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Times Herald stony Brook • old field • strong’s neck • setauket • east setauket • south setauket • poquott • stony Brook university
Vol. 42, No. 43
December 21, 2017
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Chabad lights up village
Stony Brook inn welcomes Chabad members for celebration
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‘Oliver!’ is a Dickensian delight in Smithtown Also: Holiday Scavenger Hunt, ‘The Last Jedi’ reviewed, Photo of the Week
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Warmth for the holidays Setauket child donates bags filled with coats to Long Island Cares — A3 Photo from Christina Cone
Happy Holidays from our homes to yours, Scott Sanders and Staff 222 Main Street, East Setauket, NY 11733 631-360-0004 • Scott@SheaAndSanders.com
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PAGE A2 • THE VILLAGE TIMES HERALD • DECEMBER 21, 2017
Library saves patrons money at NYC museum Emma S. Clark Memorial Library is selling discounted tickets to the American Museum of Natural History. The discounted tickets to AMNH cost $10 each — same price for adults, children, students and seniors — and provide admission to the museum, plus one temporary exhibition at the Samuel J. and Ethel LeFrak Theater, Space Show or a seasonal live animal exhibit. The normal admission for this level ticket is $28 for adults, $22.50 for students and seniors and $16.50 for children ages 2 through 12. Library cardholders may purchase the tickets using cash or check made payable to Emma S. Clark Memorial Library at the library’s circulation desk. Tickets are nonrefundable, and families may purchase up to four tickets per month. These discounted tickets are an extension of the library’s museum pass program, which includes free admission to over 20 museums and cultural institutions throughout Long Island and New York City. For more information on the museum pass program, visit www.emmaclark.org/museum-passes. The American Museum of Natural History is located at Central Park West in New York City. The museum’s mission is
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Emma Clark library now offers discounted tickets to the American Museum of Natural History, above, in Manhattan. to discover, interpret and disseminate — through scientific research and education — knowledge about human cultures, the natural world and the universe. The Emma S. Clark Memorial Library is located at 120 Main St., Setauket. — RITA J. EGAN
THE VILLAGE TIMES HERALD (USPS 004-808) is published Thursdays by TIMES BEACON RECORD NEWS MEDIA, 185 Route 25A, Setauket, NY 11733. Periodicals postage paid at Setauket, NY and additional mailing offices. Subscription price $49 annually. Leah S. Dunaief, Publisher. POSTMASTER: Send change of address to P.O. Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733.
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DECEMBER 21, 2017 • THE VILLAGE TIMES HERALD • PAGE A3
VILLAGE Minnesauke student collects coats for those in need BY RITA J. EGAN RITA@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM For a 7-year-old Setauket resident, it wasn’t enough that Minnesauke Elementary School was collecting coats just for children. He felt a drive should be organized to collect outer garments for all ages and sizes, so he started one of his own. “I thought if we do a drive for any type of coat it would help more people,” Holden Cone said. Helping more people is exactly what the second-grader did. When his month-long coat drive ended Dec. 17, he had bags filled
with 179 coats. said one person wrote a thank you on one It all started when Holden told his par- of his fliers. His mother said Holden was ents Chauncy and Christina his idea. He thrilled when he came home from school said they began researching online how every day and saw more coats on the porch. to organize a gently worn coat drive and “I feel happy, because the more coats found the website for the nonprofit One we get the more people we help in the Warm Coat that connects those interested world,” Holden said. in conducting drives with reputable organiHis mother said the family wishes zations. They discovered they could donate they could thank everyone in person who coats to the Hauppauge-based organization helped with the drive. Long Island Cares Inc. “It’s just a testament to “We were very proud of our community,” she said. the fact that he wanted to “I was just commenting to start something on his own someone the other day how and make it more inclusive, I love our neighborhood. I not just a kids’ drive,” his falove our neighbors. They ther said. “He wanted to help picked up on this and then as many people as he could.” jumped right in.” Holden said he and his William Gonyou, com— Holden Cone dad hung up fliers and put munity events and food 101 more in mailboxes. He drive manager for Long Isalso put a sign on the family’s front lawn land Cares, said the number of children orgadirecting contributors to place coats in a nizing projects like Holden’s is slowly growbin on the porch. ing, and he hopes the 7-year-old’s coat drive In addition, his mother said Holden will inspire other youngsters to do the same. spoke to her and her husband’s students at “It’s always so wonderful and humbling to Smithtown West High School, where they hear when young children stand up for other are both teachers, about the drive. She people,” Gonyou said. “There is so much said she was proud of how he presented need on Long Island, and to learn of somethe project and many of their students con- body so young realizing that, and choosing tributed to the cause. to do something about it is very inspiring. While he hasn’t been able to meet the ma- Students like Holden will be the future sojority of those who donated because many cial advocates of the world, and seeing them just left coats on the family’s porch, Holden start so early in life is a great sign of much
‘I thought if we do a drive for any type of coat it would help more people.’
Photos from Christina Cone
Holden Cone, above, holds the flier he and his father posted in the area and placed in neighbors’ mailboxes, below left. needed changes on Long Island.” At press time, the Cone family’s van was loaded with bags of coats, and they said they were planning to bring them to the Long Island Cares office before Christmas. When it comes to the visit, Holden said he isn’t looking for praise. “I don’t care what they say, because I’m just happy I’m helping people,” he said.
