Robert W. Bruce of Greenport died Aug. 28 at Eastern Long Island Hospital. He was 68 years old.

He was born Nov. 22, 1943, in Woodbine, Ga., to Rose May (Miller) and Theodore Wilson Bruce. The family moved to New York City when he was a child. After attending college in Tennessee and studying social work, Mr. Bruce returned to New York City, worked briefly on Wall Street and then became a social worker.

He moved to Southampton, where he opened Dolphin House Antiques. He closed the shop in the late 1990s and retired to Greenport, where he lived for 15 years and continued to collect and restore antiques.

Mr. Bruce is survived by a cousin, Burford Clark of Woodbine.

Interment was private, with arrangements handled by Horton-Mathie Funeral Home in Greenport.

Donations may be made to Floyd Memorial Library, 539 First St., Greenport, NY 11944.

A Nassau County woman was arrested Sunday night after she was pulled over for speeding and found to be driving drunk along Sound Avenue in Mattituck.

Eileen Polla, 50, of Wantagh was stopped shortly before 9 p.m. She refused a breath test, police said.

She was transported to police headquarters and held for a Monday morning arraignment.

A Greenport man who police said was tailgating and swerving out of his lane of travel was found to be driving drunk early Monday morning, Southold Town police said.

Angel Hernandez-Garcia, 23, was stopped along Route 25 near Bay Home Road in Southold and charged with DWI shortly before 1 a.m.

He was transported to police headquarters and held for a Monday morning arraignment.

An 18-year-old driver, who police said might have fallen asleep at the wheel, struck a telephone pole on Route 48 in Cutchogue early Wednesday morning.

Kyle Thum was transported to Eastern Long Island Hospital for treatment of injuries sustained in the crash, police said.

The teen was driving a 2004 Subaru and told police he was tired when the crash occurred at 4 a.m.

GIANNA VOLPE PHOTOS | Utility workers were repairing a pole on Route 48 in Cutchogue Wednesday morning.

Local fire department volunteers and other residents showed up at Jean Cochran Park in Peconic Tuesday to pay their respects on the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The park is the home of a 9/11 memorial.

TRACEY ORLANDO PHOTO

JOYCE GRIGONIS PHOTO

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JOYCE GRIGONIS PHOTO

If you were trying to go down Beckwith Avenue in Southold from Main Road Wednesday, you were probably met with some delay as a film crew blocked off part of the street.

The production crew from Radical Media has been filming a commercial for Dish Network all across Long Island this week, landing in Southold Wednesday morning, where filming was expected to continue into the evening.

The crew was quiet in regards to the content of the commercial, but said the ad does feature a cowboy scene.

GIANNA VOLPE PHOTO | A film crew shoots a Dish Network commercial in Southold Wednesday morning.

John Randolph Mims of Greenport died Sept. 11 at the age of 52.

The family will receive friends Friday, Sept. 14, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at Horton-Mathie Funeral Home in Greenport. A service will be held Saturday, Sept. 15, at 11 a.m. at Clinton Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church in Greenport. Private cremation will follow.

A complete obituary will appear in a future edition of The Suffolk Times.

GIANNA VOLPE FILE PHOTO | JABS founder Jill Schroeder at one of her classes last month.

Shape magazine announced this week that Cutchogue resident and local Zumba instructor Jill Schroeder won the first round of its national online contest seeking the nation’s most inspirational Zumba instructor.

According to Shape, Ms. Schroeder, owner of JABS in Mattituck, received the most votes out of the total 400,000 votes cast last month.

Ms. Schroeder said she found out she won Monday night after her fiancé stumbled upon an article about the contest at shape.com.

“I was excited and thought it was cool that I was featured on the website,” Ms. Schroeder said. “If it actually turns into a print article, I think it would be very good for me and my business.”

Created in Cali, Colombia during the mid-90s by aerobics instructor Alberto “Beto” Perez, the fitness program is an international sensation. To become an instructor, one must be licensed by Zumba Fitness, the organization that holds the trademark on the program.

