David Gamberg during a school board meeting in Southold. (Credit: Jennifer Gustavson, file)

What would make the most sense about developing and promoting the necessary ingredients for a high-quality public education system in the United States? Would it be an agenda made up of the highest standards possible? Of course, but in and of itself this would fall short of a full-bodied agenda for success.

Recently, I was at a luncheon where a group of people were exploring how we could have schools adopt policies and practices that would allow children to experience more learning through the use of school gardens, and how those gardens would naturally provide more healthful food as part of a nutritious lunch for all. It would seem that this could also be a small part of a common-sense approach to the policies of all schools.

Think about what is done at some of the most prestigious private schools. At Sidwell Friends School the philosophy of the program is stated as follows: “Our curriculum is grounded in teaching students about the natural world and their relationship to it.” Education analyst and historian Diane Ravitch recently reminded us of what John Dewey suggested — what is good for some in a community is what we want for all: “What the best and wisest parent wants for his child, that must we want for all of the children of the community. Anything less is unlovely, and left unchecked, destroys our democracy.” It is in this vein that we must carefully examine how to proceed in any agenda to improve education.

The problem we have today isn’t high standards or not; it is our hyper-focus on the brand known as Common Core and the associative high-stakes testing that accompany that brand. It has crowded out so much in what common sense tells us about how to craft a healthy and powerful set of practices that would benefi t all children. A school “diet” that not only nourishes the body, but also the mind and the soul would do more to promote student achievement than any packaged set of high standards that we see today. The Common Core does not provide such nourishment. Let me explain.

If children were to get the requisite time to play (where by law in Finland children must have 15 minutes of play for every 45 minutes of instruction), they would perform better. If children took the time to be out in the fresh air exploring the wonder and magic of how vegetables and fl owers grow from tiny seeds into mature, healthy and vibrant produce and things of utter beauty, they would learn how to care, be careful and be respectful of many things they face in other aspects of life and learning. If children could not only focus on a diet heavily fortifi ed with math and English Language Arts (not to mention test prep and testing), but rather experience a balanced diet of civics, the arts, movement and curiosity for its own sake (not necessarily ending with a grade), think how well they might perform on the former?

These are the common-sense elements in some of the most effective and best-performing schools, like those found in Finland. The health and well-being of children there translate into high performance and a readiness of its young citizens, who are prepared for 21st century work and learning.

Eight-, 9-, and 10-year-olds who are forming the habits of mind and body that are the foundation for lifelong learning would be better served by a common-sense agenda for schools. Common sense tells us that healthy children are better prepared for the rigors they will undertake as they grow into mature students. Don’t be misled by false claims that purport to have us believe that college and career readiness can be garnered through high scores on standardized tests at this tender age of childhood development.

There are other elements of a common-sense agenda that we must honor. Building relationships both within and outside the schoolhouse is one such element. While seemingly the softer side of building organizational capacity, a learning community that fails to bolster and strengthen trust is not one that is on the path of sustainable greatness. It is more important now than ever to work with families, and not against them, to have children gain access to more opportunities to care about the wide range of experiences that are part of a healthful childhood and not a narrow band of “measurable data points.” Give them more time to explore the world of their own imagination and passions, not less. No set of secret and highly secure tests designed to promote or destroy schools and teachers will accomplish this. It’s common sense.

It should not be too diffi cult to see that the current agenda is doing more harm than good. Rooted in the belief that we must disrupt the status quo at all costs and establish a highly competitive marketplace for developing teacher competency and student achievement, the metrics used today to sort and select winners is medicine that will kill the patient. Usurping the public will in the process of “promoting” a bold new world of what is good for the children of a community and a nation is as unwise as it is ill-suited to building confi dence in our public schools.

Common sense is not a 19th- or 20th-century idea whose time has come and gone. It is not dismissive of hard work and an openness to see powerful new ways of fi nding success, as though these are qualities that are owned by those who want to conquer ineffectiveness and low achievement through some magic elixir of technology and competition. Even if one were to support a belief that we have found the Holy Grail of high-quality standards that came to be in the Common Core, we would be ill-advised to be lured into a false sense of thinking that this is the locomotive that will drive change.

The alternative may be messy, perhaps because it lacks the slickness of a Madison Avenue advertisement for a “new and improved” way to educate children, but that is no reason to shy away from doing all we must do to promote the best in children, in educators and for the families of every community in America. To do less is to fail the test of common sense.

David Gamberg is superintendent of the Southold School District. Beginning in July, he will also serve as superintendent in Greenport.

Stephanie Gaylor, holding Hawaiian tomato seeds inside her greenhouse. (Carrie Miller photo)

Picture the most unusual, visually appealing tomato salad you’ve ever seen. Not just a sea of your typical shades of red. We’re talking blue tomatoes, white tomatoes, even speckled and striped tomatoes. These varieties aren’t fruits of the future, but rather heirlooms of the past, grown from seeds that have been handed down for centuries from grower to grower.

Mattituck farmer Stephanie Gaylor has long feared that if farmers don’t continue growing these varieties and saving their seeds, many species could be lost forever. Seeds lose their vigor over time and are typically unable to grow a plant after about 18 months.

With support from two local nonprofit groups, Ms. Gaylor has launched a new company called Salt of the Earth Seed, which will work to gather seeds from across the North Fork and internationally, and then sell them to interested growers. She expects there will be an emerging demand.

“I have always been a seed saver,” Ms. Gaylor said. “We’re hoping to get other growers involved in saving their own seed. We would not be reinventing the wheel. We’re doing what has been done for centuries; what people are still doing [in other countries].”

But with all that saving, she’s found little time for sorting and selling. Now, with help from two nonprofits, the Long Island Seed Consortium and the Long Island Plant Initiative, and business partners Cheryl Frey Richards and Kate Moriarty, Salt of the Earth Seed will soon be marketing seeds and getting them to growers who want to offer customers produce they won’t find at the supermarket or even at the average farm stand.

The owner of Invincible Summer Farm in Southold, Ms. Gaylor began saving seeds in 2011 and now has seeds for more than 6,000 varieties of fruits and vegetables in her portfolio — amounting to hundreds of pounds in seeds.

“We have about a thousand different types of peppers … everything from weird squashes to kale, radishes and lettuces,” she said. “We [also] need to have a year-round food system that can sustain the winter, so we have winter lettuces like January King Cross,” Ms. Gaylor explained. “We’re growing it and it did amazingly.”

“It’s really kind of interesting how our choices in produce have shrunk,” she added, explaining that growers have increasingly turned to big corporate catalogues to purchase seeds instead of saving their own.

Related: In the works: a North Fork tomato

Ken Ettlinger, a botany professor at Suffolk County Community College and a Long Island Seed Consortium member, has been educating people about saving seeds for close to 40 years. He said the practice of seed saving has become something of a lost art, negatively impacting the diversity of the country’s food supply.

