Longtime Southold resident Katherine “Kay” Grathwohl Fisher died Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020, at Peconic Landing in Greenport. She was 93 years old.

She was born Nov. 15, 1926, in Manati, Puerto Rico to Mildred (Perrine) and Donald Grathwohl and graduated from San Jorge Academy, Santurce, Puerto Rico in 1942.

She married George H. Fisher at the Presbyterian Church in Cutchogue on Sept. 8, 1951.

Kay worked in banking on Puerto Rico and, upon her family’s return to Long Island, at the North Fork Bank and Trust Company in Mattituck.

She was a member of the Southold United Methodist Church, the Griswold Terry Glover Post 803 – American Legion Ladies Auxiliary, and enjoyed spending time with family and friends.

Predeceased by her husband on June 14, 2006, and her brother, Donald O. Grathwohl Jr. in 1986; Katherine is survived by her son, Don Fisher (Susan Krupski) of Southold; her daughter, Donna Lynn Ackroyd (Russell) of Southold; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Burial will be private at Cutchogue Cemetery with a celebration of life ceremony date to be announced for the summer of 2020.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Southold Fire Department Rescue Squad or to the animal shelter of one’s choice.

DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Southold is serving the family.

This is a paid notice.

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Roberta A. Mulliner of Cutchogue, formerly of Wescosville, Pa., died at home Jan. 17. She was 83.

She was born May 13, 1936, to Adele (Badenhop) and Edward Mesloh in Queens.

Ms. Mulliner graduated from Henry Jackson High School in 1953 and from St. Luke’s Nursing School in Bethlehem, Pa.

She married John A. Mulliner on July 22, 1967, in Woodhaven, N.Y.

Ms. Mulliner worked as an office manager at Rodale Press in Pennsylvania.

She volunteered at Peconic Bay Medical Center and at East End Hospice. She was also active at Advent Lutheran Church and was a past member of Cutchogue Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary. Family said she enjoyed crocheting, reading, bird watching, walking and crossword puzzles.

Ms. Mulliner is survived by her husband; her daughter, Susan McAleer of Pennsylvania; and her brother, John Mesloh of Garden City.

A service will take place Wednesday, Jan. 22, at 11 a.m. at Advent Lutheran Church in Mattituck, followed by interment at Calverton National Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to Advent Lutheran Church.

Coster-Heppner Funeral Home in Cutchogue assisted the family.

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Madeline Robins of Greenport, formerly of Leonia, N.J., died at San Simeon by the Sound Jan. 14, 2020. She was 93.

She was born Dec. 15, 1926, to Mary (Minzak) and Daniel Zigar in Endicott, N.Y.

Ms. Robins graduated from Union Endicott High School in 1944, received her bachelor’s degree from Hunter College and graduated from Bellevue School of Nursing as an RN in 1947.

She married Alvin Lee Robins, M.D., Oct. 10, 1947. She resided in Leonia for 40 years and spent 25 years in Greenport.

Ms. Robins made a career as a nurse manager of the psychiatric unit at Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, N.J., for 25 years.

She was a longtime volunteer at Community Chest in Leonia, supervised the first administration of the oral polio vaccine in Leonia and was a Nurses Health Study participant from 1976 to 2017.

She loved spending time with her grandchildren, traveling with her husband of 53 years on their boat and walking her dog. She loved being a nurse and devoted her life’s work to helping others.

Predeceased by her husband, Ms. Robins is survived by her daughters, Julia Robins, Eleanor Robins and Katherine Pacicco and her husband, Robert; four grandchildren, Danielle, Robert, Stephen and William; and a new great-granddaughter, Hannah.

Burial took place at Calverton National Cemetery.

This is a paid notice.

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Peter Waldner usually keeps a sketch pad within arm’s reach: in his car, on a bedside table, for whenever inspiration strikes. 

“I’m still old school,” he explained during a recent interview at his Worthy Way studio. “In the middle of the night, I’d jot ideas down and the next morning I’d read it and have no idea why I thought that was funny.”

For nearly 27 years, Mr. Waldner has been creating the weekly editorial cartoon for the Reporter and other East End newspapers. Often working with a sheet of paper and ballpoint pen, he strings together quirky takes on everything from the absurdity of Washington politics to hyperlocal hot-button issues — deer, ticks, tourists — that have earned him many awards from the New York Press Association. 

“Politically, there’s almost too much,” the 64-year-old laments. “Sometimes you’re just so sick of the news, that your cartoon reflects that.”

Regardless of topic, Mr. Waldner has always sought to make his cartoons relatable. “I’ve always looked at the characters in my cartoons as just us. Imperfect, with bald heads and big bellies and grey hair and saggy jowls.”

The downside of that, though, is that people mistake the characters for him and his wife, Sandra. “I have to be careful with that,”  he said, cracking a smile. “She doesn’t laugh [at my cartoons] anymore. She knows the punchline before it comes.”

Mr. Waldner’s had a pencil in his hand for most of his life, growing up in Glen Ridge, N.J. and creating cartoons for his high school newspaper, before earning an art degree from Elmira College. He was introduced to Shelter Island as a child and had been working as a commercial artist in New York City when a couple on the Island asked if he wanted to paint their house. 

“I never left,” he said. 

Nearly forty years later, he’s still painting houses as his day job.

