Michael O’Brien’s chevy pickup truck was the only vehicle in the first row of parking spots at the Cross Sound Ferry terminal in Orient Thursday night. (Credit: Grant Parpan)

Southold Town police have located a vehicle belonging to a 55-year-old Greenport man whose wife had reported him missing earlier this week.

Michael O’Brien’s Chevy pickup was found parked in the Cross Sound Ferry parking lot in Orient on Thursday, police said.

Local authorities, who do not believe he boarded a ferryboat, then conducted an extensive search of the area using all-terrain vehicles and a Suffolk County Police Department helicopter, but they were unable to find Mr. O’Brien.

Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley said the man’s wife reported to police that on Monday, Dec. 29., Mr. O’Brien left the house in his car without his personal belongings.

Though the vehicle had OnStar tracking services, the account wasn’t active, Chief Flatley said. Police contacted Southampton Town police, since Mr. O’Brien’s brother lives in that town, but police there were unable to locate him.

Mary and Michael O’Brien. (Courtesy photo)

Mr. O’Brien’s wife, Mary O’Brien, said her husband left their Front Street home quietly and without warning at about 7:20 p.m.

“He’s been very depressed,” Ms. O’Brien said. “It was not anything domestic. He was very quiet. He came upstairs and asked me for something and he left, and that was it. No storming off. No anger. He’s just been depressed.”

Chief Flatley said Mr. O’Brien has no prior medical issues.

Ms. O’Brien said her husband left without cash or his debit card, but she wasn’t sure if he was carrying identification, adding that he could have left it in his car.

Ms. O’Brien also said that family and friends who had been searching for Mr. O’Brien checked the ferry parking lot, but hadn’t previously seen the car.

She said, though, that cameras in the area indicated it’s been there since Monday.

Chief Flatley said police “are concerned about Michael’s well being.”

“Since the beginning of this case we have been sharing our information with all authorities,” the chief said. “We will be searching again tomorrow while we also continue to gather as much information surrounding his disappearance as possible.”

A Greenport homeowner came home on New Year’s Day to find something strange going on in his house, according to police: three strangers smoking marijuana inside.

A 21-year-old Greenport man was arrested Thursday for allegedly breaking into the home and smoking marijuana while the homeowners were out, Southold Police said.

According to police, Daniel Commins and two other suspects entered the Corwin Street residence around 11:26 p.m. through an unlocked window and while inside smoked marijuana until the homeowner came home unexpectedly.

While the other two subjects fled, homeowner detained Mr. Commins until officers arrived, police said.

Mr. Commins was arrested, charged with second-degree criminal trespassing, and released on $100 cash bail.

Mattituck soccer players at the high school after retuning home from winning the state championship in November. (Credit: Jen Nuzzo photos)

Mattituck soccer wins it all

Editorial: The disappointment of losing in the state semifinals two years hung over the Mattituck boys soccer team as a senior-laden squad geared up for one last run together this year. The Tuckers entered the season with high expectations and more than delivered on them. The Tuckers’ run to the state championship — the third in program history — was the kind of feel-good story that made a community proud. The players set a goal for themselves and then went out and achieved it.

In two state playoff games in Middletown, N.Y., the Tuckers won by a combined score of 9-0, leaving little doubt as to which team reigned supreme in New York. Afterward, coach Mat Litchhult announced he was resigning as coach and senior Kaan Ilgin was named the state player of the year.

Deer cull is a dud

Editorial: In our 2013 “Year in Review issue,” we gave a “focus on deer” a thumbs up after years of deer population growth reached a tipping point and local leaders seemed poised to act on the issue.

As it turned out, however, a tipping point can be one tricky place.

As the cull became less of an idea and more of a reality, pushback intensified. Fierce opposition from two unlikely allies — animal advocates and hunters — basically rendered the cull moot, thanks in large part to a lawsuit that halted the number of permits that could be given out, not that many were filled, anyway.

By the time sharpshooters from the U.S. Department of Agriculture left town, less than 200 deer had been killed — barely a fraction of the county’s estimated 25,000 to 36,000 deer.

Even the cull’s organizer, Long Island Farm Bureau president Joe Gergela, admitted “It didn’t work.”

