the village times herald -...

Volume 35, Number 41 December 16, 2010 75¢

STONY BROOK • OLD FIELD • STRONG’S NECK • SETAUKET • EAST SETAUKET • SOUTH SETAUKET • POQUOTTTIMES HERALD

THE VILLAGE

Inside this week

• SB vol needs holiday miracle pg A3

• 3V doc aids Afghan, Iraq vets pg A5

• Who was R.C. Murphy? Part 2 pg A15

Hark the HeraldLast Minute Gift CatalogInside this week

To subscribe to

The Village TIMES HERALDplease call us at

631-751-7744

Where the North Shore clicks: www.northshoreoflongisland.com

Lighting the way into Christmas

Stony Brook Village Center’s new stately holiday tree shines

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PAGE A2 • THE VILLAGE TIMES HERALD • DECEMBER 16, 2010

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Interim gets second year• Superintendent Neil Lederer will serve until July 2012• Second traffi c signal at WMHS closer to realityBY MONICA [email protected]

Th e Th ree Village Board of Education voted Tuesday to extend Interim Superin-tendent Neil Lederer’s contract from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012.

“We have reached an agreement with Neil,” Board President John Diviney said. “We are very happy.”

Lederer then addressed the trustees and residents attending the meeting.

“Th ank you,” Lederer said. “It’s won-derful to be in the district … I am thrilled. It will be great to have a second year. I used to reside in the community, so it’s great to be back … We are starting to move things, I hope, in the right direction …”

However, the board is still looking for a permanent superintendent to replace Ralph Ferrie, who signed a three-year con-tract in 2008 but left aft er only one year. Ferrie was replaced by an interim, former Athletic Director Don Webster, who was subsequently replaced last year by Lederer.

“I am retired,” said Lederer Tuesday. “I retired in June of 2009, so this is just a bit of an extension. I was hired under the un-derstanding that I would be in an interim position … Th is will help give the board some time to do a search and fi nd a suit-able replacement.”

Until then, Lederer has plans for the future of the district, “To go forward we are looking at tightening procedures, ac-cessing staff performance, making certain that our students achieve and reach our expectations from an instructional stand-point, and raise student achievements. But a lot of it is just some administrative procedures that we need to tighten up and more clearly defi ne and enforce,” Lederer said.

In another administrative move, Rob-ert Harrington was named the interim principal of Setauket Elementary School to replace Anne Rullan, appointed two weeks ago to the district-wide position of executive director for curriculum and in-struction.

Harrington has had a lot of experience.

“I’ve been an interim on six diff erent oc-casions and oft entimes parents and staff would like for me to stay another year,” Harrington said.

Lederer said Wednesday the new Se-tauket interim principal retired from the South Huntington district but has since served as an interim in Sachem and Smithtown.

Harrington plans to continue many of the district’s current procedures. “Th ere’s no ground-shaking changes coming down the pike as an interim. [I will] con-tinue the policies established by the Board of Education and the procedures that the current principal has in eff ect and work-ing with the staff ,” he said.

However, Harrington is thrilled to be working in 3V. “I am very excited. I am a district resident. I have been in the district for 14 years and obviously very happy with the school system. I have met some of the staff already and I am very impressed. I’m looking forward to it,” he said.

In other business Tuesday, the trustees continued their discussion of facilities us-age fees: charges to community groups and others for the use of district buildings and grounds. Lederer said yesterday he will be developing recommendations for the trustees, to be delivered at the Jan. 11, 2011 meeting.

However one other issue long pro-moted by many area residents and parents does appear to be moving forward.

“We will proceed with our architect drawing up plans” for a traffi c signal to be installed at the north driveway of Ward Melville High School, Lederer said. “It looks like it’s going to be done.” He said it seems as if the district would be able to use left over EXCEL funds for the project. Assistant Superintendent for Business Jeff Carlson said this week “about $1.5 million” remains available to the district and Lederer estimated the cost of the traf-fi c signal at “about $100,000, we’ve been told.” Once plans are drawn the proposal will be put out to bid.

Lee Lutz contributed to this story.

DECEMBER 16, 2010 • THE VILLAGE TIMES HERALD • PAGE A3

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Seeking a miracle at ChristmastimeSB fi refi ghter in need of donated kidney, fi rst has been rejected after 5 years. Can you help?

Food and gift donations

Shea & Sanders Real Estate is now collect-ing food and new un-wrapped toys for the Three Village Kiwanis Club and the St. James Church soup kitchen. The presents and food will certainly bring happiness to many families living in the Three Village commu-nity. Come by their of-fice at 222 Main St., E. Setauket between 9 am and 5 pm to drop off gifts and food. Those who cannot visit the of-fice, call Susan Antonio at 360-0004 to make ar-rangements for gifts to be picked up.

The week in meetings• The Brookhaven Town Board will meet at 5 pm on Tuesday, Dec. 21, in the Town Hall audito-rium in Farmingville.

BY LISA [email protected]

In a year fi lled with disappointment and dashed hopes, Gary Krieger of Setauket, who suff ers with polycystic kidney disease, is once again looking for a miracle.

Aft er receiving a life-saving kidney trans-plant fi ve years ago, Krieger was told around this time last year that his body was beginning to reject it — a heartbreaking reality for Krieg-er, his family and friends. Th e search began for another donor. As before, another member of the Stony Brook Fire Department — Krieger is a long-time volunteer — stepped forward and became a donor candidate. Scott Roberts, a former chief in the Stony Brook FD and a detective in the New York City Police Depart-ment Emergency Services Unit was tested and found to be a perfect match for Krieger.

Aft er a long period of silence regarding the operation, Roberts had waited to tell his own family for fear of jinxing the procedure. How-ever, only days aft er telling them, his worst fear came true. “It is with all the sadness in my heart that I must inform everyone that the surgery has been postponed indefi nitely,” Roberts said.

Five days before the operation was sched-uled, doctors advised Krieger there was a problem. He began to develop antibodies against his donor’s blood and the surgery had to be cancelled. “I would have rejected the kid-ney immediately aft er surgery,” Krieger said.

“Th at would have been devastating.”Roberts, who took the news hard, was very

supportive of his wife Jen, when she too was tested and found to be a match. It was only through the continued testing process that she learned it would not work with her either. Both Scott and Jen Roberts feel very strongly about organ donation and have hopes that oth-ers might understand the true gift it brings to those who are in desperate need of donation.

“I think it is very important, similar to do-nating blood,” Scott Roberts said. “I donate it because I don’t need it, I need one kidney, I don’t need two.”

Roberts is well aware of the situation Krieg-er will face if he is forced to go on dialysis. While saving countless lives in the service of the NYPD Emergency Services Unit, Roberts recalls a time when he responded to a cardiac arrest call at a dialysis center.

“Seeing people hooked up to machines like that was terrible, and if by receiving a kidney it can restore to them their quality of life, then it is worth it,” Roberts said. “Th e risk is so mini-mal to the donor.”

Within six months, Krieger will probably go on dialysis — which requires being hooked up to a machine that fi lters his blood — for about three hours, three times a week.

Th e members of the Stony Brook Fire Department have been supportive of their brother fi reman since learning of his ailment in 2005 when Krieger was informed of his condition. Chief Peter Leonard is working on a letter of appeal to all fi re companies in Suf-folk and Nassau, seeking anyone interested in donating. A person with A positive blood type would be the ideal candidate. Contact the Stony Brook fi rehouse at 751-0460.

Krieger’s wife Debbie is continuing to hope for a miracle this Christmas. “Th ese people have been amazing to us,” she said.

File photo

Gary Krieger with his fellow Stony Brook volunteer and kidney donor, Betty Mylett, in 2006.

Gary and Debbie Krieger Photo from Kriegers


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A resident of Dodge Lane in Old Field called at 8 pm Dec. 4 to report his mail-box intentionally demolished.

A complainant called at 3:50 pm Nov. 27 to report his Hyundai vandalized in the parking lot of a discount department store on Nesconset Highway in Setauket.

A complainant called at 8:30 pm Dec. 4 to report his vehicle vandalized sometime over the prior week. Unknown subjects used BB guns to dam-age the windows and exterior while the car was parked on Seca-togue Lane in Setauket.

Suspicious activityA resident of Crane

Neck Road in Old Field called at 11:16 am Dec. 6 to report an unknown male acting sus-piciously in a black pickup truck with dealer plates that he was driving around the neighborhood.

Subjects of concernA resident of Old Town Road in Se-

tauket called at 6 pm Dec. 4 to report being concerned about the activity and welfare of an adult female, possibly homeless, possibly on drugs and hang-ing out in nearby woods.

A manager of a department store on Pond Path in Setauket called at 9:36 am Nov. 29 to report needing police as-sistance with an unknown male found sleeping inside a shopping cart.

BurglaryA resident of Christian Avenue in Se-

tauket called at 11:40 pm Dec. 4 to report a possible burglary in progress. Police stated no arrests resulted from this incident.

No hunting zoneA resident of Conscience Bay Road in

Setauket called at 3 pm Dec. 7 to report an ongoing problem with illegal hunting in the area adjacent to his property.

Th ree Villagers party loudA resident of Beech Lane in Stony

Brook called at 12:39 pm Dec. 2 to report being disturbed by the very loud music

coming from a party at a nearby house.A resident of Sanford Lane in Stony

Brook called at 2:44 am Dec. 3 to report three problems related to a neighborhood party still in progress, namely, “loud peo-ple, loud music and intoxicated females.”

Just use the doorbellA resident of Lubber Street in Se-

tauket called at 11:50 pm Dec. 3 to report an unknown male screaming at the front door and the complainant was afraid he

was trying to breakinto the house. Policeresponded to the sceneand soon the situationwas resolved.

Locked and occupied

A complainant called at 12:42 pm

Dec. 1 from a location on Route 25A in Setauket to request police assistance in opening the door of a locked vehicle with the keys and the caller’s four-year-old daughter inside. Police responded and resolved the situation.

ArrestsA 22-year-old male living on Tulip

Hall Road in Setauket was arrested Dec. 5 aft er being stopped by police on Veter-ans Memorial Highway in Central Islip and charged with operating a motor ve-hicle while intoxicated. Police stated this was the defendant’s fi rst off ense.

A 53-year-old male living on Ham-mond Road in Setauket was arrested Dec. 4 at a discount department store on Nesconset Highway in Setauket and charged with petit larceny. Police alleged the defendant was caught shoplift ing merchandise including baby formula and clothing.