Shelter Island also serves as a muse for his fine art; pastel and colored-pencil drawings, 3D acrylic paintings and life-sized papier mache installations that make their way around the Island each summer. Mr. Waldner also organizes the annual ArtSI artists studio tour, curates the gallery at the library and creates set pieces for local theater productions, including the school musical every spring.

Before creating the “Paw Print” cartoon locally, Mr. Waldner ran a nationally syndicated daily cartoon called “Flight Deck.” It ran for 12 years and appeared in hundreds of newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times and the New York Daily News.

“That used to be more difficult,” he said about working on deadlines three months ahead to keep up. “You couldn’t do anything timely or anything in the news,” he said. “You could do holidays and things like that. It was a good way to practice having to write and constantly come up with ideas. And that doesn’t include all the ones you don’t submit.” 

In those days, the cartoonist mostly came up with slightly off-beat observations on the mundane. One evening, he couldn’t think of a thing until, watching TV, “Wheel of Fortune” came on and he thought to himself — Vanna White still looks the same. Bingo, an idea for a cartoon featuring a middle-aged guy sitting on the couch. 

The show’s producer saw the cartoon and asked for a signed color copy. A few months later, Mr. Waldner watched from his living room as Pat Sajak held the cartoon on the show.

“That all came about on a night when I couldn’t think of anything,” he said.

Writing the captions or speech balloons for each cartoon proves to be the most challenging part. “You want to get to the point,” he said. “People have very low attention spans … if there’s not a payoff, people are annoyed.”

These days, for the weeklies, the deadline pressures are rare. Mr. Waldner usually churns them out on Sunday afternoons, offering him a chance to reflect on the week. He wasn’t kidding about being old school, by the way. Until the Reporter offices relocated to Mattituck in 2019, Mr. Waldner handed his cartoon in — always on deadline — at the office on North Ferry Road. Now, he sends an e-mail.

Peter Waldner’s cartoons appear weekly in the Shelter Island Reporter. To see more of his work online, find him on Instagram @peterawaldner.

The post A life in pen and ink: Inside the studio with cartoonist Peter Waldner appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

Few places offer the sort of quiet one witnesses when spending time on a winter weekday afternoon in Wading River.

From the Duck Ponds to the town beach and the jetty at the end of creek road, everything just slows down a bit this time of year.

Join us as we spend a minute there.

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Before the opening tip-off, Lucas Grigonis confessed to a feeling of unease. The small Smithtown Christian School gym, with its loud fans seated so close to the basketball court and a rubberized playing surface that’s different from most other gym floors, isn’t the easiest place for visiting teams to play.

That has certainly been true for Southold.

“Never easy,” said Grigonis, who played for Southold before going on to become its coach. “When I played here as a player it wasn’t easy. Coaching, I haven’t had an easy game yet.”

Southold never looked comfortable in its 66-47 defeat. Nick Grathwohl got into foul trouble early and was denied his opportunity to score his 1,000th career point after fouling out 2 minutes, 9 seconds into the third quarter of the Suffolk County League VIII game.

Grathwohl, who needed 17 points to reach 1,000, hit all three of his shots for eight points. The senior guard played only 8:36 because of foul trouble. After picking up his fourth foul, he was immediately assessed a technical foul for his fifth, sending him to the bench.

“The refs did us no favors in that aspect, but Nick has to work on that, I guess, to keep his emotions to himself,” said Grigonis.

Asked if this sort of thing had ever happened to him before, Grathwohl answered: “All the time. Players are just in my face, trying to get in my head or whatever. I try not to let it happen, but there are a lot of things that the refs didn’t see today and they just saw what I did, I guess, so I got called for them and taken out of the game.”

Grathwohl is now only nine points away from becoming the first Southold boy to score 1,000 points since 2015. It looks likely he will achieve that milestone in Southold’s next game at Greenport Thursday night. That will be the team’s sixth straight road game. Carl Stepnowsky (1987), Tim Stepnowsky (1990), Sean O’Hara (2006) and Liam Walker (2015) are Southold’s verified 1,000-point scorers, according to Grigonis.

An earlier chance for Grathwohl to reach the mark was missed Friday night when Bridgehampton forfeited to Southold because it didn’t have enough players, according to Grigonis. That result, though, officially recorded as a 2-0 win, clinched Southold a playoff berth for a third consecutive year.

Smithtown Christian (6-8, 6-2), which booked a playoff spot itself with Tuesday’s win, looked a lot better than it did in Southold on Dec. 12 when it lost, 61-44. Very similar to Tuesday’s score, except in reverse.

“The reason we lost today was we didn’t execute on either end,” said Grigonis.

The Knights came out strong, scored the game’s first 10 points and were off and running. They were also hitting their fair share of shots — 49.1% of them.

“I think we were just overwhelmed,” said Grathwohl.

Joshua Mangum hit enough of those shots to bring him 22 points as well as eight assists. Denmark Simon knocked down four three-pointers as part of his 16-point effort. Gabe Gibson added 15 points and John Ever pulled down 10 rebounds to go with six points.

With Grathwohl on the bench, Southold (10-6, 6-2) turned to Jaishaun McRae and Nick DeNicola to help run things. McRae had 13 points.

