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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, DECEMBER 19, 2013 MELVILLE

The Paramount Spotlight

Rental Housing Up In Smoke?

NAACP attorney: Town counteroffer may back ownership units Half Hollow Hills photo/Danny Schrafel

1970s icons Don McLean and Judy Collins double-bill The Paramount, Dec. 22.

OneNight, TwoIcons

By Peter Sloggatt psloggatt@longislandernews.com

The ’70s wouldn’t be the ’70s without Don McLean and Judy Collins.

McLean’s eternal hit, “American Pie,” is virtually burned into the collective memories of generations of Americans. Everyone knows the lyrics of 1972’s biggest hit, practically down to the letter.

Collins, though not a songwriter, has likewise etched a string of song lyrics into the minds of generations.

Over a 50-year career, her crystalline voice has given the world classic interpretations of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now,” Stephen Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns,” and The Beatles’ (Lennon/McCartney) “In My Life,” among others.

Both have a place at the top among icons of 1970s America, and both have continued strong as steady performers (Continued on page A14)

Residents show support with signs for affordable, for-sale units on 8.1 acres on Ruland Road Dec. 10. While the town turned down a settlement offer that would have cleared the way for 117 rentals, the Huntington NAACP’s attorney said a counteroffer by the town may embrace that unit spread, but as a community of homeowners.

By Danny Schrafel dschrafel@longislandernews.com

After turning down a settlement offer from the NAACP last week to end a decadelong housing discrimination suit, the Town of Huntington’s counteroffer for a plan for the Melville property may have almost the same number of units, but with one critical difference – they would be ownership instead of rentals.

The settlement, which Huntington’s town board turned down unanimously on Dec. 10, would have cleared the way for 77 one-bedroom, 34 two-bedroom and six three-bedroom affordable rental units on the 8.1 acre parcel along Ruland Road.

Attorney Christopher Campbell, who is representing the Huntington NAACP, said Friday it was his “sense” that an “informal overture”

had been made to back a similar 117-unit distribution, but as a community of homeowners.

A settlement would end an 11-year court battle over affordable housing tied to The Greens at Half Hollow senior community in Melville before the case is scheduled to go to trial in February 2014. The Huntington NAACP alleges previous plans to include only one-bedroom ownership units in the Ruland Road property – an affordable housing offset to The Greens – is discriminatory against minorities and families with children.

Prospective developer Peter Florey of D&F Development has an option to buy the land until Dec. 31, and said he would not buy another option should his current one lapse.

Northport-based attorney Jim Clark, who is representing the town in its defense of (Continued on page A14)

DIX HILLS

Developer Eyes 13 Dix Hills Acres Intrest in Deer Park Road land for senior housing, assisted living

By Danny Schrafel dschrafel@longislandernews.com

A Maryland-based developer is perusing land in Dix Hills for a possible senior community on nearly 13 acres along Deer Park Road.

David Holland, vice president of development for Brightview Senior Living, met with the House Beautiful Civic Association last Monday, said Sheila Saks, president emeritus of the civic association.

Town planners said The Shelter Group is considering three parcels on the east side of Deer Park Road – one at 482 Deer Park Road and two at neighboring 488 Deer Park

Road. The combined land, which is south of the Bissett nursery, would total 12.8 acres.

There, Brightview is mulling building a community that would offer services including independent living, assisted living and Alzheimer’s care options for approximately 200 residents, Saks said.

Saks stressed, however, that the proposal is in “very, very preliminary” stages. Planning officials said Friday that the company has not filed anything at town hall related to the proposal. A spokesman did not return calls by press time Monday.

Brightview is a seniorfocused part of The Shelter

Group, a Baltimore, Md.-based firm that has been in business for more than 30 years. The Shelter Group develops, manages and owns residential real estate while specializing in multi-family and senior living communities.

“Brightview is committed to creating vibrant senior living communities by providing excellent service to all of our customers,” according to the company’s website. “Our goal is to create environments that are a great place to live and a great place to work.”

Saks said that House Beautiful members raised concerns about where a sewer treatment plant would be

built on the property, how large the building would be and what it would look like, and how the developer would navigate a steep slope on the land.

“They have many questions and the potential developer didn’t have many answers, unfortunately,” Saks said, adding it may have been premature for the hopeful developer to meet with the group.

But by the same token, it’s a good sign that Brightview officials came to visit residents so early in the process and before filing a proposal at Huntington Town Hall.

“That’s a very good beginning in outreach,” she said.

IN THIS WEEK’S EDITION

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THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • DECEMBER 19, 2013 • A3

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON TOWN OF HUNTINGTON

Makes Common Core suggestions

By Jacqueline Birzon jbirzon@longislandernews.com

Following the culmination of five statewide hearings on the Common Core curriculum, the chairman of the State Education Committee, Senator John Flanagan (R-East Northport), issued nine formal recommendations to New York’s department of education calling on Commissioner John King to slow down the implementation of the standards and halt the dissemination of private student information to testing companies.

In key recommendations issued Dec. 12, comprised of four bills and five recommendations for “immediate administrative action,” Flanagan offered legislation urging King to delay the full launching of the statewide Education Data Portal (EDP) for one year to strengthen protections on student and district privacy.

The “Privacy Bill,” offered last week in response to stakeholder concerns over the release of student information on the cloud-based information portal, calls on the department to establish significant, formalized “civil and criminal penalties” for the unauthorized disclosure of personal information and increased oversight regarding the release of student information.

“It continues to baffle so many why the department would need to collect up to 400 data points of student information,” Flanagan said, adding that school districts should be given the power to determine, at the local level, whether or not they wish to participate in the EDP. Following the over 30 hours, 1,000 pages and 115 witnesses who spoke out on the implementation of the Common Core standards, Flanagan and the state senate committee on education drew up a series of proposed reforms which were submitted last Thursday to King and Chancellor Meryl Tisch for review.

Flanagan’s recommendations call for the expedition of federal waivers for students with disabilities and English-language learners; the “immediate” production of missing modules for ELA and math curriculum; the alignment of assessments “proportional” to released modules — calling on the department to administer test questions in a reasonable fashion to allow teachers ample time to teach students the material instead of testing them on subjects that teachers are forced to rush through after the beginning of the school year—; and to increase access to funding for professional development.

In addition, Flanagan’s recommendations asked the department to (Continued on page A15)

AQuick‘White Christmas’ Miracle thinking saves man’s life at Engeman Theater

By Jacqueline Birzon

Half Hollow Hills photo/Jacqueline Birzon

Senator Wants Change

jbirzon@longislandernews.com

One day after his 69th birthday, Joe Lonetto entered the John W. Engeman Theater in Northport Dec. 3 for an 8 p.m. performance of Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas.” In the company of his wife Joanne and longtime friends the Sterns, Lonetto was cracking jokes and looking forward to an evening of entertainment.

But in an instant, the spirit of the season drained from Lonetto’s face and from the hearts of those around him. Two minutes before the curtains were to rise, Lonetto dropped to the lobby floor, eventually becoming unresponsive and losing a pulse.

Nurse practitioner Donna Baas, a Wading River resident who attended the show with her husband, emerged from the ladies room and found Lonetto laying face-down on the floor. A crowd of guests, unsure of how to handle the crisis, swarmed around Lonetto before Baas rushed to his side.

On instinct, Baas’ medical training kicked into gear. She asked Lonetto if he could remember his name and, after mumbling his name once, he became completely unresponsive, according to Baas.

Within seconds, stage supervisor Jeffrey Brenner, a certified EMT with the Huntington Community First Aid Squad (HCFAS), tore through the theater to assist Baas, who said she was too small to turn Lonetto over on her own.

The pair rolled Lonetto over so that he was on his back and determined that the man, whose face was bloodied from the fall, had no pulse and was not breathing – he had gone into cardiac arrest.

“I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to help. I was frozen… Before that fellow [Jeffrey] came, I basically thought we lost him. There were some very mixed feelings but luckily, they didn’t last long,” Eitan Stern said.

Another bystander called 911 and within minutes, Northport Fire Department first responders were at the scene.

Before the fire department arrived, Brenner and Baas worked in tandem. They removed his shirt, and administered CPR and performed chest compressions until Northport volunteers arrived and helped with the pair’s revival efforts.

Once the HCFAS and Northport Village police joined the Northport Fire

Jeffrey Brenner, an EMT with the Huntington Community First Aid Squad and stage supervisor at the John W. Engeman Theater, along with Wading River’s Donna Baas, not pictured, saved a man’s life after a patron went into cardiac arrest moments before the Dec. 3 performance of “White Christmas.”

Department at the scene, first responders attached Lonetto to an automated external defibrillator (AED) machine, which delivered three doses of electric shock to Lonetto’s heart.

“Once we shocked the gentleman there was a spontaneous return of circulation and breathing,” Brenner said.

Moments after the shocks were administered, Lonetto was on his way to Huntington Hospital for further treatment.

According to the National Institutes of Health U.S. Library of Medicine, people who suffer from cardiac arrest and don’t receive medical attention quickly “die within a few minutes.” The defibrillation “sends an electric shock to restore the heart’s rhythm to normal.”

According to Stern, Lonetto received an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator in his chest on Monday and will ideally return home by the end of the week.

“Somebody was up there that day,” Stern said.

Stern, friends and neighbors with Lonetto for the past 40 years, described

the event as a “Hanukkah (or Christmas) miracle,” and described the two Good Samaritans as “heroes” and “lifesavers.”

Both Stern and John W. Enegeman Theater owner Kevin O’Neill agreed if circumstances were different, and had Lonetto entered cardiac arrest when he was sitting in his seat, the end result could have been devastatingly different.

“It was a very stressful time, and these people acted incredibly calmly and professionally, and to be quite honest Mr. Lonetto was lucky it happened where it happened… It was actually pretty incredible,” O’Neill said.

“You were all angels sent by God to save Joe and keep him with his family and friends!” Stern wrote in a letter to O’Neill, the HCFAS and Northport volunteers.

“Seconds seemed like swirling hours when he had his incident… Albeit you were strangers… it was fascinating to see the energy and determination you both [Jeffrey and Donna] exhibited as you kept at it and kept at it and kept at it. It was not just a coincidence; it was divine intervention.”

DIX HILLS

Soccer Leader Charged In $5M Scheme

By Jacqueline Birzon jbirzon@longislandernews.com

Robert Rocco, a Dix Hills resident and past president of the Dix Hills Soccer Club, was indicted on 14 counts of fraud on Dec. 10 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Rocco, who oversaw the intramural youth soccer league, was arrested and arraigned in Central Islip after an investigation led by U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch revealed the soccer dad allegedly stole $66,915 from the club and deposited it into a separate account called Limestone Capital Services. Immediately after the wire transfer, Rocco, authorities allege, told another member of the club that the soccer league “had no funds left to operate.” In April 2010 the other member, re-

ferred to as “John Doe 1” in records, deposited $20,000 of his own money into the soccer club account and, later that same year, deposited an additional $25,000.

A spokesman from the U.S. Attorney’s office in Brooklyn said Rocco pled not guilty to the charges of wire and mail fraud and was released on $500,000 bond.

Current soccer club President Martin Targett, in an email sent to members of the club, told families that “immediate steps” have been taken to protect funds in the club account and begged members for their continued trust and support in the future.

“If convicted of this crime, I find it deplorable that someone entrusted by a community to a position such as president in an organization that exists solely to serve that very same community, can commit such an

act against its own members,” Targett said in the letter, obtained by The Long-Islander. “Many of you may ask the question, how did this happen and how could others let it happen? I assure you there will be investigations and there will be a lot of soul searching.”

Lynch said in a press release that Rocco “solicited club members and volunteers, friends and neighbors, to invest money in a series of businesses… that Rocco claimed would earn high rates of return on investments” as high as 18 percent.

Rocco in 2006 founded Limestone Capital Services, a corporation registered with New York State, and operated his biddings from a Broadhollow Road office complex in Melville.

(Continued on page A15)

A4 • THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • DECEMBER 19, 2013

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Let It Snow – Or Don’t Let It Snow First snowfall… The first snowfall is always the

and delivering it to Long Island’s iconic diners. Now I am sure that is not really the case, but it’s fun to let the imagination go a little wild now and then.

prettiest, isn’t it? It’s usually so dainty and light, coating the trees in a delicate white blanket. Everyone takes in the beauty of it all and doesn’t mind A year after two Sandys… singing the “Let it Snow” song.

IN THE KNOW Last year around this time, the But then the second snow WITH AUNT ROSIE country, or at the very least, the comes and we’ve already had northeast, was repairing physienough! Did this happen to you cal damage from Hurricane last week? It sure happened to me. I forget when the Sandy, and repairing broken first snowfall came… Tuesday or Wednesday, I suphearts from the Sandy Hook Elementary School pose… and I was just so taken by it all. I’m going to shooting. This year, with tragedy behind us, let us not go out on a limb here and say that Dunlop Road is forget to be thankful and mindful of our blessings. the prettiest road in Huntington in the snow. (If you One way to do that is the old pay-it-forward-concept. disagree, write to me and tell me where you think is I only just heard, but apparently over the weekend, the prettiest – I’d love to know!) I drove down it (so parents of those lost in the Sandy Hook shooting carefully, mind you) and was just breathless. I asked that people honor the memory of their loved thought the snow was the greatest, most beautiful ones by performing a random act of kindness. Isn’t gift. Then Saturday came, and I was its enemy once that just the most perfect complement to the holiday more. My baking party got cancelled, my internet season? And what better way to remember the innowent out and I didn’t want to set foot outside, so my cent little lives lost that day than by spreading a little package got soaked. On the bright side, my car needlove across the world? Pay for the person behind you ed to be washed, so that saved me a trip. in line. Tip generously. Spread a little love!