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PAGE A4 • THE VILLAGE TIMES HERALD • DECEMBER 21, 2017
Presbyterian church to host manger service TOWN Ebenezer Scrooge and Mrs. Sowerberry of the Port Jefferson Dickens Festival will join in the fifth annual Christmas Eve manger service at the Setauket Presbyterian Church with carols and a blessing of animals Dec. 24 at 9:30 a.m. Frank Miranda playing Scrooge and Katherine Netusil portraying Mrs. Sowerberry will come in costume to read, joining friends from past years, including Middle Country Animal Hospital and Heifer International. The church provides a manger service because the first Christmas Eve it was the animals who made room in their stable for Mary and Joseph. According to the old carol “The Friendly Beasts,” it was the donkey who carried a pregnant Mary all the way to Bethlehem. It was the cow who gave the baby her manger full of hay for his bed; the sheep who gave wool to keep him warm; and the doves who sang him to sleep. Children of all ages and animals of (almost) all sizes are invited to come with their adult humans — in Dickens
Mather, Northwell finalize affiliation agreement
BY ALEX PETROSKI ALEX@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM Photo from Setauket Presbyterian Church
costume or not — to Setauket Presbyterian Church, located at 5 Caroline Ave. on the Village Green in Setauket. — RITA J. EGAN
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A historic change at a nearly 90-year-old Port Jefferson institution has been finalized. John T. Mather Memorial Hospital will officially finalize an affiliation agreement with Northwell Health Dec. 21, according to a Mather board member, who asked not to be referred to by name. Leadership from Mather Hospital signed a letter of intent to join Northwell, New York’s largest health care provider, in August, though the sides had not yet finalized the terms of the agreement at that time. It is the first time in the hospital’s history it will be affiliating with a larger health system, and a signing ceremony is set to take place Thursday, Dec. 21, at 3 p.m. in a conference room at the hospital. The board member said he expects Northwell Health president and chief executive officer Michael Dowling as well as Mather board of directors chairman Ken Jacoppi to attend the signing. “We’re very pleased Northwell has committed to making an investment in our community and bringing their extraordinary capabilities to our community,” the board member said. “They’ve committed to preserve our culture of patient safety.” The board member said part of the agreement is that Mather’s board and CEO will remain in place through an initial period of five years, allowing the hospital to remain “largely self-governing” during that time with collaboration and cooperation from Northwell. The Mather board member did not specify the total length or any other specifics of the agreement. A spokesperson from Mather confirmed the ceremonial signing will take place Dec. 21 and that the agreement has been reached, but declined to confirm any details relating to the contract. The board member summed up what the change might mean for hospital patients going forward. “In the near term the experience should not change at all,” he said. “We happen to believe that’s a good experience, generally speaking. In the long term Northwell has greater capabilities than we do and we’ll gain those. They’re committed to supporting our residency program as well.” In August, state Sen. Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) voiced opposition to the agreement, saying he would have preferred Mather affiliate with Stony Brook University Hospital. “I don’t think it’s a good decision,” LaValle said at the time. “For 50 years-plus there’s been a culture in place if people needed tertiary care they would go from Mather to Stony Brook. Stony Brook will still be in place, will still offer services and people if they choose can go to Stony Brook.” Mather Hospital vice president of public affairs Nancy Uzo said in August Stony Brook was considered an option for affiliation and offered an explanation by email. “Our goal through this process is to ensure that our communities continue to have access to advanced, highquality care and superior satisfaction close to home, and to serve the best interests of our medical staff and employees,” she said. Dowling commented similarly about Mather Hospital’s reputation around the letter of intent signing in August, and as to why Northwell would be a good fit for Mather. “Mather Hospital is known for patient-centric care both in the community and throughout the industry,” he said. “That deeply embedded sense of purpose is the type of quality we want to represent Northwell Health, along with an excellent staff of medical professionals and physicians. Together, Mather and Northwell will play a crucial partnership role expanding world-class care and innovative patient services to Suffolk County residents.” A public relations representative from Northwell did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
DECEMBER 21, 2017 • THE VILLAGE TIMES HERALD • PAGE A5
VILLAGE
Stony Brook Festival of Lights
Photo lower right by Rita J. Egan; others by Peter Dilauro
Chabad at Stony Brook hosted a menorah lighting Dec. 18 on the lawn of the Stony Brookside Bed & Bike Inn located on the corner of Main Street and Harbor Road. The 9-foot menorah was sponsored by the Chabad. The festivities began with a parade of cars escorted by the Suffolk County Police Department. Each participant’s vehicle was adorned with a menorah on top, and attendees of the event enjoyed latkes with
applesauce, hot cocoa and doughnuts. Rabbi Motti Grossbaum addressed the crowd before lighting the giant menorah with the assistance of the inn’s owners Marty and Elyse Buchman. After the lighting, a gelt drop was held, and Grossbaum stepped onto a cherry picker and threw wrapped chocolate coins from 25 feet above for children to collect. — RITA J. EGAN