“The [atmosphere] is weird, the floor is weird but, I don’t know, our job is to adjust to that,” Southold senior Cole Brigham said. “We didn’t really do that well tonight. We can’t blame the court for our failures. We didn’t play well, and that’s on us.”

Grathwohl headed to the bench with two fouls already assessed to him just 3:10 into the game. He picked up a third foul in the second quarter and played only 6:27 of the opening 16:00. Later, he was sent to the bench for good.

Southold was already without another one of its principal scorers, senior Steven Russell, who watched the game from the bench dressed in street clothes because of a hamstring injury.

Asked if he could have expected the game to turn out the way it did, Grathwohl replied: “I never go into a game saying we’re going to lose. Some nights you just have really good nights and then you have really bad nights. This was just a bad night for us.”

The post Boys Basketball: Grathwohl, 9 points shy of 1,000, fouls out early appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

Plans to put a miniature railroad in part of Moore’s Woods in Greenport have run into some opposition at the state level.

In a letter dated Jan. 2, 2020, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation wrote that the proposal to construct a public building and related structures in an adjacent freshwater wetlands is an “incompatible use” and must meet certain standards in the state law on freshwater wetlands permits.

The village, along with the Greenport Rotary and the Railroad Museum of Long Island, purchased a mini-locomotive, three passenger cars and about 1,500 feet of track from Greenport resident Frank Field and plan to operate a miniature railroad in a section of Moore’s Woods. Mr. Field ran the miniature train on his own property Sundays and holidays from 1985 until 2012.

The plans also call for removing some trees and brush along the route.

But the DEC has some concerns about the project. 

“In order to proceed with your application as proposed, you must demonstrate how your proposal meets the weighing standards for a Class 1 wetland,” wrote Elyssa Scott, an environmental analyst with the DEC.

“A narrative must be provided for this demonstration that includes a discussion of project alternatives that must be given consideration, such as constructing the railroad on other Village-owned parcels, shortening the tracks to avoid the wetlands, (or) purchasing the lot with the existing miniature railroad.”

Greenport Mayor George Hubbard Jr. said at last Thursday’s Village Board meeting that officials plan to meet with the DEC soon to figure out the next step and how to comply with the DEC.

“It’s an update,” he said of the letter. “It’s still moving forward but we thought we had everything into them, and that they were saying it looked good. Then we got a letter this past week saying we need more.”

Ms. Scott’s letter also noted inconsistencies on some of the plans submitted by the village and said the “DEC has received comments from citizens who oppose the project based on the impacts the proposal is likely to have on the relatively undisturbed portion of Moore’s Woods.”

Ms. Scott said the permit will only be issued if it is determined that the proposal “satisfies a compelling economic or social need that outweighs the loss and detriment of the freshwater wetlands adjacent area.”

Officials held a ceremonial unveiling of the Greenport Express in September, where its nickname was revealed. Called the “Joe Cherry Choo Choo,” it was named for Rotarian Joe Cherepowich, who was a “driving force” behind the project and died in October at the age of 73.

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The daily update is a podcast briefing on what’s happening across the North Fork.

​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, Jan. 22:

NEWS

Trial begins against former Mets player Wally Backman after domestic incident

Man charged with fatal assault indicted by grand jury, arraignment scheduled for Thursday

Plans for miniature railroad in Greenport face delay until DEC concerns are addressed

Judge sets March 17 sentencing date for Thomas Murphy

Paul Romanelli begins new role as chairman of ELIH Foundation

NORTHFORKER

Wading River coffee shop Brekky expands to bigger location

One Minute: A quiet afternoon in Wading River

WEATHER

Expect sunny skies today with a high temperature of about 36 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

The low tonight will dip to around 16.

The post Daily Update: Trial of former Mets player begins, Murphy sentencing date set appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

Merritt W. Miller of Southold, formerly of Northport, died Jan. 13 in his 80th year.

He was the beloved husband of Claire; the loving father of Thomas (Theresa), Tammy Walsh (Greg) and Todd (Melissa); the adoring grandfather of Cody Walsh (Shannon), the late Gunnar Walsh, Krista Miller, Ally Miller, Henry Miller, Natalie Miller, Mason Miller and Elle Miller and great-granddaughter Shaelyn Walsh.

Mr. Miller was a proud member of Local 138 International Union of Operating Engineers and was a United States Marine.

Visiting hours were held Jan. 16 and 17 at Nolan Funeral Home in Northport, where a service took place Jan. 18.

Donations in Merritt’s memory to your favorite charity would be appreciated.

This is a paid notice.

The post Merritt W. Miller appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

David Gamberg, the superintendent of both the Greenport and Southold school districts, has announced his retirement. 

The Cutchogue resident, who has spent 34 years in education, said he would retire in July at a Greenport school board meeting Tuesday evening. 

“I feel like it’s time,” he said in a telephone interview Wednesday. “This is going to be a different, new chapter.” 

Mr. Gamberg, 57, who has worked as the superintendent of Southold schools for 12 years and Greenport for six, submitted a retirement letter to Southold Board of Education members Friday. 

The superintendent said he will remain on the North Fork and expects to write, volunteer in the community and stay involved in education. How he will stay immersed, he said, is to be determined.

He said the people in both districts have given a lot for him to reflect on with fondness.

