventeen

In the Seventeenth District, we previously wrote that incumbent Legislator Tom Donnelly (D-Deer Park) had no opponent. We previously corrected our mistakes but did not update our ratings change. Donnelly faces Catherine Corella (R-Deer Park), a businesswoman, founder of the Deer Park Chamber of Commerce, and candidate for Babylon Town Supervisor in 2021. We have moved the race from “Safe Democrat” to “Leans Democrat.”

We believe Donnelly to be in the driver’s seat just due to the nature of this district’s blue-leaning hamlets. However, Donnelly is by no means a safe bet. After winning by two-to-one margins in 2017 and 2019, he posted just a nine-point margin against Stephen Becker (R) in 2021. With the current environment, it’s possible Corella could upset him, but Donnelly seems to have a slight advantage. We do believe his margin will rest somewhere between five and ten points.

The Seventeenth District spans from northwestern Islip, through northern Babylon, and takes in a bit of southern Huntington. Specifically, the district includes Deer Park, Dix Hills, Melville, and North Bay Shore.

National, State and Local Temperature Checks

By Matt Meduri

National

For the first time in U.S. history, a House Speaker has been removed from office.

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-21) was removed from his post as Speaker Tuesday night in a tight vote that consisted of all Democratic members of the House joined by eight Republicans.

McCarthy was elected Speaker in January after fifteen contentious rounds of voting, the first time since 1923 that a Speaker was elected through multiple rounds of voting, and the first time since the Civil War a Speaker vote took over ten attempts.

The only other motion to vacate the Speakership came in 1910, when Speaker Joseph G. Cannon (R-IL) easily survived the effort.

208 Democrats voted to remove McCarthy from the Speakership, while 4 Democrats did not vote. Former Speaker and long-standing Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) did not vote.

210 Republicans voted to keep McCarthy in office, while eight sided with Democrats. Those Republicans are Matt Gaetz of Florida, who offered the motion to vacate the speaker’s office, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Ken Buck of Colorado, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Eli Crane of Arizona, Bob Good of Virginia, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, and Matt Rosendale of Montana.

Three Republicans did not vote.

Biggs, Crane, Gaetz, and Good were four of the near-twenty Republican members of the House who were holdouts against McCarthy, insisting on sets of rules and procedures, including a single-member vote of no confidence in the sitting Speaker.

The final tally resulted in a 216-210 vote to oust McCarthy, with seven members not voting.

The motion to vacate the Speaker’s office came after Republicans were unhappy with the latest stopgap spending bill passed to avert a government shutdown for forty-five days. Many Republicans, including Gaetz, say that McCarthy’s cooperation with the Democrats led to more money being sent to Ukraine, something to which the holdout Republicans objected earlier in January. Less spending on Ukraine and controlled, lineitem spending overall, rather than pork-barrel omnibus bills, were two conditions of their agreement to elect McCarthy as Speaker in January.

Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) was compelled to remove McCarthy from office after McCarthy made a “condescending” remark about Burchett’s religious beliefs during a phone call. McCarthy has said he had no intention of offending Burchett.

Congresswoman Nancy Mace (R-SC-01), known for her moderate brand of politics, cited her reasoning to remove McCarthy was due to “unfulfilled promises” made by the GOP regarding party strategy on hotbutton issues, such as gun violence and abortion.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-08) and members of the Democratic coalition said they voted against McCarthy after he blamed Democrats for a near-shutdown, after the party helped him and the

Republicans pass the budget.

McCarthy’s allies said they would nominate him in a floor vote to return to the Speakership; McCarthy said he has no intentions of running again.

In his wake, Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC-10) was appointed Speaker pro tempore to preside over Congress until a formal Speaker vote is held. A Speaker must appoint a pro tempore as a temporary replacement as per post-September 11 rules. Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA-01) and Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH-04).

Congressman Nick LaLota (R-NY-01) issued a statement after the vote:

“With Democrats controlling the White House and Senate, a common sense conservative Speaker led a slim majority to fund the government, deliver strong border and energy bills, ad lift the debt ceiling while exacting $1.7 trillion in cuts from a Democrat President and Senate Majority Leader who said they wouldn’t cut a penny. It’s no surprise Democrats were united in voting him out. But that five percent of House Republicans did so, without a plan other than chaos, is disappointing and damaging to our republic.”

Finally, LaLota called out three members of Congress, Matt Rosendale (R-MT), Nancy Mace (R-SC), and Bob Good (R-VA) in a Tweet on October 3, the day of the vote:

“A Republican-led MTV against @SpeakerMcCarthy will lead to chaos— that’s my opinion and that of one of the Speaker’s sharpest Republican critics. Let’s avoid that chaos and get back to our work on appropriations & the border.”

Congressman Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport) of New York’s Second Congressional District wrote in a statement:

“The Chaos Caucus joined with the Progressives to undermine the Republican majority and hand the reins of the House to the Democrats. It’s disgraceful, it’s an embarrassment, and it’s damaging to our party and institution as a whole. Because of these self-promoting members, we will not be able to secure our border, pass appropriations bills that cut spending, reduce inflation, or roll back other failed policies implemented under Democrat rule.”

The question now turns not only to who will succeed McCarthy as Speaker, but how the majority of the Republican caucus will approach the issue. With Congress divided by such a tenuous margin, it’s possible that the majority of the Republican caucus could strike a deal with Democrats to elect a compromise candidate, one that could undermine conservative efforts or play to the more “establishment politics” of both parties.

Furthermore, since the Speaker represents the entire body and the party of the officeholder is not required to be of the majority party, a scenario can arise in which Democrats could take control of the Speakership. Democrats were completely unified in electing a minority leader in January, while Republicans were splintered over McCarthy and other factional leaders.

Additionally, the office of Speaker is not required to be filled by a sitting member of the U.S. House. This was evident in January when Donald Trump and Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) were nominated for the position.

Finally, the vacation of the Speaker post can complicate efforts to avoid an additional government shutdown.

State

As the migrant crisis continues to brew in New York, Governor Kathy Hochul (D) has a separate priority: marijuana.

As of Wednesday, Governor Hochul announced a two-month period for license applications available for people and businesses to grow and sell cannabis.

Additionally, the governor mentioned a further crackdown on illegal sales, announcing a seizure of 8,500 pounds of marijuana, translating to roughly $42 million in value.

“My administration is laser-focused on shutting down illegal storefronts, protecting the health and safety of children, and helping small businesses thrive,” said Hochul.

The expansion comes after months of blockades in court, a major setback to the recreational marijuana industry in New York.

According to AMNYI, the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) and the New York State Cannabis Control Board (CCB) will be accepting the applications and issuing licenses for “cultivators, processors, distributors, microbusinesses, and retail dispensaries in early 2024. During the application window, those who are currently operational Adult-Use Conditional Cultivators and Conditional Processors will also be able to apply to transition to full, non-conditional licenses.”

Local

Preempting the drama of the Speaker vote was that of the looming government shutdown. The U.S. House worked cooperatively to pass a stopgap budget to keep the government funded for forty-five days.

Congressman Nick LaLota (R-NY-01), who voted in favor of the bill, said in a statement:

“Congress has an important duty to keep the government open, our military paid, and important programs and agencies including the FAA, community health centers, and National Flood Insurance Program authorized. Just as we demonstrated by raising the debt ceiling earlier this year simultaneously with cutting spending, our country works better when leaders put aside differences for the benefit of the American people. That said, we are not out of the woods yet. We must pass the remaining appropriations bills as soon as possible to fund the government while reducing spending, strengthen our southwest border, and avoid doing this all over again in 46 days.”

In response to the possible shutdown, Congressman Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport) cosponsored the No Work, No Pay Act, which would fine members of Congress an amount equivalent to one day’s pay for each day of a government shutdown.

“Government shutdowns have real-world consequences for Americans, from delayed distribution of federal benefits to the furlough of hundreds of thousands of federal employees in communities across the country,” said Garbarino. “Congress has a duty to fund the government and, if it is unable to do that by the deadline, Members of Congress should face those consequences themselves. I’m co-leading this bill because I don’t believe Members should be paid for not doing the job the American people sent us to Washington to do.”

U.S. House Photography

Smithtown Library Board Endorsements

By Matt Meduri

This week, residents of Smithtown will be able to vote for their representatives for the Library Board. Election day is Tuesday, October 10.

With libraries themselves acting as centers for resources, education, research, and community participation, the library board is tasked with being good stewards of those assets and keeping the library well-managed and transparent. The board, elected by the residents of the town, is also tasked with working within a budget that is also approved by the voters.

The budget for approval on Election Day is one of $17,292,960.00, raised by taxable property of the Library District.

Eight candidates are running for four seats on the board. All candidates will appear on the ballot in a lineup that will include only their names. Candidates have been campaigning on unofficial assigned numbers relative to where their name will appear on the ballot. Ballot position numbers will appear next to the names of the candidates in parentheses for the sake of these endorsements.

Incumbents Brianna Baker-Stines (5) and Barbara Deal (1) are running for re-election. Six challengers are vying for the seats: Vanest Avergel (8), Lucian Durso (4), Hector Gavilla (2), JoAnn Lynch (6), Christopher Sarvis (7), and Theresa Stabile (3).

While the race is officially nonpartisan, candidates are running on ideological slates. The Messenger is comfortable in endorsing a slate of four candidates.

believes that the rest is up to the parents and that the government does not, and should not, raise children in place of the parents.

