Headlines That Topped January

As we welcome February 2013, here is a quick look back at the top headlines posted by East Hampton Patch in January.

1. Baby Whale Euthanized

One Sunday in the middle of the month, the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation responded to not one, but two reports of whales washed up on beaches in East Hampton. After assessing a yearling pygmy sperm whale – which was alive when it was found – it was euthanized due to poor health, as well as a lack of space to fit and rehabilitate a whale.

2. Real-Life 'Jaws' Arrives in the Hamptons

A great white shark that was swimming off the South Fork shoreline has made its way back out to sea, according to OCEARCH, a Utah-based nonprofit organization, which tagged the shark and uses real-time technology to track it as part of its efforts to learn more about the animal that inspired the Steven Spielberg film "Jaws."

3. Dead Whale Washes Up on Napeague

A dead 57-foot female finback whale washed ashore in mid-January, and biologists later determined that the 40- to 50-ton whale was hit by a ship and suffered blunt force trauma.

4. Person of the Year Goes to Tom Fields

After voting amongst a well-rounded pool of locals, from a high schooler to a chef to a traffic cop to nonprofit directors and more, East Hampton Patch readers voted Amagansett Fire Department's EMS Technician Tom Fields as their Person of the Year for 2012. All candidates had one thing in common: they gave back to the community last year in one way or another.

5. 

John Glennon, an 80-year-old passenger involved in an accident in Amagansett early in the month, was admitted to the hospital with serious injuries, according to East Hampton Town police.

6. Rollover Closes Montauk Highway; Cops Unsure What Caused Accident

A spurt utility vehicle flipped in front of the Highway Diner & Bar on Montauk Highway in Wainscott one Friday evening this month. There is no apparent cause of a two-vehicle accident, police said following an investigation.

7. 

Katie Beers, who grew up in East Hampton after her kidnapping ordeal in Bay Shore captured national attention 20 years ago, has broken her silence.

"Buried Memories: Katie Beers' Story," which she wrote with CBS reporter Carolyn Gusoff, was released on Jan. 13.

8.

A pedestrian who was struck in Sag Harbor Village in the middle of the month was admitted with serious injuries at Stony Brook University Medical Center.

The woman was walking across Brick Kiln Road in Sag Harbor, near the Getty station, when she was hit at about 7:25 p.m., according to Sag Harbor Village police. 

9. Former EHHS Basketball Star Back Behind Bars

Michael E. Russell, a former star point guard for the East Hampton High School basketball team who has been in and out of trouble over the past five years, was arrested Monday in connection with a home invasion in Worcester, MA, where he was attending college.

10. 

A bookkeeper who admitted to stealing nearly half a million from an East Hampton family business was sentenced to 30 days in jail, despite being in her last trimester of pregnancy.

Kerri Dewhirst said she was sorry for what she had done — embezzling a documented amount of $442,000 from Schenck Fuels Inc. during the two years she worked there. 

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