Stella Maris Regional School Principal Jane Peters reveals the details of the school’s new program for two-year-olds, which will open its doors at the East Hampton satellite campus this month.

What prompted Stella Maris to start the two-year-old program this school year?

We finally have the space. We have been discussing this for several years. I get calls all the time from parents asking if we do a two-year-old program. We have had to say that we literally didn’t have the space. We made some changes in the building and were able to move our pre-school from East Hampton to here [Sag Harbor]. That leaves us our classrooms in East Hampton. It will be housed in our eastern campus at the [former] Most Holy Trinity School on Meadow Lane. We have our own private yard and two lovely classrooms. People have been asking for years for us to open a program.

What is the philosophy behind starting a program for two-year-olds?

I think more and more you find children are ready for a group experience of interacting with other kids. In terms of our philosophy, our aim is for the children to have play experience that enhances their development and widens their experiential based. We want to enable them to see themselves as great learners.

We are very eclectic in our approach to preschool. We use a variety of approaches based on developmental theories from Piaget to Montessori. There is a hefty thread of Montessori because that is my own background. A child development specialist provided us with a base of what experiences to provide each student at each age level. There is a lot of play, music, dancing and art. It is the kind of environment that aims to provide kids with a lot of opportunities to interact with other kids and great play materials.

What kinds of experiences will the children have? What skills will they develop and what kinds of toys will they play with?

Pretty much all the toys would be games that are designed to enhance their development capabilities with puzzles, geoboards, and other kinds of basic play toys. They will do a lot with play and art. Additionally our preschool program offers immersion in a foreign language, so for some part of the day they will hear words or conversations spoken in Spanish. The neural pathways start decreasing by age five. So the earlier you do this the better.

Parents can expect children to say they had fun. With music, painting and Playdough, they will have lots of tactile and kinesthetic experiences.

It is a two-and-a-half-hour program from 9 to 11:30 a.m. If we were to receive an overwhelming response we will consider opening an afternoon session as well. That would be from 12:30 to 3 p.m., but at the two-year-old level you wouldn’t be offering a full day program.

Developmentally, what changes are happening with a two-year-old?

Two-year-olds are fascinating. It is one of the first times the kids will push for their independence. They love to do things themselves. Obviously we want to make sure they have opportunities with toys and things so that they can do things independently.

The second piece is the beginning of verbalization of their ideas and imagination. We give them opportunities to express themselves and tell stories. The third piece is we would like to help them begin to build friendships and learn how to share. How do you let someone know that you will give them this toy in two minutes when you are done with it? At home a parent asks them to share their own things but at school, they are sharing the school’s things. It is a little easier for kids to do that. They aren’t able to pull out the “mine” card.

In terms of gross motor skills, they are working on running, jumping and hopping. All of those things are great for brain development. They are very busy and active.

It will be a program that isn’t time structured but space structured. With a two-year-old program you will have different centers at different parts of the room. The teachers facilitate movement from one center to the next. Occasionally the kids gather for things like snack, story or music. A two-year-old won’t be sitting for a prolonged period of time. Their attention span is 10 minutes at the most.

The goal is to have them feel really good about themselves and their abilities. They form their image of who they are as a learner. We hope it winds up being a whole lot of fun.

How many students will you accept per session?

We have a maximum of 10 students per session with two certified teachers. Right now we have six kids signed up, so we do have space for the morning program. People will have the option of two, three or five sessions per week. As I said if we had an overwhelming response, we will open up to an afternoon session.

What is the model for this school?

I worked for a Montessori program in Minneapolis that had a two-year-old program. When I worked at the Riverdale Neighborhood House I created a two-year-old program. That is the model that we are working off of.

The Stella Maris Regional School’s “Stella Stars” two-year-old program runs from Monday through Friday. Five morning sessions cost $617.50 per month. Three morning sessions per week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, cost $367.50 per month. Two morning sessions per week, on Tuesday and Thursday, cost $245 per month. For more information on the program call the Stella Maris office at 725-2525.

Pierson senior Brook Hartnett, Sag Harbor School Board member Dan’s son, worked for a month this summer as a page for the United States House of Representatives. Nominated by East End congressman Tim Bishop, Hartnett delves into his experiences in Washington from watching Massachusetts representative Barney Frank debate without notes to his classes in leadership at the House Page School.

The Page Program is highly competitive with a series of requirements. Could you explain what the application process is like?

The admissions process was lengthy. I gave recommendations from teachers. Then I had to write various essays on different topics. For example one topic was, “What would you say is the most influential thing in your life?” I wrote about my teachers and my school and how they influence how I have grown. I think the GPA requirement was 3.7.

About 70 kids are chosen [as pages] and they represent different states from Florida to Texas to California. You have to apply through your congressman to be put into the page pool, and then we had to go through the state. Then the page program picked us.

Before you applied for the Page Program, what was the extent of your political and/or government knowledge and experience? Do you find that you are pretty politically engaged?

I was pretty inexperienced. The most I had done was a Model UN class. I didn’t really have too much experience in terms of the governmental process. [But] I always have The New York Times on my phone and I am always checking the headlines. I subscribe to the UN wire, which sends out headlines of the daily events.

What prompted you to apply for the program?

I was looking at colleges and I found the Georgetown summer program. Through that I found the Page Program. It seemed definitely within reach for me and it sounded like a good opportunity, so I just threw in an application and hoped for the best.

I know that the House runs a Page School, especially for juniors who are attending the program during the school year. Did you also attend school although you were participating during a summer session?

Yes. They teach classes about leadership. The focus seemed to be on using this experience to propel you into a leadership role in the country. We had one-hour classes in international relations, leadership and government.

Could you take a reader through your average day as a congressional page?

We basically woke up for classes at 6 a.m. [After class at 10 a.m.] we went to the house floor and the floor boss assigned us our duties of the day. Runner pages went to the offices and brought down legislation to the house floor. As a statement page, after a congressman spoke we would say, “Sir, can we have your statement.” And we brought the statements to the clerk’s office. There were flag pages.

Once we were assigned our jobs we did them for about two to three hours. Then we had lunch and we would continue the job until about 5 p.m. At 5, they would tell us which group would stay late. There were five groups of about nine to 10 kids and one group would stay for the late session.

Which duty was your personal favorite?

