With school budget votes looming Tuesday, there are a few major developments to keep in mind, especially for taxpayers in the Mattituck-Cutchogue and Greenport school districts.

Seven people are running for three open seats on the Mattituck school board. In July, former board president Jerry Diffley resigned after 16 years of service, citing difficulties commuting from his job in Garden City. Then, about two months later, 18-year school board veteran Jeff Smith resigned and moved to Florida. Board member Bill Gatz’s term ends in June and he is running for re-election.

The candidates — Mr. Gatz, George Haase, Edward Hassildine, MaryLynn Hoeg, Tonya Kaiser-Witczak, Brian Mealy and Barbara Talbot — gathered in the high school auditorium last Thursday to share their views on current issues and their goals.

All the candidates agreed that two of the biggest issues facing the district are the decrease in enrollment and the ability to keep up with technology changes in the future. Additionally, all seven said they will pursue similar goals during their time on the board, should they get elected: continue the success the district has seen by meeting students’ changing needs and balancing the budget effectively.

Opinions differed, however, when it came to state testing and the lack of contract for teachers.

Mr. Hassildine, a Mattituck graduate, said he didn’t support Common Core or the “excessive testing” associated with it.

“Students all learn at a different pace,” he said. “Faculty shouldn’t be penalized by test scores. Teachers should be able to adapt to students and look at different ways to assess them.”

Mr. Haase, Ms. Talbot and Ms. Hoeg called the tests a “necessary evil.” They said they understood the importance of testing students, but didn’t like the idea of “teaching to a test.”

Overall, the candidates agreed the state needed to do more to Common Core to make it a truly valuable program.

The top two vote-getters Tuesday will be appointed to full three-year terms. The third qualifying candidate will serve the one year remaining in Mr. Diffley’s unexpired term.

The Mattituck-Cutchogue School District hasn’t experienced a contested school board race since 2011. During the 2013 election, a write-in candidate won after no one petitioned for an open seat left by an incumbent who decided not to seek re-election.

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The Greenport School District is proposing to pierce the tax cap with a 8.52 percent increase in the levy.

Superintendent David Gamberg said the district is only allowed to raise the tax levy by 0.77 percent, or $98,320, for the next school year, an amount he has described as “insufficient.”

Instead, the district’s proposed hike carries an increase of nearly $1 million in the tax levy, bringing the total amount to be raised from property taxes to nearly $13.7 million. The total spending budget is around $17.9 million.

This budget allows for the restoration of numerous teaching positions that have been eliminated over the years, including converting the librarian and psychologist positions from part-time to full-time, adding a part-time social studies teacher and adding full-time teachers in math, reading, special education and English as a Second Language, as well as aides and clerical staff.

“This budget is largely restorative,” Mr. Gamberg said in April. “It’s making restorations so that children in kindergarten, first grade and second grade have the same support so that they, too, can in 10 years’ time achieve at a level that the current ’15 and ’16 classes did.”

The district is also looking to create a new position: a part-time science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) teacher for grades K-8 who would work with the school garden, conduct labs and more, Mr. Gamberg said.

The proposed budget needs to receive a supermajority vote, which is a 60 percent approval rate, to pass.

In May 2013, Greenport became the only local school district to propose piercing the tax levy cap since the state-mandated restriction took effect for the 2012-13 fiscal year. Residents approved that budget by a supermajority vote.

A look at what’s on the ballot for each local school district (below). Visit suffolktimes.com Tuesday night for complete school board election coverage and voting results.

Mattituck-Cutchogue School District

Current budget: $40,924,934

Proposed budget: $40,289,375

Estimated tax levy increase: 0.4 percent

Three open seats, seven candidates: William Gatz, George Haase, Edward Hassildine, MaryLynn Hoeg, Tonya Kaiser-Witczak, Brian Mealy, Barbara Talbot

Polling takes place from 3 to 9 p.m. in the high school gym

New Suffolk Common School District

Current budget: $1,093,899

Proposed budget: $1,314,783

Estimated tax levy increase: 1.1 percent

One open seat, one candidate: Joseph Polashock

Polling takes place from 3 to 9 p.m. in a classroom at the school

Southold School District

Current budget: $29,148,995

Proposed budget: $29,008,500

Estimated tax levy increase: 0.67 percent

One open seat, one candidate: Judi Fouchet

Polls are open from 3 to 9 p.m. in the high school gym

Greenport School District

Current budget: $16,940,218

Proposed budget: $17,930,820

Estimated tax levy increase: 8.52 percent

Two open seats, two candidates: Christina Volinski, Heather Wolf

Polls are open between 2 and 8 p.m. in the school’s gym

Oysterponds School District

Current budget: $5,619,393

Proposed budget: $5,680,052

Estimated tax levy increase: 1.37 percent

Three open seats, three candidates: Krista de Kerillis, Thomas Stevenson, Dorothy-Dean Thomas

Polls are open from 2 to 8 p.m. in the school gym

nsmith@timesreview.com

A Greenport woman was arrested on a drug charge Saturday evening after she was pulled over on a traffic stop, Southold Town police said.

