The Hulse Landing Road fire house is in need of upgrades, district officials say. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch file)

About two years after a $4.75 million bond measure aimed at improving its dated Hulse Landing Road fire station was rejected by voters, the Wading River Fire District is officially going back to the drawing board, holding a public meeting next Monday to start making up new plans with interested members of the public.

In December of 2012, 198 voters opposed the bond measure while 126 favored it, nixing a plan to knock down the 5,100-square foot station that was built in 1982 and replace it with a new 11,500-square foot one.

The district is now inviting members of the public into the process in hopes of getting a plan through that will pass and upgrade its facilities.

“It’s really a matter of regrouping and engaging the community along with the department and district together,” said David Sterne, a consultant from Stony Brook hired by the district.

“We are trying to get everyone together to express what the needs are to make this an open process where we can come together and hopefully address these needs and concerns,” he added.

The proposal floated in 2012 would have cost most people in the district between $35 and $40 per year, according to previous coverage.

In addition to the $4.75 million that would be used to build the Hulse Landing Road station, the district had planned on using another $1 million from reserves, making it a $5.75 million project in total.

The district’s former manager told the News-Review in 2012 that the facility had outlived its life expectance by about 10 years. He also cited a leaky roof, an outdated HVAC system, problems with underground LIPA lines and general space constraints — as mandated by Occupational Safety Hazard Administration — as reasons needed for the upgrade.

Next Monday’s meeting, Mr. Sterne said, is being considered as a “kick-off meeting” to open discussions with the public about how to improve the district’s infrastructure.  In addition to the outdated Hulse Landing station, he said that a “much smaller part of the project” would include spending funds to upgrade the district’s headquarters on North Country Road.

He said that he didn’t believe cost was so much an issue with the 2012 proposal as much as a lack of information for the public.

“I really think the problem was that people felt they were not as informed as they could have been on that vote. As far as the cost goes, I don’t think by any stretch that it was unreasonable.”

In addition, he said, timing could have played a role as the economy on a larger scale was in a worse spot than it is today.

Next Monday’s meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. in the district headquarters’ upstairs meeting room at 1503 North Country Road.

If voters pass a bond, it would be the second recent bond proposal OK’d in the Wading River area. In January, voters in the Shoreham-Wading River School District — which has different bounds — overwhelmingly approved borrowing funds for a $48.5 million construction project with 70 percent.

jpinciaro@timesreview.com

Firefighters on the scene of Saturday’s brush fire in Flanders. (Credit: Jen Nuzzo)

Firefighters in Flanders have been growing increasingly frustrated over the current condition of the woods there, which they say makes it difficult — and dangerous — to respond to and contain wildfires.

That frustration came to a boiling point during a fire in the Flanders woodlands Saturday that led to three brush trucks’ being damaged. Local fire chiefs then aired their grievances to RiverheadLocal.com, which published a story about the situation Sunday.

The biggest complaint concerns felled or dying oak trees, the result of a massive die-out that happened around 2008.

News-Review report from October 2009.

In Flanders, where firefighters are known as the “Keepers of the Pine Barrens,” Chief Joe Pettit said between getting brush trucks caught up on stumps and the trucks knocking over still-standing dead trees and toppling treetops on firefighters, just getting to a fire has become a challenge in and of itself.

“It just makes it very difficult to get to the fire, to put it out,” he said. “The trees on the ground make it difficult to drive over. Another issue we have is the dead trees that are standing — the tops break off and then they come down on top of the truck, which doesn’t make for a safe situation.

“On top of having to worry about the fire, which is a hazard, we have to worry about all these other hazards.”

He said the department has been complaining for years, but between county and state bureaucracies, nothing has gotten done.

But county and state officials say they are aware of the dead oaks issues — and other issues that could accelerate fires, such as too much fuel — in the woods in Flanders and elsewhere, and are taking steps to address these issues in the coming months.

