Witness statements and other documents obtained from Southampton Town Justice Court Friday shed more light on what happened Jan. 31 between retired Southampton Village Police Sgt. Darren Gagnon and a Bridgehampton man he is accused of assaulting at a bar.

Gagnon, 51, of Shirley, was charged with assault in the third degree, a misdemeanor, after Southampton Town police said they were called to a fight at Bobby Van's restaurant at 6:06 p.m.

The alleged victim, 42-year-old Craig Cardillo, gave a statement to police, as did four others who were there in Bridgehampton that night.

In a notarized statement to Det. James Mazzio dated Jan. 31, Cardillo said he had arrived at the bar inside Bobby Van's at 4:30 p.m. to meet friends. He said after being there for a while, a man he never met before approached Robert Ranum, the superintendent of Atlantic Golf Club in Bridgehampton. The man — who he later learned was Gagnon — was giving Ranum a hard time about not calling him back, Cardillo said, adding, "He was really acting like a jerk. He came over and did this a couple of times."

Deanna Annis, of Southampton, told police that at one point she saw Cardillo walking up and down the length of the bar saying things like, "This guy's a d---, I'm gonna f--- him up, smash his f----- head."

A deposition from James McNally, of Water Mill, says that after Cardillo and Gagnon argued, the bartender, Gerald Phair, took Cardillo outside to "cool off."

Phair said in his deposition that when Gagnon was arguing with Ranum, Cardillo told Gagnon to "calm down and stop yelling."

Cardillo came back after Phair brought him outside, apologized, and sat down, according to McNally and Phair's statements.

According to her deposition, Annis said that after Cardillo returned, he "kept taunting" Gagnon. No other witness statements corroborate that.

McNally said that 10 minutes after Cardillo returned from outside, Gagnon started to roll up his sleeves, came over again, and punched Cardillo three times — knocking him unconscious with the first punch.

Phair said he saw Gagnon "run from the other end of the bar yelling" and punch Cardillo in the head. Ranum described it as "three straight square shots with his left fist, which was closed, in the jaw."

Ranum said he saw Cardillo's head hit a beam at the end of the bar before Gagnon threw the last two punches.

"Craig fell to the floor motionless," Phair said. "I then called 911."

McNally said he and another man pulled Gagnon off Cardillo, and Gagnon began "challenging" everyone.

Annis told police that she saw "Craig and Darren were fighting and choking each other out."

Cardillo said he recalls telling Gagnon to "go back and sit on his stool and knock it off" when he approached a third time. "The next thing I know, I was on the ground," he said.

Ranum said a number of Bridgehampton Fire Department volunteers were at Bobby Van's, and they assisted Cardillo. He was taken by ambulance to Southampton Hospital.

Cardillo said that when he came to he knew he had been knocked out, but had no idea what happened. His tooth was knocked out, his lip was split open, his throat hurt and he was having trouble swallowing, he said.

According to a Southampton Hospital spokeswoman, Cardillo was discharged two days after.

A document signed by police officer Edward Henderson states that Gagnon told him, in substance, "I thought he was about to take a swing at me so I punched him first!" and "I take full responsibility for my actions."

There was no further statement from Gagnon. When reached by Patch the day after the incident, Gagnon said, on the advice of his attorney, he has no comment.

Annis told police, "I know Darren was a cop. I have to say Darren was so not at fault here tonight. This guy Craig was so abusive and acting like a total d---." She further described him as "drunk, abusive and horrifying."

Justice Edward Burke Sr. issued an order of protection directing Gagnon not to come in contact with Cardillo and to surrender any and all weapons and firearms he owns.

Gagnon is due to appear in Southampton Town Justice Court on Feb. 27.

On the last day before February break, Southampton High School made an addition to the Internet meme "The Harlem Shake."

The video starts with students and adults filling some seats of the auditorium, with a sole dancer wearing a giant head with a captain's hat in the middle. The others act oblivious to the dancer — then the video  jump cuts to the room full of dancing students, all in costumes.

Ross School students uploaded their own Harlem Shake Wednesday and received more than 10,000 views since then.

If the Southampton High School video does not play on your device, click here to watch it on YouTube.

EAST HAMPTON

Driver Staged Second Accident After Fatal Hit-and-Run, DA Says

During Edward Orr's first appearance in Suffolk County Criminal Court on charges related to a fatal hit and run in Amagansett in October, the prosecution made claims that Orr tried to cover it up by staging a second accident.

Orr, who was arraigned on and pleaded not guilty to a three-count indictment on Friday, purposefully hit a street sign on Montauk Highway, near his house in Montauk, sometime between the night John Judge was killed and Oct. 28, according to Lawrence Opisso, an assistant district attorney in charge of the case. Opisso said Orr then voluntarily had his 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee repossessed.

WESTHAMPTON BEACH

WATCH: Mayor, Trustee Spar Over Finances

A move to table five budget transfers prompted debate among Westhampton Beach village trustees on Thursday night, with Mayor Conrad Teller saying the decision is "bologna."

