Here is the Suffolk Times Service Directory for Sept. 10, 2015. If you are interested in placing an ad, please call Karen, 631-354-8029 or email kcullen@timesreview.com.

Suffolk Times Service Directory: Sept. 10, 2015

Here are the classifieds for Sept. 10, 2015. If you are interested in placing an ad, please call Karen, 631-354-8029 or email kcullen@timesreview.com.

Times Review classifieds: Sept. 10, 2015

Sniffle, sniffle … wipe tears away; we have said good-bye to summer vacation.

For some of you, those tears will be tears of joy for school starting. For me, I am sad. I love the ease of summer with the kids. All the wonderful activities. Welcome back to school, everyone! To those parents just settling into a routine without their college students, especially the freshmen, I send you hugs. To one special freshman, Megan Van Bourgondien, I say, “GO GET ’EM!” Megan was the winner of our Jimmy Koslosky Memorial Scholarship.

Let’s have some cheer for birthdays and anniversaries. Birthdays first: Mei Mei Reilly on Sept. 10; Eileen Jaklevic on Sept. 16; and Jeanne Guarriello on Sept. 20. Happy birthday one and all!

There are a lot of anniversaries: Doug and Caroline MacArthur on Sept. 14, along with Doug and Deb Bellomo; Scott and Mary Hughes, celebrating 20 years together on Sept. 17; and Mike and Rose Anasagasti on Sept. 19. Congratulations to the happy couples.

CAST celebrates 50 years! There are very few tickets remaining for the dinner at the Soundview next Thursday, Sept. 17, from 6 to 9 p.m. They cost $45, including food, beverage, raffles and fun! Call 477-1717 for further information.

St. Patrick’s Faith Formation classes will resume the week of Sept. 28. Children must be pre-registered before that date. Registration forms are available on the parish website, via the Faith Formation link, and in the front foyer of the church. Levels 3 and 6 meet Mondays, 3-4:15 p.m.; Level 2 meets Tuesdays, 3:30-4:30 p.m.; Levels 4 and 5 meet Thursdays, 3-4:15 p.m.; Levels 7 and 8 meet Thursday evenings, 7-8 p.m. Confirmation study resumes in January. Keep an eye on the bulletin for information on the next confirmation meeting .

Southold Historical Society presents “Barns of the North Fork,” an exhibition of original paintings by members of the North Fork artists group, who studied with Diane Alec-Smith. Their work will be on display Sept. 19 through Oct. 3 at the Reichert Family Center’s Cosden-Price Gallery on Main Road, where an opening reception is set for Friday, Sept. 18, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Regular gallery hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. For more information, call 765-5500.

Roberta and Bob Cavagna called with a “little bit” of grandparent bragging. Their 7 1/2-year-old granddaughter, Gemma Essex, competed in the Hampton Classic recently. Gemma and her pony earned a first-prize ribbon in leadline on Aug. 16. Well done, Gemma!

The town animal shelter is in need of canned and dry cat food and peanut butter. Here’s an idea: drop off your donations on Sept. 16 in honor of kennel manager Gabby Stroup’s birthday! Show Gabby how much you appreciate all she does for the animals.

I want to take a moment to remember Sept. 11. It truly was a day that changed how I saw the world and life as an American. I pray for the families who lost loved ones in the towers, on the planes and on the ground. I thank all those who aided and worked during such a devastating time in our history. Our lives are forever changed. God bless America and its strength and fortitude!

My next column is due Sept. 20. Call or email me with your details so we may share. Please take a moment to be in the moment and appreciate your life, however it is. Find the positive. You’ll be surprised how this can be uplifting.

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

It’s 8 a.m. Tuesday in Huntersville, N.C., and Michael Wheeler is already hard at work.

The Southold native, who is crew chief for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 car in the Xfinity Series, has just a few hours to get the vehicle to the NASCAR offices in nearby Charlotte for a post-race inspection.

Every Tuesday, the organization inspects cars that raced the previous weekend to make certain those vehicles adhere to NASCAR’s strict standards. The first- and second-place finishers are inspected along with a random car from the pack.

There was nothing random about Mr. Wheeler’s No. 20 car inspection this week.

For the fourth time this season -— the third time with Denny Hamlin behind the wheel — the No. 20 car found its way into the winner’s circle, claiming victory in the VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.

For the 36-year-old Mr. Wheeler, now in his first full season as an Xfinity Series crew chief after more than a decade as a Sprint Cup engineer, the victories never get old.

“There’s a lot of satisfaction [in winning],” Mr. Wheeler said. “In this industry, everything you do is about winning, and with 40 other cars, you don’t get to win too often.

“As a crew chief, the best part is seeing how happy the other guys on the team are when we win,” he said.

Mike and Amy Wheeler with driver Denny Hamlin in the winner’s circle at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway Saturday. The team has won all three races Amy, who is expecting the couple’s first child in November, has attended this season. (Credit: Mike Wheeler, courtesy)

For Mr. Wheeler, the son of Dick and Laureen Wheeler of Southold, cars have been a part of his life for as long as he can remember.

Since 1977, his father has owned Wheeler’s Garage on Route 48, a business Mike’s grandfather, Joseph, opened 24 years earlier.

Peggy Killian, owner of Eastern Tire in Cutchogue and a former mechanic at Wheeler’s, recalls a time when Mike was just a boy tinkering around in his old man’s shop.

The two would race beat-up cars in a farm field behind the garage. They both liked Dale Earnhardt Sr. because he was so aggressive, the very same reason many of their friends didn’t like the legendary driver. The back lot competitions from his son’s youth are something Dick Wheeler recalls with a chuckle.

“My wife got so mad one time because they kicked up so much dust you couldn’t see around the shop,” he joked.

