Long Island briefs

EAST HAMPTON TOWN

Increased complaints over airport noise

Memorial Day weekend traffic at East Hampton Airport -- and complaints over noisy aircraft -- shot up this year, town officials said.

There were 872 takeoffs and landings from May 22 through May 26 at the East Hampton Town-owned facility, airport manager Jim Brundige told the town board at its meeting Tuesday.

That represents a 20 percent increase over the same period last year, said Councilwoman Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, the town board's airport liaison.

East Hampton Airport, located in Wainscott near the Southampton Town border, caters largely to helicopters and private jets carrying summer residents and visitors.

Helicopters -- the subject of noise complaints by some residents -- accounted for 40 percent of the traffic during the holiday weekend this year, according to town figures.

Complaints increased to 475 from 248. Most of the complaints came from the hamlet of Noyack in Southampton Town, officials said.

Burke-Gonzalez said airport officials attributed the rise in traffic to better weather than during last year's Memorial Day weekend. "We do know that the weather was bad last year, in 2013, because we do know it was rainy and damp and overcast," she said.

Burke-Gonzalez said yesterday that the town board is considering increasing landing fees at the airport by 10 percent in order to generate revenue, and could vote on the proposal tomorrow.

She also said the town board could vote to increase fueling fees to 30 cents per gallon from 15 cents per gallon. The town provides fuel to two businesses based at the airport, which provide fuel to aircraft.

DEER PARK

Goats to help remove invasive plants

The State Department of Environmental Conservation is taking a unique approach to removing invasive plant species in a Deer Park preserve: goats.

The DEC today is bringing in 10 goats from upstate to an area of the Edgewood-Oak Brush Plains State Preserve to consume Autumn Olive and Mugwort, two invasive plant species that DEC officials said have taken over portions of the preserve.

The goats, which are being rented from Green Goats in Rhinebeck, will remain in a fenced-in enclosure for four months, said DEC spokesman Bill Fonda.

He said he believes this is the first time goats are being used on state land. Southampton Town turned to goats earlier this year to get rid of Autumn Olive from a 40-acre field protected by the town.

The goats are "green technology" that "have a proven success rate" in getting rid of invasive plants, Fonda said. The goats will be cared for by DEC staff and other groups associated with the preserve, he said.

HUNTINGTON

Crab Meadow

preservation meeting

The Town of Huntington today is holding its second community meeting about work to protect and enhance the Crab Meadow watershed area and Long Island Sound.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Long Island Sound Futures Fund in 2012 awarded the town a $58,000 grant for the work. Huntington in February 2013 used the grant for a $57,900 contract with GEI Consultants Inc. of Huntington Station.

The Crab Meadow wetlands and beach contain one of the few large area of undeveloped salt marsh on the North Shore of Long Island and is a productive area for finfish, shellfish and crustaceans. The watershed area encompasses more than 3,500 acres and extends south from Long Island Sound in Northport to Bellerose Avenue in East Northport.

GEI is conducting a hydrology study of the watershed area and will draft a stewardship plan to maintain and enhance the environmental quality of the system. The plan will be created with public input and by working with the Crab Meadow Watershed Citizens Advisory Committee, according to town officials.

There are two sessions at The View at Crab Meadow Golf Course, one from 3 to 5 p.m. and another from 7 to 9 p.m.

HEMPSTEAD TOWN

Creative writers read from their work

Members of Hempstead Town's Creative Writers' Workshop will hold a reading of their works on June 11 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Merrick Theatre and Center for the Arts, 2222 Hewlett Ave. in Merrick.

The workshop's senior residents "will be sharing their compositions with the community during this presentation," town Supervisor Kate Murray said. An informal coffee hour will follow the forum.

"The Creative Writers' Workshop has inspired many artistic seniors to fulfill a lifelong ambition to write over the past 26 years," said Councilwoman Angie Cullin. "We look forward to publishing an annual journal of these original works -- titled Musings of Maturity XXVI -- later this year."

Senior residents who aspire to write and develop their artistic abilities are invited to join the group, which meets on Wednesdays at the Merrick Senior Center for the 16-week workshop. For more information, visit toh.li or call 516-485-8100.

ELMONT

Prostate cancer

awareness seminar

Assemb. Michaelle C. Solages (D-Elmont) is sponsoring a prostate cancer awareness presentation tonight to reinforce the importance of early screening.

The event will be held at Elmont Memorial Library, 700 Hempstead Tpke., from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m. The speaker will be a board certified oncologist trained in external beam radiation therapy and Gamma Knife stereotactic radio surgery.

Early stages of prostate cancer often exhibit no symptoms, officials said. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men.

For more information, contact Solages' district office at 516-599-2972.

BROOKHAVEN TOWN

Free animal rabies vaccination clinic

Brookhaven Town plans to hold a free rabies vaccination clinic Saturday.

The event, co-sponsored by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, is open to county residents and will provide up to 600 vaccinations on a first-come, first-served basis.

