Hauppauge Girl Scouts Earn Silver Award

Six Hauppauge Students Receive Girl Scout Silver Award

HAUPPAUGE, NY—Girl Scouting’s highest awards—the Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards—are a girl’s chance to make a lasting difference in the world. Girl Scout Troop 2861 and 428 was honored to present Rylee Agosta, Elizabeth Combs, Elizabeth Holdorf, Emely Rodriguez, Alexeus Ruland and Renae Smith with the Girl Scout Silver Award, the highest recognition for achievement in Girl Scouting for girls in grades 6-8.

This award recognizes girls who demonstrate—individually or as a group—extraordinary leadership through sustainable and measurable Take Action projects that address important community needs.  In attendance were some special guests- Legislator Tom Cilmi, Sal Nicosia, a representative from Senator Croci, Hauppauge BOE Member, Gary Fortmeyer, the Hauppauge Middle School Principle Mrs. Maryann Fletcher, Service Unit 26 Coordinator, Mrs. Rose Vermillion and Girl Scouts of Suffolk County staff.

Elizabeth Combs and Emely Rodriguez joined forces to collect various donations for Long Island Feline Adoption Center, which had recently relocated.  They sat with the volunteers, figured out what their needs were and took action.  They requested donations through a donation box in the library, at Service Unit events and by pamphlets they distributed.

Elizabeth Holdorf created an educational brochure on Cookie Booth Sales and a Set Up and Go Cookie Booth for Girl Scouts in Suffolk County to utilize. Her cookie booth will be used by troops during cookie sales to guide them in proper etiquette and give them a readymade/travel ready cookie booth. She decided to do this because she felt that girls could benefit from a transportable cookie booth and pamphlet with information. “Girls need to know how to sell cookies properly with good cookie selling etiquette in order to get more of a profit,” Elizabeth says. She wanted to help her service unit with hopes that other service units will follow in her footsteps. This way, when Girl Scouts are out selling cookies, they can look and sound their best.

Alexeus Ruland wrote and produced an Autism Awareness Video for Hauppauge Middle School to help fight the stigma of others that are different. She chose to do this project because a close family member has Autism and she would love for everyone to know how Autism works and what it is.  In the video, she gave the science behind Autism and some of the signs and struggles a person with Autism might show. Alexeus hopes this will make people realize that even though someone may act differently, sometimes they cannot change it, and that people can try to be more understanding.

Renae Smith chose to raise money to donate two iPad’s to Stony Brook Children’s Hospital Child Life department.  The Child Life department provides young patients being treated in the pediatric unit a place to socialize, play, learn and hang-out. Renae chose to do this because the Child life Department holds a special place in her heart.  When she was seven years old, she had open-heart surgery due to some complications with a hole in her heart. When she was in the hospital, Renae visited the Child Life department play room and played with other kids and make various crafts, including sewing a pillow case, which she still owns and cherishes. 

Rylee Agosta helped with a Beautification Project at St. Thomas Moore.  She started with a sit down with Father Anthony of St. Thomas Moore Church.  Father Anthony wanted help to stop people from parking on the lawn of the church property.  They agreed on an initial plan to plant Azaleas along the road.  This need changed when the town notified Father Anthony that they were going to put in a sidewalk. So, Father Anthony gave Rylee the St. Francis Garden to work on.  The one side of the sanctuary was beautiful, and the other side was full of weeds, which was a large eyesore.  Rylee’s Silver Award Project turned the area into a beautiful section to sit and enjoy.

“Girl Scouts take a pledge to serve others and help people at all times,” says Yvonne Grant, President & CEO for Girl Scouts of Suffolk County. “The inspiring accomplishments of these young women are a testament to this promise.”

The members of Troop 2861 and 428 used their strengths, talents, and skills and put their plan into action to earn the Silver Award while each taking a leadership role.   This would not have been possible without the support of their sister scouts, family, friends and the community.