A 20-year-old male living on Over-look Road in Mount Sinai was arrested Dec. 4 while being treated for injuries at Stony Brook University Hospital and charged with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. Police stated the de-fendant crashed his Toyota while travel-ing southbound on County Route 21 in Rocky Point and was transported to the hospital. According to police reports this was the defendant fi rst off ense.

Vandals, get out of Dodge

The VILLAGE TIMES HERALD (USPS 365-950) 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 $39 annually. Leah S. Dunaief, Publisher. POSTMASTER: Send change of address to PO Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733.

News

Leisure Arts & Lifestyles

Classifi edsSection C

Section B

Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A23Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A22Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A22, A17

Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A19People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A18Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A21

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Local doctor, researchers aid soldiers nationwideSetauket MD leads team uncovering airborne dangers in Middle EastBY ELANA [email protected]

Before 2004, the people who visited Dr. Anthony Szema’s al-lergy clinic at the Northport Veterans Aff airs Medical Center were typically 80-year-old men. But suddenly, Dr. Szema said, “there were all these 18-year-old boys and girls there. Kids.”

Veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have com-plained to Dr. Szema, 45, of shortness of breath, chest pain and diffi culty exer-cising. Th is led Dr. Szema, the chief of allergy at NVAMC, along with a team of residents and medical students, to research the num-ber of soldiers who were deployed to the Middle East and now have pulmonary problems.

Th e team sift ed through med-ical fi les and found the number of veterans who were symp-tomatic enough to receive a spi-rometry test, which measures volume and air fl ow, was signifi -cantly higher for those who were deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan compared to those who re-mained stateside. Walid Salihi, a resident on Dr. Szema’s team, said two percent of the veterans registered at NVAMC who re-mained stateside received a spi-rometry test, while the same test was given to 11 percent of people who had served overseas.

Th e statistics do not include soldiers who had symptoms such as shortness of breath but were not tested, which could mean the real percentage is greater. “What is it about being in Iraq and Afghanistan that makes the numbers higher?” Dr. Szema asked.

Th e lung problems could have a number of diff erent causes. Dr. Szema, who lives in East Se-tauket and is a faculty member at the Stony Brook University

School of Medicine, listed sandstorms, smoke from bombs, regional allergens and burn pits as possible culprits.

Th e sandstorms could create prob-lems because of the particles in the dust. Capt. Mark Lyles,

chair of medical sciences and biotechnology at the U.S. Naval War College, found in the grains silicates of metals such as alumi-num, zinc, copper, nickel, iron, lead and more. Th e dust also contained fungi and bacteria, which, with the metals, would get into soldiers’ eyes, food and skin. It’s an even bigger problem because “in those temperatures and in that dry humidity, most people breathe through their mouth,” Lyles said. Th e protec-tants of the nose, such as nasal hairs, are bypassed and the par-ticles have “a direct shot into the lung and mouth.” Th ese metals

and viruses could have an eff ect not just on the respiratory sys-tem, but on the nervous system as well.

Burn pits could also be at the root of the pulmonary problem because of what the soldiers inhale. A burn pit is where the military throws waste such as plastics, other garbage and even medical waste, such as body parts. Th e materials are soaked in jet fuel and ignited. Th e burned fuel and garbage releas-es toxins that nearby soldiers breathe. “Should you be inhal-ing all this stuff ?” Dr. Szema said. “Th e answer is no.”

Congressman Tim Bishop (D-Southampton), aft er looking into the health eff ects of burn pits on the troops, worked on legislation since signed into law that prohibits the use of them, unless the secretary of defense says no other alternatives, such as incinerators, exist.

“One of the sad realities of war is that when our troops venture off our bas-es, they are exposed to peril,” but they should not face that on their own bases, Bishop said. One of the next steps for the congress-man is to make exposure to burn pits a presumptive cause of certain illnesses that are known to be related. “We have an ob-

ligation to those who serve our country. We have an obligation to care for them.”

But for now, Dr. Szema said, with his research, the causes of the veterans’ pulmonary is-sues are speculative. “We only showed that the doctors are say-

ing you have asth-ma.” Tests on these symptomatic veter-ans from Iraq and Afghanistan showed fewer than half of them had conditions that were reversible with an inhaler. Th is points to an airway obstruction or lung injury, Dr. Szema said.

Th e next step in the research, fourth-year medi-cal student Khalil Savary said, is to prove the pulmonary prob-lems of these veterans can be linked to a specifi c set of circum-

stances. Th e goal is to be able “to say these Americans are coming back from this specifi c location and they are having this eff ect,” Savary, who is on Dr. Szema’s re-search team, said, and the eff ect is not happening anywhere else.

In order to better study the eff ects of burn pits, sandstorms and other factors on the health of soldiers in Iraq and Afghani-stan, Dr. Szema would like to see more standardized testing. Periodically while overseas and when troops return home, the doctor said, he wants them to receive spirometry and a two-mile run test to measure lung function.

As far as prevention goes, for the military as well as all others, Dr. Szema said it is important to stay away from things that burn, including marshmallow roasts, he joked. Humans are meant to inhale “21 percent oxygen, 79 percent nitrogen and that’s it.”

‘What is it about Iraq and Afghanistan that makes the numbers higher?’

— DR. ANTHONY SZEMA

Photo by Elana Glowatz

Walid Salihi, left, and Dr. Anthony Szema from Stony Brook University Medical Center and the Northport VA Medical Center.

‘We have an obligation to those who serve our country. We have an obligation to care for them’

— CONGRESSMAN TIM BISHOP


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Refurbished cars will change lives of 10 veteransBY RACHEL [email protected]

Former Centereach VFW post commander Andrew Chapman served in the Navy from 1968 to 1979 and visits the VA hospital in Northport two or three times a week, relying on his old, beat-up truck to get him where he needs to go.

But as of Saturday, Nov. 13, “Now I have a car to get me there,” with confi dence, the re-tired Centereach resident said.

Chapman is one of 10 local veterans who received a newly refurbished vehicle courtesy of the Recycled Rides program.

Coordinated by VFW State Inspector Dennis Sullivan, the recent event brought together insurance companies, auto body shops and the Centereach VFW post to give out keys for 10 vehi-cles to deserving vets at no cost to them. Insurance companies donated lightly damaged vehicles to auto body shops who repaired the vehicles and turned them over to the VFW to disperse to needy veterans, Sullivan said.

Th e 10 veterans to receive a vehicle, along with a $25 gas card, are: Chap-man, James Feltman of Smithtown, Paul Ferguson of Selden, Brandon Figueroa of Patchogue, Henry Sipla of Rocky Point, Robert Wood of Farmingville, Michael Chernetsky of Coram, Edmund Raiola of Lake Grove, Bob Romano of Babylon and Frank Miller of Lindenhurst.

All 10 men were chosen by a fi ve-per-son VFW panel.

“We have a criteria we go by: the neediest person fi rst,” Sullivan said. “We go by how much they make and they have to have a clean driving record and have to be a veteran.”

Ferguson, a veteran who served throughout Europe from 1977 to 1990, was one of those recipients who said the vehicle will make a big diff erence in his daily life.

“I’m glad to do what I had to do for the Army,” Ferguson said. But his need for rides to and from the VA hospital in Northport several times a week has been a burden both on himself and on those who give him a lift .

“It’s a hassle,” he said.Figueroa served a tour in Afghanistan

during 2008 and since his return to the U.S. has had an unreliable car that has broken down on the way to the VA hospi-tal, which he frequents four or fi ve times a week.

“Just knowing I have a vehicle I can rely on so I can leave New York, go on vacation, drive down to visit friends and be able to have a life,” makes a diff erence, Figueroa said. With his current car he can barely get out of Patchogue, he said.

But all that will change now that he has a reliable, fairly new car courtesy of VFW and its sponsors.

“It’s such an amazing program,” he said.

Kicking off the Recycled Rides pro-gram, the VFW gave away six cars last spring, Sullivan said, and he hopes to continue the program and give away cars every six months, saying support for veterans is imperative to their post-service success.

“We didn’t have that [help] coming back from Vietnam so we try to give back,” Sullivan said, himself a Vietnam veteran. “Th ese guys coming back really have nothing.”

Sullivan, with the help of the many people involved, is already trying to get the next batch started, hoping to give away up to 15 cars.

“As long as we keep on getting the cars we keep on going,” Sullivan said. “We make a lot of people happy.”

The gift of wheels

Photo by Rachel Shapiro

Donated cars await their new owners in the Centereach VFW parking lot last month.

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113977


©113314

Louis J. MarcocciaLouis J. MarcocciaBrookhaven Town Receiver Of TaxesBrookhaven Town Receiver Of Taxes

OneOne Independence Hill, Farmingville, NY 11738 631-451-9009

TO THE TAXPAYERS AND INHABITANTS OF THE TOWN OF

BROOKHAVEN, TAKE NOTICE: Louis J. Marcoccia, Receiver of Taxes, in and

for the said Town, has received the tax and assessment rolls and warrant for the

2010/2011 Tax Levy and said taxes and assessments therein may be paid to the

Receiver of Taxes at his office, One Independence Hill, Suite 110, Farmingville, New

York 11738-2149, during the following extended hours:

Saturday, January 8th

9am – 3pm

Monday, January 10th

8am – 8pm

Regular office hours will be 9:00am to 4:30pm Monday thru Friday

Please Note:The Tax Office Will Be Open 9am to 12:00pm Thursday December 23rd

and Will Be Closed Friday December 24, 2010

&

The Tax Office Will Be Open 9am to 12:00pm Thursday December 30th

and Will Be Closed Friday December 31, 2010

FIRST PAYMENT: Payable by January 10th, 2011 without penalty. First and

second payments may be paid at the same time prior to January 10th

, 2011

SECOND PAYMENT: Payable by May 31st, 2011 without penalty.

After May 31st, 2011, all bills must be paid to the County Treasurer:

Hon. Angie Carpenter Riverhead County Center

330 Center Drive

Riverhead, New York 11901-3311

631-852-3000

_____________________________________

LOUIS J. MARCOCCIA

BROOKHAVEN TOWN RECEIVER OF TAXES [email protected]

Official Tax Notice

108378

SPECIAL SAVINGS WHEN YOU SHOP LOCALLY ON:

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BY ELANA [email protected]

Lindsay Seppala could be an attorney, a judge or a clerk, but enjoys being a jury foreperson because she likes taking the lead during a deliberation.

