A West Islip woman was arrested on Route 48 in Cutchogue after she fled the scene of a crash in Riverhead Town early Sunday morning, Southold Town Police said.
Melissa Malkush, 29, was driving drunk when she hit a utility pole in Riverhead and fled the scene, police said.
She was charged with misdemeanor DWI and held overnight for a Sunday morning arraignment, police said.
BARBARAELLEN KOCH PHOTO | John and Boanne Wysoczanski’s pool at their Baiting Hollow home has the added feature of deck jets.
Own a pool and on the fence about replacing the pump this season? Consider purchasing a new energy-efficient model now — while the Long Island Power Authority’s rebate of up to $400 is, like the weather, still hot.
LIPA officials said they hope the new mail-in rebate offer will encourage pool owners to replace their single-speed pumps with Energy Star-rated equipment. The updated models operate more efficiently and at the lowest speed necessary to filter swimming pools.
Energy Star was established in 1992 as part of the Clean Air Act and is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency voluntary program to promote energy conservation. Products earning an Energy Star label have been certified through tests conducted by EPA-recognized laboratories, according to Energy Star’s website.
BARBARAELLEN KOCH PHOTO | After the Wysoczanskis installed a new pool pump, they got a $400 rebate from LIPA.
A traditional pool pump’s motor speeds are typically unchangeable and are usually set higher than is required to circulate water and clear debris, LIPA officials said.
The authority is offering two different mail-in rebates: a $150 rebate for a two-speed pool pump and a $400 rebate for a variable-speed pump.
John Wysoczanski, owner of Islandia Pools in Riverhead, said he took LIPA up on its offer last week and installed a new pump in his own pool in Baiting Hollow.
“A lot more people are thinking about it because of the rebate,” he said. “It cuts down energy costs and cleans more efficiently. It’s a no-brainer.”
Mr. Wysoczanski, who sells Pentair pool pumps priced at least $1,500, said the newer machines use less energy by operating with a magnetic field device and should last between 10 and 15 years.
While energy-efficient pool pumps initially cost more, LIPA officials said customers will see a return on their investment from energy savings over the life of the unit.
LIPA spokeswoman Elizabeth Flagler said the new models “minimize energy consumption by up to 90 percent, are extremely quiet, provide maximum water flow and pay for themselves in five years.
“On average, an Energy Star-certified pool pump can save you over $160 per year,” she said.
LIPA began offering rebates in 1999, starting with compact fluorescent bulbs and commercial lighting. Ten years later, several other products were added to the list, including photovoltaics in 2000. One of the newest products for which LIPA is offering in-store rebates is LED bulbs, Ms. Flagler said. She added that LIPA is working to incentivize other products, including energy-efficient clothes dryers.
In addition to the current pool pump rebate program, LIPA is offering $40 to $75 rebates for air conditioners, $40 for dehumidifiers and $50 to $100 for refrigerators. All appliances must also be Energy Star-rated.
LIPA’s pool pump rebate applies only to residential pools and there’s a limit of four rebates per LIPA customer. Purchases must be made between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30 and must be installed by a participating dealer in order to qualify. Rebate checks will be processed within six to eight weeks.
For more information about LIPA’s pool pump rebate program, click here.
A Greenport man was arrested for drunk driving Friday afternoon in Greenport, Southold Town police said.
Cops found Chad E. Yokel, 34, passed out behind the wheel of his running car on the shoulder of Route 25 and Albertson Lane at 4:49 p.m.He was intoxicated at the time police found him, they said.
He was arrested and taken to police headquarters to be processed and held for a Saturday morning arraignment, police said.
KATHARINE SCHROEDER FILE PHOTO | Amber Cogoli, a town animal shelter staffer, pets one of the dozens of cats that called the shelter home in 2011.
The North Fork Animal Welfare League has come a long way since it was established in 1963 to help combat animal cruelty in the area.
Today, it operates both the Southold and the Riverhead town animal shelters and has worked for 50 years to care and find homes for lost and abandoned animals.