Girl Scouts of Suffolk County is the largest youth-serving agency on Long Island. It serves more than 40,000 girls between the ages of 5 and 17, with the dedicated support of more than 7,000 volunteers. For more information about Girl Scouts, please call 631.543.6622 or visit www.gssc.us.

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - Does Sheriff Toulon's Election Signal A Post Racial Suffolk County

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

The election in November of Errol Toulon, Jr. as Suffolk County sheriff—the first African-American ever elected to a (nonjudicial) countywide government position in Suffolk—was unprecedented.

And unprecedented, too, was a “Media Day at the Sheriff’s Office” held earlier this month. In my memory, going back more than 50 years in Suffolk, I cannot recall an event in which the press was invited to “a round-table discussion” in which the new county sheriff laid out his agenda and vision and took any question asked by the press, To top it off, then there was a tour of the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Yaphank where the “Media Day” was held.

The word for this is transparency.

For 45 minutes Sheriff Toulon spoke on a broad range of issues—beginning with a declaration that “one of my goals is to be as transparent as possible,” how he is “very impressed with the operations in the sheriff’s office” but has his own “managerial style,” and wants “to see how things can be done better.” 

“I’m not going to hide the fact that we all know—how the sheriff’s office had had issues in the past,” he said. He’ll be emphasizing ethics, he went on, and will “set a strong model top down…Politics will not be a factor in any decision….I will keep politics out.” This includes “not accepting political contributions“ from any staff member.

Edward Walsh, a lieutenant in the sheriff’s department and also the politically powerful Suffolk County Conservative Party chairman was sentenced last year to two years in jail after his jury conviction on federal charges of wire fraud and theft of government services. He was found guilty of pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the department while golfing, gambling and politicking on county time.

Mr. Toulon emphasized having the sheriff’s office participate fully with other law enforcement agencies in the fights against the opioid epidemic and gang activity in Suffolk. 

It would be “very active” in communities in Suffolk “getting to kids before they get to me” and to “break down barriers between law enforcement and the community.”

He said he would be working to “create a support system” for women in the sheriff’s department, only 12 percent of its staffers now.

“I’m going to be very tough on crime,” he went on, and this will include gathering “intelligence” from inmates about gangs.

Still, he would strive to prevent “recidivism,” having “individuals return back to the same environment” that was a factor in their criminal behavior.

“I’m a big proponent of education,” said Sheriff Toulon, noting he has a master’s degree as well as a doctorate in education. Speaking of unprecedented, I believe Sheriff Toulon is the first sheriff of Suffolk County—since the position was established in 1683—to hold a doctorate.

Then he opened the “Media Day” to questions and I asked the first—why hadn’t he mentioned the unprecedented, indeed historical nature of his winning the Suffolk post as an African-American?

He looked at me and said he didn’t regard his victory as involving ‘the color of my skin.” He believed Suffolk voters saw “a qualified individual” and voted for qualifications and credentials.  He said that, in fact, he was unaware he was the first African-America to run for any countywide position in Suffolk (other than judicial office) until two weeks after he was nominated by the Suffolk Democratic Party.

He noted that he resides in Lake Grove where very few African-Americans otherwise live. Moreover, one of his activities, he said, is serving as a coach for an ice hockey team, not a sport in which many blacks compete, he pointed out. And as an ice hockey coach, he has “never been treated differently.”

Sheriff’s Toulon explanation was along the lines of what has been termed “post racial”—a sign that racism, at long last, might be fading. (You wouldn’t know it from some of the things that have been happening nationally over the past 15 months.) Suffolk County, with its long history of racism and prejudice, has with the election of Sheriff Toulon shown the way.

Sheriff Toulon is extremely qualified for the position. He previously was a deputy corrections commissioner in New York City and before that, for 22 years, a uniformed officer in the city’s corrections department. He knows Suffolk well having been an assistant deputy Suffolk County executive for public safety. Being Suffolk sheriff is a big job involving the supervision of almost 900 corrections officers, 250 deputy sheriffs and 130 civilian personnel and running the county’s jails in Riverside and Yaphank. The electorate has chosen a man who can ably fill it.