“Which includes all the staff, students and families that I have had such good fortune to work alongside,” he said.

Mr. Gamberg said he hopes his legacy will be in constructing a positive learning environment for students.

“You make the learning environment positive and it transfers,” he said. “It may not be seen right away, it may not reveal itself on a test score — but I think, ultimately, you create a healthy and safe environment.” 

Mr. Gamberg said he was in a “unique situation” which allowed him to take on the current arrangement as joint superintendent. 

He added that he will not play an active role in finding his replacement, as it involves learning communities, stakeholders, families, teachers and students. 

He said he would prefer not to speculate about the selection process for his replacement, but said both districts are “well aware of all the variables and they’re working to figure things out to get the process going in a timely fashion.”

The vacancy will go into effect in both districts July 1. 

The superintendent, who occasionally blogs on School Leadership 2.0, also recently published an opinion piece in the New York State School Boards Association’s newsletter, which discussed the future of education.

“It describes, in some way, how we need to travel, graduation requirements, how we need to look at our high school graduates through a different lens,” he said. 

Mr. Gamberg is expected to speak about his retirement at the Wednesday, Jan. 22 Southold Board of Education meeting at 7:30 p.m.

The post Gamberg retiring as superintendent of Southold, Greenport schools appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

My name is Chrissy Viola. I am a lifestyle coordinator here at Peconic Landing in Greenport. 

As a lifestyle coordinator, I am considered a health coach, and what a health coach does is really encompass the member’s lifestyle. It’s not just focused on a particular topic, as fitness or social. It really brings a lot of different components into my daily routine and that’s how I have to address it with the employees and the members here.

I have been here since 2016. I have worked with over 600 people, over 300 team members and 300 members, and my role is to meet with each one on an individual basis, or in a group setting, have them complete a lifestyle review, which is based on four components: social, intellectual, spiritual and physical. Then, we can review them. It’s their choice if they want to, and basically what I do is help them see what’s on their bucket list, what might be missing, try to help them be a little more resilient in their lives, have a little fun and get to know them even more.

Our goal was to become a certified center for successful living. Once that was completed, which took some time, we rolled out the initiative to the members. Yes, we definitely got pushback because who am I to tell someone who’s in their 80s and 90s, ‘Oh, do you know how to successfully live?’ when they’ve totally outlived me already? But many people are very open and embrace it because they see an opportunity to continue their life. 

This isn’t a place where people come to give up on their life. This is a place where people continue to grow and, we, at Peconic Landing, as a complete group — and I like to consider it a big family because it really is — we really support each other in that journey.

This is really going to help change the perspective of how the community and the population in general look at aging. To see that people move into Peconic Landing and they are kayaking, having language lunches, teaching classes, continuing their life, is important. I think we’re giving a lot of people a new perspective on what it’s like to be 70, 80 or 90 and not thinking, ‘OK, this is it. I can’t do anything else.’

The post The Work We Do: Chrissy Viola, Peconic Landing appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

The connections between the Mattituck/Greenport/Southold and Shoreham-Wading River wrestling programs are strong. Two of Mattituck coach Cory Dolson’s assistants, Nick Fioretti and Peter Delise, both wrestled for SWR. In addition, Fioretti was an assistant at his alma mater for six years. Dolson himself lives in Shoreham.

Both programs have enjoyed success over the years, too.

Oh, and the two teams had one more thing in common Wednesday night: They wanted to beat each other for the right to advance to the Suffolk County Division II Dual-Meet Championships final.

That honor went to host SWR, wrestling and winning, 44-33 over Mattituck, with a victory-clinching pin by Dylan Blanco. With that, the second-seeded Wildcats (21-4) will face No. 1 Mount Sinai (18-4) in the final Saturday in Bay Shore. Those two teams appeared to be on a collision course for a rematch ever since League VII champion Mount Sinai beat SWR, 42-27, in a league match earlier this month.

The semifinal started off swimmingly for SWR, which built a 30-0 lead. But then League VIII champion Mattituck (8-3) took the next six bouts (all but one decided by pins) through Jackson Cantelmo (152 pounds), Antonio Jiminez (160), Jack Giovannello (170), Malachi Boisseau (182), Ethan Schmidt (195) and Colby Suglia (220) to earn its first and only lead, 33-30.

With SWR down by three, the heat was on Blanco in his 285-pound match against Tyler Marlborough, a tough opponent.

“I felt a bit of pressure, but nothing that I wasn’t used to,” Blanco said. “I’ve been in those situations before.”

Blanco came through with a pin at 2 minutes, 25 seconds, bumping up his record to 23-4.

“He’s got ice in his veins,” said Sean Miller, who brought SWR a victory at 145, pinning Cole DiGregorio at 3:23.

Mattituck forfeit the last two scheduled bouts at 99 and 106 pounds and it was over.

“Dylan’s smart,” SWR coach Joe Condon said. “That’s the third huge win that he’s had. He’s got the big pins, and that’s all we can ask of him.”

Condon believed Miller, one of six brothers who have wrestled in the SWR program, was the one with the “pivotal match that sort of turned the tide. He had been pinned by [DiGregorio] last year … Sean is a real focused, relentless hard worker. He learned from it and he didn’t make a mistake and he was very aggressive. He put him on his back three times and took him down.”

