Huntington Local

Throughout his half-century as a newspaper editor, Evan Jenkins was known for his mastery of language and grammar, and, most of all, for his absolute integrity.

Jenkins, 72, a former Newsday and New York Times editor who died of cancer yesterday in his Huntington home, was “adament about getting it right,” said John Van Doorn, a former editor who worked with Jenkins on both papers. “No one, no advertisers, nothing could influence him except proper news judgment.”

At the same time, Van Doorn said, “he was the gentlest man, kind, courteous. I never heard him raise his voice in the 40 years I knew him.”

Meticulous in word interpretation, Jenkins put it all together in a book called “That or Which, and Why: A Usage Guide for Thoughtful Writers and Editors,” which he wrote in later years when he was the grammar arbiter at the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University.

“The book is droll, funny and very accurate, which sums up his personality,” said Thomas Collins of Northport, a retired Newsday editor and Washington Bureau Chief. At the copy desk, Jenkins was “straight with the facts, as objective as could be achieved,” Collins said. Outside of the newsroom, “he was a lot of fun.”

Van Doorn recalled how Jenkins would sing at holiday parties “usually the Irish songs in a beautiful tenor voice. He was also a terrific third baseman on our softball teams and a great poker player.

Jenkins, who joined Newsday in 1961, was working as a copy editor when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. “Through every crisis, Evan was very calm. He kept everyone calm and everyone working,” said Van Doorn, now a columnist for the North County Times in the San Diego, Calif., area.

Jenkins was “a journalist’s journalist. He could take the most complex subject and turn it into clear, readable copy,” said Stanley Green of Bay Shore, a retired Newsday editor. “He was low-key and very diplomatic. No one ever got mad at Evan Jenkins.”

Jenkins left Newsday for the New York Times in 1966, starting as a national education correspondent, serving on the national and foreign desks and becoming an assistant news editor in 1975. He supervised the Times’s training program for copy editors, and noted editorial gaffes in the paper’s “Winners and Sinners” newsletter.

He left the Times in 1991, briefly edited the Racing Times and then went to the Columbia graduate school where until recently he wrote a column on language usage for the Columbia Journalism Review. He was one of “the greatest grammarians I ever met,” said Mike Dorman, author and former Newsday correspondent.

Over the years Jenkins continued his friendships with Newsday colleagues. Haig Chekanian, a Smithtown attorney and former reporter who met Jenkins socially after he left the paper, said, “He enriched the lives of everyone he met.”

Born in Brooklyn, Jenkins grew up in Greenwich, Conn., and graduated from Staples High School in Westport. He married his high school sweetheart, Diane, in 1955, and the couple lived in former GI barracks on the Wesleyan University campus, in Middletownn, Conn., where he graduated in 1957. He worked as a reporter for the Worcester Telegram and Gazette before coming to Newsday.

The couple has lived in Huntington since 1963. “We had a lot of fun together,” Diane Jenkins said.

“He was a terrific father. He reached out to me in ways that I sometimes didn’t realize,” said their son, Peter, of New London, Conn. Besides his wife and son, Jenkins is survived by two other sons, John of Westfield, N.J., and David of Warren, Conn., and a daughter, Anne of Rocky Point.

He was cremated and a memorial will be private.

By Emerson Clarridge

Concetta Borgia, an 81-year-old woman who lives at a Melville nursing home, sent a letter to the Suffolk Board of Elections on Oct. 18 saying she no longer wanted to vote, according to board records.

Then, two weeks later, a completed ballot with Borgia’s signature arrived at board headquarters in Yaphank.

“It makes this ballot suspect,” said lawyer David Reilly Friday at a contentious court hearing during which several dozen ballots in the the Nov. 6 election were challenged.

In most cases, Reilly argued to New York Supreme Court Justice Emily Pines that signatures that appeared on absentee ballots did not match signatures on voter registration cards.

The outcome of the court case is significant because of the narrow margin of victory for a seat on the Huntington Town Board. Incumbent Glenda Jackson, a Democrat, holds a 98-vote lead over challenger Bill Dowler, a Republican. But the vote count is unofficial and will not be final until Pines rules on the case. The hearing was still underway late Friday.

