East End Notebook: Bids to Buy Island Reach $381k

EAST HAMPTON

Parents received word on Thursday that a student was approached by a strange man while walking home from school on Wednesday afternoon.

Eric M. Casale, the principal at Springs School, sent a note to parents on Thursday morning to alert them of a safety concern. He said East Hampton Town police contacted him last night after a man riding a bike approached a student.

"The man tried to approach the child but the child followed the stranger danger protocol and ran away home to report the incident to his/her parents," Casale said. "The police were notified. Due to the child’s comprehensive description of the man, the police were able to apprehend and arrest the individual."

WESTHAMPTON-HAMPTON BAYS

Custodian: 'School District Wouldn't Let Me Honor My Husband'

When Michelle DeLaVergne's husband, Donald, died of pancreatic cancer in July 2011 after a five-year battle, she and her two daughters, Alexus and Miranda decided they wanted to do something to honor his memory while also helping to fight the disease. They settled on raising money through a pancreatic cancer walk, sponsored by the Lustgarden Foundation.

Oct. 14 marked the second time the family would participate in the walk, only DeLaVergne wasn't there — she said her employer, the Hampton Bays School District, wouldn't allow her to switch her regular 8-hour shift to Saturday so she could participate in the walk on Sunday. 

"My heart just hurts," said DeLaVergne, a five-year-custodian with the district, who said she can't understand why the district was so supportive during her husband's cancer battle and during the last walk, but not this time.

RIVERHEAD

Two DWI Accidents On East Main Street in Riverhead Saturday Night

Two separate car accidents in Riverhead Saturday night involved individuals driving while intoxicated, police say.

According to New York State Troopers, a head-on collision occurred on East Main Street in Riverhead at approximately 3 a.m., in the wee hours of Sunday morning. One driver, Riverhead resident Cornelio V. Lopez, 31, was charged with DWI, a misdemeanor, and was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

In a second, unrelated incident, Riverhead Town police say that at approximately 11:20 p.m. Saturday night at Ok Petroleum on East Main Street, officers responded to an accident involving two vehicles; the driver of the second vehicle fled the scene, police say. Police arrested Byron Juares and charged him with driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor.

SOUTHAMPTON

Crowbar Assailant Sentenced

A Hicksville man who pleaded guilty to assaulting a Southampton musician with a crowbar in July 2011 in the parking lot of a Bayport bar was sentenced to eight years in prison on Wednesday.

Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said 26-year-old Jalaluddin Khojandi will be subject to five years of post-release supervision after serving his time in an upstate prison, and a permanent order of protection was ordered to keep Khojandi away from the victim, Mick Hargreaves, 40.

Hargreaves suffered cuts to his head — that had to be stapled shut — and two skull fractures during the assault.

NORTH FORK

Bidding Closes at $381K for Little Gull Island

Someone out there wants to buy Little Gull Island and its historic lighthouse.

Though the auction to sell Little Gull Island closed Wednesday at 4 p.m., the New London Maritime Society is still hopeful that it may still be chosen as the recipient for the island and its historic lighthouse, which was built in 1869 as a navigational aid for the Race in Long Island Sound. The beacon is actively maintained by the Coast Guard and has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The last bid was $381,000. The New London Maritime Society — in collaboration with Save the Sound, Connecticut Fund for the Environment, and Quebec-Labrador Foundation with help from private donors and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — made its bid of $150,000 on Oct. 9, and Leah Schmalz, attorney for Save the Sound, said that she’s confident strong stewardship will win the day with the U.S. General Service Administration.