The Times of Middle Country - April 7, 2016

of Middle CountryThe TIMES

Serving CentereaCh • Selden • northern lake groveVolume 11, No. 51 April 7, 2016 $1.00

Campaign AidLegislator Trotta proposes means to an end for campaign contributions.

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The Middle Country Public Library will host the Calling All Boomers and Seniors! Products and Services Fair on Thursday, April 21.

The annual event, held in partner-ship with Assemblyman Al Graf (R-Holbrook), showcases recreational and informational resources, including com-

plementary blood pressure testing and therapeutic massage, senior travel groups, elder law advisors, wellness counselors and home health care agencies.

This is a free event which is open to the public and runs from 3 to 6 p.m. at the library’s Centereach location on Eastwood Boulevard.

The TIMES (USPS 003–952) is published Thursdays by TIMES BEACon RECoRd nEwSPAPERS, 185 Route 25A, Setauket, nY 11733. Periodicals postage paid at Setauket, nY and additional mailing offices. Subscription price $49 annually. Leah S. dunaief, Publisher. PoSTMASTER: Send change of address to Po Box 707, Setauket, nY 11733.

Library to host senior fairFile photo by Rachel Shapiro

The Middle Country Public Library will hold its annual fair for seniors this month.

April 07, 2016 • THE TIMES OF MIDDLE COUNTRY • PAGE A3

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Trotta sponsors bill that limits campaign aidBy Alex Petroski

At least one Suffolk County Legislator believes that money in politics can be linked to corruption in local government, though he said he’s yet to gain any sup-port from other lawmakers.

Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) introduced a bill in March that would limit donations to $2,000 per election cycle to elected officials running for of-fice from contractors and public employee unions that do business with the county. The bill would limit the hundreds of businesses and unions that have con-tracts for services with the county. A full list of con-tracts can be found on Suffolk County’s website.

“It is not uncommon for people and organizations doing business with Suffolk County to make dona-tions to the political campaigns of county officials and candidates seeking county office,” Trotta said in press release on March 23. “Such contributions can be interpreted by the public as a ‘pay to play’ that results in government contracts being awarded on the basis of connections and contributions.”

Trotta said in a phone interview Monday that he hoped to gain support from other legislators, though so far he hasn’t gotten any.

“This bill is the first step in trying to clean up the cesspool that is county government,” Trotta said. “Anybody who says the money doesn’t affect them, they’re lying.”

Trotta said the indictment and guilty plea of for-mer Suffolk County Chief of Police James Burke is an example that a lack of oversight on county govern-ment has allowed corruption to run rampant. Trotta was a member of the Suffolk County Police Depart-ment for 25 years, according to his page on the coun-ty’s website.

Trotta also referenced Edward Walsh, the Suf-folk County Conservative Party Chairman, who was found guilty of defrauding the Sheriff’s Office on March 31. Walsh could be sentenced to up to 30 years in jail, according to a release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

“I’m trying to take the money out of politics,” Trot-ta said. “Clearly, there’s a conflict there. This is why you’re seeing all of this corruption.”

Trotta said the unanimous county Legislature vote to approve the Suffolk County Police Benevolent As-sociation contract in October 2012 was another ex-ample of potential corruption. He said he introduced a bill shortly thereafter that would shine more light on county organizations like the police department, though it didn’t gain any traction.

“It makes no logical sense that there is no over-sight,” Trotta said.

The Suffolk County PBA and a media representa-tive for County Executive Steve Bellone (D) did not respond to requests for comment.

Trotta said he did not pour money into his own campaign to get elected to represent the 13th legisla-tive district in 2013. He said he does not accept dona-tions from unions, and the largest donation that he has received was about $2,500 from a friend.

“I have to thank my constituents for giving me the ability to do this,” Trotta said. He added that he is fortunate to be from a strong, well-versed commu-nity who elected him despite his modest campaign spending.

