Last Thursday’s announcement of a second confirmed case of the mosquito-borne West Nile virus in Suffolk this year arrived amid aerial pesticide spraying by the county and a furious reaction from those who fear the spraying endangers the environment and public health.

    The latest West Nile case involves a resident of Huntington, who is recovering. The first person diagnosed with the virus, on Aug. 6, was a Babylon resident who has since recovered. While both cases occurred in western Suffolk, the Division of Vector Control of the County Department of Public Works has included eastern Long Island in its spraying program. Spraying has occurred in the Town of East Hampton, most recently on Aug. 21 over Napeague and Accabonac Harbor.

    The use of insecticides including methoprene, commonly used as a mosquito larvicide, and resmethrin (also known as Scourge) to kill adult mosquitoes via low-altitude, large-droplet liquid application, is in keeping with the a long-term plan and environmental impact statement passed by the County Legislature in 2007 despite objections of environmentalists and the county’s Council on Environmental Quality.

    “That was about a $4.6-million effort to comprehensively look at mosquito control in the county,” Dominick Ninivaggi, superintendent of the Division of Vector Control, said. 

    “The county is trying to act responsibly when it comes to West Nile virus, and with a minimal environmental impact,” Mr. Ninivaggi said. “It’s certainly effective in reducing the number of mosquitoes. One thing we looked at in the long-term plan is the level of activity. . . . We do know, by looking at our trap data and by looking over history, our program of larval control in salt marshes is extremely effective. Go to the wilderness area of Fire Island National Seashore, where we’ve done nothing for many years because it’s a wilderness. Our traps there will collect 10 to 100 times, sometimes 1,000 times, the number of mosquitoes we see anywhere else in Suffolk County.”

    The insecticides being used are registered by the Environmental Protection Agency and the State Department of Environmental Conservation and they are said to be applied in accordance with state and federal permits. Mr. Ninivaggi cautioned that the small number of confirmed cases in Suffolk could be misleading. The time lag between a mosquito bite, the appearance of symptoms, a diagnosis, and a confirmation could mean that other cases will eventually be confirmed.

    “We look at the surveillance data and try to decide where the balance is between acting to prevent disease and not over-reacting by spraying areas unnecessarily,” Mr. Niivaggi said.

    Kevin McAllister, who, as the president of the nonprofit Peconic Baykeeper organization, is adamant in his opposition to the spraying. “I think it’s totally overblown with respect to controlling mosquitoes, and doesn’t have any discernible effect and reduction on West Nile, period.”

    Mr. McAllister described an experience he had last week. “I was on the beach in the evening, the county was spraying the marshes along Moriches Bay. It was a helicopter, moving very slowly. I could tell it was a spraying event.” At the time, he said, there were no mosquitoes in the vicinity. “All of a sudden, the location I was sitting at became infested. The mosquitoes are basically getting out in front of the spray fog that they had released. This begs the question, ‘What’s the kill effect of these pesticides on mosquitoes?’ ”

    According to Mr. McAllister, “a host of beneficial insects is being negatively affected.”

    Wiltraud Salm of Southampton is among those who have lashed out about the spraying program. Her house is adjacent to Scallop Pond Preserve, a salt marsh that is part of the Sebonac Creek estuary and abuts the Cow Neck peninsula. The area has been preserved by the Peconic Land Trust. “The mosquitoes that live in the marsh fly away from the spray and come up to the house,” Mrs. Salm said. “Other than that, we don’t have any mosquitoes at the house.”

    Ms. Salm accused the county of deliberately spraying her property. “They are sneaky; they say they will spray at a certain time, and then wait until I am elsewhere. I caught them every time, I quickly run out and shoo them away. If I don’t, they spray liberally everywhere.”

    Mrs. Salm has written to Mr. Ninivaggi expressing her disapproval. In a letter dated Aug. 13, she accused the county of spraying right up to her house and asked, “Do I have to sue you for trespassing?”

    Mr. McAllister has also written to Mr. Ninivaggi, asserting “you do not have the authority. . . to spray private lands with lethal pesticides without landowner authorization. . . . It is your obligation to respect [Mrs. Salm’s] wishes and keep your poisons off the privately owned Scallop Pond marshlands.”

    Mr. Ninivaggi denied that the marshland treated in that area was her property. “I’ve already given her that information, so it’s a moot point, but the county does have authority to enter private lands to conduct mosquito control under public health law.”

