Where the North Shore clicks • www.northshoreofl ongisland.com

Cardiowise Café at Mather Protect your family and learn to live better, longerPage B9

Meet LI business and professional women Our annual feature focusing on their success, how they do itPage B28

Through the looking glassat Huntington Library, Smithtown restaurant weekPage B1

Bulls West look to be contendersBoys’ lacrosse team aims to surpass last season’s recordPage A9

S’town drug info session draws over 1,000BY JOE DARROWjoedarrow@tbrnewspapers.com

According to substance abuse experts and law enforce-ment offi cials, a major obstacle to counteracting teen drug use in upper middle class communi-ties is parents’ denial, conscious or unwitting, that their children are at risk.

But if residents’ reception of school-sponsored drug forums this month is any indication, the scales are falling away from Smithtown parents’ eyes.

Over 1,000 showed up at Nesa-quake Middle School March 9 to question a panel of drug experts as part of the Smithtown School

District’s Parent University se-ries. Th e Kings Park district, in conjunction with the anti-drug organization, Kings Park in the kNOw, has announced a similar forum, set for 6:45 pm tonight in the auditorium at Kings Park High School.

Th e forum’s turnout “was ab-solutely unbelievable,” Smithtown school board Vice President Bob Rossi said at a March 10 meeting. Th e district’s job is to instruct, he said, and “it did a wonderful job” to that end by educating parents how to confront the narcotics risks their children face.

Th e panel Smithtown as-sembled featured a physician,

law enforcement offi cials, health educator, drug counselor, school principal and a parent struggling with her child’s drug addiction, according to a district release. Among the experts participating were Inspector James Rhoads, commanding offi cer of the Suf-folk County Police4th Precinct, and Detective Sergeant Edward Compagnone, also of the 4th Pre-cinct, who spoke about the illegal drug problem facing the commu-nity, and the police department’s eff orts to counter it thus far.

Dr. Gabrielle Carlson, pro-fessor of psychiatry and pedi-atrics and director of child and

Similar forum in Kings Park set for 6:45 pm tonight at high school

Continued on page A10

Irish eyes were smiling Families from across Smithtown and beyond packed Lake Avenue in St. James Saturday for the St. James Chamber of Commerce’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Left, Dylan Borner of Smithtown proudly wore his green, shamrock glasses and all. See page A6 for more coverage.

Photos by Tracey Elizabeth

Courtesy Smithtown SD

Smithtown school board Vice President Bob Rossi, right, addressed over 1,000 parents who turned out March 9 to question a panel of experts on teenage substance abuse.

The TIMESVolume 22, No. 2 March 19, 2009 75¢

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BY JOE DARROWjoedarrow@tbrnewspapers.com

With a recession under way and state funding stagnant at best, Commack school offi cials have recommended elim-inating funding for 17.8 positions in the 2009-10 budget.

Th e largest personnel cuts are in el-ementary level teachers, where six posi-tions would be eliminated, and in arts education, with the loss of 2.4 art and 2.1 music teaching posts. Th e proposal would also cut an instructor each for gym and the gift ed program. Outside the class-room, the district has proposed dropping a custodial supervisor, a clerical worker and half of a full-time nursing post.

Culling the positions will require lay-off s, although the district has yet to deter-mine how many. Eliminating 17.8 posts cannot be accomplished through attri-tion alone, Business Assis-tant Superintendent Laura Newman said. Where the district averages between 15 and 20 retirements an-nually, “as an indication of the times” next year Com-mack has only one planned, she said.

School offi cials said the job eliminations are neces-sitated by changing district demographics, with a large wave of students passing from elementary to secondary level. Enrollment in kinder-garten through second grade is expected to drop next year by 93 students, and by 60 students in grades three through fi ve, while Commack High School anticipates 80 more students. Th e incoming fresh-man class, projected at 646, is substan-tially larger than the 602 seniors expected to graduate next year, offi cials said.

But while teachers will be pulled from the elementary ranks — a move offi cials said would not increase class sizes — they are not being enlisted at the high school. Indeed, the proposed budget cuts a sec-ondary level teaching position.

Meanwhile, with an ongoing reces-sion and state funding threatened, ad-ministrators are recommending 50 per-cent reductions to equipment spending and a 10 percent cut for supplies “across

the board,” according to Superintendent of Schools James Feltman. School and department heads have indicated “they can work for one year in that situation,” he said.

Proposed program cuts would be felt most at the sixth-grade level, where stu-dents will receive physical education on alternating days instead of everyday — based on a change in state Education De-partment requirements — and German language instruction will be phased out due to decreased demand. Only 10 fi ft h-graders are taking the European language this year. However, courses will continue in seventh and eighth grades for students taking German in sixth grade this year, school offi cials said.

Administrators proposed eliminating the 6 pm late bus service in 2009-10. “It will not aff ect the majority of students,”

Newman said. Th ey have also recommended a cut to event chaperon funding; a 10 percent reduction in teacher stipends for mod-erating aft er school clubs, although which activities would go has yet to be de-termined; and reduced high school electives off er-ings.

Further, high school sports may fall under the

knife. “We’re looking at our athletic teams as to where we can consolidate,” Newman said.

While annual contractual agreements will raise salaries $2.7 million, benefi t costs are projected to come in almost $133,000 lower in 2009-10 as new contracts require employees to cover a larger share of insur-ance costs. But trustees do not seem to chalk such concessions up to longtime use of a hired negotiator — whose role in con-tract talks one trustee described as “the hammer” — as they have cut funding for the service next year.

As of Th ursday, Commack offi cials of-fered no projections of changes to district property taxes, citing lack of offi cial state aid data. However, Newman said tax in-creases would likely outpace the 2.74 per-cent proposed 2009-10 budget increase over this year.

