Ann P. Baillet of Jamesport died Jan. 5 at the Hamptons Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing. She was 88. 

The daughter of Albert and Theresa Poppiti, she was born Jan. 21, 1929, in New York City.

Ms. Baillet was retired and previously worked as a hospital administrator at St. Francis Hospital in Manhasset.

Family members said she was an avid animal lover.

Predeceased by her husband, Donald, and her son, Douglas, Ms. Baillet is survived by her grandson, Joel-Michael Baillet of Dallas, Texas.

Cremation was private. Services will be held at a later date in the spring.

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

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The Southold Town Board has extend the period residents have to pay the first half of their property taxes after Town Hall was closed Monday— one of the final three days to pay without penalty— after a pipe burst on the east side of the building.

The deadline, which was originally Wednesday at 4 p.m., was extended to Friday at 4 p.m., according to the resolution, which was approved in a special emergency meeting Tuesday morning. 

The extension accommodates for the lost day, but also for “the confusion recently of the federal tax reform package and how it affects people locally,” Town Supervisor Scott Russell said.

“I think it’s not only reasonable, but the right thing to do,” Councilman William Ruland said.

The east wing of Southold Town Hall remained closed Tuesday. (Credit: Kelly Zegers)

Repairs are underway at Town Hall. The supervisor’s office, justice court, the town clerk’s office, and the tax receiver’s office reopened on Tuesday; the assessor’s office, which was heavily damaged by the flooding, remained closed.

No official documents were damaged, Mr. Russell said Monday.

While not all of the computer equipment in the affected offices has been thoroughly evaluated, the damage so far appears minimal, he said. Most of the damage was to the building itself, he said.

Photo caption: Fans are in place to dry out the east wing of the Southold Town Hall where pipes burst over the weekend. (Credit: Kelly Zegers) 

kzegers@timesreview.com

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June Marie (Jernick) Ketcham died Jan. 4 in Reno, Nev. She was 70.

She was born in August 1947 at Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport to Helen and John Jernick of Southold.

As a teenager, she worked as a lifeguard for the Southold Park District, which included Founders Landing, Cedar Beach and Kenney’s Beach, and also worked as a waitress at the Southold Sweet Shop.

She graduated from Cabrini University with degrees in psychology and math.

In 1968, she married Joseph Ketcham. The Ketchams moved to Fredonia, N.Y., where Joe was attending college.

Ms. Ketcham taught at the Gowanda (N.Y.) Psychiatric Center. Family members said she was a supportive and patient teacher with a passion for literacy and the arts and caring for and educating the less fortunate.

Ms. Ketcham is survived by her husband of 49 years, Joseph, of Reno; her son, John; sister, Maryanne Dobbin; and brothers, Jay and Jeff Jernick.

Cremation was private. A memorial is planned for a later date.

Memorial donations may be made to Veterans Guest House, veteransguesthouse.org.

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Longtime East Marion resident Regina Agnes Straussner Gargani died Jan. 8 at San Simeon by the Sound in Greenport. She was 91.

The daughter of Marjorie (Tuhey) and Anton Straussner, she was born Sept. 10, 1926, in East Elmhurst, N.Y..

Ms. Gargani earned a diploma degree in nursing from Prospect Heights Hospital and worked as a registered nurse, formerly at San Simeon by the Sound.

She volunteered at Floyd Memorial Library in Greenport; was a member of the St. Agnes R.C. Church Rosary Society in Greenport and was a local food bank and homeless shelter volunteer.

Family members said she enjoyed playing cards, reading and walking the beach.

Predeceased by her brothers, Thomas Straussner, Antone Straussner and Joseph Straussner and sister, Margaret Hoskin, Ms. Gargani is survived by her daughter, Regina Demitrack; son, Adam Gargani and three grandchildren.

The family will receive visitors Friday, Jan. 12, from 1 to 5 p.m. at Horton-Mathie Funeral Home in Greenport. A funeral service will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 13, at St. Agnes R.C. Church in Greenport.

Memorial donations may be made to St. Agnes. R.C. Church.