File photosuffolk County legislator rob trotta says county campaign donations need reform.


By Phil Corso

A North Shore-based group has an-swered the county’s calls to revitalize the site of a former landfill in Kings Park.

The Suffolk County Landbank Corp., which is a not-for-profit entity that works with the county to redevelop tax-delin-quent properties, put out a request for proposals to completely rejuvenate eight brownfield spots across Suffolk, including the former Steck-Philbin Landfill on Old Northport Road in Kings Park. Last week, Stony Brook’s Ecological Engineering of Long Island answered with a proposal to build Long Island’s first community-owned solar farm.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bel-lone (D) said the county wanted to team up with the private sector to revitalize the various brownfield sites and described them as blights on their respective com-munities. Shawn Nuzzo, president of Eco-logical Engineering of Long Island, said his group’s plan had the potential to pump renewable energy into the Island’s power grid almost immediately.

Nuzzo described the 6-megawatt solar farm proposal as the largest landfill-to-solar project in New York state that could generate nearly 8 million kilowatt hours of solar electricity in its first year.

“Unlike other recent utility solar proj-

ects on Long Island – where large devel-opers have proposed to clear-cut forests, raze golf courses and blanket farmable lands – our proposal takes a dangerous, long-blighted and otherwise useless par-cel and revives it as a community-owned solar farm,” Nuzzo said. “The Kings Park Community Solar Farm will be a quiet, low-intensity land use generating nearly no automobile traffic after installation. As equally important, we will return proper ecosystem services to the site through the ecological restoration technique of phy-toremediation — using native, low-light, low-lying and drought tolerant plants known for their long-term soil restorative properties.”

A property is classified as a brownfield if there are complications in expansion or redevelopment based on the possible pres-ence of pollutants or hazardous materials, according to the United States Environ-mental Protection Agency.

The site on Old Northport Road is still owned by Richard and Roslyn Steck, ac-cording to the Suffolk County Land-bank Corporation Request for Proposals, though penalties and interest bring the total owed in property tax on the roughly 25 acres of land to nearly $1.5 million. The property has been tax delinquent since the Richard Steck, Gerald Philbin Devel-opment Co. was found to be using the site

Three Village civic president eyeing landfill as solar farm

Image from Suffolk County Landbank Corp.The former steck-Philbin landfill on old Northport road in Kings Park is one of eight brownfields that the county has requested for repurposing.

to dispose of waste that it did not have a permit for in 1986. It is located less than a half mile east of the Sunken Meadow Parkway and about a half mile west of In-dian Head Road.

Nuzzo said Ecological Engineering of Long Island would finance, build and op-erate the solar farm through a crowdfund-ing campaign seeking small investments from everyday Suffolk County residents. The plan, he said, would be to sell 25,000 “solar shares” in the farm at $500 a piece.

“We calculate that the Kings Park Com-munity Solar Farm will generate more than $24 million in gross revenue over a typical 20-year power purchase agree-ment. We will offer our investors a guar-anteed 150 percent return on investment with annual payments deposited over the 20-year lifetime of the agreement,” he said. “Through design efficiencies we will maximize photovoltaic energy output to not only increase profit for our inves-tors but also to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels, which today — despite many residential and commercial PV installs — still represents the majority of Long Is-land’s energy production.”

The plan has already received support from various North Shore elected offi-cials, including state Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket), who threw sup-port behind Nuzzo in a letter to the Suf-

folk County Landbank Corp.“I am always happy to see younger

members of our community active in civ-ics, so it was especially heartening to this vibrant young man at the helm of my lo-cal civic association,” he said. “Nuzzo has also worked with the Setauket Harbor Task Force and was responsible for secur-ing the donation of the use of a ‘solar trail-er’ from a local solar installer to power our Setauket Harbor Day Festival last Septem-ber with renewable solar energy.”

Brookhaven Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station) de-scribed Nuzzo as a “knowledgeable lead-er on environmental issues” and “well versed in many modern environmental technologies and practices, including solar projects, LEED process and green technology.”