    Another development, one likely to amplify the debate, is the recent detection, as concluded in a study by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, of methoprene and resmethrin residues in lobsters harvested from Long Island Sound. “The literature is full of the impacts of these products on aquatic life, fish, and invertebrates. The presence of pesticides in lobster is irresponsible and unacceptable,” Mr. McAllister said.

     Scott Warren, an emeritus professor of botany at Connecticut College, had questions about the conclusion of the lobster study, however. “There have been assertions of insecticide as causal agents of lobster decline in Long Island Sound for some time, since the first real major decline occurred [in 1999]. A more problematic issue for lobsters in Long Island Sound is alleged to be water temperatures. They’re a cold-water species, and the water is getting a lot warmer, to a point where we’re flirting with what lobsters can deal with and remain healthy. In cold-water temperatures, the small amounts of pesticides might not have had much effect, but in a physiologically stressed condition, that could nail them.”

    Mr. Ninivaggi conceded that the detection of the specific insectsides was a concern. However, he said the results of the study were yet to be confirmed. “Nobody who is knowledgeable on this subject can understand these findings, so the first thing we have to do is make sure these findings are real and not some sort of laboratory artifact. The county, as part of our E.I.S., looked at the ecological toxicity and behavior of the materials we use. What we found, both for resmethrin and methoprene, is that these materials degrade very rapidly in the environment. They don’t accumulate. With that information at hand, it’s hard to understand how these materials can be found in high concentrations in lobsters that are many miles from any application of these materials.”

    Mosquitoes and lobsters are related biologically. “The impact of these pesticides on flying mosquitoes holds true for crustaceans,” Mr. McAllister said. “I’m not trying to dismiss illness or death associated with West Nile, but 40,000 people die a year from the common flu. Let’s put it in perspective: Is the prescription a lot worse than the actual ill?”

    “We’ve done our own studies in cooperation with Stony Brook University and the United States Geological Survey,” Mr. Ninivaggi said. “They found that right after application these materials are at extremely low levels, and after hours or days are undetectable. We’re confident in these results.”

    The county’s spraying program is occurring as Dallas has experienced 200 cases and 10 deaths related to West Nile this year.

    “There’s no question that West Nile is a public health concern, that it can get out of hand,” Professor Warren said. “I can sympathize with the Vector Control people who look to Dallas and think, ‘Could it happen here?’ And if it did, the first thing people would say is, ‘Why didn’t you do something?’ . . . By the standards of DDT, Scourge is pretty nice, but they’re still insecticides. They have the potential to disrupt the metabolism of anything they land on.”

    The lifeguard stand was carted from Georgica Beach on Tuesday, nearly three weeks earlier than had been planned. “It was between the beaches at Two Mile Hollow, Main Beach, and Georgica . . . we had to close one,” said Ed McDonald, who manages the ocean beaches for East Hampton Village. “We are running into the same problem as restaurants and storeowners — our employees are going back to school.”

    Larry Cantwell, the village administrator, okayed the request to remove the stand from Georgica Beach, where tidal surges have consistently washed up to the parking lot. “It’s a relatively short beach with no altitude,” Mr. McDonald said, adding that the beach was often unusable at high tide. “If a tropical system were to move this way, it would only get worse.”

    He stressed that Georgica is not truly closed, although he has placed a no-swimming sign at the beach’s entrance. Full-time lifeguards will be on duty at the other village beaches until Labor Day, at which point they will work weekends only for the two subsequent weeks.

    “I hope we have enough lifeguards,” Mr. McDonald said. “If not, Two Mile Hollow will be next.”

   Triggered by an ongoing stalemate with the Sag Harbor Police Benevolent Association after mediation failed to arrive at a new contract and facing a state cap on increases in taxes, questions have continued to hover around the Sag Harbor Village Board about whether it would be financially prudent to disband the Police Department or whether it should enter into an inter-municipal agreement with another policing agency, allowing the village to retain the department but reduce its size.

    On Tuesday, at a meeting of the board, Mayor Brian Gilbride reported that he had spoken with Anna Throne-Holst, Southampton Town’s  supervisor, and the Suffolk Sheriff’s Department about whether their departments could help cover the village. The Town of East Hampton had also called requesting information, he said.