Ms. Wheeler said she always knew her son was destined to do great things with an automobile. He was a calculated person, even at a young age. He was also very safety-conscious and driven.

“He’s the type of person who thinks before he acts,” she said.

And, of course, he’s mechanical. When Mike was around 5 years old, Dick Wheeler told him he could have a go-kart if he fixed the busted-up arm bar.

“Sure enough, he figured out exactly how to fix it,” Dick recalled. Mike also fixed up his first car, a 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass that he still owns, his father said.

After graduating from Southold High School, where he played on the soccer and bowling teams, Mike took his gifts to Kettering University in Michigan, earning a degree in mechanical engineering with a focus on automotive.

Each Friday during racing season, Wheels, as many of his friends call him, would pack his belongings into the Cutlass and drive 13 hours back to Southold so he could work on crews at Riverhead Raceway Saturday night. On Sunday, he’d drive the 13 hours back to school.

The local track was where his love of racing was born. Dick Wheeler raced there when Mike was a young boy and also later worked on crews there. The family spent Saturday nights at the raceway as far back as Mike can remember.

“Riverhead is one of those places, and there’s only a few in the northeast, where if you pay your dues and bide your time there it provides an avenue [to a career in racing],” he said. “If it wasn’t there, I probably would never have gotten involved with the sport. And I think it is a great place for kids who are interested in racing to go on a Saturday night rather than being someplace else where they might be getting in trouble.”

After completing his college internship at STIDD Systems in Greenport, a manufacturer of boat seats, Mr. Wheeler finished college and moved back home to take a job with the T.S. Haulers motorsports team in Calverton. Serving as crew chief for car owner Eddie Partridge and driver Bo Gunning, the team claimed the modified championship at Stafford Motor Speedway in Connecticut in his only season with the company.

Soon after the season ended, he landed an interview with Joe Gibbs Racing. Within weeks he was headed to North Carolina to become race engineer for the company. Three years later, Mr. Hamlin joined the team as a 24-year-old driver for the No. 11 FedEx NASCAR Sprint Cup car and the two young men, both new to the highest levels of the sport, formed a longtime partnership.

Driver Denny Hamlin and crew chief Mike Wheeler races to victory April 24 during the Toyota Owners 250 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. (Credit: Toyota Racing, courtesy)

In his first full season of Sprint Cup racing in 2006, Mr. Hamlin finished fifth in the final championship points standings, with 11 top-10 finishes and earnings of more than $1 million. That February, the two men each earned their first Sprint Cup victory at the Daytona Budweiser Shootout.

After their latest victory this past weekend, during which they even survived a botched pit stop, Mr. Hamlin deflected the credit to the work of Mr. Wheeler and his crew.

“You can’t have dominant performances like that without a great race car, and obviously Mike Wheeler and these guys did that for me,” he told Fox Sports.

Mr. Wheeler said working together early in their careers has created a great level of comfort with each other and a confidence to succeed.

“We were both relatively young getting into the sport,” Mr. Wheeler said. “But we’ve both equally respected each other’s abilities. We have a mutual friendship and we can talk openly to each other about racing.”

Of course, winning helps everything and the two have claimed victory in more than two dozen races together.

This is the first year since 2006 they haven’t worked together full-time. When the No. 20 car’s previous crew chief was suspended for race infractions last year, Mr. Wheeler stepped down as engineer at the Sprint Cup level to serve as crew chief at the lower ranks. He has worked with seven different drivers this season, but they’ve seen their share of success, earning eight poles and four victories in the Toyota Camry Mr. Wheeler is responsible for getting into the best possible racing shape each week. The team is eighth in Xfinity Series owners championship points with 14 top-10 finishes in 24 races. It has won two of the past three Xfinity Series events.

Mr. Wheeler said he took his current job when the opportunity arose so he could prove to sponsors and teams that he could be a successful crew chief. And while some media reports wondered whether he was up to the task, Mr. Wheeler, whose ultimate goal is to return to the Sprint Cup Series as crew chief, had very little doubt in himself and his 10-man team.

“I wasn’t questioning whether I was ready for it,” he said. “Our job as a crew is to take these cars and make them go faster. I know how to do that. It’s not rocket science, but it sort of is.”

It’s a skill his family and friends back home have seen on display for decades.

“He’s such a smart guy,” said Ms. Killian, adding that she became a Denny Hamlin fan the day Mr. Wheeler began working on his crew. “He was also always a nice boy and now man. He’s humble, which makes him a real good guy.”

This November, he and his wife, Amy — a good luck charm who has attended three races this season, each of which ended in victory — are expecting their first child.

No one is as proud of Mr. Wheeler’s success, both on and off the track, as his parents, who celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary this year. While they wish they could see him on the North Fork more than the twice a year his busy schedule allows, they are happy to see him pursuing his dream.

“He didn’t want to stay home and run a repair shop. He always wanted to get into racing and accomplish big things,” said Dick Wheeler, who remarked that he felt goose bumps watching the No. 20 car win Saturday’s race on national television.

“How many people get to work at their dream job?” Laureen Wheeler added. “When he was little, that was his desire, to work in NASCAR at that upper level, and he’s achieved it at a young age.”

gparpan@timesreview.com

Photo Credit: Crew Chief Michael Wheeler watches on during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 race at Michigan International Speedway, Friday, August 15, 2014. (Credit: AP Photo/NKP, Jennifer Coleman)

Two Jamesport properties comprising 43 acres that had been the focus of two controversial development proposals — both of which eventually fell by the wayside — were recently sold to a Huntington-based commercial real estate investment company.

The two parcels are a 9.71-acre site fronting Main Road, across from The Elbow Room, and 33.89-acre plot immediately north of that, which stretches back to Manor Lane.

The properties had been owned by Jamesport Development, a group headed by Julius Klein, whose controversial development proposals go back more than a decade.