Statement page. I looked forward to being on the House floor. I enjoyed seeing the debates go on. I had never even been to the Capital before, so I went from that to the floor.

Were most of the 70-some pages pretty politically active?

I would say yes. All those kids were pretty well informed. Some kids knew everything about their state and district. We would have some conversations at night about what we would do as leaders of the country and reforms we would like to pass.

As a page, what uniform did you have to wear and how did you feel about it?

It was slacks, a blazer, a long sleeve shirt, tie and black shoes, and a name tag. We also had a little page pin because everyone wears a pin, even congressmen have their pins. Even the secret service has pins. One congressman wore a bike pin.

I wasn’t thrilled about the uniform at first but as it goes on you grow attached to it. You are in it for eight to nine hours a day. After coming home, it’s weird not having to put it on at 6 a.m. every day.

As a page, you were in close proximity with congressmen and women for about a month. Did anything surprise you about these politicians or the political process?

I was more surprised by how slow the process is. Until you really experience it you don’t realize how slow things actually move [because of] the debates that go on and the voting procedure. Even if [a piece of legislation] goes through the House it still has to go to the senate.

Was there a congressperson that you particularly enjoyed watching debate?

Every time congressman Barney Frank spoke everyone was quiet. He commands so much respect. He brings up no notes, whereas most congressmen have piles of notes. He looks at one sheet of paper and just goes. Every time he spoke you just wanted to watch him.

Do you think your experience as a page has made you more politically aware or motivated?

Yes, definitely. I didn’t think before of politics as a possible career, but I learned that the stuff [congress members] do there is good. They are there to help you and to help make the country better.

You are a senior this school year. Do you know what you are going to major in?

Probably political science. I have always been interested in psychology and ultimately I want to go to law school.

From racing against Mayor Rudy Giuliani in the 1997 New York City mayoral election to running the American Jewish World Service, a development organization, Ruth Messinger has an interesting record of political activism and social engagement. In preparation for a series of talks this weekend at three East End synagogues, Messinger sits down with the Express to discuss the work her organization is undertaking in Haiti, among other projects, and the steps any citizen can take towards resolving global injustices.

You received a Masters of Social Work from the University of Oklahoma in 1962. You later became a New York City Council member and Manhattan Borough President. Considering your masters degree was in social work, politics seems like an unlikely trajectory for your career. What prompted you to become a politician and how did your academic background inform your work as a public servant?

From a personal point of view, I wasn’t planning to go into politics. I went into social work because it was a way to be involved in making change at a group and community level. I was interested in making society better. Initially, I thought I would like to become a case worker but when I got out of social work school I was much more interested in community organizing. Social work school prepared me well for that work as an organizer and subsequently as an elected official. There is a lot of social work in public life. [Social work] teaches you how to work with people.

In 1997, you were the first female Democratic nominee for the New York City mayoral race and your opponent was Rudolph Giuliani, a very charismatic politician. What was that experience like?

I loved being in city politics. I loved what I was able to do. Running for mayor, I though was the best possible next step. The fact that Giuliani was an incumbent candidate [made the race] hugely challenging. In his first term he was successful in crime reduction. He was a more formidable candidate. He wasn’t seen as being charismatic. That reputation came for his work after 9/11.

A year after you lost the mayoral election, you became the CEO of American Jewish World Service. Why did you decide to leave the political arena and work for a development organization?

I think that 20 years [in public office] is a pretty long run. I would have been delighted to have been mayor. I was more than prepared to see what else I would do with my life. I thought the skills I had acquired from my work in government with community organizations around the city [could be used] for running a not-for-profit. I was doing work for small groups. It was a big change working for a global group.

Was there a steep learning curve when you transitioned from working with local groups to an international organization?

The learning wasn’t so much in how to work with groups but understanding the dimensions of global problems, how to approach development and the importance of rights based work. One of the reasons for taking the job was a chance to learn new things.

To the readers who are unfamiliar with American Jewish World Service, could you explain a bit about the mission of your organization and the work that it does?

We have a dual mission. One half addresses the most severe poverty, hunger and disease with non-Jewish populations in the developing world. The first half is to educate the Jewish community about a global response [to these issues]. We partner with small grass roots groups, supply financial aid, provide teaching assistants and skilled volunteers and work on issues of public policy. We place volunteers in service programs in the developing world.

We help people understand the challenges the poorest one billion people face. I would make the argument that this is supported in the Jewish texts that this is part of our responsibility to help heal the world.

We work in 34 countries. We don’t tackle everything in those countries but we support promising small grass roots programs. That might be a micro financing opportunity. It might be. It might be financing rural farmers running a program or aids prevention. Our capacity and the problems that most need to be challenged in those regions of that world guides our grant making.

Your organization seems to have a history of being reactive to events like 9/11 or the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004. How did AJWS respond and help the relief effort in Haiti after the earthquake in January?

Our primary work is with organizations that haven’t experienced some natural disaster. Those 450 organizations are our primary partners and our primary work. It is also true that we respond to natural and human-made disasters in countries where we already have partners on the ground. We do a good job of moving donor dollars. We did that with the tsunami and six years ago in Darfur but that is not the broadest piece of our work. We spend about $14 million a year making grants for small social change.

Haiti is a great example. We were already working in Haiti with small partners for agricultural work and community development. When the earthquake happened there were critical immediate relief needs. They didn’t have clean water.

The American Jewish community raised $6 million for work in Haiti. $1.5 million will be spent before the end of 2010. The $4.5 million reserve will be spent on longer term development. We are moving from disaster to development.

What type of initial work has AJWS already accomplished in Haiti?

We have done everything from delivering immediate and early requests like Pampers and sanitary napkins — none of the large international organizations thought to bring them — to funding and planning for the establishment of a prosthetic facility. Prosthetics are needed by the tens of thousands. We are helping an organization that has the capacity of rebuilding the agricultural community. We are doing some psycho-social support. People get incredibly burned out. With the additional monies, [over] three or four years we will spend it on issues of building and renewing agricultural capacity in a country that used to be able to feed itself.

This weekend you are speaking at three local synagogues on issues of global social justice, fighting hunger and Jewish responsibility in today’s world. What can Jewish people and others in our village do to help resolve issues of poverty, hunger, violence, disease and oppression?