Th e senior at Longwood High School said the Brookhaven Youth Court jury’s main responsibility is to ensure the defen-dants are redirected to a path of doing the right things, and the foreperson “comes up with ideas and recommends things.” But she feels all the roles in the Youth Court are important because “we have some of the kids’ futures in our hands.”

Seppala is one of many high school stu-dents who donate their time to the Youth Court, which aims to rehabilitate young off enders, not punish them. Th e local probation departments refer to the court minors under the age of 16 who have committed misdemeanors such as shop-lift ing and criminal trespassing. Th ese off enders are given the opportunity to be judged and sentenced by attorneys, clerks, judges and juries of their volunteering peers, an alternative to “going to family court where there’s the scary adults,” said Emily La Spisa, a freshman Youth Court trainee at William Floyd High School.

Th e defendants referred to Youth Court benefi t from this because “adults don’t really understand kids these days,” Deborah O’Brien, also a freshman trainee at William Floyd High School said. “Us being kids, we factor in peer pressure and stuff like that.”

Th is process also makes the defendants more comfortable, Annalise Sconzo, a senior at Central Moriches High School and a member of the Youth Court said, because the people in charge can relate to their situation.

“Th ey’ve been where you are, they know you a little better,” she said.

Janet Wohlars, the program coordina-tor, said Youth Court hearings run much like other trials, but the defendants must admit their guilt in order to be sentenced there instead of in family court. Student attorneys then gather information about

the defendant’s personal life and his or her reasons for committing the crime.

Aft er the prosecution and defense ar-gue in the courtroom which penalty they feel is fair, the jury makes the fi nal deci-sion. Sanctions the young jury can im-pose include up to 35 hours of commu-nity service, an apology letter, counseling or a jail tour. Th ere is also room to be cre-ative. When deciding where the off ender will perform community service, Seppala said if the minor is artistic and admitted to graffi ti, “we can suggest a charity that has painting.”

Students are recruited to volunteer for the Youth Court in their high schools and must complete 12 weeks of training.

“I always tell the students up front,” Wohlars said, “it’s a big commitment on your part and on your parents’ part.” Roughly 50 of the volunteers make it to the end and are inducted as Youth Court members.

During weekly training sessions, the students meet attorneys and local offi -cials, learn about court proceedings and take a tour of the Riverhead jail. Wohlars said the point of the tour is to “talk about jail, and what it’s like in there, and how some of the people come to be there and why these kids wouldn’t want to be there.”

For the students who complete the training, the Youth Court is just as posi-tive an experience as it is for the off enders who have the opportunity to have a hear-ing there. Sconzo said she enjoys helping people her age get back on the right track, but on top of that, the program has made her a better public speaker. Before joining Youth Court, “I had trouble getting up in front of the class,” she said. “I’ve grown up a lot through this program.”

Seppala said participating in the court has changed her perspective on things.

“Th is kind of opened my eyes to the kind of lives other people are living,” she said. “Some kids have it worse off than others and you’re kind of oblivious to it until you go out and experience it.”

For questions or more information email [email protected].

Justice in the hands of high school students


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Dr. Wong and his highly skilled staff offer many facial rejuvenation options including cosmetic botox, dermal fillers and blepharoplasty/eyelid lifts. Cosmetic botox is a non surgical treatment that can reduce or eliminate wrinkles on the face and neck, including forehead lines, frown lines between the brows, and crows feet around the eyes. Botox can also be used to perform a non surgical brow lift. Its effects typically last between 3 and 6 months. Dermal fillers produce a soft, natural, long lasting effect, restoring fullness and can add contour to the face through cheek augmentation. Dermal fillers are a safe, non surgical procedure also used to fill in the lines between the nose and the mouth, to fill in frown lines, diminish scars and renew fullness to the lips. Results are seen immediately. Eyelid surgery (Blepharoplasty) is one of the three most performed cosmetic procedures on both women and men today. This procedure removes the excess fat and skin from the upper and lower eyelids providing a younger appearance and firmer eye area. Are you unhappy with your appearance? Interested in discussing the improvements you may desire? Please call 631-828-7100 to arrange for your free consultation with Dr. Wong.

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Cheering up kids at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital BY ARLENE [email protected]

Perhaps the moral of a new children’s book is that elephants shouldn’t be riding bicycles aft er all. Still, when Alice the El-ephant slips off her two-wheeler and, tsk, tsk, breaks her tusk, she learns an invalu-able lesson: Don’t give up hope.

In “Friend on the Mend,” a charming, colorful 80-page children’s fi ction and ac-tivity book published by Splashes of Hope, Alice’s hospital stay turns out to be a lot better than she envisioned, thanks to the help of Vincent Van Monkey, an emer-gency technician/artist, who paints a spe-cial scene on a hospital wall; and a ladybug, who paints on her hand “because we have an artist who goes every week to the Pedi-atric Hematology-Oncology Unit at Stony Brook and paints little scenes on children’s hands as they get chemo,” said Heather Buggée, executive director and founder of Splashes of Hope.

Yet “Friend on the Mend” is really the story of Splashes of Hope, the 15-year-old organization that has painted murals on walls and ceilings of countless medical and social service centers to help brighten the spirits of patients undergoing treatment.

In the hospital, Alice feels isolated from everyday life, said Richard Liebowitz, a volunteer for the organization. “Some of

her friends paint murals for her to remind her of what’s outside of the hospital walls. Th at’s exactly what we do at Splashes of Hope,” Liebowitz said.

As Alice heals in the hospital, Vincent paints a mural depicting the elephant rid-ing her bicycle, Buggée said: “It helps her realize that she can get back on. And it gives her hope for a better day.”

Written by Heather Buggée and Diana Fogarty, ”Friend on the Mend” is diff erent from the coloring books Splashes has creat-ed in the past. Working closely with medi-cal staff at the various facilities, Splashes artists have geared previous books to help patients get through their treatments, Bug-gée said.

“Th is is a new venture that describes our mission and it’s bit more substantial,” she said. “For a child in the hospital who doesn’t have a parent with them, they could use and play with it. It comes with a Vin-cent Van Monkey puppet and crayons.”

At Sunday’s book launch and open house at Coindre Hall, Splashes of Hope’s headquarters overlooking the Long Island Sound, 100 artist volunteers sold their paintings, “Friend on the Mend” books and gift bags. Robert Bigler, a board trustee of Splashes of Hope, purchased 50 books to donate to hospitals in his native New Mexi-co. In all, 350 books were sold — half to the

kids in attendance, the rest to be donated to kids in treatment.

Th e aft ernoon’s festivities raised $2,000, which will help pay for Splashes of Hope’s

Christmas distribution of books to kids at 10 separate facilities in the area, including Stony Brook Children’s Cancer Center and Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan.

Splashes makes season bright with coloring book

Color this, kids!Vincent Van Monkey, a character from ‘Friend on the Mend’.


113971

BY RACHEL [email protected]

Creating an exhibit of his proudest moments, Suff olk County Executive Steve Levy outlined his 2010 accomplishments at a sit-down lunch with the media on Monday.

Citing a tax freeze, economic development, improved public safety,

antidrug initiatives and the development of a pur-chasing consortium, Levy called the meeting to dis-play his achievements.

“In the day-in, day-out of governing, no year is re-ally an easy year, but 2010 was especially challenging in addressing the local im-pact of a sluggish national economy,” Levy said in

a later release. “Despite these challenges, I was able to present my seventh con-secutive budget that freez-es residents’ General Fund property taxes, as well as yet another Police District tax freeze this year.”

While Levy was busy patting himself on the back, Presiding Offi cer Bill Lindsay (D-Holbrook)

Levy highlights 2010 achievements at luncheonPresiding Offi cer Lindsay: Legislature deserves credit

took the opportunity to clarify who he thinks is re-sponsible for many accom-plishments the county has seen this year.

“What he fails to say is there’s two branches of government in Suff olk County,” Lindsay told TBR Newspapers. “For him to take credit for seven years’ tax freezes is inappropri-ate, he couldn’t do it with-out the Legislature.”

It’s the Legislature which approved a budget without a general fund tax increase and police tax increase for 2011, Lindsay said.

“He’s taking credit for it, all I’m saying is it takes two branches of govern-ment to do that,” the pre-siding offi cer said.

Among the achieve-ments Levy lauded as his own was an 8 percent de-crease in crime over 2009 and hiring 220 new police offi cers by fall 2011.

“Despite high profi le incidents, many of which have been spurred by gang-related activity, vio-lent crime con-tinues to decline under my ad-ministration and the leadership of Police Commis-sioner Dormer,” Levy said.

Levy said hir-ing 220 cops is part of his 2011 budget but a pro-posed class of 60 offi cers for March of 2011 was delayed by the Legislature over Levy’s veto.

Again, the county exec-utive is taking credit where he doesn’t deserve it, Lind-say said.

In 2010 Levy vetoed the part of the budget that called for hiring 200 new offi cers, the Legislature overturned the veto and Levy hired 90 cops in June, Lindsay said.

Th e county executive hired another 70 in the end of November, making 160 new offi cers.

“For him to claim that this is his idea when we’re the ones who fought for the 200 last year,” is wrong, the presiding offi cer said.

“Th ese aren’t new of-fi cers, these were not new initiatives,” Lindsay said. “He’s claiming it as his plan now,” Lindsay said.

Th e presiding offi cer said the class of 60 offi cers was delayed from March to September because summer, with its high rate of crime, is a bad time to take police off the streets to train in the academy.

While Levy has taken credit for making Suf-folk County a job-friendly place, saying it was his ini-tiatives that has kept Can-on U.S.A. from moving its Melville headquarters out of state, Lindsay has an-other perspective.

“It’s ironic that he di-rected 250 layoff notices

last week and then he talks about attracting and retaining jobs in Suff olk County,” Lind-say said. Th e pre-siding offi cer was referring to the

laid-off employees at the county-run John J. Foley Skilled Nursing Facility in Yaphank.

Levy also noted the county’s success with the Long Island Purchasing Council, what he describes as a “multi-jurisdictional cooperative which in-cludes Nassau County that will save taxpayers money through the issuance of bids for commonly pur-chased commodities.”

