🌱 Shirley-Mastic Daily: Funeral For Officer + WF Top Runner

Happy Tuesday, people of Shirley-Mastic! Here's everything you need to know to get this day started. Here's everything you need to know about what's happening today in Shirley-Mastic.

The funeral for a Centereach police officer who died of COVID-19 was held Monday. A plumber was attacked by a bat in Blue Point. And a freshman runner from William Floyd competed on a national stage.

First, today's weather:

Partly sunny. High: 49 Low: 33.

Here are the top stories in Shirley-Mastic today:

1. A funeral was held Monday in Ronkonkoma for a 16-year veteran Nassau County police officer who lived in Centereach. Hector Nunez, a 42-year-old father of four, died from COVID-19. (News 12)
2. A plumber was attacked in Blue Point and is recovering in the hospital. Thomas Buckleman was attacked with a bat by a man who was squatting in the neighborhood. (News 12)
3. William Floyd freshman Zariel Macchia finished 12th in the Eastbay National Cross-Country Championships in San Diego Saturday. She earned All-America honors and was the highest placing freshman in the race. (Greater Long Island)
4. A holiday toy drive has started, organized by the Town of Brookhaven. Collection bins for new, unwrapped toys are located at the office of Suffolk Legis. James Mazzarella and Suffolk police's 7th Precinct until Dec. 17. (Patch)

Today's Shirley-Mastic 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 Shirley-Mastic!

Today in Shirley-Mastic:

• Get Crafty: Sock Snowmen, Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library, 4 p.m.
• Drop In Craft: DIY Gift Bags and Tags, Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library, 5 p.m.
• Gaming Cafe, Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library, 6 p.m.
• Southeastern Brookhaven Republican Club, Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library, 6 p.m.
• 2021 Officer Installation & Christmas Party, Chamber of Commerce of the Mastics & Shirley, 7 p.m.

From my notebook:

• Brookhaven National Laboratory is getting $8 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to study electric vehicles, advanced batteries, and connected vehicles. Scientists at the Upton lab will work on two battery projects, part of renewable energy efforts. (tbrnewsmedia.com)
• Suffolk County's Board of Health meeting on Dec. 15 will have a public portion in the beginning minutes, via Zoom. (Patch)
• Nextdoor Neighbor, South Shirley: "I do cat and dog grooming. I was taking Mondays off but the next two Mondays I will be taking appointments." (Nextdoor)

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Now you're in the loop and ready to head out the door on this Tuesday. I'll see you around!

— Jackie