SCSD: Accolades and Updates 2/24/09

Edward Ehmann, Superintendent of Schools of the Smithtown School District, made the following announcements at the February 24th Board of Education meeting at the Joseph M. Barton Administration Building.

“Drugs in our Town: What’s a Parent to Do?” will be the theme of Smithtown School District’s Parent University on Monday, March 9th at 7:30 p.m. at Nesaquake Middle School. The presentation will feature information and advice from experts, including a physician, law enforcement official, health educator, drug counselor, principal, and a parent struggling with her child’s drug addiction. All are welcome to attend and encouraged to save the date.

Members of the community are invited to attend upcoming budget development meetings. There will be a Business Affairs Committee meeting on Thursday evening, February 26 at 7 p.m. at the Joseph M. Barton Administration Building. A Citizens’ Advisory meeting will take place on Monday, March 2 at 7 p.m., also in the administration building.

Branch Brook Elementary School celebrated the Bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday with its PARP (Parents As Reading Partners) program entitled, “Reading Makes Cents.” Students kept reading logs, decorated the halls with Abraham Lincoln birthday cards, and hosted a Lincoln impersonator. The students donated pennies to The Smithtown Public Library as part of the program.

Musicians and students at Smithtown High School East are working on an effort to raise awareness of the shortage of food in our local food pantries. There will be a Music for Food Acoustic Concert at HS East on February 27th at 7:00 PM.

Nesconset Elementary fifth graders participated in a math poster contest sponsored by the Association of Math Teachers of New York State. Three students from Nesconset received recognition for their poster entries: Rachel Emmerson-1st place, Brendan Volz-2nd place and Jessica Masure-3rd place.

Smithtown High School East and High School West parents and students attended Junior Conference Night. The evening was hosted by the Guidance Department. Counselors developed this workshop to inform parents about college testing, college selection and the college process.

Mills Pond Elementary Civics Club was awarded a Newsday Future Corps Grant.

Smithtown High School West Thespian Troupe 2035, Smithtown High School East Drama Club, Great Hollow Middle School, and Nesaquake Middle School will all be presenting free performances by the students to Smithtown senior citizen gold card holders. HSW will present Damn Yankees on Wednesday, March 4th at 12:30 p.m. HSE will admit gold card holders to performances of Murder’s in the Heir on March 5, 6, and 7th at 7 p.m. Great Hollow students will perform Willy Wonka Junior on Wednesday, March 25th at 3:15 p.m. Nesaquake students will perform Beauty and the Beast on Saturday, March 28th at 1 p.m. All performances will take place at the respective schools. For more information about the Senior Citizen Gold Card Program, call 382-2015.

Cops: Bank Robbery Called in Bomb Threat to Smith Haven Mall

Suffolk County Police today arrested a South Setauket man for robbing a Bank of Smithtown branch in Centereach this morning.

A man entered the bank, located at 1919 Route 25, Centereach, and approached a teller at 9:54 a.m. He displayed what appeared to be a black semi-automatic handgun and handed the teller a note demanding cash and threatening to shoot if the teller did not comply. The teller complied with the robber’s demands, gave him cash from the drawer and activated the silent alarm.

Sixth Precinct police officers responded to the bank and received a description of the robber from a bank employee. Police Officer Christopher Woods and Sergeant Thomas O’Shea began searching for the suspect in the area, and they noticed a man who was acting suspicious at the corner of Eastwood Boulevard and School Street. They approached the man and saw that he had a knife protruding from his pocket and dark-colored makeup on his face. Upon further investigation, the man was found to be in possession of an inoperable black pellet pistol that resembled a semi-automatic handgun, a wig and proceeds from the bank robbery.

Officer Woods and Sergeant O’Shea arrested Alexander C. Haje, 22, of 33 Tulip Hill Lane, South Setauket. An investigation by Major Case detectives revealed that prior to the bank robbery, Haje called 911 to tell them of a bomb threat at the Smith Haven Mall in an effort to have officers move out of the area of the bank.

Major Case detectives charged Haje with one count of Robbery 2nd Degree and one count of Falsely Reporting an Incident 2nd Degree. Haje will be held overnight at the Sixth Precinct and he is scheduled for arraignment at First District Court in Central Islip on February 24.

Drunken Driver Blamed for Death of Cop

From walkradio.com:

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COMMACK (WALK) – A Plainview man driving drunk early Sunday morning in Commack has been blamed for causing a fatal crash killing a Suffolk County Police Department officer.

Police say the on-duty officer, whose name has not yet been released, was enroute to assist another officer around 4:15 a.m. At the intersection of Vanderbilt Motor Parkway and Commack Road in Commack the police squad car was involved in a crash with a 2007 Dodge Magnun

Jose Borbon, 23, of 178 Morton Blvd, has been identified as the driver of the Dodge.

