The TIMES of Smithtown
Volume 28, No. 17
Serving Smithtown • St. JameS • neSconSet • commack • hauppauge • kingS park • Fort Salonga June 25, 2015
$1.00
Saved by the boat ‘Power and Strength in Art’
also: ‘Christian White: Fifty Years of art’ exhibit at Gallery North; ‘Mary Poppins’ flies into CMPaC
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marine Bureau officers rescue teens from an overturned boat, and brought them and the boat back to shore.
Teens’ boat overturns on Long Island Sound By elana glowatz
Comptroller talks cash
Musnug outlines town’s fiscal future heading into 2016 budgeting season
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Police and a good Samaritan had to step in when a boat overturned in the Long Island Sound on Saturday, leaving two teens floating on the upside-
down craft for more than an hour. The good Samaritan located the 19-year-olds at about 11:30 a.m., when they had already been floating on the boat’s hull for roughly 90 minutes, the Suffolk County Police Department said. The person used a VHF radio to contact the department’s Marine Bureau and provide the boat’s location.
According to police, Smithtown residents Douglas Botto and Eric Damn were wearing life jackets after the 16-foot Hobie Cat catamaran they were sailing overturned on the Long Island Sound, between 2.5 to 3 miles north of the Nissequogue River. The waves in that area were 3 to 5 feet high, preventing the teens from righting the boat.
Photo from SCPD
Police said Marine Bureau officers David Goldstein and Michael Cappiello aboard Marine Delta and officers Keith Walters and Paul Carnival aboard Marine Bravo responded to the scene and rescued the adrift pair, bringing them back to Long Beach in Smithtown and towing in the boat. U.S. Coast Guard personnel were also on the scene, police said.
Supervisor: Events ‘discombobulate’ town By phil corSo
On your mark, get set — no. Smithtown officials are taking another look at the way the town approves festivals, parades and similar events that close major roadways in different parts of the town. Before Tuesday’s special Smithtown Town Board meeting, Supervisor Pat Vecchio (R) and Town Clerk Vincent Puleo discussed complaints both of their offices have received after recent events closed portions of Smithtown, citing negative effects on business and residential life. “It discombobulates people,”
Vecchio said, citing one recent grievance to his office about a town event putting a damper on business. “This is a beautiful town, but this is not the first complaint we have received. I think we need to revisit the process.” St. James resident Scott Flugman prompted the discussion via a letter he penned to Vecchio’s office, citing traffic issues barring his ability to get around town during an outdoor race event in his town on May 31. He said it took him nearly an hour to drive his son home from a friend’s house, who lives roughly eVeNTS continued on page a13
Photo by Greg Catalano
a scene from this month’s annual Smithtown Festival Day, where residents enjoyed the sunshine and perused the various activities across main Street, which was shut down to make room for the event.