LI briefs

WAINSCOTT/Firms hired to help curb air traffic noise

The East Hampton Town board last week passed four resolutions dealing with its municipal airport in Wainscott, three of which could eventually help reduce future noise complaints.

For more than a decade, a battle has raged between supporters of the airport and opponents who complain of the noise; the battle has intensified as helicopters have become more common there.

The town board:

-- Hired PlaneNoise, a Port Jefferson-based consulting service, for $15,000 a year to provide noise complaint management services, keeping track of aircraft on a 24-hour-a-day basis to determine which planes and helicopters are involved in noise complaints.

-- Hired Exelis of McLean, Va., to run the AirScene computer program to track incoming and outgoing flights at the airport as part of the town's voluntary noise abatement program.

-- Hired at a cost of $342,000 a year Virginia-based Robinson Aviation to run the seasonal control tower that will go into operation at the airport for the first time around Memorial Day. The tower is expected to reduce noise complaints by limiting low-flying approaches to the airfield.

-- Hired Virginia-based Vector Airport Solutions for $98,000 a year and agreed to buy $61,000 in specialized equipment to track arriving aircraft and bill them for landing fees, even if the aircraft do not have transponders.

-- MITCHELL FREEDMAN

S. FARMINGDALE/Hearing scheduled for rezoning plan

The Oyster Bay Town Board has scheduled public hearings March 27 on the expansion and rezoning of 38-acre Ellsworth W. Allen Town Park at Heisser Lane and Motor Avenue.

One hearing is to consider condemnation of two parcels, both around 0.4 acres, to expand the park and determine the need for additional parkland. The second hearing concerns rezoning part of the land already included in the park.

"Acquiring these two parcels, which are located at the northwest corner of the park, just makes sense in terms of long-range planning for the park," Town Supervisor John Venditto said.

The parcels are 53 and 57 Heisser La. and are zoned for light industrial use.

When the town acquired about 16 acres to create the park in 1967, the property was zoned light industrial.

Two additions, totaling almost 22 acres, from the former Liberty Industrial Finishing site on Motor Avenue more than five years ago were rezoned last year for recreational use. But the zoning of the original parcel was never changed. The town attorney has recommended that the 16 acres be rezoned to conform to the property's use as a park, Venditto said.

The hearings will be at 10 a.m. in Town Hall East, 54 Audrey Ave.

A decade of environmental cleanup at the Liberty Industrial property, a Superfund site, is nearly complete.

Town officials have said the expanded park could include five new turf playing fields, a 250,000-square-foot community center and a swimming pool.

-- BILL BLEYER

GREAT NECK/Village to outline downtown revamp

Architects commissioned by the Village of Great Neck will unveil revitalization plans for the downtown area at a special meeting on March 26.

The meeting will be from 8 to 10 p.m. at Great Neck House, 14 Arrandale Ave.

Dubbed the "Old Village, New Main Street" effort, the plan's goal is to turn Middle Neck Road's commercial district into a safe, vibrant area for residents, merchants and shoppers.

The presentation will include plans for traffic calming measures, pedestrian safety programs and sidewalk and parking lot entrance enhancements. Guidelines for signs, awnings and facades will also be discussed, as will rezoning portions of Middle Neck Road.

Great Neck considers itself the "old village" because it had the first stores, school, library, bank and telephone switchboard on the peninsula. It's time to modernize and think anew about what attracts people, Great Neck Mayor Ralph Kreitzman said.

"We want to think of ways to help our merchants make the downtown area vital and vibrant again," he said.

In addition to input from architects and designers, the village also had 13 focus-group meetings and a public meeting to generate ideas.

-- EMILY C. DOOLEY

LINDENHURST/School ballfield to be named for coach

A Lindenhurst school field is being named for one of the district's most successful coaches.

The Lindenhurst Middle School baseball field will be named after Michael Canobbio, longtime varsity baseball coach at the high school. A ceremony will take place Saturday at 1 p.m. and will feature speeches by those who know and work with Canobbio, as well as the unveiling of a new sign that will adorn the field.

Canobbio, 62, recorded his 500th win as varsity baseball coach last year, when he led the team to its second straight Suffolk County League II title. In his 35 years of coaching, the team has earned 28 playoff appearances and 10 league titles. In 2010, the team won its first county title since 1963 and its first state championship.

In May, Canobbio is due to be inducted into the Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame.

Canobbio, who is still the varsity baseball coach although he has retired as a sixth-grade teacher for the district, has been director of Lindenhurst Village's summer recreation program for more than 30 years. He grew up in Lindenhurst and is a graduate of the high school.

-- DENISE M. BONILLA

KINGS PARK/Volunteers wanted for park cleanup

Volunteers are needed to help clean up Nissequogue River State Park in Kings Park on Sunday.

The annual cleanup from 9 a.m. to noon starts at the park's administration building at 799 St. Johnland Rd.

Trash bags, gloves and garbage grabbers will be provided, and participants will receive free snacks and beverages. Volunteers should wear appropriate clothing, work shoes or sneakers and should bring sunscreen and bug spray.