    “At this point, I have to know from the board, do I continue going down this road looking at this?” the mayor asked. Behind closed doors, he and Beth Kamper, the village clerk, have been crunching numbers to find out exactly what each officer costs.

    “I continue to not want to go down this road,” Mayor Gilbride said, “but these costs are getting to a point we have to take a hard look. . . . With a 2 percent tax cap, there is not a lot of money to play with.”

    When Kevin Duchemin, the board’s newest elected member, who is a sergeant with the East Hampton Village Police Department, said he “would like to see one more meeting with the P.B.A. to hammer out this agreement,” the mayor replied, “We can do both.”

    Timothy Culver, a member of the board, said the issue ran deeper, however. “What is the right answer for the village? Is the P.B.A. contract the most efficient way to allocate the funds?”

    William Wilson, the Southampton Town police chief, and County Sheriff Vincent DeMarco are each willing to send up to two cars, 365 days a year, the mayor said, to police the village. He said he had had “a very good discussion,” and thought an inter-municipal agreement made sense “when you look at the numbers.”

    Robert Bori, the Sag Harbor harbormaster, entered the discussion later in the meeting. “You speak of two cars. Is that going to be in writing? If there is a heavy accident, are we still going to have the protection?”

    “As a former police officer, you have better insight than others,” Mayor Gilbride responded. “If something happened in Bridgehampton or Saga­ponack, [Southampton] cars would be shipped out,” but with the Sheriff’s Department “that’s not the case,” he said.  He had been assured, he said, that the sheriff’s personnel would be willing to walk the sidewalks and get to know the people.

    That the board was concerned about money rather than performance was clear during the meeting. Edward Gregory, a trustee, said, “It’s not personal. They’re very good. They do an excellent job.”

    As for the mayor, he said he “praised the officers time and time again.” But, he said, “I don’t think any of them will be without work for long” if the village lost “six or seven people. We keep the ability to have our own Police Department, and see,” he said.

    He added that the department’s chief, Tom Fabiano, “does an excellent job. Without Tom, we would have had this problem sooner.”

    Chief Fabiano also had something to say before the meeting was over. He approached the microphone in an out-of-character, somber tone. “With regard to the other departments being talked to,” he said, “I believe they have problems; they can’t cover their own areas.” He continued: “We have provided a great service . . . over 35 years.” He noted that he had been in the department through “a lot of mayors and a lot of trustees. When times were hard, it’s always, let’s get rid of these guys.” While agreeing that money had to be a concern, he said, “I look at that every time I buy a sign or a pencil. . . . It really hurts me to see that you’re doing this.”

    “Do you honestly believe that they can give you the quality of the service we are giving you?” the chief asked. He asked the board to wait and see the results of the impending arbitration. There was no response from the board.

    “It really hurts me to see this whole Police Department be abolished. We are doing far more than we did 15 years ago; our own court system, we’re making revenue here.” Then he added, “It’s disheartening after 35 years.” Walking away, with his head down, he repeated softly, “Thirty-five years.”

    Before the recent glut of fund-raisers hit Montauk, there were the Montauk Village Association’s annual benefits, which started in the 1960s and eventually included the popular Greenery Scenery Celebrity cocktail party.

    The group, which beautifies the downtown area with trees, shrubs, and flowering plants, and manages the memorial bench and tree program, originally held fashion shows at Gurney’s Inn and dinner-dances at the long-closed Deep Sea Club, sometimes netting hundreds of dollars, a good amount back then.

    In 1967, the Kirk Park Pavilion was dedicated and the Greenery Scenery party was held there. At that time the M.V.A. owned and maintained the park, which is located on the banks of Fort Pond. Although they remain caretakers, they have since handed ownership over to East Hampton Town, due to increasing costs of owning and insuring a public park.

    The party moved to the Akin estate for the next two years. By then, said Nancy Keeshan, the organization’s current president, the association had conceived of a “glorious summer party.” It was decided that the Montauk Manor, with its sweeping lawn and exceptional views, would be the perfect setting.    

    The first Manor party, in 1971, drew over 300 guests. The following year celebrity bartenders were added to the mix and the party grew in each year after. In the 1980s it attracted over 1,000 guests.

