Huntington Local

TV/55 and the New York State Lottery have named Oakwood kindergarten teacher Linda Cepelak their Educator of the Week. Now entering her nineteenth year in South Huntington, Ms. Cepelak has witnessed the many ways in which technology has changed education. She has always embraced new technology, and as one of the first computer users at Oakwood in the early ‘90s and now as one of the school’s four Smartboard teachers, she continues to use technology’s advantages to make lessons come alive for her kindergarten students. She continually challenges her students to think and problem-solve through interaction and play.

Ms. Cepelak is an example of a “lifelong learner.” She is a teacher-trainer in OASIS and Math, Science and Technology in elementary schools (MSTE), and she has been a lead teacher in our summer literacy program for many years. She is also a turnkey trainer for Star Lab.

An active member of the community, she is a volunteer for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, a swim team coordinator at the Centerport Yacht Club, and a volunteer with the Veterans’ Administration and Peace Corps. Each year she selects a different community service project for her class or for the entire school to participate in, and twice she has organized gift packages for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of Ms. Cepelak’s strongest supporters are parents who have credited her with creating a strong foundation for their children’s success.

On Saturday morning, before an audience of South Huntington youngsters and their families, one of the most beloved of all fairy tales sprung to life on the Walt Whitman Performing Arts Center stage.

Cinderella, with the help of her fairy godmother and the delighted youngsters in the audience, found her handsome prince in a fast-paced musical rendition by Plaza Theatrical Productions.

The play, sponsored by the South Huntington Educational Foundation (SHEF), was one of several fundraisers that enrich and supplement programs for South Huntington students that are not funded by the district’s budget. SHEF is an independent nonprofit foundation that is an integral partnership between the school district and the community.

In the photo above, the stepsisters try on the glass slipper.

The Oakwood Primary Center is taking over the Barnes and Noble store on Rt. 110 in South Huntington on Feb. 8th for their after school "fun"draiser. A percentage of all books and food sold during this time will go to the PTA to benefit the children of Oakwood. Fun activities include a Valentine's Day craft, story time with some of their favorite teachers, stickers, games and prizes. Plus there will be a children's art show and the Oakwood Chorus will sing. It runs between 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Northport Village Trustee Arlene Handel, who has served on the board for five years, has decided the time is right for her to move on and will not seek re-election in March. “I really decided over the holidays,” Handel said in an article by Arlene Gross in The Times of Northport. “With George [Mayor George Doll] in the captain seat, it’s a good time.”

New York State has awarded a $1.5 million grant to the Town of Huntington for its Take Back the Blocks program, which aims to rehabilitate and transform absentee landlord-owned properties into owner-occupied homes with legal accessory apartments. "This year is going to really be the stimulus in terms of moving this project forward," Supervisor Frank Petrone said in a Luann Dallojacono story in The Long Islander.

The marine launch service out of Gold Star Battalion Beach is expected to be awarded to a new company after Town of Huntington council members said a Northport company submitted a higher bid for the contract. If awarded the contract, Seymour's Boatyard will pay the town for use of the dock under a two-year contract. Huntington must accept the highest bid, and Coneys Marine, which ran the service for 14 years, came in under Seymour's bid price. In a story by Mike Koehler in the Record, Fran Evans, spokeswoman for Supervisor Frank Petrone, said Coneys is a “respectable company” and the town had no problems with them during their run.

Huntington’s school board will discuss expanding the town’s dual-language program at a board meeting Monday. The program was launched in 2002 but is offered in only half of the district's six elementary schools. Trustee John Paci, whose children attend Flower Hill, said he wants to extend the program to the entire district. “If it’s a cost issue that we can’t roll it out to other schools, maybe they should be allowed to go to a different school,” he told Arlene Gross in an article in The Times of Huntington.

The Harlem MagicMasters are returning for a rematch against the South Huntington Faculty All-Star basketball team on Friday, Jan. 25. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Walt Whitman High School north gym.

On Monday, January 13, 2008 I attended, along with a group of Huntington business people and government officials, a breakfast seminar to discuss the current and future role of Long Island as the economic engine for New York State.

Dottie Herman, CEO of Prudential Douglas Elliman, with Corporate Headquarters located in Huntington Station, has first-hand knowledge of our area's diminishing residential housing sales and indicated at what may be a buying opportunity in a depressed market.

Democratic Congressman Steve Isreal discussed Long Island's history of economic strides, often setting the pace for the rest of the state, highlighting aerospace, manufacturing, construction and tourism. He stressed the need for the re-zoning of many Long Island areas, encouraged businesses and communities to add needed housing, and for local townships to revitalize depressed areas.

Jeffery Appel of Preferred Empire Mortgages reflected on mortgage defaults and related losses at some of the nation's largest financial institutions. Friday's agreement for Bank of America Corp. to buy Countrywide Financial Corp. "is a very good thing for the market." It signals confidence in a renewed housing market from what many feel is the worse time they have seen in the last 30 years.

For the most part I am encouraged by what I heard. If history repeats itself, Long Island may once again prove to be the engine to pull the rest of the State.

The Whitman High School Lamplighters and the Junior class of 07-08 will are presenting a “Whitman Idol Contest” on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Walt Whitman Performing Arts Center.

