The road to the Suffolk County Class B title has run squarely through two schools in recent years: Mattituck and Center Moriches.

Since 2014, the Tuckers have won three county titles; the Red Devils have won a pair. Now, the Red Devils are one win away from another crown.

In Game 1 of the county finals in Center Moriches Tuesday, the Red Devils used the long ball to power past the Tuckers, 11-3. The series shifts to Mattituck Wednesday afternoon as the Tuckers find their backs against the wall to keep their season alive. They’ll need to do it against an undefeated Center Moriches (20-0) team that is 4-0 this season against Mattituck.

“Like I said to the kids on the bus after the game, there’s nothing we did wrong,” said Mattituck coach Gene Rochler. “They’re a good team. Sometimes you got to tip your hat to the other team.”

The Red Devils were the top-ranked Class B team in the state in the most recent rankings by the New York State Sportswriters Association.

Center Moriches twice hit back-to-back home runs in Tuesday’s win. The 11 runs were the most for the Red Devils in a game since defeating Port Jefferson April 23, 14-2.

“They’ve got a lot of guys who hit the long ball,” Rochler said.

Senior Bryce Grathwohl took the loss for the Tuckers. Andy Auffant earned the win for Center Moriches.

Grathwohl has been the Tuckers’ No. 1 pitcher all season and Tuesday was a rare afternoon where a team strung together a bunch of runs off him. He retired the first six Center Moriches batters over the first two innings before a big third inning.

“Today wasn’t his day,” Rochler said. “They were hitting the ball hard off him, which usually doesn’t happen.”

Rochler said the Tuckers hit the ball pretty well against a tough pitcher in Auffant, but it wasn’t enough.

“It’s hard to score against him,” he said.

The No. 2 Tuckers dropped their playoff opener against Babylon last Tuesday and needed to win consecutive games in the loser’s bracket to reach the finals. They did just that by defeating Southampton Wednesday, 13-1, and Babylon in a rematch Thursday, 5-2.

The Tuckers have already felt the pressure of needing a win, which they hope will help them in Wednesday’s game.

“You go into the game knowing that there’s no tomorrow,” Rochler said. “Maybe that will work in our favor. Center Moriches is undefeated and the pressure is on them to maintain that undefeated season. If we can at least win a game, I think we’ll feel like we accomplished something.”

Tyler C. Olsen will start Wednesday for Mattituck.

The Tuckers are now 16-7. If the Tuckers can win Wednesday, the series will come down to a decisive third game back in Center Moriches Friday.

While the Red Devils swept the regular season series against Mattituck, every game was close. Center Moriches won the three games by a combined four runs. Mattituck allowed 10 runs over those three games.

The winner of the series plays June 6 against the Nassau County champion at St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue.

Photo caption: Bryce Grathwohl of Mattituck pictured in the team’s playoff opener last week against Babylon. (Credit: Daniel De Mato)

The post Baseball: Center Moriches powers past Mattituck in Game 1 of county finals appeared first on Suffolk Times.

It just goes to show you — a mid-season loss in April means nothing. Championships are won in May and June.

The Mattituck/Southold high school boys lacrosse team didn’t have a good day on April 4. They were beaten soundly that day, 12-7, at Port Jefferson.

“Awful game,” Mattituck attack/midfielder Dane Reda recalled. “Awful game for us.”

Putting that game behind them, the Tuckers on Tuesday looked nothing like the dispirited team they were that day. With Max Kruszeski leading the charge by scoring six first-quarter goals, Mattituck got a heavy dose of payback, beating Port Jefferson, 14-10, for its second straight Suffolk County Class D championship.

“There’s no better feeling,” said Kruszeski, who also had an assist to go with his six goals on a damp, overcast afternoon at Farmingdale State College. “We worked so hard for this, especially coming back from last year, that tough loss in the states. We knew all year that we wanted to get back here, we wanted to win this game, and it just feels great to actually come back and see our goal accomplished.”

Mattituck (9-8) will get to defend its first Long Island championship when it faces Oyster Bay (4-11) Saturday at Hofstra University.

“I feel like we came out ready to go, firing on all cylinders, and I think we just played team ball,” Mattituck/Southold coach John Amato told reporters. “We kind of knew what they were about and the boys listened to the game plan and they executed it really well.”

Kruszeski, a senior midfielder who will play for Marquette, looked determined to set the tone early and did with his burst of offense.

Amato said: “I told him before the game: ‘You’ve been doing this since you were in eighth grade.’ I’m like, ‘This is nothing for you. This is just another game.’ ”

The Tuckers shot out to an 8-2 lead and looked sharp. “Today I just saw fire in their eyes,” Amato said. “They were ready.”

Especially a motivated Kruszeski. “I told myself, ‘We can’t come out slow,’ ” he said. “I tried to do everything in my power to get my team off the ground and get them going in the first couple minutes. Because once we get that ball moving and once we get the momentum, I feel like there’s nothing really any other team can do to slow us down.”

The Tuckers led by as many as eight goals before Port Jefferson closed the game with four straight goals, two by Aidan Kaminska.

Kruszeski assisted on a goal by Ethan Schmidt (two goals, one assist) early in the second quarter, but was held pointless in the second half when Gage Jampol faceguarded him.

“It is a little frustrating, but it does happen,” Kruszeski said. “After the quarter I had, I kind of saw it coming.”

Even when Kruszeski was shut down, Mattituck’s offense still flowed as others like Ryan Seifert (two goals, one assist), Reda (two goals, one assist), Schmidt and Matthew Seifert (one goal, two assists) stepped up. Greg Hauser added a goal and an assist and Luke Wojtas made six saves.

“It’s the next guy up, exactly,” Amato said. “The depth that we have, we have a lot of good, skilled players, and Max knows that, so we don’t get nervous when we see that lock going on, when they start to faceguard him.”

Mattituck also received some good faceoff work from Parker Sheppard. “His stick broke at halftime, so that doesn’t help, but he battled and stayed in there,” said Amato.

The big threat for Port Jefferson (10-7), Kaminska, bagged four goals, giving him 47 for the year. Daniel Koban and Jampol added two goals each. Colton VanOverberghe and Jonathan Moshe each had a goal and an assist. Peter Murphy made eight saves for the Royals.

Mattituck, making its fourth appearance in a county final, had lost county title games in 2015 and 2016.

Now, Mattituck’s loss to Port Jefferson last month is a distant memory. “It’s night and day,” said Kruszeski.

The rematch was a lot brighter for Mattituck.

Photo caption: Max Kruszeski celebrates the fifth of his six first-quarter goals, which sent Mattituck/Southold on the way to its second straight county championship. (Credit: Daniel De Mato)

bliepa@timesreview.com

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A small crowd gathered on the lawn at William Ris Gallery Friday afternoon as an eye-catching new installation was unveiled. 

The life-sized horse sculpture made from driftwood and metal was constructed by Franco Cuttica, an Argentinian-born artist whose family emigrated to New York when he was 6 years old.

“I would always collect driftwood,” he said Friday at the Jamesport gallery. “I’m a big collector in general.”

Mr. Cuttica, 29, explained that he amassed a large collection of driftwood found while exploring along the East River growing up. Those pieces would eventually become his first sculpture, which sold within days of being placed on the lawn outside his family’s East Hampton home.

