Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Ashley Murray (above) should contact Southold Police at 765-2600.

Charlotte Murray said she hasn’t slept since her teenaged daughter, Ashley, went missing Monday morning.

“You just keep hoping that the game is up and she’ll come walking through the door,” the mom said.

Ashley, who lives in Peconic with her family, left a “suicide note” mentioning a “watery grave” before she vanished, Ms. Murray said.

Ashley is 5-foot 4-inches and 140 pounds with reddish-brown hair, her mother said. She was last seen wearing red sweatpants “four sizes too big,” black boots and a zip-up sweatshirt with a hood, her mom said.

“She didn’t even leave with a winter coat,” her mom said. Ashley also left behind medication she must take for anemia, Ms. Murray said.

Ashley left the house about 8:30 a.m., the same time she normally leaves to get on the school bus, but police said she never arrived at school.

School officials contacted Ms. Murray that morning when some students told social workers that they had gotten texts from Ashley that said she would kill herself, her mom said.

Southold Superintendent David Gamberg said the district has been cooperating with the Southold Police Department since the investigation began Monday.

“We have deep, deep concerns about her whereabouts and her safety,” Mr. Gamberg said. “Anything and everything we can do we will do.”

Ms. Murray said her daughter’s phone is turned off or not working, her mom said.

“This was all thought out and planned the night before,” Ms. Murray said.

Ashley has never run away from home before, her mom said.

“I’d like for her to come home,” Ms. Murray said.

Police initially employed a marine patrol, its canine unit and a Suffolk County Police helicopter Monday. Believing Ashley may have left the area, investigators ended the active search near her home later in the day.

Investigators were working with her family and friends, and checking phone records, they said.  Anyone with information should contact Southold Police at (631) 765-2600.

psquire@timesreview.com

With Tim Kelly and Jennifer Gustavson.

The Suffolk Times live blogged from Town Board Tuesday. You can follow along below:

Southold Town Board agenda, Feb. 26, 2013.

Dennis J. Carey of Greenport died Feb. 26 at age 95. He was the brother of the late Hugh Carey, former governor of New York.

The family will receive visitors Friday, March 1, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at Horton-Mathie Funeral Home in Greenport. A mass will be celebrated Saturday, March 2, at 11 a.m. at St. Agnes R. C. Church in Greenport. Interment, with honors, will take place Monday, March 4, at Calverton National Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to St. Agnes R. C. Church, 523 Front St., Greenport, NY 11944 or East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach, NY 11978.

A complete obituary will appear in a future edition of The Suffolk Times.

Alexander Kowalsick of Riverhead died Feb. 24 at the age of 88.

He was born in Jamesport Aug. 19, 1924, to Alexander and Florence (Gevenski) Kowalsick.

Formerly of Edison, N.J., and Jamesport, he had been a delivery driver for Canada Dry.

Predeceased by his wife, Elsie (née Stuben), in 1993, Mr. Kowalsick is survived by a sister, Patricia Endres Hickey of Magnolia, Del.; nephews Richard Endres, Tom Kowalsick, Jim Kowalsick, Brian Misiewicz, Walter Misiewicz; and nieces Laura Endres and Theresa Kowalsick. He was also predeceased by his siblings Walter Kowalsick and Dorothy Misiewicz.

The family will receive friends Wednesday, Feb. 27, from 7 to 9 p.m. at DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Mattituck. Private interment will be at St. Isidore R.C. Cemetery in Riverhead.

This is a paid notice.

PAUL SQUIRE PHOTO | Film crews work a staging area outside an Ostrander Avenue home in Riverhead Tuesday morning.

An independent film starring Rory Culkin, the brother of child star Macaulay Culkin, is filming in Riverhead this week.

Rory Culkin

“Gabriel” is about a teenager, played by Mr. Culkin, who goes on a journey to find his first love, said producer Allison Carter. Crews began filming at an Ostrander Avenue house Monday and were continuing the shoot Tuesday morning.

The building is supposed to contain the Connecticut college apartment of the protagonist’s former flame, Ms. Carter explained.