County Exec Nominates FBI Special Agent Geraldine Hart For Police Commissioner

COUNTY EXECUTIVE BELLONE NOMINATES GERALDINE HART, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE OF LONG ISLAND, AS NEXT SUFFOLK COUNTY POLICE COMMISSIONER

Hart Leads and Directs Operations and Investigations of FBI Long Island Office

Would Become First Female Police Commissioner in the History of the Suffolk County Police Department

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone today announced the nomination of Geraldine Hart – Senior Supervisory Resident Agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Long Island Office — to serve as the next Police Commissioner for the Suffolk County Police Department.  Hart, a 21-year veteran of the Bureau, would become the first woman to hold the position of Suffolk County Police Commissioner in the history of the Department.

“Geraldine possesses the integrity, competence, and excellence that we are looking for in someone to lead the Suffolk County Police Department,” said Suffolk County Executive Bellone.  “As our next Police Commissioner, she will bring a fresh perspective and build on the progress that we have made over the last two years.”

Geraldine Hart, nominee for Suffolk County Police Commissioner, said: “I am honored for the opportunity to serve the residents of Suffolk County and privileged to serve with the brave, hardworking men and women of the Suffolk County Police Department.  I am extremely optimistic about the future of the Suffolk County Police Department and what we can accomplish together.”

As the Senior Supervisory Resident Agent of the FBI’s Long Island Office since February 2014, Hart has effectively led and directed the operations and investigations of 115 FBI Special Agents, Task Force Officers, and support personnel, affecting a diverse region of over three million residents.  In this role, Hart directly supervises the Long Island Gang Task Force, as well as spearheaded the first multi-agency MS-13 Intelligence Center to centralize and facilitate the sharing of gang intelligence, with an emphasis on enhanced collaboration between the FBI, Suffolk County Police Department, New York State Police, Nassau County Police Department, and local governments.  

In addition to her work combatting gang violence, Hart oversees complex investigations that include public corruption, white-collar crime, terrorism, counter-intelligence, child exploitation, and cyber crimes.  Hart is also actively engaged in liaison activities, such as providing active shooter training opportunities for Nassau and Suffolk School Superintendents, houses of worship, and the first FBI Teen Academy in Central Islip and Brentwood.  Her leadership abilities were recognized at the highest levels as the recipient of the 2015 Director’s High Impact Leadership Award, which is given to a select number of individuals in the Bureau based on an anonymous survey among their peers who rank them for superior leadership abilities.  

Hart began her career as an FBI Special Agent focused on Transnational Organized Crime, where she helped lead and execute complex investigations end enforcement actions to dismantle violent organized crime enterprises, such as the Lucchese crime family.  In 1999, Hart was assigned to the Lucchese Organized Crime Squad, working on an investigation that led to the conviction of fugitive Frank Federico, who was responsible for the murders of garbage-industry haulers and informants Robert M. Kubecka, of Greenlawn, and Donald Barstow of Stony Brook (United States v. Federico).  That same year, Hart was awarded the Office of Inspector General’s Integrity Award.

As an FBI case agent, Hart, in 2005, worked closely with the Suffolk County Police Department to investigate two former NYPD detectives who secretly worked as mafia associates on behalf of the Lucchese crime family.  The investigation led to the indictments of Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa, who were ultimately convicted of committing murder and disclosing sensitive law enforcement information to mob bosses.  The investigation also led to the discovery of a body in Brooklyn in connection with the criminal actions of these two individuals (United States v. Eppolito).  For her performance on the case, Hart received the United States Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Law Enforcement, the highest award given out in the FBI.