Final piece of the puzzle

Editorial: This was a historic year for the Peconic Land Trust preservation group. That also means it was a good one for all those who have worked for decades to protect and preserve the town’s and the region’s agricultural heritage and way of life. In March, the land trust acquired the last of 11 parcels that now make up its 98-acre agricultural center in Southold. The center features working farms with educational and mentoring components for younger people looking to get into farming. There’s also a community garden there that attracts a diverse group, from schoolchildren to older people fond of tomatoes to Hispanic immigrants growing chili peppers.

Now, thanks to the Peconic Land Trust, they’ll all get to work together in one place.

A bad year in Greenport Village Hall

Editorial: Failed equipment combined with a lack of information coming out of Greenport Village Hall marred some villagers’ confidence in their elected officials in 2014.

The Village Board got off to a rocky start in January, when Mayor David Nyce had to issue a public apology for failing to answer residents’ concerns about a large increase in their December 2013 power bills.

In September, the Village Board once again got beaten up in the court of public opinion. Documents showed the board was requiring an outspoken Greenport commercial fishing captain, Sid Smith, to hold a $2 million insurance policy for his boat, Merit, and telling him he had to leave the railroad dock if he didn’t pay for the coverage. Village records, however, showed that all the other boat owners using that dock were only required to carry $1 million insurance policies.

The misinformation at Greenport Village Hall was concerning this year … to say the least.

The Rev. Dr. William Earl Thomas (center) with celebrants at the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial ceremony at Orient Congregational Church in January. Southold Town is looking to expand upon the annual event with a day of community service. (Credit: Katharine Schroeder)

Southold Town is thinking big for its annual celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Two days worth of events will kick off with the Anti-Bias Task Force’s annual celebration of Dr. King’s life and his contributions to the civil rights movement. The celebration is scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 18, at 4 p.m. at Orient Congregational Church and will be hosted by the Rev. Dr. H.G. McGee of First Baptist Church of Bridgehampton. 

Then, on Monday, Jan. 19 — Martin Luther King Jr. Day — the Southold Youth Bureau will organize the town’s first-ever Dr. King Day of Service. In the meantime, the youth bureau is asking members of the public to volunteer for one of several charitable events designed to benefit local churches, veteran organizations and other not-for-profits that day.

“We want to make it a day on, rather than a day off,” said Phillip Beltz, Southold Town’s special project coordinator and youth bureau director. “There are a significant number of projects and we are looking for volunteers to help with everything that’s going on.”

Some projects have been identified through service groups across the North Fork but cannot be undertaken without volunteers to see them through, he said.

In all, more than a dozen projects are being considered for the Dr. King Day of Service and volunteers of all ages are welcome. Organizations like North Fork Methodist Church, Cutchogue Cemetery and North Fork Animal Welfare League have all expressed interest in opening their doors to volunteers who can help those groups undertake projects. To get involved or learn more about contributing, contact Phillip Beltz at 765-5806 or phillip.beltz@town.southold.ny.us.

cmiller@timesreview.com

(Ethan Sisson, a junior at Southold High School, demonstrates with other students from Project Bus Stop. The civic group has been pushing for more bus shelters across Southold Town for three years.

When a group of students from a North Fork church first started “Project Bus Stop,” they figured it’d be a good way to improve their community by advocating for a handful of new bus shelters.

The teenagers would also learn about how government works, said advisor Regan Batuello.

That was three years ago; the six bus shelters the group suggested have not been built.

“Now we’re seeing the process is broken,” Ms. Batuello said.

The civic organization — an offshoot of a First Universalist Church in Southold youth group — is stepping up its efforts for 2015. The students and advisors kicked off the New Year with a demonstration Friday morning at one proposed site for a bus shelter, on Main Road in Mattituck.

“We want people to see us,” said Vivienne Glasser, a junior at Southold High School, as a biting wind tore the group’s homemade protest signs off wooden stakes. Ms. Glasser said the group won’t give up.

“We really want to come through,” she said. “We want to make a change.”

Project Bus Stop members said the bus shelters would shield travelers, including many farm workers, from the elements — and drivers.

Across the street from where they were demonstrating, on the westbound side of Main Road, is a green bus shelter like the one the students are advocating for.

Mark Sisson, an advisor to Project Bus Stop, said travelers heading eastbound can’t use that shelter because bus drivers wouldn’t see anyone waiting at the bus stop and would keep driving. The lack of a crosswalk would also make it dangerous for people to run across the road to catch buses, he said.

Ms. Batuello said the landowners near the proposed site have given their okay to build the shelter. But group members say red tape over who can approve the bus shelters has held up construction. The teens have been in contact with Suffolk County Legislator Al Krupski’s office and are working to get the state Department of Transportation on board.

