The English garden lecturer Walter Wilde will talk about one of Europe's most famous gardens in a slide lecture, "Paradise Regained: The Bodnant Story," tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at the Bridgehampton Community House.

The talk is one in a continuing series of garden lectures organized by the Horticultural Alliance of the Hamptons.

Bodnant, the house and gardens of the Aberconway family in North Wales, is considered the finest garden in the world by many people, says Mr. Wilde.

He himself has visited the gardens every year for 30 years and has never failed to find something new. He calls Bodnant "a complete garden education."

Mr. Wilde, who has come from England to give the talk, is a widely traveled lecturer, author, and landscape designer who has organized and led garden tours for more than 25 years.

The lecture is free to members, $5 for nonmembers. The following week, on April 19, there will be the concluding program in the Alliance's workshop for beginning gardeners.

Ten Little Dogwoods

Gardeners may also be interested in knowing that anyone who joins the National Arbor Day Foundation this month will be given 10 white-flowering dogwood trees.

Dogwoods are ideal trees for the garden with their showy spring flowers, scarlet autumn foliage, and red berries, which attract songbirds in the winter.

The trees, actually very small saplings, will be shipped at the right time for planting with instructions enclosed. They are guaranteed to grow or they will be replaced free of charge.

Members will also receive the foundation's bimonthly "Arbor Day" publication and a small book with information about tree-planting and care.

To become a member, a $10 contribution should be sent to 10 Free Dogwoods, National Arbor Day Foundation, 100 Arbor Avenue, Nebraska City, Neb. 68410, before the end of the month.

The first buds of spring are just beginning to show themselves, but the Parrish Art Museum has already set in motion its plans for this year's 1997 Landscape Pleasures garden event.

This weekend, benefactors for this annual event and members of the Landscape Pleasures garden committee will attend a literary tea at Maria and Peter Matthiessen's Sagaponack house.

Mrs. Matthiessen co-chairs the garden commitee. Her husband is among the authors invited to read excerpts from their work that point to the pleasures of the garden. He will be joined by the art critic and best-selling author Robert Hughes of Shelter Island, the garden writers Mac Griswold of Sag Harbor and Eithne Clark of England, Anne Raver of Brooklyn, a New York Times columnist and author, and the artist Robert Dash, whose Saga ponack garden has been a frequent stop on the Landscape Pleasures garden tours.

Saturday's tea will run be from 3 to 5 p.m.

Benefactor tickets for the Landscape Pleasures weekend are $750 and can be purchased through the museum's offices in Southampton. This year's Landscape Pleasures weekend will be on June 14 and 15 and will include a keynote address by Dan Kiley, one of the best-known landscape architects in the world, a cocktail party, a garden tour, and a container garden competition open to nurseries, florists, and landscape designers on the East End.

Think spring! Think spring cleaning! Think spring cleanup!

Members of some 30 environmental and community organizations will participate in Saturday's eighth annual Great East End Cleanup, attacking trails, woods, beaches, and roads throughout the day in cooperation with the Towns of East Hampton and Southampton.

Montauk residents who would like to join in can sign up with the Concerned Citizens of Montauk, whose efforts will get under way at 9 a.m. at the gazebo on the Circle. Bill Akin will be on hand as coordinator, issuing plastic bags and assigning volunteers to their posts at Navy Road, Gin Beach, Ditch Plain, the downtown beaches, or Fort Pond.

The newly formed Concerned Students of Montauk group will gather debris at Kirk Park. Their parents and friends have been invited.

Also in Montauk, the trails of Hither Woods will get the once-over under the supervision of Tom Ruhle, Richard Whalen, Peter Liss, and any volunteers they can gather. Hither Woods cleaner-uppers have been asked to call Mr. Ruhle in Montauk.

Clean Sweep

The East Hampton Highway Department, too, will provide plastic bags for the cleanup in East Hampton, courtesy of the State Department of Environmental Conservation. They can be picked up by group leaders, said Dave Paolelli, the town's environmental facilities manager.

Benet Polikoff and Richard Lupoletti of the East Hampton Trails Preservation Society will lead a clean sweep along three miles of beach in Beach Hampton and Amagansett East, with collection bags provided. Volunteers will set out from the Atlantic Avenue Beach parking lot at 10 a.m.

The Accabonac Protection Committee has its sights set on the beaches and roads of Louse Point and Gerard Drive in Springs. Those forces, too, will set forth at 10 a.m., from both scenic spots.

In Southampton

Elsewhere in East Hampton, Stephen Hand's Path has been assigned to the Zonta organization, while the Northwest Creek Task Force will scour the shoreline of that body of water. Northwesters will meet at the launching-ramp parking lot at 9 a.m.

In Sag Harbor, free garbage bags can be picked up at the Sag Harbor recycling center for residents who wish to tackle their neighborhood or favorite beach. Dai Dayton of Bridgehampton can be called for further information.

In Southampton Town, South amp ton College volunteers will be on pick-up duty along Tuckahoe Road. The Nature Conservancy will clean up at and around Chatfield Hill, and the St. Mary's Youth Group has claimed Ponquogue Avenue in East Quogue.

