This week in Shelter Island history: from our files
10 YEARS AGO
Preparing for ferry company’s new boat
North Ferry had to convert slips at its dock to accommodate its purchase of a new, larger boat. The project involved converting the dock complex into a working slip and lengthening and widening two other slips to accommodate the new, larger boat. The new boat was constructed in Florida and was expected to enter service by the end of 2002.
POSTSCRIPT: North Ferry currently has three large boats and two smaller boats running between Shelter Island and Greenport. Demand determines how many boats run at a time. Beginning Monday, April 23, general manager Bridg Hunt said he plans to run all three large boats at peak hours but if the Mashomack is still getting a new deck painting it will run two large boats and two small boats.
20 YEARS AGO
Stormwater runoff: bad news by any measure
The Conservation Advisory Council has been investigating sources of stormwater runoff pollution and potential solutions, working with marine specialists from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Cornell Cooperative Extension and a private consulting firm. DEC shellfish specialist Maureen Davidson identified hotsp0ts of bacterial contamination around the Island’s shoreline and said there were areas that eventually might have to be cut off to shellfishing, including Gardiners Creek, the drainage culvert on the east side of Dering Harbor and the westerly end of West Neck Bay.
She said that although Coecles Harbor waters were of generally high quality, the drain at the end of Hudson Avenue and the road drainage at the head of the harbor were significant sources of fecal coliform after a storm. Improvements at Chase Creek were desirable, but she said it may be difficult to control bacterial input enough to reopen the permanently closed area to shellfishing.
POSTSCRIPT: Under a state-mandated MS4 program that applies to all municipalities with water access, the town has taken many steps to deal with stormwater runoff . But Dering Harbor remains closed to shellfishing because the DEC maintains that it must have a “safety buffer” should anything go wrong at the Heights Property Owners Corporation sewage treatment plant just west of the North Ferry terminal.
40 YEARS AGO
School tax rate to drop
The Shelter Island School District released a budget proposal for the 1972-73 school year that showed a spending increase of $76,000, but projected a decrease in the tax rate. The $783,228 spending plan was projected to result in a tax rate of $3.39 per $100 of assessed valuation, compared with the rate of $3.50 the previous year. The new budget included an initial payment on the district’s bond issue that was paid for a new gymnasium and alterations to the building.
POSTSCRIPT: Keeping within a state-mandated 2 percent cap for a tax levy increase, the Shelter Island Board of Education approved a budget proposal of $9.7 million that would raise the tax levy by 1.9 percent. Voters vote on the budget on May 15.
50 YEARS AGO
Smoky blaze extensively damages auto
Firefighters responded to a car fire on Manhanset Road that appeared to have been caused by a faulty automatic choke on the vehicle owned by La Verne Hench. He and his wife had just arrived at their Dering Harbor Road vacation home and told the Reporter, “I didn’t expect my presence to cause so much excitement. Neither he nor his wife were injured.
POSTSCRIPT: Drought-like conditions on the East End of Long Island have firefighters on high alert this year, responding to calls with what might appear to the casual observer as over kill. But given the massive wildfires that already destroyed more than 1,000 acres of woodland in the Upton, Manorville and Calverton areas this month, firefighters know that a casually tossed cigarette can easily ignite a blaze of massive proportions. Memories of the 1995 Pine Barrens fire are very much on the minds of firefighters this year.