The parcels had been in foreclosure and, along with other properties controlled by Mr. Klein, were part of a bankruptcy sale last year.

On July 15, the properties were acquired by TDG Jamesport Owner LLC for just under $5 million. That group had been assigned the mortgage on the land in April 2014, according to county records.

According to records, the corporate registration for TDG Jamesport Owner LLC belongs to Robert Dinoto of The Dinoto Group in Huntington.

The company’s website says that, since 2010, it “has emerged as one of the most well regarded purchasers of non-performing mortgage notes” and boasts of over $400 million in real estate transactions in the last 15 years.

An online portfolio of the group’s acquisitions includes mainly up-island and New York City commercial properties. A list of nearly 25 previous property transactions includes only two Suffolk County purchases, in Huntington and Babylon — though it’s not clear how up-to-date the website is.

Mr. Dinoto said he does plan to submit a proposal to develop the property, although he was unable to give specifics about that plan as of presstime.

In 2012, the Town Board approved a special permit for the smaller parcel, allowing bistros and professional offices. The site received Riverhead Town approval in 2014 for a 42,000-square-foot commercial project called Village at Jamesport.

The special permit approval, which town officials said has since expired, was challenged in court by a neighborhood group called Save Main Road. That organization, which aims to “preserve our North Fork’s rural character for future generations,” was created in part to halt the proposal.

A state Supreme Court judge dismissed that lawsuit in January 2013 based on lack of legal standing to bring the case.

Larry Simms of Save Main Road said this week that because of Julius Klein’s pending bankruptcy case, Save Main Road — which had planned to refile its lawsuit — had been advised by its attorney to not do anything further until that case played out. 

“I am eager to see what the new owners plan to do,” Mr. Simms said.

The 34-acre parcel to the north was once envisioned as a 160-unit retirement community.

However, that land was rezoned in 2004 as part of the town’s master plan update and current zoning will permit only 15 homes to be built there, town officials say. At the time, town officials refused to accept the application for 160 units on the grounds that it didn’t comply with zoning. Mr. Klein subsequently submitted an application to develop only the 10 acres, but the environmental impact study for that project wasn’t approved by the town until 2012, four years after it had been submitted and eight years after the project was first proposed.

Mr. Klein’s efforts to develop the property came to a halt when his company filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2014, after the land went into foreclosure.

In the foreclosure case, United International Bank claimed that Jamesport Development and Mr. Klein had defaulted on a $3.25 million mortgage. However, the case was dismissed in state Supreme Court in 2012 on the grounds that Mr. Klein had not been properly served with the foreclosure notice.

An advertisement that ran in the New York Times in April 2014 said the land had “approvals in place for 42,000-square-foot mixed use commercial center plus potential for additional development” and that the “sale includes valuable sand deposits.”

“The property also includes a significant amount of sand that can be excavated on the forward 9.7 acres,” the advertiser said in a statement at the time. ”The sand alone is in strong demand and can be extremely valuable.”

Riverhead Town officials argued at the time that the approvals had expired and that the town doesn’t allow new sand mining operations.

tgannon@timesreview.com

Southold Town police arrested a 27-year-old Riverhead man for driving while intoxicated Wednesday evening, according to a press release. 

Jose L. Corfoza-Menjivar was pulled over while driving westbound on Sound Avenue at 6:29 p.m. for failing to maintain his lane, police said. He was found to be intoxicated and was arrested for misdemeanor DWI, police said.

He was transported to police headquarters and held for arraignment, police said.

Pool cleaning products sparked a minor fire Thursday night at a home on Goose Creek Lane in Southold, fire officials at the scene said.

Southold Fire Department Chief Peggy Killian said the fire, which was reported at around 5:40 p.m., started behind the garage and didn’t cause a lot of damage.

No injuries were reported.

Fire officials started to leave the scene at around 6:20 p.m.

William Goggins, the Republican Party’s pick to run for town justice in November, will hold the party line on Election Day after fending of Eileen Powers in a primary on Thursday night.

With all of Southold’s 19 election districts tallied, Mr. Goggins held 526 votes to Ms. Powers’ 390.

And while Ms. Powers didn’t earn the Republican nomination, she still will be on the ballot in November: she won by a single vote in the Independence Party race. Ms. Powers earned 25 votes to Mr. Goggins’ 24 votes. Brian Hughes, who will be running on the Democratic line in November, has 13 votes.

In the third primary for town justice, Mr. Goggins earned a victory over the other two candidates, tallying 38 votes to Ms. Powers’ 25 and Mr. Hughes’ 9 votes.

It’s a wrap — the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer are over. I hope you all enjoyed yours as much as I enjoyed mine. Now it’s time to hit the ground running.

St. Agnes Faith Formation classes resume the week of Sept. 28. Levels 1-5 will meet Tuesday afternoons from 3 to 4:15 p.m. and levels 6-8 will meet Wednesday evenings from 6:45 to 8 p.m. Register before Sept. 28; even if you have registered in past years. Forms are available on the parish website and in the church’s front foyer. Children not registered with St. Agnes will not be able to walk from the school on Tuesday afternoons. Confirmation study resumes in January. Check the bulletin for more information.

Fifty years of doing anything continuously is an accomplishment, but when you consider that CAST has been serving our community and making lives better for half a century — now that’s saying something. Come celebrate CAST’s 50th anniversary Thursday, Sept. 17, at Soundview Restaurant. For tickets and info, call 477-1717.

Rivalries abound this week in Greenport High School sporting news. While it doesn’t carry the same weight as the Dorrie Jackson-Herb Goldsmith coaching days, East End bragging rights are up for grabs this Friday evening when the Porters take on the Mariners in Southampton. Game time is 7 p.m. Also on Friday, the Greenport boys soccer team has a varsity match in Southold at 4 p.m.

