The Southold-Mattituck-Greenport NJROTC at in this year’s Memorial Day parade in Mattituck. (Credit: The Suffolk Times)

The Southold-Mattituck-Greenport Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps unit has been ranked third among more than 600 such groups worldwide, which marks the sixth year in a row it has ranked in the top 10. In addition, the North Fork program won the award for Area 4’s most outstanding unit for the eighth time in its history.

Area 4 comprises states from Delaware to Maine as well as western Pennsylvania, with over 50 NJROTC units.

Senior naval science instructor Major Bill Grigonis said he’s extremely proud of his 313 cadets, who come from Southold, Mattituck and Greenport high schools. All of the cadets were judged on community service and academic standing, among other accomplishments.

“These kids are amazing,” Maj. Grigonis said. “It’s not the kids doing drills. It’s flat-out community service, excelling in academics and support the schools.”

Five local NJROTC cadets will graduate this month with full college scholarships: Cadet Lieutenant Gary Prieto will attend the U.S. Naval Academy; Cadet Captain Valentina Hommel, The Citadel Military College; Cadet Lieutenant Kevin Schwartz, Holy Cross; Cadet Commander Jamie Grigonis (the major’s daughter), Fordham University; and Cadet Lieutenant Mark McCaskie, Hofstra University.

Maj. Grigonis said highlights of his unit’s community service efforts include volunteering at East End Hospice and helping to clean up beaches across Southold Town.

“We’ve removed 85 tons of debris in three years,” he said. “So many kids help out and it helps the entire North Shore.”

The North Fork NJROTC unit won multiple top awards during this school year, including first place in the overall division at a competition in Mastic Beach and first place in the overall senior and freshman divisions at the All Service Long Island Drill/Academic/Athletic Championships in Freeport.

Cadet Commander Jamie Grigonis and Cadet Lieutenant Commander Dory Lieblein took first and second place, respectively, as the year’s top cadets, chosen by the New York State Department of the American Legion.

jennifer@timesreview.com

Southold Town Police have issued a traffic advisory ahead of this weekend’s Strawberry Festival hosted by the Mattituck Lions Club.

In preparation for the large crowds expected, police will have officers stationed near the festival grounds on Route 48 in Mattituck to direct traffic on Saturday and Sunday.

Those traveling from the west are encouraged to park off-site at Martha Clara Vineyards, where the Lions Club will be providing transportation to and from the festival.

(Credit: News-Review)

While Costco’s opening had been thought to be postponed until July, the company announced today that its opening date will indeed move on as originally scheduled, shooting for a June 26 opening.

“We are thrilled to be bringing Costco’s low warehouse prices to the residents of Riverhead,” said warehouse manager Jon Jovel in a statement. “They have been asking us to open here for a long time, and we already have made an impact on the local job market. We look forward to contributing to the community in many ways.”

The Riverhead location — opening at 8 a.m. that Thursday — will be Costco’s 16th warehouse in New York, the 465th in the U.S., and 658th worldwide.

The Costco site will feature a gas station after the developers persuaded the Riverhead Town Board in 2010 to change its zoning to allow fueling stations. Costco had threatened to bail on Riverhead unless the gas station was allowed.

The store has been under construction for just over a year and the job has been marked by one controversy after another. The developers, Brixmor Property Group, recently received an amended site plan after officials, neighbors and the developers hashed out a compromise aimed at making all sides happy.

Police at the scene of the fatal hit and run on Route 58 near Woodcrest Avenue in July 2013. (Credit: Paul Squire, file)

With just five days left in the New York State Assembly session, North Fork and East End lawmakers are making a last-minute push to drum up support for bills that would increase penalties for hit-and-run drivers who flee the scene of serious accidents.

Those bills — including one co-sponsored by the North Fork’s assemblyman, Anthony Palumbo — are currently stalled in committee, where they have sat since January. The legislators say they have until Tuesday to get a bill out of the committee and onto the floor for a full Assembly vote.

“Really what we need to do is put pressure on the chair [of the Transportation Committee] to do it,” Mr. Palumbo told the News-Review. “It needs to be reported to the door by Tuesday, because it looks like we’re going to wrap up Thursday or Friday of next week.”

Efforts last year to up the penalties for hit-and-runs failed when a similar bill died in the same committee. The committee chairperson, Assemblyman David Gantt (D-Rochester), could not be reached for comment.

A state Senate version of this year’s bill passed in May. state Sens. Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) and Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) both voted for the increased penalties.