Reports indicate the officer’s vehicle spun around from the force of the crash. The vehicle came to rest after striking a traffic pole and bursting into blames. Witnesses told Newsday the fire started and spread quickly and rescue efforts were impossible.

Borbon was arrested and charged with Driving While Intoxicated. He is scheduled for arraignment Monday at First District Court in Central Islip.

Newsday obtained court records which they report indicate Borbon has a history of DWI charges. On January 4, Borbon was arrested in Nassau County for DWI, holding more than one license, criminal possession of a weapon, not signaling, driving without a seat belt and failure to obey a traffic device, according to Newsday. He is set to appear in court in April on those charges.

The newspaper also reports Borbon held a D-class “conditional” license, which allows drivers to only drive to specific locations such as to and from work. Borbon is believed to be participating in the state’s Drinking Driver rehabilitation program.

New York State Department of Motor Vehicle records obtained by Newsday indicate Boron was involved in four separate accidents in 2006 and had his license suspended in 2007.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the officer killed in this terrible crash,” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy. “This officer made the ultimate sacrifice protecting and serving the people of Suffolk County.”

“The Suffolk County Police Department is mourning the loss of one of our own,” said Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer. “It’s a sad reminder of the dangers police officers face each and every day.”

Update: Facebook Rethinking its Terms-of-Use Change

By Wailin Wong
Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO (MCT) - A Facebook of the people, by the people and for the people. And probably heavily reviewed by corporate attorneys.

The social networking site backtracked on a change in its user policy and invited its members Wednesday to send in suggestions for a Facebook "Bill of Rights and Responsibilities."

The document would replace Facebook's terms of use, the agreement for which the site had come under fire this week from privacy advocates and tens of thousands of its members.

Facebook had quietly revised its terms of use in early February, deleting language that ensured its license to use member content automatically would expire if a person quit the site. The change largely went unnoticed until the consumer rights advocacy blog Consumerist warned that Facebook now could do whatever it wanted with user content forever.

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's chief executive, said the site has reverted to its old terms of use while it undertakes a "substantial revision" of the agreement. The resulting document, which will take at least several weeks to complete, will be written in clearer language and incorporate member input.

"We apologize for the confusion around these issues," Facebook told its members on the site. "We never intended to claim ownership over people's content even though that's what it seems like to many people. This was a mistake and we apologize for the confusion."
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© 2009, Chicago Tribune.
Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Obama Unveils Plan to Stem Foreclosures

By Kevin G. Hall
McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON (MCT) - President Barack Obama rolled out a bold $75 billion, three-part plan Wednesday to halt the soaring rate of mortgage foreclosures nationwide, one that seeks to encourage refinancing of homes now worth less than their mortgages and provides incentives for lenders to lower the debt load on struggling homeowners.

The Homeowner Stability Initiative, which Obama unveiled in Phoenix, seeks to address one of the triggers of the global financial crisis: the 2.3 million U.S. foreclosures last year that are protracting the housing crisis and helping to drive down home prices across the nation.

"When the housing market collapsed, so did the availability of credit on which our economy depends. As that credit dried up, it has been harder for families to find affordable loans," Obama said. "In the end, all of us are paying a price for this home mortgage crisis. And all of us will pay an even steeper price if we allow this crisis to deepen _ a crisis which is unraveling homeownership, the middle class, and the American Dream itself."

Specifically, the Obama plan seeks to provide low-cost refinancing for as many as 5 million Americans. It seeks to help delinquent or at-risk borrowers get their mortgages modified so that no more than 31 percent of their income is tied up in their mortgages. And it provides financial incentives to lenders and even a new insurance program to promote more mortgage modifications.

Like the failed efforts under the Bush administration, however, the Obama plan doesn't compel banks and other lenders to modify troubled mortgages. Instead, it provides a menu of incentives that may or may not prove sufficient.

"This is not just the treasury secretary going into the room and asking people to do the right thing," said a senior Treasury official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to speak more freely. "This is the first time there has really been a systemic incentive strategy for them (lenders)."
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ON THE WEB
Treasury summary:
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/tg33.htm
Treasure plan:
http://tinyurl.com/bx295h
Treasury examples:
http://tinyurl.com/bhl6d8
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© 2009, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
Visit the McClatchy Washington Bureau on the World Wide Web at www.mcclatchydc.com.
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A-Rod: ‘Judge Me From This Day Forward'

By Phil Sheridan
The Philadelphia Inquirer

TAMPA, Fla. (MCT) - In a nationally televised news conference attended by many of his New York Yankees teammates, Alex Rodriguez admitted injecting a performance-enhancing drug for nearly three years as a member of the Texas Rangers from 2001 to '03.