Meet Santa… Santa has his elves; Aunt Rosie has A Merry to you… I will close out this week by her little birdies. And what the little birdies are whiswishing you all a very, very, Merry Christmas. Even pering in Aunt Rosie’s ear is that Santa himself – the if you don’t celebrate Christmas, I can still wish you real one – will be visiting Southdown Marketplace’s a merry day, can’t I? Whether you will be eating your new supermarket in Northport this Saturday. When I seven fishes, stuffing your face full of pumpkin pie, say it’s the real deal, I mean it. Stop by, give his serving a meal at a soup kitchen, or working the late beard a little tug and tell me if I’m lying. (Tell him shift for those of us who aren’t done shopping or who Aunt Rosie sent you and he might give you a wink.) won’t be cooking, I wish you a day of joy and happiMembers of the Northport High School choir will also be on hand to sing carols and bring even more hol- ness, of family and friends, and most importantly, of love and laughter. And hey, you know that person iday cheer. It’s all happening from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. as you’ve been mad at for a while? Forgive them. It’ll part of the supermarket’s grand opening festivities. help you more than them, anyway.

Foodie trends… Aunt Rosie’s little birdies also (Aunt Rosie wants to hear from you! If you have comgave her a bit of foodie gossip the other day. They ments, ideas, or tips about what’s happening in your said that it seems to them that every diner, every neck of the woods, write to me today and let me know Thursday, has the same specials: split-pea soup and the latest. To contact me, drop a line to Aunt Rosie, rice pudding. Do any of you eat in enough diners on c/o The Long-Islander, 145 East Main Street, HuntThursdays to know if this is true? I couldn’t help but ington NY 11743. Or try the e-mail at picture this giant factory in Queens, churning out galaunt.rosieli@gmail.com) lons and gallons of rice pudding and split-pea soup,

QUOTE OF THE WEEK PETER GUNTHER

PICTURE THIS PHOTO BY STEVE SILVERMAN

POLICE REPORT Compiled by Danny Schrafel

Driver Smashes Into Pole, Tree After smashing into a utility pole and a tree, a 27-yearold Dix Hills man was arrested in the wee hours of Dec. 8 and charged with aggravated DWI. Police said a 27year-old man was driving a 2001 Nissan on New York Avenue when he swerved, hitting a utility pole and a tree.

Police later determined the man was under the influence – sufficiently enough to warrant an aggravated DWI rap.

Officials said he was charged under the section of the aggravated DWI code which applies to suspects who drive with a blood alcohol content in excess of 0.18.

A Felonious Double-Whammy A phone scammer appears to have given a one-two punch to a Dix Hills resident. Police said the scammers got the victim’s debit card information on a previous phone call, which they used to make illicit charges.

However, they called back at 4:20 p.m. Dec. 5, when they asked for debit card info again, purporting that they were going to credit them for the previous charge. However, police said the scammers only proceeded to charge even more on the account. The twice-stricken resident called cops on Dec. 7.

Burglar Gets In The Side Door A burglar stole assorted jewelry, a MacBook computer and cash from a Cottontail Road home in Melville Dec. 7. Police said the thief gained entry by forcing open a side door of the Cottontail Road home at 4:45 p.m.

Get Out! A 48-year-old Huntington man was arrested Dec. 11 in Dix Hills on trespassing charges. He is accused of unlawfully entering a DeForest Road property at 8:30 p.m., one which was clearly marked with no trespassing signs.

Trouble With Texts A Dix Hills resident called police at 10:45 p.m. Dec. 6 after an unwanted pen pal just wouldn’t quit texting.

Police said the aggravated harassment complaint stems from numerous unsolicited texts, which caused the resident to become alarmed enough to call the cops.

Hope Your Back Feels Good In Jail A 25-year-old Queens man was arrested in Melville Dec. 8 after he allegedly stole from the Kohl’s store on New York Avenue. He is accused of stealing a body massager from the store.

Step Away From The Phone, Buddy

The Huntington Manor Fire Department spread holiday cheer as Santa and his helpers rode the “Polar Express” through local neighborhoods on Dec. 14. Kids from the Cook Street area are pictured meeting Santa along with their favorite characters.

“I will not tolerate nobody answering the phones. I will not tolerate anybody being nasty to anybody. I will make sure they are kind to the people and try to help them.”

An overly persistent male caller who was told to never call a Melville-based cosmetics firm again got back on the horn at about 10:30 a.m. Dec. 5, prompting the company to file an aggravated harassment complaint four days later. The suspect had previously called the offices multiple times, was told not to call back as a result but continued an incessant line of phone calls anyway.

Mind Your Wallet A Waldbaum’s shopper left their Melville store Dec. 14 missing one very important thing – their wallet. Police said the shopper’s wallet was stolen out of their shopping cart at 11:50 a.m.

Gunther: I’m Ready To Go, PAGE A6

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Students, pictured with some of the goodies on Friday, are aiming to have collected as many as 1,000 toys by Wednesday.

HALF HOLLOW HILLS

Meet Santa’s Helpers At West Hollow

By Danny Schrafel dschrafel@longislandernews.com

Apparently, the North Pole has an annex right under our noses in Melville.

Through their annual toy drive, West Hollow Middle School students are lending some of Santa’s helpers a hand as they bring cheer to needy children in the area.

Organizers of the Dix Hills-based Sunshine Toy Drive benefitted from the fruits of those labors Friday, when they picked up about 350 toys collected by West Hollow students. Those will be put into use this Saturday when the organization hosts their annual holiday party for 100 families.

“West Hollow and High School East were huge in helping us this year. The whole school was great,” said Hope Plumitallo, who organizes the drive with her husband, Dix Hills Fire Commissioner Michael Plumitallo and their daughter, Victoria “Sunshine” Plumitallo, the annual drive’s founder.

As of the Dec. 13 pickup, West Hollow had collected about 650 toys with an overall goal of 1,000. The United Skates of America picked up toys on Monday, and the Junior ROTC and Little Flower, a children and family services organization, will do so on Wednesday, the last day of the drive and also West Hollow’s Winter Wear sweater day.

West Hollow art teacher and student government adviser Matt Petrucci said the toy

drive has been an annual project the organization has undertaken each holiday season.

This year’s effort benefited from support from the Leadership Club, advised by Gayle Famigletti.

Petrucci said he stripped back this year’s effort to focus on the drive’s primary purpose – giving back to the community.

The toy drive, which began five years ago, became part of daily life at West Hollow Middle School in recent weeks. Eighthgraders Sophia Benson and Haley Califano wrote and read daily morning announcements about the toy drive and recorded a district-wide Connect-Ed call. Building monitors pitched in by wrapping donations boxes, the Leaders Club helped promote the toy drive by crafting posters and decorating, and students added banners and “good oldfashioned word of mouth,” Petrucci said.

The school community embraces the drive as a holiday tradition, he continued.

“I will get a note in my mailbox or an email saying, ‘What can I do?’” he said.

“People always ask me, ‘What [how many toys] are we up to?’”

The kids also got a little help from a fantastical little creature called the “Wolverminion,” who became the drive’s mascot.

It’s a minion from “Despicable Me” with Hugh Jackman-style Wolverine sideburns and claws, a nod to the school’s Wolverine mascot.

“It seemed to catch on,” Petrucci said of the theme.

Dix Hills Fire Commissioner Michael Plumitallo closes the trailer, now filled with hundreds of toys from the West Hollow Middle School toy drive, on Friday.

THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • DECEMBER 19, 2013 • A5

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TOWN OF HUNTINGTON

Gunther: I’m Ready To Go New highway super pledges new technology, improved constituent services Half Hollow Hills photo/Danny Schrafel

By Danny Schrafel dschrafel@longislandernews.com

When the New Year rolls in, people power will be the new rule in the Huntington Highway Department.

While completing a major technology infusion will be a top priority of Superintendent-elect Peter Gunther’s new administration, one bit of technology – the highway office’s automated answering service – will be a thing of the past on day one.

“I guarantee someone will answer the phone – if need be, I’ll answer the phone,” Gunther, of Centerport, said Saturday. “I will not tolerate nobody answering the phones. I will not tolerate anybody being nasty to anybody. I will make sure they are kind to the people and try to help them.”

Gunther and his transition team met with outgoing Highway Superintendent William Naughton Thursday. The team includes two people who will soon become key fixtures in the Gunther administration: Christine Gosik, an IT professional whom he has chosen as his confidential secretary, and attorney Chas Cancellare, who will be the deputy superintendent.

“He’s not afraid to get his hands dirty and bang nails. Chas has been around and done quite a bit, and I’m just happy and blessed to have him. He’s had trucks before; he’s done some plowing before. He’s a worker,” Gunther said.

That hands-on, can-do spirit is one that Gunther has vowed will permeate his administration as long as the public choos-

Highway Superintendent-elect Peter Gunther, pictured with a Centerport Fire Department plow on Saturday, said integrating technology into the highway superintendent’s daily operations is a top priority when he takes office in January. es to keep him in charge.

“I’m not afraid to take on as much as necessary to do the job,” he said. “In the beginning, it’s going to be almost like I’m micromanaging, but when you start out something you need to be able to do that to find out exactly who’s doing what and how good they’re doing it.”

Gunther plans to integrate the highway office into Huntington @ Your Service, which allows residents to file complaints by

HUNTINGTON

Ringing In The Season

email and smartphone and track progress on those complaints. He also wants to expand computerization and equip foremen with smartphones to speed up communication.

Gunther said Huntington IT Director Bill Crowley will assess the office’s needs after he takes office in January and help him craft a plan to meet the Highway office’s needs.

“He’s going to help me turn this place around 100 percent,” Gunther said.

The close collaboration with town hall’s top technology man is also indicative of Gunther’s plans to build a more harmonious relationship with the Huntington Town Board, one he says is off to a good start.

“I’m not here to fight with the town board,” he said. “I want to bring a breath of fresh air to this job.”

Gunther, who turns 58 on Dec. 19, is a

Northport native born in Huntington Hospital. His grandmother, Gretchen, opened Gunther’s Tap Room in Northport Village. His father, Peter Gunther Sr., later took over the neighborhood pub, perhaps best known for serving one of the world’s foremost literary luminaries.

“Jack Kerouac drank quite a bit of beer in there,” Gunther said.

Firefighting is also a family tradition.

After getting his start in the NYPD, Gunther found his niche as one of New York’s Bravest. After working out of Ladder Company 138 for nearly 24 years, Gunther retired from the FDNY in 2003, and his son, Dan, is now following in dad’s footsteps.

Gunther is a former member of the Northport Fire Department, a current member of Centerport Fire Department and a member of Centerport’s Board of Commissioners, a role he will continue to serve as highway superintendent. He also spent three years in the U.S. Air Force before becoming a reservist, completing more than 25 years of service in June 2001.

The superintendent-elect said he has a clean bill of health since the heart attack he had in August after fighting a fire in the laundry room of The Thatched Cottage in Centerport. Doctors gave Gunther one stent, and he said he’s been in good health ever since.

“I thought I was 26 years old again,” he quipped. “Listen – when you’re born and raised in the fire service, it’s in your heart…

You size up different things with experience and you do what you have to do.”

Those life experiences have prepared him to make the tough decisions as the leader of a major town department, Gunther said. He repeatedly stressed that it’s not about him – it’s about serving the people of Huntington. One way he’ll show that is by taking the highway superintendent’s name off the town trucks.

“The town sawhorses will be the Town of Huntington highway office – not the Pete Gunther highway office,” he said.

HALF HOLLOW HILLS

State Won’t Stop School Closures

Hundresd of children received a holiday thrill Dec. 12 at the Toys of Hope Children’s Charity’s annual holiday party.

For volunteers, it was a familiar sight on the grand staircase of Oheka Castle in Huntington Dec. 12. But for needy children visiting the castle thanks to Toys of Hope that day, it was something like they had never seen before.

Hundreds of children on Thursday received gifts for themselves and their families – and a gift of love – last Thursday during the 15th annual Toys of Hope annual holiday party.

As the young children were ushered through the majestic front doors of the his-

toric estate, they were greeted by costumed volunteers and Huntington Manor Fire Department volunteers. Once upstairs, the children went to a party full of dancing, face painters, magicians, treats and toys.

The event is the brainchild of Huntington resident Melissa Doktofsky, who launched the organization in the early 1990s. In addition to their outreach with children, the organization has been active in disaster relief, most recently aiding the victims of Superstorm Sandy last year.

New York State’s top education official has turned down a plea from Forest Park Elementary School parents to hit the brakes on the Half Hollow Hills School District’s decision to close the elementary school located in Dix Hills.

Jonathan Burman, a spokesman for State Education Commissioner John King, said the commissioner denied 58 Forest Park parents’ request for an immediate stay on the closure on Dec. 11.

Now, the commissioner will evaluate the substance of the appeal before issuing a final decision.

“The commissioner will now decide on [the] petitioners’ appeal,” Burman said.

The Half Hollow Hills Board of Education voted Oct. 28 to close Forest Park Elementary School and Chestnut Hill Elementary School, which they said at the time would save the district roughly $3 million. They cited declining enrollment as a key driver in the decision to close the schools, citing statistics from the district’s Facilities Steering Committee, commissioned in June to make recommendations to the board on potential closures, showing that ele-

mentary enrollment was expected to decline by 13 percent in the next four years.

