Howard Meinke’s three children (L-R) Nancy Morrell, Jeffrey Meinke and Janice Dunbar all spoke at a memorial last week. (Credit: Michael White)

I, along with much of Southold, mourn the loss of a good man, my friend Howard Meinke. Howard was more than just a friend. He was a comrade in our shared passion for both the environment and social justice and we often joined forces in the same battles. I am grateful for my time with Howard; I appreciated his sensibility about life and his pragmatic and determined approach to the many diverse challenges we face. He believed most problems could be resolved with hard work and perseverance.

Howard was also my mentor. During the eight years we worked together at North Fork Environmental Council, he taught me to believe in the possibility of change even when the odds were not in our favor — and to never give up fighting for your beliefs.

Howard was an inspiration because although he knew the environmental challenges we faced were great and the consequences of inaction dire, he also knew how to enjoy life. He taught me that you can be serious and committed to an issue, but that you also need to balance that passion with a bit of fun. I think Howard had a lot of fun.

In recent years, Howard’s body may have slowed a bit, but certainly not his mind. As many readers of The Riverhead News-Review know, he had a quick wit and, on occasion, an acerbic tongue that he used to hammer home whatever point he was trying to make — generally about humanity’s penchant for self-destruction, stupidity and greed. Howard was many things; subtle wasn’t one of them. But his brand of frank dialogue, I believe, served the community well. To use an old phrase, Howard spoke truth to power. He wasn’t afraid of offending people or being politically incorrect. He knew what was at stake and believed that we, as a community, and the greater civilized world should snap out of complacency and act accordingly.

Howard not only fought to protect the environment, he reveled in it. Howard often spoke of his boyhood summers on the North Fork and the bounty of sea life, clams, scallops oysters and finfish in Peconic Bay; about dangling his toes in the water and seeing the blowfish puff up in response; and about a lifetime of sailing on local waters. But his reminiscences were generally aimed at demonstrating how the environment has degraded over the years and how much of that biodiversity has been lost.

Sometime after Howard stepped down as NFEC board president, he and his wife, Peg, became snowbirds, wintering in Florida. But this didn’t prevent him from keeping up to date with what was happening in Southold and influencing the local debate. I would get frequent calls from him to find out what was going on in Town Hall or the status of the Comprehensive Plan. He remained my mentor — and conscience — often admonishing me for not doing enough to advance our mutual causes. It was gratifying to receive Howard’s draft letters to the editor, which he sent to me (among others) for feedback. My response was usually, “Perfect, don’t change a thing.” The last draft letter I received was on the morning of his death. One of the tragedies of Howard’s abrupt passing, I believe, is that he had much more to contribute to the community. But I can say with certainty, he made the most of the time he had on this earth.

My grief and that of Howard’s other friends and colleagues can’t possibly compare to that of Peg, his children and grandchildren, but I hope they can take solace in knowing — as the people of Southold should know — that our community is infinitely richer because Howard Meinke was here and cared so deeply about this special place.

Gwynn Schroeder is a former executive director and board member of the North Fork Environmental Council. She lives in Cutchogue.

I’ve got an idea: Let’s reroute Route 48 to the south in order to avoid further pedestrian deaths near the Soundview. Or build a pedestrian bridge or tunnel across the highway. Better yet, let’s move the Soundview to the north, on pilings over the Sound, thus eliminating parking on the south side of the highway. 

Ridiculous? Certainly that last one is. But to a certain degree, so are those other alternatives. Not to mention expensive when measured against a fourth alternative that, in my opinion, would be much less expensive and just as effective.

Greenport resident Roger Stakey (coincidentally, a former employee of Times/Review Newspapers) called me at home the other day with a suggestion that I’d been mulling over ever since we received the sad news of Howard Meinke’s death. Roger asked: Why aren’t they talking about installing a pedestrian-activated stoplight?

Why not, indeed.

The Federal Highway Administration’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices states: “A pedestrian hybrid beacon as a special type of hybrid beacon used to warn and control traffic at an unsignalized location to assist pedestrians in crossing a street or highway at a marked crosswalk … may be considered for installation to facilitate pedestrian crossings at a location that does not meet traffic signal warrants [read: criteria].”

Isn’t that exactly what we’re talking about here?

In some jurisdictions, including one on the east coast of Florida where we’ve spent time in recent winters, such stoplights/hybrid beacons are as plentiful as, well, slow-footed elderly pedestrians. And these lights work, too. They’re programmed in such a manner that motorists aren’t unduly inconvenienced and pedestrians know they’ll have enough time to cross streets and even highways safely.

A friend who works in the traffic safety field tells me pedestrian-activated traffic lights can be purchased for as little as $20,000 and total costs, including installation, signage and road markings, shouldn’t add more than another $30,000.

What’s another life worth? $50,000? Surely, the lives of George Haase Sr., Thomas Keating and Howard Meinke were worth inestimably more than that.

So, while the town and county have had seven years to find a solution since Mr. Haase’s death in 2007, two more pedestrians have perished at this perilous location. Who else will die, or suffer serious injury, while a $50,000 remedy is staring us in the face?

