In a 67-page Final Scope released Monday, Dec. 1, SCWA outlined the environmental review for the two-phase, 12-mile project — which is estimated to cost $35 million for the first phase alone. The document sets the stage for a Draft Environmental Impact Statement expected by late January, SCWA communications director Daniel Dubois told Riverhead News Review.

“Following its release, we will hold public hearings to take comments,” Mr. Dubois said. “Once that process is complete, the SCWA Board will make a final determination on the project’s environmental impact.”

The move comes two months after Riverhead’s five-member Town Board voted unanimously that SCWA must comply with local land-use regulations for the 8.15-mile pipeline that would run through town but provide no water service to Riverhead residents.

SCWA conducted its own legal review, known as a Monroe Balancing Test, and reached the opposite conclusion, claiming immunity as a state-created authority.

Now Southold wants its own review of whether the pipeline project should be exempt from local regulations. During discussion at the Town Board’s Tuesday, Dec. 2, work session, officials said they would conduct a Monroe Balancing Test — a legal standard that weighs whether regional projects can override local control.

“I think it’s very important that we have that here,” Southold Councilwoman Jill Doherty said.

The town is determining when it will hold the Monroe Balancing Test, which would allow local experts and residents to voice their concerns about the project.

The pipeline is intended to bolster drinking water supplies for Southold, which the Final Scope says faces a “limited supply of potable drinking water” and local water sources “subject to saltwater intrusion.”

If approved following environmental review, construction could take four years, with the pipeline expected to be operational by 2030.

In October, the feud over the pipeline escalated when SCWA attorney Richard Finkel argued the not-for-profit agency should be immune from local regulation because “if the authority was bound by local land-use regulations in each [municipality it serves], it would be subject to the regulations of all 43 municipalities in which it operates.” 

Riverhead officials countered that the town would shoulder construction impacts — particularly along Sound Avenue, a major agricultural and tourism corridor. The pipeline would carry water from Flanders wells through Riverhead to Southold customers. 

“You design it, you approve it, and you do it and step all over Riverhead while doing it, with no benefit to us whatsoever,” Supervisor Tim Hubbard said at an October hearing. 

Riverhead Town Attorney Erik Howard said he was reviewing the pipeline Final Scope and would respond after completing his analysis when contacted by Riverhead News Review.

In October, Mr. Howard argued that Riverhead should have the authority to conduct the Monroe Balancing Test, saying the host community — not the entity seeking immunity — should determine whether local regulations apply.

Environmental planning firm Nelson Pope Voorhis prepared the Final Scope based on comments from three public scoping sessions held in June and on written comments submitted through August. The firm will now conduct the environmental analysis.

Pipeline construction plans

Phase one would run 8.15 miles from Riverside and Flanders in Southampton to the Riverhead-Southold town line in Jamesport and Laurel, supplying up to 6,000 gallons per minute to approximately 9,500 Southold customers, according to SCWA documents.

No new wells would be drilled. SCWA would draw from excess capacity in its South Shore Low Zone, according to the Final Scope. A booster station would be built on SCWA property on Pier Avenue in the Jamesport area.

The pipeline would be installed using two methods: approximately 0.63 miles by directional drilling beneath the Peconic River, the Long Island Rail Road and Main Road, with the remaining 7.52 miles installed by open-cut trenching.

The daily installation rate for trenched sections is estimated to be 300 to 400 feet per day, and up to 600 feet per day or more on long stretches within grassed shoulder areas such as along sections of Cross River Drive.

An alternate route could run north from the Flanders Road and Cross Island Drive intersection, then north to the Cross River Drive and Main Road intersection, and east along Main Road to the Franklinville Road intersection in Laurel, connecting to an existing SCWA main.

Phase two would extend existing water infrastructure 3.79 miles from East Marion to Orient. SCWA says it is not currently planning the extension and included it only to avoid “segmentation” violations under state law. No cost estimate for the second phase was available.

Southold Councilman Brian Mealy said at the Dec. 2 meeting that data from an ongoing U.S. Geological Survey study on the aquifer should be included in the pipeline environmental review.

In October, Southold Councilman Greg Doroski questioned whether SCWA was overstating the water crisis. Mr. Doroski — who won election to the county Legislature last month and will leave the Town Board in January — asked whether “the urgency created by the SCWA in moving this proposal forward is artificially created.”

Environmental review process

Throughout the environmental review, consultants will evaluate potential impacts, including land disturbance from construction, coastal habitat and wildlife effects, surface water quality, groundwater supply capacity, traffic safety, and proximity to schools and hospitals.

The Final Scope notes that “the Towns of Riverhead and Southold have raised concerns that the proposed action may induce secondary development or will be growth inducing.”

Impacts such as potential property value increases near public water are considered “out of scope for an environmental review,” according to the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) handbook.

An analysis of how the project would affect future development at EPCAL in Calverton was also determined to be outside the review scope and is “not expected to be significantly or adversely impacted.”

SCWA and other agencies with permitting authority will be consulted on mitigation options, the Final Scope states.

