Crime & Safety

Week in Review: Man Slain, STAR Re-Registration Required

The week's top headlines and some news you might have missed:

Man Slain in Huntington Station
A Roosevelt man was shot to death in Huntington Station. Suffolk County police said  Jazzmen Bryant, 33, was shot in the torso and fatally wounded Wednesday night. Officers went to the neighborhood near West Hills Road and Eighth Avenue at 11:19 p.m. in response to a report of shots fired. He was taken to Huntington Hospital but was pronounced dead. Police are investigating the case.

STAR Re-Registration Coming Up

Homeowners have to re-register for Basic STAR exemptions by Dec. 31.

An audit in March found widespread abuse of the tax-saving program, with people claiming second homes or otherwise not eligible to participate. Estimates by the state comptroller found as much as $13 million in fraud and abuse.  "Long Islanders pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation,” said State Assemb. Chad Lupinacci, R-Huntington Station.  “It is critical that qualified residents take full advantage of this program."

West Nile Mosquito Found in Hills

A mosquito sample taken in Dix Hills has tested positive for West Nile, according to Suffolk County health officials.

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The sample was one of 17 taken from across the county testing positive. To date this year, 107 mosquito samples and four birds have tested positive for West Nile virus. No humans or horses have tested positive for West Nile virus in Suffolk County this year.

Teachers Prepare to Teach Common Core
Several teachers went back to school this week, relearning ways to teach math to meet the new Common Core Standards.

Eleven teachers spent the week in math camp at Whitman High School where Beth Reed, a math specialist in the Lindenhurst school system, taught her teacher-pupils the intricacies of preparing for Common Core requirements. That meant learning new ways to navigate modules of teaching and new vocabulary to match the standards.

Pregnant Woman Struck by Car

A pregnant Lindenhurst woman was seriously injured when she was struck by a car in the parking lot of White Post Farms in Melville last week, Suffolk Police said.
Police say Anika Vorndamme-Cajigal, 37, was standing near her car in the parking lot when she was hit by a 2004 Honda that was backing out of a parking spot. 
The driver, Edward Henselder, said his foot slipped off the brake and onto the gas pedal, and the Honda struck Vorndamme-Cajigal and five parked vehicles, police said.

Passerby Alerts Family to Fire

A Good Samaritan who was passing by a Dix Hills home on Sunday afternoon noticed  a bush fire burning nearby. Peter Demidovich at first believed the smoke he spotted was coming from a barbecue but luckily took a closer look and saw the brush fire. He went to the house and banged on the door, alerting the occupants, who were unharmed.



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