‘Stuff the Truck’ at Main Road Biscuit Co.

On Sunday, Nov. 30, Main Road Biscuit Co., located at 1601 Main Road in Jamesport, encourages brunch-goers to bring with them canned goods, dry foods like cereal and oatmeal, and/or unopened packaged toiletries to donate to the community. Those who’d like to participate can drop their items in the bins of the antique truck located behind the restaurant. All items will go to Mattituck High School’s food pantry.

For more information, visit Main Road Biscuit Co.’s Instagram @mainroadbiscuitco.

Kait’s Angels Gift Card & Toy Drive

Kait’s Angels is holding their annual Gift Card & Toy Drive through Saturday, Dec. 6. Be an angel this Christmas and help local kids enjoy the holiday season. The organization is collecting new, unwrapped toys and gift cards for kids across the North Fork and in Riverhead. 

Donations can be dropped off before the cutoff date at any of the five following locations: Billy’s by the Bay, 2530 Manhanset Ave., Greenport; Hair Solutions, Suite J, 887 Old Country Road, Riverhead; East End Bagel Café, 46519 County Road 48, Southold; St. John Paul II Regional School, 515 Marcy Ave., Riverhead; and Dr. Doroski’s office,887 Old Country Road, Riverhead.

For more information, visit kaitsangels.org. 

Orient Beach State Park coat and non-perishables drive

The annual Holiday Tree Lighting at Orient Beach State Park will be held Friday, Dec. 5, at 4 p.m. All are welcome to enjoy music, snacks and hot cocoa prior to the tree-lighting led by Santa Claus at 5 p.m. While the event will include festivities aplenty, those who come are also encouraged to give back to their community by bringing gently used coats and canned food items. Any donations are welcome and appreciated. 

For more information, visit the park’s event site here. 

Cutchogue Fire Department’s ‘Stuff the Sleigh’ 5K Race and Walk

On Sunday, Dec. 7, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Cutchogue Fire Department will host their 13th Stuff The Sleigh 5K Race and Walk. The race raises funds for fire department’s scholarship fund and other charities supported by CFD. A portion of the proceeds will also go to the American Parkinson’s Disease Association, The Firefighter Cancer Support Network and the Center for Advocacy, Support and Transformation.

The children’s fun run will kick off the morning’s festivities at 9:15 a.m., in which they run a shortened race to the firehouse, met by Santa at the finish line. The race proper will begin at 10 a.m. in front of the firehouse and follows a scenic 5K course within New Suffolk. Once the race ends back at the firehouse, a reception complete with awards, clam chowder and other refreshments will take place. 

The race also serves as a toy drive, and all participants are asked to bring a new toy to “Stuff the Sleigh” for families in need during the holiday season. Cutchogue Fire Department hopes to gather hundreds of gifts by the end of the race. Children who take part in the fun run are asked to bring donations of two non-perishable food items.

To sign up for the race, click here. For more information regarding the race, click here. 

Twin Fork Beer Co. and Riverhead Rotary food drive

For a limited time, patrons of Twin Fork Beer Co., located at 807 Raynor Ave., Riverhead, can bring in nonperishables and get a free beer. This food drive benefits Open Arms, Church of the Harvest and St. John’s Parish food pantries.

For more information, call Twin Fork Beer Co. at 631-209-4233 or visit Riverhead Rotary’s website at riverheadrotary.org.

CAST’s Toy Drive

Through Monday, Dec. 15, the Center for Advocacy, Support and Transformation is hosting their Holiday Toy Drive. They ask that community members donate new and unwrapped toys for children of all ages at the physical sites below, or ship them directly to CAST, 53930 Main St., Southold, NY 11971, attn: TOYS. 

Cutchogue drop off locations include: 

• Cutchogue Barths Pharmacy, 28195 Main Road
• Cutchogue New Suffolk Free Library, 27550 Main Road
• Cutchogue Presbyterian Church, 27245 Main Road
• M&T Bank, 31525 Main Road
• Unit 2 Go, 50 Commerce Road

Greenport drop off locations include: 

• Blue Duck Bakery, 130 Front St.
• Congregation Tifereth Israel, 519 Fourth St.
• DIME Community Bank, 218 Front St.
• Floyd Memorial Library, 539 First St.
• Goldsmith’s Toy Store, 128 Main St.
• Greenport Harbor Brewing Co., 234 Carpenter St.
• Holy Trinity Church, 768 Main St.
• M&T Bank, 74825 Main Road 
• Peconic Landing, 1500 Brecknock Road