“We are aware of the complaints,” said Pam Robinson, a spokeswoman for Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. “Under grant funding, the Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning and Policy Commission is currently conducting an assessment to see which fire lanes need clearing, and is also performing the actual remediation.”

On Monday, around the third anniversary of the Ridge-Manorville fire that burned over 1,100 acres of pine barrens in April 2012, Mr. Bellone announced that the county, partnering with the Central Pine Barrens Commission, would soon provide more than 10,000 volunteer firefighters with additional wildfire training, so firefighters are better prepared in the event of another large fire.

John Pavacic, the commission’s executive director, said in an interview Monday that the commission awarded $700,000 in contracts through a bidding process last April and is in the process of developing a plan to address safety issues in specific woodland areas from Ridge to Flanders.

The area in Flanders near where Saturday’s brush fire occurred, and the area the commission is planning to target for cleanup and controlled burns, is east of Country Road 104, west of Pleasure Drive and north of Sunrise Highway.

“The Pine Barrens is a fire-dependent ecosystem, and in the last 100 years we’ve engaged in fire suppression without periodic controlled fires, and you have a build-up of fuel, the natural debris that builds up on a forest floor,” Mr. Pavacic said. “Trees, branches, bark, etc. It builds up to the point where if you do have a wildfire that can lead up to an intense conflagration.

He said the commission is “working on a prescribed fire and some physical, maintenance work in that area.”

That work includes addressing trails and buffer areas, although removing dead trees over thousands of acres would not be feasible.

“There’s significant decomposition or decay already with some of the trees that are down,” he said.”If we can provide better road access, [firefighters] won’t have to go into the underbrush and come across a stump or other downed obstacles. It’s possible through their road network or pathway they’ll be able to at least pull out their hoses and drag hose lines to the fire.”

He also said dead trees are a significant habitat for a range of species such as owls and flying squirrels, and so removing the trees can negatively effect those animals.

But Mr. Pavacic said he can understand why local firefighters are frustrated.

“We’re just trying to get more done on the ground,” he said. “It’s just that unfortunately, it takes some time, but we’re not backing away from our responsibly to bring about proven fire and ecological management on the ground. We’ll continue to do that and work with the volunteer fire community in that regard.”

mwhite@timesreview.com

A Flanders man didn’t fall for a frequently used online scam April 5, according to Southampton Town police.

The Pleasure Drive resident listed two remote control cars for sale on Craigslist, one for $100 and the other for $125, official said. A prospective buyer responded via text message and sent two money orders, each for $985, and then asked the seller to send back the difference. 

Usually, judging by numerous prior police reports, the check or money order is fake or bounces and the seller loses out.

This time, however, the seller didn’t bite and instead called police, officials said.

Police said they are investigating the incident as an attempted grand larceny and scheme to defraud.

• A Riverhead woman is accused of stealing drugs from a patient she was supposed to be caring for, police said.

Crystal Garner, 29, of Old Country Road in Riverhead, was charged with petit larceny April 6 at Southampton police headquarters.

The arrest was based on a March 21, 2015, incident in which Ms. Garner was working as a home health care aide for a patient on Noyack Road in Noyack and stole pain medication from the patient without permission, according to police.

She was arrested and released on an appearance ticket, police said.

• An April 6 traffic stop in Riverhead resulted in both the driver and the passenger being arrested, police said.

Vincent Bruno, 22, of Green Ash Street in Calverton, was driving on Old Quogue Road in Riverhead when he was stopped for speeding. It was then discovered that his license had been suspended for an insurance lapse, police said. He was also found to be in possession of crack cocaine and a crack pipe, police said.

Mr. Bruno was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. His passenger, Tommy Finne, 25, of Fifth Avenue in Greenport, was found with heroin and needles, according to police. He was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

• A Southampton man was pulled over for going 84 mph in a 55 mph zone and found to be drunk, high and driving without a license, according to police.