“He comes to her apartment during winter break hoping to find her here,” she said.

The film, which is directed and written by Lou Howe, has been shooting across the tri-state area in New York City, Montauk, Connecticut and Sag Harbor over the past few months, Ms. Carter said. The shoot in Riverhead should wrap up Tuesday afternoon.

Ms. Carter said most of the crew isn’t from the area, but they have been enjoying their stay on the North Fork.

“The community is great,” she said. “Everyone has kind of welcomed us.”

The movie is the latest in a series of television series and films to shoot in the Riverhead area. Last year, the Coen Brothers filmed two scenes for their latest movie “Inside Llewyn Davis” at two properties in Riverhead. That film, set in the 1960s and featuring big-name Hollywood talent such as John Goodman of the “Big Lebowski” and Justin Timberlake of “The Social Network,” is due to be released later this year.

In March, another independent film, “El Cielo Es Azul” (The Sky is Blue), held movie shoots at several locations in Riverhead, including Cody’s BBQ and Grill and in September, a fishing show called “Lunkerville” shot scenes in Riverhead and Southold towns.

An upcoming television series also filmed at the A Cut Above hair salon in Aquebogue in October.

The HBO crime drama “Boardwalk Empire” shot scenes at a Calverton farm in 2011 for their season finale, and HBO’s “The Sopranos” filmed in Riverhead twice several years ago.

“Gabriel” will continue shooting over the next few months and is expected to be released in 2014.

psquire@timesreview.com

Happy birthday to the following North Fork residents:

Valerie Andrews

Shane Hughes

Marlene Parrish

Carl Ruroede

Leah Sparrow

Email us your loved one’s birthday

DANIEL DE MATO PHOTO | Ahkee Anderson, 10, of Greenport racing the ball upcourt for St. Patrick in a recent CYO game against Our Lady of the Hamptons.

Of all the statistics that Ahkee Anderson has put up, it is a vital statistic, perhaps, that is most impressive. He is 10 years old.

Watching the Greenport boy play basketball, one has to wonder how that is possible. How is it possible for a 10-year-old to play like he does? Not only that, but how does he play like that in his first season of organized basketball?

Is he a prodigy? An exceptionally quick learner?

Whether or not it is too much to call Anderson a prodigy can be debated, but his instincts on the basketball court cannot. The 4-foot-2 guard for the St. Patrick fifth-grade Catholic Youth Organization team turns heads and wows people with his uncanny court vision, his basketball maturity and unselfish play.

“It’s unbelievable,” said St. Patrick coach Bob Martin, who believes Anderson may be the best fifth-grade player in Suffolk County. “He has a certain basketball sense that you would be happy to have with a high school player.”

Rodney Shelby, the Greenport High School boys varsity assistant coach, first became aware of Anderson about a month ago when he heard talk about the talented young player. So, Shelby checked him out himself, and wasn’t disappointed.

“At 10 years old, he’s definitely legit,” Shelby said. “He’s got a good all-around game, a good head on his shoulders, uses both hands. At a young age, he shoots well, sees the floor. I just hope that he can keep on progressing and learning.”

Shelby, who compares Anderson to a young Ryan Creighton, the former Greenport great, said the best feature of Anderson’s game is his court awareness.

“It’s absolutely shocking because he’s only 10 years old,” said Crystal Anderson, Ahkee’s mother who used to play basketball for Greenport High School. Crystal said her son’s passing ability is “what has everybody so intrigued about him. He has such an ability at such a young age. Usually at this age, it’s all about shooting the ball.”

So, where did Ahkee Anderson get all this basketball know-how?

“He comes from a family of athletes,” Crystal Anderson said. “His uncles all play sports. I guess I’m the tomboy mom. I’m with him every step of the way.”

Ahkee Anderson wears uniform No. 23, but that has nothing to do with it being Michael Jordan’s old number. Actually, Anderson’s favorite NBA team is the Miami Heat, and his favorite player is Lebron James, not a bad player to style himself after.

