Half Hollow Hills Newspaper

HALF HOLLOW HILLS Copyright © 2013 Long Islander Newspapers, LLC

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N E W S P A P E R

VOLUME FIFTEEN, ISSUE 45

24 PAGES

THURSDAY, JANUARY 17 , 2013

HALF HOLLOW HILLS

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON

Petrone Will Seek Sixth Term

By Danny Schrafel dschrafel@longislandernews.com

(Continued on page A16)

By Mike Koehler mkoehler@longislandernews.com

The mere possibility of closing a school in the Half Hollow Hills School District has the public on alert and frantically looking for alternatives as district administrators weigh all their options in crafting next year’s budget.

Administrators spoke to more than 1,000 residents last week about the anticipated $9.5-million gap in next year’s budget if they want to remain under the 2percent cap. They referenced multiple options, like removing a period from the school day, combining varsity and JV teams, and eliminating summer schools.

They also announced they are considering closing Chestnut Hill Elementary, Candlewood Middle School or High School West. That would save the district $1 million, $3 million and $5 million, respectively.

Residents expressed their unhappiness with the options during the meeting, continuing in the days after.

More than 1,200 have joined the “District 5 Planners” Facebook group in opposition.

Countless posts range from suggestions to harsh criticism. Some want to consider closing an administration building, reducing administrative positions, reducing security guard positions, and reworking the existing teachers’ contract. Others complain

Candlewood Middle School is one of three schools the Half Hollow Hills School District is considering closing to bridge a $9.5 million gap, although community members are fighting against any closings. about the state mandating expenses like pensions and limiting tax increases via the cap. Calls for an audit from either the State Comptroller’s office or professionals are also popular on the site.

Alissa Taff may not be among the digital crowd clamoring to save the schools, but the president of the Sweet Hollow Civic Association shares the same message. A teacher for four years in Brooklyn and a member of the Half Hollow Hills

Board of Education from 1999-2005, Taff believes shuttering a school is not the answer to fiscal woes.

“I want to save this district with every fiber of my being,” she said.

Taff was in the community when Sunquam Elementary School was closed from 1991-1999. Governor Mario Cuomo reduced the district’s state aid by $14 million. With no connections on the board to (Continued on page A16)

HALF HOLLOW HILLS

Hills East Has Six Intel Semifinalists Photo by Felice Kristall

Frank Petrone will seek a sixth term as the Town of Huntington’s supervisor.

Petrone, 67, of Commack, said he and his wife, Pat, made the decision over the holidays. Huntington Town Democratic Committee chairwoman Mary Collins shared the news at a party fundraiser in Centerport Jan. 10.

The supervisor said he initially planned to wait until February to make the announcement, but with “gossip and idle speculation” about his plans swirling after the Jan. 8 Huntington Town Board meeting, during which he was overruled in the selection of a new town attorney, he decided not to wait.

“We should be doing better things than wagging our tongues.

That’s leadership, and I had to exert it,” he said.

Petrone’s announcement helps bring the landscape of a highly anticipated election, in which control of the town board is up for grabs, into focus. Petrone’s continued presence also brings a $434,000-

Homeowners unhappy with idea as district considers budget options Half Hollow Hills photo/Mike Koehler

Half Hollow Hills photo/Danny Schrafel

Supervisor Frank Petrone confirmed Friday he will seek a sixth term as Huntington’s supervisor.

Residents: Say No To School Closure

Half Hollow Hills East has produced six Intel semifinalists. Pictured with Academic Research Director Dr. Michael Lake, left, are, from left: Abhinav Patil, Rohan Goyal, Tammy Jin, Puja Bansal and Robert Tannenbaum. Semifinalist Jonathan Kim is not pictured.

By Mike Koehler mkoehler@longislandernews.com

Half Hollow Hills High School East performed very well in the 2013 Intel Science Talent Search, known as a prestigious research competition throughout the country.

With 1,712 students across America entering the competition, six Hills East seniors were among the 300 semifinalists named on Jan. 9. Those six were the most from any one school on Long Island; 53 total semifinalists hailed from Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Tammy Jin, Robert Tannenbaum, Jonathan Kim, Puja Bansal, Abhinav Patil and Rohan Goyal will all receive a $1,000 award. In addition, the school will receive $6,000, one for each semifinalist.

Jacob Wax, a student at Harborfields (Continued on page A21)

IN THIS WEEK’S EDITION

Schools Taking Closer Look At Security A3

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A2 • THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • JANUARY 17, 2013

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THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • JANUARY 17, 2013 • A3

MELVILLE

Berland Wins Battle Over Town Attorney Half Hollow Hills photo/ Danny Schrafel

By Danny Schrafel dschrafel@longislandernews.com

Following a dramatic floor fight, Melville’s Cindy Elan-Mangano was named the new town attorney by the Huntington Town Board Jan. 8.

The final vote was 3-2, with Councilwoman Susan Berland and Councilman Mark Mayoka, the sponsors of the resolution to name her, and Councilman Gene Cook voting yes.

Berland said Elan-Mangano’s experience as an assistant town attorney for 10 years, her performance in District Court on behalf of the town, and her previous work in the Bronx County District Attorney’s office made her an ideal choice to replace John Leo, who was elected to the State Supreme Court in November.

“I would like to see us appoint a new town attorney from the ranks of people who have given years of service to this town,” Berland said.

Calling her “extraordinarily skilled,” Mayoka said she could be a transformational leader for a new-look Town Attorney’s office.

“We need to at least make a down payment on the reorganization of our legal department, and this is a great first step,” he said.

But Berland and Mayoka faced resistance from Councilman Mark Cuthbertson and Supervisor Frank Petrone, who voted against hiring Elan-Mangano.

Cuthbertson said there are “many other qualified candidates” who are more experienced in municipal, civil service and labor law. Hiring Elan-Mangano, he said, would be tantamount to “on-the-job training.”

“I believe the town attorney has to have more facets than that,” Cuthbertson said

Cindy Elan-Mangano is sworn in Tuesday as the new town attorney by Town Clerk Jo-Ann Raia as Councilwoman Susan Berland and Elan-Mangano’s twin daughters look on. of her resume. “Her career has been dedicated to working in the criminal courts and district courts for prosecutions. Municipal law, as a town attorney, involves a lot more than that.”

Berland angrily dismissed Cuthbertson’s description as disparaging to ElanMangano’s record.

During the debate, Cuthbertson accused Berland of sandbagging the board with the resolutions, which she introduced on the floor during the board meeting.

“You don’t want to offer it at workshop, where we have the time to discuss it – Instead, we can be here under the glare of TV cameras and discuss it now,” Cuthbertson said.

Berland stressed she properly informed her colleagues, and said that even though

she followed protocol, the resolution was not added to the agenda.

“I told you that I wanted to appoint Cindy. I gave you every opportunity to speak to her,” Berland said.

That comment prompted a rebuke from the supervisor.

“Yes you did, Sue,” Petrone said.

“The problem is you talk at people, not with them.”

“No, Frank – that’s not the problem,” Berland shot back.

But even before the showdown over hiring Elan-Mangano, the town board meeting saw a number of procedural twists.

Petrone and Cuthbertson attempted to offer amendments – first, to hire Elan-Mangano as a deputy town attorney, while naming David Reilly, the current Huntington GOP

vice-chair, as town attorney. That motion failed without a second.

Then, Cuthbertson moved to again hire Elan-Mangano as the deputy, and former Appellate Division Justice Robert Lifson as town attorney. After Petrone seconded it, Berland, Mayoka and Cook defeated that motion. Berland protested each attempt to amend her resolution as out of order.

Before that, Berland floated a motion to hire Elan-Mangano as town attorney, as well as Northport’s Patricia Flynn and Huntington Station’s Margaret L. Pezzino as deputy town attorneys. The board voted against adding it to the agenda, but the discussion raised the topic of restructuring the Town Attorney’s office.

Petrone disagreed with hiring two deputies, and argued the town board should take more time to deliberate and decide on a town attorney. However, Berland and Mayoka maintained it would be best to have two deputies – one for criminal, and another for civil matters.

“Failure to act at this time is a disservice to the residents of Huntington,” Mayoka said. “If we’re going to wait another four weeks – what are we waiting for? We’re going further and further down into an abyss where we’re not taking control of the vital Town Attorney’s office.”

But Cuthbertson said having two deputy town attorneys “makes no sense.” He, Petrone and current Deputy Town Attorney Thelma Neira said that in order to have two deputies, the board would have to hold a public hearing and change the town code.

“I think the residents deserve a public hearing if you’re going to be top-heavy in the judicial department,” Petrone said.

(Continued on page A16)

MELVILLE

School Districts Reevaluate Security Procedures jbirzon@longislandernews.com

In the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, educators throughout the country are considering the implications the tragedy has for the safety of their school districts. That is no different in Huntington, where educators are actively reviewing district security measures and considering means by which to enhance those measures further.

On Jan. 9 in Melville, Bay Shore-based school technology provider A+ Technology & Security Solutions Inc. hosted a panel that featured advice from six school security experts who elaborated on best-practice techniques to secure a safer school environment.

Dozens of administrators, superintendents and security representatives from across Long Island attended the event at the Hilton Long Island, engaging the panelists with questions and concerns about safety measures. Panelists included Michael Balboni, former New York State senator and former deputy secretary for public safety and homeland security adviser for New York State, Superintendent of Nassau BOCES Dr. Tom Rogers, Superintendent of Connetquot School District Dr. Alan Groveman, retired NYPD officer Don Flynn, and David Antar, president of A+ Technology & Security Solutions.

Balboni said students are “soft targets,” often unable to defend themselves when put in threatening situations. The former senator stressed the role of infrastructure protection, avoiding predictability and “pushing out the perimeter” to increase communication with

the community about security procedures.

“We can’t lose sight of the mission of education,” he said. “We have to look at what works, what can be enhanced and consider all other vulnerabilities.”

As school districts in the Town of Huntington begin crafting their 2013-2014 budgets, safety has been at the forefront of discussion. Balboni addressed the “fiscal realities” schools throughout the state are facing, and said it is the state’s duty to ensure that schools are safe for all students, faculty and administrators.

The New York State Education Department offers school districts state aid through a number of initiatives, one of which is the Expanding Our Children’s Education & Learning (EXCEL) project.

Brenda Lentsch, spokeswoman for the Commack School District, said the district applied for an EXCEL grant five years ago – part of it was used to enhance their schools’ security systems while the rest went to investing in SMART boards.

Lentsch said the grant is “totally free money” that has allowed the district to install: IP-enabled cameras throughout every building, covering 100 percent of the school grounds; doors that lock automatically, so students and staff need to be buzzed in; and designated doors which teachers can enter using a RFID-enabled key card.

The Commack spokeswoman also said all of the schools’ security personnel are either current or ex-law enforcement officials. Their salary is the only factor that is funded by the school budget.

The South Huntington School District

Half Hollow Hills photo/Jacqueline Birzon

By Jacqueline Birzon

In Melville, David Antar, president of A+ Technology & Security Solutions, leads a discussion of school safety in light of the Sandy Hook shooting. revealed at a Jan. 9 board of education meeting that they are also considering using EXCEL grants to cover security costs.

Officials said that in response to Sandy Hook, the district has conducted an internal security review to determine areas of common need, and administrators are planning a review of building procedures in the event of a lockdown, lockout or an active threat.

South Huntington Superintendent David Bennardo said the school would analyze existing procedures, is testing a camera and intercom system, and is looking into installing panic buttons and working with the Second Precinct to re-

view emergency procedures.

In Cold Spring Harbor, Superintendent Judith Wilansky issued a statement during a Jan. 8 Board of Education meeting saying the district is also reviewing their current security procedures. She highlighted the district’s use of buzzer systems and entrance cameras, off-duty or retired police officers as security guards, hard telephone lines in case of a power outage, and security cameras on premises.

Half Hollow Hills School District spokeswoman Chris Geed said the district has always been “extremely proactive regarding security.” The district has had a solid emergency management plan for over a decade, she said, and the district has cameras at all entrances, exists, and some classrooms throughout district buildings.

Half Hollow Hills, which faces $9.5-million in cuts for their 2013-2014 budget, is “not reacting to anything,” as security has “always been a number one priority for the district,” the spokeswoman added.

“It’s a practice in this district that security is something that parents don’t have to think about because we have a quality security system in place,” Geed said.

The New York State Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) offers school districts an additional opportunity to apply for state-funded support, which must also be approved by a district’s board of education. Most BOCES grants will reimburse a district a certain percentage of their money, and districts can arrange a multi-year payment plan to relieve the financial burden of investing in technological safeguards.

A4 • THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • JANUARY 17, 2013

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POLICE REPORT Compiled by Mike Koehler

How Much Is That Doggie At Marshall’s?

Snatch And Run

Priceless… So, a friend of mine told me a story I swing by on Monday, Jan. 28 from 6:30-8 p.m., pick up the flag you flew at Town Hall and enjoy some just had to share with you. Not too long ago, my good food and company while you’re at it. friend’s little dog passed away, and she was absolutely devastated, as one usually is when a longtime comThe rules of the road in panion passes away. So, during IN THE KNOW the round… You might have a recent trip to Marshall’s, she WITH AUNT ROSIE noticed an uptick in the numdiscovered a person in the ber of traffic circles in downstore, holding the exact same type of dog – and the town Huntington recently, so pup was for sale! The owner had to part ways with this is as good a time as ever to remind everybody of the pooch for some reason – why exactly escapes me the rules of the road. According to information I – but believing it was just too good to be true, she found on the New York State DMV’s website, requickly took the person up on the offer and the dog is member this: In New York State, the right of way rule now happily at home with my friend. People talk for a rotary or traffic circle is the same as the rule for about a higher power all the time, and when things like this happen, you can’t help but wonder if it was a a roundabout. That means: Traffic about to enter the circle or rotary must yield to traffic that is in the rosign from her dearly-departed buddy that he’s not so tary or circle. So as much as your mother might have far away after all. taught you to take turns, don’t do it in this case, and don’t mutter under your breath about people not If Christmas… is the “hap-happiest season of yielding for you in the traffic circle. If they slow all,” according to Andy Williams, then the middle of down, they’re only gunking up the traffic behind January has to be among the saddest. I spent most of them, so be patient.