Administrators also recommend reduced funding for late bussing, after school clubs, chaperones

Commack schools may cut over 17 positions

‘We’re looking at our athletic teams as to where we can consolidate.’

— LAURA NEWMAN ASST. SUPERINTENDENT

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BY JOE DARROWjoedarrow@tbrnewspapers.com

In response to suggestions from a civic organi-zation, the Smithtown Library board is having its architects re-examine the exterior designs for the post-renovation Kings Park branch.

In a Feb. 25 letter, Kings Park Civic Association President Mike Rosato said that due to the branch’s prominent location in Kings Park — at the corner of Route 25A and Church Street, the hamlet’s busiest intersection, and abutting Veterans Plaza, the site of most community holiday events — “we strongly believe the exterior of the building should be inspirational, traditional and aesthetically pleasing.”

“It is our belief that the cur-rent design does not meet these expectations,” Ro-sato wrote. The civic group instead suggested a de-sign similar to that planned for the new Nesconset branch, to be located in the old Armory on Smith-

town Boulevard.Library Director Rob Lusak said Tuesday that library

architect Roger Smith, of Burton, Behrendt and SmithLLP, was working to accommodate the civic’s requests.

In order to create the “early 20th century look”that the Kings Park group is seeking, the branch’s

large exterior windows may bedecreased in size, Lusak said. The reduction would have theadded benefit of aiding tem-perature control and decreasingenergy costs for cooling the inte-rior, the director added. “A littleless glass may be more efficient in the long run.”

Rosato said the library board’sresponse has been cooperative. “I think they’re trying to do whatthey can to give us the library we’rehoping for,” he said Wednesday.

Board officials reported progress on the movementof the branch site plans through the municipal per-mitting process Tuesday. The town engineering andenvironmental departments have finished reviewingand commenting on the three site plans, for KingsPark, Nesconset and Commack, governed by Smith-town zoning code. Lusak said he hopes to receivetown site approvals in April. Plans for the Smithtownbranch, meanwhile, await approval by Village of theBranch planners.

Accommodating neither civic group nor town ar-chitectural proposals is slowing the expansion project,trustees emphasized. Tweaking the designs is part ofthe normal give-and-take in receiving municipal ap-proval for a building project, they added. Th e libraryhopes to have shovels in the ground soon aft er permits are granted, Lusak said.

“Nothing we’re doing is slowing down the pro-cess,” said board President Eric Johansson.

KP Civic Assoc.: Prominent building should look ‘inspirational’Library re-examines KP designDemocrats to meet March 23

Smithtown Democrats will hold their general membership meeting, open to the public, on Monday, March 23 at 8 pm at the VFW Hall on Church Street in Kings Park. Th e guest speaker will be Peter Zar-cone Jr., executive member of Local 66 of the General Building Laborers. Zarcone will speak about the need for apprenticeship language in construction contracts and how the absence of such language denies our young people the opportunity to learn a trade, earn a living and stay in Suff olk County. Smithtown remains one of the few towns on Long Island that does not pro-vide suffi cient apprenticeship opportunities for young people, according to the Democrats’ release.

St. James fi tness contestLake Avenue Fitness in St. James is sponsoring

Your Best Body Challenge, a contest aimed at helping hundreds of area residents transform their bodies in 12 weeks for free. Th e contest begins March 21 and is free to enter, although Lake Avenue Fitness owner Lisa Riccardi asks that each participant make a one-time $10 donation to a local autism charity. Th e contest is open to any St. James resident over the age of 18. Visit www.stjamesyourbestbodychallenge.com for details.

‘We strongly believe the exterior of the building should be inspirational, traditional and aesthetically pleasing.’

— MIKE ROSATO, PRESIDENTKINGS PARK CIVIC ASSOC.

Smithtown High School East is holding a charity talent show to ben-efi t St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital on Th ursday, April 2 from 7 to 9:30 pm. Th e school is located at 10 School Street in St. James.

Tickets will be sold at the door, and cost $8 for students and $10 for adults. Gift baskets and other prizes will be raffl ed off during the show.

Organizer say attendees will see the hottest bands, the best Broadway sing-

ers, virtuoso classical musicians, a cho-reographed tango number, and other exciting acts.

Attendees are invited to bring the family for the entertainment and help the students raise money for an organi-zation that provides for many children faced with cancer and other illnesses.

For tickets in advance, call High School East at 382-2701. Email musicalmitch@gmail.com with questions.

Teens to host benefi t show

Courtesy M. Feinberg

Talent show co-directors Mitchell Feinberg and Sarah Kerper

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BY JENNIFER CHOIjenchoi@tbrnewspapers.com

Kings Park administrators off ered a revised 2009-10 budget proposal at Tues-day night’s budget workshop aft er making an additional $868,572 in cuts since the March 3 meeting, bringing the projected spending total to $76.1 million.

Th e spending reductions call for elimi-nation 16.5 teaching or administrative po-sitions, four custodians and 16 coach and assistant coach positions. Th e custodians and a secretary are either retiring or resign-ing by the close of this year, but eliminating the other positions would require layoff s, offi cials said.

Th e Board of Educa-tion has yet to agree to the administrators’ proposal. Th e board must adopt a budget plan by the end of April to off er to voters on May 19.

Based on the revised plan, Assistant Superin-tendent for Finance Mike Quigley said residents would see a 3.2 percent tax levy increase and, more to the point, a 4.27 percent tax rate hike under the revised budget, which marks a 2.81 percent increase over this year’s $74.02 million tab.

Th e nearly $900,000 worth of new cuts include $209,482 for two math positions at Kings Park High School; $137,295 for two third-grade intervention classes; $90,000 for fi ve permanent substitutes; $79,795 for one guidance position; $58,040 for one high school English position; $54,584 for one custodial position; $41,776 for one secretarial position and $100,000 in retire-ment payouts.