"I screwed up big time," Rodriguez said at the end of the nearly 40-minute news conference. "The only thing I ask from this group and the American people is to judge me from this day forward. That's all I can ask for."

Rodriguez said a cousin, whom he declined to identify, brought an "over-the-counter" substance called "Boli" from the Dominican Republic in 2001. It is possible that "Boli" is slang for Perobolan, which is the substance that Sports Illustrated reported triggered Rodriguez's positive drug test in 2003. Perobolan is not legal in the United States even with a prescription.

"It was his understanding that it would give me a dramatic energy boost and otherwise harmless," Rodriguez said. "My cousin and I, one more ignorant than the other, decided it was a good idea to start taking it."

Rodriguez said his cousin injected him with the substance approximately twice a month for six months.

"Neither of us knew how to use it properly," Rodriguez said. "We consulted no one and had no good reason to base that decision. It was pretty evident that we didn't know what we were doing."

Rodriguez admitted using steroids from 2001 to 2003 after Sports Illustrated reported that he was one of 104 players to test positive during what was supposed to be anonymous survey testing in 2003.

Asked how a professional athlete in the first year of a 10-year, $252 million contract with the Rangers would risk using a substance he knew nothing about, Rodriguez, who was 25 at the time, said only that he was "young and stupid." He also said he was not sure whether the substance was a steroid or whether it even helped him.

"I'm not sure what the benefit was," said Rodriguez, a three-time AL MVP. "When you take any substance, it's half mental and half physical. If you take this glass of water and you say, I'm going to be a better baseball player, if you believe it, you probably will be. I certainly felt more energy, but it's hard to say."

If he "didn't think they were steroids," as he said, then why were he and his cousin so secretive about it?

"That's a good question," Rodriguez said after a pause. "I knew we weren't taking Tic Tacs. I knew it potentially could be something that perhaps was wrong. I really didn't get into the investigation. I wouldn't imagine doing something like that today, obviously. It's a different world, a different culture."

Rodriguez said he stopped taking "Boli" in 2003 after a neck injury that "scared me half to death" and because MLB began its drug-testing program with penalties in 2004.

"At that time," he said, "it became evident to me how serious this all was."

He said he had never taken human growth hormone but acknowledged using Ripped Fuel, a product containing the now-banned substance ephedra, "in the Seattle days." Rodriguez played for the Mariners from 1994 through 2000.

Asked about critical comments made by Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer, his former Seattle teammate, in an interview with The Inquirer, Rodriguez said: "I'm sorry Jamie feels that way. He's definitely entitled to his opinion. . . . I'm going to focus on what I can do and move forward."

He reacted in similar fashion to questions about remarks made by MLB commissioner Bud Selig and Houston Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt.

When the subject of his possible pursuit of the all-time home run record and his legacy came up, Rodriguez sounded especially contrite. His public admissions, first in an interview on ESPN and Tuesday, are clearly part of a strategy to salvage his reputation and his potential admission to the Hall of Fame.

"My best year of my career, arguably, was when I was 19, 20 years old in Seattle," Rodriguez said. "My other best year was in '07, just two years ago. So I hope that after my career is over, the evidence falls in my favor. But if it doesn't, I also understand that."

Rodriguez's 10-year contract with the Yankees, signed before the 2008 season, includes incentives worth millions of dollars if he catches and passes Barry Bonds for the all-time home run record. He has 553 home runs; Bonds' record is 762. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said there was little the team could do to change the contract.

"It is what it is," Cashman said. "We have to approach Alex as an asset who is going to be on this team a long time. If this is Humpty Dumpty, we've got to put him together again and put him back up on the wall."

Last week, Rodriguez was approached by the Taylor Hooton Foundation, which is named for a 17-year-old high school baseball player who committed suicide while withdrawing from steroids. Don Hooton, who has made steroid education his life's work since the loss of his son, said Rodriguez could help reach millions of young people.

"He's the perfect person to talk about this," Hooton said. "We've never reached out to any of the other players implicated in this."

Rodriguez said he would work with Hooton to try to educate young people about the dangers of steroid abuse. He apologized to baseball fans everywhere, as well as the Yankees organization and his teammates.

"For a week here, I kept looking for people to blame," Rodriguez said. "And I ended up looking at myself at the end of the day."
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© 2009, The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Visit Philadelphia Online, the Inquirer's World Wide Web site, at http://www.philly.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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PHOTOS (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): rodriguez

Stimulus Bill Law

Bulletin: Obama signs stimulus bill into law

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