It began when a small group of people got together to find homes for strays and offer information on how to treat animals humanely. At the time, Southold Town operated a pound, not a shelter, which provided little more comfort that being out on the street.
In the 1970s, the pound was no longer in use and strays were kept by vets. Animals left unclaimed were put to sleep. As the league gathered more members, it began to collect donations to build an animal shelter.
League members and others successfully pressured the Town Board to build a decent pound, leading to the construction of a six-run dog facility in Peconic. The league kept a close watch on the operation and was mostly unhappy with the treatment of the strays. Limited food and water and dirty facilities were only a few of the issues.
In the late ’70s, New York State enacted a dog control law that gave humane societies the right to make contracts with the town to manage pounds.
On July 1, 1980, the NFAWL signed a contract with the town to take over the pound and run it as a no-kill shelter, becoming the first humane society on Long Island to contract with a town. The league added six more runs, installed a heating system, replaced broken structures and even bought new bowls.
Executive director Gillian Wood Pultz came on board at the shelter in 1995. She found an overcrowded facility, but over the past 18 years the shelter has become the safe haven for animals that the league always longed for.
The shelter offers educational talks at schools and community centers, a food pantry program for families who cannot afford pet food, a spay/neuter voucher program that provides low- to no-cost surgeries and a large online presence.
NFAWL went into contract to operate the Riverhead town shelter in March and so is now responsible for animals on the entire North Fork. Ms. Wood Pultz said the Riverhead facility is exactly where the Southold shelter was 20 years ago.
“Right now our future focus is to improve the lives of the animals in Riverhead and improve the shelter itself,” she said.
“A lot of stuff is happening and we’re really excited about it,” NFAWL board president Dawn Bennett said. “We’re trying to change the idea that shelters are sad, depressing places. We’re looking to do a lot more educational programs and we’ve just hired a volunteer coordinator, which is a first.”
Despite the passing of half a century, Ms. Wood Pultz said, “our mission is the same, but just on a bigger scale. We have greater resources and have been able to help a lot more animals than when the league just started. We’re doing the same thing — we’re still saving the animals — we’ve just grown.”
The league will celebrate its 50th birthday with a fundraising party on Saturday, Aug. 3, from 3 to 8 p.m. It will be hosted by Lou Corso and family at their home overlooking the Sound on Oregon Road in Cutchogue. The cost is $95 per person, which includes a full buffet and open bar as well as live music by The No Request Band.
A Port Jefferson Station man was arrested outside a Cutchogue winery after security reported seeing him snort a white powder while sitting in a van Saturday night, Southold Town police said.
Timothy Healion Jr., 24, told police he was snorting Percocet while parked outside Bedell Cellars shortly after 10 p.m., police said. A police search of the vehicle resulted in an officer finding another Percocet pill and marijuana, police said.
He was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of marijuana and released on bail, police said
GRANT PARPAN PHOTO | Charles Millman speaks at Congregation Tifereth Israel in Greenport Sunday morning.
Toward the end of a presentation on his investigation into the TWA Flight 800 crash, Mattituck resident Charles Millman was asked what he thought caused the plane to go down just 12 minutes after takeoff on July 17, 1996.
“I think it was not the center wing [fuel] tank,” Mr. Millman said, contradicting the official report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board, following its investigation into the crash that left 230 people dead.
Mr. Millman, a retired aircraft engineer who once served as a maintenance manager at John F. Kennedy International Airport, worked as a consultant for the NTSB in the aftermath of the TWA Flight 800 crash over the Moriches Inlet in East Moriches. Now, 17 years later — and after a recent documentary offering alternative theories into the crash of the Boeing 747-100 headed from JFK to Paris, France has made headlines — Mr. Millman says he believes the federal government should reopen its investigation.
“I don’t know what happened that day,” Mr. Millman said during his presentation to the Men’s Club of Congregation Tifereth Israel in Greenport Sunday. “I do know that I think the investigation should be reopened and looked at carefully.”