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Maureen Ann (McCarthy) Hurley of Mattituck passed away Sunday, Jan. 7, at the Kanas Center for Hospice Care in Quiogue. She was 66. She is survived by her loving husband, Jack Hurley of Mattituck; her son, Patrick Hurley, and his wife, Susan, of Wellesley, Mass.; and her two beloved grandchildren, Seamus and Kate.

Born in Baltimore, Md., to John McCarthy and Ann (Pinkham) McCarthy, Maureen spent her childhood in Ellicott City, Md., and Clarendon Hills, Ill. She graduated from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., where she played fullback and goalie on the field hockey team. While at Dickinson, she was introduced to Jack by a sorority sister who knew Jack from childhood summers in Mattituck.

After marrying in 1974, Maureen and Jack briefly lived in Warrensville Heights, Ohio, before settling in Bogota, N.J., where Pat was born. In 1987, they moved to Bridgewater, N.J., which would be their home for the next 25 years, until they retired to Mattituck in 2012.

Over the course of years, Maureen worked as the director of land-bridge operations at Seatrain Lines, was a substitute teacher for the Bogota (N.J.) Public Schools, a legal secretary at the Law Offices of Palmer and Gauss in Bernardsville, N.J., an assistant at Olson & Thompson, P.A. in Bernardsville, and a state filing specialist at Chubb Insurance in Warren, N.J.

Maureen was incredibly active with civic and religious organizations, serving as president of the Weehawken (N.J.) Guild, a small group faith leader and retreat leader for Cornerstone and Beloved retreats at St. Bernard of Clairvaux Parish in Bridgewater, a meal coordinator for the Samaritan Homeless Interim Program (S.H.I.P.) in Somerville, a cook for Appalachian service trips organized by Immaculata High School and Justiceworx, a Webelos den mother, a member of a women’s faith-sharing group, secretary of the Brower’s Woods Association, a member of the Jamesport Homemakers Club, and a meal preparer for Maureen’s Haven.

During holidays, Maureen ensured that the doors of her home were open to all: family, friends, neighbors of friends, her son’s college roommates and friends, and families new to the area, among others. She was the host of the home for wayward travelers, and there was always room for one more. Maureen’s sense of hospitality and her joy of cooking for others permeated her service and life. She held a special place in her heart for the celebration of Christmas, which gave her an opportunity to bake copious amounts of cookies for friends and neighbors and to decorate. She was known to adorn the house with a Christmas tree in every room, each with a different theme, including one consisting entirely of pink flamingo ornaments.

A wake will be held Thursday, Jan. 11, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. at DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Mattituck. A funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 12, at Our Lady of Good Counsel R.C. Church in Mattituck.

Memorial donations may be made to either Maureen’s Haven, 28 Lincoln St., Riverhead, NY 11901, or East End Hospice, 481 Westhampton-Riverhead Road, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach, NY 11978-7048.

This is a paid notice. 

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Frank G. DiCandia of Laurel passed away Jan. 7, 2018, surrounded by family.

He was predeceased by his wife, Constance and sons Frank Jr. and Robert and is survived by his children Debra (Mike) Inghingolo, Gregory (Theresa) DiCandia and Peter (Sharon) DiCandia; 12 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

A private ceremony will be held at a later date.

Memorial donations to the ALS Association would be appreciated.

DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home assisted the family. Condolences may be left at defriestgrattan.com.

This is a paid notice.

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Even before he got to know her, Skip Gehring had been tipped off about Adrine Demirciyan.

The Southold/Greenport high school girls basketball coach had heard from coaches in Greenport, where Demirciyan attends high school. Gehring recalled: “The coaches at Greenport were saying, ‘Don’t let her play JV. Get her right on your varsity.’ ”

This past summer, Gehring worked with Demirciyan at open gym sessions and saw for himself that this eighth-grader wasn’t a junior varsity player.

So, it was right to the varsity team for her.

“This year I expected to be on JV,” Demirciyan said. “He pulled me right up because he had faith in me and believed that I could do something really good one day. It was a happy day.”

Undoubtedly, there are many more happy days to come for the 5-5 point guard, who has been playing basketball since she was in fourth grade. That explains why she doesn’t play like an eighth-grader.