Gavilla believes that since parents have a right to discuss certain topics with their children as they see fit, the library should not impose that role on themselves. With certain sensitive adult-content books found in the children’s sections, Gavilla does not believe this is by accident. Keeping age-appropriate content in the children’s section and adult content in the restricted sections is a priority of his.

Due to this advocacy for transparency and responsibility in schools and libraries, and his belief that parents, not the schools, should have the executive authority to raise their children, The Messenger endorses Hector Gavilla for Smithtown Library Board.

Ballot Position: 6

Residence: Kings Park

Professional background: Pharmaceutical technician, worked in hospitals

Previous Elected Experience:

None, ran for Smithtown Library Board in 2022.

JoAnn Lynch ran for the Smithtown Library Board last year. This year, she’s back with a larger slate of candidates, but her values have not changed.

Vanest Avergel

Ballot Position: 8

Residence: Smithtown

Professional background: Accountant, worked as a service unit for the Girl Scouts, webmaster for the Boy Scouts, and a treasurer for the Mothers Center.

Previous Elected Experience: None

Hector Gavilla

Ballot Position: 2

Residence: Village of the Branch

Professional background:

Real estate broker

Previous Elected Experience:

None, ran for Suffolk Legislature in 2017 and 2019.

Hector Gavilla has been a voice for transparent government in the last several years, most recently having run for Suffolk County Legislature in 2017 and 2019. Gavilla has been active in school and library matters since his now-adult children were in school. One of his points of contention was that of a Che Guevara poster hung on the wall of one of his son’s classrooms. Upon discussing this with school administrators, Gavilla found that he had educated them on how Che Guevara is known in history.

Since then, Gavilla has been a fierce advocate for transparency in schools and libraries and believes that these institutions should teach children the objective subjects they need to think critically and problem solve. Gavilla

Ballot Position: 4

Residence: Commack

Professional background: Teacher for more than thirty years, coached sports, worked at the YMCA

Previous Elected Experience: Ran last election in a last-minute bid

A relative newcomer to the campaign trail, Lucian Durso hopes to instill a classical hands-off approach to sensitive topics and ideologies in the classroom. A teacher of more than thirty years, Durso has taught health, anatomy, sex education, nutrition and has plentiful experience in controversial topics, such as drug abuse and addiction, abortion, suicide, and anxiety.

Durso, also a grandfather of eleven grandchildren, says that big and/or stressful decisions make up significant parts of our lives, but that children should not be faced with decisions while they’re still developing and maturing. Durso uses the analogy of adults buying a house as a stressful decision to be made. He then compares it to an eight-year-old child gaining access to materials he or she is not yet ready to receive.

Durso concedes that while none of us are perfect, the baseline right and wrong must be found again. It wasn’t that long ago when none of these controversial topics were considered controversial. Durso believes local institutions must return to a morally objective ideology and not try to “weasel our way” out of right and wrong.

Based on his record, his vast experiences in education and his knowledge of childhood development, The Messenger is proud to endorse Lucian Durso for Smithtown Library Board.

A mother of high-school daughters, Lynch has learned that teenagers will focus on identifying with certain values and groups for social acceptance or to avoid bullies, rather than focusing on career aspirations and personal values. Lynch says it’s also prevalent in the libaries and on social media and that the sociological factors are making kids turn inward rather than healthily socialize or ask for help when necessary. She says that when these kids grow up and get to college, they’re so conditioned to constantly watch what they say that their focus is not, and has not been, fully invested in professional aspirations.

Lynch is a large proponent of the nuclear family and encouraging family values. She believes that organizations, even the American Library Association (ALA), actively work against family values and work in favor of educational departments and teachers unions. She also says that the proposed removal and changing of certain words in the adopted vernacular, such as “adult” to “human,” is a waste of time, effort, and resources.

Lynch also says that the school and library districts are focused on teaching kids what’s “appropriate,” but most of the time, it never includes any real morality.

Since she has her pulse on the current state of our educational facilities, and due to her strong family values, The Messenger endorses JoAnn Lynch for Smithtown Library Board.

Where and How to Vote

Polls will be open between the hours of 9:30a.m. and 9:00p.m. on Tuesday, October 10.

Voting will take place at all four libraries: Smithtown Main Building Library (1 North Country Road), Kings Park Branch Library (1 Church Street), Commack Branch Library (18 Hauppauge Road), and Nesconset Branch Library (148 Smithtown Boulevard). Residents’ polling sites are determined by their home addresses and Suffolk County election districts.

Vanest Avergel touts her experience as a mother and as an active community volunteer as her qualifications for the Smithtown Library Board.

Avergel says that the largest special library district in the state - four buildings serving 115,000 residents and 6,000 children under the age of five - should not have adult material in the children’s section.

Avergel also says that due to her community roots and experience, she would also like to bring back community nights and events, such as Dancing Under the Stars or Merit Badge Nights.

Avergel also takes object to the electric vehicle charging stations that have been financed by the library’s budget, in turn by the Smithtown taxpayers, and are unrelated to typical library expenditures and budget purview.

Finally, Avergel says that the current board votes on everything in a 7-0 decision and there is hardly any discourse. She believes that the board should return to a period of healthy discourse and move away from a one-way view on policy.

Due to her community volunteer experience and her raising of three children in Smithtown, The Messenger is proud to endorse Vanest Avergel for Smithtown Library Board.

That said, The Messenger endorses the 2, 4, 6, 8 slate of candidates.

We encourage all voters in Smithtown, Commack, Nesconset, and Kings Park to familiarize themselves with the issues, the candidates, and the ballot. While we reserve the right to make endorsements, we encourage all voters to come to their own conclusions and participate on election day, especially in something as hyper-local as a library election. These are the types of elections that truly have an impact on your everyday life. We highly encourage all to research the candidates and all to participate.

Go to https://voterlookup.elections.ny.gov/ or scan this QR Code to determine your polling site. Qualified voters may obtain an absentee ballot at the Community Relations Department in the Nesconset Building, located at 148 Smithtown Boulevard on days the library is open to the public. Public hours are 9:30a.m. to 5:00p.m, excluding holidays and weekends.

Lucian Durso

JoAnn Lynch

Lic. Manager & Director

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Legislator Leslie Kennedy Suffolk County Legislature District Twelve

By Matt Meduri

Candidate: Leslie Kennedy

Residence: Nesconset

Office: Suffolk County Legislature

District Twelve

First Elected: March 2015 Special Election

Committees: Health (Chair); Budget & Finance (Vice Chair); Ways & Means (Vice Chair); Education & Labor; Environment, Parks & Agriculture; Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Medical Services & Preparedness; Public Safety; Veterans & Consumer Affairs

Party Endorsements: Republican, Conservative Notable Endorsements: All police unions, Suffolk Association of Municipal Employees (AME), Communication Workers of America (CWA), Suffolk County Community College Faculty Association

Initially elected in a March 2015 special election to succeed her husband, thenLegislator now-County Comptroller John Kennedy (R-Nesconset), Legislator Leslie Kennedy is running for a fifth full term this November in the Smithtown-based Twelfth District.

Kennedy’s opponent, Denis Graziano (D), is not actively campaigning. Legislator Kennedy sat down with The Messenger for a one-on-one interview.

Q: What is your professional background before being elected to the Legislature and does it equip you for another term?

A: First, I’m a mother of four, a grandmother of eight. I was a registered nurse for thirty years. I also managed a 1950s ice cream store. I learned how to make cakes and pizzas and all sorts of goods to keep it running. I also kept the books and handled the finance and ordering of supplies.

I did whatever it took to sustain a family of four in Smithtown, as well as educating them, which is a tremendous haul.

Q: What would you say is your best or proudest professional accomplishment?

A: I’m most proud of the streambed remediation project that was started under John Kennedy when he was a Legislator and I was his aide. We developed the whole project. We did the walkthroughs and measurements of the streambeds for a whole summer and saw what was occluded. We chose five tributaries of the Nissequogue River that needed to be cleaned so that the surface water would flow, so that when groundwater came up, it had a place to go besides into someone’s basement.

He got two streambeds done when he was a Legislator, I’ve done one-andthree-quarters done so far. The current one is very high, which is one it’s still a quarter-unfinished. Once it’s done, I will get right to work on the fifth and final streambed. Next year, I will start on the next one even though this current one is not finished. The streambed is from Maple Avenue to Brooksite Drive. There are phragmites occluding the streambeds that were not there when we did the walkthroughs. We think it came from the backflow from Hurricane Sandy. Once phragmites are involved, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has to be involved with the plan. Removing phragmites is horrible because the roots are so bulbous and the plants grow so much and so quickly.

The DEC wants us to create a streambed around the phragmites and dam them off.

Q: What do you think is the most important political issue facing Suffolk County today?

A: Finances is by far the most important political issue facing the County right now. We have to be extremely careful because if you read the economic forecasts, which I have been doing for a long time, things do not look rosy. In 2018, we were due for the market to crash. Many things happened to prevent it, including the federal government creating money. We’re due for the crash now. People are seeing the market fluctuate, but the first three quarters of next year are expected to continually dip into a recession and possibly into a depression.

I think we have to monitor how we spend every nickel in our government. I have been monitoring that and just because something doesn’t pass right doesn’t mean it won’t pass. Just like my own home budget, I have to know where we stand before we expend large sums of money. People should be doing that in their own homes as it is.

I am dealing with more homelessness in my district, which is mostly upper-middle class, than I have ever seen. Seniors and young people are having the most difficulty with affordability right now. I am seeing more food pantry referrals than I have seen before. It’s either you eat or you take your medication; it’s frightening. My seniors have sold their cars because they can’t afford the gas or the insurance. I have constituents who can’t afford oil because the oil companies require a minimum of 60-gallon orders.