Stephanie Wright, 19, was stopped in Mattituck Plaza for failing to yield the right of way and for driving a vehicle with excessive window tint shortly before 7:30 p.m., police said.

She was found to be in possession of 27 Xanax pills without a prescription, police said.

Ms. Wright was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, and issued violations for excessive window tint and failure to yield, police said. She was released on bail and ordered to appear in court at a later date.

A Greenport man was arrested on a drunk driving charge after he was involved in a single car crash Saturday night, Southold Town police said. 

2Alfonso Boror, 30,  allegedly crashed his car shortly on Main Street in Greenport shortly before midnight.

He was charged with driving while intoxicated and held for a morning arraignment, police said.

Greenport Jerky Company’s black pepper sea salt jerky (Credit: Greenport Jerky Company)

Thick, meaty, chewy and full of flavor, Greenport Jerky is about to become the North Fork’s latest specialty food.

A fan of the art of drying meats, Vincent Macchirole of Greenport has been making his own beef jerky for years. Now he and his wife, Carolyn, have developed their own jerky line.

“We’ve been making jerky in a little smoker and we also have a dehydrator,” Vincent said. “We played around with different flavors and gave them to our friends.”

Recently the Macchiroles sold their boat repair and marine services business Gateway of Flanders and were ready for the next phase in their lives.

The couple is making their beef jerky with a wholesaler in the western region of the U.S. who specializes in drying meats. Together they’ve created 11 different flavors that will be sold under the moniker “Greenport Jerky Company.”

READ THE FULL STORY ON NORTHFORKER.COM

Fighting cardiac disease is a cause that has always been close to Jordan McClintock’s heart.

Jordan, a sophomore at Shoreham-Wading River, has experienced the dangers of heart disease firsthand. Her grandfather died at just 50 years old after he was diagnosed with a heart condition too late to treat in time.

“If something had been done before…” she said. “I wish some research could have been done.”

Jordan knows of others, including teenagers, who have died from undiagnosed heart conditions. The sophomore wants to make sure that same tragedy doesn’t strike the North Fork.

As part of a Girl Scout project, Jordan is now working with a Long Island nonprofit to offer free heart screenings at Shoreham-Wading River High School this fall to students across the East End. They would be conducted by physicians using electrocardiogram equipment by the Northport-based group HeartScreen New York.

“[The doctors] just check them out and make sure everything’s OK,” said Jordan, a Wildcats field hockey player. Depending on the turnout and number of physicians available, dozens of students could be examined.

Jordan hopes the screenings will detect heart abnormalities that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. Family doctors can be notified of the findings and the student’s family can follow up if a defect is discovered, Jordan said.

Jordan came up with the idea while getting tested herself at St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn late last year. While waiting to be screened, she noticed students who had traveled from eastern Suffolk County — as far away as Greenport — and realized, she said, “We should have something like this in Shoreham.”

Heart defects could become apparent at any time and have devastating consequences, said Shoreham-Wading River athletic director Mark Passamonte, who is serving as Jordan’s assistant on the project.

“You hear of these world-class athletes that are in the best shape of anybody dropping and dying because there was an undetected birth defect that they didn’t know about,” he said.

Jordan and Mr. Passamonte are working closely with the Louis J. Acompora Memorial Foundation, which honors the memory of a Northport High School lacrosse player who died in 2000 at age 14 after a routine play triggered his heart to stop.

The screenings would be held either after school or on a weekend to make them more convenient for students to attend. The plan is part of Jordan’s Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest available honor in the group and similar in scope to Eagle Projects by Boy Scouts.

Mr. Passamonte said other Long Island school districts have offered heart screenings similar to the ones Jordan hopes to bring east. Those districts found the tests to be “very beneficial,” he said, and even caught some issues that were followed up on later.

But the push to bring heart screenings to the North Fork came from Jordan alone, Mr. Passamonte said.

“I commend Jordan,” he said. “I can just tell she’s a leader … When you have kids like this in your school, it just makes it great.”

Mr. Passamonte is convinced Jordan will go on help others beyond her Gold Award project.

“You just watch,” he said. “You’re going to see about her and read about her more.”

psquire@timesreview.com

After a frustrating afternoon of fighting a misfire in his NASCAR Modified, Shawn Solomito of Center Moriches and his team rebounded in the 40-lap main event on Grand Opening Night at Riverhead Raceway on Saturday. Solomito claimed the victory with a late-race pass of Tom Rogers Jr. of Riverhead. 

Solomito, the 2012 NASCAR Modified champion at Riverhead, spent 29 laps shadowing Rogers and biding his time. He saw an opening under Rogers as the duo exited a corner on Lap 29. By the time they raced into the first turn to start the 30th lap, Solomito had  reclaimed the lead for good.