Since the series of budget workshops began last month, district offi cials have cut a total of 10 positions at the high school, 6.5 elementary positions, four custodial posi-tions, seven coaches from duplicate middle school sports teams and nine assistant coaches, seven at the high school and two at the middle school.

Also at Tuesday night’s budget work-shop, Director of Technology Debbie Ford discussed changes projected in the comput-er-assisted instruction budget. Infrastruc-ture costs for the technology department are slated to rise by $122,670 to $344,470, according to Ford, who explained that this total includes $190,000 in salaries for two full-time technicians, $30,000 for remote monitoring, $16,000 for web content fi lters and $11,000 in bandwidth improvements for the district’s computer system.

In addition, soft ware costs are up from $40,000 to $51,000 and supply costs from $35,000 to $40,000, while fi nancing and

maintenance fees are re-maining fl at at $92,000 and $15,000, respectively.

Offi cials stressed that computer education is necessary in the work en-vironment today’s youth will encounter, and worth the expense.

“It’s not just break and fi x,” Ford said in justifying department expenses to residents who questioned the technology costs.

“Bottom line is, if our kids can’t run a computer system by the time they graduate, there are no jobs for them,” added Superintendent of Schools Susan Agruso.

Administrators said the high school International Baccalaureate will continue to be off ered in the 2009-10 school year at its annual cost of $10,000. Th e program, which consists of a challenging two-year curriculum that prepares students for col-lege, also calls for a fee of $600 per teacher for annual training to become certifi ed IB instructors, an annual registration fee of $129 per student and a subject test fee of $88 per subject. In addition to Kings Park, high schools in Bay Shore, Commack, Northport and South Side also off er the IB program.

Th e fi nal budget workshop will take place April 1 at 7:30 pm in room 101 of the high school.

Preliminary projected tax rate hike is 4.27 percent

KP school offi cials eye cutting over 35 positions

‘Bottom line is, if our kids can’t run a computer system by the time they graduate, there are no jobs for them.’

— SUPERINTENDENT SUSAN AGRUSO

LegalsNotice of Formation of Funda-mental Dog, LLC. Arts. Of Org. fi led with Sect’y of State of N.Y. (SSNY) on 1/08/09. Offi ce loca-tion: Suff olk County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to the LLC, 109 Blydenburgh Avenue, Smithtown, NY 11787. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

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SUPREME COURT -COUNTY OF SUFFOLKMORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REG-ISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC. AS NOMINEE FOR NEW CENTURY MORTGAGE CORPORATION, Plaintiff against BRIDGET LOVETT A/K/A BRIDGETT LOVETT, et al Defendant(s).Pursuant to a Judgment of Fore-closure and Sale entered on February 19, 2009. I, the under-signed Referee will sell at public auction at the front steps of the Smithtown Hall, 99 West Main Street, Smithtown, N.Y. on the 13th day of April, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. premisesBeginning at a point on the westerly side of Kings Park

Road distant 371.97 feet along the westerly side of Kings park Road from extremely south-erly end of an arc that connects the southerly side of Wenmore Road with the westerly side of King Park Road; Running thence the following two courses and distances an the westerly side of Kings Park Road;1. Southerly along a curve bear-ing to the right with a radius of 100.00 feet and for a length of 40.72 feet; 2. South 32 degrees 28 minutes 38 seconds west, 43.80 feet; Thence north 57 de-grees 31 minutes 22 seconds west, 125.00 feet; Thence north 32 degrees 28 minutes 38 sec-onds east, 30.00 feet; Thence north 16 degrees 00 minutes 05 seconds east, 50.95 feet; Thence south 59 degrees 51 minutes 22 seconds east, 138.78 feet to the westerly side of Kings Park Road the point or place of beginning.Said premises known as 120 Kings Park Road, Commack, N.Y. 11725.Tax account number: SBL#: 092.00-02.00-073.000, District 0800.Approximate amount of lien$522,467.14 plus interest and costs.

Premises will be sold subject to provisions of fi led judgment and terms of sale.Index No. 07107-08.Michael E. Repole, Esq., RefereeFein Such & Crane, LLPAttorney(s) for Plaintiff 747 Chestnut Ridge RoadSuite 200Chestnut Ridge, N.Y. 10977“If the sale is set aside for any reason, the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled only to a return of the deposit paid. The Pur-chaser shall have no further re-course against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee, or the Mortgag-ee’s attorney.”

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Notice of Formation of Robkar LLC. Arts. of Organization fi led with Sect’y of State of NY on 2/26/09. Offi ce location: Suf-folk County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to the LLC, 4 Thide Court, Smithtown, NY 11787. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

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Local leprechaunsSt. James residents enjoyed a sunny, mild day Saturday for their Chamber of Commerce’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The event brought out bands, fi re departments and clubs for miles around, along with hosts of Irish afi cionados of all ages and ethnicities. Above, girls from the St. James Dynamic Swirling Team displayed their moves. Left, Mark Snyder, Jennifer McLaughlin and Dakota Schwalb of St. James wore their St. Paddy’s Day best. Below, Man’s best friend took part in the parade: Canine and human members of the Long Island Bulldog Club strutted proudly up Lake Avenue.

Photos by Tracey Elizabeth

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-PROUD-It’s kind of hard to fi nd too many things to get excited about these days. Everything is pretty tough both business-wise and personally for lots of people in our community and around the world. Of course, it would be nice if the media would stop pounding everyone over the head with negative news over and over again. It’s becoming a self-fulfi lling prophecy. But we felt pretty good the other day when, aft er announcing some pretty tough fi nancial results for the end of the year, Ford still sees no need to ask for government loans. In fact the CEO of Ford Motor Company said “Right now, I think with everything planned in the fi scal and monetary policy, I am very comfortable that we are going to start to turn things around through the second half of the year.” Th is doesn’t mean that Ford isn’t using lines of credit. But they have done it the old-fashioned way; they went out to banks and found fi nancing. Ford is doing it! Ford is fi nding a way to make it through these hard times. Th is is the type of auto manufacturer that wants people to feel confi dent when buying one of their products.