Q: What is your top priority if you win this election?

A: My goal would be the same things I’ve been working on all along: constituent services, taking care of our environment,

being judicious about development, and making appropriate financial decisions. I just saw a news segment about how New York City is sinking because of overdevelopment. New York City is built on granite. We are built on an aquifer and sand, so I’m conservative when it comes to overdevelopment. I believe people moved here because we are a suburb, but we also need to make sure we have truly affordable housing.

Q: What were your reasons for voting against the sewer bills earlier this summer?

A: The finance is the majority of the reason I voted them down. Despite that, you have a whole “sewer” bill that does not mention sewers. You had at least 75% of the funds going to Innovative and Alternative Wastewater (I/A) Systems and another 10% going to personnel, and the remaining 15% going to items not mentioned. My assumption is that it would have gone to more I/A systems and staff.

Right now, an I/A system is a fiberglass tub with a blender in it. It blends up the waste and shoots it out for it to percolate. The problem is when you put the blended waste into the ground as a liquid, it percolates faster so it gets into the groundwater faster. In my view, you’re not doing much to save the groundwater and take out the bad chemicals. I’ve talked to people much smarter than me scientifically, and they say that while nitrogen is bad, it’s not enemy number one. Other compounds like 1,4-Dioxane cause cancer. I want filters to catch all those bad chemicals. Why can’t we wait a little while longer and put in the filters that are awaiting patents?

These I/A systems can cost $15,000 and they’re most needed on the East End. Why are we not focusing on Lake Ronkonkoma, which is the upper glacial layer of our aquifer?

Q: What’s your favorite quote, motto, or work ethic?

A: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

- Theodore Roosevelt

Q: What’s your favorite way of connecting with the Twelfth District?

A: I believe that, especially in times like this, you think globally, but you shop locally. I grew up in Commack and I love this area. I have no intention of retiring to Florida. This is a great place to raise a family and I want to help keep it that way. I want to protect the environment as much as possible. This is my home, I love it, and I want to see it cared for.

The Messenger thanks Legislator Kennedy for taking time to sit down with us for this candidate spotlight.

The Messenger’s forecast for Suffolk Legislature’s Twelfth District: Safe Republican

About the Twelfth District

The Twelfth District of the Suffolk County Legislature covers southern Smithtown and parts of western-central Brookhaven. In Smithtown, the district includes the Village of the Branch, Nesconset, Hauppauge, Lake Grove, and parts of St. James and Commack. In Brookhaven, the district has parts of Lake Ronkonkoma and Centereach.

This is one of the most intensely Republican areas of Suffolk County. The thinnest margin for any Republican between now and 2009 was that of Leslie Kennedy’s 2019 campaign, in which she took 65% of the vote.

“Finances is by far the most important political issue facing the County right now. We have to be extremely careful because if you read the economic forecasts, which I have been doing for a long time, things do not look rosy. In 2018, we were due for the market to crash. Many things happened to prevent it, including the federal government creating money.”

Legislator Leslie Kennedy

Legislator Rob Trotta Suffolk County Legislature District Thirteen

By Matt Meduri

Candidate:

Legislator Rob Trotta

Residence: Fort Salonga

Office: Suffolk County Legislature District Thirteen

First Elected: November 2013

Committees:

Ways & Means (Chair); Environment, Parks & Agriculture (Vice Chair); Public Works (Vice Chair); Economic Development, Planning & Housing; Party Endorsements: Republican, Conservative Endorsements:

I don’t ask for any endorsements, the only endorsement I want is from the taxpayer.

Legislator Rob Trotta is running for his sixth and final term in the Suffolk County Legislature from the Thirteenth District. Unopposed on the ballot this fall, Trotta is guaranteed his final term. For the purposes of spotlighting each candidate on the Smithtown ballot, The Messenger elected to sit down with Legislator Trotta and discuss his platform, despite his lack of opposition.

Q: What is your professional background before being elected to the Legislature and does it equip you for another term?

A: I served in the Suffolk County Police Department for twenty-five years, ten of which I served as a Detective. I’ve seen so much corruption, especially regarding James Burke and Tom Spotta. There is still corruption, especially concerning the relationship between County Executive Steve Bellone and the police unions.

I was assigned to the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force for over ten years. I was later removed from the FBI assignment by Police Chief James Burke, a guy who would end up serving time in federal prison and just got caught in a solicitation scandal.

I’ve been a County Legislator for ten years and I’m term-limited after this election.

Q: What would you say is your best accomplishment in the Legislature, either of your own accord, with your caucus, or the Legislature overall?

A: My best accomplishment has been exposing corruption. When I got in, Burke was still the chief. I like to think I helped to uncover a lot surrounding the “inner circle” and holding officials to the wall. It’s been slow progress but I’m confident in our District Attorney Ray Tierney, he’ll continue where the feds left off, it’s just a matter of time.

I also consider myself a fiscal watchdog for the taxpayers of Suffolk County,

I shed a lot of light on it because there are tons of taxes and fees linked with living here. The red-light camera tickets and the school bus camera tickets are total scams. For example, just one bus stop on the Jericho Turnpike has raked in 3,000 tickets, worth about $800,000 in revenue over about a year and a half. I’ve watched the bus pull up onto the shoulder of the road, every car passing the bus five lanes away across the double-yellow line is getting hit with tickets. Kids aren’t crossing Jericho Turnpike; it’s a joke.

According to the National Traffic Safety Board, a child is 19,000 times more likely to be struck by lightning than they are to be hit by a car getting off a bus. Four kids in the country have been hit by cars getting off the bus in ten years, none in New York. It’s not to say I’m not for the cameras, if it’s one lane in a residential neighborhood, not a divided highway where no one is crossing the road. 99% of the tickets are just that.

Q: What do you think is the most important political issue facing Suffolk County today?

A: Without a doubt, open-space preservation. Smithtown doesn’t want to look like Queens. If you want big development on every inch of open land, then go live in Nassau County and Queens. I understand there’s a need for housing, so let’s get pride in ownership. I’m sick of seeing developers made billionaires by building apartment complexes and collecting rent. When you, as a tenant, start paying rent, you’re stuck pissing your money away.

I don’t want Smithtown to look like Queens. I want condos like they have at Nob Hill where people can actually own a home. Two-story buildings are fine. Three-story buildings block the sun. I don’t want that going on here.

Q: What were your reasons for voting against the sewer bills earlier this summer?

A: The bills are jokes. State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli ranked us dead-last for fiscal stability out of all sixty-two of New York’s counties. We are a mismanaged county. We’re sitting on a $700 million surplus, let’s use some of that to pay back the $200 million the county stole from the sewer fund and use the rest to install sewers.

The numbers they use in the bills are fraudulent. A third of that money from increased sales tax, which is said to go to sewers, would have ended up going to the general fund. Newsday just ran an editorial about affordability problems in Suffolk County. So the solution is to raise taxes? We’ve let the voters decide on this issue multiple times and the county has stolen the money every time.

SUFFOLK LEGISLATURE

Bellone is a brilliant politician, and a dismal failure as a manager.

Q: What is your top priority if reelected to the Legislature?

A: I will continue to focus on openspace preservation and cleaning up the cesspool that is the Suffolk County government. Addressing corruption will also be a priority of mine. To reference the ticket camera issues again, a big complaint I hear about the bus cameras is that people are getting ticketed even though the bus is still moving with the stop sign out. How is a kid even getting off the bus if the bus is still moving?

The policy is also pointless on large, busy roads because the school districts all have policies against letting buses allow kids to cross double-yellow lined roads.

I did vote for the bus camera bill because we were told it would only be on single-lane neighborhood roads. I’m not against the purpose of those cameras in that context, but nailing cars five lanes over is ludicrous. The cameras can see up to eight lanes.

I have recently put a bill in to limit how far the cameras see and to control the scope and angle of the cameras.

Another big point of corruption is the red-light camera ticket racket. 95% of ticketed offenses are drivers turning right on red. If you run a red light, it is certainly dangerous, you should get a ticket. But the red-light camera advocates and the school bus companies show you videos of these cars running by. Immediately, it is literally living proof that cameras don’t work, because people continue to speed through red lights, drive drunk, or offend in any other ways.

To add insult to injury, two of Bellone’s former cronies are essentially working for the camera program as PR guys. They go around to the districts to say how important and effective they are.

Q: What’s your favorite quote, motto, or work ethic?

A: “Good over evil.” Good always wins, even if it’s a tough path to take.

Q: What’s your favorite way of connecting with the Thirteenth District?

A: I’m a big fisher and I love utilizing our beautiful parks and North Shore beaches. We have some great quiet enclaves that provide excellent recreation. In my spare time, I’m a big gardener and I love tending to my property.

The Messenger thanks Legislator Trotta for taking time to sit down with us for this candidate spotlight.

The Messenger’s forecast for Suffolk Legislature’s Thirteenth District: Safe Republican Note that race ratings are not endorsements of either candidate. It is just a handicap of which direction in which we think the race leans.

About the Thirteenth District

The Thirteen Legislative District consists mostly of Smithtown hamlets with a small portion of Huntington. It contains the villages of Head of the Harbor and Nissequogue and the hamlets of Smithtown, Kings Park, Fort Salonga, St. James, and parts of Commack and Hauppauge.

