The Village Beacon Record - February 25, 2021

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The VILLAGE BEACON RECORD M O U N T S I N A I • M I L L E R P L AC E • S O U N D B E AC H • R O C K Y P O I N T • WA D I N G R I V E R • S H O R E H A M

Vol. 36, No. 32

February 25, 2021

$1.00 Julianne Mosher

Honoring Black history A look at the life of SuffolK County’s first African American sheriff

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The secret’s out All about Secret Stuffed Cookies — A5

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PAGE A2 • THE VILLAGE BEACON RECORD • FEBRUARY 25, 2021 ZZ055 DRIFT | 00754 PASMINA

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FEBRUARY 25, 2021 • THE VILLAGE BEACON RECORD • PAGE A3

Community News

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Even as he lost the ability to speak and had to communicate with an eye-to-speech device, his determination never seemed to relent. Just this year, Pendergast, alongside his wife Christine, released the book “Blink Spoken Here: Tales from a Journey to Within” about his life since his diagnosis in 1993.

The ALS Ride for Life organization has raised over $10 million for advocacy and research. Their yearly Ride for Life trips were later accompanied by visits to close to 90 school districts on Long Island.

“His story still resonates,” Manzoni said.

“ALS is not gone.”

The new president is looking forward to keeping Pendergast’s legacy alive.

“We fortunately have this great team,” he said. “We held it all together and are refining in these COVID times.”

Known to visit schools and give presentations on the disease, the group had to change shape to get their word out, while adhering to coronavirus guidelines. But he is asking people to continue supporting their local nonprofits.

“The kids want this, administrators want this,” he said.

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The ALS Ride for Life board of directors unanimously appointed Ray Manzoni as president of the organization.

Manzoni, of Miller Place and proprietor of Manzoni Real Estate located in Mount Sinai, replaces Chris Pendergast, a beloved community member and founder of the nonprofit, who died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in October after a 28-year-long battle.

But Manzoni said Pendergast’s legacy will live on, and he’ll be there to help see the organization through.

When ALS Ride for Life was incorporated back in 1997, Manzoni stood alongside Pendergast — a man he became good friends with.

“We had been friends for years before he was diagnosed. Then he sucked me in and here I am 28 years later,” he laughed.

“I knew him well. I knew his mind. He taught me well.”

While Pendergast was still alive and spreading awareness on ALS (often referred to as Lou Gehrig disease), the new president served on the board of directors, eventually — and currently — as board chairman.

“Chris was a nationally known leader in the world of ALS,” Manzoni said. “I was proud to be his friend. I look forward to continuing his mission and that of our organization toward providing patient services, awareness and supporting research so that a cure can one day be found.”

ALS Ride for Life started when Pendergast embarked on a ride with his electric scooter from Yankee Stadium in the Bronx to Washington, D.C., 22 years ago to raise awareness about the disease and raise funds for research. After a few years, the ride was contained to New York state — from Riverhead to the Bronx — where participants stop by schools along the way that take part in the organization’s presentations throughout the school year.

Pendergast, a Miller Place resident and former Northport elementary teacher, had lived with the disease for 28 years. When doctors diagnosed him, they thought he only had a few years to live. He lived to be 71.

Pendergast became an icon and symbol for the North Shore for never giving up.

PAGE A4 • THE VILLAGE BEACON RECORD • FEBRUARY 25, 2021

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FEBRUARY 25, 2021 • THE VILLAGE BEACON RECORD • PAGE A5

The secret’s out: There’s a new cookie maker in town

BY JULIANNE MOSHER JULIANNE@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

This Port Jefferson Station mom has a secret, that everyone is talking about.

When the COVID-19 pandemic caused Ashley Winkler to halt working at her beauty salon, the mother of three decided to get creative.

“I’m a baker,” she said. “So, I started doing it for my family. I stuffed a rainbow cookie into another cookie. Then we had some Girl Scout cookies, and I stuffed those in. I just had fun with it.”

That’s when Winkler posted her tasty creations to social media — and they blew up.

Friends began asking her if they could order a dozen of her stuffed, hearty treats.

“I was just doing it for fun,” she said. “I wasn’t trying to make money.”

Winkler said she felt guilty operating a cookie company out of her home when other local bakers were struggling to keep their doors open. She also wasn’t sure how long she’d be able to do it.

Last March, she thought the pandemic might only last a month — but nearly a year later, her quarantine project has become a passion.

Originally her Secret Stuffed Cookies Instagram page was private, only accepting close friends and relatives for local cookie pickups.

“But then May came and people were getting stimulus checks … They started ordering two dozen cookies every week from me and referring my account to their friends,” she said.

Back to work, and raising three little kids, Winkler wasn’t sure if she’d want to continue the baking. With a little help from her sister and a few neighbors, she decided to keep at it.

By February of 2021, 11 months since her first cookie being made, she has nearly 4,000 followers and ships her baked goods nationwide.

Three days a week, she bakes a minimum of 300 cookies. She always has her “Rainbow OG,”

Left; Ashley Winkler, founder of Secret Stuffed Cookies, holding her Rainbow OG cookie. Above; The gooey inside of the O-Mellow cookie. Photos by Julianne Mosher

a chocolate chip cookie stuffed with a homemade rainbow cookie, the “O-Mellow,” an Oreo marshmallow cookie and several others on the menu — but she’s always switching it up.

Compared to other stuffed cookie companies, Secret Stuffed has several options for people with a sweet tooth.

“I don’t want to tell people what they have to get. I want people to choose what they want,” she said. “There’s a whole range, and they can choose how they want to pay and how many cookies they want to get.”

Secret Stuffed offers same-day pickup from her Port Jefferson Station home, next business day shipping and a pre-order option. She also

recently set up a cookie subscription box, which features new types every month.

Baked fresh and packaged individually, Winkler said her cookies stay good for two weeks. They can be frozen or refrigerated to last up to a month.

She also teamed up with local businesses to sell cookies in-person. Right now, customers can find her sweets in Town and Country Market in Miller Place, Joe’s Campus Heroes in Selden, and Rose and Boom Boutiques in St. James and Mount Sinai.

To order and find out more information, visit @SecretStuffedCookies on Instagram and Facebook

PJ Harbour Club takes over former Due Baci space

BY JULIANNE MOSHER JULIANNE@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM A new Italian steakhouse with innovative cuisine is coming to Port Jefferson village, and it all started because of two friends playing golf.

Joe Guerra, of Port Jefferson, and Michael Russell met about a year ago at the Port Jefferson Country Club. While the two were playing, they got to talking — they decided to become business partners and open up a restaurant.

And that’s how the PJ Harbour Club was born.

Guerra has over 40 years of restaurant, hotel, catering and club experience locally and globally.

He studied at the Culinary Institute of America and received classical training — so when he retired from the industry, not too long ago, he just wanted to play golf.

“And then he convinced me to come back,” he laughed, gesturing at Russell.

Russell, an East Setauket native, worked for several major Wall Street firms and said has been a partner and investor for restaurants throughout his career. When Guerra mentioned opening a new space, the active community member — who retired in April — said, “Why not?”

“It got exciting because of Joe and his

experience,” Russell said. “We get along.”

It took about nine months to negotiate the building that once was the home to The Graceful Rose and, as of more recently, Due Baci. The Italian restaurant closed its doors shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic, in January of last year.

Last week, the two were able to start renovating the space and make it their own.

“We hit the ground running,” Guerra said.

“Since last week, we’ve already done a lot of changes in the place, kitchen-wise, and are going through the permit process.”

