2009: The year that was
The rebuilding and armoring of Shell Beach began in January; FEMA paid 75 percent of costs to repair the road and south shore after a nor’easter exacerbated past erosion.
Shelter Island experienced a lot of change in 2009. Here’s asummary of the first half of the last year of the decade.
January
Helen Rosenblum was sworn in for her second full term as townjustice.
The Shelter Island Board of Education voted down an otherwiseautomatic extension of Superintendent Sharon Clifford’scontract.
North Ferry offered discount tokens for residents as promisedafter a state sales tax on ferry improvements was lifted.
Father Vincent Youngberg, the last Passionist priest to serve atSt. Gabe’s youth retreat, moved from the spiritual center.
The Shelter Island boys junior high basketball team stretchedtheir winning streak to 9-0.
February
Local restaurant and deli owners asked the town to do somethingabout a mobile food truck servicing Island construction sites.
The economic downturn manifested as a looming dump deficit -revenues were off at the town Recycling Area and transfer stationby tens of thousands of dollars.
The School Board approved a contract giving clerical andcustodial staff a 5 percent raise.
Pizza returned to Shelter Island, first at Jimmy Oh’s and thenat the new Bella Vita restaurant in the Center.
South Ferry’s newest boat, the Southside, arrived.
Boys volleyball was revived at the Shelter Island School as anew junior high squad hit the court.
The girls varsity basketball squad advanced to the playoffs.
The flying saucer-like South Bay Scooters ice-sailing club tookto a frozen Coecles Harbor.
March
March roared in with a late winter snowstorm that dumped over 13inches on the Island.
Town negotiations with the police union hit an impasse and wentto a state mediator.
4-posters were redeployed in year two of a three-year researchproject to test the tick-killing devices’ impacts andeffectiveness. Suffolk County Vector Control joined the program tomaintain 20 4-posters at Mashomack, which were threatened by budgetshortfalls.
Neighbors opposed the development of a Cobbetts Lane propertysurrounded by wetlands.
A Suffolk County Health Department inspector cited a mobile foodvendor for operating here without a permit. A new town peddling lawwent to a public hearing but was dropped.
Restoration work at Shell Beach was completed before the March31 deadline, linked to the return of endangered piping plovers.
April
New geothermal systems were banned by the Town Board due totheir potential impacts to the Island’s sole source aquifer.
Art Williams resigned from the Shelter Island School Board,citing disclosure issues with the administration and academicfailings.
A request for town funds to repair the bulkhead at Taylor’sIsland opened up a debate on how over $300,000 in waterways feesshould be spent.
Deer meat tested positive for permethrin in one animal sampledin December 2008, according to results released by the town. TownSupervisor Jim Dougherty faulted the sampling protocol.
90-year-old “Iron Man Sid Beckwith golfed his age once again,making it 400 times.
Weeks of work sessions resulted in a school budget carrying anincrease of less than 1 percent.
“We love you, Conrad, was belted out as the school Drama Clubperformed “Bye Bye Birdie.
The town considered adding Energy Star efficiency standards toits building code. Local architects objected and the issue droppedoff the agenda.
The Shelter Island varsity baseball team posted its first winsince 2006.
May
Store owner George Walsh retired from the IGA, and severalformer employees followed his departure, as new owners took overand updated the supermarket.
St. Gabe’s Spiritual Center was listed on the real estate marketfor $19.9 million.
Stephen Gessner was elected to the School Board along withincumbents Linda Eklund and Mark Kanarvogel. The school budget wasapproved.
Scientists researching climate change at Mashomack Preservewarned that not only is sea level gradually rising, Long Island issinking.
The new and improved Shell Beach was officially re-opened.
Paul Mobius was honored as the Lions Club citizen of theyear.
The Senior Citizens Affairs Council celebrated volunteer CathyRaymond.
The Pharms and the Fabulous Five became Island bowling champsfor 2009.
June
Election 2009 took shape as the local GOP chose Linda Springerto run for Town Board instead of Ed Brown. Democratic SupervisorJim Dougherty was initially unopposed. By the end of the summer,his gavel had gotten a workout and he faced two independentopponents – Paul Shepherd and Bill Smith.
Locals opposed a plan to reduce access to the Recycling Area’s”Goodie Pile.
A defective aerial survey of deer left the town with little dataon herd reduction.
The Shelter Island 10K celebrated its 30th running.
The town’s affordable housing program got off to a slow startwith only two prospective tenants and no registered propertyowners.
The old Highway Department barn on Route 114 was finallyrazed.
The Class of 2009 graduated after a class trip to Bermuda.
See next week’s Reporter for more ¹”Year inReview.’