SUFFOLK COUNTY ACCIDENT LAWYERS

Another playoff game, another win for Sachem East. The Arrows beat Walt Whitman, 53-35, in the Suffolk County Class AA girls basketball quarterfinals at home Wednesday night.

Top-seeded Sachem (19-1) advances to play No. 4 Hauppague (20-0) Saturday in the Suffolk semifinals at SUNY Farmingdale. Gametime is set for 11:30 a.m.

Sachem led 26-16 at the half, but Whitman stuck around defensively in the third quarter, holding the Arrows to just nine points during that stanza. In the fourth quarter, however, Sachem outscored the Wildcats, 18-9, and kept them out of reach.

Meagan Doherty once again led Sachem in scoring with a game-high 26 points and seven rebounds. Kathleen Everson also scored 16 points in the win for the Arrows.

No. 8 Whitman (13-7) was led by Kelly Bilodeau who scored 16 points.

Class AA News & Notes

• Road to the quarters: To get there, Sachem beat Hills East, 63-29, in the opening round, while Whitman beat Longwood, 52-36.
• Other AA scores: No. 4 Hauppague beat No. 12 Deer Park. No. 3 Riverhead beat No. 6 Ward Melville. No. 2 Lindenhurst beat No. 10 Northport. The top four seeds are still alive in the post-season.
• The winners of the semifinal rounds will play in the Class AA Championship on Tuesday, February 28 in Farmingdale at 5 p.m.

Huntington Station resident Aaron Tarkin was charged with arson Wednesday related to a Feb. 13 house fire in East Northport, according to the Suffolk County Police Arson Squad.

It comes just one day after Tarkin, 25, was charged with felony DWI and child endangerment charges in Huntington Station.

Suffolk County Police arrested Tarkin on Tuesday after he allegedly drove drunk with his friend's two sons, ages 5 and 8, on a lunch outing. He was charged with felony DWI, first degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, operation of a motor vehicle without an interlock device, criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a hypodermic needle.

Tarkin was also charged with second degree arson Wednesday after an unrelated investigation by Suffolk County Police Arson Squad detectives determined he may have started a fire at 725 Glenridge Lane in East Northport on Feb. 13 at 11:41 p.m.

Tarkin is scheduled for arraignment at First District Court in Central Islip on Feb. 23.

With gas prices now more than $4 per gallon and expected to rise on Long Island, 2nd Congressional District candidates remain at odds on the causes and solutions to the problem.

At a Huntington press conference Tuesday, Patch asked Rep. Steve Israel about the skyrocketing gas prices and the reasoning behind his pro-environment, anti-drilling voting record as a member of the House of Representatives.

Israel said he is leading the fight to end the practice to subsidize big oil companies when oil companies are making record-breaking profits. The top five oil companies in America made $137 billion in profits, with profits up 75 percent, according to Israel.

"Why are House Republicans insisting that Americans keep digging into their pockets to subsidize those profits?" asked Israel. "Want to bring down oil costs? Quit subsidizing oil company executives."

Republican Steve Labate on Tuesday criticized his Democratic opponent for voting to keep a moritorium on offshore and intercontinental shelf drilling, while voting to shelve the Keystone oil pipeline in times of need. 

Labate cited Israel's support of the failed Solyndra and Beacon Energy Corp. as examples of energy solutions that do not work.

Calling it a national security issue, Labate told Patch Israel is not wrapping his arms around the viciousness of the problem.

"I don't believe that we should be totally eliminating right now what is a primary source of energy by not allowing refineries and drilling for oil when we are so dependent on it," said Labate, who hopes to unseat Israel in November.

With prices at an all-time high of $3.51 a gallon last year, Americans spent 8.4 percent of their household income on gasoline last year, according to an Associated Press report. The figure is double the percentage of a decade ago, even with demand at its the lowest in 11 years and people driving fewer miles in more efficient cars, according to the AP.

The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded in New York this week is now at $3.89, according to AAA.

