Long Islanders are doing things every day to help each other and their communities. Newsday wants to tell more of these stories. Have an idea? <a href="mailto:kim.predham@newsday.com?subject=LI%20good%20news%20story%20idea">Email us</a>.&nbsp;

Long Island

liGOODNEWS

Dylan Laube, from Westhampton, was drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders in the 6th round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Sports

Football

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Westhampton's Dylan Laube awaits being drafted into the NFL

Westhampton

Eastport

Manorville

Newsday

How Laube became a Raider

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Michael R. Ebert

Massapequa High School senior Kelly Mullooly is on a mission to make composting cool. 
Mullooly, 17, recently spearheaded a “Kid Komposting” project in which she educated about 100 third graders at her district’s Birch Lane Elementary School as well as three local Girl Scout troops on what can and cannot be composted and how waste reduction can benefit the environment. 
She also showed the elementary schoolers and scouts how to create their own compost bins for use at home by having them bring in an empty container and food scraps such as banana peels and coffee grounds. She provided the composting soil. 
“I just want them to see that their actions do matter and they can have good consequences,” said Mullooly, who pursued the project as part of her Gold Award, the highest achievement attainable with the Girl Scouts of the USA. “By making the effort to care about the environment through composting they can really take charge and make a difference.” 
Mullooly’s mission to help the environment actually goes back to her own days as a student at Birch Lane. As a fifth grader, she said she participated in a “No Trash Tuesdays” project with her Girl Scout troop, in which they encouraged the use of reusable containers for lunch every Tuesday. 
“I wanted to continue working on projects that had a similar goal of helping the environment,” said Mullooly, a member of Girl Scout Troop 2524. 
Prior to her presentations at Birch Lane, Mullooly said she received approval from the school’s principal, Stephen Aspetti, as well as STEAM and Magnet program teacher Kelsey Downey, who was her mentor for the endeavor. STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, art and math. The Magnet program is designed to bring academically gifted students together to promote a higher level of thinking, according to district officials. 
“Kelly understands that the earlier we begin to recognize and have a hands-on role in protecting our environment, the more likely we are to adopt these practices into our everyday lives,” Downey said. “She hopes that teaching the third graders about composting now is just a small step toward them becoming passionate about conservation and protecting our environment.”

LI Life

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Hometown Hero: Kelly Mullooly of Massapequa Park on a mission to teach kids composting

Hometown Hero: LI girl on mission to make composting cool

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Frank Lovece

Ally Ali, co-host of “The Syke Morning Show” on WBLI/106.1 FM, trades her radio mic for a TV screen when she competes on the NBC game show “Password” Tuesday, paired with actor Lauren Graham. 
“I didn't watch the original version with Betty White,” says Ali, 27, referring to the venerable word-guessing show that ran originally from 1961 to 1975 with some breaks, and resurfaced in variations three times afterward. “But I did watch [the regular 'Password' segment on] 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,’ when he has celebrities on. And even with my before-bed casual TV watching, those are always the videos that I would go to and it was, like, ‘Oh my gosh, it would be so much fun to do this.’ ” 
When the segment spun off into its own prime-time show in 2022, hosted by Keke Palmer with Fallon as the regular celebrity player, Commack native Ali made competing on the show a life goal. 
“I sent in a video last April,” she recalls, speaking by phone amid some shopping at the Smith Haven Mall, in Lake Grove, “and I was super excited to get the call the next day, where they were, like, ‘We want to push you through.’ So I had a few different rounds of interviews with producers and casting directors, and did a little bit of playing the game with other potential contestants, and they narrowed it down.” 
Ali shot at Universal Studios in Los Angeles in November, the week after Thanksgiving. While the radio host was not a watcher of Graham’s 2000-07 mother-daughter dramedy “Gilmore Girls,” “my grandma, who passed away in August, apparently that was her favorite show. So when I told my mom that I was partnered with Lauren Graham, my mom was all excited.” 
The daughter of retired electrical engineer Richard and homemaker Donna Ali, Alexandra&nbsp;Ali is the youngest of three siblings, with eldest child Robert and middle child Stephanie. She attended Commack High School and graduated from Hunter College, in Manhattan, with a degree in media studies and a minor in broadcast journalism. 
While in college, she began interning for the West Babylon-based WBLI, and credits midday host Al Levine for mentoring her. Around late 2017 or early 2018, Ali recalls, she was hired for the station’s street team. “Basically the people who go out to parks and have a wheel people spin for prizes, that kind of thing, just representing the station.” 
About a year later, she got on air. Her credits include the late-night “Ally Ali After Dark,” which ended on July 28, 2022, as she transitioned from her concurrent job as the station’s morning-show producer to become instead the new co-host of what had been “Syke &amp; MJ in the Morning,” with Andrew &quot;Syke&quot; Sykora and Dana &quot;MJ&quot; Parisi. 
True to her Commack roots, Ali is guest of honor at a viewing party set for 8 p.m. Tuesday at the hamlet's Prato 850 restaurant, being thrown by a trivia company with whom she works on the side, Carousel of Entertainment. 
“Everyone will play different game shows,” she says, &quot;like ‘Family Feud’ and ‘The Price Is Right,’ and then at 10 o'clock, the restaurant is actually staying open an hour later so we can all view the episode together.”

Entertainment

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WBLI morning co-host Ally Ali competes on NBC's 'Password'

WBLI morning co-host Ally Ali competes on 'Password'

ETALLY240502_photos

Darwin Yanes

Jonah Sanderson likes to tell new participants in his classes at Sid Jacobson JCC that he's going to change their lives. 
But the 35-year-old coordinator of Jewish life at the East Hills center said&nbsp;he had to change his life and find his purpose before he&nbsp;could start helping others. 
As a child, the Mineola resident and Los Angeles native struggled with an intellectual disability. He said he was misdiagnosed&nbsp;and attended a school for children with autism for nearly 10 years. 
Sanderson's sister, Isabelle Sanderson, 31, of Brooklyn,&nbsp;said it took her brother&nbsp;a long time&nbsp;to figure out&nbsp;how to focus when it came to&nbsp;academics. As a child, no Jewish day schools would accept Sanderson and multiple synagogues rejected him before he had a bar mitzvah at a reform synagogue at age 13. 
But Sanderson said in his 20s he found meaning in his struggle to learn.&nbsp; 
Now the religious instructor and Jewish chaplain said he is using his personal experience&nbsp;to try to help students at the community center find a&nbsp;way through their own challenges by providing spiritual guidance.&nbsp;Sanderson&nbsp;describes his condition as a “learning disability” and said he sees himself as a “leader for&nbsp;the&nbsp;differently abled community.” 
Susan Berman, the JCC's vice president of community engagement, said Sanderson brings “light, love and heart” to everything he does for the center, where he began working in&nbsp;February 2023.&nbsp; 
“He can relate to anyone,” she said. “That for us as an agency brings our values and mission to life.” 
<h3>'An epiphany'</h3> 
Sanderson said he “had an epiphany” at&nbsp;22. 
“I understood that if I didn’t help myself, the road that I would go down is one of a spiritual death and an emotional death,” he recalled. 
That same year, Sanderson&nbsp;found&nbsp;a mentor, Rabbi Yitz Jacobs, at global&nbsp;Jewish outreach organization Aish HaTorah.&nbsp;&nbsp; 
Jacobs, 54, a former Plainview resident, said in an interview that Sanderson would come to his family's home&nbsp;for dinner as the&nbsp;observation of the weekly Jewish Sabbath began.&nbsp; 
“Jonah was a handful. He was all over the place in a lot of ways, but he was delightful and really sincere,” Jacobs said.&nbsp; 
While still 22, Sanderson moved to Israel for two years after encouragement from the rabbi. 
Jacobs said that journey helped&nbsp;shape the man Sanderson&nbsp;is today. He said&nbsp;Sanderson used to limit himself based on his disability, but now understands all he can offer. 
“He's a very able, confident man now instead of this 22-year-old kid who never went out into the real world,” Jacobs said. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Host Jonah Sanderson (standing) chats with guests during a recent Passover Seder at his Mineola home.
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/7cb6316d-0028-4801-9742-20bc076cae2b" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/7cb6316d-0028-4801-9742-20bc076cae2b', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/7cb6316d-0028-4801-9742-20bc076cae2b"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/7cb6316d-0028-4801-9742-20bc076cae2b/toJONAH240501-8.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Host Jonah Sanderson (standing) chats with guests during a recent Passover Seder at his Mineola home. </a> 
Sanderson said he&nbsp;persevered with his education after his return from Israel and in 2016 earned&nbsp;his high school diploma at age 26. 
In 2020, he graduated with&nbsp;a bachelor's degree in criminal justice&nbsp;from Penn Foster College. The next year, he graduated with a master's degree in Jewish studies and chaplaincy from The Academy for Jewish Religion California. 
<h3>'Change your life'</h3> 
Sanderson was born shortly&nbsp;before the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 and counts himself among what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says are about 27% of adults between the ages of 18 and 44 in the United States who have some type of disability. 
“I think what makes me successful is that I was told that the best I could do in life was to be a bagger at a grocery store,” Sanderson said. 
He&nbsp;said since he joined the JCC as an instructor, one of his courses has grown from five&nbsp;to 35 participants. He teaches three courses every&nbsp;week, including a class called Taste of Torah, where he examines and interprets sacred text.&nbsp; 
For a recent Passover Seder, he hosted&nbsp;13&nbsp;of his JCC students in his&nbsp;home, with some describing&nbsp;in interviews how Sanderson's teachings have helped them. 
Student Harry Peters, 85, of Manhasset, said he met Sanderson&nbsp;after taking part in&nbsp;a bereavement group at the JCC.&nbsp;He said the instructor's classes helped him cope with his wife's death last year. 
“He has a good heart,” Peters&nbsp;added&nbsp;of Sanderson. 
Sanderson's student&nbsp;Cheryl Steinberg-Stiles said she met the instructor&nbsp;shortly after her husband died in 2022.&nbsp; 
“I think he just knows when people are in need,” Steinberg-Stiles, 65, of Roslyn, said of Sanderson. “He has this saying 'I want you to come to this. It’ll change your life.' He has done that.”&nbsp; 
Seder attendee&nbsp;Lyzz RothSinger, a&nbsp;Great Neck resident,&nbsp;said she&nbsp;wasn’t searching for community, but was glad when she found it in Sanderson’s teachings. 
“Jonah has been a beacon and his story invites people to own their own stories, which I feel has been transformative to me,” added RothSinger, 71, a retired educator.&nbsp;“ … When the student is ready the teacher appears, and he has.”

Towns

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From a struggle to learn early in life, this East Hills chaplain found purpose

This East Hills chaplain found purpose after a struggle to learn early in life

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Twenty Long Island students have qualified for the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles next month, after placing first in a regional contest earlier this year. 
The students had competed in the Long Island Science and Engineering Fair, an annual event that received more than 400 submissions from 58 local schools in 13 categories ranging from animal sciences to microbiology and chemistry. At least 25% in each category were selected for the second round of judging in March at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury. 
The winners will now go on to the international fair, to be held May 11-17. 
“As a result of the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs across Long Island, there was an increased number of exemplary projects,” said the local fair’s president, Angela Lukaszewski. “Becoming a finalist was an even greater challenge this year.” 
First-place winners and their high schools are Ava Goldsmith, John F. Kennedy High School in Bellmore; Milan Lustig, Cold Spring Harbor; Mehek Sawhney, Commack; Leah Fromm, East Hampton; James Nagler, Garden City; Michelle Luo, Great Neck South; Rishi Aravind and Stasya Selizhuk, Half Hollow Hills East in Dix Hills; Arav Chand, Half Hollow Hills West in Dix Hills; Natasha Kulviwat, Katherine Lee, Manfred Lim, Samyra Mahiba and Sophia Tarasenko, Jericho; Alena Tsai and Dylan Yoon, Manhasset; Kaitlin Ho, North Shore in Glen Head; Syon Khatter and Yoav Muscal, Plainview-Old Bethpage; and Tessla Chan, Roslyn. 
<h2>BAYPORT</h2> 
<h3>New principal</h3> 
Jamal Walcott has been named principal of Bayport-Blue Point High School, effective July 1. He will replace James Nolan, who is holding the position on an interim basis. 
Walcott has served as an assistant principal at Longwood High School in Middle Island since 2018. 
“I am excited to continue promoting the tremendous achievements of the students in this community and the hard work put in by the teachers every day,” Walcott said. 
“I eagerly anticipate a long career of helping students discover their full potential at Bayport-Blue Point, while also creating memories and experiences that will last a lifetime.” 
<h2>LYNBROOK</h2> 
<h3>Communication board</h3> 
West End Elementary School recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil a new communication board near the school’s playground that is intended to assist children with verbal disabilities. 
The board is designed to help students express themselves by pointing to images and symbols that represent words such as “climb,” “run” and “throw.” Its installation was facilitated by the Lynbrook school district’s Special Education PTA and the Lynbrook Police Benevolent Association. 
“I feel so hopeful because the world is finding ways to help those who are different,” said West End third-grader CiCi Farr, whose preschool-aged sister, Cosette, has a speech delay. “It’s hard for her to communicate, which can be really upsetting to her.” 
<h2>ISLANDWIDE</h2> 
<h3>Maglev contest</h3> 
Students from four Long Island middle schools placed first this past March in Brookhaven National Laboratory’s 2024 Maglev Contest, which challenged them to design vehicles that float over a fixed track using magnetic levitation. This year’s competition included 150 students from 10 middle schools across Long Island. 
First-place winners from Bay Shore are Andrew Oliveri, self-propelled (balloon); Owen Huber, self-propelled (other); and Chase Harrison, electrified track. 
Three students from Albert G. Prodell Middle School in Shoreham also won first place: Jordyn Lusak, wind power; Jonah Maraglio, gravity; and Aylin Tucksonmez, futuristic. Srihas Mandava, of Accompsett Middle School in Smithtown, won the 3D printed category, while Lucas and Marcus Chang and Quentin Lennox, of Great Neck South Middle School, won the scale-model category.

