This week in Shelter Island history
Shelter Island varsity basketball team of 1994-95 finished its season with a blowout of Mercy with a 78-38 score in its undefeated season that resulted in a league championship.
50 YEARS AGO IN HISTORY
France performed an underground nuclear test in Algeria.Scott Thompson, known to his fans as comedian Carrot Top was born in Florida.
“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” by the Righteous Brothers topped the charts in the United States.
The average annual income was $6,450.
Gasoline was selling for 31 cents a gallon.
A house could be purchased for an average cost of $31,600.
And on Shelter Island …
40 YEARS AGO
Budget break
With the lion’s share of tax dollars going to education, it was a positive note to hear from the Board of Education 40 years ago that while it would continue to elevate standards at the school, it expected to spend an estimated $50,000 less in the upcoming year than it had in that current year.
The Reporter carried an editorial congratulating those who handle budgeting for the job they were doing to control spending while expanding educational opportunities.
POSTSCRIPT: Similarly, the current administration and Board of Education is working on its 2015-16 budget, projecting that programs will continue to expand and new courses will be added while the community can be assured the state tax cap won’t be exceeded.
30 YEARS AGO
Recent thaw brought out box turtles
Thirty years ago this month Mashomack Preserve Director Mike Laspia wrote a column carried in the Reporter about signs of an early spring, saying that what Puxatawny Phil is to for many an prediction of when spring will arrive, on Shelter Island box turtles are the indicators.
The turtles traditionally hibernate under layers of frozen leaves and soil, but Mr. Laspia’s first sighting i February of 1985 heralded that an early spring was in the offing.
POSTSCRIPT: So far this year there has been plenty of ice and no sign of box turtles, a vision that would, no doubt, delight Islanders who are weary of the ice age.
20 YEARS AGO
Undefeated league champions!
Shelter Island’s varsity boys basketball team in the 1994-95 season posted an undefeated record to ensure the league championship. It was the first time in 26 years that the league championship was undisputed and the first time in 38 years that the championship was won by an undefeated team. Coaches at the time credited a combination of talent with strong chemistry among the players that enabled the team to fly so high.
POSTSCRIPT: This year’s varsity team might faced a rebuilding year since four of its starters had graduated, but with Coach Jay Card Jr. at the helm and junior Tristan Wissemann bringing his talents to the court, the team had a 9-7 record. Mr. Wissemann was last year’s All-Conference Recipient and the team’s Most Valuable Player. It bodes well for next year, according to the coach.
10 YEARS AGO
School extends deadline for survey responses
Ten years ago, the Shelter Island School District opted to reach out to the community with a survey to gather opinions about the strengths and weaknesses at the school. It cost the district $2,500 to have the New York State School Boards Association prepare the 51-question survey, designed to take about 10 minutes to answer. But responses were at only about 7.2 percent, well below the average 10 percent response rate.
POSTSCRIPT: Just this week, Superintendent Leonard Skuggevik announced he has launching his own survey through “Survey Monkey” to be posted on the district’s website to ask Islanders how they think he’s handling the job he started in September.
He’s seeking feedback on what he’s doing well and what could use improvement. A story about that survey will appear in the Reporter’s March 5 edition.
