At the November 19 Town Board Meeting, Supervisor Dan Panico and the Town Council recognized the winners of the Brookhaven Recycles Poster Contest. The contest, which took place this fall, was open to all K-12 students in Brookhaven Town. More than 300 students participated by submitting posters with themes such as "Recycle Every Day!" or "Stop Litter!" Winners were selected across five grade-level categories: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, and Special Education.
During the award presentation, Supervisor Panico stated, “This generation that’s going to break in their efforts, their understanding about litter, about recycling, about proper waste management. That’s going to make the difference in this town, on this island and in this country when it comes to making our environment cleaner and doing the right thing by earth.”
The winners were joined by several town officials including Town Clerk Kevin LaValle; Councilman Neil Manzella; Councilwoman Jane Bonner; Recycling and Sustainable Materials Management Commissioner Christine Fetten; Supervisor Dan Panico; Councilman Michael Loguercio; Councilman Neil Foley and Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich. The council members voted for each category's winners:
In grades K-2: Austin Callegari from South Street School won first place with Adrian Uzcategui as runner-up.
In grades 3-5: Michelle Wardhana from Edna Louise Spear Elementary secured first place while Logan Fernandes from New Lane Elementary was runner-up.
For grades 6-8: Angeles Villa from Oregon Middle School took first place with Zikriya Kazmi from Selden Middle School as runner-up.
In grades 9-12: Alex Alleyne from Patchogue-Medford High School earned first place with Fabiana Roca also from Patchogue-Medford High School as runner-up.
For Special Education: LeeAndrea Williams-Campbell from Patchogue-Medford High School achieved first place while Jeremy Pelaez from William Floyd Learning Center was runner-up.