Grayson Stokely, 28, of David Whites Lane in Southampton was charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs and alcohol early Sunday at 1:44 a.m. on County Road 94. He was also charged with speeding, third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation, having an open alcohol container and having an uninspected motor vehicle, police said.

• Jeff Parrish Jr., 64, of Flanders Road in Riverside, was charged with driving while intoxicated on Center Drive South in Riverside on April 6 around 6:30 p.m., police said.

An officer who pulled him over noticed the smell of alcohol on his breath and administered sobriety tests, which Mr. Parrish did poorly on, police said.

He was also charged with having an illegally tinted windshield.

• A Riverhead man was stopped for riding an all-terrain vehicle on Priscilla Avenue in Flanders Friday afternoon when an officer discovered the ATV was stolen, police said.

Joseph Sheppard, 23, of Bay Court in Riverhead was charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, failure to display ATV registration and operating an ATV on a public highway, police said.

Those who are named in police reports have not been convicted of any crime or violation. The charges against them may later be reduced or withdrawn, or they may be found innocent.

There were 274 cases on the docket in Riverhead Town Justice Allen Smith’s court April 6-8. The following are among those adjudicated:

• Zachary Haan, 25, of Eastport Manor Road in Eastport pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and fined $1,000.

• Timothy McCready, 43, of Beaver Drive in Mastic pleaded guilty to driving while ability impaired, reduced from DWI, and was fined $760.

• Robin Alvardo, 27, of Old Quogue Road in Riverside pleaded guilty to DWI and was fined $493.

• Renee Carter, 42, of Woodcrest Avenue in Riverhead pleaded guilty to petit larceny. She was fined $205 and sentenced to time already served in jail.

• Nicole Kayton, 38, of Pebble Beach Path in Riverhead pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, reduced from petit larceny, was fined $125 and was sentenced to time already served in jail.

• A seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance charge against Jamie Todarello, 29, of Winters Lane in Riverhead was dismissed in town court as he was indicted in county court.

• An assault charge against Luther Casey, 30, of Standish Place in Nesconset was dismissed in town court as he was indicted in county court.

• Charges including third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and resisting arrest against Jerry Nelson, 49, of Oakland Drive North in Riverhead were dismissed in town court as he was indicted in county court.

• Charges including DWI and speeding against Jared O’Brien, 28, of Hampton Avenue in Mastic were dismissed in town court as he was indicted in county court.

A Riverhead man was charged with DWI Friday evening after police observed him speeding and driving “with a loud modified exhaust,” Southold Town police said in a press release. 

Brian Prunty, 39, was heading west on Route 48 in Mattituck when he was stopped by police shortly before 6:30 p.m.

He had the smell of alcohol on his breath and failed a roadside sobriety test, police said.

He was transported to police headquarters and held overnight for an arraignment, police said.

Police work to remove a utility pole from Main Road in Aquebogue after it was struck by a distracted driver. (Credit: Grant Parpan photos)

A Connecticut woman suffered minor injuries after crashing her sedan into a telephone pole on Main Road in Aquebogue Sunday, Riverhead Town police said. 

The woman was headed westbound shortly before 1:30 p.m. when she became distracted and struck the pole on the the north side of Main Road at the Shade Tree Lane intersection, she told police.

The woman, who was alone, was taken via Riverhead Ambulance to Peconic Bay Medical Center, police said.

Main Road was briefly closed as police worked to remove the telephone pole from the roadway.

No criminal charges were expected to be filed, police said.

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A 22-year-old Riverhead man was arrested last Wednesday morning for circumventing a court-ordered ignition interlock device he was required to wear as a result of a 2014 driving while intoxicated arrest, according to Southampton Town Police.

Guillermo Ayala was pulled over for failing to signal prior to a turn last Wednesday at 10:36 a.m. on Good Ground Road and Ponquogue Avenue in Hampton Bays, when a check of his license revealed that it had been revoked for a prior DWI, according to police. Officials said Mr. Ayala didn’t have the interlock device, which requires drivers to blow into a device that measures alcohol content before the car will start.