“She’s been amazing,” Southold senior Liz Clark said. “She reminds me of Maddy Tabor [Greenport’s all-time leading scorer who graduated last year after scoring 1,036 career points] in how she just penetrates, dishes. She draws the defense out and then creates open looks for us.”

Gehring said: “What it winds up doing is it opens up the floor for us. She’s not just a good ballhandler. She’s fast, she’s athletic and a little bit fearless.”

That was evident Monday night when, under the pressure of Babylon’s hounding full-court press, Demirciyan didn’t shy away from having the ball in her hands.

“As an eighth-grader, she’s one of the few girls that when they were pressing, that wanted the ball,” Gehring said after the 41-39 loss at Southold High School. “A lot of the other girls were panicking, didn’t want it. She wanted it.”

Demirciyan scored nine of her 12 points (right at her season average and three under her season-high) during a 24-7 Southold run that gave the First Settlers their largest lead at 32-26. She also had six rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Although she doesn’t start, Demirciyan has played the majority of all the games.

“I put my best efforts in,” she said. “That’s all I care about. I like to pass, I like to dribble, I like to shoot. I like it all. It’s just my thing.”

Babylon coach Chris Ryan was impressed by what he saw from Demirciyan. “She’s got a bright future ahead,” he said. “I look forward to seeing her blossom over her career. I don’t look forward to playing against her.”

Gehring said Demirciyan could be a 2,000-point scorer by the time she graduates.

What has Demirciyan learned about the varsity game so far?

“It’s so much more than you would imagine,” she said. “This year [is] my big year. It’s my time to learn the most, my first year on varsity. It’s where it all starts.”

• Going with the seniors

Southold went with an all-senior starting lineup against Babylon: Ale Cardi, Liz Clark, Madison Hilton, Annie Lincoln and Grace Syron. Two First Settlers, Julia Jaklevic and Kaitlin Tobin, were ill and unavailable, said Skip Gehring.

Southold’s next game will not be until Jan. 17 when it will play Bishop McGann-Mercy at Greenport High School.

bliepa@timesreview.com

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Update, 4:10 p.m.:  Power has been restored in Greenport. PSEG-Long Island crews were working on auto switching devices when the outage occurred, according to Elizabeth Flagler, a PSEG-Long Island representative.

While workers were excavating, a redundancy cable was struck just outside the Southold substation, causing the outage at 1:22 p.m. Power was restored 47 minutes later, she said.

Originally: A power outage across Greenport Village was reported Tuesday afternoon, according to Mayor George Hubbard.

While the cause has not yet been confirmed, Mr. Hubbard, said it was likely that a cable was hit by workers near the Southold power substation. It appeared the whole village was without power, including Eastern Long Island Hospital, which switched on generators, and the Greenport school, he said.

Village employees were working on getting generators at the power plant up and running shortly after 2 p.m., Mr. Hubbard said.

“We’ll power what we can in the meantime while we figure out what the root cause of the problem is, it’s on the PSEG side I think,” Mr. Hubbard said. “They’re working on the cable up there, I think they hit something is what it sounds like.”

Village administrator Paul Pallas was out looking into how and when full power could be restored, Mr. Hubbard said.

Representatives for PSEG-Long Island could not immediately be contacted for comment.

kzegers@timesreview.com

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Charles M. Oldani of Mattituck died Jan. 8. He was 90.

The family will receive visitors Thursday, Jan. 11, from 5 to 7 p.m. at DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Mattituck. The Liturgy of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 12, at Our Lady of Good Counsel R.C. Church, officiated by Monsignor Joseph W. Staudt.

Interment with U.S. Coast Guard honors will follow at Calverton National Cemetery.

A complete obituary will follow.

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Residents of the New Suffolk Common School District are expected to learn the school system’s fate at a special Board of Education meeting Jan. 31.

The board scheduled the vote after hearing recommendations from a four-member committee on the future of the school Tuesday. The advice comes after the district was ordered by the State Education Department to reinstate, with backpay, a former teacher whose job had been cut in 2015.

District resident Lauren Grant, who chaired the citizen committee, said Tuesday that members determined Martha Kennelly, who has been working offsite developing curriculum this school year, should be returned to classroom teaching duties in the fall. Under the recommendation, the district’s two active classroom teachers would be retained at the school, which currently educates just 15 students.