Ms. Schroeder said she first became interested in Zumba five years ago after taking a class in Nassau County, which she said was the closest studio that offered the Latin dance exercise at the time. She opened JABS last year.

Ms. Schroeder was one of three Eastern Suffolk County Zumba instructors that were in the top 10 of the first round of Shape’s competition. Fellow JAB instructor Carol Leonard of Southold and Christine Locrotondo, a Manorville resident who teaches Zumba at Leg Works Dance in Mastic also did well in the first round.

jennifer@timesreview.com

GARRET MEADE FILE PHOTO | The best runner for Southold last year, all-league junior Colette Steele, has moved to Mattituck, but is currently sidelined with a foot stress fracture.

One can imagine what Karl Himmelmann’s reaction was when the coach learned this past spring that the fastest runner on his Southold girls cross-country team, Colette Steele, was moving to Mattituck and would no longer be on his team.

It should be mentioned that it was Steele who led the First Settlers to a 5-0 dual-meet record and the Suffolk County League VIII title last year. And it was Steele who turned in her best time ever at Sunken Meadow State Park’s 3.1-mile course — 21 minutes 46.00 seconds — to finish in second place and help bring Southold the Class D crown in the Section XI Championships.

And now the all-league junior is gone.

Though disappointed, Himmelmann keeps things in perspective. “Certainly she was a great part for our team,” he said. “Obviously she is a strong runner. Certainly I was disappointed. But our team is not built on one person. There are going to be things that you can’t control. Kids are going to move, kids get hurt.”

On the plus side, Steele’s departure aside, Southold has all of its other runners back. Among them are three all-league performers — senior Shelby Pickerell (fifth in the county meet in 23:57.50), junior Katie Connolly (sixth in the county meet in 24:24.80) and junior Shannon Guyer (ninth in the county meet in 25:22.00). Another returner, senior Megan Moran, was 11th in the county meet in 27:06.60.

Savannah Calderale, a junior, and Caitlyn Cassidy, a senior, are also varsity veterans. New to the team are junior Justine Kundmueller and senior Katie Saporita.

Among the 11 Class D teams that competed in last year’s state meet, Southold was seventh.

“The girls had an amazing season last year,” Himmelmann said. “They were each individually very strong. Day in and day out, I could always count on them to do whatever I asked of them in practice.”

Comparing this year’s team with last year’s version, the third-year coach said: “All the same qualities of last year’s team, I see them this year. They’re pushing each other. Success sometimes builds on success. I think they see from the end of last year the results of their hard work.”

Mattituck coach Jean Mahoney has a lot to feel good about, and not just because Colette Steele has joined the Tuckers. Mahoney believes this just may be the best Mattituck team she has coached.

“This year I have depth and talent, and I’m just really excited,” Mahoney said. “As long as they stay healthy, we’re going to do great.”

Although Steele is an undoubted talent, she has a stress fracture in her foot, and Mahoney doesn’t know when the transfer will be running again.

But Mattituck can count on sophomore Kaylee Bergen and freshman Audrey Hoeg, who last year in their first cross-country season both made the all-league team and ran in the state meet. Bergen was second in the county championships at Sunken Meadow State Park in 20:37.00, clipping 37 seconds off her previous best time on the course. Hoeg was fifth in 22:03.80.

Also back from last year’s team are senior Sara Paparatto, junior Hallie Kujawski and sophomore Leah Santacroce. Joining the team are freshman Taylor Berkoski, freshman Christina Hatzinikolau, junior Tara Gatz, freshman Brianna Perino, junior Samantha Perino, eighth-grader Melanie Pfenning, freshman Mia Vasile-Cozzo, sophomore Sarah Sheppard and junior Natalie Troisi.

Mahoney said Gatz, a former tennis player, is someone to look out for. “She not only pushes herself, she pushes the boys team and she pushes my team,” said the coach.

Then again, Mattituck may be a team to look out for. Mahoney raves about the Tuckers’ work ethic and dedication. Perhaps the Tuckers will contend for the League VII title along with Bayport-Blue Point and Hampton Bays.