He was charged with circumventing an interlock device, second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and failure to signal, according to police.

• A Flanders woman was arrested after trying to smuggle five cans of beer out of a Riverside gas station convenience store last Wednesday morning, according to Southampton Town Police.

Rasheeda Brown, 29, went into the beer cooler at the Valero station at the traffic circle in Riverside, took five cans of beer, and then walked onto the bathroom with them, according to police.

When she came out of the bathroom with the beers in her backpack, she was stopped by the manager of the store and questioned, police said. She then gave up the beer and left the store, only to be located at her job nearby a short time later, identified by the store manager and arrested, police said.

Ms. Brown was charged with attempted petit larceny.

• About $790 worth of lawn equipment was reported stolen from a shed that was broken into at a home on Old Westhampton Road in Northampton last Wednesday morning.

• A window on a Flanders home was intentionally broken by a juvenile throwing rock last Monday night, according to police. Additional information was not available.

Editor’s note: Those who are named in police reports have not been convicted of any crime or violation. The charges against them may later be reduced or withdrawn, or they may be found innocent.

An Aquebogue man pleaded guilty yesterday to driving under the influence of crystal meth just over two years after he was involved in a car crash in Nassau County that killed two men on the side of the road next to their broken down car.

Robert Beodeker, 52, took a plea deal admitting to aggravated vehicular homicide and driving under the influence of drugs.

On March 4, 2013, Mr. Beodeker was driving his pickup around 12:40 p.m. on the Meadowbrook Parkway when he crashed into a disabled Nissan Maxima and two pedestrians who were tending to the car. The pedestrians, John Elder, 76, of Freeport and Edward Ross, 65, of North Bellmore died at the scene.

Mr. Beodeker originally pleaded not guilty as he faced charges of negligent homicide and second-degree manslaughter and up to 25 years in prison.

Dana Grossblatt, an attorney for Mr. Beodeker, said on Tuesday that she replaced her client’s previous attorney, Robert Wool, about 10 months ago. She said Mr. Beodeker took a plea to “spare the family from a drawn-out trial.”

Mr. Beodeker had been working as an associate dean of student services at Suffolk County Community College before the crash, and is well-known in the North Fork community arts scene.

Nassau County acting district attorney Madeline Singas provided the following statement: ”These innocent men, John Elder and Edward Ross, were killed because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time and found themselves in the path of a driver impaired by crystal methamphetamine at lunchtime on a clear day. It is also disturbing that the defendant was impaired on his way to work as a college administrator.”

Mr. Beodeker now faces a sentence of 4 to 12 years. A formal sentencing hearing will take place on May 18.

jpinciaro@timesreview.com

First responders on scene of the accident in Laurel Tuesday afternoon after a train collided with a tractor. (Credit: Grant Parpan)

A single-car Long Island Rail Road train collided with a tractor at a farm in Laurel Tuesday afternoon, according to Riverhead Police Lt. David Lessard. 

A man on the tractor was injured and he was transported via medevac to Stony Brook University Medical Center. The train was an engineering inspection vehicle — not a passenger train, according to Salvatore Arena, a LIRR spokesman.

The train was carrying three LIRR employees, Lt. Lessard said, and there were no injuries to anyone on the train.

The train was headed westbound across the Half Hollow Nursery property when it collided with the tractor being driven by a nursery employee at about 2:30 p.m., the authorities said.

The entire front end of the tractor, which was carting forsythia shrubs across the farm, was ripped off from the impact.

The victim’s clothes were left on the ground at the scene after he was put aboard a Suffolk County Police Department helicopter, which landed just before 3 p.m. His boots were also left in the tracks.

Mr. Arena described the area of impact as a recognized “farm crossing.”

“Neither the owner of the farm, nor the LIRR is required in this case to maintain a fully equipped grade crossing” with lights, bells and whistles,  he said. “Since traffic on the farm is limited to farm vehicles, a simple posted notice is all that is required.”