“We had a terrible misfire in practice and we were all pulling our hair out, but we kept after it and discovered it was a valve train issue we were able to address and the hard work paid off,” said Solomito.

Rogers, who was second, afterwards discovered a broken rear suspension on his Chevy. Howie Brode took third, Dave Brigati of Calverton was fourth and Kyle Soper of Manorville fifth.

The 25-lap Late Model feature was a classic between Scott Kulesa and Roger Oxee, with the two former champions racing side by side for the better part of the first 17 laps. In the end, though, it was Charger transplant Chris Turbush of Wading River who sat in victory lane at the conclusion of the contest.

Turbush remained out front over the final eight laps to claim the win, his first ever in the class. Ray Minieri of Bay Shore rebounded from a trip to the rear of the field early in the race to claim second. Eric Zeh of Selden crossed the line third.

Brigati made history, winning the first ever Riverhead Modified Crate feature event, a 20-lap affair. Dylan Slepian of Dix Hills was second. Third place went to C.J. Lehmann of Shirley.

Perhaps no win on opening night was more emotional than the one turned in by Ken Hyde Jr. of Mastic Beach in a 15-lap Figure Eight main event. It was Hyde’s first trip to the winners circle since the death of his father, Ken Hyde Sr. Roger Maynor of Bay Shore was second, Mike Mujsce Sr. of Quogue third.

It is four opening day wins in a row in the Blunderbust ranks for Jack Handley Jr. of Medford, who once again took a 20-lapper. Tom Puccia of Shirley made a late-race pass with just over a lap remaining to claim second. Zeh placed third.

It might have taken a couple of years for Mike Albasini of Flushing to earn his 10th career Super Pro Truck win, but it was a sweet one. The 20-lap event saw Jimmy Rennick Jr. of Howard Beach race in second. The defending champion of the class, Lou Maestri of Deer Park, took third.

Richie Davidowitz of East Moriches topped a 29-car starting field in the 20-lap INEX Legend Race Car feature. He was followed to the line by second-place John Beatty Jr. of Merrick. Brad Van Houten of Wading River raced his way from 28th to a third-place finish.

The high school tennis players in the Suffolk County Division IV Individual Tournament on Monday had a lot more than just their opponents to worry about. Another factor was at play in a big way: the wind.

On a day when wind gusts in the area were measured at over 40 miles per hour, players struggled to adapt to the difficult conditions at William Floyd High School. Matters were complicated further as the wind kicked up sand from a nearby pile, blowing sand in the eyes of players and spectators alike.

The wind was so bad at times that players swung at the ball — and missed! It happened more than a couple of times. Players’ chairs were blown onto the court a number of times.

“The conditions were unbelievable,” said Shoreham-Wading River senior Chris Kuhnle.

Yet, not even winds of such force were a match for Kuhnle’s venomous forehand or overpowering serve, which he mixed effectively with “offspeed” deliveries. They helped the top-seeded Kuhnle successfully defend his singles title with a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of the No. 2 seed, East Hampton/Bridgehampton/Pierson senior Julian MacGurn, the same player Kuhnle defeated in last year’s final.

“It’s a great feeling,” said Kuhnle, who won his first county title last year before finishing fourth in the state. “I did it again.”

Mattituck’s top two singles players, seniors Garrett Malave and Parker Tuthill, entered the tournament as a doubles team and finished second, matching their seeding. They lost to Ross’ top-seeded Jonas Feurring and Gonzalo Trapote, 6-4, 6-0, in their final.

All the players on the court had to deal with the aggravating wind gusts, which came and went, turning overhead shots into adventures and making lobs for serves unpredictable. That sent players into play-it-safe mode.

“It’s bad,” Malave said of the conditions. “It’s somewhat bearable. It’s not absolutely awful, but it’s bad.”

Tuthill said: “It’s very tough, but you kind of get used to it while you’re playing. You have to play with it.”

When did Kuhnle realize the wind would be as much of an issue as it was?

“The second I got here,” he said. “I was like, ‘Wow!’ ”

Kuhnle (20-0), Shoreham’s most accomplished boys tennis player, dealt with it. Despite the adversity, he played a clean match, committing only one double fault and one unforced error to beat MacGurn for the third time this season.

After a return by MacGurn sailed too far at match point, Kuhnle allowed himself a restrained fist pump. It wasn’t his normal game, but it worked, nonetheless.

“It’s tough,” Kuhnle said. “I really had to change my game. I’m not able to hit the shots that I like to hit. It annoys me, but you got to deal with it. You don’t have the time to wind up. The ball is changing every second.”

Shoreham coach Debbie Lutjen called the playing conditions the most difficult she can recall. “Considering the conditions, he did the best that he could,” she said of Kuhnle. “I think you would have seen a much more aggressive player if it wasn’t as windy, but it was so unpredictable, it was hard to play your usual. You have to adjust to the conditions, and he did. He did what he had to do.”

