🌱 Riverhead Daily: Meet Mamasita + Lowe's Burglar Nabbed + Saved

Happy Tuesday, people of Riverhead! It's me again, Diane Witek, your host of the Riverhead Daily. Here are the top four stories in Riverhead today.

First, today's weather:

Partly sunny. High: 48, low: 33.

Here are the top stories today in Riverhead:

1. Riverhead Area Pets Waiting To Be Adopted: Meet Mamasita, Gypsy, Kimber And More. If you're looking to add a fuzzy ball of four-legged love and affection to your family, look no further than these Riverhead area shelters for a pet you can adopt. (Riverhead Patch)
2. Riverhead Man Charged In Thanksgiving Night Burglary Of Lowe's Is Indicted By Grand Jury. The man charged by Riverhead Town Police with burglarizing Lowe’s Home Improvement Center on Route 58 Thanksgiving night has been indicted by a Suffolk County grand jury on felony burglary and grand larceny charges. Terry Smith, 58, pleaded not guilty last week in Suffolk County Criminal Court to charges of Burglary in the Third Degree and Grand Larceny in the Third Degree in connection with the Nov. 25 incident. Smith was held in lieu of $20,000 cash bail and remains in custody at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Riverside. Smith is also facing a misdemeanor Petit Larceny charge in connection with an incident at the same location. (RiverheadLOCAL)
3. Rare Turtle Found On Wades Beach And Saved: A Curious Pooch Triggers A Rescue. Hilary McDonald's dog Tabitha, walking on Wades Beach in Shelter's Island, found a "cold stunned" Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, one of the smallest sea turtles, and one of the most endangered species in the sea. McDonald immediately phoned Shelter Island Animal Control. Officer Jenny Zahler transported the turtle to the New York Marine Rescue Center at the Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead. (Shelter Island Reporter)
4. Long Island Teens Reported Missing. Vincent Abolafia and his girlfriend, Kaileigh Catalano, both of Manorville and both 15, were last seen at the Ronkonkoma LIRR station with the intention of boarding the 3:11 p.m. train to Manhattan on Thursday. The teens were each reported missing that same evening. The two may have been seen together in Times Square, police said. Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or Seventh Squad detectives at 631-852-8752. (Riverhead Patch)

Today's Riverhead Daily is brought to you in part by our friends at Ring, the home security company. Ring does a lot more than doorbells: check out their full suite of smart home products at Ring.com. And thank you Ring for helping to make local news happen in Riverhead!

Today in Riverhead:

• Board of Education Meeting, 7 p.m. — Riverhead Csd. (All Day)
• Marshmallow Engineering — Riverhead Free Library. (5:30 p.m.)
• Invasive Insects: Local Threats (Riverhead). (6 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Riverhead Books: "✨Coming this January✨ on an island off Georgia, a woman confronts a lifetime of secrets and betrayal. A singular rendition of an oft-told story. This will leave readers undone." (Instagram)
• Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County: "Ever wonder where all the rainwater goes after it falls? Storm water runoff is water from rain or melted snow that does not soak into the ground. As it flows, it collects pollutants that end up in our bodies of water." (Facebook)

From our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

• Grief & Loss During the Holiday Season Workshop. Located at 16 Library Ave., Westhampton Beach. (Dec. 15)
• Big Apple Circus is NOW OPEN in New York City! (Dec. 17)
• Christmas Concert. (Dec. 17)
• A Tuna Christmas. Located at Community Baptist Church, 5267 Sound Ave., Riverhead. (Dec. 17)
• NCNW General Membership Meeting Long Island Cross County Section. Online via ZOOM (Dec. 18)
• New Year’s Eve Gala in the Grand Ballroom. Located at East Wind Long Island, 5720 NY-25A, Wading River. (Dec. 31)
• Add your event.

Announcements:

• Behind The Scoreboard — Ed Sullivan’s Huge Lesson For The World. (Details)
• Animal Communication Sessions. Holiday Gift Certificates. (Details)
• Sound Wave Therapy for Stress & Pain Relief. (Details)
• Add your announcement.

Gigs & services:

• Rt-PCR COVID-19 TEST, ACCURATE SAME DAY results, best test for travel. (Details)
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Job listings:

• Draft Line Cleaning Technician. (Details)
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Loving the Riverhead Daily? Here are all the ways you can get more involved:

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• Send me a news tip or suggestion at diane.witek@patch.com.

Thanks for following along and staying informed! See you tomorrow for your next update.

— Diane Witek

About me: Impassioned Writer, Website Designer, Social Media Marketer and newly proclaimed Baker. Lover of nature and animals of all kinds.