All that’s lacking is her name on the sign

KATHARINE SCHROEDER PHOTO
Dam Pond, East Marion.

With absolutely no fanfare, a county bill renaming the Dam Pond Maritime Reserve in East Marion to honor former councilwoman and environmental activist Ruth Oliva has become law. County Executive Steve Levy, whose administration opposed the name change, signed the bill early last month. The measure, introduced by county Legislator Ed Romaine, passed unanimously. County Comptroller Joe Sawicki of Southold, who stepped in to help resolve the political impasse that threatened the bill’s passage, said this week, “It is absolutely fitting that someone who was so involved on the Town Board, as president of the North Fork Environmental Council and as a member of the Zoning Board should have the Dam Pond reserve named after her. Hopefully her memory, and the memory of all the good things she did for the people of Southold and the county, will live on after this.” Ms. Oliva died last June at age 76.