Shelter Island Reporter Editorial: Racing for lives
Who will win Shelter Island’s 16th annual 5K Run/Walk this coming Saturday?
Here’s something that’s more than a hunch — a guarantee that the clear winners will be nonprofit organizations battling breast cancer.
The Island’s 5K is many things: An exciting sporting event that is always competitive, continuing the long and honored tradition of running on the Island; a day-long festival celebrating the Island’s beauty, never more striking than on autumn weekends; and a day for families to gather with others to cheer the racers home.
But the true meaning of the event was best summed up by Race Director Mary Ellen Adipietro, the tireless and inspiring leader of Island road racing, who has said that “what this race is about is taking care of people with cancer and honoring their cancer caregivers. They are our heroes.”
Last year more than $25,000 was raised for several organizations on the front line to reduce breast cancer through awareness and early screening. This year all proceeds will go to the North Fork Breast Health Coalition and the Coalition for Women’s Cancers at Southampton Hospital. There will also be a raffle to benefit Lucia’s Angels, a group that provides aid to women and their families who have late-stage women’s cancers in our area.
The funds are essential; a recent report shows the incidence of breast cancer worldwide increasing more than 20 percent since 2008.
The volunteers who work to make the 5K happen, as well bringing us awareness of the disease, deserve our support. We especially commend Towny Montant, an indefatigable advocate for advanced breast cancer screening for all women, who has undoubtedly saved lives through his efforts.
Come out to Crescent Beach Saturday, cheer the runners and contribute to the charities involved. Be part of a caring community.
A worthwhile safeguard
The budget hearings at Town Hall have been, in almost every instance, productive, with Town Board members working together with department heads to present a frugal but fair budget.
There’s been a refreshing lack of partisan wrangling as the board hammers out a budget that residents can approve. But one ill-considered decision is not to fund a request by Police Chief Jim Read to equip three police cruisers with in-car video cameras for $31,000.
“Video will come,” said Councilman Paul Shepherd, who was in favor of the idea. Indeed, and it’s an idea whose time has come for Shelter Island. Chief Read has made the request for cameras in the cars for a while now, knowing it protects his officers as well as the public. But there are many who look at our crime rate and see no need to spend money to record the stops the police make.
To say a controversial incident involving the police with no electronic record can’t happen here — and be reported far beyond our shores — is shortsighted at best. At worst it’s potentially dangerous for the reputation of our police force and Shelter Island.