“Th e LIPC will enable us to present to the mar-ketplace large volumes and thus provide economies of scale to participants,” Levy said.

Th e presiding offi cer couldn’t fi nd fault with that accomplishment, say-ing although he doesn’t know much about the council, as it is a non-legis-lative initiative, he gives it the thumbs-up.

“It could only be a good thing,” Lindsay said.

File photo

County Executive Steve LevyFile photo

President Offi cer Bill Lindsay

‘… he directed 250 layoff notices last week …’ — BILL LINDSAY


411 Old Town Rd., East Setauket, NY 11733

631–473–0082 www.bryantfh .com

Christmas in 1958 with Grandpa Curtis, Little Herbie, Freddy & Artie, Jr.

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We reserve the right to limit quantities to one can or package of sale items. Items offered for sale are not available in case lots. Not responsible for typographical errors. Some pictures in this circular are for design purposes & do not necessarily represent items on sale. Buy One Get One Free Items Available At Half Price Except For Random Weight Items. Deli, Seafood, Bakery, Pharmacy and Floral Items Not Available In All Stores.

Gift Cards, Great Ideas for Holiday & Corporate Gift Giving

These are only a few of the great gift cards we have available for sale at King Kullen stores. Producct not available in all stores. See cards fordetails, fees, terms and conditions, which may vary. All traademarks are property of their respective owners and are used with their permission.

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$25$25A Natural and Organic Supermarket

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*Price of Item Not Included in Minimum Purchase Requirement for any PurchaseRequirement Promotions. Limit 2 per shopping order. The additional purchase is after all

coupons, gift card purchase, discounts, sales tax & excludes prescription purchase.

499Ea. 89¢

Ea.

179Ea.

Smithfield Spiral Smoked HamLimit 1 (Additional will scan at $1.99 lb.)

Discount Reflected At Register

Sorrento MozzarellaWhole Milk or Part Skim16 oz. - Limit 2

Red Pack TomatoesAll Varieties28-29 oz. canLimit 8

Ronzoni Lasagna, Manicotti orJumbo Shells8-12 oz. box - Limit 5

Clementines 5 lb. boxImported

89¢Ea.

SALE STARTS FRIDAY, DEC. 17th

1000KING KULLEN VALUE $AVINGS CERTIFICATE

CERTIFICATE VALID ONLY AT KING KULLEN STORES. Cannot be combinedwith any other King Kullen discount offer. One certificate per shoppingfamily. Must present this certificate at time of single purchase of $75 ormore. $75 total before beer, cigarettes, btl. dep., tax, gift cards, pharmacyand after manufacturers’ coupons. No certificates will be issued at store.Certificate valid 12/17/10 through 12/24/10. CERTIFICATE MUST BEPRESENTED AT TIME OF PURCHASE.

CERTIFICATE VALID ONLY AT KING KULLEN STORES.

YOUR PURCHASE OF $75 OR MORE1000

OFF

FFri.Dec. 17

Sat.Dec. 18

Sun.Dec. 19

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ALL STORES OPEN UNTIL 7PM ON CHRISTMAS EVE DEC. 24TH

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PEOPLE

Photo provided by Jennifer Kuefner, Syntax

‘Phantom’ strikes a chordIn a production that rivaled that of the Broadway original, Ward Melville High School

became one of the fi rst high schools to perform a fully-staged version of “Th e Phantom of the Opera” in early December.

Under the direction of Linda Contino, the 60 cast members worked tirelessly since the start of school to ensure that this year’s production was fl awless and inspiring for audienc-es. Th e production, which ran for three evening performances, featured Leanne Contino as Christine, Chris Sarling as Raoul and Ryan Cooper as the Phantom. Th e talented pit orchestra, comprised of 80 members, was directed by Phil Preddice. Preddice also helped guide the set design, which was organized by a 25-member crew.

Announcement submissionTo send an obituary or People item for publication:

Email items to [email protected]. Send pictures as jpeg attachments.


TIMES BEACON RECORD NEWSPAPERS185 Route 25A • PO Box 707 • Setauket, NY 11733

(631) 751–7744 • www.northshoreofl ongisland.com

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Please Share With Us

Your cute, lovable and unusual pets are your pride and joy. How about sharing them with other TBR Newspapers readers? Send us your best photos (one per submission, please) for publication in our Love My Pet photo spread on Jan. 6, 2011. Email your submissions to [email protected] or mail them to P.O. Box 707, East Setauket, NY 11733 for receipt no later than Dec. 21. Please include your name, your pet’s name and hometown. Then check out the Jan. 6 issue to compare your furry family members with your neighbors’.

Your Community… Your News… Your Life

Love your pet? Show ‘em off !

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In the opening scenes of “Faster,” The Rock’s latest action f lick, Dwayne Johnson embodies an ex-con con-sumed by the desire for revenge. Like some kind of human Terminator, com-plete with a vetted hit list — no need here to vandalize the white pages — Rock’s character pur-sues everyone involved in the killing of his bankrobber brother.

But “Faster” unreels slower and slower, while Johnson plays the vengeance-seeking ex-con like a cyborg assassin powered by a cellphone battery. His character is an expert wheelman and there are plenty of tire-smoking, engine-revving scenes with The Rock behind the wheel. But when the driver, as his character is known, has to move on foot, his hulking upper body totters on legs as spry as bowl-ing pins. A gig on “Dancing with the Stars” would not appear to be in John-son’s future.

To the detriment of entertainment, this dark tale of all-consuming re-venge is diluted with the syrupy half-and-half of cartoon chic in the persons of a Hollywood-style hitman and his trophy blonde girlfriend, a gunman’s groupie if ever there was one.

That muddled subplot pulls in ideas from wherever, as if screenwrit-ers Tony and Joe Gayton found them-selves drowning in denouement and were grasping for plotlines like they were lifelines. The hired killer has a shrink, which must be de rigueur by now. This hired killer also pops the question, not so much to make an honest honey out of his hottie but apparently to try on a bit of official domesticity. Soon after a high-powered honey-moon, marked by full metal jackets and rico-chets instead of cham-pagne and lingerie, the newlyweds go from smooth bore bliss to nasty recoil.

He wants to challenge himself by going up against the driver. She wants him to hang around the house, a stay-at-home murderer, especially since the precocious geek is already super rich and only charges one buck per whack. It’s all a joke, of course, and it has all been seen before, when it might have been witty. But clearly it’s just not fun-ny anymore.

The best part of “Faster” is watching Billy Bob Thornton’s f lawed detective

bring his demons to the office and the crime scenes as he tries to resolve one last case before he can retire with pen-sion and bennies.

Thornton’s cop is partnered with Carla Gugino’s Detective Cicero. Gugino, who played TV’s Karen Sisco,

is underused here, a big time blunder. Gugino is given neither the screen exposure nor the material she has proved herself worthy of.

Th ere is one plot twist with potential here but it remains largely unreal-ized. One of the driver’s targets has remade his

life as a revivalist preacher. Th e driver listens to the man’s sermons on the car radio even as he is homing in on the preacher in the deserts of the southwest.

But the showdown that awaits in that revivalist tent is characterized more by entropy than the high energy anticipated when I laid out my $8.50 for the ticket.

Inside that tent, The Rock’s char-acter sits on a folding chair, evidently psychologically exhausted from the travails of his terror spree and some poorly portrayed moral awakening. Near its climax by now, the movie has led nowhere. While The Rock strains in wearied stasis to emote any kind of arc for his character, all we see is the “long dark road of revenge” the driver had warned the son of one of his vic-tims not to pursue.

Despite scenes that screech and smoke with plenty of high-speed yet mundane motor stunts, “Faster,” directed by George Till-man Jr., gets stuck in park. In between the brutal killings that de-liver less visual impact than Wyle E. Coyote’s antics in a similar set-ting, are quiet scenes intended to create sym-pathy for a coldblooded killer who has made re-

venge his religion. Those scenes fail for lack of acting and the movie grinds ever slower to its unimaginative halt.

There is perhaps only one ending that could save “Faster” and The Rock from the shlockpile — and incredibly at one point it appears as if the film-makers are actually going for it. The alienation effect of that scene makes you think — for the first time since the lights went out. But not to worry, the filmmakers renege instead on a smirk-ing trope, sealing the fate of “Faster” once and for all: two thumbs down.

The Rock tosses up a brick

The best part of ‘Faster’ is watching Billy Bob Thornton’s fl awed detective bring his demons to the offi ce and the crime scenes.

In the dark BY DAVE WILLINGER

For more movie reviews search ‘current cinema’ on www.northshoreofl ongisland.com

The Current Cinema


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108370

BY FRED [email protected]

Part 2Robert Cushman Murphy’s

reaction to having a Stony Brook junior high school bear his name: “I was overcome with a fl ood of mixed emotions. I am mortally afraid of being cast in the role of a hero before the young people of this school, instead of as one of them-selves grown up, a Long Island country boy who has found his niche in the world and had at-tained a measure of success merely because what he has been doing was all in good fun.’’

His fun started when explor-ing Mount Sinai Harbor and continued as he explored the world. He was an old-time nat-uralist helping to explain and display earth’s bounty. At the

same time Murphy became our “environmental canary” warn-ing of the dangers of human activities.

In 1911 he had been chosen valedictorian of his graduating class at Brown University and as

it turns out he was a “valedictorian” for everything he did in later life. A measure of this is the fol-lowing tally: Over 500 publications, nine books, in-numerable talks, 14 expeditions to seven continents, four honorary de-grees, eight med-

als; president of the L.I. Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, Na-tional Audubon Society, Ameri-can Ornithologists’ Union and National Geographic Society; founder of the L.I. Chapter of the Nature Conservancy and Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum. Add various curator

positions at the Brooklyn and American museums of Natu-ral History for 44 years and 15 years as curator emeritus, all resulting in the most extensive ornithological collection in the

world. Geographers and biolo-gists named two mountains, three birds, a fi sh, a spider, a lizard and a louse aft er Murphy, and Suff olk County honored him by naming a pine barren

studded with ponds the Rob-ert Cushman Murphy County Park.

Th ese give no hint of how many people he inspired, or

Continued on page A20

R.C. Murphy becomes renowned environmentalist

‘I am mortally afraid of being cast in the role of a hero before the young people of this school, instead of as one of themselves grown up …’

— R.C. MURPHY

Photo by Fred Drewes

Satterly Landing and Cedar Beach in Mt. Sinai are in the distance. The chicken house and huge tulip tree were built and planted by Murphy 100 years ago, and he helped preserve the southern end of Mount Sinai Harbor 45 years ago.