“It’s exciting knowing how much these girls want to win,” Mahoney said. “It’s going to be an amazing season. This year’s athletes are very competitive. They push each other and they are really determined to go to the states.”

bliepa@timesreview.com

GARRET MEADE FILE PHOTO | Southold sophomore Jonathan Rempe was the Suffolk County Class D champion last year.

Drama and excitement mixed for a thrilling finish to the Class D race in last year’s Section XI boys cross-country championships at Sunken Meadow State Park. The Southold team undoubtedly remembers it well because it was on that nippy November afternoon when its sixth runner, Matthew Reilly, made a difference in bringing his team a county championship.

The top five runners for each team score points based on their finish. In the event that teams are tied on points, the placement of their respective sixth runners is used as the tiebreaker. So, that is what it came down to when Southold and The Stony Brook School both found themselves with 28 points apiece. With the exception of a single Pierson runner, all of the top 12 Class D finishers were wearing Southold or Stony Brook uniforms.

Fortunately for Southold, though, Reilly’s 12th-place finish on the 3.1-mile course in 21 minutes 55.00 seconds was huge. He had beaten Stony Brook’s sixth finisher, Darryl Baker, by five places, and that’s how the First Settlers became county champions.

“That’s the thing that I impress upon the team,” Southold coach Karl Himmelmann said, “it’s not necessarily the boys who come in first, second or third place” who determine the outcome of a race.

By virtue of its county title, Southold’s top seven runners had the opportunity to run in the state meet at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School. Four of those runners are back, including all-league runner Jonathan Rempe. Rempe, a sophomore, was the Suffolk Class D champion last year in a time of 19:17.50 at Sunken Meadow’s notoriously hilly course. He finished 76th out of 120 Class D runners in the state meet.

“I definitely see good things from him this year,” Himmelmann said. “He’s been running all summer long.”

The other returning Southold runners who competed in the state meet are senior John Tomici, junior Ian Toy and senior Ryan Hanrahan.

Southold (3-3 in Suffolk County League VIII last year) has a deep corps of runners beyond the five who will score points in dual meets. A strong season is expected from sophomore Gus Rymer, junior Anthony Esposito and sophomore Chris Buono.

A key for Southold is the training its runners have done over the summer to prepare for the season. Offseason training is critical in cross country.

“I’ve definitely been seeing good things from them in practice over the last few weeks,” Himmelmann said. “We just look at their hard work and diligence. They’re putting in the miles.”

In fact, Himmelmann said it is the team’s commitment that he likes best. “They have a very strong sense of commitment that they want to be as fast as they can, and I’m seeing that in their practices every day,” he said.

Mattituck coach Julie Milliman was anticipating a big turnout for the first day of preseason practice, but even that didn’t fully prepare her for what she saw. When Milliman saw how many runners had come out for the team, she was taken aback.

“I was like, ‘We’re going to need another coach,’ ” she said.

The Tuckers added an assistant coach, Chris Robinson, to help Milliman oversee a varsity team with 40 runners. That’s right, 40!

Over half of them are returning runners.

“It looks like a football team,” Milliman said. “When you see them warming up on the line, you have to see it. I’ve never seen so many kids on a cross-country team.”

Last year’s team, which had close to 30 runners, performed quite well, going 5-1 and tying Port Jefferson and Center Moriches for first place in League VII.

“It was obviously a highlight of my short career,” said Milliman, who is in her third year as the team’s coach.

But the Tuckers lost their top two runners, Corey Zlatniski (Utica) and senior Casey Grathwohl, who both ran in the state meet last year. Zlatniski has graduated, and Grathwohl opted to play soccer this fall.

Despite all its runners, Mattituck can count only three seniors among them. Just who will emerge as the team’s top runners in 2012 remains to be seen.

Heading the cast of returners are senior Anthony Howell, sophomore Marcos Perivolaris and juniors Jake Nolan, Adam Hicks, Clay Davis, Ross Pugliese and Kevin Schwartz. Another junior, Connor Malone, is also in the mix.

“There’s plenty of runners to choose from,” said Milliman.

