Sunrise Highway bridge over Shinnecock Canal to be under repair for approximately one week

Amid the Suffolk Board of Elections' plan to no longer provide voting machines for non-county races, school districts and villages are bracing to potentially face thousands of dollars in new expenses, according to school and village officials. Joe Werkmeister reports in NEWSDAY that leaders of the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association recently met with BOE commissioners to discuss ways to ease the impact on districts, while the Suffolk County Village Officials Association is preparing a letter to county leaders pushing back on the decision.

The pushback follows an Oct. 7 memo BOE commissioners wrote to clerks of school districts, fire districts, library districts and villages that they would no longer provide voting machines starting Jan. 1 as it transitions to new touch screen voting machines.

Longwood school district Superintendent Lance Lohman, co-chair of the legislative committee for the superintendents association, said he and other leaders met with the BOE commissioners and deputy commissioners Oct. 21 in a "productive" meeting. He said the commissioners were "very receptive" to concerns raised by the superintendents and offered to assist districts through the transition.

He said he understood the reasoning the commissioners explained, saying the BOE is facing "some real challenges," from the time it will take to train staff on the new Suffolk County machines to the burden of the even-year election schedule, which merges local elections with gubernatorial and presidential contests.

The BOE offered districts and villages on a "first come first serve basis" the chance to request some of its 425 used Dominion ImageCast Evolution voting machines. The board set a Nov. 15 deadline before any unclaimed machines would be offered to other counties for sale, according to the memo.

***

A kayaker who went missing Saturday in the waters near Shinnecock Bay with his friend was found dead last night by New York State Police divers, authorities said. Janon Fisher and Alek Lewis report in NEWSDAY that the body of Shane Garcia, 27, who went out on the water with Aaron Montemarano, 25, was recovered by police after a two-day search using drones, ATVs and helicopters, according to Town of Southampton police spokeswoman Det. Sgt. Gina Laferrera.

NYS police and the Southampton Town marine patrol found the two men's kayaks and paddles washed up on shore around Shinnecock East County Park at 12:30 p.m. yesterday, police said.

Montemarano had not been found as of Sunday evening.

"The water search continued until it became too dark," Laferrera said in an email statement last night. "The search efforts for the second missing kayaker will continue early tomorrow morning."

Garcia sent a photo of himself and Montemarano to his girlfriend on Saturday, but when he didn't return that evening, she became alarmed and called police to report him missing, authorities said.

Officers found Garcia’s car in Hampton Bays, at the end of Shinnecock Road and began to search the water.

The two men were paddling near the Ponquogue Bridge when the photo was taken, police said.

Earlier, police said that the men were in a lime green, two-person ocean kayak, but later said two kayaks had been found.

Southampton police marine and patrol units, assisted by a Suffolk police helicopter, searched for the men in and around Shinnecock Bay on Saturday night, Southampton police Sgt. Michael Walsh said. At 6 a.m. Sunday, the U.S. Coast Guard also joined the search, police said.

Anyone with information about the incident has been asked to call the Southampton Town police detective division at 631-728-3400 or the town police TIPS hotline at 631-728-3454. Information can also be sent to police by email, to [e-mail] .Southampton police asked anyone who may have information about the remaining missing kayaker to contact...