Southampton Town has allocated $5,000 toward hauling construction debris out of town. East Hampton also plans to cart away construction debris.

Meanwhile. . .

Meanwhile, the Group for the South Fork, whose members and friends will also take part in Saturday's cleanup, has spring planting on its mind next week.

All week long, volunteers will be replanting eroded or damaged habitats in East Hampton, Shelter Island, and Southampton, using native plants only.

Both adults and children will be welcome to participate. Vikki Hilles at the Group's Bridgehampton headquarters has more information.

The Week's Hikes

Sunday will bring a seven-mile hike along the entire length of the Northwest Path, led by Ilmar Ratsep of the East Hampton Trails Preservation Society. The path is a segment of the Paumanok Path, the 110-mile trail that will extend from Rocky Point in Brookhaven to Montauk Point when it is completed.

Hikers will meet at 9 a.m. at the end of Alewife Brook Road, by Cedar Point Park.

The society sets out again on Wednesday morning at 10 for a hike around the Grace Estate. Although part of the same Northwest Path, this hike will take a different loop, up Scoy's Path to Kirk's Place and along the bay beach into a little-used section of Cedar Point Park.

The meeting place is next to the schoolhouse plaque on Northwest Road about a quarter-mile from its intersection with Alewife Brook Road.

The usual steady stream of cars was still pulling into the parking lot of the G&T Dairy Chicken House Tuesday afternoon, only to find the venerable deli and grocery store was closed - for good.

The business shut its doors on Monday, in anticipation of its sale to Southampton's Schmidt Brothers Produce Company, which plans to open an East Hampton branch. A deal is expected to be signed within a week.

Neither Dennis Schmidt nor Frank and Robert Tillinghast, who own the Race Lane business, would discuss the particulars of the sale.

A somewhat upscale "green grocer," Schmidt Brothers specializes mainly in fresh produce. On North Sea Road in Southampton Village, it also boasts a deli, a salad bar, fresh-cut flowers, dry and canned goods, and dairy products.

Hello Schmidt Produce

Mr. Schmidt said plans were to run "exactly" the same business as the Southampton store. He is now a co-owner of Schmidt Brothers, but will be the sole owner of the East Hampton store.

He said the business had not actively sought to expand, but saw the opportunity.

"It just kind of happened," he said of the G&T deal. "That was the only space we could think of in East Hampton that would be suitable for us. And we heard it became available."

The Tillinghasts had been close to selling the Chicken House to Artie Seekamp, the owner of Brent's General Store in Amagansett, but the deal fell through not long ago.

Race Lane Mainstay

Frank Tillinghast said he has been interested in selling the Race Lane mainstay for some time.

"I got 'em all through college now," he said of his three children. "You get tired of it after a while. None of the kids want it. [Mr. Seekamp] had been bugging me about it for about five years. That finally fell through, and this guy came along. . ."

Mr. Tillinghast said most of the Chicken House's six employees have already found other jobs. During the summers, the store provided jobs for many visiting Irish youths.

Like other family members, Mr. Tillinghast has worked at the store since its early days. He and Robert Tillinghast shared managerial responsibilities up until its closing.

"It's a demanding thing," he said, noting he had devoted nearly 38 years to G&T.

Started With Milk

G&T's roots on Race Lane stretch back to 1942, the first year the Tillinghast family began selling milk on the site from its Tillinghast Dairy Farm. In the late 1960s, the business merged with the Gould Brothers dairy on nearby Gingerbread Lane and formed G&T Dairy, which sold and delivered milk, eggs, and other products.

The Chicken House came later, in the'70s, when G&T decided to expand the business into a larger deli and grocery store. The casual establishment remained relatively the same over the years, resisting the forces of change that have swept through most of the village.

The Chicken House's no-frills approach - along with its buckets of fried chicken, homemade donuts, and other specialties - appealed to a large contingent of regulars, many a large contingent of regulars, many of whom loyally showed up each morning for coffee and the local scuttlebutt.

"They were here at 5 in the morning, and they didn't leave until 6," chuckled Mr. Tillinghast about one group of regulars. Six, of course, was when the store opened. "They'd come in and put the papers up, have some coffee, shoot the bull, and leave when we opened."

Richard Herrlin of East Hampton was not only a member of the five-o'clock crew, but also had a deeper connection with G&T, having worked there in his younger days.

The casual G&T Chicken House has remained relatively the same over the years, resisting the forces of change.

"It's the end of an era as far as I'm concerned," he said, "because I used to deliver milk out of there years ago." He said the Chicken House served as the morning meeting place for "a gang of us" who had formerly gathered at other, now defunct spots in the village, like Eddie's Luncheonette, Green's, and Pluchino's.

Milk Crates Did It

Until recently, the Chicken House had an indoor seating area, which became lively over breakfast and lunch. When the Tillinghasts turned the seats into office space, the morning crew simply moved outside, pulling up milk crates for their morning chat.

