TIMES HERALD The Village
It’s All In T he Experienc e!
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Stony Brook • old Field • Strong’S neck • Setauket • eaSt Setauket • South Setauket • Poquot t December 3, 2015
Dickens Festival turns 20
also: Celebrating Hanukkah, ‘a Christmas Carol’ at CMPaC, ‘Barnaby Saves Christmas’
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Three Village district dishes on literacy Board of education discusses plans that shake up English curriculum
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Looking at the events today, you start to wonder. The story of a little candle pushing away the monster of frightening darkness, of human sensibility overcoming terror and brute force, of life and growth overcoming destruction; the battle is very much alive within each of us. It reoccurs at every winter solstice, at every dawn of each day, with every photon of sunlight that breaks through the earth’s atmosphere bringing it warmth and life-nurturing energy. With every breath of life, every cry of a newborn child, every blade of grass that breaks out from under the soil, every decision to do good in the face of evil, to be kind where there is cruelty, to build where others destroy, to move humanity forward when others pull us toward chaos. This is Hanukkah, an eight-day spiritual journey. Many people know the story of Hanukkah but only as a historical pretext to give gifts and eat latkes. We can call that the body of Hanukkah. The soul of Hanukkah is its meditation, joy, warmth and light not only in our homes with our loved ones, but with the world. Thus, this is the message of the candles. Don’t underestimate your ability to make a difference. Our flickering flames of goodness and kindness can go viral, one candle at a time, one good deed at a time. — raBBi Motti groSSBauM
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Volume 40, No. 40
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Three Village lights it up Photo by Peter O’Neill
a 9-foot menorah on display at the three Village chamber corner of nicolls road and route 347 in preparation for the upcoming hanukkah holiday. this menorah is one of many around three Village-area supermarkets and street corners organized by chabad at Stony Brook to spread the light and message of hanukkah. the eight-day holiday begins this Sunday night, dec. 6, and runs through Monday, dec. 14.
South Setauket man killed in drugged driving crash By elana glowatz
A motorcyclist was killed on Saturday afternoon when a young man who was allegedly on drugs crashed a car into his bike. Two days after Thanksgiving, the Suffolk County Police Department said, 56-year-old Thomas Heissen Buttel was riding a 1972 Harley-Davidson north on Old Town Road in Coram when he was struck by a vehicle whose driver had been trying to make a left onto Hyson Way, just south of Hawkins Road. The motorcyclist, a South Setauket resident, died from his injuries at Stony Brook
University Hospital, police said, while the driver of the 2010 Volkswagen Jetta that struck him, 22-year-old Port Jefferson Station resident Sabelo Ndala, was not hurt. Police charged Ndala with driving while impaired by drugs, operating a vehicle without an interlock device and second-degree aggravated unlicensed driving. He was arraigned the next day. The suspect is listed as defending himself in the New York State court system’s online database and could not be reached for comment. According to the database, Ndala had a previous drunk
driving charge against him, dating back to February, to which he pleaded guilty. His license was revoked for 18 months in that case and he was mandated to use an interlock device on his vehicle, which prevents the car from operating unless a sober person breathes into the device, for three years. After Saturday’s crash, police impounded both the Jetta and the Harley-Davidson for safety checks. Anyone who may have witnessed the crash is asked to call detectives from the SCPD’s Vehicular Crime Unit at 631-852-6555.
Mug shot from SCPD
Sabelo ndala has been charged with driving while impaired.