Mr. Arena said the driver of the tractor suffered a leg injury.

He described the train as a track geometry car owned and operated by the LIRR.

“The geometry car measures the rail in a linear fashion in effort to determine whether the track might be misaligned or warped in any way,” Mr. Arena said.

MTA police arrived on scene to investigate.

gparpan@timesreview.com

Police raid 29 Lewis Street in the Millbrook Gables section of Riverhead Nov. 5. (Credit: Carrie Miller, file)

A Mastic woman with ties to Riverhead has been sentenced to 1 1/2 to 3 years in jail after pleading guilty to a conspiracy charge stemming from an East End Drugs Task Force bust earlier this year. 

Kotarra Jackson was sentenced before Suffolk County Judge Mark Cohen Tuesday, according to the District Attorney’s Office. The maximum sentence for the conspiracy charge was 2 to 4 years, a spokesperson had said.

Ms. Jackson was arrested as part of a multi-year investigation into drug activity in the Riverhead area, specifically a property on Lewis Street District Attorney Thomas Spota called an open-air drug market.

The investigation was a comprehensive effort, including informants, undercover agents, cell phone taps and hidden surveillance cameras.

Prosecutors said Ms. Jackson — a Riverhead native — claimed to be the “highest ranking female Blood” in the state. Her lawyer, Harry Tilis, vehemently denied the accusation in February.

Ms. Jackson had previously served time at the Albion Correctional Facility, a women’s prison in Orleans County, for drug sales and possession, state records show.

psquire@timesreview.com

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Southold Town police arrested a Jamesport man for possession of heroin and cocaine Thursday night.

John C. Scalzi, 49, was arrested at the intersection of Franklinville Road and Route 25 in Laurel at 10:17 p.m., police said. He was charged with misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance.

It was the second time this month Mr. Scalzi was arrested for drug charges. He was pulled over April 11 and was found to be in possession of crack cocaine, according to a prior report.

He was transported to police headquarters and held for arraignment.

A male victim was struck on Main Road east of Manor Lane in Jamesport around 9 p.m. Thursday. (Credit: Google maps)

A pedestrian on Main Road was struck by a car last night in Jamesport, according to Jamesport Fire Department 1^st assistant chief John Andrejack.

A female driver hit the male victim around 9 p.m. just east of Manor Lane, Mr. Andrejack said Friday morning.

A medevac was put on standby, but Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance EMTs were able to treat the patient at the scene, Mr. Andrejack said. Riverhead Police Chief David Hegermiller said the ambulance was initially headed to Peconic Bay Medical Center but was rerouted to Stony Brook University Medical Center.

The man was attempting to cross the street when was struck by the car, he added. The man was being treated for non-life threatening injuries, Chief Hegermiller said.

Jamesport Fire Department briefly closed the road, but it was reopened by 10 p.m., Mr. Andrejack said.

The driver remained at the scene and no arrests were made, according to Riverhead Town Police.

The name and condition of the victim have not yet been released.

cmurray@timesreview.com

Correction: This story originally said the victim was taken to PBMC. The ambulance was rerouted to Stony Brook University Medical Center.

There were 307 cases on the docket in Riverhead Town Justice Richard Ehlers’ court, April 13-15. The following are among those adjudicated.

• Marquis Miles, 21, of Extine Lane in Raleigh, N.C., pleaded guilty to third-degree forgery, reduced from second-degree forgery and false personation, and was sentenced to 30 days in jail.

• Jose Lopez, 27, of Nadel Drive in Riverhead, pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated and was fined $1,000.

• Joseph Vollkommer, 23, of Rhoda Avenue in North Babylon, pleaded guilty to driving while ability impaired and was fined $1,000.

• John Kowalski, 62, of Ole Jule Lane in Mattituck, pleaded guilty to driving while ability impaired, reduced from driving while intoxicated, and was fined $660.

• Luz Cajima, 39, of Greenway Drive in East Hampton, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, reduced from second-degree possession of a forged instrument, and was fined $300.