Earlier this month, the district approved new district maps which delineate where students will go to elementary school without Forest Park and Chestnut Hill as part of the school district.

However, dozens of Forest Park Elementary School pushed back, filing a petition with King Nov. 23, urging him to overturn the school board’s decision to close Forest Park, a 2011 federal Blue-Ribbon School.

In their appeal, they cited findings by medical, transportation and municipal safety personnel, “all of which conclusively demonstrate that the Board of Education did not make its decision to close the Forest Park Elementary School in good faith and that the Board of Education lacked even a rational basis for closing the school.”

The petitioners further alleged that the reasons for closing Forest Park were “arbitrary,” not based in fact, and “against sound educational policy.”

- SCHRAFEL

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THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • DECEMBER 19, 2013 • A7

HUNTINGTON STATION

Town Urges Formal Parking Agreement Councilman wants Renaissance, First Aid Squad to formalize solution over proposed hotel Half Hollow Hills photo/Danny Schrafel

By Danny Schrafel dschrafel@longislandernews.com

Huntington Station master developer Renaissance Downtowns is being urged to document plans to address parking concerns raised by the Huntington Community First Aid Squad before the town board considers signing off on plans to build a hotel on a municipal lot near the Huntington LIRR station.

The suggestion arose during a Dec. 10 town board hearing related to zoning changes needed for the project to become a reality.

Renaissance Downtowns has proposed constructing a three-to-five story boutique hotel, with 125-150 rooms, a catering facility and event space, at the corner of Railroad Street and New York Avenue.

Currently, the property is a town-owned municipal parking lot.

To allow that project to proceed, the town board must change zoning on the parcel to C-6 Huntington Station Overlay District and issue a special use permit to allow a hotel. Then, Renaissance must apply for and receive that permit and undergo site plan approval and an environmental review, according to Ryan Porter, Renaissance’s vice president of planning and development.

But before taking steps to clear the way for the hotel, Councilman Mark Cuthbertson wants the concerns over parking, raised by the Huntington Community First Aid Squad, to be formally addressed. The agency uses the lot

Martha Brenner, chief of the Huntington Community First Aid Squad, raises parking concerns Tuesday during a hearing tied to zone changes for a proposed hotel in Huntington Station. where Renaissance hopes to build the hotel.

“I think it would be helpful for us if there were a solution committed to writing that we could consider and have our departments consider as part of an approval process,” Cuthbertson said.

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON

DA: Woman Pocketed $3K Allegedly she stole from fundraiser

By Danny Schrafel dschrafel@longislandernews.com

She said she was raising the money to help a Huntington teen with cerebral palsy buy a wheelchair-accessible van.

But the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office alleges East Northport’s Maureen Maureen Myles Myles reneged on her promises and pocketed thousands of dollars of proceeds instead.

Myles, 61, is accused by the DA’s office of grand larceny and first-degree scheming to defraud the public through what they described as a deceptive fundraising appeal in mid-2011. She turned herself in at the DA’s office the morning of Dec. 4. She was convicted on similar charges in 2004, according to court records.

Myles is the executive director of the Trinity Program, a not-for-profit organization with a mission of helping those with disabilities find employment or acquire other skills that would allow them to live independently, the DA’s office said.

But officials allege Myles was the one who cashed in on the public’s generosity.

Myles is accused of collecting money between March 14 and Aug. 1, 2011, claiming the funds would be used to buy a

then 15-year-old Huntington teen, the son of a Trinity Program part-time worker who has cerebral palsy, a wheelchairaccessible van.

Much of that money was collected during the foundation’s $100-a-plate Drive for Love fundraiser, held March 17, 2011 at Nocello’s Ristorante in Northport. A volunteer who spoke to the DA’s office said the event could have netted up to $20,000. However, the DA’s office alleges Myles pocketed at least $3,000 of the cash.

Myles is said to have paid for wheelchair tie-down straps and other costs on a used van the family bought in the meantime. However, authorities also allege that Myles was defensive when volunteers – and the beneficiary – asked her about the fundraiser.

When the teen’s mother asked about proceeds and buying the new van several months after the Nocello’s event, Myles and the woman “had a falling out,” authorities said. The cerebral palsy patient’s mother told the DA’s office that when several volunteers asked her about the success of the fundraiser, Myles snapped back that it was “none of their business.”

Myles’ attorney, Huntington-based Pierre Bazile, said she “maintains her innocence.”

“We intend to try the case in the courts and not the press,” he said Tuesday.

Myles was released on her own recognizance and is due back in First District Court Feb. 10.

Martha Brenner, chief of the Huntington Community First Aid Squad, said leaders have met with Renaissance over their parking concerns and said the developer has “promised their full cooperation.”

“We are not here to voice objections to

the changes, nor to the overall project Renaissance Downtowns has proposed,” she said. “We are here to make the town board aware that we must have between 125 to 150 unrestricted parking spots.”

Aside from parking concerns, speakers at the town board hearing were largely supportive of the hotel concept.

Huntington Station resident Nancy Berg, who lives at the far end of Highview at Huntington on the northeast corner of Route 110 and Broadway-Railroad Avenues, endorsed Renaissance’s plans for a boutique hotel.

“I probably live closer to this property being rezoned for a possible hotel than anybody else in Huntington, and I assure you that I am completely in favor,” Berg said. “A hotel is not only needed, but will contribute to stimulating the economy of Huntington Station.”

A separate hearing – to rezone a nearly 1-acre parcel to build a 14-unit, oneand two-bedroom townhome-style community earmarked for veterans at the corner of Lowndes Avenue and Railroad Street – opened and closed with no speakers.

Town officials have said they hope renderings will be complete by February 2014 and groundbreaking will take place soon after for the housing development.

Renaissance officials are eyeing a late2014, early-2015 groundbreaking on the hotel.

Both proposals could be approved as soon as the January 2014 town board meeting.

A8 • THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • DECEMBER 19, 2013

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Opinion

Send

letters to: The Editor, Half Hollo w Hills Ne wspaper, 145 E. Huntingto Main Street, n, New Yo rk 11743 or em info@long ail us at islanderne ws.com

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

Continue Settlement Talks Members of the Huntington Town Board pressured for ownership units. voted unanimously last week to reject a settleWhile we disagree with the town’s decision ment offer on the table that would have ended to reject the settlement (there is a demonstrata 10-year housing discrimination lawsuit. ed need for affordable rental housing in the The NAACP, the plaintiff in the suit, claims area), we are happy to see that the decision that the town discriminated against families was a unanimous one. That’s because it indiwith children and minorities when it approved cates that there was some compromise from plans for an affordable housing complex on both sides of the issue. And you can call it Ruland Road in Melville but rehorse-trading or call it comprostricted the complex to one-bed- EDITORIAL mise, but it is how good governroom, ownership units. The comment functions around here. (Conplex was proposed by the developer of The gress, take notes.)

Greens, an 1,100-unit, luxury townhouse deThe resolution approved by the board indivelopment for seniors in Melville, to mitigate cated that settlement talks would continue, a lack of affordable units there. and that gives us hope. We will watch with anUnder the settlement before the town board, ticipation that a settlement ultimately will inthe NAACP would have discontinued the suit clude the rental housing that is badly needed if the town approved a mix of one-, two-, and in this town, and that it is done in time to meet three-bedroom rentals, but civic groups have the developer’s December deadline.

Supports Ruland Knolls Rental Project The following was sent to members of the Huntington Town Board. It is printed here at the authors’ request.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

What’s The Problem With Renters?

DEAR EDITOR: On Dec. 10 the Huntington Town Board voted against settling a lawsuit regarding the creation of affordable housing at Ruland Road. The roadblock was the fact that the settlement called for 117 units of affordable rental housing – 70 percent one-bedroom for young people, 30 percent two- and three-bedroom for working families. Local civic groups want Ruland Knolls to be entirely ownership.

Something quite unprecedented happened during the town board meeting: 27 of 32 speakers supported affordable rental housing at Ruland Knolls. One theme echoed by nearly all was that not everyone can afford to own a home. Young people burdened by college debts, vets just returning to civilian life, and young marrieds saving to purchase their first home, were a few examples.

One speaker, Ken Christensen, a former town board member and now active in the Huntington Township Housing Coalition,

asked those in the audience to raise their hands if they ever had rented. A sea of hands went up, including members of the town board. “Renters are not aliens,” he said. “They are us.”

The lawsuit, brought by the NAACP, charges the town discriminated against minorities and families – in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act – when the board called for only one-bedroom “family” units at Ruland Road.

A front-page story in Long Island Business News on Dec. 13, said, “Housing discrimination still festers on Long Island,” referring to federal court rulings against Garden City and Island Park discriminatory real estate practices that were handed down days before the Huntington vote, and named Huntington as another example of the kind of housing discrimination that still plagues Long Island.

As the Dec. 12 Long-Islander editorial noted, “the board indicated that settlement talks would continue, and that gives us hope.”

These talks need to take place before the case returns to court for

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 Long Islander News, publishers of The Long-Islander, The Record and Half Hollow Hills Newspaper. Each issue of the The Long-Islander and all contents thereof are copyrighted by Long Islander. 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.

trial in February. The board needs to make a compromise that creates rental homes at Ruland Knolls. If not, we can assume that the $400,000 in taxpayer monies already wasted on this lawsuit will balloon as the legal proceedings drag on.

None of this is necessary. Why did the board reject the settlement agreed to and recommended by their own attorney in a memo sent to them on July 8?

And, why is the board subjecting us to more unnecessary legal expense in a suit that they – like Garden City and Island Park – are likely to lose and could end with Huntington receiving a hefty fine or being assigned a federal monitor to stop discriminatory practices?

As a Dec. 10 Cablevision editorial stated, the Huntington Town Board should build rentals at Ruland Knolls “with bricks, not briefs.”

RICHARD KOUBEK Dix Hills President Huntington Township Housing Coalition

The Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce (the “Chamber”) wishes by this letter to express its support for the proposed Ruland Knolls project.

Our Chamber’s mission is to promote business, economic development, and job creation through the coordinated efforts of our membership. As such, the Chamber seeks to represent the interests of business, industry, financial services, not-for-profits, and other professionals within the greater Huntington area, and to assess the impact of various initiatives on local business, employment, and the economy.

A major challenge facing the Town of Huntington, and Long Island in general, is the retention of our young adult residents, and a major obstacle to this is the shortage of affordable housing opportunities. Likewise, the high cost of housing has made it difficult for other segments of our community, such as our returning veterans, to continue their residence here. The Ruland Knolls project concept has been presented to the Chamber, and we believe that it provides a solution with its affordable rental units, offered with a veterans preference.

Far too often, our children (raised by our fine community and educated in our excellent local schools) must leave Huntington due to its limited supply of reasonably priced housing, taking with them to their new communities the lessons, learned

James V. Kelly Publisher/CEO

skills, and resources developed and instilled in them through our years of nurturing and care. This drains our limited local resources as we see other communities (not ours) benefit from that which we have given our youth, but it also leaves our local business community weakened by a reduced supply of talent, despite the enormous supply born and developed here. Likewise, our veterans (and all the learning and skills they possess) in many instances cannot return to their local Long Island communities for the very same reason. Moreover, vital positions, such as educators, nurses, and first responders, cannot be filed as those persons who might otherwise fill them (whether they be youth, veterans, or otherwise) simply cannot afford to live in Huntington and so must take employment elsewhere.

While a single project like Ruland Knolls cannot alone solve this problem, it represents a vital step towards a necessary solution. Therefore, the Chamber supports the Ruland Knolls project as proposed, and we urge the town board to approve a settlement which will make it possible.

HUNTINGTON TOWNSHIP CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Vita Scaturro, Secretary on behalf of the Executive Committee HUNTINGTON CHAMBER YOUNG PROFESSIONALS COMMITTEE Chairwoman, Jennifer Cassidy HUNTINGTON CHAMBER VETERAN’S COMMITTEE Chairman, Joe Maddalone

Peter Sloggatt Associate Publisher/Managing Editor

Luann Dallojacono Editor Danny Schrafel Jacqueline Birzon Kristen Schultheiss Reporters

Ian Blanco Dan Conroy Production/ Art Department

Marnie Ortiz Office / Legals

Ross Weber Business Development

145 E. Main Street, Huntington, New York 11743 631.427.7000

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THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • DECEMBER 19, 2013 • A9

Life&Style HISTORY

Honoring Town’s Soldiers And Sailors Photo/Huntington Historical Society

By George Wallace info@longislandernews.com

The accomplishment and sacrifice of the men and women from our area who served in our military is recognized in many locations around Huntington.

In spring, Kwanza cherry trees grow in the low-lying park area known as the “town spot” on the southeast corner of 25a and Park Avenue. In the summer, children splash in the waters of Gold Star Battalion Beach. As fall comes, flags wave on the grounds in front of Huntington Town Hall.

But perhaps the most visible reminder of the service of our town's response to the call to military duty is the Huntington Soldiers and Sailors Monument building – at the east end of Main Street where the road bends and the land rises – currently home to the town historian, but conceived in 1865 as a memorial to Civil War veterans and financed in the 1880s on the strength of a plan to also have the place house the town’s first library.

The building dates to 1892. But its history goes back to the conclusion of the Civil War, and the first attempt in Huntington to create a monument to its war veterans.

