PAGE A12 • TIMES HUNTINGTON & NORTHPORTS • OCTOBER 12, 2017
BLEACHERS Continued from page A5 12 months a year to be able to play on this field,” he said. “You have to understand how disappointing this is for them.” Banzer responded, explaining the school’s side of the situation to Gozelski, as well as about a dozen parents and football players in uniform in the room. “I know it’s disappointing,” the superintendent said. “But we also wanted to make sure we provided the best product going forward. We just want the job to be done right.” At the end of the exchange, the board said it was hopeful the bleachers would be ready to go for the district’s pep rally Oct. 13 and Oct. 14 homecoming. Gozelski said he received the good news from the school’s athletic department on
Monday morning. “Now we’re going to be out there and opening up a brand new, refurbished Tigers stadium,” Gozelski said. “The players get to play, the band gets to play, the cheerleaders get to cheer and the community gets to see a good football game … and hopefully a victory.” Gina Macchia-Gerdvil, a mother of two students on the team and a member of the Booster Club, was equally upset over the situation, believing the district should have replaced the bleachers after the football season was over. She said up until Monday’s announcement, nobody was certain if homecoming would take place at home. “I’m excited for all the kids,” MacchiaGerdvil said. “My boys are in their second year on varsity and they haven’t had a chance yet to step into their stadium and see the big crowd and all the festivities.”
Photo from Pamela Setchell
Huntington Lighthouse, pictured above, is currently undergoing foundation repairs in addition to the possible foghorn replacement.
FOGHORN Continued from page A3
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have anything,” he said. “But we hope vessels of that size with little equipment are not out in the fog or restricted visibility weather.” Setchell said the residents near the lighthouse, along with the boating community, fear a user-operated system could become the “focus of pranks” by drunken or irresponsible parties. If the signal is keyed in repeatedly, the foghorn will continue to sound for a full 30 minutes from the last time it was activated — with no immediate shutoff. Huntington Town officials have raised their own concerns about whether changing the foghorn system is in the best interests of the boating community. “The town shares the Huntington Lighthouse Preservation Society’s concerns about whether a boater-operated foghorn is appropriate for an area that is almost exclusively used by recreational boaters,” Supervisor Frank Petrone (D) said in statement. “We
look forward to working with the Lighthouse Preservation Society, the Greater Huntington Council of Yacht and Boating Clubs and the Coast Guard to address the issue of a new foghorn that will increase boater safety without unnecessarily intruding on the serenity of those who live along the shore.” The Town of Huntington has filed a letter with the U.S. Coast Guard outlining its concerns for consideration before the plan is approved. The same MRASS foghorn plan was proposed for the Huntington Lighthouse in 2009, according to Setchell, but was tabled due to overwhelming public objection after less than a week. The system has been widely installed across northern New England, according the Williams, with very few complaints. Any individual or organization who either supports or has concerns about the proposed foghorn replacement can write to the U.S. Coast Guard by sending an email to mark.p.williams@uscg.mil.
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