Town Hall Is Officially The Patrick R. Vecchio Building

 By p.biancaniello (click on photos to enlarge)

If you haven’t noticed there is a new addition to Town Hall. Under the words Town Hall the name Patrick R. Vecchio Building has been added. This completes the dedication of the building which began on March 3, 2015 during the Smithtown 350 celebration.

At the March 3, 2015 town board meeting Smithtown Town Board members Thomas McCarthy, Edward Wehrheim, Robert Creighton and Lynne C. Nowick honored Supervisor Patrick R. Vecchio by approving a resolution dedicating Town Hall to him.

A ceremony was held at Town Hall on November 1, 2015 revealing the sign over the front entrance officially dedicating Town Hall in Supervisor Vecchio’s honor. 

Original sign over front door part of the Nov. 1 dedication ceremony.There are some who question the number of signs on the buiding and the cost to taxpayers. Before the words Patrick R. Vecchio Building were placed on the facade of the buiding there were two signs already in place, one over the front door and one over the back door. “I’m not against dedicating the building but three signs seem a bit much.” said a reader prefering not to be identified in this article. Another reader asked about the cost of the signage.

Councilman McCarthy said the Parks Department made the front and rear signs and the lettering on the facade cost approximately $1,500. 

sign over the back door of Town HallSupervisor Vecchio in a telephone conversation with Smithtown Matters said he was not involved in planning the signage. One sign would have been enough for him although he commented that it was difficult to see the sign over the front door. Supervisor Vecchio was emotional at the March 2015 board meeting when they announced the dedication. He remains honored although he declared that he still does not believe in “naming buildings and the like” after people who are still alive.

Last week, with the words Patrick R. Vecchio Building added to the front facade of the building, the renaming of Smithtown Town Hall was completed.

Hauppauge Graduate Swims The English Channel

Richard Wilde swimming the English Channel September 12, 2016Hauppauge HS graduate Richard Wilde class of 1990 swims. Richard has been swimming since he was seven years old when he was a member of the Hauppauge Sea Eagles. During his years of swimming Richard developed the goal of swimming the English Channel (21 miles  depending on the swimming pattern may be as much as 26 miles). 

Fast forward to September 12, 2016 the date that Richard Wilde completed his goal and swam the English Channel from England to France in twelve hours and twenty two minutes.

After completing this remarkable feat he said he was very cold for many hours in the beginning of this endeavor dealing with strong winds and rough seas.  He very much appreciated all the support he had from his wife, son, family, friends and most all of Hauppauge.

How important was the support of the Hauppauge community? Wilde said he couldn’t have done it without the continued encouragement from them.  During his stay in England preparing for his swim he received numerous emails and texts from the people in Hauppauge which helped him to stay strong and accomplish his dream.

Hauppauge’s Richard Wilde had a dream come true because of his tireless commitment and a little help from the people of Hauppauge.

Richard Wilde is a Lieutenant in the NYC Fire Department and currently lives in Brooklyn.

Keeping The Memory Alive Commack Community Remembers 9/11

Commack School District hosted its annual 9/11 Remembrance Memorial Service on Sunday, September 11. This year’s event billed as “A Day Of Remembrance” was dedicated to the men and women who died on September 11, 2001 and to first responders who helped in the recovery effort.

Once again the Commack community showed its willingness to keep the memory of those who were victims of 9/11 alive. Once again the community opened its heart and sent a message of love, unity and appreciation to the families who have suffered the unimaginable. 

Sunday’s event was Commack’s fifteenth annual 9/11 event. It was also Congressman Steve Israel and NYS Senator John Flanagan’s 15th appearance. Both men spoke about the horror of the day and how Americans came together after 9/11. Congressman Israel spoke of the uncertainty he felt immediately after the attacks. He drew applause from the audience when he spoke of the legislation passed by both houses allowing victims and families to sue Saudi Arabia, holding them responsible for the acts of terrorism. This will be Congressman Israel’s last official appearance since he is not seeking re-election.  Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone attended but did not speak.

The hour and a half ceremony included the Commack Fire Department, Commack Volunteer Ambulance Corp, Huntington Detachment #792, NYPD Color Guard. Bag Pipes were played by Mike Molloy and Chris Toomey.