With all that being said, Ford is putting out GREAT vehicles! Our new Ford vehicles are safe (more top safety-rated vehicles than any other manufacturer), high quality (now in a virtual tie with Toyota and Honda), good looking and fun to drive. In fact, Ford GAINED market share in the last three months of 2008. And there’s a lot more coming soon! Ford has said that, despite the economic challenges out there, they’re not pulling back on the most important thing of all; product.

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KPHS students lobby Albany for equitable fundingBY MAUREEN ROSSInews@tbrnewspapers.com

Seventeen weary Kings Park High School students boarded a school bus at 5:30 am March 5. With iPods, pillows and snacks in tow, they were accompanied by their Advanced Placement U.S. government teacher, Jack Bishop, and Superintendant Susan Agruso. Th ey were headed to the state’s capital to lobby for education funding.

Many of the students drank coff ee and reviewed their research with Bishop as discussions arose regarding education funding formulas, the exaggeration of Kings Park’s wealth ratio and elimination of unfunded man-dates. Unusually chatty given the hour, these teens were passionate about the future of their school district.

“We are here today to discuss a few economic is-sues including unfunded mandates,” said senior Lau-ren Kuehn. She and her fellow student lobbyists were disturbed about tentative teacher layoff s, omission of programs such as French and larger class sizes for the 2009-10 class year.

“My parents chose Kings Park because the high school had so much to off er me,” Kuehn said.

Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, New York State is expected to receive $24.6 bil-lion, of which $2.5 billion is slated to restore the pro-posed reductions in education funding throughout the state. However, that funding will match last year’s edu-cation formulas. Rising costs of teacher salaries, special educa-tion and unemployment insur-ance will leave every school district short in the upcoming budget cycle.

“We are not going to Albany to ask for more, we just want fairness, we just want to build up our schools,” said Agruso. Kings Park has one of the low-est per pupil spending rates on Long Island, according to district offi cials. Th ey are also one of 59 districts in the state that does not off er full-day kindergarten. Of the 120 public school libraries in the Western Suff olk BOCES region, nine are not automated. Two of those are in Kings Park schools. “We are so behind the times tech-nologically, it’s fi scally challenging,” added Agruso.

Th e Kings Parkers met with Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick (R-St. James) and Sen. John Flanagan (R-East Northport).

“We have to take a look at the structural spending problem in New York State,” Fitzpatrick told them. He touted a bill that would exempt the district from Wick’s Law, and its accompanying cost multipliers for building projects.

Flanagan spoke about a few of the potential educa-tion solutions on the table. He said he is calling for an end to unfunded mandates. Students replied that they sought to end the paid four-hour cancer screening allot-ted to all school personnel. It costs the Kings Park dis-trict about $100,000 a year to hire replacement teachers and personnel, which equals two teaching positions.

“We have a good opportunity to change the way we are doing things,” Flanagan said. “Th e number one pri-ority of New York State should be education,” he added.

Agruso commended the district’s young lobbyists. “Th ey are well aware of the issues and articulated the needs of this district with great concern and passion,” she said. Members of the district’s special education and Fort Salonga PTAs, the high school PFA as well as school board Trustee Carin Perez also made the trip to Albany.

Th e students said they enjoyed the Albany trip but were frustrated with ambiguous funding formulas that leave their school district with less. “We’re just asking for fair distribution, that no school district be left be-hind,” said Kuehn.

Kings Park High School student lobbyists received a guided tour of the New York State Senate chamber during their trip March 5 to lobby elected offi cials for an education reform.

Photo by M. Rossi

‘We’re just asking for fair distribution, that no school district be left behind.’

—LAURA HUEHNKPHS STUDENT

The TIMES (USPS 003-952) is published Thursdays by TIMES BEACON RECORD NEWSPAPERS, 185 Route 25A, Setauket, NY 11733. Periodicals postage paid at Setauket, NY and additional mailing offices. Subscription price $35 annually. Leah S. Dunaief, Publisher. POSTMASTER: Send change of address to PO Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733.

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Gussie LenziGussie Lenzi, 85,

of St. James died on March 6.

She was the be-loved wife of the late Neal Lenzi; loving mother of Ellen (Joe) Licata and Lillian (John) Mattia; cher-ished grandmother of Jennifer, Jessica, John and Gregory.

A funeral Mass was celebrated at Sts. Philip & James RC Church. Interment followed at St. Charles Cemetery.

Arrangements en-trusted to the care of the Vigliante family at Th e Branch Funeral Home of Smithtown.

Mary Pisciotta

Mary Pisciotta, 74, of St. James died on March 6. She was the beloved fi ancé of the late Frank Kal-sky; loving mother to Joseph, Donna and Kathy; adored grandma of six and great-grandma of six.

A funeral Mass was held on March 10 at Sts. Philip & James R.C. Church. Inter-ment followed at St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Hauppauge.

Arrangements were entrusted to the Maher family at the St. James Funeral Home, St. James.

Marjorie Pannell

Marjorie Pannell of Smithtown died on March 2, in her

80th year. She was the beloved wife of the late William; devoted mother of Tracey Pannell, Rene New-man, Sandra Gulley and Wayne Pannell; dear sister of Walter Kenneth Kidwell and Donald Kidwell; and cherished grand-mother of 10.

Funeral services were arranged by Moloney Funeral Home, of Central Islip. Interment at Pinelawn Memorial Park, Pinelawn.