The draft impact statement, beyond the review of the proposed project, potential impacts and alternative routes, will assist in SCWA’s “final determination of impact and the appropriateness of moving forward with the project.”

The Final Scope determined that water conservation programs alone, like Southold’s irrigation legislation passed in July modeled after an SCWA program, would not achieve the project’s goals of bringing potable water to the North Fork.

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Concerns expressed by Riverhead officials and consultants included confusion over the exact placement of the water main extension, a lack of inclusion in planning of the pipeline, and a general distrust for the consideration of local impact of the project. 

“There’s virtually no other information other than this line on a map, which makes for me, as an analyst, very difficult to determine what the impacts might be and also what they really should study in the scope,” said Jeffrey Seeman, environmental consultant for the Town of Riverhead. 

Mr. Seeman added that no tax map numbers had been provided to Riverhead Town to evaluate whether the project would go through private properties with underground infrastructure such as gas lines or existing water lines for the Riverhead Water District. Impacts of the pipeline could stand to affect Riverhead’s own development plans in the future, he posited. 

“We have been requesting that information, and we haven’t received anything yet,” Mr. Seeman said. “And to put it in the draft impact statement is a little late, to say the least.”

The notion that Riverhead Town has not been treated as an involved agency for the proposed SCWA pipeline is something Mr. Seeman disagreed with on the grounds that “all of the land that this will run through in Riverhead is owned by the town.” He compared the project to someone building a fence on private property, with the property owner not having a say in the height, construction and placement of said fence.

“I don’t think they are up to speed on the requirements of really what the SEQRA standards are,” Mr. Seeman said. 

Riverhead Town will conduct its own Monroe Balancing Test on Tuesday, Aug. 19, at 6 p.m. at Riverhead Town Hall to determine whether or not, and to what extent, the SCWA pipeline project may be exempt from local zoning and land use regulations. The test was originally developed in 1988 after a New York Court of Appeals decision between Monroe County and the City of Rochester. 

It is a nine-pronged test that weighs a host community’s impacts, effects on local government authority, land use regulation, the potential of improvements, and the extent that the public interest is to be served by the improvements, among other considerations.

“The SCWA’s initial position on this was that they were going to conduct a Monroe Balancing Test through their DEIS scoping, which I believe is legally insufficient and procedurally improper,” Riverhead town attorney Erik Howard said. 

The decision to list the Town of Riverhead as an interested agency instead of an involved agency in respect to the project is something Mr. Howard said is a “majority deficiency in the proposal.” He added that the pipeline, meant to service Southold and improve its water infrastructure, is something that would not serve to benefit the Riverhead community. 

Southold Town Councilman Greg Doroski noted the importance of both Southold and Riverhead towns working as “a unified front” on this matter. 

A similar informational meeting was hosted in Peconic in June where community members listed hundreds of concerns about the pipeline — concerns that Southold Town officials noted and submitted in a six-page questionnaire to the SCWA, Mr. Doroski said. 

“There is a fundamental question for us all to ask, you know, ‘Whose water is this?’” Mr. Doroski said. “They’re taking water from Southampton, bringing it through Riverhead to serve Southold. 

“I think we need to look at this together, because it’s not just about this one well; I have similar questions whether there is capacity in that individual well to supply the water that they say they need now and potentially in the future,” Mr. Doroski said. 

Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski commended Riverhead for its informational and municipal efforts regarding the pipeline project. He said some of the concerns Southold officials brought up regarding the impact on Southampton and Riverhead of the proposed project have not been openly discussed. 

“For anyone to propose to move water that far, through different boundaries and through different watersheds and different aquifers, without considering the work of the United States Geological Survey, doesn’t seem to make any sense at all from a resource management standpoint,” Mr. Krupski said. He stressed the importance of considering the recent scientific studies when creating the project plan. 

“There’s a finite amount of water,” Mr. Krupski said. “I don’t know who’s done the work to really determine is that enough water.”

The post Riverhead, Southold officials question North Fork pipeline appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

Empathy is the driving force behind Rural & Migrant Ministry’s statewide caravan, which kicked off on the North Fork Saturday, Aug. 2. In an effort to honor New York’s immigrant workers and to cast a spotlight on their positive contributions to its rural economy, dozens of participants will travel thousands of miles from Long Island to Buffalo until Aug. 9 to celebrate and show appreciation for the vulnerable, migrant worker community.

Along the way, participants will also support local businesses, hold vigils at significant locations, have gatherings, play music and more.

“Most of the time, [the rural migrant] doesn’t get the credit that they deserve, in terms of putting food on our tables … A lot of our small towns in the rural areas are pretty much built on migrant families,” said Wilmer Jimenez, chief program officer for Rural & Migrant Ministry. “We want to show small businesses the support we’re giving them, but also for them to understand the impact of this new administration. We want to make sure we’re emphasizing that we care about the rural economy.”