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Making the Grade: 20 LI students qualify for Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair

Making the Grade: 20 LI students qualify for Regeneron fair

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Tara Smith

The tube bird feeder hanging in front of Meigan Rocco’s kitchen window attracts the usual suspects to her wooded Flanders neighborhood: sparrows, finches, territorial cardinals and&nbsp;pesky blue jays. 
But one late April morning, Rocco&nbsp;spotted a vibrant cerulean&nbsp;bird perched on the feeder.&nbsp;Bewildered, she snapped a photo on her cellphone and sent it to a friend, Andria McMaugh, a wildlife biologist, who&nbsp;identified&nbsp;the visitor as&nbsp;a lazuli bunting. The&nbsp;small, stocky songbird is named for the lapis lazuli gemstone and typically found on the West Coast.&nbsp; 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="A lazuli bunting, a songbird typically found on the West Coast, was spotted at a Flanders feeder on April 21." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/929b9b85-3528-451f-84ef-0abfd0ea7198" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/929b9b85-3528-451f-84ef-0abfd0ea7198', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/929b9b85-3528-451f-84ef-0abfd0ea7198"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/929b9b85-3528-451f-84ef-0abfd0ea7198/TOBIRD.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />A lazuli bunting, a songbird typically found on the West Coast, was spotted at a Flanders feeder on April 21.</a> 
On April 21, McMaugh logged the sighting on <a href="https://ebird.org/home">eBird</a>, an app that sends alerts about rare bird sightings. Within hours,&nbsp;hundreds of birders descended on Rocco's front yard hoping to catching a glimpse of a “once in a lifetime” species not seen in New York for 25 years.&nbsp;A storm is likely to blame for the bird's wayward journey, and led to the first recorded sighting on Long Island, according to Peggy Lauber, president of the North Fork Audubon Society. 
“It was binoculars and camera lenses. Just a wall of people, like the paparazzi,” Rocco, 55, said. “But I didn’t mind it at all. It was the opportunity of a lifetime and my husband and I were very happy to provide that to people.”&nbsp; 
At first glance, McMaugh, a Tampa, Florida, resident who used to work for the New York State&nbsp;Department of Environmental Conservation as a wildlife officer, thought the lazuli was an eastern bluebird. But she homed in on its distinctive white shoulder patch and rust-colored chest. 
“My old boss used to tell us, ‘If you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras,’ ” McMaugh, 35, recalled. “Meaning even if you think it’s something really crazy, don’t jump to conclusions. Take a look and do your research.” 
Lazuli buntings are widespread across western North America, from southern British Columbia down to Mexico, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. They can be found in thickets and woodlands, foraging for seeds, fruits and insects or frequenting feeders with millet. 
Experts believe&nbsp;the lazuli bunting veered off course during migration and stopped at Rocco’s feeder to refuel before heading home.&nbsp; 
“The bird probably got blown off course by a storm,” Lauber said. 
She said spring is a prime time to observe songbirds. “We call it ‘May-gration.' Millions of birds are flying up because things are starting to grow and flower and bud, and the birds are in search of food.” 
The last time a lazuli bunting was observed in New York was in 1998, according to the eBird sighting map. Those sightings were concentrated upstate near Genesee. Their spring migration typically lasts through May and resumes for the fall by mid-August, according to Cornell.&nbsp; 
The U.S. Fish &amp; Wildlife Service estimates there are about 45 million birders nationwide, and Long Island is a haven for the hobby. 
According to Audubon New York, there are 27 important bird areas on Long Island. Data from eBird shows 441 species have been spotted in Suffolk County. 
Rocco estimates that the lazuli, nicknamed Raul, attracted nearly 500 visitors from as far away as Buffalo, Connecticut and New Jersey between April 20 and 22. 
She said it was “heartwarming” to see their reactions as Raul made frequent appearances, feeding at least once an hour from dawn to dusk. Rocco stocks her feeder with a &quot;run of the mill&quot; mix of sunflower seeds, millet, peanuts and corn from Agway. 
“People were crying, high-fiving; they were fist-bumping, hugging,” Rocco said. 
Mack Chitilescu, 30, a lawyer from Queens, said it was “an incredible sight” to tick the species off&nbsp;his “life list,” a form of record keeping for birders, without traveling out west. 
“This one was particularly fantastic because it’s in the breeding plume, so it was really bright,” he said. “For us nerds, it’s really cool.” 
The bird hasn’t returned since April 22, and McMaugh said calm, favorable wind conditions that evening probably prompted it to start its journey home. 
McMaugh said the bird&nbsp;could have survived locally but wouldn’t have been able to breed. 
“I think that instinct in most animals motivates them,” she said. 
Rocco said the birders were respectful, many offering to buy her birdseed. But all she wanted in return was photos to be shared with her and donations made to the Southampton Animal Shelter. 
&quot;With the way the world is,&quot; she said,&nbsp;&quot;it was really nice to see people just be kind and enjoy a moment in nature.&quot;

Suffolk

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Rare Long Island sighting of lazuli bunting brings hundreds of birders flocking to Flanders home

Rare bird sighting brings hundreds of birders flocking to LI home

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Denise M. Bonilla

He may not have any turntables, but one look at the man behind the speakers in the recreation room of the Spangle Drive Senior Center in North Babylon, and there’s no doubt Kirk Johnson is the one commanding the dance floor. 
Now the 94-year old is hoping to prove his DJ status to the Guinness World Records and&nbsp;claim the title of oldest disc jockey. 
Known as “Captain Kirk,”&nbsp;the Farmingdale resident dons a shirt with music notes and piano keys splashed across it, along with a nautical captain’s hat perched on his head for full effect, every Wednesday afternoon at the center. There, with a bingo board on the wall behind him and light machines propped on speakers, Johnson turns the recreation room into a nightclub, playing a variety of music genres from a laptop that keeps dozens of seniors moving and grooving. 
“I love to see people out there having fun, enjoying themselves and it’s all because of me,” said the former West Babylon school bus driver, who retired at age 90. 
Johnson began his DJ career a year after retirement at the prodding of the center’s director, Carolyn Epifane. 
Epifane said after the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions began to lift in spring 2021, patrons were eager to gather and hear music again. She brought in a small karaoke machine and asked Johnson to run it. But karaoke wasn’t for him and after awhile&nbsp;Johnson decided he wanted to DJ. So he asked for a hand&nbsp;from his son Kerry, who helped him purchase a laptop, speakers, a mixing board and other equipment. 
“I didn’t even know what a laptop looked like,” Kirk Johnson said. 
Kerry Johnson, 54, of West Babylon, said it didn’t surprise him that his dad wanted to DJ. 
“He’s always been a person who wants everyone to have a good time,” Kerry Johnson said. 
Kirk Johnson’s wife, Paula Scalise, 81, said she, too, was unfazed when hearing of Johnson’s DJing goals. 
“He’s the type of man who always has to be doing something,” she said. 
<h2>Retired school bus driver</h2> 
Before being a bus driver for 28 years, Johnson drove a tractor trailer and owned a bottled water delivery franchise. In his spare time he participated in professional roller-skating competitions across the tristate and even taught roller dancing for a time. 
“I’m a very active person and I didn’t like just hanging around after retiring,” said the Korean War veteran, who served in the Army Air Corps and then Air Force from 1946 to 1958. 
“He brought life back to the center after the pandemic,” Epifane said. “People can’t get enough of him.” 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Kirk Johnson, of Farmingdale, is hoping to set the Guinness World Record for the oldest DJ.
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/78cd403c-a42b-45da-8cf0-ba3195c50d7d" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/78cd403c-a42b-45da-8cf0-ba3195c50d7d', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/78cd403c-a42b-45da-8cf0-ba3195c50d7d"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/78cd403c-a42b-45da-8cf0-ba3195c50d7d/0A2A5390.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Kirk Johnson, of Farmingdale, is hoping to set the Guinness World Record for the oldest DJ. </a> 
Johnson has twice beaten non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Months of chemotherapy left him so weak, he once had to be taken out of the center in an ambulance in the middle of a music&nbsp;set. 
<h2>Meets any song request</h2> 
“Captain Kirk” plays the center for free but he offers his paid services to anyone having an event. He has one standing paying gig playing happy hour at the Knights of Columbus hall in Seaford. Johnson dubs the event a “real wing dinger” that can draw more than 100 people. 
“If I didn’t have this, I’d be staying at home like a little old lady,” said center patron Dottie McCormick, 83 of East Islip. “He keeps us going.” 
Johnson prides himself on meeting any song request and plays everything from rock and roll and disco to salsa and country. 
“I’m just having such a ball,” Johnson said recently while at&nbsp;the DJ table. 
Just then, Bruce Young, 88, of Smithtown, approached to ask Johnson to play “Flowers,”&nbsp;the hit Miley Cyrus song. 
“He’s my hero,” Young said of Johnson. “I want to be like him when I grow up.” 
Johnson, who rode a motorcycle until just a few years ago, has even developed his own set of “groupies” who follow him from gig to gig. 
Connie Altadonna, 88, of Deer Park, proudly counts herself among that crowd. She calls Johnson a “lifesaver” who got older adults&nbsp;“out of our bubble” after the pandemic. 
“I come here faithfully for him,” she said. “Wherever he goes, I go.” 
Johnson has submitted an application to the Guinness World Records, which has been accepted, his son Kerry said. He must now provide supporting evidence, including video testimonials and medical certification of Johnson’s age. According to the records, the current title for oldest DJ appears to be an 89-year-old woman in Japan. 
He said he had&nbsp;no doubt that his father, who turns 95 in August, would&nbsp;achieve his goal. 
“If I know him, he’ll make sure he gets it,” his son said with a laugh. “Once he gets an idea, he doesn’t let it go.”

TORECORD240429

Nonagenarian DJ Kirk Johnson from Farmingdale spins toward Guinness World Record

Nonagenarian DJ from LI cuts tracks, aims for Guinness World Record

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Kirk Johnson, also known as Captain Kirk, KJ the singing DJ, is setting out to break records as the &#39;world&#39;s oldest DJ&#39; at 94 years old.&nbsp;NewsdayTV&#39;s Steve Langford reports.&nbsp;

TORECORD240429_video

94-year-old sets out to break record as 'world's oldest DJ'

North Babylon

'It's going to happen'