The goal is to be a friendly place where everyone in the neighborhood can get together while enjoying good food and a glass of wine.

“People are excited because they know us,” Guerra added. “It’s going to be gathering place where our old friends, our current friends and the new friends that we’re going to be making in the area can meet.”

And the two want to complement the other restaurants throughout the village. They don’t want to compete.

“We know a lot of the people that own the restaurants in the village and they’re all doing a great job,” Russell said. “We’re just a little bit different. Our intention is to be different.”

Joe Guerra, left, and Michael Russell, right, are preparing to open up a new Italian steakhouse in the village.

Photo by Julianne Mosher

The restaurant that sits on the second level of 154 W Broadway will bring classic and unique entrees to customers, in a trendy, but comfortable, setting.

Along with the minor cosmetic renovations, Russell said they will be adding dining banquettes to sit in, with photos of Port Jefferson’s history

along the walls.

“It’s just something that we wanted to do — it’s not something that we needed to do,” Russell said. “I think that that’s the difference — we want to do this so that the public will really enjoy it.”

The PJ Harbour Club is anticipating an early spring opening.

PAGE A6 • THE VILLAGE BEACON RECORD • FEBRUARY 25, 2021

Community News

Centereach couple working to open a new gamer café

BY JULIANNE MOSHER JULIANNE@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM A Centereach couple is looking to score big with their coffee café concept.

Cat and Tim Smith both had experience working in different coffee spots. Being natural baristas and mixologists, they decided they wanted to open up their own spot, blending some of their favorite things — coffee, snacks, games and a cozy atmosphere everyone can enjoy.

“There’s really nothing on Long Island that

has both a gaming atmosphere and a café,” she said. “When were younger, we would play games all the time. We’d have game nights every week.”

But the duo and their friends and family all began having kids — making it harder to go out, chill with their friends and find a space that can accommodate board games.

“We’ve put the feelers out there,” she said.

“And so many people have said that they would love a place like this.”

Their idea for Level Up — a coffee and gaming café — originally started up nearly

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three years ago. While collecting more games to add to their library and finding a local roaster for beans, they devoted their weekends to finding a home to their soonto-be business endeavor.

The Smith’s began saving, with the goal to settle down and officially open in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic derailed them. But Cat said that was a blessing in disguise.

“It’s been good in a few ways because we’ve been able to really take time and make sure we’re doing it the right way,” she said. “We want to use everything that we’ve been able to accomplish in this past year and really try to give back and make our business as community centered as possible.”

And it’s allowing them to thoroughly search the North and South Shores to find the best location possible. They want to be on a Main Street, with tons of foot traffic.

“We’ve been primarily looking on the South Shore, Above; Cat and Tim Smith have been experimenting with different coffee but we’re also considering flavors as they prepare to open up their gamer coffee shop. Below; a latte Port Jeff,” she said. “We want featuring the Level Up logo. Photos from Cat Smith to be where we can attract drinks that even Professor Severus Snape will people who are interested in supporting local want to order. businesses and have a place to go to spend time The couple said their goal is to be opened with their friends when COVID settles down.” up sometime in the summer, so stay tuned.

But Level Up won’t be just for board game To stay updated, follow @LevelUpCafeNY lovers, she said. on Instagram and Level Up Cafe on Facebook.

“We want people to nerd out and talk with fellow fan geeks about pop culture, comics and anything like that,” she said. “We want to have this community where people who are the deepest fans will come in and get really nerdy and chat with other people who are just as interested or people who are just mildly interested and want to learn more.

She added that Level Up will be a place that offers something different to do for locals.

“I think we want connection,” she said.

“We want people to be able to come to us and find connection if they want it, or just delicious coffee.”

And the coffee drinks will be something out-of-this-world. Working with Brooklynbased Sweetleaf Coffee Roasters.

“Our goal is to be really creative,” she said, adding that Level Up is going to be a “pop culture coffee house.”

For fans of Marvel, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, they’re working on some themed

FEBRUARY 25, 2021 • THE VILLAGE BEACON RECORD • PAGE A7

County

Vaccinated folks talk the process, hopes for the future

BY RITA J. EGAN AND JULIANNE MOSHER RITA@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM, JULIANNE@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

With last week’s announcement that Suffolk County Community College in Selden will be the county’s third mass-vaccination site, in addition to the SCCC campuses in Brentwood and Riverhead, more people are itching to get their shots.

Many, who over the last several months expressed discontent with the vaccination process, were finally able to get their appointments.

Mary McCarthy, a 98-year-old Sound Beach resident, was anticipating her shot. Earlier this week, she got her first injection.

“It didn’t hurt a bit,” she said. “I feel fine.

No aftershock or anything, and I hope after the shots we’ll get back to normal so I can go see my friends again.”

The senior said she is most excited to get back with her group, where in pre-COVID times, they’d play cards every week.

Her granddaughter helped McCarthy set up the appointment at Walgreens in Medford. Her second shot will be 28 days from the first round, closer to home in the Miller Place location.

She has advice for people who might be skeptical.

“Don’t be afraid,” she said. “It didn’t hurt a bit, and you’ll feel better knowing that you won’t get anything else.”

Three Village resident Stefanie Werner went to the vaccination site at Stony Brook University with her 81-year-old father. As a teacher, who

Above, Stony Brook University President Maurie McInnis, Stony Brook Medicine Vice President for Health System Clinical Programs and Strategy Dr. Margaret McGovern, 25,000 COVID-19 Vaccine recipient and Southampton resident Veronica Lang with her husband James, SBU mascot Wolfie, and Lisa Santeramo, assistant secretary for intergovernmental affairs.

Below, Mary McCarthy, of Sound Beach, received her vaccine at Walgreens in Medford. Photo above from Stony Brook Medicine, photo below from Kevin McCarthy

also has an underlying heart condition, Werner was also able to get the vaccine.

“Even though booking our appointments was stressful and nerve-racking, the actual experience was anything but,” she said. “The site is extremely well organized, with all aspects, from check-in to our 15-minute post-observation, coordinated and easy to follow.”

Werner commended the individuals working at the SBU location “from the officer at the entrance, to the members of the National Guard guiding the outside check-in — out in the snow no less — to the RNs at the registration desk and the vaccinators who were friendly and comforting, all while plunging a needle swiftly and painlessly into our arms.”

“These people are the frontline to our return to normalcy,” she said. “They are deserving of recognition for their hard work and empathy as we continue our ascent out of this pandemic.”

Due to her health problems, Werner said she has been vigilant during the pandemic.

“I honestly don’t think I am going to change my ways much after the second dose, especially with all the new variants and the fact that my daughter is in school five days,” she said. “There are still too many unknowns, and I absolutely feel more people should be vaccinated before I return to some semblance of my old normal. It’s my hope that people maintain COVID protocols until our safety and security is more certain.”

Adam Fisher of Port Jefferson Station also headed to the university with his wife where they “deeply appreciate the perfect organization. Our thanks to the person or persons who organized this program and all the people who staffed the site. The people were helpful, cheerful and welcoming. The shot itself was painless.”

He said the entire process went well and was a smooth process.

“From start to finish we were guided through it,” he said. “The staff was helpful, cheerful, welcoming — they could not have been nicer.

The vaccination itself was painless — the most pain-free injection I ever had.”

Fisher said he felt “absolutely fine,” with the exception of a mild headache that two Tylenol tablets fixed.

“I urge everyone to be vaccinated,” he said, adding that after their second shots, the couple are looking most forward to being together with their children and grandchildren again.

