Anniversary of Vietnam War’s End Largest Assembly of Vietnam Vets in Suffolk History
By Matt Meduri
While the Vietnam War was wrought with controversy for the twenty years of its duration, it’s been a near-universal opinion, especially nowadays, that the Veterans of that war were unfairly mistreated.
Suffolk County and its municipalities have always given Vietnam Veterans the recognition they deserve, but Saturday’s display was historic for two reasons. Not only did it mark the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the war - observed as March 29, 1975, the day the last American troops left Southeast Asia - but it also served as the largest gathering of Vietnam Veterans in the county’s history, with Armed Forces Plaza at the H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppauge packed to a capacity that most in attendance have never seen for any ceremony held there. Continued on page 5
‘Train to Hell’: Toby Carlson Couches Rail Yard Proposal
By Matt Meduri
The long-discussed and controversial proposal to construct a rail yard in Kings Park to help cart waste and debris off Long Island amid a ballooning waste crisis has been shelved.
Carlson Corp. CEO Toby Carlson sat down with The Messenger to discuss the fallout after several years of community opposition, “misinformation” dominating local headlines, and the path forward for Suffolk’s waste crisis. What started as an innovative idea to a regional problem, Carlson says the opinions and discourse have turned the project into nothing but a “train to Hell.”
“With the political climate being the way it is, I started taking a hard look at my priorities. I did not invent the waste crisis; that’s something that’s part of Long Island,” Carlson told The Messenger “This project was never about me; it was just a great solution in a great location. It was never meant to be a political wedge or a divisive tool for the community. When I started examining the realities, I realized, ‘why am I carrying this burden and being slaughtered?’”
Continued on page 15
Toby Carlson at a January Town Board meeting (Credit - Matt Meduri)
An American flag raised in front of the H. Lee Dennison Building. (Credit - Matt Meduri)
PUBLISHER
Diane Caudullo
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Matt Meduri
STAFF
Cait Crudden
Raheem Soto
ART
Sergio A. Fabbri
GRAPHIC
Colin Herr
CONTRIBUTORS
PJ Balzer
Ashley Pavlakis
Madison Warren
OFFICE
Kim Revere PROOFREADER
Giavanna Rudilosso SOCIAL
Madison Warren
MEMORYIn Loving Sheila B. Pedersen
April 16, 1933 - March 24, 2025
On Monday, March 24, 2025, Sheila B. Pedersen (née Beglin) passed peacefully surrounded by her family. She was the beloved wife of Paul M. Pedersen for nearly seventy years; loving Mom of Mary Szczawinski (Michael) of Phoenix, Maryland; Anne Berthold (Sherwood “Bud”) of Raymond, Mississippi; John Pedersen (Hopelyn Call) of Baltimore, Maryland; and mother in law of Annette Swatt (Leo Shelton) of Annapolis, Maryland; cherished Grandma of Tyler Szczawinski (Kelsey Talley) of Reston, Virginia; Andruw Szczawinski (Emily) of Freeland, Maryland; Kari Anne Karr (Christopher) of Glendale, Arizona; William Berthold (Nicole Beard Steele) of Brookhaven, Mississippi; Kirsten “Maggie” Pedersen of New Haven, Connecticut; and Erik Pedersen (Kathryn “Katie” Phipps) of Perry Hall, Maryland; treasured Great Grandma of Riley Pedersen of Perry Hall, Maryland.
A devout Catholic, Sheila dedicated much of her life to music, singing in the choir, and mastering the piano and organ. Her passion for sacred music led her to serve as the Organist and Choir Director at Church of St. Joseph in Kings Park, St. Francis of Assisi Church in Greenlawn, and St. John the Evangelist Church in Hydes, Maryland. Alongside her musical talents, she was a devoted Mom, Grandma, and Great Grandma, instilling a love of music in her children and grandchildren. A lover of adventure, she traveled the world with her husband Paul, visiting countless countries and experiencing different cultures. Together, they explored
every U.S. state except Oregon in their RV and cherished their travels overseas, creating memories that would last a lifetime.
Whether playing golf with a carefree spirit, tending to her beautiful rose bushes—each one a testament to her nurturing nature—or sharing laughter over a game of tenpin bowling, she lived life with joy. Her rose garden was a source of pride and tranquility, with vibrant blooms that reflected her love for beauty and nature.
Over the years, she had a special bond with many dogs, but none more so than her beloved Shelties. Her love for dogs was evident in how they were not just pets but cherished family members, often by her side, sharing in her daily joys and routines. She always had a soft spot for animals, and her home was never without the love and energy of her four-legged companions.
But there was one thing that stood out as her absolute favorite: chocolate ice cream. It was a simple pleasure she held dear, and it’s a fond memory that will live on in the hearts of those who shared those sweet moments with her.
Christopher Revere Sr., 66, Resolute 9/11 First Responder
By Gregg Sarra | As seen in Newsday
It was always about the FDNY, family and softball for Christopher Revere, Sr.
He had deep love for his years as a first responder and when he wasn’t at the firehouse, he could be found with family, or racing around the bases in a men’s softball tournament.
Revere, a physical fitness buff and local softball legend, was affectionately nicknamed “Tic Tac Chris” for always running the bases with a box of Tic Tacs in his pocket.
Revere, a member of Engine 289, Tower Ladder Co. 138 in Corona, Queens, died Wednesday after a battle with cancer at the VNS hospice house in East Northport, his family said. He was 66.
“In true Chris fashion, he drew his last breath at 9:11 a.m. [on Wednesday],” his wife, Kimberly Revere, said. “It is truly a sign that he is with The Father and our son.”
The Reveres’ son, Dylan, a staff sergeant in the United States Air Force, died on Sept. 23, 2024, at 34.
A Kings Park resident, Revere, Sr. joined the fire department in 1987. He retired there in January 2003.
Worked ‘Pile with Conviction’
Revere was part of the rescue and recovery efforts at Ground Zero after the attacks on 9/11. Kimberly Revere said her husband suffered from multiple cancers due to the toxic and hazardous conditions at Ground Zero.
“It had been established that the cause of his metastatic prostate cancer was attributed to a 9/11 injury, and the 9/11 Fund was paying for all of his treatments,” she said, “It’s all documented, from the early skin cancers to the left eye orbital cancer in 2016 when he almost lost his sight. The dermatologist said that cancer in the eye orbit was one of the cancers they’d seen with other people from 9/11.”
Kimberly said her husband worked at Ground Zero from Sept. 12, 2001, until it was closed.
“He worked that pile with conviction,” she said. “And then he went to Staten Island to find body parts in the debris trucked there from Ground Zero. He was committed to helping people find comfort.”
Revere was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Kings Park, graduating from Kings Park High School in 1976. His love for baseball started in Little League and continued through his playing days on the varsity team for the Kingsmen.
A flag flown at Ground Zero, reserved only for special circumstances, such as the funeral of a 9-11 first responder who passes away
He worked for seven years at a custom upholstery and drapes company before starting a five-year career in the NYPD in 1982.
He met Kimberly deWall in 1978 and the two were married on June 23, 1984. Their love story is unique. Kim loves to tell it as if she won the lottery.
“We were friends for about six years before we dated,” she said. “We used to hang out and go to Grateful Dead shows like buddies. He dated some of my friends before me. And we had built such a foundation of friendship, and I ultimately got to keep him.”
The two enjoyed 40-plus years of marriage. They had two boys, Dylan and Christopher Jr., and adopted two girls, Monica and Gabrielle.
family
foremost,” said Jimmy Goelz of St. James, a former FDNY battalion chief. “He was a fierce and courageous person whether he was playing ball or fighting a fire. He was an incredible person — a loyal friend. He legitimately cared about people. That’s what made him a great firefighter and wonderful teammate.”
Reflecting on his life last week, Revere echoed that he lived a fantastic life because he got to spend a lifetime with his true love.
“I’ve been blessed with a good woman,” he said. “She was my angel, my everything. I’ve always thought of myself as a very lucky man to have such a beautiful, compassionate wife.”
The two traveled to Greece in September (pictured below right) after doctors provided a grim diagnosis.
‘Quintessential
Good Guy’
“We lost a hero,” said Debi Young of Kings Park, who served as a bridesmaid for their wedding. “Chris is not just a hero because he served as a NYC firefighter and as a member of the NYPD. Chris is a hero, not just because after losing his buddies on 9/11 he valiantly worked the pile looking for them for hours that became days and then weeks that never ended. Chris was a hero to his wife, his sons, his adopted daughters and his entire extended family and network of friends, including his FDNY softball team. He was the quintessential good guy, always with a warm smile and practical life advice.”
He is survived by his mother, Dolores Revere of Kings Park, father Joseph Revere,
stepmother Manorville, Linda Revere Lynch of Northport and Kathleen Picciano of Kings Park, brothers Terrence Revere of Smithtown and Joseph Revere, Jr. of Kings Park, son Christopher Revere, Jr. of Florida, daughters Monica Revere of White Plains and Gabrielle Revere of West Virginia, daughter-in-law Frances Revere, and step-grandson Corbin Focht of Queens.
The family asks that donations be made to the Wounded Warrior Project and St. Jude.
Editor’s Note: Revere’s wake and funeral were widely attended, with the FDNY organizing a processional dedicated to those who served or family members of those who served. Chris’ widow, Kimberly, was presented with his firefighter helmet at the close of the procession.
The Messenger also thanks Newsday for allowing us to reprint this obituary of, not only a “quintessential good guy” and Kings Park staple, but a delivery driver for The Messenger as well. Chris always said, “I love doing it, it gets me out. I get to see the guys at the bagel shop,” as well as his friends Kevin O’Hare, Rudy of Gas Heaven, and Jim Cotgreave.
Revere’s fire helmet
Published by Messenger Papers, Inc.
Continued from front cover
Thursday, April 3, 2025
50th Anniversary of Vietnam War’s End
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) first remarked on the perfect weather for the ceremony, the nicest day in March in recent memory, while offering the customary Vietnam Veteran greeting, “Welcome Home.”
“I’ll start off by thanking the good Lord because someone must have told Him that we have these men who suffered in Vietnam with high humidity and a lot of rain and a lot of miserable conditions,” said Romaine. “I know since that time, people have said, ‘Welcome Home.’ But this is our ‘Welcome Home to Suffolk County.’ We’re home to the most Veterans in this state, and second most in this country.”
“Division never helps this country. Whenever possible, always seek peace,” said Romaine. “And that war may have ended fifty years ago, but the scars of that war still exist in families throughout this country and throughout this county.”
Romaine added that should any Veteran need any help or service to contact the Veterans Service Agency headed by Air National Guard Veteran Marcelle Leis.
Congressman Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) gave his recognition as well, speaking from his eleven years in the U.S. Navy.
“Americans are stronger when we are united and when we respect one another and one another’s opinions,” said LaLota. “War is hell, but especially for the Vietnam Veterans who endured not only battlefield conditions in Southeast Asia, which were unthinkable, but when you all came home, it was tough as well. And that’s a distinction that the Vietnam Veterans didn’t experience, that other generations of war Veterans didn’t experience. And yes, a war that wasn’t popular to some, but you served with honor, with distinction, with resilience.”
LaLota also shared that U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D) recently “reached across the aisle” to support a government funding document to ensure full funding of the Veterans Affairs Department, which, in turn, helps the Northport VA. During his first term in Congress, LaLota sat on the Armed Services Committee and helped usher in the largest ever pay raise for troops - a nearly 18% pay increase.
“I’m not only here to offer my words, but to put action behind them, to put dollars behind them, to make sure that folks like me know that folks like you deserve this country’s support during the toughest times you ever had,” said LaLota.
Suffolk County Legislator Chad Lennon (C-Rocky Point), Vice Chair of the Veterans Committee, offered his sentiments from his perspective as a Marine Veteran who saw combat and who remains a reservist in the Marines today. He humorously opened by placing a box of crayons on the podium, referencing the joke of Marines being “crayon eaters”, receiving the classic Marine Corps rally cry, “Ooh-Rah!”
“We make no distinction between those who serve in country, in theater, or who are stationed someplace else. We don’t go where we want to go, we go where we’re told to go,” said Lennon. “We will ensure that every veteran that comes home, no matter whether in combat or not, will be welcomed home correctly. Your legacy will live on in all of us. I encourage all our Vietnam veterans here today, tell your stories.You are all living history, not just to our country but to our county.”
He credits his relatively easy rebound to civilian life to finding his wife, Barbara, to whom he’s been married for over fifty years.