Saturday afternoon helping my family remove all of those bright Christmas lights and meticulously placed Lock your doors! Just in case you didn’t read last decorations. It had to get done, but I always feel so week’s paper, someone went through a Huntington bright and cheery during the holidays that it’s almost village neighborhood and rummaged through more depressing to take them down. And the rush this year, than a dozen parked cars. There’s some confusion my nieces and nephews said on the phone, was that it how many were locked and how many weren’t, but was warm now and expected to get cold again. But as when I spoke with a friend who happens to be a powe took everything down, Mother Nature rewarded lice officer, he speculated all of them were unlocked. us with gray skies, constant mist, puddles of water This officer said this is usually a crime of convenfrom earlier rain and enough fog to blind Rudolph. ience, the crooks looking for easy targets and quick Maybe next year I’ll just leave them up. money. My friend also urged motorists to keep their Flying proudly… If you participated in the Kiwa- cars free of potential treasures. And even if it doesn’t have any monetary value, it may catch the eye of a nis Club’s Field of Honor, you’ve surely noticed by passing crook and make your car a target. now that the patriotic wave of red, white and blue is no longer up at Town Hall. But as a thank-you ges(Aunt Rosie wants to hear from you! If you have comture, the Kiwanis Club is presenting those flags to ments, ideas, or tips about what’s happening in your neck their respective sponsors during a special reception at of the woods, write to me today and let me know the latHonu restaurant on New York Avenue in the village est. To contact me, drop a line to Aunt Rosie, c/o The in a few weeks. If you paid for a flag and helped Long-Islander, 149 Main Street, Huntington NY 11743. Or children go to Kamp Kiwanis, you’re welcome to try the e-mail at aunt.rosieli@gmail.com) Send a photo of your pre-school age child or your favorite pet along with a brief anecdotal background and we’ll consider it for “Baby Faces” or “Pet Faces.” For babies, include baby’s full name, date of birth, hometown and names of parents and grandparents. For pets, please include the pet’s name, age, hometown and breed, if applicable. Send to info@longislandernews.com or mail it to: Baby of the Week or Pet of the Week, c/o LongIslander, 149 Main St., Huntington, NY 11743. Please include a daytime phone number for verification purposes.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK STEPHEN PINTO

“With the opiate crisis being the worst it’s ever been, specifically on Long Island, where they’re averaging one overdoes fatality a day, it’s intense.

A lot of people are falling through the cracks.”

Life Center Enters New Chapter, PAGE A10

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Not Going Anywhere Fast Suffolk police responded to a Melville business on Jan. 11 after getting reports of criminal mischief. The complainant found the tire of a 2009 Honda CRV slashed in the company parking lot.

Was This Just A Practice Run? A Dix Hills resident contacted Suffolk County police about a burglary on Jan. 10. They found a screen removed from a window; a shed door was also discovered open.

Nothing was taken.

Thief Makes Off With A Haul A Dix Hills resident called Suffolk County police about a burglary on Jan. 10. Jewelry, credit cards and a computer were all stolen from the home.

So Much For That Door A Greenlawn resident called Suffolk County police about a burglary on Jan. 10. The front door appeared to be pushed in. Jewelry and iPads were missing.

Or Just Lock Your Door Suffolk police were dispatched to Huntington Bay on Jan. 10 about a prior theft. The complainant said an unknown person entered their unlocked Jeep Liberty and stole a pocketbook, containing credit cards.

Should Have Grabbed Orange Jumpsuits Instead Suffolk police responded to a Huntington Station luxury clothing store on Jan. 9 about a prior theft. Store staff reported two men entering on Jan. 4, taking shirts and leaving without paying for them.

HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER

A Dix Hills resident called Suffolk County police to report a break-in on Jan. 11. The complainant said someone broke the passenger-side window from their Nissan Versa the night before and stole a wallet.

expires

At Least Nobody Was On The Lawn Northport Village police arrested a Huntington Station man on Jan. 8 on multiple charges after getting reports of a suspicious vehicle. The responding officer found a vehicle stopped on a Franklin Street lawn, the engine still running and the 49-year-old driver asleep.

The man’s foot was on the brake pedal, but the transmission was in drive. Police awoke the defendant, instructing him to put the car in park and turn the engine off. When asked to produce a driver’s license, the defendant repeatedly fumbled through his wallet, passing over his New York State ID card multiple times. The officer noticed a strong odor of alcohol. Out of the car, the defendant was unsteady and had bloodshot and glassy eyes. When asked to perform several field sobriety tests, he refused. He was charged with DWI, aggressive unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, failure to wear a seatbelt and improper lane use.

Mail to: Long-Islander Newspapers, LLC. 149 Main Street, Huntington, NY 11743

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THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • JANUARY 17, 2013 • A5

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON

Anchors Up For Safe Boating Week dschrafel@longislandernews.com

The Greater Huntington Council of Yacht & Boating Clubs will host Huntington’s first Safe Boating Week in May, the group announced during a Jan. 9 dominated by boating safety topics.

Six days of programming, from May 18-23, will be held in conjunction with National Safe Boating Week, Jackie Martin, commodore of the council, said.

The July 4 boating tragedy, which killed three young children after a cabin cruiser capsized off of Lloyd Neck, served as a major catalyst.

“I’m sure that everybody in this room will be committed to making it very successful in the honor of the three children that passed away,” she said.

During that week, Martin said the Coast Guard Auxiliary will be performing vessel safety checks by appointment. Neptune Sail and Power Squadron in Northport will be used as an inspection station, and the council will also be asking member clubs with launch service, local marinas and the town to bring inspectors to vessels anchored in the harbor.

The council is also hoping to secure use of the town’s new 45-foot Coast Guard vessel for tours, and is looking to organize a Nautical Flea Market, which may be a first for Huntington.

For three days of Safe Boating Week, the town is expected to present a free New York State boating course, which will be required for all of Suffolk County’s motorized boat operators by the 2014 season, per legislation enacted in October 2012.

Local yacht clubs are being asked to host more advanced courses, at a nominal cost, for those who have already passed a state boating course. The week will conclude on May 23 with the council’s Meet the Commodores night.

Dovetailing with the council’s announcement was the first meeting of the town’s boating and safety subcommittee, which operates under the Harbor and Boating Advisory Council. The subcommittee was an outgrowth of a seminar held in August inspired by the July 4 tragedy.

“When we had the forum, it was refreshing that we had so many groups participating … and so many ideas were flowing,” Senior Harbormaster Harry Acker, co-chair of the subcommittee, told the council.

The boating safety subcommittee will be tasked with coordinating boating education, promoting boating safety, and organizing law enforcement initiatives, amongst other duties.

“We don’t want it to be just a group of talking heads sitting here and telling you what we’re going to do. We’d love you to come down to the meetings and we’re going to make room at every meeting for everybody to give their input,” Acker explained.

Tougher laws to regulate safe boating were also on the agenda. In his Exeuctive Officer’s report, past Commodore Jon Ten Haagen advocated for tying the boat registration to the completion of boating safety courses, a cause recently picked up

by Suffolk County Legislator William Spencer (D-Centerport), and for boating while intoxicated to be tied to the perpe-

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON

New Budget Report Deadline

By Danny Schrafel dschrafel@longislandernews.com

Supporters of a new rule requiring the Town of Huntington Comptroller’s Office to produce a tri-sectional financial report before the town board votes on the annual budget argue it will help them make more informed budget decisions. But opponents say it is only bound to gum up the process of creating the next year’s budget, with little added benefit.

In a 3-2 decision, the Huntington Town Board voted Jan. 8 to require the comptroller’s office to present a tri-sectional financial report to the town board no later than Oct. 15, or two weeks before the annual budget vote is on the agenda. The report includes fund balance and reserve projections as well as variances to the adopted budget for the year.

“I’m very glad I was able to garner the support for it,” Councilman Mark Mayoka, the measure’s sponsor, said.

“This is a positive step in further refining our budget process.”

Tri-sectional reports are issued three times each year, and include updated budget projections for the current fiscal year. The first report includes data up to April 30, and the second has information as of Aug. 31. A Comprehensive Annual Financial Report is the final document reviewing data for any given fiscal year.

Mayoka said he has never received the second tri-sectional report ahead of the budget adoption meeting, and that the information enclosed is “critical” in helping him and the other council members plan for the coming year.

“It’s so important,” he said. “If you’re

doing a budget, how can you not have this document?”

Councilman Gene Cook seconded the resolution, and Councilwoman Susan Berland, who was the deciding vote to adopt the new rule, agreed the tri-sectional report should be ready before the board adopts the budget.

“I didn’t necessarily think you needed a resolution to have that happen, but it was important for Councilman Mayoka to put this up and I don’t have a problem with it in theory,” Berland said.

Supervisor Frank Petrone, who voted no along with Councilman Mark Cuthbertson, said the new mandate is likely to bog down the budget process.

“I didn’t think it was responsible to vote on something after being advised by the comptroller that this is not practical and can interfere with the budget process,” Petrone said.

Cuthbertson, who has been on the board since 1998, said he has never received the second tri-sectional report before adopting the budget, and argued it is hardly vital in vetting the upcoming year’s numbers.

“That’s the height of the budget season, and the tri-sectional report is not something that is necessary to the preparation of the budget,” he said. “Why you would mandate the comptroller to do that just doesn’t make sense.”

Mayoka argued the comptroller will have ample time to do the report for the town board, and the provision is designed with flexibility in mind.

“It’s not too onerous to request the interim comptroller to produce this – you’re giving him six weeks from Aug 31 to Oct. 15 – or later,” Mayoka said.

trators’ driving record.

“If DUI is on your driver’s license, you’re going to get blasted. BUI – you pay your fine and you just have as many as you want and no one gives a damn,” Ten Haagen said. “So if we can link them together, you’re going to get hurt much sooner.”

Ten Haagen said local efforts set the stage for comprehensive state action in time for the 2013 season.

“Jersey has it. Connecticut has it. Florida has it. Hawaii has it. All kinds of states have this – why doesn’t New York, which has the fifth highest fatality rate on the water? It’s time. It’s really time.”

Half Hollow Hills photo/Danny Schrafel

By Danny Schrafel

Senior Harbormaster Harry Acker explains the three components of the town’s new boating safety committee.

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A6 • THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • JANUARY 17, 2013

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TOWN OF HUNTINGTON

Cloud Hovers Over Seasons Meal Invite Developer, board spar over dinner vouchers for project supporters Half Hollow Hills photos/Danny Schrafel

By Danny Schrafel dschrafel@longislandernews.com

Huntington’s town board chastised the Engel Burman Group, the developers behind the proposed Seasons at Elwood 55and-over senior community, for offering vouchers for a dinner meeting at the Mill Pond House in Centerport to those who appeared at a town board meeting Jan. 8 in support of their 444-unit development.

In order to attend the dinner, the invitation reads, residents “must be present at the Town of Huntington Board Meeting… in support of The Seasons at Elwood on Jan. 8, 2013 at 2 p.m.You will receive a voucher for the Meet and Greet with The Seasons at Elwood team and dinner to follow.”

Engel Burman officials said the invite list was generated using a list of people who signed an online petition supporting Engel Burman’s plans for 37-acre Oaktree Dairy Farm property on Elwood Road. However, members of the town board, including Supervisor Frank Petrone, argued the gathering was a cause for concern.

“The timing sequence: come have something to eat after they come here and participate and show their support. That timing sequence, to me, is very troubling,” Councilman Mark Cuthbertson said.

Councilwoman Susan Berland said Engel Burman’s gathering “just isn’t right,” while Councilman Gene Cook said he was “appalled” by the developer and said they wounded their supporters’ credibility.

“Anyone that gets up to talk, I’ll certainly ask them if they’re going to Mill Pond for dinner after the meeting,” he said.

Supervisor Petrone said the offer was “in bad taste.”

“Honestly, I have to tell you – this has turned this board off,” he said.

However, Beth Silverman, the director of business development for Engel Burman Group, countered that she was confident the community would see past the controversy to appreciate the merits of the project.

“I know it sounds a little surprising, but a bowl of soup has become a rallying cry for those who want to oppose this plan,” she said. “Let’s be clear – those residents who had signed a petition supporting the reinvention of this industrial property wanted to

Beth Silverman of the Engel Burman Group defends the firm’s plan to give supporters of The Seasons at Elwood a dinner voucher for a meet-and-greet meeting and dinner at the Mill Pond House.

But the Town Board criticized the move. know even more, so we invited them to a briefing session about the benefits, the design concept, traffic mitigation and more.”

But Preserving Elwood Now (PEN), a civic group formed to oppose The Seasons at Elwood, claimed it was an effort by the developer to buy support.

“The actions and tactics of Engel Burman and The Seasons organizations are looking to limit the voice of the truly concerned citizens by ‘stacking the deck’ at Town Hall,” the group said in a statement Jan. 6. “ The practices of the developer are unethical and immoral. Community residents and the Huntington Town Council

cannot, and should not, be bribed, corrupted, or swayed with false and empty promises, or an upscale meal at one of the area's best restaurants.”

Silverman insisted the development group was not attempting to curry favor with meals, and only invited Huntington residents who previously announced support for The Seasons. A guest list entered into the record by Silverman included a list of of speakers, which included where they live and when they signed the pro-Seasons petition or sent a letter in support, along with time-stamped emails of support by those on the guest list.

Silverman argued opponents of their proposal were using the Mill Pond vouchers to create a “smokescreen” and manufacture an appearance of unethical behavior. If they prevailed, she said, the biggest losers would be the Elwood community.

“If we are to debate the merits of the proposal – and we should – please let it not become an inquisition over personal ethics and the allegation that a simple bowl of soup and an entrée is the stuff that breaches the integrity of this review process,” she said. “Doing so would do a terrible injustice to the future of Elwood, this proposal and the town at large.”

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON

Cergol To Lead Community Development Agency Petrone: New role will complement her continuing work in economic development

By Danny Schrafel dschrafel@longislandernews.com

For Joan Cergol, dedicating the last 11 years of her life to helping generate economic development in the Town of Huntington has been a labor of love. Her new role as director of the town’s Community Development Agency, she said, will help her and the town pool their resources to accelerate those efforts.

The Huntington Town Board selected Cergol to head the Community Development Agency (CDA) during their Jan. 8 meeting. She replaces former director Doug Aloise, who left the position at the end of 2012.

Cergol has been a special assistant to Supervisor Frank Petrone for economic development for 11 years. She has also served as executive director for the town’s Economic Development and Lo-

cal Development CorpoU.S. Department Housrations. ing and Urban Develop“I love what I do, and I ment. love where I do it. I live Putting her in this in this town, I’m a lifenew post, Petrone said, long resident, so the complements her curwork I do is very meanrent roles as executive ingful on a personal levdirector at the town’s el,” Cergol said. “I bedevelopment agencies lieve all of us serving the and brings all of the public want to leave town’s community deHuntington better than velopment resources unthey found it, and I’m der one umbrella. grateful for these oppor“Joan has done the tunities.” economic development Joan Cergol Cergol will head an here, and all that blends agency tasked with managing the federal- into community development,” Petrone ly-funded Community Development said. “This just solidifies the structure Agency, which distributes annual Com- and puts us on track for a much smoother munity Development block grants operation.” through town government. The grants are Cergol said that her first tasks at provided to towns by the Department of CDA, which aims to meet community

needs with a focus on low- to middleincome residents, addressing blight and promoting economic development, will be to re-energize a long-planned business incubator in Huntington Station, follow through on the Columbia Terrace “Take Back the Blocks” affordable housing development and continue working with Renaissance Downtowns, the town’s master developer for Huntington Station.

