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“FEAR THE FIN.”

So advised the back of the Eastport-South Manor Sharks’ warmup shirts. But Shoreham-Wading River didn’t show fear in the showdown between two of Suffolk County Division II’s top girls soccer teams Wednesday. On the contrary, SWR attacked, attacked — and then attacked some more.

As the match progressed, visiting SWR asserted more and more control. Despite some close chances, both teams had to settle for a 0-0 tie following 100 exhausting minutes of soccer. When the game ended, the less than enthusiastic reaction of both teams could best be described as akin to being a shrug of the shoulders. A tie is better than a loss, but …

Asked if a goalless draw against a quality team like ESM is an achievement, SWR senior forward Emma Kirkpatrick answered: “No, we want to win. No, we definitely want to play them again and we want to win.”

Afterward, when SWR coach Adrian Gilmore was asked for her reaction to the tie, she made an exaggerated face reflecting her dislike of the notion. “I hate ties,” she said.

This game between Division II’s top two preseason seeds held great promise: defending Suffolk Class A champion SWR (7-1-2, 6-1-2) against ESM (9-0-3, 8-0-2), which reached the Suffolk Class AA final last year. (This year ESM is a Class A team). It featured a matchup of two big scorers — SWR’s Nicky Constant and ESM’s Gia Inzerillo. They both have eight goals and seven assists this season. Both teams also have capable defenses and reliable goalkeepers — SWR’s Alison Devall and ESM’s Carly Travers.

SWR was left to lament some missed opportunities that could have swung the game its way.

Following one of Travers’ nine saves, SWR’s Brooke Langella directed the rebound on goal, but ESM’s Cassidy Passaro cleared the ball away in midair less than four minutes into the second half.

Gilmore said one of the referees told her the whole ball didn’t cross the goal line. At least a couple of SWR players said that was not the case. “It definitely was over the line, but sometimes it doesn’t go your way, so what are you going to do?” said Kirkpatrick.

Then, SWR’s Lydia Radonavitch came within inches of scoring six minutes later, striking a shot that smashed off the left corner of the goalpost and crossbar.

“It was so close,” she said. “Not all of them go in.”

In the final 10 minutes of regulation time, Radonavitch hooked a dangerous shot that Travers did well to save, and SWR’s Frankie Lilly turned on the ball for a left-footed attempt that sailed just wide of the left post.

ESM produced some second-half threats itself. Inzerillo ripped a curling shot that veered left of the mark. Later, she chased after a cross-field pass from Madison Lennon, but Devall kicked the ball expertly aside before Inzerillo could do anything with it.

The game went on, a test of stubborn wills. Legs got heavy. Fatigue settled in.

“The second half we definitely picked it up, and then once overtime came, we all wanted it,” Radonavitch said. “You could tell the fire was under us and we really wanted to put one in the back of the net.”

In the second overtime session, SWR pretty much boxed ESM in its own half of the field, but had nothing to show for it at the end except a hard-fought tie. SWR outshot ESM, 16-7, and Devall made four saves for the team’s eighth shutout, all of which she has been involved in.

SWR has been in fine form this season, its only hiccup being a 1-0 loss to Islip. That was SWR’s first loss to a Suffolk team in two years.

But the Wildcats have rebounded nicely since, posting impressive wins over Bayport-Blue Point, 4-0, and Garden City, 5-0.

“When we play our game, we keep the ball on the ground and we move it,” Kirkpatrick said. “That’s our game and that’s when we’re deadly.”

Gilmore can’t complain. “I feel like they’re playing great soccer,” she said. “They have fire and they have passion and desire, and those aren’t things you can teach.”

The only thing the Wildcats lacked on Wednesday was a goal.

bliepa@timesreview.com

Photo caption: Shoreham-Wading River’s Emma Kirkpatrick chasing after a ball while being marked by Eastport-South Manor’s Julianna Gullo in the first half. (Credit: Bob Liepa)

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In late September 2008, the Shoreham-Wading River community mourned the loss of a dedicated and talented teacher who died in a car accident in Wading River. Jennifer Mager of Riverhead, who taught kindergarten, was 37.

This past week marked 10 years since that tragedy, when the driver of a BMW accidentally swerved across a stretch of Route 25A and struck the vehicle in which Ms. Mager, her husband, Thomas, and their daughter, Delaney, were riding. As each year passes, the small, close-knit community is seemingly dealt one blow after another.

The strength and resiliency of the community, which rallies together after each tragedy, will be on display once again in the aftermath of a crash Sunday that killed a 12-year-old Wading River Boy Scout. Four other scouts, who were hiking in Manorville with Troop 161, were also injured by an alleged drunken driver.

On the same weekend we remember the life of Ms. Mager, and on the same weekend we remember the life of Thomas Cutinella, who died at 16 on Oct. 1, 2014, we begin to mourn all over again for another life cut short far too early.

Andrew McMorris, 12, was a creative, active, ambitious boy who dreamed big. He was dedicated to achieving the rank of Eagle Scout, enjoyed activities ranging from painting to playing the piano and even achieved his first piloting goal this past summer during AeroCamp.

In the days since his death, condolences have flooded in from Boy Scout troops across the nation that are mourning together. Troop 161 of Shoreham has asked that people join together to wear a red ribbon in Andrew’s memory.

It becomes hard to fathom how one community continually faces these moments of despair, as another family is torn apart and left to pick up the pieces without a loved one.

In 2010, 20-year-old Michelle DeFranco, who had recently graduated from Shoreham-Wading River, died in Wading River when she was hit by a pickup truck. The loss of Thomas Cutinella four years ago, following an injury in a football game, was a shock not just locally, but across the nation. His legacy lives on in myriad ways.

In 2015, a longtime security guard and driver’s ed teacher at Shoreham-Wading River High School, Richard Cambria, was killed in a car accident. He was 49. Less than a year later, the community mourned 2014 graduate Kevin Callejas, who also died in a car accident. He was 19. A few months later tragedy struck again with the loss of eighth-grader Nick Donnelly, a talented wrestler who was only 14. Earlier this year, another SWR graduate, 24-year-old Nicholas Mistretta, died in a single-car crash.

Each life lost leaves a hole in the community’s soul that will never be fully healed.

In paying respects to the McMorris family, the Thomas Cutinella Memorial Foundation summed it up best in a Facebook post Monday:

“Life is so fragile. Remember what truly is important and love your family more than ever. Always stay present in the moment.”

The post Editorial: Another life cut short appeared first on Riverhead News Review.

A bill passed by the Senate Tuesday will require the Federal Aviation Administration to reassess the unpopular North Shore Helicopter Route.

According to Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley), the measure includes an amendment to the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 that would require the FAA to consider the noise impacts on affected communities, improve altitude enforcement and consider alternative routes, such as an all-water route over the Atlantic Ocean.