•

Some may argue that the Soundview ought to bear some of the cost of dealing with this problem, but I am not among them. The danger exists because Suffolk County’s Route 48 bisects their property and the county allows vehicles to drive at a demonstrably unsafe speed of 50 mph on that highway. Would, for example, a local vineyard be asked to remedy a similar situation if its tasting room and vines happened to be on opposite sides of a highway? I don’t think so.

Al Edwards talking to his players during his last game as Greenport’s coach. (Credit: Garret Meade, file)

Now that recommendations have been made to dedicate an indoor basketball court to retired coach Al Edwards, Greenport School District officials are looking to develop a policy for naming school facilities. 

During the Board of Education’s regular meeting Sept. 22, school board president Dan Creedon said he believes a policy is needed before another facility is named and suggested the district look into establishing certain criteria, such as how long the person has worked in the district or the number of championships achieved.

“In my opinion, before we consider dedicating something to anybody, we should produce a policy,” Mr. Creedon said.

Greenport has previously dedicated two of its high school facilities: Dorrie Jackson Memorial Field and Richard “Dude” Manwaring Gymnasium.

School board vice president Babette Cornine said the last time the district named a facility was after the 1991 basketball team submitted a petition to the Board of Education requesting it dedicate the large gym to Mr. Manwaring, who also coached Mr. Edwards.

Superintendent David Gamberg said he placed the discussion item on the school board agenda because athletic director James Caliendo had recently suggested dedicating the basketball court to Mr. Edwards — an educator who has become an icon for Greenport boys basketball in a coaching career that touched five decades.

After an All-American career during his high school days at Greenport, Mr. Edwards played college basketball at East Carolina. He returned to Greenport following college and became varsity coach there in 1979, guiding the Porters to three New York State final fours in his career.

Mr. Edwards held that job until retiring in July 2013. He’s among those in the first class inducted into the Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame and was named The Suffolk Times Educator of the Year in 2013.

As Ms. Cornine started to talk about one suggestion of putting a picture of Mr. Edwards on the gym floor, his wife, Denise, shook her head in disappointment.

“Absolutely not,” she said. “He’s very private and he doesn’t like stuff like that.”

Ms. Edwards then suggested the district consider naming an auxiliary gym, not the main gymnasium, after her husband.

“The small gym is where he made his name,” she said. “The small gym is the gym he made his points. He was basically the star of that gym. If you’re going to do anything for him, put something outside on the wall, don’t make it big and don’t put his face on the floor.”

School officials are currently researching other districts’ naming policies.

jnuzzo@timesreview.com

Planning Board members are expected to vote on an indoor horse riding ring that has been proposed for this Mattituck estate. (Credit: The Corcoran Group)

Southold Planning Board members are expected to make a final decision on Monday on a proposal to construct an indoor riding ring on a prominent 37-acre Cox Neck Road estate.

Royalton Equestrian is requesting permission to construct a 28,800-square-foot indoor riding ring, according to the site plan. The new owners the proposed ring would be used for keeping, breeding, raising and training horses and would not be open to the public, according to the site plan, which was submitted in early August.

The property — the former home of Long Island Aquarium co-founder Jim Bissett — currently has a 14,000-square-foot, seven-bedroom house, Motocross track and indoor/outdoor pool. It was purchased for $4 million in January. Dr. Daniel Ferrara, a physician who runs a home visiting service in Hauppauge, and property manager Steve Libretto of Mattituck, first submitted the plan to the planning board in August.

The horse farm may one day be surround by residential homes as well.

According to an article in the May issue of Today’s Equestrian, Royalton Farms is planning to feature a grand prix course and hunter derby field, along with the indoor arena. A number of homes could also be built there, the article states.

Royalton Farms’ proposal is different than the controversial Showalter Farms proposal on Main Road in Mattituck, since the Cox Neck Road property was already being used as an equestrian facility.

The board is expected to vote on the Royalton Farms’ proposal at its Monday, Oct. 6 meeting at 6 p.m. in the Town Hall meeting room. The board is also holding a work session at 4 p.m. that evening.

The regular agenda can be viewed below.

Planning Board Agenda 10-6-14

In June, work began to renovate Tanger 2 at Tanger Outlets in Riverhead. The upgrades include new storefront facades and gabled roofs. (Credit: Rachel Young photos)

Two decades ago, foreman Mike Kilcommons of Miller Place recalled, he was hired to help construct Tanger Outlets in Riverhead.

And on a dreary Thursday morning this week, Mr. Kilcommons was back on the job at the Route 58 shopping center — this time, to give the some 200-store complex its first major makeover.

“It’s just ironic that I’m back here again after all this time,” he said from the center’s Tanger 2’s parking lot Oct. 2. Island Acoustics of Bohemia is in charge of construction at the site. “They haven’t really done anything to [the buildings] because there wasn’t anything they needed to do.”

That mindset — to not fix what wasn’t broken, so to speak — changed in June, when work to renovate Tanger 2, which contains the shopping center’s main food court and the majority of its stores, commenced, said Janine Nebons, who has been the center’s general manager since 1994. Tanger 1, the center’s smaller, slightly older complex, will be updated next spring.

Tanger 1, pictured here, will be renovated next spring, Tanger Outlets general manager Janine Nebons said.

