🌱 Smithtown Daily: Meet Janis Joplin + 2 Planes Collide

Hey, Smithtown! It's Friday, so let me, Diane Witek, get you started with everything you need to know going on around town today.

First, today's weather:

Rain mixing with sleet. High: 46, low: 23.

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Here are the top stories in Smithtown today:

1. Just who is Janis Joplin? No, not the rock star of yesteryear, she is a female tabby domestic shorthair mix around 1 year old and she is the Smithtown Animal Shelter's Pet of the Week! She arrived at the animal shelter on the same day as her namesake's 79th birthday, according to the shelter. "With her larger-than-life personality, she deserved a name that was also larger-than-life," the shelter wrote in an email. "She is an active and curious cat with energy for days. The perfect family for Janis will give her all the playtime and attention she needs. Janis would do well in a home without young children." (Smithtown Patch)
2. Why did the horse cross the road? Well, in this case it was to get to the Northern State Parkway. Reported by Patch, two horses, Coffee and Barrington, ran out of the horsemanship school on Round Swamp Road in Melville when a tree fell and broke the fence of the corner field they were in. When they reached the Northern State Parkway, a driver lured the horses with rice cakes while police blocked traffic, giving the owners the opportunity to walk their equines home. "They are now back at home safe and sound and totally unharmed!" Katrina Olynyk, a horse trainer at the Thomas School Of Horsemanship, told Patch.
3. See five properties in and around Smithtown. "Here's a sampling of the latest batch of homes to hit the market in the Smithtown area — including a house with 4 beds and 2.5 baths for $629,999, and another with 5 beds and 4.5 baths for $949,000." (Smithtown Patch)
4. According to a news release, Paws of War, a Nesconset-based nonprofit, is aiming to partner with corporate companies willing to sponsor it. "Companies that want to give back can do so by partnering with Paws of War, which helps veterans meet a variety of their needs," Paws of War wrote in a news release. (Smithtown Patch)
5. A single-engine Pilatus PC-12 aircraft taxiing two people onboard struck a parked Hawker jet at Long Island MacArthur Airport on Wednesday morning, an Islip Town spokeswoman said. The strike happened on Hawthorne Aviation ramp, which is in a part of the airport that is separate from where large passenger airlines have hangars, and both planes were damaged, Caroline Smith said. The strike drew not only airport officials, but also fire and rescue personnel from local fire departments, according to Smith. No one was injured in the strike. (Patch)

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Today in Smithtown:

• Heart Health for Women at Every Age — Livestream Q&A discussion. (Noon)
• Rock and Rhyme (Smithtown Library-Nesconset Building). (10:30 a.m.)
• Game Day (Smithtown Library-Smithtown Building). (11 a.m.)
• Friday Movie Matinee (Smithtown Library-Smithtown Building). (2 p.m.)
• Film and Discussion (Smithtown Library-Smithtown Building). (6:30 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Smithtown Department of Public Safety: "Once again members of the Department of Public Safety made the trip to Manhattan to stand side by side with law enforcement officers from across the country to pay our respects to a fallen hero at the funeral for PO Wilbert Mora of the NYPD, who was posthumously promoted to detective." (Facebook) (Website)
• Smithtown Performing Arts Center: "Meet the comics of Irish Comedy Night! 𝐌𝐞𝐠𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐥𝐞𝐲, fresh off her feature in Forbes Magazine, is a Brooklyn based, nationally touring stand-up comedian, who has appeared on AXSTV’s 'Gotham Comedy Live.'" (Facebook) (Website)
• Smithtown Performing Arts Center: "#tbt to Dora's Pirate Adventure - LIVE at SPAC! Does anyone remember attending 1 of 144+ performances of this show? #spac, #longisland, #longislandtheatre, #doralive, #doratheexplorer." (Facebook) (Website)

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Events:

• Top Journey Tribute Band, Valentines Week Celebration Concert! Located at Moose Lodge, 37 Crystal Brook Hollow Road, Mt. Sinai. (Feb. 19)
• 2022 Spring Intramural Baseball & Softball Registration Open. Kings Park. (Feb. 28)
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• Art Teacher available to give lesson. (Details)
• Behind The Scoreboard — No Practice But Lots Of Shoveling Today. (Details)
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• Assembler & Technician. (Details)
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Loving the Smithtown 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.

Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Friday. See you all tomorrow morning for another update!

— Diane Witek

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