Mr. Zeldin secured a bicameral agreement that was expected to pass the bill before FAA funding expired Sept. 30. But the necessary floor time needed in the Senate was hard to come by last week given the hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Instead, the Senate passed a short-term reauthorization bill to fund necessary FAA functions like air traffic control while extending the deadline to Oct. 7.

It was ultimately passed Tuesday.

The legislation, co-sponsored by Mr. Zeldin and Democratic representatives Grace Meng of Queens and Thomas Suozzi of Glen Cove, was approved by the House in April by a vote of 393-13 and now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk to be signed into law.

The measure will require the FAA to hold public hearings about the route in impacted communities and open a public comment period.

“I applaud my Senate colleagues for passing my proposal that requires the FAA to reassess the North Shore Route and pursue an all water route over the Atlantic Ocean,” Mr. Zeldin said in a press release, adding that the concerns of residents have been ignored for years. “Finally, the FAA is forced to listen.”

Despite the delayed vote, the legislation’s passage is welcome news after another summer of helicopter traffic.

“I applaud this bipartisan effort to finally bring relief to Riverhead residents,” Riverhead Supervisor Laura Jens-Smith said in a statement.

North Fork residents have said the route brings frequent and unwanted noise to the area.

Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell said the route has become a quality of life issue.

“Southold has become a doormat to the helicopter operators as they head to and from the Hamptons,” he said in a statement calling for action.

The route dates back to 2012, when the FAA ruled that helicopters are required to fly over Long Island Sound and around Orient Point rather than fly over houses.

But pilots are allowed to deviate from the route due to safety or weather conditions, or when transitioning to a destination.

In response, both Riverhead and Southold towns formed task forces on helicopter noise, citing that helicopters frequently fly over the North Fork while heading to the South Shore.

The route was extended in 2014 and again in 2016 without consulting the public, Mr. Zeldin noted.

Riverhead Councilwoman Catherine Kent, who serves as Town Board liaison to the Helicopter Noise Task Force, said Riverhead has been “inundated” by air traffic in recent years.

“It starts Thursday night and goes through Monday evening,” she said. “We have this constant barrage of helicopters — and now seaplanes — over our homes. I’m pleased to see any legislation that addresses this urgent problem,” Ms. Kent said.

She also acknowledged that community members on the task force have not stopped speaking up on the issue.

“I think some of this legislation is a reaction to that,” she said.

tsmith@timesreview.com

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Once a scout, always a scout.

That’s how one Eagle Scout described the outpouring of support after 12-year-old Andrew McMorris, a seventh-grader at Albert Prodell Middle School in Shoreham, died Sunday after being struck by an alleged drunken driver while out on a hike with fellow scouts from Troop 161 Sunday afternoon.

As the initial shock subsided, Eagle Scouts and Riverhead High School alumni Chris Courtenay, Everett Gilliam II and Jeff Schultz were talking about their time as scouts and how they could help their hometown.

Working together from Atlanta, Pennsylvania and New York, the men launched a GoFundMe page Tuesday, writing: “As Eagle Scouts, we have pledged countless times to help others, and we find ourselves duty-bound to ask for your help for these Scouts now.”

In two days, the page generated over $10,000 that Mr. Courtenay said would be dispersed to assist the troop with counseling and troop activities.

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Andrew McMorris had a passion for flying. (Courtesy photo)

“We were thinking about the impact of something like this on not just the scouts, but the leadership, from an adult perspective,” Mr. Courtenay said in a phone interview Thursday. “And how we can help address those needs and maintain the strength and bond of everybody in the troop together in remembering the great kid Andrew was.”

The McMorris family asked mourners to refrain from placing items at the scene of the crash and instead show their support by “treating others with kindness and placing red ribbons, the color for Mothers Against Drunk Driving and Boy Scouts of America, on their properties.”

In the days following the tragic crash, a sea of red ribbons have been hung on front doors, mailboxes and storefronts in the Shoreham-Wading River area to show support for the McMorris family and members of his Boy Scout Troop 161.

A Coldwell Banker real estate office at the Shoppes at East Wind has been transformed into a ribbon-making hub.

“It’s tough for the community because we’ve lost too many kids in the last few years,” said Coldwell Banker manager Pam Garee of Wading River. “We wanted to paint the town red so that when people are driving around they see the love and support from the community.”

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Red ribbons in Wading River. (Credit: Cyndi Murray)

Since Monday, more than 50 volunteers have made 700 ribbons that can be picked up for a donation of $10, Ms. Garee said. The funds raised will benefit MADD, Boy Scout Troop 161 and the Wildcats Helping the Arts & Music program.

Red ribbons were placed at the entrances to all major Suffolk County parks in honor of Andrew, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone announced Thursday.

They even appeared near decimated homes in North Carolina.

On Wednesday, donations of water and first aid items gathered by the Middle Island Fire Department — with the assistance of Troop 161 — arrived in the small community of Hampstead, located about 20 miles north of Wilmington.

“Our neighborhood was hard hit,” from Hurricane Florence, said Janine DeVito, a former Terryville resident. She was shocked to learn about what happened to Troop 161, but inspired when she was told that Andrew and his parents helped gather donation items for her community.

“Just when you think you’re devastated, you realize that somebody else just lost a whole lot more than you did,” Ms. DeVito said Friday. “It puts some perspective into our suffering.”

She said the neighborhood is grateful to Andrew and his parents.

“He touched an entire community of people 800 miles away. We are blessed to have been the recipients of a final act of generosity.”

Now, dozens of homes, some in shambles from the storm, are adorned with red ribbons.

“Amongst the devastation, in some strange way it gives us hope,” Ms. DeVito said.

See also: Editorial: Another life cut short

News of the 12-year-old’s death also rocked the online aviation ‘plane-spotting’ community.

Andrew, who earned an aviation merit badge, had over 5,000 followers on his Instagram page dedicated to aircraft ‘spotting,’ a hobby of tracking airplane movements with photography.

Online, word spread throughout the aviation community and a Change.org campaign petitioning American Airlines to name a Boeing 787 Dreamliner after Andrew was signed by over 10,000 people in the first 24 hours.

View this post on Instagram

We join our plane spotting community in mourning the loss of @am.aviation. To a young man who dreamed of flying our Dreamliner one day: We wish you blue skies and tailwinds. You’ll always be part of our #fAAmily.

A post shared by American Airlines (@americanair) on Oct 2, 2018 at 10:59am PDT

Justin Franco, a spokesperson for American Airlines, said the airline has been in touch with the family in the wake of the tragedy.

“The aviation community, it’s a close-knit one,” he said during a phone call Thursday. “We look out for each other.”

Mr. Franco said that two New York-based pilots attended the wake Thursday to support the family. “We’re happy to do what we can at a difficult time,” he said.

In an Instagram post liked over 18,000 times, American Airlines mourned the loss of the Boy Scout. “To a young man who dreamed of flying our Dreamliner one day: We wish you blue skies and tailwinds. You’ll always be part of our #fAAmily,” the caption read.

