I know it’s been some time since we last saw snow, so I wonder if you all remember how much I love snow. Just as a refresher: Yes, every beautifully crisp day I hope for snow. I hope that during this incredibly hectic time of year, you’re able to take a few calm moments to enjoy the beauty of the season. 

The publishing schedule caught a few people this last go-around. Katie Heath celebrated her ninth birthday Dec. 3 and Walter Berry turned 50 on the 5th. Another Southolder, Lynne Baldwin, blows out 50 candles Dec. 14. Also celebrating on the 14th is a woman I love dearly, Joanne Schelin.

Looking for love? Well come on down to the Southold Town Animal Shelter’s open house this Saturday, Dec. 13, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. This is a family-friendly event. Tour the shelter. Do some arts and crafts. Meet your true love who happens to be furry. Have some refreshments. Best yet, bring your pet down for a photo with Santa! You can also purchase the NFAWL 2015 calendar for $15. For more information, call 765-1811.

Lyrical Children and the Southold Mothers’ Club will sponsor a Holiday Jam Tuesday, Dec. 16, at 3:30 p.m. at North Fork Fun and Fitness. This is a special time to join together as a community and share the holiday music of various cultures. The program is appropriate for ages 6 and under. Space is limited, so reserve online at LyricalChildrenMusic.com. Tickets are $10 in advance. Please support Maureen’s Haven by bringing along a donation of new socks, T-shirts or underwear for men and women or nonperishable food items. For more information, call 631-208-4003.

Huge congratulations to Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could, whose album “Just Say Hi” has been nominated for a Grammy as best children’s album of the year. Bravo, Brady and band! You can hear them in person at a family holiday concert and singalong Saturday, Dec. 20, at 4 p.m. at the Southold High School auditorium. The concert is funded by East End libraries. Winter coats and nonperishable food for Maureen’s Haven will be collected at the event.

Copies of town historian Antonia Booth’s book “Trawling My Town: Glimpses of Southold Past and Present” are available for $20 at Southold Free Library’s circulation desk. Proceeds go directly to local homeless shelters.

There are a few days left to get tickets for the Monday, Dec. 15, library raffle drawing for Samantha, an American Girl Doll, and the Pacific Flyer electric train set. Chances are $1 apiece and proceeds directly benefit the library.

Max Kruszeski and fellow players on the Team Long Island U-13 White travel lacrosse team competed recently in the IMG Academy’s national lacrosse championships in Bradenton, Fla. They faced teams from eight states and outscored their opponents 60-16 on their way to winning the U-13 national championship. Max and his teammates were rewarded with a free week of training at the academy.

Southold’s Students of the Month for November have been announced. In the high school, they are Joseph Schoedel, World History II; Julianne VanGorden and Morgan Walter, art; Kyle Skrezec and Dylan Clausen, Spanish; Alyssa Occhiogrosso, psychology; Walker Sutton, physical education; Jacob Dominy, NJROTC; Tatiana Amador, ESL; Matthew McCarthy, band; and Yunus Ilgin, College Culinary Arts I. Middle school honorees are Andrea Palencia, English; Elizabeth Quinones, physical education; Angelina Ramirez and Jack Cosmedelis, art; Olivia Daddona, band; and Victoria Apadula, home and career skills.

Calling alumni reunion coordinators! If you or someone you know is coordinating or organizing a class reunion, please let the Southold School Education Foundation know. The foundation is asking coordinators to help it build an alumni network by sharing their database of contacts. Email southoldef@optonline.net or call 765-8191.

My next column deadline is Wednesday, Dec. 17. That column will appear Dec. 25 and will be the last one until Jan. 15. Please don’t get caught by the publishing schedule. Send me your info NOW!

Contact Southold columnist Tina Koslosky at SoutholdTina@aol.com or 631-765-2774.

The Mattituck school board Thursday night. (Credit: Jen Nuzzo)

School property tax relief is coming to veterans living within the Mattituck-Cutchogue School District next school year.

The school board voted 6-0 without discussion at Tuesday’s meeting to approve a “basic maximum” exemption, which is expected to increase property taxes for all other district residents by about $17 annually. Board vice president Charlie Anderson was absent.

The exemption benefit for disabled veterans is $40,000; veterans that served in war is $12,000; and $8,000 for veterans that served in a combat zone, according to school documents.

The school board also approved an exemption for Gold Star parents living within the district. The designation is given when a child dies in the line of duty while serving in the Armed Forces during a period of war, according to online state documents.

While property tax exemptions for veterans have been in effect statewide since the 1980s, they have until now only been applied to the county and town portions of a veteran’s tax bill. Last year, the state Legislature approved an amendment to expand the program to school districts, which Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law last December.

Southold and Shoreham-Wading River are the only local school districts to have adopted the exemption in time for the current fiscal year. In Riverhead, the school board approved an exemption in April and it will go into effect in 2015-16.