PERSPECTIVES Cultivating successful, meaningful lives in later years “Third age” is one of several terms for a new battery, which if successful, will revolurelatively new stage in life — occurring be- tionize the electric car. tween middle age and old age — and made Obviously, Goodenough is exceptional, possible by longer life expectancies. Baby and while not all of us can expect to reach boomers are aging, with the pinnacle of success after the oldest boomers having age 90, we still can make a turned 70 last year and the significant impact. In fact, fastest growing segment of third agers are hardwired to the population made up of make contributions to socipeople over 90. ety. The term “generativity,” The bad news is that coined by Erik Erikson, deboomers will challenge scribes a specific stage in life the economy by utilizwhen individuals — usually ing more Social Security, between the ages of 40 and medical and health care 65 — are compelled to find benefits. Given these facts, meaning in their lives by it is imperative that we generating care and concern adopt practices in our third for both older and younger age for cultivating not only generations. In other words, long lives but also successyou don’t have to be a rocket ful, meaningful and proscientist to make a signifiductive lives. cant contribution. BY NANCY BURNER, ESQ, The good news is that The distinct voice of a individuals in the third age third ager comes from years have a lot to share. In terms of experience and has real of brainpower, studies show that older indi- value when shared with others. No other viduals can be both productive and creative. generation before could expect any reasonIn fact, the most frequent age bracket for able chance of living 20 or 30 years after Nobel laureates is 60 to 64 years old. Con- their 50th birthday. sider the work of John Goodenough, who is By nurturing generative qualities, third 95 years old and a professor of mechanical agers may actually be helping themselves. engineering and material science at the Uni- Longevity studies show that individuals who versity of Texas at Austin. He and his team are engaged and connected, who find meanhave recently filed a patent application for a ing and purpose in their everyday lives, tend
Your turn
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Third agers can find more meaning in their lives by engaging with both older and younger generations. to live longer and healthier lives. Showing up and engaging are the first steps in planning a successful third age and beyond. Mother Teresa said it best: “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small
things with great love.” Let’s begin now. Dedicate 2018 to the year of doing small things with great love. Nancy Burner, Esq. practices elder law and estate planning from her East Setauket office.
PAGE A6 • THE VILLAGE TIMES HERALD • DECEMBER 21, 2017
COUNTY
What to know when planning your 2018 shopping trips
BY KEVIN REDDING KEVIN@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM Suffolk County shoppers, get your nickels ready. In an effort to encourage residents to shop with reusable bags instead of plastic and paper “carryout” bags that harm the environment, the Suffolk County Legislature is rolling out a 5 cent fee on Page A10 all disposable bags at a variety of retail establishments, from supermarkets to department stores beginning Jan. 1.
Editorial comment
The new law, which was officially passed by the Legislature in September 2016, applies only to the single-use plastic or paper bags provided by cashiers at the end of a sale and used to carry goods from the store. There won’t be a fee, however, on bags found in produce sections for fruits and vegetables, frozen foods or on bags by pharmacies to carry prescription drugs, according to the law. Cashiers are required to add the total fees to a customer’s receipt based on how many bags are used. Residents can avoid the fee by either buying a reusable bag — ones made of cloth or canvas, which are available in many retail stores — or shopping with a bag from home.
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“Hopefully people will say ‘I’m not paying 5 cents’ and go with the other options,” said Legislator William “Doc” Spencer (D-Centerport), who wrote the legislation to reduce the influx of plastic bag waste that gets trapped in trees, blocks storm drains and causes significant damage to water supplies and wildlife. “We’re hoping to change behaviors. While we won’t change everyone’s, this will change a lot of people’s and that can make a big difference. I think once people start to not use the plastic bags, they’re not going to really miss them.” Spencer’s bill began in March 2016 as a ban on all single-use plastic bags, piggybacking off an initiative adopted by the Town of Southampton, but it didn’t receive enough support. This revised bill was co-sponsored and pushed by five legislators, including Al Krupski (D-Cutchogue), Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) and Bridget Fleming (D-Sag Harbor), and 140 out of 150 residents who weighed in on the initiative during a public hearing testimony. The legislators also worked alongside a Suffolk County plastic bag working group, which consists of local scientists, educators, environmentalists, business people and government employees. “We have to curtail the Stock photo use of plastic bags,” Krupski Suffolk County residents said. “They’re everywhere. I would encourage people not will save money when to pay the fee. It’s all just a using reusable tote bags matter of changing your while shopping. habits and keeping a shopping bag in your vehicle to have it at the ready. It’ll take time for people to get used to that, but like anything else, people will get used to it.” A 5 cent fee on plastic and paper bags was adopted in Washington, D.C., in 2010 and the accumulated nickels have contributed a total $10 million to the Anacostia River Clean Up and Protection Fund, as of 2015. As mandated by New York State, however, the fees collected in this bill will be retained by the stores. Not being able to apply the collection to an environmental cause convinced a Democratic legislator not to support the law. “That 5 cent charge should go back into the environment,” said Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai), who voted “No.” “Instead, the fees are going back into the pockets of the stores. The legislation needed work.” Anker also said she received outcry from constituents over the concept of fees. “A lot of the community, especially the senior population, did not want to pay extra for the plastic bags,” Anker said. “But I will say, plastic is a really harsh environmental pollutant.” Spencer said he plans to revisit the legislation after a year to evaluate the financial impact it’s having and ask the state to allow funds to be used for environmental purposes. “It would be great to do that, but only the state has that ability,” Spencer said. “The state may make that decision.” Jay Peltz, general counsel and vice president of government relations at Food Industry Alliance, which represents 800 state supermarket chains, convenience stores and wholesalers, including Stop & Shop and King Kullen, which will be charging the fees, said it’s a current law where everybody wins. “It will help the environment and it will help the stores,” he said. “It’s a thoughtful, productive law and is the only way to both reduce plastic bag distribution while incentivizing people to increase their use of reusable bags.” He added that the fees may be used to help pay for higher minimum wages expected to be put in place in the coming year, but store owners are still weighing the options.