The Suffolk County Landbank was established in 2013 after its application was approved by the New York State Empire State Development Corpora-tion. Some of the other brownfields in-cluded in the request for proposals in-clude Hubbard Power and Light and a gas station on Brentwood Road in Bay Shore, Lawrence Junkyard in Islip and Liberty Industrial Finishing in Brent-wood, among others. The eight proper-ties owe more than $11 million in delin-quent taxes as of August 2015.


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By Elana Glowatz

A 24-hour substance abuse hotline went live on April 1, providing Suffolk County residents with a new resource to help with battling addiction.

The Long Island Council on Alcohol-ism and Drug Dependence is operating the new hotline — 631-979-1700 — and will help callers get screenings, referrals and follow-ups, directing them to local resources that will help them or loved ones overcome addiction.

Officials announced the initiative at the end of February, calling it a partnership between the county, Stony Brook Medicine

and the state’s health department, as well as private and public community partners in the substance abuse field. Those offi-cials said having a single phone number for all those resources is key.

“This initiative will provide [the] op-portunity for addicts to reach out during their time of need and access treatment and support options easily,” Suffolk County Legislator William “Doc” Spencer (D-Centerport) said in a previous statement. “Often, there is a critical and brief period of time when a person sees clarity and makes the decision to seek help. This hot-line can be fertile ground for change and recovery as it can quickly link residents to

crucial health care services.”LICADD itself noted in a recent state-

ment about the hotline that “the time to seek treatment is ‘now’” and that some-times the “now” is late at night, early in the morning or on weekends or holidays. The agency also said that the period in which an addict is willing to get treat-ment could close without immediate help, due to “the pathology of denial, obsession and fear which often defines substance use disorders.”

Community leaders have ramped up efforts to fight opioid addiction in recent years while seeing an increase in heroin and prescription painkiller abuse and overdoses across Suffolk County. Those efforts have included more directed police enforcement and informational meetings. Police officers have also started carrying the medication Narcan, which can tem-porarily stop opioid overdoses and has been used hundreds of times in Suffolk.

Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket), who authored the law that put Narcan into officers’ hands, said about the new hotline, “Every second counts to a mother whose son or daughter was found and saved from overdosing. And every hour and every day that slips by trying to find quality, afford-able, accessible treatment is critical.”

The county health department will provide oversight and analyze data to

monitor the hotline’s effectiveness, and identify trends and emerging issues in the community.

At the same time the drug abuse hot-line went live, the Suffolk County Police Department announced another phone number, this one a 24-hour tip line for residents to report drug activity in their neighborhoods.

“We are asking the public’s help to fight this scourge, and with the public’s help, we can make a real difference,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Tim Sini said in a statement.

Residents can call 631-852-NARC anonymously to report information about local drug dealers, and authorities will investigate the tips. Even anonymous callers can receive cash rewards for tips that lead to arrests.

“If you see something, say something and Suffolk County police will do some-thing about it,” Sini said.

Hotline goes live to help fight addiction

Image from the Suffolk County health department a flyer advertises a new substance abuse hotline.

For 24/7 substance abuse help, call 631-979-1700.

To report drug activity to the police, call 631-852-NARC.


LegalsNotice of formation of Nice Guy Landscaping & Property Preser-vation, LLC. Articles of Organi-zation filed with the Secretary of State of New York SSNY on 12/1/15. Office location in Suf-folk County, NY. SSNY has been designated for service of pro-cess. SSNY shall mail copy of any process served against the LLC 165 Radio Ave Miller Place NY 11764. Purpose: any lawful purpose.

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LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to Town Law, a pub-lic hearing will be held by the Town Board of the Town of Brookhaven, at Brookhaven

Town Hall, One Independence Hill, Farmingville, NY on the 21st day of April, 2016 at 6:30 pm on the findings of Cashin, Spinelli, & Ferretti, LLC that 111 MAR-SHALL DRIVE, SELDEN, NEW YORK, (SCTM# 0200-445.00-04.00-017.000) represents a health and safety hazard and should be removed.