The ‘Save New York’s Rural Economy: A Journey of Empathy Caravan’ started in the Hamptons, and the procession of decorated cars made their way along the East End, making stops at the Amandla Rural Worker Education Center in Riverhead, the First Presbyterian Church in Southold, past St. Agnes Church in Greenport and then ending the first leg of the trip at the Orient Congregational Church.

The Rev. Ron Garner of Orient Congregational Church and a RMM board member said his congregation hosted a vespers service and a meal, which was well-attended by people in the community. Although traffic kept the caravaners from stopping at St. Agnes, the pastor said there was a large contingent of folks standing in front of the church waving signs in support. As drivers passed by, they honked their horns with enthusiasm, he said.

“I think the whole purpose of the caravan for the East End, and on the South and North Fork, was to familiarize people with Rural & Migrant Ministry,” the Rev. Garner said. “Now, I’ve been tasked as a board member to figure out ways to keep the enthusiasm going, so in this very fearful time for our migrant workers, we want to be supportive allies and advocates for them.”

Rural & Migrant Ministry, a multi-faith, state-wide organization with four locations in various regions in New York, is helmed by its executive director, the Rev. Richard Witt. The nonprofit’s mission is to empower individuals from marginalized backgrounds, particularly farmworkers and rural laborers, by providing educational resources, youth programs and legal assistance.

After serving at as a pastor at Wantagh Memorial Congregational Church for almost a decade, the Rev. Garner moved to Orient in December. To further promote RMM’s mission, he invited the Rev. Witt to lead a service on July 27 and give a presentation to other church leaders in the area. He said he was surprised to find that even in a predominantly agricultural area, there was not a great familiarity with Rural & Migrant Ministry. That day, he and the Rev. Witt began laying the groundwork for a Journey of Empathy.

“When we began planning this, we did not want it to seem like a partisan issue or political — what we wanted to say was, we have to have empathy for folks,” the Rev. Garner said. “We kind of want to be in the middle of the dialogue that’s going on. How do we treat undocumented workers? How do we treat people who work in our grocery stores and stock the shelves? How do we relate to them in a way that shows care and concern?”

Noemi Sanchez, regional coordinator of RMM’s Amandla Rural Worker Education Center, said the Riverhead site is always working to connect the immigrant population with necessary services and support, such as English language workshops, teaching parents how to navigate the school districts and educating workers on their rights.

“When you talk about the East End, a lot of people think it’s only rich people that live around here,” Ms. Sanchez said. “We want more empathy and humanity for the [immigrant] people, especially the workers, and how they contribute to this country. Sometimes [people] have the idea that undocumented immigrants don’t pay taxes, but it’s very important that the community knows even if they are undocumented, they still pay.”

Just a day after the Caravan of Empathy passed through the North Fork, five vehicles with personnel from several federal agencies, including ICE, were reportedly active in Greenport on Sunday morning, impacting at least three families. The Rev. Garner called the timing of the incident with the caravan “unbelievable.”

“The timing couldn’t be more advantageous to us getting the word out — that we’re not trying to become adversarial on this issue,” he said. “We just want people to look at, what Jesus called the least to our brothers and sisters, with empathy, and that’s the whole purpose.”

The Rev. Witt, who is currently driving through upstate New York with the rest of the caravan, spoke a few words outside the First Presbyterian Church in Southold on Saturday and thanked supporters for their positive energy, which he said will propel the caravan through their journey.

“I can’t even begin to tell you how powerful it was to drive around the corner and be greeted by folks,” he said in a livestreamed video. “As we travel up to the Hudson Valley, and we travel up to the Canadian border, and go along the St. Lawrence Seaway, and down into the Rochester area and eventually end up in Buffalo, we will be sharing your energy, your hope, with others, so they know that they are not alone.” 

To follow along with Rural & Migrant Ministry’s Journey of Empathy Caravan, visit their Facebook and Instagram pages to view livestream videos and photos.

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Calverton

On Friday, May 24, starting at 9:30 a.m., the support committee for Calverton National Cemetery will hold a graveside flag placement event in preparation for Memorial Day. While the registration for this event has already closed, the flags will wave proudly until Friday, May 31, for all who visit the cemetery to see. For more information, please visit calvertonsupport.com. 

Calverton’s annual Memorial Day commemoration ceremony will be held at Calverton National Cemetery Monday, May 28, from 1 to 2 p.m. This event is one of the more than 130 cemetery commemoration ceremonies happening nationally this Memorial Day weekend, hosted by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. For more information, go to va.gov. 

Riverhead

Rain or shine, the Riverhead Combined Veterans Committee is holding its annual Memorial ceremonies and parade on Monday, May 26. The parade will start marching on Osborn Avenue at Pulaski Street at 9 a.m., before continuing south down Osborn Avenue to the World War I monument on the corner of Court and West Main streets. Once there, Memorial Day commemorative ceremonies will be held on the law. The parade will then proceed Main Street to East Avenue, north to St. John’s Cemetery, and then farther north on Roanoke Avenue to Pulaski Street for a stop at Riverhead Cemetery. The final destination of this year’s parade will be the War Memorial on the lawn of Pulaski Street School. 