Debbie Virga, the force behind the past fifteen years, was recognized for her unwavering commitment to keeping the memory of 9/11 alive. She was presented with a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol Bldg. in Washington D.C.. The flag was presented by John Feal and Martin Aponte of the FealGood Foundation and 9/11 Responders Remembered Park.

The 2016 Day of Remeberance ended with the reading of names and placing of wreaths followed by a flyover by a Suffolk County Police Helicopter. 

For the fifteenth year attendees left a piece of their hearts at Commack HS.

Teacher Shopping A Different Perspective

By June Capossela Kempf

Last week, I went school shopping with my teacher friend; Jeanne. She was purchasing an array of supplies for her students. She filled up her shopping cart with pencils, markers, crayons, decorated folders and poster boards - then threw in tissues boxes and hand sanitizers:  Next she went to the appliance department and bought two standing fans for the classroom.

“Doesn’t the school provide some of these supplies? “

“Usually, the parents are sent a list a few weeks before school starts and they purchase most of them.  but…” 

“Oh,” I interrupted. “I guess they don’t all complete the list. Are you reimbursed?”

She smiled, and then informed me that this is something most teachers do pro-bono, “…because  some families can’t afford to complete that list.

“What about fundraisers - the PTA?”

“Being poor doesn’t mean they’ve lost their sense of pride or dignity. It’s humiliating to ask for help. Most of them are underprivileged through no fault of their own. When that list arrives at their homes, it strikes a hard blow to their budgets. A lot of kids come to school without the materials they need to learn. Sometimes they become targets for bullying.”

“What about those fans? Surely you are not springing for them.”

I know the classrooms are not air-conditioned, but with global warming, they are stifling hot boxes through most of the spring and fall seasons. I know that Jeannie sent scores of kids to the nurses’ office last spring with heat exhaustion. I know that this condition is not conducive to learning or teaching.

“Well, I benefit from those fans too…so.” She shrugged.

For an instant, I felt ashamed because admittedly, I once took part in a teacher bashing rage. Thought they got too much and worked too little… I was very vocal in my ignorance and all the counter arguments against my point of view fell on deaf ears. It took the quiet example set by my friend, Jeanne, to open my mind.

“Oh,” I said. “I never really understood or recognized how many extras you teachers do for your students.”

Later, when I helped Jeanne into her house, with boxes filled with supplies, I realized what a noble, unselfish act of kindness I just witnessed. I saw that my friend’s teaching skills extended far beyond the environs of the classroom. Today she taught me a lesson that I feel obliged to share with the entire community: Don’t judge until you walked a mile in someone else’s shoes.

 As we parted company she thanked me for helping her, but I knew in my heart that it was she I should thank and all her dedicated colleagues who walk that extra mile, unnoticed and unappreciated.

I came away from Jeanne with a renewed respect for the profession I had once scorned, and a resolve to stop the next teacher I meet to thank him/or her for their service.

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June Capossela Kempf is a Smithtown resident and the author of  Yo God! Jay’s Story. June’s book can be found at www.ml. facebook.com..Traditionally published by.Keithpublications.com

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SUFFOLK CLOSUP - Is There A "TRUMP FACTOR" In Suffolk County

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

Will what is being called the “Trump Factor”—a negative view of the Republican candidate for president that could affect GOP candidates down the ballot—impact in Suffolk on Congressman Lee Zeldin? Mr. Zeldin, who represents most of Smithtown, is an ardent supporter of Mr. Trump, indeed prominent nationally for this.

Election Day eight weeks away (thankfully) will tell the tale. But Anna Throne-Holst, the Democratic candidate in the lst CD, has been emphasizing the close link between the two. 

The lst CD, in addition to the majority of Smithtown, covers all the East End towns—Southold, Riverhead, Southampton, Shelter Island and East Hampton—and all of Brookhaven and a piece of Islip Town. It was first represented by William Floyd of Mastic Beach, who fought in the Revolutionary War and signed the Declaration of Independence.