“When you look at the history of farming, 100 years ago you find that every farmer would be saving their seed,” Mr. Ettlinger said. “The result is that you’d have a lot more diversity and a lot of varieties grown by farmers in a certain area. Farmers today don’t feel it is their role to produce seed … but to produce the product for their customers. But the scary thing is they are declining local diversity.”

He said that relying on the limited collections available through even the largest commercial seed catalogues makes produce much more vulnerable to disease and insects, because everyone is growing the same varieties.

Instead of diversity, Mr. Ettlinger said, commercial growers are often looking for uniformity in their produce so it can be easily packaged, shipped and marketed.

Lyle Wells, owner of Wells Farm in Aquebogue, said those uniform results are best achieved through hybrid plants, or combined variations of plants, to produce a predictable fruit or vegetable from each seed.

“Most of the produce that we grow are hybrids — we’re not able to save the seeds from them,” Mr. Wells said. He explained that if saved and replanted, the hybrid seeds may yield an unpredictable second generation the next year because both male and female genes may not be present in the saved seeds.

He said he spends between $20,000 and $30,000 on new seeds each year.

Local growers said these hybrid plants have been bred to produce high-quality fruits and vegetables that can better withstand external stresses like insects, drought and over-watering.

“There have been tremendous improvements bred into new plants — and those new plants, with those new improvements, can only be acquired through new seeds — they simply aren’t there in saved seeds,” said Tom Wickham of Wickham’s Fruit Farm in Cutchogue.

Mr. Wickham said he spends up to $1 on a single seed for some varieties of tomatoes he grows.

“While there is a place for heirlooms among people who really like it, they are not going to feed the world,” Mr. Wickham said. By using hybrid seed, he added, “You get a healthier plant and you don’t have to use a lot of pesticides that you would otherwise have to use.”

But both longtime local growers said they recognized the significance of keeping historic first-generation seeds.

“That’s important,” Mr. Wickham said. “All of those all varieties have one quality or another that is sort of unique. And probably there are farmers who will prize those qualities and will want them.”

Should farmers start saving and producing their own seeds, Mr. Ettlinger said, it will allow them to develop varieties suited to their individual farms, soil, farming style and their own population of insects and diseases.

Ms. Gaylor said that as varieties are lost — local ones especially — so are the genetic materials allowing them to flourish and adapt to different conditions. She points to a little-known wild Long Island tomato as an example.

The Shinnecock Native, a mid-sized cherry tomato, was first discovered growing on Shinnecock tribal land on the South Fork more than a century ago.

“It wasn’t being grown here, so I went looking for it,” she said. “I could find only one person that is saving it.”

That was five years ago, and she found it through a grower on the nonprofit Seed Saver Exchange, a nationwide coalition of seed savers and sharers.

“It’s a very sweet tomato,” she said. “Every year we grow a population of 50 plants. It produces like crazy as soon as the [seeds] drop to the ground.”

To explore the variety of seeds available for sale through Salt of the Earth Seed, visit the company’s website at northforkseeds.com.

While the North Fork has become synonymous with the definition of a farming region, it has not yet been able to boast its very own “North Fork” tomato, known and advertised industry-wide by name.

Two locals are working to change that. Read more at northforker.com.

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The entrance to Peconic Landing in Greenport. (Credit: Katharine Schroeder)

Peconic Landing’s planned $45 million expansion is among the proposals up for public hearing during Southold Town Planning Board’s work session Monday night.

The project — which was recently amended —which would add 46 senior apartments, 16 private skilled nursing accommodations and a 16-suite “memory care facility” for seniors with cognitive impairment.

Initially, the plans called for the L-shaped building to face a different direction. The updated proposal also includes designs for an expanded gym facility and a new art room, a spokesperson with Peconic Landing said Friday.

Monday night’s 6 p.m. hearing will give residents the chance to weigh in on the project, which is the largest expansion in the Greenport retirement community’s 11-year history.

Pending site plan approval, Peconic Landing will break ground on the project in July. The facility’s 144-acre campus currently has 250 residential units, 26 assisted living apartments and 44 skilled nursing accommodations.

Peconic Landing said plans for the new facility are necessary to meet residential demand. A spokesperson said the addition would be attached to the campus’ existing community center.

In October, Peconic Landing easily received approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals for a new three-story apartment wing that will include more than 75 units. ZBA approval was necessary because town code limits buildings to two stories and a basement.

The Planning Board’s regular meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the Town Hall meeting room.

CJ’s American Grill owners, from left: Joanne Richards, Chris Richards and Sal Malguarnera, with Bobby Bugdin, restaurant principal, and manager Sandra Bilotti. Barbaraellen Koch photo.

CJ’s American Grill, a new farm-to-table restaurant located in Mattituck Plaza, will celebrate a soft opening at noon Wednesday, co-owner Chris Richards said.

A Grand Opening will follow soon after at an undetermined date.

Housed in the space formerly occupied by Dolittle’s Bar and Grill, which closed in early 2012, CJ’s will feature a diverse menu with locally sourced ingredients, Mr. Richards said.

The 40-to-50 seat restaurant will have a built-in “wine wall” with more than 90 North Fork wines for sale, all priced at $25 a bottle.

Local beers, including Riverhead’s Crooked Ladder Brewery, will also be available on draft.

“It’s going to be a fun place,” said Mr. Richards, a Patchogue resident and owner of East End Catering, co-owns CJ’s American Grill with his wife, Joanne, and business partner Sal Malguarnera. The restaurant will be managed by Mr. Richards’ friend Sandra Bilotti of Mattituck.

“It’s going to be a place where everybody can come get an awesome meal and get to taste all the local ingredients for under $28,” he said.

Entrées, whipped up by executive chef Brian Arbesfeld, former sous chef at A Lure in Southold, will consist of dishes like pork-belly sandwiches and grilled local striped bass with a dill-compound butter. Each entrée will be served with a local salad and vegetable from Sang Lee Farms in Peconic and Cutchogue’s Satur Farms, Mr. Richards said.

Mr. Arbesfeld, who lives in Southold and formerly owned Focaccia Grill in Wantagh, described his cooking style as “American with some Mediterranean and Asian influences” and said he’s “very open” when it comes to creating dishes.

“I kind of really like taking a little spin on what’s been done and make it a little bit different, put my own signature on it,” he said.