Now with the development functions consolidated under one roof, Cergol said she’s looking forward to bringing the town’s community development efforts to a new level.

“I’ve already worked closely with the CDA in last 11 years,” she said. “I will continue my work in the economic development arena, which will be strengthened and supported by the staff of there [at CDA].”

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TOWN OF HUNTINGTON

Dedicated Group A ‘League’ Of Their Own Entering their 40th year, focus on welfare of Huntington’s shelter pets remains strong Half Hollow Hills photo/Danny Schrafel

Sixteen-year League for Animal Protection volunteer Dorothy Luik pets Aussie, a petite, female 1-to-2-year old German Shepherd-Pit Bull mix, as Animal Control officer Liz Maffe takes the lead.

By Danny Schrafel dschrafel@longislandernews.com

At the Town of Huntington’s animal shelter campus on Deposit Road in East Northport, dozens of big-hearted volunteers are crucial players in caring for the shelter pets and helping find forever homes for those cats and dogs.

Founded in 1973, the League for Animal Protection of Huntington is an allvolunteer, non-profit organization dedicated to the rescue, care and rehabilitation of stray, abandoned and abused animals in Huntington.

“We’ve been supportive of the league, they’ve been supportive of us,” Supervisor Frank Petrone said. “Our staff at the dog shelter works hand in hand with their volunteers, and we’re on a continuous basis where it’s continuous change.”

Gerald Mosca, the shelter supervisor for the town, said the league’s volunteers have provided invaluable aid as an extension of the shelter for the better part of two decades.

“We’re really lucky to have them,” he said. “They come in and walk the dogs, spend time with them… Outside the building, they try to post as many dogs as they can on their websites, write up stories about the dogs, put them in different areas like PetFinders and take the dogs to different events.”

The volunteers also place follow-up calls to families who have adopted from the shelter, assist customers in person, and fully operate the town’s Grateful Paw Cat Shelter, which they built in 1982 in an agreement with the Town of Huntington.

But their biggest contribution might be their fundraising prowess, which provides critically needed funds to pay for all vet bills, ranging from routine spay-neuter to emergency care.

“They get a lot of money donated for medical problems,” Mosca said. “We just had a dog that came in that had a harness on since it’s been a puppy. It grew completely into the dog, and the harness had to be surgically removed.”

Jane Barbato, head of the League of Animal Protection’s dog volunteer program, said they have about 30 dog volunteers, with 15 “stalwarts” who are there as often as they can be. Most of the volunteers, Barbato noted, have full-time jobs. Barbato has been involved at the shelter for 13 years.

“We have the best dogs in the world. We just have phenomenal dogs that have survived in the shelter system for a very long time,” she said “It is a very good shelter, but it is very stressful. Any shelter is stressful, and these dogs hang in there day after day.”

The main task for volunteers, Barbato said, is to provide affection and companionship as they prepare the dogs in their care for their ultimate destination – a forever home.

“Mostly, we just love them. We sit and hold them. I know that sounds kind of corny, but sometimes that’s all a dog needs,” she said. “It’s the best part of my week.”

For more information about the league, visit www.laphuntington.org. Or, call 631757-4517 to inquire about adopting a cat or 631-757-9373 to get more information about dogs up for adoption.

THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • JANUARY 17, 2013 • A7

A8 • THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • JANUARY 17, 2013

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Opinion

Not Goodbye; Just A Slight Change Of Focus

‘Not the types set up by the printer return their impression, the meaning, the main concern.’

Let The Games Begin The election season is shaping up in the Town town board at stake, it would be surprising if eiof Huntington and with possible control of the ther incumbent did not run. town board at stake, it is likely to be a hot one.

The town board is not the only hot spot; Supervisor Frank Petrone announced last Highway Superintendent William Naughton is week that he will seek a sixth term. His an- up for reelection. Naughton, a Democrat who nouncement came earlier than he’d planned, has publicly criticized his own party, and taken he said, on the heels of a threethe board to court, hasn’t yet anparty battle to appoint a new EDITORIAL nounced his intentions. He is facing a town attorney. An alliance beserious challenge from Parks Departtween Democrat Susan Berland, Republican ment Director Don McKay. Mark Mayoka and Independence Party memThe Town is facing tough issues. Hurricane ber Gene Cook prevailed and Berland’s candi- cleanup and the globally-sluggish economy date got the job. bring financial challenges to everyday governBerland makes no secret of a desire to run for ment as well as Huntington Station revitalizaSupervisor and her power play over the town at- tion and other initiatives. torney appointment was the spark that started As everyone learned just last week, party enthe campaign season. It’s a pivotal campaign rollment doesn’t guarantee how an individual with the supervisor’s job and two of the four re- votes or acts – and that’s the way it should be. maining town board seats up for grabs. Mark We’d like to think that the best interests of the Cuthbertson, a Democrat, and Mark Mayoka, a town and the people whose tax dollars make it Republican, have not said whether they will hum come first. With that in mind, we’re lookseek reelection. With possible control of the ing forward to a spirited campaign.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Something’s Gotta Give DEAR EDITOR: The editorial and report on Jan. 10, 2013 tell us about the Half Hollow Hill School District projection of an 8.5-percent tax increase for the 2013-2014 school year. Having been a resident of this school district for 23 years, I have watched the budget rise faster than the rate of inflation almost every year.

Now that the number of children going to school in this district is decreasing, the budget continues to go up. No one can rationally say that we do not currently spend too little per child for their education.

My biggest concern is: What will the increases be in 2014-2015 and year after year after that? Is there no end to the increases? Unfortunately my salary does not continue to rise at anywhere near the rate of the tax increases.

Something has got to give after a while.

ROBERT LAPORTA

Dix Hills

Ready For The New Year?

DEAR EDITOR: When we asked our chamber members that question last year the overwhelming response was, “Yes, our plans for a great year are all set.” Even before the crystal

ball descended upon the revelers at Times Square, well thought-out budgets had been planned, annual marketing strategies were in place and many businesses throughout Long Island were planning expansions and new product lines.

We hoped the economic challenges American business had faced for several years would be disappearing. There was an air of confidence as we awaited support from government and lenders.

Things were certainly looking better and most of us were anxious to get back to an era of growth and prosperity.

The "buzz" along the Route 110 Corridor was excellent. Business, large and small, was starting to rebound. Business leaders were poised to take advantage of new opportunities that would get the economy of Long Island back on track.

As 2012 progressed, your chamber moved to support you.

We worked closely with federal, state, county and town leaders to aggressively tackle the challenges of public transportation, community development, education and support of those in need. When road construction caused added traffic or stood in the way of doing business the Melville Chamber made the calls that provided positive solutions.

Nothing could stop the energy felt

HALF HOLLOW HILLS N E W S P A P E R

Serving the communities of: Dix Hills, Melville and the Half Hollow Hills Central School District.

Founded in 1996 by James Koutsis Copyright © 2013 by PFH Media Group NY, LLC, publishers of The Long-Islander, The Record/Northport Journal and Half Hollow Hills Newspaper. Each issue of the The Half Hollow Hills Newspaper and all contents thereof are copyrighted by PFH Media Group NY, LLC. None of the contents or articles may be reproduced in any forum or medium without the advance express written permission of the publisher.

Infringement hereof is a violation of the Copyright laws.

along the 110 Corridor, the heartbeat of Long Island's business community. Not even the violent hurricane and its aftermath that hit the east coast in late fall of 2012. Thousands of homes and local businesses were damaged, many destroyed by the water, wind and loss of power.

It will be a very long time before Long Island forgets the ravages handed to us by Mother Nature in 2012. We will also remember the strength of this great community of Long Islanders who working side by side not only pulled us through the storm but continue 24/7 to make Long Island stronger and better than ever.

Just take a quick look around.

There is much to be proud of. Special appreciation goes to those volunteers, tradesmen, first responders and the many who traveled from other regions of the nation who continue to work so very hard on our behalf. Our towns and neighborhoods will soon be as good as new, even better.

Happy New Year! The Melville Chamber celebrates all Long Islanders. You are certainly ready for 2013 as we live, work and do business in this most excellent community.

MICHAEL DELUISE

President Melville Chamber of Commerce

For the past seven years, it has been my privilege to serve as custodian of Walt Whitman’s LongIslander and her sister papers.

Serving as publisher and CEO of any newspaper is an awesome responsibility requiring skill and integrity: to guide the chronicling of a community, to serve as a mirror reflecting a people’s way of life, and to advocate for the best interests of the community.

Inheriting that task from Walt Whitman, perhaps the greatest chronicler of the American way of life in the 19th Century, makes the challenge even more awesome. Yes, there were a few publishers who came between Walt and me, but the that fact he founded our flagship paper and was born in the Town of Huntington, makes The Long-Islander and our entire newsgroup, Walt Whitman’s papers forever and sets for us a very high bar of journalistic integrity.

And the Town of Huntington, Long Island… there are none better. Wow, the culture, the progressive outlook, the diversity, the people, and of course the restaurants make it like no other on the Island. Between the Hamptons and Manhattan, Huntington is THE place on Long Island to live, work and play.

And boy, did I enjoy it.

As you have probably read or heard, my company has sold the papers, and now, a new custodian assumes that awesome responsibility of keeping the official voice of Huntington honest and true.

Me, I’m not walking away.

The word retirement uncomfortably rolls off my lips and nags at the spirit of this person who has loved being in the center of the action. So, I’m going to hang around a bit. I’ll be remaining on with the new company as consultant. I will be writing – hopefully frequently – about this town, its spirit, its people, its politics and its challenges, all of which I’ve come to know over the past seven years publishing this newspaper. I hope to continue to work with some people and causes I enjoy and believe in and I certainly will take advantage of the quality of life Huntington village offers. Yes, I may travel more, I may relax and play more, but how can I not come back to dine at Jonathan’s, Neraki or Prime and break bread with some people who have given me a lifetime of memories – so Frank and Mark and Stu and Fonti and

company, get ready.

Peter, Luann and a superb editorial staff have done me, The Long-Islander, and Huntington proud with as fine a journalistic effort as one can hope for from a community newspaper. Bravo!

Town Hall, Huntington government – filled with a quite number of friends – continues, in spite of new challenges, to pave a progressive blueprint for Huntington’s future.

Public servants like Doc Spencer and Jon Cooper and business leaders like Bob Bontempi, Larry Kushnick and our Man-of-the-Year Mike DeLuise are examples of the superlatives of volunteerism of the Huntington community.

Organizations like Huntington Arts Council, HBCAC, and the Walt Whitman Birthplace have demonstrated to me that the notfor-profit world is a vital part of any community but even more so in Huntington.

The arrival of The Paramount has awakened new rhythms of opportunity for an already vibrant downtown. But there is another downtown, centered around the railroad station that requires the support and creativity of all of us.

The undertaking of the revitalization of Huntington Station is the most critical of projects that will perhaps be the way the future judges today’s Huntington.

Education in an economically challenging time will remain the single most compelling issue in every residential community across Long Island. And the ongoing challenge of providing housing to keep our young on Long Island and our seniors happy at home will continue to raise the controversies we witness every time a developer looks at a parcel of land.

Such a list of challenges presents too much opportunity for me to leave Huntington, The LongIslander and my friends. So, this is not goodbye – just a slight change of focus.

There are many phone calls that I owe and many lunches I hope to eat . . . but of equal importance, there are many columns I intend to write.

Keep in touch; let me know what’s on your mind – you’ll be reading what’s on mine.

Michael Schenkler served as publisher and CEO of Long Islander Newspapers from 2006 to 2013 and can be reached at MSchenkler@GMail.com.

Peter Sloggatt Associate Publisher/Managing Editor Luann Dallojacono Editor Mike Koehler Associate Editor Danny Schrafel Jacqueline Birzon Reporters

Susan Mandel Advertising Director Ian Blanco Dan Conroy Production/ Art Department

Marnie Ortiz Office / Legals

Michele Caro Larry Stahl Account Executives

149 Main Street, Huntington, New York 11743 631.427.7000

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THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • JANUARY 17, 2013 •

Life&Style ARTS

Art Comes Easy To Patricia Shih Artist, glassworker shares her talents with Huntington in the visual and performing arts Made In Huntington

By Jasmine Weber info@longislandernews.com

Patricia Shih is a bona fide triple threat: painter, glass artist and musician.

She started off her professional career in the arts after earning her degree from the Academy of Art College in San Francisco with a major in painting and minor in photography. During her college years she discovered another passion: glasswork. Soon after, she relocated to Huntington and brought her artistic talents with her.

She earned a cooperative degree from Lone Mountain College in San Francisco to gain knowledge on the craft. Shih said, dur-

ing that period, “I fell in love with glass.”

Following her graduation she created a glass department at The Academy of Art College and taught both beginner and advanced classes for more than two years.

She moved to the East Coast and settled in Huntington, where she taught glass art for 20 years at Nassau Community College.

Shih continues in her glass-making career, still creating commission pieces.

She considers herself to be a fine artist and works with the needs of her clients to create personalized and unique pieces of artwork.

Despite her talents in the visual arts, Shih said, “Right now, and for the past 26 years, my main focus has been singing and performing and writing for children.”

She tours the country to perform in schools, libraries, parks and music festivals for children, playing a set of educational and interactive songs with “lots of audience participation,” often on Long Island.

She has been a singer since her adolescence, going professional at 15 years old

and snagging a recording contract at 16.

She was inspired to move her musical interests from genres geared towards adults to children and families when she moved to Huntington.

“I was introduced to a whole community of wonderful artists… Huntington has a tremendous art community,” Shih said. It was Janice Buckner, fellow children’s musician and Long Island resident, who initially encouraged her.

Completely aware of the impressionability of children, Shih said she always portrays a message in her music. She believes it is vital for musicians for children to “make sure the values you’re putting in your songs are positive ones”. She focuses on themes such as bullying, multiculturalism and environmentalism.

Shih is also a published author, former host of the television show “Tell Me a Story,” and has released six CDs. For more information on Shih and her music, visit www.patriciashih.com. Inquiries about her artwork and music can be sent to patricia@patriciashih.com.

Huntington artist Patricia Shih personally handcrafts glasswork on commission.

HISTORY

Whitman On The Prairie: An 1879 Journey

By George Wallace info@longislandernews.com

Walt Whitman’s all-embracing visionary voice seems broad enough to have embraced all of America, not to say the Cosmos, in Leaves of Grass.

Yet how much of America did he actually see?

His time on the Atlantic Seaboard, mainly New York and Philadelphia, is well documented. So was his sojourn in Washington, DC and, to a lesser extent, his time in New Orleans.

