Our thoughts and prayers go out to all our friends and family affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Our office suffered no physical damage and has electric power at this time.

I ask anyone having trouble reaching our office to contact me directly at [email protected] or 631-774-2528.

The Village is open for business again receiving full power by yesterday.

Shops are opening and some restaurants are also already open for business now and will certainly be ready for customers for tomorrow!

Below are important resources for any of you that have family or friends that may need assistance or if you yourself want to help out others.

Moving forward with great relief Sandy is gone and as a community we have done well.

Thank you to all the public employees, i.e. fire, police, government, emergency personal who are making our streets safe again and giving aid!

As I’m sure most of you are aware, The Salvation Army and Red Cross are working to set up shelters for those who are in need of a place to stay and in need of a warm meal. This includes those who are still out of electric and are unable to heat their homes. For those of you who need or know someone in need of food or shelter please make sure they’re aware of one of the Red Cross Shelters that have been set up in Suffolk County.

Suffolk County

Riverhead City Center 210 Center Drive, Riverhead, NY

H.L. Dennison 100 Veterans Memorial Highway, Hauppauge, NY

Mastic Fire House 1080 Mastic Road, Mastic, NY

Additionally, the Red Cross will have emergency aid stations at each location with disaster mental health personnel available to provide emotional support to hurricane affected residents.

Also, for those of you who are looking to donate – Unfortunately these locations are not able to accept individual donations or collections of items such as clothing, food or cleaning supplies. The cost to sort, package and distribute these types of donations to disaster victims is usually greater than the cost of purchasing the items locally, and it is logistically impossible to distribute a wide variety of individual items in a meaningful and equitable way. The best way to donate is to make a financial gift.

Your donation enables these organization to get prepared and provide shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance to those affected.

If you are in the position to do so, both the Salvation Army and the Red Cross could use monetary donations during this time.

You could donate one of the following ways:

The Salvation Army

• Online: Visit www.salvationarmyusa.org

• By Phone: 1-800-SAL-ARMY (1-800-725-2769).

• Text-to-Give: Text the word STORM to 80888, and confirming the donation with the word, “Yes.”* *A one-time donation of $10 will be billed to your mobile phone bill. Messaging & data rates may apply. Donations are collected for The Salvation Army by mobilecause.com. Reply STOP to 80888 to stop. Reply HELP to 80888 for help. For terms, see www.igfn.org/t.

• By Mail: Checks may be designated and made out to: The Salvation Army Disaster Services Center PO BOX 1959 Atlanta, GA 30301.

The Red Cross

Visit www.redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

Please keep in mind, that local places will accept food and clothing donations. Contact places like you’re local fire house, libraries, and churches to inquire what you can do to help your community or what may be needed.

Please stay safe, and work together during this time when our communities need support!

Jolie Powell