“I can stand here today and tell you that nothing in my professional life in the last 50 years has given me more satisfaction and feeling of accomplishment than presiding over the Veterans Court of Suffolk County,” said Toomey (pictured left)
Toomey shared his recent pilgrimage back to Vietnam, touring the country for three weeks, with the highlight being his return to his battalion camp in a remote village. Guided by a military guide and interpreter, they were able to find the exact location he and his squad had been stationed.
Much to his surprise, one of the villagers was not only aged similarly to Toomey, but the interpreter discovered he was also a Vietnam Veteran, having served in the North Vietnamese Army, the primary opposing force of the U.S. Toomey described the man as having become emotional, hugging him, while the man’s wife brewed a pot of ginger tea to share.
“I am sure it was his first time, like it was mine, coming face to face with an enemy soldier after so many years.”
Toomey closed by providing his best answer to a tough question, did the U.S. win the Vietnam War?
The event’s keynote speaker was Vietnam Veteran and former judge Jack Toomey, a Smithtown native. In 1966, he was drafted in the Army and sent to basic training in Fort Jackson, South Carolina. In March 1967, he was sent to Vietnam. At the end of that month, Toomey saw his first night of combat in the Battle of Ap Gu as part of Operation Junction City. He served as a rifleman, ammo bearer, assistant gunner, and gunner for the M60. Toomey was then elevated to squad leader for the weapons platoon. He received two Bronze Stars and was decorated for his valor.
After combat, Toomey returned home and graduated from Stony Brook University in 1972. He worked as a Smithtown Assistant Town Attorney from 1976 to 1979, opting to run his own practice until 2002 when he was selected to go to the bench. He served in District Court, County Court, acting Surrogate, and acting Supreme Court Justice. Toomey became the first judge in Suffolk County’s Veterans Treatment Court. Lennon worked with Toomey during his time at Touro Law Center, calling him “one of the most humbled men” he’d ever had the honor to worth with and know.
“Sometimes, as I get older, I cannot help but reflect on the soldiers I served with in Vietnam a long time ago. These were heroes I walked through the jungles in the rice paddies with, trusted my life with, fought side by side with, watched it, wounded, and sometimes died. They viewed themselves as ordinary guys, but they were far from ordinary,” said Toomey. “They were extraordinary. They were patriotic, they were humble, they were scared, and they were ever so young. They never asked or expected anything for their service other than respect and dignity. Tragically, what they received from a confused and angry nation was far less. Vietnam was this country’s longest war.
Over 3 million individuals, men and women, served in Vietnam and over 58,000 were killed in action.”
Toomey remarked on the many milestones of his life, but singled out his twelve months in Vietnam he called the “biggest and most profound experience” of his life.
Toomey described his and his wife’s journeys through the country, seeing murals and photos of whom they believed to be Ho Chi Minh, only to find out that it was Colonel Sanders in multiple Kentucky Fried Chicken locations throughout the country.
“It was at this point I told my fellow Vietnam War Veteran, ‘yes, we won in Vietnam,’” closed Toomey.
Food was provided by Miller and Caggiano, LLP, while music and entertainment were provided by The Band of Veterans, led by Fred and William Manton.
Suffolk County Legislator Nick Caracappa (C-Selden), Chair of the Veterans Committee, offered his thanks and recognition of the Veterans’ service, but deferred his speaking time to Suffolk County VFW District #11 Commander Bill Hughes to read a poem written by a Vietnam Veteran named Charlie who witnessed horrors in the war. Charlie returned to a Long Island seminary to become a priest, only for anti-war activists to not only disparage the war, but its Veterans. Saddened and angered by the barrage of attacks, Charlie retreated to his VA Hospital room and wrote this poem.
Bury Me With Soldiers
I’ve played a lot of roles in life. I’ve met a lot of men. I’ve done some things I’d like to think I wouldn’t do again.
And though I’m young, I’m old enough to know someday I’ll die and think about what lies beyond and besides whom I lie.
Perhaps it doesn’t matter much; still, if I had my choice, I’d want a grave among soldiers, where, at last, death quells my voice.
I’m sick of the hypocrisy of lectures by the wise. I’ll take the man with all his flaws who goes, goes scarce, and dies.
The troops I knew were commonplace. They didn’t want the war. They fought because their fathers and their fathers’ fathers had before.
They cursed and killed and wept. God knows they’re easy to deride, but bury me with men like these. They faced the guns and died.
It’s funny when you think of it, the way we got along. We come from different worlds to live in one where no one belongs.
I didn’t even like them all, and I’m sure they’d all agree that I would give my life for them. I hope some would for me.
So, bury me with soldiers, for I miss their company. We will not soon see their like again. We’ve had our fill of war, but bury me with men like them, till someone else does more.
Welcome Home, indeed.
Thursday, April 3, 2025
Careful What You Wish For…
The Kings Park rail terminal proposal has been shelved indefinitely, but not by the Town Board, the State government, a federal agency, but the applicant himself, Toby Carlson.
Mr. Carlson has deep ties to Kings Park, namely through his Carlson Corp. construction company that handles a wide variety of materials and services. It continues to operate on the land his grandfather purchased nearly sixty years ago.
According to our interview with Mr. Carlson this week, this concept has been in the works for about twenty years, with the project fully coming together as a comprehensive plan only several years ago. Much of what spurred Mr. Carlson to bring the long-conceived plan of carting municipal waste off Long Island via railroad was the looming waste crisis as presented by Suffolk County in 2014. Their 600-page report was what made many elected and unelected community leaders to seriously consider their alternatives as the Island careens towards a waste bubble ready to burst.
We didn’t go as far as to endorse the plan outright, as we’re not land-use, waste, or transit experts, but we defended Mr. Carlson’s day at Town Hall, a right that anyone else owning private property looking to develop their property would be afforded. We also defended Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R-Kings Park) and the Town Board’s letter to the Surface Transportation Board endorsing the concept of the plan of rail, not one that expressly endorsed Mr. Carlson’s specific proposal. The latter assumption was just that, an assumption, and a categorically false one as well.
If the waste crisis’ trajectory is what many expect, the civic leaders who ran Mr. Carlson and the project out of town on a rail should be rightly blamed for the delay. Not only is an ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure, but the costs are likely to be exorbitant to play catch up in a few years’ time, for instance, rather than starting to get ahead of the problem now.
But despite the vitriol, Mr. Carlson’s humility precedes him. He takes no pleasure in possibly getting the last laugh, nor does he wish to see the problem spiral out of control.
But as he said to us, the community has spoken, and he has acted justly. There is, however, another element of this fiasco that would have made Mr. Carlson the bogeyman he was portrayed to be, had he taken another route. There’s practically no question that Mr. Carlson could have been set for life had he agreed to a federal buyout of the property, which would have then wrested practically all local control away from the State and Town. Mr. Carlson could have walked away with a massive fortune, leaving it up to the feds, who likely would have not handled this with the care and procedure that the Town of Smithtown did.
Now that the proposal is shelved, we’ll go even further. The treatment of Mr. Carlson has been unfair and bully-ish, with civic groups essentially acting as hired hands to coerce the Town to shut down anything anyone doesn’t like.
Let us be clear: it’s fine to have been opposed to the project and remain opposed to the concept, but only based on merit, not narrative. Those looking to control the narrative around the entire problem buried the lede and replaced it with their own almost as soon as the plan was publicized, virtually branding Mr. Carlson as “the bad guy” and themselves as “the good guys.” It effectively killed any civil and realistic discourse around the railhauled waste concept entirely, a concept that has been discussed for almost a decade now.
Mr. Carlson’s plan was certainly innovative, but it wasn’t just his own brain child. Municipal leaders unfortunately have their hands tied with many environmental matters. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) works as slow as a turtle on Valium as it is, and the State threw Brookhaven - and Long Island overall - massively dirty bomb decades ago by telling the Town to deal with the Yaphank landfill on its own. Even Brookhaven, the largest municipality by population and one with one of the largest taxable bases in the region, should have never been tasked with such a Herculean objective on its own.
Thankfully, our coalition of town supervisors, County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches), and many others have come to the table on pooling resources and ideas to fight the problem Island-side, a valiant and reasonable route to take when the State, in their most on-brand fashion, shrugs and walks away.
But why couldn’t the civic leaders throughout Smithtown and Huntington see that for what it was? Again, this is not a new concept; Mr. Carlson was merely an agent to act when no one else could or would. At the very least, he should be commended for stepping up and putting himself in the hot seat to address a problem that will affect us all, regardless of the letter next to our names.
Effectively, Carlson’s position as a private property owner acted as a stopgap between unchecked federal oversight and municipal weight. That’s something he should be thanked for, as the buyout option would have easily been the path of least resistance. Mr. Carlson clearly was not eager to laugh all the way to the bank; otherwise, we would have had a much different cover story about the rail yard at this point.
The Smithtown News, by virtue of its editor, David Ambro, capitalized on the controversy and took the narratives set by the civics and ran with it, offering no balanced or objective look at the proposal. The rail yard saga continued to sell papers, so Ambro doubled down time and time again.
But our biggest problem is with those who so expertly acted as poster children for NIMBY - Not In My Backyard. We witnessed several residents at Town Board meetings pleading with the Town to kick the project to Islip, where the former site of the Pilgrim State Psychiatric Center was floated as an alternative, as it was right by the rail, and, above all, Not In My Backyard.
To those people: do you really think taking this project, perceived to be horrible, dangerous, and regressive, out of the rich white neighborhood and putting it in the downtrodden, historically neglected minority communities is a good look or move?
Likewise, we thankfully do not live in a Communist dictatorship. Telling a private property owner like Mr. Carlson what he can or can’t do with his property is no different than petitioning Town Hall to reject your neighbor’s proposal to cut down some trees and put in a pool in his yard, only because you want the shade from his trees.
Again, we take no issue with those who respectfully disagreed with the project and genuinely intended to hear Mr. Carlson, the Town Board, and others on it. Disagree all the way; it’s how the marketplace of ideas takes shape and frees us from a self-made echo chamber.
But protest it on merit, not narrative, and certainly not at the expense of others. Mr. Carlson’s assessment is correct: the ghost of Pat Vecchio (R) continues to haunt public discourse and he created a problem by caving into the loudest crowds, regardless of how informed they might be.
He who laughs last laughs the loudest, but the waste bubble is no laughing matter one bit. It affects ALL of Long Island and it takes innovative ideas and bold leaders to make such a change.
For now, the rail yard proposal is a concept of the past, but Suffolk’s future hangs in the balance with this issue.
Careful what you wish for…
The former proposed site of the Kings Park Railyard (Credit - Surface Transportation Board)
Human Trafficking Can Be Overcome with a Commitment to Collaboration, Vigilance
By Assembly Minority Leader Barclay
Human trafficking is a complex and troubling problem in New York. At the heart of that complexity is a lack of information and awareness about how it happens, who it impacts, and how to stop it. The Assembly Minority Conference Task Force on Human Trafficking last year set out to learn more and take the proactive and collaborative steps to finding solutions.
Earlier this week, thanks to the hard work of the task force’s co-chairs, Assemblyman Brian Maher (R-Walden) and Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh (R-Ballston) and the community partners who helped facilitate our important work, the Task Force released its report detailing a comprehensive plan focused on increasing cooperation between key agencies and closing legal loopholes that allow human trafficking to fester.
I also want to highlight the incredible testimony of Katrina Massey, a survivor of trafficking who spoke with passion and insight about her experiences during our press event unveiling the report. Katrina’s courage, poise and resilience—she is now a successful business owner and advocate—are an inspiration, and our Conference thanks her immensely for sharing her story so honestly.
Unfortunately, there are too many individuals who have been in Katrina’s shoes, and it has become increasingly difficult to stop the pipeline of victims—but there is hope. Based on the written and oral testimony we collected from experts, stakeholders, law enforcement officers and survivors over the course of eight regional forums, we crafted a series of recommendations aimed at tackling the root causes of human trafficking and punishing those who perpetrate it. As such, we are calling for Gov. Kathy Hochul and our legislative colleagues to:
• Reclassify all criminal acts outlined in sex trafficking statute section 230.34 as class B violent felonies. Regardless of the non-violent or violent nature of the act, the resulting sex trafficking is itself violent (A.6946, Angelo Morinello (R-Niagara Falls);
• Eliminate the criminal statute of limitations for sex trafficking and sex trafficking a child, both class B violent felonies. Extend the criminal statute of limitations for sex trafficking felonies designated as non-violent (A.7003, Walsh);
• Make promoting prostitution in the fourth degree and patronizing a person in the third degree (victim under 17) bail-eligible offenses (A.6622, Jodi Giglio (R-Baiting Hollow);
• Require the law to use language that does not legitimize prostitution, which is a form of sex trafficking (A.7008, Brian Maher (R-Montgomery);
• Allow for an exception in sex trafficking cases to authorize law enforcement officers to provide hearsay testimony to the grand jury (A.7018, Michael Tannousis (R-Great Kills);
• Require migrants to register with the state to assist in conducting background checks and maintaining community safety (A.2046, Matt Slater (R-Yorktown); and
• Advance programs to educate state residents and professionals on how to identify and prevent human trafficking.