The Southold Town assessor’s office recently estimated Mattituck has 683 veterans living within the district who could qualify for the program.

jnuzzo@timesreview.com

A Riverhead man was charged with driving while intoxicated after a single-car crash in Mattituck Friday night, Southold Town police said. 

Robert McCarty, 27, was driving south on Breakwater Road when he swerved to avoid striking a deer that ran in front of the vehicle at 10:50 p.m., police said. The Mercury suburban rolled over onto its roof, police said.

Mr. McCarty sustained minor injuries to his hands and he was transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center by the Mattituck Fire Department, police said. He was treated and released and then transported to police headquarters to be held for an arraignment on charges of DWI and unlicensed operator, police said.

Two passengers were in the vehicle at the time of the crash and did not suffer injuries. One passenger was transported to PBMC but refused medical attention upon arrival, police said.

Tyshie Williams drives to the basket against Shelter Island Friday night. (Credit: Garret Meade)

PORTERS 65, INDIANS 62

Late heroics by Willy Riggins and Tyshie Williams averted a possible controversial result and pushed the Greenport boys basketball team to victory over Shelter Island on Friday night. 

Riggins and Williams scored baskets in the final 62 seconds to lift the Porters from a one-point deficit to a 65-62 win in a Suffolk County League VIII game as the Porters avenged a defeat in last year’s Class D county final.

With the Porters (2-1, 1-1) leading 55-53 during a time out with 4:45 remaining in the game, the referees, after consulting with both teams’ scorers, determined that the Indians (0-1, 0-1) were missing two points on the scoreboard. The score was “corrected” to 55-55.

This reporters’ copious notes, however, did not agree with the game officials’ decision.

Shelter Island eventually grabbed a 62-61 lead as Tristan Wissemann (26 points) sank two foul shots with 1:27 left in the game. But Greenport would not wilt. Riggins sank a one-hander with 62 seconds remaining before Williams extended the advantage to three points with a driving layup with 34.8 seconds to go.

The visitors missed two shots down the stretch and the Porters rebounded successfully to close out the game.

Greenport enjoyed as much as a 12-point lead at 41-29 with 4:33 remaining in the third quarter before Shelter Island rallied.

The Porters’ Tim Stevens scored 14 of his team-high 21 points in the opening half. Angel Colon contributed 11 points and Darius Bolling added 10.

For Shelter Island, Sawyer Clark finished with 12 points and Bill Boeklen and Johnny Sturges scored nine points apiece.

Prior to the game, Greenport honored former standout Gavin Dibble, who scored his 1,000th career point on his last shot as a high school player in a 73-66 loss to Shelter Island in the Class D final. Because it was an elimination game and the final contest of the season, Dibble’s feat could not be commemorated. On Friday, the University of New England freshman received a basketball from the school with the words 1,000 points written on it.

Dibble was home during the school’s Christmas break.

Greenport’s Gavin Dibble, a freshman at the University of New Hampshire, was honored before Friday’s game for scoring 1,000 career points. Varsity coach Ev Corwin (left) and former coach Al Edwards presented Dibble with a basketball. (Credit: Garret Meade)

A teacher holds a stack of letters from military volunteers after Lt. Col. Shawn Fitzgerald’s presentation in a Cutchogue classroom Friday afternoon. (Credit: Paul Squire)

Earlier this year, kindergarteners and second-graders from classes at Cutchogue East Elementary School decorated and packed small bags with candy to send to Air Force Lt. Col. Shawn Fitzgerald and the rest of the 103rd Rescue Squadron stationed in eastern Africa.

On Friday, they got a very special kind of thank you from Lt. Col. Fitzgerald — whose two sons, Colin and Trevor, are in the classes — and the service members he deployed with. 

Lt. Col. Fitzgerald recently returned home from deployment and visited the classes at the end of school to talk about his mission and to say thank you for the handmade cards.

He also showed the students slideshows and videos of he and his fellow rescue members training.

The children were seemingly more fascinated by the name of the country where Lt. Col. Fitzgerald was stationed: Djibouti.

Lt. Col. Fitzgerald, a veteran of the Westhampton air base for seven years and a member of the armed forces for 11 years more, told the students about the animals he saw in Africa and the people he met. He explained he was there to “rescue people” who were hurt or needed help.

One student asked if he was like a policeman; Lt. Col. Fitzgerald said no, he didn’t arrest anyone. He told the children about houses made of brick, because wood is scarce in that part of Africa.

Finally, Lt. Col. Fitzgerald pulled out two stacks of letters, each personally written by the men and women stationed abroad who received the kids’ presents.

“We’re not really able to celebrate Halloween or that sort of thing so it was nice to put a little piece of home over there,” Lt. Col. Fitzgerald said.

Lt. Col. Fitzpatrick (center, back) holds his two sons as the classes pose for a picture. (Credit: Paul Squire)

psquire@timesreview.com

You know that warm fuzzy feeling you get after finding someone the perfect gift, helping an older person cross the street or, say, rescuing a wide-eyed kitten from a tight spot?

