LI NOW BRIEFS

BROOKHAVEN TOWN/12 women to receive recognition for work

A dozen women will be honored for their work in the community and professional realms with Brookhaven Town's 2012 Women's Recognition Award.

All recipients live or work in Brookhaven and were selected based on resumes and letters of recommendation.

The honorees are: Kathryn Krejci, chief executive of RHX Corp. and a Miller Place resident; Isobel Breheny-Schafer, assistant director of Student Media-WUSB general manager at Stony Brook University and a Mattituck resident; Dorothy Schlosser of Medford, treasurer of Building Hope for Long Island; Gail Lynch-Bailey of Middle Island, president of the Longwood Alliance; Kathleen Valerio, health educator at Stony Brook University and a Lake Grove resident; Karen Lessler of Centereach, president of the Middle Country School District school board; Carrie Meek Gallagher of Stony Brook, chief sustainability officer for the Suffolk County Water Authority; Ethel Thomas, site supervisor of adult day care at Day Haven and a Moriches resident; Brookhaven assistant town attorney Marie Michel, a Port Jefferson Station resident; Sgt. Gina Reilly of the Suffolk County Police Department's Fifth Precinct, a Shoreham resident; Dr. Joan Faro of Setauket, chief medical officer at Mather Memorial Hospital; and Dr. Triveni Rao of Shoreham, senior physicist and head of the laser applications group at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

"I am extremely proud of all the recipients for making Brookhaven a better place and I commend them for their continued commitment to families throughout the Town," Supervisor Mark Lesko said.

The 26th annual awards ceremony will be held March 22 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall and is open to the public.

-- SOPHIA CHANG

NORTH HEMPSTEAD/Kroplick will be new town historian

Village of East Hills resident Howard Kroplick is taking over the volunteer duty of town historian in North Hempstead.

Kroplick, 62, is on the board of the Roslyn Landmark Society, president of the Long Island Motor Parkway Preservation Society and a member of the Society of Automotive Historians.

He is chairman emeritus of the medical communications company The Impact Group.

Recently, he supervised efforts by the landmark society to raise money to preserve and restore a Horse Tamer statue, one of two Tennessee marble statues that once resided on the Mackay Estate in what is now East Hills. A second group is now working to restore the other statue.

Kroplick -- who replaces outgoing historian Joan Kent, whose tenure dates to the early 1990s -- is the author of "The Vanderbilt Cup Races of Long Island" and a co-author of "The Long Island Motor Parkway."

He also created the VanderbiltCupRaces.com website, which details Long Island's racing history and current automotive events.

"I am looking forward to the opportunity to communicate the rich heritage and history of our town," Kroplick said.

-- EMILY C. DOOLEY

NORTHPORT/Harbor panel plans March 15 forum

The Northport Harbor Water Quality Protection Committee will hold a public forum on March 15 to provide updates on the restoration of the Northport and Huntington harbors.

The forum will take place at 7 p.m. at Huntington Town Hall, and will include updates on the progress of the Village of Northport's upgrades to its sewage treatment plant; a talk by Dr. Chris Gobler, associate professor in the school of marine and atmospheric sciences at Stony Brook University, on water quality in Northport Harbor; and a discussion of the dredging of Centerport Harbor.

The committee is made up of government officials, environmental advocates and residents of the area and was formed in 2010 to take action on the water quality in Northport Harbor and surrounding waters.

Huntington Town Hall is at 100 Main St.

-- JENNIFER BARRIOS

SAG HARBOR/Substance abuse, violence focus of talk

The Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor will hold a panel discussion next week on the connection between drug and alcohol abuse and violence toward women following the showing of a documentary on former boxer Mike Tyson.

The discussion will feature author Steven Gaines, an East End native, and Charlie Robbins, vice provost of undergraduate education for Stony Brook University.The film and discussion are sponsored by Southampton Hospital, The Retreat and the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence.

The 2008 film "Tyson," directed by James Toback, will be shown at 7 p.m. March 15 at the theater. The film focuses on Tyson's life, his boxing career and his downfall, which included substance abuse as well as physical and sexual violence.

