Budget Votes - May 19, 2015

Budget Votes

Commack - Budget Passed 1927 yes 575 no - Trustee - Behar 1698 Marchesi 642

Hauppauge - Budget Passed 1458 yes 442 no Proposition 2: Passed 1150 yes 710 no - Trustees (2) *Stacey Weisberg 1122, *Michael Buscarino 1098, Susan Hodosky 984 (*elected)

Kings Park - Budget Passed 2065 yes, 577 no, Proposition 2: passed yes 1998 no 542, Proposition 3: passed 2087 yes, 455 no,  Trustee (*2 elected) *Kevin D. Johnston 1886, *Diane Nally 1821, Charles Leo 1108

Smithtown -Budget Passed 2582 yes 761 no Proposition 2: passed yes 2507  no 715. Trustee: (Elected *) *Alcure 2395(unopposed) - *Thode 2144, Rafferty 862

Smithtown West Travels Upstate for Trophy

Smithtown West Travels Upstate for Trophy

Boys Track Team Takes Title at Queensbury Invitational

By James B. Teese

Photos Courtesy of Smithtown West Track 

It’s always a more satisfying bus ride home when you’re also bringing home the title!

That’s the story of the trek home from near Lake George for the Smithtown West Boys Track team this past weekend as they brought home the top team score from the Dr. Jack Iron Queensbury Track Invitational. 

“Everything seemed to come together this weekend,” said Coach Peter Schieck.  “Steps were on, starts were explosive and sticks were crisp,” he explained about his team’s battle with 24 teams from the State’s Section Two and surrounding counties.  Smithtown West and East compete in Section One – comprising Suffolk County — one of the toughest sections in New York.

West totaled 95 points, outdistancing host Queensbury High School with 81 points and third-place South Glens Falls High School with 78 points.

Solid Performances

Nick PaquetteNick Paquette led the West team, accounting for 28 of the team’s 95 points.  He won the High Jump with a personal best and meet record 6 feet,-4 inches, and also won the Long Jump with a leap of 20 feet, 4 inches.

Paquette then joined Mike Traina, Cameron Baker and Ethan Scully to place second in the 4x400 Meter Relay in a time of 3:38.

Max Doughty was the other individual event winner, earning gold in the Shot Put with a toss of 42-2.5.

Numerous athletes finshed in the scoring to aid the West championship.

Ethan Scully placed second in the 200 Meter Dash.  John Barone (4th ) and ChrisJohn Barone & Chris Quilla Quilla (3rd) contributed big points with stellar performances in the 110 High Hurdles and the 400 Meter Intermediate Hurdles.

Distance runners also contributed.  Mike Grabowski placed 4th in the 3200 Meter run, and Nick Sabia was 5th in the Invitational Mile event.

Alex Grabowski placed 5th in the Discus, and James Moran found his steps to place 4th in the Triple Jump.

In the Pole Vault, Ryan Budney had a near miss with the bar at 11 feet, but still placed 6^th overall.  Jagger Kachejian had a personal best at 10’-6” and finished just outside the scoring.

Scott Dinger Chris Murphy placed seventh in the High Jump.  The 4x100m relay team of Matt Cappock, Xavier St. John, Matt Cacace, and Tyler Scully placed 4th.  Scott Dinger and Matt Maidhof went 7-8 in the 3,000 Meter Steeplechase to earn ribbons.  Cameron Baker also placed in the 800m to add a point.

“And I have to note the busiest guy of the day, Bobby Montoni,” said Schieck of his entrant in the five-event Pentathlon.  “He placed 7^th in his very first try at the Pentathlon!”.

Hammer Squad

Schieck was especially proud of his underclassmen, whose hard work, he said, has produced solid results and a promising future.

“For the first time we have six freshmen on the Hammer Squad list – marking a particularly good time or score in the list of Track & Field events — so we are very excited for the future with this group,” said the coach.