Teller was one of two board members to vote against the tabling of the transfers — Trustee Ralph Urban was the other

SOUTHAMPTON

WATCH: Gun Owner Destroys AR-15 With Sledgehammer

Southampton native Andrew "Gumbo" Hurley said that after the Newtown, Conn., school shooting in December, the fact he owned an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle sickened him.

In January, the 55-year-old whose been a gun owner since he was 14, decided to do something about it. In an interview Friday, Hurley said he called his friend from Barefoot Productions to come to his Water Mill workshop and film him smashing the AR-15 into pieces. The 3-minute video was then posted to YouTube Jan. 19 and has gleaned more than 2,000 views.

RIVERHEAD

Former Heroin Addict: 'Drugs Took Away My Dreams'

When Christine Walton, now 24, was in high school, she played sports, graduated among the top six of her class -- and was headed to Hunter College on a full, four-year academic scholarship.

Walton's future was bright. Until she tried heroin. And lost everything.

NORTH FORK

Russell: County’s 10 Towns Need to Come Together on Garbage

With ongoing unrest in Southold Town about the expense and inconvenience regarding mandated yellow garbage bags for both residents and independent garbage carters, members of the Southold Town Board are looking into long-term solutions to make doing garbage better on the North Fork.

At Tuesday night’s board meeting, Councilman William Ruland said that the process of hauling garbage from the town transfer station in Cutchogue out to other states for incineration is becoming a thing of the past — it’s not sustainable economically or environmentally.

“There is no better way to ensure recycling than source separation, which is what our yellow bag system is meant to do, but the key is with the carters and the bigger businesses around here,” he said, referring to restaurants and businesses who use dumpsters and are exempt from the yellow bag law, thus in theory recycling less and hurting the town’s transfer center economically.

Suffolk Legis. Thomas Barraga has floated a proposal that would have private purchasers of the John J. Foley nursing home in Yaphank split ownership with the County in hopes of keeping the facility open. 

Newsday reported that Barraga, R-West Islip, has suggested a deal where buyers Israel and Benjamin Sherman would pay Suffolk $11.5 million for a 50 percent share of the nursing home. The Shermans would run the nursing home and have control over newly admitted patients. 

Meanwhile, County employees at the nursing home would be guaranteed their jobs and current wages for three years. Newly hired employees would join a union such as Local 1199, which represents private nursing home workers. County employees who remain after three years would join the union. 

This proposal comes a week after a state committee rejected the county's proposal to sell the Foley nursing home for $23 million. 

After five years, the Shermans would have the opportunity to purchase the county's share of the nursing home for $11.5 million or is current value, whichever is higher. 

Suffolk's Sales Tax Revenue Up in 2012

Suffolk County's sales tax collection increased by 3.1 percent in 2012, but that figure was less than expected. 

Newsday reported County Executive Steve Bellone's budget office said the increase was less than the 4.6 percent growth that was expected for this past year, leaving the county short by $17.7 million. 

County officials said they believe the effects of Hurricane Sandy had a negative impact on sales tax growth in the later months of 2012. 

As a local news organization, Patch covers stories of all kinds, from heartbreaking tragedies to nitty-gritty breakdowns of government and school district issues. But some stories are simply inspiring, often showing that at the heart of our communities is a desire to do good. Here are some of the touching headlines from the past seven days.

Firefighters Spare No Effort in Cat Rescue

When Setauket firefighters responded to an incident at a home on Tree Road in South Setauket on Feb. 3 shortly after 10 p.m., they found a house filled with smoke from a boiler fire – and two pet cats who were suffering from apparent smoke inhalation.

Assistant chief Bill Rohr said the firefighters administered oxygen therapy. "They were unresponsive when we found them, after the oxygen therapy they both reacted positively to treatment and became much more lively," he said.

The home was otherwise unoccupied at the time of the incident. A neighbor took the cats for veterinary treatment. According to fire district manager Dave Sterne, the special oxygen therapy equipment used in the rescue had been donated to the Setauket Fire Department specifically to help animals in distress.

Free Youth Program Tackles Wrestling Skills

Many in the Westhampton area don’t know that in their backyard there is a free wrestling program that has slipped under the radar for nearly 9 years.

The program, called Westhampton Youth Wrestling, is run by a team of volunteer coaches who two times a week, get on the mat and teach kids the art of wrestling.

The program was started by father and son Vinny and Jeff Ciolino, who wanted to provide another activity for the area’s youth in the winter.

Dachshund Shines at Dog Show

Dora the Explorer sat lounging in her blue armchair, almost perfectly still except for her breath, and posed for photos. The 1-1/2 year old miniature dachshund had just finished a long weekend of competition – which culminated Monday in her achievement at the Westminster Dog Show: She was named a winner's bitch, an honor given to the best female in her class.

Her proud owner is Robin Gianopoulos of Stony Brook.

"[She is] tired for a few days after the dog shows. This week they were tough because of the weather," Gianopoulos said. "But she loves to show. She gets in there and does her little thing."

