Suffolk County Legislators Say "Give Us Speed Cameras"

Suffolk County Legislators met at a special meeting on Tuesday and voted Yes to a home rule message requesting NYS to authorize the installation of speed cameras to be placed in school zones in Suffolk County. The vote 14 in favor, 3 opposed ( Kennedy, Trotta, Cilmi), Leg. Kate Browning abstained.

Smithtown Legislator Rob Trotta (13th LD) voted NO and expressed his dismay to Smithtown Matters. “Safety is not the issue here. We have crossing guards at the schools who are doing a great job.  We are being asked to vote without giving us hard facts as to why we need cameras.”  

Trotta suggested that speed cameras are more about budgeting, the cameras are estimated to generate close to $7 million in revenue for the county,  and less about school safety.  “They want to be able to say they didn’t raise General Fund taxes but this is about money not safety,” said Trotta.

Suffolk County will not be obligated to post signs announcing camera useThere are 69 school districts in Suffolk County and the goal is to have one camera for each school district.  The cameras can be moved around the district and according to Trotta there is nothing in the proposal that requires warning signs to be placed in targeted school zones. 

The proposal would sanction the ticketing of drivers who are photographed driving ten miles over the school zone speed limit. The cameras would begin functioning an hour before, during and one hour after school ends.  In addition cameras will be functioning a half-hour before, during and after other school events.  Legislator Trotta is adamant that this is unacceptable. “How are people to know that there is something going on at the school.  People can’t see behind schools, when games are being played. Are we going to be giving tickets to people traveling 31mph when school hours are over and there is an event taking place in the building or behind a school?” 

Theater Review - "Bingo! - The Winning Musical"

Theater Review

“Bingo! – The Winning Musical”

Produced by: Theatre Three – Port Jefferson

Reviewed by: Jeb Ladouceur

Everybody knows what Bingo is…but this is the first time I’ve seen the familiar game used as a metaphor for life’s foibles. Thus devised, one-liners spring from Michael Heitzman, Ilene Reid, & David Holcenberg’s hilarious “Bingo! The Winning Musical” in rat-tat-tat sequence. Example: In one scene when Sam the Bingo Caller announces that the next game’s objective is to form a single, straight line on the card…the thrice divorced, on-the-hunt sexpot Honey (perfectly played by Laura Bell) proclaims, “Ahhh…’Single’ and ‘Straight’…my two favorite words!”

The other three women in the diverse, Bingo-addicted quartet that continuously fires off similar rib-tickling gems are Vern, Patsy, and Bernice (Debbie D’Amore, Cristina Faicco, and Linda May). They are ably supported by Sam the Caller (Ed Brennan, who has miraculously made the switch from his recent portrayal of the tragic Javert in Les Miserables).

The entire cast of ‘Bingo! - The Winning Musical’ at Theatre Three. Photo by John Lanscombe.Minnie (Sheila Sheffield the Hall Manager) wanders the audience and plays a straight-faced shill for Sam as if the two have been at it for decades—that’s how good the timing is. And timing is everything in rapid fire give-and-take like theirs.

When a neophyte gambler, Alison (delivered convincingly by Amanda Geraci) arrives in the Bingo Hall, the petite gal with the big voice belts out “I’ve Made up My Mind” with authority that belies her diminutive stature. It’s one of a dozen songs rendered with equal gusto by various cast members. Geraci is assigned the only role even remotely associated with a plot in this essentially scenario-free variety show. Wisely, Director Jeffrey Sanzel elects not to emphasize the heavy aspect and risk losing a fun-loving audience that’s already been won.

As everyone involved in local theater knows, Theatre Three major domo Sanzel is about as versatile a figure as can be found in any of Long Island’s numerous playhouses. Having won last year’s Encore Award for his superb direction in “The Diary of Anne Frank,” the executive artistic director of the company that’s rightfully become known as Port Jefferson’s ‘Broadway on Main Street’ has brought a talented troupe full circle. Gone (at least for now) is the gut-wrenching drama of persecution and anti-Semitism played out in a cramped Amsterdam attic…and not surprisingly, in its place Sanzel has mounted a contrasting farcical comedy!

At the outset, let it be said that this critic generally disdains the somewhat underhanded ploy used to name this play. To me, injecting a laudatory double entendre blurb into the name of a theatrical production is akin to titling a book, “A Terrific Novel!” or “My Favorite Mystery.” It smacks of presumption at best, and is intentionally deceptive at worst. Critiquing is best left to those of us who stake our reputations on the appropriate application of such adjectives.

But Mr. Sanzel didn’t name this comic romp, so he’s hardly to blame for any deception, intended or otherwise…and as a matter of fact, the musical on Theatre Three’s Mainstage thru May 24th happens to be ‘winning’…big time!