But with so many runners comes complications. Practices are more involved and a question has arisen as to how many buses will be needed to transport the Mattituck boys and girls teams to meets. The teams used to share one bus, which may no longer be enough.

“It’s tough to manage sometimes, but I think it’s good because they kind of push each other,” Milliman said. “There are so many kids involved in the program that it is already a success in itself.”

bliepa@timesreview.com

KATHARINE SCHROEDER FILE PHOTO | Tonight’s Oysterponds school board meeting is at 7:30 p.m.

The Oysterponds Board of Education is expected to discuss proposed facility improvements during its monthly meeting tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the elementary school in Orient.

According to the agenda, school superintendent Dick Malone is recommending the district purchase a video intercom and door release system in order to improve student safety.

In addition, Mr. Malone will ask the school board to approve the purchasing of two water bottle filling stations.

Scroll down to view the complete agenda. Read more about this story on Aug. 20 in The Suffolk Times or on our E-Paper.

Oysterponds BOE meeting agenda, Sept. 18, 2012

Visiting will take place at the Horton Mathie Funeral Home in Greenport on Wednesday and Thursday from 2 to 4 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m. for Robert Walden, the last man to hold the title of Greenport village police chief before the department was abolished in 1994.

Mr. Walden, who died on Saturday, suffered smoke inhalation during a fire at his Wiggins Street home on Sept. 2. He was rescued by a part-time town police officer, who pulled him from a second-floor bedroom filled with black smoke from a smouldering mattress fire.

A Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Friday, Sept. 21 at St. Agnes R.C. Church on Front Street in Greenport with burial following at the St. Agnes Cemetery.

Read the complete story in the Sept. 20 issue of The Suffolk Times.

Voters gave a resounding “yes” to the 2013 Cutchogue New Suffolk Library budget in voting Tuesday.

The overall vote was 119 to 29. Since the library covers two separate school districts, Mattituck-Cutchogue and New Suffolk, separate votes are required. In Cutchogue the vote was 96 to 28 and in New Suffolk only one person voted no with 23 yes votes.

The 2013 library budget calls for spending of $1,470,732.66,  just over $19,000 above the 2012 figure. A homeowner with property assessed at $6,000 will pay $7.23 in additional library taxes in Cutchogue and $7.34 in New Suffolk.

GARRET MEADE FILE PHOTO | Jeff Ellis said conducting practices was one of his favorite aspects of the job as Southold’s coach.

Jeff Ellis, who celebrated his 38th birthday yesterday, was 24 years old when it was suggested that he become Southold High School’s boys varsity basketball coach. Gene Maiorana had retired after 20 years in charge of the First Settlers, and a new coach was needed. Ellis was reticent about taking on a varsity job at such a young age, but an agreement was reached. Kevin Leavay, who himself retired the following year, agreed to coach the team for the 1998-99 season, helping Ellis learn the ropes as an untenured assistant coach before taking over the reigns himself the next season.

And then a funny thing happened: Ellis, a former soccer player for Patchogue-Medford High School and Cortland State, became a basketball guy, falling in love with the sport.

“This was a position I honestly thought I’d never leave,” Ellis told The Suffolk Times. “I thought I would have it until I retired.”

Ellis couldn’t have imagined how his association with the team would end.

When Southold rolls out the basketballs for its first preseason practice in mid-November, it will do so with a new coach. Phil Reed, who had been Southold’s junior varsity coach for the past six seasons, has been appointed the varsity team’s new coach, replacing Ellis. Ellis, who may have been the most successful coach in team history, was not reappointed after 14 seasons in charge. Ellis said he had applied for the post before withdrawing his name from consideration. He did not wish to say why he walked away.

Ellis surely made his mark on Southold basketball. During his time as coach, the First Settlers went 154-124 (.554). They reached the playoffs in 11 of his 14 seasons, won two Suffolk County championships and reached the New York State Class C semifinals.