But a lesser known trip later in the life of the Huntingtonborn poet made a big impact on America‘s Good Gray Poet – and it took him across country from Philadelphia through Kansas and on to Denver and back.

The journey, taken at the age of 60, is detailed in Whitman’s book “Specimen Days.” It offers a strong sense of the regard Whitman held for the mid-section of America as the vortex for the nation‘s future cultural voice.

According to Robert R. Hubach, writing in the Kansas Historical Quarterly in 1941, the impression which the prairies of Illinois, Missouri and Kansas made upon Whitman is remarkable. They were “America’s Characteristic Landscape,” writes Hubach. “He saw that in the Mississippi valley region, more than even in the majestic Rocky Mountains, lay the future of American culture.”

Whitman stated it so clearly in his poem “The Prairie States,” written in 1880 after his trip. He looked with prophetic vision to the Great Plains, and saw that it was to them that the entire past had been working: “A newer garden of creation, no primal solitude, Dense, joyous, modern, populous millions, cities and farms, With iron interlaced, composite, tied, many in one, By all the world contributed freedom’s and law’s and thrift’s society, The crown and teeming paradise, so far, of time’s accumulations, To justify the past.”

That was written less than a year after Whitman traveled west – 1879. Whitman was 60 years old and infirm, yet he accepted the invitation of Col. John W. Forney and the Old

A trip west at the age of 60 offered poet Walt Whitman a strong sense of the regard for the mid-section of America as the vortex for the nation‘s future cultural voice.

Settlers of Kansas committee to be present at the quartercentennial celebration of the settlement of Kansas at Bismarck Grove, near Lawrence, Kan., on Sept. 15 and 16.

“The gathering proved to be one of the largest political meetings in the history of the state up to that time; one newspaper correspondent estimated that between 25,000 and 30,000 people were in attendance,” wrote Hubert.

Though recovering from a stroke and often quite feeble, Whitman minutely describes his long trip west in “Specimen Days.”

“I agreed to go, provided I was not asked to speak nor eat any public dinners. I am only to show myself. I shall not make speeches or eat public dinners, but the people will have an opportunity to see this big, saucy red rooster, whom they might otherwise think would speak,” he wrote.

At Kansas City, which Whitman reached on the evening of Sept. 13, a specially appointed committee of four men met him and accompanied him by train to Lawrence, where he stayed at 1425 Tennessee St., the home of Judge John P. Usher, secretary of the interior under Lincoln and mayor of Lawrence at the time of their visit.

A local newspaper gave account of his appearance: “Walt Whitman is a man well advanced in years and his snowwhite hair and the long white beard which grows upon a large portion of his face give him a decidedly venerable appearance. He wore a gray traveling suit and his shirtbosom was left open at the neck, something after the fashion of the Goddess of Liberty as shown on a fifty-cent piece. He walks with a cane, using considerable care, as he has not fully recovered from a paralytic stroke.”

In a short speech which he had planned to deliver at the Bismarck Grove meeting, Whitman exhorted the people of Kansas to pattern their creative efforts after “that vast Something” peculiar to the “interminable and stately prairies.”

Whitman repeated time and again in Leaves of Grass the fact that he saw in the west the coming fruition of what would someday be a truly American contribution to the arts – something uninfluenced by foreign conventions or models and as boundless and free as the plains themselves.

But in this one little speech – never given, but recalled in “Specimen Days” – Whitman makes his point of view clear: “I have roll’d rapidly hither for more than a thousand miles, through fair Ohio, through bread-raising Indiana and Illinois—through ample Missouri, that contains and raises everything…Under these skies resplendent in September beauty—amid the peculiar landscape you are used to, but which is new to me—these interminable and stately prairies. In the freedom and vigor and sane enthusiasm of this perfect western air and autumn sunshine…it seems to me a poem would be almost an impertinence.”

A10 • THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • JANUARY 17, 2013

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TOWN OF HUNTINGTON

Life Center Enters A New Chapter Multifaceted counseling and health services program celebrates grand re-opening Spotlight On

Huntington Businesses

By Danny Schrafel dschrafel@longislandernews.com

After five years in the business of helping people, Huntington’s Life Center is now making its home at a new address on Carver Street.

Staff members celebrated during a ribbon cutting ceremony Jan. 9, during which Town Clerk Jo-Ann Raia, Legislator William Spencer (D-Centerport) and Fr. Stephen Donnelly of St. Patrick’s Church welcomed the Life Center to its new home.

The Life Center moved to 17 East Carver St. in Huntington on Oct. 29 from Wall Street, bringing with it the mission of assisting clients with mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, phobias, drug and alcohol addiction, anger problems, self esteem issues, eating disorders, marriage and family concerns and divorce mediation.

“It’s comfortable – it’s on the quiet side of Carver,” founder and co-owner Barbara Posillico explained. “We were in a very, very medical setting, and I think this is better because of the environment we try to create.”

Mother-daughter team Kay and Barbara Posillico opened a wellness center five

years ago that combines counseling and psychotherapy with acupuncture, nutrition, massage, hypnotherapy, life coaching, divorce mediation and Reiki healing.

“The whole premise is to combine those services whenever necessary for the wellness of the whole person,” Barbara said.

“What we do is collaborate a lot and work as a team. The people really appreciate that. It makes it convenient for the client.”

In recent years, addiction-recovery services have become a major focus, said Stephen Pinto, the Life Center’s director of operations. Pinto, who got his start with Family Service League before moving on to the Long Island Council of Alcoholism and Drug Dependence before joining the Life Center team in October, said the spike in abuse of heroin and other opium-based drugs have forced treatment facilities to be more innovative.

“With the opiate crisis being the worst it’s ever been, specifically on Long Island, where they’re averaging one overdoes fatality a day, it’s intense. A lot of people are falling through the cracks,” Pinto said.

In addition to the new focus on addiction services, Pinto has helped develop an adolescent anger management program, which is amongst the first on Long Island.

“It’s not about the elimination of it [anger],” he said. “It’s about the management of it and how we’re looking to manage these emotions across the board.”

Relapse prevention services are a linchpin of the Life Center’s multifaceted and comprehensive approach to drug and alcohol abuse treatment, Pinto said. And if a relapse should happen, the goal is to have the client back to living clean as

Town Clerk Jo-Ann Raia, Fr. Stephen Donnelly of St. Patrick’s Church and Legislator William Spencer celebrate the ribbon cutting for The Life Center with mother-daughter founders Kay and Barbara Posillico. quickly as possible.

“We understand relapse can be a part of recovery, but how we can teach people to live sober, especially when we’re dealing with the strongest narcotic on the planet?”

Pinto said. “If there is going to be a relapse, how can we minimize that run?”

Getting recovery to stick for the long

People In The News After serving as an associate at the eld- Directors for Dowling’s Center for Iner law and estate planning firm Genser tergenerational Policy and Practice.

Dubow Genser & Cona (GDGC) in “My goal is to continue to provide leMelville for the past seven years, Paul gal services of the highest quality while Hyl, 38, has been named partner. giving our clients excellent Hyl manages GDGC’s Trust service and personal attenand Estates Department and contion. Our philosophy of gocentrates his practice in the areas ing the extra mile for our of estate planning, trust and esclients is what has made tate administration, probate, esGDGC so successful over tate litigation and special needs the years. I plan to build on planning. In addition to helping that to grow my departpeople with their legal and estate ment and the firm,” Hyl issues, he will also be responsisaid. ble for managing and growing Ranked in the top 15 perhis department. cent of his class, Hyl While advising clients at any earned his Juris Doctor Paul Hyl asset level, Hyl offers estate and from St. John’s University tax planning strategies to high School of Law. He was the net worth clients. He also concentrates publications editor for the American his practice on the unique estate plan- Bankruptcy Institute Law Review and ning needs for second marriages and vice president of public interest for the blended families.

American Bar Association, St. John’s “Paul is a valuable member of our legal chapter. team. He is respected by his colleagues He obtained a B.A. Degree in psycholfor his breadth of knowledge and creative ogy from Dowling College and graduated planning strategies. Clients love Paul be- with honors. He was the recipient of the cause he is patient, easy to talk to and Dr. Luicen Buck Scholarship for Excelbreaks down complex information into lence in Psychology. concepts that are easy to understand,” Hyl is a former volunteer firefighter said managing partner Jennifer Cona. and EMT. Prior to joining GDGC, Hyl was an attorney with Brosnan & Hegler, LLP Dix Hills resident Susan Friedman based in Garden City, where he was of has been selected to serve as the 17th counsel to the Nassau County Public Legislative District’s representative on Administrator. the Suffolk County Women’s Advisory Hyl currently serves as the vice co- Commission, appointed by Legislator chair of the Nassau County Bar Associ- Lou D’Amaro (D-N. Babylon). ation’s Elder Law Committee and is an Friedman is an insurance coverage atadjunct professor at Dowling College, torney with Marsh & McLennan who where he also serves on the Board of does risk advising. She is also a con-

term, Pinto said, is all about applying them to daily life.

“The difference between is between understanding and applying,” he said.

“We’ve had a tough time with the application process. A lot of people understand what they need to do, but it’s about applying those and putting them into practice.”

Compiled by Luann Dallojacono

Suffolk Legislator Lou D’Amaro, right, discusses women’s initiatives and concerns with his new Suffolk County Women’s Advisory Commission designee, Susan Friedman of Dix Hills. tributing editor to The New York Law Journal and sits on the editorial board of the insurance section of the International In-House Counsel Journal.

Friedman is the co-founder of the Marsh WEBB (Women's Executive Business to Business Network), which has over 500 members. The Marsh WEBB's mission is to advance the interests of women and is now international in scope.

Throughout her career, Friedman has been committed to identifying personal and professional issues of importance to women and developing initiatives in response to those issues.

The Suffolk County Women’s Advisory Commission was established in 2000. Each Suffolk County legislator appoints one member to represent his or her district.

“Susan Friedman has been a strong advocate for women both locally and throughout the New York Metropolitan area,” D’Amaro said. “She is a proven leader and a role model for the entire community. I know Ms. Friedman will be an outstanding representative, as her predecessor Patricia Kielawa was, and I thank her for agreeing to serve in this volunteer position.”

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THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • JANUARY 17, 2013 • A11

COMEDY

Commack Native Prunes ‘Garden Of Laughs’

By Hannah Sarisohn info@longislandernews.com

Sportscaster Bob Costas, a native of Commack, will host a comedy event for charity at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 26.

A Commack native is heading up a celebrity-studded comedy show at Madison Square Garden next weekend.

Hosted by former Commack resident Bob Costas, the Garden of Laughs on Jan. 26, a stand-up comedy event to benefit the Garden of Dreams Foundation, includes stand-up acts from Adam Ferrara, Darrell Hammond, Robert Klein, Ray Romano and Wanda Sykes.

Costas, who graduated from Commack High School South in 1970, is no stranger to the spotlight. Costas’ first sports-announcing gig dates back to his undergraduate years at Syracuse University, where he announced for the Syracuse Blazers, a minor league hockey team.

After graduating Syracuse’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication, Costas headed to St. Louis, where he announced for the American Basketball Associations’ Spirits of St. Louis.

Since his career began, Costas has announced for professional hockey, basketball and football, and announced more than five Olympic Games. He frequently appears on numerous sports radio and television talk shows, such as “Costas on the Radio” and “Rock Center with Brian Williams.”

However, Costas won’t be the only acclaimed celebrity at the Garden of Laughs

event. Joining the Costas and the comedians will be Garden of Dreams Foundation board member Whoopi Goldberg, former Ranger Adam Grave, actors John Leguizamo and Brooke Shields, and sports announcer John McEnroe among others.

The Garden of Dreams Foundation is a non-profit organization created by The Madison Square Garden Company. Its goal is to raise money to make dreams come true for children facing obstacles, such as illness or poverty. Throughout the year, the organization holds meet and greets with athletes and celebrities, a week long “Dream Week” summer camp as well as programs with the Rockettes.

“We are grateful to all the participants who have generously donated their time and talent to be a part of this memorable evening to benefit the Garden of Dreams Foundation,” said Hank Ratner, president and chief executive officer of The Madison Square Garden Company and chairman of the Garden of Dreams Foundation board. “Through this fundraising benefit we will be able to create even more memorable opportunities and experiences for children.”

For more information about the Garden of Dreams Foundation, visit www.GardenofDreamsFoundation.org. Tickets for this event range from $50-$100 and can be purchased at www.theateratmsg.com, or through Ticketmaster.

PERFORMING ARTS

A New Year Of Sparkling Entertainment Center for performing arts looks forward to exciting season of theater, music The New Year brings with it many things, and one of them is a new season at the Dix Hills Center for the Performing Arts.

The center kicks off its new season this weekend, with an exciting year ahead of it.

Highlights include: Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m. “The Wild Women of Comedy.” The center will present a showcase of exceptional female comedians produced by seasoned comics Kit Stewart and Anne LiPuma.

Jan. 20 at 2 p.m. “The Magic of Thaddeus.” Thaddeus, Long Island’s most popular children’s magician, returns to the center with an all-new musical magical adventure.

Jan. 26 at 7:30 p.m. “Joe Piscopo’s Thrill Ride of Song, Stylings & Very Funny Stuff.” Joe Piscopo, one of America’s most popular comedy concert attractions, comes to Dix Hills for the first time. He will be joined by his top-notch band.

Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m. “Tribute to the Great Jazz Organists, Nancy Wilson and Tap!” A cabaret-style evening featuring pianist-organist TW Sample, vocalist Charisa Rouse and tap dancer Maurice Chestnut.

Feb. 2 at 7:30 p.m. Mostly Moptop in “Two of Us: The Ballad of John & Paul.”

Mostly Moptop returns to the center with a shared commemoration of Paul McCartney’s 70th birthday and the annual February anniversary of the Beatles’ arrival in America in 1964. The show will perform the greatest of Lennon & McCartney’s Beatles-era music, while also taking the audience through each icon’s music.

Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m. “Arnie Gruber Sings ‘My Funny Valentine’ and other Great Songs,” will feature Arnie Gruber and his band performing the greatest love songs of Porter, Rodgers, Mercer, Bacharach, Sond-

heim and more.

Feb. 9 at 7:30 p.m. “Horn Power Tribute to Tower of Power, Steely Dan and More” with Uppercut, a nine-piece highenergy funk, rock and R&B group whose repertoire is dedicated to the great horn bands of the last 40 years.

Feb. 10 at 2 p.m. Gathering Time presents “Great Love Songs of the 1960s.” Get back to the days of young love with timeless, memorable and melodic songs, featuring the music of the Beatles, The Monkees, America, Joni Mitchell and more.

Feb. 16 at 2 p.m. “Eagles Tribute with Desert Highway.” Desert Highway has earned a reputation as one of the truest sounding Eagles tribute bands in America.

Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. “The Amazing Accordian Kings,” featuring Frank Toscano, Angelo DiPippo and Manny Corallo, three master musicians who have created beautiful arrangements and cover the spectrum of music styles from opera to jazz.

Feb. 22 at 7:30 p.m. “James Taylor Tribute with Copperline,” featuring nine musicians leading you through decades of J.T.’s most memorable songs including favorites such as “Fire and Rain,” “Carolina on My Mind,” and “Shower the People.”

Mar. 7-10, “The Nerd,” a theatrical comedy.

Mar. 15, at 7:30 p.m. “Dr. K’s Motown Review” with seven musicians and four lead vocalists who will transform the audience back to the Motown era, performing hits by The Supremes, The Temptations, Martha and the Vandellas and many others.

Mar. 16 at 7:30 p.m. “The Music of Billy Joel featuring Captain Jack,” performing Billy Joel’s acclaimed repertoire, delighting audiences with its energetic performance, style and banter of timeless

Helping kick off an exciting year at the Dix Hills Performing Arts Center on Jan. 26 is Joe Piscopo, one of America’s most popular comedy concert attractions. rock ’n’ roll music.

Mar. 22 at 7:30 p.m. “Suffolk Horns,” one of Long Island’s top bands makes its Dix Hills premiere, playing the best of Chicago, James Brown, Johnny and Edgar Winter, The Blues Brothers and more.

Mar. 23 at 7:30 p.m. “An Evening with Vocalist Giada Valenti.” The master songstress returns to center stage in Dix

Hills, performing popular Italian songs as well as top romantic hits from the 1960s through ’80s.

The Dix Hills Performing Arts Center is located at Five Towns College, 305 North Service Road, Dix Hills. For more information and ticket sales, contact the box office at 631-656-2148 or visit online at www.DHPAC.org.

A12 • THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • JANUARY 17, 2013

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Photo/Little Shelter

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON

Little Shelter’s Hopes On ‘Shop For A Cause’ Fundraiser

By Jacqueline Birzon jbirzon@longislandernews.com

A woman walks a dog outside the destroyed kennel just days after Superstorm Sandy demolished the home of 12 dogs.

After Superstorm Sandy demolished the building that was home to 12 dogs at Little Shelter Animal Rescue and Adoption Center in Huntington, the center is

Shelter Me, O God A Martin Luther King Jr. Multicultural, Interfaith Service and Choir Concert For Hungry, Homeless and Ill-Housed Long Islanders

MONDAY, JANUARY 21st 2013 2:00-3:30 PM (Reception Immediately to Follow Featuring Exhibits of Programs That Support Hungry, Homeless and Ill-Housed People in Huntington and on Long Island)

Suffolk Y Jewish Community Center 74 Hauppauge Road, Commack ADMISSION: We teamed up with rockCANroll to beat hunger. Please bring a healthy and nutritious food donation for local food pantries.

For a complete list of most-needed foods go to www.rockCANroll.org

Among the Participating Huntington Choirs: • Light of Salvation Chorus • St. Philip Neri R.C. Choir

• Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Huntington • Bethel AME Church Choir

Directions: Take the LIE to Exit 53 (Commack Road.) Go north on Commack Road about 3 miles and make a left on Hauppauge Road (the Commack Public Library is on the west corner on your left.) The Suffolk JCC is ahead about a quarter mile on your right at 74 Hauppauge Road.

(Additional parking is in the rear of the building.)

(For information contact Dr. Richard Koubek: rkmicahli@gmail.com)

seeking the community’s help to rebuild what was lost.

On Jan. 26, the shelter is teaming up with Saks Fifth Avenue at the Walt Whitman Shops to host a fundraiser. If a customer says “charity” at checkout, 10 percent of their purchase will go toward rebuilding the lost kennel. The kennel will cost approximately $2,000 to rebuild.

According to Tito Colon, events and operations coordinator at Little Shelter, 18 trees came down on the property and dogs were moved into employee’s offices as a safer alternative.

“We had to do what we had to do, and it’s sad. There’s dogs dying out there and we’re trying our best to keep [taking in dogs] and put them in our other kennels,” he said.

Little Shelter is a no-kill shelter – they rescue dogs from being euthanized at kill shelters after they remain unclaimed for a certain period of time. The Huntington shelter saves these animals and keeps them under their supervision and care until someone ultimately comes to bring them home. All animals are vaccinated, spayed and neutered and are “completely taken care of” before an owner takes them home.

Colon said the shelter typically keeps roughly 450 cats at any given time, and between 40-50 dogs.

The shelter recently co-hosted a dog fashion show fundraiser with FerrariMaserati and plans to sponsor others until they reach their fundraising goal to replace the kennel.

“We’re keeping our fingers crossed. We want to keep helping these animals,” Colon said. “That’s always been our goal.”

Shop For A Cause will begin at 10 a.m. and run until 9:30 p.m. at Saks. All items, with the exception of Louis Vuitton merchandise, will be included in the fundraising event.

Money spent in the community stays in the community.

ItStarts

Here

BUY LOCALLY

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THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • JANUARY 17, 2013 • A13

SOUTH HUNTINGTON

St. Anthony’s Rocketeers Take Off For NASA Test

By Nicole Brems info@longislandernews.com

A local high school’s rocket and aviation club is one of only 21 across the country that has been asked to build a rocket for a NASA competition.

The St. Anthony’s High School’s Rocket and Aviation Club has been hard at work on their rocket for NASA’s Student Launch Initiative in April.

The competition requires the students to build a rocket that is 7.5 feet tall. In the demonstration to NASA, the rocket will be required to fly a mile into the atmosphere.

The cargo on board will be monitored before, during and after the flight for temperature, atmospheric pressure and other changes.

The club competed in the Team America Rocketry Challenge for the first time last May in Virginia against 100 schools.

The top team for the school placed 24th, which qualified them to participate in the Student Launch Initiative.

The club was notified of their acceptance into the Student Launch Initiative over the summer.

“We had to submit a proposal to them,” said Thomas Tanichella, a St. Anthony’s junior who started the club two years ago with a friend. “We had to outline our project in the proposal. We sent it to them over the summer. We are currently working on the critical design review.”

With each stage of the project that is completed, the club is given funding by NASA, which will amount to $3,700 when the project is completed. St. Anthony’s also contributes to financing the club, but the funding from NASA and St. Anthony’s

The St. Anthony’s High School’s Rocket and Aviation Club is gearing up to present an aircraft to NASA in the spring. leaves a gap that the students involved are required to fill.

“You have to be dedicated to join the club,” said Tanichella. “We want someone who will come in September and stick around until May when the competitions are.”

Tanichella and his friend, Paul Tonna, started the club their freshman year. They

approached Dr. Capodanno, their biology teacher, to moderate the club. He happily obliged and has continued to be involved.

“They’re bright kids,” Capodanno said.

“They really put a lot of effort into it.”

The club, which started out with about 15-20 kids, has grown to include over 60 students who attend the weekly meetings.

Along with the NASA project, the other

members of the club are split into five teams, completing two rockets each, to compete in other competitions this spring.

St. Anthony’s Rocket and Aviation Club will be presenting their project to NASA on April 20. The students say they look forward to not only impressing NASA, but also colleges that they might be interested in applying to in the coming year.

A14 • THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • JANUARY 17, 2013

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Turning Up The Heat At Spice Village Grill foodie@longislandernews.com

Spice Village Grill on Huntington’s Main Street is far from your typical Indian dining experience.

Inspired by the encouragement of friends, owner of three years Tabassum Ali has built what he calls an “Indian fusion” restaurant, which he operates with his son, Omar.

Ali said his menu offers a combination of Indian and Pakistani dishes, and what distinguishes Spice Village from most other Indian restaurants is the way his chefs incorporate herbs and spices. Ali said he flavors his foods authentically as it is done in India, rather than adjusting them to accommodate the tastes of an American palate.

“The difference is that other restaurants [make their menus] based on the [tastes of] the local market. They use heavy creams to make [their dishes] mild for customers, but ours are original,” Ali said.

The owner said he often tests new dishes on their special menu for three to four months. Based on their popularity, he decides whether or not to incorporate certain dishes into their main menu.

Spice Village is proud of its authentic Tokri Chaat appetizer, a potato basket filled with chic peas, chutney, diced tomatoes, onions and yogurt. The tamrin sauce brings the cold dish full circle.

Ali’s spin on traditional Chicken Tikka Masala, paired with thin, cranberry basmati rice, is worth the visit for the less-adventurous foodie. Their mixed grill combo, with chicken, lamb, lamb chops, beef and chili peppers, is a delicious meal for the craving carnivore.

The owner said that despite the abundance of dishes featuring prepared meats, 60 percent of customers opt for vegetarian dishes. With 30-40 different vegetables and Ali’s knowledge of Indian and Pakistani cuisine, the restaurant’s vegetarian options have skyrocketed in popularity.

“Chicken is chicken, and meat is meat.

The materials are the same but it’s what you do with it,” Ali said. “And the way we cook our vegetables, you don’t miss the meat.”

Spice Village also offers a seafood mixed grill option, featuring tilapia, flounder, salmon, and saffron-garnished shrimps on a sizzling hot plate. The grill tastefully infuses both heat and herbs into the outer layer of the fish while preserving the seafood’s delicate interior, making for a delightful dining experience.

Chicken lovers will not go wrong with Ali’s Coriander Chicken dish, paired with cilantro, onions, garlic and ginger, sautéed and mixed with a tomato puree.

The fusion restaurant has changed its menu three times since opening, and the Foodies are certainly looking forward to seeing what their next menu change brings.

Foodie photo/ Jacqueline Birzon

By Jackie & Danny

Spice Village Grill owner Tabassum Ali flaunts his sizzling mixed grill and seafood combo platters.

Spice Village Grill 281 Main St., Huntington 631-271-9700 Cuisine: Indian Fusion Atmosphere: Intimate Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Fri.-Sun. 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

The

Foodie SECTION

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Side Dish DINE HUNTINGTON.COM

By DineHuntington.com RENOVATED RUVO: Ruvo Restaurant & Bar (63 Broadway, Greenlawn 631-2617700) will be closed for renovations until Friday evening. They closed on Monday and were scheduled to wind up their renovations on Thursday, just in time to reopen for dinner on Friday. While the fourday gap might have been a bummer for Ruvo fans, we’re sure that with the upgrades the nouveau Ruvo will be well worth the wait.

Dinner and a show makes a full night at XO Restaurant.

TWO BLONDES AFTER DARK: Exciting news in Huntington village – Two Blondes and a Stove (26 Clinton Ave., Huntington 631673-1300) has announced they’ll be expanding their breakfast and lunch operation to serve the nighttime set. Liquor license in hand, their Two Blondes Bistro & Bar, which owner Dena Fenza said in the past will focus on small plates and cocktails, is “coming soon,” according to a chalkboard sign on the sidewalk.

WE HEART PRIX-FIXE: Who doesn’t enjoy a

Foodie

News and reviews from the restaurant capital of Long Island To Advertise Call 631-427-7000 Read past reviews online at www.LongIslanderNews.com

The

Foodie SECTION

News and reviews from the restaurant capital of Long Island

CALL 631-427-7000

Sweet 16’s, Anniversary Parties & Birthday Celebrations Call now as dates are booking fast!

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Huntington, New York 101 Brown’s Road 631-751-0339

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WINE DINNER: Huntington hotspot Vitae Restaurant (54 New St., Huntington village 631-385-1919 vitaeli.com) hosts a wine dinner on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 7 p.m., featuring guest speaker Gil Travalin, a fine wine consultant from Martin Scott Wines.

Some of Martin Scott’s finest will be paired with Executive Chef Steve Del Lima’s creations for a four-course experience. Price is $70 per person and reservations are a must.

Discount Packages Available For

@

three-course meal at one of Huntington’s newest hotspots for under $25? XO Restaurant Wine and Chocolate Lounge (69 Wall St., Huntington 631-549-7074 xowinebar.com) offers theirs all night on weekdays and 5-6:30 on Friday and Saturday. Maybe after your meal, take it upstairs to XO’s hoppin’ lounge where live music plays every Friday and Saturday.

Check the website for the music schedule.

MORE SEAFOOD: Word on the street is that the former Strawberry’s (the old Toy Town for you real old-timers) on Huntington’s Main Street is soon to become a seafood restaurant. Buoy One, a fish house with locations and a good reputation in Westhampton and Riverhead, has reportedly signed a lease on the property.

SECTION

A Place To Call Your Own...

The Chateau hosts only one event per day

Foodie@longislandernews.com

The

THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • JANUARY 17, 2013 • A15

A16 • THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • JANUARY 17, 2013

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HUNTINGTON OPEN HOUSES Want to get your open houses listed? Get your listings for free on this page every week in the Long Islander Newspapers.

Call Associate Publisher Peter Sloggatt at 631-427-7000 or send an e-mail to psloggatt@longislandernews.com.

DIX HILLS

28 Sellger Ct Bedrooms 4 Baths 2 Price $649,900 Taxes $10,347 Open House 1/20 1pm-4pm Realty Connect USA LLC 877-647-1092

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The listings on this page contain open house events conducted by brokers licensed in New York. If you are a broker and would like to get your listings on this page, please contact Associate Publisher Peter Sloggatt at (631) 427-7000, or send an e-mail to psloggatt@longislandernews.com.

Hills residents want closer look at other cuts (Continued from page A1)

Sunquam, they elected to close it, despite ongoing construction of 1,700 new homes.

That summer, Taff said, they learned their original plan to split the students between two other schools would not work, forcing them to redraw lines and add portable classrooms.

While classrooms were packed with students, Sunquam was never properly shut down and became an eyesore. It was a target for vandalism, with every window broken and graffiti covering the building. Vagrants and animals alike found their way inside.

They tried unsuccessfully to sell the school. Eventually, Taff said she found a way to have the property declared an archeological site and the building declared a contributing structure. The district reopened the school after eight years.

“It was a horrible, horrible era for Sunquam,” Taff said.

During that time, the civic leader said, a riff opened between residents on different sides of the district. Those on the east side grew spiteful of those on the west side, and vice versa.

These days, Taff said, the divide is gone,

and she praised the school board as being hard workers.

But the civic leader also criticized Albany for the apparent pitfalls. Long Islanders, she said, pay more in taxes than they receive, with costs significantly higher than those upstate.

The district’s health insurance is estimated to rise by $1.5 million, Taff said, with contributions to the state retirement system to rise by $5,646,000.

“They can’t keep hitting up the school districts and then saying they can’t raise taxes. It’s a ridiculous system,” she said.

Careful not to cast blame for the budget gap on the teachers, Taff admitted they have an opportunity to be heroes. Their current contract calls for a raise of 5.34 percent, or $4,318,913. If they forewent that increase, it could be significant piece of the solution.

