It's time for a new Bellport.com Photo Contest! This time we want your photos showing off your pets! Photos must be submitted by midnight on Saturday, March 2nd. For this photo contest, we are limiting everyone to one photo submission per person. Happy Shooting!

The winner with the most votes for their photograph will receive a $25 Gift Certificate to Café Castello. Café Castello Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria in Bellport Village is family owned and operated. Their delicious pizza dough is prepared fresh daily and they use only the finest tomatoes and the best herbs and spices when preparing their sauces. All orders are prepared to order and they serve Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

Click here for more information on how to submit a photo.

Pamela Lerner Home & Design has the perfect gifts for your Valentine! Paintings, Photographs and Home Decor, all in addition to our Delectable Jewelry, Gorgeous Silk Scarfs, Handmade Soaps, Designer Bath Items, and more for your Valentine!   Click here for more information.

Riverhead Charter School is a public school of choice, with no tuition, serving families of Kindergarten through eighth grade students on Eastern Long Island. They offer a private school environment in a public school setting. Their mission is to inspire today's learners to become tomorrow's leaders by setting high academic standards, promoting solution-oriented thinking, and embracing the cultural diversity of our community. They are still enrolling for the 2019-2020 school year and have openings in grades K-8.  Click here for more information.

Are you looking to give your backyard that "wow" factor? Designscapes of Long Island can help you do just that! Their custom designed BioDesign, Gunite or Vinyl pools can transform your backyard into the paradise oasis that you've been dreaming of!  Click here for more information.

Did you hear about the new Golf Course Driving Range? No??? Well, as close as I can tell, you weren’t supposed to.  Click here for more information.

New Letters to the Editor have been posted.  Click here for more information.

February is "Children's Dental Health Month!" To better educate the children in our community to the needs of preventive dentistry, Dr. Joseph P Graskemper, The Bellport Village Dentist, is providing a “Kids Helping Kids Special”-- Cleaning, Examination, Fluoride Treatment, and all necessary X-rays for children ages 3 to 12 for less than ˝ the regular fees during February. Click here for more information.

On Wednesday, March 6th, the Town of Brookhaven Women’s Services Division will present the first session of the “Going Places Network funded by Coca-Cola.” This program is designed to help unemployed and under-employed women gain professional skills, accelerate their job search and build confidence through weekly training sessions, one-on-one career coaching and networking in a supportive environment.

Participants will learn strategies for today’s job market; identify transferable job skills; create cover letters that get results, create their best resume; learn about non-traditional job opportunities; learn about LinkedIn and social media; learn everything about the interview process; perform mock interviews and get feedback; work with a mentor and gain job search skills. Participants will also have the opportunity to work one-on-one with career coaches and build a personal network in a small, supportive environment with other women.

The “Going Places Network Funded by Coca-Cola” sessions will be held in the 2nd floor Media Room at Brookhaven Town Hall, One Independence Hill in Farmingville.

The Wednesday session dates are March 6, 13, 20, 27; April 3, 10, 17, 24 and May 1 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Class size is limited, so pre-registration is highly recommended. To learn more or to see if you qualify for this program, please e-mail Brookhaven@dressforsuccess.org or call 631-451-9127.

A new classified ad has been posted for patient advocate services available. Click here for more information.

A new classified ad has been posted for a queen size sleep sofa and love seat for sale. Click here for more information.

New classified ads have been posted for a FREE desktop computer, FREE treadmill and FREE laser printer cartridges. Click here for more information.

No need to wait until Spring... Peter’s on the Green, at the Bellport Country Club, is reopening early this year for the 2019 season! Peter’s will reopen on Thursday, January 31st and everyone is welcome. You don’t have to be a member of the Golf Club, the Country Club, or a Bellport Village Resident to visit Peter’s. You just have to want a great meal prepared and served by some really great people to enjoy your visit.

They are also taking reservations for Valentine's Day Dinner! Click here for more information.

Deborah L. Galligan broker/ owner of Swan Realty Corp would like to welcome Michael Tufano, LSA to the Swan Realty team! Click here for more information.

The South Country Library has released its list of events for January and February. Registration for adult programs is immediate and ongoing unless otherwise noted. Registration for January children's programs starts Wednesday, January 2nd at 9:30am. February children's program registration starts Friday, February 1st at 9:30am. Click here for descriptions of the upcoming programs.

A new classified ad has been posted for a Roland KR4700 Digital Intelligent Piano  for sale. Click here for more information.