Lawmakers and Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota have urged the Assembly to pass harsher rules against hit-and-run perpetrators, saying that the current rules encourage those who are breaking the law — more specifically, those drinking or on drugs, to flee the scene after a crash.

Under the current set of laws, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death is a class D felony that carries a maximum sentence of 2 1/3 to 7 years in prison, according to a 2013 New-Review special report. By comparison, aggravated vehicular homicide carries a sentence of up to 25 years in prison.

Mr. Palumbo — a former prosecutor and defense attorney — said fleeing the scene makes it harder for authorities to bring a driver up on harsher charges.

“It would almost encourage someone who is in an accident to flee,” he said.

The legislation co-sponsored by Mr. Palumbo and put forth by Assemblyman Edward Hennessey (D-Medford) would create a new crime called “aggravated leaving the scene,” which would impose up to a 15-year sentence for hit-and-run drivers with revoked or suspended licenses.

The other bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz (D-Brooklyn), would simply increase penalties across the board for hit-and-run drivers.

Supporters say either bill would improve the current situation.

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In December 2012, Scott Wayte, a Brookhaven father of two, was struck and killed on Main Street in Riverhead by a man who later pleaded guilty to fleeing the scene.

Prosecutors said the driver — a 49-year-old two-time felon named Joseph Plummer — was likely drinking the night he struck the victim, and conspired to cover up the crime until he was turned in by an acquaintance days later.

But since Mr. Plummer fled the scene, he avoided the possibility of more serious charges. He was sentenced to two to six years in prison, instead of the 15 years in prison he could have faced on upgraded charges.

“We shouldn’t have a penalty system that provides an incentive to people to leave the scene of an accident,” said Southampton Assemblyman Fred Thiele.

Mr. Wayte was just one of several recent victims of hit-and-run accidents across the North Fork.

One week after Mr. Plummer was sentenced in 2013, young Riverhead mother Kristina Tfelt was struck and killed by a car on Route 58.

The driver of that car also fled the scene, this time on foot. That man remains at large and Riverhead and county police have offered up to $5,000 for information leading to the suspect’s arrest.

A Riverhead man was also struck and seriously injured in a hit-and-run accident in 2013 and this January, a Jamesport jogger was killed on Main Road. Police now suspect that man’s death was caused by a hit-and-run driver who left the jogger lying in the street.

Mr. Henessey said he’s heard indications his bill stands a chance of being passed, despite some opposition from within the Assembly, who oppose the bills because they don’t believe upping penalties would have much of an effect.

“There’s members of the institution that have long-standing status here,” he said. “They have a longstanding philosophy to not increase penalties to deter behavior.”

Yet he cites seatbelt rules and texting while driving laws that he said prove punishment can serve as a deterrent.

“Now the people see fleeing the scene as a choice,” Mr. Henessey said. “We need to change that.”

psquire@timesreview.com

Here are today’s top stories from across the North Fork. To make sure you stay on top of local news, follow The Suffolk Times on Facebook.

The Suffolk Times Athletes of the Year for 2013-14 are: (from left) Mattituck’s Shannon Dwyer and Gene Allen, Greenport’s Brandi Gonzalez and Christian Angelson and Southold’s Cari Gehring and Gary Prieto. (Credit: Robert O’Rourk)

Mattituck High School senior Shannon Dwyer and Riverhead High School senior Carolyn Carrera were repeat winners when Times/Review Newsgroup presented its athlete of the year awards for the 30th consecutive year on Thursday evening.

Both are three-sport athletes. Dwyer played volleyball, basketball and competed in track and field. Carrera’s sports were soccer, basketball and lacrosse. This is the second year in a row of winning the award for both of them. Carrera was a co-winner last year with Shanice Allen.

The other 2013-14 winners were:

• Riverhead High School’s Ryan Hubbard (football, lacrosse)

• Bishop McGann-Mercy Diocesan High School’s Meg Tuthill (cross country, winter track, track and field) and Luis Cintron (football, winter track, track and field)

• Shoreham-Wading River High School’s Aimee Manfredo (tennis) and Ryan Udvadia (cross country, winter track, track and field)

• Greenport High School’s Brandi Gonzalez (field hockey) and Christian Angelson (football, wrestling, baseball)

• Mattituck High School’s Gene Allen (football, basketball)

• Southold High School’s Cari Gehring (tennis, basketball) and Gary Prieto (sailing, tennis).

Seniors dominated the awards. The only non-senior to win is Tuthill, a sophomore.