“This time of the season was particularly challenging for us due to the rain-outs and rescheduling of meets.  We have had to go from meet to meet to meet for several days, and were concerned that the guys would be a little flat.  We had a relaxing day on Friday and the guys were able to perform well [at Queensbury,]” he added.

Upcoming Championships

“Now it’s time to prepare for the championship part of the season,” said Schieck, referring to the upcoming League, Division, and State Qualifying meets.

On May 27 and 29, West will compete in the Division Championships to be held at Comsewogue High School.

A week later, the Section XI Individual Championships and State Qualifier will take place at Port Jefferson High School on June 5 at 3:00 pm and on June 6 at 12:00 noon)

The qualifiers culminate in trips to the statewide NYSPHSAA Championship to be held at SUNY Albany on June 12 and 13.

Naked Man With Machete Arrested In Costco Parking Lot Lake Grove

Suffolk County Police today arrested a man that was threatening bystanders with a machete at a Lake Grove parking lot this afternoon.

Numerous witnesses reported a naked man waving a machete at people in the Costco parking lot, located at 3000 Middle Country Road, at approximately 1:05 p.m.  The man then barricaded himself inside the cab of the 2007 Freightliner tractor-trailer he had been operating for NYC Transport of 4^th Ave., East Orange, New Jersey. 

When Officers Richard Regula, Christopher Tenbrink, Anthony Sepe, Jean Hutchinson and Sergeants Keith Serper and Brian Michels, arrived on the scene, the man initially refused to exit the vehicle. When the man attempted to exit the vehicle with the machete in hand, the officers held the doors shut to contain the violent suspect.  The man then opened a small window and tried to exit through the window and threatened the officers with the 20-inch machete. 

Officers Regula and Tenbrink and Sergeant Serper approached the man and got close enough to discharge a Taser. The officers, along with Sergeants Serper and Michels, then entered the cab, subdued the suspect, Jose Amaya, and placed him into custody.

No bystanders were injured. Amaya was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital for evaluation.

Amaya, 37, Bay Shore, who also lived in the Freightliner’s cab, was charged with Menacing a Police Officer, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 4^th Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon 4^th Degree. He is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on May 19.

A criminal charge is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Smithtown History Comes To The Theater In "The Spirit Of Smithtown"

The Smithtown 350 Foundation has just announced they will be hosting a performance of an original play, “The Spirit of Smithtown” on May 29, 30, 31 and June 5,6,7 at the Smithtown Center for Performing Arts.  The play was written by Sal St. George a writer who specializes in presenting history in a manner that is both informative and entertaining.  

The one-act play was commissioned by the Smithtown 350 Foundation earlier this year. Cablevision and The Gardiner Foundation grants are making it possible to offer the performances to the public free of charge.  

‘The Sprit of Smithtown’ is history as seen through the eyes of Willie Collier, vaudevillian and host for the festivities. The production, includes many professional actors and students, combines drama, humor and historical footnotes as it celebrates the remarkable growth of Smithtown’s people and community. Mr. St. George refers to it as a toe-tapping musical revue with stories of Nesconset, Kings Park, Smithtown, Commack and Hauppauge.

There will be six performances of the play May 29, 30, 31 and June 5, 6, 7. Friday and Saturday performances start at 7:30 pm and Sunday Matinees at 3pm.  Tickets are complimentary and are available at the People’s United Bank located at 1 East Main St. Smithtown, Smithtown Center for Performing Arts located at 2 E. Main St., Smithtown (631-724-3700) and through Smithtown350foundation.org. There is limited seating and people will be seated on a first come basis. There are no assigned seats. You must have a ticket in advance of the performance date. 

The Smithtown 350 Foundation invites you to join in the celebration of Smithtown’s 350th Anniversary by attending a performance of ‘The Spirit of Smithtown’ during its limited run at the Smithtown Center for Performing Arts. 

For more information click here

Dave Calone To Run For Congress In First Congressional District

Suffolk Businessman Dave Calone opens congressional campaign

Launches Job Creation Council

Setauket, NY – Long Island businessman and former federal prosecutor Dave Calone has opened a campaign committee to run for Congress in Suffolk County, New York’s First Congressional District.