“However, should enrollment decline substantially, staffing needs for the school would have to be revisited and we would then recommend the students be tuitioned out to another school district and remaining teachers excised,” Ms. Grant told the board and the roughly two dozen community members in attendance at the sometimes contentious meeting Tuesday.

School board president Tony Dill said the district essentially has three options moving forward: keep the K-6 school open with three full-time teachers; keep it open with two full-time teachers; or send the district’s elementary students to a neighboring school district, effectively ending classroom education at the 111-year-old school building.

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New Suffolk, which is currenly operating on a $1.1 million budget and sends its secondary students to Southold, currently has five full-time staff members — two classroom teachers, two teaching assistants and Ms. Kennelly.

Mr. Dill said that should the elementary students be tuitioned to another district — most likely Mattituck-Cutchogue or Southold — the schoolhouse could be used for multiple other purposes, including administrative offices, extracurricular activities or enrichment education opportunities.

Mr. Dill and fellow board members at Tuesday’s meeting. (Credit: Nicole Smith)

With the committee’s decision announced, some residents expressed concern over what the future might hold for their district.

“Are we now every year as parents wondering ‘Are the kids getting tuitioned out next year?’” New Suffolk resident Brooke Dailey asked. “This has been very emotional for all of the parents.”

Should the school board vote to send students to a different district, the matter would be the subject of a public referendum, which Mr. Dill said would likely be voted on in March.

Should the school remain open, Mr. Dill said residents should expect significant tax increases, staffing cuts and a restructuring of curriculum.

“The community will have a say either way,” Mr. Dill said. “They’re all bad options. It’s hard to get excited about it. And it’s hard to get voters excited about something you’re not excited about.”

The school board is also mulling a bond to to fund Ms. Kennelly’s back pay from the two previous school years. The district is currently paying Ms. Kennelly an annual salary totaling $119,485. With benefits, she is owed roughly $300,000 from the district.

Ms. Kennelly was in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting, sitting in the front row alongside the attorney representing her in an active age discrimination lawsuit against the district. The audience was split among supporters of Ms. Kennelly and those criticizing her desire to return to the classroom.

The Jan. 31 meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m.

nsmith@timesreview.com

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A tradition dating back almost three decades continued this year with The Suffolk Times’ annual People of the Year awards to honor those who have made a difference in our community. 

Here is a complete list of the winners for 2017:

Person of the Year: Eleanor Lingo

Public Servant of the Year: William Price

Educator of the Year: Sarah Benjamin

Businessperson of the Year: George Giannaris

Community Leader of the Year: Mindy Ryan

Sportsperson of the Year: Grace Syron

northforker Person of the Year: Love Lane First Fridays Organizers

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A school bus was involved in a minor accident in Mattituck Wednesday morning and the car that hit it did not stop, Southold Town police said.

Mary Shipman, 52, of Cutchogue was behind the wheel of the school bus with 19 passengers headed for Mattituck School when the accident occurred at 7:25 a.m. She said she was making a right turn onto Route 25 from Mill Lane and a white sedan that was making a right turn onto Mill Lane from Route 25, struck the bus, according to police.

The sedan left the scene and has not been located.

No injuries were reported by the bus driver or any of the passengers, police said. The bus was not damaged.

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Barry Wayne Ryder

Barry Wayne Ryder, a lifelong Shelter Island resident, passed away Jan. 8, 2018, after a brief illness. He was 55.

Born in Southampton Dec. 18, 1962, to Charles “Bub” Ryder and Margret (Olenski) Walther, Barry was an avid outdoorsman, spending countless hours hunting and fishing the lands and waters of Shelter Island.

Barry was a dedicated member of the Shelter Island Fire Department for over 30 years, serving as chief from 1991 to 1992 and again from 2005 to 2006. Additionally, he was an employee of the Shelter Island Highway Department for 32 years.

In addition to his parents, Barry is survived by his longtime love, Mary Payne; sisters, Cindy Arkinson and Carla Fernandes; grandmothers, Alma Ryder and Florence Olenski; as well as his children and grandchildren.

A private viewing was held Jan. 10. A public memorial celebration will take place at a date yet to be determined.