The top female and male athletes from six area high schools were honored at Times/Review Newsgroup headquarters in Mattituck where they were presented with plaques.

bliepa@timesreview.com

Dave Colone, Chairman of Suffolk County Planning Commissioner; Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment; Bob Delucca, President and CEO of the Group for the East End, County Executive Steve Bellone, Dick Amper, Executive Director of the Long Island Pine Barrens Society and Deputy Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory. (Courtesy photo)

Not once, but twice, this newspaper has wagged its finger at Suffolk County government for dipping into its Drinking Water Protection Program without just cause, using the voter-approved preservation dollars to balance its general fund books.

Environmental groups responded to the county’s actions with litigation.

Now, a proposed settlement to those lawsuits has emerged that would give the cash-strapped county the much-needed flexibility to borrow from the fund for the next few years and require it to repay the money from 2018 through 2029.

The county Legislature must approve the deal and, if that happens, it will go to a countywide vote via referendum.

The deal should be approved by both the Legislature and the general public.

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Is it perfect? No. The county should not have taken the money in the first place. Should some punishment, in the form of some interest repayment to the fund, arguably be in store? And could environmentalists squeeze some more from the county through the agreement? Perhaps.

But as with any compromise, this one leaves both sides relatively satisfied, yet unsatisfied.

Most important, however, it allows the government to move forward and focus on the myriad other problems it faces.

Debt-laden Suffolk County has been up a financial creek for years. It’s used quite a lot of paddles and is starting to run out of them. It’s sold buildings to only start renting them back, dropped the prices of buildings currently for sale by millions of dollars and laid off hundreds of employees to try to balance its budget. So when one line within that budget is found to have a surplus of nearly $140 million — even though it’s a fund reserved for county residents’ most valuable resource — borrowing from it with the explicit agreement that it will be paid back beats plugging a hole with debt payments, plus interest.

The county’s projected deficit in 2015 is already expected to be lower than it was coming into this year, so this agreement could indeed be pivotal to getting back into the black.

On the other hand, it’s hard not to see where environmentalists came from when they filed the lawsuits. This deal simply returns all of the funds the county took from the Drinking Water Protection Program, while red-lighting any future changes to the fund without voter approval.

Both are actions environmentalists have called for from the start.

It might not seem that environmentalists are getting very much in the deal, but securing the county’s promise in writing to pay back every cent it borrowed is an achievement on its own. Keep in mind that last fall, the legislation county leaders passed to authorize more borrowing from the fund merely stated it was “the intent of the Legislature to replenish the [fund] beginning in the fiscal year 2017.”

If the county executive would start by proposing a modest increase in county property taxes — a small portion of the average homeowners’ tax bill — it might obviate the need for further borrowing and show real dedication to closing that budget gap and replenishing the Drinking Water Protection Program.

TIM GANNON PHOTO | Riverhead Free Library director Joy Rankin.

Come August, downtown Riverhead will hear night creatures call and see the dead start to walk.

More specifically, hundreds of people will dress like zombies and start dancing to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

At least, that’s the plan for Riverhead Free Library director Joy Rankin, who is calling the event “The Thrill of It All.”

Ms. Rankin is working with East End Arts and local dance studios to put the dance together as part of EEA’s kickoff of its “JumpsArt” program on Aug. 8.

“When I first came to Riverhead, I thought, ‘What is something I’d like to see every year? Something that pulls the entire community together?’ ” said Ms. Rankin, who became library director last August.

It was during a meeting with Pat Snyder, executive director of East End Arts, when she came up with the idea of having people get together to emulate the 1983 “Thriller” video, where ghosts and zombies famously danced with mega-pop star Michael Jackson.

“Any time you can bring the community together through the arts, I’m totally for it,” said Ms. Snyder, adding that the event is still a work in progress. “That’s what we’re all about.”

For Ms. Rankin, a community-wide dance event is right up her alley.

“I have a dance [and choreography] background,” she said. “I graduated from a performing arts high school in Syosset. Everybody knows the ‘Thriller’ video. Whether it’s people who saw it when they were young or people today who are fans of zombie-type movies and television shows such as ‘The Walking Dead,’ everybody has some story about how they were first exposed to ‘Thriller.’”

“Somebody might say they can’t dance, but everybody can walk like a zombie,” she said.

A quick Google search turns up multiple links of groups dancing to “Thriller” and the Guinness Book of World Records even has a world record for largest “Thriller” dance — 13,597 people participated in a Mexico City event Aug. 30, 2009.