Reilly, who represents the Huntington Republican Committee, spent much of the afternoon court session contesting signatures on ballots.

“We object to the signature on the envelope not being the signature that’s on file and therefore the envelope should not be opened,” Reilly said of an absentee ballot cast by Frederick DeJong.

Neil Tiger, a lawyer representing Jackson, argued that many of the contested ballots were cast by people with disabilities, and said that explained any signature that did not match. DeJong, for example, had suffered a stroke according to his application for the absentee ballot, Tiger said.

“When people object to other people voting, that is an attempt to disenfranchise them,” Tiger said during the sometimes testy hearing. The comment drew a rebuke from Reilly who objected to the notion that he was trying to disenfranchise anyone.

“I thought we weren’t going to get personal,” Tiger said.

By Joy Vestal

Commack

Marina and Bobby Van in Bridgehampton in 1977. Newsday File Photo

By Laura Rivera
laura.rivera@newsday.com

Bobby Van, the eponymous founder of the Bridgehampton bar that became a hub for a generation of literati, died Tuesday in Huntington, his family said. He was 64.

Van, a pianist who entertained artists and writers like Truman Capote and Willie Morris in the bar and restaurant he opened in 1969, had hit upon hard times in recent years, working as a taxi driver and undergoing dialysis for a failing kidney, said Marina Van, his ex-wife.

He died of a staph infection he contracted at a hospital, his ex-wife said.

Downplaying reports of Van's hard-partying ways, she described him as a "social drinker" and said he did not use cocaine. According to her, Van had a kidney removed in the early 1970s due to a birth defect.

During the 1970s, Bobby Van built a base of loyal patrons from the painters, authors, and intellectuals who lived and worked around the Hamptons. Through a haze of smoke and light cast from Tiffany lamps, Marina recalled, Van played standards by George Gershwin and Cole Porter, as well as the oft-requested "Mountain Greenery."

"He was a great, great pianist -- that was the charm of the restaurant and the bar," Marina, of Sag Harbor, said. "I got to meet people I never would have known, like Truman Capote and Irwin Shaw and Willie Morris and James Jones, all because of Bobby and this wonderful little gin mill he brought together."

The couple, who married in 1975, sold the business in 1985 and divorced shortly thereafter, she said. It subsequently became the top-rated Bobby Van's Steakhouse, with restaurants in Manhattan and Washington, DC.

Van, a graduate of Juilliard, grew up in Garden City.

He is survived by two brothers, Richard and David Vanvelsor, and many nieces and nephews.

A private funeral for Van will be held this week, and a memorial service is planned for next spring.

By Emerson Clarridge

A New York Supreme Court justice responsible for deciding the outcome of a disputed Huntington Town Board election is presiding this morning over a makeshift court room that features a cold concrete floor and exposed pipes hanging from the ceiling.

Justice Emily Pines is hearing arguments from lawyers representing incumbent Democrat Glenda Jackson, who — unofficially — appears to have beaten Republican challenger Bill Dowler by 98 votes for a seat on the town board.

But Dowler is challenging the validity of 118 of the ballots. He argues that signatures on envelopes containing absentee ballots don’t match signatures on voter registration cards.
About a dozen attorneys are gathered in a back room at the Suffolk County Board of Elections office in Yaphank, where Pines is expected to review the signatures and issue a ruling.

Also at issue are the results from a voting matching in the West Hills-Cold Spring Harbor area, where the count exceeds the number of signatures on a tally sheet by 40 votes.

It was not clear whether a decision will be issued today and either of the questions. Pines indicated she may want to prepare a written ruling. We'll try to update this later today.

By Michael R. Ebert
michael.ebert@newsday.com

For Adam Strube of Huntington, Christmas will be whiter than usual this year.

Strube, a baritone and a 28-year-old senior at Ithaca College’s School of Music, has been invited to perform holiday music as a soloist at the White House next Saturday.

For Strube, in right foreground of photo, the opportunity is evidence that he made the right decision to stick with music after holding multiple jobs as a carpenter, bank teller, waiter and restaurant manager.