He’ll still be with us for a couple more months, but I’d like to take this opportunity to thank GHS athletic director Jim Caliendo for the years he’s spent with us. I, more than anyone, know how tirelessly he’s worked and how much he’s cared about making GHS athletics the best it could be. Thanks, Jim.

If you’re out and about and happen to see any of the following people, be sure to wish them a happy birthday: Vinnie Claps, Mike Heaney, Janna Cisterino, Rachel Ferretti Johnson and Ann Terry Swick all celebrate on the 10th; Chris Czartosieski and T.J. Jenkins on the 11th; Maleik Yoskovich and Kathy Glew Mayo on the 12th; Tevin Parrish, Jason Campbell and Pete Checklick on the 13th; Skye Prichard on the 14th; Mimi Fogarty, Matt Kapell and Leslie Kruk on the 15th; Aaron Brown, Barbara Claps and my cousin Mike Warner on the 16th; my goddaughter Alyssa Damiani, Michael Dimon, Andrew Corwin, John Dinizio, Ginny Grattan and Eileen Kiski on the 17th; Carlos DeJesus, Marc LaMaina and Eileen Sayre on the 18th; Candis Leary, Sofia Land, Boni Quatroche Fash, Mary Kathryn Baker and Bryan Anderson on the 20th; Brittany Ruroede, Chris Ruroede and Shelby Kostal on the 21st; Shelley Boyd, Bruce Sieverman and Peter Vandernoth on the 22nd; and Bart Ruroede, Nick Mazzaferro, Bruce Land and Semar Bell on the 23rd.

‘The Anniversary Waltz’ will play for Kim and Perry Corazzini, celebrating 27 years of marriage on Sept. 10, and Sarah and Mike Mazzaferro, married 17 years on Sept. 20.

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

A Mattituck motorcyclist who was riding without wearing a helmet was arrested Friday night and charged with misdemeanor driving while intoxicated, Southold Town police said.

Sean O’Donnell was stopped near the intersection of Pike Street and Wickham Avenue about 11:30 p.m. after a cop saw him fail to signal a turn and ride through a stop sign, according to a police report.

After he was pulled over, according to a police press release, Mr. O’Donnell had “a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath, slurred speech, blood-shot glassy eyes and was unsteady on his feet.” He failed sobriety tests at the scene and was arrested.

In addition to the DWI charge, he also faces traffic infractions. An update on his court appearance was not immediately available.

• A Cutchogue man was arrested Monday night after police received a call from anonymous driver stating that he was “all over the roadway.”

According to Southold police, 37-year-old Noah Schwartz was arrested on Route 48 in Peconic shortly after 7 p.m. after he was found to be intoxicated. He was charged with misdemeanor DWI and cited for unlawful possession of marijuana, a violation.

• A Mattituck man was arrested Saturday night for DWI after being stopped at a checkpoint, according to a police report.

Leonardo Payes was stopped on Route 25 in Laurel around 10:15 p.m. as part of a DWI checkpoint, the release stated. Officers found him to be intoxicated and placed him under arrest.

He was transported to headquarters, processed and held overnight, awaiting arraignment, police said.

• Police arrested a Greenport man for DWI Saturday night, according to a police report.

Fausto de Jesus Bran-Gomez was observed “failing to maintain his lane of travel” on Route 25 in Southold, the report stated. He was found to be intoxicated and placed under arrest.

• A Greenport man was arrested early Friday morning after refusing to cooperate with police while intoxicated, police said.

An officer observed Robert Vanbrunt walking down Third Street with an open can of Corona Extra beer, according to a police report. The officer determined that Mr. Vanbrunt was intoxicated, and attempted to issue him a Greenport Village code summons.

However, the report stated, Mr. Vanbrunt allegedly refused several times to give his name, so the officer arrested him for the village code violation and for obstruction of government administration.

• Someone stole a $900 sailboat mast from an East Marion property last week, according to a police report filed Saturday morning.

A Bay Avenue resident called police around 8:15 a.m. to report the 20-year-old 16-foot aluminum mast missing, police said. He told officers he asked a junk dealer from Riverhead to remove some items from his property, so he believes that man may have taken the mast.

The resident told police he contacted the junk dealer, who denied any involvement.

An investigation is ongoing.

• A Greenport man discovered that his tablet had been stolen after noticing data usage charges Friday evening, according to a police report.

The Maple Street resident called police around 5 p.m. to report the data usage, and when he went into the garage to check, he saw that the $300 tablet had been stolen.

• A Southold man reported that his car was broken into last Wednesday afternoon, police said.

The victim called police from in front of Noah’s restaurant in Greenport to report that an unknown person broke into his vehicle and stole his speakers, amplifier and GPS, according to the police report.

Police did not clarify how much the electronics were worth.

• A Mattituck woman reported her husband “overdue” from a kayak trip Sunday. He was eventually located by Southampton Town bay constables, according to a police report.

The woman told police around 1:30 p.m. that her husband was missing since 11:30 a.m. on a yellow ocean kayak, the report stated. Southold Police checked the waters from Robins Island to Mattituck but could not find the man.

He was then located outside the Shinnecock Canal by Southampton Town Bay Constables and transported back to land by a private boat, police said.

During my first year as a general assignment reporter here at Times Review, I asked what an editor meant when she used the expression “silly season.”

Nearly a decade later, I recognize this was a, well, silly question.

I soon learned all about silly season, the time of year when elected officials and others seeking office pull silly stunts in an effort to attract votes. The full story in these few months each year is often hidden behind some other narrative the candidates want out there. It’s our job at the newspaper to do our best to sift through the theatrics and present a clear picture of what’s really at stake with each election. This often means skipping the “photo op” press releases and stump speech events we are invited to.