“We are a destination outlet center,” Ms. Nebons said. “The majority of our customers drive 40 minutes or more to get to us and we want them to get a taste of the East End. We want to be able to have them enjoy the experience — to be able to combine shopping in an upscale environment that is warm and friendly and inviting.”

To achieve this, Tanger Outlets enlisted Frank Campione of CREATE Architecture Planning & Design in New York City to come up with a design that fit their vision, which Ms. Nebons said was “inspired by the village of Greenport.”

The culmination of those efforts is a much-altered Tanger 2, which — to name just a few upgrades — now boasts colorful storefront facades with new siding and gabled roofs, a pedestrian walkway with several rocking benches, updated bathrooms and a fully renovated food court that features raised seating, numerous mobile charging stations and 20 iPads available for customer use. The center also has a new shopper services desk near Tanger 2’s Cosmetics Company Store, where customers can purchase gift cards and coupon books. All stores are open during construction.

“Architecturally, they [Tanger officials] wanted to dress it up and make it more appealing, which I think will draw my shoppers — and I think that was their intent,” Mr. Kilcommons said.

Ms. Nebons said work at Tanger 2, which is tentatively scheduled to be completed by the end of this month, will also include the construction of an outdoor fireplace and fountains near the food court. Oversized furniture, which hasn’t yet been delivered, will be placed on the center’s new benches, she said.

“We’re going to wow everyone,” she said.

As a company, Tanger Outlets — which was established in 1981 by the late Stanley K. Tanger and is now owned by his son, Steven — operates 44 outlet centers in 26 states and in Canada, according to tangeroutlet.com.

Tanger 2′s food court was recently renovated and features raised seating and, at left, an “iPad bar” with 20 iPads for customer use.

“Tanger is continuously refreshing shopping centers from coast to coast,” Ms. Nebons said.

While Tanger 2 is the center’s first complex to receive a makeover, it isn’t the oldest at 18 years old. That distinction goes to Tanger 1, which opened in May 1994.

“We haven’t gotten to Tanger 1 yet, but we will eventually,” Ms. Nebons said. “We hope to get started as soon as we’re done with Tanger 2. She’s an old lady by shopping center standards.”

Shoppers like Alisa Calato of Massapequa Park said Thursday that she and her husband, who were on their way to Under Armor when approached for an interview, approve of the changes being made at the center.

“When we pulled up to the outlets, because we haven’t been here since probably last Christmas, I was saying how quaint and pretty it looks,” she said.

Christina Vello, an assistant store manager at J. Crew in Tanger 2, said the center wasn’t “run-down by any means” before renovations began but that she appreciates its “fresher look.”

“It makes it more elevated — more high-end,” she said.

ryoung@timesreview.com

Services have been set for Thomas Cutinella, 16, of Wading River. Mr. Cutinella died on Wednesday following an injury sustained in a football game.

A visitation will take place at St. John the Baptist R.C. Church in Wading River on Sunday from 4-7 p.m., and on Monday from 2-4 and 6-9 p.m.

A funeral mass will take place at the church on Tuesday at 10 a.m., followed by a burial at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Coram.

Riverhead High School students count the different types of species caught in their seine. (Credit: Carrie Miller)

Students immersed chest-high in waders as they worked with fishing nets explored East End shorelines Wednesday morning, learning what “A Day in the Life of the Peconic Estuary” is like.

About 400 middle and high school students ditched their classrooms, rolling up their sleeves to collect data samples from one of 11 different beaches in an endeavor sponsored by over 30 environmental agencies to help inspire younger generations to learn about water quality issues.

Mel Morris of Brookhaven National Lab’s office of Education, one of the event’s many sponsors, said the different data sets — once combined — will help show students just how diverse their local estuary is.

“Each of these beaches are a bit different,” he told Southold Elementary students on the shore of Goose Creek Beach. “Each faces different challenges, and that data you are collecting can help show what those challenges are.”

Southold Middle School science teacher Russ Karsten said he was excited his fifth grade students — all 68 of them — were so hands on during the event.

“I teach students how to use rulers, thermometers, and wind gauges in the classroom, but this is a bit more of an authentic, real life experience,” he said. “It gives these scientific tools meaning, and you can see how engaged [the students] are.”

The kids took turns rotating between stations, looking at different aspects of the marine environment.

Using test tubes and different types of chemicals, students tested area water quality; measuring dissolved oxygen, pH, salinity, and even the amount of fecal coliform bacteria.

They also looked at the surrounding characteristics of the bay, identifying pollution sources such as homes, drains, and nearby parking lots that could be hurting area water quality.

Taking that information, it was time to look at the tides, air temperature and cloud cover, which also affects the water.

From there, they went seining — fishing bay waters with a specially designed net — identifying different species of seaweeds, fish and shellfish.

These were the same activities done by students all over the North Fork.

About 16 miles to the west, Riverhead High School earth science teacher Claire Yannacore and her students were waist high in bay waters, bringing back nets full of fish and seaweed from the waters off Indian Island Park beach.

Fascinated with something in the water, tenth grader Willy Montoya voyaged out alone, returning with a large whelk, otherwise know as a sea snail, which he showed off to all the others.