CJ’s American Grill isn’t the only eatery debuting at Mattituck Plaza this spring: Goldberg’s Famous Bagels is expected to open this month in the storefront formerly occupied by North Fork Bagel Company, owner Mark Goldberg said earlier this year.

ryoung@timesreview.com

The chase is on for a ground ball. From left, Westhampton Beach’s Evan Gagne, left, and Wyatt Sommer join Mattituck/Greenport/Southold’s Dylan Marlborough in pursuit of the ball. (Credit: Garret Meade)

HURRICANES 12, TUCKERS 7

On paper, it had rout written all over it. On the field, however, it was a different story. The damage caused by the Hurricanes wasn’t the devastation some might have expected.

Then again, the days of a few powerhouse teams running roughshod over everyone else in Suffolk County Division II boys lacrosse may be over. Shoreham-Wading River coach Justin Arini seems to think so. He recently stated that just about every team in the division can put up a competitive game against anyone else.

A fine example of that was seen on Friday. The Westhampton Beach Hurricanes started the day in fifth place; the Mattituck/Greenport/Southold Tuckers were 18th. A blowout in the making, right?

Wrong.

After twice taking one-goal leads in the first quarter, the Tuckers never led again, although they trailed by only one goal after three quarters. Then Evan Gagne scored two of his four goals when Westhampton Beach went on a game-ending 4-0 run for a 12-7 result in its favor at Mattituck High School.

It was the fifth win in six games for Westhampton Beach (9-3, 7-3). The Tuckers (3-8, 2-7), meanwhile, dropped their sixth loss in seven games.

Through the first three quarters, Westhampton Beach never led by more than three goals as the Tuckers hustled, scraped and dominated in face-offs, 15-5.

With a game-high 13 ground balls from Connor Malone, the Tuckers edged Westhampton Beach in that category, 35-33.

The big difference was shots, with Westhampton Beach holding a 34-20 advantage.

Enough of those shots went in for the Hurricanes. Zak Jones produced three goals and one assist, and Dylan Laube had two goals, one assist and eight ground balls. Tim Hoare had one goal and two assists. Henry Moreta took nine shots; he didn’t score but he assisted twice.

The Tuckers were led by Tim Schmidt’s three goals and one assist. Jack DiGregorio had three assists on two goals by Schmidt and another by Joe Bartolotto.

Westhampton Beach goalie Pat Dean stopped 11 shots. Tuckers goalie Alec Durkin saved 10.

bliepa@timesreview.com

If you picked up one of Times/ Review’s newspapers this week, the paper you held in your hands was created by the editorial, advertising and production staffs over a week’s time in our offices in Mattituck and Shelter Island.

On Wednesday afternoon it was sent via mouse click to a building in Shirley in the middle of the Pine Barrens. There, in the early evening, printers with Atlantic Color Corp. began working with our one linked computer fi le.

In the “prep room” two printers were overseeing the loading of aluminum plates into a laser machine, which burned images of eight newspaper pages per plate. These then would be loaded into the press down the hall. It was quiet, the room fi lled with the purring of the plate imaging machine.

One example of technology outpacing the printing industry was right in front of you in the prep room, where just a few years ago there would have been eight workers shepherding this step in the many it takes to make a newspaper. Now there were two.

In the corridor just off the huge press room was a free vending machine dispensing orange ear buds that will dull — almost — the clanging bells and racketing roar of a machine printing 21,000 “books” (newspapers) an hour. In one corner was a hill of giant spools of paper trucked from Canada and in a far corner were four silos fi lled with ink — blue, red, black and yellow

— that, with the printers’ skill and help from computers, will make every color in the book.

Two circular vents hanging from the ceiling were emitting what looked like steam. “Not steam,” said plant manager John Markel. “That’s misting water to humidify the room. Paper’s made out of water, right?”

Mr. Markel, broad-shouldered with a gait suited to a pitching deck, has been a printer for 35 years, starting at age 15 helping his father. His role requires him to manage and work multiple jobs all over the plant. But standing in the middle of the pressroom, he said, “This is my house. This is my comfort zone.”

Comfort, but sometimes on Wednesdays, when all the East End weeklies, plus several newspapers from farther up-island, go to press, it sometimes seems like “standing on a cliff,” Mr. Markel said.

Four printers in dark blue coveralls running the press had ink up to their elbows, confi rming the old adage that printers have to go on vacation to discover they have fi ngernails.

One young printer walked a catwalk above the fl oor, working on the four “towers” of the press. Printer Rich Valek was all over the press room fl oor: here at a central computer console using a touch screen, there at the towers getting a close-up of the run, back down the line checking ink, taking pages from the line to see if the green of grass in an ad was true or the blond hair of a woman in a photo looked genuine.

The continuous running belt is an industrial trapeze act performed at blinding speed, the endless paper flowing up, down, through, around and back again. Even though you’ve seen this in a hundred movies, it’s still a mesmerizing, stop-you-in-your-tracks sight.

But how much longer the awesome and beautiful power of a press will continue to roar is a question everyone involved in the newspaper business debates openly and within themselves, when cornerstones of American journalism are cutting print editions to three days a week and newsrooms everywhere are making do with skeleton crews.

The digital transformation has put printers at risk, with the U.S. Department of Labor predicting that over the next several years close to 13,000 of them will be looking for work.

Eight out of 10 people surveyed by Pew Internet Research said they received news from local TV, 60 percent said they got information online and only 17 percent reported getting news from a national newspaper such as The New York Times or USA Today. The late Ray Bradbury’s prophecy back in 1953 of a “post-literate populace” may be upon us.

In his masterpiece, “Fahrenheit 451,” Bradbury has a character say: “I remember the newspapers dying … No one wanted them back. No one missed them.”

But nothing is that dark. Pew’s research found half of all people surveyed read a local newspaper. And newspapers in one form or another continue to attract people, including Americans 18 to 24. According to Nielsen, almost 60 percent of them read “content” on a range of devices, just not on paper.

The printers working in the press room weren’t hanging funeral wreaths. They were too busy, working with effi ciency, skill and silent pride, putting the deafening machine through its paces. Mr. Markel said that printing was in danger of becoming just factory work, but then he pointed to a young printer and said, “That guy can make or break your day.”

He was standing next to one of the enormous rolls of paper feeding into the machine, with another roll of paper behind it. With fl awless timing, he guided the last few feet of paper from the diminishing roll onto another, splicing it perfectly so there was no break in the press run.

The team didn’t speak, but made only slight gestures and had a kind of telepathy about what needed to be done. The machine, though computerized in most processes, has to be tended by human hands, knowledge and experience.

The press was dialed up to run at 23,000 papers an hour. Then it was throttled back as one printer near the end of the long belt was bent over, timing the paper fl ow. He drew a fi nger across his throat. The press, like a thoroughbred, slowed to a trot.

Mr. Markel took a copy of the Shelter Island Reporter off the line. “Here’s your paper,” he said.

Ambrose Clancy is editor of the Shelter Island Reporter. He can be reached at (631) 749-1000, ext. 18, or via email at a.clancy@sireporter.com.