Student Chosen to Attend National Security Forum

Miller Place High School junior JC Guido has been selected to attend a six day National Youth Leadership Forum on national security beginning Feb. 19 in Washington, D.C.

This week, the Southampton Animal Shelter is looking to find a home for Bamboo, who is just over a year old and has been at the shelter since April 2012.

According to Donald Bambrick, the animal shelter supervisor, Bamboo was found as a stray.

"She is shy at first but warms up in time and has become a staff favorite at the shelter, said Bambrick, adding that she has been working with the shelter's lead trainer Matt Valentino (see video)

All animals are licensed, up to date on their vaccinations, micro-chipped and have been spayed or neutered, according to Bambrick.

Adoption fees typically range from $40 to $60 for a cat and from $60 to $125 for a dog.

To adopt Bamboo or any of the other animals available for adoption, call the shelter at 631-728-7387 or visit them at 102 Old Riverhead Road in Hampton Bays.

Two parolees will serve as many as 17 years between them for a string of burglaries they committed across the South Fork in 2011.

Charles C. Durant, 32, and Chris I. Williams, 25, pretended to be conducting a political survey as a way to see if houses were occupied. The subject of their bogus poll if someone answered the door? Osama bin Laden and whether Donald Trump should make a bid for president, according to the Suffolk County district attorney's office.

In Suffolk County Criminal Court on Friday, Durant was sentenced to up to 10 years and Williams received up to 7 years in state prison for stealing jewelry, gold, silver, electronics and other items within the Southampton Town, East Hampton Town and Southampton Village police jurisdictions.

In November, the pair took deals and each pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary in the third-degree and criminal possession of stolen property in the third degree, all felonies. The deal covers numerous charges from indictment

Durant received 2 1/2 to 5 years for each burglary count, to run consecutively, and 2 to 4 years on the stolen property charge, which will concurrently. Meanwhile, Williams agreed to a sentence of 3 1/2 to 7 years on each burglary count and 2 to 4 years on the stolen property, all of which will run concurrently.

East Hampton Town police were investigating seven burglaries reported in the Barnes Hole Association area in May 2011, when a witness to the burglaries provided police with the license plate number for a 2007 Nissan that belonged to Williams.

A few days later, police received a call about two suspicious men in the Inkberry Road neighborhood. Williams and Durant were on bicycles and knocking on doors, police said at the time. They claimed to be canvasing for a political survey.

"That was the modus operandi of this pair in casing homes, specifically identifying what they believed to be unoccupied houses," Robert Clifford, a spokesman for the Suffolk County district attorney's office, said.

A computer check showed the men were on parole and had been selling items at pawn shops on Long Island. Detectives set up interviews with Williams and Durant through their parole officers, meeting them at the State Parole Office in Bohemia.

The men consented to a search of their home in Bellport, and Williams consented to a search of his vehicle, where police found multiple stolen items from the burglaries.

During further questioning, police connected Williams and Durant to a burglary on Marion Lane in Springs in April, as well.

Since their arrest, they have been held at the county jail in Riverside on $250,000 cash bail.

Both defendants were on parole for previous felonies and extra time may be added onto each of their sentences for the parole violations.

Durant was convicted on burglary, assault, and auto theft charges in 2004, and he was sentenced to 6 to 8 years. After serving just over 6 years, he was released on parole in November 2010, according to State Department of Corrections records. He had previously served about 4 years on an attempted burglary, which he was paroled on in 2003, records show.

In March 2007, Williams was sentenced to up to 3 years on an attempted robbery. Records show he was released on parole in August 2010.

Williams did not say anything at his sentencing, though his attorney, John Halverson, of Patchogue, asked the district attorney to release the bank-owned Nissan that had been impounded.

Durant's attorney, Bryan Browns, who is with the Legal Aid Society, requested that the corrections department take into account that Durant is not a violent felony offender and that he would be entitled to any and all programs available while serving time. "He's been in the foster care since he was 5 — he's essentially grown up in the prison system," Browns said.

He told Judge Richard Ambro that Durant is "extremely intelligent."

"I think there's a lot of hope since he's only 32 years old," he said, adding that his client will be 42 when released. "He's certainly got a whole life ahead of him."

Asked if he wanted to speak, Durant told the judge: "Change is my motto." After being placed on parole he tried to do right, enrolling to get his bachelor's degree, but, he said, "certain circumstances" led him down a more familiar road.

"Only you can truly effect change," Ambro said. "Good luck."

Take a look back on the week's top headlines and some news you may have missed.

Blizzard

What Grade Do You Give Southampton's Storm Response?
Would you give your municipality an A+ or a big fat F?

Aerial Photos: Southampton Blanketed in Snow After the Blizzard
From the beaches of Sagaponack and Bridgehampton to the Long Wharf in Sag Harbor.

100-Year-Old Weather Observer: Plenty of Winter Left for Another Blizzard
Richard Hendrickson, a volunteer cooperative weather observer since 1930, recorded 12 inches of snow in Bridgehampton after the weekend's blizzard.

