The
Boys & Girls Club of the Bellport Area has announced the appointment
of their new Executive Director, Ms. Kim Livingston, LMSW. Ms.
Livingston will be starting her new position on June 1, 2022.
Ms. Livingston earned her Bachelor's degree in Human Relations
from St. Joseph’s College and a Masters degree in Social Work from
Stony Brook University. She has spent her career working with
children and families, developing and supervising housing programs
for homeless and disabled youth across Long Island, most recently as
Assistant Vice President of Residential Services for the Family and
Children’s Association in Garden City. She is a graduate of Bellport
High School and she lives in Brookhaven Hamlet. She is also the
mother of a current student in the Bellport Middle School. We’re
sure Ms. Livingston will be a wonderful addition to the Boys & Girls
Club program.
Frank
C. Trotta, Publisher of Fire News, announced the promotion of Tim
Edwards as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Fire News. Tim has been
with Fire News since 2000 serving as Vice President/Executive
Editor. In his new capacity Mr. Edwards will oversee the daily
operation of Fire News, which includes 12 editions of the
publication serving 15 states, in addition to its website and social
media platforms.
Mr. Trotta stated “Tim has overseen and
contributed immensely to the growth of Fire News and our expansion
to serve the Fire and EMS community. This promotion is well-deserved
and we are happy to support and assist Tim as he takes on these new
responsibilities."
The BVPF, Bellport Village Program Fund, has come through with two new pieces of playground equipment for Mothers Beach. They hired the same company that provided the new playground equipment you’ve probably seen down at the Village Marina and it’s awesome! The BVPF raises money for these kinds of projects all on their own, at no expense to Village taxpayers and to the benefit of the residents, and specifically the children, of Bellport Village. If you can, the next time you see the BVPF “passing the hat” to raise some money for a new project, dig a little deeper to help out. It’s for a good cause.
We are very lucky to have some very special people living in
Bellport. One of those people, Joseph Hendrie, just celebrated his
97th birthday.
Joe, and his late wife Elaine, are two of the
nicest people you’ll ever meet. We’ve known them for over 30 years
and speaking to Joe, you’d never guess how special he really is.
Joe was born on March 18, 1925. He served as Chairman of the
Department of Applied Science at Brookhaven National Laboratory and
then in 1977, President Jimmy Carter named Joe as the new Chairman
of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the NRC. Joe was elected
a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 1976 for his
contributions to both physics and engineering of research reactors
and to the safety of large power reactors. Later he served as
President of the American Nuclear Society. Like we said, a very
special person.
If you see Joe cruising around the dock, give
him a wave and wish him many more birthdays to come.
On Wednesday, March 30, 2022, a group of Bellport, Brookhaven Hamlet
and East Patchogue residents gathered on the “Village Green” in
Bellport to express their support for the Ukrainian people. Late
last week, President Zelensky made an at-large plea for as many
people as possible to take a picture of themselves with something
Ukrainian--the yellow and blue colors of Ukraine or any other item
that they might have. Colleen Herd, shown below, took up the
challenge of producing as many Ukrainian flags as possible for this
show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people.
One of the
organizers of the gathering put it this way... “Likely you are as
shocked and sickened by the brutal carnage reported in the news as I
am. The Ukrainians have shown great courage and skill in holding off
the Russians. Voicing our support will provide much needed
encouragement to the people of Ukraine who are fighting for
themselves but also for freedom loving people everywhere.”
Slava Ukraini, "Glory to Ukraine!"
It has been almost 9 1/2 years since superstorm Sandy created the breach on Fire Island. Charlie Flagg sent us his latest report about the new inlet, which features a look at how the breach has changed over this time and where it is now. Click here for more information.
I
was recently contacted by Jane Love, President of the FirePlace
Literary Club, asking me to speak to the members of the club about
Bellport.com and how we came to be 19 years ago. I was flattered by
Jane’s request and said I’d be glad to; as the road to Bellport.com
is a long and strange one that began in 1995. I thought the members
of the club would find it interesting.
I also wanted to include The FirePlace Literary Club in our “Local Organizations” section so I asked Jane to write a little something for us explaining what The FirePlace Literary Club is all about and I also asked Laurie Fosmire to take a few photos for us to use here. Here’s what Jane Love (pictured left) had to say about the club...
“Fireplace Literary Club goes back to May 18, 1912, when a small group of women met at Mrs. Thomas Morrrow’s home on Beaver Dam Road to discuss the idea of some kind of club for the women in Brookhaven Village. On June 5, 1912, 22 charter members voted to name the club the FirePlace Library Club—drawing on the original name of the area. Their purpose was to have a library. In 1913 the club drew up a constitution under a new name The Fire Place Literary Club—and it has been active since then. FIREPLACE IS NOT A BOOK CLUB! Our meetings are as varied as the people who attend. This year, we have Scot Allan from the Gateway, Terry Tuthill, Editor of the Advance, A Treasure Hunt at the Bellport Brookhaven Historical Society, Greg Thorvaldsen, a woodworker who makes beautiful projects from local fallen trees, Ira Hayes on opera and Steve Kuhn, the Life of a Clammer on the Great South Bay. Meetings are from March to June, then September to December. Everyone is welcome. Information: 631-286-1136”
We'd like to thank Jan Shannon for sharing her amazing photo with us. Jan took this photo at Smith Point, while looking West to Ho Hum Beach and the Pavilion.