Eileen Peters, a spokesperson for the DOT, said she wasn’t immediately familiar with the request for bus shelters in Southold Town. She said the installation of bus shelters is usually a “county initiative,” though the DOT does work with the county when building on state lands — like those along Main Road.

“We generally work very cooperatively with the county on their plans,” she said.

Along Main Road Friday morning, the group cheered as trucks, cars and vans driving by honked. The demonstration was the Project Bus Stop’s second, with plans for more in the works.

“Hopefully we’ll keep doing this and we’ll build some momentum,” Ms. Batuello said.

psquire@timesreview.com

Edna McCallion of Pelham Manor  and Cutchogue passed away peacefully Dec. 22, 2014, at her home surrounded by her family. She was 97 years of age. 

Edna was born in Manhattan in 1917 to Robert and Elizabeth Johnson. She met her husband Harry while a student at Hunter College, where she was later inducted into the Hunter College Hall of Fame. Edna and Harry had four boys and they moved to Pelham Manor from Parkchester (the Bronx) when the youngest was just a few months old. She lived in Pelham for the next sixty four years. Actively involved in the community, she was a long time member of the Manor Club, and an organizer of many of the ecumenical gatherings that brought together the faithful of all creeds in Pelham.

Edna devoted her life to her family and her faith. For many years, she worked as the Director for United Nations and Global Affairs for Church Women United, a national women’s ecumenical movement. She received the Pope John XXIII Award from the late Francis Cardinal Spellman for her pioneering efforts for women of faith, and was a trustee of the New York Theological Seminary. She also served as a member of the Holy See (Vatican) Mission to the U.N., and represented the Archdiocese of New York on peace missions to Northern Ireland, Israel, Iran, Lebanon and Egypt. She also participated in fact-finding peace missions to Cuba, Nicaragua and Guatemala. In 1989, Edna was a U.S. delegate to the World Assembly in Sidney, Australia of the World Conference on Religion and Peace. She also served in Africa as a member of the UNICEF mission to Senegal and Kenya, and gathered first-hand accounts of the impact of apartheid on the people of South Africa, meeting with Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu while she was there.

In 1987, Pope John Paul II conferred on Edna the “Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice” award, the highest honor a Roman Catholic woman can receive for service to the Church. She also received a similar award from the College of New Rochelle in 1983 for “her witness to the centrality of human dignity in the creation of peace.”

Edna sang professionally and had an exceptional soprano voice. She also had a flair for dancing and loved competing in ballroom dance events.

Edna spent her summers with her family and many friends at her beach house in Cutchogue. Her many years of travel around the globe on peace and ecumenical matters gave her great joy and plenty of wonderful stories to tell. An excellent conversationalist with a great sense of humor, Edna was always a delight to talk with. She loved to say her greatest accomplishment was putting people together and always wanted everyone to know that she had a wonderful life.

Edna is survived by her sons Kenneth (Susan) of Mamaroneck, N.Y., Donald (Penny) of Southborough, Mass., and Peter of New Rochelle, N.Y., as well as her eight grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. She was predeceased by her loving husband Harry and her eldest son, Douglas.

A celebration of Edna’s life will take place at Friday, Jan. 9, from 4 to 8 p.m. at Pelham Funeral Home on A memorial service will be held Saturday, Jan. 10 at 10 a.m. at the chapel at College of New Rochelle. Interment will take place Saturday, Jan. 10, at 3 p.m. at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Cutchogue.

Memorial donations may be made to the Harry & Edna McCallion Scholarship Fund at Fordham University School of Law, Office of Development, 150 West 62nd Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10023.

This is a paid notice. 

Harper Emmeline Sayer was born on Friday morning at 8:45 a.m. (Photo courtesy PBMC)

Peconic Bay Medical Center welcomed its first baby of 2015 on Friday, as the Riverhead hospital announced the birth of Greenport resident Harper Emmeline Sayer.

Born to parents Jennifer and Donald, Harper was born at 8:45 a.m. She measured 6 pounds, 12 ounces and 19 inches long.

Dr. Zeinab Fath-El Bab performed the delivery.

PBMC’s first baby of 2015 was born to Greenport residents Jennifer and Donald Sayer. (Photo courtesy PBMC)

Michael O’Brien’s truck remained at the Cross Sound Ferry terminal Friday morning. (Credit: Grant Parpan)

Security footage from the Cross Sound Ferry appears to show Greenport resident Michael O’Brien parking his car at the Orient terminal before walking east toward the beach area Sunday evening, police and family members said Friday.