On Feb. 18, the university announced it reached 25,000 people with vaccinations

within one month since the first vaccines were shipped for the general public.

“The fight against COVID-19 has been a difficult and long one, but SUNY campuses have remained steady each step of the way as the target has moved in beating back the pandemic,” said State University of New York Chancellor Jim Malatras in a statement.

“I thank Stony Brook University President Maurie McInnis and her leadership team for making this effort a priority, and for ensuring that Long Islanders have the protection they need to end this pandemic.”

The new SCCC site will add about 8,000 more vaccines as of this week.

Paul Guttenberg, of Commack, is about to turn 52. As an EMT/driver for the Commack Volunteer Ambulance Corps, he was able to get the vaccine and has already received both doses at the Long Island Ducks stadium through the Northwell Health program.

“I had no side effects other than a sore arm and was tired for about one day,” he said, adding it was the same for both times.

Guttenberg, who is a sales rep in field sales, said he would like to return to a normal work schedule. He is also looking forward to traveling again and seeing his family, including his parents who live in Cincinnati, Ohio, “without fear of getting others sick with COVID.” “What would make me happy is to see 80% or more of this country get vaccinated and put an end to this pandemic,” he said.

Tara Shobin, 45, of Smithtown, was able to get the vaccine because she’s a teacher.

She received her first dose of the Moderna vaccine Feb. 6.

“I was lucky enough to have my cousin let me know that appointments were available at Nassau Community College which was only available to teachers,” Shobin said.

The Smithtown resident said when she showed up for her Feb. 6 appointment, she waited no more than five minutes.

“As I was waiting, I was holding back tears because I finally could see an end to this horrible virus,” she said.

After getting the shot, Shobin was told to go to the waiting room for 15 minutes so she could be monitored. She said she felt fine until the next day but her reaction was mild.

“I had a very sore arm and a slight headache,” she said.

Shobin said she’s looking forward to life returning to normal and doing things with her family, which includes her husband and two children, such as going on vacation, visiting museums and socializing.

“It crushes me to see my children’s life hindered so much,” she said. “I try to help people get appointments if I can. I can’t wait to see this horrible virus behind us. Let’s crush this virus!”

PAGE A8 • THE VILLAGE BEACON RECORD • FEBRUARY 25, 2021

Town

Northport veteran finds support in a furry friend

BY KIMBERLY BROWN DESK@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

Military members who served overseas are facing countless battles, even after their missions have ended and it’s time to return home.

Depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse disorder are just some obstacles veterans have developed, making it difficult for them to adjust to a routine lifestyle again. Luckily, Robert Misseri, founded in 2014 Paws of War — a Nesconset-based nonprofit to support veterans with service dogs.

“It started out with requests from overseas from active military members who asked for our assistance because they knew I had experience with getting dogs over previously,” he said.

One thing led to another, and soon Misseri was receiving more and more phone calls from retired or disabled veterans who had learned what he was doing. They would share their stories with him about animals they left behind overseas, and how heavy it weighed on their heart.

Knowing their mental health struggles, the veterans began asking Misseri if he could provide them with a service dog.

“Our mission we felt was unique in a way because we were using rescue dogs,” he said. “We would train the dog and the veteran each day, hand in hand in our facility. We slowly started to learn, not from them, but from their families, friends and doctors that whatever we were doing was really working.”

The formula Misseri created worked and he credits the dogs for making such a significant impact on the veterans. What he also learned was that his organization created an alumnus among the veterans who have served in different branches overseas.

When all together in the Paws of War facility the veterans became a family, and it made them look forward to coming to training.

“Learning their struggles, and then learning what these dogs can do for them was so important because they also knew that they were helping the dog,” he said.

“This wasn’t a dog that we bred or we bought. This is a dog that also likely had come from a difficult situation. That’s why ‘Helping both ends of the leash’ is our motto.”

One of the many military members Misseri helped was Northport resident Mary McCue, a combat Marine Corps veteran who worked as an ammunition technician overseas. She was honorably discharged as a sergeant after she served

for six years — two years longer than a typical four-year term.

“I loved it, I was having a blast meeting great people and having great experiences,” McCue said. “I was just really enjoying it at the time, but it’s a lot of traveling and you get a little burnt out.

Sometimes it seems so surreal because it’s a whole different world and a whole different life, and sometimes I look back and think ‘Wow, I went to war.’”

McCue created a Facebook page, “Ammo Company! Good Times, Support and Reunions,” to give Marine veterans a platform to support each other through being home, adjusting and missing the Marine Corps.

“A lot of our members are all over the country, so it’s nice to have an outlet where we can reach out and talk to each other because we’re so far apart — and sometimes it gets pretty lonely,” McCue said.

After leaving the Marine Corps, she said she had a difficult time adjusting to civilian life. Missing the comradery that comes along with being a part of the Marines left McCue feeling isolated upon her arrival back home.

“Being in the military, you’re taught to tough things out,” she said. “You don’t complain, you don’t ask questions. You do the mission at hand or people die. So, when you come home, you’re this hard tough person and it’s hard to come to grips with the fact that you may have come home with some type of mental defect.”

It took a long time for McCue to admit that she came back a different person. The many experiences she had packed into six years of service sat with her. After years of not reaching out for help, she finally built up the courage to get counseling.

“I was sick and tired of not being able to let go of ‘Marine Mary,’ — I wanted to exist as a Marine and a civilian because they were both a part of me, and I really didn’t know how to go about doing that,” she said.

A friend of McCue’s introduced her to Paws of War. Being in a better place in her life and always having a love for dogs, she thought a service dog would be a beneficial addition. A year ago, right before the country locked down because COVID-19 cases were increasing, Misseri told McCue he found a sweet golden retriever named Abbie who was rescued from an abusive home in North Carolina “Of course, I immediately fell in love with her,” she said. “Our personalities match up perfectly. It’s such a blessing that she came into my life.”

Mary McCue poses with her dog Abbie, above. McCue on duty overseas, below. Photos from Paws of War

Due to the COVID pandemic, McCue wasn’t able to start training at the Paws of War facility until August, but fellow clients, veterans and Misseri always kept in contact with her and Abbie, making sure everything was going fine. “Once we started training, I found purpose in my life again,” McCue said. “Since Abbie was a rescue, she had her quirks coming in, too. She was definitely physically and mentally abused, so it was like she was helping me, and I was helping her.”

Being able to work with other veterans during training helped McCue, as they were all able to understand what each other went through, therefore providing unconditional support for one another.

Abbie is currently doing at-home Zoom training and, according to McCue, is very smart and doing a great job.

“Abbie has truly changed my life for the better, and I’m in debt to Paws of War for the rest of my life because they were able to make this happen for me,” McCue said.

To learn more about Paws of War, visit pawsofwar.org.

FEBRUARY 25, 2021 • THE VILLAGE BEACON RECORD • PAGE A9

Community News

Comsewogue Eagle Scout restores library sculpture

BY JULIANNE MOSHER JULIANNE@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

An Eagle Scout decided to help out his local library and spruce up a Mount Sinai artist’s sculpture.

Sculptor Pauli Suominen gifted the sculpture to the Comsewogue Public Library in 1999. After more than two decades greeting visitors outside the library’s doors, Zach Gallant, of Port Jefferson Station, decided to make its restoration his Eagle Scout project.

The 18-year-old from Troop #354 said that he wasn’t even born yet when the sculpture was first created, but he knew that the community would love to see it shine again.