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Kevin J. Redding

In all his years dribbling up and down the court, jumping high and shooting baskets, Gordon Thomas knew he could count on his father cheering him on from the stands. 
Starting as a competitive basketball player at St. Patrick’s CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) in Bay Shore, Thomas went on to be a standout student-athlete at St. John’s University and was a New York Knicks draft pick in 1979. And whether it was a local gymnasium or Madison Square Garden, he said his father was “always there.” 
A fixture in the community for decades, John E. Thomas Sr. was the first Black officer in the Village of Brightwaters Police Department and among the first Black officers in the Suffolk County Police Department when it formed in 1960. He was a detective in the Community Outreach Bureau until his retirement in 1998. 
“My father was the Jackie Robinson [of the police force],” said Thomas, 66, of Bay Shore. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Det. John E. Thomas, Sr. was &quot;the Jackie Robinson [of the police force],&quot; his son, Gordon Thomas said.
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/06e020d7-7e98-4814-ba8d-049ff1d7c605" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/06e020d7-7e98-4814-ba8d-049ff1d7c605', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/06e020d7-7e98-4814-ba8d-049ff1d7c605"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/06e020d7-7e98-4814-ba8d-049ff1d7c605/41b3f31b5c7a30a2aacfc5e97c3cc69b65dea7d4.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Det. John E. Thomas, Sr. was &quot;the Jackie Robinson [of the police force],&quot; his son, Gordon Thomas said. </a> 
He fondly recalled his father being a gifted athlete himself, participating in the Police Olympics and pole vaulting into his 70s. But as the years went on, he said he noticed his father’s memory starting to slip, to the point that he wouldn’t remember a visit from his son earlier in the day. 
In 2005, at 79, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, his son said.&nbsp; 
“It was really discouraging seeing him decline,” Thomas said. “All of a sudden he was in a wheelchair and couldn’t walk, and then he was in a bed and couldn’t get out of it.” 
Then it was Thomas’ turn to be there for his father. He educated himself on the disease and eventually became involved in the healthcare industry as an account executive and in marketing and community relations. He also began supporting the Long Island Alzheimer’s and Dementia Center in Westbury, where he now serves as a board member. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-onecms-id="contentid/0f38c593-515e-4262-94b2-a51b21309689" data-onecms-type="storywidget" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/0f38c593-515e-4262-94b2-a51b21309689', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/0f38c593-515e-4262-94b2-a51b21309689">STORYWIDGET: A2COV240428_widget1</a> 
“Their brains may be broken but their hearts aren’t,” he said. “You have to love them and you need a lot of patience. The one thing I always tell families is get educated.” 
In 2010, after his father died from Alzheimer’s — the sixth leading cause of death for adults in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — Thomas said he was determined to “do something in his memory” to help raise money and awareness. 
For 14 years, that something has been the Alzheimer’s All-Star Basketball Classic, annual fundraising competitions that pit the best high school players in Suffolk against the best in Nassau. 
<h3>2 FUNDRAISERS A YEAR</h3> 
The main event consists of girls’ and boys’ all-star games held the last weekend in October. Over several tryouts across the Island, four teams of 12 players are selected out of nearly 100 to represent their counties and compete in front of classmates, parents and even college coaches in search of prospective superstars. 
The other event, which will be held this year on Thursday at Brentwood High School’s Sonderling Center, is the Slam Dunk &amp; 3-Point Shootout, a battle between the counties. The top dunkers are chosen through video submissions and the shooters through Newsday’s “Top 100” lists, said Thomas, who has coached for Amityville Memorial and Southampton high schools. 
With an admission fee of $10 for those age 10 and up, all proceeds from the events go to the Long Island Alzheimer’s and Dementia Center. The money helps fund the center’s offerings, including pet and art therapy, support groups, counseling sessions and caregiver training courses. 
According to Victoria Cohen, the center’s executive director, Thomas has contributed $5,000 to $10,000 per year through the all-star games and $3,000 per year from the Slam Dunk &amp; 3-Point Shootout. 
“Gordon knows and understands the need for families to have these kinds of services, because if you didn’t, you’d be going through this disease without help,” Cohen said. “He’s so enthusiastic and does a tremendous job getting the community and these high school students together and bringing awareness to them, because at this moment it’s not going away.” 
And while providing a special day for young athletes — who can go home with trophies, college recruiter information and bragging rights — Thomas makes sure they know what they’re playing for. &nbsp; 
<h3>ALZHEIMER’S AWARENESS</h3> 
Ahead of the competitions, he said he gathers players and their families for an “Awareness Night,” where speakers educate them on Alzheimer’s, and they can try on equipment that simulates what a dementia patient experiences by altering their physical and sensory abilities. 
<blockquote> 
 They’re able to take this equipment off ... but the Alzheimer’s patients can’t.&nbsp; 
 Gordon Thomas, basketball coach 
</blockquote> 
“The beauty of that is they’re able to take this equipment off ... but the Alzheimer’s patients can’t,” said Thomas. He recalled a basketball player from Baldwin who experienced the tour and became emotional, as her grandmother had the disease. “She said, ‘Now I really understand what Grammy is going through,’ ” Thomas said. 
Thomas Matonti, 17, a senior at Kings Park High School who has participated in the shootout and played on last year’s Suffolk team, said, “Coming into it, I didn’t know about Alzheimer’s and how many people are actually affected by it. The entire message was very special and informative.” 
Among the hundreds of athletes who have participated in the competitions are Lester Quinones, a Brentwood native and current NBA shooting guard for the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco; Celeste Taylor, who was awarded MVP of the 2017 Alzheimer’s game for Nassau and was just drafted to the WNBA’s Indiana Fever; and Jordan Riley, a competitor in the 10th anniversary game who has gone on to make his mark in Philadelphia with Temple University’s Owls. 
A particularly memorable moment came in 2013 when Thomas said he asked Valley Stream South’s top three-point shooter, Diego Maldonado, to participate. He won not only the shootout but also the slam dunk contest by leaping up, passing the ball between his legs mid-air and slamming it down through the net. The gym erupted and it was captured on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lk0OYMEfrM">video</a>. 
“I mean, holy mackerel,” Thomas said, laughing. “A month later, I get a call from ESPN and they want to put his dunk on their Plays of the Week.” 
Herman Lamison, head coach for Southampton and a village police detective sergeant, has been involved in the fundraiser since its start. He currently coaches the Suffolk boys team. 
He said he connected with Thomas because his mother died from Alzheimer’s. 
“It’s rewarding and means a lot to know you’re giving back through something you love to do ... it’s a memory of my mom for me, personally,” said Lamison. 
Thomas, who prioritizes respect and the importance of academics, said, “I love being able to pay it forward because I’ve been there, and I want these kids to understand what it takes to get there and to be upstanding young people in the community. I try to prepare them for the future.” &nbsp; 
<h3>PLAYING AT ST. JOHN’S</h3> 
In 1975, Thomas, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard and senior at Bay Shore High School known for his high jumps, read an article about an all-star game against the Russian Junior national basketball team taking place on Long Island. 
Encouraged by his coach to try out, he said he made the team and played so well that he caught the eye of one of the scouts there, St. John’s coaching legend Lou Carnesecca. He wound up getting recruited with a four-year scholarship, he said. 
“I felt like I was in another world,” Thomas said of his freshman year at St. John’s, during which he played the first of several games at Madison Square Garden. “I’ll never forget that feeling of running out of the locker room and onto the court and playing in front of 19,000 people. That adrenaline is going through you, and it’s like a high.” 
That first year, George L. Johnson — a sophomore forward/center who would go on to play in the NBA for seven years — took him under his wing. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Gordon Thomas, a basketball player for St. John's in the 1970s, is pictured in photographs provided by the family.
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/52be3e0d-3d73-40b4-9145-99389e446dee" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/52be3e0d-3d73-40b4-9145-99389e446dee', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/52be3e0d-3d73-40b4-9145-99389e446dee"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/52be3e0d-3d73-40b4-9145-99389e446dee/6881496b53acf71e6190de3c6c70daf813ca70b3.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Gordon Thomas, a basketball player for St. John's in the 1970s, is pictured in photographs provided by the family. </a> 
He remembered Thomas being “personable, athletic and eager to learn,” and modeling himself after his idol, New York Nets’ star and Roosevelt native Julius “Dr. J” Erving.&nbsp; 
“He was fun to get along with, and he cared about people,” Johnson said. “Everyone wanted to be around him.” 
Under the guidance of Carnesecca and teammates like Johnson, Thomas soared as a player, competing during the NCAA tournament in the Elite Eight in 1979, the same year that Magic Johnson of Michigan State faced off against Larry Bird of Illinois State in the Final Four. 
“As a kid, I would take my dad’s trophies and pins from the police department to show-and-tell, and after that season was over, my dad wanted me to come by the Third Precinct in Bay Shore to show off to all the police officers,” said Thomas. &nbsp; 
<h3>NBA DRAFT</h3> 
His family had more to celebrate that year, as he was selected by the Knicks in the 10th round of the 1979 NBA Draft. Signing a contract with the team, he said he played well in the intensive one-week rookie camp alongside top players, but the competition was tough and higher picks were chosen instead. 
“[Knicks coach] Red Holzman said, ‘Son, you had a really good camp, but . . . ’ and my heart fell out,” Thomas recalled. “This was my dream, and all of a sudden the carpet was pulled out from me. . . . So that’s what I tell my players: After a while, it’s inevitable that ball is gonna stop bouncing, so what are you gonna do then? My parents and mentors always stressed the importance of education.” 
<blockquote> 
 It’s inevitable that ball is gonna stop bouncing, so what are you gonna do then? 
 Gordon Thomas, basketball coach 
</blockquote> 
Thomas pivoted, earning a degree in business administration from St. John’s and then playing basketball in Caracas, Venezuela — one of two Americans on the team — against Puerto Rico and China, among others, for years. 
When he returned home, he said he started a family and worked in real estate before switching to sales within the telecommunications industry and then the medical field. And he stayed true to his first passion, coaching for the Amityville Warriors, where he was named Suffolk County Coach of the Year and New York State Coach of the Year. He later joined the coaching staff of the Southampton Mariners. &nbsp; 
<h3>THE CLASSIC’S FUTURE</h3> 
As he continues to keep the legacy of his father and all Alzheimer’s patients alive, Thomas has built his own. 
Looking toward the future, he hopes to one day expand the Classic into a Long Island versus New York City game and eventually into a tristate competition. He’s seeking sponsors to potentially host the game at Nassau Coliseum, provide more opportunities and accolades for the players involved and, in the end, contribute more funds to the Westbury Alzheimer’s center. 
Johnson, who has been heavily involved in the Classic, isn’t surprised that his friend has pursued such a mission for all these years. “It speaks to Gordon’s selflessness,” he said. “He’s always looking to include others and spread the wealth.”

A2COV240428

Alzheimer's All-Star Basketball Classic's founder, Gordon Thomas, inspired by dad's battle with disease

Inspired by dad's battle with Alzheimer's, son's All-Star Basketball Classic raises funds and awareness

a2cov240428_photos

John Asbury

A Freeport firefighter rushed into a burning ambulance repair building last year and pulled two of his comrades&nbsp;to safety as they were running out of air. 
Lt. Petros Mestheneas with the Freeport Excelsior Hook and Ladder Co. No. 1 was credited with saving the lives of the two firefighters on April 1, 2023, as 150 firefighters from 26 volunteer departments battled a five-alarm fire. 
For his heroism and bravery, Mestheneas, 52, was honored Wednesday with the Nassau County meritorious gold medal of valor. 
“These firefighters were literally out of time,” Nassau County Assistant Chief Fire Marshal James Hickman said. “Had they not been located, they would have both ran out of air and it would have ended in a tragedy.” 
Mestheneas was honored with other firefighters, EMS workers and civilians as part of the annual Nassau County Firematic Awards for bravery and heroic acts. 
Other awards were given for battling fires, aiding choking victims, delivering babies and resuscitating patients&nbsp;in cardiac arrests.&nbsp; 
Mestheneas was responding to the Emergency Ambulance Service Inc. garage and offices that housed 38 ambulances on Commercial Drive in Freeport where the fire was reported. 
He arrived at the 30,000-square-foot building where the two firefighters had gone searching for anyone inside the building as the fire raged. The two firefighters sent out a “Mayday!” call as they were overcome with smoke and trapped in the building. 
“You get a sick feeling when you hear that transmitted,” Mestheneas said before the ceremony Wednesday. “I went in about 30 feet, with smoke to the ground, I put my gear on and my adrenaline was pumping. I got on knees and belly and couldn’t see anything.” 
The alarms were sounding on the other two firefighters’ oxygen tanks and they sent out a second &quot;Mayday!” call while other oxygen cylinders in the building were exploding, Hickman said. 
“These firefighters were banging on the wall and he followed the sound,” Hickman said. “As the banging became louder, he was able to locate the first firefighter, about 57 feet into the building in a storage room, and the second firefighter in a bathroom. Under worsening conditions, he was able to guide them out of the building.” 
Once they reached the doorway, they clutched their oxygen masks to their faces before getting outside, Hickman said. They were taken to Nassau University Medical Center and released that afternoon. 
“His act of bravery saved the lives of two fellow firefighters,” Chief Fire Marshal Mike Uttaro said. 
With Joseph Sperber

Nassau

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Freeport firefighter Petros Mestheneas honored for saving 2 comrades

Freeport firefighter gets county's gold medal of valor for rescue of 2 comrades 

liAWARDS240426_photos

Deborah S. Morris

Huntington officials on Monday announced the town's&nbsp;first-ever film festival, a fall showcase they're hoping will help attract Hollywood TV and movie productions to use the North Shore locale as a base of operations in the future. 
The Made in Huntington Film &amp; TV Festival will run from Nov.&nbsp;7-Nov. 10&nbsp;and feature movie screenings, nightly receptions, daily seminars and talks with filmmakers, actors, producers and industry executives. 
Town of Huntington officials announced the inaugural event, which will include&nbsp;an outdoor food and music festival&nbsp;that will be open to the public, at a news conference&nbsp;outside The Paramount theater in downtown Huntington. They said they hope the event will help&nbsp;attract the TV and film production&nbsp;industries to the town to help boost its economy.&nbsp; 
“You get anywhere from 80 to 150 people coming into town for a production so they are all going out for lunches and dinners,” said Rob Simmons, a Northport restaurant owner who is&nbsp;involved in TV and film production and attended Monday's news conference. 
Starting May 31, the town will accept submissions from both&nbsp;professional and amateur filmmakers&nbsp;of&nbsp;short form and feature-length content. The entries will be judged in 25 categories.&nbsp;Screenings of the entries will take place at the Cinema Arts Centre&nbsp;in downtown Huntington. 
Joe Schramm, who directs the town's&nbsp;Office of Film &amp; Television&nbsp;and will serve as the&nbsp;festival’s executive producer, said organizers want to encourage filmmakers to submit “stories that are truly unique” and “stories about the&nbsp;people, the places, the diverse cultures of Huntington.” He said a website dedicated to the festival is&nbsp;live at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.madeinhuntington.com/">https://www.madeinhuntington.com</a>. 
Last May the town launched the Office of Film &amp; Television to invite the film and TV production industries&nbsp;to consider Huntington as a base for productions. 
The town also applied for downtown revitalization grant funding from the state to support a future project to build a town-owned film and TV studio. The town requested $2 million in funding, Schramm said Monday. 
Town Supervisor Ed Smyth said he expects to hear soon&nbsp;if the town is the recipient of the grant after New York lawmakers finalized a budget agreement Saturday.&nbsp; 
The festival is being funded in part with $25,000 from the town’s Cultural Affairs Institute, a nonprofit, as well as through 25 sponsorships, submission fees&nbsp;and ticket sales, Schramm said. 
Huntington’s festival will join&nbsp;a host of other film festivals on Long Island, including the Hamptons International Film Festival, the Stony Brook Film Festival and&nbsp;the Long Island International Film Expo. 
Diana Cherryholmes, chair of the Suffolk County Film Commission, said another festival is “terrific” news. 
“All the festivals bring their own unique flavor and I'm sure Huntington will too,” she added.