In a statement released Tuesday, Andrew’s parents Alisa and John expressed their appreciation for the overwhelming show of support. “Give all your children and loved ones an extra-long hug today and don’t wait for the right time to express love to one another,” they said.

Top photo caption: Red ribbons on a tree in Hampstead, N.C. near the home of Patti Mazzara that was devastated by Hurricane Florence last month. Ms. Mazzara is the sister of Janine DeVito, a former Terryville resident. (Credit: Courtesy of Janine DeVito)

tsmith@timesreview.com

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Shoreham-Wading River’s homecoming festivities have been postponed until the week of Oct. 22 following the tragic crash Sunday that left a 12-year-old middle school student dead.

The district announced that all spirit week festivities leading up to homecoming have been rescheduled. The football team’s game Saturday against Hampton Bays will be played as scheduled at 2:30 p.m. at Thomas Cutinella Memorial Field.

The final regular season football game against Bayport-Blue Point will now be a day game played Oct. 27 at 2 p.m., according to Section XI.

The Prodell Middle School open house, scheduled for Oct. 4, has also been canceled, and a new date has yet to be finalized.

According to a separate announcement on the district website, the District’s Crisis Response Team is in the process of implementing a plan to assist students who are coping with the loss of their peer. This includes an information session Wednesday evening at the middle school library for parents on helping children deal with grief. That’s scheduled from 5 to 6 p.m.

The announcement said support services will be made available to students and staff as needed.

“Our thoughts are with all those involved in this accident, and our hearts and deepest condolences with the family and friends of the student who tragically passed away,” the district said.

A district spokesperson said no school officials would be made available for interviews.

knalepinski@timesreview.com

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A 21-year-old man died after driving his vehicle into Long Island Sound at the end of Roanoke Avenue in Riverhead Wednesday night, Riverhead Police said.

Around 7:23 p.m., witnesses reported that the vehicle drove down the beach access ramp at a high rate of speed, continued across the beach and entered the water, police said. The vehicle became submerged in the water about 100 feet offshore with the driver still inside.

Two civilians who witnessed the accident entered the water and attempted to get the driver out. The man was unresponsive and not breathing when police, fire and EMS personnel were able to bring him ashore, according to a press release.

Resuscitation efforts were started and he was transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 8:09 p.m., police said.

At this time the driver will only be identified as a 21-year-old male pending the notification of his next of kin, police said.

The circumstances of the accident are still under investigation.

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Emergency personnel on scene tried to rescue the man. (Stringer News photo)

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Some parents make it look effortless, but for most, taking toddlers out to eat can be chaotic. Factor in spilled drinks, dropped silverware, short attention spans and brewing tantrums, and the entire experience can be unpleasant for parents and other diners alike.

Laura Brewer and her daughter Amber know they aren’t the only ones who’ve experienced the waning patience and “been there” nods from other guests while eating out with children.

That’s why the Flanders women invented a practical solution they say could help families enjoy dining together.

“We eat out a lot,” Laura said, and is frequently joined by another daughter, Ashley, her son-in-law and 2-year-old granddaughter Mya. “They could not enjoy a meal at all.”

Research on similar products proved fruitless, so Laura teamed up with Amber to brainstorm some ideas. “Once we had an idea of what we wanted, we jumped on it,” said Amber, 23.

Suddenly, they were meeting with lawyers, filing for patents and working with Design Edge, a Bethpage development firm that helped create a schematic drawing and prototype of their product, dubbed the EatNPlay Tiny Tray.

Developed by the mother-daughter team, the adjustable polypropylene plastic tray can clamp onto tables of varying thicknesses. It comes with a hook that can be used to attach toys and two raised bars that can hold a phone or tablet and prevent leaks and spills. And it all fits into a diaper bag.

“We’re coming up with revisions,” Amber said, to the prototype, like padding the plastic bar and adding rubber to the clamps to prevent damage to tables.

Mya and a cousin, 7-year-old Amara, were the first to try out the tray. “You can use it for a younger age or older ages,” Amber said, noting that during a recent family dinner, they attached a package of colored pencils for Amara instead of a toy.

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Flanders residents Amber Brewer and her mother, Laura Brewer, invented the recently patented EatNPlay Tiny Tray. (Tara Smith photo)

With their newly minted patent, the duo is gearing up to enter a critical development stage that they hope will land their product in the homes of many new families.

The women plan to launch a campaign on Kickstarter, a crowdfunding platform that help brings creative projects to life, in November. Their goal is $50,000.

“It’s tough because if you don’t reach that goal, you don’t get any of the funds,” Amber said.

The tray, which will be manufactured in China, requires an injection mold — and that alone costs $17,000, Amber said. The remaining money will help pay for shipping and packaging.

“We’re not salespeople, so we’re trying to put ourselves out there,” Laura said, adding that they’re using social media and promotional marketing videos to spread the word about the upcoming campaign. Binge-watching “Shark Tank” gave them a few ideas.

“We heard about [Kickstarter] on ‘Shark Tank,’ ” Laura said, laughing.

If they reach their goal, they expect to manufacture around 3,300 trays, both pink and blue, that will retail for $29.99.

It would mean “everything,” to them, Amber said.

Mother and daughter both work at Peconic Bay Medical Center, where Laura is a housekeeper and Amber is a transporter. Before inventing the EatNPlay Tiny Tray, they would daydream constantly about potential business ventures.

“We wanted to do a project together. We were constantly for a year thinking about what we were going to do,” Laura said. The ideas ranged from opening a deli to starting a day care center.

Their shared love of children is what led them to where they are. “We’re hoping to help parents be able to enjoy a meal. Because going out to eat with a child can be hard,” Amber said.

Hearing herself referred to as an inventor is emotional for Laura, 50, as it reminds her of her late father, Arthur Schumpf.

“He wanted to be an inventor. I remember being in the living room and all you would hear is ‘Honey! I have an invention!,’ ” she recalled. “But he never had any money.”

If he could see her patent and prototype, Laura knows he’d be proud.

The team agrees that the adventure so far has been “remarkable,” and has pushed them far outside their comfort zone. “I’m scared to death,” Laura admits. “But you have to take that chance.”

The Kickstarter campaign for the EatNPlay Tiny Tray launches Nov. 1. To keep up with their progress, follow them on Facebook at facebook.com/MyLittleBInc.

tsmith@timesreview.com

Photo caption: Amara Schumpf, 7, uses a prototype of the EatNPlay Tiny Tray, developed by her grandmother and aunt, Laura and Amber Brewer. (Donna Wish photo)

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The Riverhead Planning Board is reopening an environmental review into a solar facility in Calverton owned by sPower.

“The Planning Board became aware of a massive 36-megawatt solar facility on 290 acres proposed by sPower,” said Planning Board chairman Stan Carey. “The Planning Board later learned that this project was submitted to New York State under a new regulation, called Article 10, the day after the Planning Board accepted sPower’s environmental impact statement for a nearby project.”