He has not been seen since. 

Southold Town police chief Martin Flatley said the “brief glimpse” of footage indicates that Mr. O’Brien, 55, did not board a ferryboat even though he left his pickup truck in the first row of parking at the terminal.

“We’re fairly confident that he walked away from that vehicle but did not get into any other vehicles,” Chief Flatley said.

The chief said police did not spot the truck when they first checked the ferry parking area Monday after Mr. O’Brien’s wife, Mary, reported him missing that day. Ms. O’Brien said family and friends who had been searching for the missing man checked the ferry parking lot on multiple occasions and also did not initially see the vehicle.

Ms. O’Brien said Friday that the security cameras — which Mr. Flatley said were checked by police after the car was spotted at the terminal Thursday — show her husband pulling into the parking spot about 10 minutes after he left his house Sunday. Chief Flatley said the footage, which was recorded at night, is dark, but police have no reason to believe it is not Mr. O’Brien.

Additional footage recorded at Cross Sound Ferry and the adjacent Plum Island ferry terminal, which has a camera at the tip of the point, do not appear to show Mr. O’Brien, the chief said.

Using boats, a helicopter and all-terrain vehicles, police searched the “entire point” Thursday, including the surrounding park area and beaches, Chief Flatley said.

“We covered it very thoroughly and came up with nothing,” he said.

Choppy water around the point restricted search efforts to land areas Friday, the chief said.

“Today was difficult,” he added. “We wanted to get out on our boats, but there was a four-or-five foot swell out there today.”

The town’s bay constables do expect to search by boat again Saturday and Plum Island officials are expected to assist in that effort, he said.

Mary and Michael O’Brien. (Courtesy photo)

Ms. O’Brien previously told The Suffolk Times her husband left their Front Street home quietly and without warning at about 7:20 p.m. Sunday.

“He’s been very depressed,” Ms. O’Brien said. “It was not anything domestic. He was very quiet. He came upstairs and asked me for something and he left, and that was it. No storming off. No anger. He’s just been depressed.”

Chief Flatley said Mr. O’Brien has no prior medical issues.

Ms. O’Brien said her husband left without cash or his debit card, but she wasn’t sure if he was carrying identification, adding that he could have left it in his car.

Though Mr. O’Brien’s truck had OnStar tracking services, the account wasn’t active, Chief Flatley said. Police contacted Southampton Town police, since Mr. O’Brien’s brother lives in that town, but police there were unable to locate him.

gparpan@timesreview.com

The Galley Ho across the street from Legends and Summer Girl boutique on First Street’s New Suffolk Waterfront Fund property. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)

More than a dozen local residents and business owners have filed a lawsuit appealing the Southold Town Planning Board’s site plan approval for the relocation and renovation of the Galley Ho restaurant building on the New Suffolk Waterfront Fund property. 

The petitioners allege in an Article 78 filed in state Supreme Court on Dec. 23 that the Planning Board violated New York State Environmental Quality Review Act procedure when it made its determination for environmental review in the same resolution approving the site plan Nov. 17.

“The Respondent failed to follow the mandatory review procedure under SEQRA as it waited until it was approving the action to render its decision instead of making the SEQRA determination when it first had received the application for development of the property,” the suit reads.

The site plan approved in November calls for the Galley Ho building — which has been vacant more than a decade — to be relocated farther from the shoreline and expanded by 47 square feet. The up-to-66-seat eatery would be situated roughly 75 feet from the water’s edge.

The petition, which calls for a reversal of the Planning Board’s SEQRA determination and site plan approval, also alleges the town did not properly characterize the scope of the project when it determined no further environmental review was necessary for the property.

“[It's] situated on Cutchogue Harbor, a designated Critical Environmental Area and part of the recognized and protected Peconic Estuary,” the petition reads. “This alone mandates a hard look at the potential environmental impacts of a development plan.”

Town officials said this week that they are currently preparing a response to the suit.

“Counsel is reviewing the case now,” Town Supervisor Scott Russell wrote in an email Wednesday. “Naturally we will defend the decision-making of the Planning Board.”

Waterfront Fund chairwoman Patricia McIntyre said she hopes the the action will not slow down the nonprofit group’s redevelopment project on its land.

“We believe the town did the right thing,” she said.