Obituaries

PEOPLE

SCCC announces result of fi rst annual High School Art CompetitionTh e Department of Arts and Humanities at the Michael J. Grant Campus of Suff olk County Community

College in Brentwood announced the winners of their fi rst annual High School Art Competition.• Best in show: Joan DeJesus (Brentwood Ross High School) — Psalms 23:4 (ink print). Joan received a

scholarship to take a studio class at SCCC’s Michael J. Grant Campus in the spring 2009 semester.• 1st place: Sarah Infranco (Commack High School) — Time of Your Life (photo)• 2nd place: Maya Strzelecki (Commack High School) — Zasmucona Piosenka (pencil drawing)• 3rd place: Colleen Ekert (Commack High School) — Brother Bloat (ceramic)• Honorable Mention: Brett DeGregoria (West Babylon High School) — An Overworked Accident (water-

color/pastel)SCCC received more than 40 pieces of artwork from 35 student artists representing six area high schools.

Artwork was submitted in a wide variety of media, ranging from drawing, painting, photography, ceramics, sculpture and mixed media. Th e winners posing with their work at the Grant Campus’s Gallery West: DeGregoria, Strzelecki, Infranco, Ekert and DeJesus .

2009-10 Elks installation of offi cersTh e Smithtown Elks Lodge 2036 held its annual installation

of offi cers at the lodge on Sunday, March 15, followed by dinner and dancing for approximately 100 guests. Th e new offi cers for 2009-10 are as follow:

Exalted Ruler Vito Poveromo Leading Knight Kenneth M. Donato Loyal Knight Andrew Wolke Lecturing Knight John S. Baratelli Secretary John B. O’Connor Treasurer Danny J. Hickey Esquire Joseph R. Mullady Chaplain Peter Famularo Tiler Marlene Wolke Inner Guard Robert M. Leake Trustee 5 Year John SchierenbeckOther offi cers of the lodge are John J. Ellman, Trustee 4 Year;

Clement J. Walker, PER, Trustee 3 Year; and Michael E. Bricker, PER, Trustee 2 Year.

Th e Smithtown Lodge, located on Edgewood Avenue, Smith-town, recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. Th e Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is a nationwide organization open to American citizens who love our country and who have a strong desire to preserve its cherished institutions, traditions and values.

Sheth earns honors at SkidmoreSarina Sheth, class of 2011 at Skidmore College, earned hon-

ors for the fall semester. She is the daughter of Rajesh Sheth of Commack.

Hanuszek graduates from BUAmong the January 2009 Boston University graduates was

Brie A. Hanuszek, who received a master of science degree in arts administration.

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SPORTS

BY FRANK DOWDkatsports@tbrnewspapers.com

Th e Smithtown West boys’ lacrosse team is preparing for a very tough schedule in the upcoming season aft er dropping down to Division II this year and having to face Comsewogue, Shore-ham-Wading River, and state champions Rocky Point (Class B) and Mount Sinai (Class C).

Th e Bulls were solid last season, but they fell short of a Suff olk County title aft er losing 6-5 to Ward Mel-ville in the semifi nals. Smithtown West head coach Sean Keenan is very optimistic about his team this year. “Th e kids are working hard and playing well,” he said. “We could contend for a county champion-ship this year. We should be right there at the end.”

Freshman James Pannell started last year as an eighth-grader and scored 40 points. “He’s a phenom-enal player,” Keenan said.

Pannell possesses quickness, which enables him to beat people from midfi eld or attack. His brother, Rob, is currently leading the nation with 5.33 points per game at the NCAA level.

Siena College-bound Danny Martinsen is a third-year starter who led with 56 points last season. “Like James, he’s a quick dodger and fi nisher,” Keenan said.

Sophomore Kyle Keenan scored 45 points last year, fi nishing with 23 assists and 22 goals. Keenan is a very smart player and a great feeder. “He knows where the ball is suppose to go and does a lot of good things,” Keenan said.

Junior captain midfi elder Bret Madarasz scored 23 points last season. “He’s our best returning midfi eld-er,” said Keenan. “He has a great shot.”

Adelphi-bound captain midfi elder Lou Riley is the face-off specialist for Smithtown West. He sets the tempo for his squad. “If he’s on with our face-off s, he will have a great game,” the coach said.

Junior captain midfi elder Craig Matturro is look-ing forward to the season. “He does a lot of good things with the ball,” said Keenan. “A lot of ivy league schools are looking at him.”

Junior Patrick Shannon is a very fast midfi elder. “He has a real good shot,” said the coach. “He’s defi -nitely a big part of our team.”

Keenan is impressed with long pole defensive mid-fi elder Brendan Madarasz’s hustle and desire. “He is very tenacious on ground balls,” he said.

Sophomore defenseman Jordan Stevens started last year as a freshman. He is very good at reading the defense and stealing the ball. “He is our best return-ing defenseman,” Keenan said. “He has an uncanny way of intercepting passes.”

Defenseman Wayne Marx is enteringhis fi rst season of varsity lacrosse. He’svery strong, so Smithtown West expects

him to be eff ective. “He’s doing a great job,” Keenan said. “He has done a lot of good things so far thisseason.”

Keenan expects big things from third-year goal-tender Dom Gianino. “He’s a great stopper, he said.“He has improved tremendously this year.”

Th e big Smithtown West against Smithtown East battle will be played on April 4 at 5 pm this year. Th egame will be at Stony Brook University and all of theproceeds will benefi t autism research. Tickets are $5.