Kuhnle did not drop a game in his first three tournament matches. Then, he beat Eastport-South Manor’s Alex Reiley, 6-1, 6-2, in a semifinal.

In doubles, Malave and Tuthill were extended to three sets in the semifinals before finishing off Westhampton Beach’s Raj Ghjayalod and Sam Santora, 6-3, 1-6, 6-0. Then they ran into trouble in the final, their first loss in seven matches as a double team.

“Today the wind gave them a big problem,” Mattituck coach Mike Huey said. “They just couldn’t get on track today.”

After his final, Kuhnle was presented with the huge singles bracket as a memento. He was asked what’s the best thing about being a division singles champion?

“It’s a nice title to have,” he said. “That’s about it. The best part about being a division champ is saying you’re a division champ.”

bliepa@timesreview.com

Photo caption: Shoreham-Wading River senior Chris Kuhnle dealt with difficult wind conditions en route to his second straight Division IV singles championship. (Credit: Garret Meade)

While some people believe it has been a colder, more rainy May than usual, weather experts say the total rainfall amount since April is currently below average.

May has seen 1.98 inches of rain so far this month — just 0.26 inches above normal, according to data from the National Weather Service’s station in Islip.

And if you throw April into the mix, Long Island has actually seen much less rain than usual: about two inches worth.

“Over the last two months, we’ve been running a deficit even with how rainy it’s been,” meteorologist Faye Barthold said.

In addition, she said this month might have felt crummy because the rainy weather hit all at once.

“I think the perception is there because the first seven days we had rain,” Ms. Barthold said.

She added temperatures are currently 2.6 degrees below normal for this time of year, however, the forecast is looking up.

Meteorologists are predicting the rest of this week will be dry, with warmer temperatures in the 60s.

psquire@timesreview.com

Photo: (Credit: Katharine Schroeder)

A late spring day dedicated to sampling different styles of North Fork rosé is set for next month.

Four North Fork wineries — Bridge Lane Wines, Castello di Borghese vineyard and winery, The Lenz Winery and Roanoke Vineyards on Love Lane — will offer complimentary tastings of the pink drink of summer during the first “North Fork Rosé Crawl.”

The self-guided tour will take place on June 11 during participating wineries’ tasting room hours. The event coincides with National Rosé Day, which is held on the second Saturday in June.

Read more about the tour and see a map of locations at northforker.com.

Photo: Sample some Bridge Lane Wines rosé during the first North Fork Rosé Crawl on June 11. (Credit: Vera Chinese)

At 8 a.m. Tuesday morning, a construction crew descended on Hallockville Museum Farm in Northville like clockwork, installing new columns on the Hallock Homestead’s front facade. But instead of hard hats and overalls, the 13 men wore flannel button-down shirts and khakis. Some sported caps proudly declaring their service in World War II.

They are the “Tuesday Crew,” a mostly retired band of North Fork handymen and tradesmen — some as old as 92 — who spend every week working at historic sites and museums throughout the area. And they do it all for free.

“We don’t take a 15-minute coffee break,” Willy Martin warned with a laugh. “And we take longer lunch breaks, too.”

The group was initially formed by civic-minded neighbors in the early 1990s to keep Greenport’s tall ship, the Regina Maris, afloat. The men worked to restore and repair the ship, but ultimately saw their prize sail away as part of a plan to rejuvenate Glen Cove’s waterfront. It sunk in the village’s harbor years later.

Rather than be discouraged, the newfound friends decided to keep volunteering. Since then, they’ve helped nearly every historical society and museum on the North Fork.

The Tuesday Crew has repaired and restored the caboose at the Railroad Museum of Long Island, fixed up the Fresnel lens from the Little Gull Lighthouse, expanded the East End Seaport Museum and helped relocate an old blacksmith’s hut in Greenport Village, among various other efforts.

In 2004, the group was honored as The Suffolk Times’ People of the Year. They haven’t slowed down in the years since.

Gary Richau helps install a new facade on the historic Hallock homestead at Hallockville Museum Farm last Tuesday morning. Mr. Richau and the 12 other crew members take on carpentry and woodworking projects for nonprofit groups across the North Fork. (Credit: Paul Squire)

In total, 77 projects have been completed since the Tuesday Crew was founded, said 75-year-old volunteer David Higbee of Southold. He maintains a document of all their previous work that he said is now close to 30 pages long.

“Everyone has a good time and we do good things,” said John Anderson, 90, of Sag Harbor, who has been part of the effort since 1992.

The opportunity to meet up for a chat over coffee and doughnuts helps, too.

“I want to stay active to some degree and have some of the companionship you have with the men,” said Otto Schoenstein, an 88-year-old crew member.

Despite volunteering every week for nearly two decades, the crew members have yet to tire of each other. On the contrary, said Don Cutler, 88, who joined in 2001.

“Never has there been an argument,” he said earlier this week. The other men nodded.