The NTSB announced June 28 that it’s currently reviewing a Petition for Reconsideration of the Board’s findings and probable cause determination regarding the flight. The petition was received four weeks prior to the world premiere of the documentary, “TWA Flight 800,” on the EPIX television network. The film, which features six retired NTSB investigators who say the government’s explanation was a cover-up and the jet was actually downed by a missile, has since screened at the Stony Brook Film Festival and will also be shown Aug. 8 at the Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington.
Mr. Millman, who has not yet seen the documentary, said the pristine condition of several items recovered from the crash and the NTSB’s inability to replicate an explosion of a center wing fuel tank during its investigation have led him to dispute the government’s official position on the crash.
As part of his presentation to more than two dozen people at the synagogue Sunday, Mr. Millman shared the NTSB accident report, which states the explosion of the center wing tank as the probable cause of the crash. The report says the explosion was most likely caused by a short circuit outside of the tank.
“That doesn’t seem to make too much sense to me,” he said.
Mr. Millman also passed around photographs, newspaper articles and notes from the investigation.
Conspiracy theories have surfaced since the day of the crash, with more than 100 eyewitnesses having told investigators they saw a streak of light headed toward the aircraft moments before it exploded in the sky.
The government has maintained that what those witnesses actually saw was a piece of the aircraft falling from the sky, a theory Mr. Millman disagrees with.
“Common sense says that if hundreds of people say they saw [the streak of light] ascending, then it was ascending, not falling,” Mr. Millman said.
The investigation into the crash lasted more than four years and is reportedly the most expensive crash investigation in U.S. history.
Two men who attended the presentation Sunday said they had sons who were witnesses to the crash. Jed Clauss of Mattituck said his son, Josh, was surfing in Westhampton when debris from the plane landed near him.
Mr. Clauss said Josh returned home with a piece of plastic that surrounded one of the plane’s windows. They called the FBI to report the discovery and an investigator was sent to the house, he said.
“He asked Josh if he noticed a Grady-White [boat] headed in the opposite direction,” Mr. Clauss said. “I always found that curious.”
Mr. Clauss says he’s always believed kinetic energy from a missile shot in the direction of the plane caused the explosion.
Mr. Millman said he hasn’t dwelled on what caused the crash, since he doesn’t exactly know, but he thinks the time has come for the government to take another look.
“I don’t know what happened,” he said, “but 230 lives were affected and when you also consider [all their family members], a tremendous amount of people were hurt by this crash.”
An underage Mattituck man was arrested on a drunken driving charge Monday, Southold Town police said.
Anthony Kowal, 20, was stopped by police just after midnight on Wickham Avenue in Mattituck, where police found he was intoxicated, according to a police report.
He was arrested for misdemeanor DWI and transported to headquarters to await a court appearance.
No other charges were listed in a police report.
RIVERHEAD RACEWAY ROUNDUP
Dave Brigati of Calverton shook off a run of bad racing luck on Saturday evening in front of a standing-room-only crowd at Riverhead Raceway when he held off teammate Dave Sapienza of Riverhead to win a 35-lap NASCAR Modified feature event. It was his first win since returning to Riverhead full time at the start of the 2013 season.
At the finish, it was a relieved and happy Brigati scoring a much-needed win, one ironically that wouldn’t have come without a phone call from Sapienza,
“I tore up all my equipment early in the season,” Brigati said. “I was done, and then Sap calls me and asked if I wanted to drive his older car, and now I’m glad I said yes.”
Following was Timmy Solomito of Islip in third place. Howie Brode of East Islip was fourth and Jason Agugliaro of Islip fifth.
In other races:
Eric Zeh of Selden worked his way through the Charger field from a seventh starting position to score his third win of the season and in the process reclaimed sole possession of the points lead. Chad Churilla of Hauppauge had to settle for runner-up money. Chris Turbush of Riverhead crossed the finish line third.
The Blunderbust division normally can be counted on for quick running feature events, with many going from start to finish without a yellow flag, but that was not the case Saturday. A rough and tumble race ended on Lap 12 because of a time limit. Jimmy White Jr. of Southampton was declared the winner, giving him his second victory of the year. Tim Mulqueen of Levittown took second, and Brian Brown of Baiting Hollow ended up third.
