Get Thee To A Winery - Book Signing At Whisper Vineyards

BOOK SIGNING AT WHISPER VINEYARDS - SAT., DEC. 27 - Jeb Ladouceur to introduce Balkans-based novel at L.I.’s newest winery ( Photos by Debbie Lange Fifer)

In what promises to be the literary event of the holiday season, Jeb Ladouceur Smithtown novelist Jeb Ladouceur will conduct a book-signing at Smithtown’s handsome Whisper Vineyard on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 27. The free event is slated for 2:00 PM at the lovely, new, Edgewood Avenue location just west of Route 25-A.

Ladouceur will present his ninth and newest novel, “Harvest,” to the Whisper audience. His prepared remarks last 20 minutes, after which he will answer questions and chat with attendees.

An award-winning writer, Jeb Ladouceur is Smithtown’s favorite novelist, and his theater and book reviews appear in several major L.I. publications. “Harvest” involves an American doctor who is seized by a gang of sinister organ traffickers in The Balkans and ordered to perform illegal surgeries.

Jeb Ladouceur is recognized throughout Long Island for his career in advertising, public relations, and publishing. When one of the Whisper event planners inquired whether there is a particular venue where he’s dreamed of speaking but has not yet been invited, Ladouceur answered, “Yes!…and this is it! Ever since Barbara Perrotta, and Laura and Steve Gallagher opened their gorgeous facility on Edgewood Avenue, I’ve been hoping they’d ask me to speak at the popular Wine Boutique.”

The long-time Borella’s produce patron added, “The beautiful venue is literally around the corner from our home on Stony Hill Path, and I’m thrilled to be visiting as an author.”         

Superintendent Of Highway Glenn Jorgensen Accused Of Harassment

Aimee-Lynn Smith, 26, is a former employee of the Smithtown Highway Department.  She began working for the town on November 25, 2013. Her tenure as a Smithtown employee ended when she was fired by Superintendent of Highway Glenn Jorgensen, 63, on October 17, 2014. On December 9, 2014 the Town Clerk’s office received a Notice of Claim from Ms. Smith alleging that Glenn Jorgensen sexually harassed her during her tenure at the Highway Department. 

NYS law requires a person to file a Notice of Claim prior to suing New York State, local government or a government agency for money damages. According to the Notice of Claim received in the Town Clerk’s office on December 9th, Ms. Smith is seeking damages of $200,000, compensation for losses and benefits “and to be reimbursed for any therapy to which I need due to the ongoing and pervasive sexual harassment and hostile work environment.”

Ms. Smith’s Notice of Claim is a 16-page document (Smithtown Matters obtained a copy of the Notice of Claim) in which Ms. Smith declares that she has been “systematically subjected to an ongoing pattern and practice of: discrimination based on gender, and subjected to a hostile work environment, sexual harassment, and an unlawful termination.” The document goes into great detail about her experience in the highway department from the time she was hired as a secretary in the department until she was fired. 

As an example of the harassment Smith describes a Dec. 2013 conversation, “Mr. Jorgensen commented that the man (a man she had been dating) opened the car door for me to get in, which made me uncomfortable because I felt like Mr. Jorgensen was spying on me.” She also describes  numerous questions Jorgensen asked about her personal life including questions about dating and who watched her children (Ms. Smith has two children) for the evening. “If I did, the following day I would be peppered with questions about the date: Where did we go to eat, who drove, did he pay and what time did I get home from the date.”  states Smith

The document mentions one event in the spring of 2014 which involved physical contact. In the spring of 2014 which took place at the Highway Department yard on Smithtown Bypass  ”…Mr. Jorgensen unclasped his hands from behind his back to lift them up and point at something with the tower, hitting my rear. Mr. Jorgensen immediately apologized and claimed he didn’t mean to touch me. However, based on subsequent events and his relative proximity to me, I do not believe it was an accident.”

Time after time Ms. Smith indicates that she was treated differently from other office employees by Jorgensen. She was given business cards and was directed to order a  jacket and have it labeled as his secretary, despite the fact that no other office worker had a jacket or business cards. Smith delineates meetings and unnecessary drives she was required to take with Jorgensen including a trip to the Kings Park Psychiatric Center to look at a building, drives past his house, Suffolk County Highway Superintendents Association (SCHSA) where she was being shown off “as many of the men made comments and remarks to Mr. Jorgensen about how “lucky” he was to have me as his personal secretary.”