Donations in Barry’s memory may be made to the Shelter Island Fire Department, P.O. Box 613, Shelter Island, NY 11964.

This is a paid notice.

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Bittersweet is not the Bokina brothers’ favorite flavor.

Twin brothers Jack and Luke Bokina know a thing or two about bittersweet. What the two Mattituck/Greenport/Southold high school wrestlers experienced at the state meet last year was the epitome of bittersweet. They both reached state finals, only to be disappointed in the end with defeats.

It’s high school wrestling’s equivalent to losing the Super Bowl. Just making it that far is a remarkable achievement in itself, but that loss at the end …

“That hurt,” Jack Bokina said. “Honestly, it killed me the next couple of days, but I just got right back into working out and working hard again.”

It helped that it was the junior season for the Bokinas. They still had one more season — this season — to achieve their state dream.

“It was tough at the time,” Luke Bokina recalled. “The day of was pretty bad, but then, you know you’re a junior and you still have another year so you can still keep working towards that. You just have to look at it that way.”

And so, the Bokinas are back on track, winning matches and hoping that they will return to the Times Union Center in Albany for the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Championships Feb. 23 and 24. Only this time, they want a happier ending.

They did witness two of their former teammates, James Hoeg and Tanner Zagarino, become Mattituck’s first state champions last year before graduating.

“I think it’s hard but I think you get so close to winning that I think it keeps you hungry,” Mattituck coach Cory Dolson said. “They had a great tournament, but they also saw two of their teammates get to the top of the mountain, so I think that kind of motivates you.”

The improved Bokinas both won their bouts Wednesday in Mattituck’s 44-34 non-league loss at Mount Sinai High School. Jack, who is making a bid for a fifth trip to the state tournament, pinned Yusuf Azeem 52 seconds into their match at 145 pounds to remain undefeated at 27-0. That brought Jack’s career record to 189-41. Luke, meanwhile, didn’t need to wrestle beyond the first period since his opponent at 132 pounds, Joe O’Brien, withdrew because of injury. That made Luke 25-2 on the season and 176-42 for his career.

Another set of Mattituck senior twins, Sean and Brian Feeney, picked up wins on pins. Sean, wrestling at 99 pounds, stopped Brendan Goodrich at 3:36. Brian put an end to his contest at 106 by downing Jack Tyrell at 1:53.

Also winning for Mattituck were Tim Davis (6-0 over Joe Sabella at 113), Ethan Schmidt (4-3 over Vin Valente at 152) and Colby Suglia (11-2 over Adam Shaja at 170).

Mount Sinai had five pins: Mike O’Brien (120) beat Ethan Prager at 5:26; Joe Goodrich (160) defeated David Jenkins at 1:42; Antonio Palmiotto (182) put an end to his bout against Donovan Sanchez at 1:33; Mike Sabella (195) finished Justin McKinney at 1:26; and Jake Croston (220) topped Tyler Marlborough in 45 seconds.

The Mustangs also received wins by Matt Campo (12-4 over Stephen Masotti at 126) and Mike Zarif (25-11 over Justin Lake at 138).

Mattituck faced a tall order against coach Matt Armstrong’s Mount Sinai team, the League VII champion.

“Tonight we wrestled a really good team and they’re probably a top five, top six team in the entire county,” said Dolson, whose team was the League VIII runner-up at 3-1. “I don’t like the result because we lost … but I thought the effort was there, you know what I mean? So, I was happy with the effort, not happy with the result.”

Jack Bokina said he welcomes tough competition. As he sees it, good competition helps him get to where he wants to be.

“That just makes you push harder,” he said. “You just got to know there’s always someone better. You got to keep working hard. You got to keep training to become that better person.”

That approach may help the Bokinas get that bittersweet taste out of their mouths.

bliepa@timesreview.com

Photo caption: Mattituck/Greenport/Southold’s Jack Bokina pinned Mount Sinai’s Yusuf Azeem in 52 seconds to remain undefeated at 27-0. (Credit: Robert O’Rourk)

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Here are the classifieds and Service Directory for Jan. 11, 2018. If you are interested in placing an ad, please call Karen, 631-354-8029 or email kcullen@timesreview.com.