There’s also an event called “Thrill the World,” where people from all over the world re-enact the dance at the same time.

Can Riverhead top that?

“About 200 people would be great,” Ms. Rankin said.

In addition to the library and East End Arts, three local dance schools — Redancers, Peconic Ballet Theatre and Studio East in Westhampton — will also assist with choreography and dance instruction, she said.

While the “Thriller” dance is only being planned as a one-time event, Ms. Rankin hopes to work on a different community project each year. In 2015, she hopes to roll out a local version of “The Amazing Race,” based on the award-winning reality show where contestants rush around the world to participate in games and complete tasks.

Anyone who wants to get involved with “The Thrill of It All” should contact the library at 727-3228, ext. 131, Ms. Rankin said.

Jonathan Nyilas, 9, of Cutchogue and Gabriel Perez Colombo, 8, of Cutchogue have helped to protect piping plovers. (Credit: Carrie Miller)

North Fork children have teamed up to help protect the piping plover, a seaside bird so tiny it often goes unnoticed by beachgoers.

Every April through August, these federally threatened — and in New York State, endangered — birds nest on the bare sand of local beaches, where they’re subjected to weather fluctuations, natural predators and people and their pets. 

And local environmentalists have found that, for whatever reason, people tend to ignore the red, black and white Department of Environmental Conservation signs that mark known nesting areas.

So, they’ve recruited local kids to help with their efforts to protect the birds.

• See Also: The life of a plover

About 100 students from Cutchogue East Elementary School, New Suffolk Common School and Cub Scout Pack 39 of Mattituck spent time this spring with North Fork Audubon Society volunteers, learning about the vulnerable birds. To help safeguard them, the children created hand-drawn signs warning people of nesting areas.

And the plovers need the help, as they’re just “little ounces of fluff,” said Diana Van Buren, an Audubon Society volunteer who spearheaded the project.

While the government-issued signs might go overlooked, the colorful and creative homemade signs the children drew are sure to be eye-catching and play on people’s consciences, Ms. Van Buren said.

“Research suggests that beachgoers pay more attention to signs created by children,” she said. “The hope is to raise awareness that these birds see humans, like you and me, and our pets, as a threat. How do they know that your dog is nice?”

When threatened, plovers — both male and female — walk away from their nests, drawing attention to themselves instead of their nests as a diversion strategy. But in doing so, they expose their eggs, and babies, to predators.

Historically, there were 24 areas in Southold Town beaches known to play host to piping plover nesting areas, but that number has greatly diminished, said Kerri Dikun of the state’s Audubon Society. This year, nine nesting couples have been identified in six different areas of the town, she said.

North Fork Audubon Society volunteer Diana Van Buren helps Gabriel Perez Colombo, 8, of Cutchogue hang his handmade sign at a Kenney’s Beach nesting area last Wednesday. (Credit: Carrie Miller)

A newly hatched piping plover photographed last Thursday on Cedar Beach in Southold. (Credit: Tom Reichert)

Facts and figures on the life of a piping plover. Click here to read about how local kids are helping protect them.

• When threatened, adults perform a “broken wing routine” by walking away from their nest and making themselves appear vulnerable to attract a predator’s attention in an attempt to keep their nests safe. If both parents are present, babies huddle under their mother’s wings for protection, keeping them out of sight while their father carries out the practice.

• To make nests, adults create depressions in the sand with their feet and use their bodies to hollow them out. They line nests with little pieces of shells.

• Female plovers usually lay between four and five eggs, at a rate of one egg every other day. They take 24 to 27 days to hatch, are speckled brownish-gray in color and are slightly larger than a robin’s egg.

• If a first nesting attempt fails, mates can attempt a second and third time. These nests often contain just three eggs.

• To successfully hatch, eggs must be kept around the same body temperature of the birds, which is about 98.6 degrees. When parents are frightened from the nest by predators or humans, eggs are left exposed and more susceptible to temperature changes and predators.

• Within a day of being hatched, babies are covered in down and start walking in search of food. But it takes them around a month to learn how to fly, so they still need protection from their parents.

• On average, only one baby per nest survives until it’s old enough to fledge, or fly.

• Plover diets consist of marine worms, insect larvae, beetles, small crustaceans and mollusks.

• Plovers spend winters along the East Coast, from Texas to North Carolina, and have been sighted as far south as the Bahamas.

* Data sourced from the state DEC, Cornell Lab of Ornithology and North Fork Audubon Society.