Notable assets of the district include the vibrant downtown area of Smithtown, the Avalon Nature Preserve, Sunken Meadow State Park, Nissequogue River State Park, Sweetbriar Nature Center, St. Catherine’s of Siena Medical Center, The Thirteenth Districts continues to be one of the most Republican parts of Suffolk County, with Trotta winning at least two-to-one in his first four elections, and by almost thirty points in a threeway race in 2021.

The district was previously represented by Lynne Nowick (R-St. James) before she was elected to the Smithtown Council in 2013. Trotta succeeded her that year. Like Trotta, Nowick ran unopposed in her final term.

“Smithtown doesn’t want to look like Queens. If you want big development on every inch of open land, then go live in Nassau County and Queens. I understand there’s a need for housing, so let’s get pride in ownership. I’m sick of seeing developers made billionaires by building apartment complexes and collecting rent. When you, as a tenant, start paying rent, you’re stuck pissing your money away.”

‑ Legislator Rob Trotta

America the Beautiful: How History Shapes our Electorate Minnesota -

The North Star State

By Matt Meduri

While Missesoda is currently Democrats’ longest presidential winning streak, there was once no Democratic Party at all in the state of Minnesota. An idiosyncratic Upper Midwestern hotbed of union labor, the state continues to be a reliable bet for the Democrats and a white whale for the Republicans.

Early History A Northern Frontier

Minnesota was first explored by French fur traders in the late 1650s. True exploration would not follow until the 1700s, when explorers searching for the Northwest Passage would pass through the state. Early industry was created by competing fur traders, the North West Company and the Hudson Bay’s Company, the latter of which would facilitate a massive land purchase that included parts of Minnesota, North Dakota, and Manitoba. Some parts of this area were considered property of British North America - now Canada - and resulted in future land disputes.

The Anglo-American Convention following the War of 1812 would set the U.S.-Canada border at the 49th Parallel, except for a small piece of land called the Northwest Angle. This part is the piece of northerncentral Minnesota that juts out into Canada, which makes Minnesota the northernmost state of the Lower 48. Minnesota had belonged to four separate territories before becoming its own.

Fort Snelling was established as the first military post in Minnesota in 1825. The Fort was the home of Dred Scott, a slave whose residence in a “free” state led to the landmark Supreme Court case Scott v. Sanford. Simultaneously, treaties between the U.S. and the Native Americans opened up Minnesota to further development. Fort Snelling would later serve as the basis for Minneapolis and St. Paul, the so-called “Twin Cities” that are the state’s largest cities today.

Minnesota became the thirty-second state on May 11, 1858, after much delay due to slavery negotiations and the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Civil War & Industrialization The Twin Cities and the Iron Range

Minnesota Governor Alexander Ramsey (R) was the first Union governor to pledge support to President Lincoln (R-IL). Minnesota sent 24,000 troops to fight in the Civil War and the 1st Minnesota Infantry Regiment changed the course of the Battle of Gettysburg. Although all in the Regiment died, they held the line against the Confederates and aided the Union forces to victory.

After the war, Minnesota attracted mostly European and agricultural settlers. The 1862 Homestead Act marketed the land as cheap and fertile, spiking immigration to the region. Railroads connected the northern part of the state to Winnipeg, Manitoba, as well as Minneapolis with St. Louis, Missouri. The railroads required a need for regulation rates, as railroads would charge subjective weight rates as they related to grain elevators. After much-needed reform was bipartisanly enacted, flour milling became a huge industry in Minnesota. By 1900, the state was grinding about 14% of the nation’s grain. Pillsbury and the Washburn-Crosby Company (a predecessor of General Mills) were founded in Minneapolis.

The Industrial Revolution also brought one of the first hydroelectric power plants in the country in the

form of a Saint Anthony Falls plant built in 1882. Iron mining began in northern Minnesota in 1884, which would establish the economically and politically powerful region known as the “Iron Range,” which is still significant today. Duluth, located in the Iron Range, grew from a small town to a large city based almost solely on iron mining. The Minneapolis Grain Exchange made the Twin Cities the population center of Minnesota. Just south of the Twin Cities is Rochester, where Saint Mary’s Hospital was opened in 1889. The hospital was developed after the devastating 1883 Rochester Tornado. St. Mary’s would later become the Mayo Clinic.

The Great Depression caused layoffs in the Iron Range and the accompanied drought hurt the rest of the state’s agricultural profile. Governor Floyd Olson, a member of the Farmer-Labor Party, signed an order that instituted a minimum wage, a predecessor of the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act that would establish a national minimum wage. Minnesota’s populist-progressive culture allowed the state to pioneer labor and tax reforms, such as property tax reductions for farmers and homeowners, the creation of a state income tax, child labor amendments, and a state old-age pension system.

The state would first participate in a presidential election in 1860, when it would back Lincoln by a landslide. Minnesota would back Republicans in each election from 1860 until 1932, except for 1912. A mostly agriculturalindustrial state, only certain suburban counties of the Twin Cities would be somewhat Democratic; the rest of the state was firmly Republican. Theodore Roosevelt’s (R-NY) 74% of the vote and sweep of all eighty-seven counties is the best Presidential result in Minnesota to date. Roosevelt would win the state firmly in 1912 on his Bull Moose-Progressive Party line, making it one of six states to back him in that election. The 1912 election also saw the best performance to date for a Socialist candidate, in this case Eugene V. Debs. No Socialist candidate has since eclipsed his 8.2% of the statewide vote. Two Iron Range counties - of four nationallybacked Debs.

Signaling a change in moods, Charles E. Hughes (RNY) would become the last Republican to win Minnesota but lose the national election in 1916. As the Iron Range began to flirt with more Populist policies, the region would become a solid fit for FDR’s (D-NY) New Deal program. Democrats would begin their foothold in Minnesota in 1932. From then until 2020, the state has only backed Republicans three times. Not only did the voting streak completely change, but after 1956, no Republican candidate would ever surpass 70% of the vote in any of Minnesota’s counties until Donald Trump in 2016.

Twentieth Century Politics- Birth of the State Democratic Party

Part of the newly-minted Democratic strength in Minnesota politics came in the form of the DemocraticFarmer Labor Party. The party never recovered after the

This is the thirty-third of a series column that will look at the history of all 50 States, all 5 territories, and the Capital and the influence history has on our current political environments. The aim of this column is to capture that our country is not just red or blue, but rather many shades in between. Each Lower 48 state’s current political landscape can be traced back to its early settlement and geography and its particular involvement in the Civil War, the Industrial Revolution, and the Civil Rights Era.

Civil War, and when the Farmer-Labor Party was founded in 1918, the Democratic Party was considered a third party in the state. The cooperation of the aforementioned Farmer-Labor Governor Floyd Olson and FDR would allow him to become the first Democrat ever to win Minnesota in 1932. The result of the success was a fusion ticket on which Democrats still run today.

Dwight Eisenhower (D-KS) would win Minnesota by relativelythin margins. While Hennepin County (Minneapolis) was still redleaning, the Iron Range and agricultural counties were already transitioning into Democratic strongholds. The state last voted for the GOP in Richard Nixon’s 1972 landslide re-election. He carried Minnesota narrowly over George McGovern (D-SD). This is the last time the GOP won Hennepin County. No Republican has won Minnesota since 1972, making it the longest presidential winning streak for Democrats to date, besides that of Washington, D.C.

Ronald Reagan (R-CA) came just 3,700 votes shy of carrying all fifty states in 1984, with the difference located in Minnesota. The state handily backed Jimmy Carter (D-GA) in 1976, so the state narrowly backed his vice president, Walter Mondale (D-MN), in 1984 over Reagan, as Minnesota was his home state. Minneapolis and the Iron Range were contributing factors to Reagan’s loss.

Geography

1. Southeastern Minnesota Extending from the center of the state to the Mississippi River and remaining just south of the Twin Cities’ suburbs; Rochester keeps this red-leaning region healthily competitive.

2. Twin Cities Suburbs Notable cities include Plymouth, Eagan and Minnetonka; once the bread and butter of the state GOP, now quickly trending blue

3. Twin Cities Dark blue area of Minneapolis and St. Paul; this area has been the bastion of Democratic votes since the 1970s and is regularly what throws the GOP off in close elections.

4. Greater Minnesota The entire western border of the state that also divides the Twin Cities from the Iron Range. Once blueleaning farming communities, now staunchly Republican in the Trump Era.

5. Iron Range Continually the “one that got away” for the GOP; spans from the northern-central part of the state to the eastern tip that meets Lake Superior. Blue-leaning since the New Deal.

Current Political Leanings A Republican White Whale

While Republicans have come close in recent years, none have won a statewide election here since Norm Coleman (R) won the 2002 Senate race.

Considered by most media outlets as a “Safe Democrat” state for Hillary Clinton, the world was shocked to see Minnesota as one of four states uncalled on election night. Clinton’s 1.5-point margin of victory allowed Trump to flip nineteen counties, on top of the fourteen Mitt Romney (R-MA) flipped in 2012. Many of these counties voted for the GOP for the first time in generations. The state voted to the right of the nation for the first time since 1952 and had the highest voter turnout in the nation that year, about 75%.

Currently, Democrats have a trifecta in the state government, control both U.S. Senate seats, and share an evenly-controlled U.S. House delegation with the GOP. Republicans have not won a gubernatorial race since 2006 and have not won a Senate race since 2002. The GOP last controlled both Senate seats in 1991.

Minnesota’s political geography lends itself to renewed competition that should not be underestimated by Democratic groups. The union, working-class counties across the state have raced to the right in the Trump Era, although the Iron Range continues to be obstinately Democratic, despite many Democratic Iron Range mayors endorsing Trump in 2020. Democrats, on the other hand, can breathe a slight sigh of relief as the urban and suburban centers trend intensely Democratic.