Suffolk Times classifieds and Service Directory: Jan. 11, 2018

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In the beginning, there was ice.

Eighteen thousand years ago, a massive wall of ice 300 feet thick extended south from the Arctic to what is now New Jersey. There was no Long Island then. There was no island at all, because the land was a solid mass covered by this enormous ice cap. 

Slowly — glaciers do not move quickly — this ice cap began to pull back, retreating north, inch by inch, and scraping the land at its base to such an extent that it ground up entire boulders and reduced them to sand. This would become the topsoil that today makes the North Fork the remarkable farmland that it is.

Then, perhaps around 11,000 years ago, as the earth began to warm slightly and this huge ice cap started to melt, what we now call Long Island began to take shape. That is to say, a meltwater channel formed by flowing water from the melting ice gradually filled up and became what we know today as Long Island Sound. The ancestral Hudson River was also formed by just such a channel of melting water.

Smaller meltwater streams helped form our bays and creeks. Kettle holes — deep, freshwater ponds created by large chunks of ice left behind as the glacier receded — emerged. Laurel Lake in Mattituck is a kettle hole pond.

So, why does the North Fork — which, on a big map spread across a wall, resembles a bony, arthritic finger sticking out into the Atlantic Ocean — look the way it does? It’s because of the ice. Long Island is a byproduct of a giant, grinding ice sheet — one so powerful that a very large boulder would be reduced to particles of sand after being dragged underneath it for just 20 miles.

“I love looking at the North Fork,” said Sean Tvelia, a professor of geology and physical sciences at Suffolk County Community College. Mr. Tvelia’s enthusiasm for the forces that shaped our island is contagious. With the eye of a skilled investigator looking over a crime scene, he sees what the ice left behind thousands of years ago when he looks at the layers of sand and silt on a high bluff overlooking Long Island Sound.

Ice during the recent cold wave forms on a Long Island Sound beach in Riverhead. (Credit: Rachel Siford)

“This is ground zero for the glacier,” he explained. “If you look at the coastline, if you are standing on the beach, you can understand that giant wall of ice. This was the toe of the ice.”

The birth of what we call Long Island 11,000 years ago is a mere blink in the 4-billion-year life of the planet, give or take a half-billion or so. Geologically speaking, we are too young to merit a birthday. And we are too old not to respect what brought us to this point in our long history.

But we could all gather on a Long Island Sound beach and look up at the bluff and see what the glacier left behind and raise a glass to it. On a broader scale, though, what makes the North Fork unique and worth protecting — its rich farm soil, creeks and bays — is because of the ice. You can’t know this land without knowing how ice shaped it.

Professor Tvelia makes clear what is well known among those who study the geology of this sandbar we live on:

Piecing together its earliest history and establishing a timeline of events is a difficult task. After all, the answers lie in rocks and sediment, which don’t give up their stories easily. This forces the professor to become an earth detective, sifting for clues.

“There is no real good data on how long the ice was here,” he said. “We know it was in Vermont 21,000 years ago. And then gone. How long it existed is hard to know. The ice retreated south to north.”

The ice was 300 feet thick here, and maybe a mile and half in depth to our north, over what’s now Connecticut.

While one of the many unanswered questions about the ice is how far south it reached, it appears as though what is now Long Island was pretty much its southernmost reach. We were the end — or the toe, as the professor calls it.
What geologists call the Ronkonkoma Moraine — essentially a ridge of sediment left by the glacier — runs across Long Island, with clear signs the ice continued across modern-day New Jersey and then west.

Perhaps even more fascinating than how the machinery of the ice formed our North Fork is this tantalizing question: When did people first arrive here?

The so-called Clovis people — named for perfecting the Clovis point, a highly engineered killing instrument — were farther west on the continent 20,000 years ago. They moved east, perhaps following giant game like the mammoths, hugging the southern edge of the wall of ice.

We know this because their distinctive Clovis points have been found on Long Island. It is a good guess that these people were here 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. That means these people, about whom we know so little, were on this land for perhaps 9,600 years all by themselves.