In 2012, Hart was promoted to Supervisory Special Agent to supervise a task force comprised of FBI Special Agents and NYPD Detectives investigating the Genovese, Colombo, and Bonanno crime families.  In January 2014, these investigations resulted in the takedown of five organized crime members for murder, one tied to the Lufthansa heist at John F. Kennedy Airport, along with a body that was identified and dug up dating to the 1970s.  Hart also directed large-scale investigations into allegations of corruption at the District Council and local union level, which resulted in successful prosecutions.

Hart received a Bachelor of Arts from St. Francis College and Juris Doctor from St. John’s University School of Law.

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - How Sweet It Is To Live In Suffolk

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

This is a story about coat-snatching at the lofty Harvard Club—and how sweet it is to live in Suffolk.

I remember when I covered Suffolk cops-and-courts many years ago, attorney Nancy Carley, who had been from New York City, commenting that many of her women lawyer friends had achieved high positions in the city, became judges and so forth, but she was happy that she come out here because living in Suffolk was “sweet and easy.”

I, too, am from the city, but have lived in Suffolk since I was 19.

Going to New York for me always requires a bit of adjustment, but then, like a salmon returning home, I adjust to the sirens and horns and noise and overall static. 

And so it was the other day when I journeyed into Manhattan with my friend and physician Dr. Allen Fein.

Allen, in an auction at the Artists-and-Writers Game, had won a lunch with journalist David Andelman. David, a Harvard alum, suggested lunch at the Harvard Club of New York City, in midtown off Fifth Avenue. Allen liked the idea of the lunch there because, originally from Canada, he graduated from McGill University, the “Harvard of Canada,” he mentioned. 

He invited me, as also a journalist, to go along. And I happened to know Mr. Andelman.  David had been a New York Times correspondent on Long Island nearly 50 years back. He had gone on at the Times to be a foreign correspondent and most recently was editor of World Policy Journal. He is the author of books including A Shattered Peace: Versailles 1919 and the Price We Pay Today.  He is a contributor to USA Today and CNN and has been president of the Overseas Press Club.

The Harvard Club is like one of the elegant, wood-burnished clubs one associates with England.  (I was at one once, where members of Parliament spend time, across from the Houses of Parliament. I had written a book on Ronald Reagan’s “Star Wars” plan—Weapons in Space—and was invited to give a presentation to members of Parliament and several later took me to the club.)

Entering the Harvard Club, I hung my old, trusty trench coat on the coat rack—having a slight, and unusual, premonition about whether I would see it again. But looking out at the fancy club, I figured I couldn’t bring the trench coat to the table.

David regaled Allen and me with stories including how he was first assigned to Long Island and questioned that, telling Times managing editor A.M. Rosenthal that he wanted to be a foreign correspondent. The editor responded that covering Long Island would be good training for covering a foreign country. 

It was nice seeing David again. The lunch was fabulous as you would expect at such a club.

And then Dr. Fein and I said goodbye to David and went to that coat rack—and, as I had somehow feared, my been-through-a-lot trench coat wasn’t there.

I reported its disappearance to the folks at the Harvard Club’s main desk and they said they would keep a look-out for it. I checked with them several times in ensuing weeks, but no information on the trench coat. 

Then they called to say they had identified a person who took the coat—and he said I had come to his place in Manhattan the same day I was in the city and that he handed the coat back to me.

That was ridiculous, just not true, I responded, relating the cold trench coat-less walk—it was a winter day—to catch transportation to come back home.

“We will turn this over to Harvard Club security,” I was told, firmly.

A week later another call came. The coat had just been brought back to the Harvard Club by the fellow who took it. Arrangements were made to return it to me. One of Dr. Fein’s patients with an office in Manhattan was kind enough to pick it up and bring it to Allen’s office. 

So that’s how my trusty trench coat was lost and found and I had the sort of experience that, I daresay, one might have in the often chaotic city, a complex place where crazy things sometimes happen.