As all the students crowded around, one of the expert ecology volunteers taught students something unique about the shellfish: it only has one eye.

“You can’t help but get kids interested when you get them outside,” Ms. Yannacore said. “Everything around them is so cool, and some of them have never seen this stuff before, or if they have, they are proud to share their knowledge.”

Ten-year-old Chloe Hawkins of Southold said “this kind of data helps you see if there is something dangerous in the water,” explaining that days before the trip her teacher, Mr. Karsten, showed her class an article about algae blooms.

“After that I wanted to see if that was where I swim,” Chloe said. “I think there could be something going on in the water that maybe we don’t know about.”

cmiller@timesreview.com

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

Emily Mowdy contributed to Mattituck’s singles sweep against Bishop McGann-Mercy. (Credit: Garret Meade)

TUCKERS 4, MONARCHS 3

When the top two high school girls tennis teams in Suffolk County League VII lined up to exchange postmatch high fives, it was the Mattituck Tuckers who were wearing smiles on their faces. They had a lot to smile about.

That is because the Tuckers withstood what could be seen as the last major challenge to a second straight league championship. Drew Hahn’s victory at fourth singles completed a sweep of all four singles matches for the Tuckers and clinched a 4-3 triumph over Bishop McGann-Mercy on Friday at Mattituck High School. With three matches remaining, the Tuckers (10-1, 9-0) can clinch at least a share of the league title with a win over Southold/Greenport on Monday. An automatic playoff spot also comes with the league crown.

After Hahn dispatched fellow freshman Nicole Gravagna, 6-4, 6-3, for what proved to be the decisive team point, she was happily greeted by teammates as she headed off the court.

It was a good day for Mattituck’s singles players. Liz Dwyer, Emily Mowdy and Julie Krudop also prevailed in two sets.

Dwyer, as she is prone to do, found a way to win her first singles match against Jamie Lessard, who has a good serve and covers the court well. After some difficulties in the early going, mostly the result of unforced errors, Dwyer recovered from a 5-3 deficit in the first set to win, 7-5. With momentum on her side, she rolled in the second set, 6-1.

Dwyer outpointed Lessard, 65-48, and put away 17 winners.

Mowdy coasted to a 6-1, 6-1 defeat of Katie Brownfiel at second singles.

Krudop, playing third singles, gave the Tuckers a 3-2 lead by downing Savannah Siejka, 6-2, 6-3.

McGann-Mercy (8-5, 7-2) saw all the doubles contests go its way. The first doubles team of Delaney Macchirole and Micaela Zebroski beat Anna Kowalski and Courtney Penny, 6-1, 6-2. The No. 2 team of Magda Duda and Shannon Kavanaugh got the better of Ava Gains and Kimberly Scheer, 6-2, 7-5. In the final match of the day, Angelica Osiniak and Alex Waski scored a 6-4, 6-4 win over Emily Gatz and Jacey Lengyel.

bliepa@timesreview.com

Gail Horton and her dog Sparky wait their turn for a blessing in 2012. (Credit: Katharine Schroeder, file)

Congratulations are definitely in order for Jamie and Walter Sledge, who got a surprise when their twin sons were born two months early on Sept. 22. The boys, named Lucas John and Levi Paul, each weighed in at 2 pounds, 9 ounces. The Greenport contingent oh-so-pleased with their arrival includes maternal grandparents Chris and Paul Dinizio and maternal great-grandparents Maren Erickson and Mary Jane and Tony Dinizio.

The CAST supermarket food drive is set for this Saturday, Oct. 4, at the Greenport IGA from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. CAST’s food pantry is a valuable resource that helps struggling families stretch their monthly food budget. If you want to help but can’t do so Saturday, look for CAST collection bins at local grocery stores, where non-perishable food items can be dropped.

St. Peter’s Lutheran Church will hold a special Blessing of the Animals service on Saturday, Oct. 4, at 4 p.m. All are invited to gather with their pets on the front porch of the church. After a short liturgy, including hymns and scripture readings, all animals present will receive individual blessings.

The following Saturday, Oct. 11, St. Peter’s will host its annual Harvest Festival from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with live music, homemade foods including clam chowder, wurst, hot dogs, chili, potato pancakes and more; a huge yard sale; a book and plant sale; beautiful, handmade crafts; homemade baked goods; and basket auctions. Children’s activities will also be available. The rain date is Monday, Oct. 13. For more information, call 477-0662.

Don’t forget the Greenport PTA’s clothing drive, in progress through Oct. 18. Items may be dropped off in the main lobby of the school during school hours.

Every parent’s dream is to see their child happy. Both Jim and I had our dream realized this past Saturday, Sept. 27, when our son, Jeff, married Lori Petroski, daughter of Kathy and Jude Petroski of Riverhead. It was a beautiful day for two beautiful people.

Belated birthday wishes to Guy Tudor, who celebrated his 80th on Sept. 28.