In a 20-lap Legend Race Car feature, Vinny Delaney of Holtsville finally won his first career main event after coming close before. Timmy Solomito of Islip sped in second after making one last bid for the lead off a turn. He came up half a car length short. Veteran Paul Dodorico of Miller Place claimed third.
James Charrier of Shirley continued his domination of Grand Enduro racing, topping the field in a 50-lap feature. White was second. Third place went to Greg Zaleski of Jamesport.
In the 8-Cylinder Demolition Derby, the defending National Demolition Derby champion, Jason Savoy of Lake Panamoka, outlasted veteran Michael Rommeney of Maspeth for the victory. Both drivers were coming off wins from the Sunday before at the Orange County Fair.
In the School Bus Demolition Derby, Rommeney rebounded for the win after outlasting Savoy. Chris Van Cott of Commack was third.
AMBROSE CLANCY PHOTO | For the second time in less than two weeks, the North Ferry line stretched down Wiggins Street in Greenport for blocks.
For the second time in less than a week, County Road 39 in Southampton had to be closed Monday morning resulting in backups for traffic using North Ferry.
The accident again involved a Hampton Jitney bus. This time it was a garbage truck that police reported striking the jitney.
The accident at Route 39 near David Whites Lane occurred at 4:37 a.m.
Truck traffic that typically would have used Route 39 to get to the South Fork lined up, instead, in Greenport to board North Ferry boats bound for Shelter Island and then South Ferry boats to reach the Hamptons.
While South Ferry reported the increase was staggered so as to not cause any backups, drivers boarding North Ferry boats in Greenport had about a 20 minute wait. By 10 a.m., North Ferry still had five boats running, instead of the usual three that would have been running by that time between Greenport and Shelter Island. The excess truck traffic included several Long Island Power Authority trucks and several Corazzini Asphalt trucks plus the usual array of landscapers and other service vehicles bound for Shelter Island.
Details of the accident weren’t immediately available.
Nor could North Ferry officials be reached to determine how long the backup on its boats continued.
In other traffic news, New York Avenue has been closed due to LIPA workers fusing pipes and running them toward Crescent Beach for the power pipeline project.
PAUL SQUIRE PHOTO | An exhibit at the Suffolk County center in Riverside shows the Pine Barrens former uses and the history of its conservation.
The Long Island Pine Barrens Protection Act, the state law that boosted conservation efforts to protect the Pine Barrens from over-development, turned 20 years old this month, marking what supporters have called a “generation of conservation.”
The Central Pine Barrens Commission recently set up an exhibit at the Suffolk County Center in Riverside documenting the history of the Pine Barrens from its creation in the age of glaciers to current efforts to conserve Long Island’s oldest forest.
See sections of the exhibit in the slideshow below and pick up the Suffolk Times this week for a story on the Pine Barrens Protection Act and what it’s meant for Long Island.
CYNDI MURRAY PHOTO | The side of the ambulance showing the scrapes caused when it was sideswiped during a collision in Cutchogue Monday afternoon.
The woman was uninjured, but the two EMTs continued the trip to the hospital as accident victims. Both emergency responders were banged up, but did not appear to be seriously injured, the chief said.
Police said the accident occurred when Michael Kar, 21, of Cutchogue, who was westbound on Route 25, stopped short and swerved to avoid a vehicle and made contact with the ambulance. No charges have been filed.
The patient, who had been ill and was suffering from dehydration, and the EMTs were transferred to another ambulance shortly after the collision.
No additional information was immediately available.
Thomas A. Cervelli of Southold died suddenly July 24, 2013. He was 70 years old.
He was born Feb. 2, 1943, in Rockville Centre to Michael and Louise Cervelli and grew up in Farmingdale, graduating from Farmingdale High School in 1961. He married Nancy O’Day on Oct. 14, 1978, in Hicksville.