“I had been working on it for about nine months from start to finish,” he said, adding it was a complete team effort that included his troop, scoutmaster, the library and Suominen’s oversight.

At first, the Scout wasn’t sure what he wanted to do for his final project. It wasn’t until he visited the library and spoke with Library Director Debbie Engelhardt after a tour of the library grounds.

“We walked the property together and saw the sculpture needed some TLC,” she said. “He got support from his scoutmaster and it became a plan.”

The sculpture, titled “Tiger,” previously was on the opposite side of the library, and could be seen from Terryville Road. With Gallant’s renovation, they moved it to the front door, so it be seen easier by all.

“It’s a focal point now where it’s going to make people smile,” Engelhardt said. “It’s nice and bright, whimsical and we’re shining a spotlight on it.

Suominen, a Vietnam veteran, was a carpenter by trade, but his passion is as a self-taught artist. He uses scraps of metal, pieces of wood and stone to create abstract sculptures, that are seen throughout the

library property and across the country.

“Pauli was very happy to work with Zach Gallant on the refurbishment project,” his wife, Christine, said. “It is always encouraging when younger people are interested in doing something for the community. Zach and his group did a great job of restoring the sculpture to its original luster.”

Gallant said the sculpture is unique because it’s made from recycled materials.

“Mr. Suominen had just taken scraps off the ground and things he’d seen and created the sculpture with four chairs and a bike rack,” he said.

During his project process, he and six other people took the whole sculpture off the library grounds and brought it to their scoutmaster’s garage. There, he sanded it, painted it and made sure all changes were approved from its original artist.

“It was a lot of work, more than I expected,” he said. “But I’m proud of myself … It’s definitely not something you can just do with no help. You need people to guide you.”

Gallant said the whole renovation took about three months, overall. It was put back in its new spot at the library in January.

“A lot of people love it already, or can’t wait to see it,” he said.

And the statue can now stand there for another set of decades for people to enjoy.

“It was really a wonderful community partnership,” Engelhardt said. “We’re always so happy to connect.”

The Eagle Scout said that although it was a lot of hard work, he’s so happy he was able to help his community, and earn his new title.

He gave advice to fellow Boy Scouts who are thinking of joining the higher rank.

“If you’re close to becoming an Eagle Scout, just finish it because being so close doesn’t get you anywhere in life — finishing it does,” he said.

Port Jefferson Station’s Zach Gallant, who just earned Eagle Scout, stands next to his project — refurbishing a statue at Comsewogue Libray originally created by Mount Sinai’s Pauli Suominen. Photo by Julianne Mosher

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PAGE A10 • THE VILLAGE BEACON RECORD • FEBRUARY 25, 2021

County

The last responders, funeral homes adapt during pandemic

BY DANIEL DUNAIEF DESK@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM They worked considerably longer hours, sometimes alongside people who came to help from other parts of the state during a time of need. They buried their own family members, sometimes urging out-of-state relatives to stay where they were. They counted the number of people who entered their funeral homes, making sure they complied with changing rules about the number of people allowed at the time.

And, as with many other businesses, funeral directors maneuvered through the challenges of procuring personal protective equipment and supplies during the difficult and tragic early months of the pandemic.

Funeral homes, which have sometimes been described as the “last responders,” have had to react to changing state regulations, protecting the families of those who come to pay their final respects — and their own staffs.

During prepandemic times, “we might have had three or four wakes at one time,” said Fred Bryant, president of East Setauket-based Bryant Funeral Home. “That doesn’t happen now.”

Bryant converted three rooms into one large room, which made it possible to have 50 percent of their capacity.

Sergio Benites, managing partner at Bryant Funeral Home, said the business has allowed between 80 and 90 people at a time in the facility.

Like other public gathering places, funeral homes initially could have up to 10 people.

Over time, as the number of infections, hospitalizations and deaths declined, the state, through Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) office, relaxed regulations, first increasing the limit to 33 percent of capacity and then raising that to

the current 50 percent.

Even with the higher capacities, funeral home directors have sometimes asked people to wait for someone to leave the facility before allowing new people to enter.

“It happened more than several times,” said Michael Connell, who runs the M.A. Connell Funeral Home in Huntington Station which was started by his grandfather in 1923, five years after the Spanish flu pandemic. As with many other funeral homes during COVID-19, M.A. Connell has had mourners wait in line in the parking lot.

“When we reach our number, we make an announcement inside,” Connell said.

Indeed, funeral directors have received guidance from several organizations during the pandemic.

“It is encouraged that folks paying respects keep the time in the chapel to a minimum,” wrote Michael Gorton Jr., president of the Nassau-Suffolk Funeral Directors Association, in an email. “Pay your respects, offer condolences, have a comfortable conversation and be considerate of those who may be waiting to come in and pay respects. Because of capacity limits, there could be people waiting outside the building.”

During the worst of the pandemic, Gorton, who is a licensed funeral director at McManusLorey Funeral Home in Medford, said funeral directors from outside Long Island came to the area to help.

“The governor’s office allowed us to ‘deputize agents’ and allow nonlicensed people to help us with transfers as long as they were under the direct supervision of a licensed funeral director,” Gorton added.

Funeral directors appreciate how mourners

Funeral service personnel at one of the Moloney Funeral Home locations wait for family to arrive for a drive-thru viewing, one of the ways to give mourners a chance to say last goodbyes during COVID-19. Below, a family gathers under an outdoor committal tent at one of the Moloney Funeral Home locations awaiting the completion of the cremation for their relative. Photos from Moloney Family Funeral Homes

have understood the circumstances of the pandemic and have shortened the time they spend on site.

“People are tending to come and go at a faster rate,” said Peter Moloney, co-owner of Moloney Family Funeral Homes, which has eight locations, including in Port Jefferson Station and Hauppauge. “People are aware of the fact that other people may want to come in.”

Some families have chosen to reduce the number of people who attend funerals, asking relatives who might be coming in from out of state to join the service through live streaming.

When Connell’s mother Betty Ann died in May, he said his family went through the same difficult decision that hundreds of other families have had to make.

“We decided we weren’t even going to have a public wake,” Connell said. “We had 10 people attend [who were all] immediate family.”

The Connells spent an hour visiting at the funeral home, had a short prayer service and then went to the graveside. Some people met the family in the parking lot and followed in the procession, without getting out of their cars at the cemetery.

Connell’s father, John, who had been married to his wife for close to 60 years, visited with his grandchildren, in a socially distanced setting, at his house.

Like many others, Connell has not set a date for a celebration and memorial for his mother’s life.

“Until we know we’re home free [with the virus], we’re not going to start the planning process,” he said.

Benites said Bryant Funeral Home still has about a dozen families that have postponed a larger event for their loved ones.

“They still aren’t ready” for any larger or more elaborate gathering as a part of a memorializing event,” Benites said. “When they’re ready, we’ll go back and try to give them a celebration of life.”

At times, grieving families have also had to wait to hold a service until close members of the family either have recovered from quarantine or have tested negative for COVID-19.

Benites said around three to five families are waiting for their next of kin to finish quarantine before they hold a service.

While these funeral homes are accustomed to thorough cleaning efforts, directors and owners said they have also complied with rules regarding disinfecting their sites between visits.

Funeral homes, some of which have held services for more than one member of the same family over the past year during the pandemic, have provided their customers and visitors with help managing their grief.

“We have more grief literature available to families during this time,” Moloney said. “The COVID pandemic has been very disruptive to the grief process. We’re all aware of the fact that people are grieving differently today.”