Kicks 4 Cancer: Hauppauge’s Most Cherished Event’s 15th Anniversary

Courtney was a junior in high school when she was diagnosed and passed away just shy of a year later. She was known to be a beautiful person inside and out, who had positive charm and resilient character.

In 2008, Kicks 4 Cancer was born as a way to support Courtney and her family throughout their fight. Courtney’s friend, Alexis Gonzalez and the Varsity Girls Soccer coach, Jessica Kulesa came up with the idea.

Gonzalez confided in her coach, Kulesa, who is also a Hauppauge ’97 alum and the girls’ varsity soccer coach for 17 seasons, about her friend’s cancer.

“It all started in the summer of 2008. Courtney was just recently diagnosed,” Kulesa told The Messenger last year. “Alexis had come to me, and she said she wanted to help out their family because she was very close with Courtney. This was right around the time where professional teams did pink games, and I thought it would be pretty cool if our team did that. Those two ideas came together during our conversation.”

In 2008, the school hosted its first Kicks 4 Cancer, resulting in an overwhelming turnout and raising $30,000.

“That was the first year and it was nice because she was there to experience it. We hold that close to our hearts because she was able to see how people, and how her community supported her,” Alexis Gonzalez told The Messenger last year about the first Kicks 4 Cancer in 2008.

“That fall, she ran out onto the field facing an uphill battle,” said Daryle Tompkin, Courtney’s father, in 2008. “You wouldn’t have guessed by the big smile on her face as she greeted her teammates in the middle of the field. It was the day her friends and this community stood by her side and developed ‘Kicks for Cancer.’ This community was a place she loved to call her home. ‘Kicks for Cancer’ meant the world to Courtney and to us, her family. Courtney was brave and courageous beyond her years, and she knew that her time here was going to be cut short. We are all put on Earth for our lifetime for however many years it is. For Courtney it was a life that had hardly begun, but that’s not how she described it. For Courtney ‘it was 17 great years.’ Our daughter, your sister, your friend, your student, taught us to look at the world through better eyes; to take time to enjoy life’s simple joys. She set about creating special and memorable moments. She made every day count. ‘Kicks for Cancer’ allowed her to see just how much love she was going to take with her. Courtney’s life ended on December 13, 2008, but she left us a lifetime of

fond moments, precious memories and so much love. Our life as a family will be forever changed and our hearts broken for having lost a daughter and a sister as special as Courtney. We take pride in knowing however, that her life meant something to all of you who share in this event. So we wish to thank you for making this event in honor of Courtney, and for loving her and missing her as much as we do. Courtney was so proud of the Hauppauge Girls Varsity Soccer Team. Their love, generosity and friendship were unbelievable and meant the world to her. We hope that Kicks 4 Cancer continues to grow, that the proceeds will benefit other children suffering the terrible tragedy of cancer, and that someday this charitable event will help in finding a cure.”

Now, fifteen years later, Kicks 4 Cancer is still going strong raising money for cancer research in Courtney’s memory. Proceeds of the event are given to the Making Headway Foundation, American Cancer Society, American Lung Association, and Make-A-Wish amongst many more.

“I can tell the event is garnering even more speed,” says a Hauppauge community member, and mom of four children in Hauppauge schools.

Since the event’s beginning, Kicks 4 Cancer has raised almost half a million dollars, $457,161, for cancer research and other related organizations. This year’s event is estimated to have surpassed that half million number.

Townships surrounding Hauppauge have found inspiration in their tradition and started their own Kicks 4 Cancer events to raise money for cancer research. A total of forty-one teams throughout Suffolk County now participate through the Suffolk County Girls Soccer Coaches Association.

“With Courtney’s spirit with us and the amazing efforts by many of Long Island’s soccer student-athletes, parents, educational and local communities alike, the Kicks 4 Cancer fundraiser has turned into a collaborative effort (headed by Coach Kulesa and the Hauppauge School Soccer Program along with contributing teams and communities of the Suffolk County Girls Soccer Coaches Association (SCGSCA)) and has raised approximately $875,000 since 2008 for numerous cancer organizations and local families in need of help due to this illness and the hardships it brings,” reports the SCGSCA.

The community pride is palpable on and off the pitch. At Kicks 4 Cancer, everyone is proud to be a “Hauppaugian”.

Helping Our Community

Diaper Drive

Benefiting Long Island’s Allied Foundation Diaper Bank October

District

weik.nysenate.gov • (631) 665-2311

SC Legislator Trish Bergin

Mobile

Mammography Van for Breast Cancer Screenings …is Coming Your Way

Where: Islandia Village Hall

1100 Old Nichols Road Islandia, NY 11749

(Van will be parked in Village Hall parking lot)

When: Friday, October 13, 2023 9:00am-4:00pm

(Appointments are Necessary)

To schedule an appointment call (631) 638-4135

On the day of Your Appointment: Please do not wear deodorant, perfume, powders, lotions or creams on the breast area.

**Please bring your photo ID and insurance card, if insured.

Custom-designed 40 foot van offers state-of-the-art 3D Digital Mammograms

Eligibility: •must be female and 40 years of age or older •no mammograms in the past year •not pregnant or breastfeeding •no implants or breast issues, such as a lump or nipple discharge •never diagnosed with breast cancer •office visit within the past year with a gynecologist, primary care physician or internist who is willing to accept the results of the screening.

NOTE:

Individuals who do not have health insurance will be processed through the Cancer Services Program of New York, if eligible.

Screenings are performed by NYS registered radiologic technologists with advanced training in mammography. The van has a comfortable waiting area, private dressing room and a complete exam room. Stony Brook Medicine’s Dept of Radiology is accredited by the American College of Radiology and the US Food & Drug Admin. Mammography images are read by boardcertified radiologists at Stony Brook.

This project is supported with funds from Health research, Inc and the NYS Dept of Health

Senator

Senator

Published by Messenger Papers, Inc.

Falling for Fall

Thursday, October 5, 2023

Long Island’s Fall Foliage

By Kaitlyn Foley

The beauty that surrounds us each and every day changes with the seasons. Though some of us truly believe that Long Island’s best season is the summer due to our wonderful coasts and calming waters, I for one am in love with Long Island’s autumn.

As the trees change color and begin to shed, leaves surround us like the warm hug of a sweater. In autumn, we can comfortably take a walk through the foliage of our island without a beating hot sun or brisk, cold flurries.

CALEB SMITH STATE PARK PRESERVE off Jericho Turnpike in Smithtown is one of many beautiful landscapes providing us with bright fall colors. In the fall season, the park flutters with osprey and sings with warblers. Alongside the walking trails of the 543acre park are eastern chipmunks and rare Pink Lady Slipper plants.

Though the fishing season is coming to an end in October, the Nissequogue River and various ponds obtain beautiful wildlife to watch. The family-friendly hiking trails are perfect for kids to explore the wetlands. The park also has a nature museum and visitor center, along with a nature program perfect for children of all ages.

CALEB SMITH STATE PARK PRESERVE

Location: 581 West Jericho Turnpike (Route 25), Smithtown

Open: Monday Sunday 9:00a.m. to 5:00p.m.

Call: (631) 265-1054

BAYARD CUTTING ARBORETUM is a tue gem in Suffolk County. The arboretum is not just a park; insteads the 691 acres are meant to be an area in which the public can relax and enjoy through the peaceful sounds of nature. According to Mrs. Cutting, “the arboretum should serve as an oasis of beauty and quiet…a source of pleasure, rest, and refreshment.”

Veined with both paved and unpaved paths around gardens, ponds, and rivers, there are plenty of areas to explore with the beautiful colors of fall and leaves glittering the grass. On the grounds, glimpses of wildlife like foxes and turtles are common and the history of the grounds can be found in the Manor House, Hidden Oak Café, Carriage House and more.

The arboretum also provides daily events that provide the public with guided walks, art workshops and even a volunteer-run thrift shop. This coming Wednesday, October 11, the ground will host an Autumn Forest Therapy Walk in the late morning to reconnect with nature. Under the fall leaves and cool winds, the walk will allow you to slow down and appreciate the beauty of what is around you.

BAYARD CUTTING ARBORETUM

Location: 440 Montauk Highway, Great River

Open: Monday Sunday 9:00a.m. to 4:00p.m.

Call: (631) 581-1002

This is the start of a weekly column for the month of October that looks to help readers enjoy the season of autumn by providing the best tips and information on scenic parks, fall-favorite activities, recipes, and more.

How to Pick the Best Apples

Apple picking may not be a difficult task, however there is most definitely a correct way to go about it. The perfect apple can be hard to find in an orchard of thousands but with a few tips, you can find some of the best apples for a juicy bite or sweet apple pie.

The feel of a perfectly ripe apple varies between types, however common characteristics include being firm and crisp to the touch. Apples furthest from the base of the tree tend to be the ripest.

Similar to buying apples from the grocery store, look for apples that are firm without bruises or scuffs. It is also important to not take any apples that are already laying on the ground. However, in the process of picking your apple off the tree, if it falls, the apple will be fine and safe to take home.

When picking the apple off the tree, use your whole palm to grasp the apple, this way

This Week’s Fall Favorite Recipe

your fingers do not bruise the apple. Lift the apple upwards and twist it so the stem breaks from the tree. Pulling or shaking the branch will only damage the tree. Apples come in shades of red, yellow and green, with the green being a bit more tart and sour in taste than the other two. They have a thicker skin making them crispier and less favorable for apple pie. Red apples, on the other hand, are sweeter and juicier being higher in sugar. Apples with full and deep color absorb the most sunlight, and therefore tend to have the most flavor. All colors can be picked at the various apple orchards around our island.