Tom worked as a computer programmer before moving with his wife in 1990 to Bar Harbor, Maine, where he owned and operated The Inn at Canoe Point for 11 years. As an innkeeper, Tom made sure his guests had an unforgettable vacation and would return year after year.
In 2001, he relocated to the North Fork and loved his time playing golf and working part-time at Island’s End golf course. He was also a volunteer at Eastern Long Island Hospital and East End Hospice.
Tom is survived by his wife, Nancy; daughter, Sandra Tupper of New Jersey; brother, Michael Cervelli of Pennsylvania; sister, Patricia Fischer of Texas; and grandsons, James and Brian Tupper of New Jersey.
He was also the cherished brother-in-law of Maureen and Eric Godin, Debbie Holbrook and Jay Greaney, Don and Toni O’Day, Trish and Fred Reimer and Dave and Patty O’Day; cherished son-in-law of Joan and Donald O’Day; and adored uncle of 18 nieces and nephews and 15 great-nieces and -nephews.
The family received friends July 28 at DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Southold. The Liturgy of Christian Burial was celebrated July 29. at St. Patrick R.C. Church in Southold, Father Peter Garry officiating.
Memorial donations may be made to East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach, New York 11978.
This is a paid notice.
TIM KELLY PHOTO | West Nile Virus was found in two samples of Culex pipiens-restuans.
Suffolk County health officials announced Monday that 12 mosquito samples tested positive for West Nile virus, including two in Aquebogue.
Positive samples, collected between July 16 and July 17 and all of Culex pipiens-restuans, also came from mosquito traps in Huntington, Greenlawn, Northport, East Northport, Nesconset, Holtsville, Selden and Farmingville.
Health officials do not disclose exactly where the traps are located.
To date, 16 mosquito samples and two birds have tested positive for the virus. No humans or horses have tested positive for the virus in Suffolk County this year, officials said.
“The confirmation of West Nile virus in a mosquito pool indicates that the virus is actively circulating within the mosquito population,” said James Tomarken, the Suffolk County Health and Human Services commissioner. “While there is no cause for alarm, we urge residents to cooperate with us in our efforts to contain the spread of the virus, which can be debilitating to humans.”
Residents can reduce the mosquito population around their homes by eliminating stagnant water where mosquitoes breed, officials said.
Dead birds found on area properties may indicate the presence of West Nile virus in the area. To report dead birds, call the West Nile virus hotline in Suffolk County at (631) 787-2200 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
For medical questions related to West Nile virus, call (631) 854-0333.
To report mosquito problems or stagnant pools of water, call vector control at (631) 852-4270.
For further information on mosquitos and mosquito-borne diseases, visit the Department of Health Services website and look under “Seasonal Trends.”
An architect’s design for the new recycling facility to be built in Cutchogue.
The county Industrial Development Agency has approved an incentive package including property tax savings of more than $228,000 over the next ten years, IDA director Anthony Manetta said.
Peconic Recycling & Transfer Corp., a subsidiary of Mattituck Sanitation, first pitched the project to Southold Town in 2007. With support from the town the project received state Department of Environmental Conservation approval in 2010. The company requested IDA support earlier this year.
The 34,200-square-foot facility on Commerce Drive would separate and process plastics, metal, paper and other recyclables for resale. It would rely on the town’s neighboring waste transfer center to dispose of residual trash, Peconic Recycling’s community affairs director Bob Kern said.
The recycling center will run entirely on solar energy and be opened to the public year-round, according to the company. The facility could create up to 30 full-time jobs within the next several years, Mr. Kern said. He added that the center will offer educational programs for school children and an apprenticeship program with Suffolk County Community College.
“There is nothing like this on the East End,” Mr. Kern said. “Our idea is to do recycling 100%. That includes being off the grid. We are very excited. We can’t build it fast enough.”
The project’s benefits to the community made it an excellent candidate for the incentive package, Mr. Manetta said.
“We view this as a very positive project with strong environmental benefits,” he said. “Plus, the amount of jobs it will provide led the county to support the applicant.”