Birthdays are coming up for Madison Harrison and Joe Miller Oct. 2; Charlie Mosher, Kristy Hansen, Bumpy Grilli, Sue Rogers, Mike Goldsmith, Joanie Kart, Kathy Hubbard, Jade Creighton and Denise Tjornhom on the 3rd; Elizabeth Montgomery, Paul Blados Reeve and Julie Terry Cartner on the 4th; Cassady Heaney, Ryan Rempe, Chrissy McElroy and Jessica Henderson on the 5th; my absolutely wonderful and dear friend, June Harris, as well as Angelo Jacobi, Mike Connolly and Dawn Angevine on the 6th; Mary Thornhill and Meghan Caffery Philipps on the 7th; Ashley Andrews, Samantha Riemer, Michael Daly, Shawn Volinski, Anthony Nichols and Lucille Naar-Saladino on the 8th; Colin Ratsey and Arnold Golz on the 9th; Leah Walker, Brian Dinizio, John Schott, Paul Dinizio, Don Bondarchuk,  and Lori Corazzini Peck on the 10th; Diana Moore and Sarah McNamara on the 11th; our new daughter-in-law, Lori Dinizio, as well as Rich Loeb and Kim Moore on the 12th; Brittany Charters and Stephanie Clark on the 13th; Jim’s uncle Tony Dinizio on the 14th; and MaryAnn Jaeger on the 15th.

Anniversaries abound! We have Kathy and Bob Wallace, 40 years on Oct. 4; Cherie and Dick Hulse, 52 years on the 6th; Kathy and George Hubbard, 21 years on the 9th; Mary Jane and Tony Dinizio, 66 years on the 10th; Jeanette and Tony Volinski, 56 years, and Kelly and Cliff Harris, six years, both on the 11th;  “Pudge” and “Sooty” Jimenez, 32 years, and Carla and Gary Blasko, 23 years, both on the 12th; our wonderful and dear friends Barbara and Steve Damiani, 37 years on the 15th; and Betty and Carl Blasko, 65 years, also on the 15th. Congratulations, all!

Contact Greenport columnist Joan Dinizio at Lucky1inNY@aol.com or 477-9411.

• Dr. Erin McGintee of ENT and Allergy Associates in Aquebogue will give a talk, ‘The Scoop on Seasonal Allergies,’ at Cutchogue New Suffolk Library Tuesday, Oct. 7, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. She will discuss symptoms and management of allergies to common triggers like ragweed and grass pollen, as well as a meat allergy that can be caused by the bite of the Lone Star tick. For information and registration, call 734-6360.

• The Family Service League offers a free caregiver support group to help those who care for frail or elderly relatives cope with the stress inherent in their situations. The group meets at the Riverhead Family Center, 208 Roanoke Ave., at 1 p.m. on the first and third Wednesday of each month. Call 369-0104.

• North Shore Public Library in Shoreham will host a free Medicare seminar from 1 to 2:15 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 17. A professional will provide vital information about understanding Medicare and selecting the appropriate supplement and prescription drug plans. The presentation will include a Q&A session. Registration begins Oct. 1; call 929-4488.

• Weekly Al-Anon meetings take place on the North Fork on the following schedule: Monday at 7 p.m. and Tuesday at noon at Cutchogue Presbyterian Church; Wednesday at 7 p.m. at First Universalist Church, Southold; and Thursday at 7 p.m. (open adult child meeting) at Church of the Redeemer, Mattituck.

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.

The Suffolk Times People of the Year included, from left, Mike Comanda (co-Person of the Year), David Gamberg (co-Person of the Year), Heather Lanza (Public Servant of the Year), Charlie Manwaring (Business Person of the Year) Doris and Ron McGreevy (Civic People of the Year) and Al Edwards (Educator of the Year). (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)

Every year at this time we use this space to ask Suffolk Times readers to nominate candidates for our People of the Year issue. As we have for decades, we will name an educator, businessperson, and overall person of the year in January.

We will also introduce three new categories: community leader (combining the former civic and public servant winners), sports person and northforker.com person of the year, honoring someone in the food, wine or tourism industry.

With their heartfelt nominations, our readers have always played perhaps the most important role in the selection process. Last year, they helped us choose a wide array of worthy recipients, from the owner of a popular local fish market to a legendary basketball coach, a town planner, a couple who fought for dredging of the inlet near their home and a pair of school superintendents.

Who were last year’s people of the year?

We’ve always prided ourselves on honoring people from diverse fields and all walks of life. We want to hear about people like the teacher who went above and beyond to help you become a better student or the business owner who never stops giving back to the community.

This town is loaded with residents who work tirelessly to make our area a better place. We always have a growing list of people who are more than qualified to earn such an honor. That list can never be too long.

We realize there are a great many people doing big things in their community who don’t seek the spotlight. As a result, the work they do is hardly noticed. That’s who we’re talking about.

Do you know such a person? Let us know.

Nominations can be mailed to Times/Review Newsgroup, P.O. Box 1500, Mattituck, NY 11952. Or you can email the editor at mwhite@timesreview.com. Faxes are OK, too; our fax number is 631-298-3287. Or just give us a call at 631-298-3200 and ask for Michael White at extension 152.

Tell us why this person or group is deserving — and please be sure to give us your phone number so we can follow up. All correspondence will be kept confidential, so the people nominated don’t even have to know you are singling them out. Nominations should be submitted by Dec. 1.

We plan to announce our People of the Year in the Jan. 8, 2015, edition.