DANIEL DE MATO PHOTO | Ahkee Anderson, taking to the air for a layup, impresses observers with his court vision.

“That’s my team, and Lebron James is my idol,” said Ahkee, who will celebrate his 11th birthday on May 15. “I try to do what he does, and try to put it in my own style.”

Crystal Anderson said that when Ahkee was 3 years old, he would go with his father, Marcellus Shedrick, to a local basketball court and shoot around. But the television was an instructor, too.

“He’s such a Miami Heat fan, he’ll watch them and try to do the moves he saw on TV,” she said. “He’s like a sponge. He’ll watch something and then he’ll go out and practice it.”

Martin said he had never seen a young player like Anderson before, with such incredible body control that he can stop on a dime and make a reverse layup. “Each game there is always one play where we just go, ‘Wow, that’s just not right,’ ” said Martin.

Teammates have been advised to be on the alert when Anderson has the ball in his hands. A pass could come their way at any moment, so they had better be ready or they will have a basketball in their face.

With the smooth and composed Anderson getting his teammates involved, the undersized Cutchogue-based St. Patrick team has enjoyed a successful season. Anderson displayed his skills in St. Patrick’s final regular-season game recently against Our Lady of the Hamptons at Bishop McGann-Mercy Diocesan High School. Early on, Anderson made a layup while being fouled, and sank his free throw for a conventional 3-point play. He swished a 15-foot jumper right before the buzzer ending the first quarter for a 10-0 lead that soon became 14-0. One of Anderson’s best highlights, not surprisingly, was a neat bounce pass to Joshua Santacroce.

Through three quarters, Anderson already had a double-double. With a couple of minutes remaining in the game, he made a steal to give himself a triple-double in the 37-23 victory that left St. Patrick with an undefeated regular season at 12-0.

“It just feels good to win,” Anderson said afterward.

Anderson played all but 78 seconds of the 28-minute game and totaled 24 points (1 point shy of his season-high), 13 rebounds, 11 steals, 3 assists (he would have had more if not for several missed layups), 3 turnovers, 3 personal fouls and 1 blocked shot (Anderson said he relishes blocking shots). He shot 10 for 19 from the field and 4 for 7 from the foul line.

Martin said it was an unusual game for Anderson. “He usually plays better,” the coach said.

For the regular season, Anderson averaged 15 points, 13 rebounds, 8 steals and 7 assists per game.

Anderson’s name is becoming known, thanks in part to a highlight video that Kyle Charters posted of him on YouTube. Charters, a former Greenport High School player, runs his own business, K and C Prospect Video, which produces sports videos, usually for high school athletes looking to send video to colleges.

Charters said that he was reluctant to video record Anderson last year when Crystal Anderson asked him to because he thought Ahkee might be too young for that sort of exposure. But Charters saw Anderson play, and on Jan. 16 he posted a video on YouTube that by Tuesday afternoon drew 422 views.

“When I went to see him play, I was just floored,” Charters said. “He’s so cerebral. He understands the way the game’s supposed to flow. … He sees the floor better than varsity kids. He’s such a good passer.”

So good, in fact, that Shelby has been monitoring his progress. Shelby said Anderson will play on his AAU team, the Boulevard Boys.

“He definitely can play,” Shelby said. “You would think he’s older than 10 years old. You would think he’s been playing organized basketball since he could walk, but he just really started playing.”

The video prompted comparisons to Jaylin Fleming. Two years ago the Chicago Tribune produced a video report about Fleming, who was a fifth-grader at the Beasley Academic Center in Chicago, with the heading, “The best 10-year-old hoops player in the U.S.?” The video shows Fleming, a phenomenal ball handler, dribbling two basketballs at the same time and weaving through a line of cones like a mini-Harlem Globetrotter.

“The things that are happening to Jaylin, he actually deserves, and I can be honest and say that he’s worked hard,” his father, John Fleming, said in the video, which has had over 5.3 million views. “You know, a lot of people are talented, but they don’t cultivate their gifts. They don’t take time to develop them. But he has committed himself and dedicated himself to the classroom first, and secondly with his skill. He has the gift to inspire. He never goes into anything halfway.”