Ah, Suffolk, I’ve lived here for 57 years—and compared to the City of New York, as Nancy said, it’s “sweet and easy.”

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - Praise William Heronemus For Today's Wind Energy

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

Let us praise William Heronemus.

Mr. Heronemus was a pioneer in wind energy. And he was the first person, in a study done for Suffolk County government back in 1975, to propose the harvesting of great amounts of power from wind energy for Long Island. “Windpower alone, but preferably wind power carefully joined to solar collector systems…could free the entire region from all of the problems associated with proliferation of fossil or nuclear central power plants, and would create thousands of employment opportunities,” wrote Dr. Heronemus for the county.

The study, a comprehensive analysis of existing and future Long Island energy use, was done by Dubin-Mindell Bloome Associates, and Dr. Heronemus played a major part.

This was decades before Deepwater Wind established the first offshore wind farm in the United States, two years ago now, east of Long Island off Block Island. Offshore wind power is seen by the Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York State as being a major component of our energy future with now wind farms proposed south of Long Island, one to be built by Deepwater Wind, another by a Norwegian energy company. Meanwhile, all over the globe offshore wind farms have been going up.

Mr. Heronemus was a professor of civil engineering at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He “is known the world over as the ‘father of modern windpower,’” states a website devoted to his work produced by the university’s Wind Energy Center.  https://www.umass.edu/windenergy/about/history/heronemus

He is “generally credited with the invention” of terms including wind farm “in wide use today. All the present researchers in wind turbines owe the grasp of the fundamentals to Bill Heronemus’ work of the 1970s, when he and his cadre published many, many reports on windpower, along with the earlier pioneers forming the backbone of all the engineering, which was yet to come.”

“Bill Heronemus was an engineer’s engineer. He was humble, and would have been horrified and embarrassed to see his life in print like this. But he gave us a vision and a legacy for our own dreams, and changed many lives,” it says. 

A 1968 statement by him is quoted: “In the immediate future, we can expect the ‘energy gap’ to result in a series of crises as peak loads are not met…The environment will continue to deteriorate in spite of ever-increasing severity of controls. Air pollution, oil spills and thermal pollution are likely to be worse, not better in 1985….[An] energy alternative must be sought.”

Mr. Heronemus “not only predicted the worldwide energy difficulties which were to come, including nuclear power plant failures, but saw the grand scale of future of renewable energy development,” says the website.

Nuclear power and Mr. Heronemus’s rejection of it—after being involved in it first-hand as a U.S. Navy captain engineering nuclear submarines—was pivotal to his renewable/alternative energy commitment.

Another University of Massachusetts website devoted to him, this one the “William E. Heronemus Papers,” notes: “After serving in the U.S. Navy, engineering the construction of submarines from 1941 until his retirement in 1965, Heronemus disavowed his work with nuclear energy and joining the University Faculty in 1967, dedicated his life to the study of alternative energy.” http://scua.library.umass.edu/umarmot/heronemus-william/

From work with nuclear power in the Navy, Mr. Heronemus, an Annapolis graduate with two advanced degrees, concluded it is deadly dangerous—and by, instead, harvesting the wind and using other safe, alternative energy technologies, unnecessary.

He came to Suffolk in 1971 and testified at the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission licensing hearings for the construction of a nuclear power plant at Shoreham. He testified that a network of windmills should be built instead and they would produce as much power and, importantly, produce “no radiation, no nuclear waste” and thus be compatible with the environment and life. 

He received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the American Wind Energy Association in 1999 and in an acceptance speech said: “There is an absolute requirement for the Earth to remain in thermal balance within our solar system. There is only one ultimate solution to the global warming problem: total reliance upon solar energy. And the most productive of all solar energy processes is the wind energy process.” (Wind energy is caused by the sun heating different parts of the Earth at different rates.)

Mr. Heronemus passed away in 2002, at 82. His vision lives on and is on the way here and, indeed all over the world, to being applied.

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.