“Bingo! The Winning Musical” with its minimal cast, modest prop requirements, and contrived opportunities for audience participation, was an ideal off-Broadway vehicle in those regards. Indeed, “Bingo!...” never did make it to the Great White Way, and even downtown the production closed after a relatively brief run. My guess is the proletarian nature of the theme had a lot to do with that. It seems at least questionable whether die-hard Bingo aficionados are similarly dedicated theatergoers.

That said, Theatre Three has successfully used this comic freight train of a play to shine a light on human eccentricities. The result: ‘Bingo!...” deserves the acronym LOL!

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Award-winning Smithtown writer Jeb Ladouceur is the author of eight novels, and his theater reviews appear in several major L.I. publications. In Ladouceur’s next thriller, “Harvest” due in late summer, an American doctor is forced to perform illegal surgeries for a gang of vital organ traffickers in The Balkans.

New York State Senate Takes on The Heroin Crisis

First Hearing on Long Island

Maureen Rossi

Earlier this month Senate Majority Coalition Co-Leaders Dean Skelos and Jeffrey Klein  announced the creation of the Senate Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction.  Stakeholders on Long Island welcome the new Task Force as they have been grappling with an epidemic for a decade.  The purpose of the newly formed group is to: a) examine the rise in heroin and Opioid use and b) to come up with recommendations for treating and preventing addiction.   

CRITICAL INSURANCE BILL SITS IN ALBANY

There is a bill sitting up in Albany that would rectify a major problem that addicts deal with when they want to get sober; obstacles to treatment.  Kim Revere is president of Kings Park in the kNOw, a small non-profit organization that has been working for eight years to shine a light on and eradicate the youth heroin and opiate epidemic in Suffolk County.   “S4623 would require health insurance companies to cover drug and alcohol abuse and dependency treatment services,” she explained.  

Acording to Ms. Revere, the way insurance companies work now is insurance executives decide what aspects of treatment they will  approve.  Treatment could be a short-term detoxification program, a standard 28 day inpatient program or intensive out-patient where the addict goes several times a week a few hours a day.  “When this bill gets passed, and it will; the treatment will be provided on the terms of medical necessity as determined by a doctor or trained addiction specialist,” she explained.   She says it will take the decision making out of the hands of the wealthy executives and put it into the hands of trained medical professionals.    She said she, members of the addiction and prevention community and parents of deceased children were told by Senator John Flanagan (R, Smithtown), when they visited him in his Albany office, that he believes this bill is very important.  Senator Flanagan was part of the panel last week at Suffolk County Community College and participated in a short documentary about the epidemic with Kings Park in the kNOw five years back.

THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH 

Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds is the Director for the Long Island Coalition for Alcohol and Drug Dependency (LICADD).  He is a respected, vocal member of the movement, a resident of Smithtown and a panelist at last weeks meeting.  He is disgusted that so many Insurance companies are denying treatment.  He says he deals with it daily.   “If it were any other disease – insurance companies would not get away with this,” he said.  His comment was met with vigorous applause. 

Desperate parents have been told their son or daughter isn’t high enough for a detoxification program.  Some have been told their child is not using enough heroin to garner in-patient treatment.   Far too many addicts have been told after overdosing that they must first fail at out-patient before they can receive inpatienttreatment.  What about a heroin overdose doesn’t scream failure?  Linda Ventura of Kings Park lost her son Thomas two years ago shortly before his 22^nd birthday.  She was one of dozens of stakeholders who went up to Albany in February to meet with members of the Senate to discuss the proposed legislation.  “They need to follow through with this – the Insurance bill must pass this year, kids are dying,” she lamented.

Ventura said her family suffered because of obstacles to treatment.  She was told her son wasn’t high enough for Detox, another time that he didn’t use enough heroin for inpatient, that he needed to fail at out-patient first.  She describes his addiction as an absolute HELL.  She said when addiction took over his body and mind - her boy was gone.  “He was unrecognizable,” she shared.  Thomas like so many young Long Island heroin addicts did have a very happy childhood.  He was a great athlete; he was popular and had many hobbies and interests.   After his parents divorced and the loss of his grandparents who were very dear to him, he began to smoke pot and drink beer the summer he was fifteen.   “Don’t delude yourself, if your kid is experimenting with alcohol at 13 or 14 don’t kid yourself, it will escalate, it’s not if, it’s when,” she warned.

Part II Tomorrow - Why the heroin problem is getting worse

Update on Monday, April 21, 2014 at 11:28PM by .

Part II Maureen Rossi

IS THE HEROIN PROBLEM GETTING WORSE?

Since the I-Stop legislation became law there has been an uptick in heroin use and overdoses.  Senator Kemp Hannon is the architect of the legislation that mandates a 24/7 tracking system connecting doctors and pharmacists. Hannon has called prescription drug abuse the fastest growing drug problem in New York. The goal of I-Stop is to prevent doctor shopping and to limit access and the abuse of prescription drugs.