Apparently, Anderson doesn’t, either. His mother said he is a straight-A student, as well as an exceptional football player. The emphasis is on academics.

“That’s my number one goal, to see him graduate with top honors,” said Crystal.

As for basketball, she said: “The only worries that I have is he’ll get overwhelmed with all the pressure and the expectations for him to do well. I want him to enjoy it. I don’t want him to feel that it’s a job.”

Ahkee said he is enjoying his first basketball season and is surprised at how well he has played. He said, “I’m going to try to get as [good] as I can, keep getting better every year.”

bliepa@timesreview.com

Ellsworth Baylis Jr. of Cutchogue died Feb. 18 at San Simeon by the Sound Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Greenport. He was 83.

Born Sept. 6, 1929, in Mineola to Ellsworth and Harriet Baylis, he served in the U.S. Army from 1952 to 1954 and worked as a baggage handler for American Airlines.

Cremation was private. Arrangements were handled by Coster-Heppner Funeral Home in Cutchogue. Interment will take place at Cutchogue Cemetery at a later date.

Southold Police issued a Missing Person poster Wednesday with details on 16-year-old Ashley Murray of Peconic.

The search for a Peconic teen missing since Monday went viral this week, as local appeals to find her were shared over social networking sites across the country and beyond.

Ashley Murray, 16, was last seen at 8:30 a.m., the time she normally leaves her home on Spring Lane to catch the school bus.

She never arrived at school.

“You just keep hoping that the game is up and she’ll come walking through the door,” her mother, Charlotte, said in an interview Tuesday afternoon.

[Previous Coverage: Missing teen left suicide note, mom says]

Ms. Murray learned of her daughter’s disappearance after receiving a call from school officials who told her social workers got word from students who had received texts from Ashley that said she would kill herself. Her mom later found a note from her daughter, which she called a “suicide note,” saying it made reference to a “watery grave.”

“This was all thought out and planned the night before,” Ms. Murray said.

Southold Police initially employed a marine patrol, its canine unit and a Suffolk County Police helicopter to perform a physical search Monday morning, but later focused their investigation on the possibility that she may have left the area. They then ended the active local search Monday afternoon and began to concentrate on examining phone and computer records, and interviewing close friends and family, police said.

Police did not release an official missing person report until Wednesday morning, more than 50 hours after Ashley’s disappearance. Law enforcement officials said Ashley’s case does not fit criteria for an “Amber Alert,” since she is not believed to have been abducted.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Ashley Murray (above) should contact Southold Police at 765-2600.

That did not stop local residents from conducting their own searches and using social media to reach thousands of concerned web surfers from across the country.

A missing poster created Tuesday night by the Facebook page “Missing,” which has a reach of about 125,000 Facebook users, was already shared by more than 14,000 people the following morning, with an additional 1,200 people “liking” the poster and another 1,000 users commenting.

“Shared in Ottawa, Ontario Canada,” one user wrote.

“I encourage everyone to pray for this young girl,” said another commenter.

Locally, friends of Ashley created a Facebook page called “Ashley Come Home,” which was already followed by more than 1,000 Facebook users just hours after its creation. Users shared their photos of Ashley and the page, where they made desperate pleas for their friend to return safely.

“If anyone knows ANYTHING that could help lead to Ashley’s safe return please tell someone as soon as possible! We need to know as much as we can so we can find this beautiful young lady!” the moderator of the page wrote.

Many of her classmates posted that they were out searching locally for their friend, , who they said was often bullied in school.

Ashley is 5-foot 4-inches and 140 pounds with reddish-brown hair, her mother said. She was last seen wearing red sweatpants “four sizes too big,” black boots and a zip-up sweatshirt with a hood, Charlotte Murray said. Police added that she has a scar on her right wrist and wears hearing aids in both ears.

“She didn’t even leave with a winter coat,” her mom said, and she left behind medication she must take for anemia.

Ashley’s mom also said her daughter has never run away from home before.

