Commack Issues Warning On Alcohol-Energy Drinks

The Commack Coalition of Caring would like all parents to be aware of these new alcohol-energy drinks. Some go under the name of Joose and Four Loko.

These energy drinks are marketed with the intent of appealing to underage drinkers. Senator Charles Schumer is calling for an investigation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. These alcohol-energy drinks are packaged in colorful cans to resemble non-alcoholic energy drinks and fail to prominently disclose their alcohol content-which can be up to 12 percent volume.

 Some colleges have already banned all students from having these beverages in their possession, regardless of their ages.

We are encouraging all parents to be aware of the dangers of these alcohol-energy drinks.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact:

Dr. John Kelly – Commack Coalition Director 912-2122

Debbie Virga – Commack Coalition Coordinator – 858-3623

Guilty Plea In The Death Of Courtney Snipes

Guilty plea in fatal hit and run

 

A Stony Brook woman who struck and killed an 11 year old girl in Smithtown last while driving high on heroin pleaded guilty at a scheduled court conference today to manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident and driving while impaired by drugs.

 

Maureen Lambert, 21, of Parish Court, will be sentenced to four to twelve years in prison by Judge Stephen Braslow on December 8.

 

Lambert bought and took heroin in the hour before she struck and killed 11-year-old Courtney Snipes on East Main Street in Smithtown.

 

Toxicology tests of the defendant’s blood taken when she surrendered to police approximately 28 hours following the hit and run showed traces of morphine consistent with recent heroin use.

And The Honorees Are - Kathleen Albrecht, Bradley Harris, Gail Hessel, Hauppauge HS Senior Adam Mildon

By Erica Jackson

(See Bio and photo of each honoree on the people in the news pg.)

Annually, for the past seven years, the Smithtown Historical Society has honored three community members for their devoted dedication to the non-profit’s mission of keeping Smithtown’s history alive.  This year is no different.

On Thursday, October 28 the historical society will be honoring Gail Hessel, Kathleen Albrecht and Brad Harris at its annual Heritage Ball at the Watermill for their “commitment to making the historical society and the community better places.”  

Gail Hessel, according to Kiernan Lannon, director of the historical society, will be honored with the society’s Partnership in History Award.  Her work in the Kings Park community has earned her the award, said Lannon.  “She has promoted us to no end in Kings Park.  Anyone who knows who we are in Kings Park knows of us because of Gail,” he said.

Hessel, said Lannon has not only participated at the Kings Park Heritage Museum, but in other Kings Park organizations, such as the Nissequogue River Foundation. She is always, said Lannon, aiming to promote the Smithtown Historical Society.

Hessel is a member of the Smithtown Historical Society’s board of directors and serves as chair of the society’s collections committee.  She is also chair of the society’s Italian Heritage night.

Kathleen Albrecht will be receiving the Rockwell Award for her “commitment to the historical society,” said Lannon. Without Albrecht, the society’s annual heritage country fair would not be as successful as it is.  Lannon said,” That event is our most important in terms of public programming and Cathy has been instrumental in turning it from a small fair to a large, well attended event.”

Albrecht is also, aside from sitting as a member of the historical society’s board of directors, involved in a number of other local organizations, including the Elks Lodge, the Smithtown Chamber of Commerce and the Smithtown Republican Club, where she constantly promotes the Smithtown Historical Society.  “She’s always plugging our events and gets people excited about them,” said Lannon.  “She is important to the historical society.”

This year’s Anna Blydenburg award is being given to Mr. Smithtown, as he is known around town. For the past 27 years, Brad Harris has been unwavering in his support for the historical society.  A board member of the historical society, Harris has been dedicated, giving his time and resources to the success of the historical society. He has written countless books and articles on the town’s history and given numerous lectures.  He is a member of the Smithtown Cemetery Association and the Kings Park Heritage Museum. 

“In terms of helping us promote our mission, no one has done more than Brad. Anything we ask of Brad, he has come through,” said Lannon.  

In addition to the awards, Adam Mildon, a Hauppauge High School senior will be presented with a $1,000 Mildred Smith Scholarship.  In receiving the scholarship, Mildon participated in the historical society’s annual essay contest.

