Budget, Security Discussed By School Board

The Oyster Bay East Norwich Board of Education considered school security measures and held a hearing on next year’s budget at their May 7 meeting.

Christopher Van Cott, assistant superintendent for finance and operations for the Oyster Bay-East Norwich schools, explained both the proposed budget, set for voter approval May 21, and the district’s review of safety and security measures and resulting recommendations during its May 7 meeting at the Oyster Bay High School library.

Conservation Gala Swings

Guests at the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center helped recreate the feel of the 1920s as they dressed for the Legacy of Conservation Gala held at Piping Rock Club in Locust Valley. In honor of the TRS&AC opening in 1923 music of the ‘20s flowed through the rooms on May 4. There was even and a speakeasy where the doorman said, “No photographs please, this is against the law.” Inside there was a stained glass player piano at work.

Nearby an Oyster Bay Historical Society exhibit included the Olmsted Brothers, Landscape Architects vision of both the TRS&AC and the memorial section of the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park.

Woman’s Best Friend

Linda Jones opened her heart to listeners at the Lions benefit on April 28 as she talked about how her guide dog has changed her life. “I feel 10-feet tall when I’m walking with him,” the legally blind woman said.

Jones was introduced by Jerry Lalonde, co-chair of the 8th annual Lions benefit at Seawanhaka Yacht Club on Sunday, April 28. “This is the third evening in a row of benefits in Oyster Bay. It’s a lot of requests for your money,” said Lalonde. Ian McCurdy and his wife Jane were among the several couples that attended all three events. A past commodore of Seawanhaka, McCurdy arranged for the use of the yacht club and was thanked by Lalonde.

Café Al Dente

Customers at Phil Morizio’s restaurant, Café Al Dente, taste the flavors that evoke his family’s kitchen in the Bronx, as well some of the finest kitchens in Manhattan.

“It’s the food I grew up with. I learned to cook from watching my mother, my aunt, and my grandmother,” said Morizio, who has operated Café Al Dente, an Italian-American restaurant on the corner of Spring and East Main, Oyster Bay, for 20 years.

Spring Benefit Blooms

Jerry Mavros was honored by his fellow Lions on Sunday, April 28, at their Spring Benefit held at the Seawanhaka Yacht Club in Centre Island. Jerry Lalonde, co-chair of the 8th annual Lions benefit thanked the guests for coming and his committee members that made everything happen. The committee members were: co-chairs Lalonde, Ginny Williams and Doug DiRossi; auction chair Lalonde; Journal chair Robert Schadler; and members Kayel DeAngelis, Ann-Marie Hosey, David McLaughlin, Cindy Mudford, George Mudford and Chris Pflaumer.

The benefit was dedicated to Guide Dogs for the Blind, America’s VetDogs and other worthy causes. The Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, Inc. was founded in 1946 and the Oyster Bay Lions club two years later, in 1948. The Lions honored artist Mort Künstler last year and for the two years before that Lions Jack Micco and Bob Whaley both of whom served for 50 years.

Meet The Candidates

Hitting on everything from budgets and taxes to sports, candidates for Oyster Bay-East Norwich Board of Education spoke at the “Meet the Candidates Night” at Oyster Bay High School last week.

At the April 30 forum in the high school auditorium, two current board members, Dr. Michael Castellano and Jim Mattel, and challengers Harriet Dorfman and Jen Romeo, discussed their views on the issues that the district faces and their qualifications for the position.

Part Of Old Penn

Now through the end of the year, a small piece of the original Penn Station is here in Oyster Bay. It is the carving of an eagle head, once part of the decorations on the façade of the old Pennsylvania Station now on view at the Oyster Bay Rail Road Museum Preview Center at 102 Audrey Ave. You can visit Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is there courtesy of David Morrison, former LIRR Oyster Bay Branch Manager, railroad historian and author on the book Cast Iron Eagles of Grand Central Station, and its owners, the daughters of Albert Fritsch.

While most New Yorkers call it “Grand Central Station” Morrison said it is really a terminal in that train trips end there. The station was taken down in 1910 to make room for Grand Central Terminal. The OBRM has copies of his book for sale.

Dog Days at Sagamore Hill

To help kick-off National Park Week, the Friends of Sagamore Hill the house is closed during a $7 million renovation until late 2014-early 2015, a large crowd of dogs and their walkers came to enjoy the grounds, nature walk and museum on Sunday, April 21.

TR and the Roosevelts loved and cared for their dogs, horses and other animals, including a pet badger named Josiah.

National Park Service locations are pet-friendly, welcoming dogs on six-foot leashes and accompanied with responsible masters. Many in the crowd could testify how limited most of Nassau County is regarding pet-friendly events. Most open land and nature walks do not allow man’s best friend, which would probably have brought a feeling of chagrin to TR in his day.

Fundraising Fuels The Work

“We want to work,” said the Ida May Project volunteers, standing in front of the wooden boat as they met in J Building on Wednesday, April 24 to hear a new proposal by the Christeen Oyster Sloop Preservation Corporation board (COSPC). At the heart of the delay in the work has been their concern over lack of funding. The current board wants 75 percent of the needed funds for completion of the project available before any new work begins. But Volunteer Ray Wulff has come up with “Plan B,” a way to cut costs to lessen the amount of money needed for the job but which will extend the time line to completion from 18 months to three years. The board wanted to meet with the volunteers on the 24th to see what they felt about the proposal and to try to get a commitment from them saying they are willing to put in the needed time.

Jack Hoyt, COSPC treasurer, said fundraising has been hard in these economic times, especially after Hurricane Sandy. He presented Plan B, which will use more volunteer labor working with local shipwright Josh Herman of Huntington who will work on a part time basis overseeing the work. He said, “It makes it harder to raise funds when there is no activity going on,” but he added that some of the dedicated volunteers have been working during the down time. They recently restored a tractor and refurbished the sawmill damaged in Hurricane Sandy.

Oyster Bay School Board Adopts Budget

After months of examination and discussion, the Oyster Bay–East Norwich Board of Education last week unanimously adopted a budget for voter approval for the 2013-14 school year.

In other news, Dr. Phyllis Harrington, superintendent of schools of the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Central School District, announced that she has tentatively accepted an offer to become superintendent of schools in Oceanside for next year. She is still working out the final details, she added.