DONNA LENT TOWN CLERK TOWN OF BROOKHAVENDATED: March 10, 2016Farmingville, NY

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LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to Town Law, a pub-

lic hearing will be held by the Town Board of the Town of Brookhaven, at Brookhaven Town Hall, One Independence Hill, Farmingville, NY on the 21st day of April, 2016 at 6:30 pm on the findings of Cashin, Spinelli, & Ferretti, LLC that 76 ADIRON-DACK DRIVE, SELDEN, NEW YORK, (SCTM #0200-492.00-01.00-035.000) represents a health and safety hazard and should be removed.

DONNA LENT TOWN CLERK TOWN OF BROOKHAVENDATED: March 10, 2016Farmingville, NY

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The Northport Cow Harbor War-riors will be presenting a service dog to a 2005 Northport High School graduate and veteran this Saturday, April 9, at 7 p.m.

Hosted in partnership with the Cpl. Christopher G. Scherer Semper Fi Fund, the veteran, who served as a U.S. Marine during Operation Iraqi Freedom, will receive the dog at Nap-per Tandy’s Irish Pub in Northport as part of a fundraiser for the Cow Har-bor Warriors Weekend.

The warriors weekend is an event hosted on Sept. 9 and 10, where wound-ed warriors and veterans in need, along their families, are invited to Northport for a weekend of recreation, celebration and appreciation.

“Service dogs are invaluable in help-ing our veterans adjust and adapt to life after war,” Don McKay, president of Cow Harbor Warriors said in a statement. “It’s simply incredible to witness the life-changing impact these dogs can have for our warriors.”

Live music will be provided by Com-mon Ground, and raffle prizes include an inflatable stand-up paddle board, private charter sunset cruise, half-day bass fishing trip, a fun day on the water and more. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online at www.cowharbor-warriors.com for $40, with buffet, beer and wine.

— Victoria Espinoza

POLICE BLOTTERIncidents and arrests through April 2

Three minutesA 24-year-old man from Coram was

arrested for criminal possession of sto-len property, fleeing from an officer in a car, criminal trespassing and resisting arrest on April 1. According to police, the man was driving a stolen 2013 BMW and when police tried to pull him over, he fled in the car from Walnut Street to Mead Avenue in Mount Sinai. The man abandoned the car and jumped the fence of a nearby residence, then took a fight-ing stance and charged at the officers be-fore he was arrested on Osborne Avenue. The entire incident happened in a period of about three minutes, police said.

Tank itOn March 29 at 1:15 p.m., police arrest-

ed a man from Centereach for criminal mischief, seven counts of criminal posses-sion of stolen property and three counts of unlicensed operation of a car. Police said the 31-year-old man stole assorted tools and a propane tank from a residence on Richmond Boulevard in Ronkonkoma, then damaged the lawn when he drove across the grass with a 2002 Dodge Ram with a suspended license. While fleeing the scene, the propane tank fell out of the back of the truck and hit a parked car. Po-lice later arrested the man at his home.

Operation deniedA 25-year-old Sound Beach man was

arrested on March 30 for unlicensed operation of a car. He had been driving a 2006 Honda Accord on Rocky Point Landing Road when police caught him.

Munchies mishapOn April 3, police arrested an 18-year-

old man for criminal possession of mari-juana. According to police, the Shirley resident was in the driver’s seat of a car parked in the ShopRite parking lot at College Plaza in Selden when police dis-covered the teen had the drug.

Bad driversOn March 31 at 10 p.m., police ar-

rested a 47-year-old woman for driving while ability impaired in a 2002 Honda Pilot. Police said she was going north on Route 112 in Port Jefferson Station when she failed to maintain her lane.