Some of the jobs open around Huntington and nearby communities.

Program Chair, Cold Spring Harbor Lab

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory  seeks an innovative scientific leader with expertise in creatively applying quantitative analysis to biological research as founding program chair for the Simons Center for Quantitative Biology. Areas of current focus for the center include genomic analysis, population genetics, neurobiology, evolutionary biology, and signal and image processing. Integration of information across modalities and scales, spanning genomes, cells, circuits and behavior remains an extremely difficult problem, which we expect these researchers to tackle.

Credit Representative, Henry Schein

This position is responsible for various processes relating to the credit and collection areas of the company, its subsidiaries, and affiliates. It is responsible for checking credit references for all customers that place orders with GIV or its subsidiary companies. Responsibilities include:

• Print and review invoices.
• Perform credit review of business utilizing standard operating procedures.
• Perform collection procedures on delinquent accounts.
• Negotiate payment arrangements for new accounts that do not pass credit review.
• Process credit card payments. 
• Participates in special projects and performs other duties as required

Social Media Content Coordinator, Publishers Clearing House

• Assist the director of content development in establishing a companywide SEO program.
• Develop and maintain SEO reporting
• Maintain Social Media and Blog reports
• Upload daily content for blogs and articles through our CMS
• Work with our content partner and blog writers to develop the SEO presence through keyword focused strategies.
• Help develop the link building and blog outreach programs
• Research into SEO and social media trends among a variety of different types of brands and products

Restaurant Managers, Mac's Steakhouse

Managers' responsibilities include: budget, food, liquor, etc.
Fine dining, wine knowledge and catering experience, marketing and event planning also helpful.

Live-in Home Help
Domestic help wanted for busy professional gentleman. Light housework, cooking, shopping. Car provided. Child care for one lovely 2 1/2-year-old boy several times per week. Waterfront home in Huntington area. Free room and board, with stipend for expenses.  Clean license a must.

Stock Associate, The Children's Place

Store associate is responsible for supporting the store leadership team in achieving all company goals and initiatives.

Wiki Administrator, UBM

Entry-level. the UBM wiki administrator has systems administration, education, and reporting and tracking responsibilities.

Bank Teller, Emigrant Bank

Parttime. Teller responsible for counting cash, depositing cash and checks into accounts and examining proper endorsements. Additional responsibilities include sorting and packaging money, filling cash orders and maintaining a daily record of transactions.

1. Oncology Support Group: This group meets every Wednesday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Women’s Health Center at Huntington Hospital. In case you missed it, Rep. Steve Israel was in Huntington yesterday speaking about possible legislation to help oncology nurses.

2. Finger Lickin' Good: We asked readers Monday to weigh in on Huntington's best chicken wings. Today, take our poll to determine the winner.

3. High School Sports: Girls Basketball: St. Anthony's at Kellenberg Memorial High School at 5:45 p.m.

4. School Closed All Week: Huntington public schools are closed today and for the rest of the week.

5. Have you claimed your listing? Do you realize the advantages of being able to update your business or institution's listing to reflect changes and special events? Check out are informative video. Claining a listing is easy and free.

On Monday, Patch sought nominees for the best chicken wings in all of Huntington.

While we came up with an initial list, thanks to our readers we now have a few more places in the running for the Patch title, Huntington's Best Chicken Wings.

Voting is open until 9 a.m. Friday. Ties will be broken by whichever business has the most positive comments in the section below. We will announce the winner at noon Friday.

So be sure to vote for your favorite place to chow down on some wings. And don't forget to tell us in the comments below why.

A Huntington Station man was arrested Tuesday for driving to lunch intoxicated with two young children his car, according to police.

Police say Aaron Tarkin, 25, was driving erratically on New York Avenue near the intersection of Tuthill Street with his friend’s two sons, ages 8 and 5, in the car.

After stopping Tarkin at approximately 1:04 p.m., police determined that Tarkin was operating the vehicle under the influence of alcohol and was placed under arrest.