It’s more than a warming of the heart — it’s your brain’s way of rewarding you for doing something good, said Stephen Post, director of the Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care and Bioethics at Stony Brook University. 

With the holiday season in full swing, mental health experts agree that giving to others can be just as beneficial for the giver as for the receiver.

Popularly known as “the helper’s high,” or what Dr. Post likes to call “the giver’s glow,” do-gooders experience “a pleasurable and euphoric emotional sensation of energy and warmth” caused by a release of dopamine and endorphins, he said.

These are chemicals present in brain regions that control emotion, motivation and feelings of pleasure, according to the National Institutes of Health.

“If you could sell it as a compound in a drug store, you would be a millionaire overnight,” he said of the emotional response.

While donating money and giving gifts invoke feelings of happiness, Dr. Post said individuals can actually benefit most from physically dedicating their time to helping others.

“The financial things are fine, but the real bonus comes in the face-to-face helping at low thresholds,” he said. “It gets the mind off the everyday anxieties of the self, instead allowing people to think and engage in some other form of meaningful activity.”

• Click here to read previous health columns

A good way to do this is by volunteering for one of the many organizations that give back during the holiday season, he said.

In a 2010 survey of about 4,500 people conducted by United Healthcare, a national insurance provider, about 68 percent agreed that volunteering made them “feel physically healthier,” and 92 percent said it “enriches sense of purpose in life.”

Dr. Post said volunteering can be especially beneficial for older adults — including those who are set to retire — as it brings added meaning to their newly discovered downtime.

“When older adults become involved in a deeply meaningful activity, they do much better mentally and also physically,” he said, adding that some physicians in geriatric medicine actually prescribe or recommend volunteering to help older adults fulfill that sense of purpose.

About 78 percent of those participating in the United Healthcare survey, which was open to anyone 18 or older, said volunteering also helps with recovery “from loss and disappointment.” And about 40 percent of those who took part volunteered an average of 100 hours a year.

Dr. Post said that while this is meant to be a season of joy and giving, people often become overwhelmed by the pressures that accompany holiday preparations.

“The reason people get stressed out is because it is so heavily commercialized — and it doesn’t need to be that way,” he said. “Think less about the material side of it and come together in your families and cultivate an attitude of gratitude. Another pair of $200 designer jeans isn’t going to make you happy. It might give you a slight uplift for a day or so, but happiness comes from real community and real connections, which are made through meaningful activities.”

So think about it: What can you do this holiday season to help yourself — and others?

Got a health question or column idea? Email Carrie Miller at cmiller@timesreview.com. Follow @carriemiller01

Madison Tabor of Southold/Greenport drives toward the basket against East Hampton Saturday afternoon. (Credit: Daniel De Mato)

Sophomore guard Madison Tabor enjoyed a career game of her short Southold/Greenport girls basketball career Saturday afternoon.

She scored a career-high 23 points — 16 in the second half — to pace the Clippers to a 41-24 victory over East Hampton in a non-league home game. 

Tabor, who outscored her teammates and finished a point behind the visitors, sparked the attack with her defense with seven steals. She added five assists and three rebounds as the Clippers won their first game of the young season in five tries. East Hampton fell to 1-4.

Southold sophomore forward Toni Esposito scored only four points, but like Tabor, she proved to be a disruptive force against the Bonackers. She finished with five steals, five assists and seven rebounds, helping Southold set the tone.

The Bonackers held a 13-11 lead with 2:25 remaining in the second quarter, but failed to score a point over the next 12:25 as the hosts outscored them, 13-0, before East Hampton’s Sophia Depasquale (team-high nine points) sank a layup two minutes into the fourth period. By then, the Clippers had taken a 26-15 advantage and never looked back.

The Clippers play at Southampton in their final non-league game at 5:45 p.m. Thursday before opening its League VIII season at Shelter Island at 4 p.m. Friday.

Joe Gergela at his retirement party Saturday evening at Duckwalk Vineyards in Southold. (Credit: Katharine Schroder)

A retirement party was held Saturday evening for longtime Long Island Farm Bureau executive director Joe Gergela. 

Mr. Gergela, who was born in Greenport and held the post for 26 years, grew up farming in Jamesport with his grandfather, mother and father.

The 58-year-old told The Suffolk Times in April that he was stepping down at the end of the year. His retirement party was held at Duckwalk Vineyards in Southold.

See photos from the event below. Read more about Mr. Gergela’s career here.