Police arrested a man from Setauket on March 27 for driving while ability im-paired after the 21-year-old was speeding on Route 112 in Port Jefferson in a 2007 BMW. According to police, he also failed to maintain his lane.

Police arrested a 21-year-old Sound Beach woman on April 2 for driving while ability impaired after she got into a car crash while going south on Hale-site Drive in a 2012 Subaru. Police didn’t specify what she hit.

Police arrested a 21-year-old man

from Mount Sinai for driving while abil-ity impaired after he drove a 1987 Toyota on Strathmore Village Drive and crashed into a parked 2015 Jeep. Police said the man fled the scene but was caught and arrested around 9 a.m. on March 27.

Call meOn March 29 around 2:10 p.m., some-

one stole two phones from a display case in the Verizon store on Nesconset High-way in Port Jefferson Station.

Door needs a bandagePolice said someone damaged the door

of Fresenius Medical Care on Nesconset Highway in Port Jefferson Station. The incident happened between 2:30 a.m. on April 2 and 8 a.m. the following day.

LynbrokenSomeone damaged the door of a

residence on Lynbrook Drive in Sound Beach around 3 a.m. on April 2.

Ring the alarmOn March 31 around 1 p.m., a woman

said someone stole her diamond engage-ment ring after she left it in a tanning room of Sky Tan on Middle Country Road in Selden.

Broadway banditOn March 27, someone stole a jacket

off a chair in the Rocky Point Ale House on Broadway around 10:17 p.m. Police said a wallet was in the jacket pocket.

Open for businessBetween 11 p.m. on March 31 and 4

a.m. the following day, an unknown person stole a 2015 Ford Explorer from the Hope House Ministries property on North Country Road in Port Jefferson. Police said the car was unlocked and the keys were inside.

Someone stole multiple sunglasses and money from an unlocked 2015 Mer-cedes and an unlocked 2014 Jeep. The cars were parked near a residence on Lo-cust Drive in Miller Place. Police said the incidents happened on March 30 around 3:50 a.m.

Making movesAccording to police, on April 3 around

2 p.m. someone stole a GPS and its char-ger, cables, an agility ladder and assorted fitness equipment from a 2013 Mazda. Police said the car was parked in the Mar-shalls parking lot in Stony Brook.

Cemented stealOn March 29 around 6:30 p.m., some-

one stole a cement mixer from a 2015 Dodge Ram that was parked on Valley Drive in Sound Beach.

— compilEd by GisEllE barklEy

Service dog to be given to veteran on Saturday

Photo from Don McKay a service dog presentation at metlife stadium this past year.


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By Elana Glowatz

New York State is doing away with a funding cut that has kept billions of dol-lars out of schools, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office announced last week.

Legislators recently agreed on a state budget that would end the Gap Elimina-tion Adjustment, a deduction taken out of each school district’s aid for the last sev-eral years, originally enacted to close a state budget deficit.

Parents, educators and even legislators have long been advo-cating for the adjust-ment’s finish but the push became a shove after state Sen. John Flanagan (R-East Northport), the ma-jority leader, sponsored legislation to get rid of it. Flanagan called axing the Gap Elimination Adjustment his “top educa-tion funding priority” earlier this year.

“We will not pass any budget that does not fully eliminate it this year,” he said. The deduction “has been hurting schools and students for way too long and it is past time that we end it once and for all.”

Over the past five years, legislators had reduced the total statewide deduc-tion from $3 billion to $434 million. In the next school year, it will be removed

all together.“Over the years, the GEA forced many

school districts to cut educational pro-grams and reduce services,” Sen. Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) said in a state-ment. “This restoration of aid will greatly help local school districts, and our tax-payers, with the budget funds necessary to educate our children.”

State school aid is projected to increase to almost $25 billion overall — and Long Island is slated to get $3 billion of that.

The New York State School Boards Association noted that the additional aid comes just as the state’s almost 700 school districts are grappling with a

“record low” cap on how much they can increase their tax levies, a limit mandated by the state.