TOFEST240423

Huntington announces its first-ever film festival 

toFEST240423_photos

John Valenti

You've got to wonder if whoever bought a winning lottery ticket last week at a Bay Shore liquor store got a bottle of Champagne to go with&nbsp;that ticket. 
It was a winner, worth&nbsp;a guaranteed $7 million, the New York Lottery said. 
The Cash4Life ticket for the Wednesday, April 17, drawing matched the winning numbers, including the cash ball — good for the $1,000 a day for life prize in the daily drawing, lottery officials said. 
The ticket was sold at Sunrise Liquor Store, located at 1851 Sunrise Hwy. A store representative was not immediately available for comment on Monday — and it was not immediately clear if the ticket holder has come forward to claim the prize in the drawing. 
The drawn numbers were 10, 14, 32, 55 and 56, with a cash ball of 2. 
The winning numbers are drawn from a field of 60 numbers. The numbers in the cash-ball field are 1, 2, 3 and 4. 
The Cash4Life drawing takes place daily at 9 p.m. 
First-place winners must match all of the numbers, including the cash ball, for a $1,000 a day for life prize. 
Second-place winners — tickets that match all the winning numbers but not the cash ball — get $1,000 a week for life. 
Third-place winners are paid for hitting four of the five numbers plus the cash ball. They get $2,500. 
There were no second-place winners in the Wednesday drawing, though there was one third-place winner. 
Five fourth-place winning tickets paid $500 each, while 84 fifth-place winners statewide each collect $100. 
Winning tickets pay to ninth place, where ticket holders who hit one number and the cash ball each get $2. There were 11,280 ninth-place winners in the April 17 drawing, lottery officials said. 
The odds of having a winning ticket in Cash4Life are 1&nbsp;in 7.76 tickets. 
But, those odds are for the entire field of prizes. 
The odds for hitting the first-place prize of $1,000 a day for life? 
That'd be 1 in 21,846,048, lottery officials said. 
Hitting that winner? Definitely, a cause for celebration.

LILOTTERY240423

Cash4Life ticket worth guaranteed $7 million sold at Bay Shore liquor store

LI liquor store sells Cash4Life ticket worth $7M

LILOTTERY240423_photos

Sunrise Liquor Store in Bay Shore sold a Cash4Life ticket worth&nbsp;a guaranteed $7 million.

LILOTTERY240423_video

Did you buy a lottery ticket for $7 million in Bay Shore?

Bay Shore

The winning numbers are... 

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Members of the elite Suffolk County police Emergency Services Unit were called Monday morning for a rescue: plucking seven&nbsp;misplaced baby ducklings from a storm drain in North Bellport. 
The 911 call reporting the situation was made by what police said was “an anonymous complainant” at 11:47 a.m. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Seven ducklings in a pail after being rescued by Nassau police officers on Wisteria Court in North Belllport after they fell in a storm drain around 11:45 a.m. on Monday.
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/a74e7dad-2af9-4492-9d8e-a804f2391dad" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/a74e7dad-2af9-4492-9d8e-a804f2391dad', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/a74e7dad-2af9-4492-9d8e-a804f2391dad"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/a74e7dad-2af9-4492-9d8e-a804f2391dad/IMG_5820.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Seven ducklings in a pail after being rescued by Nassau police officers on Wisteria Court in North Belllport after they fell in a storm drain around 11:45 a.m. on Monday. </a> 
It was unclear how many officers were involved in the actual corralling and rescue of the ducklings at the drain on Wisteria Circle but it was accomplished in a matter of minutes, police said. 
The ducklings were then reunited with their mother at a nearby pond.

LIDUCK240423

Wandering ducklings plucked from storm drain, with help from Suffolk police 

Suffolk police rescue 7 ducklings who had lost their way

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Suffolk County police rescued seven&nbsp;ducklings from a storm drain in North Bellport on Monday.

liDUCK240423_video

Ducklings rescued in North Bellport

Watch footage of a duckling rescue

The New York Rise,&nbsp;Long Island&rsquo;s new professional softball team, will play its first game on June 19. Newsday&#39;s Matt Lindsay reports.

Women's Sports

SPRISE240421_video

There's a professional softball team on Long Island now

Westbury

Bellmore

Syosset

Hempstead

'This dream is kind of a reality now'

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John Manzi Jr. never expected to be rescuing one of his fellow firefighters when he responded to a kitchen fire on Thanksgiving Day in 2022. 
Manzi,<a href="https://www.westbabylonfd.org/chiefs_office.php"></a> the 2nd assistant chief and a paramedic with the West Babylon Volunteer Fire Department, said he observed then-captain Matt Smith in distress while both were on the exterior staircase of a two-story house in the hamlet. 
“It was pretty smoky and there was low visibility,” Manzi, 39, recalled. “At the top of the staircase I could see a firefighter sitting, but he was kind of slumped over and cross-legged. I grabbed him on the shoulder and go to turn him toward me, and that’s when I realized he was having a medical problem. He was purple and ashen and just not breathing.” 
The quick-thinking Manzi grabbed the struggling Smith under the arm and carried him and his heavy gear to safety with the help of other firefighters before initiating several minutes of rescue breathing and CPR. Smith was then shocked twice with an automated external defibrillator before he “started coming back around,” Manzi said. 
Smith, who had gone into cardiac arrest, was taken to Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip, where he underwent a double bypass heart surgery. 
“It was a perfect team effort — from the guys who helped me get him down the stairs to the emergency medical services and hospital crews,” said Manzi, a 22-year veteran of the fire department. “Everything went right in a really bad situation. It comes back to good training, staying calm and being ready to perform your job all the time.” 
Smith, who said he has since made a full recovery and is again an active member of the fire department, praised Manzi for his actions and described him as “very professional.” 
“I’ve known John a long time, and he does his job well,” Smith said. “There is no better feeling than saving someone’s life, and everybody who does that should get an award.” 
Indeed, Manzi’s heroic efforts were rewarded late last year, when he was named 2023 Firefighter of the Year by the Suffolk County Volunteer Firefighter’s Association. He was also awarded the Bronze Medal of Valor by the Suffolk County Fire Academy’s Vocational Education and Extension Board. 
“Asst. Chief Manzi, in his heroic actions, exemplified the standards of what it means to be a volunteer firefighter in Suffolk County,” board member Patrick C. Murphy said. “His actions represent the best of the volunteer fire service, showed his dedication to training and ability to stay calm . . . and ensured that ex-captain Smith was in the best care possible during cardiac arrest.” 
Vinny Ammirati, president of the Suffolk County Volunteer Firefighter’s Association, added: “Chief Manzi’s quick actions were crucial in ensuring a Thanksgiving miracle for the Smith family.”

LFHERO240421

Hometown Hero: John Manzi, of West Babylon

Hometown Hero: LIer honored for rescuing fellow firefighter during blaze

Several Long Island businesses mark off a day during the week when customers can catch a financial break. Whether you are a student on a budget, a hungry family of four, or a retired couple enjoying a night out, your burgers will taste better and arcade games will be even more fun when you know you&rsquo;re getting a discount.&nbsp; Keep a calendar of your favorite places&rsquo; weekly specials so you can savor savings every day of the week. Here are some places offering deals.

By&nbsp;Ian J. Stark and Lauren Chattman

Things to Do

deals-2024-grid

Feature Grid Credits

Deals at Long Island restaurants and entertainment venues 

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Jim Merritt

On a spring afternoon earlier this month, a call came in to the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center: A woman had found a nest of baby squirrels in the Jeep she’d been working on in Greenport. 
Worried that touching the nest would cause the mother to abandon her litter, the caller was looking for help and texted a photo of the babies to the Hampton Bays center. Noelle Dunlop, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator and one of the center’s resident possum, bunny and squirrel experts, texted back, “It looks like they are 4-5 weeks old, because their eyes aren’t open yet.” 
So what to do? Although eager to get back to work on the Jeep, the caller said, “I don’t want to evict her (the squirrel mother) into homelessness.” 
Dunlop, who is in her 50s and lives in Miller Place, had the solution in a nutshell. With the calm confidence of a country doctor, she reassured the caller that the squirrels’ mama was still around and advised her to keep the family dogs in the house so they wouldn’t scare the mother away. 
“What you want is for her to come back for her babies,” said Dunlop, who is also the center’s director of development. 
The call was one of hundreds Long Island wildlife rehabilitators say they will likely receive during the spring baby season, which began in March and continues through the summer. Continuing loss of habitat, greater awareness of the wild animals coexisting with humans and the ubiquity of mobile phones are all contributing to a dramatic rise in calls about injured or orphaned wildlife, experts said. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="A baby raccoon, left, at the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center in Hamptons Bays April 12. Janine Bendicksen holds an abandoned mallard duckling, right, that was dropped off to the Sweet Briar Nature Center in Smithtown April 10. 
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/a03241c4-9c5f-4e22-918a-9978f3285ef3" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/a03241c4-9c5f-4e22-918a-9978f3285ef3', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/a03241c4-9c5f-4e22-918a-9978f3285ef3"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/a03241c4-9c5f-4e22-918a-9978f3285ef3/matik%20(27)%20copy.png?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />A baby raccoon, left, at the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center in Hamptons Bays April 12. Janine Bendicksen holds an abandoned mallard duckling, right, that was dropped off to the Sweet Briar Nature Center in Smithtown April 10. </a> 
“With the arrival of spring and summer, there are many newborn and just-hatched wildlife and an increase in wildlife activity,” said Kelly Hamilton, a wildlife biologist at the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Region 1 Office in Stony Brook. During the spring months, she said, “It’s very common for the DEC to receive increased calls regarding sick/injured wildlife.” 
The calls are already flooding into the Steven Goldman Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic at Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown and the Wildlife Center of Long Island in Huntington. 
<h3>30 CALLS A DAY</h3> 
“We are inundated,” said Janine Bendicksen, director of wildlife rehabilitation at Sweetbriar. With 30 calls a day, some coming in as early as 3 a.m., she said, “We call it the crazy season.” 
Around 3,000 animals are treated annually at Sweetbriar, up from 600 when Bendicksen, 61, of St. James, joined the staff 23 years ago. She ascribes the uptick to what she called “continued destruction of animal habitats” and an increase in referrals from veterinarians who’ve become aware of the center’s free services. Technology is also at work, with cellphones making it easier to report injured or orphaned wildlife on the spot. 
“People can take pictures and FaceTime us, and we can talk them through it [the rescue],” she said. 
The Wildlife Center of Long Island, meanwhile, receives about 10,000 calls annually from its coverage area — the “densely populated” communities of Queens, Nassau and western Suffolk counties, said director of rehabilitation Lauren Schulz. Last May, about 1,100 calls were received, she said, with most involving “wildlife in distress and human-wildlife conflict.” 
The spring baby season accounts for approximately 75% of the center’s 2,200 annual admissions, Schulz said. 
Among the recent patients was a bald eagle from Kings Point. It was brought in after being injured in a territorial dispute with another eagle, Schulz said, and released into the wild following a 10-day stay for treatment of wounds to its feet and lead toxicity. 
<blockquote> 
 We are always happy when we can return an animal that has overcome so much back to its rightful home in nature. 
 Lauren Schulz, director of rehabilitation 
</blockquote> 
Watching the eagle soar into the sky was “a deeply gratifying experience,” Schulz said. “We are always happy when we can return an animal that has overcome so much back to its rightful home in nature.” 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="A bald eagle, left, released after treatment at the Wildlife Center of Long Island in Huntington. Animal Care Assistant Emma Sanwald, holding Leona, left, the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center&amp;rsquo;s long eared owl ambassador on April 12.
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/6ccf5456-1df6-47be-8dd0-fc95b136ade3" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/6ccf5456-1df6-47be-8dd0-fc95b136ade3', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/6ccf5456-1df6-47be-8dd0-fc95b136ade3"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/6ccf5456-1df6-47be-8dd0-fc95b136ade3/matik%20(25).png?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />A bald eagle, left, released after treatment at the Wildlife Center of Long Island in Huntington. Animal Care Assistant Emma Sanwald, holding Leona, left, the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center&amp;rsquo;s long eared owl ambassador on April 12. </a> 
On Long Island, the DEC trains and licenses wildlife rehabilitators to aid in the care and recuperation of injured or sick wild animals. These state-licensed rehabilitators “are the only people legally allowed to receive and treat distressed wildlife,” Hamilton, of the DEC, said. The wildlife rehabilitator’s goal is to release “a healthy animal back into the wild, where it belongs,” she said. 
<blockquote> 
 A lot of people don’t realize what they have in their own backyard.&nbsp; 
 Joe Rocco, wildlife rescue and rehabilitator 
</blockquote> 
Joe Rocco, 38, of Riverhead, is one of dozens of Long Islanders licensed by the state to conduct wildlife rescue and rehabilitation. He said he takes to heart the DEC’s encouragement to educate the public about native wildlife. 
“A lot of people don’t realize what they have in their own backyard,” said Rocco, who with his partner, Jackie Roche, 42, founded The Broken Antler Wildlife Search and Rescue in Riverhead. 
Rocco, who formerly worked in construction, decided to give up that job when his mother was diagnosed with cancer in 2019. “I needed to be there for her,” he said. After his mother died later that year, Rocco said he obtained his New York State wildlife rehabilitation license while volunteering for the Evelyn Alexander center. 
His organization, named after a deer he rescued, is also hopping this spring. 
“I’ve re-nested 10 baby owls since the 22nd of March,” Rocco said, using the term for replacing baby birds in a nest. 
<blockquote> 
 The moms love their babies. They’re going to take care of them. 
 Joe Rocco, wildlife rescue and rehabilitator 
</blockquote> 
Re-nesting is often preferable to taking a baby bird to a rescue center, he said. And contrary to popular belief, he said, “It doesn’t matter if you touch them [the baby birds]. The moms love their babies. They’re going to take care of them.”  
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Baby opossums at the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center in Hamptons Bays, Thursday April 12, 2024." data-attr-credit="Newsday" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/3934066b-155c-444b-9401-32eb6f723954" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/3934066b-155c-444b-9401-32eb6f723954', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/3934066b-155c-444b-9401-32eb6f723954"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/3934066b-155c-444b-9401-32eb6f723954/Screenshot_2024-04-11_at_.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Baby opossums at the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center in Hamptons Bays, Thursday April 12, 2024.</a> 
<h2>CALL FOR HELP RIGHT AWAY</h2> 
But, said Rocco, when birds and other animals require medical attention, calls should be placed immediately to a wildlife center. 
Sweetbriar Nature Center, a 54-acre educational and rehabilitation facility, features kid-friendly attractions like a butterfly vivarium, which opens in June, nature trails and a children’s play area. There are also wildlife exhibits in its main building. Behind the scenes, however, a small staff works with dozens of volunteers to rehabilitate animals. 
In the mammal room, stressed-out bunny orphans were being cared for earlier this month. In the dedicated bird room, a month-old baby great horned owl was waiting to be re-nested after a 60-foot fall from a pine tree in Garden City. Bendicksen said that she initially took the owlet home at night to make sure its nocturnal feeding habits were met until it could eat on its own. 
“We do everything a vet can do except set fractures,” she said. Veterinarians often volunteer to perform surgery, such as the recent neutering of a red fox. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="A baby Great Horned Owl, left, found on ground in Garden City is being rehabilitated at Sweet Briar Center in Smithtown April 10. Animal Care Assistant Emma Sanwald, left, holds Leona Evelyn Alexander, the Wildlife Rescue Center&amp;rsquo;s long eared owl ambassador April 12.
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/71920784-8c47-483a-a896-c4d2aa1ae327" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/71920784-8c47-483a-a896-c4d2aa1ae327', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/71920784-8c47-483a-a896-c4d2aa1ae327"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/71920784-8c47-483a-a896-c4d2aa1ae327/matik%20(24).png?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />A baby Great Horned Owl, left, found on ground in Garden City is being rehabilitated at Sweet Briar Center in Smithtown April 10. Animal Care Assistant Emma Sanwald, left, holds Leona Evelyn Alexander, the Wildlife Rescue Center&amp;rsquo;s long eared owl ambassador April 12. </a> 
On a recent afternoon, Kiyolena Borch, 51, of East Setauket, sat patiently in the Sweetbriar reception area holding a Skechers shoe box. Inside, a small, silent, black, grey and white chickadee rested on a folded washcloth. 
“The cat brought it in her mouth while we were hanging curtains,” said Borch, a French teacher at Northport High School. “She dropped it as soon as my husband yelled.” 
Bendicksen picked up the bird in her cupped hand and gently examined it. Although tail feathers were pulled out in the attack, the bird was probably just in shock, she said. Antibiotics would be administered to prevent the bird from dying from Pasteurella, a bacteria cats can transmit from their mouths. 
That same day in the center’s backyard, another patient gained his freedom. A wild turkey, which had just completed a month’s recovery after being attacked by a dog, seemed hesitant to leave at first. 
“I’m going to kind of chase him out,” Bendicksen said. She entered the turkey’s enclosure, corralled it with her hands and encouraged it to go through the open door and into the sunlight. The turkey eventually got the message and disappeared in the underbrush. 
<blockquote> 
 To get them back into the wild feels so rewarding. 
 Russell Korn,&nbsp;staff member&nbsp; 
</blockquote> 
“To get them back into the wild feels so rewarding,” said staff member Russell Korn, 20, of Commack, who assisted in the release. 
<h3>A DIFFICULT DOWNSIDE</h3> 
Not all rehabilitation efforts have such a happy ending, however. 
Some animals that are not candidates for release can thrive in educational facilities. If, however, the animal’s injuries are too extensive and it will be in pain the rest of its life, there is a third option. “We would have to euthanize,” Dunlop said. 
“Something people don’t realize when they bring us these delicate, broken creatures is it can be very rewarding when you can release them back into the wild, but heartbreaking when you can’t save them,” she said. 
But remember those baby squirrels in the Jeep? Fortunately, their future is now “much more assured,” Dunlop said. 
Just as Dunlop predicted, the mother squirrel returned. And rather than move them, the caller decided “to wait it out” until the babies matured and left the nest on their own, which Dunlop said could take up to three months. 
“You made my day,” Dunlop texted her. “Thank you for your kindness to mama squirrel.”