This year’s essay asked students: If all of the town’s historical buildings were going to be demolished and only one could be saved, which would you choose to protect? Mildon presented an essay on the St. James General Store. “He wrote about the general store’s place of feeling and the sense of community that it represents,” said Lannon.

Lannon says it is important for the historical society to honor community members for their support because it is community volunteers who drive the historical society’s mission and educational programs.  

Working with a $430,000 budget, which is mainly driven by donations, the historical society cares for 14 historical structures in the town, eight, which are deeded to the historical society, and six that are owned by the Town of Smithtown. The historical society provides area students with educational opportunities where they can learn about history hands-on through a variety of programs. 

The historical society also has countless historical records and photographs, which Lannon says people frequently ask about.  He said, “We have a lot of people coming in doing genealogy research, looking to see if they are related to the Richard Smith family.”

Events are also highly popular.  Upcoming events include a fall harvest lecture series, which will be held at the brush barn from November 1 to November 8 at 7:30 p.m.; the historical society will also be hosting a holiday lunch-in on Friday, December 3 at 11:00; and on December 4, the heritage Christmas event will kickoff with a wreath contest and holiday decorations adorning the historical structures at 211 Middle Country Road.  The historical society is also working with the Smithtown Rotary Club to present the town’s annual tree lighting on December 5 with a meet and greet with Santa at the brush barn at 5:30.

“We are the gatekeepers of the history and heritage of the town. It is important to remember and learn from the past,” said Lannon.

National Merit Scholarship Commended Students – Kings Park High School

 KINGS PARK HIGH SCHOOL NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP COMMENDED STUDENTS:

Five seniors from Kings Park High School were recently notified by Principal Lino E. Bracco of their selection as Commended Students in the 2010 National Merit Scholarship Program.   The students placed among the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2011 competition by taking the 2009 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. They received a Letter of Commendation acknowledging this prestigious honor.  Pictured standing to Mr. Bracco’s right are: Ryan Parigoris, Henry Baker, William Schneider, Ishwarya Ananthabhotla and Kirsten Murphy.

SHS West Students Receive Invention Grant to Create Portable Solar Tracker

left to right: Eileen Rowe, Tyler Lawrence, Neema Patel, Eric Guleksen, Amy Sullivan, Ryan Gruber, Paige Buzard, Joanne Figueiredo, Daniel Cykman, Sarah Cacciabaudo, Tyler TerBush, Allie Cohen, Michael Emerson, Emily Mancini, John Coady

Smithtown High School West has been awarded a 2011 MIT-InvenTeam Grant. InvenTeams are teams of high school students, teachers and mentors that receive grants of up to $10,000 each to invent technological solutions to real-world problems. The students at West are working to design an efficient affordable solar panel system that will allow people living in the developing world to have the energy needed for night-time lighting and charging cell phones. The team has determined the size solar panel that would be needed to meet these goals at the lowest possible cost. Their innovation is to couple the panel with a solar tracker that will maximize the exposure of the panel to direct sunlight. This important and novel design will be essential for the system’s efficacy during the rainy season.

 

The motivation for this work has come from their desire to help people living in a small community in Northern Nicaragua that has no access to affordable energy. Students at High School West have been working and communicating with students in a high school there for the last year. The device will be field tested during February Break when teachers from West will travel to Nicaragua to work on projects and conduct workshops.

 

The Smithtown West team is consists of: Paige Buzard, Sarah Cacciabaudo, Allie Cohen, Daniel Cykman, Michael Emerson, Ryan Gruber, Eric Guleksen, Tyler Lawrence, Emily Mancini, Neema Patel, Amy Sullivan and Tyler TerBush.

 

A number of teachers are working with the students to help them solve problems and apply lessons from science, technology and math in order to achieve their goals. The team is led by Dr. Joanne Figueiredo, the Science Research Coordinator at West. In addition, Gillian Winters (physics), Craig Boehner (technology), and Regina Fisher (math) have worked to ensure the success of the team.