“The infusion of state aid will help them preserve student programs and ser-vices while still keeping property taxes in check,” the group’s executive director, Timothy G. Kremer, said in a statement.

However, the association said the state should “make sensible adjustments” to the tax levy cap, suggesting officials no longer use the rate of inflation as the standard for setting the limit each year.

State closes gap on school aid

Over the past five years, state legislators have reduced the total Gap Elimination Adjustment from $3 billion to $434 million. In the next school year, it will be removed all together.

File photo new york State school districts do not have to pay the Gap Elimination adjustment after this year.


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Publication: Times Beacon (Times of Smithtown, Times of Northport, Times of Huntington) The Village Times Herald-Times Beacon (Times of Middle Country, Port Times Record, The Village Beacon Record)Insertion Date: 4/6, 4/7, 4/14, 5/18, 5/19, 5/20, 5/26, 9/21, 9/22, 9/29, 10/1, 11/2, 11/3, 11/10

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139859

Photo from Steve Silverman and Matt SchwierThe Hyundai Elantra in flames.

By VicToria Espinoza

A 19-year-old woman was able to break free from her Hyundai Elantra before it was fully engulfed in f lames just after noon on Saturday, April 2, in Commack.

The woman struck a tree while driv-ing on Verleye Avenue, causing the car to overturn and eventually catch fire.

Emergency responders from the Commack Fire Department, Com-mack Volunteer Ambulance Corps and Suffolk County Police Department re-sponded to the crash near Lefferts Av-enue. The Commack Fire Department responded with three engines and a heavy rescue truck.

Firefighters quickly extinguished the f lames and used foam to cover the spilled gasoline.

The Commack Volunteer Ambu-lance Corps transported the teenager to Huntington Hospital.

Woman escapes from car fire in Commack


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Photos by Greg Catalano Above, students perform their production of Bye Bye Birdie at Newfield High School.

Students rock the stage


Newfield High School’s Robotics Club and advisor, Cory Fitzgerald, re-cently qualified for the VEX Robotics Competition state championship in their first year by placing second in the regional competition.

The competition is organized by the Robotic Education and Compe-tition Foundation, an international organization that seeks to increase student involvement in science, tech-nology, engineering and mathemat-ics (STEM) by engaging students in hands-on curriculum-based robotics engineering programs.

Legislator Leslie Kennedy (R-Nescon-set) proudly acknowledged Maria Cam-assa, of Lake Grove, as this year’s recipi-ent of the Women of Distinction award for the 12th Legislative District of Suffolk County.

Camassa was recognized for her ex-ceptional business experience as well as her skills in financial management, ac-

counting and banking. She is currently a chief representative at the Forest Hills Financial Group, an agency operated by Guardian Life Insurance. She was a for-mer project manager at MetLife as well as a former small business owner.

“Maria’s dedication, financial knowl-edge, and personal success prove that she truly is a model to women everywhere.”

PEOPLE

Students surprise soldiers in Iraq

Robotics team qualifies for States

Distinguished

Bicycle Path students send pack-ages to soldiers in Iraq.

Middle Country school district’s Bicycle Path Pre-K/Kindergarten Center recently took part in an ex-tremely successful collection drive to support U.S. soldiers stationed in Iraq. Students and families from three different classes collected many items such as food, toiletries, games and gift cards. The items were packed into care packages and sent, with hand-made cards, to thank the soldiers for their service.

The students were inspired to par-ticipate after learning about Martin Luther King Jr.’s passion for spreading kindness and being helpful to others.

Photo from Middle Country school district Middle County students send packages to soldiers in Iraq.

Photos from Middle Country school district Above, Newfield High School robotics team. Below, right, the Robotics Club prepares for a robot match.

Photo from Legislator Kennedy’s office Above left, Maria Camassa, with Leslie Kennedy, center, and Gina Coletti, far right, is recognized for her professional experience and skills.