“I’d like for her to come home,” Ms. Murray said, adding that she hadn’t slept since her daughter went missing Monday morning.

Ms. Murray said her daughter’s phone is turned off or not working.

Southold Superintendent David Gamberg said the district has been cooperating with the Southold Police Department since the investigation began Monday.

“We have deep, deep concerns about her whereabouts and her safety,” Mr. Gamberg said. “Anything and everything we can do we will do.”

Anyone with information should contact Southold Police at (631) 765-2600. Information will remain confidential.

gparpan@timesreview.com

WITH TIM KELLY AND JENNIFER GUSTAVSON

Bernice Sujeski of Mattituck died Feb. 27 at her home.

Visiting hours will take place Friday, March 1, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at McLaughlin Heppner Funeral Home in Riverhead. A service will be held Saturday, March 2, at 9:30 a.m. at St. Isidore R.C. Church in Riverhead, followed by interment at the church cemetery.

A complete obituary will appear in a future edition of The Suffolk Times.

The following is a list of web pages where you can share or receive information about Ashley Murray, the Peconic teen who has been missing since Monday:

• “Ashley Come Home” is a Facebook page created by friends of Ashley.

• The Facebook page “Missing” created a poster for Ashley. They’re also urging people to use the hashtag #FINDASHLEY to get it trending on Twitter.

• North Fork Patch has been keeping up to date with Ashley’s story since Monday.

• Anyone with information should contact Southold Police at (631) 765-2600. Information will remain confidential.

Please email us if you’d like to recommend a page for us to share.

Ashley Murray

A volunteer effort to search for missing 16-year-old Ashley Murray of Peconic is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

The community-driven search party will meet at the flagpole in front of Southold High School at 3 p.m. and will focus on searching areas in Southold, Greenport and Mattituck, including checking beaches and under bridges, according to the Facebook page “Ashley Come Home.”

Ashley’s mother, Charlotte, said her daughter left a suicide note that made reference to a “watery grave.” The Southold High School student has been missing since Monday.

Anyone with information about Ashley’s disappearance should contact Southold Police at (631) 765-2600. Information will remain confidential.

[Related: Peconic teen officially declared missing person]

Southold Town police arrested a Mattituck man early Wednesday morning after he was caught driving drunk on Sound Avenue, according to a police report.

Jared Smith, 30, was stopped for a traffic violation about 2 a.m., police said. Mr. Smith was intoxicated and arrested at the scene, police said. He was charged with driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor.

Mr. Smith was taken to police headquarters and held for morning arraignment, police said.

COURTESY PHOTO | The greenhouse at Trimble’s of Corchaug Nursery was one of a handful to fall on the North Fork during the blizzard.

As the flakes flew during the February 8 blizzard, many North Forkers stared out their windows to watch more than a foot of snow fill their driveways.

Anne Trimble and Nancy Leskody had a different perspective from the second floor of their home next to the nursery they own on Main Road in Cutchogue. All they could see was a blanket of snow growing thicker atop their 40-year-old greenhouse.

“It just kept snowing and snowing and snowing,” Ms. Leskody said. “It got very heavy. Then it buckled and came crashing down.”

COURTESY PHOTO | Trimble’s owners Anne Trimble (left) and Nancy Leskody with employee Gerry Leskody inside the collapsed greenhouse.

The greenhouse at Trimble’s of Corchaug Nursery was one of a handful to fall on the North Fork during the blizzard — and among more than 250 in the Northeast to collapse, according to reports.

The weight of the snow was just too much for the older, gutter-connected aluminum-framed greenhouse to handle.

“Because of the way it collapsed, it was still partially standing,” Ms. Trimble said.

While no plants were damaged, Trimble’s did lose benches, pots and shelving. The storm also destroyed their PA system.

Ms. Leskody said the toughest part of the ordeal was losing a space that she viewed as both an office and a sanctuary.

“That was my work space,” she said. “I was definitely emotionally connected to it. It was bittersweet.”

Bitter because the structure was the only one remaining from when Ms. Trimble and Ms. Leskody bought the business in 1991. Sweet because it will be replaced with a new, more energy-efficient greenhouse.