“I’m not saying the teachers don’t deserve it or haven’t worked hard. I’m a former teacher. I’m saying we’re in dire straits,” Taff said.

According to the district’s presentation, 80 percent of the current $222 million budget is salaries. Of that, 70.94 percent, or more than $124 million total, goes to teachers.

Anne Marie Marrone Caliendo, Hills’ assistant superintendent for finance and facilities, confirmed such a move would “assist significantly.” A freeze on teachers’ salaries would leave $4 or $5 million of the gap remaining.

With multiple options on the table to address the $9.5 million, Caliendo said they wanted to let taxpayers see every possibility and react. The district’s public budgsurvey, available on its website, www.halfhollowhills.k12.ny.us, is expected to end on Jan. 18, with the results to be disclosed Jan. 28.

“Not one option will address the gap, if we choose not to pierce a cap,” the assistant superintendent said.

Meanwhile, another group of residents offered the district their support in finding a solution without closing schools. Larry Hoffman said a group of seven met with Superintendent Kelly Fallon and five board members on Jan. 10. The residents gathered information and pledged to return with ideas and suggestions.

“The meeting went really well. Superintendent Fallon was wonderful. She was really responsive to our questions and gave good clear answers,” Hoffman said.

Petrone running for sixth term (Continued from page A1)

plus campaign war chest into play for the Democratic ticket.

Councilwoman Susan Berland, who in recent months has generated buzz as a Democratic candidate for supervisor should Petrone step aside, declined to comment. Her campaign fund has over $78,600 as of December.

“He has not told me personally whether he is running or not,” she said.

Democrats currently have a 3-2 majority on the board. In addition to the supervisor, two town board seats, currently held

by Mark Cuthbertson, a Democrat, and Mark Mayoka, a Republican, are up for grabs. Whichever party wins two of those three contests will also win the majority on the board.

Huntington GOP chair Toni Tepe said she wasn’t surprised by the announcement.

“I assumed all along Frank was going to run for re-election,” she said. “We will put forth our candidate for supervisor and we will run on the issues that we feel very strongly about and things that need to be done to improve the town.”

Collins said Petrone has the track record to lead the Democrats to victory in 2013.

“He’s a proven leader,” Collins said.

“The bond rating is AAA. I know there were people who weren’t thrilled with how Huntington got through the storm, but compared to other places, he hit the ball out of the park. He was on top of things and the whole government functioned very nicely.”

With nearly 20 years under his belt, Petrone said there would still be a lot on the agenda in the next four years. Huntington Station revitalization will be entering a new phase after the hamlet’s master

developer, Renaissance Downtowns, presents plans in the near future. Petrone added that it is “important that we continue the sound fiscal policies that I created.”

“I want to ensure that when I do leave town government, Huntington will be fiscally stable for years to come,” he said.

A new issue on the radar, he said, is energy infrastructure. Following the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, Petrone, who first made his presence known as a regional director of FEMA in the mid1980s, has championed underground power lines as the linchpin of a systemwide overhaul.

“As the head of the town here, I see one of the greatest problems is the utility infrastructure,” he said. “And I haven’t heard much about that since Sandy and people have that on their minds. That has to be visited.”

He expected to have a follow-up meeting with Caliendo to focus on minutia and hoped to sit down with Fallon by the end of this week.

“Time is definitely of the essence,” Hoffman said.

More than 40 residents attended the group’s meeting at the Melville branch of the Half Hollow Hills Community Lbrary on Jan. 9, with more connected online.

Hoffman said they have joined and are monitoring District 5 Planners, although they are not in charge of the group.

Board of Education Vice President Frank Grimaldi declined to comment for this article.

Berland (Continued from page A3)

But Berland disagreed and said that according to the Association of Towns, the issue of deputies is governed by sections of the state’s town law pertaining to towns with more than 200,000 residents.

“The way town law is written, it says you are allowed to have a town attorney and deputy town attorneys,” Berland said, emphasizing the final, plural syllable. “It is not limited to one deputy town attorney, and I feel it is about time to organize the Town Attorney’s office in the way that is appropriate to get work done.”

Following the meeting on Wednesday, Petrone said he was disappointed the board did not wait to hire a Town Attorney, but said he has high hopes for Elan-Mangano in the role.

“There could have been more unanimity, which would serve her better,” he said. “She has a very fine record coming out of the DA’s office, and has done an exceptional job here with her litigation, and I’m hopeful she’ll be able to use that same organizational skill to run the department.”

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School Notebook

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Compiled by Luann Dallojacono

Finishing FIRST For Robotics

The Half Hollow Hills Middle School Robotic Team recently competed at Farmingdale State College. The team placed fifth in the Robot Game and won the award for Gracious Professionalism, an honor from all the team captains who select the team that they believe best demonstrates the core values of FIRST Robotics.

Hills Celebrates Accomplishments In Art

Students at High School West practice the art of putting oneself in the picture.

It was a sea of inspiration in Half Hollow Hills on Jan. 6 as both high schools held their annual Art Day, an all-day showcase of talented students and the variety of classes available for grades 9-12.

The art program inspires students to develop skills using a variety of materials, processes, mediums and techniques, in addition to appropriate technologies for creating and exhibiting visual art works.

Art classes offered encompass the full range of art mediums: Studio in Art, Media Arts, Creative Crafts, Design and

This High School West student shows how art imitates life.

Drawing for Production, Photography, Ceramics and Sculpture, Web Design, Video Production, Computer Graphics, Architectural Design, Fashion Illustration and Fashion Design, Drawing and Painting and Design and Illustration. More Advanced Placement art courses for possible college credit include Drawing, TwoDimensional, Three-Dimensional and Art History. After-school activities include an Art Honor Society and various art clubs and art service clubs.

Author Meets Forest Park Students Photo by Felice Kristall

First-time author Robin Rosenberg is all smiles with some of her Forest Park Elementary School kindergarten friends. Rosenberg’s book, Brookie Cookie Bookie, was inspired by her young daughter. It is a warm, loving story about friendship, acceptance and diversity.

THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • JANUARY 17, 2013 • A17

A18 • THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • JANUARY 17, 2013 THURSDAY Real Estate Seminar

Renaissance Downtowns sponsors a Community Commercial Real Estate Seminar for all Huntington Station business owners on Jan. 17, 6-8 p.m. at the Huntington Station Public Library to educate business owners on negotiating better leases, seeking loans and financing, and informing them on steps to buying their own buildings. Seminar will be translated into Spanish. RSVP at sourcethestation.com.

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Calendar O M M U N I T Y

library on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 11:30 a.m. to make a no-sew pillow with the help of Carmela Quinn.

Deer Park Public Library

44 Lake Ave., Deer Park. 631-586-3000. deerparklibrary.org.

• Did you get a new tablet for the holidays and need help downloading books or apps? Make a one-on-one appointment with a member of the Tech Team. Call 631-586-3000.

• Children and adults of all ages are welcome to attend pajama story time Jan. 24 at 6:30 p.m.

Elwood Public Library

Welcome to the New Year

Join the Melville Chamber of Commerce for its “Welcome to the New Year” celebration on Jan. 24, 5:30-8 p.m. at the Colonial Springs Golf Club, recognizing the chamber’s 2012 Businesses of the Year. RSVP to 631-7776260 or email info@melvillechamber.org.

The Art Of The Illusion Children’s magician Thaddeus puts on an inspiring new show for the entire family on Sunday, Jan. 20 at 2 p.m. at the Dix Hills Performing Arts Center, 305 N. Service Road, Dix Hills. $10. In this latest show, Thaddeus will again take his audience on a tour filled with music, adventure, mystery and illusion. 631-6562148. www.dhpac.org.

Red Is For Passion

Love the color red and enjoy living it up? The Red Hat women are looking for new members who enjoy going places and making new friends. Their motto: Fun, Frolic and Friendship. 631-271-6470 or flarpp@yahoo.com.

3027 Jericho Turnpike, Elwood. 631-499-3722. www.elwoodlibrary.org.

• Determined to complete that New Year’s resolution of being healthier? Join Dr. Michelle Kobbe Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. for a Wellness Orientation Workshop. She will teach how to be healthier and hold yourself to a higher standard of living.

• Have you ever wanted to wear your clothes backwards or inside out? Well, Jan. 24 is Opposite Day at 4:15 p.m.

Half Hollow Hills Community Library

Author Denise Schipani will speak and sign her new book, “Mean Moms Rule,” on Jan. 18, 7 p.m. at Book Revue, 313 New York Ave., Huntington. 631-271-1442.

Dix Hills: 55 Vanderbilt Parkway. 631-4214530; Melville: 510 Sweet Hollow Road. 631421-4535. hhhlibrary.org.

• Have you ever been interested in trying Zumba? Now is your chance! Adult Zumba classes will be held every Thursday morning at 10 a.m. until Feb. 14 in Dix Hills.

• A friendly group of people from around the world has fun practicing the English language together every Tuesday from 10 a.m.-noon and Wednesday from 7-9 p.m. in Dix Hills.

Sing A Song…

Harborfields Public Library

FRIDAY Mean Moms Rule?

Sing a Song and Play Along – a Jewish discovery program through music and play – begins at Young Israel of Huntington, 598 Park Ave., on Jan. 25, 10-11 a.m., directed by a NYS licensed music teacher. For children 18 months to 3 years old, accompanied by an adult. $15 per session. Program runs for eight weeks. To register, call Melanie Linker at 631-697-2658.

SATURDAY

Want To Be A Soccer Ref?

U.S. Soccer’s Grade 9 Recreational Course (the Assistant Referee course) will be held Jan. 26-27 at Wilson Tech, 17 Westminster Ave, Dix Hills. All attendees must be born before June 30, 1999. $153 for those who were 18 years or older last year and $145 for those who are younger. www.lisoccerrefs.org.

Live Music Local Authors Showcase

Meet 28 local authors and discuss their books with them, while getting your copy signed, at Huntington Public Library’s first Local Authors Showcase, sponsored by the Friends of the Huntington Public Library, on Jan. 19, 2-5 p.m. at the Main Library at 338 Main St., Huntington.

The event will include authors of fiction and non-fiction books for adults, young adults and children, and books about Huntington history, family fun on Long Island, and music. A portion of proceeds will be donated to the Friends. Call Teresa Schwind at 631-427-5165, ext. 250.

Parent Leadership Courses

The Child Care Council of Suffolk kicks off its Town of Huntington Parent Leadership Initiative (PLI) training semester on Jan. 19 with a retreat at the Huntington YMCA, 60 Main St., Huntington, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. The program continues on Wednesday evenings, Jan. 23May 29, 6-8:30 p.m., at the Huntington YMCA, 60 Main St., Huntington. No fee. Visit www.childcaresuffolk.org or call PLI Director Denise Quintyne at 631-462-0303 ext. 160.

Knights of Columbus ’50s Dance

The Fr. Thomas A. Judge Knights of Columbus and Columbiettes will host a gala “50’s Dance” at St. Anthony’s Trinity Regional School Hall on Fifth Ave. in East Northport on Jan. 19, 7-11 p.m. to raise funds for various charities. This nostalgic evening will feature Long Island’s own “The New Yorkers” playing rock ’n’ roll favorites from the ’50s and ’60s. $35, includes dancing, dinner, dessert, beer, wine and soda.

Call Jackie at 516-318-5809.

Beating The Bully

Centerport resident Scott Starkey has been identified as among the best children’s book authors in books about bullying. His two books, “How to Beat the Bully Without Really Trying” and “The Call of the Bully,” will be discussed when Starkey appears at Book Revue, 313 New York Ave., Huntington, on Jan. 26 at 3 p.m. www.ScottStarkeyBooks.com.

Laughing For A Cause

See some of New York’s funniest at a fundraising comedy show on Jan. 26. Buffet dinner at 7 p.m., show at 8:30 p.m. $50 for dinner, beer, wine, soda, coffee and dessert. Hosted by Northport American Legion Post #694, 7 Woodside Ave., Northport for reservations and information, call Larry at 631-807-5066.

Live local bands take over Finley's of Greene Street, 43 Greene St., Huntington, every Saturday night at 11 p.m. Join in the fun and food!

SUNDAY Opera Night

Long Island’s best singers and their piano accompanist present an entertaining assortment of vocal excerpts from famous and beloved operas on Jan. 20, 4 p.m. at Christ Church, 61 East Main St., Oyster Bay. $15 suggested donation. www.operanight.org. 631261-8808.

MONDAY

thy topics and provide useful tips for getting your stories published. For more information on sponsorships, tickets or to reserve a table, call the chamber at 631-423-6100 or visit www.huntingtonchamber.com.

Free Help For Vets

Every Tuesday from 12-4 p.m. is “Military Appreciation Tuesdays,” when Long Island Cares specifically assists veterans, military personnel and their families at the Hauppauge and Freeport emergency pantries. Appointments can be made by contacting jrosati@licares.org.

WEDNESDAY The Promise Of Roe

Explore the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade with “Securing the Promise of Roe,” a program

by Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic and Planned Parenthood of Nassau County, on Jan. 23, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Cold Spring Harbor Library, 95 Harbor Road. Jessica Arons, director of the Women’s Health and Rights Program at the Center for American Progress, will talk about the barriers women face in accessing abortions. $20 per person/$15 under age 30.

RSVP at www.pphp.org or 914-467-7311.

Power Breakfast Dr. King Interfaith Service

The Huntington Township Housing Coalition along with the Long Island Housing Partnership hosts an interfaith, multicultural service featuring five choirs as well as scriptural readings from various denominations, at the “Dr. King Interfaith Service,” focusing on Long Island hunger, homelessness and housing insecurities on Jan. 21, 23:30 p.m. at the Suffolk Y Jewish Community Center, 74 Hauppauge Road, Commack.

See The Light

Town Clerk Jo-Ann Raia has organized an exhibit of Huntington Lighthouse artifacts and memorabilia to celebrate its centennial anniversary of The Huntington Lighthouse. The display includes correspondence between the Lighthouse Establishment and Lighthouse Keeper Robert McGlone, and an original painting of the lighthouse, which will be auctioned.

On display in the Town Hall lobby, 100 Main St, Huntington, Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Friday, 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m. www.huntingtonlighthouse.org. 631-421-1985.

TUESDAY Meet The Media Networking Breakfast

The Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce’s annual “Meet the Media” Networking Breakfast is Jan. 29, 7:30-10 a.m. at the Hilton Long Island/Huntington, 598 Broad Hollow Road in Melville. A panel of journalists, reporters and correspondents from influential media outlets will discuss newswor-

Join business professionals at BNI Executive Referral Exchange’s breakfast networking meeting every Wednesday, 7-8:30 a.m. at the Dix Hills Diner, 1800 Jericho Turnpike, Dix Hills. 631-462-7446.