DECEMBER 21, 2017 • THE VILLAGE TIMES HERALD • PAGE A7
SCHOOL NEWS Minnesauke Elementary School
P.J. Gelinas Junior High School
Photo from Three Village Central School District
Spreading cheer Minnesauke Elementary School sixthgrade students in Lou Petrucci’s class helped to spread holiday cheer within their local community and abroad during two recent community service projects. The students made holiday cards, trinkets for gifts and donated gifts to the children at Angela’s House in Stony Brook. This
Photo from Three Village Central School District
establishment assists families caring for medically frail children living at home with their parents or in special homes that offer 24-hour nursing support. Additionally, the class participated in Adopt-a-Platoon to provide a little of the holiday feeling and the comforts of home to those service men and woman deployed overseas. For the initiative, the students made cards for the soldiers with boxes of candy canes.
Teddy bear project
Looking to brighten the days of local children, P.J. Gelinas Junior High School eighthgrade home and careers classes created 100 hand-sewn colorful teddy bears for the Ronald McDonald House. What started as a class
sewing project transitioned into a community giving project after the students expressed interest in donating their creations to children in need or those suffering from illness. In partnership with the Ronald McDonald House, the student’s creations will be delivered to Stony Brook Children’s Hospital.
Arrowhead Elementary School
Chabad Hebrew School Stony Brook
Shining project Light art
Students at Chabad Hebrew School Stony Brook colored their own 4-inch square tiles and together created a menorah mosaic masterpiece. The creative exercise was in celebration of
Photo by Rachel Dolowich
Hanukkah, which this year began on the evening of Dec. 12 and ended on the evening of Dec. 20. Each night of Hanukkah one candle is lit on the menorah until all eight are lighted. The mosaic was displayed at the Chabad at Stony Brook located at 821 Hawkins Ave. in Lake Grove.
Members of the Arrowhead Elementary School student council teamed up with Stony Brook University’s chapter of the national organization Project Sunshine to create 200 craft bags for children recovering from illness or surgery at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital. During the afternoon meeting, the students folded paper journals and helped to fill bags with colorful stickers, crayons as well as
OBITUARY John Joseph Pi
John Joseph Pi of East Setauket died Nov. 8 at the age of 86. He was the beloved husband of Clare; loving father of John, daughter-in-law Joanne, daughter Lisa, son-in-law Peter and the youngest son, the late Steven. He was also grandfather to Evan, Bryan, Christopher, Daniel and Brooke.
John was born in Manhattan and served in the United States Navy from 1951 to 1955. He was vice president of the Bank of New York until his retirement. He enjoyed being surrounded by his family, gardening, doing the crossword puzzles and reading. Services were held at St. James R.C. Church, Nov. 11. Committal services were held in private. Arrangements were entrusted to the Bryant Funeral Home of Setauket. Visit www.bryantfh.com to sign the online guest book. Contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital in his memory.
Photo from Three Village Central School District
cloth dolls for the recipients to color. They learned about the mission of Project Sunshine from several chapter members and were inspired by their efforts to bring joy and smiles to the hospitalized children. In addition to the community service component, the project had a special connection for the students as the after-school initiative was spearheaded by Arrowhead graduate and current Project Sunshine chapter leader, Daniel McCaffrey.
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PAGE A8 • THE VILLAGE TIMES HERALD • DECEMBER 21, 2017
HISTORY CLOSE AT HAND
Photos from Beverly C. Tyler
Clockwise from above, historian Beverly C. Tyler, third from right, in front of a replica of a Union Pacific engine, takes part in the reenactment of the joining of the rails in Golden Spike National Historic Site; an 1844 Long Island Rail Road advertisement for the second day of operation from New York City to Boston; and a reproduction of the Central Pacific engine Jupiter in Utah.
