Community Corner

East End Notebook: Blaze Claims Eatery; Owner Vows to Rebuild

Also this week, a late East Quogue teen is remembered, and EMS will be on-call starting July 1 from Water Mill to Montauk.

WESTHAMPTON-HAMPTON BAYS

Two Years Later, Family Remembers Cameron Nicholls

Two years after he died in a tragic East Quogue car accident, Cameron Nicholls' family continues to mourn his loss.

Born on Jan. 7, 1993, Cameron died on June 26, 2011 -- he was only 18 years old. 

His mother Stephanie shared a memorial with Patch to remember her son and said the years without him have been shadowed with pain and unimaginable sorrow.

NORTH FORK

Two Months After Close Call, Southold Girl Turns 8

Maya Reilly's eighth birthday was cause for celebration.

Just over two months earlier Maya, a Southold elementary school student, was fighting for life as she battled dangerously high fevers and a rare disease that initially left doctors baffled.

She was diagnosed with Kawasaki Disease -- according to the Kawasaki Disease Foundation, the condition is characterized by inflammation of blood vessels throughout the body. Kawasaki disease is the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children.

SOUTHAMPTON

Southampton's 1st Married Gay Couple Rejoices

Nearly two years after Water Mill residents Alan Ceppos and Frederic Rambaud became the first same-sex couple to legally marry in Southampton Town, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Wednesday that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional.

During an interview Wednesday afternoon, the couple expressed their happiness with the court decision that recognizes their marriage on the federal level.

"It sounds ridiculous, but when I saw the news on CNN, I actually started to cry," Ceppos said. "It seems like a validation of everything Frederic and I have lived for our wholes lives."

EAST HAMPTON

Find out what's happening in East Hamptonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

New Plan Puts Duty EMS Crews on Standby for the Summer

While the East End Ambulance Coalition plans for the future of the Emergency Medical System on the South Fork, it's also thinking short-term about ways to improve response times. 

Come July 1, at least one emergency medical technician and an ambulance will be on standby, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., to respond to calls within the six fire districts that make up the Town of East Hampton, from Montauk Point to Water Mill, the western-most point of Bridgehampton Fire District. 

The coalition is already considering a proposal to create a paid first responders program town-wide in time for next summer, but Philip Cammann, a paramedic who sits on the subcommittee, said the coalition knew "we needed to try alievate some of the delay in mustering up crews" this summer. 

RIVERHEAD

Blaze Claims Athens Grill; Owner Vows Rebuild

Standing outside the smoking ruins of his fire-ravaged restaurant, Athens Grill owner John Mantzopoulos vowed Friday night,  "I will be back. This restaurant will reopen." 

Mantzopoulos said the important thing was that no one was hurt in the East Main Street blaze -- a grease fire that began in the kitchen at around 8:30 p.m. Friday --  and that all his customers and staff were evacuated safely.


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