VIDEOS: Blizzard Hits Southampton, Then YouTube
Residents in Southampton, Bridgehampton and Sag Harbor get creative with video cameras and iMovie.

SUBMIT: Do You Have the Best Snowman in Southampton Town?
Take a break from shoveling and build a great snowman to feature on Patch.

Motor Vehicle Accidents

'Jaws of Life' Free Man From SUV After Collision on Noyac Road
Victim taken to Southampton Hospital.

Accident Ties Up County Road 39 Eastbound Traffic
An accident on County Road 39 Thursday morning near the Tuckahoe Road intersection was cleared up by 8:30 a.m.

Both Drivers Charged After Collision
F-150 pickup truck and two-door Sebring involved.

Crime

Burglars Who Used Political Survey Ruse Sentenced
Defendants were on parole for previous thefts when they were charged with burglaries in Southampton and East Hampton towns.

Cops: Sag Harbor Man Drove Drunk With 3 Kids
Charged with felony under Leandra's Law.

Incident Reports: TD Bank Customers Report Identity Theft
Also reported to Southampton Town police, burglary at Hampton Bays mechanic shop; hit-and-runs in Noyac and Hampton Bays.

Sag Harbor Police: Pair Cashed Stolen Checks for $3,000
Ronkonkoma residents face felony larceny and forgery charges.

Sag Harbor Police: Donation Jar Thief Arrested
Cops say a Quogue man on probation ran off with donation intended for crash victim.

Town Police Log: Woman Charged with Endangering Child After Swiping Food from King Kullen
The 35-year-old grabbed items with a child in the shopping cart, according to Southampton Town police.

Harlem Shake

WATCH: Southampton High School Does the Harlem Shake
High school gets in on the latest Internet meme.

WATCH: 'Harlem Shake' Internet Craze Hits Ross School
30-second video nears 6,000 views in 24 hours.

High School Sports

Playoffs Begin for Southampton Varsity Players
Root for the boys and girls basketball teams, and the Mariners wrestlers.

Business

Southampton's BookHampton Moving to Hampton Road
BookHampton on Main Street in Southampton Village has closed, but lovers of paperbacks and hardcovers have no need to fret — the store reopened at its new location on Hampton Road Presidents Day weekend.

Roman Roth Named Partner at Wölffer Estate Vineyard
Winemaker's "Grapes of Roth" will be brought under Wölffer banner.

Benefits

Skate-a-thon Raises Over $13k for Katy's Courage
Money raised supports organization created in honor of Katy Stewart.

Obituaries

Louise Johnson of Southampton Dies at 66
Yonkers native was an x-ray technician at Southampton Hospital.

World War II Vet Michael Warchola of Southampton Dies at 94
Warchola was a serviceman with the Merchant Marines.

More

WATCH: Gun Owner Destroys AR-15 With Sledgehammer
Southampton man smashes his semi-automatic rifle into pieces to keep it out of the hands of a "nut." 

Bloomberg Wants to Ban Plastic-Foam Food Packaging; Do You Agree?
Southampton Village has banned plastic shopping bags, but the iniative failed on the town level.

Sacred Hearts Pastor: Pope's Resignation Recognizes Importance of Papacy
Father Mike Vetrano agrees with Pope Benedict XVI's decision to step down due to his age.

PHOTOS: HarborFrost Lives Up to Its Name
Sag Harbor Village's annual HarborFrost attracted crowds Sunday despite the town being blanketed in snow.

Catch up on the latest business developments over the past week from around the East End:

WESTHAMPTON-HAMPTON BAYS

WATCH: Developer, Board Trade Barbs Over Supermarket

Andrew Mendelson, a developer looking to bring a new supermarket to Westhampton Beach, was back before the Westhampton Beach Village Board last Thursday, asking the board to once again consider his petition to amend the village's zoning law to allow for a 40,000-square-foot supermarket on 4.2 acres that he owns on Old Riverhead Road.

NORTH FORK

Peconic Landing: $45 Million Expansion Construction Set For December

Peconic Landing, a high-end retirement community with assisted living for the elderly in Greenport, has announced that construction on a $45 million expansion project will begin this December.

The expansion will feature 16 new private skilled nursing accommodations, including a common area with country kitchen, dining area, great room and activity area. A 16-suite memory support assisted living wing for those with cognitive impairment will be set in a similar neighborhood style.

EAST HAMPTON

Interior Facelift Coming for Nick & Toni's

Nick & Toni’s in East Hampton is turning 25 years old this year, an incredible feat for a restaurant anywhere, and the owners are kicking off a celebration with an interior facelift.

The Mediterranean inspired restaurant will close on Monday to undergo interior renovations that the owners hope will modernize the dining area and bar, while still keeping in line with its classic, yet rustic menu.

SOUTHAMPTON

Roman Roth Named Partner at Wölffer Estate Vineyard

Roman Roth, the winemaker and technical director of Wölffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack, now has another title: partner.