Mattituck drop off locations include: 

• Blue Sage Spa, 11700 Main Road
• CVS Pharmacy, 9870 Main Road 
• DIME Community Bank, 10900 Main Road
• Mattituck-Laurel Library, 13900 Main Road 
• Starbucks, 10095 Main Road
• Strong’s Marine Mattituck Bay, 2400 Camp Mineola Road
• Strong’s Water Club, 2255 Wickham Ave. 
• Strong’s Yacht Center, 5780 West Mill Road
• Total Dental Care, 7905 Main Road
• Zeifman Orthodontics, 50 Love Lane 

Orient or East Marion drop off locations include:

• Angel’s Country Store, 8955 Main Road, East Marion
• Orient Congregational Church, 23045 Main Road
• Orient Country Store, 930 Village Lane

Shelter Island drop off locations include:

• Shelter Island Historical Society, 16 South Ferry Road
• Shelter Island Library, 37 North Ferry Road 
• Shelter Island School District 
• Shelter Island Town Hall, 38 North Ferry Road

Southold and Peconic drop off locations include: 

• Bank of America, 53300 Main Road
• Blue Duck Bakery, 56275 Route 25
• CAST, 53930 Main Road
• DIME Community Bank, 54970 Main Road
• First Presbyterian Church, 53100 Main Road
• The Giving Room, 56215 Main Road
• Greenport Harbor Brewing Co., 42155 Main Road, Peconic
• Mullen Motors, 55980 Route 25
• Port of Egypt Marine, 62300 Main Road
• Southold ACE Hardware, 54795 Route 25
• Southold Free Library, 53705 Main Road
• Underground Training, 53345 Main Road

Finally, Riverhead’s drop off location is RGNY, 6025 Sound Ave. 

CAST is also accepting gift cards and monetary donations, which can be mailed to CAST, P.O. Box 1566, Southold, NY 11971. 

For more information, visit castnorthfork.org or call 631-477-1717. 

The post Give back this holiday season with North Fork drives appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

At 5:10, a call landed at Southold police headquarters: a 23-foot Grady-White was disabled in the Sound some two to three miles north of Duck Pond Point in Cutchogue.

A disabled boat would be one thing, but there was more .  The 18-year-old who called 911 also said his two friends, both 16 years old, had jumped into the Sound to swim and were now drifting east in a rapidly falling tide. Neither  was wearing a life jacket.

And because the boat was disabled, the caller, Benjamin Grodski, could not rescue them. He needed help. Quickly. His friends were rapidly disappearing from sight.

And this is where the work of first responders — four highly trained members of the Cutchogue Fire Department’s water rescue team, a number of town police officers, a town harbor master, a Suffolk County rescue helicopter and the U.S. Coast Guard, all coordinated by two Southold police dispatchers — performed a series of amazing feats. Or maybe they were miracles.

Read our story about this water rescue in today’s newspaper and make up your own mind.

Roughly 20 minutes after the 911 call , the water rescue team members —  Capt. Joe Hinton, Lt. Christian Figurniak, Lt. Ken Pearsall and Lt. Bryan Zissel — were aboard the department’s Zodiac headed northeast from Duck Pond Point in search of the disabled Grady-White.

When they reached the boat — with the help of Southold police dispatchers, Michael Boken and Donna Lane, who were coordinating the operation — they found Benjamin and another 16-year-old aboard.  The two other teens were out of sight farther east – floating northeast on a swift tide in the wide expanse of the Sound. 

The four turned their Zodiac east and began the search.  

Some very important lessons can be drawn from this episode. First, there’s the element of good luck: Had the Sound not been very calm, had the water — which was 73 degrees— been colder or had night fallen before the teens were  found,   the outcome could have been far different.

The second lesson is more important: Having well trained personnel in all our departments across the North Fork is the difference between life and death. The four members of Cutchogue’s water rescue team are some of the most impressive first responders — and athletes — we’ve encountered in our years of telling the community’s stories.

We applaud everyone involved in this episode, particularly the two police dispatchers who brought all the pieces together, kept the lines of communication open and coordinated the rescue.

The work of the dispatchers, and the dedication and skill of the water rescue team, saved two teenage lives on a beautiful summer evening in Long Island Sound.

The post Editorial: Training, teamwork and dedication saved lives appeared first on Riverhead News Review.