That structure will be 3,000 square feet, less than half the size of the original, but will feature a stronger steel frame with a clear front panel enabling passersby to see the inventory from the roadway.

The new greenhouse will serve more as a retail showroom than as a growing space. Most of the stock will continue to be grown in smaller “cold houses” at the nursery.

Ms. Trimble said she expects the entire process of taking down the old greenhouse and building the new one to take between six and eight weeks. It’s expected to be ready soon after Trimble’s reopens for the season March 25.

That’s good news for customers who feared the nursery might close when they saw the old structure collapse.

“When people are calling, saying, ‘Please stay in business,’ that really affects you,” Ms. Leskody said. “We don’t plan on closing for a long time.”

gparpan@timesreview.com

Here are the classifieds for Feb. 28, 2013. You can also add a listing to our self-serve business directory. Click here for more information.

Times Review Classifieds, Feb 28, 2013

Here is the Suffolk Times Service Directory for Feb. 28, 2013. You can also add a listing to our self-serve business directory. Click here for more information.

Suffolk Times Service Directory, Feb 28, 2013

Capt. Joseph C. Gordon, Sr. of Southold died on February 27, 2013.  The life-long North Fork resident was 64 years old.

He was born on July 20, 1948 in Greenport to Joseph and Marian (nee Gaffga) Stulsky. After graduation from Greenport High School, he married the former Elizabeth (nee Nintzel) on May 1, 1971 in Mattituck.

Joe was a Vietnam War Veteran having served four years in the United States Navy.  He was honorably discharged as Petty Officer Second Class and was the recipient of the National Defense Service Medal. He then served two years in the Naval Reserve.

He then joined the Southold Town Police Department where he served for 21 years.  He was also the Captain of the Charter Boat “Ship Happens”.

He was a past president of the Southold Town Baymens Association, Vice-president of the Southold Town Police Benevolent Association, a member of the Junior Order of Mechanics and the Griswold Terry Glover Post #802 of the American Legion.

Surviving is his wife, Elizabeth; his mother, Marian Bitzer of Riverhead; two children, Tanya G. (Todd) Newman of Southold and Joseph C. Gordon, Jr. (Kristen) of Westhampton; a brother, Robert Gordon of Bivalve, MD, his sisters, Sharon Rumpler of Southold and Marilee Fuss of Baiting Hollow, and two grandchildren, Dylan Cole Newman and Kelsey Rose Newman.

The family will receive friends on Sunday, March 3^rd from 2-4 and 7-9 P.M. at the DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Southold.  Funeral services will be held at 8 P.M. by Father Thomas P. Murray.  The funeral procession will leave the DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home at 10:00 A.M. on Monday, March 4^th for interment, with US Navy honors, at the Calverton National Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Southold Town Baymen’s Association, P.O. Box 1802, Southold, New York 11971.

Paid obituary

GRANT PARPAN PHOTO | Mega Millions winner Kim Chilton (center) with Showcase Wine and Liquor owner Corinne Ferdenzi and store employee Will Burkard.

Kim Chilton was feeling bummed when she couldn’t accompany friends on a trip to Mohegan Sun earlier this month.

Instead, she planned a quiet night at home with her husband and a bottle of wine. While visiting Showcase Wine and Liquor on North Road in Southold that evening, she purchased a Mega Millions ticket, figuring she’d try her luck another way.

She did better at the liquor store than she probably would have at the casino.

Ms. Chilton, a mother of three from Southold, was one of two people to purchase a second place-winning ticket for the Feb. 1 Mega Millions drawing, earning her a $250,000 prize.

“I started shaking,” she said of the experience of learning she was a winner. “I was in disbelief.”

And it almost didn’t happen at all.

The store was busy at the time Ms. Chilton asked to play a $5 quick pick. Distracted, store clerk Will Burkard initially handed her a ticket for just $1. He then corrected his error and handed her a second ticket with four more sets of numbers. The winning numbers 1-30-32-40-41 (she could have won $13 million if she’d also had 17 for her mega ball number) were on the top line of the second ticket, which she pinned to a bulletin board in her house.