In the decade since, Mr. Cuttica has created over 100 horse sculptures in the series to honor both his love of the animal and his Argentinian roots.

Having recently moved to Flanders, he’s enjoying the exploration necessary for him to complete his work. “It’s driftwood heaven out here,” he said. It can take weeks and even months of beachcombing to find wood that can serve as specific joints and parts of the horse, and the reward of finding each piece presents a jigsaw puzzle-like challenge.

Franco Cuttica, right, and Mary Cantone at William Ris Gallery in Jamesport Tuesday afternoon. (Credit: Tara Smith)

He then incorporates metal and custom plywood pieces to break up the organic appearance. Each horse is finished off by charring the wood with a torch and cleansing it with water, combining the four elements: fire, water, air and earth.

Aside from being born in 1990, the Year of the Horse according to the Chinese zodiac, Mr. Cuttica’s connection with the animal is embedded in his culture.

“Horses have a meaningful, symbolic place for me,” he said.

The gauchos — rugged, nomadic, expert horsemen — are a national symbol of Argentina, honored through legend and folklore.

“I never had the connection with the horses since we moved away when I was young, but I was always curious about it,” Mr. Cuttica said. “So it was a detached connection, but always a love. I started making them to connect more with the culture, to study and praise the animal.”

tsmith@timesreview.com

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As Tom Hanks said in the movie “A League of Their Own,” there’s no crying in baseball.

Or is there?

When the Riverhead Tomcats, who had been the only Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League team not to win a league championship, were finally crowned last summer, tears came to general manager Patti White’s eyes. “I cried,” she said.

Now White hopes the upcoming season will end in more tears of joy for herself. In the seven-team league’s 12-year history, it has never had a repeat champion. The Tomcats (24-13-3 last season) hope to do something about that.

“We were the last club to win it,” White said. “We’re going to be the first club to repeat.”

Depending on how one looks at it, that would be in keeping with the league’s new theme: change.

Change is everywhere.

The HCBL has a new president. Henry Bramwell has retired from that post. Sandi Kruel was unanimously voted in as the league’s fourth president.

Four clubs have new GMs, including the North Fork Ospreys, who have Steve DeCaro and Gene Rochler sharing those duties.

The Southampton Breakers, with Rob Cafiero, are the only team that doesn’t have a new manager. Bill Ianniciello, who had managed the Ospreys for seven years, takes over the Tomcats, who were managed by John Galanoudis last year. “He made the switch over to Riverhead, and I could not be happier,” said White. Meanwhile, Patrick Riley has become the Ospreys’ fourth manager.

“All kinds of fresh faces and familiar faces doing different jobs,” said White.

Opening Day on Saturday will bring a slate of three games. Among them, the Tomcats will begin the defense of their league title at home against the Shelter Island Bucks. The Ospreys will host the Long Island Road Warriors.

The Tomcats have three players returning from their league champion team: infielder Louis Antos (Queens College), pitcher Nick DeSalvo (Long Island University) and pitcher Joe Murphy (New York Tech). Two former Shoreham-Wading River High School players, pitcher Gabriel Romano (Quinnipiac) and outfielder Nicholas Manesis (United States Military Academy), are on the roster.

The Ospreys, who finished in sixth place with a 14-22-4 record, are coming off a season in which they never seemed to get on track. It’s the job of the team’s co-GMs, DeCaro and Rochler, to help that happen. They are succeeding Janet Dickerson, who remains with the club. The two have coached together at Mattituck High School for 13 years before Rochler succeeded DeCaro this year as the Tuckers’ head coach.

“Now we’re management,” DeCaro said. “I guess we’ve always been management.”

Two of their former high school players will play for them once again, infielder Matt Heffernan (SUNY/Fredonia) and outfielder Joe Tardif (SUNY/Cortland), both of Cutchogue.

Elsewhere, infielder Miles Kelly (Rutgers University) of Mattituck will play for the Road Warriors and infielder Nick Bottari (Southeastern University) of Wading River will play for the Westhampton Aviators.

The seventh annual HCBL All-Star Game will be played at the Ospreys’ home, Jean W. Cochran Park in Peconic, on July 13. The first two all-star games were played in Peconic in 2013 and 2014.

DeCaro described his GM work to this point as “organized chaos.” He said, “I’m looking forward to Opening Day so instead of all the management things I’ve had to do … I can just go and watch.”

Host families needed. The HCBL is looking for host families to provide housing for players. Anyone interested can find information at hamptonsbaseball.org.

Photo caption: North Fork’s Connor Stanton slides in for a triple, beating the throw to Riverhead third baseman Nicholas Lucchese in the ninth inning in a 2018 game. (Credit: Robert O’Rourk, file)

bliepa@timesreview.com

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The daily update, a podcast briefing on what’s happening across the North Fork, is brought to you by your local dealerships, Riverhead Ford Lincoln and Riverhead Buick GMC: not just a better deal, a better dealership.

Get the daily update delivered straight to your inbox each weekday morning by subscribing to our newsletter. Or listen through Apple Podcasts by subscribing to Closer Look.

Here are the headlines across the North Fork for Wednesday, May 29:

SPORTS

Boys Lacrosse: For Tuckers, payback comes with second county title

Boys Lacrosse: Cimino’s OT winner makes SWR a champion

Baseball: Center Moriches powers past Mattituck in Game 1 of county finals

Baseball: Changes abound as HCBL enters new season

NEWS

Helicopter noise the key topic in meeting between Zeldin, residents

Riverhead town, school officials seek veterans wall of honor nominees

A horse made of driftwood comes to Jamesport gallery

WEATHER

Expect partly sunny skies with a high near 66 degrees today, according to the National Weather Service. There’s a slight chance of showers in the evening with a low around 55.

The post Daily Update: Local teams win lacrosse titles, Zeldin meets constituents, wall of honor coming soon appeared first on Suffolk Times.

Gene Rochler’s marriage came to an end Wednesday.

Well, one of his marriages did.

Married to baseball coaching — as well as his wife, Nancy — for 40 years, Rochler said his Mattituck High School team’s 11-1 loss to Center Moriches in the decisive second game of the Suffolk County Class B finals was his final game as a coach.

“I was 25 when I first coached and I was only a little bit older than the kids on the team, and now I’m the old man, so it’s gone by pretty quickly,” said Rochler, who plans to move to Florida where he can enjoy some sun and golf.

He will take with him some fine memories of his first and only season as Mattituck’s head coach. The Tuckers had a good run, one they could feel good about. Despite losing their first playoff game to Babylon in the county tournament, they battled back with wins over Southampton and then Babylon in a rematch to earn a place in the best-of-three finals.

Of course, it was at that stage when they ran into Center Moriches, the undefeated defending state champion. In Game 1 Tuesday, Center Moriches romped, 11-3, on its home field. Then, when the series moved to Mattituck Wednesday, it was pretty much more of the same.

It wasn’t a matter of Mattituck (17-8) not playing well, either. It was more a case of Center Moriches (22-0), well, playing like Center Moriches.

Brothers Jordan Falco (three RBIs) and David Falco (two RBIs) had two hits and a home run each for the Red Devils. Alec Maag went 3-for-4 and drove in two runs in the game, the last couple of innings of which were played in the rain.