“It’s been a long, winding road,” said Strube, who was 25 when he was accepted to the School of Music in 2004. “I’m not a traditional student by any stretch of the term.”

Strube’s story began in 1997 when he graduated from Commack High School and enrolled in Suffolk Community College. Shortly thereafter, his grades suffered due to his parents’ divorce and he was forced to find a new home and generate income to pay his bills.

By 2001, the resolute Strube – who made a decision to pursue Music Education – chose to audition at Ithaca. Unfortunately, he neglected to submit his application on time.

“I messed up,” said Strube, who was accepted to the School of Music three years later. “The whole time, I knew I would’ve been accepted if I only did the application correctly. I suppose I could’ve fought it, but looking back it was all part of the learning process.”

Since being accepted, Strube switched his major to Music Performance and joined the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity, the brotherhood of 1981 graduate and White House employee Carl Ruck. Incidentally, Ruck was playing a compact disc of the Ithaca College Choir’s 2005 tour at the Social Security Office earlier this year when a co-worker noticed Strube’s voice and suggested he audition for the White House gig.

The Huntington native was selected for the honor this month.

“I nearly jumped out of my socks when I got the phone call,” admitted Strube, who calls the upcoming performance the “absolute pinnacle” of his music career so far. “Being able to put the White House on my resume is a huge thing.”

During the solo show, Strube – and a handful of other singers around the country – will be stationed in separate rooms of the White House. Ruck will accompany Strube on the piano with songs such as “Let It Snow” and “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.”

“If you’re a good bass singer, you have to sing ‘You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,’” said Strube, who said he has “no idea” whether any high-ranking government officials – particularly President George Bush – will be in attendance on Dec. 8.

Strube is also a member of the Evergreen Choir, an a capella group that performs throughout New York and Long Island. He is scheduled to graduate in May.

By Lynn Petry
lynn.petry@newsday.com

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Huntington Men’s Chorus performed at The Tilles Center in 1995, sharing the stage with the Glenn Miller Band. The chorus put together a special program that night, featuring songs that were famous during the war years, and at the conclusion of the evening they presented a medley of armed services songs and asked the members of the audience who where in those ranks to stand up.

“It was a touching and memorable moment,” says Gabe Abbinanti a member of the chorus for more than 15 years, “it was one of our many highlights,” he says,“along with singing at Carnegie Hall.”

The chorus, modeled along the lines of the acclaimed University Glee Club in New York City, is 59 years strong and made up of local vocalists who volunteer their time and talent to make up a group of one voice with more than 85 members.

Tomorrow, the all-male chorus performs their Fall/Winter Holiday Concert featuring the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s “Messiah.” As an added attraction, the Huntington High School Chorus will join them on this number and then perform a short program of their own.

Show time is 8 p.m. at Huntington High School on Oakwood and McKay Roads. Along with holiday music, the chorus will pay tribute to the 50th anniversary of the musical “West Side Story” by performing such favorites as “Maria,” and “Somewhere.”

For tickets, contact the Huntington Arts Council at 213 Main St. in Huntington at 631-271-8423 or Abbinanti, a member of the board of directors for the chorus at 516-799-4705. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students. If you want to attend the concert, the Arts Council will be open from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. tomorrow for ticket sales.

The chorus also performs at the Huntington Summer Arts Festival each year at Heckscher Park, for details logon to www.huntingtonarts.org or www.huntingtonmenschorus.com.

Today

Dix Hills

By Joy Vestal

Commack

Four of the ten Walt Whitman High School students representing the South Huntington School District came home first-place winners recently in the fifth annual Young Professionals Chamber of Commerce Business Leadership Competition Farmingdale State College, the district annouced today.

More than 150 high school students from various districts competed in several categories, including e-commerce, sports management, graphic design, entrepreneurship, advertising, real estate, and job interview.

The first place winners from Walt Whitmen were:

Judge Emily Pines is expected to convene a hearing at the Suffolk Board of Elections tomorrow to hear challenges by both the Republican and Democratic parties in Huntington that have held up certification of the winners for town board in this month’s election. Incumbent Glenda Jackson, a Democrat, is ahead of Republican challenger Bill Dowler by 98 votes in the unofficial count. For the full story by Deborah Morris, click here.