AT THE LIBRARIES Cold Spring Harbor Library

95 Harbor Road, Cold Spring Harbor. 631-6926820. cshlibrary.org.

• On display through Jan. 31 in the art gallery is the work of the Cold Spring Harbor School District’s adult education art class.

• Are you applying to college for the fall and worried about how you’re going to pay for it?

Are you a parent of a student hoping to attend college in the fall? Richard Milella, a director from Long Island Funding for Education, Inc., will be discussing the methods to receive Financial Aid on Thursday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m.

Commack Public Library

18 Hauppauge Road, Commack. 631-4990888. commack.suffolk.lib.ny.us.

• Notary Service is available at the library, normally Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday evenings and occasionally on the weekends. Call before you come to the library to make sure there is a notary available upon your arrival. There is a charge of $2 for each document that needs to be notarized.

• Students in grades 3-5 can come down to the

31 Broadway, Greenlawn. 631-757-4200. harborfieldslibrary.org.

• “A Different Point of View,” the photography of Richard Levy, is on display through Jan. 30.

• Join other readers in discussing “The Destiny of The Republic” by Candice Millard on Jan. 24 at 7 p.m.

• The grand opening reception for the Friends Book Shop will be held Saturday, Jan. 26, 13 p.m. in the newly updated space in the Meeting Room Wing.

Huntington Public Library

Main Branch: 338 Main St., Huntington. 631427-5165. Station Branch: 1335 New York Ave., Huntington Station.

631-421-5053. www.thehuntingtonlibrary.org.

• Little People’s Theatre presents “A Different Sort of Laugh” on Sunday, Jan. 20 at 2:30 p.m. at the Main location.

• Meet local authors of books for adults, teens and children at the local author’s showcase on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2-5 p.m. When you purchase books, 10 percent is donated to Friends of HPL.

Northport-East Northport Public Library

Northport: 151 Laurel Ave. 631-261-6930. East Northport: 185 Larkfield Road. 631-261-2313. www.nenpl.org.

• The Railroad Museum of Long Island is returning. Tracks will be set up and model trains will be running in the Community Room for the weekend of Jan. 19-20.

• “Trouble with the Curve” will be shown at the East Northport location Jan. 18 at 1:30 p.m. and at the Northport location Jan. 25 at 1:30 p.m.

South Huntington Public Library

145 Pidgeon Hill Road, Huntington Station.

631-549-4411. www.shpl.info.

• The Saturday Night Series will feature the Long Island Jazz Orchestra on Jan. 19 at 7 p.m.

• The Suffolk County One-Stop Employment Center will be hosting a job fair on Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 10 a.m. Come prepared with multiple copies of your resume and dress to impress.

THEATER and FILM Bare Bones Theater Company

at the Posey School, 57 Main St., Northport. www.barebonestheater.com. 1-800-838-3006.

• The world premiere of “Dead of Night,” two one-act plays – “The Family Crypt” (a macabre comedy) and “Hunter’s Moon” (a suspense drama) – by Glen Cove, Long Island playwright Frederick Stroppel, runs for eight performances on Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m. on Feb. 1, 2, 8, 9, 15 and 16, and at 3 p.m. on Sundays, Feb. 3 and

(Continued on page A19)

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THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • JANUARY 17, 2013 • A19 www.paramountny.com. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

• Tickets now on sale for the Saturday, Jan. 19 concert “A Diva, A Comedian & Broadway for the Children of Huntington Station,” featuring headliner Melba Moore.

10. $25. www.brownpapertickets.com/event/312244.

Performances on Feb. 8-16 will feature a talk back and/or book signing of Stroppel’s new book, “Lucky Me,” co-authored with Sachi Parker, daughter of Shirley MacLaine.

(Continued from page A18)

Ridotto

Concerts with a Touch of Theater. at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 12 Prospect St., Huntington. www.ridotto.org. 631-385-0373 • “Cantatas of Satire and Sensibility” includes secular cantatas by Handel, Telemann, Vivaldi, and J.S. Bach’s witty Coffee Cantata on Sunday, Jan. 27, 4 p.m. Artists include Soprano Liz Ronan, Tenor Christopher Pfund, Bass-baritone Lars Woodul, members of the PubliQuartet, and Gabe Shuford, harpsichord. $10 (students), $18 (seniors), $20 (adults).

Cinema Arts Centre

423 Park Ave., Huntington. www.cinemaartscentre.org. 631-423-7611.

• Meet famed movie producer, Rockabilly star, wrestling promoter, World Women’s Wrestling champion, and horror archivist Johnny Legend for three nights of movie and TV madness with “TV in Acidland” on Jan. 17, 7:30 p.m.; “The Big T.N.T. Show” on Jan. 18, 11 p.m.; and “Night of the Bloody Apes” on Jan. 19 at 11 p.m. $9 members/$14 public each show.

• Full of surreal, spooky imagery, Teinosuke Kinogasa’s 1926 masterpiece “A Page of Madness,” which explores the fractured lives of a couple in a mental hospital, screens with accompaniment by MoMa’s Ben Model on the organ in the monthly “Anything But Silent Series” on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 7:30 p.m. $9 members/$14 public.

Dix Hills Performing Arts Center

Five Towns College, 305 N. Service Road, Dix Hills. Box Office: 631-656-2148. www.dhpac.org.

• After the winter break, the Wild Women of Comedy return Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m., featuring comic duo MEL & EL, and comediennes Vanessa Hollingshead and Jessica Kirson.

• Children’s magician Thaddeus puts on an inspiring new show for the entire family on Sunday, Jan. 20 at 2 p.m. $10.

John W. Engeman Theater At Northport

350 Main St., Northport. www.johnwengemantheater.com. 631-261-2900.

• “Wait Until Dark,” where a cool-as-ice psychopath smooth talks his way into the home of an unsuspecting blind woman, opens Saturday, Jan. 26 and runs through March 10.

Tilles Center For The Performing Arts

LIU Post Campus, 720 Northern Blvd., Brookville. www.tillescenter.org. 516-299-3100.

• “Potted Potter: The Unauthorized Harry Experience” – A parody by Dan and Jeff, will take Tilles Center’s Hillwood Recital Hall by storm Thursday, Jan. 24 and Friday, Jan. 25 at 5 and 8 p.m.

MUSEUMS & EXHIBITS Art League of Long Island

107 East Deer Park Road, Dix Hills. Gallery hours: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. weekends. 631-462-5400. www.ArtLeagueLI.net.

• “Go APE,” the annual AP Art student exhibition, exhibits in the Jeanie Tengelsen Gallery through Jan. 20, with a reception Sunday, Jan. 20, 3-5 p.m.

Catch Those Cheating Cheaters Time is running out to catch “Cheating Cheaters” at the Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium, 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport. Presented by the Arena Players Repertory Theatre, the show follows the hilarious adventures of two lovable sisters, who impersonate begging nuns in order to put their niece through art school. Runs through Jan. 20. Call 516-293-0674.

• “Mirrored Images: Realism in the 19th and 20th Centuries” explores the various realist movements. On display through March 24.

• “Modernizing America: Artists of the Armory Show” focuses on American artists who participated in the Armory Show and explores the impact of European Modernism on American art in the early years of the 20th century. On display through April 14.

Holocaust Memorial And Tolerance Center

Welwyn Preserve. 100 Crescent Beach Road, Glen Cove. Hours: Mon.-Fri.: 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Sat.-Sun.: noon-4 p.m. 516-571-8040 ext. 100. www.holocaust-nassau.org.

• The new permanent exhibit explains the 1920s increase of intolerance, the reduction of human rights, and the lack of intervention that enabled the persecution and mass murder of millions of Jews and others: people with disabilities, Roma and Sinti (Gypsies), Jehovah’s Witnesses, gays and Polish intelligentsia.

Huntington Arts Council

Main Street Petite Gallery: 213 Main St., Huntington. Gallery hours: Monday - Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Art in the Art-trium: 25 Melville Park Road, Melville. Gallery Hours: Monday Friday 7 a.m.-7 p.m. 631-271-8423. www.huntingtonarts.org.

• “Bold,” featuring artists that grab the viewer with their unique and striking artwork at the Art-Trium, runs through Feb. 25.

• “Still Life” is on display in the main gallery through Jan. 28.

Huntington Historical Society

299 Main St., Huntington. Gallery hours: Monday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., until 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. 631-549-5106. www.bjspokegallery.com.

• The gallery’s first student exhibition, “Who’s New?” is on display through Jan. 31.

Main office/library: 209 Main St., Huntington.

Museums: Conklin Barn, 2 High St.; Kissam House/Museum Shop, 434 Park Ave.; Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Building, 228 Main St. 631427-7045, ext. 401. www.huntingtonhistoricalsociety.org.

• The next Lunch & Learn, “The Hamptons of the North Shore,” discusses East Neck (Huntington Bay) during the mid-19th and early 20th centuries, at Black & Blue restaurant on Thursday, Jan. 24, 12:30 p.m. $40 members/$45 non-members. RSVP required.

Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery

LaMantia Gallery

b.j. spoke gallery

1660 Route 25A, Cold Spring Harbor. Open seven days a week, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday and Sundays until 6 p.m.: $6 adults; $4 children 3-12 and seniors over 65; members and children under 3 are free. 516-692-6768. www.cshfha.org • Features New York State's largest collection of freshwater fish, reptiles and amphibians housed in two aquarium buildings and eight outdoor ponds.

Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum

Main Street, Cold Spring Harbor. Museum hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. $4 adults, $3 seniors, $3 students 5 -18, family $12; military and children under 5 are free.

631-367-3418. www.cshwhalingmuseum.org.

• Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day with Film ’n’ Fun – a showing of “Madagascar” at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

Heckscher Museum Of Art

2 Prime Ave., Huntington. Museum hours: Wednesday - Friday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., first Fridays from 4-8:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission $68/adults, $4-6/seniors, and $4-5/children; members and children under 10 free. 631-351-3250.

127 Main St., Northport Village. 631-754-8414. www.lamantiagallery.com.

• Robert Finale presents captivating landscapes and Richard Johnson displays exquisite paintings of the human face and form.

9 East Contemporary Art

9 East Carver St., Huntington. Gallery hours: Wed.-Sat., 3-8 p.m. or by appointment. 631662-9459.

• To celebrate the first anniversary of the gallery, the exhibit “99: A Collection Of Original Small Works” on view through Jan. 20.

Northport Historical Society Museum

215 Main St., Northport. Museum hours: Tuesday - Sunday, 1-4:30 p.m. 631-757-9859. www.northporthistorical.org.

• “50 Years Of Preserving and Celebrating Northport's History” honors the society's founders and their concerns and activities.

Ripe Art Gallery

67 Broadway, Greenlawn. 631-807-5296.

Gallery hours: Tuesday - Thursday 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Friday 2-9 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.-5 p.m. www.ripeartgal.com.

• Women’s clothing store Rexer-Parkes presents a special showing of paintings by Ripe Art Gallery artist Maxine Jurow titled “Black Velvet” through February. 35 Gerard St., Huntington.

• Self-taught painter Jim Kogel, of Centerport, works with Renaissance images of women painted on pages from the New York Times mounted onto canvas.

Half of all sales will be donated to The Long Island Fund for Women and Girls, Our Lady Queen of Martyrs-Parish Social Ministry, and Family Service League. On display through Feb. 6.

SPLIA

Headquarters: 161 Main St., Cold Spring Harbor. Joseph Lloyd Manor House: Lloyd Lane and Lloyd Harbor Road, Lloyd Neck.

631-692-4664. www.splia.org.

• “Long Island at Work and at Play,” early 20th-century photographs from SPLIA’s collections, on display through January 2013, Thursdays through Sundays, 11 a.m. -4 p.m.

Suffolk Y JCC

74 Hauppauge Road, Commack. 631-4629800, ext. 140. Tuesday 1-4 p.m. Admission: $5 per person, $18 per family. Special group programs available. www.suffolkyjcc.org.

• The Alan & Helene Rosenberg Jewish Discovery Museum provides hands-on exhibits and programs for children 3-13 years old and their families, classes and camps. Now on exhibit: The Alef Bet of Being a Mensch. “Zye a mensch” is a Yiddish saying that means “be a decent, responsible, caring person,” infusing both the best blessing and the best that an educator can wish for his students.

Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium

180 Little Neck Road, Centerport. Museum hours: Tuesday-Friday, 12-4 p.m., Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, 12-5 p.m.; closed Mondays except for holiday weeks. Grounds admission: $7 adults, $6 seniors, students, and $3 children under 12. Museum tour, add $5 per person. 631-854-5555. www.vanderbiltmuseum.org.

• The Arena Players Repertory Theatre will present “Cheating Cheaters” by John Patrick through Jan. 20 at the museum's Carriage House Theatre. Call 516-2930674.

• Celebrate Valentine’s Day with dinner at the Vanderbilt on Saturday, Feb. 9. Seatings at 6 and 8 p.m. $100 per person, by reservation only. Call 631-854-5579.

DONATIONS WELCOME Food Drive

The staff at Genser Dubow Genser & Cona will be donating non-perishable food items to Long Island Cares, The Harry Chapin Food Bank.

Bring non-perishable food items to the Susan C. Snowe Caregiver Resource Center, 225 Broad Hollow Road, Suite 200, Melville, through Jan. 31.

AID & ASSISTANCE Down Payment Assistance

Housing Help Inc., a HUD-certified not-for-profit housing agency provides free services to families with housing issues. Programs include first-time homebuyer counseling, foreclosure prevention assistance, tenant education and advocacy, and the development of affordable housing. The agency has a two-three bedroom home under construction, with a $40,000 down payment assistance package. For information call Susan Lagville at 631-754-0373.

Help After Sandy

Touro Law Center has opened a legal hotline at 631-761-7198 that is staffed Monday-Friday 9-6 by law students and attorneys from the bar associations. Bilingual and Spanish-speaking lawyers are available thanks to the Hispanic Bar Association.

Emergency Home Repair Program

Are you “underwater” on your mortgage but making payments on time? Do you need an emergency repair on your home, but can’t get a home equity loan because you are underwater? You could be eligible for up to $5,000 for emergency home repairs if your income does not exceed 120 percent of the HUD median income for Long Island ($129,000 for a family of four). Apply to the Emergency Home Repair Program. Call Susan at Housing Help Inc., 631-754-0373.

VOLUNTEERING Don’t Hibernate. Help.

The Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP SUFFOLK) needs adults 55+ to help in organizations throughout Suffolk County. Dozens of opportunities available in this federally funded program for just about any interest or skill. Visit www.rsvpsuffolk.org or call 631-979-9490 ext.12 for more information.

Be A Friend Of The Bay

Friends of the Bay is in need of volunteers who can help convert water quality data, which is currently kept in an excel sheet, into a Microsoft Access database. Assistance is also needed with ArcView GIS, to configure maps of the watershed. Call 516-922-6666 or email info@friendsofthebay.org.