Orchards with dwarf fruit trees tend to be more family friendly, as they grow closer to the ground, allowing for children to pick apples along with parents. It is important to remind children not to climb on the trees as it may hurt the tree and affect its ability to grow fruit the following year.

Caramel Apple Pie Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

PIE CRUST:

1 pack of two pie crusts (refrigerated)

APPLE PIE FILLING:

3 apples (peeled and sliced)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 tablespoon cinnamon

Dash of nutmeg

3/4 cup of water

TOPPING:

1 egg (lightly beaten)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Toss sliced apples with lemon juice and set aside.

In a saucepan, combine cornstarch sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and water. Stir well and bring to a boil over medium heat whisking constantly. Let boil for two minutes until thick, then stir in apple slices. Reduce heat to low,

cover the pot and let it simmer for about ten minutes. Apples should be soft but not mushy. Cooking times will depend on apples. Remove apples from heat and leave them covered to soften and cool.

When cooled, take the apples out of the sauce and chop into small cubes.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Lightly dust a flat surface with flour. And lay out one pie crust. Spread the caramel sauce on the pie crust, and then add apple pieces on top.

Cut the second pie crust into 1 1/2-inch-wide strips and create a lattice top over the filling.

Using a round cookie cutter (2-3 inches in diameter is best), cut out circular cookies and place them on a baking sheet. Brush egg wash on top of the cookies, sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top of cookies.

Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.

One Company’s Disturbing Effort to Slap Tariffs on Canned Goods Will Impact Millions of Americans

By Gerry Scimeca

One Ohio-based company is so eager to reap a windfall in profits it’s ready to make American consumers pay more for basic necessities at a time when millions of families are still struggling.

Steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs is urging the federal government to slap tariffs on imported tinplate steel used for the can packaging of food, personal care, and household products. The result would be higher prices at the grocery store, and more inflation for consumers.

Thankfully, the U.S. Department of Commerce released their preliminary decision on the tariffs on August 17, with initial duties much lower than what Cleveland-Cliffs requested. However, with the final decision still to come in early 2024 and the steelmaker working overtime to press its case, it is vital that Commerce not waver and stick to the ruling that protects consumers and manufacturers over Cleveland-Cliffs’ personal gain Tariffs are taxes on imported goods. Proponents say they target foreign countries for dumping goods below the cost of production, but invariably it is consumers who are the ones hit with higher prices.

Cleveland-Cliffs is petitioning the Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission for tariffs of up to 300% on tinplate imports from eight countries. In this case, however, the evidence is clear that the U.S. producer is seeking an unfair advantage by burdening its competitors with higher costs.

Like a contagion, tariffs on imports increase the cost of goods and services that use the imports to which the tariff applies throughout the supply chain. Because tariffs act like a sales tax, they also disproportionately harm poorer Americans who can least afford inflated costs.

NEW MEMBERS NEEDED AMERICAN LEGION VETERANS STILL SERVING AMERICA

The William Merritt Hallock American Legion Post No. 155 115 Church Street Lake Ronkonkoma, NY Is looking for New Members

We meet at the Post twice a month1st Tuesday of the month at 1:00 pm and the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 7:00 pm.

We have a social hour with snack one hour prior to the meeting. Our meetings generally run about one hour. We take part in our local community parades and street fairs. We usually have three social functions with family and friends each year. We participate in a number of patriotic ceremonies. If interested in joining our Post and meeting some fellow veterans, stop by on a meeting day with a copy of your DD214.

You can visit our website at: AmericanLegionWilliamHallockPost155.org

image by freepik

In the case of tinplate steel, this would mean higher prices for everything from metal hoses, oil filters, paint trays, and baking tins to aerosols like hair spray, air fresheners, and cleaning products. But the most pain would be felt by Americans still struggling to pay their bills through the current epidemic of inflation, as the cost of canned items they rely on every day to put food on the table would see a marked price increase, up to 58 cents per canned item per Cleveland-Cliffs’ demand.

Struggling households often turn to food banks as a first line of support. But these charities depend on low-cost, non-perishable canned goods to feed the people they serve, and dramatic price increases of these food items will mean fewer families will receive the help they need.

Tariffs of this magnitude on tinplate steel would also sever ties between American canned goods manufacturers and their overseas suppliers — who provide over 40 percent of the tinplate steel used to meet U.S. canned food demand. The reduction in supply will have producers scrambling to secure the Cleveland-Cliffs tinplate they need to stay in business. The sky’s the limit on how high prices will go if Washington foolishly grants Cleveland-Cliffs this market power. We could further experience supply-chain shortages as domestic supplies fail to meet demand.

Washington should reject this blatant attempt to manipulate U.S. trade regulations — lest the finances of millions of families across America get dashed to pieces on Cleveland-Cliffs.

Gerard Scimeca currently serves as Chairman of Consumer Action for a Strong Economy.

Thursday, October 5, 2023

Evidence Of Joe Biden Being Involved In The Family Business Keeps Piling Up

By David Harsanyi | AMAC Outside Contributor

Joe Biden defenders have been on a wild ride this past year. It began with them arguing that the president knew absolutely nothing about his family’s influence-peddling business to arguing that it’s no big deal that Chicom wire payoffs happen to have Biden’s home address listed on them.

The quality of the excuses, unsurprisingly, has been deteriorating rapidly. They largely entail repeating the words “no” and “evidence” in a perpetual loop. But, this week, when James Comer released financial records of Hunter Biden receiving two wire transfers totaling $260,000 in 2019 from Beijing with the president’s Delaware home listed as the beneficiary address, the White House jumped into action.

“Imagine them arguing that, if someone stayed at their parents’ house during the pandemic, listed it as their permanent address for work, and got a paycheck, the parents somehow also worked for the employer,” wrote White House spokesman Ian Sams. “It’s bananas. Yet this is what extreme House Republicans have sunken to.”

Speaking of bananas, the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the United States wasn’t reported until January 2020, and shutdowns were still a year away when Hunter Biden used his dad’s house as a beneficiary address on a wire payment. According to Hunter’s memoir, he was living in Los Angeles with his new wife at the time.

Of course, even if the pandemic had been raging by summer 2019, Hunter Biden wasn’t a college student visiting home; he was a 49-year-old who had the wherewithal to craft numerous international million-dollar deals — not to mention allegedly evade taxes, buy firearms illegally, and score crack and prostitutes. Why would Hunter need to stay at Daddy’s house? Why do they keep talking about this grown man as if he’s a toddler? For God’s sake, this is an accomplished artist whose work goes for upwards of a million dollars.

And it wasn’t a “paycheck,” but a wire transfer from a Chicom investment firm that his father repeatedly lied about to the American people.

In an October 2019 presidential debate, Joe Biden incredulously claimed that Hunter never benefited from Chinese interests — “My son has not made money in terms of this thing about, what are you talking about, China.” It was weird, even then, that Biden could make such an assertion with confidence, considering that not long before he had claimed to “never” have spoken to Hunter about his “overseas business dealings.”

Perhaps one day the president will be asked by the political media why he made this claim, and whether he knew his address was being used on Biden Inc. paperwork at the time. And while they’re at it, they could ask him whether he was at his Wilmington house in 2017 when his son threatened his Chinese partner, Henry Zhao, with the words, “I am sitting here with my father.”

Let’s also remember that not only did Joe Biden fly his son to Beijing aboard Air Force Two during an official visit in 2013 to meet with potential investors, but the vice president met Jonathan Li, whose name is on the 2019 wire transfer, for coffee. The two would talk again on the phone — probably just some “casual conversations” or “niceties about the weather.” Joe was even kind enough to write college recommendation letters for his son and daughter.

It’s a really weird coincidence that the same guy happens to have Joe Biden’s address on a wire transfer. A cynic might start to piece together these stories and come to the conclusion that there’s actually plenty of

evidence the president had created the “illusion” of access to the White House on his son’s behalf — at the very least, enriching his entire family.

David Harsanyi is a senior editor at The Federalist. Harsanyi is a nationally syndicated columnist and author of five books — the most recent, “Eurotrash: Why America Must Reject the Failed Ideas of a Dying Continent.” His work has appeared in National Review, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Reason, New York Post and numerous other publications. Follow him on Twitter @davidharsanyi.

Overview ‑ AMAC ‑ The Association of Mature American Citizens

The Association of Mature American Citizens represents Americans 50 plus. AMAC is centered on American values, freedom of the individual, free speech, and exercise of religion, equality of opportunity, sanctity of life, rule of law, and love of family, with benefits at all levels.

AMAC plays a vital role in helping build the services that will enrich the lives of America’s seniors. AMAC Action, a 501 (C) (4) advocates for issues important to AMAC’s membership on Capitol Hill and locally through grassroots activism. To Learn more, visit www.amac.us

The Columbian Exchange

How the Old and New World Changed Palates - and Lives - Forever

By Sergio A. Fabbri

“The Columbian Exchange” is a term that is traditionally defined as the transfer of plants and animals between the Old World of Europe and Africa and the New World of the Americas. The exchange began post the arrival of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, who sailed under the flag of Spain in 1492.

Though there were many negative aftermaths of the merging of two worlds, our focus in this article is on the impact made in world cuisines.