In each instance, I want to let people know that we exist and what our general work is. I am not restricting myself to some title [of the lecture]. The focus of the talk was selected by the communities. We expect and hope that increasing numbers of people will learn what is happening in the world. Every six seconds a child dies of hunger. People will look increasingly at the ways they can be involved as volunteers or as donors or as advocates pushing government officials to meet these needs.

There are a lot of ways that people can be more involved, more than they might immediately imagine.

Ruth Messinger will speak at three synagogues on the East End this weekend.  “We Can and We Must: The Jewish Imperative of Global Social Justice,” on Friday, August 20, at 8 p.m., at Temple Adas Isreal, Elizabeth Street and Atlantic Avenue, Sag Harbor. “Fighting Hunger in a World of Plenty: A Grassroots Approach,” on Saturday, August 21, at 9:30 a.m. at the Conservative Synagogue of the Hamptons at the Old Whalers’ Church, 44 Union Street, Sag Harbor. “Leading for Change: Jewish Global Responsibility in the 21st Century,” on Saturday, August 21, at 7 p.m. at the Hampton Synagogue, 154 Sunset Avenue, Westhampton Beach.

The vice president and president of the Sag Harbor Historical Society on the next 25 years of the society, the importance of preservation and inviting people over to Annie’s House

Why is it important for us to preserve history?

NANCY We are our history. We learn and teach from our history.

TUCKER And this is a village that respects its history.

NANCY We live in a country that has a relatively short history, making it all the more important to understand what has come before us.

The Sag Harbor Historical Society just celebrated its 25^th anniversary, and you have since taken over its leadership. What will make the next 25 years different?

NANCY It will be a continuation of what the Annie Cooper Boyd House has come to represent. We spent a lot of time restoring the house. Now that it has been done, we want to spend time educating the young people and the adults about the house and all it has to offer. It is especially important for the children. We want to make this is an open house for the public to come to.

TUCKER We want everyone to know that the house is a resource.

NANCY We want people to know about the period the house represents and understand the vast pictorial history that is available. Annie was born in 1864 and we have hundreds of watercolors she painted of Sag Harbor and the surrounding areas. Her father had a business in the back outfitting whaling ships. She was free and easy to do what she wanted and go where she wanted and she really explored the area. We even have paintings of Montauk.

We have files of archival works. They have all been digitized.

We will continue to do our outreach and return to offering lectures and programs about historical people and places in and around Sag Harbor.

You told me you think it is important the historical society has a voice. Why is that?

NANCY We represent an organization that wants to foster and promote the antiquity of this village. We want it accurately represented with the documents and paintings that we have and want to make sure there is always that resource that reminds us the village is a true historic landmark.

TUCKER We are one of many voices making the effort to preserve what we have.

How will you use your voice?

NANCY At public meetings; we intend to have a representatives at all meetings. We’ll keep track of the minutes and try to put clarity to anything that is confused.

What role do you see the society serving

NANCY To facilitate the knowledge of our history and to advocate the use of Annie’s House as a resource. If the house is not open we’ll make an effort to open it whenever it’s needed, and make it available for people to do research.

How are you reaching out to people?

TUCKER We will be hosting “Fridays on the Porch” the next three weeks and we’re inviting everyone to stop by and visit. We’ll have wine and complimentary hors d’ouvres. We hope people will come by and see the Long Beach exhibit and hope we can tell people more about the historical society. It’s one of our first steps in being open and welcoming and encouraging participation.

NANCY I think a lot of people walk by the building and think it is just the headquarters of the historical society, and not a living building.

We really want it to be known as “Annie’s House,” and there will be a new sign that will say Annie Cooper Boyd House. There has been such an assemblage of history that has been left to us, thanks to Annie, and we thought it sounds more welcoming.

TUCKER With the launch of “Fridays on the Porch” we’ll start “Annie’s House.”

NANCY With “Fridays on the Porch,” the society’s trustees are an obvious vehicle to get information out there. Instead of talking about the weather, we’ll talk about the paintings or the Long Beach exhibit, or any other aspect about the society or history of the village.

What’s the longterm goal for the historical society?

NANCY Well, our size is limited; we’d like to have more help, more employees. We would hope we could acquire some office space.

We hope to get more into the schools and would like to work more closely with the Whaling Museum and the Custom House. I think there’s a great opportunity there.

“Fridays on the Porch” begin this Friday, August 13, from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Annie Cooper Boyd House on Main Street. They will be held the following two Fridays,

On the Saturday of HarborFest, the society will offer “A Day at Annie’s House” with refreshments on the lawn and games for children.  

The newly appointed President of the Bridgehampton Board of Education talks about the challenges she sees the district facing in the next year, why she thinks new superintendent is a perfect fit for Bridgehampton and the bridges the school will need to build to connect to its larger community.

I know your nomination to school board president did not come as a surprise. What do you think you will bring to the table that is different from past leaders of the Bridgehampton School Board?

I hope to lead the board of education with many of the traits that the former BOE presidents have. I do, however, plan on keeping the entire board well informed on all issues large and small in order to make solid, timely and well thought decisions.

Bridgehampton School has been expanding in recent years under the leadership of school board president Elizabeth Kotz, facing and defeating hopes by some community members to close the high school, the passage of several referendums, including for the replacement for new windows at the historic school, the hiring of a new school superintendent and has strived for accreditation through Middle States. Do you see the next year as a transition period and what challenges do you think you will face?

Elizabeth kotz is a fabulous BOE member and former president. My accepting the nomination for president has no reflection on all the hard work she put into the board as president last year. 

As far as the district being challenged by several community members, I feel this fight was won by the community, not the board of education. That’s not to say we didn’t have a full year.

Although the windows have been on the table for years now, the replacement plan has recently come full circle and we are all very excited to get the renovation moving. I thank [former superintendent] Dr. [Dianne] Youngblood for all her hard work regarding accreditation with Middle States. She was definitely an intricate part of the beginning processes.

As a full board of education, we worked very hard last year to choose the right superintendent for our district. I feel we found the perfect fit in Dr. Favre.

I don’t know what changes will come in the upcoming year, and yes, I do see it as a transition year. As a board it is important to us to stay on task with all of our current issues and tackle any new ones that may arise. With a new superintendent as well as business administrator we are all trying to learn each other work habits and personalities. I feel in September we will find ourselves rolling up our sleeves and digging in.