Our members also identified systemic problems with funding and support for the services tasked with addressing human trafficking. For one, the Interagency Task Force on Human Trafficking, which is tasked with coordinating state agency collaboration, collecting data and providing education on the topic, only published its 2022 report on the issue in August of 2024. It has been operating with six vacancies and its meetings are not open to the public, which means stakeholders and law enforcement agencies cannot share their perspectives; we believe that needs to change.
Like any problem of this magnitude, communication, collaboration and commitment are essential. We have found shortfalls in all three of these areas, and with the information we’ve collected and a renewed commitment to tackling this problem, I believe we can help. Together, we can overcome this heinous crime and make our state safe for women, children and all those vulnerable to the scourge of human trafficking.
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 Twitter at @WillABarclay.
Assemblyman Will Barclay (R-Pulaski) is the Assembly Minority Leader and has represented the 120th Assembly District since 2003. The 120th District contains most of Oswego County and parts of Jefferson and Onondaga counties.
Public Statement: Rob Trotta, the Tanzi Project, and the Accountability We Deserve
By Toby Carlson
This isn’t an attack—it’s a question of leadership, timing, and truth.
Let’s talk about the Tanzi Project in Kings Park, a project that has stirred up passion, opinion, and now—political noise. And at the center of that noise is Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga).
Let’s get clear: Rob is from Smithtown. He lives in Fort Salonga. He’s been in the Suffolk County Legislature representing this exact district for years—and yet, for some reason, he’s only now stepping into the conversation with urgency and objection.
Why?
Because now he’s termed out, and suddenly, he needs a new purpose, a new platform, and maybe—just maybe—a new position. But here’s the truth:
The Tanzi property didn’t appear overnight.
It has been on the radar for years. The Smithtown Master Plan began in 2018. The Tanzi Project was reviewed, discussed, and debated in public forums, planning board meetings, and through official town channels—all while Rob was in office.
And yet? There’s no public record of Rob challenging the process when it mattered.
No leadership moves.
No official statement of opposition.
No collaborative push to shape the outcome.
If he had concerns, where was he when the blueprint was still being drawn?
Why didn’t he step in when residents needed representation during the actual planning process?
Because now—after the plan was approved, after years of silence—he wants to paint himself as the community’s watchdog. But to many of us watching, it looks more like a political reinvention effort wrapped in alarm bells that are ringing too late.
Worse, he’s now making comparisons to places like Queens, throwing out fearbased “statistics” that don’t even apply to our demographics, our geography, or our community DNA.
It feels like a scare tactic—a diversion to provoke reaction, not reflection.
Kings Park isn’t Queens.
Smithtown isn’t a war zone.
And our residents aren’t stupid.
We know the difference between genuine advocacy and retroactive theater.
And let’s be real: if Rob had been truly dialed in, if he had brought the same energy and outrage back when the plan was in motion, maybe—just maybe—we wouldn’t be in this situation now.
This is not about politics. It’s about presence.
Leadership means showing up when it counts, not just when the headlines are hot.
It means listening to residents before decisions are made—not after.
It means helping to steer the ship—not showing up at the wreckage with a whistle. We’re all entitled to change our minds, evolve our perspectives, and even admit when we’ve been late to the table. But what doesn’t sit right is pretending you were there the whole time—when you weren’t.
So here it is:
If Rob Trotta had truly been present in the critical years of planning, we might not be having this conversation at all. But he wasn’t. And now the people of Smithtown are being asked to believe in a story that doesn’t match the facts.
We deserve better than that. We deserve the truth.
Toby Carlson is the CEO of Carlson Corp.
8 Congressional News
Garbarino Leads Bipartisan Push to Modernize U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
By Cait Crudden
Congressman Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), a member of the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) Board of Visitors, has introduced a bipartisan bill to secure over $1 billion in funding over the next decade to modernize the Academy’s campus in Kings Point, New York.
The bill, which highlights a broad commitment to strengthening national security and maritime readiness, is cosponsored by Representatives Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre), Nick LaLota (R-Amityville), Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), and Jen Kiggans (R, VA-02). The legislation will ensure that the USMMA, one of the nation’s five federal service academies, remains a world-class institution for training future maritime and national security leaders.
“For generations, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy has trained the men and women who keep our supply chains moving and our national defense strong,” said Congressman Garbarino. “But the infrastructure on campus must keep up with the rigorous demands placed on today’s Midshipmen. This bill ensures the Academy remains a world-class institution worthy of its mission.”
The proposed legislation seeks to allocate $1.02 billion between fiscal years 2026 and 2035 through the Maritime Security Trust Fund. The plan includes an initial $54 million for design and planning in its first year, followed by annual construction funding exceeding $107 million. The bill also stipulates that the modernization process will be carried out without disrupting ongoing operations at the Academy, and it encourages the use of design-build contracting to accelerate construction and minimize costs.
“For more than 80 years, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy has been the pride of Long Island,” stated Congresswoman Gillen. “As one of America’s five services academies, USMMA is a pathway for young Americans to serve our country and contribute to our maritime security. I’m proud to join Rep. Garbarino and my colleagues in working together for Long Island and leading this bipartisan bill to strengthen Long Island’s tradition of producing the best Midshipmen and mariners in the world.”
Congressman Nick LaLota, a fellow supporter of the bill, emphasized the importance
of ensuring the Academy’s facilities are up to par with its critical role in shaping the next generation of maritime professionals.
“To ensure the Merchant Marine Academy continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the next generation of maritime and national security leaders, Congress must invest in its infrastructure, which has languished since the mid-20th century. Doing so is essential to providing Midshipmen, who will go on to serve America around the globe, with the education and hands-on training they need to excel in critical industries like marine transportation and defense,” said Congressman LaLota.
“Upgrading these facilities will strengthen the Academy’s ability to prepare top-tier officers and ensure it remains a premier institution for the nation’s future maritime leaders.”
Congressman Tom Suozzi echoed these sentiments, stating, “The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy is a national treasure that has been neglected for decades. It is time to restore it to its former glory!”
Since joining Congress, Congressman Garbarino has been a strong advocate for upgrading the Academy’s facilities and ensuring that Midshipmen have the best resources available to excel in their careers. His role on the USMMA Board of Visitors has positioned him as a leading proponent of investing in maritime education and security.
This bill follows a broader national push to strengthen U.S. maritime infrastructure and security. The Merchant Marine plays a vital role in both peacetime and wartime operations, ensuring that critical supplies reach their destinations and supporting national defense strategies. By modernizing the Academy’s campus, lawmakers aim to maintain the highest training standards and secure the institution’s place as a cornerstone of maritime education.
The bipartisan support for the legislation underscores the recognition of the Academy’s strategic importance to both Long Island and the nation. With the bill’s passage, the USMMA will be better equipped to train future maritime leaders who will safeguard America’s shipping lanes, strengthen its economy, and support its armed forces for decades to come.
National, State, and Local Temperature Checks
By Matt Meduri
National
Tuesday brought a flurry of special election results with national implications that appropriately attracted national attention.
Tuesday saw the House Republican caucus return to full power, with two special elections to fill vacant congressional seats in Florida.
In FL-06, a Saint Augustine-Daytona-based seat, State Senator Randy Fine (R) defeated teacher Joshua Weil (D) 56.7% to 42.7%. The seat became vacant when Congressman Michael Waltz (R) was selected as President Donald Trump’s (R-FL) National Security Advisor, a role that isn’t working out too well for him, as the brunt of responsibility over national security plans leaked in a group text message chat to the editor of The Atlantic is being cast on him.
The fourteen-point win, while solid, is a dropoff from Waltz’s thirty-three-point win in November. Waltz won the open seat in 2018 by a similar margin to Tuesday’s special election result.
Republicans appeared nervous over meteoric Democratic fundraising in a safely Republican seat, especially as Florida has shifted into a more obdurately red state nowadays. The development of the race also appears to have prompted Trump to pull his nomination of Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R, NY-21) for United Nations Ambassador. While Stefanik would have likely sailed through the Senate, Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson (R, LA-04), and the rest of the Republican conference have agreed that keeping Stefanik in the House helps the party maintain their razor-thin majority. Johnson will also need every vote he can get to pass some of Trump’s more ambitious campaign promises.
and Milwaukee, while Republican voters aren’t quite as contained elsewhere. The western part of the state was once solidly Democratic, but now serves as the hotbed of competition as Republicans have made gains amongst the classically Democratic, working-class electorate found there.
Wisconsin voters did, however, resoundingly approve a ballot measure to enshrine voter ID laws into the state’s constitution. While voter ID laws are already on the books in Wisconsin, the constitutional amendment is expected to bolster those laws. The proposal passed 62.1%-37.9%, with Milwaukee County favoring the measure by a narrow margin. Only Dane County (Madison) and Florence County in the far northeast rejected the measure.
Finally, Louisiana rejected four ballot measures that would have significantly overhauled multiple aspects of state government. These elections were held on Saturday. The first amendment would have created courts of limited jurisdiction, allowing the State Supreme Court to have disciplinary powers over out-of-state lawyers for work performed within Louisiana. It would have also allowed the Legislature to create new speciality courts. The amendment failed 65.1%-34.9%.
Republicans also retained another vacant Florida seat in the panhandle-based FL-01, previously represented by Matt Gaetz (R) until his resignation over sexual misconduct scandals after being tapped by Trump to lead his Justice Department.
Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis (R) retained FL-01 57.0%42.2% over Gay Valimont (D), a gun violence activist and 2024 nominee for this seat.
The special election is the closest result for the seat this century, as no Republican has received less than 64% of the vote here since 2001.
However, special elections are often just that: special. And Democrats tend to outperform in some of them. They’ve over performed shockingly well in deep-red areas since Trump’s second term began, and despite noise over a possible flip in FL-06, while Democrats came relatively close, the margins were still comfortable enough for the GOP.
However, Democrats secured a crucial win Tuesday night in Wisconsin, as the party retained their tilt of the state’s Supreme Court that could have massive implications for abortion, congressional district maps, voting regulations, and organized labor.
Wisconsin Supreme Court elections are nonpartisan, but ideological fault lines are easy to spot. Liberal judges retained their 3-3 balance of the state’s highest court with the Tuesday night election of Susan Crawford. She defeated Brad Schimel 55.6%-44.5%. Had Schimel won, it would have tipped the court into conservatives’ favor.
The major implication of this election is the review of congressional and state district lines, which Democrats currently argue are gerrymandered to favor Republicans, despite Wisconsin being such a crucial swing state for any election type or government level. Democrats suffer a geography problem in the Badger State, wherein Democratic voters are densely contained in Madison
The second measure would have capped the maximum tax rate in the state and would have rewritten numerous rules handling revenue collection and the budgeting process. It would have allowed the Legislature to have more power to decide which revenue streams should fund the state government and how those funds should be spent. The amendment failed 64.7%-35.3%.
The third proposal would have reworked how juveniles can be charged as adults, mainly for certain crimes. Those crimes would have been struck from the constitution, giving the Legislature the power to set such offenses going forward. The proposal failed 66.4%-33.6%.
Finally, the fourth amendment pitched to voters over the weekend would have realigned the electoral calendar, making elections for judicial vacancies, when they arise, concurrent with regular elections. The amendment failed 63.6%-36.4%.
State
As is customary in the New York State budgeting process, Albany has yet again blown past another end-of-March deadline, with some legislators expecting the negotiations to continue for at least another couple of weeks.
The current deadline is this Thursday, but it remains to be seen if the State Legislature and Governor Kathy Hochul (D) can settle on the largest budget ever proposed in state history - $252 billion. Hochul sets another record for having proposed a record-breaking budgetary price tag.
The budget also makes for $90.8 billion in federal funding, but federal dollars remain in flux due to federal reconstruction.
“We don’t have a crystal ball that tells us the scale of cuts, if any,” said Governor Hochul regarding the question mark over federal funds. “I was trying to follow the president’s press conference when he started naming different counties and how happy they’re going to be. I don’t know whether that meant he’s going to give us the five or six billion dollars.”
The budget also includes a provision for all energy used by State agencies to be 100% renewable by 2030. The budget includes a $1 billion investment into such efforts, but does not include new cap-and-invest program details.
Just how long the budget will remain in overtime remains to be seen. Last year, the budget was finalized on April 20. In 2023, after Hochul’s first full year in the State’s top position, the budget was delayed until May as Hochul fought with the progressive voices of the Democratic caucus to amend the State’s controversial bail reform laws.