Dave CaloneA native of Suffolk County, Calone has started and helped build companies around the country as the CEO of Jove Equity Partners. He has founded and/or served as a director of companies in the internet, software, health care, real estate, energy, digital media, and entertainment industries. He created the LI Emerging Technologies Fund to help launch new companies based on technology innovations emerging from Long Island’s research labs. Calone has served as the volunteer Chairman of the Suffolk County Planning Commission for seven years where he has led a variety of efforts to grow the regional economy and to protect the air we breathe and the water we drink. Calone is also a former state prosecutor.

Calone remarked, “I’ve spent the past several years helping to create new companies and new jobs – including here in Suffolk County where I was born, where I’ve lived for most of my life, and where my wife and I are raising our three children. I was appointed to serve on the Suffolk County Planning Commission by the last two Suffolk County Executives, enabling me to work with leaders and communities across Long Island on increasing the economic capacity of our region. We need strong federal leadership to make sure that Long Island can compete for the good jobs of the future, both with the rest of the nation and the rest of the world. Congress could use more leaders who have real-world experience creating jobs and growing the economy and the people of Suffolk County deserve a Congressman who’s focused on the right priorities.”

Calone announced that he is establishing a Job Creation Advisory Council comprised of leaders who have helped create jobs in Suffolk County. Members include Marc Alessi (Synchropet); Matt Chartrand (Iron Workers Local 361); Gemma de Leon (RWDSU UFCW Local 1102); Sven Doerge (Festo); Aaron Foss (NoMoRoBo); Carl Gabrielsen (Gabrielsen Farms); Noel Goddard (Goddard Labs); Peter Goldsmith (LISTnet); Andrew Hazen (LaunchPad); Barbara Roberts (Roberts & Co.); Joe Scaduto (Traverse Biosciences);Anne Shybunko Moore (GSE Dynamics); Paul Schwartz (Thermolift); Dr. Yacov Shamash; and Michael Tucci (Energy Fitness). (affiliations are for identification purposes only)

Calone added, “I will be adding to this Job Creation Council as the campaign goes on. One of my top priorities is to come up with new ways to foster innovation, to take advantage of our region’s assets, to help new companies get started and to help our existing businesses grow and create more and better-paying jobs.”

According to Tony Parlatore, Chair of the Brookhaven Town Democratic Committee (Brookhaven Town makes up the majority of the 1st Congressional district), “Dave Calone has never run for office before, but he is a lifelong supporter of Democratic values. His father was an engineer and local chamber of commerce leader and his mother was an elementary school teacher here in our community. Dave Calone is well respected in our region for his work to cut government red tape and enact policies that support job growth. He also has been a leader in protecting Suffolk County’s natural environment by fighting to protect our waters and has been nationally recognized for creating policies that promote renewable energy usage across Long Island. His local leadership, his background in creating jobs, and his law enforcement and national security experience make him the right candidate to take on Congressman Zeldin.”

As a federal prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice, Calone worked on prosecuting cases involving international economic crime and terrorism – efforts for which he was named a recipient of “The Attorney General’s Award”. As a state prosecutor, he investigated violations of the public trust and combated health care fraud – including helping to lead a prosecution that resulted in what was, at the time, the largest Medicaid fraud recovery of taxpayer dollars in state history.

Calone was recently named a Truman National Security Fellow. He is currently the Chair of Patriot Bootcamp – an organization that helps veterans and active duty service members start technology companies. He serves on the board of directors of the United Way of Long Island where he focuses on helping expand STEM education opportunities to underserved districts on Long Island. He also serves on the board of directors of the Community Development Corporation of Long Island where he has worked to support affordable housing developments in Suffolk County.

Calone is a graduate of Port Jefferson High School, and an honors graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School. Calone lives in Setauket, where he and his wife Kate, a Presbyterian minister, are raising their three children.