Ms. McIntyre said the NSWF has completed a portion of the first phase of its development — baling hay, excavating and installing fencing on the property. She said the Planning Board has also allowed her organization to keep wooden posts installed on the perimeter of the property, despite previous concern.

The owners of the neighboring Legends restaurant and Summer Girl boutique, outspoken opponents of the project throughout the planning process, are among the petitioners in the suit.

The parties are due in court Jan. 27.

gparpan@timesreview.com

Former McGann-Mercy basketball player Nykel Reese goes up for a shot in 2013. (Credit: Robert O’Rourk, file)

McGann-Mercy High School is hosting its annual alumni basketball game Jan. 10 in the high school gymnasium. Alumni of all ages, men and women, are invited to join. 

The game will start at 5 p.m.

For more information, call 631-727-5900, ext. 334.

Peter Gwiazda dances to “Let it Go” at North Fork Community Theatre’s Variety Show. (Credit: Katharine Schroeder photos)

North Fork Community Theatre in Mattituck presented its annual Variety Show this weekend to benefit the theater group’s scholarship fund.

Mark Hipp hosted the event with piano accompaniment by Jacob Boergesson, a past scholarship winner.

The show featured over two dozen acts, including: song, dance and drama.

To date, the scholarship fund has generated more than $25,000.

Click on the tabs below for more photos.

A 29-year-old man was arrested early Monday morning for driving drunk in Greenport, Southold Police said.

William Albro Jr., of Shirley, was stopped at 4:24 a.m. for a traffic offense on Route 25, according to police.

Mr. Albro Jr. allegedly showed signs on intoxication and failed field sobriety tests.

He was arrested and held at police headquarters awaiting arraignment.

Greenport coach Jack Martilotta is running for Village Board trustee. (Credit: file photo)

Another hopeful is vying for a spot on the Village Board in the upcoming March elections, ensuring the races for two trustee seats will be contested.

Jack Martilotta, a science teacher and football coach in Greenport, said he is running to help improve the village’s infrastructure and to do his part to keep the community vibrant.

“I think it’s important for people to participate; that is one of the things that makes our democracy strong,” he said. “There are things the village can do better and I want to be a part of it.”

Among his goals, if elected, would be to improve the village’s roadways and to keep Mitchell Park  open for events, he said.

While the current Village Board is hammering out new legislation that would prevent the issuance of mass assembly permits for the use of Mitchell Park, Mr. Martilotta is taking the opposite stance in his campaign.

Without such events drawing crowds to the area, small businesses will suffer, he said.

“That park helps drive downtown business,” he said.

Mr. Martilotta is a National Guardsman and 14-year veteran of the U.S. Army who has lived in the village for seven years with his wife, Jamie, and their three young children. This is his second run for trustee following an unsuccessful run in 2009.

Mr. Martilotta is running for one of two trustee seats up for grabs in March’s election. Also on the ballot is the mayoral position, currently held by David Nyce, who said he would not seek re-election.

Incumbent trustee  George Hubbard said he is giving up his trustee position to run mayor. Another incumbent trustee, David Murray,  said he is running to keep his seat.

Sixth Street resident and eduction consultant Doug Roberts is also running for trustee, making it three candidates so far who’ve publicly announced they would be running for the two open trustee seats in the at-large election.

The Greenport Village elections are March 18.

cmurray@timesreview.com

A frozen Main Road fountain from mid-November. (Credit: Carrie Miller)

Despite temperatures in the 50s yesterday, tonight’s evening chill is only a taste of what’s to come, as single-digit temperatures compounded by heavy winds will make for what feels like sub-zero temperatures later this week, according to the National Weather Service.

Temperatures in the mid-30s this afternoon will fall down to the mid-teens overnight, making for a mostly clear and dry night, meteorologist David Stark said.

But come Tuesday, a quick increase in cloud cover will cause light snow starting mid-morning with about an inch of accumulation expected to end by mid-afternoon, Mr. Stark said.

“Whatever snowfall does stick could make a bit of a difficult travel,” he said.

A cold snap of temperatures in the mid-20s will greet residents Wednesday, with a possible passing snow shower in the afternoon, he said.

Wednesday-night temperatures are expected to fall into the single digits with wind gusts of up to 35 mph expected, according to the forecast.

“It is going to feel like it is below zero at -7 to -12 degrees Thursday morning, but will subside a bit during the day,” Mr. Stark said. “We’re not looking at any record lows, but it will be one of the cooler days we’ve seen so far this winter.”