    Since then the event has taken on several incarnations, most notably Drinks by the Links at the Montauk Downs. But two years ago Greenery Scenery, the most popular of the association’s events, was reinstated, with a handful of local celebrities thrown in and put to work bartending.

    It will be held tomorrow evening from 6 to 9 at the Montauk Lake Club on East Lake Drive. This year’s honoree is Roberta Gosman Donovan, an owner and the host of Gosman’s restaurant. There will be food, an open bar, and a live auction with prominent artwork, surfboards, a fishing trip, a collage by Tony Caramonico, jewelry by Helen Ficalora, and lots more. Tickets are $100 in advance, available at Keeshan Real Estate on the south Plaza, or at the door for $110.

    When it was formed in 1961, the group was called the Montauk Civic Association. Ms. Keeshan said it should really be called the Montauk Village Garden Association, because “that’s what we really do.” She said the Civic Association’s first venture was to plant a small memorial garden on the green, with a flagpole and a design in the shape of a flag with red, white, and blue flowers. The M.V.A. has begun revitalizing the garden area, with work being conducted by James Grimes and his crew from Fort Pond Native Plants.

    “Even with their busy schedule they have made a push to get it done in August,” said Ms. Keeshan. “Private donations have funded the project, but we need more. Landscaping costs us $75,000 a year now.” She noted that the group no longer receives any money from the Town of East Hampton; all of it must be raised through fund-raisers and donations.

    In recent weeks it was the M.V.A. that orchestrated the removal of 16 dead trees from the downtown area. They lobbied the state for months to rid the hamlet of the dead and dying trees, which were often commented on and considered dangerous. It’s “been hard keeping those trees from dying,” said Ms. Keeshan, as the ground beneath them is layered with concrete, blocking water from the roots.

    The tree stumps will be ground up; the root systems will have to be removed. The concrete, especially to the east of the hamlet, will be broken up. It will be a fairly expensive project that the M.V.A. had hoped to complete with new trees by next summer.

    But since the dying trees were removed, the last of them on Friday, several residents have said they prefer the open space, and Ms. Keeshan agrees. “It gives the downtown area an open oceanfront look,” she said yesterday.

Books to Music

    Lee Knight will get kids of all ages singing and dancing during a Dream Big concert for all ages at the East Hampton Library next Thursday from 2 to 3 p.m. Ms. Knight sets favorite stories to music and invites kids to be part of the show.

    Also at the library this week, kids 4 and older will explore shapes and patterns in modern art and make their own abstract art using sponge-painting techniques tomorrow from 3 to 4 p.m. Kids the same age will learn about sharks while they handle shark jaws, teeth, and egg cases in a Long Island Aquarium program on Monday, 3 to 4 p.m.

    All programs are free, but reservations are requested.

Twirli-Giggles

    This week’s edition of Twirligig Tuesdays at the Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton will bring Bari Koral and her band, whose catchy pop tunes will have everyone singing along. The band will sing tracks from its debut album, “Rock and Roll Garden,” which won Nappa Gold and Parents’ Choice award, as well as “Anna and the Cupcakes,” which was released earlier this year. The show will start at 6 p.m. Tickets are $17 in advance, $15 for members, and $20 at the door. The rain date is Wednesday.

Murder in Bridgehampton

    During an after-hours celebration to mark the end of the summer reading club at the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton, kids entering seventh grade and above can take part in a murder mystery and play games, Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m.

    Kids of the same age can make glow in the dark accessories during a workshop next Thursday from 1 to 2:30 p.m.

Gustafer’s Travels

    The Goat on a Boat Puppet Theatre in Sag Harbor will feature performances of the classic fairytale “Little Red Riding Hood,” today, tomorrow, and Saturday at 11 a.m. 

    Straight from the sun, Gustafer Yellowgold will make his way to the theater for a three-day run starting next Thursday at 11 a.m. A character created by Morgan Taylor, who New York Magazine recently named Best Kids’ Performer, Gustafer is not a puppet. Rather, he is an animated alien whose curiosity leads him on a perpetual path of discovery while his story is told through song. There will also be performances on Friday, Aug. 24, and Aug. 25.

    Tickets cost $10, $9 for members and grandparents, and $5 for kids under 3.

Teen Art

    The Madoo Conservancy in Saga­ponack will offer an intensive one-week art class for teenagers starting on Monday.