Southold

On Friday, May 23, the Griswold-Terry-Glover Post 803 Southold American Legion Auxiliary will hold a ‘Pop Over for a Poppy’ curbside distribution in observance of Memorial Day. Those interested in picking up a poppy can stop by the Legion Hall, 51655 Main Road, Southold, between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Members of Post 803 will also line up for Southold Town’s annual Memorial Day Parade Monday, May 26, from 10 a.m. to noon. The parade will start at Boisseau Avenue and Hobart Road and march from there to Tuckers Lane along Route 25. All are welcome to join in the commemoration. For more information, visit southoldtownny.gov.

Greenport

On Monday, May 26, starting at 8 a.m., the Village of Greenport will hold a parade consisting mainly of Greenport American Legion and community members. The parade route begins on Adams Street and marches toward the IGA, before turning onto Third Street and continuing on to the East End Seaport Museum and Marine Foundation. 

Orient

On Monday, May 26, from the bright and early 7 to 9 a.m., the Orient Fire Department will hold its Memorial Day parade. The march starts at the firehouse, 23300 Main Road, continues down Tabor Road to Orchard Street, then on to Navy Street and Village Lane, before taking Main Road back to the starting point. For more information, visit southoldtownny.gov.

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Ms. Spar is constantly uplifting others in the community, recognizing areas for improvement and acting on them, and advocating for those who might otherwise go unheard or overlooked. Her qualities as a “dependable, compassionate and kind leader” on the North Fork are what make Ms. Spar an invaluable asset on the East End, according to OLA. 

“She is an own entity,” said the organization’s executive director, Minerva Perez. “She is a very reasoned and thoughtful voice in all of this. So we’ve seen her amplify these needs and make a real difference in a lot of ways.” 

Humble is another word that comes to mind when speaking with Ms. Spar. She told The Suffolk Times she felt humbled to receive the award and said there are many other local “hidden heroes” who are deserving of the honor.

“I wish I could share it with the so many partners that have collaborated in all off the efforts that we do together in our communities,” Ms. Spar said. 

While advocates play a huge role inspiring the wheels of change and progress, it takes a village to keep them rolling. Ms. Spar has been inspired by many local advocates like the late trailblazer Marjorie Day, civil rights activist Eleanor Lingo, and Ms. Spar’s Anti-Bias Task Force steering committee co-chair Valerie Shelby, to name a few. 

“We have so many members of our community who are helping others,” Ms. Spar said. “So this is the work of a community — it’s the work of everyone in the community.”

In her role as Southold Town’s Spanish-speaking community service worker since 2023, she has revolutionized accessibility of town resources for the community’s Spanish-speaking population. From public signage to her involvement with emergency management preparedness and everything in between, Ms. Spar has taken leaps and bounds to improve accessibility. 

Southold Town Councilwoman Anne Smith commended Ms. Spar for her role in the community.

“I really appreciate that [former town supervisor Scott Russell] understood the need for that as an actual part of town government … and saw the importance of communication and making sure we’re serving the entire community,” Ms. Smith said. 

Ms. Perez echoed the praises for Ms. Spar’s work in the town. 

“I mean, it’s great,” Ms. Perez said. “And what I’m seeing is she’s kind of able to hold the professionalism that’s necessary in that role, and also the deep, deep advocacy as a community member. And she’s able to kind of manage those lines and that balance point with such grace, ease and compassion that it’s really remarkable.”

But Ms. Spar’s work as a community advocate on the North Fork predates her town position by quite some time. She’s been a steadfast upholder of her neighbors’ successes and challenges since moving to Southold from Colombia two decades ago. 

“She was doing all of this work when she had no position whatsoever,” Ms. Perez said. “She was a mom with kids on the North Fork — and that was it.”

Ms. Perez has known Ms. Spar for more than a decade, having worked with her previously running a shelter for victims of domestic violence on the East End. In her workfor the shelter, Ms. Perez said, Ms. Spar was always her “go-to” person on the North Fork to gain knowledge about resources and support that she could supply to a family. 

When OLA Eastern Long Island wanted to expand its annual Spanish language with English subtitles film festival to Greenport, Ms. Spar was once again Ms. Perez’s “go-to person” to make it happen.

Overall, Ms. Spar helps the organization with educational outreach, informational presentations in local houses of worship, victim advocacy, youth outreach and more. 

School districts across the North Fork find themselves well-acquainted with Ms. Spar’s involvement in the behavioral health consortium for students. She has underscored the need for better access points for adolescents in the region and has opened districts’ leadership up to the resources that local nonprofits like OLA Eastern Long Island offer all youth. 

“That’s very important, because there’s no way that schools alone can manage that,” Ms. Perez said. OLA Eastern Long Island’s confidential mental health service, Youth Connect, is one of those aforementioned resources. “Schools are not running help lines at 11 p.m. They’re not able to allow for the same access points, because oftentimes students don’t want anyone to know what is going on with them.”