Compiled by Lynn Petry
lynn.petry@newsday.com
The Huntington Zoning Board of Appeals meets tonight at 6 to consider these applications:

East Northport

By Christina Hernandez
christina.hernandez@newsday.com

A boy with autism stood before dozens of his peers Wednesday morning in the cafeteria at Forest Park Elementary School in Dix Hills, holding a microphone.

He led the group in a sing-a-long of "It's a Small World" while Brittany Maier, an 18-year-old from Huntington who is blind and has autism, along with a brain impairment, swayed back and forth, grinning as she played the cheery notes on a keyboard.

Maier, who performs engagements at schools and other events about twice a week, can play on the piano just about any song she's heard, including "Piano Man" and "Ave Maria," but she barely speaks.

"To her, music is a language," said her mother Tammy, who added that Brittany has performed for Mayor Michael Bloomberg and at Shea Stadium.

Brittany Maier is on the lower functioning end of the autistic spectrum, her mother said, but the fact that she is an accomplished pianist makes her a savant.

"We all have strengths and weaknesses," said assistant principal Sally Curto, in an interview. "Even with our weaknesses, we can still follow our dreams."

Forest Park is part of the Half Hollow Hills Central School District, which educates the most students, 169, with autism of any Long Island district.

By Joy Vestal

Commack

A homeless man was arrested in Manhattan yesterday and charged with two burglaries that occurred on April 30 in East Northport, Suffolk police announced this afternoon.

They said John Ryan, 28, and an accomplice kicked in the front doors of homes on Normandy Drive and Elton Street, taking a television, video games, laptop computers, cameras and jewelry.

Ryan’s accomplice is currently in an upstate jail and will be arrested at a later date for this incident, according to police, who said some proceeds of the burglaries were recovered.

Ryan was charged with two counts of burglary in the second degree and is to be held over night at the Second Precinct for arraignment at First District Court on Thursday.

The South Huntington Council of PTAs has raised $2,500 for scholarships with its fall clothing drive. The drive collected 18,812 pounds of clothing.

The council awards 31 scholarships of $750 each to graduating seniors in June.

Scholarships are awarded for academic achievement, arts, sports, special education, citizenship and vocational work.

Another clothing drive is planned for the spring, according to Lynn Judd, president of the Walt Whitman High School PTA.

The PTA Council is also selling holiday gift cards to benefit the scholarship program. More information is available at http://www.shufsd.org/district/PTA-schools/pta2.html.

SeniorNet, a volunteer-based not-for-profit that provides computer training to those aged 50 and above, is holding an Open House on Friday, Dec. 7 and again on Dec. 14 from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. in the board room of the Family Service League, 790 Park Ave., Huntington (200 yards north of Pulaski Road).

Visitors are welcome to tour the modern computer lab, preview winter 2008 courses and meet instructors and coaches. Refreshments will be served. Winter classes begin on Jan. 7, 2008, at the Don Weidman Computer Learning Center.

The winter program includes courses in computer basics, word processing, introduction to Windows XP and VISTA, Internet and e-mail, digital photography, computer graphics and many more. Course registration is available by mail, in person at the SeniorNet office or at the open house. For details, call 631-427-3700, ext. 268. Additional information available on the organization's Web site, www.seniornet.org/usa/huntington.

Army Pvt. Ximena N. Castillo has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C., the Defense Department announced today.

She is the daughter of Silvia Caceres of Lloyd Lane, Huntington.

During the nine weeks of training, according to the department, "the soldier studied the Army mission, history, tradition and core values, physical fitness, and received instruction and practice in basic combat skills, military weapons, chemical warfare and bayonet training, drill and ceremony, marching, rifle marksmanship, armed and unarmed combat, map reading, field tactics, military courtesy, military justice system, basic first aid, foot marches, and field training exercises."

By Joy Vestal

East Northport

Ed Tierney watching some of the wild turkeys around Harbor View Avenue.