John Dinizio

Can you believe it’s May? A third of 2014 is already in the history books. Where does the time go?

Greenport High School has been ranked in the top 7.8 percent of schools nationwide, according to U.S. News & World Report. We moved up over 600 spots from last year’s rankings. Congratulations to all — administrators, teachers, staff and especially the students — who’ve made this possible.

Greenport is already abuzz with talk about the upcoming all-class GHS reunion, scheduled for July 19 at Herzog Park between the 5th and 6th street beaches. I predict this will have twice the turnout because everyone heard just how phenomenal the first one was.

Rose Heaney Baker is selling reunion signs — yellow with purple lettering — that can be used to remember a classmate, pay homage to a teacher who made a difference, promote your business or just let everyone know what year you graduated. The signs are $25 each ($30 with a logo). To order, send a check payable to GHS All Class Reunion, along with the wording you want or your business card with logo, to Rose at 230 The Green Way, East Marion, NY 11939. Be sure to include a return address and phone number in case she needs to contact you. Spread the word. Let’s fi ll the park. The deadline to order signs is May 24.

The Stirling Historical Society will hold a yard sale to benefit Berger House Archives this Saturday, May 3, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Berger House. If you have something to donate to the sale, call Christine Giuliano at 310-245-3131.

The East End Seaport Museum, at the foot of Third Street, will hold two volunteer information/sign-up meetings this week: Thursday, May 1, at 5 p.m. (with wine and cheese) and Saturday, May 3 at 10 a.m. (with coffee and danish). The museum’s mission of keeping our nautical history alive, as well as its educational programs, family functions and lighthouse tours, will be discussed. Volunteers are sought to help with all these exciting activities. For more information, call 477-2100.

Don’t forget the PTA’s Mother’s Day craft fair at the school this Sunday, May 4, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Greenport High School’s Junior-Senior prom was this past weekend and pictures I’ve seen indicate that everyone had a fantastic time. The highlight of the evening was the coronation of Queen Yanet Garcia, King Philip Staples and their court: senior prince and princess Eddie Rogers and Yanais Garcia and their junior counterparts, Eric Tonyes and Emma Marshall.

Special birthday wishes go out this week to Mike Quillin, who celebrates a biggie — his 40th — May 4.

Also celebrating in the near future are Christopher Slaght, John Blasko and Camden Wallace on May 1; Jewell Gonzalez, Abaigeal Pacholk and Karen Coyle Atwood on the 2nd; Greg Rhinow, Amy Milovich, Colin Van Tuyl, Karen McLaughlin, Eileen Lellman Getches and Kayleigh Macchirole on the 3rd; my niece Stephanie Dinizio, Dave Kapell, Deborah Bondarchuk and Brianna McElroy on the 4th; my father-in-law, Jim Dinizio, Mike Checklick, Gary Ostroski, Alexa Suess, Steve Burt and Sandy Martocchia on the 5th; Mike Claps, May Burns, Fred Davis, Kim Douglass and Brett Stephenson on the 6th; another niece, Maggie Dinizio, Mairi Creedon, Barbara VanBrunt and Greg Dlhopolsky on the 7th; Alice Eckardt, Tommy Quillin, Sarah Gillooly and Mae Watson on the 8th; Ryan Burgos, Josh Kapell, Ryan Weingart and Rick Bouchard on the 9th; Peggy Campbell on the 10th; Bill Schulz, Kristy Harris, my cousin Kathy Wallace and Amanda Mazzaferro on the 11th; Carl Chute and Sue Anderson on the 12th; Danielle Volinski, Mike Sepenoski, Hayley Baker, Jimmy Hulse, Debbie Allen and Darline “Mope” McGinness on the 13th; and Candice Man-waring, Chris Fisher and Sue Pfl uger on the 14th.

Anniversary wishes go out to Suzanne and Curtis Hamilton (No. 49) on May 1; Patty and Carlos DeJesus (No. 36) on the 14th; and Tammie and Rick Berry (No. 18), also on the 14th.

These four gators were captured in the Peconic River in April 2013. (Credit: DEC courtesy, file)

Perhaps hoping to curb a recent trend of abandoning alligators on Long Island, authorities announced this week a first-ever “amnesty day” in Suffolk County for those who illegally own exotic animals.

“People who are in possession of these animals unlawfully can turn them in to us without fear of prosecution,” said Suffolk SPCA chief Roy Gross, whose group is hosting the May 10 event with the state Department of Environmental Conservation and U.S Department of Agriculture. “No one will be asked to give their name.”

The announcement comes about a year after state Department of Environmental Conservation officers found five alligators in the Peconic River — one of which they shot —  and several others in areas elsewhere on Long Island.

In 2012, authorities recovered nine alligators over a span of just a few weeks in Suffolk County alone.

The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Town of Brookhaven Wildlife and Ecology Center at 249 Buckley Road in Holtsville.

Read more on alligators being found in Suffolk County.

Trained handlers will be on hand to accept the animals  from the public, officials said.

“The purpose of this effort is to get these illegally possessed animals into a controlled environment where they can be cared for properly,” Mr. Gross said.

mwhite@timesreview.com

Cole Hempel, 12, performing at East End Arts last Friday. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)

Over 46,000 performances have been held at Carnegie Hall in Manhattan, with some concerts by the most famous names in music: Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and Igor Stravinski.

And now, East End Arts can say one of its own students has shared one of the stages.

Cole Hempel, a 12-year-old from Westhampton Beach and EEA student for the past seven years, was one of 32 kids chosen to perform in the National Young Musicians Showcase Competition last weekend. The competition, held in the Weill Recital Hall, was hosted by the National League of Performing Arts.

Cole performed Bach’s Three-Part Invention in G Minor. He also performed the piece on Friday night, at the opening reception of ‘Line’ at the East End Arts gallery.

Shenole Latimer, director of education with EEA, said that for non-music performers, playing at Carnegie Hall ”it’s like you almost might as will win the lottery. It’s hard.”

He said Cole plays “like he has ice water in his veins.” And while he wasn’t there last Saturday to see the show, he heard that he played wonderfully.

Now that the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) has been decimated and a private utility from New Jersey, Public Service Electric and Gas (PSEG) has been imposed on Long Island, both in a scheme by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, it’s time Suffolk County returned to a vision of a democratically-run “public power” utility.

In 1986, before LIPA came into being, the Suffolk County Legislature passed a resolution to give power to the public. Unanimously, the members of the legislature approved the creation of the Consumer Electric Company (CEC) of Long Island.

The resolution, championed by Gregory Blass, the reform-minded presiding offi cer of the legislature, was signed into law by Suffolk County Executive Peter F. Cohalan on July 28, 1986.