Click on map to enlarge:

Nine nesting areas have been identified at six different beaches in Southold Town so far this season.

The first annual All for the East End dance party netted more than $70,000 in donations last year. (Carrie Miller file photo)

Ten non-profit organizations in Riverhead, Southold and Shelter Island are on the receiving end of $25,000 in grant money courtesy of The Long Island Community Foundation and All For the East End (AFTEE) Fund’s Building Stronger Neighborhood Program, funds which were raised after AFTEE hosted a concert at Martha Clara Vineyards last year which netted a total of $70,000.

Following the inaugural concert, this is the first time the two groups have partnered to distribute the grant, which aims at improving the community across the East End. In all, the Building Stronger Neighborhood Program provided $50,000 to 20 nonprofits Riverhead, Shelter Island, Southampton, Southold and East Hampton.

Since announcing the program last year, more than 80 groups submitted projects that are in need of funding, according to a Long Island Community Foundation statement.

“We received an overwhelming number of proposals,” said David Okorn, Long Island Community Foundation’s executive director. “It really validates the extent of the needs out on the Island’s east end. We are very excited about this collection of organizations and feel it addresses those diverse and important set of needs within these communities.”

Below are the details of each $2,500 grant winners in Riverhead, Southold and Shelter Island.

Riverhead:

• Aid to the Developmentally Disabled – expansion of a sensory garden program for people with disabilities
• East End Arts & Humanities Council – Jump StART artist/business collaborative
• North Fork Spanish Apostolate – leadership development workshops
• Open Arms Care Center – food purchase to restock pantries
• Peconic Community Council/Maureen’s Haven – safety screeners for homeless outreach program

Southold:

• Community Action Southold Town, Inc. – purchase of books & toys for the Parent- Child Home program
• North Fork Animal Welfare League – provide low/no cost spay and neuter surgeries
• Southold Free Library – for the purchase of replacement computers

Shelter Island:

• Shelter Island Historical Society – oyster bed restoration education program
• Sylvester Manor Educational Farm – educational program on sustainable agriculture

The journalism award winners were: (from left) Markis Croteau, Rachel Stanislawek, Jenny Guo, Giavanna Verdi, Kyra Martin and Briana Pagano. (Credit: Robert O’Rourk)

Times/Review Newsgroup honored six students from local high schools with a journalism award Thursday evening. The students were presented certificates and $100 scholarships during a reception at the paper’s office in Mattituck.

The winners were:

Riverhead: Rachel Stanislawek, senior attending St. Joseph’s College.

McGann-Mercy: Jenny Guo, senior attending University of Massachusetts.

Shoreham-Wading River: Giavanna Verdi, senior attending James Madison University.

Mattituck: Kyra Martin, senior attending the University of Chicago.

Southold: Markis Croteau, senior attending St. Anselm College.

Greenport: Briana Pagano, senior attending Princeton University.

Former Mattituck resident Joseph E. Kujawski Sr. of Gloucester Point, Va. died June 9 at Sentara CarePlex in Hampton, Va. He was 63. 

Joe was retired from the U.S. Air Force and worked as a landscaper for Green Planters in Hayes. Family members said he was very patriotic and loved his country, also saying “he has left us, but will never be forgotten.”

He is survived by his wife, Frances Y. Caputo-Kujawski; his children, Joseph E. Jr. (Shannan) Kujawski; Lisa M. Kujawski and Kimberly H. (John) Allen; his stepchildren, Frank Caputo and Jeanette (Gary) Trent; his grandchldren, Haley, Bailey, Jacob, Zack, Cody, Dylan, Kayla and Kayleigh; his brothers, George (Zina) Kujawski and Mark (Vivian) Kujawski; his sister-in-law, Susan Kujawski and a host of nieces and nephews.

The family received visitors June 11 at Hogg Funeral Home in Gloucester Point.

Memorial donations may be made to Gloucester-Matthews Human Society, P.O. Box 385, Gloucester, Va., 23061.

This is a paid notice. 

Gacin Timmers, 5, of East Islip at Thursday night’s Strawberry Festival in Mattituck. (Credit: Vera Chinese)

Hulling night, an annual tradition of the Mattituck Lions Club’s Strawberry Festival, is held the first night of the four-day fair. The hulled berries are made into strawberry shortcake, daiquiris, pie and more.

The festivities kicked off Thursday night for the 60th annual festival. To see more photos, check out northforker.com.

Here are today’s top stories across the North Fork. To stay on top of local news, follow The Suffolk Times on Facebook.