“Of all of the baseball teams I’ve played in my whole life, they’re probably the best team I’ve faced on the diamond,” Mattituck senior catcher Ryan Mahon said. “They’re obviously a state-caliber team and I wouldn’t be surprised if they go win it another year. It’s very tough to deal with, their lineup. They’re just stacked. There’s no other way to say it. They just overpowered us.”

Center Moriches, which will play Cold Spring Harbor in the Long Island final June 6 at St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue, had seven players contribute to its 13-hit total.

“Yesterday the top of our lineup really picked us up, and today the top of the lineup struggled in the beginning and the bottom of the lineup picked us up,” Center Moriches coach Dennis Donovan said. “So, we’re just a well-rounded team, and they’re still hungry.”

David Falco socked a leadoff homer (his third of the year and second in two days) in the second inning. Then Center Moriches broke the game open with five-run rallies in the fourth and sixth innings. Meanwhile, Matt Alifano (7-0) and David Falco combined for a two-hitter.

Both Mattituck hits came in the fourth. After Emmet Ryan led off with a walk, Tyler C. Olsen squeezed a single under lunging third baseman Dakota Hotaling’s glove. One out later, Brady Mahon ripped a lined single over first baseman Robert Copozzi for Mattituck’s sole run.

In the top half of the inning, Center Moriches produced five hits, all two-out, run-scoring singles by Jordan Falco, Leyton Pulsipher, Dylan Bryant, Corey Stengel and Maag.

Five more runs followed in the sixth from a Maag RBI single, back-to-back RBI doubles by David Falco and Copozzi and Jordan Falco’s first homer of the year, a two-run shot.

Rochler called Center Moriches “if not the strongest, one of the strongest teams I’ve seen in all the years I’ve been coaching.”

Mattituck senior third baseman Bryce Grathwohl said the season has been a “pleasant surprise. We had a lot of unknown factors coming in, unknown variables. It was just surprising how well we played as a team together, you know, different guys picking each other up, and just us growing as a family.”

He added, “All the seniors, we have had a corps of kids playing together since we were like 12, maybe even before that, so we grew up playing with each other and it’s just heartbreaking to see it end.”

Rochler praised his players for their efforts throughout the season.

“Every game they hustled out to their positions,” he said. “They gave me good at-bats. They gave me great pitching efforts. It was a great experience for me … and my last year coaching, I was proud to have these guys. It was fantastic.”

bliepa@timesreview.com

Photo caption: Jordan Falco tips his batting helmet after slugging a two-run homer that made the score 11-1 for Center Moriches in the sixth inning. Also pictured are teammate Leyton Pulsipher and Mattituck catcher Ryan Mahon. (Credit: Daniel De Mato)

The post Baseball: Center Moriches sweeps Tuckers in finals appeared first on Suffolk Times.

Listings prepared for Times Review Media Group by Suffolk Research Service, dated April 1-7, 2019.

Brought to you by:

AQUEBOGUE (11931)

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CALVERTON (11933)

• Jones, G & J to Jones, Joshua, 43 Wildwood Dr (600-97-1-30), (R), $275,000

CUTCHOGUE (11935)

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EAST MARION (11939)

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FLANDERS (11901)

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• 61475 Family Realty to Cliffside A203, 61475 CR 48, #A203 (1000-45.1-2-3), (C), $362,000

MATTITUCK (11952)

• Sobieray, J by Admr to Sachs, Richard, 260 Sunset Ave (1000-115-3-6), (R), $350,000

• Montgomery, L & E to Praeger, Amy, 2005 Deep Hole Dr (1000-115-14-16), (R), $442,500

NEW SUFFOLK (11956)

• Cantrell, T & E to Lynch, Daniel, 2070 & 2125 Grathwohl Rd (1000-117-2-14), (R), $940,000

RIVERHEAD (11901)

• Horstmann, S to Hartmann, Paul, 4106 St Andrews Ave (600-64.2-1-84), (R), $275,000

• 40 Oakland Dr LLC to Espana Abzun, Henry, 40 Oakland Dr N (600-65-2-11), (R), $327,000

• Gallo, T to Saavedra, Hugo, 139 Broad Ave (600-85-2-74), (R), $425,000

• Jones, S & Danowski, R & S to Aguilera, Claudia, 153 Oliver St (600-104-2-46), (R), $340,000

• Richar Corp to Ferguson Enterprises Inc, 940 W Main St & lots 2, 3, 4 & 5 (600-124-3-1), (C), $1,938,870

SHELTER ISLAND (11964)

• King, J & K to 29 Winthrop Road Realty, 29 Winthrop Rd (700-7-4-15.2), (R), $4,000,000

SOUTH JAMESPORT (11970)

• Sysol, T by Executors to Marlow Development LLC, 44 Tuts Ln (600-91-3-35), (V), $745,000

• Sysol, T by Executors to Ryan, Robert, 36 Tuts Ln (600-92-5-21), (R), $950,000

SOUTHOLD (11971)

• Tate, H to Oshan, Andrew, 1600 Mt Beulah Ave (1000-51-3-2.9), (R), $900,000

• Too Many Homes Inc to Lin, Jian, 470 Mockingbird Ln (1000-55-6-15.55), (R), $480,000

• Vitale,G & Brokaw, B to Raices, Matthew, 605 Highwood Rd (1000-78-9-50), (R), $612,500

WADING RIVER (11792)

• Morris Family Trust to Palmer, Robert, 41 Sunset Blvd (600-30-2-3.3), (R), $417,500

• XTS Properties LLC to Brigante III, John, 21 Cross Rd (600-31-1-18.1), (R), $382,000

• Deutsche Bank Nat to 94 Joan LLC, 74 19th St (600-53-1-47), (R), $290,000

(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.)

The post Real Estate Transfers: May 30, 2019 appeared first on Suffolk Times.

After dedicating 27 years to the U.S. Coast Guard and with two sons now off to college, Captain Brendan Kelly of Cutchogue has officially entered retirement in Chesapeake, Va.

Born in 1969 and raised on Skunk Lane, Mr. Kelly said his almost two decades on the North Fork were memorable and influential toward his career choice.

“It was special,” he said. “It was a very agricultural-based economy at the time.”

He attended Mattituck-Cutchogue High School, where he met the woman he would eventually marry, Eileen Gremler of Mattituck. The two did not start dating until college.

He also spent a good deal of time on the water.

“When you have the Long Island Sound, you have the bay, you have the ocean – it’s just such beautiful proximity to great bodies of water that are clean and good to fish from and sail on and motor boat on,” he said. “People take that for granted on the East End of Long Island, especially us locals.”

Mr. Kelly said a dedicated teaching staff enriched his high school experience. One educator in particular left an imprint.

“[Joyce] Grattan, who was my guidance counselor at Mattituck-Cutchogue High School, was a phenomenal person and took on collateral duty to be the guidance counselor back before guidance counselors were really designated and recognized,” he said. “She had connections to the Coast Guard Academy that helped me get in.”

Ms. Grattan died in 2017, and, he said, she left a tremendous legacy thanks to her generous and selfless efforts.