Joe Gergela, right, with his mentor former Farm Bureau president Dick McGuire. (Credit: Katharine Schroeder)

Presenter Bob Nolan, State Director for New York Farm Bureau and former Farm Bureau president. (Credit: Katharine Schroeder)

Presenter Karen Rivara, Long Island Farm Bureau president. (Credit: Katharine Schroeder)

Former Farm Bureau president Mark Zaweski presents Joe Gergela with a miniature tractor as a memento. Also in the presentation case is a small container of soil from Joe’s Jamesport farm. (Credit: Katharine Schrieder)

Joe and his wife Donna. (Credit: Katharine Schroeder)

Joe’s son Jonathan films his father’s speech. (Credit: Katharine Schroeder)

Friends and colleagues applaud Joe. (Credit: Katharine Schroeder)

The tractor and soil. (Credit: Katharine Schroeder)

Candy canes, flowers and other decorations — including a holiday-themed doormat and Christmas table runner — helped make this open house in Mattituck more appealing, said real estate agent Beth Pike. (Credit: Paul Squire)

The holidays have long been considered the worst time of year to put your home on the market. But could listing your property between Thanksgiving and the New Year actually not be such a bad thing?

“Look: It’s never the wrong time to sell your house,” said Sheri Winter Clarry, licensed associate real estate broker at Corcoran in Southold. “Once you’ve made that decision, go for it with your full effort.” 

It’s true that the local real estate market picks up speed after Jan. 1 and intensifies from there, typically until the end of spring, said John Nickles, owner of Lewis & Nickles Real Estate in Southold. But that doesn’t mean buyers aren’t already looking for their first or second homes in between shopping for gifts and visiting relatives.

Case in point: “I once a sold a home on Christmas Day,” Mr. Nickles, who’s worked in real estate for 52 years, said with a slight chuckle.

According to Valerie Goode, owner of Colony Realty in Jamesport, people who purchase a home during the holidays may even find themselves at a financial advantage over those who wait until the snow has melted.

“Buyers might get a good deal because some people do stay away,” Ms. Goode said. “It’s a better opportunity.”

Plus, Ms. Clarry added, “Very serious buyers are absolutely looking right now” — particularly those who are anxious to complete any home renovations before the start of the busy summer season.

The downside of listing your property right now, Mr. Nickles cautioned, is that some people are just too busy to even think about testing the real estate waters.

“Once you get to Thanksgiving, what is your family doing? You’re thinking about Christmas,” he said. “You have to go shopping. You’re thinking about turkey; you’re thinking about how you’re going to put up with your Uncle Bill again. That’s on people’s minds.”

Still, the way many local agents see it, the idea that there’s a “perfect time of year” to sell your home is largely a thing of the past.

Ms. Pike rearranges flowers for Saturday’s open house. (Credit: Paul Squire)

“Everybody always thought it was the spring market, but I don’t stop,” Ms. Clarry said. “My business doesn’t stop in the cold months; I’m crazy busy. People discover the North Fork over dinner or talking to friends or coming out for a weekend.”

If you do decide to put your home on the market during the holidays, local realtors said they don’t discourage sellers from decorating their houses in an effort not to offend potential buyers who don’t celebrate their particular holiday.

In fact, it’s the opposite.

“I think it [makes houses] looks better,” said Beth Pike, a licensed sales agent with Community Realty in Mattituck. This past weekend, Ms. Pike helped staged a two-bedroom ranch on Westphalia Avenue in Mattituck for an open house with poinsettias and lit candles.

The effect, she said, made the home “more festive and bright and cheery. You come in and it’s warm and homey.”

It seems to have worked: Despite dreary weather, she said, more than a dozen people toured the house — and two made offers.

Decorating your home for the holidays doesn’t mean you should hit up your nearest wholesale store for a set of inflatable lawn snowmen, Ms. Clarry said with a laugh.

“You don’t need to go crazy,” she said. “Keep it classic. Candles in the window are always beautiful because they’re just so elegant.”

Ultimately, Ms. Goode added, sellers should do what they want — whether that means listing their house in the first place or putting Christmas lights on a waterfront cottage they’re trying to unload.

“I’m not in favor of taking off during the holidays,” she said. “Live your life, you know?”

ryoung@timesreview.com

With Joe Pinciaro

Natural fibers artist Barbara Ringewald of Cutchogue, wearing a shawl she made, demonstrates how she sets up the loom in her home studio before starting work on a new piece. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)

Time doesn’t exist when natural fibers artist Barbara Ringewald is at her loom.

“It’s hard to say,” she said when asked how long it took her to complete a double-woven reversible jacket on view at “Weaving My World,” her exhibit at Cutchogue New Suffolk Free Library. “I have no sense of time at all.”

Patience, on the other hand, is something she has in abundance. 

Not unlike the medieval European queens who passed the time laboring over intricate tapestries, Ms. Ringewald devotes inestimable hours to her craft from the second-floor studio of her Nassau Point home.

“You have to have the time to sit [at the loom] and devote to it,” she explained. “I can knit in front of the TV — you can’t do that with this.”

On a recent visit to her studio, the wall-to-wall carpet in the large space was littered with a sea of loose fibers: white, lime green, red, purple. On a nearby wall, a wooden spice rack was stocked not with rosemary and sage but with spools of thread in a rainbow of hues.

“I’m all about color and texture,” Ms. Ringewald said.