Riverhead Solar 2, the proposed 36-megawatt facility, is the project in question, and is adjacent to Riverhead Solar 1. That includes both the current facility operating on the east side of Edwards Avenue and the second farm planned for the south of Route 25 and west of Edwards Avenue.

The board voted unanimously to reopen the State Environmental Quality Review for Riverhead Solar 1, and require sPower to submit a supplemental environmental impact statement for the project.

A state law enacted in 2011 gave authority to the state to review solar power facilities with a capacity of over 25 megawatts, removing authority from local municipalities. Since sPower’s newest proposal is 36 megawatts, it constitutes a major project requiring the state-level review rather than town-level.

“The SEQRA process specifically asked sPower to identify any other projects that may have an impact on the Solar 1 project,” Mr. Carey said at Thursday’s meeting. He added that this could be confirmed by reviewing the Dec. 15, 2016, Jan. 19, 2017 and Oct. 19, 2017 Planning Board minutes.

“The Planning Board was told no other project would use the gen-tie line and no other projects were planned, or, at the very least, communicated to the Planning Board,” he said.

In March, sPower project manager John Moran outlined plans for the third solar farm to link the three projects. He spoke at two public informational meetings on the proposal as required by the state.

Mr. Carey also said Thursday that the board will send a letter to the building department recommending they suspend the building permit until the supplemental environmental impact statement is complete. He added that both the resolution and memo will be sent to the New York State Board of Electric Generation during its open comment period.

“In my opinion this is a lack of information sharing by sPower, and possibly, willful misrepresentation with an intent to deceive. But at the very least, they were certainly not forthcoming,” Mr. Carey said.

Earlier Thursday morning, the Town Board met to discuss comments that will be sent to the state and the applicant for the proposed facility, and expressed concern for safety issues at the site of the conduit that will run under Edwards Avenue. Drainage issues were also discussed.

“What if that fails? Who is responsible for the maintenance of the road around that conduit, because we own the road,” Councilwoman Jodi Giglio said.

Supervisor Laura Jens-Smith asked a question that has been brought up at many other discussions.

“What is the community benefit that is realized by the Town for doing this,” she asked. She also asked if this would hinder other businesses on Edwards Avenue from installing solar panels of their own.

Town Board comments will be finalized Friday and sent to the applicants and New York State for review. A 60-day public comment period will follow, once a formal application is filed.

A full list of comments will be available on the Town’s website.

rsiford@timesreview.com

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After the post-national anthem fireworks, Ka’Shaun went kaboom!

Bellport quarterback Ka’Shaun Parrish showed his explosiveness time and time again Saturday, and Riverhead got burned.

There isn’t much that Parrish cannot do on a football field. The speedy 5-foot-11, 160-pound sophomore ran for two touchdowns, returned a kickoff 74 yards to set up another TD and, for good measure, showed his skills as a receiver, leaping up to make a 28-yard reception.

It was all part of Bellport’s 35-8 homecoming win over rival Riverhead at Joe Cipp Field.

“He’s probably the best athlete that we played all year,” Riverhead wide receiver/cornerback Anthony Marcello said. “He’s probably also the fastest kid that we played.”

At times it looked as if Riverhead had the elusive Parrish boxed in, only to see him slip free and bolt down the field for large gains. On one play, a tackler had two hands on Parrish, yet he still managed to wiggle away for positive yardage.

“He’s just shifty,” Riverhead quarterback/free safety Cristian Pace (13-for-25, 152 yards, one TD, one interception) said. “I think he’s got good vision when he’s running and he sees open lanes and makes a lot of people miss.”

Parrish (10 carries, 99 yards) had TD runs of eight and 41 yards to help Bellport (3-2 Suffolk County Division II) out to a 15-0 lead. (He threw a two-point conversion pass to Myles Wilson after the first score).

“We saw him on film,” Riverhead coach Leif Shay said. “He’s been doing that all year. We have a hard time with very athletic quarterbacks. When the coverage breaks down, we have a hard time containing because we have to play so much man-to-man that it hurts us.”

What Parrish did shortly before the end of the second quarter could be considered the play of the game. Riverhead (2-3) capped an 11-play, 80-yard drive with Marcello’s 14-yard TD catch on a corner route. Isaiah Barbieri followed that up by running the ball in for two points. Bellport’s lead was cut to 15-8 with 1 minute and 32 seconds left in the half.

The score didn’t stay that way for long, though.

On the ensuing kickoff, Parrish collected the ball at the Bellport 21-yard line and weaved his way all the way back to the Riverhead 9. Two plays later, D.J. Trent banged his way forward into the end zone. With Christian Moreno’s extra point, it was suddenly 22-8.

“I thought we were in the game, but then they just came down with the kick return,” said Marcello, who has three TD catches this season. “I was like, ‘Wow, that just kind of killed us.’ ”

Shay said: “That’s been our Achilles’ heel all year. We kick off and we can’t tackle anybody. We have to get better at tackling.”

Parrish’s 28-yard catch of a Jhamari Bell pass led to the first of two TDs in the third quarter.

Bell fumbled on his way toward the goal line, but recovered his own fumble in the end zone. It was that kind of a day for Bellport — and Riverhead.

Riverhead’s next series was cut short when Kyler Pizzo, who also forced a fumble and recovered a fumble, intercepted a pass and returned it 21 yards for a score.

“We were hanging in there, and then basically at the start of the second half we just kind of got destroyed,” Marcello said. “I thought that we would have to play perfect to win this game.”

Riverhead was far from perfect.

Of course, Parrish had a big part in all of this. The least effective part of his game was his passing. He went 4-for-11 for 50 yards.

“We shut [D.J. Trent] down,” Shay said. “We shut [Wilson] down. The quarterback was the X factor.”

Riverhead-Bellport is a big rivalry, with the attendant hoopla and intensity. Gregg Giannotti (Bellport Class of 2000) of WFAN’s “Boomer and Gio” morning radio program took part in the pregame coin toss ceremony along with New York State Assemblyman Dean Murray. Then it was time for the national anthem and fireworks — both the actual fireworks and the fireworks generated by Parrish.

bliepa@timesreview.com

Photo caption: Riverhead’s Deontae Sykes (88) and Aaron Gaines-Bullock bring down Bellport’s speedy quarterback, Ka’Shaun Parrish. (Credit: Robert O’Rourk)

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Riverhead Town police arrested an East Hampton man for stealing shirts from Calvin Klein Sunday.

Henry Jackson Cordoba-Serrano, 44, was charged with misdemeanor petit larceny.

• A Holbrook man called police Saturday to report that after pumpkin picking at Stakey’s Farm in Northville, he discovered a key mark on his vehicle from the gas cap to the driver’s side door.

• A 20-year-old Hampton Bays woman was arrested for driving drunk on Roanoke Avenue in Riverhead Friday.

Rebecca Altamirano was seen driving northbound, failing to maintain her lane and nearly striking the curb. She was charged with misdemeanor DWI.

• Riverhead police responded Friday to a report of a suspicious vehicle near Hidden Pond Path in Wading River.