In 1988, Mr. Kelly entered the Coast Guard Academy and began serving active duty in 1992. He graduated with a bachelor of science degree in management, reporting to the USCG station in Alameda, Calif., serving as assistant operations officer, deck watch officer and boarding officer. In August 1994, he was assigned to the National Drug Intelligence Center in Johnstown, Pa. and received credentials as an intelligence research specialist after completing an intelligence analyst course with the FBI in Quantico, Va. In May 1996, Mr. Kelly was accepted to attend Naval Flight School at Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Fla. A year later, he completed the training and earned “wings of gold” as a naval aviator.

“My first tour was at Air Station Cape Cod, in Massachusetts, and I loved it. It had a lot to do with search and rescue; it had a lot to do with helping people in distress on the water. It had some to do with law enforcement, some to do with countering drugs, preventing the flow of narcotics coming into our country and it had some to do with migration, so stemming the flow of migrants that are entering the country from other countries.”

There was never too much frustration on the job, he said. Mr. Kelly continued on with training, qualifying as an instructor pilot during his very first aviation assignment, and was later stationed in Air Station Washington, D.C. and Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C. His final job with the Coast Guard involved serving as Chief of the Incident Branch at the Fifth District in Portsmouth, Va.

“The Coast Guard operated out of Montauk, out of the Shinnecock Canal, out of Moriches, out of Fire Island, so I was certainly exposed to that. But I’m an aviator, so I was also exposed to the F-14 [Tomcat] being developed out of Calverton at the Grumman facility. They would break the sound barrier overhead regularly when I was a little kid and I had a friend whose dad was a test pilot, so, that formed some of the decisions I made in the future.”

During his time on duty, he earned two meritorious service medals, two Coast Guard achievement medals, two Commandant’s letter of commendation ribbons, a Coast Guard commendation medal and various service awards. Reflecting on his time in the USCG, he said it was one of great camaraderie and equally great rigor.

At his retirement ceremony on May 10, he told those in attendance of the USCG Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C. that his eyes have been fixed to the sky for as long as he could remember. Being exposed to the maritime industry and surrounded by water in either direction, Mr. Kelly said, is part of what drove him to pursue a career responding to those in distress on the seas.

Today, he is enjoying retirement in Virginia and awaiting the next adventure.

“It’s all about family for me,” he said. “My one son, Colin, is going to Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla., and my second son, Mitchell, is going to Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Fla. It was all about getting that good foundation for them. We’re happy where we are.”

mkhan@timesreview.com

The post Cutchogue native reflects on three-decade career in the U.S. Coast Guard appeared first on Suffolk Times.

Forty-five minutes of playtime can spark positive change in a child.

That’s a belief David Gamberg, superintendent of the Southold and Greenport school districts, brought to administrators at the start of this 2018-19 academic year. 

One month ago, Mr. Gamberg said, elementary schools in both districts introduced an after-school program called the “Let Grow Play Club,” part of a national Let Grow Play initiative dedicated to promoting children’s playtime. The program encourages students to play freely without faculty interference.

The program began with 40 students in each school and now includes between 65 and 75 per district. The children, from grades K through 6, gather at their playgrounds every Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Gamberg said. Adults are present, but do not direct activities, and parents are required to sign a release before their children can participate. Mr. Gamberg believes the growing number of signed releases demonstrates their desire to get their children outside for unstructured play.

“I think it is a real indication of families wanting their children to experience something so simple, healthy and important in terms of childhood,” he said.

Given their busy schedules, said Southold elementary principal Ellen O’Neill, most children don’t have time to go home and play outside.

According to a 2016 study by the American Academy of Pediatrics, children spend up to 19 hours a week on smart phone and other screens, and more children than ever before are using newer digital technology, including interactive and mobile media, daily.

Ms. O’Neill cited social media, video games and organized extracurricular activities as a source of distraction from free play.

“If we can help to introduce more free play into their after-school lives, then I feel it’s important to make [the program] happen,” she wrote in an email Monday. A joint press release from the districts said dozens of elementary schools around the U.S. have formed Let Grow Play Clubs.

Students in Greenport enjoying time outdoors during play club. (Courtesy photo)

Ms. O’Neill said 20 minutes of exercise can increase brain function in children. When kids have the opportunity to create their own games among peers — a critical aspect of the club — it teaches social and communication skills and increases imagination. It has also been shown to reduce anxiety and stress levels, she added.

“With all of this research showing the positive effects, I feel strongly that we should continue to increase the amount of free play and exercise our children experience,” she said. “That goes for parents, as well as schools. If we all work together, our children benefit.”

Caption: Southold Elementary School students Ilana Shedrick (left) and Erica Stettinger climb on the jungle gym Tuesday at Let Grow Play Club. The club, new to Greenport and Southold elementary schools, meets every Tuesday afternoon on the playgrounds if weather permits.

knalepinski@timesreview.com

The post New after-school program offered in Southold, Greenport appeared first on Suffolk Times.

The daily update, a podcast briefing on what’s happening across the North Fork, is brought to you by your local dealerships, Riverhead Ford Lincoln and Riverhead Buick GMC: not just a better deal, a better dealership.

Get the daily update delivered straight to your inbox each weekday morning by subscribing to our newsletter. Or listen through Apple Podcasts by subscribing to Closer Look.

Here are the headlines across the North Fork for Thursday, May 30:

NEWS

Following Regan reassignment, Riverhead BOE discussed hiring investigator

New after-school program offered in Southold, Greenport

Cutchogue native reflects on three-decade career in the U.S. Coast Guard

SPORTS

Baseball: Center Moriches sweeps Tuckers in finals

WEATHER

Expect mostly cloudy skies with a high near 69 degrees today, according to the National Weather Service. There’s a chance of rain throughout the afternoon, with showers likely in the evening. The low tonight will be around 59.

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The defending New York State Class D champion Mattituck/Southold girls lacrosse team entered this season with many pieces in place. Among the 17 returning players are 10 with starting experience, so the Tuckers looked to be in a good position to make a run at a second straight state title.

If there was a question about this year’s team, it would have been about how well its defense would come together. Mattituck graduated three defenders.

Well, the Tuckers have laid those concerns to rest. The people playing in front of goalie Claudia Hoeg have been getting the job done. They did so again Thursday when Mattituck stormed to its third straight county championship.

Babylon was held to only one second-half goal as No. 1 seed Mattituck’s tight defense did an admirable job of keeping close tabs on Babylon’s top threats, Emma Ward and Erin MacQuarrie. Following a first half in which they clung to a 3-2 lead, the Tuckers blew the game open in the second half, rolling to a 12-3 win at Farmingdale State College.

Mackenzie Hoeg, who scored four goals and controlled seven draws, said this title is as sweet as the previous two. “Winning never gets old,” she said.

Mattituck (12-5) will take aim at a third straight Long Island crown when it faces Nassau County champion Carle Place (12-2) Saturday at Adelphi University.

The Tuckers weren’t exactly enthralled by their first half, which was more interesting than they would have liked. “I think we played almost as poorly as we could,” said coach Matt Maloney.

Mattituck shot out to a 3-0 lead. Francesca Vasile-Cozzo opened the scoring 3 minutes, 57 seconds into the game. She then assisted on Maddie Schmidt’s strike before Riley Hoeg connected off a feed from Rachel Janis with 11:14 left in the half.

