The drowning death of 3-year-old Nicholas Tersigni in a pond at his grandmother’s house in Pound Ridge has residents offering condolences to the family, talking about child safety and taking the paper to task for including information from the grandmother’s past.

The world lost a special little boy who always had a smile a mile wide. There are no words that can console such a tragic loss and relieve the pain and agony the families are going through,

wrote one reader.
Another reader hoped that this could be a good chance to educate people about child safety.

We could really do with a follow-up story on how important it is for grandparents to have … basic child-safety devices. The article doesn’t say how the boy got from the house to the pond, but 3-year-olds can unlock and open most doors easily enough.

Several readers felt it was unneccessary to include the grandmother Mary Ann DiBari’s lawsuit against the Bedford Central School District in the 1990s in the story.

My condolences to the family. What does a lawsuit have to do with this tragedy?

asked one reader, while another added

My heart goes out to the family. We should be focusing on them and the child, not lawsuits.

However, the majority of those responding were expressing sympathy for the family.

How heartbreaking the death of this young child must be for them. God Bless them,

wrote one person, and another added:

My condolences to the family who is suffering from this tragic loss. They are in my thoughts and prayers. … May this child rest in peace.

Well, something’s getting done in the Senate. Kind of. Amid all the chaos that is Albany, (see latest here) state Sen. Thomas Morahan, R-New City, announced that South Orangetown Schools Superintendent Kenneth Mitchell will be presented the New York State Senate Liberty Award.

Mitchell was held hostage on Tuesday in his office, located at the district’s middle school. He was locked in his office, and wrestled the suspect to the ground and kicked the gun away as police shot off the locked door and burst in. No one was hurt. Go here and here for the latest news coverage.

The award will be given during a special ceremony at noon tomorrow (Friday) in the library of the South Orangetown Middle School in Blauvelt.

What’s been interesting about watching Mitchell speak about the incident is his clear belief that he was just doing his job. Refreshing.

Ron Levine, Morahan’s spokesman, said that the actions of Mitchell were “so amazing,” that they couldn’t go unrecognized, even as the Senate is amid leadership coups, aisle-jumping, lockouts and other nonsense that keeps them from the people’s business. “Every senator has the right, whether on one side of the aisle or the other side of the aisle, to recognize good works,” Levine said. “There are still wonderful things going on.”

Just not so much in Albany.

Getting a Liberty Award from the state Senate? Nice thought. Now let’s hope the senators can liberate themselves and get back to work.

JOURNAL NEWS PHOTO: South Orangetown Schools Superintendent Kenneth Mitchell.

Even the wacky imaginings of Dr. Seuss can’t top on the goings on in Albany these days. The state Legislature’s total disregard for the citizens of New York State seem to reduce voters to the size of Dr. Seuss’ most lovable characters—the tiny Whos who live on a speck of dust, so insignificant to the big powerful forces in the world that they are about to be cast off without a thought and boiled in vat of hot Beezle-Nut stew. 

But the Big Important Senators who are holding a tug-of-war over the keys to the Senate Chamber would be wise to remember the ending to Horton Hears a Who. You know, the part where Horton the Elephant tells the tiny mayor not to take it anymore:

          “Mr. Mayor! Mr. Mayor!” Horton called. “Mr. Mayor!

           You’ve got to prove that you really are there!

           So call a big meeting. Get everyone out.

           Make every Who holler! Make every Who shout!

           Make every Who scream!…”

Senators, don’t forget the next chapter (the one that Dr. Seuss never actually got to write) when all of Who-ville meets in the town square to vote and they turn the Big Self-Important Senators from both sides of the aisle right out of office.

I returned to the office after being away most of the last three weeks to find not only the usual mounds of newspapers and paperwork to catch up with, but several dramatic, tragic local stories.

They include the deaths of a mother and child in front of a dance studio in Brewster — an illegal immigrant whom police said was drunk has been charged — the tears of a Garrison family flowing anew after the recent arrest of an 18-year-old man in connection with the death of their beloved husband, father and community member who was killed on the last day of last year; the fatal hit-and-run of a 36-year-old Garnerville man, “the kind of guy who had 300 best friends,’’ his sister said; and yet another apparent suicide death off the Tappan Zee Bridge, a 33-year-old Massachusetts woman.