• Rosa Guanga-Orellana, 36, of East Hampton Drive in East Hampton, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, reduced from second-degree possession of a forged instrument, and was fined $300.

• Jasmine Williams, 22, of River Avenue in Patchogue, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, reduced from petit larceny, and was fined $300.

• Erin Pugh, 42, of Old River Road in Manorville, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, reduced from prostitution, and was fined $200.

• Charges including driving while intoxicated and fourth-degree criminal of a controlled substance against Kevin Pollard, 24, of Industrial Boulevard in Riverhead were dismissed in town court as he was indicted in county court.

• Charges including criminal possession of a firearm and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon against Nicholas Kieltyka, 30, of Rosewood Road in Kings Park, were dismissed in town court as he was indicted in county court.

• Charges including aggravated driving while intoxicated against Megan Finne, 30, of Randall Road in Ridge, were dismissed in town court as she was indicted in county court.

• Michael Greene, 27, of East Second Street in Riverhead, pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal contempt and was sentenced to time already served in jail.

• Charges including aggravated driving while intoxicated against Sirena Jackson, 36, of Doctors Path in Riverhead, were dismissed in town court as she was indicated in county court.

• Ralph Mims III, 37, of Center Street in Greenport, pleaded guilty to resisting arrest and was fined $205. A charge of second-degree obstructing governmental administration was dismissed.

The Riverhead Fire Department responded to a small fire on a second-floor apartment in the River Pointe complex on Main Street Saturday afternoon, Riverhead Town police said. 

No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is under investigation by the fire marshal, police said.

Officers arriving on scene saw smoke coming from an apartment in the J building, police said. The fire was located on the porch. Officers used fire extinguishers to limit the fire until the fire department arrived, police said.

“It burnt the side of the wall on the way to the porch,” said Riverhead assistant fire chief Kevin Brooks.

Mr. Brooks said firefighters pulled the ceiling down on the apartment below while fighting the fire.

“As far as fires go, this was a very small one,” he said.

Two adults and one juvenile were charged with selling alcohol to underage customers during a Riverhead Town Police Department C.O.P.E unit sting Saturday. 

Police checked 24 locations and found only three violators, they announced in a press release. The three locations in violation were Hessmart in Wading River, OK Petro in Riverhead and Riverhead Supermarket and Deli.

The following were arrested and charged with unlawfully dealing with a child, police said:

• Barry Gamble, 59, of Wading River.

• Henry Castillo, 22, of Howard Beach.

The name of the arrested juvenile was not released by police.

A downed telephone pole closed a portion of Flanders Road on Sunday. (Credit: Vera Chinese)

A woman was hospitalized after she apparently fell asleep at the wheel and crashed her blue sedan into a telephone pole on Flanders Road Sunday afternoon, according to Southampton Town police at the scene. 

The woman was believed to have suffered just minor injuries in the crash, which occurred in front of the David W. Crohan Community Center, police said.

“She’s very lucky, we’ll say that,” officer Steve Frankenbach said. 

The downed pole led to a partial road closure from Evergreen Road to Glider Avenue at 3:30 p.m. As of 4:45 p.m. the road remained closed.

No power outages were reported by PSEG.

vchinese@timesreview.com

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Fire crews battle a brush fire at Calverton Shooting Range Monday. (Credit: Cyndi Murray)

The Brookhaven Town Fire Marshall is investigating the cause of a brush fire that spanned several acres behind the Calverton Shooting Range, according to Kevin Brooks, first assistant chief of the Riverhead Fire Department.

Four fire departments — Riverhead, Flanders, Manorville and Eastport — responded to the blaze, which broke out around 1:30 p.m. Monday afternoon, Mr. Brooks said.

The fire was under control within 40 minutes, he said.

The Calverton Shooting Range, located off on Nugent Drive, was closed briefly as crews battled the fire, but was reopened by 3 p.m.

No injuries were reported.