Even after she heard through a friend that one of the winning tickets was purchased locally — the other was sold in Michigan — Ms. Chilton waited a week before verifying her numbers. She said she was later reminded when she saw an article on suffolktimes.com.

“I saw the story and I saw that it was purchased [at Showcase],” she said. “I thought, ‘Hmm, I better check that out.’”

A substitute aide in the Southold School District and an adviser for the high school’s robotics team, Ms. Chilton was so wrapped up in preparing for the club’s competition in April that she waited another whole day after reading The Suffolk Times article before logging on to the lottery website to check the winning numbers.

She immediately walked the winning ticket to her husband, Ed, and asked him if he’d heard there was a local winner.

“I was still shaking when I showed him,” she said.

Ms. Chilton said her children told her they were happy something so nice could happen to parents who have dedicated much of their lives to helping their kids.

She said she still plans to use the money — she received $165,000 after taxes — to pay off her children’s educations. Her daughter, Kerry, and oldest son, Charles, are already enrolled in college and Kerry plans to attend law school later. Her youngest son, Tim, is also headed for college once he graduates from Southold.

Ms. Chilton has tried to keep a low profile since she won, but said word spreads quickly in such a small town.

That’s a big reason why she was nervous when a blizzard struck the day after she discovered she’d won. Her accountant advised her not to tell a soul that she was in possession of the winning ticket until after the snow cleared and she could safely exchange it at the lottery’s regional office in Garden City.

Even that exchange provided an interesting experience. Ms. Chilton said the lotto staff greets you quietly as you enter the building and doesn’t verbally congratulate you in the lobby. Instead, a woman there gave her a thumbs up and handed her paperwork.

“You sit there and quietly fill it all out,” she said. “It’s like filling out a job application.”

They then ask you to pose for photographs with the ceremonial check before cutting you the real one.

“I headed straight for the bank after that,” she said.

It was a whirlwind many Showcase Wine and Liquor customers hoped they’d get the chance to experience after word spread that the store sold the winning ticket.

But one man, who store owner Corinne Ferdenzi said purchased his ticket minutes after Ms. Chilton purchased hers, later said he hoped he hadn’t bought the winner. That’s because the man told Ms. Ferdenzi he couldn’t find it.

“I told him, ‘Don’t worry about it, we already know who the winner is,’” she said. “He was relieved.”

A casual lottery player, Ms. Chilton said she felt there was no way she’d picked a winner the day her friend told her it was bought in town.

“We even joked about it and then I forgot all about it,” she said. “I was busy with robotics.”

gparpan@timesreview.com

JENNIFER GUSTAVSON PHOTO | Friends of Ashley Murray gathered near Southold High School Thursday to organize a search party for their friend, who has been missing since Monday.

Plans to search under bridges and along the waterfront for missing Peconic teen Ashley Murray have been altered, as Southold Police have asked the group organizing the search party to instead focus their efforts on handing out fliers.

More than 40 local residents met across the street from Southold High School at 3 p.m. Thursday with plans to participate in the search.

Brianne Catapano, 18, a friend who organized the search and created the Facebook page “Ashley Come Home,” said police feared a search party could contaminate evidence and believed they would be more helpful if they handed out fliers.

Ms. Catapano said she made 500 fliers and an additional 2,000 fliers were donated to her.

The searchers then broke up into small groups, which will head to different hamlets nearby to hand out fliers this afternoon.

After Ms. Catapano made sure everyone received copies of the missing person report, she headed to Greenport to ask business owners to post the flier in their windows.

“I didn’t think this many people would show up,” Ms. Catapano said. “I’m very happy about the turnout. It’s been very hard. I haven’t gotten much sleep. I hope she’s found.”

Ashley, 16, has been missing since 8 a.m. Monday, police said.

Her mother, Charlotte Murray, learned of her daughter’s disappearance after receiving a call from school officials who told her social workers got word from students who had received texts from Ashley that said she would kill herself. Her mom later found a note from her daughter, which she called a “suicide note.”