Sometimes, however, it’s not always clear which events are being staged simply for good press before an election until after a reporter has been dispatched to the scene of the crime.

Sometimes you play it right and sometimes you get it wrong. In the past two weeks, we’ve done a little of both.

When we assigned a reporter to a press conference on efforts to raise money to renovate the Riverhead Town Animal Shelter on Tuesday we certainly didn’t anticipate that Denise Lucas, a recent News-Review Person of the Year and the driving force behind fundraising efforts to build a new shelter in town was not invited to the event. An email announcing the press conference stated that “Supervisor Sean Walter, the entire Riverhead Town Board, leadership of North Fork Animal Welfare League and other invited guests” would be on hand.

When the two reporters covering the event arrived, they took photos of Mr. Walter, North Fork Animal Welfare League board president Dennis McDermott and executive director Gillian Wood Pultz and town council members Jodi Giglio and Jim Wooten, both of whom were, like Mr. Walter, running in primaries two days later.

After the photos were taken, the reporters in attendance were asked if they have any questions. (Um, yeah, what are we doing here?)

The event ended precisely 6 minutes and 49 seconds later.

Ms. Lucas was acknowledged in remarks by Ms. Wood Pultz — but not by any of the Republican  elected officials — and she was briefly mentioned in our article.

The press conference was ultimately to announce that NFAWL is kicking off a $1 million fundraising campaign to relocate the shelter. It’s a worthy endeavor independent of Ms. Lucas’ Riverhead Move the Animal Shelter efforts, though the two are not mutually exclusive. Promoting any fundraising involving the animal shelter without involving Ms. Lucas at this point is like retiring a recent Yankee’s number and not inviting Derek Jeter.

Of course, the campaign drive could have been announced in the press release without the photo op being scheduled at all, thereby avoiding this whole controversy, but then again it is silly season, the time when awkward, self-serving photos are most often taken.

This wasn’t the only strange photo of the past couple weeks. On Aug. 31, we were invited to a check presentation taking place a few hours later at Community Action Southold Town.

The announcement stated that “The Town of Southold put a ban on events from June 1st to October 1st. On July 12th, prior to the ban, the Mighty North Fork Triathlon took place, raising $10,000 for CAST … EventPower is presenting CAST with this check.”

As a general rule, we avoid check presentations, so we did not attend the event, but I later saw a photo showing the check being presented to CAST board president Denis Noncarrow by Town Supervisor Scott Russell.

Mr. Russell, of course, helped lead the effort to “put a ban on events from June 1st to October 1st,” a move that will force the popular annual triathlon to either be held at a different time of year or to not happen at all. It just doesn’t seem all that appropriate to me for Mr. Russell, who is seeking re-election in November, to present the check in that particular photo.

I noticed a lot of East End locals were celebrating Tumbleweed Tuesday — the day after Labor Day, when the summer visitors return home — on social media this week. I did not participate in this particular celebration.

I’ll host my party on a day I like to call Wise Wednesday, the morning after Election Day, when the silliness is finally over.

The author is the executive editor of Times Review Media Group. He can be reached at gparpan@timesreview.com or by phone at 631-354-8046.

(Photo Credit: flickr, Ryan Johnson)

“A book can make you feel better.”

That simple statement, spoken by sixth-grader Sidney Brewer, is the principle that guided a dozen local Girl Scouts in their latest endeavor. For their Bronze Award project, they wanted to give the gift of reading to their community.

So on Friday, the girls of Troop 1474, all sixth-graders at Cutchogue East Elementary School, unveiled their work after nine months of effort: two homemade bookshelves, one for Community Action Southold Town and one for Eastern Long Island Hospital.

“We wanted to put a smile on their faces,” said troop member Cassie Stevens about the recipients. “If you have a book, you can imagine your own world.”

The girls repeated a phrase several times during Friday’s presentation: “Above, beyond and over yonder.” And in following that phrase, they did more than construct shelves — they raised money to pay for the materials, gathered hundreds of books and decorated each shelf with their handprints to leave a memorable mark.

Between the two locations, the girls donated more than 1,700 books ready for use — exactly 1,756 books, the girls clarified with excitement — that they collected at school and from other troops.

About 1,000 of those books were given to CAST along with one of the wooden bookshelves. All of the books there are available for families in need to take at will, and the girls will continue to collect books and donate them so that the supply never runs out.

“We know that people go to CAST to get different things, and its bookshelf was actually falling apart, so we wanted to get them a new one,” said Maya Hamilton, another member.

The bookshelf was installed in the “sharing room” at CAST, according to executive director Linda Ruland, so its contents are free for anyone to claim as new possessions.

“The people that come here just can’t afford to get a book,” Ms. Ruland said. “For the children, it’s a wonderful gift to give them the gift of reading. The kids can come in, take a book home and actually keep it.”

(Credit: Chris Lisinski)

At ELIH, the bookshelf sits in the second-floor solarium, where families can read. The girls gathered so many books, in fact, that some had to be placed in the emergency room since the bookshelf could not hold them all.

With their gift, the girls hope to offer a constructive distraction for anyone visiting the hospital, especially patients’ children.

“You don’t want to be worrying and worrying,” Maya said. “If you’re reading a book, you get lost in the book world and time goes fast.”

Twelve girls participated: Maya, Sidney, Cassie, Olivia Goerler, Mackenzie Conroy, Lucy Hasel, Cassidy Czujko, Kaitlin Elmore, Ariel Elmore, Samantha Hildesheim, Emily Nicholson and Lilly Fogarty.

To begin their project, the troop first fundraised all of the money necessary to buy the materials. Mattituck contractor Amos Meringer then served as their “building mentor” to help with construction. The girls themselves used all the tools, from power saws to hammers to sanders — with supervision, of course.

