Sag Harbor Community Notes, February 4

If you’ve been around Sag Harbor for more than a while, you’ll remember Jim Federico and his wonderful old-fashioned neighborhood grocery store, Federico’s, where the new Harbor Market & Kitchen is now at the corner of Henry and Division streets. (Ah, hooray for the good old days.)Jim passed away in June 2015 at age 80. He had suffered from MDS, myelodysplastic syndrome, which can be treated through a bone marrow transplant, and acute leukemia, which made Jim too ill for the transplant option.

“Over the last two years of my father’s life, he received 86 total units of blood and platelets,” Jim’s daughter, Karin Schroeder of Sag Harbor, wrote last week in a press release on behalf of her whole family announcing the first annual Jim Federico Memorial Blood Drive. It will be co-sponsored by the Federico family and the Sag Harbor Volunteer Ambulance Corps at the firehouse on Brick Kiln Road from 2:30 to 8 p.m. on Friday, February 19.

“If it were not for the generosity of people who donate at blood drives and hospitals,” Karin wrote, “we would have had far less time with him, and we never would have been able to enjoy watching him celebrate his 80th birthday with his grandchildren.” The drive’s goal is to collect 100 pints.

“My family has joined with the Sag Harbor Volunteer Ambulance Corps to sponsor their February Blood Drive. This is our way of both paying it forward, and showing our gratitude to those who gave.

“We hope you will join us on February 19. If you are unable to give (which we understand is difficult for many), please stop by and say hello.”

January’s behind us, the weather has turned milder and spring arrives next month. Gearing up for another busy season, the Sag Harbor Chamber of Commerce will have its next general membership meeting this Thursday, February 11, at 6 p.m. in the Baron’s Cove meeting room.

If you own or operate a business in Sag Harbor or the surrounding area, the chamber wants you to come by.

“We are business professionals who strive to promote and improve the business environment and local economy,” chamber president Lisa Field writes. “The chamber provides tools focused on the development of sustainable solutions through marketing, network development and educational seminars.”

Applications for membership are available at the chamber’s website. Fill one out and bring it to the meeting.

The chamber’s next big event is Harborfrost, just a few short weeks away on Saturday, February 27. There will be ice sculptures on display and live music throughout the shopping district, free tattoos at the Wharf Shop, and a live ice-carving demonstration at Long Wharf at 2 p.m.; fire juggler Keith Leaf will perform at the windmill at 3 and 4 p.m. followed by fire dancers at 5:45. Meanwhile, children’s activities will be offered at Dodds and Eder from 2 to 5 p.m. The day’s big finale will be a fireworks show over the harbor waterfront after 6 p.m.

In other news, our friend and colleague Karl Grossman of Noyac has been appointed to the board of directors of the Suffolk Center on the Holocaust, Diversity and Human Understanding, an organization that is sponsored by Suffolk County Community College to promote “cultural understanding and respect for human dignity” and “encourage human rights awareness and foster the values of respect and diversity.”

According to an announcement from Karl, the center’s activities include overseeing a collection of “artifacts, memoirs, documents and photographs” documenting the Holocaust and an “exhibit on slavery on Long Island … that offers visitors the opportunity to contemplate the dignity and sanctity of life, and to recognize and respect each person as a unique individual entitled to freedom and human rights.”

Karl is a journalist and professor of journalism at the State University of New York/College at Old Westbury, and a columnist in this paper.

Attention anyone who is involved in special education: A free six-week series of one-hour workshops will be offered in March and April at Bay Street Theater for professionals, educators, parents and community members interested in learning more about the challenges facing children in and out of the school setting.

It will be sponsored by East End SEPTO (Special Education Parent Teacher Organization), which is dedicated to providing information, resources and a social network for parents and professionals interacting with children of all needs.

The professionally led series will be held on Tuesday evenings from March 1 through April 5. Participants are welcome to register for individual workshops or the entire series. Visit the website www.eastendsepto.com for detailed workshop descriptions and registration information.

The inaugural workshops in the series will take place on Tuesday, March 1. The topics to be presented then are “Communication with Children 101: Basics for Better Parenting” and “How to Prepare for Your CPSE/CSE Meeting.” Doors open at 6:15 p.m. The workshops will begin promptly at 6:30. Refreshments will be served.

A few of the upcoming Parent University workshops are “Making Sense of the Common Core: A Parent’s Guide to Math Instruction” (March 8); “Drug and Alcohol Use in Teens and Young Adults: The Big and Small Pictures” (March 8); “Effects of Trauma and Building Resiliency” (March 15) and “Understanding the Teenage Brain” (March 15).

Raffle tickets will be available in the lobby for the chance to win gift baskets and gift certificates donated by local merchants, organizations and families. The drawing will take place on April 5. All proceeds will support future workshops and community events sponsored by East End SEPTO.

Canio’s Books is looking for people to read passages by their favorite African-American authors at an event being held in cooperation with the John Jermain Memorial Library on Friday, February 12, at 5 p.m. at the bookstore. To sign up, call 725-4926.

On Saturday, February 13, at 5 p.m., Valentine’s Day will be the theme when Canio’s hosts an open poetry reading on the theme, “Love Trouble, or Love in the Time of Rancor.” Call 725-4926 to register to read.

Poets laureate Lorraine Conlin of Nassau County and Edward Stever of Suffolk County will open the program. Local poet Tom Oleszczuk will be the master of ceremonies.

“The Why’s and How’s of Digital Detox” is the title of a talk to be given at the John Jermain Memorial Library at 34 West Water Street on Saturday, February 6, at 10:30 a.m. by Sophia Ruan Gushee, author of “A to Z of D-Toxing: The Ultimate Guide to Reducing Our Toxic Exposures.”

She will discuss what increased screen time and exposure to electromagnetic fields can do to our health as well as the many benefits of a “digital detox.” The program is free but preregistration is suggested with a limit of 18 people.

Call the library at 725-0049 for information or to register.