In fact, the first move made towards the erection of any kind of a memorial was on Aug. 10, 1865, the day that Henry J. Scudder stood before a town gathering on the village parade grounds to welcome back the men of the 127th Regiment who had been mustered from Huntington, Northport and Centerport to fight for the union.

Presided over by Rear Admiral Hiram Paulding, the assembled heard the chaplain of the regiment make a stirring address that day, stating that he thought it fitting for the people of the home town to erect some sort of memorial “to those brave fellow townsmen who had been either sent home in a rough pin coffin, had been buried in some

The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial building is home to the town historian and is also being used as an exhibit gallery for the Huntington Historical Society and a visitor center for the town. unknown spot on one of the battlefields, or whose whereabouts were unknown.”

The proposition was met with a large cheer from the crowd and a committee was appointed to undertake the work.

The committee quickly went to work, but was only able to raise $500. For 21 years, the money sat in the hands of trustees, accumulating interest.

But in 1886, a new committee was appointed, headed up by John F. Wood, and they came up with a plan they thought might attract more funds – create a building that would be monumental in design, but would also house the local public library.

They additionally decided to erect a statue of a life-

sized figure of a soldier in front of the building – and to situate the structure on the hillside near the gravesites of many a Revolutionary War figure, as well as the site of a notorious act of incivility and desecration by the commander of the British troops in Huntington, who in 1782 encamped his men on tops of graves and used the headstones for baking bread.

With the cooperation of a library association, the fundraising effort took on new life, and at a grand fair held in July 1887, a full $1,250 was cleared for the project. In the end, a total of $5,000 was secured in bonds and mortgages, and the building was constructed in 1892.

But with the building up, the matter of those bonds – and how to pay them off – continued to loom over the community. “Just how those bonds were to be canceled was a matter of much local concern to the village people, who realized that was going to be hard work raising money by entertainment,” noted the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

That's when Temple Prime, heading up the committee on the death of Wood, stepped up to the plate.

In April 1895, Prime called a meeting and announced that he would turn 30 bonds of the funding debt in his possession over to the treasurer if the group was able to raise just $500. It was a generous offer – in all, the bonds amounted to 40 in total, at $50 apiece. By Oct. 1, 1895, the money had been raised.

That day, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle praised the generosity of Prime and the hard work of the townspeople in clearing the war memorial of debt. “Only a few of the old war veterans who hailed from Huntington are alive today,” noted the paper. “But their descendants are enjoying the satisfaction of knowing that there now stands within a very few feet of where the little green mounds mark their last resting place, a memorial which is both an appropriate and fitting acknowledgement of the service they rendered to their country.”

ART

Cabaret With A Side Of Holiday Cheer Great music, wine, cheese and holiday cheer will be served up in Dix Hills on Saturday as the Art League of Long Island hosts its free Cabaret Concert for the Holidays.

The Dec. 21 event, to be held in the Jeanie Tengelsen Gallery in Dix Hills, features the instrumentation and vocals of Janice Buckner with Ben Boecker on backup keyboard. The second half of the concert will feature interactive participation, with special guest artists Anna E. Kravis and Miles Kravis, Buckner’s longstanding performance partners. Together, they have traveled internationally and are known as Sweet Rose Revue.

Buckner is an interpretive stylist and songwriter offering a festive cabaret celebration of song. She is known for her exceptional voice and musical creativity.

From ballads, blues and Broadway to original pieces, Buckner accompanies herself on acoustic and electric guitars, and acoustic and electric basses.

She began her career as a balladeer in England and traveled through Europe and Greece, returning to the states as an interpretive stylist and songwriter. She toured throughout the United States and abroad with performance highlights including two

Janice Buckner performs a free cabaret show with Ben Boecker on keyboard in Dix Hills on Saturday.

European tours, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the QE II Ocean Liner, the Reichold Center for the Performing Arts in the Virgin Islands, the Whitney Museum and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

Buckner studied songwriting with

Holly Near, improvisational singing with Bobby McFerrin, music improvisation with David Darling (cellist, Music for People & Paul Winter Consort), Sign Language with Bernard Bragg (cofounder National Theatre of the Deaf)

and drumming with Olitunji.

Boecker, an accomplished baritone, musical director, composer, and lyricist has studied voice for nine years with Metropolitan Tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, pioneering voice scientist Jeanette LoVetri (the founder of Somatic Voicework and the Voice Workshop), Matt Shepherd Smith (NYU), and Ron Meixsell (Long Island vocal guru). He works frequently with schools and community theaters in New York and on Long Island.

He most recently made his equity debut as a music director with Open Hydrant’s “Dani Girl” in October, and will next be working with Valley Stream Central High School on their production of “Godspell!”

As a singer, Ben most recently appeared at the TADA Performing Arts Center in New York City—with “Ex*rcise This: The Musical.” He has performed on Broadway in the chorus of the Irish Repertory’s gala benefit of “Camelot,” and off-Broadway as a soloist in the world premiere of Philip Springer’s “Trunk Songs.”

The event is free and open to the general public. The Art League is located at 107 East Deer Park Road in Dix Hills. For more information call 631-462-5400 or visit www.artleagueli.org.

A10 • THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • DECEMBER 19, 2013

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DANCE

Dancers Dazzle In Ohman’s ‘Nutcracker’ kschultheiss@longislandernews.com

Two young ladies from the Town of Huntington are set to perform in this year’s presentation of “The Nutcracker”

by Commack-based New York Dance Theater under the direction of Frank Ohman.

Alexis McCray, 11, of Dix Hills, and Marisa Daddazio, 12, of Commack, will be splitting the role of “Fritz.” Each girl will perform as Fritz in three of six performances that will take place at Hofstra University over the weekend of Dec. 20-22.

McCray is a sixth-grader at West Hollow Middle School and Daddazio is a seventh-grader at Trinity Regional School in East Northport.

“They’re very dedicated and they work hard,” Ohman, founder and artistic director of New York Dance Theater, Inc. and the Frank Ohman School of Ballet, said of the young Town of Huntington residents.

“We’ve been rehearsing since September and they know exactly what they’re doing and they’re so good,” Ohman said. “They’re smart and talented children – very talented – and they love what they’re doing. They’re just thrilled to be in [the performance] and they study with me personally.”

Ohman is an established veteran in the ballet world. He began his career in 1959 with the San Francisco Ballet, and in 1962, he made his way to the east coast and joined the New York City Ballet.

During his 22 years as a soloist with the

New York City Ballet, Ohman was mentored by George Balanchine. Balanchine, who has been called one of the greatest choreographers of the 20th century, recreated “The Nutcracker” by introducing children into the ballet.

Ohman founded the Frank Ohman School of Ballet in 1979, which is now located in Commack. He has been putting on performances of “The Nutcracker” since 1982.

“My ‘Nutcracker’ is based after Mr. Balanchine’s of the New York City Ballet,” Ohman said. “I brought city ballet out here in a way with my school. When I first started out here [on Long Island], there was only like one other company doing ‘The Nutcracker.’”

This is the New York Dance Theater’s 32nd annual production of “The Nutcracker.”

Ohman continues Balanchine’s tradition of allowing children to fill major roles in the performance. He even added scenes and music to his production to allow the children to dance more and practice more choreography.

“The children who are in it dance a lot,” Ohman said. “I put them to work. They actually do choreography. I train them to dance.”

The New York Dance Theater’s production of “The Nutcracker” is one of the few that are still consistent with Balanchine’s version. It is also unique due to its added scenes, making it about 15 minutes longer than most other productions of “The Nutcracker,” according to Ohman.

The ballet master kept the music he

Photos/New York Dance Theatre

By Kristen Schultheiss

Alexis McCray, 11, of Dix Hills, left, and Marisa Daddazio, 12, of Commack, right, share the role of “Fritz” in New York Dance Theatre’s version of “The Nutcracker.” added to his version of “The Nutcracker” consistent with its original score, by utilizing songs written by its original composer, Tchaikovsky.

“His music is very danceable,” Ohman said. “It’s very balletic.”

According to the dance company, its performance is the largest on Long Island with a cast of 80 performers including children, semi-professional and professional dancers.

Guest artists, including two from the Dance Theatre of Harlem, will also join in the show.

Both McCray and Daddazio were chosen along with five other children Ohman School children to perform with the Dance Theatre of Harlem this past May. Performances will take place at Hofstra University in Hempstead on Friday, Dec. 20 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and on Saturday, Dec. 21 and Sunday, Dec. 22 at 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. Tickets are $40, or $33 for seniors and children 12 and under. For the Dec. 20 show at 2 p.m., tickets are $20 for all ages. Tickets can be purchased at www.ohmanballet.org or by calling 631462-0964.

ART

Art League Names Exhibition Winners The Art League of Long Island announced the winners of the second part of its 58th Annual Members’ Exhibition showing through Jan. 5 in the Dix Hills organization’s gallery. Exhibition juror Robert Carter selected 15 works of art out of the more than 114 pieces on display in the League’s Jeanie Tengelsen Gallery.

Awards of Excellence: Pat Ralph, “The Long View”, oil; Gia Schifano, “Sea Cliff Beach”, acrylic; Marie Sheehy-Walker, “Laura In Her Blue Sweatshirt”, pastel; Anna Tsontakis-Mally, “Maenad”, sculpture; and Vesna Volaric, “Early Afternoon”, oil on canvas.

Honorable Mention Awards: Greg Tsontakis-Mally, “Hengshan”, photography; Eleanor Meier, “Apples & Kimono’, watercolor; Paul Moreno, “Serenity”, Italian alabaster; Nancy Pallack, “Double Leaf Cuff”, metal jewelry; Jackie Stevens, “Ghost Ranch”, photography; Angela Stratton, “Beautiful Spirit”, oil; Shawn Sullivan, “Jubilee”, oil on linen on board; Susan Tango, “September Sunset at West Meadow Beach”, mosaic; Kalliope Viegas,”Metal Slab”, jewelry; and Elizabeth Waywell, “Stone & Silver”, jewelry.

Carter is an art professor at Nassau Community College. As an artist/illustrator, his paintings, drawings and illustrations are in great demand by collectors throughout the United States. His work is in the permanent collections of several museums and has been featured in exhibitions across the country.

Vesna Volaric’s “Early Afternoon” oil on canvas.

Gia Schifano’s “Sea Cliff Beach” acrylic.

Anna Tsontakis-Mally’s “Maenad” sculpture.

Marie Sheehy-Walker’s “Laura in her Blue Sweatshirt” pastel.

Pat Ralph’s “The Long View” oil.

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THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • DECEMBER 19, 2013 • A11

DANCE

‘The Nutcracker’ Takes Over Long Island Seiskaya Ballet Performances at Stony Brook University Dec. 20-23 The Seiskaya Ballet of St. James will perform “The Nutcracker” at Stony Brook University’s Staller Center for the Arts.

The Sagona family of Huntington is very involved with S e i s k a y a ’ s “Nutcracker” this year. Taking on the roles of Herr and Frau Stalhbaum are Philip and Hayley Sagona. Hayley, a stage veteran, is delighted to have been selected.

“The Party Scene is a real party. Instead of a patchwork of dance segments, as is often the case, the choreography flows seamlessly,” Hayley said in a press release.

The couple’s oldest daughter, Girie, will play Clara for two shows and their youngest daughter, Graciela, will perform as a guest in the party scene.

A Harborfields High School senior, dancing the role of Clara is a dream come true for Girie.

“I actually started ballet training a lot later than most students so I have had to really struggle to catch up,” she said. “In Seiskaya Ballet’s production, Clara is the central figure and dances en pointe throughout. Acting is as much a part of the role as is ballet technique which makes it different from Dew Drop or Snow Queen.

You add your own personality.”

Girie said she had a great apprenticeship last year dancing as a Friend of Fritz and Clara, so this year seems a natural fit.

“To top things off, I am on stage with my family plus I had my choice of costumes. It doesn’t get any better,” she said.

A first soloist with the company, Girie recently earned a compliment from Artistic Director Valia Seiskaya.

“Girie has a beautiful quality of movement. She visualizes the music and exudes emotion really connecting with the audience. She’s a lovely Clara,” the artistic director said.

Younger sister Graciela, an aspiring dancer, will also appear as a Soldier, an Angel and en pointe as one of Bo Peep’s Sheep in addition to a guest in the party scene. She is a sixth-grader at Oldfield Middle School.

Aside from ballet, the four siblings have another thing in common: they are all honors students.

“Being a high school senior,” said Girie, “is bittersweet because Dec. 23 will be my last ‘Nutcracker’ while I’m in high school.

Then again, it’s a party, and it is my 18th birthday!”

Both of the family’s sons, Renaldo and Ricardo, also have roles in the performance. Renaldo Sagona will play the Butler and Ricardo Sagona appears in the battle scene.

“It is exciting to have the whole family together on stage. It will be a memory for a lifetime,” noted Philip Sagona in a press release.

Performances are scheduled for Friday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 21 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Sunday, Dec. 22 at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m.; and Monday, Dec. 23 at 7 p.m.

Tickets are $40 for adults, $34 for seniors and children and $30 each for groups

Dressed for the party scene are, from left to right, Huntington’s Hayley, Graciela and Girie Sagona. of 20 or more. Tickets can be purchased at the Staller Center Box Office at 631-632ARTS or at www.nutcrackerballet.com.

The Lynch School of Ballet Performances at Huntington High School Dec. 21-22 The Lynch School of Ballet of Huntington presents its fifth annual “Nutcracker” production at Huntington High School on Saturday, Dec. 21 and Sunday, Dec. 22.