Around 2:56 p.m., a woman reported that her daughter and another youth were approached by two unknown males while walking home from the bus.

The passenger, a man with short black hair and glasses, appeared to be taking pictures of the children with a cell phone before fleeing southbound at a high rate of speed, police said.

Police said they have increased patrols of the area in light of the incident.

• A Riverhead man was arrested after he was found driving with a suspended license Friday.

Oscar Canel, 37, was charged with second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, a misdemeanor.

• Police arrested a Riverhead man who left before paying his bill at PeraBell last Thursday.

Kirk Alfaro, 50, was located and arrested for theft of services, a class A misdemeanor.

Police said an investigation is continuing into a second suspect.

• Riverhead police arrested a 63-year-old Huntington man after he attempted to steal 11 cases of Corona beer from Stop and Shop last Thursday.

Richard Rodriguez allegedly told police that he was told to push the shopping cart full of beer out the front door and he assumed it was paid for.

He was charged with misdemeanor petit larceny and released on $100 cash bail, police said.

• A Riverhead man was arrested for stealing a pocketbook and duffel bag from a vehicle at BJ’s last Wednesday.

Tarell Holloway, 31, was charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, a Class A misdemeanor, and third-degree identity theft, a Class E felony.

• Police arrested an employee of Big Lots in Riverhead after he stole a shopping cart of miscellaneous items last Wednesday.

Thomas Chance, 43, of Riverhead, was arrested for petit larceny around 7:27 p.m. and released on a desk appearance ticket.

• A woman in the Staples parking lot last Tuesday alerted police to a suspicious male in a taxi following her.

According to police, the woman entered the store around 10:30 a.m. to get away and waited inside for 20 minutes. The taxi moved closer to the front entrance and the complainant was walked out to her vehicle. The taxi drove up to her vehicle but then fled, police said.

• Riverhead Police also responded to a report of suspicious activity at Target last Tuesday.

Shortly before 4 p.m., a woman reported that while walking out of the store, she saw an unknown male taking pictures of her car. Surveillance footage shows the male entering a tan SUV and fleeing the area, police said.

Those who are named in police reports have not been convicted of any crime or violation. The charges against them may later be reduced or withdrawn, or they may be found innocent.

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Candidates for state Senate, state Assembly and Congress attended a forum during last Monday’s meeting of the Flanders, Riverhead and Northampton Community Association.

November’s elections will pit longtime incumbent state Sen. Ken LaValle, 79, of Port Jefferson against perennial candidate Greg Fischer, 61, of Calverton. Mr. Fischer ran against Mr. LaValle in 2016 and has sought many other elective offices over the years, but has yet to win one.

Mr. LaValle, a Republican, was first elected in 1976. He has the backing of the Republican, Conservative, Independence and Reform parties.

Mr. Fischer has just the Democratic line.

Incumbent 1st District Assemblyman Fred Thiele of Sag Harbor, a registered Independence Party member, is running with Democratic support. The district includes Flanders, Riverside and all of the South Fork and Shelter Island. Mr. Thiele, 65, was elected to the Assembly in 1995 after previously serving as Southampton Town supervisor and Suffolk County legislator.

Patrick O’Connor, 53, of Southampton, is challenging Mr. Thiele and has the Republican and Conservative lines.

Mr. Thiele is running on the Democratic, Independence, Working Families, Women’s Equality and Reform parties.

STATE ASSEMBLY

Patrick O’Connor

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Patrick O’Connor. (Tim Gannon photo)

“I am an information technology professional with 30 years of experience in a wide range of applications, ranging from health care to business to inventory to warehousing,” Mr. O’Connor said.

“I am the type of person the legislators turn to when they need answers to their problems. I’m just suggesting we cut out the middle-man and put me in office and see what I can do.

“I am a passionate mathematician and I’ve seen the numbers. Right now, there are issues here concerning crime, the Route 24 circle and opioid abuse.

“The most important issue is the high cost of living, and how issues in Albany artificially increased those costs for us. Sometimes, legislators don’t have our backs.”

Mr. O’Connor said he thinks all laws should be enforced equally.

Fred Thiele

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Fred Thiel. (Tim Gannon photo)

“If you watch politics, people used to complain about mudslinging. Now it’s more like knife-throwing,” Mr. Thiele said.

“That’s not my approach. I am an independent. I’m the only independent in the New York State Legislature. There are 213 members and I’m the only independent. I work with Republicans, I work with Democrats, because you have to work across party lines if you’re going to get things done in Albany.”

Mr. Thiele said that he and Sen. LaValle have worked together to get 19 bills passed in the past year.

On issues relevant to the Flanders, Riverside and Northampton communities in recent years, Mr. Thiele said he and Mr. LaValle were responsible for getting Route 24 repaved; passing state legislation allowing work on the Riverside roundabout to begin; securing approval for two traffic signals on Route 24; getting funding for a sewer district study and a maritime trail; working with the county to approve a “text stop” on Route 25 named after Barbara Tocci, who died in an accident allegedly caused by someone texting and driving; and getting payments in lieu of taxes for local municipalities when land is taken off the tax rolls.

STATE SENATE

Ken LaValle

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Ken LaValle. (Tim Gannon photo)

“This is one of the most active civic associations in the 1st Senate District,” Mr. LaValle said of FRNCA. “This has been a great civic association working with us and, most of the time, we have solved or addressed the problem.”

He said Mr. Thiele “did a great job” listing many of the items they have worked on together.

Mr. LaValle said he and FRNCA president Ron Fisher, along with Anne Marie Spagnoletti and Diana Ruvolo of the Mobile and Manufactured Homeowners Association, have been working on potential legislation to help mobile home owners, a number of whom were present at the FRNCA meeting.

Two laws that mobile home owners have unsuccessfully tried to get passed over the years are a measure prohibiting “unconscionable rent increases” and another giving mobile home owners the right of first refusal to buy their park if the owner is selling it.

Mr. LaValle said a proposed law on rent increases is in its early stages and he expects to have formal language to review by November.

Greg Fischer

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Greg Fischer. (Tim Gannon photo)

“I have a theme, which is ‘We need a turnaround,’ because nothing has changed,” Mr. Fischer said in explaining why he’s running.

He said the state’s problem is lack of money.

“We have very stable income but we have costs that double every 15 years. That also was a recipe for complete calamity,” he said.

Mr. Fischer said he has degrees in business, finance and economics and has 35 years of consulting experience. He is a volunteer consultant for the Service Corps of Retired Executives, under the U.S. Department Small Business Administration, which helps people start and retain small businesses.

“I’m looking to do this economic development at a higher level,” he said.

His economic development plan? Magnetic levitation, which was developed at Brookhaven National Laboratory in 1968 by James Powell of Shoreham and the late Gordon Danby of Wading River.

It’s a form of high-speed transportation that uses magnets to levitate and power a train with no moving parts. The technology has been used in Europe and Asia but never caught on in the United States. It would require federal government bonds and the right of way to go under any federal highway.