Prior to Miller’s time, SWR opened the contest with pins by Craig Jablonski (113), Tristan Petretti (120) and Connor Pearce (126) as well as wins by decision turned in by Jake Jablonski (132) and Chris Anderson (138).

Cantelmo (27-4) had quite a day for Mattituck, which defeated Southampton, 52-27, in the afternoon to advance. In that match, Cantelmo, wrestling at 160, won by technical fall (18-2) over Eduardo Clemente. Against SWR, Cantelmo pinned Dan Dacos in 51 seconds.

“I think he’s been wrestling really well,” Fioretti said of Cantelmo. “He’s come a long way this year and we’re hoping to get a county championship out of him.”

Cantelmo said he was “disappointed because I thought we could have done better.”

Fioretti said: “Pretty much what we expected happened. We told the kids before the match that we couldn’t make two or three mistakes, and we made three mistakes, and that was the match.”

Fioretti, who wrestled at SWR for Paul Jendrewski and then for Condon, is no stranger to the Wildcats. “Many of the kids that are on the varsity program now, I coached through the kid wrestling program before I came to Mattituck,” he said. “They know me.”

What was it like for Fioretti to be wearing a Mattituck wrestling polo shirt and coaching against his former team?

“There’s definitely more anxiety and stress, but it makes it fun and exciting,” he said. “It’s friendly competition. Shoreham wants to win real bad and we want to win real bad.”

The post Wrestling: SWR holds off Mattituck to reach Division II final appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

Listings prepared for Times Review Media Group by Suffolk Research Service, dated Dec. 7-13, 2019.

AQUEBOGUE (11931)

• Klatt, W to Demar, Dean, 712 Hubbard Ave (600-85-3-76.1), (V), $160,000

• Klatt, F to Demar Construction Inc, 708 Hubbard Ave (600-85-3-76.2), (V), $160,000

• Higgins Housing Initia to Asmus, James, 11 Willow St (600-87-1-21), (R), $670,000

BAITING HOLLOW (11933)

• Villani, N & M to Beyer, Kenneth, 248 Southfield Rd (600-61-3-27), (R), $485,000

CUTCHOGUE (11935)

• Michael McCarick RE to AJD Consultants LLC, 2995 Eugenes Rd (1000-97-3-19), (V), $200,000

• Rimor Development LLC to Brennan, Elizabeth, Harvest Pointe, Home 17 (1000-102-1-17), (R), $788,140

FLANDERS (11901)

• Cydean LLC to Bagshaw, Christopher, 29 Wood Road Trail (900-143-2-31), (R), $165,000

• MRPAT LLC to Conlan, Patrick, 176 Maple Ave (900-145-3-44.1), (R), $225,000

• Woodhull, A to Della Speranzo, Vincent, 102 Topping Dr & 21 Old WHB (900-164-4-40), (R), $310,000

• Richardson, M & L by Referee to Irving Henry LLC, 444 & 460 Oak Ave (900-167-2-2), (R), $218,000

GREENPORT (11944)

• Fitzpatrick & Poncet to GCG Bayberry LLC, 702 Wiggins Ln (1000-35-4-28.36), (V), $450,000

• Guevara, G & Villanti, O to McMahon, Michael, 47 Washington Ave (1001-2-1-7), (R), $675,000

• D’Amico, D & King, A to Sillman, Amy, 228 Sixth St (1001-7-2-1), (R), $909,000

JAMESPORT (11947)

• Beyer, K & J to Branigan, James, 28 Big Pond Ln (600-2.1-2-28), (R), $689,000

• Rowland, K by Referee to Deutsche Bank National Tr, 48 Melissa Ln (600-22-1-4.7), (R), $850,351

LAUREL (11948)

• Shannon, J to Knight, Eric, 7080 Peconic Bay Blvd (1000-126-11-7), (R), $1,725,000

MATTITUCK (11952)

• Avondet III, C & D to Haupt, Andrew, 3755 Grand Ave (1000-107-1-5.2), (R), $448,350

• Kosinski, J to Bokros, Aaron, 980 New Suffolk Ave (1000-114-12-9), (R), $725,000

RIVERHEAD (11901)

• Murphy, C by Heirs to Savino, Suzanne, 31 W. Fairview Ave (600-7-2-20), (R), $387,500

• Brophy, M by Referee to Long Island Investments, 13 Dolphin Way (600-17-2-27), (R), $340,000

• 632 Roanoke LLC to Marchese, Aaron, 192 Horton Ave (600-81-3-14), (R), $135,000

• Heinze, C & P to Mimangh, Thomas, 9 Kennsington Ct (600-82.5-2-4), (R), $520,000

• Dick, A & A to Menjivar-Carvajal, Rutilio, 119 Ackerly St (600-103-1-13), (R), $365,000

• Schaefer, C & L to Torres, Alexander, 34 Telephone St (600-107-2-25), (R), $275,500

• Ramirez, G & D to Ortiz, Jose, 40 Jerome Circle (600-112-1-1.8), (R), $470,000

• Tooker, S to 237D Hubbard LLC, 237 D Hubbard Ave (600-112-1-29), (R), $225,843

• Seaman, D Trust to Estrada Juarez, Jose, 1281 W Main St (600-119-2-32), (R), $250,000

• Stoner, G & J to Israel, Isaac, 26 McDermott Ave (600-129-4-7), (R), $300,000

SHELTER ISLAND (11964)

• Vlassara, H to Freeman, Danek, 139 Ram Island Dr (700-10-1-12), (R), $2,150,000

(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: Jan. 23, 2020 appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

Two familiar faces on the East End will be honored Friday at the North Fork Chamber of Commerce’s ninth annual Snowflake Gala at Raphael Vineyards in Peconic.