Local
In response to the Westhampton brush fires last month, Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) has announced the first-ever Suffolk County Southern Pine Beetle Symposium.
The event will be held on Wednesday, April 23, from 9:00a.m. to 12:00p.m. at the Suffolk County Community College Campus in Riverhead in the Montaukett Learning Resource Center (MLRC), Room 107/108.
While the Southern Pine Beetle’s recent infestation of the Long Island Pine Barrens is not attributed to the cause of the fires, their presence has been identified as having helped spread the fires.
While Southern Pine Beetles are typically found in the Southeastern coastal states, warmer summers have seen them migrate as far north as New York and New Jersey.
The pine beetles burrow into a tree, carving small S-shaped tubes throughout the tree’s interior, destroying the tree’s nutrient highways. The tree subsequently dies, with the dry wood, branches, and vegetation serving as perfect kindling for a wildfire.
The Governor’s wish list includes an extension of the millionaire tax to 2032, which raises the tax rates for those making between $5 million and $25 million annually. The plan was originally slated to be discontinued in 2027.
The bill also includes $13.5 million in funding for Hochul to implement a cell phone ban in schools during instruction periods. Under the current draft of the plan, school districts will have significant control over how they monitor the plan, but the $13.5 million is to help schools purchase lockers or alternative forms of storage to help implement the mandate, should it pass.
“The infestation of the Southern Pine Beetle does not only have environmental implications but causes a serious public safety threat to the Pine Barrens and to our residents who reside in the surrounding communities as we witnessed just a couple of weeks ago,” said Romaine in a statement.
“Following last month’s brush fire and the upcoming thirtieth anniversary of the Sunrise Wildfire, we are being proactive and using this opportunity to further inform our communities as to how they can be best informed and prepared this summer.”
The symposium is set to include information on public safety, fire prevention, mitigation, forest management efforts, biology, and homeowner education, all as they pertain to the beetle’s newfound presence in the Pine Barrens. Romaine is set to serve as the symposium’s keynote speaker, with the Suffolk County Fire Department, Rescue and Emergency Services, Suffolk County Parks, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the Central Pine Barrens Commission set to present as well, among others.
Residents are invited to attend at no cost. The County encourages residents to visit suffolkcountyny.gov for more information on the first Suffolk County Southern Pine Beetle Symposium.
Arrow Security Promotes Kristen Hildebrant to Chief Human Resources Officer
Arrow Security is pleased to announce the promotion of Kristen Hildebrant (pictured right) as the company’s Chief Human Resources Officer, where she will oversee all aspects of Arrow’s Human Resources strategy.
Kristen has more than twenty years of extensive experience with implementing strategic human capital solutions aimed at meeting and achieving organizational business objectives. She has a proven record of creating a rewarding, engaging and inclusive workplace.
Kristen joined Arrow Security in September 2023 and immediately became instrumental in assessing the organizational needs of the company and establishing productive relationships. She supports an employee population of more than 6,000 by leading efforts to design the formal infrastructure for all core human capital functions, including talent acquisition and development, compensation design, compliance, culture enhancement, employee engagement, organizational growth and organizational transformation.
Kristen has been shaping Arrow’s people strategy, fostering a strong company culture and leading key HR initiatives, including but not limited to hiring the right talent at both enterprise-wide and local branch levels, forging relationships with SEIU 32BJ Union leadership, creating an HR Dashboard designed to capture critical human capital analytics, and establishing a Learning and Organizational Development Department & Function. Kristen utilizes her employment law expertise and experience to navigate complex employee relations and legal matters.
All of Kristen’s initiatives have contributed to Arrow’s growth and success, and her leadership, vision and dedication to the company’s employees have made an immediate and lasting impact. Kristen drives organizational transformation to support Arrow’s “We Care” culture and growth objectives while fueling engagement and retention. Kristen celebrates the hard work and dedication of its employees and officers, focusing on Professionalism, Respect, Opportunity, Teamwork, Equality, Commitment, and Trust (P.R.O.T.E.C.T.) in everything they do, whether working together in the office, in the field, or in dealings with clients and each other. As a senior executive, Kristen reflects Arrow’s commitment to fostering a supportive and appreciative workplace, where all team members’ contributions are valued and recognized.
Prior to joining Arrow, Kristen worked for Cisive, formerly CARCO Group, Inc., for more than ten years, beginning as a Senior Director of People & Culture for seven years before being promoted to Vice President of Global People & Culture.
Kristen created and managed a structured Human Resources department of 16 team members to support 1,100 employees located in the U.S. and APAC and led all areas of HR. Kristen has also served as an Independent Consultant and recruiter for Arrow Electronics through Adecco General Staffing and Director of Human Resources for AutoOne Insurance.
Kristen is completing her CHRO program through Wharton Executive Education at University of Pennsylvania, and holds a Master of Jurisprudence, Labor and Employment Law from Tulane University and an MBA in Management and Leadership Concentration from Dowling College. Her Bachelor of Science degree in Professional and Liberal Studies is also from Dowling.
“Since joining Arrow Security, Kristen has been instrumental in assessing the organizational needs of the company and contributing to the company’s recent growth,” said AJ Caro, CEO of Arrow Security. “She is shaping our people strategy and fostering a strong company culture, positioning us for continued success. We look forward to seeing her continue to drive innovation in this new role and further build a workplace for Arrow employees to thrive.”
About Arrow Security
Founded in 1985, Arrow Security is one of the largest privately held security guard companies in the United States, servicing New York City, Long Island, New York’s Hudson Valley and Capital District, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Florida. Arrow proudly provides over nine million hours of guard service each year, delivering to their diverse market sectors of clients, a world class safety and security program, coupled with around the clock superior professional service. Arrow Security prides itself on comprehensive training and custom-tailored solutions in the areas of guard services, risk assessment, communication systems, technology and more. However, it is their “We Care” culture, putting their clients, employees and guards first, which sets them apart from others in the security industry. For more information on Arrow Security, please visit www.arrowsecurity.com
Arrow Security Corporate Headquarters is located at 300 West Main Street in Smithtown and can be reached at (800) 924-0138.
Nesconset’s Commerdinger House Vandalized
By Matt Meduri
A historic building in a Suffolk County park is suspected to have been vandalized last weekend.
The farmhouse that sits just south of the Edgewood Avenue entrance to W. S. Commerdinger is observed to have had most of its windows broken, with freshly shattered glass scattered around the front of the house, opposite the boarded-up chicken coop. The chimney around the rear of the building is also missing several bricks, with an old concrete post hole in the ground containing several bricks in and around it, likely evidence of bricks being thrown off the roof into the post hole.
The Messenger went to the property to take photographs. A flattened Miller Lite beer can was found about twenty feet away from the scattered, broken glass, with an expiration date of May 5, 2025. Cross-referenced with this selection and other frequently-purchased beverages currently on convenience store shelves, the expiration date seems as if it was a relatively fresh can.
The park is named after Walter S. Commerdinger, Jr., who settled in Nesconset in the early 1900s when his father purchased land on Lake Avenue. The Commerdingers owned all the land north of Lake Ronkonkoma for generations, now preserved with Lily Ponds State Park & Nature Preserve just off Lake Shore Road. In 2006, the County successfully preserved the land from development. The area within the parkland boasts numerous trails that connect to Browns Road and Steuben Boulevard.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Suffolk County Parks Department and/or Suffolk County Legislator Leslie Kennedy (R-Nesconset).
W. S. Commerdinger, Jr. County Park is located at 2 Edgewood Avenue in Nesconset.
LONG ISLAND COMMUNITY HOSPITAL IS NOW NYU LANGONE HOSPITAL—SUFFOLK. WELCOME TO THE HEALTH SYSTEM.
We’re expanding our top-quality care in Suffolk County and throughout Long Island. With NYU Langone Hospital—Suffolk as the newest of our 320+ locations across New York, Long Island, and Florida, we’re making it easier than ever to access the highest quality integrated care you deserve from the health system that’s been ranked #1 for quality care in the U.S. for three years and counting.
Better health starts with a better health system.
Kings Park H.S. Robotics Team 5736 Claims Victory at FIRST LI Regional, Advances to World Championship
Kings Park High School’s Robotics Team 5736 has solidified its status as a powerhouse in competitive robotics, securing a first-place victory at the FIRST Long Island Regional event at Hofstra University on March 22, 2025. After three intense days of competition, Team 5736 emerged as the top-ranked team out of forty-nine competitors, continuing their tradition of excellence.
Their success has also been reflected in national and global rankings—fifth out of 150 teams in New York State, seventy-sixth out of 2,939 teams in the USA, and ninetyfourth out of 3,906 teams worldwide, according to Statbotics. Their next challenge awaits at the FIRST World Championship in Houston from April 16-19, where they will compete against the best teams from around the world. FIRST Robotics is a global organization that promotes STEM education through competitive robotics programs.
Since its founding in 2015, Team 5736 has consistently demonstrated innovation, perseverance, and teamwork. The team made an impressive debut by winning the Rookie Inspiration Award in its inaugural year. In 2017, they earned a coveted WildCard spot to compete at the World Championship in St. Louis, marking them as a rising force in the robotics community. Their continued commitment to creativity was recognized in 2023 when they won the Creativity Award for their inventive engineering solutions.
Team 5736 has maintained an outstanding competitive record, reaching the finals numerous times over the years. Beginning the 2024-2025 season, they secured 1st place at the Half Hollow Hills Invitational in November 2024, setting the stage for another stellar season. On March 8, 2025, they ranked 2nd at the prestigious Hudson Valley Regional and won the Autonomous Award, further cementing their reputation as a top-tier robotics team.
“Saturday was a great success for KP robotics that was many years in the making. Watching the final match was amazing and I am so proud of the students and what this team has achieved. The energy level inside the arena with everyone cheering as our students were focused on the final match was exciting. Thank you to the advisors, mentors and booster club for all of their work to support the students in this world class competition,” said Dr. Ralph Cartisano, Deputy Superintendent, KPCSD. “The Robotics program exemplifies teamwork, gracious professionalism and the cutting-edge application of STEM. This experience teaches our students many skills while building their confidence and ability to work with others. The program is a source of pride for the community of Kings Park.”
Team 5736 is proudly sponsored by the Kings Park Central School District, KPHS Robotics Booster Association, Zebra Technologies, FESTO, Network Outsource, Houslanger and Associates, Katy Cardinale, Associate Broker at Douglas Elliman Real Estate and many other generous donors. Their continued support plays a crucial role in the team’s success and ability to compete at the highest levels.
For more information about Team 5736 and their upcoming competitions, please contact Mr. Kevin Hutchins, Advisor at 631-269-3345 or visit KingsParkRobotics.org.
A New Species of Salamander?
Smithtown High School East Senior Thinks So
Smithtown High School East senior, Gabe Finger, successfully presented his discovery of a potentially new salamander species at the LI Natural History conference at Stony Brook University on March 21.
Following the collapse of the centuries-old Mill Pond dam after an August
2024 storm, Gabe and some friends found a type of salamander species that was previously unidentified.
Gabe said that only four salamanders were found and plans to do a genetic analysis with Cold Spring Harbor laboratory to confirm the identity are in the works.
The Long Island Natural History Conference is the largest regional forum for the exchange of information about Long Island’s natural history. The annual event brings together Long Island’s leading naturalists to exchange current information, identify research and management needs, and encourage collaborations and a greater region-wide interest in Long Island’s natural history.
Pines Elementary Second Graders Step Back in Time in Historic One-Room Schoolhouse
Sachem North Horticulture Class: Growing Knowledge and Giving Back
Students in Ms. Frosina’s horticulture class at Sachem North High School are gaining hands-on experience in sustainable gardening, composting and community service. Through this interactive course, students are not only cultivating plants but also growing valuable life skills while making a positive impact on their community.
The class focuses on the essentials of plant cultivation, from creating nutrient-rich potting mix using sifted compost, vermiculite, coco coir, and organic fertilizer to growing fresh produce. These carefully nurtured plants thrive in both the indoor classroom garden and the larger outdoor school garden, where they eventually
contribute to local food pantries and class lessons.
Beyond learning about plant science, students are immersed in a “garden-to-table” approach that emphasizes sustainability and food production. By growing and donating fresh produce, they gain firsthand experience in responsible agriculture and the importance of giving back to their community.
Ms. Frosina’s horticulture class is more than just a science course—it’s an opportunity to develop essential life skills, foster environmental appreciation and engage in meaningful community service. Through their dedication and hard work, these young gardeners are sowing the seeds of responsibility, generosity and sustainability for a better future.
