Community Corner

Good News: Blood Drive Honors Fallen Officer, Company Backs Nonprofit Campaign

Some stories put a smile on your face. Here's our wrap-up from around Northern Suffolk and the East End.

As a local news organization, Patch covers stories of all kinds, from heartbreaking tragedies to nitty-gritty breakdowns of government and school district issues. But some stories are simply inspiring, often showing that at the heart of our communities is a desire to do good. Here are some of the touching headlines from the past seven days.

Students Take to the Stage to Fight Diabetes

The dancers at Encore Dance Academy recently took to the stage of the Patchogue Theater to raise money for the Suffolk County Lions Diabetes Education Foundation.

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The studio danced for one of their own, Brian Weinberger, who was recently diagnosed with the disease. His sister, Kelly, garbed in a white and red dress, danced a solo for the event.

Blood Drive Honors Fallen SCPD Officer

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The memory of fallen officer Glen Ciano was recently honored during a blood drive at the Commack Fire Department, where his patrol car was based, before he was killed by a drunken driver four years ago.

Suffolk County Legis. Steve Stern (D-Huntington) joined firefighters and members of community to remember Ciano, a 22-year veteran of the department on Feb. 16, a few days before the fourth anniversary of his death.

Fundraising Campaign Gets Corporate Backing

The Ward Melville Heritage Organization announced Wednesday that Gyrodyne Co. of America will match donations made to help it repair the damages caused by Hurricane Sandy at the Ernst Marine Conservation Center.

Gyrodyne COO Peter Pitsiokos is a former student of Dr. Erwin J. Ernst, for whom the WMHO's waterside classroom is named. On Wednesday, he said the company will match donations up to $5,000 made through the WMHO's campaign on Indiegogo. The deadline is March 31.

Isabelle Scott says there's always a way to figure out how to spell a word. For the Gelinas 8th grader, it's this: she visualizes the word and uses one hand to "write" the letters on her other hand before she comes to a conclusion on its spelling.

It's the technique she used to spell "abatement" – the word that made her the winner of the Regional Scripps Spelling Bee at Hofstra University on Sunday.

Local Family Seeks Votes in Tuition Contest

Things can get a little crazy around the house sometimes – especially if you're a father who's just started a new job, a mother who's just gone back to school and is expecting a new baby in a couple of months, and a son who needs a preschool to nurture his learning.

That's why the Pew family entered Kiddie Academy's "The Moment I Knew" photo contest, in which the winner will receive tuition of up to $10,000 for a year. You can find the Pews' son, Ezra, in a photo his mother Sarah titled "Self Reliance" – which she has captioned "The moment I knew that this kid can do anything!" – at the contest page. As of Monday afternoon, the photo had more than 750 votes. Sarah Pew said they need enough votes to make it into the "top 10."

Port Jefferson Snowmobiler Sweeps New York National

Jake Scott maintained 1st place in the Pro Lite points race with wins in New York over the weekend.

Shoreham-Wading River Senior Wins State Wrestling Title

T.J. Fabian won the state crown in the 126-pound class last weekend.

Girl Advances To New York State Hoop Shoot Finals

Riley Tupper of Hampton Bays has advanced to the New York State Finals in the Elk's Club's annual Hoop shoot, which will be held in Syracuse this weekend.


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