Most will recognize the first honoree from their television screens. Recognized for his passion for the North Fork, veteran News 12 Long Island journalist Doug Geed will be presented with the 2019 Community Service Award. In addition to reporting in the field, Mr. Geed produces and hosts the Emmy-award winning East End show. The weekly show frequently highlights local hamlets and businesses with an emphasis on the area’s beauty.

“For years, Doug has been a champion for the North Fork,” North Fork Chamber of Commerce president Andy Binkowski said in a statement. “We’re happy to recognize his service to our towns.”

The chamber will also honor Porto Bello restaurant, which Mr. Binkowski described as a “mainstay of Greenport,” as its business of the year. Owner Diana DiVello opened the restaurant, now located in Stirling Harbor Marina, in 1991 with her mother, Francesca. The Italian restaurant is known for using fresh, local seafood and vegetables paired with local wines.

“Diana not only offers the perfect place for a great meal but also regularly gives back to the communities of the North Fork,” Mr. Binkowski said. “We’re fortunate to have a business like Porto Bello and that’s why we want to honor Diana with the Business of the Year award.”

The Snowflake Gala will be held Friday, Jan. 24, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Raphael in Peconic. Tickets are $125 per person or $225 for a couple and can be purchased online through Eventbrite.

For more information, call 631-765-3161 or email info@northforkchamber.org.

The post News 12 journalist, Porto Bello restaurant to be honored at annual Snowflake Gala appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

The daily update is a podcast briefing on what’s happening across the North Fork.

​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, Jan. 23:

NEWS

Gamberg retiring as superintendent of Southold, Greenport schools

Riverhead may introduce app for beachgoers to purchase permits with one of four plans

Riverhead school board exploring option to videotape meetings for residents

NORTHFORKER

WEATHER

Expect sunny skies today with a high temperature near 42 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. It will feel more like 15 degrees with the wind chill. The low tonight will be around 26.

The post Today’s Headlines: Superintendent announces retirement, new app for beachgoers appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

Harriet Bell Mountain of Scarborough, Maine, formerly of Southold, died Jan. 1. She was 91.

Services will take place Friday, Jan. 24, at 11 a.m. at Levey Chapel 471 Deering Ave., Portland, ME. A celebration of Harriet’s life will follow at The Atrium at The Cedars, 640 Ocean Ave., Portland, Me.

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You may know artist Jaqueline Penney from her distinctive studio in Cutchogue — a renovated 1840s red barn on North Street that’s also her art gallery and home. Or you may recognize her larger-than-life painting in the Cutchogue Free Library that she donated in 1987.

Ms. Penney has been embedded in the North Fork art community for over 50 years, and this year she turns 90.

To celebrate more than a half century on the North Fork, Ms. Penney will be having an ongoing sale of 50% off prints in her gallery, located at 270 North Street in Cutchogue.

Her art has always been known for focusing on what she loves — the landscapes, seascapes and wildlife of the North Fork. Hanging up in her bright and airy gallery currently are realistic scenes of New Suffolk and Peconic Bay, among many others. Though known for her realism and working mostly with acrylics, Ms. Penney has always had an adventuresome spirit when it comes to art, exploring other styles like collage and abstract, her daughter Deborah said.

“I play around,” Ms. Penney said. “In other words, I’ll start something and then something else will spark me. And I’ll think, wait a minute — I’m gonna do this instead. So it might be two or three days but I’ll get it.”

That same spirit has also carried throughout other aspects of her life. The recipient of a scholarship to the Phoenix School of Design in New York City, she has studied at Black Mountain College in North Carolina and The Institute of Design in Chicago. Her list of awards is lengthy and she’s also the author of five books, including her memoir, “Me Painting Me, A Memoir,” which she published in 2012. She’s even in the “Who’s Who of American Women Artists & Teachers” and her award-winning self-portrait entitled, “Me,” is in the National Association of Women Artist’s permanent collection housed at the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University.

On top of her impressive career, Ms. Penney also shared doing what she loved by teaching art to North Forkers for over 30 years.

“When someone would come to me and say, ‘Oh I can’t paint,’ ” Ms. Penney said, “I’d ask them, ‘Have you ever painted before? No? Then how do you know?’ ”

See also: North Fork artist teaches art through seeing with new book

Desire and passion are what she thinks make good artists, her daughter said, not necessarily talent.

“She told me as a kid: It’s not a talent. It’s a desire. If you want it you do it, you’ll learn how to,” she said. “It may come easier to some people than others. But if you want to draw, you’ll learn.”

Ms. Penney experienced a rough childhood and a history of alcohol abuse in her family but was always fascinated by color and beauty and eager to create. In kindergarten, she put her crayons on the radiator and was enthralled by watching the colors melt. Today, having worked with many well-known artists and being exhibited in places like the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton and Forbes Galleries in Manhattan, there’s not much else she wishes she had done. Even at 75, Ms. Penney took on the thrill of sky-diving with her daughter.