The group’s latest project has brought the crew back to their “home base” of sorts: Hallockville Museum Farm. The site is a popular spot for the men to work. They’ve built sheep enclosures, designed a small structure for a bell in the front yard and built a replica pig pen from scratch.

The dozen or so men gather every week to work on renovations at the Hallock homestead, said Beth Motschenbacher, assistant director at Hallockville Museum Farm. Later this year, they’ll turn their focus to repair work at the Southold Historical Society.

The Tuesday Crew has even uncovered a bit of history at Hallockville. According to historian Richard Wines, a member of the museum’s board of directors, the volunteers were doing floor work in the rear wing of the old Hallock homestead when they discovered framing that dated to the 1700s, as well as evidence of a brick fireplace.

The discovery shocked local historians, who had dated that part of the house to an 1830 extension. Thanks to the crew’s discovery, Mr. Wines said, the museum was able to learn the rear wing of the home was actually the site of the original house, which was later moved around the property.

“The crew provides invaluable time and expertise, especially for groups like ours,” Ms. Motschenbacher added. “It’s a very skilled, dedicated group of guys.”

They’re also good for an on-the-job joke. As one of the crew members blasted nails into the homestead’s new facade with a nail gun Tuesday, another volunteer teased him for making it too hard on “the next group that comes here to replace it.”

The men also like to leave a calling card. At every work site, they hide an empty Beefeater gin bottle filled with scraps of paper with their names on them. That way, future historians will discover their contributions.

“In 50 years, we’re going to be famous!” Mr. Higbee exclaimed.

psquire@timesreview.com

Photo: ‘Tuesday Crew’ members who volunteer each week across the North Fork. Back row, from left: Jim Calkins, Ben Zukosky, Gary Richau. Middle row: Frank Macksel, John Anderson, Willy Martin, David Higbee. Front row: Don Cutler, David Gillispie, Charlie Ley, Otto Schoenstein, Peter Young. Not pictured: Frank Koke. (Credit: Paul Squire)

Barbara T. Starzee of Mattituck died May 16, 2016 at Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead. She was 73. 

She was born April 24, 1943, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn to Sigmund and Jenenna-Mae (née Dlukokecki) Wasilewski and was a graduate of St. Stanislaus Kostka High School.

On Feb. 20, 1965, she married Frank Starzee at St. Stanislaus Kostka R.C. Church in Greenpoint and together they made their home in Greenpoint before moving to the North Fork 47 years ago. The Starzees were communicants of Our Lady of Ostrabrama R.C. Church in Cutchogue.

Barbara was a homemaker and a “lunch lady” at Mattituck High School.

Barbara is survived by her husband Frank; two sons Donald (Allison) Starzee of Cutchogue and Jeffrey (Helen) Starzee of Shelter Island; three siblings Virginia, Patricia and James Wasilewski, all of Charlotte, N.C. and seven grandchildren, Callie Mae, Zachary, Hunter, Paige, Phoebe, Joshua and Sarah.

Services will be private. Arrangements were entrusted to DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Homes.

Memorial donations to the Mattituck Fire Department Rescue Squad would be appreciated.

This is a paid notice. 

Florence N. Taylor of Nesconset, formerly of Cutchogue and Southold died May 15. She was 100. 

She was born Nov. 14, 1915, in Brooklyn.

Ms. Taylor worked as a registered nurse for Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport. She was a member of Cutchogue Homemakers.

Family members said she enjoyed knitting, reading and going for walks.

She is survived by her son, Robert, of Amenia, N.Y.

A funeral mass will take place at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 18, at Our Lady of Ostrabrama R.C. Church in Cutchogue. Interment will take place at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Cutchogue.

Memorial donations may be made to New Horizons Resources.

Arrangements were in the care of Coster-Heppner Funeral Home in Cutchogue.

For the third time, the North Fork Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps unit has claimed first place at the annual Long Island drill meet.      

Major Bill Grigonis, who runs the local program, attributed Saturday’s victory at Mattituck High School to the amount of hard work contributed by each of the cadets.

“Between meeting with the academic team, studying and having meetings at night, it was definitely hard work on everyone’s part,” he said in an interview Monday.

The North Fork unit, which is made up of students from all three Southold Town high schools, finished ahead of second place Riverhead and third place William Floyd.

“Riverhead is always a tough team to beat,” Major Grigonis said of the runner up.

The North Fork NJROTC program was founded in 1973 and now consists of more than 300 students.

Below are some of the individual awards earned by North Fork students Saturday:

1st Place – Academic Team – Commander Joe Stuckart

1st Place – Individual Academics – Rob Kruszeski

1st Place – Inspection Team – Commander Ally Peters

1st Place – Armed Basic Drill – Commander Katherine Jarvis

1st Place – Athletics – Commander Larysa Andreadis

1st Place – Individual Athletics (Iron Man) – Justin Lake

1st Place – Color Guard – Commander Jaime Gaffga

3rd Place – Unarmed Exhibition – Commander Chris Dolce

3rd Place – Knockout – Gage Bennett

Florence N. Taylor of Nesconset, formerly of Cutchogue and Southold died May 15. She was 100.

