Southold News: Students win Walt Whitman poetry awards
Happy birthday to my awesome fellow class parent, Sondra Russell, on June 12. Chris Manfredi and Sally Anne Gray celebrate on the 16th; Don Cavaluzzi and Raylyn DiSalvo blow out candles on the 18th; Amy Comiskey’s birthday is June 22; and Sarah Manfredi’s is June 24.
Wishing Bernie Kettenbeil a speedy recovery after surgery at Stony Brook University Hospital.
Kudos and congratulations to Logan Pfister and Drew Sacher, who have attained the rank of Eagle Scout. Fewer than 5 to 7 percent of all Boy Scouts reach this level, the highest rank in Scouting. An Eagle ceremony will be held in their honor Saturday, June 21, at 11 a.m. at the American Legion in Southold. All are welcome.
Tom Shearin, daughter Michelle Kayel and granddaughter Felecia Kayel were the top winners in the annual Walter Berry Fluke Tournament held Memorial Day weekend. Congratulations!
Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Pratt of Southold, winners of this year’s ELIH Auxiliary Car Raffle. The Pratts had the choice of a 2014 Dodge Journey or $10,000 in cash, and decided to take the cash. The ELIH Auxiliary extends heartfelt thanks to all who participated and to raffle sponsor Mullen Motors. Proceeds from the raffle will directly benefit patient services.
The Mixed Nuts Relay for Life team had two winners at its raffles this year. Their 50/50 raffle went to P.J. Corazzini, with a purse of $1,115! Patricia Hammes and Rey Castro won the wine basket raffles.
The Rotary Club recently donated 38 Spanish-to-English dictionaries to the ESL department at Southold Elementary School for ESL students to take home and share with their families. The dictionaries were presented by Rotarians Barbara Ackerman and Margaret Zarcone.
Southold Free Library has two Saturday programs coming up that are worth checking out. On June 14 at 11 a.m., Phil Reichert and Lisa Dabrowski will perform the title roles in a staged reading of “John and Abigail Adams : A Love Story,” written, directed and narrated by local actor Alan Stewart. Then on Saturday, June 21, at 11 a.m. Rebecca DeMarino will read from and sign copies of her book “A Place in His Heart,” a full-length historical romance based on early Southold settlers Barnabas and Mary Horton, the author’s 9th-great-grandparents. There will also be raffles of local gifts and more.
Also at the library, a Smart Driver program aimed at drivers ages 50 and up will be held Wednesday, June 18, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with volunteer instructor Bernie Kettenbeil. The fee is $20 for AARP members and $25 for others. A check payable to AARP is the only acceptable form of payment when registering.
The Southold Historical Society will present a new mini-exhibition featuring paintings by a group of local artists led by painter Gail Starkie, who has taught an acrylics class for beginning painters at the Southold Recreation Center in Peconic since 2008. One of her students since the class began was Jim Murphy. He had taken previous classes in watercolor painting but joined Gail’s class for the purpose of creating special Christmas cards to send out to family and friends each year. Jim died suddenly in September 2013, and this exhibit, entitled “Jim & The Girls: Paintings Created at Gail Starkie’s Art Classes,” is presented in his memory. The exhibit will be open to the public June 27-30 only, from 2 to 7 p.m. at the society’s Reichert Family Center – Cosden Price Gallery on Main Road in Southold.
Southold Elementary School students have captured awards in the 28th annual Walt Whitman Poetry Contest, open to students in grades 3-12 for both individual submissions and whole-class poetry anthologies. Out of approximately 4,000 entries, the following Southold students won acclaim: Violet Rand, first place, individual poem Grade 3; Mrs. Suter’s 3rd grade, third place, class anthology; Mrs. Maisano’s 5th grade, honorable mention, class anthology; Mrs. Mellas’ 5th grade, second place, class anthology; and Matthew Messana, first place, individual poem Grade 5. In addition, Juliet Rand won an invitation to sing “Joyful Morning I Salute Thee,” with verses adapted from Whitman, at a June 1 celebration at the Whitman birthplace in Huntington Station.
My next deadline is Sunday, June 22. Hope all you fathers out there — especially my husband, Jim — have a wonderful Father’s Day. To those like me, who have lost my father and my stepfather, I send a hug. Keep smiling!
Contact Southold columnist Tina Koslosky at [email protected] or 631-765-2774.