Certainly, there were hundreds more memorable stories in the newspaper and on our Web site. But these—along with the heroics of a Rockland schools superintendent confronted in his office by a gunman yesterday—are some of the real heart-stoppers. They give us pause to reflect on the randomness of crime, on despair and heartbreak, on the fragility of life.

As a 30-year journalist, I’ve heard over and over throughout my career — and often been asked directly — about why we love “sensationalism,’’ why we “only” publish bad news, and on and on. Generally, unless there’s time for some good give-and-take, I don’t answer because the questions are based on falsehoods or, at the very least, misconceptions.

But I will take a moment to answer this question, less frequently asked: What is it about such stories that makes us read them? For we do read them, we editors and reporters. So do readers of the paper and the Web site. We know that through conversations, phone calls, letters, Web “hits” and what we hear in our communities.

And we do read them, not just “watch’’ or “listen” through other media or via word-of-mouth. We undertake the act of reading to understand, to let our minds and hearts grasp facts and their implications. Reading helps us breathe.

We read these stories because they move us. They frighten us. They hurt us. They can anger us. But most of all, they connect us. We all have families, we all have friends, we all have loved ones, we all care about somebody. And when we read about tragedies and real-life drama, we are instantly connected through our humanity.

Most readers don’t hold the politicians in Albany in high regard and the latest shenanigans from the state’s Capitol — a Republican-led coup in the Senate — is reinforcing their views that state government is dysfunctional.

One reader lamented:

Nothing surprises me any more about the most dysfunctional legislature in the entire country, a legislature run with scant concern for the public interest, where leaders pad their pockets and get rich on part-time work. in both chambers minority members get no rights and constituents’ needs are ignored just because they happen to have made the ‘wrong’ choice on election day. Democrats in charge of both chambers and the governorship didn’t run Albany any better than when power was divided.

Another scoffed:

These are your representatives that you voted for … so enjoy the revue. It’s on your dime.

Members of both parties are coming under fire from readers, many of whom think that the lawmakers are completely out of control.

The more things change the more they stay the same. These people didn’t learn anything in kindergarten,

wrote a reader, while another added.

I think all these buffoons should be voted out! There’s not a good one in the bunch.

Another person had this to say:

This is what do-nothing politicians do when they can’t make procedural decisions regarding a new budget. For any of these ham and eggers to say they are working in the best interest of the tax-paying public is at best a joke, just like the job they are suppose to do, but don’t quite get around to doing.

Some are wondering how all of this will affect state residents:

Now you know this is just going to cost us whether you are a Democrat or Republican.

Anger and sorrow are pouring forth from readers in response to the deaths of a Brewster second-grader and her mother, allegedly at the hands of a drunk driver.
Kayla Donohue and her mother were struck and killed as they walked to dance class at Seven Stars School of Performing Arts at the intersection of routes 6 and 22. Police have arrested a 35-year-old man and charged him with first-degree vehicular manslaughter. Federal authorities have filed a detainer against the man as a suspected illegal immigrant.
Always a hot-button issues, the allegation that the driver was drunk has readers sounding off about what they see as lax enforcement of the laws and lenient sentences for those who are convicted of the crime.

I am disgusted and angered by all the DWI in Putnam. Look at the police blotter! This is out of control and now we have lost a mother and a little girl. My condolences to the family. My heart breaks at the senseless loss.

Many are advocating for zero-tolerance for drunk driving and harsh punishments, such as this reader, who wrote,

The driver should be locked up and never see the light of day!

Many are going online to post condolences for the family of the little girl and mother.

God bless the little girl and her mom. God strengthen their family,

one person wrote. Another added:

My heart goes out to the family. Words cannot even approach helping them at this time. To the Donohue Family please know that many of us, though strangers, are here for you in this horrible time.

Many readers are also upset that the man arrested may be an illegal immigrant, a controversial topic in Brewster, which has a large population of day laborers and undocumented residents.