Joey and Marc Wölffer, who assumed ownership of their late father's vineyard on Jan. 1, recently named Roth the sole partner.

Roth's independent Merlot and Riesling wines produced with his wife, Dr. Dushy Roth, under the label The Grapes of Roth, in Sag Harbor, will become part of the Wölffer brand.

RIVERHEAD 

Peconic Ballet Theatre Celebrates Grand Opening In Riverhead

The arts continue to flourish in downtown Riverhead.

The brand-new Peconic Ballet Theatre opened its doors at 71 East Main St.4 in January, offering a professional dance education to students of all ages.

According to Christiana Bitonti, artistic director of PBT, a grand opening celebration, complete with ribbon cutting, will be held on March 8 at 4:30 p.m. After the ceremony, a short performance will be given by the company and apprentice students; guests will have the opportunity to meet the company and teaching artists. 

Words, words, words. It's no secret that the bulk of the stories told on news sites across the world still rely on the printed word for storytelling. But sometimes it takes a little video to really capture the essence of the story.

In that spirit, here's our roundup of this week's video clips from across northern Suffolk County and the East End of Long Island. Check out the captions for descriptions and links to the stories. The clips are short, so enjoy the gallery.

Most parents of children killed in combat never get the chance to visit the place they were lost.

Before Dr. Frank Kestler returned from Afghanistan, his third tour of duty, in November, he was able to travel to the farm field near Arif Kala where his stepson New York Army National Guard 1st Lt. Joseph Theinert, a Shelter Island native, suffered a mortal wound in 2010.

"To actually be there, where Joe was killed, was very sobering," Kestler, a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, told the New York Army National Guard News. "I knew I was the only member of the family to walk where Joe had walked with his men."

Theinert was killed while leading the 10th Mountain Division on an assault on an enemy position near Arif Kala, just outside Kandahar, when an IED exploded on June 4, 2010.

While Theinert grew up mainly on Shelter Island, his father, James Theinert, lives in Sag Harbor.

Two years after Theinert was killed, Kestler, a dentist with offices in Mattituck and on Shelter Island, took a voluntary deployment to Afghanistan, where he provided dental care at dozens of bases, where he saw severe trauma and even assisted in surgeries, but he said he always wanted to visit the spot where his stepson was killed.

"It had been on my mind for a long time. I felt the need to go there," he told the New York Army National Guard, adding that the area has become extremely secure. "It was due to Joe and his squadron."

For more on Kestler's journey to visit Arif Kala, click here.

Theinert is remembered in various ways on Shelter Island, where he was laid to rest; a section of Route 114 is now named after him, a basketball tournament to raise scholarship funds is held annually, his platoon was honored before they disbanded for good in May 2011 on the island, and the first-ever Shelter Island Spur Ride around the island.

Also, Kestler and his wife Chrys Kestler, Theinert's mother, are turning their 1,000-acre New Mexico ranch into a resort for veterans and their families to recover from the trauma of combat, called Strongpoint Theinert.

As a local news organization, Patch covers stories of all kinds, from heartbreaking tragedies to inspiring tales of community brotherhood. But some stories are just plain weird. Here are some of the stranger headlines from before the blizzard hit.

Blackhawk Down

Several days before DeLea Sod Farm on Route 25A in Miller Place was buried under nearly three feet of snow, a military helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing there, a weird occurence for the area to say the least.

The FAA confirmed that it was a National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter, and initially said it may have been struck by a bird. However a later report said the problem was cased when a flap on the windshield flew open during the flight, cracking the windshield.

Oh Bubba

In last weird pre-storm story came out of Riverhead, where sticky-fingered shrimp lovers were netted by Suffolk County law enforcement officers.

According to Suffolk County police, four Calverton residents were arrested and charged with stealing frozen shrimp from supermarkets since December.

Police said during a petty larceny investigation, seventh precinct crime section officers discovered a pattern involving the theft of frozen shrimp valued at more than $2,400, which occurred at supermarkets in the fifth and seventh Precincts.

Officers identified and pulled over the suspect’s vehicle with proceeds inside and arrested four people in the car on Jan. 30, police said.

Seventh precinct crime section officers, with the assistance of fifth precinct crime section officers, charged Joseph Elardo, 34, Sharmane Cromer, 34, James Donnellan, 33, and Nicole Johnson, 22, all the same address on Southfield Road in Calverton, with 22 counts of petit larceny, two counts of attempted larceny, two counts of possession of a hypodermic needle and one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Upon further investigation, police said it was discovered that the suspects were allegedly selling the frozen shrimp to a local Chinese restaurant to support their alleged drug habits.

Southampton Patch is not just about news, it is also a community hub where readers can share information, including events, yard sales, fundraisers, and other announcements, such as call outs for volunteers, congratulatory notes on births and marriages, and information on lost and adoptable pets.

The following is a round-up of announcements that were posted by readers during the week of Feb. 11. And if you want to post an announcement,  click here to let everyone know what's happening.