But feared his legacy at Stony Brook junior high school would be as a ‘hero’


Three Village Historical Society

93 North Country Rd, Setauket, NY

Special Holiday Exhibit Hours: Sunday, Dec. 26th , 1-4 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 29th 1-4 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 2nd. 1– 4 p.m. Admission: $5/adults$3/children and TVHS members

SPIES! was made possible in part by a grant from the

New York Council for the Humanities.

Also visit our award winning exhibit:

The Sailing Circle: Nineteenth Century Seafaring Women.

How a Group of Long Island Patriots Helped George Washington Win the Revolution.

©114045

Historic 3V holiday giftsShop locally, learn our history, support not-for-profi tsBY BEVERLY [email protected]

Holiday shopping at the local stores that help give our historic communi-ties a sense of place just makes good sense. The upcoming season is also a good time to purchase a few of the wonderful holiday gifts and books about the local area as Christmas and holiday gifts and to pay a relaxing visit to a few local not-for-profit shops that deserve our special support.

Three Village Historical Society History Center, 93 North Country Road, Setauket. The society’s gift shop has recently been expanded to comple-ment the new exhibit “SPIES! How a Group of Long Island Patriots Helped George Washington Win the Revolu-tion.” There you will find gifts includ-ing many books, booklets and pam-phlets on local history. While there visit the world-class maritime exhibit, “The Sailing Circle.” The History Cen-ter is open Monday through Friday 10 am to 3 pm and Sunday from 1 to 4 pm.

Gallery North, 90 North Country Road, Setauket is diagonally across the street from the History Center. It is very easy to park at one and walk

across the street to the other. The en-tire gallery is a gift shop with many wonderful paintings and gift pieces by local artists for sale. The current ex-hibit, “Holiday Art,” an annual exhibi-tion of special gifts by selected artists and craftspeople, is on display through Dec. 30. The gift shop has many items by various craftspeople who exhib-ited at the Gallery North Outdoor Art Show, including award-winning crafts and jewelry. The gifts for children are very appealing and handmade in many cases. Gallery North is open Tuesday though Saturday 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday noon to 5 pm. 751-2676.

St. James General Store, 516 Moriches Road in St. James. Not tech-nically a not-for-profit, it is run for the benefit of Suffolk County residents through the County Parks, as a part of Historical Services. Here are two f loors of 19th and 20th century goods and lots of homemade goodies. They have an extensive collection of old-style candies. On the second f loor are books on Long Island covering many local communities, as well as lots of wonderful children’s books. The back room has an extensive collection of

HISTORY CLOSE AT HAND

Collection of Beverly Tyler

Main Street, Stony Brook looking north circa 1880. A number of the books off ered include this and other historic photographs of Setauket and Stony Brook.

ornaments, some of which are repro-ductions of antique decorations. Back on the first f loor there is a large selec-tion of toys, dolls and games for chil-dren that also harken back to the 19th century. The St. James General Store is open every day 10 am to 5 pm. In Janu-ary and February it will be closed on Mondays. 854-3740.

“Thou reader throbbest life and pride and love the same as I,

“Therefore for thee the following chants.” — Walt Whitman, “Leaves of Grass,” 1909.

Books available at the History Cen-ter that you may consider for holiday giving include:

Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring by Alexander Rose. This wonderful nonfiction book on local history provides a look at Gen. George Washington and his Long Is-land spy network. Washington’s corre-spondence, in the Library of Congress, has survived almost intact and includes 120 to 140 letters back and forth with his spies “to,” as Washington wrote, “refresh their f lagging spirits.”

Redcoats and Petticoats by Kath-erine Kirkpatrick. A picture book for children based on the true story of the Setauket spy ring that operated on Long Island during the Revolutionary War. This is an excellent introduction to the Setauket Spies and to captivat-ing artwork of the community as it was during the Revolutionary War.

Upon Secrecy, by Selene Castrovilla, illustrated by Jeff Crosby and Shelley Ann Jackson. The little-known story of the most valuable contribution of Gen. Washington’s Revolutionary War Culper Spy Ring. The story takes place in July, 1780 as the French f leet ap-proached Newport, R.I. with troops and supplies. As the British prepared to attack the French, the spy ring, based in Setauket, got word to Gen. Washington. How this was accom-plished and what Washington did to prevent the British attack is detailed in this wonderfully illustrated book that will be enjoyed by children and adults.

By the Sword: A Young Man Meets War, by Selene Castrovilla, illustrated by Bill Farnsworth. This wonderfully illustrated children’s book tells the story of 22-year-old Maj. Benjamin Tallmadge of Setauket and the part he played in the August 1776 Battle of Long Island.

Walk Through History: A Guided Walking Tour of Brookhaven’s Original Settlement in Setauket. This is a full-color 28-page guide to the three-mile walking tour of the original settlement area of the Town of Brookhaven, but it is much more than just a guidebook. The 91 color photographs, taken in all four seasons between 1998 and 2005 by Beverly Tyler, along with historic pho-tographs, and images of the historic murals by Vance Locke, gives a visual clue to the beauty and special nature of this historic area.

Discover Setauket: Brookhaven’s Original Settlement, by Beverly C. Tyler. A local history book, with pho-tographs and drawings, for children of all ages. This is a book that can be used to explore, on foot or on a lawn chair in your own backyard, the area around the Setauket Village Green and Setauket Mill Pond. It covers a broad range of people and events from the Native American settlement, to the Se-tauket Spies, to William Sidney Mount.

There are lots of unusual gifts at these three gift shops. If you are buy-ing a gift for someone, you will almost certainly find something to suit every taste. There are many other wonder-ful local shops in Stony Brook Village Shopping Center, in Setauket and in the Village of Port Jefferson. Finding a special or unusual gift is not only a good idea, it supports our local busi-nesses and brings us closer together as a community. And you never know who you will run into by shopping locally.

Beverly Tyler is Three Village His-torical Society historian and author of books available at the Three Vil-lage Historical Society History Center; www.tvhs.org.


OPINIONUnwarranted attackTO THE EDITOR:

Th e attack upon Th e Village Times Herald by the author of “Endorsement fl aws” (Dec. 2) was unwar-ranted. Essentially the writer complained that your newspaper should not have used traditional criteria to measure the eff ectiveness of Congressman Tim Bishop and Assemblyman Steve Englebright when consider-ing them for endorsement.

Th e writer’s claim that “the letdown came when the paper gave its nod using criteria greatly weakened by the harsh realities of both a state and nation besieged by fi scal crises” is nonsense. Inaction is not a virtue at any time. Rather, responsibly returning our tax money so that important local community projects can be accomplished is both immediately good and a useful yardstick for determining fi tness for offi ce.

Your endorsements were correct; imaginative of-fi cials like Bishop and Englebright who can get things done despite a deteriorated economy deserve our enduring gratitude and a chance to keep on working eff ectively on our behalf.

Stephanie MitchellEast Setauket

Guard your walletsTO THE EDITOR:

I can think of only one reason that someone, or some agency, might want to measure the “carbon footprint” of some region, and that is to use it as a basis for imposing a new set of taxes upon its citizens. If the Long Island Index really wishes to perform a service that would benefi t the residents of Long Island, it should fund studies aimed at reducing our taxes, instead of trying to promote ways to impose new ones.

Th e Long Island Index seems to have bought in, hook, line and sinker, to the proposition that global warming is caused by human activity, and that global warming can be stopped or reversed if we reduce our carbon emissions, despite the fact that this has been credibly challenged by an ever-growing number of highly qualifi ed and credentialed scientists. Th e science is far from being “settled,” despite what many promi-nent commentators, most notably Al Gore and Michael Moore, would like you to believe. Th e once-revered Mann hockey stick has been totally discredited. Th e near-panic from the prediction that global warming would bring us hurricanes that would be more frequent and more severe has faded into obscurity. Th ese are but two of the many examples of popular global warming conclusions that have been revised by recent studies.

Th e fundamental fact is that the temperature of the earth has always fl uctuated, with cycles of varying durations, due to natural phenomena, including the incident radiation from the sun. We have had a Big Ice Age, and a Little Ice Age, which some scientists think has not yet ended. Most scientists agree that tempera-tures have been rising at the rate of about 1 degree Fahrenheit every 100 years, and have been doing this for many centuries: certainly since long before fossil fuels have been widely used. And, for the past 15 years, temperatures have leveled off , despite the increase in carbon dioxide, which has now risen from approxi-mately 0.028 percent at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution to its present level of around 0.038 percent.

At this time, climate science should remain an inter-esting subject for scholarly study, much like archaeol-ogy and astronomy. However, once we allow it to be taken over by outsiders, including activists, politicians, hucksters and other assorted persons (some well-mean-ing, others not so much), we have only one recourse: guard your wallets.

George AltemoseStony Brook

GOP’s real agendaTO THE EDITOR:

All year the GOP delegation has been chanting with one voice: “Do not raise taxes on any American.” So now we know what these defenders of liberty meant: they just held the nation hostage until 25 percent of all the tax savings in this $900 billion deal went to just ONE per-cent of Americans (New York Times, Dec. 8). Welcome to Mitch McConnell’s America, where the shining city on the hill is now a gated community reserved for the self-styled “job-creators.”

Where is the Tea Party on this? I suspect they are feel-ing a bit used right now. It was remarkable how quickly McConnell and Boehner tossed defi cit reduction into Boston Harbor in their haste to repay their secret money fi nanciers. And if giggling the tax code to favor the super-rich doesn’t represent a “slide towards serfdom,” what does? Perhaps these patriots should be aiming their Second Amendment muskets in a diff erent direction.

So come January, when Boehner and McConnell revert to defi cit hawk mode and sternly intone, “We mustn’t pass this defi cit on to our children and grand-children,” we now know what they really mean: that they will make certain this giveaway gets paid for by other people’s children and grandchildren. Look to the repeal of the “death tax” to be the next sacred GOP crusade.

John FogartyStony Brook

Indefensible signTO THE EDITOR:

A big thank you to the author of “Pacifi st retort” (Dec. 9), responding to the Dec. 2 letter that defended the obscene sign sported on Saturdays by the North Country Patriots in Setauket. It depicts Nazi camp inmates and states that ‘pacifi sm’ is responsible for the Holocaust — a striking illustration of the right-wing knack for twisting facts and suggesting guilt by made-up associations.