This year, the board hired new Superintendent Dr. Lois Favre to replace Dr. Dianne Youngblood. What was the process of selecting a new superintendent like and how do you think Dr. Favre surpassed other candidates?

Last year the school chose the firm School Leadership to assist us with our superintendent search. The experience working with them was very professional and we were delighted with the selection they brought before us. I can remember Dr. Favre leaving her first round of interviews and having to take a deep breath as her passion to educate was delightfully exhausting.

She uses terms like “my kids” and “we have an obligation to educate” and that won me over. Dr. Favre comes with a list of accomplishment and accreditation’s not to mention an impeccable track record of success. Her being here at Bridgehampton is a win win for the both of us.

Closing the school was an issue that, in part, led you to run for school board. Do you see that as an issue that is off the table?

It a funny issue that seems to come to the surface about every 10 years or so. If I am correct, we should have a nice span of time to work on making bhs the best public school on Long Island. And hopefully by then the naysayers will have their fill.

The school board is largely made up of parents of students within the district. Is that a benefit in your view, or should the board be more diverse in the sense of the larger community?

Well, as much as [former board of education member] Mr. [Joe] Berhalter and I disagreed on issues, he was an asset to the board. Having a different point of view and being able to express it always a healthy thing. The thing about elections is that almost anyone in the district can run, and I encouraged anyone to do so if they feel it’s their time. It is my understanding that he plans to sit on a few committees as a community member, which I was happy to hear.

We had three community members run this year, all very qualified in my eyes to serve on the board. I feel with Mrs. [JoAnn] Comfort and Mr. [Lawrence] Lapointe being district taxpayers and business owners, they bring more to the table then just parental concern. It’s a hard job where criticism comes quick and you are not always “Mr. Nice Guy,” but there are those moments when you see something fabulous coming together, when the principal introduces new curriculum, when teachers become excited to explore new ideas and students share in their accomplishments. These are the moments, no matter if you are a parent in the district or a district taxpayer that make it all worth it.

For several years now, the Bridgehampton community has been one that is viewed as divided. How can the board, in your leadership, reach out to the greater community to involve them in the work at Bridgehampton School?

I think we have begun to do that over the past several years already. I also think we have more bridges to cross. Bridgehampton is so rich with arts, culture, history and pride that it sometimes becomes a bit overwhelming. I hope hope the district can take advantage of all our community has to offer. I would also like to see more families in district whose children do not attend Bridgehampton School to take advantage of some of the programs we offer, such as our summer tennis program, summer music program or our PSAT and SAT prep courses, to name a few.

As both school board president and a parent, what are some of the areas you would like to see improved within the Bridgehampton School District? Do you have specific goals going into the next year?

I would like to see the district consider an an e-school program or something very similar over the next couple of years.

The Slow Food movement has taken serious root on the East End and the Bridgehampton School has benefited from that, beginning its own architectural landscape design course and recently breaking ground on its own greenhouse. How would you like to see that program expand at Bridgehampton?

Like a weed. Sorry, I know that is a bad joke. The Slow Food movement as well our school programs and greenhouse have the boards full support. I know we would love to see an overflow into our lunch program as soon as possible.First we need to finishing raising enough funds to finishing erecting the greenhouse. I believe we are about $5,000 short, so if you know of anyone who would like to make a contribution to an amazing cause that will not only educate but feed a district, let us know.

As a mother, and leader at Macaroni Kid, a website dedicated to children’s activities and education, what are some of the best things the Bridgehampton community has to offer parents and children?

That’s funny you ask –  my business partner is from Water Mill, so we constantly compete to see whose community have a larger venue. The Hampton Library has so many friendly and creative programs they run, that it’s no wonder they max out on occupancy at times. Our historical society holds dozens of family friendly events through out the year, and let us not forget our fabulous Children’s Museum of the East End, Child Care Center, Senior Citizens Center and the South Fork Natural History Museum. Bridgehampton is bursting with culture and pride. What a great opportunity I have to be a part of it.

When it comes to tending to hives, Quail Hill beekeeper Mary Woltz is the bees knees. Keeping close to 100 beehives on Marder’s property in Bridgehampton, Woltz works with her fuzzy yellow and black friends from sun up to sundown, and in the evening she jars the honey for her company Bee’s Needs. Woltz sat down with The Express to highlight the importance of bees and why she no longer minds their stings.

You started your business three years ago. How long have you owned beehives? What prompted you to turn this passion into a commercial venture?

I was working for The Hamptons Honey Company prior to starting a business. I was keeping bees for them. They refocused and became more of a distributor of honey than a producer.

I started my own business. I have been beekeeping for eight years. I only had a year’s experience when I was offered a job to manage 100 hives. Honestly the bees taught me everything I know.

What is the relevance of the name Bee’s Needs?

It was very specific and chosen to reflect the need of the honey bee for their own honey because often in commercial operations the bees’ honey is removed and the bees are fed sugar water or high fructose corn syrup. My goal is to always care for the bees’ needs first. I take whatever surplus they produce to sell. The sub line [of my business name] is “Bee’s needs come first.” I don’t get the harvest other beekeepers get, but it is okay. I’m working for them.

Why do you refer to your bees as “girls”?

In the hive they are largely female. Let’s say you have a thriving hive in mid-summer, at this point there is one queen, a few hundred drones who are the males, and everyone else is female. The workers are all female and you have 50,000 to 70,000 bees in some colonies. It is a matriarchal society. It is mostly girls.

Each hive has her own name and the hive is a single entity. It is a whole. There might be 50,000 bees but they act as one. It is a large community and they will sacrifice themselves for the defense of the hive. A honey bee dies when it stings.

You’ve said that, “Bees are involved in one out of every three bites of food we eat.” Do you think people underestimate the importance of bees?

I think the bees have been taken for granted for a long time. It’s like a lot of things. If you want some water you go to the tap and you fill your glass. I grew up with a well. We lived out in the country. When the well was broken, you lived by the saying “You never know the wealth of water until the well runs dry.”

Not until the bees started to disappear and get sick that people said, “oops, they are important.” It is at our peril. We have treated them so poorly. We have taken their generosity for granted. It has gotten to the point where we are damaging and threatening their well being in how we keep and treat them.

According to some sources the bee population in America has been cut in half in recent years. What is causing this decline? What impact does it have?