Railroads joined the East and West coasts BY BEVERLY C. TYLER The changes in transportation that began in the early 1800s were dramatic and far-reaching. They made it possible to lower costs of food and fuel, expand settlements, open western New York and the Midwest, and provide employment for thousands of immigrants. Before steam power, transportation on land was limited to walking, riding horses and going by horse and wagon. Canals and steamboats made long distance transportation viable, but canals were a temporary solution. The railroads became the vehicle that united America with steam power. Wood was the first fuel used by steam trains, but coal was the fuel that made commerce by rail a reality. The early trains, including the Long Island Rail Road, fueled with wood, were only strong enough to carry passengers. Before 1844 the Norwich & Worcester and Boston & Worcester railroads ran a water-to-rail route from Manhattan to Boston. Steamboats left Manhattan at 5 p.m. Eleven hours later, they arrived at Allyn’s Point in Norwich, Connecticut. There the passengers were escorted to the waiting train. Two hours later they arrived in Boston, a total trip of 13 hours, under the best of conditions. To compete on the route from Manhattan to Boston the LIRR built a rail line west to east on Long Island from Brooklyn to Greenport. Cornelius Vanderbilt joined with the LIRR to provide steamboats for crossing Long Island Sound, between Greenport and the docks at Stonington and Norwich, Connecticut, where trains then took passengers to Boston. The LIRR felt that as this was the longest rail route and the shortest water crossing it would get passengers to and from Boston more rapidly, and it did, with a time of about 10-and-a-half hours. The first train left Brooklyn Aug. 8, 1844. The route was initially a popular success and even had a contract to carry the U.S. mail. The new
LIRR and N&W route offered early morning departures which assured arrival in one’s destination city by evening. Thus, for the first time, travelers passing between the two cities could avoid having to spend a night on the steamboat/train connection. Vanderbilt in his quest against his competitors kept lowering the cost of the LIRR route, and when the board of directors balked at his aggressive stance, Vanderbilt abandoned the LIRR, making it impossible to compete financially. To get needed funds the railroad sold their steamboats Cleopatra and Worcester to the N&W allowing it to compete with LIRR on its own water routes. As a result, the LIRR abandoned its Brooklyn to Boston route in March 1847. The LIRR now had tracks running through the center of the Island where few people lived. It would be nearly three decades before the railroad completed lines along the North and South shores to more effectively serve Long Island residents. In the meantime, the LIRR began a campaign to encourage New York City residents to take the rails to the shores of Lake Ronkonkoma as well as connections to stage coaches that would take them to vacation spots on the North and South shores of the Island.
The rise of American railroads coincided with a flood of immigrants. In 1842 more than 100,000 immigrants arrived in American ports, the overwhelming majority in New York City. By 1847, immigrants from just Ireland exceeded 100,000 and over the next decade more than a million Irish came to America. Germans also came to America to escape the wars and revolutions in Europe. As railroads grew and tracks crisscrossed Eastern and Midwest states they needed more and more laborers to lay tracks and do many new jobs associated with this new booming transportation infrastructure. The flood of immigrants had come at just the right time for America. In Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, railroads connected the waterways of the Great Lakes, and the Ohio, Mississippi and other rivers with port cities, especially New York and New Orleans. During the 1850s Midwest cities grew rapidly as immigrants, cattle, hogs and wheat from the great plains flooded into Chicago and other developing Midwest cities. By the late 1840s, the telegraph and the railroads were developing together and relying on each other. The possibility of instantaneous information altered the entire logistics
of the railroad industry. For the telegraph operators, the benefits were obvious. The telegraph company would hoist its poles along the tracks. The railroad would then provide ongoing maintenance of the telegraph wires. In the summer of 1862, the federal government, in the absence of Southern elements in Congress due to the Civil War, approved the Pacific Railway Act, with a combination of land grants and bond guarantees, allowed for private interest to begin construction of a railroad to connect across the entire country. It was the California Gold Rush that made the construction work possible and men such as John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan and Joseph Pulitzer made it work. From the time of the gold rush in 1848 to 1849 the idea of connecting the Pacific Coast to the East via a large railroad had been a dream of both capitalists and politicians. Finally in 1869, the golden spike was driven in the last rail as west met east at Promontory, Utah, where the two trains met, the western train fueled by wood and the eastern train fueled by coal. In October 2012 my wife Barbara and I dove to the Golden Spike National Historic Site in Corinne, Utah. It is really a desolate area except for the national park. We were there for the last ceremonial reenactment of the year, the joining of the rails across America at Promontory, Utah. Two reproduction engines, the Central Pacific engine Jupiter and the Union Pacific engine 119 came together as the golden spike was gently driven in and then removed and replaced with an iron spike. Costumed actors and visitors then gathered together for a picture of this monumental event that joined our country together with steel rails and instant communication. Beverly C. Tyler is Three Village Historical Society historian and author of books available from the society at 93 North Country Road, Setauket. For more information, call 631-7513730 or visit www.tvhs.org.
DECEMBER 21, 2017 • THE VILLAGE TIMES HERALD • PAGE A9
SPORTS
Photos by Bill Landon
Members of Mission Fencing Center, left, helped host members of Team Puerto Rico, on podium at back row, who had no place to train in the wake of Hurricane Maria. Above, the group’s chaperone, Carlos Quiles, trains against fencing center member and Ward Melville junior Cat Cao to secure his position on the Puerto Rico national team.
Patriots head coach helps train team Puerto Rico BY BILL LANDON
‘Jeff and Jennie like to help people, and there are not a lot of good people that open their homes like that in the world.’
ing federation went to a meeting to make a plan as to what we were going to do,” Quiles said, adding that the organization reached out to anyone in the United States and beyond. “That’s when Mission Fencing found us and [Jeff Salmon] told us he wanted us to come here. We couldn’t be more grateful.” Team Puerto Rico took to the strips of Mission Fencing Center Dec. 15, where its members showed off their international flare while competing against local Long Island fencers like Ward Melville épéeist Ben Rogak. Rivera said he was excited to challenge himself and partake in a unique experience, one that provided a first for the young athlete. “I’m so thankful for this opportunity,” he said while fencing inside the center as snow began to fall. “This is my third trip to the United States — [having previously visited] Mexico and Costa Rica — and this time, I’m a proud member of the junior national team. This is also the first time I’ve ever seen snow.” Rogak said he also enjoyed competing
against fencers he’s never seen before, and said that he admired their dedication. Jennie Salmon agreed. “They’ve been awesome guests,” she said. “We’ve had press based on our success as high school coaches, and at some level we’re very proud of that, but that isn’t even close to our biggest success. What we’re doing here is so meaningful.” Before returning home, the Mission Fencing Center bus will take the team to Virginia, where it will be joined by its other members from around the country to compete. Rivera reiterated how happy he was to learn from Long Island’s established athletes, adding it’s been helpful as programs at home begin to take flight. “In Puerto Rico we are starting to have leagues in high school — we are taking baby steps,” he said. “This is a super club, [Mission Fencing]. It’s complete with a gym, trainers,and I’m thankful for this opportunity. Jeff and Jennie like to help people, and there are not a lot of good people that open their homes like that in the world. I have to say that they have big hearts and they’re full of love.”