No matter how long Ms. Spar has been acquainted with local issues and advocating on their behalf, Ms. Perez said, she always keeps an open mind and fresh set of ears to identify new areas of concern and solutions to address them. 

“There are always questions to ask,” she said. “There are always new things to learn. There are new perspectives to gain from people that you think you might already know their perspective.

“[Ms. Spar] has that level of always being open to that and not shortcutting that,” she said. “And I think that also keeps her awake and alive to something that’s new.”

Ms. Spar’s ability to balance compassion during crises is something Ms. Perez commended her for. Her aptness when weighing issues and assessing them as incidental or systemic is something of a super power. 

“She has the capacity to kind of hold all of that and balance all of that so that people don’t become just numbers or statistics,” Ms. Perez said. “Where the need is and the compassion is, she can be there. But she can also be able to pull back for the bird’s-eye view.”

There is still a lot of work and advocacy to be done in the community, and Ms. Spar won’t be stopping anytime soon. Ensuring access to support for those who are coping with mental health or substance abuse challenges is something she’s currently working on. 

Ms. Spar said while there are Alcoholics Anonymous meetings held in English every day, Spanish-speaking meetings are held only once or twice a week. 

“In mental health challenges, we need support in Spanish,” she said. “From the hospital to the services that can be provided in different houses of worship.”

The post Sonia Spar recognized as outstanding community advocate appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

“The pole split and fell across the roadway, bringing down the high-tension wires,” said Southold Town Police Chief Steven Grattan. “The driver suffered minor injuries and was transported to the hospital. Route 48 is closed, eastbound and westbound, with detours at Ackerly Pond Land and Tucker’s Lane.”

Transmission lines move electricity long distances to substations, while distribution lines move electricity from substations to homes and businesses. When a transmission pole is taken out of service, it usually causes more widespread outages, according to a source who spoke on background.

“We are aware of the outages,” PSEG wrote in an emailed statement. “There was a motor vehicle accident impacting a transmission circuit, while additional scheduled maintenance outages were ongoing.  We are actively working to restore the power back as quickly and safely as possible.”

PSEG said they are “aware of the outages” and “are actively working to restore the power back as quickly and safely as possible” in an emailed statement.

The PSEG outage map shows an estimated restoration time of 1 p.m. 

This story is developing and will be updated.

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The local Rotary clubs’ participation in the annual Day of Service were two of 60 events island-wide with thousands of volunteers giving back to their communities in 10 states and seven countries. There were dozens of projects completed that day to enhance neighborhoods, build community, and meet the needs of underserved populations, according to a press release from the Riverhead Rotary. A corps of volunteers collaborated on planting pollinator gardens, clearing walking and hiking trails, collecting food and other essentials for veterans, and preparing and serving meals to homeless people.

In Riverhead, volunteers plucked litter from along the Riverhead side of the Peconic River. About 30 volunteers, with their blue Rotarian jackets shielding them from the rain, grabbed loads of plastic bottles, cans, tissues, clothing, the occasional straw and other trash as they walked the length of the river from the parking lot behind Main Street west to Grangebel Park.

“Everyone here wants our community to look nice and this makes it better,” said George Dupree, incoming Riverhead Rotary president. 

It was a land-only cleanup this year, as the rain discouraged volunteers from getting into kayaks and canoes to remove litter from the water. Fortunately, they found the river fairly clean. 

“Boaters here are pretty good. It’s only when we get storm runoff that trash accumulates in the Peconic,” said volunteer Connie Gevinski. 

Joanne Rizzo of Riverhead proudly held her trash bag filled with litter she accumulated from weaving around the cars in the parking lot.

“Rotary was a big part of my school when I was teaching. I wanted to be part of organizations like this that are helping our community,” she said.

Sixteen-year-old Tiwa Ojutiku of Medford laughed about being the youngest volunteer. “I want to commit myself to the Rotary to work on myself and my leadership skills. We’re all here to make the environment better.”

1 | 3

Volunteers from Timothy Hill Ranch from left, Andre Gordon-Grant, Cameron Mitchell, David O’Leary, Daniel Isaac and Joshua Luna. (Deborah Wetzel photo) Sixteen-year-old volunteer Tiwa Ojutiku with bags of trash collected by the Riverhead Rotary volunteers. (Deborah Wetzel photo) George Dupree, incoming Riverhead Rotary president, picks up garbage from the parking lot in Grangebel Park. (Deborah Wetzel photo)

While Ms. Rizzo and others concentrated on leaving the parking lot pristine, just west and across Peconic Avenue, another contingent of trash pickers set the goal to not leave a single piece of debris in Grangebel Park. Cigarette butts made up the bulk of the litter, followed by bottles, cans and clothing. 

Four young men from the Timothy Hill ranch participated as well, focusing their efforts on Grangebel Park. A smiling 24-year-old Cameron Mitchell said,“I feel like a good citizen today.”

Daniel Isaac, 22, said he really enjoyed clearing the park of litter. “It gave me peace of mind,” he said.