The students dressed for the occasion, wearing 1800s clothing, to fully transport themselves back in time. They practiced penmanship with pen and ink, solved arithmetic problems on slate boards and performed chores like sawing wood. The students also learned about rural traditions, such as bringing the family dog to school. After a productive day, they enjoyed recess on the museum’s beautiful grounds.
Pines Elementary School second graders visited the historic Nassakeag (South Setauket) Schoolhouse at the Long Island Museum in Stony Brook for an immersive history lesson.
Civics 101
The Necessary Standard for American Education
The Eleventh and Sixteenth Amendments
By Matt Meduri
In reviewing the Amendments of the U.S. Constitution for this column, we’ve discussed the first ten Amendments - the Bill of Rights - as well as three landmark amendments that came out of the postbellum reunified republic, the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments.
This week, we’re discussing two more amendments: the Eleventh and Sixteenth. An interesting note about these two amendments is that they overturned separate Supreme Court decisions made shortly prior to their ratifications.
The Eleventh Amendment
“The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.”
This column will seek to address the long-forgotten concept of civics and how it relates to American government in general, from the federal level to the local level. This column will explore Constitutional rights, the inner workings of government, the electoral process, and the obligations and privileges of citizens.
In short, the Eleventh Amendment restricts individuals from suing states in federal court. The amendment establishes that federal courts do not have jurisdiction over cases brought against a state by a citizen of another state, or a foreign state against a domestic state. The amendment also serves as another bolster for federalism and the fifty states’ sovereignty as a republic.
The Eleventh Amendment was the first amendment to be adopted after the Bill of Rights, following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Chisholm Vs. Georgia (1793). In the ruling, the Court found that federal courts had authority to hear cases in law and equity brought by private citizens against the states. The ruling also established that states did not enjoy sovereign immunity in federal court from lawsuits brought by citizens of other states. The ruling was in favor of Alexander Chisholm, an executor of an estate of a South Carolina citizen. In October 1777, the Executive Council of Georgia authorized two state commissioners to purchase goods from Robert Farquhar, a South Carolina merchant, to replenish supplies needed by the Continental Army stationed in Savannah, Georgia.
The merchants and Farquhar had agreed to a payment of about $170,000 in indigo and continental currency. However, Farquhar died in 1784, having not received payment. His estate filed a claim for the debt with the Georgia Legislature in 1789, but the committee overseeing the matter refused to pay, instead suggesting that the estate sue the merchants who had withdrawn funds meant for Farquhar from the state treasury.
The Supreme Court ruled that Article 3, Section 2 of the Constitution expressly allowed federal judicial powers to decide suits between a state and a citizen of another state.
Although the decision was 4-1, Justice James Iredell’s dissenting opinion ultimately became the law of the land, as the states were surprised by the Supreme Court’s decision. A movement for an Eleventh Amendment was quickly underway.
By 1795, two years after the Supreme Court’s ruling, twelve of the fifteen states at the time had ratified the Eleventh Amendment. South Carolina would ratify it in 1797, while New Jersey and Pennsylvania took no action. In 1795, the Eleventh Amendment was ratified to negate the 1793 decision in Chisholm Vs. Georgia.
Now, as the supreme law of the land, citizens of one state or of a foreign nation can only sue a state with the state’s consent or if Congress aborgates the states’ immunity from legal action.
The 1976 Supreme Court decision in Fitzpatrick Vs. Bitzer charged Congress with the power to abrogate - or waivestate immunity from suit under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment. This power was later broadened to bankruptcy cases in 2006.
Congressional abrogation stands as one of the only exceptions to the law, but must be done through legislation clearly demonstrating intent to abrogate a state’s immunity. The Ex Parte Young exception allows federal courts to issue what’s called prospective injunctive reliefs - essentially, orders to prevent future legal actions - against state officials who act,
under state law, in violation of federal law. In essence, a federal court can order a state official to cease violating federal law, despite the defendant acting under state statutes and that the state itself is immune from federal suit. This exception only applies to lawsuits that intend to enjoin future violations of federal law, not lawsuits seeking damages.
States can also voluntarily waive their right to federal immunity and consent to be sued in federal court. If a state takes this option, it relieves itself of the right to invoke a defense of sovereign immunity.
Non-state entities, such as universities, school districts, and NGOs, are not protected by the Eleventh Amendment.
The Sixteenth Amendment
“The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.”
Ratified on February 3, 1913, the Sixteenth Amendment allows Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states on the basis of population. Prior to its ratification, the federal government was funded almost entirely by tariffs and excise taxes on goods. The first federal income tax had been instituted by the Revenue Act of 1861, but it was repealed in 1872. This was mainly due to PopulistProgressive ideals at the time, which favored a progressive income tax, one in which the tax rate increases as the taxable income increases. The income tax was favored to shift the burden off the poor that some groups believed were due a tariff-based economy. The 1894 Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act would have enacted an income tax provision, but it was struck down in the Supreme Court’s 1895 decision in Pollock Vs. Farmers’ Loan & Trust Co. The Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that the income tax outlined in the bill was an unapportioned direct tax.
Championed by congressional Democrats and President Grover Cleveland (D-NY), tariff reduction was a top issue. The Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act aimed to decrease tariffs overall, especially on raw materials, with an income tax of 2% on income about $4000 - about $140,000 today - making up the shortfall. The 2% rate also applied to corporate profits, gains, and inheritances. Supporters believed the income tax would help reduce income inequality while shifting the burden of taxation to the wealthy.
The bill mainly became law due to the U.S. Senate’s expectation that the Supreme Court would eventually find the taxation unconstitutional.
The Pollock decision revolved around the New York-based Farmers’ Loan & Trust Company announcing to its shareholders that the company would not only pay the income tax, but also provide names of people and clients for and with whom the company was working at the time, as they were thus liable to taxation under the act.
Charles Pollock, a private citizen of Massachusetts, owned only ten shares of stock in Farmers’ Loan & Trust Co. He then sued the company to prevent them from paying the income tax. After losing in the lower courts, he earned a successful
appeal with the Supreme Court.
The Court found that the income tax was unconstitutional as the Court viewed income from property as a direct tax. At the time, the Constitution stipulated that the direct taxes were required to be imposed in proportion to the states’ population. The tax imposed by the Wilson-Gorman Act had not been apportioned, and thus, was invalid in the Court’s eyes.
However, the Supreme Court did not rule that all income taxes were direct taxes, instead holding that while income taxes are generally indirect taxes (excises), taxes on interest, dividends, and rents in the WilsonGorman Act had a large effect on assets a company or citizen might hold. The Court ruled that taxes on such assets should be viewed as direct taxes, as those levies often fall on the properties themselves, rather than as an indirect tax.
The crux of the Court’s ruling is that direct taxes were to follow the apportionment rule in Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution. The apportionment formula was the direct tax collected divided by the members of the U.S. House. The quotient is then multiplied by the number of representatives each state possesses individually to determine each state’s share of the tax it needs to levy and collect, all through the state’s own taxing authorities.
While an unpopular decision at the time, the ruling prevented Congress from levying an income tax for about twenty years as apportionment requirements for taxes were notoriously impractical. The decision was effectively overturned by the Court’s ruling in Pollock, with Congress establishing a new federal income tax with the Revenue Act of 1913.
President William Howard Taft (R-OH) proposed the 2% federal income tax on corporations vis-à-vis an excise tax and a constitutional amendment to allow the previously enacted defeated income tax. Conservatives largely opposed the concept of a federal income tax, calling it “undemocratic, inquisitorial, and wrong in principle.” However, congressional leaders believed such an act had little chance of being ratified, as ratification requires three-quarters of the state legislatures’ approval.
In 1909, the amendment was passed by Congress and sent to the states. Southern and western states largely supported it, while the northeast was the center of opposition. Progressive conservatives, such as Theodore Roosevelt (R-NY), supported the idea, as a larger nation dealing with increasingly larger nations in terms of military and economy required a consistent, steady revenue stream to assert hemispheric dominance and classical “peace through strength” ideals. A large catalyst for these shifts in tone was the increasing presence and capabilities of Japan, Britain, and Europe, as all, including the U.S., had their own imperial ambitions.
“Establishment” Republicans opposed the idea due to their ties with wealthy industrialists at the time, but even in that base, opposition wasn’t uniform. Governor Charles E. Hughes (R-NY) ran for president in 1916, narrowly losing to President Woodrow Wilson (D-NJ). He later became a Supreme Court Justice, arguing in favor of a federal income tax, but one without powers afforded to the federal government to tax state and municipal bonds. His belief was that the increasingly centralized federal power would “make it impossible for the state to keep any property.”
The ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment in 1913 removed the requirement for direct income taxes to be apportioned among the states according to population. The Revenue Act of 1913 largely lowered tariffs and instituted a non-apportioned federal income tax.
Ratification required approval of thirty-six states. Alabama was the first to ratify in 1909, with Delaware being the tippingpoint state in 1913. Forty-two of the forty-eight states at the time voted to ratify. New Mexico and Arkansas ratified the amendment after previously rejecting it. Connecticut, Utah, Rhode Island, and Virginia rejected the amendment without ever subsequently ratifying it, while Florida’s and Pennsylvania’s legislatures never considered the proposed amendment.
Continued from front cover
‘Train to Hell’: Toby Carlson Couches Rail Yard Proposal
Carlson says he received much pushback, not so much to the rail yard itself, but more so to himself personally. Predominantly from social media comments and messages, Carlson says he has been told by community members that he is a “disappointment” to his grandfather, who bought the prospective rail yard property in 1967, and that he and his family are not the “Carlson clan” of yesteryear. Carlson has also been accused of trying to “kill the community” and turn Kings Park into East Palestine, Ohio, the site of a 2023 train derailment carrying hazardous waste that triggered evacuations and cleanups for the area, as well as nightmare fuel for the rest of the nation.
Maintaining Local Control
Carlson says that the idea of shipping waste off Long Island via rail was first conceptualized in 2004, when he foresaw a waste bubble ready to burst. Carlson renewed his interests in the plan following a 2014 Solid Waste Management Report put out by Suffolk County, a 600page compendium that “clearly stated”, according to Carlson, the recommendation of using rail to move waste materials off Long Island, citing rail’s safety, efficiency, and effectiveness. The project was shelved indefinitely due to personal matters and the COVID-19 Pandemic.
However, the waste crisis was further promulgated by the 2021 announcement of the Brookhaven landfill’s closure in 2024. The facility remains open due to lack of alternatives, but only receives construction and demolition (C&D) debris. In 2021, Carlson moved forward with the formal proposal.
“I’ve spent about $1.5 million and three years on this project,” said Carlson, who bought the current Carlson Corp. property on Old Northport Road out of bankruptcy. His grandfather bought the land and petitioned the Town to change the zoning since the property is rail-side. Carlson saw the emerging problem when Carlson Corp. began hauling C&D debris and ash for the Town of Brookhaven.
“Kings Park is such an interesting location; it’s tough to get to by trucks. If a rail yard could receive all the materials for the Kings Park-Huntington Industrial Area, all those trucks that come in and out wouldn’t have to go there. It would have been a closed system. I brought it back around 2018, formulating a plan,” said Carlson. “I saw it being a good solution.”
Carlson Corp. handles trucking, mulch and soil, rock crushing, sand and gravel, and ready-to-mix concrete, among other similar commodities and services.
Much of the $1.5 million Carlson has spent on shepherding the proposal through the various hurdles was spent on legal fees, particularly those brought by the Townline Association of Commack. The expenditures include legal fees for three separate lawsuits, all of which were won by Mr. Carlson, as well as federal environmental assessments, engineering fees, advertising, time and effort, and hard costs.
However, and worst of all, Carlson says, the emotional toll has been “unbearable.”
“I don’t have an ego; I’m not trying to sell my business or flip it. I just want to run a good business, have a good relationship with the community and governments, and move on with my life. It’s not worth it at all,” said Carlson. “At the end of the day, in a few years, when things start to get really hard - when there’s more trucks, higher disposal fees, higher taxes - I think people will walk into my office and ask if we can do this [rail yard proposal].”
Carlson also posits that the project could have been transferred to the supervision of the federal government, circumventing the Town Board, but refrained from making such a move.
“I could have put the whole project under federal control, but I wanted to do it the right way,” said Carlson. “Keep the state and the local governments on the private side, feds on the rail; local and federal control. I got slaughtered for doing the right thing.”
Team-Based Municipal Waste Management
Carlson’s proposal would have also employed an interesting strategy to not only maintain local control of the solid waste issue, but also provide an opportunity for the fifteen municipalities between Nassau and Suffolk counties to work together to manage their waste in a team-based model. This was also intended to be a failsafe against one town bearing the burden of another, either through resources, taxation, transit, or all of the above.