Students will receive volunteer certificates. The cleanup is sponsored by the Nissequogue River State Park Foundation.

The 153-acre park is on a portion of the closed Kings Park Psychiatric Center. The state has awarded a $6.4-million contract to an Indiana company to tear down four former hospital buildings at the park, which opened in 2000. Another 11 buildings will be razed on a 365-acre portion of former hospital land that is controlled by the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and closed to the public.

-- CARL MACGOWAN

PATCHOGUE/Help out to maintain Fire Island area

Fire Island National Seashore will hold a "Volunteer Recruitment Day" program in Patchogue on Saturday.

The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Patchogue-Watch Hill Ferry Terminal on West Avenue.

FINS is looking for volunteers to get involved in Fire Island Lighthouse, William Floyd Estate and Fire Island wilderness areas, the National Park Service said in a statement.

"Fire Island National Seashore is recruiting volunteers to assist with a variety of park functions and services ranging from staffing visitor centers and conducting visitor tours and programs, to native plant gardening, monitoring endangered shorebirds and clearing invasive plants," the statement said.

Information on the volunteer program is available at nps.gov/fiis/parknews/2012-volunteer-recruitment-at-fire-island.htm.

-- PATRICK WHITTLE

SETAUKET/Kids learn fractions, bake bread for pantry

Milk was poured, eggs cracked and flour scooped as third-graders at Nassakeag Elementary School in Setauket made Irish soda bread last week to donate to a local soup kitchen.

Students in Maureen MacDowell and Kathryn Comiskey's classes learned the importance of helping others in the community by making the St. Patrick's Day favorite.

"Some people don't have food to eat every day, so we're giving them food," said Daniel O'Sullivan, from Comiskey's class.

His twin sister was in MacDowell's classroom next door doing the same project.

"I like helping and working and doing things like mixing," said Grace O'Sullivan.

The students applied what they learned about measurements as they read off the recipe together and focused on fractions for the assignment. They had to figure out how many halves, thirds and quarters make a cup. The bread was donated to the soup kitchen run by the St. James Roman Catholic Church in Setauket.

"It makes them have a connection so they don't take anything for granted," MacDowell said.

She and Comiskey have been doing this activity for five years. Last year, they made between 30 and 40 loaves of bread.

"It correlates so well with the curriculum," Comiskey said. "They're applying the skills they're learning to real life."

Making the Irish soda bread also incorporated the school's initiative this year, which is Rachel's Challenge, a nationwide anti-bullying program started in honor of Rachel Joy Scott, one of the victims killed in the 1999 Columbine High School shootings. The idea is to help others, and show compassion in all situations.

-- ALESSANDRA MALITO

BROOKHAVEN TOWN/Shelter seeks families to care for kittens

Want to help some kittens find a home -- even for a little while?

Through the "All You Need is Love" program, the Brookhaven Town animal shelter is seeking foster families to help take care of the many orphaned kittens at the shelter. The warm winter has led to a bumper crop of kittens, and the shelter is running out of room and resources to bottle feed and care for the kittens.

"The animal shelter was able to help every kitten in need last year and we expect the same results, but we need help," Brookhaven Supervisor Mark Lesko said in a release. "Caring for a young kitten is very rewarding and many people have found their new best friend because of their participation in this program."

Town councilwoman Jane Bonner, the board's liaison to the shelter, said, "We hope that people can find it in their hearts to help and maybe they'll decide to keep one or more of the kittens they care for."

Foster families will receive training, and a cage, bottle and formula. Those interested should call the shelter at 631-286-4940 or email animalshelter@brookhaven.org.

-- SOPHIA CHANG

LEVITTOWN/School recycles, gives cash to charity

The halls of East Broadway Elementary School in Levittown were quiet Wednesday afternoon except for the excited chatter of a group of roaming students and the rustle of the big, black garbage bags they held as they hurried between classrooms.

"Recycling," the students would announce as they peeked inside doorways before being welcomed to carry away the classroom's discarded plastic water bottles.

The group of volunteers collects the school's recycling twice a week. Every Friday, a parent volunteer picks up the week's collection, brings it to a redemption center and returns the money to special education teacher Patricia Block, who leads the recycling effort.

Block said the school has been recycling for about five years, but three years ago decided to take the extra step of bringing the bottles to the redemption center and collecting the money.

Each year, the money has gone to a different nonprofit, but this year's beneficiary is especially close to the teacher's heart.

So far this year, the school has donated about $500 to the Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association, which promotes awareness of the affliction also known as complex regional pain syndrome.

Block's daughter, Nicole, suffers from RSD, a neurological syndrome that causes severe physical pain. Nicole Block, 22, was diagnosed last year. The syndrome causes a severe burning sensation in her left foot, which at times has left her unable to walk.

Block said early treatment is the key to managing the disorder, which does not have a cure. In most cases, the RSD symptoms occur suddenly after a bodily trauma such as a broken limb or sprained ankle.

The students have taken on the cause with zeal, nicknaming this year's recycling campaign "Nickels for Nicole."

-- ERIN GEISMAR