For 20-year-old Joseph Luna, the cleanup strengthened his connection with his fellow volunteers. “It helps all of us build on work ethic and leadership,” he said.

Andre Gordon-Grant, 25, said, “Volunteering really helps out the community.”

While the Riverhead Rotary was sprucing up the environment, further east, the Southold Rotary group of volunteers were sanding boards and sawing planks of wood at the American Legion Hall in Southold.

About 18 club members under the leadership of president Emily Franchina, along with other volunteers, participated in the build. The club joined forces with volunteers from Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a group that uses kits to build beds for children in need. It was the group’s first “build” of 20 beds.

“Each year, Rotary International selects a day where its clubs and club members select a community project in which to participate in a ‘hands-on’ way,” longtime Rotarian Walter Krupski said. 

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The league has managed and operated the Southold animal shelter since 1980. It was one of the first not-for-profit organizations in New York State and the first humane society on Long Island to enter into a contract with a town. In March 2013, the League took over the management and operation of the same program in neighboring Riverhead and built a new, state-of-the-art center there. NFAWL offers many services to the public. According to its website, dog control officers are on-hand 24 hours a day and are called on to pick up lost or runaway dogs and other companion animals.

Other programs include spaying and neutering clinics for dogs and feral cats and microchip clinics as well as educational programs that address humane treatment of animals and the prevention of cruelty, bite prevention, dog training, dog therapy visits and more. They also have an open-door policy for dogs and cats without homes and provide veterinary care for sick pets. Every dog and cat that comes in to either location gets a complete check-up, including vaccinations, according to the website.

Times Review spoke with Leslie Benway, president of NFAWL’s board of directors, about what reaching this milestone means to the organization. 

Q: What is NFAWL’s biggest achievement in these past 60 years?

A: An organization is made up of its people and throughout the 60 years that we’ve evolved, they’ve had incredible staff; they’re compassionate and caring. We have a community that responds to the needs of the animals — and without the community, we’d be nothing.

Q: How has NFAWL been so successful for this long?

A: Sixty years is incredible. They started in a trailer in Southold and then it’s evolved into big buildings that Southold owns and we just recently bought the Riverhead shelter … we can [house] close to 30 dogs there. We’re able to not only serve our community with homeless dogs or people who have to relinquish their dogs, we’re also able to reach out to neighboring shelters, and shelters that euthanize, so we’re able to save those animals as well … there’s way more [that we do] than just adopting animals out, it’s what we give back to the community that helps us survive with their donations.

Q: What have been the biggest hurdles that NFAWL has overcome?

A: Over the years, we went from just managing the Southold shelter to managing the Riverhead shelter as well. [It] took some time to get to know the community there, we’re still doing that now that we’ve moved the building. We’d like to expand our volunteer base in Riverhead and we would like to get more integrated with the community, which we’re working on.

Q: What’s in store for the future of NFAWL?

A: As we look forward and we look to the future, we want to continue to focus on animal care and animal abuse and stopping animal abuse in our community. We want to continue to educate people on how to care for their pets. And we probably, at some point, as we have these contracts with the two [towns], we want to do more outreach to high schools and even elementary and junior high schools and get students involved … helping at the shelter and walking dogs.

The post Animal Welfare League director salutes staff for 60 years of service appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

Here is what you need to know as the new school year kicks off.

Riverhead

First day: Wednesday, Sept. 6

Over the summer, the Riverhead Central School District ramped up its security measures.

“We installed 125 new cameras,” said Superintendent Augustine Tornatore. “We also updated our camera software … put access control devices at targeted entries and exits throughout the district [and] door sensors to prevent unauthorized building entry and exit. At the middle school and high school, we are having ScholarChip, which is a web-based school safety system, which means … we’ll have a better way of really knowing which students are in the buildings [at] what time, to help us really tighten up security.”

Districtwide, parents will now use a new application, ParentSquare, which Dr. Tornatore said will “increase communication between the district and the community for transparency.”

At the elementary school, Riverhead will now offer a dual language program.

The district has also worked on easing transitions for students between its different schools. Over at Riverhead Middle School, which encompasses grades seven and eight, Dr. Tornatore said students will be “riding the wave” of the positive behavioral intervention strategies represented by the acronym “PRIDE” — present, respectful, independent, diverse and empowered — which they learned as fifth- and sixth-graders at Pulaski Street School. He added that this will “continue to make the middle school a more inviting environment for students, but also redirect any negative behavior.”

The superintendent also said some seventh-grade students and teachers will pilot an advisory program “to help those students who may need that additional support coming to the middle school from Pulaski.”

Riverhead High School will offer several new courses this year, including AP pre-calculus, AP English seminar, advanced guitar, video game design, an ENL computer class, Python computer programming, social studies research methods, a portfolio development course in art and technology, theater performance and production and an agricultural science class.

“We have the greenhouse, which is almost fully completed now … which will help our students who want to go into agricultural farming,” Dr. Tornatore said. “We have farmers in the community and we want to continue to support their success.”