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“Fifteen years ago Jennie and I bought our home and ran a fencing clinic out of After devastation struck Puerto Rico in the extra space,” Salmon said. “We didn’t the form of Hurricane Maria in September, have the finances to support [Team Puerto members of Puerto Rico’s national fencing Rico], but we live in an old church, which team reached out to anyone willing to lend we still run camps out of in the summer, so a hand. we have a bunch of beds and have plenty Hearing of Team Puerto Rico’s plight, of room. We have some pretty nice housing Rocky Point’s Mission Fencing Center own- for them.” ers Jeff and Jennie Salmon quickly opened The fencing community demonstrated their doors so the team could train for an up- its generosity by holding food drives and coming international competition, and many 50/50 raffles since the guests landed Dec. of the fencers were more than thankful. 11, as well as by donating hats, gloves and “As my family and a lot of my friends other cold-weather items to help the Caribsaid it was like a blessing for this family to bean team adjust to the temperature. The reach out to us and give us the opportunity group also received home items like paper [to train],” said 17-year-old épéeist Freddie towels and laundry detergent. Rivera, who calls Juana “Today we went to the Díaz, Puerto Rico home. laundromat and the minute “Ever since I got the news one of the girls stepped outthat we had this opportuniside she said, ‘Oh my God, here ty, I wanted to meet them. we go again,’” Jeff Salmon They gave us their house said, laughing. “The team too, and to take us to this doesn’t like the cold, but they place [Mission Fencing] — all have coats and gloves bethat takes a lot of effort.” cause everyone really stepped Salmon, a Comsewogue [up]. Everyone is so excited High School graduate and that they’re here and the varsity boys fencing coach whole Long Island fencing — Freddie Rivera community has been great.” for Ward Melville, said housing and feeding the His wife said she heard fencers, as well as providing of Team Puerto Rico’s pretransportation to his 30,000-square-foot dicament through Iris Zimmermann, who subterranean training facility on Route 25A, co-owns the Rochester Fencing Club, and which he said is the largest in the country, said she immediately knew she wanted to wasn’t as difficult as it might sound. get involved in any way she could. Mission Fencing Center owns a bus that “I guess I just took the bull by the already transports athletes from across horns,” Jennie Salmon said. “And now Long Island to and from the center, and the USA Fencing federation is even involved in Salmons have plenty of space in their old helping them.” mission church home in Mount Sinai, from Carlos Quiles, a 24-year-old Carolina, where the center got its name. He said Puerto Rico, resident chaperoning his this, along with local contributions, made group of eight fencers, said he was conaccommodations for the four-week stay nected with the Salmons after pleading to accommodations simple. Karina Del Mar his fencing federation president that they Pagan, a 19-year-old from Carolina, Puerto needed a place to train after seeing his Rico, said each member of her eight-per- club’s flooded headquarters. son group paid for his or her plane ticket, “When we saw that our club was comand the Salmons took care of the rest. pletely destroyed, the head of our fenc-
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PAGE A10 • THE VILLAGE TIMES HERALD • DECEMBER 21, 2017
OPINION Editorial
Letter to the editor
File photo
Superintendents believe the relationship between schools and law enforcement is vital to keeping kids safe.
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There will be a 5 cent charge for each plastic or paper bag used at many local stores beginning Jan. 1.
Bag fees should foster forward thinking A survey conducted ahead of the passage of Suffolk County’s new environmental law banning plastic and paper bags from convenience, grocery, liquor, office supply, clothing and home center stores yielded a large figure — 70 percent of 11,395 people asked said they use only plastic bags to carry their groceries and shopping items. The questionnaire, conducted by a group of 85 high school students and 15 teachers from seven Suffolk County school districts and St. Joseph’s College is not surprising, but should be an eye-opener to the future health of our environment. More can and needs to be done. Suffolk County’s ban will take effect Jan. 1. While shoppers should be prepared to reach a little deeper into their pockets to afford the nickel-per-bag charge to be able to pack with store-provided plastic or paper, they should also think long and hard about the environmental impact of their choices. We encourage residents to bring their own bags when shopping, be it reusable bags or leftover plastic, but we’d also encourage New York State to get behind an even bigger eco-friendly cause. While we support the bag ban, what we don’t support is the fee funds going back to retailers. To help promote the use of the reusable bags, the money could be used to purchase and distribute more reusable bags. If not, the 5 cents per bag fee should be deposited into a county general fund designated for environmental improvement efforts, be it open-space preservation, the cleaning of a park or protecting drinking water. If the money generated isn’t going into a government-held account, we’d also suggest pooling the money into donations to national nonprofits like the Sierra Club, or even local ones like Defend H2O, Seatuck Environmental Association, Setauket-Port Jefferson Station Greenway Trail or Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon Society — or any other organization with environmental preservation as its mission. We hope the result of this law is not that consumers simply get comfortable with paying the extra money, like many have with the 5 cent deposits on bottles and cans. Instead, we hope the result is a conscious, purposeful effort on the part of shoppers to use less paper and plastic, and the county’s leadership in putting the extra money to good use would set a great example.