If the murderer turns out to be an illegal alien, every politician who trades our security for votes has blood on his hands,

one person said. Another added:

I have absolutely zero tolerance for drunks, let alone someone who is not in this country legally.

Today, we have an editorial about the 65th anniversary of D-Day (see here), a news story talking to locals who were at Normandy (here) and  a column by staff writer Rich Liebson, (here) who pens the “At Ease!” blog on veterans issues, wrote this column.

I had the opportunity to speak this week with Jerry Donnellan, who is director of Rockland’s Veterans Service Agency. He’s always a wealth of information about current veterans and military issues, and he knows his history. We were talking specifically about World War II veterans, and all that is lost as we lose that “Greatest Generation.”

Each war has its nuances, “a different culture of sorts,” said Donnellan, a Vietnam War combat vet. “The World War II veteran came out of the Depression, from hardship,” he said, and then came back, rejoined society with the help of the GI Bill. Plus, their war experience was different. “They left as a unit, and they were going to be together until this whole damn thing was over … they didn’t know if it would be a year, 10 years from now or if ever,” Donnellan said. “The camraderie and family relationships that was the World War II veteran, I don’t think has ever been seen again.”

AP PHOTO: A woman walks among the graves at the American Cemetery at Colleville-Sur -Mer, near Caen, western France on Saturday during the 65th anniversary of the D-day landings in Normandy. (AP photographer Francois Mori)

The arrest of a Pelham Middle School Social Studies teacher on federal charges that he tried to arrange online a sexual encounter with a 15-year-old girl — really a Westchester County detective — continues to generate a lot of talk.
Discussion has included background checks for teachers and safety of school students, and the tactics that are involved in setting up such Internet sex stings.

Ever wonder who is teaching your kids?

one reader queried, while another added:

Don’t these schools do a background check before hiring? … It is scary because you think your kids are safe at school.

In response to reports that the police had been engaging in Internet conversations with Yorktown resident Gregg Cavaluzzi since January 2008, readers wondered whether authorities went a little too far in trying to tempt the suspect.

Cops set a trap, baited it with a nice piece of meat, and enticed him to walk in. If the cops left a bank vault and back door open, I wonder how many nights I would walk by before I grabbed a handful. I would certainly think about it,

one reader mused.
Another person disagreed, saying the responsiblity for his actions rests solely on Cavaluzzi:

Oh please! No one held a gun to his head and forced him to talk to what he thought was an underage girl! He made that decision all on his own.

Finally, one poster cautioned that the focus should remain on the allegations and making sure the investigation is thorough.

Big thanks to the Westchester County Police. … An alledged perp broke the law. The cops did an investigation and arrested him. He was working in an environment with young girls. The concerns should be: Is he guilty? Has he done this before? Are there possibly any other victims? What will the school system do in response to this?

News that a Pelham Middle School teacher from Yorktown has been arrested and charged by federal authorities with trying to arrange a sexual liaison with a 15-year-old “girl” over the Internet has residents in that school district and across the region buzzing.

He teaches at my son’s school. … What kind of monster tries to have sex with children?! That’s beyond disgusting,

one parent wrote.

These things happen, and we have to do the best we can to stop them. This was more of a lesson for students than for the adults that run the school. Hopefully, the students should now realize that they should report any odd behavior among teachers,

another reader said.

Several former and current students of Gregg Cavaluzzi are also weighing in.

Mr. Cav, why?,

wrote one, while several others talked about what they say was inappropriate behavior toward female students.

This guy is (or, rather, was) my teacher. Disgusting. He was often randomly quite friendly to girls. We sometimes joked about how he was creepy, but now we know the truth. School’s gonna be bizarre tomorrow. I hope he doesn’t come back.

Referring to the proliferation of articles and telelvision shows dealing with Internet sex stings, more than a few readers commented on how predators still attempt to make use the Internet for illicit and illegal matches.

Doesn’t anyone watch Dateline? They round people up like this by the dozens,

summed up one reader.
Check back on LoHud.com for continuing updates on this story.