On March 6th, former Fire Commissioner, Rich Terwilliger, was honored for his many years of dedicated service to the Suffolk County Fire District Officers Association and the Bellport Fire Department. The 2021 “Presidents Award” was presented to Rich at the Suffolk County Fire District Officers’ Association Annual Dinner. In addition to being a 50 year member of the Bellport Fire Department, Rich has also served as a Commissioner of the Fire District for 23 years. Presenting the Award is Joe Bedalia (L), President of the Association, and (R), Assemblyman Joe DeStefano. Congratulations, Rich!
It may still be winter, but that doesn’t mean that the BBHS, the
Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society, has slowed down with their
wonderful series of special, evening presentations.
On
Saturday, March 5th, Victoria Newhouse gave a presentation with
excerpts from her new book, Parks of The 21st Century,
Reinventing Landscapes, Reclaimed Territories. The two hour
program was held at the BBHS facility on Bell Street in Bellport
Village and included a reception and book signing. We’d like to
thank Alun Davies for being our photographer on the spot.
On February 28th, Councilman Michael Loguercio attended the Rotary Club of Bellport’s monthly meeting and presented Club President, Lorraine Mazza Kuehn, with the Rotary’s highest award: the Paul Harris Fellowship award. The award acknowledges individuals who contribute, or who have contributions made in their name, of $1,000 to the Rotary Foundation. Rotary established the award in 1957 to encourage, and show appreciation for, substantial contributions to what was then the Foundation’s only program, Rotary Foundation Fellowships for Advanced Study, the precursor to Ambassadorial Scholarships.
On Friday, February 25, 2022, Nick Gagliardi and his wife Josephine,
the owners of Cafe Castello in Bellport Village, were awarded the
New York State Senate 2021 Empire Award by State Senator Alexis Weik,
for the many contributions they’ve made to our community over the
past ten years. Whether it was a local organization, our local
schools, or especially young children, who needed some help and
support, Nick and Josephine were always there for them. As the award
says, “In recognition of outstanding contributions and dedication to
the growth, prosperity and betterment of their community and New
York State.”
Nick and Josephine deserve every bit of this
recognition and it’s a pleasure to have them as members of our
community.
New York State Senate 2021 Empire Award
honoring
Cafe Castello
In recognition of outstanding contributions and dedication to the
growth,
prosperity and betterment of their community and New York
State
presented by
Senator Alexis Weik
3rd Senate District
Thank you, Kathy Ljungqvist for sending us the above photo taken from your den after yesterday's blizzard! It's our Featured Photo of the week!
Kathy wasn't the only one who sent us photos of the snow. Here are some others that we received:
Photo by: Chip Perry
Photo by: Pamela Lerner
Photo by: Kathi Barkigia and Steve Musolino
Photo by: Myrle Wall
Photo by: Susanne Morena
Do you have snow photos that you want to share with us! Email them to: photos@bellport.com and we just may feature them!
It's finally been cold enough for the Peat Hole to freeze over! We'd like to thank Tim Edwards for sending us his photo of a recent hockey game there.
Over the Holidays, Pamela Lerner, Home & Design, held a contest for
a $100 Gift Certificate for its customers. The contest ran from
December 1st to December 26th and all you had to do was come into
Pamela’s shop, on Main Street in Bellport Village, and buy
something. Each time you did, your name was entered in the contest
and the random drawing for the $100 Gift Certificate was held on
December 27th.
The winner of the drawing was Bellport
Village Trustee, Maureen Veitch. Maureen has been a customer of
Pamela’s for 18 years, ever since Pamela opened her shop. Maureen
said she tries to do all of her Holiday shopping in the Village and
in particular, at Pamela Lerner Home & Design because it has such a
wonderful assortment of great gifts to choose from. Maureen said she
plans on donating the $100 Gift Certificate to the Village’s
Seniors’ Program.
Congratulations Maureen!
We received the following from Julia Villacara...
“Hello
Erin and Larry,
Thought I’d share the following story with
you and the beautiful inspiration your work at Bellport.com has
produced.
Thank you for all that you do.
Julia”
Bellport native and prolific artist Maria Castellano-Usery on
the creative process behind her 8x10 acrylic on canvas painting
titled “Swan:"
“I was having a conversation with a friend
here in Maine about the symbolic properties of swans:
transformation, awakenings, beauty, grace, elegance, and strength. I
thought, ‘What better way for me to begin cultivating those traits
than to do a painting of a swan?‘ I reached out to childhood friend
Julia Villacara because not only is she a dear friend, but I love
her photographs. I know she has many gorgeous shots of the natural
world in Brookhaven and Bellport. I don’t see too many swans here in
Maine, but I have fond memories of the many beautiful swans right on
South Country Road. I knew it needed to be a single swan, and I
wanted the photo to be appealing and to have a certain amount of
detail so I could capture it.
Julia did not have a single
swan but a few weeks later showed me Susanne Bellocchio’s photo of
the week on Bellport.com. I knew it was the right one. It’s a
beautiful photo and the clarity is fantastic. Julia reached out to
Sue, her long-time family friend, for permission for me to use her
photograph as a jumping-off point, and Sue was gracious enough to
give me her blessing. I’m very grateful to Sue and Bellport.com for
publishing this gorgeous photo that translated so well to my
canvas.”
From Bellport.com to easel: For more original works by Maria and to
stay up to date with her monthly charity paint-a-thon events, please
follow her on Instagram
@brushstrokesbymaria and visit her website
www.brushstrokesbymaria.com
Downtown Bellport Village sure did look festive this holiday season!
We'd like to thank Paul Warner for sending us his
photos of the shops dressed up this year.