One-hundred-fifty Lynch School of

Performances will take place Saturday, Dec. 21 at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 22 at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for children. They are for sale at the Lynch Ballet Box Office at 631-942-3933.

Lumiere Ballet Performances at SUNY Old Westbury Dec. 21-22 The Lumiere Ballet will perform its 16th production of “The Nutcracker” on Saturday, Dec. 21 and Sunday, Dec. 22 at SUNY Old Westbury’s Maguire Theater.

This “Nutcracker” cast includes awardwinning students as well as professional dancers.

The Lumiere Ballet is located in Bay Shore and performs throughout Long Island, New York City and the tri-state area, drawing many students from the Town of Huntington area.

Students practice year-round in profes-

The Lynch School of Ballet’s “Nutcracker” is at Huntington High School.

Ballet dancers along with guest performers will take the stage.

Matthew Donnell, formerly of Kansas City Ballet, will star in the role of Cavalier. Trent Kowalik, who won a Tony Award for his performance in “Billy Elliot,” will star as the male Soldier Doll.

And, Lynch Ballet Company alumna Alyssa Brogan of the Adelphi University dance department will take on the role of the Sugarplum Fairy.

The 2013 Lynch Ballet Company production expects to wow audiences with not only performances, but also costumes.

Madeline Hinkis, former costume mistress of the American Ballet Theater II, has designed the costumes.

The Lynch Ballet Company has generously donated 200 tickets to families in need in the Huntington Union Free school district.

sional training programs.

The company is led by Svetlana Caton, founder and artistic co-director of Lumière Ballet. Her background and training is of the Russian Ballet. At the age of 12, she participated in the esteemed Concours de Danse, which led to a scholarship offer at the school of the Paris Opera and an invitation to study with ballet legends. She has performed professionally in Europe and the United States, and has been teaching for 30 years.

Venti Petrov is Lumiere Ballet’s second artistic co-director. He is a national and international award-winner. Petrov graduated from The National Choreographic Institute of Sofia, Bulgaria. From there, he moved to New York and became an American citizen in 2001. He has worked with legendary dancers all over the world and has performed in more than 20 states

Lumiere Ballet’s “Nutcracker” features award-winning students.

in the U.S. He also has premiered his own original ballets in Manhattan and has released four CDs for ballet classes.

The Lumiere Ballet will present its version of “The Nutcracker” on Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. and on Dec. 22 at 2 p.m. at SUNY Old Westbury’s Maguire Theater. Tickets are $30 general admission and $25 for seniors and children under 16.

For more information visit www.lumiereballet.com or call 631-5862921.

Eglevsky Ballet Performances at the Tilles Center Dec. 20-22

Melville’s Sarah Gavilla will be dancing the role of Clara in Eglevsky’s “Nutcracker” at the Tilles Center.

Under the artistic direction of Laszlo Berdo, Eglevsky Ballet continues its annual tradition of “The Nutcracker.”

Performances will be held at Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, LIU Post on Friday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 21 at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.; and Sunday, Dec. 22 at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m.

An opening night reception following Friday’s performance will toast the guest artists. Reservations are recommended and there is a suggested donation of $65.

After the Saturday 11 a.m. performance, attend a Meet and Greet with the dancers where audience members can ask the dancers questions and take photographs.

Lia Cirio and Nelson Madrigal, principal dancers of the Boston Ballet, will dance the roles of Sugar Plum and Cavalier, respectively. Cirio and Madrigal will join a cast of professional dancers from throughout the country, as well as talented dance students from the Eglevsky Ballet Training Program.

Melville’s Sarah Gavilla of West Hollow Middle School will be dancing the role of Clara in two of the five shows: the Saturday, Dec. 21, 11 a.m. show and the Sunday, Dec. 22 show at noon. During the other three shows, she will fill the role of a Polichinelle.

Tickets for Eglevsky Ballet’s production of “The Nutcracker” range from $27-$82.

Group discounts are available. Tickets can be purchased in person at the Tilles Center Box Office, located at 720 Northern Boulevard in Brookville, online at www.tillescenter.org, or by phone at 516299-3100.

-SCHULTHEISS

A12 • THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • DECEMBER 19, 2013

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Foodie photos/Danny Schrafel

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Brio Brings Tuscan Flair

By Danny, Reena & Brinda foodies@longislandernews.com

In Italian, “brio” means “lively,” executive chef Michael Siegman explains – and it’s an apt description of the service and cuisine you can expect when you dine at one of the Walt Whitman Shops’ newest eateries that will please your taste buds, your senses and your wallet alike.

Open nine weeks in Huntington Station, Brio is part of Columbus, Ohio-based Bravo Brio Group. Siegman said the goal is to make “everyone feel like a guest in our home,” no small feat when you have a bustling mall in full Christmas swing as your neighbor. But thanks to attentive service, a tasteful, Tuscan-style interior and clever use of elevations, Brio does so with flying colors.

Chef Michael started us off with an overflowing Bruschetta Quattro ($14.95).

The quartet, served atop perfectly-toasted bread, included: sliced steak, which pairs perfectly with gorgonzola dolce and

slightly-sweet Tuscan Italian dressing; and similarly diverse Prosciutto and Asparagus accompanied by pinot noir onions and fontina cheese. A seasonal shrimp offering brings satisfying heat that lingers as a welcome guest, not one that will have you scrambling for ice water.

Purists will never go wrong with roasted red pepper atop Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Tuscan Harvest Salad ($14.95), a balanced blend of mixed greens, woodgrilled chicken shaved thin, sliced Cremini mushrooms, Applewood smoked bacon, sliced Red Delicious apples, all tossed with almonds, Gorgonzola, dried cranberries and sweet Tuscan Italian dressing, is another winner that illustrates Brio’s culinary credo – no one ingredient is the star; it’s a team effort that pleases and surprises by sight, smell and taste.

Still looking to bring the heat, check out the Spicy Shrimp and Eggplant ($11.95), a decadent pairing of creamy-textured eggplant topped with spicy shrimp cut by silky cream sauce.

Brio Tuscan Grill Executive Chef Michael Siegman displays the new restaurant’s open-fire oven that produces Tuscan delights and enhances menu items like an eclectic array of bruschetta, inset.

Aromatic, cheesy and creamy describes the Sweet Potato and Chicken Risotto ($18.15), a vibrant, colorful medley of pancetta, pulled roasted chicken, sweet potatoes, crisp asparagus, ParmigianoReggiano, thyme and pine nuts. Not only was it our favorite entrée, it’s also Chef Michael’s go-to plate.

Other entrees are also impressive.

Chicken Limone ($19.95) takes traditional Piccata and kicks it up with especially tender, pounded-thin chicken and a sunny lemon sauce that is sweeter than it is tart.

Different flavors delightfully take turns in the spotlight in Pasta Pesto ($14.95) – a tossed medley of angel hair, grilled chicken, caramelized onions, basil, tomatoes, roasted peppers, feta and spinach – relies on natural oils in the ingredients. Ravioli di Bello ($15.45), a Portobello ravioli, boasts a simple, delicious flavor profile, smooth texture and expertly cooked pasta.

Gluten-free and lower-cal options are available as well.

Desserts are light, several of them airy and whipped, with an attention to balance that permeates the menu. They’re perfect noshes for sipping coffee with, chatting a while longer with friends and planning your next escape to your new Tuscan oasis.

Brio Tuscan Grille 160 Walt Whitman Road, Huntington Station (at the Walt Whitman Shops) 631-479-3816 www.brioitalian.com/walt_whitman_shops

Atmosphere – Spacious and comfortable Cuisine – Tuscan-style Italian Price – Moderate Hours – Sun: 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m.; MonThurs: 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Fri & Sat: 11: a.m.-11 p.m.; Brunch Sat. & Sun. ’til 3:30 p.m.

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special Christmas Eve at Jewel (400 Broad Hollow Road, Melville, 631-755-5777, www.jewelrestaurantli.com) indeed, with its three-course prix-fixe Dec. 24 dinner.

Appetizers include: market salad, grilled local oysters, shrimp cocktail and Buffalo mozzarella with local tomatoes. For entrees, choose from: Linguini “7 Fishes” (lobster, shrimp, crab, clams, mussels, scallops, calamari, white wine, EVOO); duck confit with fried rice; house-cured pork chop with sweet potato-banana mash; root beer braised short ribs; butter poached

that is. Come on, everyone’s got on. In fact, if you wear it this Thursday, it may pay dividends. Honu Kitchen & Cocktails (363 New York Ave., Huntington, 631421-6900 www.honukitchen.com) is having an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party & Contest on Dec. 19. Participants get free coconut martinis (our favorite Honu cocktail) and sangria from 9-10 p.m. Ugly is sounding pretty good to us!

JAZZY BRUNCH: Like a little jazz with your New Orleans cuisine? Then you’ll love the Jazz Brunch Buffet, every Sunday at Storyville American Table (43 Green St., Huntington, 631-351-3446, www.storyvilleamericantable.com) from 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Perhaps the best part? A complimentary mimosa or Bloody Mary comes with your meal. $21.95 adults/$11.95 children 12 and under. This is a popular one, so reservations are highly suggested.

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Counteroffer could push for ownership (Continued from page A1)

the suit, declined to comment Monday on specifics of any possible settlement, but said ending litigation is a priority.

“Certainly I have relayed… conceptually a counterproposal on behalf of the town and we’ve agreed to continue discussing various options to try to get the case settled,” Clark said.

Before the NAACP will consider a counteroffer, however, they want the town board to ratify it first, Campbell said.

“We’re always happy to talk to them.

Any sort of counteroffer proposal, for us to consider it seriously at all, it needs to be voted on and pre-approved by the board,” Campbell said. “We’ve done the reverse and that has not worked out.”

He is referring to what happened in August, when a resolution to settle the case was pulled last-minute from the town board agenda after local civic leaders who support ownership units on Ruland Road found out the plan was for rentals.

After that, Campbell said, the NAACP agreed to push off a December trial date to make a “last-ditch effort” to settle the suit, but to no avail.

The Huntington NAACP is the remaining plaintiff on a 2011 lawsuit filed alongside the Fair Housing in Huntington Committee, which alleged plans to include only one-bedroom ownership units in the Ruland Road property is discriminatory against minorities and families with children.

Alleging Fair Housing Act violations, Fair Housing first filed suit in 2002 over The Greens development.

The Huntington NAACP joined an amended version of the suit, which included allegations about the Ruland Road proposal, in 2004. After that case was dismissed in 2010, Fair Housing and the Huntington NAACP sued again in March 2011, focusing their allegations of discrimination on the proposed Ruland Road development. Fair Housing dropped out of the current lawsuit this summer.

While Supervisor Frank Petrone said after the vote that the town is “anxious” to continue negotiating, Ulysses Spicer, second vice president of the Huntington NAACP, questioned on the value of further

negotiations.

“I can’t say that there won’t be any more negotiations, but I don’t think there’s any need for any additional negotiations.

We’ve heard from practically everybody in the town tonight,” Spicer said, referring to the strong support for rental housing by speakers at the hearing. “I mean, who’s left? What do they need to hear?”

If the current case goes to trial and the Huntington NAACP wins, Campbell said they will ask for more two- and threebedroom units and legal fees.

“The conceding has been done on our side and there has been virtually none by the town,” he said. “We would certainly ask for more. The current arrangement is a concession on our part.”

McLean and Collins double-bill at Paramount (Continued from page A1)

to audiences worldwide. They’ll share the bill at The Paramount in Huntington on Saturday, Dec. 21, when they’ll perform for an audience that undoubtedly will cross a few generations. With both artists having Christmas albums to their credit, a few holiday songs could find their way into the mix.

McLean is the man who brilliantly rhymed Chevy with levee in his iconic title song from the 1971 album “American Pie.” Ostensibly about the death of Buddy Holly in a 1959 plane crash, “American Pie” has been widely interpreted as more than a biographical exploration of McLean’s emotions over the event. Written at the end of the 1960s, an era of idealism, “American Pie” is seen by many as a metaphor for the end of that idyllic time.

Sometimes, to paraphrase someone paraphrasing Freud, “a cigar is just a cigar.”

But what else could McLean mean when he says, “I went down to the sacred store, where I’d heard the music years before.

But the man there said the music wouldn’t play”?

The lyrics have been widely analyzed, but McLean has refused to confirm any interpretation or offer up his own. It just is what it is.

As a reflection of the unease that we felt as we put “flower power” behind us, “American Pie” became America’s singalong, and to this day remains a presence on radio station playlists.

He’s no one-hit wonder, though.

McLean’s follow-up single, “Vincent,” about the tragic life of the artist Vincent

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VanGogh, kept the album on the charts, and a reissue of his “Tapestry” album put two of his most famous songs, “And I Love You So” and “Castles in the Air” into the American songbook.

He’s a troubadour at heart, firmly rooted in folk traditions.

The same could be said of Judy Collins, with whom he shares the bill at The Paramount.

Trained as a classical pianist, Collins’ love of American folk singers like Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie prompted her to pick up a guitar. And the world is a better place for it.

With a voice that is as clear as any musical instrument, she interprets the songs of others, often bringing them to new levels. The title track of her first album, “A

Maid of Constant Sorrow,” released in 1961 when she was 22, interpreted an American folk classic later recorded by a contemporary, Bob Dylan. With a penchant for social activism, she was drawn to the “social poets” of the time (Dylan, Tom Paxton) and is credited with putting the work of many talented songwriters and musicians before a wider audience.