These motivators are particularly present in “Mountains,” one of the 22 pieces on view at the library through the end of the month. The tapestry, which Ms. Ringewald said took “days and days” to complete in the late 1970s, depicts a rugged, almost three-dimensional landscape in shades of brown, orange and gray.

“Whereas some weavers do very complex pattern weaving, I don’t,” she said. “I only pattern when it helps me express what I’m trying to do.”

Ms. Ringewald grew up in Ontario, Canada, and taught special education in Nassau County before moving to the North Fork in 1996 with her husband, Bob — and when it comes to weaving, she can seemingly do anything.

Although she admits tapestries are her “first love,” she’s also skilled at making panels, rugs and wearable pieces like shawls, scarves, vests and jackets, all of which are also on display at the library.

Ms. Ringewald with ‘The Octopus’s Garden,’ an experimental coat that took her months to weave. The coat is part of her ‘Weaving My World’ exhibit on view through December at Cutchogue New Suffolk Free Library. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)

“Barbara is not only a creatively artistic weaver, but a risk-taker and a trouper as well,” Ann McCaughey of the Friends of the Library, the organization that sponsors art exhibits at the Cutchogue library. “We were not at all sure how the pieces would look in the upstairs gallery, having never had a show like this one before. But she put it all together beautifully and it has turned out to be one of the most popular shows.”

The piece from “Weaving My World” that perhaps means the most to Ms. Ringewald is “Pink Ribbon,” which she wove from hand-dyed cotton after Mimi Seidman, her best friend of 30 years, died from breast cancer in the late 1980s.

“I was devastated and didn’t know how to work through my loss, so I turned to my weaving,” Ms. Ringewald said. “It was just around the time they were beginning to use the pink ribbon as a symbol.”

Her version of the emblem contains several frayed “windows” filled with photos of Ms. Seidman, her family and her beloved dog.

“They represent the fraying of life,” Ms. Ringewald explained. “I weep for the years not lived. She was a very vital person and had a lot of years ahead of her.”

Her exhibit’s pièce de résistance, she believes, is “The Octopus’s Garden,” an experimental, labor-intensive coat named for the 1969 Beatles song of the same name. The heavy, turquoise-colored garment is hand-dyed and features beaded representations of sea creatures including dolphins, crabs and, yes, an octopus. The silk-lined coat is one of eight pieces in the exhibit to have won awards from weaving organizations around the country, she said.

“I’ve always been a big environmentalist,” she said. “The sea is so important, especially now, with all the emphasis on water quality. It was really worthwhile working through it.”

“Weaving My World” is on view at Cutchogue New Suffolk Free Library through the end of December, Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Call 631-734-6360 for more information.

ryoung@timesreview.com

Here are 10 Suffolk Times stories you might have missed over the past week. To make sure you stay on top of breaking North Fork news, follow @thesuffolktimes on Twitter.

Hubbard eyes mayor’s seat, Phillips won’t seek position. #Greenport — http://t.co/0ZLmfhbom2

— Suffolk Times (@thesuffolktimes) December 12, 2014

'It is time to step aside,' Mayor Nyce says http://t.co/dTx7hEBcuG

— Suffolk Times (@thesuffolktimes) December 12, 2014

Southold cops, schools detail new programs at anti-gang forum http://t.co/7GOUh4YPtX

— Suffolk Times (@thesuffolktimes) December 12, 2014

Listen: Full recording of Thursday's Southold gang forum http://t.co/YGkQZ5AP75

— Suffolk Times (@thesuffolktimes) December 12, 2014

Amid outcry in Nassau, Suffolk opts against school zone cameras http://t.co/W3n3qAzh0y

— Suffolk Times (@thesuffolktimes) December 9, 2014

A decade later, kiosks pop up in Mattituck, Southold — http://t.co/2cLtpMMpKU pic.twitter.com/OOX9D0NKtA

— Suffolk Times (@thesuffolktimes) December 10, 2014

Boys Soccer: Ilgin named all-American by NSCAA http://t.co/s8VOI47Xwt pic.twitter.com/sdy8nA6VD5

— Suffolk Times (@thesuffolktimes) December 10, 2014

Police Blotter: Mattituck woman receives unwanted presents in her mailbox — http://t.co/kPWDA5Q6ky

— Suffolk Times (@thesuffolktimes) December 10, 2014

Suspect in Mattituck horse trainer murder pleads guilty — http://t.co/zWCajo4Hkh

— Suffolk Times (@thesuffolktimes) December 11, 2014

Police may soon be armed with marijuana breath test — http://t.co/jXs4EYzNuz

— Suffolk Times (@thesuffolktimes) December 12, 2014

A list of events for this week at each of the local schools, as listed on school calendars.