The CEC was to have an elected board of 15 members voted from districts of equal population to be established in the county.

It was to be non-partisan. Indeed, the law establishing the CEC specified that “no political party shall be entitled to nominate candidates” for its board. Further, “no candidate for director shall be permitted to receive campaign contributions from any political party or organization or any political action committee.” Also, none of the directors could profit from his or her role. “Each director shall receive no salary,” said the law.

Here was a vision in Suffolk of having a utility based on democracy — an elected board and an energy future decided by the people.

It wasn’t unique. In California there was, and still is, a democratically-run public power utility. The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) covers California’s capital and surrounding region, an area now of 1.4 million people, close to Suffolk County’s current 1.5 million population.

In 1923, citizens voted to create SMUD as a community-owned electric service, But the big boys decided to fi ght. There was a legal war led by Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), the giant private California utility, which delayed SMUD from happening for years. But in March 1946, the California Supreme Court denied PG&E’s final petition and nine months later SMUD fi nally began operations.

“SMUD is owned by its customers who elect a seven-member board of directors,” its website notes. “SMUD was born of this community, and is an integral part of it. More than just a bare-bones supplier of electricity, SMUD gives back to the community in ways that make life better for all who live and work in the Sacramento area.”

A nonprofi t, SMUD is committed to keeping ratepayers’ bills low, to solar, wind and other renewable energy sources, and to being transparent and responsive to the public.

But SMUD isn’t that unusual. There are 2,000 public power utilities in the United States, many of them also rundemocratically.

What happened to Suffolk’s CEC? Its creation was opposed in court by the Long Island Lighting Company (LILCO), the defunct private utility that covered Long Island. LILCO held that CEC was “pre-empted” because New York State intended to start up LIPA in 1987.

Paul Sabatino II, counsel of the Suffolk Legislature and deeply involved in the drafting of the CEC law, recalled last week the key hearing before the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court. One justice, Guy Mangano, was late. And, noted Mr. Sabatino, the tardy jurist said, from the bench that the reason he was late was because he’d been talking to then Governor Mario Cuomo “and he has a real problem” with the CEC. Justice Mangano previously was a state assemblyman and senator from Brooklyn. The court then killed CEC.

LIPA began a few months later and almost immediately Mario Cuomo killed its central component — an elected board. Instead, LIPA would be run by directors picked by politicians: most by the governor, and also by the State Assembly speaker and State Senate majority leader.

Then Andrew Cuomo, as governor, would decimate LIPA and arrange for PSEG to be the Long Island utility at the start of 2014.

PSEG has quickly shown itself to be an arrogant private utility just like LILCO. It’s time for Suffolk County to recreate the CEC. With LIPA now but a shell, the pre-emption argument is moot. As in the story of SMUD, it might take years to happen, but the dream of democratic public power is still possible.

About a month ago, 82-year-old Jean Taber of Riverside decided to go out for a walk with her dog Freckles — but Ms. Taber, who had been suffering from short-term memory loss, became disoriented and unable to find her way home.

It took more than two days — plus 250 volunteers and the help of a helicopter — to find her body in a wooded area.

But imagine if Ms. Taber had been wearing a GPS locator, a device designed specifically for seniors and those with cognitive impairments and at risk of wandering. With the touch of a button, her family might have been able to locate her within seconds of realizing that she’d left her home.

The availability of such technology is growing, with even more advanced options expected to become available in the coming year, according to news reports.

“It just makes perfect sense,” said Dr. Dennis Choi, chair of the department of neurology and director of the Neurosciences Institute at Stony Brook University School of Medicine. “One of the nice futures of medicine is the ability to use technology to allow us all to manage disease [progression] and age more gracefully.”

Comfort Zone, the brand recommended by the nonprofit Alzheimer’s Association, is one of many systems currently on the market. A pager, a watch-like device and even a car mount are currently available to help track loved ones’ whereabouts.

As the person moves about, the device receives signals from satellites or nearby cell towers — detecting the person’s location by the distance between the device and the towers or satellite signals.

Caregivers can access the location information online or by calling the manufacturer’s monitoring center.

Such systems do involve with a monthly service charge, in this case anywhere from $10 to $50 depending on the frequency of information requested.

But, it should be noted, this type of device is helpful only if a person remembers to wear it. And that could prove a challenge, especially for those with cognitive difficulties.

It is estimated that six in 10 people with dementia will wander, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Si g n s t h a t s o m e o n e may be apt to wander include returning from a regular walk or drive later than usual, trying to fulfill past obligations, like going to work; asking to “go home,” even when already at home; or pursuing a hobby or chore, but getting nothing accomplished (moving around pots or dirt without actually planting anything, for example), according to the association.

Robert Syron, president and CEO of Peconic Landing, an assisted living facility in Greenport, said he recommends that caregivers put a safety plan in place, as care facilities do, to ensure loved ones are accounted for — especially when they are left alone for extended periods.

“When people have decline of any kind, cognitive or in motor skills, any technology they can utilize to maintain their independence and keep them safe is a win,” Mr. Syron said.

To find out more about the risk factors of wandering and Comfort Zone visit www.alz.org.

Got a health question or column idea? Email

Carrie Miller at cmiller@timesreview.com .
Follow @carriemiller01

Talmage Farm Agway nursery manager Sherry Brezinski with some of the vegetable and herb seedlings in the store. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)

The North Fork is renowned for its sprawling farms and beautiful wineries. But how about its old-fashioned backyard gardens?

With a little effort and some helpful advice, anyone can grow their own vegetables — yes, anyone.

Read all seven steps on northforker.com

Looking for work, or know someone who is?

Times/Review classifieds offers local companies a place to advertise their job openings each week, and this week close to 70 positions are available from restaurant help, to a mason, to sailing instructors.

And for anyone interested in submitting a classified ad, email: classified@timesreview.com.

Check out the listings below:

A-TECH: Needed for independent repair shop. Electrical expertise essential. Must have tools and trans- portation. Call 631-727-5200 or apply in person at 1290 Flanders Road, Riverhead.