Fire department volunteers helping to clear the damaged vehicle. (Credit: Carrie Miller)

Two people, including a woman who is nine months pregnant, were treated at Eastern Long Island Hospital after a rear-end crash on Route 48 in Peconic Monday, Southold Town Police said.

A westbound red minivan had stopped for a school bus discharging passengers in the eastbound lane near Wesnofke’s North Fork Farm Stand just before 3 p.m. when it was rear-ended by a white Isuzu Rodeo SUV that failed to stop in time, Chief Martin Flatley said at the scene.

The SUV driver, who police said is pregnant, and a passenger in the minivan were transported to Eastern Long Island Hospital with non-life-threating injuries.

Southold Fire Department and Cutchogue Fire Department volunteers responded to the accident, shutting down westbound traffic for a short time on Route 48, as well as northbound traffic on Ackerly Pond Road.

Chief Flatley said the accident serves as a reminder that “if a school bus is stopped, it’s the law to stop in both directions,” despite the presence of a median in the road.

He added that the sun might also have played a role in the accident.

Two people were in the minivan that had stopped for the school bus and got rear-ended. (Credit: Carrie Miller)

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Jen Jaklevic rolled a 465 series for Southold in its loss to Riverhead at Wildwood Lanes in Riverhead. (Credit: Garret Meade)

BLUE WAVES 31, FIRST SETTLERS 2

When the bottom two high school boys bowling teams in Suffolk County League IV faced each other on Monday, they both saw it as an opportunity to walk away with points, something that hasn’t been too plentiful for either side this season.

It was Riverhead that garnered the lion’s share of them at Southold’s expense. Three Blue Waves rolled three-game series scores of 564 or higher in a 31-2 win.

Riverhead and Southold share the same home alley, Wildwood Lanes in Riverhead. They have also shared some rough times this season. Riverhead entered the match in seventh place, one notch above last-place Southold.

The Blue Waves, though, enjoyed a respite from their troubles with consistent play and some spare conversions. It was a good day for the Blue Waves in what has been a season of trial and tribulation. After prevailing in the first game, 883-809, they won the last two games more soundly, 885-700 and 979-735.

The Blue Waves are 9-12 in games this season, with 95 points. Southold has yet to win a game, losing 24. The First Settlers have 13 points.

Riverhead sophomore Jon Visek knocked down 19 strikes to go with 9 spares. He finished strong with a 221 game for a team-leading 596 series.

Mark Stewart surpassed the 172 average he took into the match. With the aid of 14 spares, the junior showed some of the consistency Riverhead has been looking for. He strung together game scores of 197, 188 and 196 for a season-high 581 series.

Another Riverheader, Jackie Irwin, improved on her 155 average by shooting a 564 series with a 213 high game.

Forrest Vail had a 486 over three games, and Chris Smith fell one pin shy of a 200 in the third game.

For Southold, Jess Jerome opened with a 224 game on the way to a 527 series. Jen Jaklevic (465 series), Kaitlyn Kettenbeil (440) and Emily Pressler (438) also played in all three games.

bliepa@timesreview.com

FIRST SETTLERS 54, KNIGHTS 32

Whenever he plays basketball, Liam Walker usually has a serious, determined look on his face, whether he is leading a fast break, driving to the basket or attempting a 3-point shot.

For a couple of seconds on Monday night, the senior guard let his guard down, so to speak. He had a smile on his face.

Late in the Suffolk County League VIII game, sophomore guard Pat McFarland stole the ball from a Smithtown Christian player and fed Walker under the basket. Walker sank perhaps his easiest bucket of the game, which turned out to be his 1,000th career point.

He knew he was 2 points shy.

“I knew once he stole it that was going to be it,” Walker said. “I had a smile on my face because I knew that was going to be an easy shot like that. I had to focus on making it.”

It turned out to be the 26th and 27th and Walker’s last points of a memorable night in Smithtown. He added 10 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 assists in the First Settlers’ 54-32 victory.

“It’s probably about the best game I’ve seen him play in his career, one of the best games,” said coach Phil Reed, whose team improved to 6-2, 4-0 in the league. “Double-doubles. I mean he’s close to a triple-double. What are you going to say? And it was his 1,000th point.