She was born Nov. 14, 1915, in Brooklyn.

Ms. Taylor worked as a registered nurse for Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport. She was a member of Cutchogue Homemakers.

Family members said she enjoyed knitting, reading and going for walks.

She is survived by her son, Robert, of Amenia, N.Y.

A funeral mass will take place at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 18, at Our Lady of Ostrabrama R.C. Church in Cutchogue. Interment will take place at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Cutchogue.

Memorial donations may be made to New Horizons Resources.

Arrangements were in the care of Coster-Heppner Funeral Home in Cutchogue.

Barbara D. Lucht of Greenport died May 16 at her home. She was 94. 

The family will receive visitors Friday, May 20, from 2 to 6 p.m. at Horton-Mathie Funeral Home in Greenport. A funeral service will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 21, at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Greenport, Pastor Garret Johnson officiating. Burial will follow at East Marion Cemetery.

Memorial donations to St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, P.O. Box 242, Greenport, NY 11944, would be appreciated.

A complete obituary will follow.

George C. “Jed” Hoffner of Southold died May 15  at the Kanas Center for Hospice Care in Quiogue. He was 78. 

Arrangements are in the care of  DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home.

A complete obituary will follow.

Greg Gehring is what you call a coach’s dream.

When Southold High School baseball coach Mike Carver needed to fill some holes on the team prior to this season, he asked his senior catcher to play another position.

Gehring did not hesitate for a second.

“We had problems in the outfield, so we had to move stuff,” he said. “So I just said that I could play other positions. I thought I could help the team out.”

He sure has helped out the First Settlers, who will enter the Suffolk County Class C finals as the top seed against Pierson/Bridgehampton. The teams will tussle in a best-of-three series that starts in Southold on Thursday.

Gehring has played here, there and everywhere for Southold. Most recently he featured at third base in a 12-2 win over Bishop McGann-Mercy in the Suffolk County League VIII regular-season finale for both schools in Riverhead Saturday.

“It was a nice way to end it going into the playoffs,” he said.

Carver has appreciated Gehring’s team spirit and versatility.

“I pick one player on this team that really has become a coach’s dream; it has been Greg,” he said. “Greg’s been selfless, totally selfless this year. He loves to catch. That’s his prime [position]. He can play any position. He’s pitched, he’s caught, he’s played the field. He played third, he played first. He didn’t play the outfield yet, but he does anything I ask of him.

“He says, ‘Whatever makes us better.’ As a coach to have that, for a kid that will do anything, it’s a nice feeling.”

Gehring, who attended Mercy from seventh grade through his sophomore year, returned to the school’s baseball field for the first time Saturday since transferring to Southold.

“It felt weird being in the other dugout, but it was nice finally being back,” he said. “It was a good time.”

Especially when he was batting third. He finished with two hits and two runs batted in and two runs scored. He drove in Southold’s first run in the opening inning with a double and another in the second on a single.

“I’m glad for him,” Carver said. “He had a good game. He hit the ball hard today. He hit the ball hard every time he was up.”

Gehring is allowed to dream himself. He wants to return to the state tournament. Last year the Settlers reached the semifinals in Binghamton, where they were beaten by Hoosic Valley.

Gehring said, “I think we can go pretty far and do some nice things.”

Photo caption: Southold senior Greg Gehring gave up his catching position in order to help the team. (Credit: Garret Meade, file)

You’d have to go back more than 25 years to find the last time a budget was rejected by voters in the Greenport School District.

But with administrators proposing the second largest tax levy percentage increase in Suffolk County, there was a wave of uncertainty surrounding the district heading into Tuesday’s budget vote.

Then they announced the results, and like just about every year, the spending plan was approved by a wide margin. 

Despite being the only North Fork District to ask voters to pierce the state property tax cap, Greenport joined each of its neighbors in having their 2016-17 budgets approved on the first attempt Tuesday evening.

“I am ecstatic,” said Greenport Superintendent David Gamberg. “I am so grateful to the people of Greenport and for what it means for the school district. It really is a statement to the community and in how much they believe in the school system.”

Greenport was one of nine districts across Long Island attempting to pierce the cap; only Elwood and Tuckahoe failed to muster enough support.

It was the second time Greenport residents elected to pierce the tax cap since it was enacted in 2011. The district’s spending plan calls for an 8.52 percent increase in the levy amounting to about a $1 million hike. The average Greenport homeowner will pay about $420 dollars more in school taxes next year.

Under the cap, the district was only allowed to raise the tax levy by 0.77 percent, or $98,320, next school year, an amount Mr. Gamberg described as “insufficient.”

The approved $17.9 million budget allows for the restoration of numerous staff positions that have been eliminated over the years, school officials have said, including converting the librarian and psychologist positions from part-time to full-time; adding a part-time social studies teacher and adding full-time teachers in math, reading, special education and English as a Second Language; as well as the restoration of aides and clerical staff.