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: F/T. Multi-tasking people-person with great computer/tech skills needed for premiere real estate office. College/real estate background preferred but will train the right person. Benefits. Send resume/cover letter to cutchogue@danielgale.com

AIRLINE CAREERS: Begin here get FAA-approved aviation maintenance technician training. Financial aid for qualified students. Housing available. Job placement assistance. Call AIM 866-296-7093. (N)

ASSISTANT: P/T, seasonal, mostly weekends for beachfront homeowner. Assist in all areas of hospitality in lovely surroundings, including shopping, food prep, cooking/ cleanup. Ability to assist homeowner in gracious/casual entertaining. Great summer job! Compensation based upon experience. To apply, please send resume/list of references to newsuffolkjob@gmail.com

ASSOCIATE ENTOMOLOGIST: F/T, 40 hours/week. Responsible for delivery/implementation of programs in entomology, including IPM/environmentally sensitive pest management, establishment/management of research trials, handling samples for diagnosis, GIS/GPS for pest management, exotic pests (spotted wing drosophila/brown marmorated stinkbug) mating disruption and tree/ small fruit pest management. Mas- ter’s in entomology, pest management, or related sciences. At least 1 year experience or related experience is required. Location: Cornell Coop- erative Extension of Suffolk County, 423 Griffing Avenue, Suite 100, Riverhead, NY. Apply at https://cornellu.taleo.net/careersection/10163/jobdetail.ftl?lang=en&job=22333 EOE

AUTO POSITIONS: For Lucas Ford in Southold. Lot person/porter, available immediately. Clean driver’s license required. For information, call Gabe, 631-765-9200.

BARN HELP: P/T in Orient to help care for 2 horses. 516-380-4069.

BARTENDERS: F/T, P/T. Busy Greenport location. Salamander’s, 631-477-2878.

CAREGIVER: P/T, for morning/ evening help. Cutchogue location. Call 631-734-5212.

CAREGIVERS: F/T, P/T, live-in. Flexible schedules. Kind, caring, compassionate HHAs/companions needed for in-home care. Call Comfort Keepers, 631-369-6080.

CHILDCARE WORKER: F/T, P/ T, day/evening shifts. Monday- Friday. Apply at Dory’s Day Care. Call 631-369-9229.

CONSTRUCTION SUPERVISOR/DRAFTSPERSON: P/T, F/T. Residential experience helpful. 631-734-7455.

COOK: First and South Restaurant in Greenport seeking F/T, P/T cooks with growth opportunity. Seasonal and locally focused food. Must have prior experience. Call 631-333-2200 or email taylor@firstandsouth.com

COUNTER HELP: F/T. Reliable. Apply in person, Magic Fountain, 9825 Main Road, Mattituck.

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE-INSURANCE: F/T, personal lines. Minimum 3 years’ experience. Competitive salary. Excellent benefits package. Email resume to kscalice@royreeve.com or fax to 631-298-3850.

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE: F/T, for busy local insurance agency. Heavy phone volume/customer contact. Must have excellent customer service/computer skills. Property/casualty license and Spanish bilingual a plus. Send resume to: Times/Review Newsgroup, P.O. Box 1500, Box A, Mattituck, NY 11952.

DELI POSTIONS: F/T, P/T. Experienced sandwich/deli person. Experienced grill cook. 631-765-6408.

DELI/MARKET POSITIONS: F/ T, P/T, for Orient Country Store. Food service worker: duties include sandwich making, grilling, short-order cooking, slicing, prepping. Experience a plus. Also, filling positions of salesperson and floor manager for small market. Call 631-323-2580 or email orientcountrystore@gmail.com.

DENTAL HYGIENIST: P/T. 631- 727-0770.

DIESEL/HEAVY-EQUIPMENT MECHANIC: Heated shop. Must have own tools/transportation. 516-458-7328.

DISPLAY ADVERTISING COORDINATOR/BOOKKEEPER: F/T. Times/Review Newsgroup seeks qualified person for Ad Coordinator position. Responsible for data entry with extreme attention to detail. Must be proficient with Excel and be able to learn new software programs quickly. Must have good communication skills to maintain deadlines. Bookkeeping or accounting experience preferred. Salary upon request. Please send resume to: Sonja Reinholt Derr, sderr@timesreview.com. No phone calls, please. EOE, m/f/d/v.

DOCK BUILDER: F/T, year round. Experienced. Driver’s license re- quired. South Shore. Benefits. 516- 458-7328.

DRAFTSPERSON/CONSTRUCTION SUPERVISOR: P/T, F/T. Residential experience helpful. 631- 734-7455.

DRIVER/WAREHOUSE HELP: F/T (day hour), immediate positions for wholesale food distributor. Must have valid driver’s license, knowledge of LI area a plus. Competitive salary/benefits. Apply at Mivila Foods, 347 Burman Boulevard, Cal- verton, NY. Call 631-953-6970 or fax 631-953-6933. EOE, m/f/d/v.

DRIVER: Experienced tractor trailer for Suffolk County agriculture/nursery operation. Backup dispatcher. Saturdays required. Must have clean CDL Class A license. Forklift experience required. Benefits available. Email maplegrove317@optonline.net

DRIVER: F/T, for East End company, will train CDL. Competitive pay. 631-727-8610.

DRIVERS: F/T, P/T for limousine company. Town cars/stretches. Ex- perience not necessary, will train. All shifts available. All cars are nonsmoking. Please call, 631-288-7777.

EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER: F/T, school district calendar plus 6-week summer program. Cer- tified NYS birth- 2 years old. Seeking an enthusiastic early childhood teacher to work in our integrated special education preschool in Cutchogue School District. Benefits available. If interested email djean.morrison@gmail.com

FIELD SUPPORT/QUALITY MANAGER: Long Island. Crew2 is a large installation company doing business with the largest home im- provement retailer in the world. We are currently seeking a field support/ quality manager. This position performs three key functions for the water heater, plumbing, and kitchen and bath installation processes for Crew2 Inc. This position is the primary presence in our retail customers stores; responsible to educate and train Crew2 Inc. processes, drive sales, and increase revenue, as well as be- ing the liaison between the project coordinators, stores, and installation service providers. This position will perform site inspections for quality control and help resolve installation issues. While this position will not perform water heater or plumbing installations, they must be qualified and maintain a Master Plumbing license. This position offers a competitive salary and generous benefits package. Please send resume to christine.hollis@crew2.com

GARDEN CENTER POSITIONS: F/T, P/T, seasonal. Looking for nursery, warehouse/customer service staff. 631-727-3100.

HAIRDRESSER: P/T. Looking for all-around experienced, motivated individual to join our team. With following if possible. Call 631-734-5848 or 631-745-0611.

HELPER/LABORER: to assist in the installation and service of Invisible Fences. Valid driver’s license, neat/clean appearance, must be able to work well with public and not be afraid of dogs. Call Canine Control Company, 631-726-6019.

HOME CARE PROVIDER: Compassionate/responsible caregiver needed for elderly patient. 3 or more days/week. $100 per 24-hour shift. Call 516-746-0635 or send resume to mjkconnect@gmail.com

HOTEL POSITIONS: Front desk/ housekeeping positions available. Weekends/holidays a must! English speaking a plus. Students welcome. Apply in person, Sound View Inn. 631-477-1910.