Shoreham-Wading River

First day: Wednesday, Sept. 6

Shoreham-Wading River made progress on various capital projects at the high school during the summer. 

“We are fully renovating our high school art rooms … they’re going to be beautiful, modern, 21st-century vibrant art classrooms,” Superintendent Gerard Poole said. “It’s an art suite, [with] new pottery and ceramic wheel stations, a new CNC engraver as part of technology in the art classroom. We’re really looking forward to unveiling at the start of the school year for our high school students.”

The school also converted the high school’s auxiliary gym into a health and fitness center. Thanks to a donation from the Wildcats Athletic Club, the center will be open for students on Saturday mornings. Mr. Poole described it as “a state-of-the-art facility with modern workout equipment, flat panel TVs, branding with the high school logo on there, so really trying to engage students, and taking care of themselves and fitness.”

Work has also been completed on the high school’s driveway, HVAC system and roof. “You don’t have anything unless it’s dry, right?” Mr. Poole said.

“I want to be there when students walk into those spaces for the first time,” he added. “It was a lot of work to finish those spaces and get them to the finish line, so I kind of want to be there when students walk in for the first time, to see the smiles and the excitement on their faces.”

After their unified basketball program, open to students of differing abilities, proved successful, the school will offer a similar bowling program in the year ahead.

On the administrative side, the district added a second assistant principal position at the high school, which was filled by Daniel Ackerman, the former middle school assistant principal. His middle school position will be filled by Lauren Biscardi from the Huntington school district.

On the class and club side, Mr. Poole said teachers can now instruct students in outdoor learning environments districtwide. The high school’s technology program will include a drone unit, and the Future Farmers of America club will be engaged in a particularly sweet project this year.

“That club is going to be running an apiary program,” Mr. Poole said. “So we will have bees for honey farming; we have a facility set up for that with a shed, some fencing, we have the hives … I should have some Wildcat honey in the spring.”

Oysterponds

First day: Tuesday, Sept. 5

Oysterponds is starting the 2023-24 school year with a new district superintendent, Justin Cobis. Mr. Cobis started on July 1 and is taking over for Richard Malone, who served as the district’s previous superintendent/principal for a decade.

Besides housekeeping work to the school building, including asbestos abatement, there was also plumbing work, along with adding shelving and furniture, Mr. Cobis said.

Students can look forward to a new science, technology, engineering and math lab created this year to enhance the STEM curriculum. Oysterponds former principal Jennifer Wissemann will lead the program and help align it with New York State standards. The school will continue to share a faculty member with the Greenport school district to be able to offer students Spanish classes.

The school’s staff went in for professional development on Aug. 29 and 30 to help implement a new math program called Into Math, an online and interactive curriculum resource bank, aligned with New York State standards.

“It will help us to help diagnose students and meet them at what levels they’re at for either academic intervention services or enrichment,” Mr. Cobis said.

The new superintendent noted that although Oysterponds’ enrollment isn’t large, with roughly 100 students in grades K through 6, the district is able to provide services that other districts don’t.

“While some might think that there are challenges, we take challenges and turn them into opportunities,” Mr. Cobis said.

Greenport

First day: Thursday, Sept. 7

Greenport continues working hard to complete the $18 million bond project passed in 2019. Students will return to some new facilities and upgrades in various areas of the building, including a new elementary library and renovated bathrooms on the second and third floors. Students will also see entirely new lockers on the second and third floors, as well as new flooring in classrooms and hallways, according to Superintendent Marlon Small.

“Our children are coming back to very upgraded facilities, which we think will do well in terms of setting a different tone in terms of what our kids are learning in a more comfortable environment,” Mr. Small said.

The district broke ground and began construction on the new auxiliary gym last May. However, Mr. Small said that because new flooring and heating/air conditioning units have yet to be installed, the gym won’t be ready for use until about mid-October. Until then, students will continue to use the cafeteria/gymnasium on the first floor.

In terms of staff, the school has hired a new nurse, a new assistant director for special education and a new band teacher. The elementary school hired new teachers for kindergarten, third grade, special education and English as a new language.

Southold

First day: Tuesday, Sept. 5

This year, Southold Union Free School District is bolstering its academic intervention services.

“That’s for students who need additional support in reading or math,” Superintendent Dr. Anthony Mauro said. “We have that in our elementary school and we’re adding it to our middle school. We’ve always had some sort of iteration of it, now we’re adding it as a class. It’s a fluid class; students may go in and out as needed … If they need support they will be offered to be moved into it, and if they are performing on grade level they would exit out of it.”

For elementary school students, Dr. Mauro said the district will offer a new “comprehensive after-school Spanish program” for English-speaking students eager to learn another language. The district has also added a new two-year AP world history sequence for ninth- and 10th-graders.

The district has hired two English as a New Language teachers — one for elementary students and one for the high school — and two new music teachers — one for elementary and one for both schools. The high school recruited a new physical education teacher and a new family and consumer sciences teacher.