“After that, we’re on our own,” Mr. Fischer said.

(Mr. Powell’s son, Dr. Jesse Powell, is president of Maglev Strategies LLC, which hopes to establish a National Maglev Research Center and test track at the Enterprise Park at Calverton.)

Mr. Fischer also proposes using EPCAL for a motorsports park using electric cars, as well as for quads and dirt bikes.

U.S. CONGRESS

Perry Gershon

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Perry Gershon. (Tim Gannon photo)

According to Ron Fisher of FRNCA, incumbent Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin of Shirley, 38, missed the forum because he was in Washington for voting sessions.

However, his Democratic opponent, 56-year-old Perry Gershon of East Hampton, did attend.

“I never expected to run for office,” Mr. Gershon said. “I’m doing this as a reaction to what’s happened in this country. The hyper-partisanship that’s going on really has me terrified.”

He said elected representatives have lost touch with the people they are supposed to be representing.

“I think we need to bring a new breed of people in Washington,” he said.

Mr. Gershon said he’s met with people for the past year and found the issues they care about are health care, the environment, women’s equality, the right to choose, “doing something about the gun situation” and improving the economy.

The money from the recent tax cut should have gone into improving infrastructure, he said.

tgannon@timesreview.com

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Last week, buried inside a report released by the Trump administration, a startling prediction about climate change was made public. If nothing is done to put the brakes on rising temperatures, our planet could warm a staggering seven degrees Fahrenheit by 2100. That’s 82 years from now, easily within the lifetimes of current newborns and young children.

A seven-degree rise in Earth’s temperature would be disastrous for cities along our coastlines but an even larger catastrophe for many countries across the planet that would all but be destroyed by the heat, resulting in a massive refugee crisis.

As a story in The Washington Post stated, “Many coral reefs would dissolve in increasingly acidic oceans. Parts of Manhattan and Miami would be underwater without costly coastal defenses. Extreme heat waves would routinely smother large parts of the globe.”

In last week’s Suffolk Times and Riverhead News-Review, former Mattituck High School social studies teacher John Gibbons wrote that the Trump administration’s position that climate change is a hoax runs against the collective findings of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA and “thousands and thousands of climate scientists who work for the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change …”

Yet, here is the Trump administration offering a grim prediction on the possible rise in worldwide temperatures. Why? As the Post reported, “… the administration did not offer this dire forecast, premised on the idea that the world will fail to cut its greenhouse gas emissions, as part of an argument to combat climate change. Just the opposite: The analysis assumes the planet’s fate is already sealed.”

In other words, the draft report — written and released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — sounds the alarm about climate change, even as the administration moves to freeze stiffer fuel standards for vehicles. The administration’s actions — including pulling out of the 2015 Paris climate agreement and eliminating a host of Obama-era regulations designed to reduce carbon emissions — show conclusively that it plans to do absolutely nothing to prevent this prediction from coming true.

It is hard to fathom this level of willful ignorance. Deliberately looking the other way when a storm is approaching, denouncing science as fake and steering federal policies in a direction that will directly imperil future generations is a morally bankrupt approach to governance.

Climate change is already affecting Long Island. It is upon us. Last year’s reports by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, based on research conducted by scientists at Columbia University, Cornell University and Hunter College, show that our sea levels are rising twice as fast as the global average. The DEC reports include a high projection of a sea level rise of six feet by 2100. The policies of the Trump administration could make that even worse.

The DEC states that sea levels in New York have already risen by a foot since 1900. “Energy, land use and infrastructure decisions made now will determine how vulnerable our children and grandchildren will be to rising sea levels,” the report states.

A graphic accompanying the report presents low, medium and high projections for sea level rise on Long Island. The medium projections are scary enough. 2020s: Six inches. 2050s: 16 inches. 2080s: 29 inches. 2100: 36 inches.

The high projection for 2100 is 75 inches. Split the difference between a three-foot and a six-foot rise, and even that will leave large swaths of eastern Long Island waterfront, home to some of the country’s most expensive real estate, completely submerged.

As our tribal culture continues to fracture over divisive issues, this critical threat we all collectively face must be addressed with extreme urgency. It is not a liberal or a conservative matter. Science is science. Willful ignorance is not a viable policy position.

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At 11 a.m. Saturday, about a hundred people began slowly walking up Old Quogue Road in Riverside, from the Galilee Church of God in Christ to the street sign at the Flanders Road intersection.

That’s where a second sign was unveiled, giving the street the honorary designation of “Pastor Roy L. Pennon, Sr. Way.”

The Southampton Town Board recently approved the new sign at the suggestion of members of the church. It is an honorary designation, meaning that it will still be Old Quogue Road, as well, so people won’t have to change their addresses.

Rev. Pennon founded the church in 1975 and was its pastor until his death on Dec. 24, 2016.

His daughter Crystal recalled the early days of the church as she walked up Old Quogue Road, telling how her father, who lived in Center Moriches, first showed them the church he bought in Riverside.

“It was a little dilapidated storefront, and when my father said we were leaving Burn’s Temple (in Center Moriches) and coming to Riverhead, we were terrified, because when we drove up to this little church, it looked like a ghost town,” she recalled out load.

“Part of the ceiling was falling in, there was old pot belly stove in the corner, and an old standup piano that had mold on it, but my father said, ‘This is where we’re supposed to be.’”

Her father would work on the church at night.

They would even greatly expand the size of the church, despite not being able to get a mortgage, according to Lillian Pennon, Rev. Pennon’s wife of 53 years, who is still the church administrator.

“It’s quite an emotional day,” she said Saturday. “I don’t think pastor really knew or understood how much he was loved or how much influence he had on people … He was a lover of people, it didn’t matter who you were … he was able to see in people what they didn’t see in themselves.”

Crystal Pennon said her father would not charge for funerals, regardless of whether the person went to their church of not.

There were two memorial services for her father, she recalled, one at the church in Riverside and one in Freeport, which had more than 3,000 people in attendance and over 11,000 people watching on Facebook Live.

“The Town of Southampton and its residents have benefitted from Dr. Pennon’s vision, caring and dedication to his flock, and to the community,” Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said Saturday, reading the town resolution approving the street sign. “His life serves as a reminder for all to live with integrity, walk in love and live by example, just as he did. His character, leadership and powerful preaching extended his influence beyond the church he loved so dearly.”

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After the post-national anthem fireworks, Ka’Shaun went kaboom!

Bellport quarterback Ka’Shaun Parrish showed his explosiveness time and time again Saturday, and Riverhead got burned.

It was all part of Bellport’s 35-8 homecoming win over rival Riverhead at Joe Cipp Field.

“He’s probably the best athlete that we played all year,” Riverhead wide receiver/cornerback Anthony Marcello said. “He’s probably also the fastest kid that we played.”

The score didn’t stay that way for long, though.