Bulls West hopes to contend for county titleBOYS’ LAX

Come support the Bulls West boys’ Lax team

3/19 West @ Ward Melville (s) .............4:00 pm3/21 West @ Mt. Sinai (s) .................9:00 am3/23 Sachem East @ West (s) ................4:00 pm3/26 West @ multi-team scrim ..............4:00 pm3/28 West @ Farmingdale (NL) ..........11:00 am4/1 West @ Garden City (NL) ..............5:00 pm4/4 West vs. East @ SBU (NL) ..............5:00 pm4/8 West @ Rocky Point.........................2:00 pm4/14 West @ Hauppauge ........................ 4:30 pm4/16 HHH West @ West ........................ 7:00 pm

‘The kids are working hard and playing well. We could contend for a county championship this year. We should be right there at the end.’

— SMITHTOWN WEST BOYS’ LACROSSE HEAD COACH SEAN KEENAN

Jake Labate tries to get around defenseman Vinnie Alestra in practice.

Photo by Robert O’Rourk

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Time for hastePain.There is, unfortunately, much of the

economic variety to pass around these days. That is particularly true of our schools, where officials try to make the best of less revenue despite rising costs.

The federal stimulus bill was supposed to bail them out, right? Two weeks ago we reported that Gov. David Paterson said New York’s share would negate the education aid cuts he had proposed to help counter a record state deficit.

Except that Paterson’s assurances have made it no further than the newspapers, it seems. School districts embroiled in the bud-get formation process, which must be wrapped up next month, have yet to see an amended state aid proposal from the governor.

Districts don’t know if Paterson’s promise to “restore” state aid means eliminating the deficit reduction assessment imposed on districts, or zeroing out overall aid decreases in comparison with 2008-09. For large districts the difference amounts to millions in state funding. So until they know the numbers, they cannot reliably calculate the tax impact of the spending the districts are proposing.

Now is when schools need those figures most, as many consider layoffs to keep tax increases low so their budgets pass muster with a belt-tightening electorate.

Perhaps with the federal stop-gap money, job cuts are no longer necessary, but until they know for sure school officials are ob-ligated to plan for the worst. Which means that until the “all clear” is sounded, some Long Island teachers may be anticipating unemployment. Such consternation will clearly not promote the economic confi-dence the stimulus and other bailout efforts were intended to inspire in investors and consumers.

So as far as the local education indus-try is concerned, Paterson’s delay in com-municating financial realities to school districts negates the psychological benefits of Uncle Sam’s aid. And with economists saying the stimulus plan is unlikely to have a measurable impact on economic activity for months, hope was the only immediate advantage the federal plan offered.

Th e Paterson administration claimed this week it cannot release fi nal fi gures until ongoing budget negotiations with the Leg-islature are complete. But the governor has not even answered the most basic questions posed above by school offi cials, making their task far more arduous than in years past when districts had relatively accurate num-bers to work with. Paterson should provide up-to-date data to the districts immediately.

Public meeting with state Parks set for March 26TO THE EDITOR:

To make sure that the com-munity’s voice is heard regard-ing the future of the expanded Nissequogue River State Park, I am pleased to inform readers that the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation will be hosting a meeting at Kings Park High School to discuss the future of this important parkland.

The meeting, which will be held on Thursday, March 26 at 7 pm, fulfills a promise by Parks Commissioner Carol Ash to dis-cuss this issue with the residents of Kings Park and I would like to publicly thank her for keeping her promise to the community.

At the meeting, Commis-sioner Ash and her staff will outline their plan to demolish 14 deteriorating buildings at the Nissequogue River State Park and include an overview of the engineering study that will allow NYSOPRHP to develop detailed cost estimates for cleaning up the site.

Anyone who would like more information regarding this meeting, including directions to the school, should visit my website at www.senatorf lanagan.com and click on the link on the home page.

For those who are unable to attend the meeting but who wish to provide their input, NYSO-PRHP will be accepting written testimony until April 9. I urge anyone who would like to submit a comment on this important project to visit my website and click on the home page link to access contact information.

The hard work and dedica-tion of the Kings Park residents saved this property from over-development and it is important that they all have their say in the future of this property. This meeting presents everyone with a great opportunity to provide their opinion and invite every-one in our community to attend.

John FlanaganNew York State Senator

2nd District

Community’s tribute honors McGuire’s memoryTO THE EDITOR:

On behalf of the McGuire and Figari families, I want to thank you for the kind article [“Longtime town Republican leader dies at 83,” March 5] that you published in memory of my husband, Mickey McGuire.

It is never easy to say goodbye to someone we love, but reading such kind words about Mickey touched us and gave us comfort in our sorrow. Mickey never liked to be the center of atten-tion, preferring to do his work quietly while others were in the spotlight. While he would have been a bit uncomfortable read-ing the memories and tributes, a part of him would have been honored that his work here had a deep and lasting impact.

The number of people who have reached out to our fam-ily over the past few weeks and related thoughts of how Mickey impacted their lives has been a true blessing. Many of these stories we had never heard, and the kindness of each memory has sustained us.

The assistance and compas-sion of the McElhone family

and everyone connected with Clayton Funeral Home cannot ever be adequately described. In such a sad time, these wonderful people supported us and made a difficult time manageable.

Throughout our Kings Park community, the large number of people who came to pay their respects and those who stopped to offer condolences showed our family how our town has re-tained that small town feel. This was especially evident in the honor guard and ceremony pro-vided by the Donald C. Munro American Legion Post 944 in remembrance of their past com-mander. Everyone’s kind regards have comforted us and we lean upon these memories daily.

The poignant eulogy given by Fr. Sean Gann of St. Joseph’s Church and the Mass, celebrated by Monsignor Alex Manly, Fr. Paul Mijas and Deacon John Trodden, was filled with such love, eloquence and sympathy that we are forever grateful. The service led by Fr. Francis Vattakudiyil at Clayton’s was extremely touching and ref lected so many warm and tender mem-ories — we have been blessed to have such leaders in our church and community.