MATTITUCK-CUTCHOGUE SCHOOL DISTRICT

Dec. 17-18

• 7:30 p.m. — Junior high winter concert

Saturday, Dec. 20

• NJROTC drill competition

SOUTHOLD SCHOOL DISTRICT

Tuesday, Dec. 16

• 7:30 p.m. — High school winter concert

Wednesday, Dec. 17

• 7:30 p.m. — Board of Education meeting

GREENPORT SCHOOL DISTRICT

Tuesday, Dec. 16

• 7 p.m. — Board of Education meeting

Friday, Dec. 19

• Second quarter progress reports on parent portal

• 1 p.m. — Santa visit

Saturday, Dec. 20

• NJROTC drill competition

OYSTERPONDS SCHOOL DISTRICT

Monday, Dec. 15

• 1 p.m. — Peconic Landing concert

Wednesday, Dec. 17

• 7 p.m. — Holiday concert

NEW SUFFOLK SCHOOL DISTRICT

No events listed online.

OUR LADY OF MERCY REGIONAL SCHOOL

Tuesday, Dec. 16

• 6:30 p.m. — Christmas concert, Parish Hall

Friday, Dec. 19

• Full day of school

• Christmas pageant and mass

• 2 p.m. — Our Lady of Ostrabrama

BISHOP MCGANN-MERCY HIGH SCHOOL

Wednesday, Dec. 17

• High school Christmas concert

Friday, Dec. 19

• Mass

• 11:30 a.m. — Dismissal

PECONIC COMMUNITY SCHOOL

Monday, Dec. 15

• 9 a.m. — Morning Gathering

Friday, Dec. 19

• Community holiday movie

Mike Borkowski in his Peconic shop last week. (Credit: Cyndi Murray)

Mike Borkowski is the owner of East End Auto, affectionately known as Mike’s. It’s a full-service car shop where customers have been known to drop by to enjoy coffee and conversation — even if their car didn’t need fixing.

Now, after 30 years of fixing cars on the North Fork, the Cutchogue native is saying his good-byes and heading to North Carolina to spend more time with his two daughters and brothers. 

“Over the years my whole family has migrated from here to down south, I am kind of like the last man standing out here,” he said. “My biggest draw to move now is my children. I figured everyone I love is there and I don’t want to miss out.”

A graduate of Mattituck High School, Mr. Borkowski said he has always had a fascination with working on cars and trucks. After graduating in 1982 he studied his trade at Denver Automotive and Diesel College before taking his first job at Mullen Motors in Southold.

In 2000, Mr. Borkowski branched out on his own, first opening a shop at a “hole in the wall” garage on Route 48 in Southold.

He then moved into a storefront in Cutchogue and finally landed at his current location in Peconic, behind Ted’s Body & Fender Shop on Route 25, two years ago.

East End Automotive serves more than 200 regular customers, many of them generational, he said.

“I have people who have now have their grandchildren bringing their cars in,” he said.

Mr. Borkowski said the secret to his success has been his loyal customer base, their word of mouth recommendations and, perhaps most importantly, the Golden Rule.

“My philosophy always has been and always will be treat people they way you want to be treated,” he said. “Some people say being nice doesn’t get you anywhere. I always thought to myself, just be nice. And it worked.”

Those who know and work him can attest to that.

“He is the nicest, most honest guy I have ever met,” said John Genoino, a friend and employee of Mr. Borkowski for three years. “They broke the mold when they made that man.”

As for his plans when he gets to North Carolina, Mr. Borkowski said he is still undecided.

“All my friends are taking bets on when I’ll open up a shop [in North Carolina],” he said. “I don’t know about that. I’ll probably end up doing something within the industry.”

Since he was unable to find anyone interested in taking over the Peconic shop, Mr. Burkowski said he made the difficult decision to close altogether when he leaves in January.  But more than anything, Mr. Borkowski said he’d miss the people of Southold.

“When people started to find out I was leaving I had people coming by just to wish me farewell,” he said. “You don’t realize how many people you’ve touched in your life until you do something crazy like leave.”

“We have a great town,” he said.

cmurray@timesreview.com

Former Greenport resident  William J. Sullivan passed away Dec. 4, 2014 at St. John’s Rehabilitation Center in Albuquerque, N.M. 

 A 1958 graduate of Greenport High School, Mr. Sullivan was employed as a lab technician by the N.Y. State Health Department for 38 years before retiring to Albuquerque in 1997.

Mr. Sullivan is survived by a brother, John, of Reston, Va.; two nephews, John, of  Bowie, Md.and Jimmy, of Nashville, Tenn.; a niece, Katie, and a nephew, Andrew, both of Crofton, Md.

Services will be held at a later date.

This is a paid notice. 

Linda S. Carr of Aquebogue died Dec. 12, 2014. She was 64. She was born July 29, 1950, to Helen and Fredrick Follett. Ms. Carr worked for years in the wine and liquor industry and later as a home care aide for Riverhead Town.

Family members said Ms. Carr enjoyed traveling in the motor home and cruising; and loved family get togethers. She was past president of Ladies Auxiliary Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2476, a member of Ladies Auxiliary American Legion and a member of Ladies of the Moose.