Collins has maintained a steady performing schedule throughout her career, often performing up to 100 shows a year around the country.

Next stop, The Paramount.

Tickets for the McLean/Collins double bill are $39.50-$79.50 at the box office, 370 New York Ave., Huntington, or go to paramountny.com.

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Common Core reform (Continued from page A3)

help advance four pieces of legislation associated with the implementation of the new learning standards.

The “P-2 Bill” would prohibit the use of standardized testing of students in preK through second grade, other than for diagnostic purposes or as required by federal mandates – a process which, according to Flanagan, is an “essential step” to reduce the over-testing of children. The proposed “Unnecessary Testing” bill would call on the commissioner to expedite a review of annual professional performance review (APPR) plans that are submitted solely to eliminate unnecessary student assessments and would limit the

commissioner’s review to the issue of unnecessary testing of students. Lastly the “Truth-In-Testing” bill calls on the commissioner to report on the effectiveness of Common Core state tests in enhancing student learning and performance and calls for an independent audit be conducted to review and evaluate the statewide standards.

“Setting rigorous academic standards to ensure that all students are college and career ready should always be an important goal to attain. However, it must be balanced by a fair and even implementation of those new standards to allow our children to adjust and adapt appropriately,” Flanagan said.

Soccer club scam (Continued from page A3)

After allegedly convincing friends and neighbors, including “John Doe #1” and a “John Doe #2” named in the case – as well as an extended network of clients who invested in Limestone based on John Doe’s advice – to invest in Limestone Capital, Rocco received approximately $5 million in investor money between 2006 and 2013, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.

Limestone, Rocco allegedly told investors, was a business venture that would provide loans to finance wholesale cigarette purchases on behalf of the Shinnecock Nation tobacco shop as well as a credit card processing venture. Rather than investing the Limestone funds as promised, he instead “ran a Ponzi scheme,” according to

the indictment, which also claims that Rocco in 2009 fraudulently reported to investors that “$4-5 million in inventory” had been stolen from the Shinnecock Reservation “by a rival Indian tribe.”

Rocco launched yet another investment company in 2010 and again solicited business from his friend John Doe #1, who in total paid more than $1.3 million to Rocco for purported investments in companies.

Rocco was charged with five counts of wire fraud from 2008 until as recently as July 2013 and was indicted on nine charges of mail fraud as recently as June 2013.

According to Robert Nardoza, a spokesman from Lynch’s office, Rocco faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on all charges.

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THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • DECEMBER 19, 2013 • A15

A16 • THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • DECEMBER 19, 2013

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TOWN OF HUNTINGTON

New Town Officials Sworn In Half Hollow Hills photos/Danny Schrafel

Two newly elected officials who will be joining the Huntington Town Board in January 2014 took the oath of office Dec. 10.

Pictured, Clerk Jo-Ann Raia administered the oath of office to Superintendent of Highways-elect Peter Gunther and Councilwoman-elect Tracey Edwards before the Huntington Town Board meeting.

Edwards and Gunther will take office for the first time on Jan. 1, 2014.

Inauguration day is Sunday, Jan. 5 at John Glenn High School in Elwood.

Per tradition, the newest member of the town board – in this case, Edwards – gets to choose where inauguration ceremonies are held. They will be sworn in along with Huntington Supervisor Frank Petrone and Councilman Mark Cuthbertson, who were both re-elected to new terms.

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON

Students Honored At Business Leadership If the turnout at a high school business leadership competition last week is any indication, Long Island’s future looks bright.

The Young Professionals Chamber of Commerce (YPCC), a program of the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce, hosted its 11th annual Business Leadership Competition at St. Joseph’s College on Dec. 4. This year more than 340 high school students from 14 local high schools, including Bay Shore, Calhoun, Commack, Half Hollow Hills East, Half Hollow Hills West, Hauppauge, Huntington, Garden City, North Shore, Northport, Oyster Bay, St. Dominic’s, Walt Whitman, and Wilson Technological Center participated. A luncheon and awards ceremony followed the competition.

The competition provided students with the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge through presentations in categories including Fashion Marketing, Advertising, Graphic Design, Hospitality Services, Travel and Tourism, Entertainment Marketing, Not-for-Profit Fundraising, Sports Management, Sports Marketing, Entrepreneurship, and Job Interview Skills.

This event would not be possible without the generosity of this year’s sponsors: Adelphi University, Astoria Federal Savings, Baker Tilly Virchow Krause LLP, Bayada Home Health Care, Briarcliffe College, Digho Image Marketing, Gunderman and Gunderman, H2M Architects + Engineers, John W. Engeman Theater, JW Creations, MaryJayne Casillo Foundation, Oyster Bay Rotary, Silverman Acampora LLP, Sunrise Outdoor Advertising, Ten Haagen Financial Group, and St. Joseph’s College.

2013 YPCC Business Leadership Competition Winners Fashion Marketing Team A: First Place: Emily Chisholm and Jenny Peteka, Northport Second Place: Angelina Naula and Jessica Foley, Calhoun Fashion Marketing Team B: First Place: Gabriella Martino, Commack Second Place: Olivia Statile, North Shore Advertising Team A: First Place: Patrick Casaccio and Colin Casaccio, Commack Second Place: Blake Ferris and Rob Rizzo, Northport

Advertising Team B: First Place: Victoria Saccatti and Skylar Schneider, Hills West Second Place: Jason Ehrlich and Jake Geller, Hills East Graphic Design Team A: First Place: Colton Schwartz and Mark Polcer, Wilson Tech Second Place: Irene Kowalski, Calhoun Graphic Design Team B: First Place: James Charlton and Sydnie Wittenberg, Wilson Tech Second Place: Zach Jayson and Max Park, Hills West Honorable Mention: Joseph Doud and Robert Morizio, Garden City

The first-place winners of the 11th Annual Business Leadership Competition pose for a photo.

Hospitality Services First Place: Catherine Aiello and Misha Patel, Walt Whitman Second Place: Jen Gallino and Fiona Fitzgerald, Northport Sports Management: First Place: Allie Napoli and Casey Dugan, Commack Second Place: Phillip Buchan and Alex Yelon, North Shore Sports Marketing: First Place: Dylan Mastrandea and Justin Gewirtz, Hills East Second Place: Teddy Pupilla and Sean Healy, Northport Honorable Mention: Dylan Diamond, Walt Whitman Travel and Tourism: First Place: Jillian Weiss and Michael Guaglione, Commack Second Place: Sam Leifer, Half Hollow Hills West Entrepreneurship Team A: First Place: Jack Kronrad and Zayan Ahmed, Hills East Second Place: Eric Lee and Max That, Commack Entrepreneurship Team B: First Place: Eric Gesuale and Areeta Shah, Hills East Second Place: Natalie Migliore, Walt Whitman Entertainment Marketing: First Place: Stephen Baruch, Commack Second Place: Elly Monegro, Walt Whitman

The second-place finishers gather for a photo.

Not-for-Profit Fundraising: First Place: Jordana Lunz, Walt Whitman Second Place: Matthew Foreli and Sahil Verma, Hills East Job Interview 9th and 10th Grade: First Place: Bradley Wellman, Half Hollow Hills East Second Place: Paul Mokotoff, Commack Job Interview: 11th and 12th Grade First Place: Cailin Cook, Oyster Bay Second Place: Ryan Bank, Calhoun Job Interview: First Place: Kristina Ricigliano, Garden City Second Place: Catherine Federico, Hauppauge The distinguished panel of judges included: Mandy Blake-German, Bayada Home Health Care; Karyn Cernera Bush, Briarcliffe College; Robert Bontempi, Otsuka America Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Vincent Casillo, North Shore Financial Group; Diana Cherryholmes, Huntington Arts Council; Michael DeCristofaro, John W. Engeman Theater; Janice DeLalio, Detail Carting Company; Anthony DeVito, Pandora Radio; Karen Fischer, Home Depot; Kristine Fitzpatrick, Miracle

League of Long Island; Trudy Fitzsimmons, Leadership Huntington; Mark Fogel, Human Capital Advisors; Erik Forni, Spoke Up; Eileen Jahn PhD, St. Joseph’s College; Jim Kelly, JVKellyGroup; Jack Krueger, Dowling College; Gail Lamberta PhD, St. Joseph’s College; Joan LaRosa, LI Convention and Visitors Bureau; Maureen Leslie, Adelphi University; Laney Liner, Blue Thunder Creative Group; Cooper Macco, Siverman Acampora; Joe Maddalone, Power Strategies; Jim McGowan, Adelphi University; Bill Mitchell; Diane Palma, Digho Image Marketing; Evan Proios, Briarcliffe College; Brian Rothschild, Adelphi University; Bob Scheiner, H2M Architects + Engineers; Legislator Steven Stern; David Walsdorf, Walsdorf Insurance Agency; Judy Wasilchuk; Jim Werner, Halliday Financial Group; Joe Yacobellis, Mancini Architecture; and Merrill Zorn, Zorn’s Catering.

As a division of the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce, the YPCC was established to engage high school students, college students and young entrepreneurs to enhance their leadership skills in a professional environment interacting with business executives, community leaders, educators and other young adults.

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THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • DECEMBER 19, 2013 • A17

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON

Yoga: A Search For Stability, Balance Half Hollow Hills photos/Jacqueline Birzon

Spotlight On

Huntington Businesses Fitness Edition

By Jacqueline Birzon jbirzon@longislandernews.com

Discipline, for me, was getting out of bed at 7 a.m. to allow my not-so-morning-person self enough time to wake up for the 9:15 a.m. beginner’s level yoga class at the Body and Soul Center in Huntington. Scrambling in the door five minutes late, brining in chunks of snow and the mental baggage of being “late” to the Iyengar Yoga class, I assembled my things and joined the sea of 25 other clients on the floor where I waited to embark on the search for my inner chi.

I was astounded by how welcoming and unintimidating the Wall Street studio atmosphere was, as the feelings I had entering the very same studio — at its original Gerard Street location — with my mother 10 years ago were tangible up until the moment I sat down on the cool studio floor.

The first and last time I dabbled in yoga was in or around 2003, when I was 14 years old and tagged along for a class with my mother one hot summer day, when I remember feeling frustrated by my lack of flexibility as a teenager. This time, eager to re-exert myself into the yoga culture, I was determined to extend beyond the physical and mental limits I identified for myself over one decade ago.

Body and Soul owner Jeff Logan assumes a complex yoga pose that, when executed properly, facilitates a sense of balance and stability for the client.

Body and Soul Fitness and Yoga Center co-owner Jeff Logan assumes an Iyengar pose at his Wall Street studio Monday.

I sat cross-legged as owner Jeff Logan brought the class through a centering exercise, in which participants sit with eyes closed and palms joined at chest level, connecting the right and left sides of my body and subsequently, my mind.

Intended to facilitate a sense of awareness, linking the left and right sides of the body allows a client to center themselves and become both mentally and physically present, before engaging in a series of physically and mentally demanding positions.

“The poses themselves tend to bring you inside in a way; the very nature of those positions brings you inside,” Logan said.

Once both physically and mentally “inside” I assumed the downward dog position with relative ease—at this point I was not cocky, but felt ready to take on whichever pose Logan assigned next.

Next came the triangle pose, which entails extending the legs outward on both sides; aligning the left and right heels and turning toward one side with one arm reaching toward your knee or calf and the other extending upward towards the ceiling. Turning the chest and collar bone upward, while maintaining an even and steady flow of breathing, facilitates breathing and blood flow and enhances circulation of the blood and breath.

The poses, Logan explained, have proven benefits for circulation as well as the digestive system, activating both the liver and pancreas yielding immediate short term and long term benefits for the participant.

The practice of yoga, according to the owner, restores “youthfulness, inner strength and balance, bringing joy, tranquility and understanding to our lives,” and is ideal for clients of all ages, as each pose can be modified to accommodate one’s individual need.

“What yoga primarily builds in daily life is a sense of stability and a sense of discipline, which is true freedom,” Logan explained. “An undisciplined mind is victimized by preferences—for example, for the undisciplined mind, if the doughnut shop is out of your favorite doughnut it ruins your day. An undisciplined mind falls into sorrow because it’s victimized by preferences. A disciplined mind truly moves away from the idea of preference and therefore is free; and that’s really what

yoga is about, plus it builds stability.”

According to Logan, yoga can be used as both one’s primary source of physical fitness or as a supplementary resource to augment one’s normal exercise routine.

Many clients, Logan added, enroll in classes at the studio for the relief it provides to those suffering from joint, neck or back pain, as well as other medical conditions. Clients can expect an “immediate” sense of well-being after starting

yoga classes, but Logan said the holistic healing process is one that is best measured over the course of time. It can take up to two weeks to nail down the poses and generally, in three months’ time, clients really begin to understand the true message of yoga.

After just one class I was amazed by how far I could extend beyond my preconceived physical limits. With the help of Logan and his assistant, Diane, I was able to assume nearly every position assigned in class, from triangle pose to supine leg stretch to various warrior poses.

Beginner yoga, according to Logan, focuses on basic standing and seated poses; intermediate classes center on head balance; while more advanced classes introduce the client to hand stand and advanced back arches, the owner said.

In addition to yoga classes, the fitness center also offers spinning, cardio, strength training and pilates classes, which are generally taught by Body and Soul co-owner Susan Harms.

In addition to Iyengar, Body and Soul offers Triyoga, Vinyasa, Gentle and PreNatal yoga, as well as specific need classes for clients who have challenges executing poses due to pain, injuries and chronic health issues.