The mystery surrounding several turkeys that turned up in Greenlawn on Thanksgiving Day has been solved -- they were being raised by a neighbor. For the story, click here.

Newsday Photo by Jim Peppler

The Suffolk County Police Department's Emergency Service Unit (ESU) attended a recent meeting of the Town of Huntington Fire Chiefs Council held at the Halesite Fire Department. Officers from ESU brought their large ES-10 truck for an orientation so the chiefs could see firsthand the equipment they carry and speak to the officers. The fire departments and police ESU frequently work together at accident scenes, hazardous materials incidents and technical rescues, and this meeting familiarized the two agencies with each others' operations. The fire chiefs council respresents the fire departments and EMS agencies in the Town of Huntington.

Photos by Steve Silverman, Town of Huntington Fire Chiefs Council

By Tim Healy
tim.healy@newsday.com

The William Davey House project is on hold for now.

Earlier this year, the owners of the house, at 110 Mount Misery Road in West Hills, applied to the town for designation of the building as a Huntington historic landmark.

Construction of the house was begun in 1937 for William N. Davey, who retired in 1947 as chairman of Johnson & Higgins, an insurance brokerage firm on Wall Street. The house’s claim to fame was that it was designed by Bradley Delehanty, a prolific estate architect who designed 56 houses on Long Island.

The Huntington Historic Preservation Commission, which researched the house and recommended on Oct. 1 that historic designation be granted, wrote that “The Davey House is a good example of the last stages of monumental country house construction but is unusual for its location in West Hills, which was not typically the location for such houses.”

Earlier this month, however, the current owners, Mr. and Mrs. Mario J. Fracassa, withdrew their application during a brief public hearing in Town Hall. Mario Fracassa, a doctor, said recently he wanted to “reconsider and let me see what my options are, because I haven’t explored the options as to, once it’s done, what do you have to do if you want to put stucco on walls or do some changes.”

“I really don’t know what is involved or what the ramifications are,” Fracassa said after the withdrawal. “I was trying to be fair on all sides.”

The house changed hands several times between Davey and the Fracassa, who bought the house in 1989. At that point, according to the preservation commission, the house had been vacant for seven years and had fallen victim to hurricanes and vandals. Fracassa restored the house, using as much original materials as possible, and says he is committed to preserving the house.

“It would be a sin to have that house come down,” he said. “and I intend to live there as long as I can.”

During its research, the commission found the house listed in a Long Island architectural book and described as:

“. . . an ambitious composition that incorporates a central, two-story block with flanking wings of one story. Four Doric columns support a colossal pediment above the main entry. Although Delehanty drew upon Greek Revival designs for inspiration, the result is innovative in its juxtaposition of structural masses and roof lines.”

So, what is it like to live in such a house?

“I like it,” Fracassa said.

By Joy Vestal

Commack

By Deborah S. Morris
deborah.morris@newsday.com

The League of Women Voters of Suffolk County and Huntington are holding an open forum, “Economic Impact of Hispanic Immigration on Long Island,” based on a study done by Adelphi University.

The session will be held Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., at the Dolan Family Health Center, Murcott Conference Room, 284 Pulaski Road, Greenlawn.

The guest speaker will be Luis Valenzuela, Executive Director of the Long Island Immigration Alliance (LIIA) and Adjunct Professor of Social Work, Adelphi University.

The report was commissioned by the Hagedorn Foundation and covers the demographics of the Long Island Hispanic population, entrepreneurship, and economic impact. Call the League of Women Voters at 631-421-5164 for additional information.

By John Valenti
john.valenti@newsday.com

A pedestrian, apparently crossing against the signal, was struck and killed by a westbound Long Island Rail Road train at the Lake Avenue crossing in Huntington on Monday, railroad officials confirmed.

The pedestrian, identified so far only as being male, was struck by the 11:37 a.m. train from Port Jefferson to Hicksville. The accident occurred at approximately 12:25 p.m.

Service on the branch has been temporarily suspended, railroad officials said.

The train involved in the accident is being held at Huntington. The 1:05 p.m. eastbound train from Hicksville to Port Jefferson will likely be cancelled.