“Every day is different,” Ms. Penney said. “Art is different. Everything that comes into your world is different. And that’s what I go to. Those are the kinds of things I’m interested in.”

But when asked what her favorite place was: “Right here,” she said, referring to her barn. “I really wouldn’t I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but here.”

Above anything else, the passion that she puts into her pastoral scenes and the way she captures her love of the tranquility of the North Fork is what she wants to be remembered for after she’s gone.

“I think that’s what she wants — not to be remembered for the awards that she got,” her daughter said. “I think she just wants to be remembered for who she was as a person too. Because other than being an artist, she’s a pretty incredible person. So I think she’d want to be remembered for who she was.”

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There are some teenagers who dream big only to lose sight of their vision and there are those who stay committed and are rewarded with scholarships to study abroad. Juliet Rand of Southold falls into the latter category.

The 16-year-old Southold High School junior was recently selected as a runner-up for the World Language Student of the Year Award in New York, offered by the New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers and the nonprofit Council on International Educational Exchange. The organizations partnered to “recognize student achievement in language learning,” according to the CIEE website. Among 170 nominees from across the state, Juliet ranked in the top three, winning a $2,500 scholarship for her outstanding French language skills. 

Virginia Gilmore, Juliet’s French teacher, is a member of NYSAFLT and nominated her for the scholarship because, as she put it, “How could I not?”

“The way that I came to know her, she had the lead in one of the [musicals],” said Ms. Gilmore. “I’ve been teaching a long time. Periodically, when you see someone that’s an incredible talent, it’s like a miracle. I walked out of the auditorium that night thinking, ‘This girl is going to be famous.’ ”

Juliet also earned a Global Navigator Merit Scholarship from CIEE, which will enable her to spend this summer studying language and culture in France. Of the various cities offered, Juliet chose Renn, where the four-week, full immersion language program is most intense. There, she will live with a non-English-speaking host family, attend three hours of morning French language classes each day and participate in guided afternoon excursions to cultural and historical sites. In addition to her language skills, she is a dedicated student who performs well academically. Her interest in French first sprouted from her interest in opera.

“When I was little, I just always loved music, so my grandparents took me to an opera concert at a vineyard and I saw these singers and I was like, ‘That is what I want to do,’ ” Juliet said. “My grandma had me talk to one of the performers afterward and said, ‘What can my granddaughter do to start focusing her career in music?’ He said, ‘Have her take piano lessons,’ so I started piano lessons and that was in fifth grade. And then I started taking opera lessons in seventh grade. From there, I was just experiencing all of the different languages from opera music because most pieces aren’t in English. Typically [they are in] Italian, French, German, and I just found a new love and appreciation for language.”

She said that she found, through opera, just how beautiful the French language was.

Juliet’s mother, Heather Rand, an elementary school teacher in the Comsewogue School District, explained her daughter’s musical upbringing and resolve to become a professional opera singer. 

“She just kind of fell in love with the French language,” Ms. Rand said, “but she had been taking Spanish since the seventh grade.”

From in-school practice to private tutoring, Juliet managed to get placed in French IV on an accelerated track, well before most of her peers. She also completed Spanish IV.

“It was [Ms. Gilmore] who had let us know about this organization,” said Ms. Rand. “[Juliet] is really excited to do it. She’s very much an extrovert. She loves people, loves learning about culture, loves learning about language.”

In 10th grade, on a high school trip to Europe, Juliet saw some of what France had to offer, even spontaneously singing in front of the Paris Opera House. 

“I sang ‘Think of Me’ from ‘Phantom of the Opera,’ ” she said. “Oh, it was amazing. I hope to one day sing at the opera house, inside of it.”

Her mother said the trip was a whirlwind two and a half weeks, during which Juliet seized every opportunity to talk to people and immerse herself in the culture.

Juliet’s language skills go hand in hand with her musical passion and prowess. She has been singing, her mother and grandmother say, since she was born. She is also a proficient pianist and organist who has, since age 9, been playing and singing at Sunday Mass at St. Patrick’s Church in Southold. Her younger sister, Violet, 14, also participates. A keyboardist at the church invited Juliet to sing with him one day and from there she would come in every week, inspired to take organ lessons. She volunteers, too, at St. John the Evangelist R.C. Church in Riverhead, singing and performing for the congregation.

Juliet, who is also involved in dance and drama performances, additionally studies voice with Martha Tibbetts in Huntington. Ms. Tibbetts is helping Juliet prep for college auditions. She hopes to study classical voice, and eventually opera. Her top college choices include Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and The Juilliard School in New York City.

“She is so passionate about it,” Ms. Rand said. “I don’t have to fight with her to practice or go. She loves doing it.”

Juliet said that ultimately, her goal is to spread her love and appreciation of music to others.

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With family members by his side, Thomas Murphy walked out of a Central Islip courtroom Tuesday, free to return home ahead of his March 17 sentencing. Since his initial arraignment in October 2018 following the fatal crash that left a 12-year-old Boy Scout dead, Mr. Murphy has avoided jail.

That didn’t change after a jury convicted him in December on nine charges, including aggravated vehicular homicide, a Class B felony that carries up to 25 years in prison.

