🌱 Physician Assistant Sexually Abuses Girl + Avian Flu Found

Hello, people of Miller Place-Rocky Point! I'm here with the Sunday copy of the Miller Place-Rocky Point Daily.

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First, today's weather:

Mostly sunny. High: 33 Low: 32.

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Here are the top three stories today in Miller Place-Rocky Point:

1. A Coram physician's assistant was indicted on charges of sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl at a local beach. Richard Bennett, 50, contacted the victim in April of 2020 through her foster mother. (Patch)
2. A woman is dead, and a man and infant were injured after an East Setauket house fire early Friday. Sixth Precinct officers responded to the fire on Old Town Road home around midnight. Stephen Ortner, 30, a resident of the home, escaped through a second-floor window onto a roof with a ten-month-old baby. (Patch)
3. The United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed on Saturday that avian influenza was in a non-commercial backyard flock of birds in Suffolk County. The exact location wasn't disclosed. (Patch)

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Today in Miller Place-Rocky Point:

• Long Island Bridal Expo - Super Show at The East Wind, 5720 Route 25A Wading River

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From my notebook:

• Seth Lipshie, deputy superintendent in the district since 2014, will succeed Marianne Cartisano as Miller Place School District Superintendent. (Greater Long Island)
• Area firefighters responded brush fire that broke out in a wooded area on Sunrise Highway in North Bellport, between westbound Sunrise Highway and the service road between exits 55 and 56, on Saturday morning. (Patch)
• North Shore Public Library has a virtual adult program "Breathe Together with Charyl Ozkaya" running Tuesdays from March 1 to April 26 at 10 a.m. (Facebook)

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You're officially in the loop for today. I'll see you back in your inbox tomorrow with your next update!

— Jackie