Billy McAllister takes a handoff from offensive coordinator Chris Robinson during Greenport/Southold/Mattituck’s mini-camp on Friday at Mattituck High School. (Credit: Garrett Meade)

The Greenport/Southold/Mattituck Porters undoubtedly took some other football teams by surprise last season. Now the question is: Can the Porters perhaps surprise themselves this coming season?

Having won only one game from the two preceding years, it wasn’t exactly a shocker that the Porters were seeded 13th among 14 Suffolk County Division IV teams last year. If there were low expectations, though, they weren’t coming from the Porters, who went on to post a 6-3 record. It was the first time they have won six games in a season since 1970, according to coach Jack Martilotta. They lost to Mount Sinai, 20-14, in a Division IV qualifying round game, but won the respect of Mount Sinai coach Vinnie Ammirato and others with their play.

“Last season, it was the most amazing feeling you can ever have in your life,” guard/defensive tackle Willie Riggins said. “That’s all I can say.”

Martilotta said the Porters raised the bar of expectations. “It was a great year,” he said. “We had great kids. It’s the kind of success now that I think the kids are expecting. I think the kids are expecting to be a good team and we should” be.

With 14 seniors having graduated from last year’s team, the Porters will have a new look in faces and form. As the eighth seed in the division, they will face a tougher schedule this coming fall and teams will not likely take them lightly.

“They’re ready for us now,” running back Billy McAllister said. “It’s going to be different.”

Martilotta acknowledged as much. Speaking of opponents, he said: “I think we’re probably on their radar at this point. I think that’s a fair way to put it.”

An early peek at the new-look Porters was seen this week as the team took part in a five-day mini-camp that concluded on a muggy Friday at Mattituck High School. They worked on technique, did some physical conditioning and installed some plays. About 40 players participated in the mini-camp, said Martilotta. Martilotta, who along with offensive coordinator Chris Robinson and defensive coordinator Mike Miller, put the Porters through drills, is hopeful that the team will spend time in a camp this summer at Stony Brook University.

The Porters have lost a lot with the departure of Gene Allen, an All-County selection who played wide receiver and defensive back. Allen will play for Hartwick College in the fall, leaving a void the Porters will be hard-pressed to fill.

Martilotta is expecting seven starters to return when preseason camp opens on Aug. 18. Players like Riggins, Adam Goode, Gabe Sierra, Timmy Stevens, John and Matt Drinkwater, Tyshe Williams and Chris Dwyer will be more important than ever.

What the Porters lost in size with the graduations of Owen Finnegan and Cody Fisher, they believe they can make up for in speed, with speedsters like Dan Fedun and Garrett Malave, and a commitment to the weight room.

“We just got to keep going to the weight room and getting stronger and faster,” said McAllister.

The Porters don’t have to worry about quarterback. They will return last year’s starting QB, Matt Drinkwater, and his backup, Dylan Marlborough.

“Having a returning varsity quarterback, that’s worth something,” said Martilotta.

The Porters have the makings of a line with Finnegan’s younger brother, Liam Finnegan (“He’s a house,” said Martilotta), Riggins and Goode.

“They spent the off-season in the weight room, and it’s obvious,” Martilotta said. “There’s no faking that.”

For players like Riggins, football is more than a game.

“I want to play,” he said. “That’s my passion. I just want kids to come back and have that passion, the same passion as I do.”

The Porters still have a lot to figure out before they open their season at home on Sept. 12 against Long Island champion Babylon.

“It’s not the NFL where you get players that fit your system,” Martilotta said. “We got to make sure that the system fits the kids.”

He added: “The seniors and juniors, I think they know what success looks like now and that’s something that they want to see again. We’re going work at it and see that they get it.”

If there are some surprises along the way, so be it.

bliepa@timesreview.com

Cascade by Matt Clark. (Credit: Alex Ferrone Photography Gallery & Studio courtesy)

• “Swells & Swirls,” works by Long Island-based photographers Matt Clark and Mike DiRenzo, will open with a reception Saturday, June 14, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Alex Ferrone Photography Gallery in Cutchogue. 

The show features Mr. Clark’s photographs of “turbulent surf” from New York and international waters and Mr. DiRenzo’s shots of carved sand dunes and stone formations from Western United States. “Aerial Observations” by Ms. Ferrone — “abstracted, sweeping formations of area waters” — will also be shown.

The exhibit can be seen through July 20. Messrs. Clark and DiRenzo will give a gallery talk at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 13.