John Strong, a retired Southampton College professor and an expert on eastern Long Island Indian history, said the hunter-gatherers who came here followed food sources as the ice retreated north. They became established here when there was enough food — plants and animals — for them to live on and form extended family groups.

It is also not beyond the realm of possibility that people from what is now the European continent walked here from there — following the edge of the ice until they arrived on our land mass. There is no physical proof of that, but it is a fascinating question.

But first there was ice. And then an island. This is the beginning of our story.

swick@timesreview.com

About this series: The North Fork History Project is a 16-part series telling the stories of the place we call home. The second chapter will be published Jan. 25.

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The night before the blizzard struck last Thursday, Madison Fender was driving through Greenport and spotted a man standing on the side of the road, shivering, without a coat.

Ms. Fender, a local photographer, wanted to help him warm up, but she didn’t have any coats that would fit him. So, she immediately knocked on neighbor’s doors, collected a coat and went back to the man, gearing him up with a hat, scarf and gloves, too.

She then took him into a nearby gas station so he could pick up food and coffee. She recalled how grateful the man was when he received the coat.

“His whole demeanor instantly changed as he put that coat on and felt warm,” Ms. Fender said.

The experience inspired her to set up a coat drive, “Coats for the Cold” for the next two weekends to help other community members in need of some warmth this winter.

Anyone willing to donate coats can drop them off at a rack set up at the red barn at Treiber Farms in Southold Jan. 13, 14, 20 and 21 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Alice’s Fish Market in Greenport also stepped up as a drop-off site, Ms. Fender said.

“This is genuinely just something to help people out,” she said.

kzegers@timesreview.com

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Former Greenport resident Geraldine E. “Peaches” Carter of Riverhead died at her home on Jan. 9, 2018. She was 64.

Viewing services will take place Monday, Jan. 15, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Southold. Homegoing services will commence at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 16, at Clinton Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church in Greenport, the Rev. Natalie R. Wimberly Sr. Pastor officiating. Interment will at place at First Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Southold.

A complete obituary will follow.

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Anne Marie DePetris of Cutchogue died Jan. 7, 2018, at Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport. She was 82.

She was born in Greenport on June 26, 1935, to Nellie (Kujan) and Felix Doroski.

She married William “Larry” DePetris on June 26, 1955, at Our Lady of Ostrabrama R.C. Church in Cutchogue.

For many years, Anne was a clerk at Southold Pharmacy.

Predeceased by her husband in 2012, she is survived by two daughters, Mary Ann Newalis of Mattituck and Joanne O’Rourke of Riverhead; brother, Robert Doroski of Cutchogue; sister, Cathleen Mickaliger of Riverhead and a granddaughter, Lisa Newalis.

The Liturgy of Christian Burial will be celebrated at noon Friday, Jan. 12,  at Our Lady of Ostrabrama Roman Catholic Church, Father Mariusz Gorazd officiating. Interment will follow at Sacred Heart R.C. Cemetery in Cutchogue.

DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home is assisting the family.

This is a paid notice. 

The post Anne Marie DePetris appeared first on Suffolk Times.

A snowstorm hit the North Fork last Thursday with harsh winds and rough waters that ripped up bulkheads, severely eroded Southold Town Beach and washed away a long-standing beach shack at Hashamomuck Cove. 

The storm dumped snow all day Thursday, with varying totals collected by National Weather Services cooperative stations, according to weather service observer Len Llewellyn of Mattituck. In Mattituck, 7.1 inches of snow were recorded. Orient collected 12.5 inches; Baiting Hollow received 14.5; and the station at the Cornell Cooperative Extension center in Riverhead measured 12 inches, Mr. Llewellyn said.

Southold’s Hashamomuck Cove, where north-facing homes are exposed to Long Island Sound, saw heavy damage. Photos and video of the storm’s aftermath show that bulkheads were ripped apart.

Some debris from a bulkhead that “blew out” was pushed through the basement walls of at least one home, cove resident Lynn Laskos said Sunday.

Lynn Laskos captured turbulent waters striking her home on Hashamomuck Cove in Southold. (Courtesy photo)

The beach shack, originally a bait shop where the former Soundview restaurant is now located, was destroyed. It had been moved to its location among homes on the cove in the late 1920s, where it served as a beach shack, complete with a toilet, solar hot water shower and electricity, according to David Corwin.