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Newfield back in actionbaseball

The Newfield baseball team returned to the diamond Wednesday after weather cancelled all Monday and Tuesday games within the Middle Country district.

Although results of the Wolverines’ matchup against Half Hollow Hills East were not available by press time, the team took a series win over River-head last week, winning two of the three games, 2-0 and 10-9, while dropping the third game 10-7.

In the first game of the season, on March 29, Bobby Vath threw a three-hitter with eight strikeouts and no walks. Mark Maurelli led off the third with a sin-

gle, stole second and scored the go-ahead run on an infield hit by Kyle Johnson to lead Newfield in its League IV opener.

On March 30, Matt Schmidt hit an RBI single that drove in Johnson from second to break a tie at 9-9. Schmidt fin-ished the game 3-for-4 with four RBIs.

Newfield will host Half Hollow Hills East Thursday and Friday in the final two games of the three-game series. The Wolverines follow with a three-game se-ries against Smithtown West. The first game of that series is scheduled for Tues-day, at Smithtown West. The first pitch will be thrown at 4:15 p.m.

The Middle Country boys’ golf team traveled to Northport last

Thursday and fell to its competition.

Northport . . . . . . . . .8 .5Middle Country . . . .0 .5

The Newfield softball team traveled to Riverhead last

Wednesday and outscored its opposition.

Newfield . . . . . . . . . . . 7Riverhead . . . . . . . . . . 2

The Middle Country boys’ lacrosse team traveled to Brentwood

last Thursday and easily out-scored its competition.

Middle Country . . . . 12Brentwood . . . . . . . . . 3The Centereach baseball

team traveled to North Babylon last Friday

and edged ahead of its opponent.

Centereach . . . . . . . . . 5North Babylon . . . . . . 2

File photos by Bill Landon Above, Bobby Vath hurls a pitch from the mound in a game last season. Right, Kyle Johnson takes a cut during practice last year.


OPINION

The opinions of columnists and letter writers are their own. They do not speak for the newspaper.

EDITORIAL

Meanwhile, in Huntington ...

Photos above and below left by Victoria Espinoza; below right by Elana Glowatzthe stars have landed: Two famous figures visited Long Island this week, stopping in Huntington to meet the community. Republican presidential candidate and Ohio Gov. John Kasich kicked it off on Monday by visiting the Paramount theater ahead of New York’s April 19 primary. On Tuesday, Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon, signed copies of his new bestseller ‘No Dream Is Too High’ at the Book Revue. Education relief

The state has finally rescinded a cut to educa-tion funding that has been costing our schools billions of dollars — now it’s time to rebuild.

But we can only rebuild if we move up from here. We cannot afford any more setbacks.

Ending the Gap Elimination Adjustment will allow our school districts to collect more financial aid than they have been able to for several years now. The total deduction statewide started as high as $3 billion and was eventually reduced to $434 million before being cut altogether. This was great news for education advocates across the state.

However, this new balance needs to be pre-served in order for education to truly recover, because of the timing in which the cuts were installed. Around the same time the state started slashing education dollars, school districts were forced to adhere to tax levy cap regulations im-posed under New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D).

The Gap Elimination Adjustment was already an enormous deficit for our schools, but adding the cap on top of it made it much more difficult for districts to find their footing. Because of this terrible timing, the true damage done to our districts cannot be measured in just dollars and cents — they’re going to need some time to repo-sition themselves in the coming years.

Kids are our most important assets and we’re already falling behind other countries when it comes to educational performance. We need our legislators to stay true to their current position when it comes to education spending and invest in higher standards for our students.

We’re gratified that our legislators finally got on board with slashing the Gap Elimination Adjustment cuts. They should have never enacted it in the first place.