We are down to about 2 to 2.5 million. Back in the 1980s with Varroa Mites we were between 5 to 6 million. Then the population was built back up, but then with colony collapse [disorder, or honey bee depopulation syndrome, where worker bees suddenly disappear] populations were diminished 40 to 50 percent. This past winter the average colony loss was 37 percent. The average losses are expected at 15 percent so 37 percent is more than twice that. Some beekeepers were losing 80 to 90 percent. They started importing bees, but there is fear and trepidation because you aren’t sure what else is coming in. [Whether it be] more disease or more pests. Having enough pollinators is another issue. A couple years ago almond growers were desperate for bees. Over half of the bee population [is moved around throughout the year]. We haul them to California in January and February to pollinate almonds. We haul them to Maine for blueberries. It is somewhat of a bio-security issue to have that concentration of bees in one place. This is a huge stress. That is how diseases are passed from region to region.

In a video interview with you on your “People Who Feed Us” blog, you inspect your hives without a helmet or veil. Are you immune to bee stings or do your bees leave you alone?

Usually the first question people ask me is “do you get stung.” It indicates where we are in our relationship to the bee. It is very telling that that is the first thing someone thinks about.

Well yeah, I get stung and it never stops hurting. It hurts just as bad this year as it did seven or eight years ago. It is usually my fault when I get stung. I don’t want to [wear a helmet and veil]. When you put all that gear on you look like a Hazmat person and that is just not the way I dress up to see my friends. When I am going to visit them, I find that if I am vulnerable then it makes me not only more careful but it puts me in a mindset into how they might feel. I am moving into their home and their environment.

How difficult is it to keep bees for the average person with little to no bee keeping experience?

It is not a Chia pet. I would say that first and foremost you really need to know some biology. You need to do your homework. It is as rewarding as anything you could take on. Every time I open a hive I am humbled by how much there is to learn. If you like a challenge it is great, but you really need to apply yourself. The more you put into it the better chance you will have a positive result. Because it can be dangerous. These are stinging insects. If you get enough stings you will get in trouble. This is not to discourage people but they should enter it with some respect and awareness.

What are the medicinal benefits of honey and bee products?

Honey has been used as a wound treatment before antibiotics. Internally, honey has tons of enzymes that are very good for you. You can survive on milk and honey alone. Pollen is a terrific source of protein. Propolis, what bees use to glue everything together, is an anti fungal and an antiviral. It is used in AIDS research.

Where does one find Bee’s Needs Honey? How do they purchase a share of honey?
I am at the Sag Harbor Farmers Market every Saturday. My honey is sold at Green Thumb [in Water Mill] and Juicy Naam [in Sag Harbor] and Lucy’s Whey in East Hampton. It’s also at Marder’s Nursery in Bridgehampton. You can become a member of my community supported apiary. You buy a case. I only sell what my bees produce. Everything is a bit of a mix and it is divided seasonally. It isn’t one size fits all there are different tastes, flavors and textures. A share has four jars for three seasons.

Woltz will host a live honey bee demonstration at 6 p.m. during the “Big Show 5″ at the Silas Marder Gallery, 120 Snake Hollow Road, Bridgehampton. The group show will exhibit more than 50 artists, each of whom was commissioned by the Silas Marder Gallery to complete three 8″ x 10″ works on canvas. For more information call 702-2306.

The general manager of Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theatre talks about the struggles her industry faces in the wake of a lackluster economy, the role of the theatre as a year-round community resource, and why she thinks the upcoming production of David Mamet’s “Romance” is sure to be a hit.

Last fall, Bay Street Theatre found itself in dire need of financial assistance to continue operating in Sag Harbor. Word on the street is the theatre is once more in financial strife. What is fact and what is fiction?

The fact is that our two most expensive shows are Lanford Wilson’s “Fifth of July” which is on our stage now, and David Mamet’s “Romance.” This is the time we need to sell tickets. Unlike Main Street retail stores, we have only six weeks left to sell our product and after that our chance is over. So that is the issue and those sales will decide if we are back to square one again this fall like we were last year.

To what do you attribute the decline in ticket sales? Does the economic downturn have an impact? Is this a national issue for theatres?

If we could identify that, theatres everywhere would be thriving. The fact of the matter is we as a theatre are not alone. Some people will say it is the plays we pick and some people say we should be doing mainstream musicals. To them, I say I just spoke to the man who runs the Gateway Theatre, which stages “Hairspray” and other mainstream musicals and they are in the same position. I don’t think it’s a content issue. It’s a problem on Broadway – we are seeing it everywhere. I think the economy does play into it. Prior to last year, and many years before that, we did very well. Last year was precipitous and in terms of ticket sales we just have not been doing well. Like I said, if I could answer this question, we would all be happy.

Our artistic directors Sybil [Christopher] and Murphy [Davis] put an enormous amount of time and thought into the selection of shows and the arch of our summer season to ensure there is something for everyone. For example, this year we went with another new play, “Dissonance” and we always want to present new work because it is a part of our mission.

We are also presenting something connected to where we are. Lanford Wilson’s – a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright who calls Sag Harbor his home – “Fifth of July.” It’s am amazing piece of work and one of the larger productions outside of a musical that we have ever done. It has a large cast, the set is extraordinary and while it is a revival it is a play that is relevant today.

For our third show, “Romance,” I just saw the first read through of the play in New York and it is one of the most outrageous, funny pieces I have ever heard. It is Mamet – warning, it is Mamet – and he screws with absolutely everyone. If you can overlook some of the language, it is literally laugh-out-loud hysterical. I was just dying. It features Chris Bauer from “True Blood,” SNL’s Darrell Hammond and Richard Kind, who was at our gala this weekend as the auctioneer. He is so passionate about this place and so outrageously funny as the Judge in this play. If we can get people there at the previews, there will be buzz, and there is no reason we shouldn’t sell this out.

Reviews often play a heavy role in theatre attendance, and locally some of your productions as well as Guild Hall’s “Equus” received glowing reviews. Did it have an impact?

The fact is I don’t know how the box office did for “Equus,” but I would imagine with Alec Baldwin that they did do well. That being said, we got stellar reviews for “Dissonance” and normally, not last year, but normally when we see a review like that we would see an immediate bump in sales and this year that didn’t happen. You never want a bad review, but when good reviews are not getting people through the door you are just unsure of what it is. I do understand that times are tough, and people come out here to go to the beach and experience what the Hamptons has to offer, see friends and basically have a good time, but if we can get people who are out here on the weekends to realize that we do bring top quality Broadway productions to Bay Street – these are Broadway performers, designers and directors – maybe they would see what we have to offer.