To fact-twisting: the Dec. 2 writer can rest assured that there is no controversy among respectable histori-ans that Hitler’s success is not attributable to ‘pacifi sm’ anywhere but to militarism, corporate funding, eco-nomic depression, nationalism and propaganda — plus a long history of aggressive anti-Semitism in Central Europe. As for Chamberlain and Roosevelt, whom the writer ‘accuses’ of pacifi sm, how about this alternative explanation: American and European leaders did not succumb to pacifi sm but acted from calculated self-interest, not minding Nazism as much as they minded communism.

To the innuendos: the same letter writer follows a contemporary strategy of evangelists in denouncing “Social Darwinism” — thus evoking evolution theory — as the twin evil of pacifi sm. True enough, some Nazi ideologues sympathized with this British-born theory divulgated by Spencer. Yet this was never pivotal to Na-zism as such. Problem was, Social Darwinism aimed at justifying impoverishment and destitution in capital-ist society by analogy with animal mechanisms. Race wasn’t the issue: winning and losing in the economic rat race was. Hitlerism instead claimed superiority for Germans as such, rich, poor and in-between — not un-like other nations who claim God’s blessing, ‘historical destiny’ or ‘exceptionalism.’ (While Darwin was thor-oughly disgusted by Spencer’s misuse of his science, the most trenchant critic of Spencerism was Karl Marx: the letter writer may want to look him up.)

Blaming pacifi sm for genocide while crediting mili-tarism with spreading freedom are of course unsur-prising ‘arguments’ coming as they do from a Saturday wingding of federal Medicare recipients clamoring for the elimination of federally guaranteed health care; protesting against a U.S. ‘invasion’ by indigent foreign-

ers lured by U.S. businesses; or blaming the IRS for the recession engineered by hedge funds and corporations. One may as well call military occupation a ‘libera-tion,’ pillage the ‘spread of democracy,’ war criminality ‘leadership,’ lobbies and contractors ‘government.’ But … wait! Our Patriots actually do call them that!

I, for one, am immensely grateful for the regular reminder by the North Country Peace Group, every Saturday in Setauket, that the fl icker of reason is still alive in murky times.

Allegra de Laurentiis SBU Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy

SBU Faculty Director, College of Global Studies

The speech Obama should make

I requested the networks provide this time so that I might talk directly to you, the American people. Our country has many critical decisions to make; on health care, our fragile economy, and global climate, among others.

Tonight I want to talk to you about the most serious decision our government can ever make. One dealing with life and death. Of course I’m referring to war.

Few took issue with our decision to eliminate al Qaeda from Afghanistan. Th ey were the people who tore down two towers fi lled with innocent people. I believe that rational people would agree there are wars which must be fought. Likewise, there are wars which must not be fought.

As your president, I, with my advisors and the mili-tary, must decide which of those two conclusions must be reached regarding the war in Afghanistan.

Aft er eight years of pursuing and eliminating most of al Qaeda, the question is: what next? Have we achieved our objective? Are we clear about what our objective even is? As death tolls are increasing, do we go on as we are for fi ve more years? Ten more years? Or, do we bring our military people home, and let the Afghanis recon-struct their own country?

So, as we decide whether this is a war we must end, or a war we must fi ght, I want to let the American people know one thing I will not do.

Should we conclude this is a war which must be fought to insure our national security and, perhaps, our very survival, I will not let our military fi ght as they are now. If we must fi ght, we will fi ght to win.

We can’t claim we’re fi ghting for our survival while so few Americans feel the pain of war in their families or their wallets. Only one family in 200 has a loved one serving in the military.

Likewise, the cost of this war will be paid for by American citizens yet unborn.

Th erefore, I’ll institute an immediate draft unlike any before. I propose a lottery draft of every American between the ages of 18 and 24 regardless of sex, educa-tion, occupation, or any other criteria other than serious health issues. Th ere will be no exceptions. None. Fur-thermore, I’ll institute a war tax of 3 percent of income. Again, no exceptions.

If our country is in danger and our lives under threat, we will fi ght this war like we mean it.

Th ank you and good night.Bruce Stasiuk

Setauket

Letters ... We welcome your letters. Th ey should be no longer than 400 words and may be edited for length, libel, style and good taste. We do not publish anonymous letters. Please include a phone number for confi rmation. Email letters to [email protected] or mail them to Th e Village Times Herald, PO Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733.


The Dignity Memorial brand name is used to identify a network of licensed funeral, cremation and cemetery providers that comprise the Dignity Memorial network. The Dignity Memorial network includes affiliates of Service Corporation International, 1929 Allen Parkway, Houston, Texas, as well as many other fine independently owned and operated establishments.

107315

PEOPLE

Welcome inWith the use of a community relations grant and funding from the local BJ’s whole-

sale club, 26 sixth grade students at Nassakeag Elementary School in the Th ree Village Central School District recently completed a community service project for the Welcome Inn in Port Jeff erson. Th e donated funds were used to purchase items to create cold lunches for the visitors to the Inn, a soup kitchen that provides hot lunches to visitors on Tuesdays along with a brown bag lunch for the following day. During their project, the students created approximately 50 bag lunches. Th ey are pictured here with BJ’s commu-nity relations specialist Joe Trentadue.

Photo provided by Jennifer Kuefner, Syntax

Aubrey WilliamsAubrey W. Williams Jr., 90, of East

Setauket, formerly of Smithtown, died on Dec. 8. He was educated in England and grew up in Bermuda. He was a vet-eran of World War II and a graduate of Columbia University. He was a former member of the Smithtown Board of Education, the Lions Club and the Vil-lage of the Branch Planning Board.

Mr. Williams was the husband of the late Millicent, and the loving father of Jill Stranburg and Glen Williams. He is also survived by three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Funeral services were private.Arrangements were entrusted to

Hawkins and Davis Funeral Home of Smithtown.

Rita KatzRita Katz, 66 years old of Port Jef-

ferson Station, died on Nov. 19.Born on March 23, 1944 in New

York, she was the daughter of the late Joseph and Louisa Martinelli.

She was a member of the Club Torentino in Ridgewood, and enjoyed reading, bingo, cooking and baking — especially her pistachio cake.

Mrs. Katz is survived by her sons, David of Port Jeff erson Station and Ste-ven of Coram and three grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, and her brother Leo.

A Mass of Christian Burial was held at St. Gerard Majella R.C. Church on

Nov. 24. Interment followed in St. John Cemetery, Middle Village, Queens.

Contributions in her memory made to the Good Shepherd Hospice, 245 Old Country Road, Melville, NY 11747 would be appreciated.

Arrangements were entrusted to the Bryant Funeral Home of Setauket. Please visit www.bryantfh .com to sign the online guestbook.

Aram AthanasianAram Athanasian, 88, of East Se-

tauket, died at home on Sept. 18. Aram is survived by his wife of 52 years, June; daughter Elizabeth Kind of San Fran-cisco, Calif.; son Dr. Edward Athana-sian of Port Washington; grandchildren Joseph and Emily Kind and Christian, John and Andrew Athanasian.

Aram was a World War II Army vet-eran, serving in the Pacifi c. He lived in East Setauket for 52 years. He worked in the aerospace industry for 24 years, and as a math teacher for 20 years at Suff olk County Community College and in the Brentwood School District.

Aram was a member of the Ameri-can Legion Post in Stony Brook. He was an active member of the Caroline Church as an usher and was a member of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew.

A funeral service was held at the Caroline Church on Sept. 25, followed by burial in the churchyard. Arrange-ments were entrusted to the Casimir Funeral Home.

Obituaries


Gobetz inducted into Honor Society at Ithaca College

Brianna Gobetz, a Stony Brook resident, was inducted into Ithaca Col-lege’s Oracle Honor Society in November. Th e fall ceremony honors students who have completed their fi rst semester ranked in the top fi ve percent of their academic schools. Gobetz is an English (teaching) major in the college’s School of Humanities and Sciences.

PEOPLE

David – Flynn engagementKathryn and William David of Ames, Iowa are pleased to announce the

engagement of their daughter Laura Ann David to Greg Martin Flynn, son of Lynne and Gerald M. Flynn, Jr. of Stony Brook.

Th e future bride graduated from Ames (Iowa) High School and Colorado State University with a B.S. in mathematics and an M.S. in business administration.

She is a certifi ed public accountant and works in the tax department at Ehrhardt, Keefe, Steiner & Hottman, CPAs in Denver, Colorado.

Th e future groom graduated from Ward Melville High School and Bucknell University. He is a certifi ed public accountant and is a federal agent in Denver.

A fall 2011 wedding is planned. Th e couple will live in the Denver area.

Dancing to donate!Th e families and students at Shine Dance Studios in Setauket gathered and do-

nated food and turkeys to Arise Community Church, which used the food to feed over 175 local people for Th anksgiving.

Pictured is the beginner-intermediate ballet class with some of the donations.

Spreading holiday cheer to soldiers overseas

Looking to bring a piece of home to those soldiers serving the country during the holiday season, third grade students in Clau-dia Camassa’s class at Arrowhead Elementary School created more than 100 beautiful holiday cards as part of the Adopt-a-Platoon for Brookhaven National Lab. Th e fi nished cards were included in the holiday care packages sent to an army IED unit currently stationed in Afghanistan.

Photo provided by Syntax


projects or preservations he initiated and only suggests the range of natural history information he collected. All this came to full bloom during the yearlong whal-ing trip to the edge of Antarctica in 1912 aboard the Daisy — a half brig built in Setauket, 1872. Ellie Mathews (Murphy’s granddaughter) writes in “Ambassador to the Penguins,” “Murphy would be in search of birds, fi shes, plants, insects, mammals, mollusks, winds, clouds, temperature readings, soundings — ev-erything he could put on record, history included.”

Try to imagine Murphy’s span of ad-ventures starting with an old-time wooden whaler navigated with only a com-pass, sextant and timepiece to his 1960 Operation Deep Freeze visit to Antarctic aboard a fully equipped U.S. Navy icebreaker.