Ms. Carr is survived by her husband, Robin Carr of Aquebogue; her brother, Fred Follett of Calverton; her stepbrother, Skip Bellus of Pennsylvania; her daughter, Laurie Sebbesse of Kings Park; her son, Erik Knutsen; her stepsons, Michael Carr of Leesburg, Va. and Ryan Carr of Aquebogue and 10 grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements were handled by DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Homes. All services will be private.

Memorial donations to United Cerebral Palsy of Suffolk, USP Suffolk Development Office, 250 Marcus Boulevard, Hauppauge, NY 11778 would be appreciated.

This is a paid notice.

Bertha Lucy Smilovich, of Mattituck, died Dec. 14, 2014. She was 85. The family will receive visitors Wednesday, Dec. 17, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Southold, where funeral Services will be held at 8 p.m.

Interment will be on Thursday, Dec., 18 at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Coram. The funeral procession will leave the funeral home at 10 a.m.

A complete obituary will follow.

(Credit: AJ Ryan, Stringer News Service)

Ten days after he was involved in a DWI crash that led to to the death of a Vineyard farmhand in Greenport, John Costello is expected to be arraigned in Southold Town Justice Court Tuesday morning. 

The Suffolk County District Attorney’s office said Mr. Costello will be formally charged with one count of misdemeanor driving while intoxicated. He could still face additional charges at a later date.

Mr. Costello consented to a blood test to determine his blood alcohol levels while being treated at Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport for injuries sustained in the Dec. 5 crash, which led to the death of Bartolone Miguel, 32, of Peconic, according to a police report. Those results have not yet been released.

Southold Police Chief Martin Flatley said last week that the misdemeanor DWI charge Mr. Costello is currently facing could be upgraded once the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office receives the results of the blood test.

Mr. Costello previously posted $250 bail from Stony Brook University Medical Center, where he was transferred for further treatment of his injuries.

gparpan@timesreview.com

Listings prepared for Times/Review Newspapers by Suffolk Research Service, dated Oct. 14-20, 2014.

AQUEBOGUE (11931)
• MNH SUB I, LLC to Parshley, Kim, 9 Fox Trail Ct (600-21-2-15.20), (R), $365,000
• R17 Corp to Garrett, April, 97 Linda Ave (600-85-2-108), (R), $372,500

BAITING HOLLOW (11933)
• Cornacchio Jr, A to Debowski, Tomasz, 95 Southfield Rd (600-79-1-15.14), (R), $219,000

CUTCHOGUE (11935)
• Valentino, P to Ryan, Timothy, 735 Deerfoot Path (1000-97-7-19.3), (R), $638,000
• Triolo Jr, L & A to Callas, William, 880 Wunneweta Rd (1000-111-4-5), (V), $250,000

FLANDERS (11901)
• Hildesheim, D & T to Lovett, Ryan, 45 Nash Ave (900-123-3-28), (R), $195,000

GREENPORT (11944)
• Harmon, C to Hanrahan, Maria, 1180 Sound Dr (1000-33-4-85), (R), $415,000
• Jester, R & D to Silver, Pierson, 275 Champlin Pl (1000-34-3-24), (R), $445,000
• Pembroke, W by Executor to Psyhogios, Helene, 535 Calebs Way, Unit 47 (1000-40.1-1-47), (R), $290,000
• Cucolo, M Trust to DiGiovanna, Charles, 60125 North Rd, Unit 1B (1000-44.1-1-3), (C), $675,000

MATTITUCK (11952)
• Miska, J to R17 Corp, 1285 Marratooka Ln (1000-115-4-33.3), (R), $270,000

ORIENT (11957)
• Richman Family Trust to Nasello, Kevin, 1190 Three Waters Ln (1000-15-6-19), (R), $500,000

RIVERHEAD (11901)
• An, B & D to Dream Land Builders Inc, 321 Sandpiper Dr (600-4-4-7), (V), $550,000
• Johnson, J to Bologna III, Vincent, 137 Old Farm Rd (600-84-1-2.54), (R), $320,000
• Loo, J by Admr to DFJA, Inc, 510-512 Pulaski St (600-123-4-71), (C), $900,000

SHELTER ISLAND (11964)
• Conway, M & P by Executor to Ronzoni, Adam, 37 A Westmoreland Dr (700-22-1-4.4), (R), $1,725,000
• Fernandez, A to 13 Shorewood Rd LLC, 13 Shorewood Rd (700-23-2-48), (V), $435,000

SOUTHOLD (11971)
• Murray, N to Robinson, Barnaby, 6620 Horton Ln (1000-54-3-14.3), (R), $615,000
• 46770 County Road 48 to JEMCAP SD I LLC, 46770 CR 48 (1000-55-5-9.1), (C), $400,000
• Krug, F to Weber, John, 150 Budds Pond Rd (1000-56-5-20), (V), $498,000
• Smith, A & Mohr, N to Cincotta, Carmine, 725 S Harbor Rd (1000-75-4-3), (R), $365,000
• Phinney, J to Conti, Jason, 12975 Main Bayview Rd (1000-88-2-13), (R), $735,000
• Kempner, A Trust to Kempner, Kevin, 270 Goldin Ln (1000-135-2-21), (R), $400,000