Mattituck players and coaches pose for a photo after defeating Babylon during the Suffolk County Girls Lacrosse Class D Championship. (Credit: Daniel De Mato)

But Ward pulled No. 2 Babylon (8-10) within 3-2 on a pair of goals, a low shot set up by Karlyn Antolini and an unassisted goal with 6:48 to go in the half.

Rebecca Guerra had a chance to even the score, but bounced a free-position shot over Claudia Hoeg and the goal late in the half.

“We had a little sloppy start,” said senior Riley Hoeg (two goals, three assists), who raised her career assist total to 201. “That’s just the nerves. We had to shake it off a little and then we picked it up.”

And how.

Mackenzie Hoeg scored twice as Mattituck opened the second half on a 5-0 burst. The last three of those goals by Vasile-Cozzo, Schmidt and Riley Hoeg had the Tuckers leading 8-2 with 15:09 left.

“That was what we were aiming to do,” said Vasile-Cozzo.

When Ward finally scored Babylon’s third goal, it snapped a goalless spell of 19:11 for the Panthers.

Riley Hoeg of Mattituck fights through the Babylon defense and gets a shot off on Anna Schipf during the first half. (Credit: Daniel De Mato)

That’s a testament to the tenacious Mattituck defense of Lauren Zuhoski, Emily McKillop, Sarah Bihm, Payton Maddaloni and Maggie Bruer, who saw to it that Claudia Hoeg (one save) didn’t have much to do.

Ward had two and sometimes even three people surrounding her when she had the ball. “We needed to pay attention to her,” said Riley Hoeg.

“Limiting shots, touches to their better players was the key,” Maloney said. “Winning draws is one way to do that.”

Mattituck won 12 of 17 draws. “Our mentality coming into the game today was definitely to just, right off the bat, win the draws and work hard,” said Vasile-Cozzo.

Sisters Mackenzie and Riley Hoeg aren’t the only Tuckers who can score. Vasile-Cozzo, Julie Seifert and Schmidt had two goals apiece, with Vasile-Cozzo also notching three assists.

“There was obviously attention to Mac and Riley, and then some other people started to open up and finish,” Maloney said. “We’re a team that it doesn’t matter who finishes, so they shared the ball pretty well.”

Before making its sixth straight playoff appearance, Mattituck posted some big wins: 9-5 over Riverhead, 5-4 over Mount Sinai, 9-7 over Suffern. The Tuckers hope there are more to come.

“We’ve shown a lot of growth through the season,” Maloney said. “So, we maybe weren’t the strongest team in the beginning, but you want to be the strongest team at the end.”

Top photo caption: Mattituck/Southold’s Mackenzie Hoeg (four goals, seven draw controls) is guarded by Babylon’s Rebecca Guerra. (Credit: Daniel De Mato)

bliepa@timesreview.com

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Greenport Village may apply for a grant that could protect its water supply for future generations.

Peconic Green Growth, an organization that aims to preserve and enhance natural resources through sustainability, is requesting funds to execute an engineering study that would involve background research on a potential water reuse project.

If completed, officials said last Thursday, the project would redirect up to 300,000 gallons per day of treated effluent, or liquid waste, from Greenport’s sewage treatment plants, which is normally discharged into Long Island Sound, so it can be reused for landscape irrigation within the Long Island Sound watershed and local aquifer recharge.

Glynis Berry of Peconic Green Growth, longtime Greenport resident John Severini and Peconic Estuary Program director Joyce Novak asked the Village Board last Thursday to apply for the Wastewater Infrastructure Engineering and Planning grant from the Environmental Facilities Corporation, which would fund the engineering study.

“This is the most important project because it tackles three issues: it protects the quantity of fresh drinking water for the village and Southold Town, [reduces] the chance of saltwater intrusion … and it protects the quality of the Sound by reducing nitrogen loading,” Ms. Berry said Friday.

“I don’t think people understand how fragile their use of fresh water is,” she said, adding that either she or Mr. Severini would write up the grant application, which could request $100,000.

The proposed project has been backed by the LI Sound Study, Group for the East End, county Legislator Al Krupski’s office and the North Fork Environmental Council, Ms. Berry said.

The engineering study would include feasibility and planning studies that are required to move the project forward. The study would identify required treatment levels for reuse, technical and capital needs, estimated costs and maintenance and operational requirements, Ms. Berry said.

Mr. Severini, Ms. Berry and Ms. Novak approached the board last March, and board members agreed at that time to consider an effluent repurposing project.

Potential users of treated wastewater are the 144-acre Peconic Landing, a heavy local user of fresh water, Ms. Berry said, or Island’s End Golf Course — located only a mile from where the effluent flows into the Sound.

The trio previously applied for two grants from the Long Island Community Foundation and from the Department of Environmental Conservation that were rejected for unknown reasons, Mr. Severini said.

“We’re on the brink of a very serious situation,” Ms. Berry said. “This is a cost-effective way of solving three different problems.”

If the engineering study is completed, Ms. Berry said, an additional design phase would be required to finalize the project.

Photo caption: Glynis Berry of Peconic Green Growth asks the Greenport Village Board last Thursday to apply for an engineering study grant related to a potential water reuse project. (Credit: Kate Nalepinski)

knalepinski@timesreview.com

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Sleek cottage-style homes at affordable prices.

That’s how Peconic Landing president and CEO Robert Syron described The Patio Homes, the latest addition to Peconic Landing’s retirement community.

Next month, two existing cottages in Greenport will be converted into four Patio homes and made available to current residents for roughly $400,000, director of sales and marketing Laurelle Cassone said. The price point is similar to the community’s one-bedroom homes, she said.

The new houses offer owners a sense of independence and additional staff care options where needed, Ms. Cassone said. Each home is approximately 950 square feet and includes one bedroom with one-and-a-half baths. There are currently four different styles to choose from: The Southold, The Sag Harbor, The New Suffolk and The North Sea.

Consumer demand will determine how many cottages are modified, she said, but many homes throughout the neighborhood are under consideration. The homes will be sold before they’re converted and must receive town approval prior to construction.

Later this year, four cottages will be converted into eight homes, she added, if approved by Southold Town.

Mr. Syron, chairman of the strategic planning committee, said representatives from Peconic Landing hosted three focus groups across Long Island with prospective members in November 2017. Most of the participants, Mr. Syron said, were looking to downsize yet live in a freestanding home.

Ms. Cassone helped facilitate the discussion groups. She said the organization is constantly evolving to meet customers needs.

“We’re starting to serve the next generation, which is the cusp of the baby boomers. They want to downsize, and the trend now is open living,” she said. “The kitchen is becoming the hangout spot, and a separate dining room is out the window.”

Based on focus group feedback, Peconic Landing partnered with Southold’s North Fork Woodworks to create a prototype for residents.

The construction of the Patio homes offers a “multitude of opportunities” and a modern approach, Mr. Syron said.

“We lower the price point, but we also offer the opportunity for cottage living at apartment pricing,” he said.

Mr. Syron said prospective residents can sign up for several floor plans. “We really tailor this process to the person or couple we’re dealing with,” he said. “Basically, since the sale counselors know what they’re looking for, we rolled this out to the customers in need.”