Vaccinations will be administered between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Brookhaven Town Hall, 1 Independence Hill, Farmingville.

Dogs must be leashed, and cats or ferrets must be in pet carriers. Residents also may request veterinary care, such as low-cost booster shots and microchipping to help identify pets if they are lost. Dog licenses also will be available.

For information, call the Brookhaven Animal Shelter and Adoption Center at 631- 286-4940, or visit brookhaven.org/animalshelter.

EAST ROCKAWAY

Mobile passport,

child ID services

Senior Hempstead Town Councilman Anthony Santino and Town Clerk Nasrin Ahmad will host a mobile town hall in East Rockaway on Saturday, as part of the community's annual Huckleberry Frolic.

The town hall will be held from 10 a.m. until noon at East Rockaway Village Hall, 376 Atlantic Ave.

Santino and Ahmad will be available to assist residents with several town programs and services.

Residents can apply for a U.S. passport by bringing proof of citizenship such as a certified copy of their birth certificate, previous passport or Certificate of Naturalization, and a driver's license.

The mobile town hall also will offer a child ID program in which children can have their picture and fingerprints taken -- information officials said can be invaluable in the event of an emergency. Parents or legal guardians must be present.

CENTEREACH

'Hands-only' CPR training offered

Centereach firefighters are offering classes on "hands only" cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

The instruction will be held from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday at Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove.

Hands-only CPR increases a person's chances of surviving cardiac arrest by up to 50 percent, a news release from the Centereach Fire Department said. The technique involves only chest compressions and does not require rescuers to administer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, according to the American Red Cross website.

"By training as many people as possible, more lives will be saved," Centereach Fire Commissioner Scott Jordan said in a statement.

While full CPR -- including mouth-to-mouth resuscitation -- is the best way to revive a stricken person, hands-only CPR is an effective way of saving a person suffering from cardiac arrest, the Red Cross website reported.

For information, call the Centereach Fire Department at 631-588-8652.

BROOKHAVEN TOWN

Carmans River

zoning hearings

Brookhaven Town has scheduled nine public hearings on proposed zoning changes related to the Carmans River conservation plan.

The hearings will start at 5 p.m. on July 30 at Brookhaven Town Hall, 1 Independence Hill, Farmingville.

Hundreds of residential parcels in Yaphank and Brookhaven hamlet would be rezoned from one-acre to two-acre zoning if the proposed changes are approved by the town board.

The town's Carmans River Conservation and Management Plan, adopted last year, calls for more restrictive zoning to protect wetlands and curb pollution from septic systems.

The plan also recommended that the town purchase some parcels to block development, or use credits from the state Long Island Pine Barrens Protection Act to encourage developers to build elsewhere in Brookhaven Town.

The town board previously has approved more restrictive zoning on hundreds of other parcels along the Carmans River, which stretches 10 miles from Middle Island to Great South Bay.

WEST BABYLON/

BAY SHORE

Get rid of unused

prescription meds

Suffolk residents will have two opportunities to safely dispose of unused prescription medication.

State Sen. Phil Boyle (R-Bay Shore) is hosting "Shed the Meds" events in West Babylon on Saturday and in Bay Shore on July 12.

Anyone with unused or expired medication is encouraged to take the medicine to the West Babylon Fire Department at 126 Arnold Ave. and the Bay Shore Fire Department at 195 Fifth Ave. for proper disposal by members of the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department.

The Babylon event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The Bay Shore event is July 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

"By properly disposing of household prescription drugs, we can help to keep them out of the wrong hands," Boyle said in a news release. "By doing so, we also keep harmful materials from damaging our local waterways and water supply."

Syringes, sharp objects and liquid medication cannot be disposed of at these events.

For more information, contact Boyle's district office at 631-665-2311.

PLAINVIEW

Vocal injury sidelines country music singer

Lisa Matassa released her debut country album as a 40-year-old Plainview mom more than 20 years after recording dance chart hits under the moniker Lysa Lynn.

Since then she's continued to perform and record, but on Monday she announced via Facebook that she would have to cancel her appearances and performances at this week's Country Music Association Music Fest in Nashville because of burst blood vessels on her left vocal cord.

Matassa had throat issues for the past few months, and went to her doctor Monday for a checkup, where she got the bad news, she reported. In addition to a steroid treatment, she will be on total vocal rest for the next seven to 10 days.

"This is the first time in my career that I've had to cancel a performance due to a vocal issue," Matassa told Newsday shortly after the Facebook announcement. "So to find out that I hemorrhaged a vocal cord was devastating to hear."

Matassa speculated that "excessive coughing from allergies or from singing the wrong way to overcompensate for the allergies" could have caused the injury, according to her Facebook post.

But while expressing her disappointment in her message to fans, she also promised that she will only be sidelined temporarily.

"I will get past this setback but I so look forward to singing for you all again soon," she said