GARRET MEADE PHOTO | David Jesch prevailed in a pitching duel for North Fork, allowing five hits over seven scoreless innings.
HCBL SEMIFINALS, GAME 1 | OSPREYS 1, AVIATORS 0
Good pitchers find ways out of jams, and David Jesch was in one heck of a jam.
The North Fork Ospreys pitcher saw the first three Westhampton Aviators reach base in the second inning on Monday. Cole Miller drew a walk, Darius Washington was hit by a pitch, and Mitch Montaldo put down a bunt single that first baseman Mike Hayden fielded, only to miss the tag attempt on Montaldo along the first-base line.
That is when Jesch needed a moment to collect his thoughts.
“I really dug deep,” Jesch said. “I took a step off the mound, took a deep breath.”
And then he turned in what might have been his best work of the day. With the bases loaded and none out, Jesch buckled down, retiring the next three batters. Dan Parisi lined out, Brian Lee fouled out and Rick Alessi flied out. Jesch escaped the jam unscathed and the Ospreys hung on for a 1-0 triumph in Game 1 of the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League semifinals.
The hot Ospreys can take the best-of-three semifinal series with a win tomorrow night in Peconic. They have won 12 of their last 13 games and their last four meetings with the Aviators.
Jesch prevailed in a genuine pitching duel, thanks in part to his ability to pitch effectively with runners on base. Some fine fielding behind him didn’t hurt, either.
GARRET MEADE PHOTO | Fine defensive play, including some from third baseman Ryan Burns, helped the Ospreys win their first playoff game.
“David maybe didn’t have his best velocity today, but he competed,” Ospreys manager Bill Ianniciello said. “He got in trouble, he got himself out of innings, executed pitches, guys made plays behind him, you know, hung on. You got to make pitches. Give him credit.”
Jesch’s counterpart, Preston Brown, deserves plenty of credit himself. Brown went the distance for the Aviators, giving up six hits. The righty from Mississippi State struck out six and didn’t issue a walk. During one stretch, he retired 17 batters in a row.
For all his effort, though, he was the losing pitcher.
“It’s a little bittersweet,” Brown said of what he regarded as his best performance of the summer.
Jesch had something that Brown didn’t have: a run to work with. The Ospreys spotted him a 1-0 lead before he even stepped on the mound at Aviator Field in Westhampton. That run was the result of Austin Miller being hit by a pitch, Jim Pjura slapping a single to left field, and then Hayden slicing a two-out single to right.
The Ospreys then let Jesch handle things for the first seven innings. The right-hander from Hofstra University allowed five hits, three walks and struck out six in his 109-pitch effort before Dalton Curtis relieved him for the last two innings.
Ianniciello said Jesch has been the Ospreys’ most consistent starting pitcher. Jesch led the league in strikeouts with 52 during the regular season. He went 5-0 with a 2.38 earned run average. That record of achievement earned him the honor of starting the first playoff game.
“It’s a lot of pressure, but I try to do my best,” Jesch said. “I felt like I didn’t have my best stuff. … I feel like my location at times was a little off. It’s a struggle at times.”
But Jesch came through when it really counted, like in the seventh when the Aviators put two runners on base. Jesch fanned J. C. Brandmaier for the third out.
The Ospreys also benefitted from some nice glove work, particularly a fine running grab by Michael Fries of a hard-hit line drive to left field.
“The defense was tremendous,” said Jesch.
The Aviators were putting runners on base; they just couldn’t bring them home. Westhampton stranded 11 runners and went 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position.
“It came down to execution,” Aviators manager Lou Bernardi said. “In playoff baseball, it’s who can make the fundamental plays the most. When you get playoff baseball, it’s going to come down to good pitching, good defense and timely hitting.”
And perhaps managing to get out of a jam or two.
Richard Chizever’s late father, Larry, was well known in the Riverhead area for being a tennis player, a coach and a fun-loving person. But he was also a consummate competitor and a relentless trash talker.
“He did it in a nice way,” Richard said. “He would get under your skin, though.”