    Led by Sarah Rustin-Faulkner, a decorative artist, students will draw and sketch in Madoo’s gardens, then progress to working on a more involved piece in their medium of choice. Classes will be held Monday through Friday, Aug. 24 from 10 a.m. to noon. Initial supplies are provided by the conservancy. The cost for all five classes is $225 or $200 for members.

Marionettes at Guild Hall

    Prince Steffon will find and rescue princess Aurora from her nearly 100-year slumber under the dominion of the evil fairy Balladonna on Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Guild Hall. Told from the prince’s point of view, the National Marionette Theatre will present Tchai­kovsky’s “Sleeping Beauty” as part of Guild Hall’s KidFest series. Tickets cost $16 for adults, $14 for members, and $13 or $11 for kids.

    An arts and crafts workshop before the performance from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. will have kids 5 and older designing their own puppet theater. The cost is $10, or $8 for members.    

Bikes and Boards

    The final event in the Family Fest at the Montauk Playhouse Community Center will feature Team F.A.S.T., a medley of high-flying and adrenaline-pumping BMX, skateboarding, and street bikes, next Thursday at 7 p.m. Their hopping, balancing, gliding, and spinning show is for the whole family. Tickets are $15 and are available at montaukplayhouse.org or at the door.

Carnival for a Cure

    The Roar for a Cure family carnival will bring a rock wall, barbecue, obstacle course, batting cage, mechanical bull, dunk tank, mini golf, and even “GaGa pits” to the Ross School grounds on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.

    A D.J. will play music, and there will be a caricaturist, magician, and balloon artist on hand, as well as burgers, hot dogs, gourmet wraps, a quesadilla bar, and a fry station.

    Proceeds will benefit the Max Cure Foundation for pediatric cancer research. Tickets cost $125 for adults and $50 for children and can be reserved at maxcurefoundation.org/carnival. Kids under 2 will be admitted for free.

    At the end of Friday’s East Hampton Village Board meeting, Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr. came down on cycling groups who fail to yield to motorists or pedestrians. Mayor Rickenbach also admonished groups of runners who occupy more than their share of roadways. “Be civil, be cognizant,” the mayor said, adding that “some bicyclists and joggers are ignoring New York traffic law, which is not the way to behave.”

    He said increased use of the village parking lots compared to last year is a sign of increased traffic. “Everyone should take a deep breath,” he said. “In two weeks, we will return to normal.” He thanked the emergency service employees for coping well with heightened activity. “Kudos to them,” he said.

    The mayor requested that residents and visitors learn New York State traffic laws, which require cyclists to ride close to the right curb “in such a manner as to prevent undue interference with the flow of traffic” and not more than two abreast on public roads or shoulders. Pedestrians are required to use sidewalks when they are provided and safe to use. Where sidewalks are not provided, the law says a pedestrian must walk on the left side of the road facing traffic.

    Members of the Sag Harbor Gym on Bay Street can now look forward to having smoothies, juices, protein shakes, and salads before or after their workouts, following a decision by the village zoning board of appeals on Tuesday that a juice and smoothie bar is consistent with the spot’s primary use as a fitness center.

    Timothy Platt, the village’s building inspector, had asked the board to determine whether village code would allow a juice bar at the gym.

    Carlos Ramirez, a chef and entrepreneur, plans to rent space from the Hampton Gym Corporation to open Moose Smoothies. On Tuesday, his attorney, Carl Irace, argued that providing nutritional beverages is part of fitness center’s main use. Village code, he said, describes fitness centers as “facilities for exercise, aerobics, and nutrition.”

    “Nutrition,” he said, “is an essential part of fitness,” and it is customary these days for gyms, even smaller ones, to also offer healthy foods to its members. Today, he said, fitness training always involves nutrition. “It supports endurance . . . recovery from exercise.” As an example, he said that many trainers recommend a shake 30 minutes after a workout. People need to replenish electrolytes after exercise, he said. In the past, a soda machine may have sufficed, but he said fitness trainers now work with variations based on age, weight-loss goals, and conditions such as diabetes and hypertension. “That’s why gyms offer experienced and professional nutritional counseling.”

    He said there is already a juice bar in the Hampton Gym Corporation’s Southampton gym.

    In Sag Harbor, the juice bar, at just 170 square feet, will be 70 feet from the gym’s main entrance in a space now used for storage.