“I thought we were in the game, but then they just came down with the kick return,” said Marcello, who has three TD catches this season. “I was like, ‘Wow, that just kind of killed us.’ ”

Shay said: “That’s been our Achilles’ heel all year. We kick off and we can’t tackle anybody. We have to get better at tackling.”

Parrish’s 28-yard catch of a Jhamari Bell pass led to the first of two TDs in the third quarter.

Bell fumbled on his way toward the goal line, but recovered his own fumble in the end zone. It was that kind of a day for Bellport — and Riverhead.

Riverhead’s next series was cut short when Kyler Pizzo, who also forced a fumble and recovered a fumble, intercepted a pass and returned it 21 yards for a score.

“We were hanging in there, and then basically at the start of the second half we just kind of got destroyed,” Marcello said. “I thought that we would have to play perfect to win this game.”

Riverhead was far from perfect.

Of course, Parrish had a big part in all of this. The least effective part of his game was his passing. He went 4-for-11 for 50 yards.

“We shut [D.J. Trent] down,” Shay said. “We shut [Wilson] down. The quarterback was the X factor.”

bliepa@timesreview.com

Photo caption: Riverhead’s Deontae Sykes (88) and Aaron Gaines-Bullock bring down Bellport’s speedy quarterback, Ka’Shaun Parrish. (Credit: Robert O’Rourk)

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Southampton police arrested a Calverton man on drug and weapon charges after he fled from police Saturday.

Carl Ligon, 41, of Calverton, led police on a high speed chase from the Riverside traffic circle, where he nearly ran over two workers, down County Route 94 before pulling into Calverton Hills and driving through a vehicle gate around 10:10 a.m., police said.

According to a police report, Mr. Ligon exited his vehicle near Hill Court and a foot pursuit commenced. An officer used a Taser to eventually take him into custody on a number of charges, including driving with 23 license suspensions, marijuana possession and possessing a billy club and gravity knife, officials said.

He was charged with second-degree obstructing governmental administration, two counts of second-degree reckless endangerment, three counts of misdemeanor aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, fourth-degree criminal mischief, third-degree unlawfully fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle and resisting arrest, all misdemeanors.

Mr. Ligon also faces several felony charges, including first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and DWAI drugs, both Class E felonies, and two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a Class D felony.

• A Southampton man was arrested on drug charges in Riverside Monday.

According to a police report, William Hillen, 37, was stopped on Route 105 near Flanders Road around 1:02 a.m. for traffic infractions.

Police recovered crack cocaine and a crack pipe from the vehicle and, while attempting to place Mr. Hillen in handcuffs, he allegedly grabbed the pipe and threw it into a creek along the side of the roadway, destroying it, officials said.

He was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a Class A misdemeanor and tampering with physical evidence, a Class E felony.

• Southampton Town police arrested a Riverhead woman for driving without a valid license in Hampton Bays Saturday.

Genise Adams, 39, was pulled over on Sunrise Highway in Hampton Bays around 10:11 p.m. when an officer found her registration was suspended.

She was charged with misdemeanor third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, and three violations.

• Police arrested a Riverhead woman for drug possession last Monday.

Alisha Davis, 31, was found to be in possession of crack cocaine in Riverside around 11:17 a.m., police said.

She was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a Class A misdemeanor, and released on an appearance ticket, officials said.

Those who are named in police reports have not been convicted of any crime or violation. The charges against them may later be reduced or withdrawn, or they may be found innocent.

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At stake on July 17, 1941, was more than an extension of his already-famous hitting streak. When the great Yankee Clipper Joe DiMaggio arrived that day at Cleveland Stadium, a massive crowd of 67,468 awaited to see if he could extend his hitting streak to 57 games.

Unbeknownst to everyone at the ballpark that day, DiMaggio had an offer for $10,000 on the table if he could hit safely in one more game. The offer was part of a promotion from Heinz to endorse their Heinz 57 products, as Richard Ben Cramer recounted in the book “The Hero’s Life.”

The big crowd that day witnessed history by seeing the streak end; DiMaggio went 0-3 with a walk. All these years later, the closest another hitter has gotten to match that streak is 45.

Eddie Amodeo of Calverton often thinks back to that game and the streak. It was that 57th game that Mr. Amodeo has been so fascinated with over the past decade.

“One of the players after the game, they saw Joe DiMaggio roll up a piece of paper and throw it in the garbage,” Amodeo said. “And so for the heck of it, he walked over there, opened it up, and sure enough, it was a letter talking about the $10,000.”

The next day after DiMaggio’s streak ended, a famous artist from London named Burris Jenkins drew a large cartoon in honor of the historic moment. The cartoon depicted a sea battle. A ship on the bottom left was labeled “Smith and Bagby,” in reference to the Indians’ pitchers Al Smith and Jim Bagby. Another ship in the distance was labeled “Yankee Clippers.” An image of DiMaggio batting in the clouds hovers above the sea and on the left side it reads “The 57th Game!”

The artist wrote on the bottom:

“Compliments

Burris Jenkins

7/18/41”

It was back in 2007 at a yard sale in Wading River when Mr. Amodeo stumbled upon the hidden treasure.

“I said to the lady at the yard sale, ‘Where did you get this?’ he recalled. “She said, ‘Well, that’s from my grandfather.’ ”

She asked for $5 for it and he offered her $2. She accepted.

From there, Mr. Amodeo began researching the poster, which was framed in laminate. He couldn’t find anything specifically related to the poster he had found. It was as if he had the only copy.

He brought it to an appraiser who estimated it might be worth about $1,500. That was a decade ago.

“I didn’t know what to do with it,” he said.

Mr. Amodeo, who grew up a Yankees fan and has lived in Calverton since 1973, connected with a Yankees official who deals with merchandising. From there, he connected with DiMaggio’s granddaughter Paula Hamra and her husband, Jim. They referred him to DiMaggio’s estate lawyer, Morris Engelberg, who co-wrote the book “DiMaggio: Setting the Record Straight.”

Around that time, Mr. Amodeo contacted the Baseball Hall of Fame to gauge interest from the museum. He sent the museum a picture and they requested to see the original. He brought it to Cooperstown for a curator to examine. And then it needed to be brought in front of the museum’s board.

“About two weeks later, he said they loved it,” Mr. Amodeo said.

In the meantime, Mr. Amodeo and Mr. Engelberg were going back and forth about potential licensing agreements related to the poster. Mr. Amodeo had prints made that he hoped he could sell. Mr. Engelberg eventually agreed to gift a licensing agreement.

Mr. Amodeo, a disabled veteran who had served in Vietnam and then the Air National Guard for 25 years, hoped to distribute some of the poster prints to charities and possibly sell a few.

“I have probably about six left,” he said.

He’s hoping now to get in touch with the Yankees again and the Indians to distribute some 8 x 10s of the poster.

The original remains in possession of the Hall of Fame under the title “DiMaggio’s Streak cartoon.”