LFCOV240421

Spring baby season keeps LI wildlife rehabilitators at Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center, Sweet Briar Nature Center busy

Baby raccoons, squirrels and owls: Wildlife rehabilitators busy caring for LI's newborn animals

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Noelle Dunlop is the director of development at the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center. She said it is their mission to rescue, rehabilitate and release the orphaned and injured animals they receive.&nbsp;

LFCOV240421_video

Wildlife rescue center helping to rehabilitate animals 

Hampton Bays

Huntington

Smithtown

'You gave them a chance' 

onecms_1d9bbcb4-24ec-4bf8-84a9-1bfc13b2684d_2b34ad7a-2dcf-46a8-8805-e530f4fd0b45.jpg

Beth Whitehouse

Qumyka Howell, of Valley Stream, joined after her divorce. “I needed to gain a new friend group, because my usual friend group was through my marriage,”&nbsp;says Howell, 47, who works for the federal government. 
Zulayka Fagan signed up seeking advice about navigating motherhood after having her first child. “It’s been such a benefit connecting&nbsp;with women who are first time moms and veterans,” says Fagan, 36, of Brookhaven, who is an educator. 
Amina Alliyu became a member after moving from Queens to West Hempstead. “Mocha Moms really helped me get comfortable living on Long Island,” says Alliyu, 43, who works in advertising sales. 
Mocha Moms is a mother’s group geared toward women of color, offering mom-nights-out, mom-only brunches, speakers on issues such as personal finance, health and wellness events,&nbsp;online Zoom meetups, community service projects, outings for couples and play dates with the kids. The primary focus is on the women's well-being. 
“If the mom is well and good and healthy, then the family is well and good and healthy,” Howell says. 
<h2>‘NEEDED A SISTERHOOD’</h2> 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Wellness Instructor Mimi Borda, of MimiForMeYoga, teaches Charmaine Anderson, of Queens, and Elizabeth Forbes, of Elmont, during a Mocha Moms fitness class in Bellrose on March 2.
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/75248cb6-ae57-4fce-9f9d-1355c955b5ef" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/75248cb6-ae57-4fce-9f9d-1355c955b5ef', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/75248cb6-ae57-4fce-9f9d-1355c955b5ef"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/75248cb6-ae57-4fce-9f9d-1355c955b5ef/0A2A1622.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Wellness Instructor Mimi Borda, of MimiForMeYoga, teaches Charmaine Anderson, of Queens, and Elizabeth Forbes, of Elmont, during a Mocha Moms fitness class in Bellrose on March 2. </a> 
Mocha Moms was started in 1997 in Maryland by four Black mothers, says co-founder Cheli English-Figaro, who is now 60 and has three grown children. “We came together because we were African American moms who had taken time off or chosen alternate career paths so we could spend more time with our children,” says Figaro, who was an attorney by trade but stepped back from her legal career. 
Back then&nbsp;there was no Zoom meetups&nbsp;or ubiquitous social media. Mocha Moms spread primarily by word-of-mouth and by being featured nationwide in Ebony magazine, NBC news and on the Oprah television talk show, English-Figaro says. It has since grown to be option for all mothers, regardless of their work choices;&nbsp;more than 60 chapters now flourish in more than 20 states, she says. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Claire Burton, 3, of West Hempstead, chooses a bowling ball during a Mocha Moms event at Bowlero in Melville on April 27. 
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/211e6624-f021-4e63-87e0-72f5009cfa39" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/211e6624-f021-4e63-87e0-72f5009cfa39', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/211e6624-f021-4e63-87e0-72f5009cfa39"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/211e6624-f021-4e63-87e0-72f5009cfa39/KIMOCHA240320_Bowl-01.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Claire Burton, 3, of West Hempstead, chooses a bowling ball during a Mocha Moms event at Bowlero in Melville on April 27. </a> 
Elizabeth Forbes, 46, co-president of the Long Island Chapter of Mocha Moms, discovered the group five years ago. “I’m a mom of six men; my oldest is 26, my youngest is 18,” she says. After she survived a Stage 4 cancer diagnosis, she realized she needed a support team outside of her husband and family, she says. “I was constantly working 9 to 5, something was just missing; there was no balance,” says Forbes, a&nbsp;human resources coordinator. “I just needed a sisterhood.” 
The women support each other, give each other advice, encouragement and ideas. The Long Island chapter strives to meet four times a month, with a goal of two meetings being virtual and two in person. Annual membership costs $70, and there may be additional costs for some chapter events. 
<h2>‘LET YOUR HAIR DOWN’</h2> 
Recent in-person events have included a wellness day in conjunction with the Queens chapter of Mocha Moms, where participants were led in an exercise class in the gymnasium of the YMCA in Bellrose, and a weekend bowling outing in Suffolk County for mothers and children. Meetups that include children will often be grouped by the children’s ages; moms of younger children might gather at the Long Island Children’s Museum while moms of tweens and teens might choose an arcade or ice-skating event. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Elizabeth Forbes, of Elmont, is co-president of Mocha Moms Long Island.
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/29aa3d05-9cd5-49de-acb4-914c8cdc5cfe" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/29aa3d05-9cd5-49de-acb4-914c8cdc5cfe', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/29aa3d05-9cd5-49de-acb4-914c8cdc5cfe"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/29aa3d05-9cd5-49de-acb4-914c8cdc5cfe/0A2A159312.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Elizabeth Forbes, of Elmont, is co-president of Mocha Moms Long Island. </a> 
Online meetings typically include one evening meeting a month and one daytime “Tea and Chat” during a weekday lunch hour. “The first event I went to was a daytime social,” says Alliyu, who has a 3-year-old daughter. “You dial in, let your hair down, talk about motherhood or balancing motherhood and work.” The evening Zoom meetings are great because mothers don’t have to worry about finding child care, says Fagan, who also has a 3-year-old daughter. 
A&nbsp;recent daytime online meetup draws 10 members, and the attendees are delighted when one of the moms tells them that for her birthday, she checked herself into a hotel alone for the weekend, ordering room service and soaking in the tub. She jokes&nbsp;that she is proud of herself for only logging 35 steps while there. “I went to the door for room service to the bed to the bathroom,” she says. 
The women of preschool children share ways they make time for themselves, including their spouses taking the children to gym-based day care when they go to work out so that mom has some down time, about help from grandparents, or taking a Pilates class. 
Not all the women have very young children — Malika Elwin, 49, of Elmont, an attorney, has an 8-year-old. She encourages the newer moms. “It does get a little bit easier,” she tells them. But it’s a double-edged sword — the more independent the kids are, the more time you have, but the less they want or need to spend time with mom, she says. 
Howell is a member with teenagers, two boys ages 15 and 17. “Even when my kids are older and are out of my house I’ll probably still be in the organization,” she says. “It’s the collaboration, the sisterhood, the looking out for each other.”

Family

KIMOCHA240320

Mocha Moms 'a sisterhood' for women of color on Long Island

Moms group creates 'a sisterhood' for women of color

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The Long Island chapter of Mocha Moms hosts&nbsp;monthly events for mothers of color. Newsday&#39;s Beth Whitehouse reports.

KIMOCHA240320_video

Mocha Moms group brings mothers of color together

'Mocha Moms is a sisterhood of women of color'