The district also plans to create a new part-time science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) teaching position for grades K-8. That teacher would work with the school garden, conduct labs and more, Mr. Gamberg said.

The proposed Greenport budget needed to receive approval from 60 percent of voters to pass. In total, 320 voted in favor of the spending plan and 160 voted against, marking a 66 percent approval.

“This district, I think, is probably the best in the country,” said school board member Heather Wolf, who along with Tina Volinski was elected to a fourth three-year term Tuesday after running unopposed. “Year after year [we receive] the support of the community with everything we ask for and I couldn’t be more grateful.”

While budgets passed and unopposed incumbents were also re-elected in Southold, New Suffolk and Oysterponds, a Mattituck-Cutchogue Board of Education race made certain the night would not be free from drama.

A seven-person race for three seats, ended with a trio of newcomers being elected to the board.

Brian Mealy is sworn in to a one-year term on the Mattituck-Cutchogue Board of Education Tuesday evening. (Credit: Jen Nuzzo)

MaryLynn Hoeg (468 votes) and Barbara Talbot (365) were the top vote getters and were therefore elected to full three-year terms. Brian Mealy (310) will serve the final year of former board member Jerry Diffley’s unexpired term.

Ms. Talbot said improving educational opportunities and addressing a decline in the student population will be among the focus’ of her first term.

“We’re going to have to look at concerns about a decrease in enrollment and also look at how we can bring in enrichment programs into the district,” she said.

“I want to be as supportive as I can — supportive to the students, supportive to the staff and supportive to the taxpayers,” Mr. Mealy said after being immediately sworn in to his one-year term Tuesday night. “Hopefully I can be a part of the positive changes happening in Mattituck.”

Among the candidates the three newcomers defeated was incumbent William Gatz, who has served on the board since 2010. He fell just two votes shy of Mr. Mealy.

Mr. Gatz left shortly after congratulating this year’s winners. In an interview after the results were announced, Mattituck-Cutchogue Superintendent Anne Smith described Mr. Gatz as a “team player” and said she’s grateful for his service and to the all the candidates who volunteered to serve.

“He’s such a highly valued board member and it’s challenging for us to lose someone with who has that history and knowledge of the goals of what we’ve been trying to accomplish over the years,” she said.

Top Caption: Greenport superintendent David Gamberg celebrates the district’s budget approval Tuesday. (Credit: Nicole Smith)

Note: See full results and more reaction on the next page.

Talk about low-keying it.

When the Mattituck High School baseball team completed a suspended game Monday, defeating Pierson/Bridgehampton, 16-6, it assured the Tuckers of at least a share of the Suffolk County League VIII championship. Then, on Tuesday, the final day of the regular season, Mattituck beat Greenport, 12-1, to take the league title outright.

It is Mattituck’s third straight league crown and the ninth in the team’s 96-year history. Pretty big stuff.

Or is it?

Judging by the Tuckers’ reaction — or lack of one — following Tuesday’s game at Robbie Costantini Field in Greenport, one got the sense that it was just another day at the ballpark. Nothing more.

Wait a minute. Wasn’t a league title Mission No. 1 for the defending New York State Class B champions?

“No,” coach Steve DeCaro said. “I would say it’s nice to win the league championship, but for us, more importantly, it’s being the No. 1 seed in [Suffolk Class] B. It certainly wasn’t the goal, but it’s not bad to have.”

While DeCaro was being interviewed, his players looked, well, almost bored, as they waited to board their bus for the ride back to Mattituck.

“This is the biggest reaction we got right now, the huge celebration that is going on right now, the champagne,” DeCaro deadpanned as he looked at the players. “But everybody knows that this is just one step on the way toward something bigger, and even the county championship is one step on the way toward something bigger. We have such high goals at Mattituck and Mattituck baseball, that it’s almost sad that we can’t celebrate something like this. It’s just not that important.”

By winning its last seven games, Mattituck (17-2, 15-2) got its wish, securing the top seed in the double-elimination county tournament. It will host No. 4 Center Moriches (10-8, 10-8) on Thursday. Center Moriches is responsible for one of the two losses on Mattituck’s record, although the Tuckers took two other games from the Red Devils.

“I think that we have a little bit of a chip on our shoulder because they beat us in the regular season,” said Mattituck designated hitter James McDonald.

In its final tuneup for the playoffs, Mattituck battered Greenport (3-17, 3-17) for 10 hits, including three by Matt Heffernan. McDonald, a junior, belted his first career home run as part of his five runs batted in and nearly followed that with another homer before settling for a triple. Brendan Kent, Bryce Grathwohl and Tyler Williams handled the pitching, limiting Greenport to four hits. The Porters were strikeout victims 13 times.

“We’re playing good,” McDonald said. “We’re hitting good. We’re pitching good. We have our starters going deep into most games and we’re all hitting one through nine.”