His six-foot-three slen-der frame had a natural grace. He used his study of languages and literature to refine his speech and writing. You want to see the small sub-Antarctic pe-trels (prions) when he writes: “When the air is filled with a f lock of whale-birds careening in the breeze, rising, falling, volplaning, twisting, side slip-ping above the sea, now f lashing their white breasts, now turning their al-most invisible backs — they resemble the motes in a windy sunbeam.” Mur-phy’s journal about the Shore Road spring area in Mount Sinai recalled the old days, saying, “Trout, painted turtles, and several species of frogs, and also muskrats, then occupied the swamp and it was a notable gathering place for woodcock and Wilson’s snipe (‘ jacksnipe’ of gunners).”

Marjorie Kaufman penned a New York Times article (Feb. 22, 1998) about Murphy entitled “Father of Ecology, and Long Island.” It is an appropriate title for the “country boy.” His speeches and writ-ings advocated land preservation, con-trols of biocides, ceasing the slaughter of marine mammals and birds and protec-

tion of wetlands. Murphy saw the chang-es in Mount Sinai Harbor’s bounty when the “crossover” was dredged in 1910, and no doubt witnessing the killing of sperm whales and sea lions for only their oil set the stage for his keen environmental awareness and sensitivity.

Th e tally above speaks volumes, as does being asked to serve as the grand marshal of Brown University’s gradu-ation. Before Rachel Carson died of cancer she asked that Robert Cushman Murphy be an honorary pallbearer along with Sen. Abraham Ribicoff , Interior Secretary Stewart Udall, author Edwin Way Teale, illustrator Bob Hines and Audubon Society vice president Charles Callison.

In the summer of 1971 members of the fl edgling Moraine Audubon Society gathered on the lawn of Murphy’s boyhood home on Shore Road. He pointed out the huge tulip tree, remi-nisced about the splendors of Mount Sinai Harbor and recalled the battle to get the dredge out. A Baltimore ori-ole sang out. Murphy cocked his head, smiled and con-tinued, thinking everyone

recognized the song. As he ended his talk he smiled and identifi ed the singer for those too shy to ask. Nearby the cool spring still gurgled, his chicken house did and still does store garden equip-ment and part of his harbor playground is preserved. Robert Cushman Murphy had fun sharing parts of his life and joys that day, as he seemed to have done all his life.

Author’s note: I would like to thank Edna Davis Giff en of the Miller Place - Mount Sinai Historical Society, Karen Martin of the Th ree Village Historical Society and Kristen Nyitray of Stony Brook University Special Collections for their assistance. Read “Logbook for Grace” and “Fish-Shape Paumanok” to take a fascinating whaling journey and experience Murphy’s view of “Nature and Man on Long Island.” Treat your-self for the holidays by reading “Am-bassador to the Penguins” by Eleanor Mathews.

R.C. MURPHYContinued from page A15

Photos by Fred Drewes

These three books give a sensitive view of the natural and human history of Long Island and an adventure to the bottom of the world in another time.

Th is is the 31st year Th e Ward Melville Heritage Organization has hosted its Holi-day Festival in the Stony Brook Village Center. 2010 was also the fi rst lighting of the massive new Holiday Tree recently in-stalled on the Village Green. Th e magnifi -cent 38-foot Norway spruce was donated by community members and, in particular, by the Damianos family in memory of Vir-ginia Damianos — a devoted Stony Brook resident. It is lit with 2,400 LED lights, four times the amount in previous years.

Th e festival, on Sunday, Dec. 5, includ-ed a full day of festivities with caroling throughout the day by International Baptist

Church Choir, St. James Jr. Choir, Th e Ce-lestial Singers, Gelinas Vocal Vikings, Geli-nas Wind Ensemble, Setauket Elementary School Band and the Ward Melville High School Wind Ensemble. Santa arrived in a horse-drawn carriage, then returned with great fanfare aft er dark atop a 3,000-light fl oat created by the Stony Brook Fire De-partment to throw the switch on the tree.

In addition there is a Holiday Tree com-petition. Visitors and shoppers will choose the winner. Families and community groups decorated nearly 70 holiday trees, which will be on display through Jan. 2.

Photo on page A1 by Lee Lutz

New tree, new spirit

Before Rachel Carson died of cancer she asked that Robert Cushman Murphy be an honorary pallbearer.

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Photos by John Westermann

Ward Melville head coach Lawrence Combs talks to his team, above. All-league junior guard Caysea Cohen, inset, will help lead the Pats.

Junior Vanessa Pryor, above, is tough on defense. Captains this year are (l to r) Kerrin Sells, Erica Schweigert and Kelsey DeGraw.

William Floyd is strong, and Lindenhurst is back in the league. “It’s going to be a challenge to make the playoff s but we think we’ve established a tradition and we hope to keep that tradition alive,” said Combs.

Th e Ward Melville captains are seniors Kerrin Sells, DeGraw and Schweigert. Sells is a shooting guard who has been on the varsity since ninth grade.

SPORTS

Despite graduations, Pats keep tradition aliveBY JOHN [email protected]

Ward Melville head coach Lawrence Combs has some work to do. Many top players graduated last spring, girls who were serious multisport athletes who carried the Patriots to three straight playoff appearances aft er a multi-decade drought.

Under the basket the Patriots lost Kaitlyn Carballeira, now a starter on

the Fordham soccer team, and in the backcourt Georgia Holland, Ivy League Rookie of the Year in fi eld hockey at Yale. Out on the wing the best one-on-one defender, Ashley Karpeh, also graduated.

“It’s a little revamped this year,” said Combs. “A lot of girls are going to have to pick up the slack. We lost all

that defense.”Th e Patriots will rebuild around

senior captain Kelsey DeGraw, a fi ve-year varsity player and junior Van-essa Pryor, this team’s best defender. All-league junior guard Caysea Cohen will move over to play the point while junior all-league center Meg Murtagh and hardworking senior captain Erica Schweigert patrol the paint. Key re-serves include junior Kim Geiger and sophomores Madison Gorman, Sam Scarfogliero, Maddy Wollmuth and Erin Macchione.

Aft er preseason scrimmages with Smithtown West and Kings Park, the Patriots opened their nonleague season at Copiague on Dec. 14 and fell 53-29. Th e fi rst League I game is on the road at Brentwood on Dec. 21. Th e Patriots open at home against nonleague oppo-nent Walt Whitman on Dec. 30.

“Every year we deliberately sched-ule two tough teams for our nonleague games,” Combs said. “It helps us get ready for a very tough league, the toughest league, I think.”

Combs can envision Sachem East re-maining near the top of League I with a good young lineup. “Th e league is not the same, but it is just as strong, maybe stronger.”

Brentwood has some great guards and

GIRLS HOOPS


Lessons in kindness,self-reliance

Over the last month or so, many stories in Th e Village Times Herald have highlighted the kindness of individuals in our communi-ties. Th ere are fundraisers for our neighbors suff ering from rare and serious illnesses and local residents who travel overseas to admin-ister medical care. Th ere are also a group that “stormtroops” for charity, and countless holiday fundraisers performed by our schools, busi-nesses and individuals.

During a time when it’s sometimes easy to lose hope, we can take some comfort know-ing we live in an extremely generous commu-nity, fi lled with residents who will answer the call when their neighbors — and even people around the world — need them the most.

Th ese local stories are reminiscent of an incident that occurred in the 1880s when Grover Cleveland was president. During that time, a severe drought led to ruined crops in several Texas counties. Cleveland vetoed a bill in which Congress appropriated $10,000 to purchase seed grain for the Texas farmers.

“Th e friendliness and charity of our country-men can always be relied upon to relieve their fellow citizens in misfortune,” Cleveland said about his veto. He went on to explain that gov-ernment charity “weakens the sturdiness of our national character.”

Cleveland understood that when you help others, you also help yourself and that our na-tion would prosper more from reliance on our neighbors than from reliance on government — prosper more not only in the monetary sense but also in a personal one.

Performing charitable acts instead of waiting for some other entity to perform them teaches us to be better people while reminding us how to love and respect our fellow man. It’s also been shown that altruistic individuals are generally happier. So, our communities become hap-pier places to live when we are inspired to help neighbors in need.

It’s also a lesson in taking action. In the end, utilizing your own hard work and persever-ance to accomplish something is more reward-ing than waiting for problems to be solved by someone else.

Without government help, local communi-ties came together to help those Texas farmers in the 1880s and raised signifi cantly more than the federal aid would have provided. It’s great to know this tradition of helping one another is continuing in our own backyards.

Let the kindness of our neighbors be a les-son in the season of giving and beyond. Even “small” acts — like having a little more patience for the store clerk or off ering a smile or kind word to someone who’s having a bad day — re-ally can make a diff erence to that person.

Oh, and you’ll get something out of it, too.

Selective memoryTO THE EDITOR:

History is read selectively by the writers of two recent letters (“Misunderstood sign,” Nov. 25; “Pacifi sts threat to liberty,” Dec. 2), and then in an illogical step that defi es common sense, accuse peace and justice activists such as the North Country Peace Group of be-ing responsible for the Holocaust, and even the attacks of 9-11! Th is is the Orwellian double-speak that we are told occurs in other countries, but not here in the U.S.

Both writers refer to Prime Minister Neville Cham-berlain’s agreement with Hitler in 1938 but forget to mention that there was in England at that time great sympathy for the Nazi regime. Ditto in the U.S., and as in England, particularly within conservative and right-wing circles.

Also forgotten was King Edward VIII before his abdication (and aft er as the Duke of Windsor), a Nazi sympathizer who visited Germany as a guest of honor of Hitler. Conveniently ignored, too, was Father Charles Coughlin in the U.S., an anti-Semite, fascist and Hitler admirer. Rather than accuse “pacifi sts” for the atrocities of the Holocaust, the writers should have vehemently denounced these representatives of the conservative and right-wing sectors that supported Nazi Germany, here in the U.S. as well as in England, France and other countries.

Th e assertions that “pacifi sm is not an option for our survival” and that peace activists are a “clear threat to our liberty, independence and values” projects this same absurd logic to modern times, falsely concluding that people who work for peace and social justice are responsible for and even condone the events of 9-11!

Lastly, as an original member of the NCPG, let me assure these letter writers that our members have been standing at the corner of Route 25A and Bennetts Road every Saturday from 11 am to noon since December 2002, years before any “patriot” showed up across the street in response to our presence. We express our op-position to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and our support for eff orts to end all wars and to reach peaceful resolutions to national and international confl icts. Th e writers of these letters are either uninformed or even worse, have a political agenda — plain to see from their hateful sign depicting German storm troopers lead-ing innocents to their death in the Nazi camps — that should be repulsive to any decent American.