Bipartisan abuseTO THE EDITOR:

Recent events have proven, once again, that at least some of the people who claim to represent us have used and abused the author-ity vested in them for personal

gain rather than the interests of we, the people. As of this moment, the former top Republican in the state Senate, and the former top Democrat in the Assembly are behind bars, along with the high-est ranking member of the Suffolk County Police Force.

Equal opportunity criminals.Perhaps along with requir-

ing police officers to wear body cameras, we should get our poli-ticians to wear them too. Maybe even our district attorney.

Bruce StasiukSetauket


Forgive me for smiling. In my head, I see a face. It could be the face of a

mother, father, sister, brother, neighbor or even the face in the mirror.

I think of all the range of expressions and emotions from that face. It can be ecstat-ic that a son or daughter was born, it can be pushing hard to

bring that baby into the world, it can be straining with all its might to cross a � nish line — or it can be waiting anx-iously at an elegant eatery for an eHarmony date to appear while trying to appear casually indi� erent.

With my quality time o� en involving my wife and chil-dren, I picture the faces of the parents who attend a concert or sporting event, while also envisioning the faces of the kids battling against each other, the clock, their instruments or some confounding assignment.

� e part about the faces that’s bringing a smile to my own is envisioning a scrambler button, mismatching the words and expressions to the situa-tion. Instead of a face and tone that showed rapturous glee a� er getting a ticket to a live performance at Madison Square Garden, I’ve imagined that same elation at the beginning of a class.

“Yes, children, please put

your notebooks away,” a teacher might say. “We have a surprise quiz today.”

“Oh, seriously? � at’s awe-some. Oh, man. I can’t wait to tell my friends on Snapchat that we got a surprise quiz. � is is the best. I mean, we sometimes have regular quiz-zes that we know about in advance, but a surprise quiz is a huge bonus. I imagined surprise quizzes when I was younger, but this is the real thing. You are the absolute best teacher I’ve ever had and I’m sure I’ll remember this quiz for a long time.”

Now, I know those of you with adolescent children can hear sarcasm in that conver-sation. I prefer to imagine unbridled enthusiasm.

� e scrambler button may be used in di� erent circumstances.

Perhaps our boss described our work as “moronic.” Let’s dial in the goofy uncle trying to get a nephew to giggle.

“Oh, yeah, who’s a great

boss?” you might say as your voice rises. “Come on. Who? Oh, wait, where’d you go?” you ask, as you cover your eyes. “Where’s that great boss of mine? Did you disappear? Where’s the boss? Where is the most spectacular boss anyone has ever seen? � ere he is ... peekaboo!

If you’ve ever been to a volleyball tournament, you know that even the most stoic and reserved girl screeches through the match. � e team comes together a� er each point in the center of the � oor, putting their arms around each other and congratulating themselves.

“Ladies and gentlemen, your train is delayed due to switching problems,” an announcer might say over a loudspeaker to a group of commuters.

“Yeah, cool,” the commut-ers might scream as they come together in a circle of delight on the platform, tossing their briefcases to the side and

jumping straight up in the air and pumping their � sts.

Or, perhaps, you’re an enthu-siastic coach and you’ve asked your child to pass the salt.

“Good job, kid, good job,” you might say in a voice that’s way too loud for an indoor meal.“Now, keep the salt in your right hand. Stay bal-anced. Focus only on the salt. Don’t shake it, don’t think about not shaking it or you’ll start to shake it. Now, ease it over here. Way to go, kid, you’re doing great. You’re al-most there — that’s some great clutch salt passing. Now, a� er the meal, don’t forget to shake hands with the pepper and tell it that you had a good meal.”

D. None of the aboveBY DANIEL [email protected]

I envision a scrambler button, mismatching

the words and expressions to the

situation.

Facing o� in front of the mirror

Happy 40th Birthday

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EDITOR AND PUBLISHERLeah S. DunaiefGENERAL MANAGERJohness KuiselMANAGING EDITORPhil CorsoEDITORPhil Corso

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The Times of Middle Country - April 7, 2016