The quality is here and I think if they could understand that not only will they see a fabulous show, but also help a local community organization survive it would help. What we offer is beyond what we stage here 12 weeks of the year. The theatre is important to Main Street, between the local employees we have, the amount of money we spend locally on advertising, house rentals, hotel rooms, the local restaurants, the benefits we throw for people in the community because we like being good neighbors. There is so much more that goes into being a true year round institution

It is hard to imagine Sag Harbor without Bay Street Theatre. What is the importance of Bay Street to the local community?

I think that is one of the things I certainly didn’t realize until I started working here. Because we don’t have a community house, or that kind of facility, we receive numerous calls every week during the non summer months and it can be for something as simple as a sick neighbor who someone wants to throw a potluck or gathering for. And of course, our doors are open. We do that for free and we staff it, pay for the electric and pay to keep our doors open. That is part of what being a part of a community is all about. And of course, when a major world disaster happens, like the earthquake in Haiti, and we as a community say, we have to do something, we hosted an event with Dan Bailey and Jay Schneiderman and raised $10,000. It may have not been a local cause, but it was something everyone was calling us about.

We also do a number of things for students on an educational front. We started our Literacy Live program last fall and it was an amazing first time out of the gate. We hope to introduce students who may have never seen a fully stages theatrical production to theatre and we are still getting calls from the teachers and students who saw “Diary of Anne Frank.” This year, we will have “The Miracle Worker.”

When parents call us with a need we try and listen and one of the things we started was our theatre camps during school vacation breaks. Many of our parents are both working parents and not able to get away to go skiing and they are in a panic over what to do with their kids while they are working and we are able to give them a fulfilling educational experience that is also fun. And we are creating an audience for the future, so it all goes full circle.

What is the theatre’s bottom line and where are you now?

We need to sell the seats at our final two shows and for our comedy nights. We budget to sell between 60 and 70 percent of the house and our first show came in about 50 percent of what we needed it to sell. We are looking at the same numbers right now for these two shows we have left – the two remaining weeks of “Fifth of July” and the four-week run of “Romance.” We are down $100,000 on “Dissonance” and that is what it is, so now we need to get the word out. We hope people come and experience something fun and enjoyable, but also recognize how important this is and that we are more than a theatre.

What is the marketing strategy?

One thing we recognize is the economy is tough and there are people who want to come but can’t afford a $55, $60 theatre ticket, so we will be offering two-fers on the day of the show for “Fifth of July” anytime after 2 p.m. if there are seats available. We will also do that for the previews of “Romance,” because I firmly believe when the buzz starts happening around that show people will come running. Of course, we advertise, send email blasts, have an online presence. We are also soliciting help from our volunteers that do so much for us and come running whenever we need additional support. If any your readers get a call from them, be nice to the volunteers. They are doing it for a good cause. My door is always open and I am always available to anyone who has any ideas for us. We are listening.

What is some of the more popular programming in recent years? Have you seen a shift in taste or what the public is looking for in a theatre?

That is really a question for our artistic directors. They pick plays, musicals, comedies, dramas, and they have to be drawn to them and they also understand they are trying to please a wide audience. For the first summer this year, we don’t have a musical on our main stage. We picked the Mamet piece for the last play because his is certainly a name many people adore and we hope that will be a draw … One of the things that is important to us, even during this last year is maintaining not only the quality of work we produce, but the level of production we produce. We are so grateful to our board of directors who have felt the same way we have. If you cut back, it is proven over time you will slowly lose your audience. So these productions we are putting on are expensive, they are professional actors, professional directors and designers. The sound, the lighting – all these things we would not cut back on because we want to deliver a top of the line production. What we will do for next year if we can’t make our budget is really in the hands of our board of directors. My job is to fill seats now, so we don’t have to get to that point.

Bay Street Theatre is on Long Wharf in Sag Harbor. For information call 725-9500 or visit www.baystreet.org.

The mother of the late Marine Lance Corporal Jordan C. Haerter and member of the organizing committee for “Solider Ride The Hamptons” talks about next weekend’s Solider Ride event, staying in touch with her son’s battalion and how she remembers her son, who was killed in combat two-and-a-half-years ago at the age of 19 defending a checkpoint in Ramadi, Iraq.

The last three years “Solider Ride The Hamptons” has dedicated its summer cycling and walk/run event to your late son Lance Corporal Jordan C. Haerter. What drew you to become an active member of the organization?

The first invited me after Jordan was killed. That first year was very hard. Jordan’s birthday is July 30 so it was a lot to take in, but it has grown into a very good thing for me to celebrate. It is a great organization and when Jordan died it was one of those things I could do to keep busy, to stay involved. It is something that helps me get through and the organization does so very much for the veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, which is important to me.

For the second year, the Soldier Ride event will include a tribute to your son in your hometown of Sag Harbor. Will the event differ much this year from last year’s event?

This year, like last year, there will be a tribute to Jordan at the base of the bridge [named the Lance Corporal Jordan C. Haerter Veterans Memorial Bridge in honor of the fallen Marine], but we will also remember Army First Lieutenant Joseph Theinert [who was killed in Afghanistan on June 4 at the age of 24], whose family is from Sag Harbor and Shelter Island so it will be even more poignant. We did talk about having the ride through Shelter Island and over the ferry, but it didn’t work out for this year. One year, we may make that jump though.

Will you ride in next weekend’s event?

I will be a walker. Some day, I think I will jump on a bike. I think a lot of people are realizing the 30-mile bike route is very doable.

Chris Kestler [Theinert’s mother] and her husband will walk with me and I think that is nice. It is nice our families can come to this event and give support to each other.

Soldier Ride has evolved into an organization that not only provides financial support for the Wounded Warrior organization, but is also a rehabilitative event nationwide for wounded soldiers returning from combat overseas. Have you had a chance to meet some of the riders?

I have. We have a VIP breakfast for the Wounded Warrior organization and we get to sit down and talk with a lot of the servicemen and women then. I think though, it is the most beneficial for the people who actually ride in the event. They get to ride side-by-side and see all the nice things that people do, standing on the side of the road with signs supporting the troops. I think that experience really captures the event.