After all the challenges of the pandemic, funeral directors anticipate that more residents on Long Island and throughout the country will likely consider preplanning funerals.

“After we go through COVID, there will be a more obvious increase in the numbers of preplanned funerals,” Benites said.

FEBRUARY 25, 2021 • THE VILLAGE BEACON RECORD • PAGE A11

Black History Month Suffolk County’s first African American Sheriff — Errol Toulon Jr.

BY RICH ACRITELLI DESK@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM In honor of Black History Month, Errol Toulon Jr. (D), of Lake Grove, is the first African American Suffolk County sheriff.

Ever since his youth through the lessons that he learned from his father, Toulon has been motivated to achieve his duty and responsibilities.

As a kid, he asked his father, a longtime correction officer, what he did for a living. His dad replied, “We rehabilitate individuals that are incarcerated, we never throw away the key and we try to help these people safely return back to society.”

The story of Toulon Jr. began in the Bronx, where he was born in 1962, and he lived in the city until 1990.

Errol Toulon Jr., left, with Hal Steinbrenner, general partner of the New York Yankees.

Photo from Errol Toulon Jr.

Yankee batboy

A talented baseball player who excelled as a center fielder and a leadoff hitter during his high school and college years, Toulon had the unique chance of being a batboy for the New York Yankees in 1979 through 1980.

He was in the locker room to observe the impressive leadership skills and character of the late Yankee great catcher Thurman Munson. In the Bronx, Toulon watched Billy Martin manage the baseball stars of Reggie Jackson and Bobby Murcer, and he also met boxing champ Roberto Durán.

As a young man in the Yankee Clubhouse, Toulon encountered a young boy, and asked him his name. It was Hal Steinbrenner, who now owns the team after his father George.

The former batboy ended up becoming the first African American sheriff of Suffolk County, and had a wonderful time being welcomed back by senior management of the Yankees. Players like Ron Blomberg and Mickey Rivers were pleased to see their former batboy who has always worked to protect his community. Still to this day, Toulon is an avid baseball fan who glowingly recalls his special time in pinstripes around the “Boys of Summer.”

City correction officer

During those earlier years, Toulon took the city correction officer exam, after he completed an associate’s degree in business. As a 20-year-old, he became one of the youngest recruits within the New York City Department of Correction.

He observed the older jails that were built from the 1930s through 1960s, were cold, secured with steel, and lacking any of the advancements of the penitentiaries of today.

Early in his career, Toulon was impacted by watching inmates hold few liberties and living in poor conditions.

There were dangerous moments during fights, riots and emergencies, that saw officers

Professional and educational experiences

Gov. Andrew Cuomo administers the oath of office to Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. during his inauguration ceremony in 2018. Toulon was joined by his wife Tina. File photo by Kevin Redding

isolated and unable to see each other where their own safety was compromised. Over the years, Toulon has learned from these lessons to ensure the constant support of the current officers of his department.

As a lifelong officer, a captain and official, Toulon always follow the examples that were established by his father. Toulon Sr. was employed by the NYC Department of Correction for 36 years in positions ranging from officer to a warden at Rikers Island.

From his dad, he learned the value of attention to detail and always treating his staff with the utmost amount of respect. Whether it was his junior years as a correction officer or as the present Suffolk County sheriff, Toulon never loses focus on the evolving complexities of operating the county system of imprisonment. Over the past decades, he has been involved in hostage crisis, handling drug abuse, attempted escapes, and seizure of guns and contraband that were smuggled into jails by prisoners.

Suffolk County sheriff

Toulon has always believed in the necessity in analyzing the complexity of criminal justice problems that are always evolving. There was recently a major riot in St. Louis, where the inmates broke windows and set debris on fire. Always understanding the usefulness of information, Toulon’s Sheriff’s Office examines these situations by calling different corrections agencies around the country. They try to determine the root of local or national

incidents and utilize these resources to be prepared to sufficiently handle these concerns in Suffolk County.

Town of Brookhaven Councilwoman Jane Bonner (R-Rocky Point) has worked with him through their tenures in office.

“Sheriff Toulon leads a proud department of men and women dedicated to upholding the law and running the Suffolk County Correctional Facility,” she said.

There is always the major process of investigating prisoner grievances over health care, food, communication with family members, religious services and more. Toulon tries to improve these concerns before they materialize into a major crisis.

During his career, he has dealt with the Ebola and swine flu outbreaks and the health implications within the jail environment.

Through the determination to always contain the strength of these sicknesses, protective measures were already established within the county jails before the first COVID-19 case hit New York in last March.

Due to the pandemic, new ways had to be developed to handle the services that were needed for the prisoners. Toulon’s office made a goal in always sharing current information on the threats and changes that COVID-19 presented to both the outside world and the jails. The virus prevented family visits, but prisoners were allocated two extra calls a week, pictures of loved ones were printed for inmates, and there were virtual substance and psychological programs.

Education has always been an important part of Toulon’s life which he has incorporated into his many correctional positions. He has a doctorate in educational administration, an advanced certificate in Homeland Security Management and an MBA. Since his election as sheriff, Toulon has spoken to many educational programs with local school districts to address the daily concerns that his department handles, always with a positive demeanor.

VFW Post 6249 Rocky Point Comdr. Joe Cognitore has always viewed Toulon “as an upstanding and an energetic people person that has always protected our residents, worked well with community leaders, aided veterans that have fallen on criminal times in jail, and he has helped create local 9/11 memorials.”

For two years, Toulon taught at Dowling College as an adjunct faculty member. He planned to instruct students at St. John’s University, but was unable to do so due to his present position.

Harvard University has invited Toulon to address its student body on his professional and educational experiences. While he enjoys his current position and is hopeful that he will be reelected to another term, Toulon enjoys teaching, and he would like to teach again. A leader with a tremendous amount of energy, there have been some personal battles that he has had to endure as a survivor of pancreatic cancer and Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Whereas Toulon is determined to have a secure prison system within the county, provide resources and support for his officers, he also wants to ensure that prisoners do not return. Through the Sheriff’s Transition and Reentry Team, known as the START program, correction officers help inmates find housing, jobs, medical services and food, and to become productive and safe citizens.

PAGE A12 • THE VILLAGE BEACON RECORD • FEBRUARY 25, 2021 Volunteer firemen battle the roaring blaze at the O.B. Davis furniture store on Port Jefferson’s East Main Street. The ferocious fire claimed one life and destroyed a village landmark. PJFD Collection

Your Turn

Tips and tricks to vaccine signups from a college student

BY LEAH CHIAPPINO DESK@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

Hometown History The fire at the furniture store

BY KENNETH BRADY DESK@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

A ferocious fire erupted at the O.B. Davis furniture store on Port Jefferson’s East Main Street at 6:20 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 26, 1960.

Erwin McMullen, whose East Main Street grocery was across from the furniture store, heard the sound of shattering glass hitting the sidewalk as windows in O.B. Davis were blown out by the intense heat.

Irving Lee, chief of the Port Jefferson Fire Department, and his wife Laura were driving on the village’s Main Street heading toward the Elk Restaurant when he saw the mass of flames. Not wasting a second in turning his car around, Lee quickly shifted into reverse, backed all the way to the firehouse on Maple Place and took command of the situation.

“The store was fully involved when units arrived at the scene,” recalled Mike Lee, who witnessed the blaze as a teenager and would later become chief of the PJFD. “Flames were shooting out of the upper floors of the building.”

The volunteer firemen spent hours battling the fire and protecting exposures at the Presbyterian Church, Port Hardware and nearby homes before bringing the roaring blaze under control.