Greenport’s five seniors — Sean Cary, Ryan Costello, Tyler Kruszeski, Max Mastrangelo and Bayron Rivas — were presented with flowers and recognized with family members in a pregame ceremony involving coach Mike Sage and athletic director Paula Nickerson.

Once the game began, Mattituck immediately got down to business with a four-run first inning, three of those runs coming when McDonald launched a 1-and-2 fastball over the left-center-field fence.

The lead was extended to 6-0 in the second, thanks in part to an RBI double by Heffernan.

McDonald was also responsible for three more runs in the fourth. With two runners on, courtesy of walks, McDonald slammed an opposite-field triple and then charged home himself on the play when the ball got away for an error.

Greenport, which was held to one hit through the first four innings, spoiled the shutout bid in the fifth. Tashon Lawrence reached base on an infield single loaded with backspin. He later scored on an errant pickoff attempt.

Mattituck responded with two runs in the sixth from a triple by Sam Dickerson and a Ryan Mahon double before an RBI single by Dickerson in the seventh.

“I think we’re in the right spot right now,” DeCaro said. “We’re being disciplined at the plate. Defense is coming together. The pitching is still there, so I think we’re ready.”

As for that league title thing, it’s no big deal.

bliepa@timesreview.com

Photo caption: Coach Steve DeCaro and his Mattituck team have won their third straight league title, but they aren’t getting too excited about it. (Credit: Bob Liepa)

Listings prepared for Times/Review Newspapers by Suffolk Research Service, dated March 20-26, 2016.

AQUEBOGUE (11931)
• Slavonik, A by Executor to Crowley, Thomas, 49 Cedar St (600-113-2-70), (R), $180,000

CUTCHOGUE (11935)
• Filippetti, M to Small, Mary, 1055 Skunk Ln (1000-97-4-7.4), (R), $627,750
• Latapie, F & S to Kalman, Howard, 1845 Broadwaters Rd (1000-104-11-1.7), (R), $755,000
• Sarnowski, D to Voyiatzis, Panagiotis, 910 Vanston Rd (1000-104-12-10.2), (R), $660,000
• Annabel, Rosa, et al to Suglia, Jocelyn, 4715 Stillwater Ave (1000-137-3-9), (V), $205,000

FLANDERS (11901)
• Tomaino, S by Tr to Peconic Bay Development, 33 Peconic Trail (900-122-4-1), (R), $125,000

ORIENT (11957)
• Braunstein, C & A to Harris, Eric, 3630 Orchard St (1000-27-3-3.4), (R), $865,000

RIVERHEAD (11901)
• Longo, C & K to Narciso, Suzette, 3605 Amen Corner (600-64.2-1-53), (R), $340,000
• Stoneleigh Woods RH to Lopinto, Anne, 30 Halverton Ct, Unit 3204 (600-82.5-3-4), (R), $426,700
• Tameshasyl Realty to Jonabuna Properties LLC, 82 Columbus Ave (600-125-1-10.2), (C), $965,000
• Regional Asset Mgmnt to Notaro, Samuel, 648 Roanoke Ave (600-126-4-2), (R), $234,000
• Bowe, H & S to Jerez, Angel, 302 Fishel Ave (600-127-4-11), (R), $250,000

SHELTER ISLAND (11964)
• Zarchin Living Trust to Foley, Michael, 2 Bayview Ave (700-6-2-12.1), (V), $389,000
• Toth, I & M to Gilpin, George, 21 Quaker Path (700-8-2-23), (R), $950,000
• Hilo Shores Assoc to Schenendorf, Ronald & Barbara, Short Rd (700-14-2-86.5), (CS), $55,000
• Reeves, R & Bourne, G to Krekeler, Paul, 86 Smith St (700-18-3-5), (R), $400,000
• Blackwood Investments to Haney, Brent, 55 Peconic Ave (700-25-1-39.1), (V), $747,500

SOUTHOLD (11971)
• Bounatsos, E to Courtsouros, Anthony, 125 Lighthouse Rd (1000-55-1-3.3), (V), $220,000
• Huber, D by Referee to MIT International Commerce, 58945 Route 25 (1000-56-2-9), (R), $187,000
• Bohn, R & C to 50300 Main Road LLC, 50300 Route 25 (1000-70-2-15), (R), $438,000
• Kaplan, J to Wilcenski, Donald, 755 Highwood Rd (1000-78-9-49), (R), $470,000

WADING RIVER (11792)
• Schembri, P & G to McCabe, Robert, 2884 N Wading River Rd (600-27-1-24), (R), $325,000
• Sinani, T to Arnold, Alicia, 2913 N Wading River Rd (600-27-2-19), (R), $270,000
• Bourguignon, W & M to Raleigh, Brian, 156 Meadow Path (600-73-1-1.53), (R), $520,000
• Milillo, L & P to Copcutt, Simon, 9 Cricket Ct (600-114-1-39.21), (R), $442,500

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