“We wanted to set up satellite locations so that each town could be responsible for their own waste. We could have had Smithtown and Huntington work together, Hempstead and Brookhaven work together,” said Carlson. “No one particular town or group of people would have to bear the brunt individually. We wanted to create balance sheets so that the towns with corresponding sheets could work together to balance their waste and resource budgets. Once the books are balanced, the town teams could come up with solutions for those particular planning units, so that there’s no one group doing more or being affected worse than anyone.”
Carlson also defends the letter sent by the Town of Smithtown to the Surface Transportation Board (STB), an independent federal agency charged with oversight of the nation’s railroads. The rail yard proposal received a stamp of approval from the STB last year. The letter outlined the Town Board’s support for the concept of carting solid waste off Long Island via rail, pursuant to the 2014 report, rather than express support of Carlson’s proposal specifically.
However, Carlson takes issue with how the letter and its intent were depicted by editor of The Smithtown News, David Ambro, and interpreted by various community organizations.
The Actors
Carlson specifically calls out The Smithtown News editor Ambro, the Townline Civic Association, and the Fort Salonga Association, as well as Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga).
“When Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R-Kings Park) sent that letter, it was to support the concept of, not the approval of, the rail yard, and Ambro took it and ran with it,” said Carlson. “The civic leaders were wrong. Pat Vecchio (R) ran this town for forty years. Those civic leaders are the same ones when Vecchio was around. It’s the same playbook: get people
freaked out and the Town will shut it down.”
Carlson also decries the claims made by Ambro in thirty-seven issues of the weekly Smithtown News, with allegations and editorial comments that the proposal would turn Kings Park into East Palestine, Ohio.
“The STB won three lawsuits against the civic associations, yet Ambro and all of them continued to carry their false narrative,” said Carlson. “It doesn’t matter if you supported the project or not; you can dislike a project based on its merits, but not the narrative. It’s an echo chamber of gaslighting and manipulation, and it’s wrong.”
Carlson adds that the State permit his corporation has precludes him from handling hazmat and hazardous waste. While he agrees that trains carrying hazardous waste pose a more significant threat when they derail, such materials were never in his business model for the rail yard.
“We have less hazmats on our site than some people have in their own homes. Every household has detergent, cleaners, plastics, shampoons - many of these products have PFAS in them. Most people dump that stuff down the drain,” said Carlson. “We don’t handle those. We handle rocks, dirt, and trees. The ash that we handle is combined incinerator ash and we’re trained to handle it.”
Combined incinerator ash, or municipal solid waste incinerator ash (MSWIA), is a byproduct of burning waste, containing bottom ash and fly ash blended together to neutralize hazardous materials.
Carlson also says that the figures shared throughout dozens of Town Board meetings regarding train derailments are also intentionally misleading.
“Every day, nationally, there are three train derailments on average. Every day, nationally, there’s 1,000 truck accidents on average,” said Carlson. “The majority of derailments are at slow speeds and often happen within the yards.”
According to Injury Facts, the U.S. saw 995 train-related deaths in 2023, with 75% of them being trespass-related fatalities, often suicides. Conversely, there were roughly 6,000 truck-related deaths in 2022, according to Injury Facts, wherein 70% of fatalities were those in other vehicles.
However, attempting to quell community qualms on the project, Carlson says the local civic groups refused to even let him state his case to their boards and constituents.
“I asked to meet with the civic leaders; they closed the door on me,” said Carlson, adding that Linda Henninger, co-president of the Townline Civic Association, told him, “when you change your plan, you can come talk to us.”
“As if they’re the authorities, as if they’re running the town,” said Carlson.
Carlson also accuses Legislator Trotta of “flip-flopping” on the issue. An article published in the January 26, 2023, edition of The Messenger details Legislator Trotta’s co-handling of the community meeting about the project at the Commack Library, wherein he attempted to assuage public concerns over health and posited that taxes would rise without a rail presence for waste on Long Island.
“Trotta supported it, it got fire, he flipped,” said Carlson. “If it’s not important enough for the County, towns, and civics to look at this, it’s not that important to me either.”
What’s Next?
“The tribe has spoken; they want trucks,” said Carlson, reluctantly embracing a stopgap solution to handling waste. “Carlson Corp. always has fifty trucks onsite and we just ordered seven more. We’re just going to stage for the next stage of the waste crisis.”
Carlson added that should interest in the project, or any rail proposal, be reawakened in the future, he’d work with anyone who can remain reasonable throughout the process.
“I’ll work with anyone that has a practical solution who won’t sensationalize everything and who won’t flip-flop. Certain communities pass certain burdens onto others because it’s cheaper or convenient. The environmental classism that Vecchio promoted will continue. People in other towns aren’t as rich, but they have children and lives,” said Carlson, chastising the “Not In My Backyard” (NIMBY) element of the backlash.
“If people want to take a victory lap, take it,” said Carlson of the now-dormant proposal. “When the time comes, the right doors will open. I won’t put my name at risk for anyone, and neither should the Town Board. They were trying to solve a problem that the County, at the same point in time, was saying we had. Who else was standing up? When taxes go up, maybe the civic groups will have an answer. 350,000 people in Smithtown and Huntington are all going to have their taxes go up because of three civic leaders, one newspaper man and the lies that they spread.”
Supervisor Wehrheim explained to The Messenger Smithtown’s prerogative in the waste crisis going forward.
“While this project generated considerable public concern, I believe it’s important to recognize that the Town’s steadfast commitment to transparency, public engagement, and a thorough environmental review process ensured that the voices of our residents were heard throughout every step of this process,” said Wehrheim. “That said, while this specific proposal is no longer moving forward, the critical issue at hand remains: Suffolk County—and all of Long Island—is facing an imminent solid waste crisis. Our landfills are nearing capacity, and if we fail to act, the outcome will be catastrophic—not only for our environment but for our taxpayers, our local economy, and the everyday commuter.”
Wehrheim adds the challenge cannot be solved by one municipality, rather with “collaboration and leadership” at all levels of government. He commends County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) for being a “driving force” to identify “long-term, sustainable solutions before it’s too late.”
“The goal must be to work toward a zero-waste future—but until that goal becomes attainable, we must take immediate steps to establish responsible, practical solutions for how we handle, recycle, and transport solid waste across our region,” said Wehrheim. “As always, I remain committed to keeping the residents of Smithtown informed, engaged, and at the forefront of these discussions as we continue working toward real, achievable solutions to one of the most pressing challenges of our time.”
Published by Messenger Papers, Inc.
Local History
Thursday, April 3, 2025
‘Women Wanted…Dimensions Don’t Count’
By Ellyn Okvist, B.Sc.
Seriously, this was the advertisement from May 10, 1967 (pictured below right), placed in the Ronkonkoma Review to announce the new Beverage Barn which was replacing Louie Bruno at the Corner of Hawkins Avenue and Thorne Street. The building was originally a pool hall. The established beer and soda outlet had been sold by Louie Bruno to Duke (Oliver) Mulvihill and we never imagined how long the Beverage Barn would continue to serve the Lake Ronkonkoma area for eighty-two years.
Louie and Emma Bruno had sold coal, later replaced with fuel oil, block ice, and created a school bus company. He added beer and soda in 1942 after he visited friends in Brooklyn and saw a thriving business opportunity. Louie did well, but in 1954 he suffered a heart attack and had to break up his different businesses, and the beer and soda branch was to be sold. The school bus company was sold to Eberhardt’s Bus Company.
Duke Mulvihill was originally from White Plains and operated a real estate and insurance company in Yonkers. He had heard from a friend, Vincent Holland, that Bruno Beer Distributors was up for sale and decided to purchase the place. The actual date of sale and transfer was January 1, 1955. The dates and responsibilities differed, as Duke picked up all of the debts and kept the name Bruno Beer Distributors. Although the new name was to be Beverage Barn, the Bruno location was so well-known that it continued to be known as Beverage Barn, Brunos Beverage Barn, Bruno Beverage, Bruno Beer, and such until closing February 12, 2024.
As a thank you to his customers, Duke would often locate a barrel of beer and cups for “self-service”. He wanted to let the customers know of his appreciation for them, and since he could not legally offer a beer on his premises, he would set it up across the street on the side of the road!
Mulvihill went in two weeks early in 1954 and made a gradual start. On weekends, his two sons, Drew and James, joined the business to make deliveries. The deliveries, which were the mainstay of the business, were permanently closed in September 1972. As the climate of Lake Ronkonkoma evolved, it had become a walk-in business. In 1964, the original store on the corner was torn down with the widening of Hawkins Avenue where the Long Island Expressway was being built at record speed.
Drew and Jim purchased the ice machine from Louie Bruno in 1969. It was used by the business until closure. The ice business went under the ownership of Helen Hethy Mulvihill, who purchased a brand-new ice machine in 1987. She successfully ran the business with one employee until she sold it in 1997 to Drew and Jimmy.
In 1973, Oliver “Duke” Mulvihill passed away, and his son Drew took over the reins. Brother James did not continue in the family business. Helen Hethy Mulvihill was expecting her first child in 1975, and her current office was a desk and file cabinet squashed between the two coolers. The roof was raised and a spacious office, complete with bathroom, was built so she could work and bring her daughter along.
Deer hunters were accustomed to store their kill in the large walk-in by the door. Many a startled customer would say “Oh my God, there’s a deer in the refrigerator.”
The cases of products - beer and soda - had to be offloaded by hand when deliveries arrived. In 1974, a forklift was purchased which reduced the handling of the products. When the original store was removed because of the expressway construction, a large lean-to was added to the west side of the building, which became the new section of the store. Bohack, our supermarket down Hawkins Avenue, went out of business and Brunos purchased the biggest walk-in. The ice machine was moved to the side wall, where it remained until 2024, and the large Bohack walk-in was placed partially inside the building and the rest outside. The outside construction custom-fit the walkin as part of the interior area for best use. The business continued to thrive, and in 2017, Drew retired, having been with the business for sixty-six years. The next generation took over the business, nephew Jim, having been with the business since the 1980’s, had picked up the torch and continued. Due to pending sale of the property, the legacy business closed its doors right after Super Bowl LVIII, Kansas City Chiefs v. San Francisco 49ers on February 12, 2024 - eighty-two years of memories.
Various topics that come up for discussion:
Dogs: For as long as anyone can remember, there was a friendly dog to greet you at the door. Among them, Michelob, Shamrock, Brewski, Ginger Ale, Butch, Soxs, Genesce, Rhinegold.
Employees: We need to mention the local handsome young men that worked at the business all those years – they gave the girls a reason to stop by.
Ice: They were the go-to for beach trips and parties, customers usually would have the coolers in the trunk or back seat to load up the ice before they left. Larger purchases would have the employee open the door of the huge machine and load multiples all at once, bypassing the coins.
Casual local hang out: It was a place to gather and talk about the latest news. It was also a great place to ask about the past or a question that needed an answer and get the correct answers. Many were sad about the closing.
The Mulvihill unique sense of humor: One look at the title of this column and the ad it came from, says it all. If you knew them, you knew the sense of humor.
Painted color of the building: The green paint question has come up for years. They used green because they were Irish!
This report was supplemented with certified information from Duke Mulvihill, Drew Mulvihill, Irene Mulvihill Congdon, Helen Hethy Mulvihill, and James Mulvihill. Info included in the Lake Ronkonkoma Heritage Association records. Photographs are property of the Mulvihill Family, all rights reserved.
The old exterior of the building
c. 1947, ‘Old Joe Whitney’ Walk-in refrigerators
One of the last photos of Bruno Beer (above). Drew Mulvihill (right)
New York State Prioritizes Politics Over Public Safety with Early Inmate Releases
By Cait Crudden
In a move that critics say puts political interests above public safety, New York State has announced plans to release certain incarcerated individuals early under the guise of alleviating staffing shortages in its prison system. According to an internal memo, the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) has ordered prison superintendents to create lists of inmates eligible for early release, despite concerns from law enforcement and lawmakers about the risks this poses to communities.
The memo, issued by DOCCS Commissioner Daniel Martuscello on Monday, outlines specific eligibility criteria for the program. To qualify, incarcerated individuals must be within 15 to 110 days of their scheduled release date, not be serving time for high-level felonies such as murder, terrorism, arson, violent crimes, or sex offenses and
have an approved residence, excluding shelters or Department of Social Services placements.
These individuals will serve the remainder of their sentences under parole supervision rather than behind bars. A DOCCS spokesperson stated that it will take time to determine how many inmates will be granted early release under the initiative.
The decision has sparked widespread criticism, with many arguing that Governor Kathy Hochul (D) and state officials are choosing political expediency over the safety of New Yorkers. This decision comes just three weeks after the state fired over 2,000 trained corrections officers in response to a 22day unsanctioned strike, a move that has only worsened staffing shortages.