Cara S. Trager

Lindsey Draves didn’t consciously choose not to get married. “It’s just how it worked out,” she said. 
And now, the 73-year-old Glen Cove resident sees no advantage to walking down the aisle. 
“I’m very actively involved in different charity work, travel frequently, play pickleball two to three times a week and I’m financially stable,” said Draves, who retired in 2015 as a vice president of a Manhattan-based media and market research firm. 
Despite the stereotype of lonely older singles, some of Long Island’s unattached residents are defying that caricature by being unabashedly content — whether never-married, divorced or widowed. 
Although they don’t rule out having a long-term romantic partner, these older singles said such a relationship isn’t essential to their emotional well-being. With close friends, strong family ties, varied pastimes, charity work and travel, they said their calendars are filled with rewarding activities that keep them on the go. And some have no desire to marry, since doing so at their age could eventually turn them into an ailing spouse’s caregiver. 
What’s more, they said they generally don’t mind their alone time. Rather, it gives them the opportunity to relax, read or watch a movie — without having to negotiate their film choices with a cohabitant. 
“Since it’s rare that I have a totally free day, it’s nice to have downtime — to read for a couple of hours or clean out a room,” said Draves. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Lindsey Draves volunteers with Hair We Share, which helps those with cancer and alopecia." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/7cdeb1c0-3130-4df9-a3d3-6cb8daa4bbe0" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/7cdeb1c0-3130-4df9-a3d3-6cb8daa4bbe0', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/7cdeb1c0-3130-4df9-a3d3-6cb8daa4bbe0"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/7cdeb1c0-3130-4df9-a3d3-6cb8daa4bbe0/A2COV240459.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Lindsey Draves volunteers with Hair We Share, which helps those with cancer and alopecia.</a> 
Draves attributed her full life, in part, to her involvement in the Long Island chapter of The Transition Network, a national organization that provides its members — women 50 and older — with an array of volunteer opportunities as well as social activities, such as book clubs and group outings to restaurants and Broadway shows. 
Through the organization, Draves, who is chair of the local chapter, conducts a walking group, plays canasta and does data entry for the Jericho-based Hair We Share, which collects donations of human hair for people with cancer and alopecia. Draves said she also vacations every summer on the Outer Banks in North Carolina with her family and travels frequently with one or two friends to Europe. A trip to Morocco is in the planning stages. 
“I’m not moaning or groaning. I like my life,” said Draves. Though she isn’t averse to a relationship, she said, “I’ve worked hard, I own my own home, I’m independent and I see no reason to rock the boat.” 
<h3>HEIGHTENED CONTENTMENT</h3> 
On Long Island, there are nearly 400,000 singles aged 50 and older, based on figures from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey. There is no way to gauge the overall happiness of this cohort, but, according to a June 2022 report in the journal Psychology and Aging, studies suggest that people in mid- to late adulthood — those in their 40s through 80s — experience heightened contentment with their single status. 
Bella DePaulo, a noted social scientist who has studied singles for three decades, said that people who never married, in particular, enjoy increased contentment later in life because of the time they have invested in their friendships. “And that’s paid off,” she said. 
In contrast, after getting married, many individuals give less priority to their friendships and “if the marriage ends, they’re really lost, having marginalized everyone,” said DePaulo, 70, a lifelong single who has authored many books on the topic, including “Single at Heart: The Power, Freedom, and Heart-Filling Joy of Single Life.” 
Plus, with their peers growing older and many of them also becoming single, either through divorce or death of a spouse, unattached people no longer feel like third wheels in social settings, DePaulo, said. 
“They also experience less pressure from people who want to fix them up,” she said. &nbsp; 
<h3>‘DO IT NOW’</h3> 
Garden City resident Rose Ng, who never married, has no regrets. 
Ng, who described herself as “over 60,” said she enjoys a satisfying, active life, with a close-knit family, friends, frequent vacations and athletic pastimes. 
To a large degree, Ng, who retired in 2015 as a senior vice president of a consumer goods company, said she owes her lifestyle to a career that has given her the financial resources to take to the slopes in Argentina, Chile and New Zealand and, this winter alone, at five domestic ski resorts, including Sun Valley, Idaho and Mount Bachelor in Oregon. After a getaway to Sicily earlier this month, she is planning a trip to Japan later this year. And every summer, she vacations at the Jersey Shore with her extended family. 
“My motto is, ‘Do it now,’ ” she said. 
Still, her single life does have one downside: eating alone. So about four to five times a week, she said she dines out with friends. When she does find herself solo at dinnertime, Ng said she beelines to the takeout counter. “I don’t spend the time cooking or cleaning for one meal. I’d rather be outside in a kayak or at the beach and reading a book,” she said. 
And because she lives alone, Ng said she prioritizes “getting out” once a day for a social activity, such as playing tennis a few times a week. 
Ng doesn’t rule out a companion but said she wants someone who would join her in the activities that are so much a part of her life. “I’m content. Things are good,” she said. “I’m able to pursue adventures and interests I like to do and spend time with family and friends.” &nbsp; 
<h3>‘NEVER SPENT A LONELY DAY’</h3> 
After two marriages that ended in divorce, including one that lasted a decade and produced a son, and a 10-year cohabitation that ended a dozen years ago, Glen Cove resident Charles Faraone, 76, attributed his current stretch of singlehood to being “selective,” he said. 
“Life is better when it’s shared, but I’m not about to try to share it with someone who I’m not in sync with,” he said. 
According to Faraone, he remains content with his solo status largely because of the way he is wired. “I’ve always been happy,” said Faraone, who ran singles events and owned a publishing company after his first divorce and, before retiring, an office supply business. “I’ve never spent a lonely day in my life. Life is too interesting. I see the world through the eyes of a child and can’t look out the window without seeing something that blows my mind.” 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Charles Faraone." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/3b596d86-b79d-49bb-9aee-814ce5ce4334" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/3b596d86-b79d-49bb-9aee-814ce5ce4334', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/3b596d86-b79d-49bb-9aee-814ce5ce4334"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/3b596d86-b79d-49bb-9aee-814ce5ce4334/A2COV240446.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Charles Faraone.</a> 
Beyond his daily sense of wonderment, Faraone said he has formed friendships through the Meetup.com group North Shore Walking &amp; Hiking. He also volunteers as a server and handyman for the North Shore Soup Kitchen at the First Baptist Church in Glen Cove. 
His varied activities notwithstanding, Faraone is “fine with being alone for days,” he said. “I enjoy my own company. I love being me.”&nbsp; &nbsp; 
<h3>SOLO ONCE AGAIN</h3> 
Bellmore resident Barbara McLean is also content in her singledom. 
After her 15-year marriage ended in divorce in 2008, McLean said she was in a 9&frac12;-year relationship. But in 2022, she moved out, and 10 months ago ended their relationship for good. 
McLean couldn’t be happier now, she said. 
“I realized that there was nothing in the relationship for me,” said McLean, 61, who has two grown sons and is a health insurance social worker for people with disabilities. “Anything I wanted to do or places I wanted to go, he wasn’t interested.” 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Barbara McLean." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/fff6b25b-8948-4bea-b8bd-c2d017f55c8e" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/fff6b25b-8948-4bea-b8bd-c2d017f55c8e', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/fff6b25b-8948-4bea-b8bd-c2d017f55c8e"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/fff6b25b-8948-4bea-b8bd-c2d017f55c8e/IMG_1368.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Barbara McLean.</a> 
Solo once again, McLean said she has traveled to Dublin and sings to her heart’s content on karaoke nights throughout Long Island. She also serves on the board of Blended City, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit that offers theater opportunities to disadvantaged communities. 
“I’ve reclaimed the woman I was when I met this person,” she said. “The relationship showed me how I want to live my life.” 
After a three-year marriage ended in divorce, Patricia Cimpric, now 57, remarried. She and her second husband, Richard, were together for 18 years. But in 2019, Richard died of cardiac arrest. 
Concerned that her single years would pass in front of the television, the Bayport resident, a customer service representative for financial advisers, said she has proactively carved out a satisfying life for herself. 
In addition to a group of longtime, supportive friends, Cimpric said she has expanded her social circle to other single women she met through Bumble, a dating site that also offers the option of finding friends. With these new acquaintances, she has gone line dancing and camping, among other activities. 
And this past October, she said she cruised to Bermuda with members of the Facebook group 8 O’Clock Shot, which was launched during the pandemic as a way to share a virtual drink at that hour. During the voyage, Cimpric made two good friends, including a Floridian who traveled to New York so they could attend the St. Patrick’s Day Parade together. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Patricia Cimpric repairs a fence in her backyard in Bayport. " data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/bc7ffd8e-40c8-49bb-99d3-58d13f667f8d" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/bc7ffd8e-40c8-49bb-99d3-58d13f667f8d', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/bc7ffd8e-40c8-49bb-99d3-58d13f667f8d"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/bc7ffd8e-40c8-49bb-99d3-58d13f667f8d/A2COV240425.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Patricia Cimpric repairs a fence in her backyard in Bayport. </a> 
In her singledom, Cimpric said she has also discovered hidden talents. Inspired by a stand-up comedian whose performance she watched on Facebook, Cimpric said that last year she enrolled in a six-week course offered by Governor’s Comedy Club at McGuire’s in Bohemia. At graduation, Cimpric said she and the other participants demonstrated their comedic chops. 
“My friends tell me I’m good,” she said, adding, “I’ve been reinventing myself and becoming comfortable with who I am at this stage in my life.” 
Plus, after getting one too many pricey bids for home repairs, Cimpric has turned into a DIYer. Thanks to YouTube videos — as well as the knowledge she gained from handing her late husband tools while he built their house, including framing and installing Sheetrock and floors — she said she has mounted shelves, replaced bathroom tiles and sanded steps. 
“I’m living my best life,” Cimpric said. “I’m embracing the blessings that I’ve been given and not letting being alone stop me. I’m not waiting to have a partner to begin living.”

A2COV240421

Single seniors: These LIers are on their own and loving it

These LIers are over 50, single and loving it

a2COV240421

The mother-daughter duo&nbsp;of actress Julie Andrews and creative writing teacher&nbsp;Emma Walton Hamilton&nbsp;have written their 33rd children’s book — a picture book about a family of ducks — and they’ll launch it on April 28 at a Q&amp;A event for adults at the Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor. 
They might read an excerpt from “Waiting in the Wings” (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $18.99), which is based on a true story that happened at the&nbsp;theater while Hamilton, who was one of the theater’s founders, was at the helm. But primarily they will be interviewed by theater executive director Tracy Mitchell about how they write together, and presigned copies will be available. 
Andrews and Hamilton, both of whom live in the Hamptons,&nbsp;spoke with Newsday's Beth Whitehouse about the new story, their families and what questions Andrews invariably gets asked at their book events. 
What’s the true story behind the “Waiting in the Wings&quot;? 
Hamilton: It was so charming when it happened. These ducks did nest in the planter in the courtyard, and we protected them from the audiences that came through. But when they started hatching … they were spilling out of this flower box into the courtyard and heading straight for the road and the oncoming traffic. We mobilized the entire company at Bay Street, and we all ran outside and formed this sort of human barricade or protective force, and we shepherded them all the way down the wharf. 
Were you there, Julie? 
Andrews: No, but Emma told me about it right after. She said, “You won’t believe what happened.” She was so filled with joy and wonder, and it was such a sweet story. 
How did you adapt the story for the book? 
Hamilton: While Mrs. Puddleduck is warming the eggs, Mr. Puddleduck sneaks inside the theater and watches rehearsals and is completely enchanted by the lights and the scenery and the costumes and the music. But he actually ends up learning that theater is more than just how to put on a show, because when the chicks begin hatching, he’s got all these newly acquired theater skills that come to the rescue and help him get them to safety. 
The ducks didn’t actually enter the theater, did they? 
Hamilton: They did not. But you can’t write a book about ducks nesting next to a theater for children and not have at least one duck come inside. 
Andrews: One duck had to be curious. 
How do you work together? Sit in the same room? Send versions back and forth? 
Andrews: Everything really. We try to be together as much as possible. First of all, it’s a wonderful sandbox to play in and when writing together we really don’t think about much else, do we, darling? 
Hamilton: We basically write out loud. We brainstorm an outline together and then we start just finishing each other’s sentences … 
Andrews: … and what resonates for either one of us. The best idea wins. 
Hamilton: I’m the scribe. I take dictation while we think out loud. 
Andrews: Emma is very, very much the nuts and bolts. 
Hamilton: Mom’s the idea person. 
Andrews: I’m not the idea person! I certainly love to do the initial character development. 
Hamilton: We might hammer out an outline in a week but the story itself usually takes several months to get right and to revise so we feel like the right words are in the right places. 
Andrews: It became such a joy to write together that I can’t write anything without Emma now. 
Emma, you now teach creative writing at Stony Brook University. Julie, would you have written children’s books without Emma’s influence? 
Hamilton: She did it before me. She wrote two middle-grade novels before we started writing together. 
Andrews: I fell into it because when Blake [Edwards] and I married, I inherited two stepchildren and had my own Emma and then Blake and I adopted two children. So, we had a big family. One day we were actually playing some kind of a game and I lost the first round. 
Hamilton: She had to pay a penalty and my stepsister said, “Write me a story.” 
Andrews: And out of that came my first book, “Mandy.” [Published in 1971 under the name Julie Edwards.] Everything about it was serendipity. I became aware just how thrilling it was to develop the stories and read to them as they were great audiences, thank God, my kids were. I don’t know if you remember any of this. 
Hamilton: Sure. 
How many children and grandchildren do you each have? 
Hamilton: I have two young adult kids. 
Andrews: I have five children, 10 grandchildren and … three great grandchildren. 
Julie, do you get questions about your acting experiences at book events? 
Andrews: I get lots. It depends what era, with whom I’m speaking. Lots of questions about “The Sound of Music,” lots about “Mary Poppins.” And these days, it’s “The Princess Diaries.”

Books

ETFAST240421

Julie Andrews, daughter Emma Walton Hamilton share Long Island connection behind new book

How an LI theater and a group of ducks inspired Julie Andrews, daughter to write new book

ETJULIE240419_photos

Maureen Mullarkey

A routine spring boat launching&nbsp;turned into an emergency rescue Sunday when&nbsp;two teenagers saved three men whose boat capsized in frigid conditions. 
Nicholas Sarlanis, 17, was launching his family’s 17-foot Boston Whaler Montauk in Manhasset Bay with his friend Nicholas Liolis, 19, around 4 p.m. to dock it for the spring season. Within minutes of the launch,&nbsp;they noticed three men in the water and a&nbsp;capsized aluminum boat. 
“They were just clinging onto the boat,” said Liolis, a freshman at St. John’s University. 
Strong winds and whitecaps filled the bay that afternoon, and no other boats were on the water, they&nbsp;said. 
The young men, along with Sarlanis’ parents, Rosa and Michael, had witnessed the men launch into the bay about 40 minutes earlier and were concerned. 
“We saw the boat going and we were saying this is how accidents happen,” said Rosa Sarlanis. 
Although the men wore life jackets, Liolis said they appeared to be in shock, as they did not cry out, only waving&nbsp;to the young men for help. 
“I guess they were kind of too cold to really move,” said Nicholas Sarlanis, a junior at Manhasset High School.&nbsp; 
The duo’s immediate reaction was to get the men out of the water as fast as possible. The Manhasset residents often go fishing after school and grew up around boats and Long Island's waters. They understood the dangers of being in frigid water.&nbsp; 
According to <a href="https://seatemperature.info/long-island-sound-water-temperature.html" target="_blank">SeaTemperature.Info</a>, the average temperature of the water was 45 degrees — enough for a person to experience hypothermia in a matter of minutes. 
They also did not appear to have any cellphones, radios or other ways to communicate. 
“They were in a pretty bad situation,” said Liolis.&nbsp; 
Sarlanis looped around to get close enough to the men to pull them onto their boat. The men spoke limited English, they said, but despite a language barrier, they made sure everyone&nbsp;was accounted for. 
The duo also managed to tie the capsized boat to their own boat&nbsp;and bring them to the initial destination of the dock. 
The Port Washington Fire Department said they received multiple reports of the rescue, and responded to the scene as the men were brought to the dock. 
When they arrived, one of the men had left the scene. The remaining two were not hurt or injured, said Chief Matthew Kerin. 
Sarlanis and Liolis said the men thanked them for their help, then quickly left.&nbsp; 
The friends stressed they don't think of themselves as&nbsp;heroes, but want to share the importance of boating safety. 
Rosa Sarlanis said she and her husband could not see the overboard men in the water, and only called 911 when they witnessed the rescue while standing onshore.&nbsp;If the young men hadn't been there, who knows what would have happened, she said. 
“They had no way of reaching out to anybody,” said Nicholas Sarlanis. 
The duo also stressed to think twice before going out in dangerous conditions. 
“Preparedness is important, and people doing stuff like that is dangerous,” said Liolis. “I just want people to learn from these mistakes and not do the same thing.”