Both Ms. Laskos and Mr. Corwin noted that, years ago, there were 100 to 150 feet of beach in front of the homes. Ms. Laskos said last week’s storm was worse than a 1994 nor’easter that knocked her previous house off its foundation and into the Sound. The recent storm also breached a portion of County Road 48.

That prompted police to shut down the road between Chapel Lane and Boisseau Avenue to wait out the high tide and debris from the Sound, Southold Police Chief Martin Flatley said.

An Army Corps of Engineers plan, projected to cost $17.7 million, would bolster the Hashamomuck Cove area, but the project still needs a non-federal local sponsor, which could be the state, county or town.

“We live there and we’re frightened and it’s scary, and we understand other people’s concerns, but now’s the time we just need an answer because we can’t just keep sinking money into being the buffer to 48,” Ms. Laskos said.

Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell said issues regarding the cove, including whether or not the town will serve as the local sponsor, are on the agenda for Tuesday’s Town Board work session.

“The ACOE plan is well understood by all levels of government and has been the subject of several discussions in the past,” Mr. Russell said in an email Monday. “I do not believe that a meeting of all agencies would contribute any more to the discussion at this point.”

Town Beach, which sees erosion each year, will again receive sand donated by Cross Sound Ferry from its stockpile from past dredging projects, the supervisor said. Town highway department crews will deliver the sand, which will be spread along the beach well before town beaches are scheduled to open for the summer, he said.

Winds remained strong throughout Friday, creating snowdrifts on roads that were plowed and layered with salt and sand throughout the night by town highway department crews. Mr. Llewellyn said he recorded wind speeds of 33 miles per hour, with gusts up to 49 miles per hour.

Temperatures dropped into the teens and single digits in the days after the storm. Those temperatures were part of the longest string of below-freezing temperatures since 1979, according to the National Weather Service. The streak, which began Dec. 26, ended Monday as local recorded highs rose above 32 degrees.

Southold-based Burt’s Reliable fuel oil company has been busy over the past few days thanks to the below-freezing temperatures, according to general manager Tom Hewitt.

“It has been incredibly hectic,” he said.

The business received calls over the weekend from many homeowners reporting frozen pipes or worried about low oil tank levels.

Some calls came from residents concerned that their heating systems simply were not working at all, but that was not the case, Mr. Hewitt explained. Many local homes are not designed to handle single-digit temperatures, as they may be older or have less efficient insulation or windows, he said.

Town Hall also saw the effects of the low temperatures over the weekend. Offices were closed Monday after pipes in a fire suppression system froze on the east side of the building, where the town assessor’s offices are located, causing “considerable water damage,” Mr. Russell said in an email Monday morning.

Southold Fire Department Chief Jim Rich said the storm was relatively quiet for his department, but he was one of the first responders on the scene Sunday at Town Hall after a fire alarm was triggered.

“When we got there, water was running out the front steps and water was running out of the west side of the east wing,” he said. “There was a stream of water running out the vinyl siding and cascading out the front.”

The fire department was able to shut off the incoming water and a town employee silenced the alarm, Chief Rich said.

The building sustained flooding by about two inches of water and damage to the ceiling, where the pipes are located, Mr. Russell said. Most of the damage was to the structure, he said later Monday.

No official documents were damaged, the supervisor confirmed. While not all of the computer equipment in the affected offices has been thoroughly evaluated, that damage so far appears minimal, he said.

Repairs were underway at Town Hall Monday and the supervisor’s office, justice court, town clerk’s office and tax receiver’s offices were all open again on Tuesday. The assessor’s office remained closed.

Monday’s closure led the Town Board to call an emergency meeting Tuesday to approve a resolution to extend the payment period for the first half of property taxes, originally Wednesday at 4 p.m., to Friday at 4 p.m.

The extension accommodates the lost day, but also addresses “the confusion recently of the federal tax reform package and how it affects people locally,” Mr. Russell said before the vote.

Photo caption: Southold Town Councilman Jim Dinizio visited Hashamomuck Cove in Southold Friday and took photos of the storm damage. (Courtesy photo) 

kzegers@timesreview.com

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