Gold Stars And Dunce Caps

To the State Department of Transportation, for an indefensible example of bureaucracy in action—or inaction. Whatever your opinion of the Shinnecock Indian Nation’s proposed electronic billboards on Sunrise Highway, it’s clear that the tribe’s leaders acted in good faith and attempted to alert state officials to their plans six months ago. The DOT couldn’t be bothered to even return calls, even with the intervention of Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr.’s office—until work at the site began. On Friday, the state finally took action to challenge the Nation’s contention that the work is outside its purview, despite the fact that it’s a stone’s throw from the highway. By delaying the inevitable until the work was already well underway, the state might have made this dispute much more costly to the tribe. It’s just further evidence that the Nation’s complaints about a lack of simple respect for its sovereignty have merit.

To everyone on the ballot this week for various school board seats. Seriously, take a moment to give credit to the men and women who take, arguably, the most thankless job on the planet, one with absolutely no compensation and plenty of responsibility—and criticism from all sides. But decisions must be made about one of the most costly operations in town, and perhaps the most important. They do it because they care, and because someone has to. It was encouraging to see so many people step up to the plate so that a good number of races on Tuesday were true contests. School boards are the epitome of public service, and the people who choose to run for those seats, whether they win or not, should be better appreciated.

To the driver who made the boneheaded, and cold-hearted, move of using his vehicle to tear up the Maidstone Park ballfield in Springs in the dark of night—in the middle of Little League season. The field had just been refurbished by the town, but now it’s unfit for play, and the schedule has to be reshuffled while the coaches scramble to find other playing fields. Some criminal acts are more senseless than others; here, the callousness is rivaled only by the impact it has on so many young lives. Somehow, “mischief” doesn’t come close to capturing how galling this was.

To those with foresight and follow-through who saved the Sag Harbor Cinema sign after a fire on the village’s Main Street on December 16, 2016. The damaged and battered sign was gingerly taken down even as the fire was being fought. It was carefully transported by Chris Denon of Twin Forks Moving & Storage to a storage facility and has since been restored by local metalworker John Battle. The neon sign will shine once again on Saturday, when the groups working to rebuild the cinema will return it to the building’s new facade—and throw the switch. The red-and-blue Art Deco sign—reading, simply, “Sag Harbor”—is something like the heart of the village. Seeing it return to life should stir up feelings of both gratitude and satisfaction. It’s something like a miracle.

To the students of the Remsenburg-Speonk Elementary School Odyssey Angels team, for making the world finals with their project, using recycled materials to construct small playground sets for puppies at the nearby Bideawee pet adoption center. The thinking was that the playgrounds would make the puppies happier and, thus, more adoptable. It, of course, worked. The added benefit was that the playgrounds also recycled materials that might otherwise just clog up a landfill. The team’s motto was “adaptable, adoptable and happy,” a sentiment surely shared by more than just the puppies.

To Town of Southampton and Suffolk County officials, for, at long last, finalizing the deal to transfer ownership of the Shinnecock commercial fishing dock from the county to the town. The town has been maintaining the dock for years, but it remained under county control, because it technically sat on parkland. Now that the deal, which includes 11 acres of bayfront property in addition to the dock, is done, town officials can come up with a plan, unencumbered by the need to include county leaders, to polish up the dock and make the most of the adjoining land.

To Suffolk County Community College, and particularly the folks running the Eastern Campus in Northampton, for completing a years-in-the-making multimillion-dollar athletic center, complete with an indoor pool, on the campus—and, more important, for including the surrounding community in its plans. People living in the area have been clamoring for years for a public pool, a desire that’s now a reality. Any local resident can purchase a membership to use the facility when it’s not in use by the school—and area organizations, including the 106th Rescue Wing and the Southampton Town lifeguard program, plan to use the pool for training. The facility, like the college as a whole, is a true benefit to the community.

To the Southampton Board of Education, for rejecting out of hand a proposal by the Southampton Day Care Center to place a proposition on the school budget ballot asking residents of the district to provide a total of $75,000 to help the only nonprofit day care center in the town to offset budget shortfalls. Citing technicalities centered on the official deadline to submit the ballot request, the board voted it down, but also hinted that they looked askance at the idea and would in the future. The board should have allowed the center to ask the public for the funds, and left it to the people to decide if they wanted to support the plan. That’s how things are done in a democracy.

To the East Hampton and Southampton school districts, for earning national recognition for the music programs they offer their students. It’s almost too easy to forget how concerts and musicals can draw community members into the school, but they do, bridging generations in the process. Music classes and performance groups can help kids make friends and gain confidence and discipline, and they also offer kids a more spiritual and less cerebral way to shine—a life lesson for many, with wide-ranging impacts.

To the Southampton Town Police, for outreach to seniors in the community regarding scams targeting them. This is a case where information is power, and older residents might not be aware of the confusing, confounding and alarming ways criminals are finding to try to take advantage of them. It’s easy to be victimized—but, with a little help and a little information, which the police are providing, also easy to learn basic tactics to avoid scammers.