Finally, our heartfelt thanks are given to Sheriff Vincent DeMarco and the officers and members of the Suffolk County Sheriff ’s Office. We will always remember the images of the sheriff ’s office providing a trib-ute for a man who would have been touched and humbled by the expression of sympathy and empathy the officers displayed.

Thank you again for all the compassion that was given in honor of Mickey.

Carol McGuireLinda and Steve Figari

Kings Park

Letters ...We welcome your letters. They 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 confirmation. Email letters to joedarrow@tbrnewspapers.com or mail them to The Times of Smithtown, PO Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733.

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

EDITORIAL OPINION

adolescent psychiatry at Stony Brook University, dis-cussed risk factors for drug addiction. Melissa Wayne, substance abuse prevention coordinator at the Peder-son-Krag Center, provided parents with practical tips to both monitor their children and foster communica-tion with them. Smithtown health teacher and Coach Lou Gambeski and High School West Principal John Dolan spoke of intraschool eff orts to fi ght substance abuse. Th ey encouraged parents to be vigilant, espe-cially in keeping tabs on teens’ cell phones, as par-ticular contacts or messages could off er a tip-off on drug-related activities.

Th e district has established a drug resources blog, which can be reached from its home page, and a sys-tem has been put in place allowing parents to com-municate substance-abuse concerns to school offi cials via email, Smithtown Superintendent of Schools Ed Ehmann said the day aft er the event.

“It was a very, very eff ective forum,” he added.Kings Park organizers are hoping for a similarly

enthusiastic showing tonight. “Th e goal of the night is for the community to come together to under-stand the reality of illegal drug use in our commu-nity,” said Kings Park In Th e kNOw board member Linda Henninger at Friday’s meeting of the Youth and Community Alliance of Smithtown. Th e organiza-

tion is a coalition of town departments, schools, civic groups, commerce chambers, health advocacy groups,churches and elected offi cials throughout Smithtown that works to prevent and counter lifestyle hazardsfacing area youth.

Th e Kings Park event, “Parenting for Prevention,” isalso scheduled to feature representatives from a variety of addiction treatment and prevention organizations as well as law enforcement offi cials, who will be avail-able to answer parents’ questions, according to In Th ekNOw President Maureen Rossi. Drug EnforcementAgent Charlie Bernard will outline how heroin, the il-legal opiate increasingly popular on Long Island, movesfrom foreign countries to local teens. A Smithtown fa-ther will share the story of losing his son to a heroinoverdose. Addiction specialist Pamela Mizzi of thedistrict’s Parent Resource Center is expected to make apresentation on the substances most abused by Suff olkteens, and Assistant Suff olk County District Attorney Bill Devore will discuss social host liability laws.

“Education is a parent’s greatest defense againstdrug use and addiction,” said Rossi. And guardians’ oversight is the fi rst and last line of defense in ensur-ing children’s safety, she said, particularly when heroin addiction oft en begins with teens raiding their parents’medicine cabinets for prescription painkillers. “We ask the cops to do their job, we ask the school districts to dotheirs and get the drug dealers out of their schools, butat the end of the day, it’s about parental responsibility.”

Drug forumContinued from page A1

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TIMES BEACON RECORDNEWSPAPERSWe welcome letters, photographs, comments and story ideas. Send your items to PO Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733 or email to joedarrow@tbrnewspapers.com. Or drop by our news offi ce at 185 Route 25A, Setauket. Th e opinions of our columnists are not necessarily those of the paper.Times Beacon Record Newspapers are published every Th ursday. Address: PO Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733. Telephone: 631-751-7744Web • northshoreofl ongisland.comCon tents copyright 2009.

EDITOR AND PUBLISHERLeah S. DunaiefGENERAL MANAGERJohness KuiselEXECUTIVE EDITORLee LutzEDITORJoe DarrowLEISURE EDITOREllen BarcelSPORTS EDITORKatherine ConsorteONLINE EDITORPatricia Proven

ASSOCIATE EDITORAlyssa CutlerEDITORIALJohn BrovenJennifer ChoiMichael DownerArlene GrossRobert LeunerKelly MaguirePatricia ProvenLisa SteuerJohn WestermannDave Willinger

PHOTOGRAPHYJohn GriffinRobert O'RourkART AND PRODUCTIONDIRECTORDavid R. LeamanART AND PRODUCTIONJanet FortunaBeth Heller MasonWendy Mercier

ADVERTISING DIRECTORKathryn MandracchiaADVERTISINGMary ChirichellaRobin LemkinBarbara NewmanElizabeth ReuterLaura SatchwillNancy SolomonTed TaylorLynn TunneyMinnie Yancey

CLASSIFIEDS DIRECTOREllen SegalBUSINESS MANAGERSheila MurrayCREDIT MANAGERDiane WattecampsCIRCULATION MANAGERAlyssa CutlerBUSINESS OFFICESandi GrossMeg MalangoneSUBSCRIPTION MANAGERTerri Caruso

In our new recession-induced age of propriety, owning a personal jet is under a storm of disfavor. Th ough they represent the ultimate in conspicuous consumption, at least one good thing can be said about these super-expensive planes — compared to their big brothers the commercial airliners, they are relatively quiet. I know, because the seaside apartment I am renting in Florida lies in the approach path to the small airstrip at Boca Raton favored by jet-setting multi-millionaires. Th eir personal jets fl y in and out all day long, announcing themselves with a thrilling whine of power and rumble of engines. Th e brethren of these planes, the big eardrum-pounding heavies, must use either West Palm Beach to the north or Fort Lauderdale to the south.

Th e little jets are sleek and beautiful to watch. Th e sight of them approaching to land or climbing for altitude aft er departing suggests an intriguing air of mystery. Th eir silver fuselages carry no markings, no recognizable airline logos or colors. Th ey arrive as early as dawn, and fl y out way aft er dark. So to whom do they belong?