Despite growing opposition, criminal justice reform advocates continue to push their agenda, arguing that the
individuals being released were already scheduled to leave prison within a few months and pose minimal risk to public safety. However, opponents question why the state is prioritizing the early release of criminals over hiring and retaining trained correction officers.
Governor Hochul’s office has attempted to justify the move, releasing a statement that reads, “Governor Hochul’s top priority is the safety and well-being of all New Yorkers. The Governor is aware of Commissioner Martuscello’s memo and supports his efforts to safely address staffing shortages and personnel concerns.”
Meanwhile, the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA), the union representing correction officers, remains firm in its opposition.
“NYSCOPBA’s concern, as it has always been, is the current and future safety of all
staff working in the correctional facilities. We will continue to advocate on behalf of our members for the department to address the on-going safety concerns that currently exist.”
With the policy now set in motion, state officials will begin reviewing eligible inmates for release. While supporters frame this as a step toward criminal justice reform, opponents warn that prioritizing politics over public safety could have dire consequences for communities across New York. By choosing to release incarcerated individuals instead of addressing staffing shortages through proper recruitment and retention strategies, the state is making a choice that puts its citizens at risk. The debate over whether New York will prioritize law and order or continue down this path remains far from over.
The leaked DOCCS memobelow:
Published by Messenger Papers, Inc.
Thursday, April 3, 2025
Roadmap to Reform CDC — Currently the Centers for Disaster and Confusion
By Betsy McCaughey| AMAC
A deadly fungus is spreading like crazy across the U.S., sickening and killing hospital patients, and the federal response has been ineffectual at best.
It’s in half the states, including New York, with soaring annual increases in the number of patients sickened, per the American Journal of Infection Control.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls Candida auris an “urgent” threat, but talk is cheap. The agency is largely to blame for its rapid spread. It’s a textbook example of a federal agency crying out for a Trump makeover.
Between 30% and 60% of patients who develop invasive C. auris infection die. To put that in perspective, just over 1% of COVID-19 patients die.
In 2024, the CDC reported 4,514 cases in patients of all ages- nine times the size of the measles outbreak that is attracting significant public attention.
Lefties are moaning that the Trump administration’s 2,400 staff cuts at the CDC imperil our health. Nonsense. The agency more fittingly called the Centers for Disaster and Confusion — is falling short at its core mission: stopping the spread of contagious diseases.
Here’s your to-do list, Mr. Health and Human Services Secretary: Prioritize health over political correctness, opt for transparency over secrecy, and be open to 21st-century technologies.
1. End the Wokeness
In 2021, while C. Auris cases soared 500%, and the CDC was busy tutoring health care workers on avoiding gender-specific terms like “mother” and “father” and stigmatizing words like “smoker” or “prisoner.” Ridiculous. Cutting word police staff won’t harm our health a bit. Start there, Mr. Secretary.
2. Provide Transparency Republicans talk about price transparency. That’s not enough. As Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, says, “Bad care is a bad deal at any price.”
Once C. auris invades a hospital, it clings to furniture, ceiling tiles, curtains, mattresses, and equipment such as blood pressure monitors and wheelchairs.
When patients are exposed to the fungus, it attaches to their skin, and it’s virtually impossible to get rid of it. A small number develop lifethreatening infections, but many more indefinitely become carriers. If they’re later admitted to another hospital, they shed the fungus there, unknowingly spreading the problem.
You don’t want to be treated in a hospital struggling with this contagious fungus.
But the CDC hides which hospitals have it, protecting the hospital’s reputation instead of keeping the public informed and stopping the spread.
When the fungus invaded a Las Vegas hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit because contaminated echocardiogram equipment was used on the babies, a newborn died. The CDC report referred to the hospital as “Hospital A.” If you’re about to give birth, you’d want to know whether the hospital you’re planning to use is battling C. auris.
Referring to “Hospital A” isn’t the exception. The CDC never identifies hospitals or nursing facilities battling any type of infection. That’s unfair to the public.
3. Join the 21st Century
The CDC puts out guidance for hospitals on how to clean but it’s straight out of the 1950s. It recommends using Environmental Protection Agency-approved detergents, which are known to be ineffective against C. auris, and talks
about changing water in buckets and laundering mopheads. No mention of technologies that can continuously and non-toxically decontaminate rooms.
These effective technologies, proven in peer-reviewed medical journals, the gold standard, can rid hospital rooms of C. auris. Dry hydrogen peroxide emitted through the HVAC system reduced C. auris contamination in a burn unit in a Florida hospital by 93%, according to a study in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.
Another study published in Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology showed that a Las Vegas hospital reduced C. auris contamination on surfaces from 70% to just 16.7%, reducing the risk that patients will pick it up.
Far ultraviolet light can also destroy hospital infection germs without posing any risk to human skin and eyes, according to data published in Infection Control Today.
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 amac.us
But the CDC is suspicious of solutions coming from the forprofit world, and the agency’s website and guides for hospitals reflect little awareness of what is technically possible.
No one has suffered more from this backward thinking than the nation’s schoolchildren. During COVID-19, numerous technologies could have been employed to get schools up and running relatively virus-free. But instead, the CDC gave school administrators wacky advice to open the windows and keep desks 6 feet apart.
The public deserves a CDC that can provide up-to-date scientific guidance.
Mr. Secretary, this is your roadmap. The CDC has hundreds of projects that have nothing to do with stopping infectious diseases. Slash them, and fortify the CDC to battle deadly contagions. Our lives could depend on it.
WHERE BROADWAY MEETS MAIN STREET
WORD OF THE Week
Etymology: Middle English; earliest known use is in the 1480 writing of William Caxton, printer, merchant, and diplomat.
Synonyms: contrarily, conversely, versus
CONTRARIWISE
adverb Pronounced: /con·trer·ee·wize/
Definition: In the opposite way or order; in contrast to something that has just been stated or mentioned.
Example: “The local officials had committed their resources to solving the issue. Contrariwise, the State commissioners had not.”
Antonyms: similarly, together, like
Source: Oxford Languages
N I M C E O
See how many words you can create. Must have center letter in word and can use letters more than once. 4 letter word minimum.
SUDOKU
See bottom left for the answers (please don’t cheat!)
This Week in History
April 8, 2021: Egyptian archaeologists announce their most important find since Tutankhamun’s tomb - discovery of a lost ‘golden city’ the 3,000-years-old ancient city of Aten near Luxor
April 5, 1951: Dean Kamen, American engineer and inventor of the Segway, born in Rockville Centre.
April 3, 1860:
Start of the Pony Express, delivers mail by horse and rider relay teams between St Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California.
April 7, 1948: World Health Organization is formed by the United Nations.
April 6, 1906: World’s first animated cartoon is released, “Humorous Phases of Funny Faces” by J. Stuart Blackton.
April 4, 1949: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) treaty signed in Washington, D.C.
April 9, 1768: John Hancock refuses to allow two British customs agents to go below deck of his ship, considered by some to be the first act of physical resistance to British authority in the colonies
By PJ Balzer
Kris Watkins is clearly an extraordinary young man. He’s extraordinary in athletic ability, in work ethic, and in character.
But being extraordinary rarely comes without some needed opposition. In his case, it’s been years of outside opinions telling him that he’s too small in stature for the next level. Watkins has converted every opposing voice into the gasoline needed to pour onto the fire of his ambition. Contrary to every opinion, this upcoming fall, he’s headed to the next level.
Kris Watkins grew up in Mastic Beach and attended the William Floyd School District from kindergarten right up until now, the last few months of his senior year. Watkins comes from a family of educators, his father being a principal in BOCES and his mother a high school math teacher in the Longwood School district. Kris’s dad, Kai Watkins, was also a decorated, multiplesport, revered athlete at Longwood. His mother was born in Haiti and came to the States as a child but still keeps much of the Haitian tradition and culture inside their home and family life. Both of Kris’s parents are extremely nurturing.
“I definitely realize how blessed I am and I’m really thankful for my parents and family life. I know that I hit the lottery jackpot when it comes to the family I’ve been given. I’m fully aware that this is not every kid’s situation where I grew up,” Watkins said.
Work Hard, Level Up
Kris is also very close with his sister Mya, also a student athlete at Floyd. He remembers fondly the times when they would make a barter. Kris would complete Mya’s assigned chores if she’d promise to throw him some passes with the football. Even though Kris has played several sports including baseball, lacrosse, track, and basketball, football has always been at the core of his heart and attention.
“There’s just something almost unreal about football. The adrenaline, playing under the Friday night lights with my family, peers and teachers watching. Football is just different, I love it.”
Kris is also grateful for individuals along this journey that saw something in him that he couldn’t see in himself at the time. They not only saw something, but they also actually took the time to help him develop what they saw. Coach Connor, the defensive football coach at William Floyd, is one of those individuals. He knew that people were saying that Kris was on the small side, yet he still stirred the gift he saw of speed, tenacity, and a heart that had no fear.
Ms. Tepper, an earth science teacher, is another one. Kris fondly reminisced on a pivotal moment a few years back that changed their relationship completely. Ms. Tepper wasn’t his teacher at the time; she was the teacher across the hall from his classroom. As his class was preparing for an earth science lab test, Kris’s guess is that the neighboring teacher knew he was struggling to understand the material. She quickly invited him into her class, took out a few rocks and explained, in very practical terms, the material in a way that made sense to him. With her simple explanation, he passed the test easily.
“I’m so thankful for her and the way she’s helped me. I consider her like family now, she often comes to watch me play and has helped me in so many ways since then. She’s been a part of my life and journey since that day including helping me to write my homecoming king speech this year.”
Watkins has had so many memorable moments both on and off the football field at Floyd. One of them was being crowned Homecoming King this past fall. Another was definitely holding up the Suffolk County large school championship trophy after defeating Ward Melville on the football field at Stony Brook University this November. Attending the first home basketball game this year after the tragic passing of Coach Darrell Sumpter was another moment he won’t ever forget.
“I played basketball for most of my time at Floyd, so Coach Darrell has been a huge part of developing my character, discipline and drive to win. That was a really emotional game and time inside our gym. We all miss him.”
Kris’s dad has instilled in him since his youth that next-level athletes are doing the extra things that others aren’t willing to. They are practicing harder than everyone else and then using the games to simply showcase the extras they are doing when no one else sees. Everything matters. Your body language, your words, the friends you keep around and what you’re doing in the classroom and hallways as well. Next-level athletes are living a lifestyle centered around getting better each day, in every way.
Watkins has taken all of this to heart as he has recently committed to playing college football. He will be playing corner at Mount Union University in Ohio this upcoming fall. He will also be studying sports business with the goal of becoming a sports agent someday. Amongst several colleges that showed interest in him,
a big part of his decision was Mount Union’s winning football team, sports business program, and their commitment to and culture of excellence. He felt that this all fit where he wanted his future to head towards.
When he isn’t lifting weights, running sprints, and getting reps in, Kris is a part of a small startup clothing brand that one of his classmates and friends are trying to get off of the ground. He enjoys combining art and fashion as he feels that people often express themselves through what they wear, especially the younger generation. Kris also isn’t at all ashamed to say that he does like to bake with his mom on her bread maker when he has the time. The best part of that is spending time with her and then being the recipient of her cinnamon rolls and different homemade breads.
This summer, he’ll continue to work on his strength, speed, and craft as he prepares to put the pads on this fall at the next level. Kris would like to thank his four god-sisters who live in the Carolina’s but who he talks to often. They have been a source of reason, comfort, correction, and help in so many different ways.
In the future, he’d like to be able to take everything he’s learned from different people and help other kids coming behind him. Possibly establishing youth football camps that help develop young players coming from tougher areas. Not only in football but also scholastics, character, and then assisting with the recruiting process which can be hard to navigate without any help.
“People helped me along the way. It’s only right that I turn around and do the same.”
Moloney Family
Miller & Caggiano, LLP
Host Benefit for Guardians of Our Dependents
By Matt Meduri
While many organizations are dedicated to the health and well-being of first responders, especially police officers, other organizations commit to dealing with the hardships faced by the serious injury, illness, or death of a police officer, especially in the line of duty. Such organizations exist to help the families of the officers who make the “ultimate sacrifice” find their footing and offer continued support in the aftermath of such tragedies.
Last month, Miller & Caggiano, LLP, a Bohemia-based law firm that specializes in injury, disability, and Social Security-related workers’ compensation cases, hosted a benefit for Guardians of Our Dependents (GOOD), a foundation that helps families and members of police departments after a member’s passing, including both line-of-duty and non-line deaths. GOOD aids families of the Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), as well as those of Nassau County and New York City.