Nicole Brewer, the troop leader and Sidney’s mother, described the project as “fantastic chaos” that was both humbling and heartwarming.

“In the craziness of a full-time life, the best part of my month is hanging out with these girls,” she said. “They amaze me. I can’t wait to see what they do next.”

Last season Mattituck celebrated a series of playoff wins on its way to the state championships for the fourth time in five years. (Credit: Garret Meade, file)

At the start of the high school girls volleyball season, it’s the dream of every team in New York State to play their final game of the year at the Glens Falls Civic Center, the site of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Championships.

Lately, Mattituck has made a habit of making the long drive to Glens Falls to play in the state tournament, something the Tuckers did last year for the fourth time in five years. The Tuckers’ coach, Frank Massa, calls it “the greatest trip in high school.” He said, “The overall experience for all the girls is that for 99.9 percent of them, this is the biggest athletic stage that they will ever play on.”

The next ground-breaking achievement for the Tuckers (10-9 last year) would be winning a game in the state championships. They have an all-time record of 0-24 in the big tournament. Massa has said that it’s a lot easier to get to Glens Falls than to win a game there.

Last year the Tuckers had to buck the odds to get there. They petitioned their way into the playoffs, and as the No. 3 seed in the Suffolk County Class C Tournament they got hot at the right time. Although they lost all six of their semifinal pool games in the state tournament, they held late leads in both of their games against Spackenkill, only to lose them both by 25-19 scores.

All this talk about Glens Falls is nice, but Massa understands that first things come first. First the Tuckers have to make it to the playoffs.

They will dearly miss the services of hard-hitting middle hitter Emilie Reimer, who is now playing for SUNY/Cobleskill. If it were not for Reimer, the Tuckers very well may not have seen the playoffs. She sparkled in the postseason, putting up 86 kills, 11 blocks, 7 dinks, 6 assists and 2 aces from 50-for-50 serving.

“Last year we had that player where you go, ‘Wow!’ ” said Massa.

The Tuckers don’t have that “wow” factor this year, but they do have what Massa believes to be a more balanced talent level. They still have two of their starters from last year in Carly Doorhy, an all-conference senior setter, and Meghan McKillop, a senior libero.

Seven other seniors who experienced last year’s exciting ride are back: defensive specialist Phurlamu Sherpa, defensive specialist Allie Becker, right-side hitter Skyler Grathwohl, middle hitter Dawn Rochon, middle hitter Caroline Keil, defensive specialist Maria Capichana and setter Erin Feeney.

Joining the team are outside hitter Madison Osler, middle hitter Sam Husak, right-side hitter Grace Izzo, setter Kim Corso, defensive specialist Amanda Young, setter Sarah Shannon and outside hitter Kathryn Zaloom.

Massa, who is in his 28th year as Mattituck’s coach, said he enjoys coaching as much as ever.

“Practices are fun for me,” he said. “They go by quicker. I just want to see [the players] succeed. I know how much fun it is for them to win. A great group of girls and that’s the one constant I would say with every group I coached.”

On their way to Glens Falls, the Tuckers ousted Greenport/Southold (9-7) in the Suffolk County Class C semifinals. The Clippers lost their standout middle hitter, Jenna Standish, to graduation, but return a small but versatile group, led by two all-league seniors, Marina DeLuca and Mercedes Edwards. DeLuca is an outside hitter and Edwards has been moved from setter to middle hitter.

Rosa Hernandez can play outside hitter or on the right side. Monique Smith can play as an outside hitter or as a defensive specialist. Gina Anasagasti can play outside hitter or on the right side.

“I’ve got kids that can play right side, outside and middle,” said coach Mike Gunther.

Versatility is a nice thing.

Sydney Mulvaney, a senior who did not play last year, will play setter.

“I would say we can do better than we did last year,” said Gunther.

Why does he say that?

“If you look at it on paper, we’re stronger at [just] about every position,” he said. “There’s more all-around skill on the court. Is anyone standing out like Jenna did last year? Not yet, but the middle and the bottom have moved up.”

bliepa@timesreview.com

A solemn memorial ceremony was held at Jean Cochran Park in Peconic Friday afternoon to honor and remember victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. 

The ceremony, which was presented by Tracey Orlando and Southold Town Fire Chiefs Council, included the raising of a massive American flag and a short parade of local fire department members.

Children and adults planted flags near the 9/11 memorial statue of an osprey perched on a beam from the World Trade Center.

See more photos below:

It was a tough two days for the Mattituck girls soccer team. 

On Thursday, the Tuckers had their home game against Babylon postponed for a day due to a rainstorm. On Friday, they suffered a 2-0 defeat to their League VII rivals.

Olivia Maldonado scored a goal and assisted on another to lead the Panthers (1-0-0, 1-0-0) over Mattituck (0-1-0, 0-1-1).

Maldonado set up Shayne Antolini with the first goal at 7:41 before finding the back of the net for an insurance goal in the 50th minute that went off the hand of Mattituck keeper Emma Fasolino.

In fact, Fasolino saved the Panthers from extending their leads, finishing with 14 saves.

Babylon goalkeeper Kathryn DiSanti made 10 saves, including one on a penalty kick by Mattituck midfielder Katherine Hayes to preserve the two-goal lead in the 71st minute.

The Tuckers will try to get back into the win column by playing at League VII rival Stony Brook at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Zach Holmes helped a Greenport/Southold/Mattituck offense that put 51 points up on Southampton High School’s scoreboard. (Credit: Garret Meade)

The Greenport/Southold/Mattituck high school football team is no stranger to blowouts. The Porters have been involved in their fair share of them over the years.

What made this one different, compared to some other one-sided games they have been involved in over recent years, is that this time they were the ones on the favorable end of the final score.