Finalist performers in three age categories who auditioned earlier will compete for a $100 cash prize. The finalists were notified Friday, and the age groups are:

Stormy relations have led to the firing of the Village of Asharoken’s stormwater commissioner, who says he didn’t see the dismissal coming. “I was in shock,” said Dr. Avrum H. Golub, whose five-year tenure was voluntary. Golub and the Board of Trustees argued over the scope of changes necessary to bring the village into compliance with new environmental standards. A central issue was a series of reports that Golub filed, which apparently didn’t sit well with Mayor William Kelly, who named Golub to the post in 2003 but described his appointee’s reports as “draconian” in an article by Kevin Mulryan in the Times of Northport.

Despite what you may have heard, nice guys don’t always finish last. Retired New York Islander Clark Gillies, a member of the NHL Hall of Fame and a Dix Hills resident, continues to score with locals. He recently pledged to give the Huntington Hospital $225,000 for the new Pediatric Emergency Care Center. Gillies' recent donation comes on the coattails of another, larger contribution to the hospital. In 2006, he donated $1 million to build a pediatric care center, Mike Koehler reports in a story in the Half Hollow Hills newspaper.

And the Times of Huntington reports that students in the Huntington and South Huntington school districts have gotten so used to the presence of Suffolk County Police Officer Drew Fiorillo that they notice — and speak up — when he's not around. "They went from 'Why is the police in my school?' to 'Why isn’t he there?' " Fiorillo joked in a story by Arlene Gross in The Times of Huntington.

Huntington Seniornet @ FSL announces its new Winter 2008 Semester starting on Jan. 8. There are a few openings available for classes starting in February.

Exciting computer courses and workshops for seniors where “seniors teaching seniors" is our motto.

Come join other seniors as learning takes place in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere featuring small classes and very low cost.

For information, call 631-427-3700 ext. 268, or visit our website at www.seniornethuntington.org.

Officer Drew Fiorello, liaison officer between Walt Whitman High School and the Second Precinct of the Suffolk County Police Department, will address parents and community members at 8 p.m. Tuesday in the Walt Whitman High School library. Fiorello will give a short presentation on some issues that affect older teens: the new Suffolk County social hosting law ( a ban on serving alcohol to teens in the home); teen driving (permit and license requirements); what parents should do if a teen gets involved in the court system, and parental responsibility. This will be followed by a short question and answer session. All are welcome to attend.

BY LIDA RUSSO
HuntingtonLocal

The Little Shelter Animal Adoption Center in Huntington is in need of a Medical Center. After 80 years, the kennel and cattery could use some renovations as well.

ZooToo.com is a new web site for animal lovers. ZooToo's CEO has launched a competition to help a deserving animal shelter win a million dollar makeover. You can help Little Shelter win.

Visit www.zootoo.com/makeover/

Click on "register" in the upper right corner.
Indicate the zip code 11743 and click Little Shelter as preferred. Just by registering Little Shelter earns points.
Earn more points by:
Inviting your friends and family to join
Reviewing products
Commenting on new stories
Uploading photos of your pets

A shelter makeover will enable Little Shelter to help more of our dog and cat friends.
Remember to include Little Shelter's account CODE: MOH180
Contest ends March 31, 2008

Little Shelter is one of Long Island's oldest no-kill shelters and the only animal organization outside of NYC that is a member of the Mayor's Allicance.

Thinking of adoption, or just want to visit, the Little Shelter is located at 33 Warner Road, Huntington, New York. Telephone: 631-368-8770.

Dr. Eikenaar-Klang, Whitman’s Advisor for the French Honor Society, describes an ancient French tradition dating back to the Middle Ages of burning a log from Christmas Eve until New Year’s Day.

It is said that farmers then used part of the log to attract a good harvest for the year.

Today, the tradition still lives on. But in modern times the log burning has evolved into the tradition of making a traditional log-shaped cake called the bûche de Noël, or Christmas log.

The log cake is served alongside many other pastries during Le Réveillon, a late supper held after midnight mass on Christmas Eve.

This tradition started as a simple meal of biscuits and a hot drink but eventually evolved into a grand feast. The meals vary from region to region but are all equally lavish.

The Whitman French Honor Society reenacted the tradition this holiday season, and a panel of hungry judges conferred and awarded the 2007 bûche de Noël first-place award to freshman Ammie Tamano, shown above with Dr. Eikenaar-Klang

When the Suffolk County Music Educators Association holds its annual Jazz Day at Sayville High School on Saturday, January 19, there will be two Walt Whitman musicians anchoring the ensemble. Robert Deitz, a senior playing drum set, and Donovan Dukes, a junior trumpeter, have been named to the All-County Jazz Ensemble.

For Deitz, getting started on drums happened early. “I was in the third grade when I figured out that this was what I wanted to do,” he says. “In the seventh grade I joined the Stimson Jazz Cats, playing drum set. While I enjoy all styles of music, jazz was it for me.”

Dukes’s experience was similar. “I started playing trumpet in sixth grade while at Silas Wood, and once I joined the Jazz Cats at Stimson, my interest in jazz took off,” he says. “I would encourage students interested in music to develop their own uniqueness with their instrument,” he adds. For Dukes, a junior at Whitman, another year will give him time to focus on his music and studies, but for Deitz, a senior, his heart is set on continuing his music education after high school. He hopes to attend The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City. “One of my first music instructors once told me to remember the 3 Ps in music: patience, practice, and positivity,” says Deitz. “With those three, you can go anywhere.”