In the next five years, Peconic Landing aims to complete 20 Patio homes. However, he said, the number is going to be based upon demand and market response.

“We just really looked at how we can broaden our market and … take more members and this was a decision we felt was right,” Mr. Syron said.

knalepinski@timesreview.com

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On more than one occasion, Shelter Island’s North Ferry Company has had to briefly shut down operations to deal with docking difficulties caused by rising tides. Applications in Southold Town for coastal erosion protection devices are on the rise. And flooding and puddling have become more prevalent in some neighborhoods in the last five to 10 years.

These were among the impacts of climate change discussed at a forum May 22 at Vineyard Caterers in Aquebogue. “The Effects of Climate Change on the North Fork” was the fourth in a series of 10 panel discussions on newsworthy topics affecting Southold and Riverhead towns, hosted by Times Review Media Group.

“I’ve been immersed in the subject of global warming for at least 10 years,” said panelist Mark Haubner, vice president of the North Fork Environmental Council. “Climate change presents us with some of the most immediate and observable impacts that we can see for ourselves on the North Fork.

“We have collectively changed the composition of the atmosphere, and our oceans are swelling due to the amount of carbon we are producing,” he said.

Mr. Haubner was joined on the panel by Southold Town Trustee John Bredemeyer, North Ferry general manager Bridgford Hunt, Marie Beninati of Southold VOICE, Kevin McAllister of Defending H2O and Joyce Novak of the Peconic Estuary Program. County Legislator
Al Krupski (D-Cutchogue) contributed to the discussion as an audience member.

See full coverage from the event below.

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Joseph A. “Joe” Pottgen of Southold passed Wednesday, May 29, 2019. He was 80 years old.

He was born Feb. 10, 1939, in Norwalk, Conn., to Olga (Soltis) and Joseph Pottgen.

Joe was the beloved husband of Jackie; the loving father of Wayne (Mary-Anne), William (Jill) and Cynthia; a devoted step-father to Vincent (Margaret), Joseph and the late Melissa Carvelli. He was cherished by his eight grandchildren Elaina, Lianna, Sean, Nicole, Samantha, Jason, Reese and Laurel.

He proudly served in the U.S. Navy from 1958 to 1962, worked for Allstate Insurance, then transitioned to the real estate business for the past 42 years.

Joe will be remembered for his generosity, spirit, kindness and zest for life which touched so many. His foremost passion was his family, love of fishing, the great outdoors, fine dining, crossword puzzles and Judge Judy.

Visitors will be received Thursday, June 6, from 3 to 7 p.m. at DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Southold.

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This was it, Ava Vaccarella’s final chance to qualify for this year’s New York State track and field championships in the 3,000 meters, and the Mattituck High School eighth-grader was nowhere to be found.

Following a special announcement calling for her over the public address system at Comsewogue High School’s Tom Cassese Athletic Field, Vaccarella finally reported and made the march toward the starting line with the other competitors.

“I almost missed my race,” she later explained. “I guess I didn’t hear them, and then I ran over and got here on time.”

It’s a good thing, too, because Vaccarella made the most of the opportunity. Not only did she run a personal-record time at the Section XI state qualifier Friday, but she also earned an invitation to her first state meet.

“I’m super excited,” she said. “All the girls on the team were saying [competing in the state meet is] great, and I’m just so excited.”

Vaccarella said she needed to beat 10 minutes, 24 seconds in order to satisfy the qualifying standard. She clocked 10:22.31, bringing her third place. Mount Sinai junior Sarah Connelly blew away the field in 9:56.47. Bay Shore junior Roshni Singh was second in 10:20.06.

“She hung with Sarah for a good part of that race, probably more than half that race, which helps,” Mattituck coach Chris Robinson said. “Any time you’re racing one of the best in the state, how can that not help?”

Vaccarella stayed near the front for much of the race on the 400-meter track. She was third through the first four laps before falling back to sixth on the Lap 5 as the tight lead pack loosened up.

“In the past she would kind of struggle in those later laps, but she had more in the tank,” Robinson said. “And I told her before the race, I said, ‘It’s OK to be uncomfortable when you’re running. Trust your training and keep going.’ She did that.”

The persistent Vaccarella worked her way back to the third position on Lap 6. After Sachem East senior Jenna Newman passed her for third, Vaccarella even found the energy down the final stretch to retake third from Newman.

“I just needed to beat that time,” said Vaccarella, who was mobbed afterward by teammates offering their congratulations. “I had to move on to the states.”

Bella Masotti competes in the 100 preliminaries. (Credit: Robert O’Rourk)

Robinson sounded as excited, if not more so, than Vaccarella. Asked for his assessment of Vaccarella’s race, Robinson said: “That girl works harder than anybody I’ve coached. I mean, I’ve coached a lot of great runners, and she’s up there. She did a tremendous job. Today was a very gutsy performance on her part. She kind of lost a couple of laps but was able to really pull it in at the end. She struggled in the past at the end of her 3,000, but that [final lap] was her best lap of the day, which just shows us how much growth she’s made and how she understands the race a little better. The competition always helps, but she stepped up to the challenge and as an eighth-grader, I mean, you can’t really say enough.”

Vaccarella will have company at the state meet, which will be run June 7 and 8 at Middletown High School.

Bella Masotti ran personal-record times in both the preliminaries of the 100 (12.94) and 200 (25.88). The sophomore qualified for the state meet in both events and Saturday’s 200 final, with the fifth-fastest time of the day.

Mattituck will send a 4×100 relay team to the state meet for a fourth consecutive year. The foursome of Nikki Searles, Emily Nicholson, Miranda Annunziata and Masotti clocked 50.49 in the preliminaries.

Emily Russell of Southold competes in the hurdles during the pentathlon. (Credit: Robert O’Rourk)

Southold/Greenport senior Emily Russell held third place in the pentathlon with 1,653 points through three events. Northport senior Sydnie Rohme (1,939) and Sachem East senior Jasmine Ahmed (1,655) were ahead of her in the 15-girl field. Russell, who won the Division III pentathlon title a week earlier, was first in the shot put (35 feet, 5 1/4 inches), tied for first in the high jump (5-1/2) and third in the 100 hurdles (18.84). The pentathlon is to conclude Saturday with the long jump and 800.

Vaccarella, who will run the 1,500 Saturday on the second and final day of the meet, was asked how big of an achievement this was for her.

Her answer: “It’s at the top right now.”

Photo caption: Miranda Annunziata hugs Ava Vaccarella after the Mattituck eighth-grader qualified for the state meet in the 3,000 meters. (Credit: Robert O’Rourk)

bliepa@timesreview.com

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Members of the Tuthill family arrived on the North Fork in the mid-17th century, among the very first English immigrants to begin new lives here on extraordinarily fertile land bracketed by salt water.

And they are still here.

There aren’t many places on the Eastern Seaboard where families that arrived in the 1600s are still living on and farming the land they first came to. That this is true on the North Fork is a testament to the richness of this land, but also to the determination of families like the Tuthills to stay on it, generation after generation.

It is with this thought in mind that we look at the issue now before the Southold Town Planning Board. Members of the Tuthill family own two parcels along Route 25 and another two along Narrow River Road in Orient. The parcels, totaling 112 acres, are held under the family’s Oysterponds Holding Company.

