Meet Ilene and Amanda Sobel, the Mother/Daughter team who are serving up little "Bites" with big flavor at the Port Jefferson village Farmers Market. If you've been to the village market you surely have seen their colorful and eye catching display. Bites is a young company that makes sweet treats with portion control and nutrition in mind. They also carry a gluten-free line of treats. Patch recently sat down with the entrepreneurial duo to find out how "Bites" was born, and what the future holds for this delectably delicious company that they operate out of their Port Jefferson home. How did …

Gabriela Rodrigues of Mount Sinai, graduated summa cum laude from St. Joseph’s College this spring earning a B.A. in Mathematics and a B.S. in Mathematics and Computer Science with a certification in secondary education. While at St. Joseph's College, she was on the Dean’s List every semester. In addition, she was elected into Kappa Gamma Pi, Upsilon Pi Epsilon, Kappa Mu Epsilon, Delta Epsilon Sigma and Sigma Iota Chi honor societies. Gabriela was also a Dean’s Service Circle volunteer and member of the Matrix Club, Finance and Investment Club, Keep a Child Alive and Habitat for Humanity. We …

The Port Jefferson Fire Department is organizing the July 4 parade this year as it does every year and many of the volunteers will be on hand to march including Don Given, a local whose been in the department since 1974. Not only has Given been a volunteer in the fire department for over 35 years. He started out as a junior volunteer and he became a full fledged Port Jefferson Fire Department volunteer in 1976. He’s so local that he works as a chef at Mather Hospital, the same hospital where he was born. He will also be marching in the July 4 parade with the fire department this year just as …

Nancy Mariano has been the Regional Director for Friends of Karen, an organization located in Port Jefferson for nearly ten years. Prior to her work at Friends of Karen, Mariano was the executive director for Special Olympics and involved with them for over 30 years. Friends of Karen has been dedicated to helping families of critically ill children. Mariano sat down with the Port Jefferson Patch to share with us Friends of Karen's mission and how the community can lend a hand in the work they do. Can you tell us how Friends of Karen began? Friends of Karen was started in Westchester 33 years …

For some artists, they goal is to do more than merely hang art on a gallery or museum wall. Local Port Jefferson artist Amal Karzai uses the combination of charcoal and watercolor to create fun, educational and beautifully illustrated books for both children and young adults. A graduate of The Academy Of Art in San Francisco and a current member of the Long Island Children’s Writers and Illustrators Group, Amal has previously exhibited her work at The Spinott Gallery, Gallery 242 and Toast Coffeehouse in lower Port Jefferson. Over the years, she has combined her love of art with her passion …

Meet Tara Arichabala, mother of three and community volunteer. Arichabala, originally from Oregon, came to Long Island in her early teens. She currently lives in Mount Sinai with her husband and three children who range in age 5 years to 5 months old.  A busy mom of three, Arichabala takes the time out to help in the community whenever she can. She also is the co leader for her daughter's Girl Scout Daisy troop. Arichabala recently sat down with Patch and shared with us what inspires her to be an avid volunteer in our community.   Has volunteering always been a part of your life? I have …

At 49 years old, Port Jefferson resident Don Nenninger placed second in the men’s pentathlon at the United States Track and Field regional open held in Glassboro, NJ on Saturday, May 28. “I started training and participating in pentathlon competitions a year ago as an adjunct to running and triathlons,” Nenninger said. “In 2010 New York State held the Empire State games in Buffalo and this was my first competition.” Only last year, he was ranked 22nd in the nation. For 2011 his goal was to move into the top ten. “I'm currently ranked third,” he said. Nenninger competed in the masters division…

As a librarian aide, Lisa Perrin gets to work in every part of the Port Jefferson library doing something she loves while using her creative skills in “fun and useful ways.” Perrin is a 2006 Comsewogue High School graduate with Bachelor’s Degrees in Fine Arts and English. She graduated from SUNY New Paltz last year. Perrin has had her illustrations featured in many publications and has been featured in exhibitions at her college. She also won “Outstanding Graduate” awards in studio art and in the honors program at New Paltz. Recently the library partnered with a local business to launch a …

Meet Kathleen Donadio, local Girl Scout Leader and Service Unit Leader. A native Long Islander, Donadio currently resides in Port Jefferson Station with her husband and two children ages 14 and 25. She has worked at John T. Mather Memorial Hospital for the last 23 years and also works part time at Travel Pleasers. Donadio recently sat down with the Port Jefferson Patch to talk about what being a Girl Scout leader in the community is all about. How did you first get involved with Girl Scouts? When my daughter was in first grade – she is going into ninth grade now – I started as a parent helper…

Meet Carrie Fleischer, first time Mom and creator of You Can Breastfeed Here, a website dedicated to breasfeeding advocacy for mothers. Fleischer, is currently a full time, stay at home Mom on child care leave and resides in Port Jefferson Station. Fleischer recently sat down with Port Jefferson Patch to tell us about the inspiration behind You Can Breastfeed Here ,and what she hopes the site will accomplish. How did you get the idea to launch You Can Breastfeed Here? It really came about very naturally, I was dealing with all the challenges that new Moms deal with. I was dealing with some of…

Heather Welkes is a certified teacher with a Masters degree in Reading. Currently residing in Port Jefferson Station with her husband and three-year old son, Welkes teaches part time. In the past she has taught in several Long Island districts as well as daycare schools and camps. Welkes is the founder and Director of Shake N' Make Music, a fun filled high energy music program with classes throughout Nassau and Suffolk County. She sat down with Port Jefferson Patch to discuss how Shake N' Make Music was born and what her future goals are for the young company.  How did the idea to start Shake…