Prospective yogis can take an individual class ($20); sign up for unlimited monthly classes ($120); or purchase a three-month pass for 10 classes ($120).

Special rates are offered for college and high school students ($99 for three months).

A18 • THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • DECEMBER 19, 2013 THURSDAY Share Your Life Every Thursday except holidays, “Sharing Our Lives” at the Women’s Center of Huntington, 125 Main St., Huntington, gives women in the later stages of life a chance to share joys and concerns and in turn receive support and confidentiality. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. $10 members/$15 non-members, per session. Advance registration: 631-549-0485.

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Calendar O M M U N I T Y

FRIDAY

Kwanzaa Celebration on Friday, Dec. 27, 6:30 p.m. in Dix Hills.

Harborfields Public Library 31 Broadway, Greenlawn. 631-757-4200. harborfieldslibrary.org.

• Harborfields High School students will be at the library on Monday and Thursday afternoons, 4-6 p.m., when school is in session to assist with homework for kids in grades 3-8.

• On Friday, Dec. 20 from 11-11:45 a.m. brighten up the house with a paper snowman that you can really brag about. The library will be hosting a craft session where children can make crafts and listen to stories.

Frank Ohman’s Nutcracker

Huntington Public Library

Commack-based New York Dance Theater, under the direction of Frank Ohman, presents its 32nd season of “The Nutcracker” at Hofstra University in Hempstead on Friday, Dec. 20 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Saturday, Dec. 21 and Sunday, Dec. 22 at noon and 5 p.m. $40 general/$33 seniors and children 12 and under ($20 for all tickets to the 2 p.m. Friday show). www.ohmanballet.org. 631-462-0964.

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

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

• New Horizons String Orchestra invites the public to sit in on their rehearsals on Friday mornings at 9:30 a.m.

• One thing that definitely makes the holidays such a sweet treat are the sweet treats themselves. On Saturday, Dec. 21, 11:30 a.m.12:30 p.m., you can make your very own sweet pizza with candy canes and chocolate as toppings.

• If you need help staying in shape before, during, and after the holiday break, you can attend the body sculpting class held at the library on Fridays from 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Eglevsky Ballet’s Nutcracker Under the artistic direction of Laszlo Berdo, Eglevsky Ballet continues its annual tradition of “The Nutcracker” at Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, LIU Post on Friday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 21 at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 22 at noon and 4 p.m.

Meet the dancers after the Saturday 11 a.m. performance. $27-$82. Tickets can be purchased in person at the Tilles Center Box Office, located at 720 Northern Boulevard in Brookville, online at www.tillescenter.org, or by phone at 516-299-3100.

SATURDAY Lynch Ballet’s Nutcracker Lynch Ballet of Huntington presents its “Nutcracker” production with Matthew Donnell, formerly of Kansas City Ballet, in the role of Cavalier. Billy Elliot Tony Award winner Trent Kowalik is the male Soldier Doll. The production will take place at Huntington High School on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 22 at noon and 4 p.m. $25 adults/$20 children. 631-942–3933.

Holiday Thrift Shop Visit Commack Methodist Church’s Thrift Shoppe, 486 Townline Road, Commack 631499-7310 every Saturday before Christmas in December for great yuletide bargains. In-store specials on Dec. 21. Huge after-Christmas sale on Friday, Dec. 27. Shop closed on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

Live Music 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!

The Toys Take Over Christmas The Arena Players Children's Theater presents “The Toys Take Over Christmas” in the Carriage House Theater at the Vanderbilt Museum, 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport. In the story, a toymaker uses his magic to make dolls that are most realistic. But he refuses to sell any of them. One Christmas Eve, they all come to life and find their way into the hearts of children. Performances are Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. through Sunday, Dec. 29. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for children, and children under 3 are free. Call Arena Players at 516-293-0674.

friends. Their motto: Fun, Frolic and Friendship. 631-271-6470 or flarpp@yahoo.com.

TUESDAY

Commack Public Library Mommy and Me Classes The Chai Center hosts Mommy and Me classes every Tuesday. Limit of 10 students per class.

Walkers: 12 months and up 9:45-11 a.m.; Crawlers: 6-12 months 11 a.m.-12 p.m. Stretch, Sing, dance and bond with your toddler, and meet other Jewish moms. Register by phone or online: Chai Tots Preschool, 501 Vanderbilt Parkway, Dix Hills. 631-351-8672. www.TheChaiCenter.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.

Longest Night Service The holiday season is often very difficult for those who have experienced loss and hard times during the previous year. A Longest Night Service is an opportunity to acknowledge the reality of life and thus be freer to experience the joy that is the Christmas celebration. Join Commack United Methodist Church on Dec. 21 for a 7:30 p.m. service at their historic 1789 Chapel. Call 631-499-7310 or visit www.commack-umc.org for more information.

SUNDAY Seiskaya Ballet's Nutcracker The Seiskaya Ballet’s “Nutcracker” is again scheduled for six performances, Dec. 20-23, at Stony Brook University’s Staller Center for the Arts. The company’s 2013 Nutcracker season should again garner praise. Tickets are on sale now at the Staller Center Box Office at 631632-ARTS and at www.nutcrackerballet.com. $40 adults/$34 children and seniors/$30 for groups of 20 or more.

WEDNESDAY Support For Seniors The Suffolk County Office For the Aging sends advocates to the area to speak to seniors about financial, social and personal issues Dec. 18, Huntington Nutrition Center, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. 631-853-8200.

Open Mic Night Play your heart out at an acoustic open mic night every Wednesday at Caffe Portofino, 249 Main St., Northport, 7-10 p.m. www.facebook.com/cafportopenmic.

Power Breakfast 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 MONDAY Cold Spring Harbor Library 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

9:45-11 a.m.. Taught in a very encouraging style by a certified personal trainer, students will enjoy exercises drawn from ballet, Pilates, martial arts and strength training.

Bring your own mat and hand weights.

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

• An intermediate level class that provides total body fitness will be held Thursday, Dec. 19,

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

• On Saturday, Dec. 21 from 10-10:45 a.m., celebrate the first day of winter with Mrs. Kelleher by decorating your own chocolate tree with delicious marshmallows, M&Ms, and many other toppings.

• On Thursday, Dec. 26, continue in the holiday festivities. From 11 a.m. to noon the library will be having a baking class on how to bake a snowman cake that you can share with friends and family.

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

• Through a grant from New York State, the Deer Park Library is happy to offer Google Nexus 7 tablets for borrowing. Browse the web, download a book, play games and more with just a touch of your finger. Tablets can be checked out for two weeks on an adult Deer Park library card.

• On Thursday, Dec. 27 from 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m., along with making New Year’s resolutions, come and get ready for the New Year by letting your creative side come out and creating a party shaker.

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

• Homework Help for grades 1-5 is now available at the library on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons from 3:30-5:30 p.m.

Call 631-499-3722 to make an appointment.

• On Saturday, Dec. 21 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and from 1:30-3:30 p.m., instead of baking a fruit cake, create a festive gingerbread house the whole family can enjoy.

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

• Stanley Stock, retired music teacher, leads a group of musicians in a Chamber Music Ensemble on Monday, Dec. 23, 10 a.m.-noon in Dix Hills. For more information or to register, call 631-498-1229.

• The Mother’s Club of Wheatley Heights, in conjunction with the Concerned Fathers of Wheatley Heights and the Library, presents a

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

• Retired C.I.A. agent Frank Moses reunites his team of operatives to track down a missing nuclear device in “Red 2”, showing in East Northport on Friday, Dec. 20, 1:30 p.m. and in Northport on Friday, Dec. 27 at 1:30 p.m.

South Huntington Public Library 145 Pidgeon Hill Road, Huntington Station.

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

• On Saturday, Dec. 21, start off the holidays right with a snowman craft. From 2:30-3:30 p.m. the library will have a craft session and story time for the children.

• On Tuesdays from 9:30-10:30 a.m. Tai Chi classes are held with instructor Gwen DeVercelly in order for you to learn how to better your mind, body, and soul.

THEATER and FILM Cinema Arts Centre 423 Park Ave., Huntington. www.cinemaartscentre.org. 631-423-7611.

• Long Island-based guitarist and singer-songwriter Bob Westcott hosts a holiday revue in the Sky Room on Thursday, Dec. 19, from 7:30-10:30 p.m. The special show – featuring Long Island-based artists Ray Lambiase, Bill Lauter and the Hank Stone Band – is part of the monthly Hard Luck Café series presented by the Folk Music Society of Huntington and is a benefit for both that organization and the Cinema Arts Centre. $12 ($8 for FMSH and CAC members).

• See Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison on the Cinema’s big screen in “My Fair Lady” on Thursday, Dec. 26 at 7 p.m. $11/Public, $6/Members, $7/Students & Seniors, $4.50/Children under 12.

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

John W. Engeman Theater At Northport 350 Main St., Northport. www.johnwengemantheater.com. 631-261-2900.

• It’s going to be a “White Christmas” in Northport as Engeman’s latest production takes the stage through Jan. 5.

• “Frosty!”, part of the children’s theater, plays: Saturdays at 11 a.m. and Sundays at 10:30 a.m. through Jan. 5 with special performances on Thursday, Dec. 26 at 11 a.m. and Friday, Dec. 27 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Minstrel Players of Northport Houghton Hall theatre at Trinity Episcopal Church, 130 Main St., Northport. 631-7322926. www.minstrelplayers.org.

(Continued on page A19)

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THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • DECEMBER 19, 2013 • A19

(Continued from page A18)

She Could Have Danced All Night

AUDITIONS

As Henry Higgins might have whooped, “By George, they've got it!” Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison on the big screen in George Cukor’s legendary adaptation of Lerner and Loewe’s classic musical. “My Fair Lady” screens in the monthly Musicals: Stage to Screen series, sponsored by Stuart & Ginger Polisner and Peggy & Brett Sherris, on Thursday, Dec. 26 at 7 p.m. at Cinema Arts Centre, 423 Park Ave., Huntington. 631-423-7611. www.CinemaArtsCentre.org.

Regular admission at the door: $11/Public, $6/Members, $7/Students & Seniors, $4.50/Children under 12.

“Scenes From The Zone” Short Play Festival The Minstrel Players are accepting submissions for “Scenes from the Zone,” its third annual short play festival. Deadline for submissions is Jan. 15, 2014, via email to ray@minstrelplayers.org. Performances will be Saturday, July 26 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, July 27 at 3 p.m., at Houghton Hall Theatre in Northport Village. For more info, rules and specifications, call 631-732-2926 or visit the Players on Facebook or at www.minstrelplayers.org or on Facebook.

Northport Symphony Orchestra The Northport Symphony Orchestra seeks new members in all sections. Repertoire ranges from Baroque through classical and romantic to early 20th century. Music Director Richard Hyman is an award-winning music educator and composer. Rehearsals are on Wednesdays from 7:30-9 p.m. usually at East Northport Middle School. Email info@northportorchestra.org to arrange an audition. Website: northportorchestra.org.

include prints by Whistler, Rauschenberg, John Sloan, Larry Rivers, and May Stevens; photographs by Larry Fink and Garry Winogrand; and paintings by William Beard and George Grosz, among others.

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.

Holocaust Memorial And Tolerance Center

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.

• The Art League of will host a free Cabaret Concert for the Holidays on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 8 p.m. Great musical entertainment, wine, cheese, and holiday cheer will be served up in the Jeanie Tengelsen Gallery.

The second half of the concert will feature interactive participation.

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 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

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.

• “Sell-a-bration 2013”, on display Nov. 27Dec. 30, is a display of fine art: paintings, photography, sculpture and crafts filling the galleries from floor to ceiling.

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.

• “Making an Impression II” printmaking exhibit is on display in the main gallery Dec. 20-Jan. 27, with an opening reception Friday, Jan. 3, 2014, 6-8 p.m.

Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery

Huntington Historical Society

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 • Drop off your new unwrapped toy or purchase one in the gift shop. 10-percent discount for any toy donated to Toys of Tots.

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.

• Exhibit “The Times They Were A-Changing – 1960s & Huntington’s Response” on display at the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Building.

Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum

LaMantia Gallery

279 Main Street, Cold Spring Harbor. 631-3673418. www.cshwhalingmuseum.org.

• Monday Minnows are every other Monday from 1-3 p.m.

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

• Following the success of their display of exclusive featuring never-before-seen Dr. Seuss artwork, the gallery displays a permanent collation of estate-authorized art.

b.j. spoke gallery

fotofoto Gallery 14 W. Carver St., Huntington. Gallery hours: Friday 5-8 p.m., Saturday 12-8 p.m., Sunday 12-4 p.m. 631-549-0448. www.fotofotogallery.org.

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

Gallery Thirty Seven 12b School Street, Northport. www.gallerythirtyseven.com.

• Visit Northport’s newest gallery and check out the resident artists.

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. 631-3513250.

• Get half-off your admission price in December by bringing a food donation.

Proceeds will be given to Long Island Cares: The Harry Chapin Food Bank.

• “Rabble-Rousers: Art, Dissent, and Social Commentary”, on display until March 16, features works from the Permanent Collection by artists who challenged traditional aesthetics, politics, and social norms. Highlights

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

• The new permanent exhibit, “Our Stories: the History of a Community,” transforms half of the Society’s gallery space into a timeline, tracing the history of the Northport-East Northport community and rarely seen photos and artifacts from the Society’s collection.