LIRESCUE240418

2 Long Island teens rescue 3 men who capsized in frigid Manhasset Bay

2 teens rescue 3 men from frigid Manhasset Bay

LIRESCUE240418_photos

According to Port Washington&#39;s fire chief, two&nbsp;teens on a boat came across three men in Manhasset Bay after they capsized. The teens&nbsp;pulled them from the frigid waters to safety.

LIRESCUE240418_video

2 teens rescue 3 men from Manhasset Bay

Port Washington

3 men rescued from Manhasset Bay

onecms_d162753a-58f6-46f0-a3af-3611275cb511_fa21eb41-3c66-45d1-a4d0-735c325c0b4f.jpg

Laura Albanese

In the darkest stretch of this young Mets season, a neon light of hope emerged. 
The day was April 4, and the Mets had yet to manage a victory. It was the second game of a doubleheader against the Tigers, and they’d gone 1-for-24 without a run scored. For a certain subset of Mets fans – that is to say, almost all of them – it was a sign: The season was over. 
And then, like Oscar the Grouch’s happier, more psychedelic cousin, another type of fan made himself known. 
Sporting a mint green faux fur coat, eyewear that could be mistaken for cataract glasses, two gigantic Mets-themed medallions, and what appeared to be a long shirt decorated with rabid, technicolored wolves, Max Wiener grooved to the sound of his own music. His dancing was showcased on both the Mets and Tigers broadcasts, and put on Citi Field’s gigantic screen. 
Then the Mets hit two home runs. They won their first game and nine of the next 12. 
A mop-topped legend was born. 
<div data-oembed-url="https://twitter.com/SNY_Mets/status/1780265397746380832"> 
 <blockquote align="center" class="twitter-tweet"> 
 The legend is growing… <a href="https://t.co/CfEiiPMtV5">pic.twitter.com/CfEiiPMtV5</a> — SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) 
 <a href="https://twitter.com/SNY_Mets/status/1780265397746380832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2024</a>
 </blockquote> 
</div> 
And it turns out the only thing that rivals the size of his massive head of curls is his love for the orange and blue. 
“It’s just so fun because I’m just a regular Mets fan who wears what he normally wears,” said Wiener, 24, who’s a comedian from Manhattan. “It’s fun to have people recognize it and have people be like, you know what? Maybe he’s good for the team because I’ve seen some doldrum years for the Mets and to see things finally look up, it’s fun. It’s a good time.” 
Shortly after, Wiener, cheery and affable, and wearing a fuchsia and teal tracksuit at Tuesday's game, was contacted by AthleteLogos’ Dan Abrams – the Commack-based graphic designer whose fan designs often go viral – and Wiener was christened &quot;The Rally Pimp.&quot; 
There are T-shirts. 
“The Twitter fans were on Max as soon as SNY showed him before Pete [Alonso]’s home run” during that double header, Abrams said. “I was probably tagged 10 times by people asking to make a shirt design of him. People love something unique and fun and Max is both of them.” 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Max Wiener before a game between the Mets and the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field on Tuesday.
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/3d4f7719-f6e9-48d6-b282-49b5aad50e02" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/3d4f7719-f6e9-48d6-b282-49b5aad50e02', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/3d4f7719-f6e9-48d6-b282-49b5aad50e02"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/3d4f7719-f6e9-48d6-b282-49b5aad50e02/_AR34602.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Max Wiener before a game between the Mets and the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field on Tuesday. </a> 
Wiener is a lifelong Mets fan whose parents have a 20-pack of season tickets. He has six ostentatiously colored fur coats, buys his clothes at thrift stores, and has been dressing like this since about sophomore year of college, he said. His goal is to radiate positivity, and hopefully experience a championship in his lifetime. His style icons are David Bowie, Rick James and Elton John. The last time he was shown on the scoreboard, Alonso hit another home run. 
His favorite coat is the mint green one, but he has&nbsp;a burgundy, purple and yellow one that he wants to wear when it gets colder again. 
It was close to 70 degrees on Tuesday, though, “so it’s more of a tracksuit situation,” he said. 
“People are like, 'What is this fella going to do in July?' and I’m wondering the same thing,” he said. “Do I have a heat stroke for a little notoriety or am I [comfortably]&nbsp;warm and invisible?” 
As for the name – “Call me whatever you want, as long as we win games,” he said. 
“It’s so, so funny,” he added. “The other day, a kid came up to me and was like, ‘Mr. Rally Pimp, can I get a picture?’…And I was like, sure, but for the future, it’s Dr. Rally Pimp. I’m trying to banter with a 6-year-old.” 
As he’s talking, a fan stops by and asks for a photo, and Wiener happily obliges. 
“I’m here for it,” he said. “We’re here to have a good time.”

Baseball

New York Mets

spRALLY240418

Meet Max Wiener, the Mets fan basking in wild fashion and good-luck home runs

Meet the Mets fan bringing wild fashion and good luck to Citi Field

spMETS240417

Cathi Turow

Rachel DeMartin,&nbsp;of New Hyde Park,&nbsp;had&nbsp;one request involving two very special family members when she married her&nbsp;now-husband, Alex&nbsp;DeMartin,&nbsp;of New Hyde Park.&nbsp; 
“We’re not getting married without our dogs,” Rachel, 29, recalls saying ahead of her 2022 nuptials. “Everything revolves around them and all our friends know and love them,” she adds. 
Alex, 29, agreed, and a standout moment of their Sea Cliff Manor wedding involved Hudson and Isabella, their dogs, making an aisle entrance.&nbsp;Isabella wore a flower collar&nbsp;and Hudson, who carried the rings, donned a custom suit that matched the groom's garb.&nbsp;Rachel recalls, “Everyone broke out into laughter. It made me really happy to see my dogs were bringing other people happiness.” 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Lauren, 32, and Michael Meinsen, 33, included their chihuahua, Chloe, 13, in their October wedding." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/7e748806-b6af-44ac-b79b-4c2daf6fbbf8" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/7e748806-b6af-44ac-b79b-4c2daf6fbbf8', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/7e748806-b6af-44ac-b79b-4c2daf6fbbf8"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/7e748806-b6af-44ac-b79b-4c2daf6fbbf8/XLNUPTIAL240312_Meinsen-03.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Lauren, 32, and Michael Meinsen, 33, included their chihuahua, Chloe, 13, in their October wedding.</a> 
In keeping with the “make it yours” wedding trend, there are heartfelt ways to include dogs, penguins, sea lions, sharks, butterflies, goats and ponies on your wedding day. 
Kate Nastasi,&nbsp;CEO of the Center Moriches-based event and wedding planning company Events By Kate,&nbsp;says, “I plan about 20 weddings each year, and more than half of the couples ask if they can include their dog in their wedding. I see friends and clients getting married in their 30s and having children a little later in life. So, their dogs are like their babies.” Though Nastasi mentions most couples take wedding photos with their dogs or join them walking down the aisle, it might not end there. 
It's so popular that Veronica Silghigian runs a local company, Pawfect For You, that provides caretaking services exclusively for dogs on wedding days.&nbsp;Silghigian and her staff manage about 200 weddings per year&nbsp;where brides and grooms include their dogs as flower dogs and ring bearers. Some dogs participate in the first dance or attend the cocktail hour, while others join the cake cutting ceremony and munch on specially made pup cakes. 
Kaila, 32, and Jeff Frame, 31, of Greenville, South Carolina, wanted to take photos with a sea lion during their 2019 wedding. Atlantis Banquets &amp; Events in Riverhead&nbsp;made it happen. Couples can host their special day in the Long Island Aquarium or the Sea Star Ballroom venues and take photos with sea lions, penguins, butterflies and an owl (who will join the group later this year. “I told my husband the sea lion was my favorite kiss of the day,” Kaila says. Passionate divers can even have their wedding ceremony underwater in a cage surrounded by sharks. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Daisy the &quot;flower goat&quot; will be availble for wedding ceremonies at the Long Island Game Farm in Manorville.
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/19a0e51f-40d0-4508-9e9f-644ff31ca95a" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/19a0e51f-40d0-4508-9e9f-644ff31ca95a', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/19a0e51f-40d0-4508-9e9f-644ff31ca95a"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/19a0e51f-40d0-4508-9e9f-644ff31ca95a/XLNUPTIAL2403121.jpg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Daisy the &quot;flower goat&quot; will be availble for wedding ceremonies at the Long Island Game Farm in Manorville. </a> 
And for those who want to involve a “flower goat” or “flower pony” in their wedding, the Long Island Game Farm in Manorville has opened a new wedding venue “with wooden floors, black beams on the high ceilings, and windows that face the woods,” and, of course, the animals, Nastasi says. 
<h2>HOW TO HAVE YOUR DOG IN YOUR WEDDING</h2> 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Rachel and Alex DeMartin, 29, of New Hyde Park, included their dogs, Isabella and Hudson, in their July 2022 wedding at Sea Cliff Manor. " data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/4393e8b4-1bf6-4102-b5ef-b184e01e5a1d" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/4393e8b4-1bf6-4102-b5ef-b184e01e5a1d', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/4393e8b4-1bf6-4102-b5ef-b184e01e5a1d"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/4393e8b4-1bf6-4102-b5ef-b184e01e5a1d/XLNUPTIAL240312_DeMartin-01.jpeg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Rachel and Alex DeMartin, 29, of New Hyde Park, included their dogs, Isabella and Hudson, in their July 2022 wedding at Sea Cliff Manor. </a> 
“Every single dog wedding I manage is custom and has its own timeline and checklist,” Silgihigan says. Three weeks before each wedding, Slighigian has a Zoom meeting with the bride and groom and asks detailed questions about their dog’s personality, habits and needs. From there, she creates a timeline that encompasses every moment the dog will be involved in the wedding. 
Nastasi adds, “I always carry baby wipes during wedding photo ops in case dogs get mud on their paws.” Silghigian chimes in, “A lot of couples worry their dogs will stop when they’re walking down the aisle. I was at a wedding when the dog walked down the aisle, sat down, and scratched his ear. Everybody just laughed and they’ll always remember it.” 
<h2>'HOW TO' FROM WEDDING DOG MOMS</h2> 
Marielisa Andaloro, 30, and her fiance, Michael Bortoloni, 31, of South Setauket, have their wedding planned for Aug. 4&nbsp;at the Bourne Mansion in Oakdale. Their dog, Luna, will wear a beaded collar, walk down the aisle, and be in the photos. Andaloro says, “I’m anticipating Luna’s going to want everyone to pet her while she’s going down the aisle, and she’ll pull Michael super-duper fast. She a puller, but it’s OK because that’s her personality.” Since the bride and groom’s families will be coming together officially, Andaloro plans to change Luna’s last name to Bortoloni. 
Lauren Meinsen, 32, of Commack, says having her dog, Chloe, in her wedding photos, “is a memory we'll never forget.”&nbsp; 
And Jennifer Puma, 32, of Rocky Point,&nbsp;had her dog, Penny, serve as ring bearer at her 2019 wedding to her now-husband, Michael, 38, at Leonard's in Great Neck. “Penny’s a little shy, so we did a meet-and-greet with the dog sitter before our wedding,&quot; Puma says. &quot;When Penny walked down the aisle with the dog sitter, she was timid, but when she saw me and my husband at the end, she wagged her tail. It was an 'aww'&nbsp;moment for everybody.” 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Rachel and Alex DeMartin, 29, of New Hyde Park, included their dogs Isabella and Hudson in their July 2022 wedding at Sea Cliff Manor. 
" data-attr-credit="" data-attr-f="3x2" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/4d85acef-1617-4110-b2e0-ec7bdeb57729" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/4d85acef-1617-4110-b2e0-ec7bdeb57729', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/4d85acef-1617-4110-b2e0-ec7bdeb57729"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/4d85acef-1617-4110-b2e0-ec7bdeb57729/XLNUPTIAL240312_DeMartin-04.jpeg?f=3x2&amp;w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Rachel and Alex DeMartin, 29, of New Hyde Park, included their dogs Isabella and Hudson in their July 2022 wedding at Sea Cliff Manor. </a> 
<h2>HOW TO HAVE SEA LIONS, PENGUINS &amp; BUTTERFLIES IN YOUR WEDDING</h2> 
“During your wedding, you can get a photo op with a penguin, or take photos with sea lions and get kissed by one of them,” says Daniel Lanieri, director of food and&nbsp;beverage for Atlantis Banquets &amp; Events, associated with venues based at the aquarium. Lanieri explains, “Our trainers are good at getting the penguins and sea lions to do what they’re supposed to. However, the penguin might walk away for a bit, and the sea lion might be giving kisses and decide to go back in the water and swim around for a couple of minutes before he decides to go back to kissing.” 
Lanieri also highly recommends the butterfly garden as a special place for wedding photos. Rachel Tomasky, 37,&nbsp;agrees. “I got married in November&nbsp;2015 and my photos in the butterfly garden are my absolute favorites,” she says.&nbsp;“There was fall foliage outside, and it was like summer inside the garden. We got a taste of everything.” 
Kaila and Jeff&nbsp;Frame remember feeling enchanted as they glanced over at sea life and coral reefs while dancing and eating during their wedding. Yet, they loved interacting with the penguins and feeding the sea lions most of all. “Honestly,” Kaila says, “those moments were probably the most amazing part of my wedding.” 
<h2>HOW TO HAVE GOATS &amp; PONIES IN YOUR WEDDING</h2> 
“Woodland Hall, the new wedding venue at the Long Island Game Farm, would be a great space for couples who are all-around animal lovers, or couples who want to try something unique,” Nastasi says. Couples who anticipate having kids at their wedding might enjoy it as well. 
Melinda Novak, Long Island Game Farm president, suggests a place to begin. She says, “Our squirrel monkeys and lemurs have been taught how to create art and were introduced to paintbrushes.” Engaged couples can take an animal’s artwork and insert it inside their wedding invitations. Novak continues, “During a wedding, we can put a flower wreath around a goat’s neck or in a pony’s mane and lead them down the aisle. The goats can mingle outside during the reception and there are great photo ops with animals dressed up with flowers.”