This cake was brought to the first Death Café meeting at Floyd Memorial Library. (Credit: Rachel Young)

There’s a scene in the 1977 film “Annie Hall” in which Woody Allen’s character is at a bookstore with his girlfriend, played by Diane Keaton, and he suddenly places copies of “The Denial of Death” and “Death and Western Thought” in front of her.

“I’m gonna buy you these books, because I think you should read them,” he tells her. “You know, instead of that cat book.”

“That’s, uh … that’s pretty serious stuff there,” she says, laughing nervously.

“Yeah, cause I’m, you know, I’m obsessed with, uh, death, I think,” he says. “Big — big subject with me, yeah.”

I was 15 the first time I saw this scene. I was watching it at home with my uncle Peter, who was terminally ill with colon cancer. He began laughing as heartily as his body, much weakened by the rigors of chemotherapy and radiation, allowed.

More than 13 years later, I still vividly remember thinking how remarkable his reaction was; how someone mere months away from dying was able to laugh about his fate.

Despite my uncle’s example, the ability to think about death objectively has mostly eluded me. An anxious child and lifelong sufferer of obsessive-compulsive disorder, I went through a phase where I regularly begged my mother to reassure me I wouldn’t die for a very, very long time. So I was intrigued when I spotted an advertisement for a group-directed discussion called a “Death Café” at Floyd Memorial Library in Greenport.

Organized by Poppy Johnson, the library’s assistant director, a Death Café is a philosophical forum about death that purports to help people “make the most of their (finite) lives,” according to a library flier.

When the group met for the first time Friday afternoon, I was one of a dozen attendees who gathered around a large table in the library’s conference room. Our ranks included a priest, a beekeeper, two couples, a 91-year-old woman and a man with a history of slipping into diabetic comas.

The proverbial ice was broken when another participant arrived late carrying a glazed chocolate cake shaped like a skull.

As we delved into our deliciously macabre dessert, Ms. Johnson delivered a brief history of Death Cafés, the first of which was reportedly organized by Swiss sociologist and anthropologist Bernard Crettaz in 2004. In the past few years, the volunteer-run model has sprung up in cities around the world.

“I think the idea is that, simply, in our culture we have a real taboo against actually talking about death,” Ms. Johnson told our group before we began. “And anything you don’t talk about somehow takes on scary or magical properties that make it difficult to deal with. Talking about death is one way to embrace life.”

So, that’s what we did.

Rather than make standard introductions (“Hi, I’m Rachel and I’m thrilled to be here!”), Ms. Johnson encouraged each of us to talk briefly about our views on or experiences with death.

The first person to speak said she became aware of death at a young age. She was just 8 years old when her father died. In a short span of time, her brother and mother died, too.

“One of the things I decided was I was not going to be a victim,” she said as I felt my eyes brim with tears under the glare of the basement’s fluorescent lights. An objective discussion about death might have been the goal, but the power of human emotion can’t be underestimated.

The beekeeper told us that in order to help conquer the difficulty she has with death, she began volunteering as a hospice worker almost 10 years ago.

One participant said she decided to come to the Death Café because she figured “anyone who came here would have a sense of humor.”

Another said she was an Irish Catholic who grew up going to wakes and that she’d like to choose how and when she dies.

“Something simple,” she said. “No drama.”

That led us into a brief debate about end-of-life care, with many attendees agreeing they’d like to go out on their own terms. We also talked about “permission to die” — a phenomenon in which people who are terminally ill sometimes don’t die until their loved ones tell them it’s OK to let go.

At one point, our group discussed the idea of an afterlife. Some said they believed in the notion; one man said he believes our spirits become whatever we want them to be. I avoided the priest’s eyes, feeling ashamed, when I revealed that I vacillate on the concept of an afterlife.

“The finality of death scares me,” I told the roomful of strangers, who already felt like friends. “Ceasing to exist when that’s all we’ve ever known.”

They nodded.

Two hours later, I left the library feeling inexplicably moved — and, ironically, reinvigorated about living. I think the others did, too.

We all agreed that we hoped to see each other at next month’s meeting. Alive and well, of course.

Rachel Young is a features writer and copy editor at Times/Review Newsgroup. She can be reached at ryoung@timesreview.com.

Tom Cutinella’s number 54 appeared on the scoreboard throughout Thursday’s event. (Credit: Jen Nuzzo)

An online fundraiser to honor the memory of Tom Cutinella has already surpassed $11,500 as of Saturday morning.

Cutinella, the Shoreham-Wading River junior who died Wednesday following an on-field collision during a football game at John Glenn High School, was remembered as a role model, leader and exemplarily student by those who knew him. His tragic death sent shockwaves across not only the community, but throughout the county. Nearly 1,000 people, including players from opposing football teams, came to Shoreham Thursday afternoon for a vigil in Cutinella’s memory.

The SWR Wildcat Athletic Club formed the Tom Cutinella Scholarship Fund, which will benefit future students who “hold Tom’s high regard for academics, sports and giving back,” according to the club’s website.

A goal of $25,000 has been set. More than 80 donations have already been made.

Service arrangements for Cutinella are set for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Click here for details.

To donate to the scholarship fund, click here.