-- STACEY ALTHERR

HEMPSTEAD TOWN/Shelter seeks help for pet foster effort

The Hempstead Town Animal Shelter in Wantagh is looking for volunteers for its pet foster program that would assist homeless animals.

The animal shelter's "The Little One Fostering Program" will provide a foster home with training, food, supplies and medical care for the duration of the animal's stay. Foster volunteers will be required to report to the animal shelter's volunteer coordinator on a regular basis.

"So many animals have the potential to be loving companions for the right family, and foster volunteers can help provide training and socialization to help the animals become more adoptable," volunteer coordinator Dolores Stormo said.

At the end of the program, the cat or dog will return to the animal shelter, where it will wait to be adopted by a family that would provide a permanent home. Foster families also have the option to adopt the animals.

Prospective volunteers must fill out an application and schedule an interview with the volunteer coordinator. Applications are available at www.toh.li/animal-shelter.

For more information, call the animal shelter at 516-785-5220 or email dstormo@tohmail.org.

-- AISHA AL-MUSLIM

SOUTHAMPTON TOWN/Residents invited to share priorities

Southampton Town wants to know what its residents are thinking.

To determine its priorities for the future, the town has linked a "community priority survey" to the town website.

The survey focuses on future land use, open space preservation, historical preservation, affordable housing, child and elder care, and community meeting needs.

The survey comes out of recent public hearing testimony by residents concerned that new Planned Development District laws, which focus on zoning for large projects in exchange for a public benefit such as preserved land, should have certain areas identified for special consideration in advance.

"Residents realize the magnitude of these decisions, especially for large scale projects that PDDs typically produce, and routinely ask us for the opportunity to offer early input the decision-making process," Southampton Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst said.

Residents are asked to complete the survey before Friday. The survey can be found on www.southamptontownny.gov

-- STACEY ALTHERR

BRENTWOOD/Sports fan helps seniors get active

Oakdale resident Joe Gaeta has always been active. The 84-year-old has been a sports fanatic since his youth and said he even tried out for the Yankees in 1946 with his childhood friend, Whitey Ford.

Although he did not make it to the big leagues, Gaeta retained his love for sports and uses it now to inspire others. For the past five years, he has worked as a senior center aide for the Town of Islip, finding ways to make exercise fun.

Two years ago, the Town of Islip provided funding for all senior centers to have a Nintendo Wii. Since the game console arrived at the Caesar Trunzo Senior Center, the seniors have played Wii Sports Bowling every day for fun and exercise. On Wednesdays, Gaeta visits the seniors to give pointers on how to use the controller and offers tips for getting a high score.

On Wednesdays, up to 50 seniors wait to play with the Wii, and some have purchased systems for their homes. The game creates healthy competition and socialization.

"I play with the girls," said Dorothy Powell, 87, who enjoys the game with friends Gwendolyn Potter, 81, and Carrie Berry, 89. "The Wii games, we were the first ones to start it off because we played together as a group."

Said Berry, "It makes me feel much more active than just sitting down and not doing anything."

-- ANN LUK

PLAINVIEW/Chili cook-off raises scholarship money

Plainview-Old Bethpage Middle School teacher Brian Gurney picked up a small white paper cup and scooped chili into it -- from a traditional chili recipe passed down to him from his grandmother. He stuck a spoon into the cup and handed it to someone waiting in line.

"It's really good," Gurney said. "I grew up eating it."

He wasn't the only one sharing chili recipes.

Teachers, administrators and parents competed last Wednesday in a chili cook-off, hosted by the Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School PTA to raise money for the Dollars for Scholars annual scholarships.

About 120 attendees tasted the 13 participants' chilis. By the end of the night, $1,100 was raised for the scholarship fund.

After voters chose their favorite chili, they put their ballot in a small glass bowl to be counted. The winner of the competition was Bruce Hymowitz, of Plainview, with his meat-based "Grateful Chili."

The scholarships go to graduating seniors who have displayed commitment, growth and history of service in the community activities in which they participate. The number of scholarships and amount of money that goes to each student depend on how much is raised. In the past two years, more than $18,000 has been raised and 14 students were awarded scholarships.

-- ALESSANDRA MALITO