XLNUPTIAL240312

At these Long Island weddings, dogs, goats and ponies are the latest guests 

Dogs, goats and ponies: The latest wedding guests

XLNUPTIAL240312_photos

At Huntington&#39;s Project Prom, students got to pick out&nbsp;free dresses, suits, ties and shoes to help cut costs.&nbsp;Newsday family writer Beth Whitehouse reports.&nbsp;

Fashion and Shopping

FAFREE240415_video

Teens snag free prom dresses, suits at Huntington event

Garden City

Brentwood

Peconic

Elmont

'There's so many to choose from'

FAFREE240415_photos

KIBILLY240407_photos

Arlene Gross

Every two weeks, Ernest Sparacino heads to Plainview Hospital for blood transfusions. And when he gets there, he knows he can count on Kathleen Matullo in Admitting to greet him. 
“Kathie goes out of her way to make sure all the paperwork is in order and get me to the right area for my treatments,” said the 79-year-old Massapequa Park resident, who has a blood cell disorder known as myelodysplastic syndrome. “On the way, her friendly conversation is very comforting — like we are just friends going for coffee. I always look forward to seeing her when I come in.” 
Matullo, 81, of Plainview, has the distinction of being the longest-serving current employee at Northwell Health, which had been known as the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System after a merger in 1997 between North Shore Health System and the Long Island Jewish Medical Center. For 57 years, the admissions registrar has been a reassuring presence at Plainview Hospital, offering a kind word or sharing a laugh with patients as they arrive. 
Beyond her work, the hospital has also been a place of great personal tragedy, but also joy: It’s where her mother and son were treated when they were ill, where her husband spent his last days in hospice and where one of her daughters was born. 
“I love the hospital, I really do,” said Matullo. “This is my hospital.” 
<h3>‘MAMA MATULLO’</h3> 
Matullo’s calming presence caught the attention of Kerri Anne Scanlon, Plainview Hospital’s new executive director, on her first visit to the hospital. 
“She was one of the first people I met,” said Scanlon, who also helms Syosset and Glen Cove hospitals. “When patients come in and they’re having surgery, that’s who you’re meeting. And the first people you meet make all the difference in the world. It reduces the anxiety.” 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Kerri Anne Scanlon, left, with Matullo and Northwell Health President and CEO Michael Dowling at a recent hospital town hall." data-attr-credit="" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/77f2f19a-2c99-47fb-8ad4-ed7c895711f6" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/77f2f19a-2c99-47fb-8ad4-ed7c895711f6', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/77f2f19a-2c99-47fb-8ad4-ed7c895711f6"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/77f2f19a-2c99-47fb-8ad4-ed7c895711f6/a2COV240414b.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Kerri Anne Scanlon, left, with Matullo and Northwell Health President and CEO Michael Dowling at a recent hospital town hall.</a> 
Over the years, Matullo has earned the nickname “Mama Matullo” among staffers. First coined by Kathy Efinger Scott, a neighbor of Matullo’s who later came to work as a ward clerk at the hospital, it gradually caught on with other employees, many of whom Matullo said feel more like friends and family than coworkers. 
“The Northwell family is really my second family,” Matullo said. “They treat me with such respect.” 
On her 80th birthday last year, Matullo arrived, as she typically does, at 6:30 a.m., and found the door to the Admitting Office closed, which was quite unusual, she said. Opening the door, she was greeted by all her coworkers, who showered her with gifts, flowers and cards amid an office festooned with colorful crepe paper and balloons. 
“A young coworker, Shivani Peters, who was off that day, was here at 6 a.m. to celebrate,” Matullo said, of the 27-year-old. “Imagine a young person getting up so early, on her day off, to celebrate my special day!” 
In his tribute to her for that birthday celebration, William Harrington, director of admitting and Matullo’s supervisor, pointed out that when she first worked in the registrar (now admissions) for Central General Hospital (renamed Plainview Hospital in 1994), work was done on a typewriter. 
“Kathie has been part of every technological advancement in patient access over the next 55 years,” Harrington wrote. 
<h3>VISITING NURSE’S WORDS</h3> 
Matullo’s remarkably long stint at the hospital happened by chance. 
After her mother underwent hip surgery, Matullo said she took her in for five months while she recovered. A visiting nurse who paid weekly visits to Matullo’s home taught her how to wash her mother’s hair and care for her in her convalescence. 
At the end of the five months, Matullo said the woman told her, “ ‘I don’t believe that your mother doesn’t have a bedsore. I never saw anybody so clean in this situation.’ She said, ‘You would do great in a hospital.’ ” 
At the time, Matullo was a 25-year-old stay-at-home mom caring for two children, Robert, 4, and Lauren, 2, as well as her mother and two dogs. 
Encouraged by the nurse’s suggestion, Matullo began working weekends and holidays in the registrar at Central General Hospital and filled in for employees out sick or on vacation. Soon, she said, she was working there full time. 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Undated photo of Matullo at work. " data-attr-credit="Handout" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/e1601409-0a5b-434d-88a1-38d21061c4d0" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/e1601409-0a5b-434d-88a1-38d21061c4d0', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/e1601409-0a5b-434d-88a1-38d21061c4d0"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/e1601409-0a5b-434d-88a1-38d21061c4d0/A2COV240416.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Undated photo of Matullo at work. </a> 
On a typical day, Matullo’s duties include registering patients for procedures like colonoscopies and endoscopies, lab work and presurgical and other tests. 
“We have to verify all the info,” Matullo said. “Make sure everything’s correct, the insurance, get the signatures.” 
But Matullo goes above and beyond, accompanying patients on the elevator and escorting them to various departments throughout the hospital for radiology, endoscopies, vascular studies, MRIs, oncology treatments, as well as to the lab. 
“We have such a nice conversation,” Matullo said. “I always talk to them and laugh sometimes. People are really having a tough time.” 
Recently, Matullo pointed out to a patient how her shoe had gotten soaked from a heavy rain. 
“To make him laugh, I said, ‘You notice how I’m walking. My shoe is stretched out.’ I said, ‘I have a piece of toilet paper in the toe.’ It just broke the ice,” she said. 
Matullo can empathize with the patients, as she has had an intimate experience with sickness herself. She cared for her father before he died of colon cancer and then her mother, who, suffering from chronic illnesses, lived with her for 25 years. Her son, Robert, who had a long history of medical issues, died on June 21, 2022, after contracting COVID post-surgery, Matullo said. 
“This is why, when it comes to people, when I see what they’re going through I always try to talk to them,” she said. 
Matullo’s caring influence has extended to her daughter, Janice Curry, who recalled countless hours at the hospital visiting her mom at work or family members who were ill. 
“Just being in this environment and seeing people who are ill, and just how you can make such a huge difference in people’s lives and people’s families definitely influenced me to work in health care,” said Curry, 48, of Hauppauge, who is a maternity nurse at Huntington Hospital. 
And Matullo’s granddaughter, who said she always knew she wanted to be in health care, works as an ultrasound technician at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park. 
“I grew up (with) my grandma always talking about her job and how much she loves it, all her friends here,” said Jessica Ciejka, 29, who lives in Port Jefferson Station. “I wanted to be that person to intervene in somebody’s part of their life where they’re going through something really difficult and be somebody that is a part of giving them help.” 
<a class="p-smartembed" data-attr-caption="Kathleen Matullo gets a surprise visit from her daughter, Janice Curry, left, and granddaughter Jessica Ciejka." data-attr-credit="Newsday" data-attr-has-caption="true" data-attr-has-credit="true" data-attr-q="0.3" data-attr-w="400" data-onecms-id="contentid/7ae45d39-d803-4fba-8730-f41f8d185bd3" data-onecms-type="image" href="javascript:window.parent.actionEventData({$contentId:'contentid/7ae45d39-d803-4fba-8730-f41f8d185bd3', $action:'view', $target:'work'})" polopoly:contentid="contentid/7ae45d39-d803-4fba-8730-f41f8d185bd3"><img src="/image-service/alias/contentid/7ae45d39-d803-4fba-8730-f41f8d185bd3/A2COV240424.jpg?w=400&amp;q=0.3" />Kathleen Matullo gets a surprise visit from her daughter, Janice Curry, left, and granddaughter Jessica Ciejka.</a> 
<h3>INSPIRES COWORKERS</h3> 
Working in admissions for the past 20 years, Ronald Tan, 56, who lives in Levittown, said Matullo has “always been an inspiration. Her dedication is bar none.” 
Calling her “a great lady,” Evelyn Von Eschen, 63, of North Babylon, said Matullo has taught her a lot. Though she’s worked in the Plainview Hospital’s admitting department for the past 14 years, Von Eschen said she still hears Matullo’s voice in her head when she’s working. 
“ ‘Make sure they have this; make sure they have that. If it’s this, you have to do that,’ ” Von Eschen said. 
A nurse in case management at Plainview Hospital, Margaret Vincent, 63, of Huntington, said, “Kathie is always very calm, and she just has handled everything personally and professionally with grace and class. That defines Kathie: grace and class.” 
For Matullo, the Golden Rule applies to her life and work. 
“I like to treat people the way I want to be treated,” she said. “I want to treat your father the way I wanted my father treated.” &nbsp; 
<h3>LOTS OF HUGS</h3> 
A big part of her day is putting patients at ease. 
“That’s why I love the job,” Matullo said. “It allows me to help those in need and make a difference in someone’s life. Making someone laugh, listening to them share — every day, that’s what I do.” 
Some patients are so grateful they give her tokens of their appreciation. 
A 96-year-old veteran who came in for blood transfusions made her a laminated card expressing his gratitude, while another patient, who was undergoing chemotherapy, made a small lace-covered angel for her. 
“She said, ‘I want you to keep it and always think of me.’ And I have it in my china closet. It’s my treasure,” Matullo said. 
Stephen Mahoney, of Arthur F. White Funeral Home in Farmingdale and Bethpage, whose work sometimes brings him to the hospital, always greets Matullo affectionately. 
“I mean, who gets a hug and a kiss from a funeral director?” Matullo said. 
As Matullo walks through the hospital, she seems to know just about everybody. She gets daily hugs from Alicia Jenkins, the mail clerk, and Paulette Allwood, the hospital’s cashier. When Matullo’s son died, she said Jamie Idrovo, who works in patient registration, brought her a bouquet of flowers and a card. “He said he was only a hug away,” she said. “Every day that I see him, I get a hug.” 
Asked whether she would ever consider retiring, Matullo demurs. Working, she said, is “very rewarding to me. I just love it. 
“As long as I can get up at 4 a.m., do the job that I love, I have no plans,” she said. “They say when it’s time, you will know.”

A2COV240414

Kathleen Matullo, Northwell Health's longest-serving current employee, has worked at Plainview Hospital for 57 years

For 57 years, 'Mama Matullo' has been a reassuring presence for patients

a2cov240414_photos

Andrew Gross

The Islanders signed a Long Islander. 
Defenseman Marshall Warren, 22, of Laurel Hollow, agreed to a two-year, entry-level contract that begins in 2024-25, the Islanders announced on Tuesday. Warren recently completed a fifth season of NCAA eligibility as a graduate student at Michigan after four seasons at Boston College. 
The 6-foot, 195-pound Warren had four goals and 14 assists in 41 games for Michigan while serving as the alternate captain. He compiled 20 goals and 37 assists in 130 games at Boston College, serving as the program’s first Black captain in 2022-23. 
“It was cool for kids that look like me, they could see someone and be like, ‘Wow, I could do that when I’m older,’ especially hockey players,” Warren told The Michigan Daily last month. “At BC, I kind of stuck out just being Black, so I think being a leader on a team like that was really important just for people to look at me, watch our games, see me on TV, just to be inspired and want to play hockey or even just do something with their life.” 
The Michigan Daily also reported Warren has been very active donating his time to the Ice Hockey in Harlem program. 
Warren also spent two seasons with the U.S. National Development Program from 2017-19, winning a bronze medal at the 2019 IIHF Under-18 World Junior Championships. 
Warren was a sixth-round pick of the Wild in 2019 but never came to terms on a contract with that organization.

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