Contribution to the Americas for Wealth and Trade

Columbus’ second voyage (1493-1496) brought domesticated animals – horses, cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, chickens – and introduced them into the New World for purposes of food and transportation. In 1493, Columbus’ pigs provided the Spanish with an additional source of food. Pigs that escaped into the wild became the ancestors of today’s feral pig population and provided an opportunity for hunting by later explorers and colonists.

During Spaniard Hernando de Soto’s Florida (1539-1542) expedition the pig was introduced to North America. By 1565, cattle ranching spread from the Caribbean to Mexico and Florida. Through the introduction of these animals, many undeniable negative consequences resulted. It upset the balance, as they ate and destroyed many native plants. The establishment of newly introduced sugar, rice, and cotton and later tobacco (native to the Americas) in plantations formed a new basis for wealth and trade.

A Re-establishment of What Had Become Extinct

Horses were once native to North America and became extinct. Like the horse, the ill-fated honeybees died out as well, only to be reintroduced by Europeans. With these honeybees the Americas got honey

Contribution to the Americas for Religious Purposes

The Spanish initially introduced wheat, olives, and grapevines to the produce bread, olives (oil), and wine, that were staples of the Spanish diet and intimately tied to their Catholic rituals.

African Contribution to the Americas

Africa contributed to the exchange of plants by introducing its rice (Oryza glaberrima – an indigenous variety different from China’s), bananas, plantains, lemons, and black eyed peas, creating additional sources of food and wealth for colonists and agricultural enterprises.

The Americas Contribute to Europe

Turkey, all our modern-day domestic turkeys, originate from the tamed Aztec birds named “guajolote” from southern Mexico. Maize (corn), potatoes, beans, pumpkins, squash, tomatoes, peanuts, cashews, tobacco, and cacao (chocolate) were among the many plants that journeyed eastward across the Atlantic. Potatoes (from the Incas) became a staple food in Europe (lest we forget the Irish Potato Famine started in 1845) and an integral part of much of the world’s present-day food supply.

Cacao was used by the Olmec, Mayas, and Aztecs. The cacao bean was ground into a powder and infused into water, creating a bitter drink that was disliked by Europeans. It was Hernan Cortés (1485-1547) who brought cacao back to Spain in 1528. The Spanish added sugar and honey to alleviate the bitterness. Vanilla (cultivated by the Totonacs who had been conquered by the Aztecs) was also brought from the Americas and was added to the mixture to produce a new luxury item: chocolate

Thanks For the Contributions, Imagine a ‘World’ Without…

Can one imagine Latin American cuisine without pernil (pork), arroz con pollo (chicken with rice) or plantains? Thank China for the pigs and poultry, Africa for the variety of rice imported to the Americas and Ghana for the plantains. Without mangoes and rum? Thank India for the fruit and sugarcane

How about washing food down in the Americas without a cold beer. Thank the Sumerians of the Old World for the grains. Imagine not being able to start the day with coffee, no cafe con leche (coffee and milk) in the Americas. Thank Ethiopia

Note: After the Boston Tea Party of 1773, large numbers of Americans switched to drinking coffee during the American Revolution because drinking tea had become unpatriotic, written as so in a letter from the 2nd U.S. President (to be) John Adams to his wife Abigail.

Without this exchange, what would Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia be without bananas? Thank West Africa who in turn got them from New Guinea.

Onions and garlic crossed the Atlantic Sea towards the Americas to change culinary palates forever. Thank China and Egypt

The New York apple, the Georgia peach and the California and Florida oranges would not exist if they had not been introduced to the Americas by the Old World.

What would the U.S., Argentina, Uruguay, and rest of the Americas be without steak*, salad, wine and bread on the table? Thank the Old World for the contribution of cattle, lettuce, grapes, and wheat. (*indigenous peoples of the Americas ate bison meat.) Without this exchange, there wouldn’t be any Long Island nor Californian vineyards. On the other side, could Europe be without a drop of all vodkas made from potatoes or corn? Thank the Incas

What would Italian cuisine be without the necessary tomatoes for its pizza and sauce? Thank the Aztecs. Note: The Mexican Nahuatl word “tomatl” gave rise to the Spanish word “tomate,” from which the English word “tomato” derived.

Nowadays from the corner market or from around the world, we can easily bring to our table ingredients from other lands and fuse them with our own.

“We give thanks for the plants and animals who have given themselves so that we can enjoy this meal together.”

Native American thanksgiving

“In a world where so many are hungry, may we eat this food with humble hearts; In a world where so many are lonely, may we share this friendship with joyful hearts.”

- Author Unknown

Scalise, Jordan Announce Bids to Replace McCarthy as Speaker of the House

By Casey Harper| The Center Square

House Judiciary Chair Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La, both announced Wednesday their bid to replace Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as Speaker of the House.

A vote for a new Speaker is reportedly not expected until Oct. 11, giving lawmakers about a week to plan their next move. McCarthy, who was pushed out after striking a deal with Democrats to keep the government open, said he does not plan to run again for the position.

“I think Matt has planned this all along,” McCarthy told reporters. “It didn’t matter what transpired. He would’ve done it if we were in shutdown or not.”

Scalise’s and Jordan’s announcement comes after a handful of House Republicans joined Democrats to oust Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., from his role as Speaker of the House, the first time Congress has ever done so. Now, the House has until mid-November to elect a new Speaker and pass some kind of spending measure or face a government shutdown.

Scalise sent a letter to House Republicans asking for their support.

“Our strength as a Conference comes from our unity, and we have seen when we unite as a Conference, we can deliver wins for the American people,” the letter said. “Now we need to take those unified positions and work to extract conservative wins from the Democrat Senate and White House by leveraging upcoming deadlines. While we need to

be realistic about what can be achieved, if we stay united, we can preserve leverage for the House to secure tangible wins in our impending policy fights.”

Jordan sent a similar letter to his fellow Republicans asking for their support.

“We must address rising crime in major cities and reject soft-on-crime, pro-criminal policies,” the letter said. “We must get our fiscal house in order and reduce spending so that we can leave more to the next generation than a crushing deficit. We must do our constitutional oversight of the federal bureaucracy to ensure they work for the American people not the other way around. And we must continue working to secure the border and protect our national security.

“I respectfully ask for your support for Speaker of the House of Representatives,” the letter added.

Jordan’s move was welcomed by some Republicans like Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who filed the motion to oust McCarthy.

“We should get to electing a new, more conservative and more trustworthy Speaker immediately,” Gaetz wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I’m calling on [Patrick McHenry] who is currently the Speaker Pro Tem, to reconsider the decision that he just made to send everyone in Congress home for a week. This is not the time to go home for a week. We should stay and elect a new Speaker.”

Other potential frontrunners to replace McCarthy

include Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla, who suggested he might run.

Some lawmakers spoke out to make clear they are not running.

“While I appreciate the confidence of some colleagues and their request that I step into the Speaker race, my team and I have been doing important work on the Homeland Security Committee – and we still have much more to do to hold President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas for one of the worst national security failures in the history of the country,” Rep. Mark Green, chair of the Homeland Security Committee, wrote on X.

“Therefore, I am not throwing my name into the race,” he added.

With the existing divide in the party, it may be impossible for any Speaker to be successful.

“The most important issue facing the next House speaker is soaring federal debt pushing the nation to the brink of fiscal disaster,” Chris Edwards, an expert at the Cato Institute, told The Center Square. “Interest rates on 10-year government bonds have shot up far above projections to 4.8 percent and rising, which will raise the burden of accumulated debt to crushing levels.

“America needs a new House speaker – and presidential candidates – who put spending restraint and debt reduction as top national priorities,” he added.

Rail

to trucking

generated incinerator ash from the Huntington-Smithtown

debris off Long Island once the Brookhaven landfill is closed.

History of John Gardiner Farm

By Kaitlyn Foley

Long Island may not be known for its pickles, but as many locals will know, Pickle Fest at John Gardiner Farm in Greenlawn is a pickle lover’s wonderland. Recently hosting their annual Pickle Fest, it is time we highlight how far back our local pickle history goes.

John Gardiner Farm is one of the few well known pickle farms on Long Island. Currently sitting on thirteen acres of land, the farm once took up 600 acres of our lovely Greenlawn and Huntington landscape. It has been in business since the 1800’s when Alexander Gardiner became known as the Pickle Pioneer for his “green prolific pickle seeds”, according to the Greenlawn Centerport Historical Association. As a descendant of the prominent Gardiner family of the Hamptons, Alexander gave the last name new meaning after introducing pickles to the town. Greenlawn became a thriving pickle industry, and they were a well-known delicacy for neighboring towns.

The house itself was built in the 1750’s and has belonged to the Gardiner Family since its construction. It has seen very little renovations. In fact, the house still does not have bathroom facilities and only has running water in the kitchen. Even in its most recent days as a residence of the late 90s and early 2000s, the Gardiner Family used the outhouse still constructed in the backyard. Herbert Gardiner, the last living member of the family, names the farm in honor of his father, John Gardiner. Herbert wanted the farm to stay intact, never sold or developed, so he bequeathed the farm to the Greenlawn Centerport Historical Assocation in 2002. Now maintained as a museum complex, the farm and house have been run by the Historical Assocation and community-driven volunteers ever since.

Throughout the centuries, the farm has seen its fair share of disasters. 1842 saw the brutal murder of Alexander’s maternal grandparents while they were living in the farmhouse. The couple, Alexander and Rebecca Smith, were a prominent couple in the neighborhood, which used to be known as “Old Fields”, according to the Historical Association. Both were killed with a blunt object during what is believed to be a brutal robbery of the home.