In addition, Southold is adopting a year-long social and emotional learning program. “The SEL scope and sequence will be a combination of topics from awareness of self and others, self-management, social skills, social awareness, self-care, and then within them there are different [concepts],” Dr. Mauro said. “Certain formal lessons will be delivered and everybody else in the district will know what the particular topic is.

“We’re very excited for a new year,” he said.

New Suffolk

First day: Tuesday, Sept. 5

New Suffolk’s new superintendent, Joe Vasile-Cozzo, is taking over for Phil Kent, who retired earlier this year. Mr. Vasile-Cozzo has 32 years’ experience in education. He worked at Mattituck-Cutchogue school district as the physical education teacher for nine years, then at Center Moriches school district as athletic director for five years, followed by 16 years at East Hampton.

In addition to a new superintendent, the district also has two new Board of Education members, Brooke Dailey and Lisa Zissel.

The school building has undergone some minor renovations, including a project to weather seal the bricks around the building and a paint job to refresh the historic building’s appearance.

As superintendent, Mr. Vasile-Cozzo wants to provide as much support to the school’s staff and faculty as possible.

“We’re committed to giving the kids the best education possible and really support [the community] and their children,” Mr. Vasile-Cozzo said. “That’s really what my focus is going to be this year, is to make sure that happens.”

Mattituck-Cutchogue

First day: Thursday, Sept. 7

Little tykes can look forward to some new playground equipment at Cutchogue East Elementary School this year.

“We are very excited … two new playgrounds were installed at Cutchogue East,” said district Superintendent Shawn Petretti. “The first was put in and installed by our partners at Just Kids. They leased some space for us for our pre-K program and through some grants that they received, they were able to put in a playground for our primary grades. Then, as part of our five-year plan, it was time to replace the old playground that we had there … We are excited about the new playground in that [it] is ADA compliant, wheelchair accessible and there are numerous activities within the playground for our students, different sensory stations and things like that.”

Mr. Petretti added that the PTA donated two gaga ball pits for elementary school students. For those who haven’t been to recess lately, gaga ball is a variation of dodgeball designed to be much safer and more inclusive for children of all abilities.

“It’s a new game that’s really getting a lot of momentum,” Mr. Petretti said. “We like it because it involves a lot of students at one time.”

Over at the high school, the new STEM wing will be complete by the time students walk through the doors. The section will boast facilities to house the school’s trade-based classes, including a new wood shop to host an Eastern Suffolk BOCES carpentry program that’s open to Mattituck-Cutchogue, Greenport and Southold students. The school is also offering new classes in Long Island history, and AP pre-calculus along with an AP capstone research course.

“It’s a project-based class for our upperclassmen that participated in our AP seminar class in 10th grade,” Mr. Petretti said.

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“This was the worst neglect case we have ever seen,” said Gabrielle Stroup, the North Fork Animal Welfare League’s director of operations, who has been with the shelter for 25 years. The dogs were ungroomed and covered in matted fur. All of them needed to be shaved down, bathed and have their nails trimmed. Their previous home was dangerously unsanitary, leaving the dogs in an unhealthy condition. 

Although none were malnourished, one of the dogs has been at the Mattituck Veterinarian since her arrival at the shelter. Her hair was matted and mixed with feces and wrapped around her leg which has an open wound. The vets are currently working to save the leg. 

“They were in horrible, horrible shape,” said Ms. Stroup. “Our volunteers are great; when it’s a situation like this, it is all hands on deck.” 

Katie’s Kuts Dog and Cat Grooming in Cutchogue has done all the grooming so far, along with a shelter volunteer who is in school to be a pet groomer. 

The rescued pups are all Maltese-Yorkie mixes, which typically grow to weigh between five and seven pounds. “Small dogs go quick,” said Ms. Stroup, who will begin accepting adoption applications for the Morkies Wednesday.

The adoption process for shelter dogs is simple: fill out a form, take the pup home for a trial period as a foster dog, return in a few weeks to get shots and be spayed or neutered, microchipped and ready for full adoption. There’s a $200 fee to cover expenses once the process is complete. 

The rescued Morkies range in age from 8 weeks to 5 years. The shelter believes they were bred in the home before being rescued. When dogs have been raised in such circumstances, they are typically wary of people and not very friendly. But Ms. Stroup believes the woman did try to care for the dogs and only neglected their grooming. “I think she spent time with them; they are happy dogs,” she said.

With three or four small dogs able to fit very comfortably in each kennel at the shelter, the facility was able to house more than usual. This has helped staffers keep these rescued pups together — and happy — since their Aug. 1 rescue. 

Those interested in adopting a dog or cat or to make a donation can visit the shelter’s website or call (631) 765-1811 for more information.

Grooming is essential for dogs’ well being. Without the proper care, unkempt fur can lead to serious health risks from fleas, matted feces and disease. The shelter, which has locations in Peconic and Aquebogue, will house the dogs until all are adopted. They also care for cats and various types of domestic animals, including pigs, ferrets, parrots and other exotic pets, according to shelter staffers.

For more information on adopting the dogs, visit northforkanimalwelfareleague.org.

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