It is regarded as a “swing” district.  Going back a little over 50 years, Otis G. Pike of Riverhead, starting in 1961 held the lst CD seat for 18 years. Mr. Pike began in politics in Suffolk as a Stevensonian Democrat, a follower of the cerebral and liberal former Illinois governor and presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson. 

He was followed by other Democrats—George Hochbrueckner of Coram and Tim Bishop of Southampton—along with Republicans Felix Grucci of Bellport and Mike Forbes of Quogue. And the seat was also held by a Conservative (the only one in the House), William Carney of Hauppauge.  Mr. Carney received GOP cross-endorsement to run for Congress in a 1978 deal in which Republican Perry B. Duryea, Jr. of Montauk, a State Assembly speaker, got the Conservative line for a (losing) bid for governor. Mr. Carney, before going to Washington, was a member of the Suffolk County Legislature.

Mr. Zeldin of Shirley, who was a state senator, is in his first term.

Ms. Throne-Holst of Noyac, former three-term supervisor of Southampton Town, has been criticizing Mr. Zeldin for what she terms his “cozy” relationship with Mr. Trump. She speaks of the two having a “mutual admiration society.” Ms. Throne-Holst has charged that “there is no line Lee Zeldin won’t cross trying to hold on to his seat including throwing his support behind a racist misogynist because he thinks it will help his political career.” 

Mr. Trump in 2014 personally contributed $2,000 to the Zeldin campaign for Congress and in a robocall declared Mr. Zeldin “a terrific guy” and “very conservative.”

Mr. Zeldin remains active in publicly supporting Mr. Trump despite Ms. Throne-Holst calling on him to denounce Mr. Trump for various statements of his.

Mr. Zeldin made national news when he was questioned on CNN about Mr. Trump criticizing the judge overseeing the Trump University fraud case because, said Mr. Trump, “he’s a Mexican. We’re building a wall between here and Mexico.” Mr. Zeldin was pressed by the CNN anchors on whether this Trump comment about the U.S-born judge of Mexican ancestry was racist. Mr. Zeldin responded that “there’s a whole lot more to define everyone, but you can easily argue that the president of the United States is a racist with his policies and his rhetoric.”

Mr. Zeldin has said that Mr. Trump “would annihilate” Democrat Hillary Clinton in the district. 

Ms. Clinton has a personal link to Suffolk in that former East Hampton Town Supervisor Judith Hope, when she was New York Democratic chair, was the person who encouraged Ms. Clinton to run for senator from New York, her entry into elective politics. They are close friends. Will Long Island’s first woman town supervisor be key to who could become the first U.S. woman president?

“Long Island Is Both Hostile Territory and Fertile Ground for Donald Trump” was the headline of an April article in The New York Times. It spoke of “potential Trump strongholds…along Long Island’s south shore, where blue-collar towns still bear scars from the Great Recession” and “parts of Long Island” are “ripe territory for Mr. Trump’s attacks on illegal immigration.” Still, the story ended with a Republican Suffolk business executive saying he was a “not-Trump voter,” that he wanted someone “levelheaded.”

Suffolk GOP Chairman John Jay LaValle, like Mr. Zeldin, has lauded Mr. Trump. In an April article in The New Yorker—headed “Donald Trump in Patchogue” about a Trump rally that drew 1,300 people—Mr. LaValle exclaimed: “He’s the single most important candidate to run in modern history.”

A measure of the wide swings in the lst CD was Conservative Carney staying on for eight years after succeeding Mr. Pike. To be watched: the changing demographics of the lst CD. It now has a large Latino population in addition to a good number of African-Americans, and they, like most women in the U.S. as reflected in polls, are especially negative towards Mr. Trump. Much of the lst CD’s voting base is educated, also considered not a good pool for Mr. Trump. Democratic enrollment has grown and President Obama carried the lst C.D. in 2012. The non-partisan Cook Political Report recently judged the race between Ms. Throne-Holst and Mr. Zeldin a “toss-up.”

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Karl Grossman is a veteran investigative reporter and columnist, the winner of numerous awards for his work and a member of the L.I. Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a professor of journalism at SUNY/College at Old Westbury and the author of six books.