Ellis coached Southold to its first Suffolk and Long Island championships in at least 57 years in the 2004-5 season. More history followed. The following season, with a splendid backcourt of Seamus Long and Sean O’Hara, Ellis guided the First Settlers to the New York State final four for the first time in team history. Southold enjoyed another memorable season in 2009-10, when it went undefeated during the regular season, winning all 18 games.

GARRET MEADE FILE PHOTO | Southold’s new boys varsity basketball coach, Phil Reed, was an assistant coach for the Southold girls varsity basketball team last season.

“When you get good players and kids that really want to work hard, it makes coaching that much easier,” said Ellis, who figures he has coached close to 100 players.

Ellis said he is proud of his record and what the team accomplished under his watch. “Looking back, I’m proud that we put Southold basketball back on the map,” he said.

Basketball became a labor of love for Ellis, who still runs a summer league. He also had Southold teams playing in spring and fall leagues, as well as having overseen countless open gym sessions and individual workouts.

“I loved practice,” Ellis said. “I really like putting in those two hours every single day and just getting game ready.”

Last season was a difficult one for Ellis and his team. Southold finished with a 6-12 record in a season that was marked by controversy. During the season, the team’s best player, Winston Wilcenski, was kicked off the squad before being reinstated without public explanation. Wilcenski missed four games of his senior season.

The Southold athletic director, Joe Braico, said he would not discuss the circumstances surrounding the coaching change. “I would prefer that we look forward instead of looking back at this moment,” he said in an interview last Thursday.

Braico said Reed was the top choice as Ellis’ successor. Reed had served as a varsity assistant coach to Ellis for one season before becoming the junior varsity coach. He was also an assistant coach for the Southold girls’ varsity basketball team last season.

Reed did not return phone messages prior to the deadline.

“Phil, I think, has done an excellent job in the past as our J.V. coach,” Braico said. “I think he does a great job with practices. I think he does a great job with the student/athletes as well, and we’re very excited to have him as our varsity coach this year.”

Reed’s familiarity with the program was seen as a plus. “He does know the situation, he does know the kids, he does know the culture here at Southold,” Braico said, “so I think the transition is going to be a good one.”

Coaching a varsity team is demanding and has its own special challenges.

“It’s tough, I think, for someone like me who’s a disciplinarian coach,” Ellis said. “I demand a lot out of my kids. We’re at a time when you can’t discipline too much. You get backlash if you discipline too much.”

Ellis, who has a wife and two young children, said he thinks he will eventually return to coaching. He said he has already been offered three assistant coach positions and five or six junior varsity jobs.

“If I want to go back into it, I’ll go back into it,” he said. “I think eventually I will. I think we decided as a family, I’m going to take this season off.”

“I hope that all these kids I’ve been around for so long, I hope that I’ve made them better adults, and only they could answer that,” he continued. “I loved it. I really did. You got to move on.”

bliepa@timesreview.com

KATHARINE SCHROEDER FILE PHOTO | The parade at last year’s Maritime Festival in Greenport.

Southold Town police announced road closures for the 2012 Greenport Maritime Festival this weekend.

Route 25 will be closed to vehicular traffic from Third to Main streets and at the foot of Main Street at Claudio’s to Center Street. The closures will be in effect from 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

Police advise attendees to use the village streets surrounding the festival for parking.

Anne Patel of Southold died Sept. 16 at her home. She was 68.

The family will receive friends Wednesday, Sept. 19, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at the DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Mattituck.  Funeral services will be held there at 8 p.m. by Father Peter Garry.

Memorial donations may be made to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center or East End Hospice.

A full obituary will follow.

TIM KELLY FILE PHOTO | An aerial view of Plum Island.

The federal government’s long-awaited meeting on the future of Plum Island will be held mid-October, not late September as had originally been planned.

The U.S. General Services Administration, which recently prepared an environmental impact statement for the sale of the island, had planned to hold the meeting at Greenport High School Sept. 27 but has rescheduled it to Oct. 18. The original meeting date conflicted with Yom Kippur, Sept. 26, according to GSA representative Patrick Sciafani.

The meeting, which will be in the Greenport High School auditorium, will begin at 6 p.m., though the doors will open and GSA representatives will be on-hand beginning at 5 p.m.