“And he’s always played pretty well in this gym. He’s had some of his best games at Christian. I can’t say much more on what he’s done. I mean, zero turnovers today. The boys played well all away around. And it wasn’t like we were looking to give him the shots. He’s taking good shots, he’s taking looks, he’s giving it up. So, you can’t ask for a better game for him. Good for him.”

Walker became the only the fourth player — boy or girl — in school history to reach 1,000 points. Betsy Van Bourgondien was the first to achieve that milestone in 2002. She was followed by Sean O’Hara (1,118 from 2003 to 2006) and Amanda Capone (1,593 from 2003 to 2007).

“For small school basketball, that’s rare,” Reed said. “I was talking to Liam on the way here. You get 1,000-point scorers in some of the big schools, some of the middle ‘A’ schools. Very rare that you [have] two, three 1,000-point scorers in small schools.

“He’s played since his freshman year. I’ve seen him grow since I had him in eighth grade and JV. I’ve been with him forever. I knew it was coming. I knew his eighth-grade year he was going to be special.”

Walker’s scoring was spread out quite well, contributing 9 points in the first quarter and 6 points in each of the three final periods.

“It was one of my goals going into high school basketball in ninth grade,” he said of 1,000 points. “It means a lot because I worked very hard.

“My teammates, too. I’ve had a lot of great passers with me that have gotten me a lot of points.”

Walker’s 1,000th point came with 2 minutes 54 seconds remaining in the game as McFarland found his teammate under the basket for that easy layup and a 50-29 advantage.

“I wasn’t aware that was his 1,000th point,” McFarland said. “While I passed it to him, he looked at me whether he should take it or not. I found out now that wasn’t the way he wanted to score his 1,000th point. Although I gave him the assist for his 1,000th point, I don’t think it was the exact way he thought it would happen.”

Reed, who had five substitutes ready to enter the game, pulled the five from the court. Walker was hugged and congratulated by his teammates as the public-address announcer acknowledged his feat.

McFarland admitted he has always looked up to Walker.

“It just shows how hard he’s worked over the years and it’s exactly what I want to do, now that I’m a sophomore,” he said. “I’m working to try to get to where he is as a player with everything he can do in his repertoire offensively and defensively. He’s a leader on this team.”

While Walker made history, it was hardly a one-man show for Southold.

Defense and rebounding keyed the win as the visitors boxed out well. The First Settlers’ alert and ball-hawking style made life difficult for Smithtown Christian (2-5, 1-3), which shot only 19.8 percent (10 of 53) from the field. Moreover, Smithtown canned but 1 of 15 3-point attempts and that was in the fourth quarter when the game was well out of hand.

“The defense won us that [game],” Walker said. “We got easy points off of our defense. That was our main goal, not to score [the 1,000th point] when we came into this game. I knew that was going to come eventually. Our defense had to be focused because they had a couple of good players that we really had to guard. We have fast guards that allow us to get out to the perimeter and give them tough shots outside.”

The game turned in the third quarter when Southold outscored the Knights, 18-5, while the hosts shot only 1 for 15 from the field. Matt McCarthy had 5 of his 6 points during the period, while the First Settlers sank 7 of 12 attempts.

Reed was heartened by what he saw.

“It was the first time I’ve seen us in a while where we were able to run the floor and felt comfortable doing it,” he said. “We got a bunch of baskets off of fast-break baskets. That’s what we do. We’re not a big team. We’re a bunch of guards, maybe one or two forwards and that’s it. So we can’t afford to walk the ball up the court. We have to run the floor. Hey, we’ve got four or five soccer players on the team. I figured if we can get those kids running the floor, we’ll be all right.”

On Monday night, the First Settlers and Liam Walker were all right and then some.

A helicopter at East Hampton Airport last year. (Credit: Kyril Bromley/The East Hampton Press)

The East Hampton Town Board did nothing, and action was taken.

What seems like a contradiction actually means that East Hampton has regained control of its airport and can finally address the issue of helicopters buzzing East End communities.

This power was gained by not applying for grants from the Federal Aviation Administration in the new year.

FAA grants, sought and accepted by East Hampton in 2001 to pay for infrastructure upgrades and other expenses at its airport, came with quid pro quos in the form of “grant assurances.” These required that the airport be open to aircraft traffic around the clock throughout the year, and meant the town could not discriminate against the types of planes or helicopters using the facility. But federal control ended Dec. 31.

Those on the North Fork, South Fork and Shelter Island who have complained for years about excessive noise at all hours of the day and night from spring through fall, now have reason to hope 2015 might be quieter.