“The crime was unusual in many respects,” explains the Greenlawn-Centerport Historical Assocation. “Although murder was prevalent in large cities such as Manhattan, violent crimes were relatively unknown in the small farming communities that dotted the north shore of Long Island. That the attack was committed against a respected older affluent couple made the crime all the more shocking and horrifying.”

The deceased couple were discovered the following morning by a farm employee who noticed the family dog locked in the woodshed. The dog used to sleep with the Smiths every night, making it odd that it would still be in the woodshed by morning.

“He observed that the window on the east end of the house was broken,” says the historical Assocation. “After proceeding to the front door, he noted that it was neither barred nor locked. Upon looking into the window, he observed Rebecca lying on the floor.”

The employee, George Weeks, ran to find help. He and two of his neighbors, Mr. Selleck and Mr. Curren discovered both Rebecca and Alexander’s bodies in the front parlor of the house.

“The Smiths appeared to have been left where they fell, and the position of the bodies suggested that Mr. Smith was struck first while sitting in his customary chair in front of a large fireplace,” says the Historical Assocation. “He sustained several blows to the head and fell into the fireplace. Much of the lower part of his body caught fire, most likely after his death. Mrs. Smith was found in the center of the room suggesting that she rose from her chair upon the attack. She, too, was struck several times about the head and body by the blunt side of an ax.”

A German immigrant, Anton Geisler, who had been working as a farmhand for the Smiths for two weeks prior to the murder was believed to be the culprit. He was nowhere to be found after the murders, suggesting his guilt. He was found a few days later in Port Jefferson, arrested, and ultimately charged with double homicide.

In 1873, the mills and barns of John Gardiner Farm were destroyed in a terrible fire. Newspapers of that day headlined it “the largest destruction of farm property by fire ever known on the island”, according to The Town of Huntington. Even with only 25% being covered by insurance, the farm was rebuilt within six months.

Today, the farm is known for its annual pickle festival, and the house is quite familiar for the beautiful geraniums in the window.

The Festival was held September 16, which attracted thousands of people from around Suffolk County.

The John Gardiner Farm is located at 900 Park Ave in Huntington.

Accessory

Zoning

PUBLIC NOTICE STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP

Statement required by the Act of August 24. 1912, as Amended by the Acts of March 3,1933, and July 2, 1946 (Title 39, United States Code, Section 233) showing the ownership, management, and circulation of the The Smithtown Messenger published weekly at Smithtown, New York, for the fifty-two weeks ending October 5, 2023. Diane Caudullo deposes and says that she is the publisher and Matt Meduri is editor of the The Smithtown Messenger and that the following is to the best of her knowledgeandbelief,atruestatementof thecirculationoftheaforesaidpublication for the date shown in the above caption, required by the Act of August 24, 1912,

as amended by the Act of March 3. 1933 embodied in Section 537. Postal Laws and Regulations to wit: That the name and address of the Publisher is Diane Caudullo of Centereach, New York. that the officer of the corporation President James Cotgreave of Smithtown, New York; that the average number of copies sold or distributed through the mails or otherwise each week to paid subscribers during the twelve months preceding the date shown above is 3,310 paid mailed subscriptions and 1,170 sales through dealers, carriers, street vendors, counter sales for a total of 4,480. Free distribution outside the mail is 750 for a total distribution of 5,230. I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete.

Theater & the Arts

Theater Three’s ‘The Prom’ Has a Whole Lot of ‘Zazz!’

By Cindi Sansone-Braff

“It’s ground-breaking, earthshaking, life-affirming, breath-taking, gut-wrenching heart-aching, in two words, it’s history-making…” These lyrics from “Changing Lives,” the opening number of the musical “The Prom,” could well describe Theatre Three’s first production of its 53rd mainstage season.

With music by Matthew Sklar, book and lyrics by Chad Beguelin, and book by Bob Martin, “The Prom” was the 2019 winner of the prestigious Drama Desk Award for Best Musical. This spectacular show is bursting with heart, soul, and relevant messages for today’s audiences, such as we all need to accept each other, love thy neighbor, and be true to ourselves.

“The Prom” features two eccentric, self-absorbed actors, Dee Dee Allen and Barry Glickman. Their Broadway show “Eleanor! The Eleanor Roosevelt Story” closes on opening night due to a disparaging theatrical review calling them out on their narcissism. Their publicist, desperate to get them back in the good graces of their fan base, suggests they become involved in a cause célèbre. Two other disgruntled actors, Trent Oliver and Angie Dickinson, join them in coming up with a plan to help an Indiana high school student, Emma, who wanted to bring their girlfriend to the prom, but the outraged PTA decided to cancel the event altogether.

This witty and well-written musical is as much a commentary about the egos, vanities, and ups and downs of the theatre world as it is about how it feels to be living in the fishbowl world of high school where your every word, deed, and action is judged by your socalled friends, fellow students, and community.

Expertly directed by Jeffrey Sanzel, every performer brought their A-game to this polished production. I loved the colorful, movable set by Randall Parsons and the live band conducted by Jeffrey Hoffman.

Jae Hughes, a versatile performer, gave an award-worthy performance as Emma, a bright and talented high school student who reluctantly becomes the poster child for LGBTQ teens. Hughes displayed her phenomenal acting and vocal skills with a moving version of “Just Breathe,” where Emma laments, “Who knew asking out a girl to the prom would go over just like an atom bomb.” Hughes, joined by the multi-talented ensemble, gave a moving rendition of “Unruly Heart.”

Jillian Sharpe was extraordinary as Alyssa Greene, a cheerleader torn between her love for Emma and her need to please her mother and friends. Sharpe gave a moving performance during her solo “Alyssa Greene,” pouring her heart out about her whole life being a lie. Hughes and Sharpe’s duets “You Happened” and “It’s Time to

Dance” were real showstoppers. With her strong stage presence and powerhouse vocals, Linda May was believable as Dee Dee Allen, a hugely talented, albeit egotistical Broadway legend. Her solo, “The Lady’s Improving,” was one of the show’s highlights. I loved her glamorous diva outfits designed by Jason Allyn and Joe Kassner.

Ryan Nolin, with his expressive mannerisms, humorous dance moves, intense facial expressions, and expert comedic timing, gave a stellar performance as Barry Glickman, the gay but totally politically incorrect

black-sequined outfits, a nod to Bob Fosse and his preferred dance-style costume.

Brian Gill aced the role of Trent Oliver, a pompous Julliard School graduate, down on his luck, although frequently recognized for his role in a beloved 90’s sitcom “Talk to the Hand.” Trent adamantly claims that his role on that TV show was just a small part of his theatrical resume. Gill brilliantly showcased his vocals and comedic talent during the fun and upbeat song “Love Thy Neighbor.”

Dennis Creighton as Mr. Hawkins, the kind, concerned, and caring high school principal and love interest of Dee Dee Allen; Jason Allyn as Sheldon Sapertstein, the hardworking Broadway publicist; and Tamralynn Dorsa as Mrs. Greene, Alyssa’s well-intentioned but misinformed mother, all delivered noteworthy performances.

A standing ovation goes out to Josie McSwane for her high-energy choreography and the entire cast and ensemble for executing the many dance numbers with “zazz,” that magic ingredient known as “style plus confidence.” The show’s ensemble was one of the best you will see on any stage. It included Melanie Acampora, Sean Amato, Will Brennan, Julia Durfee, Kaitlyn Jehle, Will Logan Liam Marsigliano, Anna Moceri, Cassidy Rose O’Brien, Isabella Scarpa, Michele Segal, Tara Shaw, Katy Snair, Ryan Van

Broadway star. Nolin garnered some of the biggest laughs of the evening with his hilarious rendition of “Barry Is Going to Prom.”

Theatre Three veteran Sari Feldman was charismatic and convincing as Angie Dickinson, a long-running ensemble member of the Broadway musical “Chicago,” desperate to become a star. She gave a standout performance along with Emma (Jae Hughes) in the razzmatazz song and dance number “Zazz.” Feldman looked smoking hot in all her skintight

Nostrand, and Alexander Yagud-Wolek. Take your date to “The Prom.” To purchase tickets, please call 631-9289100 or visit www.theatrethree.com.

Cindi Sansone-Braff is an awardwinning playwright. She has a BFA in Theatre from UCONN and is a member of the Dramatists Guild. She is the author of “Grant Me a Higher Love,” “Why Good People Can’t Leave Bad Relationships,” and “Confessions of a Reluctant Long Island Psychic.” Her play, “The Menu,” is featured in Kingdom Theatre’s Playwright Celebration weekend, November 3, in New York City. www.grantmeahigherlove.com.

Steven Uihlein, Theatre Three Productions, Inc.

Theatre Three THE PROM center Brian Gill & Company.

Theatre Three THE PROM Linda May, Ryan Nolin, Sari Feldman, Brian Gill.

ELECT

ED ROMAINE

VOTE

November 7, 2023

Early Voting

October 28 through November 5

“Ed Romaine has proven his commitment to the environment in the way that matters most: by implementing strong policies.”

Julie Tighe President, NYLCV

Preserved over 105,000 acres of open space, farmland and wetland

Brought more solar to municipal properties

Increased penalties for illegal dumping and pollution

Authored legislation protecting the Carmans River Watershed

Brought offshore wind to Brookhaven, powering over 600,000 homes

Supported oyster and kelp farming in our bays, creating cleaner water

PROUDLY ENDORSED BY The New York League of Conservation Voters

Suffolk County Executive