One can only guess, but one thing is sure — the ranks of the wealthy have been thinned by Bernie Madoff . One assumes that prior to his depredations, the airways in and out of Boca Raton were even more crowded.

Still, this remains a rich country, and though he ap-peared to have tried very hard Bernie did not manage to steal everybody’s money. Th e East Coast of South Florida is still a haven of extravagant wealth. Th e town

where I am staying, Highland Beach, is lined with an odd juxtaposition of high-rise condominiums and co-ops with modest apartments, and gargantuan ornate mansions in the $20 million price range.

(For perspective, though it is right on the ocean, my own apartment is in a 50-year-old co-op whose windows and sliding glass doors don’t work very well. Yesterday one of the two elevators failed, trapping for a while a fellow snowbird from Stony Brook.)

Madoff is much in the public awareness here. Fift een miles to the north, in his winter retreat of Palm Beach, he ruined large numbers of friends and acquaintances. In Delray Beach, a mile from here, there’s an old-fashioned newsstand much like the late, lamented Darling’s in Port Jeff erson. I go there oft en for my Racing Form and Wall Street Journal, and fall into conversations with old-time locals who congre-gate to complain about snowbirds like me. One morn-ing the proprietor had on display a 168-page reprint of the list of Madoff ’s victims, which was eagerly perused for local names.

Th e Palm Beach Post reported this morning on what wealthy society matrons are doing to show empathy with the less fortunate during the recession. Among other things, they’re digging into the back of their closets and wearing last year’s gowns to charity balls. In December, a group of women pledged they would insist their rich husbands not buy them expen-sive jewelry for Christmas. (Th ough this may have made them feel good, it might have cost the jobs of a couple of gold miners in South Africa and diamond

cutters on 47th Street. Oh, the law of unintended consequences).

As this grim recession drags on, I think more and more of the lost wisdom of small town America. It was Wall Street, not Main Street, that plunged us into the abyss. Had the sharks on Wall Street not been de-monically clever at concealing what they were doing, the little fi sh on Main Street would have refused to take the bait. I think of the brief single term of Mike Lee as mayor of Port Jeff erson, when he doubled taxes to diminish the debt hanging over the Village Center. Said Mr. Lee, “I was raised not to buy things until I could aff ord to pay for them.”

Mike, you should have been chairman of the Secu-rities and Exchange Commission.

In post-Madoff world, tarnished trappings of wealth

What fun we had this past Sunday evening at the Th ree Village Inn. It was the Men and Women of the Year reception, at which the winners of 2008 in Th e Village Times Herald were presented with framed certifi -cates before an audience of 137 (count ’em) community leaders. Th is was our 33rd such party, and they are always a high for us at the newspaper.

We started the Men and Women of the Year issue, our only “all good news” issue, the week between Christmas and New Year’s in 1976, the year we started Th e Village Times. I copped the idea, sort of, from Time magazine, where I had worked. But Time selects one person who, each year, is the most newsworthy, regardless of the value of their eff orts, wheth-er Hitler or Mother Teresa.

We, on the other hand, divide our community into categories, from the Arts to Business to Civics, all the way through to Sports and Volunteers. We then select

the residents who are making outstanding contributions to our villages, going that extra mile above and beyond what might be expected from them, and give them the spotlight — to further help them in their work and to express our collec-tive appreciation. We ask your help in the nominating process, which begins in early summer with a form that we run in the paper. With those nominations that come in through the mail, Internet and telephone and the suggestions of our staff , we sit down and decide the winners each year.

Once, early on, I thought we might run out of winners. It will never happen. Th e more people we get to know by cover-ing the news, and the more we understand about how much is contributed to the greater good, the more people we want to honor. Sometimes we honor a past winner again because he or she has done something new or something more.

We never tell the winners

why exactly we are interviewing them in the late fall for a story, and usually they don’t think to ask because what they are doing is newsworthy enough on its own. So when they discover that they have won, it’s a fun surprise.

Th at fi rst year, members of the Th ree Village community stepped forward and suggested a reception for the winners. Th ey also off ered to underwrite the party in a hands-across-the-community gesture. So we are the hosts each year, we speak about what each winner has done, we then give him or her a chance to tell where they are planning to go with their work in the coming year, and when they sit back down we give them a resounding round of applause in a public show of appreciation.

Why did we start this and why do we enthusiastically continue it to this day?

A sense of community is so important, such an enrichment in our lives. Learning about our common history, knowing

we are surrounded by kindly and caring neighbors, working together to maintain and pre-serve our natural resources and educate our children, these all contribute to a sense of security and well being for children and adults alike.

At times of stress, like some of the economic uncertainties we are living through today, people tend to turn toward each other for support. Here’s an extreme example of what I’m talking about. If you remember, New York City — long con-sidered a cold and impersonal place — became a lot more fi lled with kindness and mutual helpfulness aft er 9/11. Human values come more into focus in times of crisis. We are in what Frank Rich, columnist for Th e New York Times, calls a time of “social consciousness.”

How lovely that we, who live out here, don’t have to fi rst develop such a consciousness. It’s already here, as these awards ably demonstrate. We are so fortunate to live in a place with

community leaders and activ-ists, and whatever the issues are locally, we sooner or later see most of them through to a suc-cessful resolution.

So a sense of community is a wonderful thing. And since we are the community newspaper, we have always felt it part of our job to strengthen that sense wherever we can. Let me tell you, by the time everyone leaves the Men and Women of the Year reception each year, and we have recognized the eff orts of all those special people who enhance our lives, there is a glowing pride of place.

Celebrating strength in community

BY JOHN MCKINNEYvtimes@tbrnewspapers.com

As this grim recession drags on, I think more and more of the lost wisdom of small town America.

Signals

BY LEAH S. DUNAIEFvtimes@tbrnewspapers.com

Between you and me

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