Railroad spokeswoman Susan McGowan said that Lake Road is the second grade-level crossing east of Huntington — and that the crossing gates were down at the time of the accident. An investigation is being conducted by Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police, McGowan said.

It is unclear at this time how long service will remain suspended on the branch.

By Lynn Petry
lynn.petry@newsday.com

We all know that Santa eats cookies and milk for a late-night snack, but what does he have for brunch?

You can find out at the Huntington Y’s annual “Brunch with Santa” to be held from 1 till 3 p.m. on Dec. 8.

According to the Y’s executive director, Eileen Knauer, you’ll find bagels, muffins, fruit, juice, coffee and tea along with activity stations offering arts and crafts, storytelling and music for the childen.

Knauer adds that, “the gym will be transformed into a winter wonderland where visitors can enjoy the holidays, family style.” Along with the stations, the YMCA dance center will also be featured in a holiday-themed performance.

Visitors are encouraged to take photos and the children will receive a gift bag from Santa and a chance to tell him what’s on their wish lists.

Admission is $7 per person and reservations are encouraged by calling, 631-421-4242.

Bob Van Stry, head road captain for the "Lighthouse, Harley Owners group" is dressed as Santa as he prepares to lead a bike rally in Huntington to deliver toys to children at the Sagamore Children's Center in Dix Hills this afternoon. The group biked four miles from the Huntington VFW to the center, bringing more than a hundred gifts - paid for out of their own pocket - including handheld electronic video games, footballs, dolls and action figures.

Newsday Photo / Thomas A. Ferrara

Christopher's sister Katie; mother, Janet; brother, Timothy (behind Janet); Katie's twin Meghan; and Christopher's father, Tim yesterday. Newsday Photo / Julia Gaines

By Jennifer Sinco Kelleher
jennifer.kelleh@newsday.com

Whenever Janet Scherer gazes down Madsen Lane, she can picture her four children playing there years ago, chasing soccer balls and riding bicycles.

Now, those memories officially reside on Cpl. Christopher G. Scherer Way, renamed yesterday in honor of her son, who was killed on July 21 when he was shot by a sniper in Iraq.

“It was a magical place of endless hockey and soccer games. More bicycles than one could count,” Scherer said as she stood before more than 100 people attending the re-naming ceremony on the idyllic tree-lined street.

Moments later, she looked up at a pole bearing the street name for Madsen Lane with a covered sign above it. She watched as her surviving children tugged on a string and pulled off a paper sheath, revealing a new white-and-green sign accented with an American flag and spelling out the 21-year-old Marine’s name.

“There are mixed feelings among people during a ceremony like this,” Tim Scherer, Christopher’s father, told the crowd, which included local elected officials, judges, mothers of other slain soldiers and members of Boy Scout Troop 52, of which Christopher had been a member.

Tim Scherer said sadness can be combined with a sense of celebration for his son’s life and gratitude toward those in the armed services.

Those varied feelings were punctuated with the solemn moan of bagpipes and chuckles as his father recounted Christopher’s sense of humor — best during times of stress — and the way he could mimic characters from television shows and movies.

Tim Scherer reminded his listeners, who stood for more than an hour in the cold, that no matter the temperature, there are soldiers who are fighting in worse conditions.
Afterward, everyone headed down Cpl. Christopher G. Scherer Way toward the blue house with maroon trim where he grew up. Tents were set up in front of the house, and hot dogs, chips and hot chocolate were served.

A band played. Friends sold $25 T-shirts designed for Christopher using the Guinness logo of his favorite beer. Proceeds will go to scholarships for high schoolers who exemplify loyalty and to a local fund, “Leave No Marine Behind,” that provides socks and other personal items requested by members of Christopher’s unit.

Matthew Adams, 21, who was friends with Christopher since they met in kindergarten at Pulaski Road Elementary School, said he envisioned his friend looking down at the festivities and calling the day “brilliant,” a word he often used.

The music stopped briefly as Tim Scherer, with the help of some Boy Scouts, raised the flag that has flown in front of the house since Christopher went off to boot camp.

With word of his death, the flag was lowered to half-staff and had been there since. Yesterday, it was hoisted to its full height.