The East Hampton board hasn’t just been waiting for the calendar to turn over, however. It has also commissioned noise analysis reports and come up with a plan to finance airport operations without federal money.

The volume of traffic between New York City and East Hampton increased dramatically last summer because of an improving economy and also through phone apps and ride sharing, providing cheaper flights to the Hamptons for the weekend and trips back to the city.

According to airport records, there were 22,350 takeoffs and landings at the East Hampton Airport from January to September 2014; over the same time frame 22,700 complaints were logged about excess noise.

But now, with local government back in control of the airport, restrictions on aircraft companies is front and center on the town’s agenda. Restrictions could include outright bans on helicopters and limited airport operating hours.

Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell, who has been among the leaders of the opposition to noisy choppers, said he’s pleased East Hampton will no longer be subject to FAA restrictions.

“I do think for the first time, East Hampton is listening,” Mr. Russell said, admitting it has been “so frustrating for me” through the years to be fighting a battle and seeing no progress.

According to past interviews and citizen complaints, many helicopters have been cutting across Mattituck en route to the South Fork.

Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, who won a seat on the East Hampton Town Board in November 2013 running on a platform of curbing excessive noise, and who is the board’s liaison to the airport, said she was looking forward to “having a plan put in place over the next few months and see restrictions effected for the 21015 season.”

One problem the town must face is that local control means local funds will be needed to run and maintain the airport. Ms. Burke-Gonzalez said East Hampton can meet that obligation, pointing to a detailed financial report that recommends, among other initiatives, requiring paid parking at the airport, negotiating leases with rental car companies and leasing additional hangar space and other property along with improving the collection of landing fees.

The town’s financial report states that even without any of the revenue enhancement ideas being explored, the town could “generate sufficient cash flow from airport operations and properties to pay debt service on bonds to finance $5.1 to $8.5 million of capital expenditures …”

This means, Ms. Burke-Gonzalez said, that “right now we think the airport generates enough funds to cover any capital or maintenance projects we need to move forward with over the next few years.”

Battle lines are being drawn, however, between those calling for restrictions on aircraft and strong advocates for the status quo.

“The town’s decision to force local taxpayers to pay for airport upkeep instead of using federal funds is as flawed as the numbers in their supposed noise study,” said Loren Riegelhaupt, a spokesman for the Friends of East Hampton Airport Coalition, which includes the Eastern Region Helicopter Council — a pilots’ organization — along with aviation companies. “On one hand, the town says it will pay for the airport through an increase in taxes on the aviation community. On the other, it says it will dramatically cut the number of landings, thus significantly cutting revenue. You can’t have it both ways as it makes absolutely zero economic sense. This is just not solid planning and should be deeply troubling for local taxpayers.”

One area of agreement by both sides is that the issue will most likely be settled in court.

Two East Hampton residents, Peter Wolf, an author and expert on land uses, and Kenneth Lipper, a former deputy mayor of New York City, have hired a top Manhattan law firm to make a case for banning all helicopters and seaplanes from the East Hampton Airport.

They’ve been paying Cravath, Swaine & Moore, an international law firm with more than 100 attorneys, to make the case that East Hampton can ban choppers and seaplanes, require all aircraft to meet an established noise level standard and restrict takeoffs and landings to four hours a day.

In a six-page opinion, citing legal precedents, attorney David Greenwald of CS&M concluded that such restriction “reflects a reasonable and non-arbitrary approach to the reduction of noise pollution and does not improperly discriminate against aircraft or aircraft operators …”

Shelter Island Supervisor Jim Dougherty said East Hampton was wise to put information on the airport’s future before the public “to beef up the litigation case. Pilots are tough birds, but they lost a strong ally in the FAA.”

The East Hampton Town Board will discuss the issue at a Feb. 3 work session.

Long time Huntington resident Agnes T. Ingino of Orange City, Fla. and formerly of Greenport passed away peacefully Nov. 8, 2014. 

She was predeceased by her husband, Michael; and brothers Gabe and Frederick Mazzaferro. Surviving are her children, Michael, William, Barbara and Joseph; her sister Josephine Conklin; her brothers George, James, and Frank Mazzaferro; 10 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild.

The family will receive visitors Saturday, Jan.10, from 9:30-11:30 a.m. at McLaughlin Heppner Funeral Home in Riverhead, where a funeral service will take place at 11:30 a.m. Internment will take place the same day at 3:30 p.m. at Melville Cemetery in Melville.