    Answering questions from the board, Mr. Irace said that the juice bar would require no additional parking and that the food and beverages served would be offered as a convenience to members only, as are the gym’s child care services.

    As copies of the plans were handed to the board, Michael Bromberg, a board member, warned Mr. Irace and Mr. Ramirez that only three board members were in attendance. “It is easier to get three out of five, than three out of three,” Mr. Bromberg said. Gayle Pickering, the board’s chairwoman, offered them the chance to request that the matter be adjourned, and gave other applicants in the audience the same option. Mr. Irace and Mr. Ramirez declined, and in the end, got the three votes they needed.

    Although Mr. Bromberg said that giving nutritional advice is different from handing someone a drink, he said “it sounds customary, other establishments have it.” Ms. Pickering agreed, saying, “I think it works for the gym.”

    Mr. Ramirez, who has lived in Sag Harbor for three years, is excited to get started, he said yesterday. He thinks it will be a month or two before he has the smoothie bar built. He will use recycled materials, he said, adding that the business will have a low carbon footprint. He said he has already purchased compostable cups, and will source local and organic ingredients whenever possible.

    Gordon Bowling, an East Hampton resident, has called for Andrew Goldstein, chairman of the East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals, to recuse himself in a proposal pending before the board. The application was submitted by John and Suzanne Cartier, Mr. Bowling’s neighbors, who are seeking to construct an “accessory building with living accommodations” on their two-acre Main Street property.

    At a two-and-a-half hour hearing on the plan last month, mired in debate over interpretation, Mr. Goldstein mentioned that he was “good friends with John Cartier,” adding, “I don’t feel compromised in my ability to rule against him.”

    Mr. Bowling wrote to the board on July 31 questioning the chairman’s ability to be objective. In that letter, which he provided to The Star last week, he suggested that Mr. Goldstein recuse himself from future debate on the Cartier application “so as not to stain the reputation of the chairman, the Z.B.A., and the East Hampton government.”

“Most residents of East Hampton would agree with me that any chairman of the Z.B.A. who might be ‘good friends’ with an applicant should recuse himself from such cases,” he wrote. “Appearances matter and reputations matter. . . . In a small village like ours, conflicts inevitably occur, and this is the reason we have appointed alternatives.”

    In addition to his Z.B.A. position, Mr. Goldstein is the chairman of the Village Preservation Society, which was founded by Mr. Cartier, who is on its board.

    It is up to Mr. Goldstein to decide whether his relationship with the Cartiers warrants recusal. In 2010, he recused himself from the East Hampton Library’s expansion application subsequent to making strong statements at Z.B.A. and preservation society meetings against the project.

    At the second hearing, tomorrow, Mr. Goldstein is expected to state his intentions. 

    Diggers and shapers, unite! The Clamshell Foundation’s sand castle contest starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday at Atlantic Avenue Beach in Amagansett. There will be five categories of competition: Sand Fleas, for children up to 8, Sand Hoppers, for 9 to 15-year-olds, Sand Tribes, for families, Sand Shapers, for adults, and Sand Pros, for veterans of the sand castle arts.

    While it’s free to watch the construction of ephemeral structures and the formation of sandy creatures, the cost to take part is $10 for a group of up to six people. The money raised through the registration fees and the sale of T-shirts and other merchandise goes toward the foundation’s charitable work, which includes scholarships for East Hampton High School seniors and, traditionally, roasting chickens for East Hamptoners who might be having trouble paying for groceries.

     The first contest was held in 1992, started by Rossetti Perchik of Springs, the foundation’s executive director. The Web site to visit is clamshellfoundation.org. The rain date is Sunday.

    The next session of Animal Rescue Fund classes for dogs and their masters is coming up. ARF will offer a recreational dog agility class, aimed at building trust between dogs and their handlers while giving both some exercise.

    Classes start on Saturday and go through Sept. 1, 4 to 5 p.m. for beginners and 5 to 6 p.m. for the intermediate course. The cost is $150 for five classes; class size is limited.

ARF’s Thursday afternoon puppy kindergarten starts next Thursday and continues through Aug. 30, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. The cost is $100 for four sessions.

    Both classes are at the ARF Adoption Center, 90 Daniel’s Hole Road, Wainscott. Matthew Posnick is the instructor. Registration online is at arfhamptons.org, or at the center.