As an organizer, have you found a lot of support from village residents for the Solider Ride cause?

We are trying to involve Sag Harbor more. “In Jordan’s Honor,” the memorial fund I have established in his name will have an award this year for the “Most Patriotic Display” and a “Shows the Most Spirit” award in Sag Harbor and we really want to get the word out on that. What we are hoping is that people on the route will decorate their houses, wear red, white and blue, make sure their flags are up, make thank you signs for the wounded warriors and line Main Street, Sag Harbor and the bridge. The winners will be announced in The Sag Harbor Express. We really hope the business community gets involved, hands out flags, and gets people on the streets. We are also going to put notices on Long Beach so the beachgoers will come up the street and cheer on the riders at the right time.

What are some of the other things you are hoping In Jordan’s Honor will be able to accomplish in the near term?

We are trying to establish a Purple Heart Trail locally. It’s a national organization that marks certain highways and parklands to recognize veterans. We are working with Tom Ronayne, director of the Suffolk County Veterans Service Agency. Next week we are hoping to take a tour of different areas and will start out in the Sag Harbor area.

Last year, members of the 1^st Battalion, 9^th Marines – Jordan’s division – were able to attend Soldier Ride in honor of your son. Will any members of the battalion be at this year’s event?

Not many, I think first because they are still deployed and will not be back until early August. A few of them did not deploy and one of them who lost his hearing in the blast that killed Jordan will be here with his wife.

Do you keep in touch with members of Jordan’s battalion?

Yes. Facebook helps. We are able to chat. This deployment helps because they are on a ship and have more access to computers. I definitely keep in touch with all of them. It helps.

Will Solider Ride include the Honor Our Heroes ride down Main Street, Sag Harbor again?

Yes. After the tribute to Jordan, Chris [Carney, one of the founders of Soldier Ride] will lead a pack of wounded warrior riders down Main Street at noon. That is really when we want the business owners to try and win our contest and pass out flags, get people on the streets. Last year, the walk was in Sag Harbor at noon, but it was too hot, so we will start the walk at 9 a.m. and at noon walkers from Amagansett and Sag Harbor can come together on Long Wharf for the tribute to Jordan.

As a mother, I imagine Jordan is always with you. How do you celebrate him daily? Are there little moments you still keep for the two of you?

I go past his grave every day on the way to work and it feels good there. We have a bench and some chimes and it is a nice place to sit where I can tell him what is happening. It is really important to me to keep up with his friends, and his fellow Marines.

I was chatting with one of the Marines, and they can’t always tell you where they are for security purposes. And he said, ‘I’ll give you a hint.’ They all call him Haerter and he said, ‘it’s Haerter’s first name.’ I said, I think I know where that is.

Soldier Ride The Hamptons will host early registration Saturday and Sunday at Windmill Beach in Sag Harbor from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on The Green in Amagansett from noon to 6 p.m. Registration is also available at www.soldierridethehamptons.com. The event will be held on Saturday, July 24 starting at 8 a.m. with a light breakfast at Oceanview Farm in Amagansett and Long Wharf in Sag Harbor. Participants can choose between a 30 or 60 mile bike route or one of two four mile walk/runs. The tribute to Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter will begin at 11:30 a.m. at Long Wharf in Sag Harbor.

The cost is $50 for the bike ride; $25 for riders under 21; $75 the day of the event and $25 for the walk/run. For more information and for routes, visit www.soldierridethehamptons.com or call 903-1701.

The Bridgehampton School District Superintendent, set to retire in August after 39 years in education, talks about why she thinks the Bridgehampton School is special, how she has seen the district grow in recent years, and the importance of shared services as community school districts continue to thrive on the East End.

What first drew you to education?

It is really an easy question to answer. Ever since I was a little girl I loved playing with dolls and while all my friends were playing the mommy role, I was always the teacher. So it started early and my parents picked up on that. There is something to be said for parents believing in what your future holds, and my parents did. They said, ‘You are going to be a teacher,’ we just know it. So in a way it was programmed in me early on.

What brought you to Bridgehampton?

I was first introduced to the district in 1985 and was hired as the guidance counselor/director, so I was working those two hats. It was just such an amazing place. There is something different about Bridgehampton from all the other schools in the area. Being born and raised in New York City, my experience in school was they were overcrowded and lacked a lot of resources. Coming here, you saw how you could get to know the kids, and you had almost anything you needed to help them learn. It was just an incredible opportunity.

What was the transition from guidance director to superintendent like?

It was a transition, and a journey. After six years as guidance director, I realized there was a lot I needed to learn before getting into the seat of superintendent, which is what I wanted. I left here, and went to Riverhead School as guidance chair for the lower grades. Then I went to Comsewogue School District were I served as assistant principal. There was something about being a little fish in a big pond, but it was truly a wonderful learning experience. I started my doctoral studies at Comsewogue, trying to understand how systems work, how kids learn. I was curious how some students have such success and how others don’t.

I had always known I wanted to be at Bridgehampton. I just felt I should be here, so I periodically kept my eyes open and after seven years at Comsewogue I saw Bridgehampton was looking for a principal, and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, that is me.’ At least I hoped, anyway. I was one year away from earning my doctorate and I was fortunate enough to get the job. It really felt like returning home.

The size of the Bridgehampton School has been a source of criticism for some. Why do you think this is, and is it imperative for the school to grow in order to achieve the kinds of successes you believe are important?

I have struggled with that because I was here in the 1980s when that issue first came up for me personally, and I remember feeling so strongly this school needed to remain small. When the issue came up again a few years ago, I just had to step back and reflect again. That is who I am – always wondering to see things in a new light after I have been exposed to more experiences. I heard what some critics said – that we didn’t have as many electives as larger schools, or we didn’t have the same opportunity for social interactions and yet, even stepping back and hearing the critics, knowing what I had experienced in larger school districts, I believed then and I still believe now in the uniqueness of a small community school. I think it should be preserved as long as it is feasibly possible and there probably will come a day where it is not economically feasible; but there is a value to having children come to a community school, the same school their mother went to, their father went to, their uncles and aunts.