In a world of lies and fake news, Bellport.com, now in its 15th year, remains your source for accurate local news and information, but we need your help. Our advertisers are great, but the fact remains that Bellport.com operates at a significant loss every year and is only able to continue because we support it out of our own pockets. Your subscribing for only 10 cents a day would make a big difference.

It’s a shame, but only a tiny number of our readers actually help support Bellport.com financially by becoming Bellport.com Subscribers. It’s time for you to consider stepping up and becoming a Bellport.com Subscriber for 2019 so that we can continue to support our community with news and information. Your help, by subscribing to Bellport.com for only 10 cents a day, that’s only $36.50 for the entire year, can be a big help in keeping Bellport.com going. If you can afford $50 or $100 for the year, that’s great, but if you can only afford $25, that will be appreciated too.

As usual, if you subscribe for at least $36.50 for the year, you’ll receive FREE Classified Ad Services for the entire year, including photos. If you place just one Classified Ad during the year, this service alone will pay for your subscription!

Please CLICK HERE for information on becoming a Bellport.com Subscriber for 2019.

In his continuing series highlighting the many wonderful, but little known, opportunities to get out and enjoy the great outdoors on Long Island, this time, Rich Weissmann takes you for a walk to the breach. We’re sure you’ll enjoy the experience.  Click here for more information.

An award of $10.025 million in State funding has allowed the Suffolk County Department of Health Services to increase the amounts of grants to homeowners who choose to replace their existing cesspools or septic systems with new Innovative/Alternative Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone has announced. As part of an expansion of the County’s own Septic Improvement Program (SIP), homeowners who qualify under guidelines of the State Septic System Replacement Fund may be eligible to receive as much as $20,000 in combined County and State funding, according to the County Executive. The additional funding will make it less expensive for homeowners to voluntarily replace aging and failing cesspools with state-of-the-art technologies that significantly improve treatment, extend system life, and enhance safety.

“As the County continues its historic work to improve water quality, New York State has recognized Suffolk as the leading county statewide in the battle to reduce nitrogen pollution by awarding us 70 percent of the first year’s allocation under the State Septic Replacement Program,” said Bellone. “As I have said many times, replacing cesspools and septic systems is critical if we are to improve water quality, but it will never work unless we can make it affordable for homeowners. The County’s own program was an important step in the right direction, but the addition of this state funding will make it even easier for homeowners to replace their existing system with one designed to better protect the environment.”

Under the County’s Septic Improvement Program, homeowners can qualify for grants of up to $10,000 to replace their systems with new technologies which have been pilot tested and approved for use under the County’s Reclaim Our Water initiative. Under the State’s program approved in 2018, state funding can be added to local grants, making homeowners eligible for as much as $20,000 in combined County and State funding. The average cost of a system installed under the County program since it began is just under $22,000.

“The use of County and State grant funding can save homeowners who must replace their existing systems thousands of dollars, making it much more affordable to upgrade to a new IA system,” said Bellone. “Suffolk County is thankful to Governor Cuomo for his leadership in helping to make this state funding available, and for his strong support of our efforts to improve water quality.”

“Through this grant funding from New York State, Suffolk residents will be able to match the investment and commitment our county has already made to improving water quality,” said Majority Leader Kara Hahn, Chairwoman of the Legislature’s Environment, Planning and Agriculture Committee. “We all want to do right by our environment, but that obligation tends to wain the more significant the burden. With this additional funding, homeowners will have even greater incentive to replace antiquated cesspools and septic systems and find further proof that protecting our water won’t come at a unsustainable cost.”

Suffolk County has created an easy-to-use electronic application process for homeowners who qualify to apply. For more information, visit www.reclaimourwater.info.

We're starting something new in our weekly email blasts... a "Featured Photo of the Week!" Your photo could be featured at the top of one of our weekly email blasts! If you have a photo you'd like us to consider featuring, email it to us. Be sure to sign up for our weekly email blasts to see if your photo has been chosen!

Placing an ad in the Bellport.com Classifieds works! Take a look at two letters we recently received from readers who had posted Classified Ads:

"Thank you for posting a photo of a beagle and our request for a sitter. We received many calls and found a lovely couple in Bellport Village to care for our beagle Molly. Many thanks and you can now remove the posting under pet sitting." - Mary and Tom

"Once again, with the help of bellport.com we have been successful in our efforts. This time we placed an ad for help in caring for our garden. Once again bellport.com made it a successful move. So please discontinue our ad. What would we ever do without you?" Best regards, Elaine

Place your classified ad today! Don't forget- Classified ads are FREE for Bellport.com Subscribers!

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