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Superintendents for safer schools Events such as the Las Vegas concert and Texas church shootings remind us of the critical role law enforcement plays in our communities. As school administrators, those events bring back horrific memories of the Newtown tragedy and cause us to reflect on the heightened level of interdependence between our public schools, often the cornerstone of Long Island’s communities, and our police. This relationship has evolved and intensified over the years due to both legislative requirements and the increased complexity of societal and community issues. The incident that first changed the nature of the relationship occurred in Jefferson County, Colorado, in April 1999, when two Columbine High School students massacred 12 of their classmates and a coach. Prior to Columbine, interactions between schools and police on Long Island, for the most part, centered on matters such as vandalism, graffiti, the assignment of crossing guards, bomb scares and an occasional drug-related arrest. Schools and the local police responded to incidents in these and similar categories on a case-bycase basis. Practices varied from district to district and department to department. Appropriately, that changed with New York State’s legislative response to Columbine. The Safe Schools Against Violence in Education Act was passed by the legislature and signed into law July 24, 2000. The legislation, which has since been amended and supplemented, required schools and school districts to implement a number of measures, but most prominently to develop and maintain safety plans at the building and district levels and to adopt codes of conduct for the maintenance of order in school op-
erations. The intensity and importance of the relationship between the police and schools grew as the stakes were raised, and we worked together to implement SAVE. The unthinkable required school and law enforcement officials to plan for eventualities that seemed impossible just a few months earlier. The problems of the past paled in comparison to the concerns about the future. Today, the partnership is more important than ever, as both police and schools are called upon to deal with local manifestations of issues of national prominence, the opioid crisis and gang violence. Opioid abuse occurs all around us every day. The epidemic cuts blindly through race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Its consequences impact people of all ages in all communities. In 2016, Long Island suffered at least 535 opioid-related deaths. Recently, more than 400 educators, mental health professionals and law enforcement came together at a regional conference sponsored jointly by LI-CAN, the Island’s school superintendents’ associations and SCOPE education services to discuss this issue. Gang violence, while far less pervasive, does exist on Long Island. While schools are not a center of gang activity, they are places where young people gather and information is exchanged. As a result, there is a mutual benefit to the partnership between schools and law enforcement because we must address this problem together. The introduction of school resource officers who are uniformed police personnel assigned to certain schools, has facilitated this communication and has been a powerful approach in emphasizing the role of the police officer as community leader. The resource officer plays a crucial role in our
schools — not just by responding to incidents, but in building positive relationships with students, staff and parents. We support a well-structured, thoughtful expansion of this important program. Assuring that our students receive the highest-quality programs and services in a safe, secure environment is the goal of the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association. A recent survey of school superintendents statewide indicates that half of respondents have rising concerns about the needs of our students in nonacademic areas, including health, safety and mental health. Members of the association partner with county, town and village police departments, and many other non-law-enforcement organizations recognize that these needs cannot be met without robust cooperation. Only this type of cooperation will enable us to fully address these problems. The key to future success is mutual respect, the availability of adequate resources and exhaustive planning. We’ve come a long way since 2000 and we have much more to do. Together, with the right school district and law enforcement leadership in place, including incoming Suffolk County district attorney, Tim Sini, and soon-to-be-named police commissioner, we can meet today’s challenges and achieve our goal of providing a safe, secure environment for all students.
Gary Bixhorn Executive Director Suffolk County School Superintendents Association Lars Clemensen President Suffolk County School Superintendents Association
The opinions of columnists and letter writers are their own. They do not speak for the newspaper.
DECEMBER 21, 2017 • THE VILLAGE TIMES HERALD • PAGE A11
OPINION
In a diner with Carole King, Evan Hansen and Luke Skywalker
T
his year I enjoyed “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” and “Dear Evan Hansen” on Broadway; and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” movie sequel. As the year comes to a close, I can’t help imagining a conversation in a diner among the central characters. Evan Hansen: “Hey, you want to sign my cast?” Luke Skywalker: “What?” Evan Hansen: “No, forget it. I was just, nothing. You were saying?” Carole King: “No, you asked if we wanted to sign your cast, right?” Hansen: By Daniel Dunaief “No,Evan well, I don’t know. Maybe.” Luke Skywalker: “What happened to your arm?” Evan Hansen: “It’s a long story. It’s OK. I don’t even have a pen.” Luke Skywalker: “Oh, you feel bad about your arm, which is going to heal.
D. None of the above
How do you think I feel? My father and I got into a battle a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away and this is what happened.” Evan Hansen: “Wow, that’s a scary fake hand. You win.” Carole King: “You both have scars. We all do, right? My parents divorced.” Evan Hansen: “My dad left when I was young.” Luke Skywalker: “Oh, so sorry for you. When I was born, I had to be hidden from my father, who was angry and moody and wore a mask and wanted to kill me.” Evan Hansen: “Aren’t you supposed to be a Jedi Master now? Why do you seem so angry and annoyed all the time?” Luke Skywalker: “I am a Jedi Master.” Evan Hansen: “Oh, right. So, how come you don’t sound cool and wise?” Luke Skywalker: “It’s just that I have low blood sugar and I haven’t eaten in a while and I’m not sure what to order.” Yoda: “Hmmm, not know what to order, do you?” Carole King: “Wow, you’re from far away, aren’t you?”