HVAC INSTALLATION MECHANICS/HELPERS: Grant Heating and Cooling in East Hampton. Must have valid driver’s license. Experience preferred but willing to train viable candidates. Benefits available. Send resume to: nick@granthvac.com or fax: 631-324-7982.

INTERNSHIP: For Historic Films, a documentary producer/film archive in Greenport. A commitment of at least 2 days/week for 8 weeks or longer. Unpaid but travel stipend. Send information/resume to anthea@historicfilms.com

IRRIGATION MECHANIC/ HELPER: Own transportation required. 631-722-8285.

LANDSCAPE WORKER: F/T, for Southampton landscaping company. Experienced in digging, weeding, edging, pruning, planting of perennials/shrubs/trees and use of mowers, blowers and weedwackers. Apply in person, 542 County Road 39. 631- 283-2431.

LANDSCAPE DRIVER: Lawn maintenance route. 3 years’ experience. Clean NYS driver’s license. Good job. 631-765-3130.

LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE POSITION: F/T. Must have valid driver’s license. Salary based on experience. Inquire within. 631-734- 7923.

LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE POSITION: F/T, P/T. Must have valid driver’s license. Salary based on experience. Inquire within. 631- 734-6429.

LIFEGUARD/POOL ATTENDANT: P/T, weekends required. Must be CPR certified. Aquebogue. Call 631-722-3400 or email resume to cgalasso@lighthousemarina.com

MARINA YARD WORKERS: Immediate hire, can lead to F/T for the right worker with benefits. Boat painting, waxing, sanding/launching. Brewer Yacht Yard at Greenport. Call 631-477-9594.

MONITORS: For Westhampton Beach UFSD. Substitute positions also available for teacher’s aides, nurses, clerical, custodial, food service. Fax resume, 631-288-6509.

MUSEUM INTERNS: Seasonal, June-September. Weekends, some weekdays, flexible hours. Orient historic site seeking unpaid summer interns to give tours, operate gift shop, support special events/assist in museum operations. Great chance to learn about local history, add to your resume and have fun! Send cover/resume to office@ohsny.org. Visit us at www.oysterpondshistoricalsociety.org

OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR: P/T, 3 days/week, 6 hours per day. Candidate responsibilities will include but not be limited to general office coordination, clerical duties including mailings and membership, purchasing and inventory. Candidate must have excellent organizational, verbal and written communication skills, fluency in typing and computer skills, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Interested parties should email their resume to both of the following addresses: rvosburgh@schs-museum.org, director@schs-museum.org, or fax to 631-727-3467.

RECEPTIONIST: F/T. Needed for trucking company located in Calverton. Phones, general clerical, filing, Microsoft Excel, Word and Quick-Books a plus. Fax resume, 631-369- 1275.

RESTAURANT POSITIONS: F/T, P/T. Host/hostess, waitstaff, bar- tenders, line cook, dishwasher. For Orient by the Sea. Call 631-323- 2424.

RESTAURANT POSITIONS: Waitstaff, experience preferred. Dishwasher, will train. Call Bob or Marianne, 631-298-8311.

RESTAURANT POSITIONS: Greenport. Experienced line cook/ chef. Also other positions. Call 631-477-0472.

RESTAURANT POSITIONS: High volume/seasonal. Bus, host/ hostess, cashiers, servers, bartenders, wine pourers, line cooks, prep, dish- washer. Experience a plus. Interview Friday- Sunday, 3225 Sound Ave, Riverhead or send resume to Christina.bhc@gmail.com

RESTAURANT STAFF: F/T, P/T, seasonal bartenders and servers for prestigious East End golf club. Experience preferred. Email eastendgolfclub@gmail.com

RESTAURANT POSITIONS: F/T, for high volume seasonal restaurant. Prep/line cooks, dish washers. Email chefdb.salt@gmail.com

RESTAURANT HELP: Year round. Host/hostess, waiter/waitress. Experienced preferred. 631-734- 5123. (S)

RESTAURANT HELP: P/T, seasonal. Experienced cook, bartender, waitstaff/catering, cart person. At Island End’s Golf Course. Previous applicants need not apply. 631-477-0777, ext. 13.

RESTAURANT HELP: F/T. Wait-staff, line cook positions for busy seafood restaurant. Call 631-445- 2291.

RETAIL FLOWER STAND POSITION: P/T, seasonal. Monday- Thursday, 5/8- 7/3. Aquebogue location. Must be reliable, strong customer service skills, able to work in greenhouse environment. Contact Regina, 631-871-3159.

SALES ASSOCIATE: for home furnishing/accessory and interior de- sign retail store. Shelter Island or Bridgehampton location. Send resume to designatthebarn@gmail.com

SALES REPRESENTATIVE/ESTIMATOR: F/T, for Arthur Hackert Painting. Minimum 5 years’ sales experience. Professional sales training required. In-home sales experience a plus! Must be available to work a flexible schedule including some evenings/weekends, have excellent verbal/written communication skills, be computer literate with experience to include on-screen take offs, Excel, Word, ACT. We are looking for a self-starter with a disciplined work ethic. We offer competitive pay/com- pensation packages. Our company has 20 successful years in business. We love our team! If you are ready to work with a fast-growing, fun group of people working together so we can all achieve success, please contact Arthur Hackert Painting today! 631-878-5804, ahackertpainting@aol.com

SALES REPRESENTATIVE: Outside sales calling on new and existing builders, architects and landscapers. Minimum 5 years’ sales experience. Salary, commission and bonus. Send resume to: jcm@oceanspraypoolsandspas.com (S)

SALESPEOPLE: For multi-line eastern Long Island car dealership. No experience necessary; training programs available. Earn between $50,000 and $75,000 per year! Health benefits and 401(k) available. Must have strong references. Contact Joe at Eagle Auto Mall, 631-727-0700 or fax resume to 631-727-7837.

SALESPERSON: P/T, flexible hours, Saturdays a must! Energetic sales people needed for farmers market and local gourmet food store. Will provide training. Call 631-734- 6100.

SALESPERSON: F/T, retail salesperson for lighting showroom in Southampton. Experienced. Benefits. Send resume to bkreitseksr@suffolkdesignerlighting .com (S)

SECRETARY: F/T, for our mental health department. Previous secretarial experience required. Must be proficient in Word/Excel. Little Flower Children and Family Services, Wading River, N.Y. Send resume to wadingriver-jobs@lfchild.org, fax 631-929-6203. EOE

SHOWROOM ASSISTANT/RECEPTIONIST: F/T, for a beautiful lighting, bath/tile showroom. Must be extremely organized, accurate/ possess excellent communication skills. Computer skills are a must, experience with Netsuite program is a plus. Benefits include health insurance, vacation/holidays. Compen- sation is based on experience. Send resume/cover letter to careers@urbanarchaeology.com

TEACHER’S AIDE: F/T, P/T. Experience preferred. Will train. Pine Tree Day Nursery, 631-727-9340.