Reynolds and others working to fight the drug scourge on Long Island say they knew the I-Stop law would put a halting stop to doctor shopping but the temporary downside would be an uptick in heroin use due to lack of pills on the street.   Experts like Seafield’s Anthony Rizzutto and LICADD’s Reynolds say they are dealing with that uptick on a daily basis.

A critical component of the Task Force is prevention. Many on the front line say it is not possible for government to legislate or arrest our way out of this epidemic.  They say we need long-term solutions including evidence-based prevention programs in class rooms  K-12.    Will Albany mandate schools to include prevention programs in the midst of the Common Core debacle; will the state provide the funding for the mandate?    One can only hope so.   Without strong consistent prevention efforts this epidemic has the potential to go on for a very long time.

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE

Senator Phil Boyle, is the chair of the Joint Senate Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction.  He was present at Suffolk County Community College for the first of a dozen hearings held around the state on April 8.  Senator Boyle and members of the NYS Senate were joined by parents, law enforcement, and experts in addiction and prevention. “The primary mission here is to save lives,” said Boyle. 

Everyone agrees that time is of the essence and that the clock is ticking for addicts and families of addicts.  It is also ticking for those on the panel as a detailed report is due in Albany by June first.   Time is an enemy to New York State residents waiting for the Insurance Bill to pass.  Most realize it will be fought by very wealthy savvy Insurance lobbyists and that it could take longer than anyone wants to wait.  

Stakeholders wonder how many more young people on Long Island will die because of obstacles to treatment?  How many innocent people will die in vehicular accidents at the hands addicts?  How many more pharmacies will be robbed?  How many more crimes will be committed?  How many more families will hear the worst news they could ever possibly hear, that their child is gone?

Tomorrow Part III

Update on Tuesday, April 22, 2014 at 11:33PM by .

Part III - The Speakers

by Maureen Rossi

Last week’s proposed state budget included $5 million for increased heroin prevention, treatment and recovery support services.   

Senator Hannon is well known as a strong advocate for finding solutions to the drug problem. He has called drug addiction a major public health crisis. He was credited by Moderator Jack Martins with being the architect of both the I-Stop bill and the Insurance Bill presently sitting in Albany.  That pronouncement was met with hearty applause by law-makers and all present at the hearing. Hannon is working to find ensure that treatment decisions are made by doctors.

The audience clearly understood the importance of the Insurance Bill. Panelist and addiction expert Richard Buckman said he had the opportunity to go to inpatient rehab for 28 days back in 1988.  “I know I would not be clean and sober if I did not have that opportunity,” he shared.   He also says the Insurance Bill is critical.

A young well dressed twenty-six year old Long Island woman took the podium she articulated beautifully and told the harrowing story of her life with alcohol and drugs.  Like so many young heroin addicts today, she did not look like a junkie.   Unfortunately, her story is not unique; due to her addiction she has robbed people, spent time in jail and buried many friends who shared the disease of addiction.  She is one of the lucky Long Islanders who have been down the Opioid Heroin path – today she is sober.  

Arthur and Denise Murr’s son Matt was their only child.  They spoke candidly about his addiction and his death.   “He knew what he was doing was wrong, he was ashamed and embarrassed,” said his father.   Denise Murr spoke about Matt saying that at the age of fifteen, doctors put him on Aderral for attention problems.  “It was the first drug he took and he later abused,” she added.  Matt completed only one semester of college before his addiction became too much to bear.  In the course of seven long grueling years for the Murr’s, Matt was in and out of many rehabs.  The Murr’s said they could never understand why their son became addicted to heroin.  Theirs was a very happy loving home; they were your average Long Island family.  In between soft tears, the Murr’s spoke extensively about the stigma and shame of having a child who was addicted to heroin.

Jason took the podium after the Murr’s, he told the attentive audience that he grew up with a mom who loved him more than anything.  The sober twenty-something said he identified with the type of upbringing Matt’s parents spoke about.  He played sports and said his childhood was normal.  “However, I always felt like I had a pebble in my shoe, when I got high that feeling went away and I continued to look for that feeling for years by getting drunk and high,” he added.  Jason said his best friend died of an overdose at seventeen and that was the first time he tried heroin.  “I had someone boot it (shoot) into me,” he continued.   He added that he always had that nagging feeling he was going to die with a needle in his arm.   He said he has been in homeless shelters, jails, rehabs, and psych wards.  Sadly he shared that because of the epidemic here on Long Island he has gone to over one hundred wakes in his short life.  Today Jason is sober and he is living proof that treatment works.

Tomorrow Part IV

Update on Wednesday, April 23, 2014 at 10:11PM by .