Richard recalled an incident about 33 years ago when he and his father drove to Mattituck High School to play a match against each other. As was his custom, Larry found a way to agitate his son during the match. “I was so ticked off at him, I wouldn’t drive home with him,” Richard said. “I walked all the way home to Riverhead.”
The occasional trash talking aside, Richard learned a lot from his father, who he lost about nine years ago. Larry suffered a massive stroke while in recovery from a bilateral hip replacement. He remained in a vegetative condition for six years before he died.
The passion Larry had for tennis, though, lives on in his son. Larry was a standout football and baseball player in Brooklyn. After moving to Riverhead, he was turned on to tennis and became hooked. He encouraged his son to play.
Richard, 57, continues playing the sport he was introduced to by his father. A former Riverhead High School player, Richard figures he has been playing tennis seriously for 44 years. Aside from the occasional aches and pains those on the older side of 50 typically experience, he said his conditioning has improved since he hurt his back in a tournament this past February. “Right now I’m playing some of the best tennis I’ve played in my life,” he said.
On Saturday, the second-seeded Chizever will defend his men’s 50-plus singles title in the Bob Wall Memorial Tennis Tournament when he will play No. 4 seed John Czartosieski at Robert W. Tasker Park in Peconic. It was Czartosieski who ousted Chizever in the first round of men’s open singles, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Chizever and his men’s 50-plus doubles partner, Bob Lum, will also play in a final on Saturday. That top-seeded duo will be seeking its fifth men’s 50-plus doubles title when they go up against No. 2 Tom Cahill and Ed Lee.
“He’s my guru,” Chizever said of Lum, who is the Riverhead High School boys tennis coach. “He knows the game better than anybody I ever played with. He brings out the best in you.”
Interestingly, what Chizever learned most about tennis may have been less technical than mental. Larry was an unorthodox left-handed player, and Richard is a righty.
“He taught me more about the will to win than rather the actual strokes,” Richard said. “He was just a great competitor. He used to say it’s the fire in your belly. If you have the fire in your belly, you can win. He taught me how to enjoy the sport, how to go out there and win.”
Richard, who resides in Aquebogue and has worked as an optician in Southold for 27 years, learned a lot as a young player. He was among a group of high school players who played against older men in their 40s. “We really learned the finesse of a sport,” he said. “We used to tell coaches we played like old men.”
According to Richard, he hasn’t gone more than six months without playing since he first picked up a tennis racket. He said he regrets not having played tennis in college (Ohio University), but he values the friendships he made through tennis over the years. One of the things he likes best about tennis is the social component. He said it gives him the opportunity to play against people he otherwise would not have met.
And then, of course, there is the competition.
“It’s a sport that you use everything,” Chizever said. “You use every part of your body, including your mind.”
Jim Christy, the director of the Bob Wall Memorial Tournament, said Chizever symbolizes what the tournament is about.
“In Rich’s case, he just enters to have fun,” Christy said. “He moves along, but he has such a great disposition. He generally enjoys playing. It doesn’t matter whether the player is very strong or very weak. He never shows anybody up.”
Christy said he sees similarities between Richard and his father in terms of personality.
“His father was just an absolute gem of a man,” Christy said. “You could not not like Larry Chizever. He’d talk your ear off. He had such a great sense of humor.”
Of course, this is nothing new. Richard has heard people talk about his father and how he loved life many times before.
“People would come up to me and say you are lucky to have such a great father,” Richard said. “I would say to them, ‘You have no idea how lucky I was.’ ”
BEVERLEA WALZ PHOTO | LIPA workers dragging one long pipe with a back hoe Monday afternoon up Goat Hill toward its destination at Crescent Beach on Shelter Island.
Long Island Power Authority contractors began pulling 27 sections of fused pipe, each 400 feet long, with a back hoe up West Neck Road on Shelter Island Monday morning.
By 2 p.m. the pipe was about halfway between New York Avenue and West Neck Road, stretching to the sixth green of the Shelter Island Country Club.
The project, when completed, will provide another source of power coming from the North Fork to the Island.