1. Tuckahoe School News: SCOPE District Award Winners

Catch up on the latest announcements from the Tuckahoe School

2. Host a Fresh Air Fund Child This Summer

The Fresh Air Fund put a call out for families willing to host a child this summer. For more information, call 631-204-0429.

3. Volunteers Needed to Help Sandy Victims

Hamptons Hurricane Relief Fund is looking for volunteers to help with demolition work on Sunday at 11 a.m.

4. Survey of Your Attitudes Toward Trees Following Hurricane Sandy

Cornell, Rutgers, and CSU are looking for area residents to respond to a survey about attitudes towards trees after Hurricane Sandy.

5. Family Service League Offers Free Income Tax Preparation

The Family Service league wants to make residents aware that it is offering free income tax preparation for residents in need.

Each week, we will feature a local historical photo from the archives of either Sally Spanburgh, a Southampton preservation advocate, or the Hampton Bays Historical Society and ask readers to guess what is pictured, the date the photo was taken and/or what is there today.

If you think you know the answer, let us know in the comment section below. We will let you know if you are right next Sunday when we post the next photo challenge.

Last week's photo, according to Sally Spanburgh, was of 186 Crescent Avenue in Water Mill. It was built in the late 1700s for the WM Halsey family.

After signing a deposition on Jan. 31 that states she witnessed a former Southampton Village cop and another man "fighting and choking each other out" at a bar, a Southampton woman said Sunday that she has since learned she was wrong about the second man's identity.

Retired police sergeant Darren Gagnon, 51, of Shirley, was charged that night with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, after multiple witnesses said he punched Craig Cardillo, 42, of Bridgehampton, in the face and head three times. While other witnesses stated that Gagnon struck first and Cardillo was on the floor and unconscious before he could fight back, Deanna Annis originally told police a different story.

“Even though I was there and I saw what I thought I saw, it turned out to be a little different than my interpretation,” Annis told Patch

Annis said she saw a man put Gagnon in a headlock and she had assumed it was Cardillo, when, in fact, it was someone else who was breaking up the fight.

“They were quite far away, on the other end of the bar, behind the partition,” she said.

But Annis said the rest of her statement to police is accurate — that she witnessed Cardillo walking up and down the length of the bar saying to no one in particular things like, "I'm gonna f--- him up, smash his f------ head in."

According to police and witness depositions, it was no secret at the bar inside Bobby Van's restaurant that Cardillo and Gagnon had been arguing. Depositions state that Gagnon was repeatedly bothering a golf course superintendent about phone calls that went unreturned, and that Cardillo got involved, telling Gagnon to go away.

Witnesses told police that Gagnon was acting obnoxious and yelling.

The two men argued, and at one point the bartender took Cardillo outside to "cool off," according to witness statements.

Annis said she thought Cardillo was being told to leave. "I said to my friend who was sitting next to me, 'Well I’m glad that’s over,'" she recalled.

"I still will stand by the facts that Mr. Cardillo was inappropriate and cursing ..." she said.

Not long after Cardillo returned from outside and apologized to other patrons, Gagnon approached again and punched Cardillo — knocking him unconscious — then struck him two more times, witnesses said.

According to police, Gagnon said afterward, "I thought he was about to take a swing at me so I punched him first."

Cardillo told a police detective that he does not recall being struck. He recalled telling Gagnon to "go back and sit on his stool and knock it off," and the next thing he knew he was on the ground.

Cardillo was released from Southampton Hospital two days later. He did not respond to a request for comment.

Annis said she was out at Bobby Van's with a friend, who she declined to name,  during the evening of the incident. Cardillo, who was acquainted with her friend, bought them drinks, Annis told police.

Annis knew Gagnon before that night, and knew he was a former cop. “I saw Darren come in, he sat two seats down from me, and I did not see him start anything ...” she said. "I saw him buy a box in the football pool and minding his own business.”

Annis said that while everyone else seemed to be saying Gagnon was entirely at fault, she felt she had to stand up for him after witnessing Cardillo's behavior inside the bar. But she said she plans to contact police to revise her deposition, to state that it was not Cardillo she saw grappling with Gagnon.

“Unfortunately, that’s why people make bad witnesses, because I just assumed it was the man who was yelling and saying all these weird things to no one in particular," Annis said. "That doesn’t happen often inside Bobby Van's.”

James McNally, of Water Mill, stated in his deposition that he was one of the people who pulled Gagnon off Cardillo. McNally said Gagnon "started challenging everyone and that's when 911 was called."

Sagaponack got a taste of New Orleans Saturday night at Wölffer Estate Vineyard's annual Mardi Gras party with the HooDoo Loungers. Winemaker and new partner Roman Roth performed as well. singing from "Phantom of the Opera" and Elvis' repertoire

A round-up of blogs posts on Southampton Patch during the week of Feb. 12:

1. Fighting for Veterans and Their Families with My State of the Union Guest

Congressman Tim Bishop writes that he was proud to invite a Long Island Army widow whose husband died from illnesses linked to open-air waste disposal "burn pits" in Iraq to attend the president's State of the Union Address.