LONG ISLAND – A MAJOR EPICENTER

“This is the first of twelve forums holding around the state, it’s (Long Island) one of the epicenters and we need to put a stop to that,” said Senator Boyle.   Buckman shared that sadly in the thirty-four year history of his organization the largest increase has occurred recently and has been for those in the 13-17 year old category for treatment of Opioid abuse.   Users are getting younger and younger.   At present there is no end in sight for this epidemic.

How big is the pill problem overall in New York State?   “In 2010 we wrote 21 million scripts annually and we only have 19 million people,” said Senator Hannon.  At this point in time it is safe to say that most New York State residents know someone with or who has had a Opioid pill problem. 

Suffolk County Legislators John Kennedy and Tom Cilmi were also present at last week’s Senate hearing.  They are both members of the new Suffolk County Legislature’s Mental Health & Substance Abuse Task Force, which will be convening officially on May 14^th.  “What I hear and saw was phenomenal – the level of attention and will was critical and it’s welcome,” said Kennedy.   Kennedy has been dealing with the Long Island epidemic for a decade.  He has worked with families, law enforcement and community groups like Kings Park in the kNOw.  He says the help of the state is welcomed and needed.  “Hats off to Boyle and the whole team, I look forward to the report and implementation of the various treatment solutions and prevention solutions,” he added.     At present Cilmi and Kennedy are gathering families of the addicted, families of the lost and other stakeholders for the kick-off of their County Task Force.   While these panels convene and share their expertise, young Long Islanders will continue to die quietly, on their tree-lined streets in the backdrop of their well-forming school districts.    The time for a solution is now.

Commack HS Students Talk RYLA And Special Olympics With Rotarians

Commack-Kings Park Rotary President Dr. Phil Facquet with Commack HS studentsFour students from Commack HS visited the Commack-Kings Park Rotary Club Tuesday afternoon. Three of the students attended Rotary’s RYLA -Rotary Youth Leadership Award program. The two-day program is designed to teach high school students skills in leadership, communication, problem solving, decision making, conflict management and resolution.

The three RYLA attendees Theresa Amoruso, Katherine Elliot And Caitlin Passaro described their experience as life changing. The RYLA program is run by young people, eleventh and twelfth graders, who participated in the program as tenth graders.  Rotarians act as chaperones during the two days, but the young people do everything. 

“We are delighted to have had the opportunity to sponsor these young people.  The RYLA program allows young people to work together and to develop their leadership skills. To hear the students describe their experience at the Rotary program as life changing makes all of us in Rotary proud,” stated President Phil Facquet.

Jessica SpitzCommack HS senior Jessica Spitz was the guest speaker for the afternoon meeting. Jessica is a spokesperson for the Special Olympics. The Commack school district is hosting the Special Olympics on May 4.  This is the second year for the district.  Last year’s event was described as one of the most successful Special Olympics ever.  Debbie Virga represents the school district and acts as the liaison between the district and the Special Olympics committee. This is a labor of love for Ms. Virga who has described the event as a wonderful, positive experience. Participants vary in age from children to adults.  The events include many of the track and field events people see in olympic competitions.

Jessica Spitz is an enthusiastic participant and spokesperson for the Special Olympics. Jessica will be participating in track and shot put. She explained to Rotarians how participating in the Special Olympics helped her and allowed for new friendships, increased self esteem, and fun.Jessica will graduate in June and is looking forward to attending Suffolk County Community College and working towards earning a degree in Veterinary Technology.  

The Special Olympic Games will be held on May 4th at Commack HS.  

"Smithtown In The Year 3000" Poetry Winning Entries

“Smithtown In The Year 3000” Smithtown Matters/ Smithtown Youth Bureau’s creative writing contest-  Poetry winning entry and Honorable Mention entry.

Winning entry - Alexandria Soldo

Predicate

I hope in the far flung future

When what we love and cherish

Can be passed on to a promising generation

Growing and learning under the watchful eyes

Of the proud copper bull

Exploring as I have beside the Nissequogue River

Through forests that we must protect

As one devoted to the preservation of our wildlife

Down the long lane where once

Horse drawn carriages paraded past

That we can honor our history and look to the future

Encourage change and change for the better

As we move on down dirt trodden paths

Looking to the branches above

Reaching infinitely towards the sky

We must take the tree’s example

Never stop growing and believe one day

You will reach your goal

Honorable Mention - Michaela Oliverio

The year is 3000.

The sky is bluer, the grass is greener, The streets are much cleaner. Population has expanded, And cars that used to park, have now landed.

The brain of society has grown, Now we have all answers to the once unknown. Old restaurants and shopping centers, Have now become places only automatons can enter.

Smithtown’s become a place of hocus pocus, Because technology and magic is the main focus. People go through their day, Without a worry in the way.

Fear and anxiety is ancient history, We flourish with technology that deletes our misery. The year 3000 is something we’ve never seen before, More advancements are knocking at our door.

“Town of Smithtown in the Year 3000.”