With that there is an enormous pressure and challenge for whoever works here as a teacher, administrator or on the board of education. They have to challenge themselves to continue to improve the school. I don’t think any organization has the luxury of remaining at status quo and certainly for us, I think there is an analogy in “The Little Engine That Could.” That is Bridgehampton. We are the little school district and I believe we can bring out the best in our kids and the best in the community … I have been so proud of the teachers I work with and the support staff, because there have been so many who have rallied around that mantra – ‘I think we can,’ ‘yes, we can.’

We are at a point where test scores are up, we have expanded course offerings and our English language learning programming is soaring … We have a Career Academy that has expanded from just one student – and this is the uniqueness of Bridgehampton – who said I want to be a landscape architect. So we said, what can we do and we searched and found out the Ross School had a landscape architectural program, and it worked out. When the Ross School said they didn’t have enrollment to continue the program we said, wait a minute and that is how [landscape design teacher] Judiann [Carmack-Fayyaz] came to us. We went from one student with a personal request to more than 25 students in a program. We have a greenhouse, a shed and community involvement, with community leaders donating time, labor and materials to the cause. To me those are the special factors of being in a small school.

Talk of closing the Bridgehampton School’s high school has been controversial the last few years. What was your stance on that issue, from a professional perspective?

I think it would be the same answer. I really stepped back for a bit to hear what was being said and to try and understand why people wanted it closed and all I had to go on was what was stated publicly, but I still came back to the point that this school works. I have tried to reach out to neighboring school districts so we can broaden what we offer here. Sag Harbor has been wonderful and this goes back to [former superintendent] Kathryn Holden allowing our students to take advanced placement courses at Sag Harbor. That has been magnificent and that relationship has continued under [Superintendent] Dr. John Gratto.

Are shared services the key to keeping community school districts viable?

I think it will be a very important piece. I am happy to tell you, and you are the first, that [incoming Superintendent] Dr. [Lois] Favre and I received an email this morning and it looking like something we have been trying to pull together with [former interim business administrator] Dr. [George] Chesterton has come to fruition. That is to share a senior account clerk typist with the Tuckahoe School District. In addition to the academic piece of shared services, those back office functions can also be shared and it will make a tremendous difference.

What are your plans once you leave this district this August?

I have to tell you, I can’t say I have any plans yet because for me that means something is in place, but I do have a vision and goals that I am hopeful I will be able to piece together. I consider myself a very spiritual person and when I get anxious about the plan, I think, be patient. God will reveal that to me … I am hoping to teach at the college level, and do consultant work particularly focused on education, but more on the policy end – looking at system changes, how systems work. I am also looking for a really good opportunity or venue to volunteer my time and talents. A few ideas have come forward, but again, I think it will all be revealed at the right time.

The new Sag Harbor Community Band conductor on plans for the Fourth of July, his favorite 80’s pop band, and the difficulties of jumping in and rehearsing dozens of songs for the summer concert series in only two months time.  

I took a look at you resume; it was very impressive, attending Columbia and Yale University, then later teaching at Yale. Why did you choose this lower profile position?

The community band is such a great tradition in Sag Harbor; it’s over 50 years old. It’s really amazing. As they describe it, it is really a bit of Americana right here in the village. I love band music; I’ve played band music and conducted band music for many years. I like making music on a regular basis and I’m already here in Amagansett doing freelance work. My family has been here for over 35 years and so I spent summers here growing up as far back as I can remember. I noticed the band was looking for a new conductor and it just seemed to fit with my schedule.

What did you know about the Community Band when you applied for the job?

I actually never heard them play until I auditioned for them this past spring. I’ve known about them for many years, but I’ve never actually heard them until just this year. They actually have a nice all-volunteer structure with several different officers and a board of directors. They seem to be a well-oiled machine performing every week at the American Legion and at the other various venues throughout the summer.  

How are things starting between you and The Community Band?

Well, we have been in rehearsal since I took over in the beginning of May; we already performed once at the Memorial Day Parade and ceremony in Sag Harbor. We’ll be playing at the Southampton Fourth of July parade and our first Tuesday Night concert at the American Legion is the night after.

One part of my role as music director is programming all of the concerts, selecting the music. We have nine Tuesday night concerts and we play something like ten pieces per concert, it’s about 90 pieces of music to prepare for a season. That doesn’t even include holiday appearances. That’s quite a lot. You want to have a good mix of pieces that we play well plus new pieces that might challenge the group and challenge the audience.

Two months in, how would you characterize the band?

It’s a great group of people; everyone has been extremely welcoming and nice to me. It’s been a great experience meeting all the folks involved and making music with them as well. It’s a wide variety of people from high school students to retirees to professional musicians. It’s a great cross section of the Sag Harbor community.

Have there been any bumps in the road, joining and leading an already established group?

No, everything is actually going very well; I do have to say that it has been quite the challenge with only eight rehearsals to prepare 80 to 90 pieces of music. The great thing is that the band has played a lot of the music before so a lot of the work is my own homework. It’s been a busy couple of months getting caught up with the rest of the group.

You taught jazz at Yale University eleven years. Are you going to add in some jazz to the bands program?  

Yeah, I got my undergrad degree at Yale…and then later I was the Music Director for the Yale Jazz Ensemble from 1997 to 2008. [The Community Band] actually already has a few pieces that are jazz influenced or jazz oriented already. I am a huge fan of jazz but this summer I don’t have a lot of flexibility to introduce new music to the band’s repertoire because…we wouldn’t have enough time to practice new pieces. In the next few years we’ll see how much jazz seeps into the band’s repertoire.

Fourth of July is right around the corner, I assume we will be hearing a lot of Sousa?

A lot of marches. John Philip Sousa is great; but personally I’m a big Henry Fillmore fan. I love the Fillmore marches. I don’t want to say that I like them more than the Sousa marches because that can be seen as sacrilegious in some ways; but I think because Sousa marches are played so often that the Fillmore marches are a little less formulaic. You can’t beat Sousa’s melodies, that’s part of the reason why they have lasted so long. The bottom line is I love them all equally.

Should the crowd be expecting any surprises at the parade?

I think in this transition year I am working with the recourses I have been handed so I don’t think there are any surprises; this year at least. It’s hard to predict the future but I’m looking forward to a future with the band when I can put a mark on the repertoire.  

Your career seems to center around traditional music, do you have any musical guilty pleasures?

I have to say…pop music from the eighties, which I used to hate at the time, I find myself being very nostalgic for. I have to admit that Duran Duran’s greatest hits found its way into my music collection. I can’t deny it.