The Cedars Golf Club professional Jimmy McLaughlin with two members of the Cedars Kids Club, Aiko Fujita, left, and Michael Wineberger. (Credit: Jay Dempsey)

Conversation overheard this past summer around the North Fork:

Matilda, age 10: “I’m so bored this summer. There’s nothing to do around here.”

Gus, age 12: “I know. All we ever do is go to the beach, go boating, swim, fish and go sailing.”

Clancy, age 11: “ I can’t wait to go back to school.”

Say what??!! 

Mind you, not every young person on the North Fork was bored this summer. For many, their days were spent honing their golf skills at Cedars Golf Club.

A few dozen youngsters spent the summer at the Cedars Kids Club, which was held weekly during July and August at the Cutchogue course. These future stars of the links, under the direction of Cedars professional Jimmy McLaughlin, worked on all areas of the golf game, which included not only how to hit a golf ball long and straight, but also the rules and etiquette of the sport.

“When you get the kids at a young age you can teach them not only skills, but golf etiquette and how to conduct themselves on the course,” McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin, a certified US Kids Instructor, began playing golf as a youngster at Cedars with his father and grandfather while summering on the North Fork. His love of the game led him to caddying at Hempstead Country Club and then on to play college golf for Nassau County Community College and SUNY/Farmingdale. After college, he returned to Hempstead Country Club, where he became a starter and then moved on to become an assistant pro. McLaughlin became the head professional at Cedars this year.

“I like to draw pictures for the younger kids to show them the proper techniques, whereas with the older kids you can do more verbal instruction,” said McLaughlin.

In addition to McLaughlin, the camp instructors included Brendan Kent, Alex Burns and Andrew Schwartz. Kent, 15, is a member of the Mattituck High School boys golf team and worked at Cedars throughout the summer. “I’ve been playing golf since I was five years old,” Kent said. “It’s a lot of fun teaching little kids and the next generation of golfers the game.” A highlight each day at the camp was the arrival of the four or five pizzas that the golfers devoured for lunch. After refueling and a short break, it was back to work with the kids breaking up into small groups and working on different parts of the game.

Colin McCarthy, 13, of Southold attended the camp for four weeks and had this to say about his experience: “I learned that golf is a game that you’re not playing against others, but that you play against yourself.” He continued: “Golf is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical. I now have a better understanding of the overall game. I improved my swing and learned that patience is such an important part of golf.”

The first year of the Cedars Kids Club was a great success, according to McLaughlin. “We had over 50 kids and had a great time,” he said. “It was nice to see the improvements in the players’ games as the weeks went on. It was also great to see the parents noticing the improvements, from gripping the club to getting the ball in the air.”

The campers, in addition to their time on the course and the practice area, got to use the indoor golf simulator. McLaughlin said he plans to have an after-school program this winter using the simulator with three or four students per session getting private instruction.

McLaughlin said, “There is no better place for youngsters to learn the game of golf then here at Cedars.”

Truman’s Beach in East Marion is being renovated. (Cyndi Murray photo)

New posts installed at the edge of the parking lot at East Marion’s Truman Beach’s is a sign of more work to come, according to one of the Orient-East Marion Park District commissioners.

Earlier this week, work began on a project to renovate the aging parking lot at Truman Beach located on Route 25 where the two hamlets meet.  The $15,000 project, nearly four years in the making for the special taxing district, includes the installation of the posts and resurfacing of the parking lot, according to commissioner Jay McKasty.

The addition of the pilings at the west edge of the lot was needed to better regulate traffic flow, she said.

“The entire entry way to the beach is quite big,” Ms. McKasty said. “We have reconfigured the parking lot entrance because we don’t want anyone driving in there and having an accident.”

The posts were donated to the Orient-East Marion Park District by Jim Latham and will be shortened and painted prior to the project’s completion, she said, adding that there is no plan to install a gate at the beach.

The resurfacing is expected to begin later this month.

Truman Beach is the only property maintained by the Orient-East Marion Park District, and its access is restricted to Orient and East Marion residents, as well as guests of bed and breakfasts in those hamlets.

A meeting of the district’s board of commissioners will be held on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Oysterponds School.

The sailboat Optimistic, seen here on the left with sail number 148 behind a fellow racer Buccaneer, jockeys for position before Saturday’s Whitebread race. The boat would later sink off Shelter Island in rough seas.

A 28-foot sailboat participating in Saturday’s 21st annual Whitebread race sank off the coast of Shelter Island during rough seas this morning, the U.S. Coast Guard has confirmed. 

All four crew aboard the boat Optimistic — including owner and skipper Bill Archer — were pulled from the water unharmed by other sailing vessels that quit the race to rescue them, race officials said.

Optimistic began taking on water near the MOA buoy off Ram’s Head in Gardiner’s Bay and sent out a distress call about 11:15 a.m. that was picked up by a Douglass Marine employee, the company confirmed.

When the employee attempted to contact Optimistic again, there was no reply.

Douglass Marine contacted the U.S. Coast Guard, which had not heard the distress call, and sent boats out to the scene to rescue anyone in the rough seas.

About that time, Mahlon Russell and his crew aboard Sea Breeze were rounding Shelter Island and were about 1,000 yards away when they saw Optimistic in distress.