The family has proposed that 94 acres of the property be preserved, while the remaining 18 acres be developed as 17 residential lots. A closer look at the proposal shows that, if you include non-buildable land such as wetlands, it will preserve more than 80% of the property.

Beyond the proposal itself is the family’s goal of having the approved building lots passed down across the generations. In other words, this is a plan to keep the Tuthill family in Orient — where they have pretty much been since the 1600s. This is a very worthwhile goal.

For this reason, this proposal needs to move forward. It’s in the family’s best interests, but also fits into the larger goal of saving as much of this beautiful place as possible, which, ultimately, should be the foremost goal of Southold Town government. The Tuthills’ presence in Orient, like the Wickhams’ presence in Cutchogue, where members of that family arrived in 1699, makes the North Fork a far richer place than anywhere else on the Eastern Seaboard.

Underlying the Tuthill subdivision proposal is an issue, which the Planning Board has to study carefully, involving another aspect of North Fork history: that this land was inhabited by American Indians for thousands of years before Europeans arrived.

Their long legacy here cannot be overlooked; they are integral to the history of the North Fork. Nor can we bulldoze it away, as if their long existence here is a mere footnote in a history book, little more than a point of nostalgia. The Planning Board has to answer the larger question: What do we, today, owe to the past?

In 2011, a professional archeology company conducted a preliminary study of the Tuthill sites as part of the application review. The study, required as part of the SEQRA process, was intended to determine whether these sites contained any historical Native American and archaeological remains, which have been found in Orient in the past.

In its reports, the company used the term “historic remains” to describe what was found. That phrase sounded like “human remains,” calling to mind Native American burial sites, and set off alarm bells. A reading of those reports shows no actual human remains were found, but the company’s use of that language raised a few red flags about this proposal.

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation is recommending additional site investigations, which would require deeper and more thorough digs. The Tuthill family may even have to reposition any potential building sites away from burial grounds.

Decades ago, an Orient farmer, amateur archaeologist and naturalist named Roy Latham, who was born in 1881 and died in 1979, conducted extraordinary digs in Orient and discovered physical evidence of a prehistoric native burial culture. He found the same burial culture on a hilltop in Jamesport — land that has since been preserved by Suffolk County. Mr. Latham is one of the great, largely unsung heroes of North Fork history.

The matter now before the Planning Board is about enabling the descendants of a historic Southold family to stay on their land. This is truly a worthwhile goal and must be achieved. With the right planning, American Indian history can be respected as well.

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Cesar Palencia, 69, of Greenport and Mattituck was arrested around 10:34 p.m. Sunday for DWI, failure to stop at a stop sign at the intersection of Front Street and Main Street in Greenport, moving from a Main Street lane in an unsafe manner and drinking alcohol in his vehicle. Police said they observed Mr. Palencia crossing over the double yellow line numerous times and said he stopped in the middle of the road, rather than on the right side of the roadway when they pulled him over.

• Noe Edgardo Cruz-Corrales, 26, of Mattituck was arrested around 9:43 p.m. Sunday for DWI. Police received reports that Mr. Cruz-Corrales was failing to maintain his vehicle’s lane of travel near Macari Vineyards in Cutchogue. Upon arriving to the scene, they observed him driving onto the shoulder of the roadway several times and also determined that he had been operating his vehicle without a license.

• Melecio De La Cruz Mayen, 32, a Greenport man with another address in Hyattsville, Md. was arrested along Route 48 in Peconic for DWI around 3:07 a.m. last Saturday. Police said they observed Mr. De La Cruz Mayen pulling to the side of the road on Route 48, exiting his vehicle and urinating in front of it. Officers detected a strong odor of alcohol on his breath and administered a field sobriety test, which Mr. De La Cruz Mayen failed, police said.

• After receiving a transmission signal requesting “help” around 6:45 p.m. last Wednesday, the US Coast Guard, along with the Cutchogue Fire Department, searched the area between the northern tip of Robins Island and New Suffolk for distressed boaters. The call was plotted to the target area, but no further contact with the caller could be made. No distressed boaters were located and all local area boaters who were interviewed said they didn’t see anyone in distress.

• Police transported a Manhasset Hills man who was staying at Cliffside Resort Condominiums in Greenport on Sunday, to his correct room around 3:39 a.m. Monday, after receiving a report that a male subject had passed out under the “Snack Bar” sign at Drossos Motel in West Greenport. The man was sleeping in the parking lot when police arrived.

• Three bicycles — a white Cervélo valued at $2,000, a black Trek valued at $1,500 and an orange Trek valued at $700 were reported stolen from a Southold man’s garage around 12:08 p.m. Sunday. The man additionally reported that a bike pump valued at $10 was stolen. The investigation remains open, according to police.

• A Greenport man with a home in Oxon Hill, Md. reported to police around 6:59 p.m. last Monday that an unknown suspect entered his home and stole two jars of change valued at $100 and another valued at $300, along with a $400 Sony Playstation 4 video game console.

• A Manhattan woman told police around 12:21 p.m. last Monday that multiple pieces of jewelry, amounting to just under $11,600 had been stolen from her mother’s assisted living residence at Peconic Landing in Greenport after she died.

Those who are named in police reports have not been convicted of any crime or violation. The charges against them may later be reduced or withdrawn, or they may be found innocent.

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After a two-year hiatus, Colorful Gardens, the Jamesport garden center and retail gift shop, has reopened.

The garden center, which has been in business for about 27 years and was formerly known as Porter’s Colorful Gardens, reopened May 10. Owner Michele DeVito said she felt that even after a number of misfortunes — including the deaths of two loved ones and a fire that took down the garden’s shed and surrounding structures late last month — it was time to come back.

“I purchased this property in 1996 with my husband and Ilene [Porter] was already established up here,” Ms. DeVito said. “She rented from us for years and then, I think it was in 2003, maybe 2004, I had approached her with, ‘Would you mind if I came in and took over the gift shop?’ ”

From there, a partnership was born. Ms. DeVito managed Enchanted Cottage — the gift shop’s former name — and Ms. Porter managed the garden center. When Ms. DeVito and her husband first bought the property from Dick Cantwell, the site was known as the Farmhouse Nursery, which is why a few of the greenhouses and an herb room were already established.

Manuel Canel, an immigrant from Guatemala who owns Canel Landscaping, worked with Ms. Porter to begin building necessary structures in 1989. The Riverhead News-Review recognized Mr. Canel in 2006 for becoming the first Hispanic member of the Jamesport Fire Department. To this day, he works for Colorful Gardens as co-owner and landscaper.

“I helped [Ms. Porter] fix this greenhouse and after that, we moved it back and I built more greenhouses,” he said. “That’s pretty much how we started. In a way, I’ve been managing this place for that long.”

By 2007, Ms. DeVito was running both the center and the shop. Then came loss. And then came more.

“As everybody knew,” Ms. DeVito said, “Ilene … she was sick. She had breast cancer, and as she was getting sicker, she purchased this property in Calverton. There’s a [Colorful Gardens] Wholesale in Calverton. Ilene — she was our sunshine. I just started doing more and more and she was teaching me about the plants. After her passing [in 2010], I kept it going.”