The 16-page document is filled with examples of how Ms. Smith feels she was put on display, embarrassed and made to feel uncomfortable by Jorgensen. On October 10th, Smith identified a Highway Department employee as a man she was dating.  The work relationship with Mr. Jorgensen deteriorated and Ms. Smith was terminated on Oct. 17. 

A day after being terminated Smith went to the Department of Public Safety and filed a complaint.

There is little that the Town can do at this point other than wait for the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) to investigate and issue a report. Neither Glenn Jorgensen nor Aimee-Lynn Smith are union members so the CSEA will not be involved. The Town Board has no authority over the Superintendent of Highway. At some point the complaint may become an issue for Smithtown’s Board of Ethics.

Superintendent of Highway Glenn Jorgensen was first elected in 2009 and was re-elected in 2013. A call to Mr. Jorgensen’s office was not returned. Supervisor Vecchio, Councilman Creighton, Town Attorney Matthew Jakubowski declined to comment. 

Book Review - "The Kill List"

BOOK REVIEW

“The Kill List” – Frederick Forsyth - 333 pages – G. Putnam’s Sons - Reviewed by Jeb Ladouceur

Frederick Forsyth hit pay dirt with his initial military-style suspense story, “The Day of the Jackal,” more than four decades ago. In that first thriller, terrorists were bent on the assassination of French president Charles de Gaulle, and hired a professional killer (known only as The Jackal) to murder him. The book became an international bestseller, and two years later (in 1973) the British fighter pilot … turned-journalist … turned-novelist … saw his breakout story filmed.

Forsyth was further rewarded when his second work, “The Odessa File,” also sold in impressive numbers, and it too was adapted for the big screen. The same thing happened with “The Dogs of War,” set primarily in a platinum-producing country in Africa. It seemed there was no literary limit for the Brit with the nimble imagination.

Until 1999.

On the eve of the Second Millennium, Forsyth tripped, when inexplicably he penned the failed “The Phantom of Manhattan,” an intended sequel to (of all things) “The Phantom of the Opera.” The highly successful author claimed that the departure from his usual genre was undertaken because, “I had done Mercenaries, Nazis, Special Forces Soldiers, you name it, and I got to thinking, ‘…could I actually write about the human heart?’”

Sadly, the answer was “No” and he subsequently returned to modern thrillers.

But the writer who was once the toast of Publisher’s Row had clearly lost a step (or two) and nowhere in his body of work is it more evident than in his 2013 novel, “The Kill List.”

In this thriller we see a strange phenomenon demonstrated—and it is one that certainly would not have been anticipated, or believed, fifty … maybe even twenty years ago. It’s the oddity that because of the widespread and thoroughgoing nature of twenty-first century communications, there now exists the possibility that a writer can pepper his books with so much accurate research that the story becomes (dare we say it?) boring! This is so because what once might have filled readers with wonder, now has frequently become common knowledge.

Unmanned, heavily armed drones, flying so high over the Middle East that they can be neither seen nor heard at ground level, now occupy a prominent place in the lexicon of modern warfare, and their function is known to virtually every schoolchild. That these delivery devices fire rockets so accurately that they can (and do) seek and destroy a target through the window of a Somali mud hut, might once have been the stuff of science fiction  … but it no longer is. Furthermore, launching and guidance of these once-awesome weapons from half a world away is now considered a given.

Indeed, as the popular commercial for life insurance quips, “Everybody knows that.” Even the most interesting character in “The Kill List”—a teenaged boy who is a reclusive electronics whiz living in an attic—is not at all surprising. Given the plethora of youthful computer hackers whose ‘miracles’ we read about every day, “What’s so special about Forsyth’s young ‘Ariel?’” we ask. “Tell us something we don’t already know.”

It’s illuminating perhaps, that in this newest Forsyth espionage thriller, the most exciting segments have to do with good, old-fashioned parachuting … drugging hungry dogs with meat soaked in knockout drops … and a key confrontation involves, not a Taser, but a dagger.

