East End Notebook: Nonprofit Director Arrested on Child Porn Charges

EAST HAMPTON

EMS 'Think Tank' Responds to its Own Troubles

While a publicly aired qualm over local ambulance response times incensed some, representatives for East Hampton agencies said this week the complaint does not represent the norm.

It's easy, according to East Hampton Town Supervisor Bill Wilkinson, to get "sidetracked by an extreme incident and we forget about all the saves and water rescues, like the miraculous save of Doris Quigley," as well as the hours spent preparing residents for hurricanes and the relief given to other communities, like Breezy Point, in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.

It's these challenges that brought together 8 to 10 representatives from the area fire departments and ambulance services for a subcommittee of the East End Ambulance Coalition, which met Tuesday evening at the Amagansett firehouse.

SOUTHAMPTON

A woman stepped out onto a freezing pond in North Sea Friday morning to save a dog and fell through the ice herself — but North Sea Fire Department volunteers pulled her out of the water before the situation turned tragic.

The victim was in the frigid water of Scallop Pond up to her shoulders, about 50 feet offshore. "She was able to stand on the bottom, but she could not get herself out," North Sea Fire Chief William Rosko Jr. said.

The victim had been with two other women, walking a group of about 15 dogs, Rosko said. "When they let the dogs out to run here, one of the dogs went out onto the ice, and when she went to get the dog out, she became a victim."

WESTHAMPTON-HAMPTON BAYS

Jay Lockett Sears Faces Child Porn Charge; Community Shocked

Westhampton Beach and Quogue community members were shocked to learn that Jay Lockett Sears, a man who touted his dedication to children through a Quogue-based nonprofit organization, Mission of Kindness, was arrested and charged with child pornography by the FBI on Friday.

According to a report on Newsday, Sears, who also owns the architectural firm Sears & Sears, and has designed showcase homes for Michael J. Fox and Susan Lucci, allegedly took photos of young girls at Hamptons parties and local establishments and superimposed their headshots on pornographic materials.

The practice is called "morphing" and is considered pornography.

NORTH FORK

Plum Island Asking For $1.5 Million to Repair Lighthouse

Plum Island Lighthouse might come to life again if animal disease center officials get the $1.5 million in federal funds they are seeking for lighthouse repairs.

Newsday reported this week that the Plum Island Animal Disease Research Center is asking for the funding to restore the exterior of the historic structure, built in 1869 and shut down in 1978, and to remove toxic materials from the building.

RIVERHEAD

Local Experts Warn Against 'Molly' As Teens Experiment With Club Drug

There's a new drug of choice among teens in both Riverhead and on the North Fork, and according to experts, most parents have no clue that the drug exists -- or that their teens are hooked.

The drug, called "Molly," is the powder or crystal form of MDMA, the chemical used in making ecstasy, said Susan Toman, of the Guidance Center in Southold. MDMA, she said, is a synthetic, psychoactive drug that produces feelings of increased energy, euphoria, emotional warmth and empathy toward others, and distortions in sensory and time perception.

According to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, Molly's technical name is 1-(3-Trifluoromethylphenyl) piperazine, or TFMPP