The environmental impact statement is available online at plumislandny.com/DraftEIS.aspx.

The document explores several options for the island, including both a potential low-density and a high-density residential use; adapting and reusing the USDA’s animal disease laboratory on the island; mothballing the lab and not selling the island; and a conservation and preservation option.

Southold Town plans to zone the island this fall, which could limit potential future uses of the 840 acres.

Although Congress has not approved funding, plans have been introduced to replace the Plum Island lab with a new animal disease research center in Manhattan, Kan.

Written comments on the environmental impact statement will be accepted by GSA until Oct. 26, addressed to Phil Youngberg c/o John Dugan, GSA, 10 Causeway Street, Room 925, Boston, MA 02222, or by email at phil.youngberg@gsa.gov or john.dugan@gsa.gov.

byoung@timesreview.com

Sophie Kander of Laurel died Sept. 12 at Riverhead Care Center. She was 94.

She was born May 6, 1918, in McGill, Nev., to Michael and Emilia Miller and was a homemaker for most of her adult life.

Family members said she enjoyed crafts and gardening.

Predeceased by her husband, Anthony, Ms. Kander is survived by her nephew, Albert Casper of Calverton.

Arrangements were handled by Coster-Heppner Funeral Home in Cutchogue. A service was held Sept. 14 at Our Lady of Ostrabrama R.C. Church, followed by interment at Sacred Heart Cemetery, both in Cutchogue.

A Remsenburg man was arrested Wednesday morning for stealing copper from the Greenport auto body shop where he worked, Southold Town police said.

Tyler Schieffelbian, 28, was caught taking copper shortly after he was fired from his job, police said.

Mr. Schieffelbian was arrested for the petit larceny, transported to headquarters, processed and released on cash bail, according to a police press release.

COURTESY PHOTO | The Peconic Bay Water Jitney.

The Peconic Bay Water Jitney, which ran five daily round trips between Sag Harbor and Greenport all summer long, might not be back next year unless investors show an interest in underwriting the business, according to a Shelter Island Town Board member.

The 53-passenger ferry, running seven days a week until recently, has carried more than 15,000 people since launching at the end of June, but “it’s not a moneymaker” yet,  Councilwoman Chris Lewis told the Shelter Island Town Board Tuesday while reporting on an East End Transportation Council meeting she attended last week. The council, charged with exploring mass transit alternatives for the region, comprises representatives from the five East End towns.

Ms. Lewis said Geoffrey Lynch, president of Hampton Jitney, had reported at the meeting on the Water Jitney’s first season in operation and predicted that it wouldn’t be back. Mr. Lynch  partnered with Mattituck businessman Jim Ryan to launch the service.

According to Ms. Lewis, Mr. Lynch said there will be “no second summer” for the ferry unless investors are found.

In an interview Wednesday, Mr. Ryan denied the claim that the passenger ferry won’t be back next season if investors aren’t secured.

“[Mr. Lynch’s] intention sounds like he was looking for additional investors to help support the service,” Mr. Ryan said.

Mr. Lynch wasn’t immediately available for comment.

The ferry was not a moneymaker, Ms. Lewis said, because there had been “so much outlay.”  Mr. Ryan agreed, but said he and Mr. Lynch knew the first season wouldn’t turn a profit.

“Before we even started, we knew we would run in the red,” Mr. Ryan said. “Next year, we’ll probably run in the red again. At this point, we’re focused on developing ridership.”

The 40-minute ferry run cost passengers $11 one way and $20 round trip.

Among the costs were $12,000 to rent parking lots in Sag Harbor and Greenport and the expense of shuttling passengers from their cars to the ferry terminals, which was a required service to ease concerns in both villages about downtown traffic congestion.

“They had hoped to pick up some commuter” traffic between the North and South forks, Ms. Lewis said, “but that didn’t work.”  Nevertheless, the partners continue to be interested. According to Ms. Lewis, the service generated so much enthusiasm that they had been encouraged “but they clearly need investors.”

Jennifer Gustavson contributed reporting for this story.