Southold Police initially employed a marine patrol, its canine unit and a Suffolk County Police helicopter to perform a physical search Monday morning, but later focused their investigation on the possibility that she may have left the area. They then ended the active local search Monday afternoon and began to concentrate on examining phone and computer records, and interviewing close friends and family, police said.

Police did not release an official missing person report until Wednesday morning, more than 50 hours after Ashley’s disappearance. Law enforcement officials said Ashley’s case does not fit criteria for an “Amber Alert,” since she is not believed to have been abducted.

Many of her friends and classmates have said they were out searching locally this week for their friend, who they said was often bullied in school.

Ashley is 5-foot 4-inches and 140 pounds with reddish-brown hair and blue eyes, her mother said. She was last seen wearing red sweatpants “four sizes too big,” black boots and a zip-up sweatshirt with a hood, Charlotte Murray said. Police added that she has a scar on her right wrist and wears hearing aids in both ears.

Anyone with information should contact Southold Police at (631) 765-2600. Information will remain confidential.

jennifer@timesreview.com

PAUL SQUIRE PHOTO | Governor Andrew Cuomo shares his “State of the State” address at Stony Brook University Thursday afternoon.

New Yorkers will learn from the destruction and disasters in the wake of Hurricane Sandy — and we’ll come back stronger because of it.

So vowed Governor Andrew Cuomo at a “State of the State” address Thursday he delivered at Stony Brook University.

“There was a silver lining to this storm,” Mr. Cuomo said. “You saw New Yorkers coming together to help each other in an unprecedented way … There is such power in that unity, there is such strength in that unity.”

He delivered the speech hours after he presented his plan for the coming year to an audience in Brooklyn.

Mr. Cuomo also described his plans for increased investment in start-up businesses, women’s equality legislation, and more and better education for New York children.

Here are some of the highlights of Mr. Cuomo’s proposals:

• Mr. Cuomo proposed adding more schooling for the state’s children, including pre-kindergarten for all New Yorkers.

Although he supports increasing time in the classroom so students can learn more, he said it would be up to each district to determine whether they would make school days longer, make the school year longer, a combination of both, or to leave their year the same length. Mr. Cuomo added the state would pay for “100 percent” of the initial costs for extended education in the state’s districts.

• He will work to raise the minimum wage to $8.75 per hour, saying the current minimum wage of $7.25 is not enough to sustain a working family and was less than surrounding states.

“It’s the right thing to do, it’s the fair thing to do, it’s long overdue in my opinion,” Mr. Cuomo said.

• He will not seek to raise taxes this year, to change the stereotype of New York being a “tax capital.” At the same time, he said he would close the $1 billion budget deficit by finding “efficiencies in the state government.”

• The key to economic success for New York state is to build regional economies, Mr. Cuomo said. Long Island, he added, is a much different economy than those in Buffalo or Rochester. He said he would continue work on the state’s Regional Development Council program and propose business incubators to entice students and entrepreneurs to start businesses in the state.

• Mr. Cuomo praised the state’s decisions to legalize gay marriage and enforce stricter gun controls, saying the state had a responsibility as a “progressive” state to lead the way on social issues. He proposed a “women’s equality act” which would close the gap between men’s and women’s salaries, introduce zero-tolerance rules against sexual harassment, fight workplace discrimination due to gender and protect abortion rights.

The audience gave the governor a standing ovation after he announced the plan.

• The state will dump in more than 3 million cubic yards of sand to restore the Long Island’s beaches damaged in superstorm Sandy. Mr. Cuomo said the beaches will be reopened by Memorial Day.

• Mr. Cuomo proposed “hardening” state utility systems to prevent future incidents like the gas shortages after Sandy and widespread power outages.

• Mr. Cuomo said the state will fund buyouts for homeowners who wish to leave flood-threatened areas. Homes will be purchased back at pre-storm prices, he said.

• The state will work to provide grants to local municipalities that need funds to make storm repairs and improvements, Mr. Cuomo said.

psquire@timesreview.com