TRUCK DRIVER: F/T, P/T. End of April-June. Must be able to read a map, use GPS, be at least 21 years of age and possess a clean driving record. Please call 631-298-1837 or email contact@bedsandborders.com

WINDOW CLEANER: F/T, P/T. Experienced professional. 2 years’ experience minimum. $16/hour to start. 631-591-1863.

Bridgehampton National Bank in Wading River. (Credit: Paul Squire file)

In its 2014 first quarter report, Bridge Bancorp, Inc., parent company of Bridgehampton National Bank (BNB), announced a record core net income and core earnings per share of $4 million and 35 cents per share — a 39 percent increase in core net income over March 2013.  

Loan growth increased $274 million, or 32 percent, compared to March 2013. Total assets were reported at $2.1 billion, 34 percent higher than the previous year.

Founded in 1910, Bridge Bancorp, Inc. operates 26 retail branch locations in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

From left, Kirsten Droskoski, Keira Klotzer, 5, and Sharon Klotzer of Greenport shopping at Louise Eberle’s stall at the Greenport PTA’s Mother’s Day craft fair Sunday. (Credit: Katharine Schroeder photos)

Vendors from across Long Island sold a variety of unique Mother’s Day arts and crafts, as well as food and refreshments, at the Greenport PTA’s craft fair Sunday on the front lawn of the school.

Proceeds from the fair, which runs until 5 p.m., benefit the PTA.

Paul Davis of Greenport with his handcrafted wood chairs.

Blake Heiman, 8, and Grant Heiman, 7, of Greenport man the PTA’s food table.

Joseph Marchisello from Monty’s Breads in Brooklyn, left, with Kathy Buchanan of Greenport.

David Desroches of Bridgeport with a singing bowl made in Nepal.

Artist Tashi Choephel of Manhattan, right, talks with Angela Cronin of East Meadow.

Joe Cortale from Floyd Memorial Library sells books to Stephanie Carlin of Brooklyn and Joe Marinsen of Flanders.

Artists Tom Kopian and Stewart Buffaloe of Glen Head.

A police boat returns to the shore after officers were unable to locate a sailboat that had issued a distress call Sunday afternoon. The U.S. Coast Guard is continuing the search. (Credit: Grant Parpan)

A missing person report is being filed for the owner of a sailboat that made a distress call from the Long Island Sound Sunday afternoon, according to a Riverhead Town police press release.

Ciro Stellges, 59, of Selden was operating a 26-foot fiberglass sailboat named “MAC” when he called 911 at around 1 p.m. and told police his boat was “taking on water,” officials said. The sailboat was built in 1977 by C&C Yachts and its registration number is NY7059FR, police said.

It’s possible Mr. Stellges made the distress call while his boat was sinking near Wading River beach, police said. He had left from Mattituck earlier in the day and was heading to Port Washington, officials said.

The Riverhead Police Dive Rescue Team and Suffolk County Police Department Aviation and Marine units searched for the sailboat, officials said, and Jamesport and Wading River fire departments were on standby.

The boat was not found after a more than 60-minute police boat search of the water, officials said. The police search was finally called off shortly after 2 p.m., but the Coast Guard confirmed at 3:30 p.m. that it is “in the process of conducting a search.”

An officer from the Coast Guard station in New London, Conn. said its search is focused three miles off the shore between Jamesport and Mattituck. The Coast Guard is using two 45-foot boats and a helicopter to search for the missing sailboat, an officer confirmed at 5:30 p.m.

gparpan@timesreview.com

Father Thomas Murray is leaving St. Agnes Church in Greenport after a dozen years. Next stop: St. Therese of Lisieux Church in Montauk. (Credit: Paul Squire, file)

Here are some of The Suffolk Times stories you may have missed this week. To make sure you stay on top of breaking North Fork news, follow @thesuffolktimes on Twitter.

Father Tom Murray, of St. Agnes Church in Greenport, will be leaving the church in June. Next stop: Montauk: http://t.co/ox5ev702kz

— Suffolk Times (@thesuffolktimes) May 1, 2014

Tall Ships returning to Greenport in 2015: http://t.co/Dw6bXqHdcs

— Suffolk Times (@thesuffolktimes) April 29, 2014

Debate’s over: #Cheerleading is a sport now in New York — http://t.co/NgAl0LznYF

— Suffolk Times (@thesuffolktimes) April 30, 2014

#Greenport approves chowder festival, rejects yard sale http://t.co/fk8vX2KxXn

— Suffolk Times (@thesuffolktimes) April 29, 2014

Softball: Gravagna, in first start, tosses two-hitter for Monarchs — http://t.co/jqDzGuIOmm

— Suffolk Times (@thesuffolktimes) April 29, 2014

East End partnership forming to protect Peconic Estuary — http://t.co/x6RAkTPbTm

— Suffolk Times (@thesuffolktimes) April 29, 2014

Judge Stark, a lifelong Riverhead resident, lived a full life — http://t.co/4nTcT3BbTL

— Suffolk Times (@thesuffolktimes) April 29, 2014

Annual Ride for Life set to begin Monday in Southold: http://t.co/fpTomeQH64

— Suffolk Times (@thesuffolktimes) April 30, 2014

Check out @southoldelem students having fun with the Just Finish Kids program http://t.co/uJWU5NBUr0 @southoldsports

— Suffolk Times (@thesuffolktimes) May 1, 2014

Suffolk Times joins its sister papers as first weeklies displayed in the Newseum’s Today’s Front Pages http://t.co/I9DZHaL0kl #newspapers

— Suffolk Times (@thesuffolktimes) May 1, 2014

Rosalie Rung launches write-in campaign for Greenport school board seat — http://t.co/Ts1B16rycI

— Suffolk Times (@thesuffolktimes) May 2, 2014

(Credit: Google Maps image)

Although smoke detectors at a Jamesport home weren’t working when a kitchen garbage can caught fire early Sunday morning, fire officials said in a press release the residents made it out safely.

The Jamesport Fire Department responded to the fire on Main Road shortly after 1 a.m. and found the residents had doused the fire before evacuating, officials said.

The fire appeared to have sparked in the kitchen garbage can, which officials said was filled with soiled and oily rags.

“Fortunately, the residents awoke due to the smell of smoke filling the residence as the smoke detectors were inoperable,” John Andrejack of the Jamesport Fire Department said in a press release.

After the fire was extinguished, officials said firefighters vented the home of smoke and checked carbon monoxide levels while fire police units controlled traffic at the scene.

The Riverhead Town Fire Marshalls Office was also notified, officials said.

Fire officials are asking residents to check their smoke alarms regularly and store and dispose combustibles properly.