The Porters’ offense came to life in a big way Friday night. They scored the game’s first 22 points, stretched their lead to 44-6, and looked in full control for most of their Suffolk County Division IV game against Southampton.

Tristin Ireland accounted for 22 points himself as the Porters raised their record to 2-0 thanks to a 51-12 pasting of the Mariners. The senior running back scored three touchdowns (two on runs and one on a reception) in addition to running in a pair of 2-point conversions at Southampton High School’s Richard H. Smith Field.

Another strong showing by the Porters’ quarterback, Dylan Marlborough, helped. The senior passed for two touchdowns, including a 52-yarder to Jake Skrezec, and had a touchdown run himself. Marlborough went 9 of 16 passing for 139 yards, finding six receivers in the process. He also had 76 rushing yards, to boot, before being relieved by Sean Sepenoski in the fourth quarter.

Keegan Syron also ran for a Porters touchdown.

Not only did the Porters’ offense run smoothly, but all sorts of plays went their way, the biggest being a Southampton fumble that saw Dominick Panetta collect the bouncing ball and run it back 82 yards for a score. Ireland’s conversion run after that gave the Porters a 22-0 lead with 6 minutes 37 seconds left in the second quarter.

Southampton, playing its season-opening game after a 2-6 campaign in 2014, scored both of its touchdowns on 1-yard runs by its freshman quarterback, Shawn Stelling.

The victims of the 9/11 terror attacks were not forgotten on the 14th anniversary of that day. Two fire trucks held aloft a giant American flag on a street adjacent to the field. After the Mariners entered the field by running between two lines of youth football players, a moment of silence was observed for the 9/11 victims. At halftime, firefighters, some holding flags, were applauded as they were joined by fans in a memorial lap around the track that surrounds the football field.

Prior to the game, it appeared as if a swarm of flying insects that looked like termites had taken over the field. Following the opening kickoff, though, the Porters took over the game, asserting their control with strong defense and an offense that looked well-tuned.

The Porters’ defense, led by Syron’s eight tackles and one fumble recovery, held Southampton to 182 yards of offense and only three pass completions for 34 yards. The Mariners managed to convert just one of 13 third-down plays for a first down.

Ireland and Zach Holmes each had an interception for the Porters.

bliepa@timesreview.com

The floodgates have recently opened on the spam folder in my email account and I have a depressing announcement to make, dear reader, for which I apologize in advance: The spam people have won.

You win, Zagat. You win, Edible Arrangements. You win, Connecticut Landmarks, FC Bayern, Golden Door International Film Festival and Miss America Festival.

You’ve all gotten an official mention from me. Now, for the love of everything that is holy: Please stop emailing me!

So we all know Al Gore invented the Internet; can I blame him for spam, too? Because I seriously don’t know who to point a finger at in this situation.

How did I get on these lists? Who is paying who to send emails to jpinciaro@timesreview.com, or editor@timesreview.com — and where is my piece of it? Besides an email that ends up wallowing in the back of my inbox, of course.

Since I started using email about 20 years ago, I’ve gradually migrated from one email address to the next (farewell, AOL and my college email address; nice knowing you, Hotmail!), as the previous one gets slowly inundated with spam emails to the point where they start to choke the life out of my account in full. Then eventually, sadly, it’s time to part ways.

At this point, my Gmail account contains 2,267 unread emails, though my work email has pulled ahead with 2,641. My wife says the number on my iPhone indicating how many unread emails I have stresses her out. But if I let it bother me, I’d spend half my workday deleting emails.

Recently, though, I’ve started to fight back. I’m now an active “unsubscriber.” That’s right, I scroll to the bottom of spam emails and follow the SafeUnsubscribe link! I do “click here” when I would “rather not receive future communications” from you. Honestly, it’s nothing personal, but I don’t want an online nursing degree. I have enough student loans. (Plus, I’d be a horrible nurse.) North Carolina’s Brunswick Islands sound like a great place — but I don’t have time to explore them online. I need to learn more about things on Long Island.

So that leaves me no choice. I have to unsubscribe and, ever so slowly, winnow away the emails that are sitting unread — and read, but not yet deleted — in my inbox. Until I’m down to zero. (Unless, of course, I’m unknowingly signing up for more email lists when I click on “unsubscribe.”)

Will I ever get there? I don’t know. I don’t think so. It seems so unattainable, like crafting the beach body you see in magazines or sculpting the perfect yard they show on HGTV. The forces are just so against me; how can I hit delete so many times in a single day — or a single month — and still have time to get anything done?

Tom Hastings with the Oregon Peace Institute seems like a fine guy, but he’s really putting my back up against the old “growing inbox” wall by emailing me all these op-ed pieces about United States foreign policy — not the type of piece we generally run.

It’s a blessing and, sometimes, a curse, this interconnected world we live in. Information overload is nice when you need information — but then when you don’t, when you want to unplug, that’s not possible. Next thing you know, you have 2,600 emails in your inbox. And counting.

Maybe it’s just one of those things where there are certain types of people in this world: some people have 0 emails in their inbox and others are bound to have thousands. Some people keep a clean car, others keep a messy car. Some people alphabetize their CDs (or used to, at least), while others throw them all into the back seat.

I guess you can imagine how the inside of my car looks. Though strangely, I used to alphabetize my CD’s. Explain that one for me.

Just don’t email me your explanation. It might get deleted.

Joseph Pinciaro is the editor of the Riverhead News-Review and The Suffolk Times. He can be reached at 298-3200, ext. 238. Follow him on twitter @cjpinch.

(Photo Credit: flickr.com, Joe the Goat Farmer)

Southold Town police say a 20-year-old man was caught with drugs in Greenport after he was stopped for running a stop sign Friday night.

Petros Panagopoulos of Orient was stopped on Champlin Place while driving a 2000 Jeep about 9:40 p.m., according to a news release. A police investigation determined he was in possession of cocaine, police said.