Mr. Amodeo, who has trouble traveling these days, hopes to make it up to the Hall of Fame one more time to see the original. A spokesperson for the Hall of Fame said the poster is not currently on display. The museum currently has about 40,000 “three-dimensional pieces,” which include artwork, and only about 15 percent are on display at a given time.

“I would love to see it,” Mr. Amodeo said.

By now, Mr. Amodeo said his wife, Beverly, has grown tired of his fascination with the poster.

“She wants to shoot me with this Joe DiMaggio thing,” he said with a laugh. “I had a passion for it. It’s been a long project.”

Photo caption: A print of the Joe DiMaggio poster. (Courtesy photo)

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Clik here to view.The author is the editor of the Riverhead News-Review and The Suffolk Times. He can be reached at 631-354-8049 or joew@timesreview.com.

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As the sun set Sunday evening, more than 200 scouts gathered on an open lot across from the Mastic Fire Department.

The scouts — boys and girls from nearly 50 troops across Suffolk County — had gathered in remembrance of Andrew McMorris, a 12-year-old Wading River boy killed by an alleged drunken driver in Manorville while out on a hike with fellow scouts one week earlier.

Sunday’s candlelight vigil — which included remarks from several pastors, New York State Assemblyman Dean Murray and scout leaders — marked the third consecutive day scouts had gathered to pay their respects to Andrew and his family. On Saturday, they saluted as the funeral procession arrived at Trinity Lutheran Church in Islip. On Friday, they stood outside Branch Funeral Home in Miller Place during Andrew’s wake, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance as a flag hung from two fire trucks.

The voice of Pastor Michael Staneck projected through the speakers to the crowd Friday.

“This is not where we should be tonight on a Friday evening in October,” he said. “Andrew should be home with Arianna doing what brothers and sisters do. It should be a night of getting ready to see what the weekend has in store, whether it was going to be another scouting adventure or whether it was going to be another lesson or play a little more on his flight simulator.”

Pastor Staneck spoke of the Sunrise fire of 1995 that damaged much of the Pine Barrens in Manorville a decade before Andrew was born. All that was left was ashes, he said. Even now, as the vegetation flourishes once again, the scars of those fires still remain.

“Sunday, another tragedy struck the Pine Barrens,” he said. “As you and the scouts and Andrew and those that were with him suffered a tragedy that is beyond our understanding and beyond our comprehension, where a life and many lives were reduced to ashes.

“This is not where we should be, this is not where we could be, this is where are.”

Photos from Saturday’s funeral

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Photos by Elizabeth Wagner

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Photos from Sunday’s Candlelight Vigil

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Photos by Grant Parpan

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Photos from Friday’s wake

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An American flag on Route 25A outside Branch Funeral Home in Miller Place Friday. (Credit: Kate Nalepinski)

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Boy Scouts pay respects to Andrew McMorris outside Branch Funeral Home in Miller Place Friday. (Credit: Kate Nalepinski)

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Scout leaders pay respects to Andrew McMorris outside Branch Funeral Home in Miller Place Friday. (Credit: Kate Nalepinski)

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I’m Edwin Moran. I’ve been working for Burt’s Reliable for the last 18 years.

I’m a heating and air conditioning technician. I first started working for Burt’s doing water mains when they were digging all the roads. That’s actually what I got hired for.

Luckily, thanks to the Romanelli family, they gave me the opportunity to learn the business by sending me to school for heating first. And after that they sent me to school for air conditioning. I’m very loyal to this family. There’s not too many out there like them anymore. The training was for a full month in Massachusetts. It was a really good experience. Of course, most of the work is done in the field and learn that way.

My favorite part about the job is that especially in the winter time, when it’s 10 degrees out there and it’s a 70 or 80-year-old person, freezing and they need heat. That’s one of the things that make me the most happy. I like helping people and make them have what they need. It makes me very happy and proud that I can get there and give them heat.

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Edwin Moran of Burt’s Reliable. (Rachel Siford photo)

On a normal day, I get in around 7:30 or 8 a.m. If I’m not doing annual service on units, I’m doing an installation, so every day is different, which makes it interesting because I’m not doing the same thing over and over everyday. We do heating and air conditioning, so both seasons we’re busy. I’ve been here for 20 years. I was born and raised in Guatemala. Basically, not knowing any of this business of course, because we don’t have heating and air conditioning equipment in my country.

I finished high school back there and decided to come here for a couple years.

Twenty years went by, and I don’t regret it. I have a set of beautiful triplets. And that’s what keeps me going everyday. That’s my goal, to have them grow up, go to school, college and the whole nine yards.

“The Work We Do” is a News-Review multimedia project profiling workers around Riverhead Town. It is made possible by Peconic Landing in Greenport. See more photos on Instagram @riverheadnewsreview.

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Almost two years ago when Jim and Sunny Liszanckie bought Sunny’s Diner in Riverhead, they wanted it to be known as the best breakfast spot in town. Now, they have a new goal.

“Now, we want to try to be that place for people who want to go out, but don’t want to go to a bar that’s like a frat party,” Mr. Liszanckie said.

Sunny’s Diner and Grill will now be serving wine and beer, and will stay open until 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, starting this week.

There will be three options for beer: Budweiser, Blue Moon and another locally brewed beer that will be switched up often. Wines will all be sourced locally and the menu will constantly change.

“I’m going to constantly rotate one of the Riverhead beers, and showcase our town,” he said. “Because pretty much everything we do here at the diner is to showcase Riverhead.”

Something brunch lovers can look forward to are the three different kinds of mimosas that will be available. They will offer the classic mimosa, of course, and one with a splash of cranberry and another pineapple strawberry mimosa.

“We wanted to be open for dinner, but we found that without a beer and wine license we really didn’t have that good of a turnout,” Mr. Liszanckie said. “A lot of people want a cold beer or a glass of wine with their meal.”

The couple hopes that they can catch some of the Suffolk Theater crowd before a show, or some visitors out at night who can grab a bite to eat before enjoying their weekend nights.

He doesn’t want his customers to think Sunny’s is being rebranded, but instead that it is simply expanding its services.

“Our goal is to get to be a family-friendly place where you can have a cocktail,” he said. He added that there will be no bar installed and no televisions either.

The Liszanckies bought the diner, formerly known as the Riverhead Diner and Grill, on East Main Street in January 2017.

The current lunch menu will be expanded into dinner, focusing on comfort food he has found his customers to love the most, like pot roast, meatloaf and reuben sandwiches.

“It’s a chance for us to serve the community in a different way,” he said.

Regulars can also expect other exciting changes to come to the historic diner. There will also be live music on Saturday nights. The Liszanckies are also working on developing a curbside pickup and an express menu of ten items, guaranteed to be delivered in eight minutes or less.

“All of the working class, we get a half an hour for lunch, that’s it. You have to give them a chance to get their food,” he said.

“We just want to get it out there that we’re not only still here, but we’re growing,” he added. “And we want them to be a part of it. We’re not going anywhere. We love this town.”

rsiford@timesreview.com

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