Walt Whitman Birthplace

246 Old Walt Whitman Road, Huntington Station. Hours: Wednesday-Friday, 1-4 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m.- 4 p.m.

Admission: $6 adults, $5 seniors, $4 students, and children under 5 are free. 631-427-5240, ext. 114. www.waltwhitman.org.

• Join the tea party on Monday, Feb. 18 for a Presidents’ Day activity which will include dining manners, table setting and introductions.

Bring a friend, or your favorite doll. Two sessions, 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. $10 per child. Call ext. 113 to register.

MUSIC & DANCE

Send us your listings Submissions must be in by 5 p.m.

10 days prior to publication date.

Send to Community Calendar at 149 Main Street, Huntington, NY 11743, or e-mail to info@longislandernews.com

The Paramount

370 New York Ave., Huntington. 631-673-7300.

C L A S S I F I E D S

A20 • THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • JANUARY 17, 2013

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THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • JANUARY 17, 2013 • A21

Intel semifinalists share their research stories (Continued from page A1)

High School, was the only other student within the Town of Huntington to be honored by Intel.

Forty finalists will be announced on Jan. 23. Those students will then attend a trip to the Intel Science Talent Institute in Washington, D.C. on March 7-13. Once there, they will undergo further judging and compete for $630,000 in awards.

Robert Tannenbaum Robert Tannenbaum spent a whole day at school, aware the results of the Intel Science Talent Search would be released the afternoon of Jan. 9. Finally, when the time came, he anxiously refreshed the page until his name appeared under the list of semifinalists.

“It’s really nerve-wracking,” Tannenbaum said.

The Hills East student spent two summers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute researching a potential alternative to modern day batteries. If successful, his grapheme-based supercapacitors could provide flexible power for other devices like flexible LED screens.

Tannenbaum said his design was ultimately able to light an LED bulb, proof it can hold an electrical charge.

“I’m still in contact with my mentor in the lab. Hopefully we can work on synthesizing a more efficient cell and expanding the prototype to see what else we can do.

The potential for this type of cell… it can be used to power countless devices,” he said.

The 17-year-old confirmed he could continue his research in college, depending on where he chooses to go. Regardless of which school he picks, Tannenbaum said he wants to major in chemical engineering.

“I love the way chemicals interact. It wasn’t the pure chemical theory that interested me,” he said.

When he’s not learning or working, Tannenbaum enjoys bicycling and archery. A long-time passion, he picked up the latter after visiting several renaissance fairs, and said high school physics classes make archery a lot easier to understand. The senior is also a member of the We The People Constitutional debate team and a former member of the speech and debate team.

“I’m not shy to public speaking,” Tannenbaum said.

Tammy Jin At its surface, studying protein channels and how they function seems a very uninteresting project. But Intel semifinalist Tammy Jin revealed that research could be used to find a cure for diseases like Alzheimer’s and autism.

Jin, 17, spent the past two summers at Wollmuth Lab at Stony Brook University examining protein channels in human embryonic kidney cells. She discovered that flow of ions in and out of the cells may be determined by the length of part of the channels known as linkers.

“We found that by lengthening the linkers, it decreases channel activity. We know that Alzheimer’s, memory and learning have to do with the flow of ions in the brain. Alzheimer’s is caused by hyperactivity. If there’s a way to lower the flow when it’s too high, maybe it can relieve some of the effects or possibly fix it,” she said, adding that a lot more research is needed for a cure.

A senior, Jin is still waiting for word back from colleges. However, she confirmed science, especially neurobiology, remains a very strong interest.

“It’s mainly because of my lab. When I first started out, I didn’t know much about it. I just wanted to do research to get the experience,” she said.

She is also one of three Hills East stu-

dents to be named a semifinalist in both the Intel Science Talent Search and Siemens Competition. Prior to this year, only two students had ever won both in the same year.

“I was surprised I got anything [from Intel],” Jin said.

In her own time, she is an avid pianist and plays the flute in school.

Jonathan Kim When the other five Hills East students learned they were Intel semifinalists last week, Jonathan Kim was lying in bed sick.

He couldn’t even muster the strength to make a trip for the group photograph.

He finally returned to school on Monday, receiving delayed congratulations from classmates and teachers.

Kim, 17, experimented with mice and hair follicles. While it was a commonly held belief follicles actively divide, Kim said his advisor found some remained dormant.

“We wanted to see if that was the case in all developing hair follicles,” he said.

Hair follicles, he added, are similar to organs like skin, eyes and the brain. With information from his research, new methods of fighting diseases and infections could be uncovered.

He spent last summer at Rockefeller University and the summer before at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute studying stem cells.

Once this fall arrives, Kim will study full-time at Harvard University. An early acceptance, the 17-year-old is considering a major in science, possibly biochem.

“I’m not exactly sure what I want to be,” he said.

Outside of school, Kim plays the cello and does community service through his church. Despite playing the instrument for 11 years, he admitted he doesn’t play more than once a week at church.

Puja Bansal Puja Bansal’s research may one day lead to better testing for diseases in impoverished areas, while the Intel semifinalist herself hopes to address global medical issues.

Bansal, 17, spent the summer and part of the fall working at Stony Brook University experimenting with a new test for viral pathogens. Using a gold-plated silicon wafer, she imprinted the Poliovirus and Advenovirus – known to be associated with cancer – onto the wafers. When they inserted different viruses into the cavity left by the imprint, they registered a change in voltage with the correct virus.

While years of additional research and international collaboration remain, Bansal said her work could help create faster, cheaper tests for viruses. Each chip costs just a few cents and the results could be available in less than an hour.

But while the senior waits to hear back from colleges, she’s still figuring out just what to study. Undecided at the moment, she did say the concept of interdisciplinary studies between science and the humanities is appealing. She also expressed interest in global health.

“I think it’s really engaging and challenging. You need to know a lot about history and politics, but you also need to know about science,” Bansal said.

Back at Hills East, she joined several of the Hills East honorees in the main office to hear the news.

“At first it was a lot of surprise, a really huge honor. I think it’s really rewarding for your work to be recognized, especially by Intel since it’s so prestigious,” she said, adding that it made both her mentor and parents very proud.

Outside of school, Bansal has long performed Indian classical dance. She’s also a

part of the Young Indian Culture Group, co-president of the Indian American Society, president of the school’s Model U.N. team, a veteran of the speech and debate team and member of the Science Olympiad team.

Abhinav Patil Intel semifinalist Abhniav Patil spent this past summer solving a problem that doesn’t even exist yet.

Patil, 17, worked at Brookhaven National Laboratory helping prepare for the Proton Electric Dipole Moment (EDM) Experiment – an international effort to compare the different amounts of matter and anti-matter. The very presence of humanity and life on Earth proves there is more matter than anti-matter, Patil said, although theory doesn’t explain that.

When the Proton EDM Experiment eventually happens, it will involve an electrically-charged ring. The curved sections of the ring will be charged, while the straight pieces will not. But with the technology to create a perfect ring not available, the Hills East student worked on future false positives – known as the Geometric Phase Effect.

Through his research, a solution was found. ”This is the biggest source of error that could arise,” he said.

When school officials revealed the news last week, he was ecstatic.

“Since I was a freshman, I wanted to be a finalist or semifinalist in this competition,” he said, describing the Intel Science Talent Search as “a prestigious award.”

Still waiting to hear back from colleges, Patil admitted he may not stick with science. While he loves the research process and spent the summer working in Fortran to predict and solve the problem, he’s been interested in computer science since his sophomore year. And at this point, he’s looking at web developing.

“They are the medium for this age.

There is no more powerful medium than the Internet,” he said.

When he’s not working, Patil enjoys reading, history and serves as a captain on the debate team.

“It’s something I really enjoy,” he said.

Rohan Goyal After spending two summers working at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Rohan Goyal is confident he wants to pursue science in college, even if hasn’t figured out which school that will be just yet.

“I’m most likely going to pursue a path related to the biological sciences,” Goyal said.

One of the six Hills East students named semifinalists for the Intel Science Talent Search, the 16-year-old senior examined the effects of HIV on kidney cells. One of the virus’ lesser known effects is its ability to damage kidneys. Goyal’s research confirmed the virus causes kidney cells to overactivate a normal process to release harmful oxygen molecules.

Going forward, Goyal said the research will continue examining the relationship between HIV and Vitamin D receptors used to produce the effect. The research will also investigate other effects HIV has on kidneys, including causing kidney cells to detatch from the lining of the kidney itself.

“I’m considering going back to work this summer. In the future, I definitely want to revisit this topic.”

While he has yet to receive responses from college, Goyal said he wants to pursue some type of study in biological sciences, possibly continuing his research.

Outside of classes and the lab, the 16year-old has been a member of the school’s

Harborfields’ Jacob Wax was named an Intel semifinalist for his research with bacteria and molecular imprinting. speech and debate team for three years. He also enjoys singing both Indian Classical and with the school choir, as well as working with Amnesty International.

Goyal was reluctant to speculate on his chances of being named a finalist later this month.

“There are a lot of great projects that didn’t even get to the semifinalists round,” he said.

Jacob Wax Jacob Wax was on his way to winter track practice the afternoon of Jan. 9 when he was interrupted. Harborfields High School Principal Rory Manning had texted Wax’s mother – the results of the Intel Science Talent Search were in. Joined by his younger sister and science research teacher, the five waited together for the website to load. His name was on the list of semifinalists.

“I am truly grateful for the encouragement and support I have always received from my family and all the wonderful teachers and administrators I have had at Harborfields,” Wax said.

A high school senior, Wax identified himself as “a math and science kid,” having taken several AP math and science classes. But the 17-year-old is also involved in music and his community. He’s the president of the Concert Choir, a fouryear member of the Vocal Ensemble and a member of The Choir Room Conundrum – a band he started with his friends. Outside of school, Wax serves with the Huntington Youth Court and Athletes Helping Athletes, which teach local youth to live alcohol- and drug-free lives.

His project, Enhancement of Graphenebased Supercapacitor Devices in Both Symmetric and Asymmetric Electrochemical Cell Environments, was designed to discern if biosensors can determine whether certain bacteria and bacteria spores were present. He placed gold-plated silicon chips into incubation solutions containing both a type of bacteria and thiol, a sulfur-containing molecule that can bind to the gold surface of the chip and create a layer. Placing the chip into the solution creates this layer, which the bacteria can bind to. When the chip is washed off with deionized water, the bacteria cells are removed from the chip but leave behind cavities that hold their shape.

A22 • THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • JANUARY 17, 2013

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THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • JANUARY 17, 2013 • A23

HillSPORTS BOYS BASKETBALL>> HILLS EAST 76, HILLS WEST 79

Colts Pull Out OT Win Over Thunderbirds In Fundraiser For Family

By Danny Schrafel dschrafel@longislandernews.com

In a thrilling hometown showdown on Saturday, the Colts pulled out an overtime victory on the basketball court over the Thunderbirds thanks to a late surge from its star players.

The varsity boys basketball teams of Half Hollow Hills High Schools East and West faced off for the first time this season. The Colts of Hills West, despite being down by 11 points in the third quarter, pulled out a 79-76 win in overtime.

Hills West had home court advantage as well as the better record; in League IV, the Colts are 6-2 overall, while in League II, the Thunderbirds are 5-6 overall.

The teams were tied at 14 at the end of the first quarter. Hills East pulled ahead by 7 points in the second. By the end of the third, things looked promising for Hills East, who held a 59-48 lead over the Colts.

But Hills West had an explosive fourth quarter, outscoring the Thunderbirds 2110 to tie the game. Marcus Solomon sank two 3-pointers in the final minute off assists from Terry Harris. The second 3-pointer tied the score at 69 with only 4 seconds on the clock.

The teams then headed into overtime before an amped-up crowd. Hills West’s Jamir Blackman scored 6 of his 16 points in overtime to give Hills West the win.

“The three of them are just clicking.

Every game they click,” Hills West coach Bill Mitaritonna said. “This game was really stolen by Marcus Solomon.

In the last minute, he hit two 3-pointers to tie the game.”

“This game was really stolen

by Marcus Solomon. In the last minute, he hit two 3pointers to tie the game.”

- BILL MITARITONNA, Hills West varsity boys basketball coach For Hills West, Harris was the top scorer with 24 points. Solomon came next, netting 21 points total with five 3pointers. Sophomore Jonathan Faraci scored 9 of Hills West’s 21 points in the fourth quarter.

For Hills East, Mike Simon added 22 points with three 3-pointers. Matthew Boyd added 17 points and Grant Rosenberg added 14.

“Overall, that was the best our kids played all year,” Hills East coach Peter Basel said. “At critical points late in the fourth quarter, we kind of lost sight of our men – once in the zone, and once man-to-man, and they hit two big 3s.”

The electrifying game also carried additional meaning, as residents helped raised more than $1,300 for a college fund for a grieving family with Dix Hills roots. The patriarch of the family, which moved to Massapequa three years ago, suffered a heart attack in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy and died at age 41.

“The whole district came out in support. It was amazing,” Mitaritonna said.

Jimmy Peck of Dix Hills finishes in fourth place overall among the men in a 5K. RUNNING

Local Runner Fourth Jimmy Peck of Dix Hills whizzed through the streets of Bethpage on Dec. 15, 2012 to become the top local finisher among the men in the 25th annual Carter, DeLuca, Farrell &

Schmidt Ho Ho Ho Holiday 5 Kilometer Run. Peck, 37, scored in fourth place overall. There were a total of 1,155 finishers in this year’s run.

Half Hollow Hills photo/archives

GIRLS BASKETBALL>> LINDENHURST 37, HILLS EAST 40

T-Birds Hold On The ladies of the Half Hollow Hills East varsity girls basketball team are holding their own in League II with a 40-37 victory on Jan. 8.

The win came against Lindenhurst, who shares the same 3-2 league record as the Thunderbirds.

Hills East came out big in the first quarter, finishing the frame 16-7. They kept it up in the second, finishing the half ahead 25-13.

Hills East’s Danielle Lulley, pictured in a game earlier this season, scored 4 points for Hills East in their 3-point win against Lindenhurst.

But Lindenhurst stepped it up in the third quarter, outscoring the T-Birds 15-9.

With 1:29 on the clock, Ashley Walker’s layup gave Hills East a 38-37 lead. Kristen McKenzie’s free throws gave the TBirds the 40-37 final victory.

Walker had 14 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. McKenzie added 10 points and 15 rebounds, and Julia Gneiser had 5 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

The T-Birds were also victorious against Connetquot on Jan. 3. Contributing largely to the 52-33 win was Gnieser, who netted 23 points as the team’s high scorer.

Hills East faces a tough opponent in Northport on Jan. 18 at 6 p.m. The Tigers have the best record in League II.

A24 • THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • JANUARY 17, 2013

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