Despite the best efforts of the PJFD, plus mutual aid from neighboring fire departments, the building was completely destroyed in the inferno.

The savage fire also claimed the life of Clifford Ivines, the store’s watchman and an over 50-year employee of O.B. Davis, whose body was later found in the building’s ruins.

“Not only did Port Jefferson lose a life and a landmark building in the devastating fire,” said longtime villager Barbara Schroeder who owns a prized desk bought at the O.B. Davis furniture store, “but also part of Port Jefferson’s history.”

O.B. Davis traces the firm’s origins back to 1858 when Elbert A. Raynor bought the late Ambrose T. King’s funeral parlor/furniture shop. The building was located approximately across from today’s Bridgeport-Port Jefferson ferry landing on East Broadway.

Raynor moved the firm in 1898 to East Main Street at Hotel Square. Upon Raynor’s death in 1914, Orlando B. Davis took over the business.

The company’s furniture and funeral divisions separated in 1935. The former continued its activities at Hotel Square while the latter began operations in a new home at 218 East Main Street.

In 1939, the existing furniture store was remodeled, and an addition was constructed to the west of the original quarters.

Built of steel frame and cinder block with stucco on the outside, the three-story addition provided elevator service, 15 model rooms and 17,000 square-feet of floor space.

The front was faced with black porcelain and featured three show windows.

“At the time of the fire, one of the show windows at the furniture store included a beautiful canopied bed with white ruffles that I thought of buying for our newborn daughter Brenda,” remembered former Port Jefferson Mayor Sandra Swenk, “but the flames reduced everything to ruins.”

The twisted wreckage of what was once the largest retail furniture store in Suffolk County was hauled away after the fire. The Sil-Flo Building at 407 East Main Street, which houses the local United States Post Office, now occupies the site of the blaze.

Kenneth Brady has served as the Port Jefferson Village Historian and president of the Port Jefferson Conservancy, as well as on the boards of the Suffolk County Historical Society, Greater Port Jefferson Arts Council and Port Jefferson Historical Society. He is a longtime resident of Port Jefferson.

The COVID-19 rollout in New York state has brought hope to residents, after nearly a year of shuttered businesses, isolation and general fear for their own health and safety.

For many, hope turned to frustration as they attempted to navigate the New York State signup website, phone hotline or even a simple Google search to find other options.

Even as a 20-year-old digital native, attempting to navigate the world of vaccine signups was difficult to put it mildly, and infuriating to put it bluntly. Through my part-time work at a law firm, I began trying to book appointments for elderly clients at the end of January. I was able to secure a few appointments by luck, as I happened to look on the state-run site at exactly the right time to see open appointments. Of course, the website crashed, but I notified clients, friends and family to call the hotline.

From there, securing an appointment seemed to become more difficult, even as more locations opened up. Getting an appointment seems to be a combination of pure luck, persistence and patience.

Distributing a vaccine to combat a pandemic is an extraordinary feat. It is unrealistic to expect the process not to have any roadblocks. However, the system seems to lack basic necessities to account for the inconveniences encountered by those trying to make vaccine appointments.

The average New Yorker does not have 12 hours to sit at a computer in a virtual wait line, only for the computer to crash when they finally get an opening.

My 89-year-old grandfather cannot figure out how to merge a call to give the operator consent for me to make an appointment.

Someone in their 90s cannot figure out what to do when the website crashes. There’s also no real database that shows every single possible vaccination site, pharmacy or other center that allows people to get an appointment — at least in Suffolk County.

Seniors, essential workers and vulnerable populations deserve better.

Through my failures and successes in trying to get the vaccine appointments, I have acquired a few tips and tricks, as well as answers to commonly asked questions.

1. Community is a great resource for finding out the latest information, unavailability, hearing tips from other people who made an appointment successfully and guiding others through the process. The Long Island COVID-19 Vaccination Information Facebook group posts multiple times a day and offers direct links to state-run distribution

sites, as well as consistent posts and guidance as to when appointments open.

2. Pharmacies will only vaccinate, pursuant to New York State executive order, those 65 and older and exclude essential workers and those with comorbidities. Appointments can be made online at Rite Aid, Walgreens, CVS and Stop & Shop. In my own experience, appointments tend to open up on these sites after midnight.

3. Another helpful tool is the TurboVax website (www.turbovax.info) — an A1 site that automatically posts appointments on social media when appointments are available.

Most of the appointments are New York City vaccine sites, which usually require patients to live or work there in order to receive the vaccine, and have stipulations as to what category of eligibility they can vaccinate (essential workers, seniors or those with comorbidities). However, Long Islanders can make appointments at state-run vaccination sites, which also appear on TurboVax. 4. Those with comorbidities need to bring a doctor’s letter, medical documentation showing their comorbidity or a signed certification to their appointment. Those with comorbidities can be vaccinated at state-run mass vaccination sites, as well as through local department of health sites. Local departments of health can determine how the supply is distributed to area sites.

5. It is essential to be persistent. Sometimes, you call the hotline and the operator will not look more than 50 miles from your home zip code, or will say that appointments are unavailable when they are showing on the website. There is some lag between the site and the hotline, so always be sure to double check. In general, however, hotline workers are kind, informed and helpful. Any frustrating guidance, they tell you, comes from the state and general lack of supply. They are doing their best, so be kind. It usually helps.

Leah Chiappino is a 20-year-old contributing writer with TBR News Media.

Currently a junior at Hofstra University, she is a political science and journalism double major. She is a resident of Smithtown.

FEBRUARY 25, 2021 • THE VILLAGE BEACON RECORD • PAGE A13

Sports

Miller Place Panthers fall to Islip

tbrnewsmedia.com Goforto more sports photos

BY BILL LANDON DESK@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

Islip Miller Place Miller Place senior Vincent Maronski drives the lane.

55 42

It was senior night for Miller Place in a League VI matchup where despite a late game surge the Panthers fell to visiting Islip 55-42 Feb. 22.

The quartet of seniors topped the scoring chart for the Panthers with Charlie Byalick leading the way with 3 triples 2 field goals and three from the line for 16 points. Kyle Callahan scored a three pointer and 3 field goals for 9 points, Vincent Maronski followed with 7 and Matt LoNigro banked 6.

In a COVID-shortened schedule the Panthers will conclude their season with a road game at Bayport-Blue Point Feb 24, the results of which were unavailable at press time.

Photos by Bill Landon

Miller Place junior Owen Connelly banks two for the Panthers.

Lady Mustangs seal the deal in the last 11 seconds Mount Sinai protecting a two-point lead over Islip with 11 seconds left in regulation went to Mount Sinai junior Kylie Budke who drained a three pointer from the corner to ice

the game giving the Mustangs a 50-45 win in a League VI matchup at home Feb. 19.

Mount Sinai junior Casey Campo topped the scoring chart for the Mustangs with 8 field goals a triple and 4 from the line for a team high 23 points. Budke followed with 2 treys and 5 from the floor for 16 and Brielle Williams and senior Makayla

Hartcom banked 4 points apiece.

The win lifts the Mustangs to 2-2 dealing Islip their first loss of the season falls to 4-1. Mount Sinai has two games remaining in this Covid shortened season before playoffs begin Feb. 26.

Photos by Bill Landon

11th grader Casey Campo sets up the play

Sophomore Daniella Sofia shoots from the baseline for the Mustangs.

Mt. Sinai junior Kylie Budke on a fast break.