“They were flooding and sinking,” he said. “The people were scampering to the front of the boat. It was going down stern first.”

The crew aboard Sea Breeze dumped the wind from its sails, dropping out of the race.

“We were actually doing pretty well in the race,” he joked. “But so what? C’est la vie.”

They turned back around to help Optimistic and were first on the scene.

“We threw some life flings out,” Mr. Russell said. “By then the boat was sunk and they were in the water floating and [we] dragged them over to our boat.”

Tidelines, another boat from the race helmed by Bob McIlvain, also stopped to help and pulled Mr. Archer from the water. 

The three remaining crew — two men and one woman — were rescued by Sea Breeze.

Race officials received second-hand notification of the sinking by witnesses after the distress calls never reached their radios due to low signal strength, said Dave Bergen, who was stationed near Cedar Point on the auxiliary racing committee boat.

A Suffolk Times reporter who was aboard that auxiliary committee boat Sol Searcher, anchored a few miles southeast of the sinking, also didn’t hear any distress call over the radio.

Optimistic apparently sank quickly, having been completely below the water by the time the Coast Guard arrived from Montauk with a 47-footer and the Cutter Ridley, said Petty Officer Jason Rodocker.

Mr. Russell said the boat went down in a matter of minutes.

He says the boat appears to have taken on water after a wave crashed over the bow, flooding the cockpit of the sailboat. Optimistic began taking on more water as each passing wave on the deck weighed down the ship more, Mr. Russell said.

The four crew members were placed aboard Sea Breeze and taken back to land at Greenport. Tidelines headed back to New Suffolk where the race began.

Optimistic was one of 92 boats competing in the race that began at 8:45 a.m. Saturday. The racers followed the course north around the west side of Shelter Island and then back to Cutchogue Harbor.

Race officials said the Whitebread has never been cancelled due to poor weather, adding that wind conditions were worse during last year’s run.

Though vessels have previously been de-masted and had their rudders torn off by high winds, no ship has sunk before, Mr. Bergen said.

This also wasn’t the first time Optimistic has issues during a Whitebread race. Last year, the boat did not finish the race, according to results. Mr. Bergen said the boat had begun taking on water near Greenport and turned back to port.

Mr. Russell said he’s never had to rescue another boater in more than nearly 30 years of sailing.

“I’ve never seen a boat sink in a race,” he said. “And I’ve raced a lot. I’ve seen boats have collisions and that kind of stuff and lent a hand … but never anything like this.”

psquire@timesreview.com

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

An East Marion man has been charged with a felony after he took cash from a wallet, then put the wallet and a smartphone into the toilet of a Southold restaurant, Southold Town police said.

Gordon Haas, 54, allegedly took the money about 1 p.m. Saturday, according to a police news release. He then hid the wallet and an iPhone in the water tank of a toilet at the unidentified restaurant, police said. Detectives eventually recovered the wallet; the phone was “unusable,” according to the news release.

Mr. Haas was arrested after a police investigation and charged with grand larceny, since the items he stole were worth more than $1,000 total, police said.

He was held at police headquarters for a morning arraignment, police said.

‘Family Tree In Winter’ by Daniel Jones.

• Work by photographers Daniel Jones and Jim Sabiston will be on view Oct. 4 to Nov. 3 at South Street Gallery in Greenport. A reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4. 

In his large-format landscape photography, Mr. Jones “strives to capture the atmosphere as well as the majestic beauty of his subjects,” according to a press release. Mr. Sabiston, whose style is “rooted in a zen-influenced photographic realism,” has recently been merging photography and painting.

• East End Arts will present an ‘Arts Mean Business’ seminar and networking party Thursday, Oct. 9, from 3 to 6 p.m. at Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center. The event’s theme is “Arts and Downtown.” Keynote speaker Michelle Isabelle-Stark, program coordinator in the office of film and cultural affairs, Suffolk County Department of Economic Development and Planning, will give a presentation on “Destination Downtown,” an initiative focused on creative ways to collaborate on downtown revitalization efforts. There will also be a panel discussion for artists and business owners about partnering on projects to strengthen a town’s economic vitality.

The public is welcome. Tickets are $15 in advance or $10 for members of EEA, Eastern Long Island Executives and the Riverhead and Westhampton Beach chambers of commerce. Tickets at the door are $20. For information and registration, go to eastendarts.org under Events.

• The 10 winners of East End Arts’ fire hydrant design project, “All Fired Up on Main!,” have been announced. They are Tana Lee Alves of Water Mill; Suffolk Theater owner Bob Castaldi; Michele Czwartacki of Mount Sinai; Peter Levine of Patchogue; Drew Lockwood and Emily Lockwood, both of Greenlawn; Arlene McLoughlin of Massapequa; Caitlyn Shea of Melville; Joanne Touch of Setauket; and Barbara Wooten of Riverhead.

Painting of the hydrants, all in downtown Riverhead, will be completed by Oct. 10. An awards ceremony will be held Sunday, Oct. 12, during the Riverhead Country Fair. An artists’ reception will be held Oct. 31, during the Riverhead Edgar Allan Poe Festival.

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.