Juan GallardoMember of North Country Peace Group

Mount Sinai

A valuable resolutionTO THE EDITOR:

I read recently that the family of Marcelo Lucero, viciously murdered in Patchogue in 2008 solely because he was Latino, has initiated a lawsuit against several Suff olk County agencies. Because it’s hard to know if those agencies played down the incident or were insuffi ciently attentive to the presence of danger-ous anti-minority attitudes in our county, it is ap-propriate this suit has been brought so that the truth can be known. If it turns out that the county was (and perhaps still is) blind to the way minorities are being treated in Suff olk, then this lawsuit and whatever truths are revealed because of it may lead to a more intense offi cial focus on the problem of prejudice among us.

One event that leads me to think the lawsuit may have merit is the way in which Suff olk Executive Steve Levy reacted at the time of the murder. (Regrettably, Levy’s earlier tough stance on undocumented immi-

grants may have unwittingly contributed to violence of this kind.) I thought his reaction was unacceptably bland, almost dismissive. I was distressed by the way in which he tried to play down the ugliness and pos-sible ramifi cations of that horrible crime. Only some days later, aft er an outcry about Levy’s tepid response, did the supervisor, doubtless worried about his politi-cal future, change his stance.

I hope that Suff olk doesn’t morph into an Arizona, where recent preposterous exaggerations by the state’s infuriating governor shocked many. She claimed that headless bodies were found in the Arizona desert, victims of violence by illegal Latinos. Th e governor could not produce, however, a single photograph, name, news article, etc., relating to the alleged decapi-tated corpses and refused to discuss the matter with inquiring reporters. Obviously, she invented the story (and therefore should be impeached). Latinos, legal or illegal, are no more criminally oriented than any other group — in Arizona or elsewhere.

Not all have learned the lessons of history. Our schools do their best to counter prejudicial think-ing, but it is in the home where these destructive and vicious biases are usually born and nurtured. With the coming new year, let’s vow not to make prejudicial remarks about groups of people to anyone, let alone to children, and let us confront people who do. Let us talk about this problem with our kids and support our teachers and administrators as they grapple with the question.

Now that’s a New Year’s resolution worth making and keeping.

Elio ZappullaStony Brook

Pacifi sm is a cop-outTO THE EDITOR:

By all indications, this letter writer (“Pacifi st retort,” Dec. 9) is a pacifi st. Th e condescending, self-important tone of his letter tells it all. Th e fact that he’s from Stony Brook is also a convenience, as you’ll fi nd few “pacifi sts” hailing from Camden, NJ or Oakland, CA, as people there are too busy looking for work or dodging gangsters. It is easy to label yourself a pacifi st if you’re fortunate enough to have never been victim-ized by wanton crime, violence or syndicated Islamic murderers.

Th e Hermann Goring quote was poorly employed. Goring was a drug-addled, decadent sexual deviant in extremis. Along with Rosenberg, Streicher and Hitler, Goring was a pathological liar who created enemies where there were none, and placed blame on innocents to cover crimes of the Reich. Unlike 1930s Germany, we have been repeatedly attacked while thwarting countless plots against us and our allies, and we will no doubt be attacked again as the writer and his peers stand on the corner ranting and raving about “Ameri-can Empire” and oil.

Unless you are Quaker or Amish, pacifi sm is a cop-out at best. It is a function of a self-absorbed, self-righteous and tragically naive world view. Th e enemies are real; they are on TV and print media morning, noon and night. Pacifi sm embodies a social, moral and political abrogation of all things logical. If you are attacked and choose not to respond, you are asking to die. I reject “pacifi sm” as a slow-motion means to na-tional suicide. In closing, here’s a real cool quote from the Fuehrer himself: “What luck for rulers that men do not think.”

Michael MeltzerStony Brook

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

EDITORIAL

OPINION

More letters on page A17


It’s time to stop the sugar insanity

Is the U.S. being out-educated?

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Enough, already! Seriously. My kids informed me this week that their friends would far prefer to have play-

dates at their houses than ours. Th e fault, dear readers, lies not in our lack of the latest electronics (which we have heard before), but in our choice of snacks.

We serve celery, cherry tomatoes, apples or peppers. When our kids venture to their friends’ houses, they get chocolate, chocolate chip cookies, Rice Krispy Treats, tiramisu and crème brûlée. Th ose last two are a mild exaggeration.

And it’s not just during playdates that our children merely have to open wide before someone shoots sugar bombs down their throats. It’s at school, too, where excel-lent behavioral or study habits are rewarded with three unsupervised hours wading in Willy Wonka’s chocolate river. In the last week, our children’s teachers have cel-ebrated class achievements with a breakfast of doughnuts, a snack of ice cream for good behavior and an unexpected reward of Dunkin’ Munchkins. Th at is not an exag-geration.

And the endless treats don’t stop at school. Numerous extracurricular activities not only make our children more diverse, interesting, talented and skilled than we, but they also give them a chance to celebrate anything and everything with an even wider collection of people.

Our kids seem to share birthdays, half birthdays, family favorite holiday or the start of a harvest moon every week. On Monday, for example, our daughter might get Sugar Munchie-O’s in her class because Amy’s family is celebrating a new mailbox, on Tuesday, our son might get Twinkies in soccer because Joey’s sixth tooth is loose, and on Wednesday, our daughter might get triple chocolate mint cupcakes because her friend’s babysitter baked far too many the night before.

While all this is a bit stunning, it’s the teachers’ role that surprises me the most. Why do people who are paid to educate our children, set an example and be role models need to put lollipops, gumdrops and mystic marshmallows in their students’ mouths? As I mentioned in previous columns, I’m

an enormous fan of teachers. I recognize the vital role they play, and I see how dif-fi cult it is to communicate an idea to kids with a range of abilities, learning styles and attention spans. But how is a breakfast doughnut really a reward for a child?

I, too, am guilty. When I coached a baseball team recently, I brought my wife’s home-baked cookies to an end-of-the-season party.

It’s time to stop the sugar insanity! We’ve read about the obesity epidemic facing the country’s youth. We need to fi nd alternative rewards that don’t involve fi lling our kids’ bodies with sweets. We need to stop celebrating birthdays with more than a single round of treats every year (one for the actual birthday and one for the same kids at a party a few days before or aft er the actual birthday).

I’m putting down my sugar funnel and backing away from it. I hereby resolve not

to continue to connect success on the base-ball or soft ball fi elds with sugar.

I know I sound like the Grinch, especial-ly at this time of year, when holiday cookies and gingerbread houses are everywhere, but I urge us to do the next generation a favor and give them a break. If we don’t, they will fi nd it even harder than we to diet and not feel deprived when the new moon appears and they have an overwhelming craving for a bag or 10 of double-fudge brownies.

With a quick intake of breath, I started reading this story.

Headlined, “Top Test Scores From Shanghai Stun Educators,” the article went on to state that Chinese students who had taken an internationally respected exam had dramatically outscored their counterparts in 65 other coun-tries. Th at was true, according to Th e New York Times front page, in reading, math and science.

Some 5,100 15-year-olds in Shanghai were chosen to take the standardized test, as were the same number from across the country in the United States. Now we have long known that Chinese students attend school for more hours each day and for more days each year than our students do. And we also have known that education is a top priority of Chi-nese families and of the Chinese nation. But these test results are startling evidence of the results of their educational culture.

“We have to see this as a wake-up call,” Secretary of Education Arne Duncan told Th e Times. “I

know skeptics will want to argue with the results, but we consider them to be accurate and reliable, and we have to see them as a challenge to get better. Th e United States came in 23rd or 24th in most subjects. We can quibble, or we can face the brutal truth that we’re being out-educated.”

Shanghai has been a magnet in attracting the best students in the country, and they have put great emphasis on upgrading teacher training. Th at said, the expecta-tion of one American educator is that the Chinese will replicate this progress in 10 cities in 10 years and 50 cities in 20 years. “I’ve seen how relentless the Chinese are at accomplishing goals,” stated Chester E. Finn Jr., who served in President Reagan’s Department of Education.

To top it off , the Shanghai students outperformed especially in math. Th e average American math scores earned us a rank below 30 other countries. Singa-

pore, Hong Kong (China), Korea, Taiwan and Finland were the next fi ve placeholders that followed mainland China.

In reading, Shanghai was fol-lowed by Korea, Finland, Hong Kong, Singapore and Canada. We were 17th. In science, the next fi ve aft er Shanghai were Finland, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and Korea. We were 23rd.

Th e testing was carried out by an international contractor and overseen by the Australian Coun-cil for Educational Research, a nonprofi t testing group, according to Th e Times. Th e accuracy of the results is viewed by the educa-tional community as unassailable. Th e only way results might have been somewhat manipulated is by the Chinese government retain-ing stellar students for the test who had come from elsewhere in China to study in Shanghai. Since China is new to the standardized testing universe, the government may have wanted the best results

possible and also impressed that on the students to further motivate them. Nonetheless, no one doubts that the Chinese work ethic is very strong.

President Obama, in a speech to a college audience aft er the international test results were announced, declared, “Fift y years later, our generation’s Sputnik moment is back. ... As it stands right now, America is in danger of falling behind.”

Let’s not kid ourselves. Th at’s exactly where we are. Fortunately, concerned people like Jim Simons knew this well before the tests and several years ago started Math for America, which particularly focuses on upgrading the skills of math teachers. Th e second Presi-dent Bush embraced the eff ort, and there is a national program based on Simons’ paradigm. But this is a drop in the bucket — albeit a most welcome drop — compared with the national eff ort America must now roll out.

Th ese results came to us the same week as the anniversary of Pearl Harbor. We were caught

behind then, a nation totally unprepared for war and a popula-tion leaning in the direction of neutrality. We organized ourselves as a people with a common goal and proceeded to do what we had to do to survive.

Th ese times are no diff erent. We are again in a war, a war for 21st century dominance. Th is war has to do with knowledge and how to creatively apply what we know to new situations.

I don’t know why we always have to come from behind, but what matters is that in each race, we wind up fi rst.

I hereby resolve not to continue to connect success on the baseball or

softball fi elds with sugar.

Our country came in 23rd or 24th in most subjects.

BY LEAH S. [email protected]

Between you and me

D. None of the above

BY DANIEL [email protected]


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