BY BILL LANDON DESK@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

PAGE A14 • THE VILLAGE BEACON RECORD • FEBRUARY 25, 2021

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PUBLISHER’S EMPLOYMENT NOTICE: All employment advertising in this newspaper is subject to section 296 of the human rights law which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, creed, national origin, disability, marital status, sex, age or arrest conviction record or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination. Title 29, U.S. Code Chap 630, excludes the Federal Gov’t. from the age discrimination provisions. This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for employment which is in violation of the law. Our readers are informed that employment offerings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis.

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R E A L ESTAT E PUBLISHERS’ NOTICE

25A SETAUKET On way to supermarkets.

Hi visibility office for rent on 25A in charming stand alone professional office building. 650 sq. ft. Private entrance, 2 private bathrooms, private A/C and heating controls. Built-in bookcases. Light and bright.

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All real estate advertised herein is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination.”

We will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law.

All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis.

SETAUKET, 25 A CORNER OFFICE SUITE: high visibility, large plate glass window, private bath, own thermostat, private entrance, off street parking.

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PAGE A22 • THE VILLAGE BEACON RECORD • FEBRUARY 25, 2021

Editorial

Perspective

Time for Democrats to work on major challenges

BY SHOSHANA HERSHKOWITZ

Stay local

METRO photo

One thing that’s special about a community paper is that we are covering the stuff national or larger media corporations aren’t talking about.

We’re covering your local school sport teams, the stayat-home mom who has become a philanthropist and the new Eagle Scout projects sprouting up around town.

The bigger outlets cover the national news. CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN and FOX — they’re taking care of what the president is doing — not so much the local legislature or town council.

When we receive your letters to the editor, we are thrilled and so appreciative. We absolutely adore that you want to share your opinions with us, and we’re so grateful you trust us with that responsibility. But sometimes we wonder why residents aren’t talking to us about the community. We want to hear more about that.

Our readers are able to see things we reporters don’t see. You are out there, talking with people, seeing things with your own eyes and meeting people who we don’t know exist. We need you to help share those stories.

National politics affect us — we agree, and we feel it, too.

But as we continue into 2021, we ask of you to start sending us more letters that stem from where we live. What are you angry about locally? What do you want to see change here?

What are you most proud of? What needs to be said?

This is your chance as a local citizen to share something on your mind that could potentially make a difference. Local lawmakers read the community papers — President Joe Biden (D) and former President Donald Trump (R) do not.

We love national news, as well, but let’s try — moving forward — that we keep it as close to home as we can.

Remember, our letters are 400 words or less and we edit for A.P. style, which is the standard in most U.S.-based news publications, as well as for libel and good taste. We also ask that our writers provide sources or backup information for the more detailed letters, so we can fact-check the information.

Most of all, remember while letters can serve as a form of public debate, the purpose is to argue the issues, not personally attack an individual.

Shop local. Eat local. Support local. Read local. Write local.

WRITE TO US … We welcome your letters. They should be

no longer than 400 words and may be edited for length, libel, style and good taste. We do not publish anonymous letters.

Please include a phone number and address for confirmation.

Email letters to julianne@tbrnewsmedia.com or mail them to Village Beacon Record, P.O. Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733.

With the impeachment acquittal of former President Donald Trump (R) in the U.S. Senate, it is time to look at a post-Trump landscape. Part of this work lies in accountability for the 147 Republicans in Congress who attempted to overturn the will of the American people, including our own representative, Lee Zeldin (R-NY1).

If they are not held accountable by Congress, we must end their political careers at the ballot box.

I will focus this piece on the Democratic Party. We have spent the past four years pushing back against the bigotry, corruption, authoritarianism and incompetence of the Trump administration While some of that will continue to play out in the courts, the Democratic Party must now enact a bold plan that helps struggling Americans.

Democrats have major challenges containing COVID-19. Getting monthly payments to the American people immediately, as well as implementing President Joe Biden’s (D) vaccine plan is a good start. Additionally, we must aggressively tackle issues of student loans, child care, public education, the inequities of which have been blown open by the pandemic. We must advocate for a moratorium on evictions and make sure those struggling to pay bills can continue to keep the lights and heat on, and feed their families. This requires robust government. Republicans will

paint this as overreach. We must get this done anyway. If there was ever a time for big government, it is now.

We must also address the issue of health care, and how this pandemic has proven that our system of tying health care to employment is a failure. We are the only developed nation that does not guarantee health care. It is long past time to resolve this. We need a system where no one is left behind, where no one is denied care or goes bankrupt seeing a doctor when they are sick. We need bold steps, not incremental ones, to resolve these problems.

If the Democratic Party is to thrive post-Trump, the membership must take notice of who has joined their ranks in the past few years. It is young people, minority communities, LGBTQ+ communities. It is suburban women who have led the response to Trump in their communities. We delivered the White House and Congress for them. We also delivered them a supermajority in New York State. We are the future, and we deserve a seat at the table navigating that future.

As a grassroots leader, I often see the hesitation of the newly engaged to join the traditional party structure. The Democratic Party needs to take note of this, and make that barrier of entry disappear. A grassroots online group like mine, which has almost 3,000 members, has very little presence from the traditional party establishment. This is a mistake on their part. If Democratic

Letter to the Editor

committees are going to represent their communities, and succeed in local electoral politics, its leaders need to be present in these groups, and welcome the grassroots. The energy and motivation of the grassroots can rejuvenate and revitalize the local Democratic committees.

Finally, the Democratic Party must consider messaging. While the specifics of governing are often encased in layers of intricacy, our messaging cannot be.

We must make plain to the American people what we intend to do, and why it matters in their lives. We must message in a way that appeals to and engages our base, so they feel seen and heard.

And we must not operate out of fear of what the other side will say. What I’ve learned over the past few years is that Republicans will say what they want to say, regardless of what Democrats do or don’t do. So we may as well stand proudly and unequivocally in our positions and the truth. We must make our message clear, succinct and consistent.

I look forward to a post-Trump America, and to seeing the Democratic Party live up to its potential and deliver for the American people. I look forward to bridging divides, and to making the political process more accessible for the average citizen. We have been given a mandate by the 2020 election, and it is time to bring that to fruition.

Shoshana Hershkowitz is the founder of Suffolk Progressives.

Words matter: Work works better than fight The recent attack on our Capitol and impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump (R) highlight the importance of words and suggest a change in vocabulary that can help us come together for the common good. Trump’s lawyers played a video showing politicians using the word “fight” over and over.

We all do this. We say, “We need to fight” for this or that. But is this really the best way for us to get what we want, individually, or collectively?

George Washington worked hard to bring fighting parties together to form the United States. When we are young, playing in the sandbox, we are taught to

use our words, listen to others, and work it out, instead of fighting. That way, no one gets hurt and everyone gets at least some of what they want.

What if, whenever we are tempted to use the word “fight,” we think about substituting the word “work.” Politicians could say, “We need to work to fix this or that injustice,” or I promise to “work hard for you if elected.” Or, dare I say, “We need to work together across the aisle to make this happen.”

For we citizens, “working things out” almost always leads to a better outcome than fighting. We work on our marriages, friendships, relationships with family

members, or co-workers. Fighting is rarely the best solution.

Yes, we did need to fight to escape from the rule of King George III of Great Britain and Ireland, when our interests were not represented. Afterward, our Founding Fathers worked to create a government designed to enable our individual and common interests, and even created a system of amendments so future generations could work to make it even better. Let’s pass along that torch to create tremendous energy without burning down the house.