Mr. Panagopoulos was charged with misdemeanor criminal possession of a controlled substance and released on bail, according to the release.

If you’re Wile E. Coyote — or even just a fan of the perennially unlucky character from the Road Runner cartoons — then you might not be interested in using boulders to adorn your lawn.

For the rest of us, however, they’re becoming more popular than ever.

Landscaper Tommy Stapon said he’s been working with the enormous rocks frequently over the past several years since more of his clients are now choosing boulders instead of wood or concrete walls.

“People like the natural look,” said Mr. Stapon, who owns Town and Country Nursery in Jamesport. “Concrete walls all fade and in 10 years they look like garbage. With boulders, you have that look forever.”

The finished landscape with boulders and plants on Industrial Blvd. in Riverhead this week. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)

According to the state Department of Transportation’s website, boulders and large rocks are common in areas of glacial deposits. Landscaping with them is common upstate New York, particularly when it is difficult to get rid of them.

Allan Schule, owner of Sound Shore Pond in Wading River, said rocks aren’t always ideal for certain projects, but believes they’re the best choice in most cases since boulders are more natural-looking compared to other materials used for hardscape projects.

“I have a rock in my truck every day,” he said, adding that he hand-picks each boulder. “There’s really no maintenance. Bricks crack and fade. Nothing really changes on the rocks and if you want more color, you power-wash it.

“We try to mimic nature,” he added. “You want to work with Mother Nature, not against it.”

When evaluating a client’s yard, Mr. Schule said he takes into consideration the color of the house. He then tries to find a boulder with a similar shade.

Most important, however, is figuring out what to plant around the rocks.

“In nature, you don’t really see a rock by itself,” Mr. Schule explained. “You see some plants creeping over it or a scrub nearby. You never want a rock to look like it just fell out of the sky. Plantings makes it look like the rock has been there for hundreds of years.”

In addition to being more aesthetically pleasing, Mr. Schule said boulders are less expensive and cost about a third less than other materials.

While Mr. Schule purchases boulders at T S Hauler in Calverton, most of the boulders Mr. Stapon uses come from excavation work performed in the New York City area. The last bunch he received was from a project in Brooklyn.

“You never know what you’re getting,” he said. “You just tell them what size you want.”

Mr. Stapon said he’s done seven jobs with boulders this year, adding that it takes between a few hours and a day to complete a project.

“I just have a knack for picking out the rocks,” he said. “It’s like putting a puzzle together.”

jnuzzo@timesreview.com

WITH RACHEL YOUNG

Top photo: A boulder-landscaped front yard in South Jamesport. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)

The preservation of Plum Island will depend in large part on support from community members who oppose the federal government’s plans to sell it to the highest bidder, said Chris Cryder, special projects coordinator of the bi-coastal conservation group Save the Sound.

“Ultimately, you will be part of this equation,” Mr. Cryder told a group of nearly 30 people who assembled Saturday morning at the East Marion Fire House for a presentation hosted by the East Marion Community Association. “We need you. I believe very soon — this fall — that we will need you to reach out to your legislators.”

During the hour-long presentation, called “Preserving Plum Island for Future Generations,” Mr. Cryder delivered a brief overview of the history of the 840-acre island, which is owned by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in conjunction with the General Services Administration.

The island houses the federally operated Animal Disease Research Center.

The island, which is on track to be sold to the highest bidder in order to offset the cost of a proposed state-of-the-art facility in Kansas, is also home to a vast number of rare and endangered wildlife. In addition to ospreys and seals, 218 bird species — including the vulnerable piping plover — and 16 rare plants inhabit the three-mile parcel, Mr. Cryder told attendees.

Using photographs taken by Robert Lorenz, Mr. Cryder presented a virtual tour of the island, 80 percent of which is undeveloped. The imagery included depictions of the island’s 96 acres of fresh wetlands, along with its forests, bogs and preponderance of dune systems.

“A virtual tour is so important because it enables people to see the natural resources like they’ve never been able to before,” said Louise Harrison of Peconic, a member of the Coalition to Save Plum Island’s steering committee who attended Saturday’s event.

For the past six months, Mr. Cryder has given numerous presentations like the one in East Marion to communities in nearby Rhode Island and Connecticut. On Saturday, he asked the public to write letters to local media outlets and to contact Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office expressing support for the continuing preservation of Plum Island.

“I personally believe it will come down the public will and getting a stronger coalition and taking action,” Mr. Cryder said, encouraging residents to attend the New York State Assembly Standing Committee on Environmental Conservation’s public hearing about the island’s future.

That meeting takes place Monday, Sept. 28, at 11 a.m. at Brookhaven Town Hall in Farmingville.

Despite the federal government’s plans to sell Plum Island to the highest bidder — notably, Donald Trump has expressed interest in it — Mr. Cryder said he thinks New York State’s Coastal Zone Management Program could ultimately halt the sale of the island to a private entity.

“We believe that moving the island out of the federal realm and into the private end of things would actually be inconsistent with New York’s Coastal Zone Management Program,” Mr. Cryder said.

State officials have already expressed a desire to preserve Plum Island. In June, Sen. Charles Schumer introduced The Plum Island Conservation Act, a bill that would change an existing law to prevent the island from being sold to the highest bidder.

According to Mr. Schumer, the bill would also give the federal government the flexibility to transfer the sale of the island to a national environmental agency that would conserve it as a wildlife sanctuary, like the National Parks Service or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“I am confident that these federal agencies would commit to preserving Plum Island and protecting the property from being destroyed,” Mr. Schumer had said.

ryoung@timesreview.com

Photo: Chris Cryder, special projects coordinator of Save the Sound, addresses participants at the East Marion Fire House Saturday morning.
(Credit: Rachel Young)