• Documentarian Amei Wallach of Mattituck will present her film “Ilya and Emilia Kabakov: Enter Here” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 13, in the Peconic Landing auditorium in Greenport. Afterward, Ms. Wallach will lead a question-and-answer session. The program is co-sponsored by Southold Historical Society.

The film’s subjects are North Fork artists who returned to Moscow in 2008, two decades after Mr. Kabakov fled the Soviet Union, to mount six walk-through installations throughout the city.

Visit southoldhistoricalsociety.org.

• Fine art by Janet Paposikos and Mary Laspia will be shown through June 16 at Gallery Crossing in Peconic.

• Artist Cynthia Wells of Southold will give a gallery talk at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 14, at Rothman’s Gallery in Southold. Ms. Wells’ oil paintings, silverpoint drawings and fine art prints are on view through July 6.

To send arts news, email lsisson@timesreview.com, fax to 298-3287, or mail to Times/Review Newspapers, P.O. Box 1500, Mattituck, NY 11952. Copy deadline: Wednesday at 5 p.m. to appear the following week.

Jill Schroeder of JABS. (Credit: Gianna Volpe, file)

‘As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” – Marianne Williamson

Jim Olsen was a shining light to those who knew him. As a guiding force for Mattituck-Cutchogue Pack and Troop 39, he helped more than 30 young men along the path to Eagle Scout and imparted the values of Scouting to countless others. Scouting was not just an activity for Jim; it was a way of life. He demonstrated commitment and dedication to the Boy scouts and to serving the community through the Mattituck Lions Thanksgiving Food Basket program. At a memorial service held by the Scouts, many thanks were given to Jim and his wife, Lynn, who shared her husband with the community for so many years. Jim Olsen will be sorely missed!

Jill Schroeder has been inspiring others for years! This year, just for the fun of it, 21 people joined her in the Spartan Race 2014 — jumping over fire, crawling on their bellies through mud and climbing walls! Congratulations to team JABS members Terri Park, Laura Boznyak, Carol and Jason Leonard, Mary and Eddie Dowling, Katie and Carol Coe, Kathy Russo,  Anghielinne Schwarting, Michelle Schott, Susan Meehan, Grace Chilton, Melanie Wilinski, Lucy Senesac, Ann Marie Schuh, Nicole Alloway, Jesse Halpin, Marianne Wachtel, Anastasia Beth and Stephanie Mincieli for overcoming fears and doubts to become a light and shine!

Jill’s inspiration and dedication to the community has not gone unnoticed, as evidenced by her selection as the East End Women’s Network’s  “Woman of the Year.” Congratulations!

Dawn and Rick Manwaring celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary “on top of the world” at the Empire State Building. Congratulations and God bless!

Girl Scout Troop 156 members have been preparing for their silver award. The sixth-graders’ topic was “Amaze: The Twists and Turns of Friendship.” Throughout the year, they’ve discussed the qualities of a good friend; cliques, gossip and bullying; first impressions; and how to be a peacemaker in the world. All this learning culminated in the take-action project “Friendship Workshop.” Participating Scouts were divided into four teams representing positive qualities of friendship: understanding, trust, loyalty and thoughtfulness. They had a great time sharing what they learned through games, an obstacle course and team-building exercises.

The Old Town Arts & Crafts Guild has a lot going on. An Antiques Fair and Country Bake Sale takes place Saturday, June 21, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (rain date: June 28). An Arts & Craft Fair is set for Saturday, July 12 (rain date: July 13). In addition, art and crafts sessions for children ages 7 to 12 begin Tuesday, June 24, 10 a.m. to noon, and continue through Sept. 2. A one-time registration fee of $20 is required to cover the cost of materials and supplies. To register, please stop by the Guild or call 734-6382.

Cutchogue New Suffolk Library has something for everyone — from movies to crafts to educational presentations on “East End Lighthouses” and long-term care options, to book discussions, story time, Zumba and boating safety classes and more! Stop by or check the website for more information.

My next column will be published June 26. Until then, enjoy!

Contact Cutchogue-New Suffolk columnist Barbara Sheryll at bsheryll@optonline.net or 734-5242

The community center at the Peconic Landing campus in Greenport. (courtesy)

• The June employee of the month at Peconic Landing in Greenport is certified nursing assistant Yira Tejada, who has been with the life-care community for almost two years. In a release, executive vice president/administrator Gregory Garrett described Ms. Tejada as “a caring, compassionate person whose first concern is our residents.” He said she “makes a very tough job seem easy” and “can always be counted on to do more than her fair share.” Mr. Garrett also noted that she is “upbeat and positive no matter what” and said she mentors and trains new aides at Peconic Landing “because she is someone we would like them to emulate.”