Tarkin faces multiple charges including: aggravated driving while intoxicated with a child, a felony; aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle first degree; two counts of endangering the welfare of a child; operation of a motor vehicle without an interlock device; criminal possession of a controlled substance; and criminal possession of a hypodermic needle, according to police.

Tarkin is scheduled for arraignment at First District Court in Central Islip Feb. 22.

Newly-introduced federal legislation could allow for oncology nurses to be reimbursed by the cash-strapped Medicare program for time spent educating newly-diagnosed cancer patients.

Rep. Steve Israel, D-Huntington, flanked by nurse oncologists and cancer survivors at Huntington Hospital Tuesday, announced the "Improving Cancer Treatment Education Act of 2012," which Israel introduced in the House in January.

"For me, this isn't a matter of policy or politics, this is intensely personal because a few months ago my dad received a diagnosis of lung cancer," said Israel.

It is unfair and bad public policy that oncology nurses, like those treating his father, are not reimbursed by Medicare for education services, according to Israel.

The bill, H.R. 3790, would allow Medicare reimbursement to registered nurses for time spent educating cancer patients and families about treatment plans. The legislation calls for the National Institutes of Health to continue supporting research in the area of symptom management, according to Israel.

Israel said the plan would fill a critical void 1.5 million U.S. cancer patients face between diagnosis and treatment.

In the face of a $16 trillion deficit, a heated national Medicare debate and a re-election bid in 2012, the 2nd Congressional District lawmaker said the bill is "totally" paid for.

"Nothing in the bill will require any additional spending or cuts to existing medicare service so there are other offsets," Israel told Patch.

Lawmakers from both parties and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius have said Medicare is financially unsustainable, with tens of trillions more in promises than the nation can pay for, according to a Fox News report.

The proposed bill would cost Medicare $55 million in 2012, according to the Oncology Nursing Society, which supports the legislation.

"The legislation "validates the important role" of oncology nurses," said Colleen O'Brien, president of the Long Island/Queens Chapter of the Oncology Nursing Society on Tuesday.

With the median salary of oncology nurses in the U.S. at $64,175, according to salary.com, the bill calls for RN's to receive $78 extra for hourly educational sessions with cancer patients, according to Samantha Slater, Israel's communications director.

Medicare costs would rise initially as a result of the plan, but long-term savings would balance out expenditures, according to Slater. "Having the education component would cut back on the costs," she said.

Co-sponsored by Israel and Ohio Republican Patrick Tiberi, six other Democrats have signed onto the bill which currently sits in committee.

With approved legislation by both parties at a 30-year low, and a Republican-controlled House to contend with, the bill faces obstacles.

Since 2001, Israel has sponsored 144 bills, with 142 never making out of committee with two (post office name changes) successfully enacted, according to govtrack.us. The rank-and-file Democrat has co-sponsored 1,847 bills during the same time period. 

Are you a Huntington business owner or manager? Have you claimed your Patch listing yet? Visit our business directory (see the “Places” tab above), search for your business, and then click the "Claim It!" link underneath the photos. Owners who claim their business can upload additional photos, update information, sign up to be notified when people post reviews and more.

Searched for your business in our directory and did not find it? Look for the “add it” button under the search results. If you have any questions? Email rich.jacques@patch.com.

If it's easier for you, watch the short video clip that gives you a visual tour of the following steps:

1. You must be a registered Patch user to claim a listing. You can register for a Patch account by clicking the “Sign Up” link near the upper right corner of any page.

2. Once logged in, navigate to your listing by clicking on “Places” in the navigation bar at the top of the page, and search for your listing.

3. Click on your listing. When your listing opens, scroll to the bottom of the page to find the "Claim it" link. 

4. A box will pop up with some basic questions for you. Fill it out these fields and click "Submit Claim." 

5. You will receive an e-mail when your listing claim has been approved.

**We take your security seriously, so give us a few days to verify your listing claim. We may even give you a call to double check the facts. 

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