This week in Shelter Island history
Today’s leader of the East End Supervisors and Mayors Association is Shelter Island Supervisor Jim Dougherty.
50 YEARS AGO IN HISTORY
The White House issued a statement at this time in 1965 pledging a budget that would hold the line at $99.5 billion.Rufus Youngblood, the agent who shielded Lyndon Johnson during the assassination of John Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, in November 1963, was named to head the White House Secret Service detail.
Mouseketeer Annette Funicello, then 22, married her agent, Jack Gilardi.
Basketball great Wilt Chamberlain was traded by the San Francisco Warriors to the Philadelphia 76ers.
“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” by the Righteous Brothers topped the music charts in the United States.
And on Shelter Island …
40 YEARS AGO
Jernick chosen to lead East End Supervisors
Shelter Island Supervisor Thomas Jernick was appointed chairman of the East End Supervisors Association. The group unites to support legislation and general interests of the five East End Towns and now includes mayors of the villages on the East End. The first move the group made 40 years ago was to urge Suffolk County to repeal a $100-a-year licensing fee for home industry contractors.
POSTSCRIPT: Shelter Island Supervisor Jim Dougherty currently heads the East End Supervisors and Mayors Association.
30 YEARS AGO
School officials gearing for bond vote
In advance of a 1985 $1.9 million proposed bond for school repairs, officials were conducting tours of the building to show voters what work was necessary to bring the building up to code. In the past, schools that failed to meet fire, safety and building codes weren’t inspected on a regular basis and state law had no teeth to enforce standards.
In 1984, the law was strengthened and a building that failed to pass inspection and get a certificate of occupancy could be forced to close. The bond failed and without a decision about how to proceed, Board of Education members opted to allocate some money in their budget to at least begin some critical construction and demonstrate good faith to the State Education Department that they weren’t ignoring problems.
POSTSCRIPT: It will be several months before work gets under way, awaiting State Education Department approval of plans that include a new heating and ventilation system and other energy-related projects. But voters approved a bond last May that guarantees the work will be done this year.
20 YEARS AGO
Deer season
Shotgun and muzzle loader hunters were free to take deer during January 1995 provided they agreed to Department of Environmental Conservation regulations. But with harsh winters over the previous several years, many found fewer deer, despite the DEC insistence that there were still plenty of opportunities to bag deer for those who wanted to make the effort.
POSTSCRIPT: Just this week, Shelter Island hunter Beau Payne told the Deer & Tick Committee that after years of being told they had to limit their take to one or two deer a year, it was hard changing the mindset that allows hunters to take as many anterless deer, most of which are females. But today’s hunters have to take at least one anterless deer before shooting a buck.
10 YEARS AGO
Supe announces open space acquisitions
In 2005, Supervisor Art Williams announced that the town would be acquiring eight acres of property from St. Gabriel’s for aquifer protection, eliminating the possibility of future development of seven to eight homes at the site. The acquisition also protected the land used by the Shelter Island Fire Department for its annual chicken barbecue.
POSTSCRIPT: Additional land owned by the Passionist Fathers at St. Gabriel’s remains for sale with Supervisor Jim Dougherty calling for its preservation. But if the town doesn’t find a way to purchase the land at an affordable price, as many as 21 houses could be built there. The asking price has been $19 million with the highest bid to date at $13 million.