• Peconic Bay Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation presents ‘Living Life to its Fullest!’ — a forum on enriching your life through purposeful activities — Tuesday, June 17, from 11 a.m. to noon at Riverhead Free Library. Occupational therapists will discuss ways to resume or begin activities that may seem out of reach due to disability, illness or impairment. To register, call 727-3228 or visit riverheadlibrary.org.

• A support group for caregivers who look after the elderly or chronically ill will meet Tuesday, June 17, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the Southold Town Senior Center on Pacific Street in Mattituck. Call 298-4460 for information.

• Enrollment is open for Peconic Bay Medical Center’s 2014 summer junior volunteer program, an opportunity for young adults ages 15 to 17 to do volunteer work alongside doctors and nurses in a modern hospital environment while giving back to their community. Volunteers will work 40 hours, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on July 14-18 and 21-15, and must attend all sessions. A physical exam and blood work will be required for participants, as will interviews, which must take place by June 25. Applicants 16 and younger will also need working papers. To enroll, call Lynne LaGrua, director of volunteer services, at 631-548-6021.

To send Health Beat news, email dfates@timesreview.com, fax to 298-3287, or mail to Times/Review Newspapers, P.O. Box 1500, Mattituck, NY 11952. Copy deadline: Friday at 5 p.m. to appear the following week.

An adult deer tick, which are known to carry pathogens causing Lyme disease, babesiosis or anaplasmosis. (Credit: Daniel Gilrein)

Think you have the flu? Check for a tick

“Thank God my wife is such a pain in the a–.”

That was how my brother Chris kicked off our phone conversation Monday, days after our mom had informed me he had been suffering from a 102-degree fever, yet still refusing to see a doctor. 

He relented and got himself to a clinic after a couple days worth of incessant spousal nagging — and a fever that, by then, had reached over 104.

Let it be a lesson to the rest of us in this beautiful corner of the world: It’s tick infested.

But Chris hadn’t removed a blood-engorged tick from his body. He hadn’t gotten any bull’s eye-type rash either, the telltale sign of Lyme disease.

“This thing was the size of a poppy seed,” he said, adding that, at best, it had been on him for just a few hours — not the 24-plus hours he found was required to transmit Lyme.

It turned out the tick-borne illness he was trying to dismiss was the lesser-known anaplasmosis — previously called human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) — a bacterial infection that attacks the white blood cells and spreads throughout the body.

According to Columbia University Medical Center and other historic accounts, anaplasmosis was first reported in a human in 1990. That patient died within two weeks of being bitten.

The good news is anaplasmosis is easily recognized and treated today, especially in the tick-literate Northeast. Patients are administered doxycycline, the same antidote for Lyme disease, said Dr. Sandeep Gandhi, an infectious disease consultant for Peconic Bay Medical Center. Anaplasmosis, he said, is only fatal in about five percent of cases and runs a distant second to Lyme among the more common tick-borne diseases contracted on Long Island.

Given the year and its environmental factors, about 10 to 12 percent of ticks carry anaplasmosis, compared with the 40 percent of ticks that carry Lyme, he said.

The doctor cautioned that now through summer is peak time for tick populations, and that people spending time outdoors should, in general, “wear white (to better spot the ticks), check themselves, walk in the middle of trails, don’t scrape against low brushes and monitor their pets.”

And understand it could happen to you.

Chris, who got bitten in New Hampshire while either clearing brush away from apple trees on his property or cutting tree limbs near a rock wall — he’s not sure — had never heard of anaplasmosis before. According to the state’s health department, there were 1,689 cases of Lyme (confirmed and probable) in 2013, compared with just 88 cases of anaplasmosis.

The hardest part of his ordeal, he told me, was the stress that came with those moments where he feared he could die from whatever had him shivering and sweating in bed that morning before finally deciding to seek medical help. All because of an insect bite. And his stubbornness.

He now suggests that, aside from taking the proper precautions and/or looking for any signs of Lyme, anyone who experiences flu-like symptoms when it’s not flu season should go see a doctor. Don’t wait for your wife to force you.

Michael White is the editor of The Suffolk Times and Riverhead News-Review. He can be reached at mwhite@timesreview.com or 631-298-3200, ext. 152. Follow @mikewhite31