WADING RIVER (11792)
• Rohman, B & Zanca, L to Wong, Sidney, 2 Berry Ln (600-26-2-4.4), (R), $383,000

(Key: Tax map numbers = District-Section-Block-Lot; (A) = agriculture; (R) = residential; (V) = vacant property; (C) = commercial; (R&E) = recreation & entertainment; (CS) = community services; (I) = industrial; (PS) = public service; (P) = park land; as determined from assessed values in the current tax rolls.)

The Showalter Farms property on Main Road in Mattituck. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch, file)

The Southold Town planning and zoning boards have approved a controversial proposal for a riding academy in Mattituck.

On Monday, the Southold Town Planning Board approved Showalter Farms’ site plan and attached several conditions set by the planning and zoning boards, including a limit on how many special events the farm can host per year and when a small dead-end road on the property can be used.

The plan includes adding three horse barns and an outdoor riding/training area on a 24-acre preserved farm in Mattituck.

The facilities would be built on four unpreserved acres of the property. The town purchased the development rights on the other 20 acres in 2011.

Monday’s decision also resulted in an approval of a prior special exception permit awarded by the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals on Nov. 11, which was contingent on the Planning Board signing off on the site plan for the work.

The farm, owned by Christopher and Joanne Showalter of Southold, had come under fire from some neighbors and community members after an advertisement in an equestrian publication boasted additional features at the farm, and language in the site plan describes the proposal as “phase one.”

The farm was previously owned by Pindar Vineyards and was purchased for nearly $1 million last December by Showalter Farms LLC, a corporation formed that year by Mr. Showalter, who’s a former member of the Southold Town Ethics Board.

As part of the planning process for Mr. Showalter’s proposal, the planning and zoning boards both set a series of conditions.

The ZBA’s special permit states the farm’s owners can hold no more than six special events on the property each year, with each event requiring a special use permit.

To add an indoor ring to the property, something the advertisement mentioned, Showalter Farms would need to go before the board again, according to a list of the conditions.

The Planning Board is also requiring the owners to go the town’s building department if the use or occupancy of the property changes.

Under the approval, the property is subject to an annual inspection from a town building inspector, and a small road on the property, Noah’s Path, has been reserved for emergency personnel only and cannot be used for agricultural purposes.

The site plan for the property was filed on June 20, 15 days after a stop-work order was issued at the property when a town code enforcement officer determined construction had begun without Planning Board approval or a building permit, town records show.

Ms. Showalter told the Suffolk Times in August that the only construction on the property had to do with residing an existing barn and placing a pre-fab barn that was purchased out of town.

psquire@timesreview.com

TUCKERS 68, ROYALS 40

Daniel Fedun didn’t know what to expect this season making the jump from JV to varsity. His role, he figured, would be a hustle guy, the kind of player whose work doesn’t always appear in the stat sheet.

Mattituck coach Paul Ellwood quickly grew to appreciate the hustle Fedun supplied and began using him as the first player off the bench. 

Heading into Monday night’s League VII game against Port Jefferson, Ellwood worried about possibly getting off to a slow start. So he inserted Fedun into the starting lineup, hoping his energy would help propel the Tuckers from the outset.

In his first varsity start, Fedun, a junior, delivered more than the coaches could have imagined. He scored a career-high 26 points — more than he had scored in a JV game the past two years — and helped guide the Tuckers to a 68-40 win at Mattituck High School.

The Tuckers improved to 1-1 in league and 4-1 overall. And in a competitive league that features some talented teams at the top, the Tuckers couldn’t afford a slip-up to fall to 0-2.

Fedun was the beneficiary of some good ball movement and a fast-paced offense that allowed him to get the ball in prime scoring spots. The Tuckers didn’t begin the game with a focus of running the offense through Fedun. It just happened that way.

The Royals were focused on getting out to Mattituck’s shooters beyond the 3-point line, and Fedun found holes in the zone to exploit that.

The Tuckers were in control throughout the game. The Royals’ only lead came at the beginning, 4-0, before Mattituck went on a 14-0 run, capped by Fedun converting on a fastbreak off an assist from Joe Tardif.

The Royals (0-5, 0-2 League VII) made things interesting in the second quarter, climbing to within one at 24-23 with 1:12 left. It was as close as they would get. The Tuckers went on a 20-2 run from the end of the second into the third quarter to blow the game open.

The Tuckers got 13 points off the bench from Ryan Mowdy and senior Will Gildersleeve added 11. Mattituck forced 19 Port Jefferson turnovers.

The Tuckers return to action Friday at home against Wyandanch.

joew@timesreview.com