Noticeably missing has been any outrage from law enforcement and politicians, decrying the judicial system that allows a convicted felon to avoid jail.

Shouldn’t all the bad guys be locked up for the rest of us to be safe?

Well, Mr. Murphy, a 61-year-old white man with considerable means, posted a $500,000 bond following that 2018 arraignment. That bond has allowed him to remain free as the criminal case against him proceeds.

For many others accused of far less serious crimes, coming up with $1,000 or $5,000 in bail is nearly impossible. So as their cases proceed through the system, they sit in jail.

The bail reform that went into effect this month in New York was meant to address the inequity of a system that punishes those unable to afford their freedom and criminalizes poverty. 

The bedrock of the judicial system is that people are innocent until proven guilty. The way critics of the new legislation have spoken, the system should be flipped to guilty until proven innocent.

Arrested for a misdemeanor? Lock ’em up and throw away the key. That’s the only way we can stay safe, they argue.

Fear has run rampant, fueled locally by officials from Riverhead Councilwoman Jodi Giglio to Assemblyman Anthony Palumbo to Congressman Lee Zeldin, all of whom are Republicans. Mr. Palumbo called for a full repeal of the bail reform. 

“Stand up for our rule of law & our men/women in blue,” Mr. Zeldin tweeted Saturday, promoting his appearance on Fox News, where he also managed to get in a dig on the dangers of illegal immigrants. Michael McAdams, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, issued a statement Tuesday saying: “Long Island voters deserve to know if [Democratic Congressional candidates] Perry Gershon, Nancy Goroff and Bridget Fleming support Democrats’ dangerous policy of putting violent criminals back on the street.”

Fear, fear and more fear. Don’t forget: Anyone will be released if they have the means to post bail.

Approximately 70 percent of all inmates in state and local jails are pretrial detainees, according to a 2012 report by the Justice Policy Institute that argued the U.S. should end the cash bail system. The jail population in the U.S. climbed rapidly starting in the ’70s and the pretrial population increased by 433% between 1970 and 2015, according to a report by the Vera Institute of Justice.

“The time spent in pretrial detention exacts not only a steep and long-term toll on an indigent defendant’s productivity, family unity, and community well-being but also an enormous cost on American taxpayers,” wrote Liana Goff in the Brooklyn Law Review.

It’s important to note that in New York, the statute judges have used to determine bail is failure to appear. Public safety has not been a factor to be considered. Also consider that the U.S. and the Philippines are the only countries with a bail system dominated by commercial bail bondsmen. In the U.S., it’s a $2 billion industry that has every reason to want to maintain the status quo.

The man who goes to jail for failure to make bond is treated in almost every jurisdiction just like the convicted criminal serving a sentence. His home may be disrupted, his family humiliated and his chance of making a living permanently taken away.

Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, June 1, 1964

“Supporters of the public safety provision argued that judges were already factoring public safety into the pretrial calculus by setting extremely high bail as a means of imposing detention,” wrote Insha Rahman, program director of the Vera Institute of Justice, in a 2019 report. “Allowing judges to openly consider public safety would simply bring transparency to that decision.”

The public safety provision was not included into New York’s bail reform but, as a compromise, bail remained for serious cases of violent felonies, sex-related charges and some domestic violence offenses, Ms. Rahman noted.

People in jail who cannot afford even modest bail amounts are more likely to plead guilty. That’s what law enforcement and prosecutors want. Easy wins.

It all leads to the criminogenic effect, meaning people convicted of crimes are more likely to end up back in the system.

New York is not the first state to reform its bail policy. We only need to look to New Jersey to see how reform can work. The New York Daily News published a story in November and cited FBI statistics showing violent crimes in the state declined from 21,914 in 2016 to 18,357 in 2018. New Jersey’s reforms took effect in 2017. There’s a key difference in how bail works in the two states. In New Jersey, judges use a risk assessment system that weighs a suspect’s criminal history and the charges they face. Opponents have argued that system can also lead to prejudices similar to the current system. New Jersey’s jail population has declined and the time frame for cases to be resolved has stayed close to the same, even with a slight uptick in the number of people missing court appearances, according to the Daily News.

“Reform is an ongoing process,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday during his budget address. “It has consequences. We need to respond to the facts but not the politics and we need to act on information, not hyperbole.”

If New York insists on tweaking the new reforms, perhaps the New Jersey model would be best to follow. But blowing up the reform and going back to status quo isn’t the answer. Mass incarceration in the United States is a problem that can’t be ignored.

The post Column: Backlash over New York’s bail reform fueled by fear appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

The daily update is a podcast briefing on what’s happening across the North Fork.

​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 Friday, Jan. 24:

NEWS

News 12 journalist, Porto Bello restaurant to be honored at annual Snowflake Gala

Southold junior earns prestigious honor for outstanding French language skills

Wading River artist’s mural adds colorful background to Brekky’s new café

NORTHFORKER

Basso re-opens at new location in Greenport

WEATHER

Expect partly sunny skies today with a high near 45 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. Clouds will move in tonight and the low will be around 33. Rain is expected on Saturday but will clear up on Sunday.

The post Daily Update: High school student honored, tapas spot reopens appeared first on The Suffolk Times.