2. What Should I Wear To My Massage Appointment?

Elaine Campbell, owner of E Day Spa in Hampton Bays, answers customers questions about what to wear to a massage appointment and what to expect.

3. Is the Stress in Your Mind Causing Stress on Your Hair?

Michael H. Polcino, M.D. continues the discussion on hair loss in women.

4. 'Love is in the Air' This Valentine's Day!

Andrea Scatuccio, co-owner of Sweet Petite Soirees, put together a gallery of party ideas for valentine's day. Be sure to save them for next year.

5. View from the East End: Democrats May Implode Picking Their Next Presidential Candidate

T.J. Clemente wrote this week, "There may be as many as 20 candidates running for president in 2016."

6. Retired Westhampton Beach English Teacher Makes Appeal to the White House

Sarah Mendenhall-Luhmer wrote about retired English teacher Bob Ornstein who has begun a mission to change the way the Veterans Administration processes claims.

7. National Children's Dental Health Month

Jason Parli, DDS offers advice for healthy dental habits for parents on how and when their children should go to the dentist and how to take care of their teeth.

8. New Hamptons TV Show

Ian Grossman writes that the Hamptons has a new TV show debuting Friday, March 8, on MadhouseTV.com.

9. Assembly Amends Bill to Increase Minimum Wage to $9 Per Hour

Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. writes that the wage change mirrors President Obama’s proposal to increase the minimum wage and index it to inflation.

10. Food Wasteland

Stefanie Sacks, MS, CNS, CDN, asks, Do you ever think about food waste? Do you know that with a few simple changes you can not only start to save money but also help to eradicate hunger.

11. Tip of the Week: What about Storm Water Management?

Long Island Builders Institute has a discussion of storm water management looks at its causes and dangers, plus helpful ways to prevent it.

12. ARF Executive Director Voted Chair of New Suffolk County Pet Store Rating Board

Jamie Berger of ARF blogs about the new Suffolk County Pet Store Rating Board.

13. Updating Heirs on Your Accounts

Jon L. Ten Haagen, CFP, explains why beneficiary forms for retirement accounts and insurance policies supercede instructions in a will.

If you are interested in contributing a blog on Patch, email southampton@patch.com. Both business and community member blogs are welcome.

Passable.

That's a word we've heard a lot in the past week as we dug out from three feet of snow that shut down much of Suffolk County, trapped people in their cars on major highways, and exposed a host of local government logjams that made clearing area roads seem much harder than locals ever thought it could be.

But as road crews pushed old plows to their limits against the snow, officials were very careful not to promise cleared, plowed or unblocked streets. Instead, they pledged "passable" roads just cleared enough to get a car down them. Often the clearing was one-car wide, and rather than plowed to the asphalt the roads were coated in a tamped down, slushy layer of snow that would make any front-wheel-drive commuter car's wheels spin.

In Suffolk, this lowered expectation was acceptable, since the bigger problem was the host of impassable roadways not touched by plows for days.

It's true that plow drivers worked grueling shifts after the storm, in equipment that wasn't up to the task. But time and again officials made sure not to promise anything more than passable in the early days after the blizzard.

That has us thinking. What if passable was the bar set by everybody? What if the St. James firefighters who found an elderly man about to be buried alive by snow, instead of shoveling a path in front of him for an hour and a half so he could make it home like they did, just walked behind him, tapped him on the shoulder every five minutes and said, "Hey there, you can do it?"

And when fire departments from across the region rushed to Route 347 in Lake Grove, where dozens of motorists had to spend the night in their cold and snowed-in cars, what if rescuers handed out lozenges and snow pants and pointed them in the direction home instead of digging them out of the cold and bringing them to warming shelters to shake off the ordeal?

What if instead of banding together and shoveling out their own unplowed streets so people could get out and go to work, neighbors decided to use that time to watch a few more episodes of Lost in their Netflix queues?

What if people only shoveled their own driveways?

The truth is, the spirit of Long Island in the wake of two hurricanes and a blizzard is anything but passable. While flaws in our infrastructure and municipal services have been exposed by the elements, our communities showed their hearts, rising against conventional wisdom that says the suburbs are all about me, me, me and instead made the safety and the recovery of their neighbors just as much of a priority as taking care of themselves.

These stories of community don't take the sting out of unplowed roads and powerless homes, but they do give us the hope to endure these disasters, and make the wait for relief so much more passable.

Below are a few more stories of those who showed great spirit through the blizzard. If you'd like to share a story about how the your community heroes helped you to endure the storms of the past year, email it to henry@patch.com and we'll display your tale on your hometown Patch.