Author Frederick Forsyth (and his contemporaries) might do well to return to basics, where a showdown in Sudan seems more exciting when decided with a head-butt … as opposed to one of those multi-million-dollar gizmos triggered by some nameless expert in Nevada.

____________________________________________________________________

Award-winning writer, Jeb Ladouceur is the author of nine novels, and his theater and book reviews appear in several major L.I. publications. In his newest thriller, HARVEST, an American military doctor is seized by a sinister gang of organ traffickers in The Balkans, and ordered to perform illegal surgeries.

Goodbye And Good Luck Legislator John M. Kennedy Jr.

December 16, 2014:  Yesterday, at the Suffolk County Legislature in Hauppauge, most Legislators were Legislator Kennedy’s Last Legislative Meetingmeeting for the last General Session in 2014; however for Legislator John M. Kennedy, Jr. (Nesconset, 12^th LD) it was his last session in a decade long legislative career.  For Legislator Kennedy, soon to be Comptroller Kennedy as of January 1, 2015, this was the culmination of a legislative career based upon hard work, accessibility and to always remember, the ultimate bosses are the constituents of the 12^th Legislative District, thereby making constituent services the number one priority of Legislator Kennedy’s Office.   As Legislator for the 12^th Legislative District, Kennedy represented most of Smithtown, south of Jericho Turnpike, some of Islip and some of Brookhaven for most of his tenure in office, with slight alterations done during the last redistricting.

After years of being a full-time “hands on” Legislator, not afraid to roll up his sleeves and get dirty while doing tasks such as; “Clean the Stream”, in which Kennedy and groups of Boy Scouts cleaned the Nissequogue River, or when his office staff, volunteers from Stony Brook and he unloaded a tractor trailer loaded with supplies from West Virginia for Sandy victims, at 2:00 am, Kennedy leaves in January 1, 2015 as he will be sworn in as the new Suffolk County Comptroller, after being elected in November with a 53% to 47% margin.

Presiding Officer DuWayne GregoryAt the last Legislative session yesterday, Legislator Kennedy was presented with a Proclamation, signed by all 17 other Legislators to mark this momentous day.  Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory presented Legislator Kennedy with the honor on behalf of the entire Legislature. 

“It has been my honor to be a Legislator and to work with such a wonderful group of men and women.  Although one chapter closes and another opens, I would like to think of this as a continuation as I move merely across the street to the Comptroller’s Office,” said Kennedy.                                                            

For more information, please feel free to contact my office at (631) 854-3735.

Correct History And Give Credit To Women

By Sandy Trehy 

I started out on a mission to learn why 50% of the “human” race is credited with a disproportionate amount of “mankind’s” discoveries and inventions.  I have long wondered this, but this recent search was somewhat prompted by learning that brave Saudi women were driving cars in opposition to their male guardian rules and laws, and recording and posting videos in protest.  This kind of subjugation is by no means unusual all over our world, but some of these women were doctors and lawyers.  In this situation, they were permitted to get education, but not allowed to control their lives. Without the control, even brilliant women can not succeed.

Even if you went with the current “Membership composition” of Mensa; “American general membership is “66 percent male, 33 percent female”, it would not explain the disparity of famous inventors… and Mensa is a club you have to want to join, not a census of our population. 

So my hypothesis is that a lot of women who were inventors or made discoveries, were forced to let males put forth their ideas.  Some might have done it just to get their theories considered.  Others may have been forced to keep quiet, and allow a male to take credit. 

Oddly enough, this morning on CBS’s Sunday morning, there was a segment about a movie that is coming out soon.  The story of an artist who’s husband took credit for creating those paintings of big eyed sad children we all grew up with.  The painting were made into posters and greeting cards.  I remember decorating my walls with them when I was young.  It’s not that these paintings are so impressive that they should be compared to masterpieces…  But it is an example of what did happened during our time… We may never know how often it happened.  How many famous male artists can you name, compared to women artists?

So it happened with the arts, too.  

I would love receiving similar articles and examples if you have them. And I would encourage you to pass them on to other intelligent persons, male and females alike.  I think too many of us believe that men did all the important things.  It is important to rewrite history when it is wrong.

send emails to sandy@smithtownmatters.com


Learned about this on Sunday Morning on CBS today…2nd article -  Behind the sad eyes