But Ms. DeVito’s husband, James, was not well either, and money grew tight. To pay for his medical insurance, Ms. DeVito decided to go back to school in 2012. At the age of 49, she enrolled in a nine-month medical assistant program at the Branford Hall Career Institute in Amityville. She worked through a few externships, until settling in with East End Cardiology in Riverhead a year later.

Jamesport’s Colorful Gardens has reopened after a two-year hiatus, once again growing and selling annuals, perennials, herbs, vegetables and hanging baskets. (Credit: Mahreen Khan)

Around Thanksgiving of 2016, Ms. DeVito’s husband was diagnosed with leukemia. While he was receiving treatment at NYU Winthrop Hospital in Mineola, Ms. DeVito would drive to the hospital to see him. She would ask Mr. Canel for help with her three kids, Richard, Lambros and Nicole.

“Anything my kids needed, anything my husband needed, he was there,” Ms. DeVito said. “‘Manuel, can you take me to the hospital?’ It was never a ‘no.’ ”

Mr. DeVito died in April 2017.

Ms. DeVito took some time off to sell her late husband’s properties and deal with his estate.

“It was really hard to do it, get [the garden] running, work full time,” Ms. DeVito said, “but the support of family and friends is how you get through these things, and I had great support. This year it was like, ‘Do I open, do I not? Do I open, do I not? Do I open?’ ”

For five years, she worked with East End Cardiology, growing close to patients and staff. With some prompting from Mr. Canel, Ms. DeVito decided this March to return to the place she calls home.

“I was broken-hearted … a year and a half went by and we didn’t open,” Mr. Canel said. “We’ve become one big family.”

Mr. Canel’s mother, father and relatives all work at Colorful Gardens. Once again growing and selling annuals, perennials, herbs, vegetables and hanging baskets with her now-extended family, Ms. DeVito said she feels great.

“We’re not a big production, we hand-water everything, we are small-scale, but everything we do, we do with love,” she said.

The majority of the garden’s plants are either grown on-site or by the wholesale business in Calverton. A small percentage is brought in from local shops, but Ms. DeVito said she’s very picky when it comes to bringing in outside product.

Good news is no longer as hard to come by, as Ms. DeVito will soon be a grandmother. Her parents are still with her, residing in Ridge. One of her sons is married and has moved to North Carolina, where he and his wife are expecting a child. Her other son has also moved to North Carolina, and her daughter, who lives in Farmingville, is set to be married in June. Ms. DeVito said she plans to use this year to bring the center back up to speed, but hopes to eventually expand the gift shop and see the garden’s free Saturday seminars make a comeback.

“I’m just going to do it and see where it brings me,” she said. “When you’re in it, when you’re in the forest, you can’t see through. I’ve come a long way. And I have to tell you, honestly, Manuel has been — he and his whole family are up here and they have seen me through every single stage.”

Photo caption: Maneul Canel and Michele DeVito, owners and operators of Colorful Gardens in Jamesport. Ms. DeVito, who purchased the property with her late husband, James, in 1996, has been working with Mr. Canel and his family for more than a decade. (Credit: Mahreen Khan)

mkhan@timesreview.com

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A down-to-the-wire, tense one-goal championship victory would be cause for an enthusiastic celebration for most teams.

Not for the Mattituck/Southold girls lacrosse team.

As defending Class D New York State champions, the Tuckers take the field each game with that championship pedigree and an expectation to win. Saturday’s Long Island final against Carle Place at Adelphi University represented a steppingstone for the Tuckers.

So as the girls walked off the field as 9-8 winners, having survived nearly 10 minutes without a goal, they wore business-like expressions on their faces.

“I think if we played our best today we would have been more excited and a little more amped up,” said senior Francesca Vasile-Cozzo. “But also we’re focusing on a lot bigger of a picture — going up and winning states again.”

The Tuckers (13-5) will get that chance now as they advance to the state semfinals at SUNY/Cortland for the third consecutive year. They’ll play Friday morning against Plamyra-Macedon, the winner of a regional final against Eden.

The Tuckers never trailed against the Frogs (12-3), but could never get the separation to put them away. The Tuckers led by four goals at different points in each half, but the Frogs fought back each time.

“I think they did a great job putting the pressure on us,” said Mattituck coach Matt Maloney. “I think they had a good game plan and they competed their butts off against us. I feel like they gave us everything they had.”

It was the third straight year the Tuckers and Frogs met for the Long Island title. The Frogs were better prepared this time around and were focused on slowing down Mattituck’s offense with an effective slide that it made it difficult for the Tuckers to get good looks at times.

“They’re a very aggressive defense and they did a good job sliding and limiting our shot opportunities,” said Mattituck senior Riley Hoeg, who scored two goals with one assist.

Francesca Vasile-Cozzo scores the decisive goal. (Credit: Robert O’Rourk)

In the prior two championship games, the Tuckers outscored the Frogs 31-10.

The Tuckers Saturday were limited to one goal over the final 22:59. Junior Kaitlin Tobin scored to put the Tuckers ahead 8-4 early in the second half. The Tuckers struck for two quick goals to open the second half and it appeared to be the start of a repeat of the county final when Mattituck blew the game open against Babylon.

Instead, the Frogs answered with a pair of goals. Carle Place seventh-grader Paige Selhorn scooped up a ground ball in front of the Mattituck cage and scored to trim the Tuckers’ lead to 8-6 with 10:56 left.

“We didn’t play like ourselves today,” Hoeg said.

Vasile-Cozzo delivered the decisive goal for Mattituck, storming from behind the cage to beat her defender one-one-and and scoring past Carle Place goalkeeper Jen Tumino. The goal put the Tuckers ahead 9-6 with 9:53 left.

“We do a lot of crease work and that’s usually where I hang out,” she said. “I think over the years I’ve gotten pretty good at reading my defender.”

As she saw the play develop, she knew she needed to attack.

“I had to finish it,” she said.

Vasile-Cozzo was active all over the field. She picked off a pass and caused a turnover with eight minutes left after the Frogs had closed within two goals. The teams ended up trading a few turnovers in the final 5 1/2 minutes before Carle Place junior Emiline Biggin scored. Her goal made it a one-possession game with 2:50 left. It was the first time the Frogs had gotten to within one goal since early in the first half.

“It was pretty stressful,” said senior defender Lauren Zuhoski. “I knew we could pull through. I knew we could come out with the win.”

The Tuckers won the all-important draw and maintained possession the remainder of the game to seal the victory.

“Going to states for third time we need to keep this mindset that we’re reigning champs and we need to keep our heads up high and play how we know,” Zuhoski said.

The Tuckers had a balanced attack on offense as a different player scored each of the six first-half goals. Vasile-Cozzo was the only other Mattituck player with multiple goals besides Hoeg. She finished with two goals and an assist.

“It was cool that our offense was so spread out to start,” Maloney said.

The immediate end of the game came with more of a sense of relief for the Tuckers than anything. But as the moment began to sink in, and the players posed for photos with the championship plaque, the smiles began to emerge.

“We’re really excited,” Hoeg said. “We just have to stay focused on what’s in front of us.”

Top photo caption: Mackenzie Hoeg on the attack. (Credit: Robert O’Rourk)

joew@timesreview.com

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