The host introduced his “third daughter”, Caiya Surrency, whose father worked in the Third Precinct with GUY starting in 2000. The passing of Caiya’s father, Chris, sparked the start for GOOD, the Nesconset-based charitable organization, in 2009.
“When her dad passed away, this organization was started for him,” said Caiya’s de facto father figure, adding that another tragedy has befallen Caiya’s family with the illness of her brother. “This poor girl, not only did she bury her father, but now her brother is sick; at fortysix years old, he’s no longer covered under his benefits. We have to rally around this family who suffered two tragedies that they should have never suffered.”
Last month’s event was organized to benefit her family throughout these recent hardships.
The benefit also recognized two individuals, one current officer and one retired, not just for their services, but also their magnanimity. Sean Manning, an SCPD officer and founder of OverSouth Realty, received the Man of the Year Award, while Carl Glaser, a retired SCPD Emergency Services (ES) Officer received the Humanitarian Award.
Officer Glaser was heralded by attendees for being “one of the most honorable men” they’ve met, while Officer Manning was recognized for his tenacity and consistency in helping organizations like GOOD meet their beneficiaries’ needs.
“Not only do you [GOOD] guard the interests of our communities, but when one of yours
goes down, and their family needs you, you’re there,” said Suffolk County Legislator Nick Caracappa (C-Selden). “I’m behind you 100% of the way.”
Caracappa presented proclamations from the office of Congressman Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), as well as flags that were flown over the U.S. Capitol, a rare honor not bestowed upon many.
“When families are at their worst, these guys [GOOD] respond and they’re at their best. There’s no better feeling than looking to your right or left and to know someone’s there for you, someone’s got your back, the shoulder to lean on. Nobody looks for recognition for this, no one looks for awards,” Caracappa told The Messenger. “We’re doing this tonight because it’s warranted. Those two gentlemen [Manning and Glaser] are not looking forward to receiving these awards because it’s not what they’re seeking. What they’re seeking is to bring relief to these families who gave everything.”
“GOOD is one of the biggest patrons of our firm,” Gregory Caggiano, founding partner of the law firm that sponsored the event, told The Messenger, describing the “symbiotic relationship” between his firm and GOOD. “We take care of them if they get hurt at work. We do the negligence cases, the workers’ compensation cases, the disability retirement cases, the Social Security cases. Miller and Caggiano is happy to sponsor and fund this night”
The event was a massive success, raising over $10,000 for medical expenses for Caiya’s brother. GOOD also covers funeral and medical expenses, family illnesses, and will even kick in for family trips to Disney World, among other places, to ensure that families are cared for when an officer passes.
(Left to right) Manning, Glaser, Caracappa, Caiya's father figure
Long Island Ducks
Ducks Ballpark Upgrades Completed For 2025
Suffolk County Ballpark Receives New Field, Mound, Bullpens and Outfield Wall
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) and Long Island Ducks team officials today announced the completion of a new turf field installation at Fairfield Properties Ballpark, home of the Atlantic League ball club. The new FieldTurf playing surface, installed by local supplier LandTek, will begin to be utilized this April for the Ducks 25th Anniversary Season on Long Island.
“This Capital Improvement is part of the ongoing effort by the County of Suffolk to update County buildings while keeping Fairfield Properties Ballpark operating at the highest professional level in partnership with the Long Island Ducks,” said Romaine. “The new turf field will improve efficiency greatly, save millions of gallons of water per year, and be more environmentally friendly, eliminating the need for fertilizer and chemicals on the playing surface in future seasons.”
The field renovation included full replacement of the entire playing surface, pitching mound, bullpens and padded outfield wall. With the conversion to an artificial surface, the Ducks are now the eighth team in the 10-team Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a Partner League of Major League Baseball, to convert to turf.
“Keeping our ballpark atop the list of favored destinations for Major League players looking to continue their careers is important,” said Ducks President/ Chief Business Officer Michael Pfaff. “This project, along with our commitment to keeping ticket prices affordable and parking free, allow us to continue to deliver on our promise of providing the most fun, fan friendly and affordable entertainment experience on Long Island for many years to come.”
The Ducks open the 2025 regular season, presented by Catholic Health, on Friday, April 25, against the Lancaster Stormers. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35p.m., with the Fairfield Properties Ballpark gates opening at 5:35 (5:20 for full season ticket holders). Tickets for all Ducks games are now available and can be purchased by visiting the ballpark box office, calling (631) 940-TIXX or going online to LIDucks.com.
The Long Island Ducks are entering their 25th Anniversary season of play in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and play their home games at Fairfield Properties Ballpark in Central Islip. They are the all-time leader in wins and attendance in Atlantic League history, have led all MLB Partner Leagues in total attendance for four consecutive seasons, and have sold out a record 713 games all-time. For further information, visit LIDucks.com or call 631-940-DUCK (3825).
About the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB)
Celebrating its third decade, the Atlantic League is Major League Baseball’s first Professional Partner League, a player gateway to the Major Leagues, and a leader in baseball innovation. Over its 26-year history, the ALPB has sent over 1,400 players to MLB organizations while drawing over 47 million fans to its 10 family-friendly ballparks that stretch from New York to North Carolina. Please visit www.AtlanticLeague.com.
By Matt Meduri
Sachem Education Foundation Holds Inaugural Gala
Started just last year, the Sachem Education Foundation (SEF) seeks to “enhance the quality of public education through innovation” in school buildings of the Sachem Central School District, while “focusing on programs that extend beyond the normal scope of the curriculum,” according to their website. Additionally, their goals are realized through community engagement, with SEF’s vision being to “offer Kindergarten through twelfth grade opportunities and showcase Sachem Schools as a place of educational equity, innovation, and scholarship.”
SEF’s inaugural gala was held last Thursday at Flowerfield in St. James, where four notable Sachem alumni were honored. Perhaps the most anticipated honoree was ‘America’s Tenor” Christopher Macchio, who recently delivered much Sachem pride and put the district in the national spotlight by performing at the inauguration of President Donald Trump (R-FL) in January.
Chris Vaccaro (‘04) serves as SEF’s president, along with several notable community members who serve on its board. Vaccaro was credited by multiple attendees for having organized and pulled off a successful inaugural gala.
“This has never been done here in Sachem, that’s why this is historic,” said Vaccaro of the SEF’s mission. “There’s a lot of communities that have educational foundations, but now we have one. And the goal is to grow this, to become bigger, stronger, faster than the other educational foundations that exist on Long Island.”
Christopher Macchio - Alumni Excellence Award
within the district.
“My parents raised me in Sachem, and I can tell you that my family wouldn’t be sitting here if it wasn’t for my Sachem family,” said Trombetta. “If every child is treated like our own, because we are Sachem, we’re going to make sure they’re safe. We’re going to make sure that they’re given every opportunity to succeed and be successful, no matter what path they are on.”
Macchio (‘96) (pictured above) received the Alumni Excellence Award. Macchio is a world-class classical-crossover vocalist who has performed at some of the world’s most prestigious venues, such as Madison Square Garden, Carnegie Hall, and the Lincoln Center.
Fellow SEF honoree Louis Gregory introduced Macchio, but not before recognizing Chris Vaccaro for his efforts for Sachem. Gregory produced a $1,000 check to the SEF on behalf of America’s Frontline, Gregory’s company.
Gregory grew up with Macchio, recounting their times of walking to Tamarac Elementary School with him as young boys.
“Growing up, I wanted to be a rapper, and he wanted to be an opera singer. He’s the same guy he is today,” said Gregory of Macchio. “Although I’ve known him for forty years, the power of his voice still brings me to tears.”
Macchio was encouraged to sing professionally by Bob Gerstenberg at Sachem H.S. South, back when the school was extant. Macchio recounted the moment he realized his musical potential in the orchestra room at Sachem South. Macchio’s profile as a stereotypical “nerd” competing in math olympiad tournaments was his “whole identity” at the time.
“When I was thirteen, while listening to and mimicking the soundtrack to The Godfather Part III, I realized I could at least carry a tune, but I really wanted to keep it a secret,” said Macchio. His presence in the high school choir, while exciting to him, was more to fulfill the Regents’ requirement of an art credit. The choir director made each of the members sing solo in front of the rest of the group, which Macchio adamantly refused.
“You can throw me out, you can fail me, but I am never going to sing in front of anybody. So, at the end of class, the rest of the students left and he pulled me aside and he had me sing for him and it was at that moment that he realized there was something there,” said Macchio. “He said, ‘Chris, what exactly do you intend to do with your life?’”
Macchio insisted he would be an attorney.
“He said, ‘Son, that’s the wrong answer. You have a gift from God and an obligation to share that gift,’” said Macchio. “That moment, right there in that Sachem High School chorus room, changed the entire trajectory of my life from that point forward.”
Patti Trombetta - Walter C. Dunham Leadership Award
Sachem Superintendent Patti Trombetta (Sachem Class of 1986) received the Walter C. Dunham Leadership Award. A multi-sport athlete and field hockey star, Trombetta worked her way up through multiple administrative posts within Sachem CSD.
Trombetti was congratulated by her uncle, John Schmitt, a member of the Jets’ winning Super Bowl team in 1969.
The Walter C. Dunham Leadership Award is given in honor of the eponymous longest-served superintendent in Sachem history, often referred to as the “Father of Sachem Schools.” Dunham served as a principal, mostly at Gatelot ELementary, from 1940 to 1955. From 1955 to 1975, he served as superintendent.
Jim Nolan - Walter C. Dunham Leadership Award
James J. Nolan also received the Walter C. Dunham Leadership Award. Nolan is a former teacher, principal, and superintendent. While a Bayport-Blue Point alumnus, Nolan served as the Principal of Sachem High School North from 2002 to 2009, serving thereafter as Sachem’s Superintendent until 2016. Nolan’s daughter, Kaylee, introduced him, calling him the “second-greatest teacher” in her life, behind her grandmother. She invoked one of his classic sayings, “use your eyes and your ears, not your mouth.”
“I learned from the very best; people who were my administrators, people I taught with, coached with, colleagues who became lifetime friends and ultimately family. I’m beyond humbled by this and grateful,” said Nolan, adding that when he initially learned of his impending recognition, he thought of a “thousand people” more deserving of the award than him.
“I never thought I’d work a day past 55, but I’m reminded often that to whom much is given, much is expected. So, I just hope and pray that every day God gives me another day and gives me purpose,” said Nolan, recognizing his family as his purpose and foundation.
Ray Nelson - Service and Support Award
Raymond J. Nelson, along with his firm Orlin & Cohen Orthopedic Group, received the Service and Support Award. With more than forty years in the sports medicine industry, Nelson’s career has brought him to the New York Islanders, the New York Jets, and several MLB and NFL teams. He continues to raise scholarship funds and provide sports medicine services for numerous scholastic and athletic organizations.
Nelson was introduced by Sachem alumnus and Sachem parent Dave Caputo.
“He has a passion for the black and gold. He might be wearing an Orlin & Cohen jacket, but he’s serving his state and community. I trust our kids with him,” said Caputo. “Any time of day, Ray is there to serve our kids.”
“It’s not the place I live the closest to, but it’s the place I love to be,” said Nelson. “Acquaintances become friends, friends become semi-family, and they’re the people that you want to see on a Friday night, Saturday afternoon, or eight hours of a wrestling tournament. At the end of the day, I want your kids healthy, I want them taken care of ethically and appropriately and return to their sport of choice as quickly as possible.”
“To think where you’ve come over the years, raising a family, competing with your brother and sister. All of you guys are super athletes,” said Schmitt.
“She always thinks of our students first,” said Deputy Superintendent Andy Larson. “The word ‘sachem’, meaning ‘leader’, is an apt reflection of Patty’s leadership
Louis Gregory - Alumni Excellence Award
Louis Gregory (‘96) received the Alumni Excellence Award for his career as a federal agent with Homeland Security that he later parlayed into work as a talent manager and music producer. He’s even served as manager for Christopher Macchio, a life-long friend who shares Macchio’s Sachem roots. Gregory has produced songs for several notable artists, such as Jennifer Lopez, LL Cool J, Eric B. & Rakim, among others. He’s also worked with Billy Joel and Mariah Carey, as well as other talented musicians from Long Island.
“I did have a sense that I should stay away from that kid,” joked Macchio of Gregory in their youth. “But he turned it all around and he became a model citizen. He’s served our country with distinction.”
No function with Macchio in the house would be complete without some soulrending vocals, which he supplied with a rendition of “God Bless America”, followed by a closing number of perhaps the most famous aria in the operatic repertoire, “Nessun Dorma”, from Giacomo Puccini’s opera Turandot