Yoda: “Say that, you could.” Luke Skywalker: “Master Yoda. I’m so hungry and I’m not sure whether to get the burger or the salad.” Evan Hansen: “You’re glowing, Yoda.” Yoda: “When 900 years old, and dead, you are, this good will you not look.” Luke Skywalker: “Master Yoda. What should I do?” Yoda: “Order the salad, would I. Delicious it looks. Leave you, I must.” Luke Skywalker: “Wait, but what should I get to drink?” Evan Hansen: “For a Jedi Master, you often seem to need Yoda or ObiWan to give you advice. Can’t you make your own decisions?” Carole King: “Listen, Evan, Luke here knows he has glowing friends who come running to see him again whenever he calls their name.” Evan Hansen: “They come whenever you need them? That’s cool.” Luke Skywalker: “Yeah, I guess, but I’ve been trying to spend time on my own, far away from all the ‘saving the galaxy’ responsibilities. There always seems to be another Death Star or some
young person with the ability to move rocks with his or her mind who needs guidance.” Evan Hansen: “I’m the opposite. I’m trying to help save other people to get away from my loneliness. High school is tough.” Carole King: “You got romantic issues, too, Evan, don’t you?” Evan Hansen: “No, of course not, why do you say that?” Carole King: “I can tell you feel the earth move under your feet.” Evan Hansen: “Do you have a song for everything?” Carole King: “Well, pretty much.” Luke Skywalker: “Yeah, don’t challenge her. The number of songs she’s written far exceeds the number of ‘Star Wars’ sequels.” Evan Hansen: “That is a lot. Does that include the one-off movies?” Luke Skywalker: “Yes.” Evan Hansen: “Does she know anything about trying to stop faking things?” Luke Skywalker: “Yes, and it’s not too late, baby, to learn from her.”
Whisper network that warned becomes social network that shames
A
s 2017 comes to a close, it is not an overstatement to say that this year we have lived through a revolution. And it is a revolution that is just beginning. Millions of women, drawn by the hashtag #MeToo, have come forth to put their experiences with sexual harassment, assault and rape on the record. Some men also have revealed similar heartbreaking stories of sexual predators that altered their lives. It is as if an enormous dam has By Leah S. Dunaief broken with the gut-wrenching descriptions pouring out unendingly, toppling icons of power like bowling pins. Just as Betty Friedan started the revolution we call the women’s liberation movement, so this avalanche of sordid encounters that began with revelations about Hollywood mogul
Between you and me
Harvey Weinstein has touched off a revolution but of a much faster pace than the one 50 years or so ago. Social media has helped connect these victims and carry the torch of outrage. I suppose from the earliest times when men and women have walked the earth, there have been sexual predators. Mostly the predators have been men who were able to exact what they wanted from vulnerable women who needed their protection and support, perhaps for such basics as food, clothing and shelter for themselves and their children. Once women entered the workplace in large numbers, they were often assigned to male supervisors who could advance or block their careers or even take away their jobs. Those jobs could be in Hollywood, in TV journalism, in large and small offices, in hotels, in politics, in academia, in short anywhere that there might be an imbalance of power leaving one employee vulnerable. What’s different now? The whisper network that warned has become a social network that shames. Time magazine named the Silence Breakers as 2017 Person of the Year.
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The hashtag, #MeToo, will go down in history although the movement’s founder, Tarana Burke, was not featured on the cover. Instead the group photo comprised actress Ashley Judd, former Uber engineer Susan Fowler, Visa lobbyist Adama Iwu, songstress Taylor Swift and Isabel Pascual, a Mexican strawberry picker who asked to use a pseudonym to protect her family, according to Time. They might have been anyone on the cover, although the famous attract more attention, from the doctoral candidate at a prestigious university who refused her professor’s advances and consequently was denied her degree, to the housekeeper in a hotel who goes about cleaning the bathtubs but never knows when she might be cornered by a guest or supervisor demanding sexual favors. The first time I personally knew anyone who had been a sexual victim was in college. A close friend was talking about her affair with a professor and was overheard by another student who was having the same experience. The unlikely encounter and some quick conversation revealed the same professor
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was bedding both women. In a rage, my friend confronted her lover with the words, “You are sick!” But was he sick? Or was he just acting out the culture in which he had been raised? As Time magazine wrote, “It wasn’t so long ago that the boss chasing his secretary around the desk was a comic trope, a staple from vaudeville to prime-time sitcoms.” Cultures are all pervasive, and where they are not confronted by conscience or mob outrage, they continue. On the eve of the holidays, let’s focus on a short but delightful segment from the “PBS News Hour” Tuesday night. Women confide to sometimes feeling taken advantage of financially when bringing cars to be repaired, knowing so little about the way cars work. One woman felt tired of feeling a victim, quit her job as an engineer, went to auto-mechanic school and opened up what appears to be the nation’s first all-female auto-repair shop in California. It seems to be a great success. Best of all, she no longer feels a victim. There is a moral here. Happy and healthy holidays to you and yours!
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