With the expectation that drilling under the bay from Greenport to Crescent Beach will be completed this week, workers are poised to test the hole to ensure there are no areas that could cave in when they begin feeding pipes through the conduit.
The tests are done with a mechanical device that goes through the hole and photographs the area that runs for about 4,000 feet between the Island and the North Fork. That process should take about a week.
Once the pipes are in place, a device will be fed from the Greenport side to act as a pulley, gradually guiding the piping into and through the hole. But before the pulling begins, liquid will flood the narrow tunnel to protect the integrity of the piping from friction and enable it to float through to the other side. Once the piping is in place, workers will be ready to install the electrical cables that will feed power from the North Fork to the Island.
When the cables are in place, there will be a brief period of splicing and testing lines to ensure they are working properly.
Robert Green Gildersleeve died July 20, 2013, in Arlington, Va., after a brief illness. He was 90 years old.
Bob was born in Mattituck July 12, 1923, in a house that still stands on Pike Street. He was the second son and sixth child of Ethel May (Green) and James Andrew Gildersleeve Jr. He lived for over 50 years in Northport, with his wife, Julia (née Freeborn), who predeceased him in 1996.
Bob spent many hours tracing the Gildersleeve family lineage back to its beginnings in England in 1273. He was an 11th-generation member of the Gildersleeve family (counting back to Richard the Third), who first came to Southold Township in 1635. Through his maternal great-grandmother, Anna Wickham (Reeve) Gildersleeve, he traced his lineage back to one of Mattituck’s first Puritan settlers, William Furrier. Likewise, through his mother’s Corwin/Green line, he also traced the history back to one of the original settlers of the area, Matthias Corwin. Early family members were staunch patriots and many of them served as officers in the Revolutionary War.
Bob graduated from Syracuse University and worked for many years as a public librarian on Long Island. He was an avid antique collector, enjoyed reading about Queen Elizabeth and other members of the British royal family and doing crafts of all kinds.
Bob is survived by his daughter, Sara Gildersleeve Eakes of Arlington; her husband, Garey; and granddaughter Samantha. He is also survived by other members of the extended Gildersleeve family in the area, including his sister-in-law, Pauline Gildersleeve of Mattituck.
Services will be held in Mattituck at a later date, followed by burial at Old Bethany Cemetery.
This is a paid notice.
The Rev. Edward J. Hansen Jr. died July 7, 2013, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. He was 61 years old.
Edward was born Oct. 22, 1951, in Brooklyn and was a longtime resident of Cutchogue.
He is survived by his wife, Julia A. Bergonzi; his mother, Elaine Emily Hansen; his daughters, Abigail Hansen Corrigan and Amanda Hendricks; his granddaughters, Riley Skye Corrigan and Sadie Rae Corrigan; his grandson, Wyatt Hendricks; his sisters, Elaine Radin Hansen and Joan VanFleet; and a brother, John Hansen.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013, at 11 a.m. at First Congregational Church in Riverhead.
This is a paid notice.
Phyllis Diane Atkins of Greenport died suddenly July 24 at Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport. She was 48 years old.
She was born Aug. 25, 1964, to Delaware and Laura Atkins of Greenport. Growing up, she enjoyed sports such as gymnastics, volleyball and cheerleading. Family members said bingo was her favorite pastime and that she enjoyed “Driving Miss Daisy” even when she said she didn’t.
Ms. Atkins worked for Community Action Southold Town for many years and family members said she was always eager to give back and help those in need. She loved spending time with her children and taking her granddaughter to the park.
She is survived by her daughters, Angela Reyes-Colon and Tara Stilley, both of Greenport; her parents, also of Greenport; sisters, Della Ross of Riverhead and Regina Rodriguez of Richmond, Va.; brothers, Delaware Atkins III of Evansville, Ind., and Paul Parks of Greenport; one granddaughter; and her significant other, Danny Alaia.
The family received visitors Monday, July 29, at Horton-Mathie Funeral Home in Greenport. Private cremation followed.
