North Fork News

Wooden Wonderland

Now over 132 years old, the Suffolk County Historical Society Museum is celebrating the holidays with a variety of upcoming events. Head on down to the eighth annual Wooden Wonderland Holiday Craft Show, running from 10 AM to 4:30 PM on December 1. This family friendly event will feature local handmade wooden items as well as other local artisans’ wares. Features include holiday arts and crafts, ornaments, home décor, and much more. Visit www.suffolkcountyhistoricalsociety.org for more information.

Riverhead’s Green World

The Riverhead Town Board has formed a new Environmental Advisory Committee. The 12-member committee will exchange ideas and propose strategies focused on conservation, restoration, and the local economy with the goal of creating a more environmentally friendly community. The committee will emphasize finding economically beneficial solutions to reduce energy consumption and minimize waste with a focus on use of disposable plastics. The committee will partner with local businesses and community leader to improve the town’s economic and environmental wellbeing.

Councilwoman Catherine Kent, the town board liaison to the committee, said “It is critical that we work together to preserve open space and protect our fragile environment. I look forward to working with this committee as we find workable solutions to grow Riverhead in an environmentally responsible way.”

Supervisor Laura Jens-Smith said, “As we keep an eye to revitalizing our downtown we need to also make sure we develop it knowing the environmental issues it faces. This committee will help bring smart planning to our future development. It is time we start addressing these issues so that Riverhead’s businesses can flourish.”

Riverhead residents who are 18 years or older with knowledge of the related subjects have been invited to apply for committee positions. Interested applicants should submit cover letters and resumes by the close of business on December 14 to townclerk@townofriverheadny.gov. For additional information, call the Supervisor’s Office at 631-727-3200, ext. 654.

Award For Riverhead Community Coalition

The Riverhead Community Coalition for Safe and Drug-Free Youth has received its second consecutive national Coalition of Excellence Award from the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, the nation’s leading substance-abuse prevention organization. The Coalition of Excellence award is part of CADCA’s GOT OUTCOMES! award program, which gives national recognition to exemplary coalitions that have clearly documented their impact on population-level substance abuse outcomes.

The Riverhead Coalition will receive the award on February 7 at CADCA’s 2019 National Leadership Forum at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center in National Harbor, MD. The coalition received the award for Short-Term Outcomes related to underage drinking prevention in 2017.

CADCA’s mission is to strengthen the capacity of community coalitions to create and maintain safe, healthy, and drug-free communities globally. It believes this is accomplished by providing technical assistance and training, public policy advocacy, media strategies and marketing programs, training and special events. For additional information on the coalition and how to participate in it, call Riverhead CAP at 631-727-3722 or visit RiverheadCAP.org.

PBMC’s Caregivers Center

The Peconic Bay Medical Center opened its new Caregivers Center on Tuesday, November 20. This facility is the first of its kind on Long Island. The center was formed by the hospital’s foundation board of directors and lead donor Judith Jedlicka, as well as PBMC’s president and CEO, Andrew Mitchell. The Caregivers Center is currently housed in the Kanas Center Atrium of the Peconic Bay Medical Center located at 1300 Roanoke Avenue in Riverhead.

As Long Island’s first hospital-based resource center expressly dedicated to providing support services for patients’ family members, the Caregivers Center offers a wide range of services. The center’s programs recognize the vital, but often stressful, role of caregiving in providing the best care for loved ones, not just during a hospital stay, but during the recovery period that follows when a loved one returns home. The programs seek to minimize these challenges and provide support during these difficult times. To learn more about the Caregivers Center, call 631-548-6259.

At Shelter Island Library

The Shelter Island Public Library is hosting a variety of events for the holiday season. Starting on Saturday, December 1, the library will host its Friends of the Library Arts and Crafts Fair from 10 AM to 2 PM. On Tuesday, December 4, the documentary film A Not So Silent Night will be shown at 7 PM. The Art/Rich Poetry Roundtable Literary Club will also be meeting on December 4 from 4 to 5:30 PM. For a full list of the library’s events, visit www.shelterislandpubliclibrary.org.

Compiled by Justin Meinken
justin@indyeastend.com