• St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center Employee Walks to Work Through Blizzard
• Couple Braves Blizzard to Deliver 'Baby Nemo' at St. Catherine of Siena
• PHOTOS: Don't Forget to Feed Our Feathered Friends
• Commack Lanes Lends Space to Smithtown AMF After Roof Collapse
• Amid Blizzard and its Aftermath, Weddings Held at Three Village Inn
• Snow Stories: Stony Brook Family Makes It Through the Blizzard
• Resident's Twitter Account Looks for the Humor in Nemo
• Nesconset Chief: 20 Route 347 Motorists Brought to Safety
• Port Jefferson Station Photographer Finds Beauty in a Blizzard
• Report: In the Middle of a Blizzard, a Baby is Born
• 100-Year-Old Weather Observer: Plenty of Winter Left for Another Blizzard
• PHOTOS: HarborFrost Lives Up to Its Name
• UPDATED: Woman Rescued from Sinking Boat in Springs

Henry Powderly is a regional editor for Patch.com covering Northern Suffolk County and the East End of Long Island. Follow him on Twitter at @HenryPowderly.

The Bridgehampton Museum— formerly known at the Bridgehampton Historical Society — is once again offering area high school seniors the chance to get published and win a $1,000 scholarship.

To enter, students living in Bridgehampton, Sagaponack and Hayground are invited to write an essay between 1,000 and 1,500 words that recounts a local memory. The winning submission will be published in the Bridgehampton Museum's annual magazine Bridge Journal this summer and the winner will receive a check.

The essay contest is designed to further the museum's mission "to inspire the documentation, preservation and interpretation of the history, oral history and cultural traditions of Bridgehampton and its surrounding communities."

The memory must be by a resident of Bridgehampton, Hayground or Sagaponack, or take place in the greater Bridgehampton area.

According to the museum, Steven Hatgistavrou won in 2012, the contest's inaugural year, with an essay about Ted Damiecki, a lifelong resident of Bridgehampton, and his recollections of the 1960 World Series. Another entry was based on a Mexican immigrant’s arrival to Bridgehampton and what it was like growing-up in a rich agricultural area, the museum stated.

Entries are due to the museum by March 15, in PDF, Word or hard copy format. For more information on submitting, call 631-537-1088 or email bhhs@optonline.net.

The winner will be selected by April 30.

An environmental advisory committee pitched legislation to the Southampton Village Board Thursday aimed at reducing waste and litter while also making life easier for business owners and public works employees.

The committee, Southampton Advocates for the Village Environment, is asking the Village Board to ban publishers from dumping stacks of unwanted magazines outside storefronts — magazines that often go right into the trash.

Village Mayor Mark Epley said during Thursday's board meeting that unsolicited magazines have been a thorn in his side for some time. He said that when he spots distributors dumping magazines on village sidewalks, he goes so far as to jump out of a vehicle while his wife is driving to chase the deliverymen down the street.

Epley said the village writes to publishers every year with a warning: “If you are dropping magazines on the village streets, you are littering. If we catch you, it’s a $250 fine.”

In a letter to Susan Duber of the SAVE Committee, Southampton Village Public Works Superintendent Gary Goleski wrote Thursday that the problem has grown in the last decade as new magazines enter the market. He said that when the mayor's office interceded in 2006 and contacted publishers, the problem lessened for awhile, but it has now "crept back up."

"Last summer, my frustration grew as a highway worker tore his rotater cuff by lifting a magazine-loaded trash can," Goleski wrote. "He he still not returned to work ..."

SAVE co-chair Roger Blaugh told the Village Board that what tends to happen is that magazine stacks get dropped off in front of businesses before they open, it rains, and the businesses stick the heavy, water-logged magazines in the public sidewalk trash cans.

"It is an increased labor burden that takes away from other needed jobs," Goleski wrote of cleaning up unwanted magazines. "Environmetally, it is sad to see the waste generated and to think of how many trees are cut down only to be thrown away."

Blaugh said the publishers and distributors of year-round magazine act responsibly, but seasonal magazines are the problem. "In the summer, we are really inundated with them,” he said. By his count, there are around 18 additional publications distributed in the summer.

While year-round distributors let businesses say, "10 of these, none of those" or "no magazines at all," many seasonal publications don't ask businesses if they want the magazines and don't offer an opt-out, Blaugh said.

Deliverymen sometimes load up shopping carts from local businesses with magazines, then leave the carts around the village when they finish distributing, he said. “A couple of kids walk them down the street and drop them off by every door. When they run out of them, they leave the cart.”

He added, "The store owners are not there, they’re not open, there is no place to receive them."

SAVE is asking the Village Board to adopt legislation that gives every delivery point the ability to opt out and control quantity. Businesses would also be responsible for disposing of the magazines they accept — rather than dumping them in sidewalk trashcans — or the distributors must take back extra magazines when they make their next dropoff.

Epley said he is also concerned about magazines being dropped at homes where the residents don't want them.

Though the proposal is in the early stages, Epley and Trustees Nancy McGann and Bill Hattrick said they are in favor.

Blaugh said that, based on his research, a law can regulate the time, manner and method of publication delivery without infringing on constitutional rights of the press.

He touted the idea, telling the board, “It helps the environment, it helps the merchants, it helps Gary and his men stay healthy."