Joshua Dunaief, MD Setauket

The opinions of columnists and letter writers are their own. They do not speak for the newspaper.

FEBRUARY 25, 2021 • THE VILLAGE BEACON RECORD • PAGE A23

Opinion

Pondering the ‘found time’ created by the 46th

I

have a surprising amount of “found time” these days.

I still have numerous responsibilities and deadlines, but the time between activities, when I’m walking and talking with my wife, when I’m driving to the supermarket or when I’m preparing dinner, my mind is free of the pattern it had developed over the course of the last four years.

No, I wasn’t training for the D. None Olympics and no, I wasn’t preparing of the above a machine to land

BY DANIEL DUNAIEF on the Red Planet. I was, like so many other people, living my life and reading the headlines.

More often than not, the 45th president of the United States consumed the news cycle.

Periodically, I wrote about him, but, for the most part, despite reading and reacting to the things other people wrote, I recognized that few ideas or thoughts I had were original or even worth printing.

Yet, I found myself reading and reacting with friends and family, pondering whether he was setting new presidential precedents.

While my body hasn’t gone on any distant vacations, except for a relaxing ski weekend, my mind suddenly has more time. Indeed, even when there are headlines about Supreme Court decisions related to the former president, I glance at a few sentences and move on to other things.

So what am I doing with all this found time?

In no particular order, here are a few ways I have reengaged my mind: ■ I’m reading more books. I have had Walter Isaacson’s biography of Ben Franklin next to my bed for a while. I’m now parsing through it more closely, enjoying the reality of an iconic

American, learning about his love for travel and his well-known sense of self worth.

■ I’m thinking about Mars. At first, of course, I couldn’t help wondering how Marvin the Martian from the Bugs Bunny era might react to the Perseverance rover landing next to his home. On a more serious note, I enjoyed the absolutely giddy scene at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where scientists and engineers have been working tirelessly for years for this moment and where they saw and heard sights and sounds from Mars that bring us all closer to the planet’s surface.

■ I’m noticing the lighting around our neighborhood. As we approach spring, the colors of the light have changed, turning ordinary homes into glowing domiciles. If I were selling some of the houses around me, I would take pictures of them during the sunrise and sunset, showing prospective buyers these residences when they are glowing.

■ I’m becoming preoccupied with sports again. I am following the Brooklyn Nets

more closely and, more directly, am excited for the days and weeks ahead when my son might play baseball. In his last year of high school, he has an opportunity to play for his school and himself, if the school and the league are able to get through an entire season during the pandemic.

■ I’m marveling, in a distant and impersonal way, at the turnabout in press coverage. CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post have toned down their Washington criticism, while the New York Post and Fox News seem intent to point out all the flaws and dangers of the new administration. The teeter-totter has tilted in the other direction now, with the New York Post attacking White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki with some of the same concerns that the more liberal papers attacked the previous press secretary.

■ Lastly, I’m listening to everything around me better. The children playing down the street and the returning birds calling to each other in the trees have captured my attention.

My carpet has lots of leafy greens and low cholesterol

I

t seemed like a good idea in the moment.

The clock on the oven read 7:00 p.m., and I wanted to watch the PBS News Hour on Channel 13. But I was also hungry. So I reached into the fridge and took out one of the smoothies I make in advance to last me the week.

This one was in an open top container that I had covered with plastic wrap. I threw the cover in the trash, plunked a straw into the purple drink, Between picked up a coaster you and me to rest the drink on

BY LEAH S. DUNAIEF and headed up the stairs to the television in the bedroom.

After switching on the overhead light, I picked up the remote, put the coaster on the

bedside table, settled myself into the adjacent overstuffed chair and reaching over, put the container of smoothie on the coaster. To my horror, the coaster skittered out from under the container, which tipped over and splattered its contents across the carpet, spotting the nearby bedspread, the wall behind me, even the lower slats of the blinds across the room. In an instant, 32 ounces of smoothie lay spread out before me.

“Holy cow!” I yelled. (That’s not what I really yelled, but this is a family newspaper.)

The speed with which I had just ruined the bedroom stunned me. I jumped up, grabbed some towels from the nearby bathroom, and on my hands and knees, breathlessly tried to sop up what had not already soaked into the blue carpet.

Finally, I sat back to stop my panting and to survey the damage. It was awesome what some liquid in a cup could do to an otherwise orderly room. It occurred to me then that this wasn’t just ordinary liquid. This was probably

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the most nutritious contents this carpet could have sucked up. Let me tell you what I put into my smoothie.

First I pour into the Vitamix a cup of soy milk, then one cup of pomegranate juice.

Next I add one banana, then 2 tablespoons of unsweetened chocolate and 2 tablespoons of flax seed meal (not the seeds.) Then comes the good part: 8 ounces of baby bok choy, 8 ounces of baby kale, 2 cups of frozen cherries and 2 1/2 cups of frozen blueberries. The mixer makes all of this into a drink, and I will have one healthy carpet, albeit devilishly stained.

I am able to joke about this because, incredibly, the story has a happy ending. Just as I was sitting in the middle of the floor, about to cry, the phone rang. It was a dear friend, and when I told him what had just happened, he offered to come right over with his shop vacuum and some kind of magic reagent that he loaded into it. He was truly an angel, passing the suction wand over the spill again and again until the original color of the carpet reappeared.

EDITOR AND PUBLISHER Leah S. Dunaief GENERAL MANAGER Johness Kuisel MANAGING EDITOR Rita J. Egan EDITOR Julianne Mosher LEISURE EDITOR Heidi Sutton COPY EDITOR John Broven

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Kathleen Gobos ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Elizabeth Bongiorno Robin Lemkin Minnie Yancey SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER Kathryn Mandracchia ART AND PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Beth Heller Mason

He then put some kind of absorbent powder over the main body of the spill, to be left there for a couple of days and then vacuumed up.

When I did so, the damaged area was restored to its former pristine condition.

When I look at the carpet now, I think how wonderful it would be if we could just vacuum up whatever unfortunate circumstances had ever befallen us. Imagine having a giant vacuum that could suck away the misery of COVID-19, returning our lives to what we had always thought of as being normal. It could also remove any hurts or regrets, any shadows of past events or unhappy relationships that we might be carrying throughout our lives.

Yes, it is true that we learn from our mistakes and our experiences. But we don’t need all of them to become better people. We certainly didn’t need a novel coronavirus, even if it did teach us that we could order groceries delivered and work from home. We could borrow from Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth, and using our magic vacuum say, “Out, damned spot!”

PRODUCTION Janet Fortuna Sharon Nicholson INTERNET STRATEGY DIRECTOR Rob Alfano CLASSIFIEDS DIRECTOR Sheila Murray CLASSIFIEDS Joann Brady

BUSINESS MANAGER Sandi Gross CIRCULATION MANAGER Courtney Biondo SUBSCRIPTION MANAGER Sheila Murray

PAGE A24 • THE VILLAGE BEACON RECORD • FEBRUARY 25, 2021

WANTED! SNOW PLOW CONTRACTORS!

“When it comes to our mission of keeping Town roads safe and passable, the more resources we have to deploy at a moment’s notice, the better. I strongly encourage all qualified snow plow contractors to contact the Highway Department to assist your community in times of bad weather.”

For further information on our competitive rates, please call Linda at the Brookhaven Town Highway Department at (631) 451-9230 or apply in person at 1140 Old Town Road, Coram between the hours of 8:30am and 3:00pm, Monday through Friday.

Daniel P. Losquadro Superintendent of Highways 9390