The Village
TIMES HERALD Buying/ S
elling
Stony Brook • old Field • Strong’S neck • Setauket • eaSt Setauket • February 4, 2016
Volume 40, No. 49
John Denver tribute at Theatre Three Also: Review of ‘The Revenant,’ BNL Science Bowl winners
PAGE B1
U.S. Rep. Zeldin awards Stony Brook WWII veteran prestigious honor
PAGE A6
$1.00
Bring on Spring Photo by Alex Petroski
groundhog holtsville hal is presented to his adoring fans. By alex PetroSki
Heart of Stone
Ardolino.c om LongIslan dHomeCo nnectit on.c South Setauket • Poquot om 631-941-4 300
To the delight of about 100 people in attendance on Tuesday, it was announced that famed Brookhaven groundhog Holtsville Hal did not see his shadow, indicating spring would come early this year. Hal made his yearly Groundhog Day appearance at Brookhaven Town’s Holtsville Wildlife and Ecology center at about 7:30 a.m., before a crowd with fresh memories of being walloped with more than 2 feet
of snow in a recent blizzard. Tradition says that if Hal — or, as he’s known in the Town of Brookhaven as a throwback to the classic Bill Murray movie “Groundhog Day,” the Great Prognosticator of Prognosticators — sees his shadow when he wakes from hibernation on Groundhog Day, the community is in for six more weeks of winter. “As I stood by my burrow and looked to the ground, there was no shadow for me to be found,” town Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro (R) read from a
large scroll as Hal was presented to the mass of onlookers. “So kids and their families, put away your sleds and snow blowers.” There were raucous cheers. Holtsville Hal was handled by Greg Drossel as he posed for photos with Master of Ceremonies Wayne Carrington, Councilmembers Valerie Cartwright (D-Port Jefferson Station), Dan Panico (R-Manorville) and Neil Foley (R-Blue Point), Holtsville Fire Department volunteers and many others.
He even posed for a selfie with one young admirer. Last year, Hal also predicted an early spring. This time he might be right, if only just for Tuesday, as those who woke up early to attend were treated to a mild, sunny morning by the time the groundhog made his much-anticipated appearance. With the viewers in good spirits, Carrington reminded the crowd to donate whatever they could to the ecology center to support its programs.
Bellone visits SBU as students buddy up By Giselle Barkley
Mentors are making a new mark on Stony Brook University thanks to a county program. Working alongside Mentor New York, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) rolled out the county’s newest mentoring program at Stony Brook University’s Center for Molecular Medicine on Jan. 29. In the company of students and staff, Bellone said the county kicked off the mentoring program to help area newcomers navigate their way through county politics and education. While the program is in
its early stages, its public announcement came in light of National Mentoring Month in January. Bellone met with six students, mentors, and faculty on Friday to also discuss the importance of mentors for the young adults majoring in science related fields. “The benefits of [mentoring] are absolutely amazing,” Bellone said during the meeting. “From a better academic performance, better economic prospects, better statistics ... the list goes on and on.” Mentors were key to the success of Michelle Olakkengil, a junior at Stony Brook who said MENTORS continued on page A5
Photo by Giselle Barkley
Bellone meets students and their mentors at stony Brook University.