Spring 2023 Newsletter

We hope you are all enjoying the cool and peaceful days of spring as we approach the busy summer months. 

Kicking off the summer season, after a long hiatus the first in-person Annual Meeting of the Orient Association will be held on Saturday, May 27^th at 9:30 am in Poquatuck Hall. 

Members of the Orient Association will be voting on a new slate of officers and Board Members will be introduced.  

The meeting will include a presentation by May Anne Taylor from the consulting firm CDM Smith on the initial findings of the Orient Water Project. The Orient Water Project, or OA Water Plan, was initiated in the Spring of 2022 to assess the health of our surrounding bays and sound and the quality and quantity of drinking water in the aquifer. The assessment will inform priorities for future management of this vital resource to be included in the final report. 

In the meantime, we wanted to report on some recent Orient events:

Earth Day 2023- Community Cleanup
The Orient Association celebrated Earth Day with a Community Cleanup on Saturday April 22, 2023. Residents brought over 175 pounds of trash to Poquatuck Hall where refreshments and prizes were offered.  The prize for the most unusual or interesting litter was given to Marcia Sheldon for the two intact vintage appliance bulbs that she found on the Youngs Road beach.  Marcia was part of a group effort organized by the Polar Bears Club. The Club brought in over a hundred pounds of trash from the Youngs Road beach, earning them the prize for the most trash. The top prize for recyclables collected went to Adam Irving.  Prize winners took home beautiful white pine and fig trees donated by Tom Stephenson of Oysterponds Farm.

Delicious refreshments were donated by Miriam Foster of the Orient Country Store and by Emily Caufield. Emily, an OA Board member, was largely responsible for organizing the event, including soliciting the help of her parents Ed and Janice.  Ed was kind enough to take on the all- important task of carting the haul to the Town Dump.

Thank you to everyone who participated! We hope to make this an annual event- mark your calendars for Earth Day 2024!

Water Quality – PFAS Testing in Orient Village Survey Area
There have been numerous stories about PFAS compounds in the news lately.  These “forever chemicals” are being found in remote locations throughout the world, and unfortunately here in our own backyards.   

Last summer, the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (SCDHS) was alerted to high concentrations of PFAS in several private wells in Orient Village.  The Orient Private Well Survey initiated by SCDHS in Fall 2022 in Orient Village is ongoing. If your property is within the expanded survey area (see map) you are eligible for free comprehensive water testing. The cost of testing within the survey area is being covered by a State grant obtained by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services.  If you are in the survey area you can call 631-852-5810 to make an appointment for water sampling under this program.

To find out more about PFAS compounds and the Orient Village Private Well Survey, the Orient Association website includes Information Sessions with Jason R. Hime, PE, Principal Public Health Engineer; Chief, Office of Water Resources, Suffolk County Department of Health Services.

Future Events:

Code Enforcement Forum: a group of North Fork Civics leaders has been delving into the enforcement of Southold Town code. The Orient Association is partnering with East Marion Civic Association to present their findings in early summer.

Candidates Forum:  This year, the Town Supervisor seat and two Town Council seats are up for grabs.  The NF Civics is planning to have two candidates forums in early Fall.  We plan to have  one of the two forums at Poquatuck Hall on a Saturday.

Thank you for being part of the Orient Association. As always, if you would like to get more involved in our work, suggest a topic for the group to research, or learn about specific OA related activities, please feel free to reach out to any of the Board Members individually or through the contact us link on the OA website. 

We look forward to seeing you on May 27^th at the Annual Meeting.