• Join in dramatic readings of some favorite holiday stories at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 19. The evening will also feature cookie decorating and hot chocolate around a lighted, decorated Christmas tree. $5 per family for members/$10 per family non-members.

Ripe Art Gallery 1028 Park Ave., Huntington. Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Friday, 2-8 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. www.ripeartgal.com. 631-239-1805.

Help The Troops Call Home Assemblyman Chad Lupinacci’s Huntington Station district office is an official drop-off site for Cell Phones for Soldiers. To help the troops call home by donating your old cell phone, stop by or mail your phone to 1783 New York Ave., Huntington Station, 11746. 631-271-8025.

VOLUNTEERING Cosmetologists Wanted Hospice Care Network is seeking New York State-licensed cosmetologists to provide 2-4 haircuts per month for community members facing life-limiting illnesses. Download an application at www.hospicecarenetwork.org or call 516-224-6423.

Be A Museum Docent The Huntington Historical Society is currently seeking volunteers to train to become Museum Docents at the historic David Conklin Farmhouse Museum. The museum is located at 2 High St. in Huntington village and is a fascinating interpretation of the Colonial, Federal and Victorian time periods. No experience required – an interest in local history is a plus. Training is provided. Call 631-427-7045 ext 403.

Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport. Museum hours through April 15: Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday, 12-4 p.m. Grounds admission: $7 adults, $6 students with ID and seniors 62 and older, and $3 children 12 and under. Mansion tour, add $5 per person. 631-854-5555. www.vanderbiltmuseum.org.

• The newly renovated planetarium is now open. Check the website for show times.

• The Arena Players Children's Theater presents “The Toys Take Over Christmas” in the Carriage House Theater. In the story, a toymaker uses his magic to make dolls that are most realistic. But he refuses to sell any of them. One Christmas Eve, they all come to life and find their way into the hearts of children. Performances are Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. through Sunday, Dec. 29.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for children, and children under 3 are free. For more information and to make reservations, call Arena Players at 516-293-0674.

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.

• Schedule at a time convenient for your group for high tea and transport yourself back in time as your group experiences High Tea in a private gathering house at the Birthplace. $25/person. 631-427-5240, ext. 113. educator@waltwhitman.org.

MUSIC & DANCE The Paramount 370 New York Ave., Huntington. 631-6737300. www.paramountny.com. All shows begin at 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

• Ms. Lauryn Hill takes the stage Thursday, Dec. 26, 9 p.m. Tickets $75, $100.

• Tickets are now on sale to see Boz Scaggs perform Tuesday, May 13, 8 p.m. $59.50$99.50.

Seeking Volunteer Advocates The Family Service League’s Ombudservice Program of Suffolk County is seeking volunteers to train as advocates for nursing home, adult home and assisted living facility residents to help ensure they receive quality care and their rights are protected. 631-427-3700 ext. 240.

Artistically Gifted Needed The Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Commack is seeking artistically gifted volunteers to partner with residents in a new program, “heART to heART” aimed at helping people with varying levels of cognitive ability express themselves through art. Contact Judie at 516-931-5036 or jatlas1@optonline.net.

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.

Friends At Home Looking to earn some community service hours while changing a life? As part of the Friends@Home program, a project of The Ariella's Friendship Circle at the Chai Center in Dix Hills, visit a child with special needs in an environment they are most comfortable: their own homes. Together, bake cookies, play games, create arts and crafts, read books and more. Contact Nati or Sara at 631-351-8672 or fcchaicenter@gmail.com

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.

DONATIONS WELCOME Every Child’s Dream Suffolk County Legislator Steve Stern and Legislator Lou D’Amaro are collecting new or gently used coats, sweatshirts, sweaters and blankets (all sizes needed) for “Every Child’s Dream,” a local organization that provides support for needy families. Donations can be dropped off at Legislator Stern’s district office: 1842 East Jericho Turnpike, Huntington, through Friday, Dec. 6; or at Legislator D’Amaro’s district office: 130 West Jericho Turnpike, Huntington Station, through Dec. 3.

Project TOY Underway Support Family Service League’s Project TOY by dropping off a new, unwrapped toy at The Life Center, 17 E. Carver St., Huntington by Dec. 13. Call Family Service League at 631427-3700 or visit fsl-li.org to learn more.

Be A Host Family Huntington Sanctuary is seeking families or individual adults to become Host Homes, which provide temporary shelter to youth between ages 12-17 who are experiencing a family crisis. Contact Jennifer Petti at 631-2712183 for more information.

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

10 days prior to publication date.

Send to Community Calendar at 145 East Main Street, Huntington, NY 11743, or e-mail to info@longislandernews.com

A20 • THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • DECEMBER 19, 2013

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P U Z Z L E CRYPTOQUIP

E P AC I ’ G Z OZG A MCCU RV YGZRVETM CQZTETMK ET UCCGK PCG E U Z T V E PA E T M OEKEVCGK, E GZYH C T AC I W ROZ QZZQWCDZ Today’s Cryptoquip clue: Q equals P ©2010 by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

Answer to Breaking Story

P u bl i s h e d D e c e m b e r 1 2 , 2 0 1 3

ANSWER TO LAST WEEK’S CRYPTOQUIP THE RESTUARANT HAD A PRESSING NEED FOR ITS FAMOUS GREEN PASTA SAUCE, SO THE CHEF MADE SOME PESTO PRESTO. Published December 12, 2013 ©2013 by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

NEW CRYPTOQUIP BOOKS 3 & 4! Send $3.50 for one book or $6.00 for both (check/m.o.) to Cryptoquip Classics Books 3 and 4, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475

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PA G E

C L A S S I F I E D S

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THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • DECEMBER 19, 2013 • A21

THE LONG-ISLANDER • THE RECORD/NORTHPORT JOURNAL • HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER

DEADLINE is Friday at 2 p.m. All Categories TELEPHONE: (631) 427-7000, FAX: (631) 427-5820 HOURS: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

Address: Long Islander Newspapers, Inc., Attn.: Classifieds, 145 East Main Street, Huntington, NY 11743

EMPLOYMENT

HOME SERVICES

GENERAL

UTILITY WORKER F/T Village of Laurel Hollow seeking Utility Worker for F/T employment in the Highway Department, M-F, 7:00 AM–3:30 PM, to operate Village equipment, including snow plows and sanders, & perform maintenance duties on buildings, grounds and equipment. Applicants must have a NYS Class B CDL, with air brake endorsement.

Excellent benefit package Subject to NC Civil Service Approval and pre-employment drug test

For information call (516) 692-8826

HEALTH

A.D.A. Equal Opportunity Employer

PLUMBER EXP’D/Drain Cleaning sewer line replacement and excavation repairs. Clean Lic. Nights/Wknds prof’ I, work independent.

Good pay/bnfts.

Phone: 201-251-9970/Fx 201-251-0903

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aid for qualified students– Housing available. Job placement assistance. Call AIM 866-296-7093

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Missing Power Of Attorney Missing Mail I.D. Theft

Missing Power Of Attorney Please Contact With Past Litigation to Kevin M. Donnelly PO BOX 708 NORTHPORT, NY 11768

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Auto Donations Donate your car to Wheels For Wishes, benefiting Make-A-Wish.

We offer free towing and your donation is 100% tax deductible. Call 631-317-2014 Today!

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A22 • THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • DECEMBER 19, 2013

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2. Subscribe for Home Delivery Get the print version delivered to your home at a cost of just $21 a year. Use the coupon inside this paper; sign up at ww.HalfHollowNews.com; or call with your credit card: 631-427-7000.

3. Pick up your FREE copy FREE copies will be at locations that you visit regularly libraries, supermarkets, drug stores, banks, fitness centers and other retail outlets throughout the community.

Pick up your FREE copy at these and other locations throughout the community

COMMACK ROAD American Community Bank ANC Food The Everything Bagel Deli Beer Smoke

100 Commack Rd, Commack 134 Commack Rd, Commack 217 Commack Rd, Commack 223 Commack Rd, Commack

JERICHO TURNPIKE Commack Lucille Roberts New York Sports Club The Cutting Edge Hair Design Mozzarello’s Pizza Stop & Shop Bagel Boss Dix Hills Diner The Critic’s Choice Deli Stop & Shop Desi Bazar Brooklyn Pizza Ruby Salon Dunkin’ Donuts Roy’s Deli Golden Coach Diner Bagel USA

6534 Jericho Tpke, Commack 6136 Jericho Tpke, Commack 6065 Jericho Tpke, Commack 1957 E Jericho Tpke, East Northport 3126 Jericho Tpke, East Northport 1941 Jericho Tkpe, Commack 1800 E jericho Tpke, Dix Hills 1153A E Jericho Tpke, Huntington Station 1100 E Jericho Tpke, Huntington Station 905 E Jericho Tpke, Huntington Station 881 E Jericho Tpke, Huntington Station 822 East Jericho Tpke, Huntington Station 795 East Jericho Tpke, Huntington Station 669 East Jericho Tpke, Huntington Station 350 W Jericho Tpke, Huntington Station 573 W. Jericho Tpke, Huntington Station

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OLD COUNTRY ROAD/SWEET HOLLOW ROAD Dix Hills Hot Bagels 703 Old Country Road, Dix Hills Half Hollow Hills Library 510 Sweet Hollow Road, Melville ROUTE 110/BROADHOLLOW ROAD Deli Beer Cigar Walt Whitman Road, Huntington Station Dunkin Donuts 281 Walt Whitman Rd, Huntington Station Berry Healthy Cafe 350 Walt Whitman Rd, Huntington Station Marios Pizza 1 Schwab Rd #17, Melville International Haircutters 439 Walt Whitman Rd, Melville Bethpage Fed’l Credit Union 722 Walt Whitman Road, Melville Roast 827 Walt Whitman Rd, Melville PIDGEON HILL RD South Huntington Library HAUPPAUGE RD Commack Public Library VANDERBILT PKY Half Hollow Hills Library

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THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • DECEMBER 19, 2013 • A23

HillSPORTS GIRLS BASKETBALL

Lady T-Birds Take Flight Hills East team starts season strong in League II Half Hollow Hills photos/Jacqueline Birzon

Senior guard Jessica Schwartz charges with the ball up the court during a league game against Connetquot on Dec. 13.

By Jacqueline Birzon jbirzon@longislandernews.com

With the high school basketball season starting up just two weeks ago, it hasn’t taken long for the Half Hollow Hills East varsity girls basketball team to spread their wings and take flight to the front of their league.

The Lady Thunderbirds touted a 51-28 win on Friday when they defeated Connetquot in their first league game of the season, which head coach Chick Hamm credited to the girls’ strong defensive effort.

During the Dec. 13 home game, junior forward Kristen McKenzie scored 16 points and had 10 rebounds for Hills East while senior guard Julia Gnieser added 14 points and had 5 assists for the Lady TBirds. Senior guard Maia Rivers scored 7 points while junior forward Aliyah Minor also added 7 points for the home team.

Early into the winter season, Hamm said

his girls displayed good chemistry on the court after playing two non-league games last week, one against Huntington and the other against Harborfields. While crediting the girls’ aggressive play and how they took more shots on net than they have in past seasons, the coach said missed opportunities at the basket can make all the difference in future games against more offensively aggressive teams.

“We’re going to work on having more focus—they get so close [to the net], and I’ve been trying to make them drive to the basket more and need to do that to win,” Hamm said.

The team, comprised mostly of upperclassmen, lost to Harborfields 47-30 and to Huntington 56-38.

The Lady T-Birds were scheduled to play Lindenhurst in a league game on Dec. 17.

Their next home game in League II is slated for Friday, Dec. 19 at 6 p.m. when the girls will take on Walt Whitman.

The Half Hollow Hills East Last Thunderbirds gather under the net eager for a rebound shot during a home game last Friday. .

BOY’S BASKETBALL

Hills East A Pre-Season Powerhouse

By Jacqueline Birzon jbirzon@longislandernews.com

After defeating their district counterpart in a non-league performance last week, the Half Hollow Hills boys basketball team is still going strong.

In a razor-thin victory, Hills East defeated Connetquot by 6 points on Dec. 13, winning 60-54. At Connetquot, senior Justin Fackler scored 18 points and 9

rebounds, senior Mike Simon added 16 points, and senior Jordan McRae scored 10 points to lead Hills East. Senior Luke Perlowski added 6 points and senior Matthew Boyd contributed 5 points with 13 assists to bring Hills East to their first win in League II. Hills East came out as the victor in a non-league match-up against Commack, a stronghold in League I, on Dec. 10, with a 56-39 win. McRae scored 20

points against the Cougars with 8 rebounds and 5 blocks. Simon scored 10 points.

Fackler and sophomore D’Nathan Knox contributed 7 points each for the T-birds. Boyd added 6 points, Perlowski scored 5 and junior John Hicks added a point to lead Hills East in non-league play.

The Thunderbirds, prior to defeating the Colts 70-63 in non-league play, also came out on top in a non-league match

against Smithtown East, where they won 66-49. Simon scored 15 points. Knox added 14 and Boyd scored 13 points against the Bulls.

The Half Hollow Hills East boys team was scheduled to take on Lindenhurst for a home game on Tuesday. The Thunderbirds are also slated to play against the Wildcats on Friday, when game time is set for 6 p.m. in the north gym at Walt Whitman High School.

The only page to turn for complete coverage of the: HALF HOLLOW HILLS EAST THUNDERBIRDS and HALF HOLLOW HILLS WEST COLTS

A24 • THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • DECEMBER 19, 2013

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