"That's what it was all about," said Mr. Herrlin. "We'd sit around and talk about the day's news before it happened."

Mr. Tillinghast said he will miss the social aspect of the business, but will welcome the free time. "It's a bittersweet type of thing," he said. "In some ways it's good and in some ways it's not."

Regardless, he said he was pleased with Schmidt Brothers as the owners-to-be. "They're very nice people," he said. "You don't see people like that very often . . . Everyone I've talked to and the people in the store all seem happy about it."

What of the daily breakfast club? Bagels and More may be its new home.

Mr. Schmidt said he hoped to be in business by mid-May, after completing mostly interior renovations to the building.

The Tillinghasts had been very close to closing a deal this winter with Mr. Seekamp. The Brent's General Store owner had plans ready, down to salad cases and a steam table, but apparently couldn't finalize an agreement.

Mr. Seekamp was out of town this week, but Mr. Tillinghast said the deal fell through because of timing.

"At the last moment, he asked if we'd take a down payment [and finish the deal next year]," said Mr. Tillinghast. "We didn't really want to do that. We just left it on the market, and then this guy came along."

The presence of a large produce dealer like Schmidt Brothers could have an impact on at least one nearby business. Jeff's Fancy Produce operates just several doors down on Race Lane. The owner of the popular fruit-and-vegetable stand, Jeff Hellerbach, declined to comment.

As for the Chicken House's breakfast club, Mr. Tillinghast said don't worry about them: "I believe they're at the bagel place [Bagels and More] on North Main Street. Somebody will take them!"

AMAGANSETT

Byrne to Murray and Margaret Weissbach, Main Street, $355,000.

Mayhall estate to Ling and Holly Li, Fresh Pond Road, $320,000.

Becker to Thomas Marchini and Daniel Rentillo, Maidstone Drive, $555,000.

BRIDGEHAMPTON

Maglio to David Roth, Strong's Lane, $625,000.

Bridge Bldg. Co. Inc. to Susan Rose, Tansey Lane, $240,000.

Russo to Peter Wilson, Ellen Court, $965,000.

Caroli Realty Corp. to Moshe Averbuch, Millstone Road, $150,000.

Casprini to Elizabeth O'Brien, Hildreth Lane, $340,000.

EAST HAMPTON

Sabat to Karyn Weiss and Marsha Edlich, Woodcrest Drive, $301,000.

Cenedese to Nancy Quinn, Georgica Close Road, $560,000.

Town of East Hampton to Jose and Ana Ruano, Accabonac Highway, $154,000.

Ludmar to Jonathan Sheffer, Ocean Avenue, $1,600,000.

Homes By Arabia Ltd. to Jeffrey and Marcella Sohm, Inkberry Street, $325,000.

Lester to Diane Sloat, Stephen Hand's Path, $520,000.

Millman to Charles Williams Jr., Cedar Street, $272,000.

MONTAUK

Grimes estate to Susan Slome, South Elroy Drive, $215,000.

Levine to Perry and Susan Rosen, Stuyvesant Drive, $266,000.

NORTH HAVEN

Williams to Gail and Julie Tiska, Fresh Pond Road, $225,000.

NORTHWEST

Synergistic Marketing Inc. to Arthur Lukah Jr., Northwest Road, $230,000.

Alewive Woods Assoc. L.P. to Daniel and Ellen Malloy, Kirk's Place, $175,000.

Tagliasacchi to Nancy Schulman, Cedar Trail, $767,500.

NOYAC

Sartorius to Arthur Degaetano, Northside Drive, $365,000.

SAG HARBOR

Bender to Gregory and Linda Robins, Noyac Harbor Road, $217,000.

McCormick to Robin and Barbara Watts, North Haven Way, $510,000.

Morton to Lenore Levy, Bayview Drive East, $160,000.

Cahill to Barbara Doty, Main Street, $347,000.

SAGAPONACK

Ritz to G. Derek and Kathleen Hale, Bull Head Court, $460,000.

Rectory Realty Assoc. to Hugh Quigley, Parsonage Pond Road, $1,800,000.

SPRINGS

Solivan to Carolyn Renny, Bonac Woods Lane, $275,000.

Bull to Laurie Keene, Harrison Avenue, $215,000.

Zimmerman to William Zink, Long Woods Lane, $265,000.

WAINSCOTT

Crum to Carlos and Leslie Basaldua, East Gate Road, $200,000.

WATER MILL

Baty to Dana Duneier, Seven Ponds Towd Road, $533,000.

MAB Const. USA Corp. to Clark McPherson, Montauk Highway, $330,000.

The South Fork Natural History Society has scheduled a slide show and trail walk, on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon, designed to tell "All About Bluebirds."

Joe Giunta and Bill Chase, bluebird aficionados and trail experts, will teach the finer points of attracting, housing, and maintaining a healthy population of bluebirds. Their program is designed for those interested in bluebirds, but also for anyone who might like to become a bluebird trail monitor.

The society's Bluebird Recovery Program was begun in 1989, and there has been a noticeable increase in the bluebird population since then. Bluebird nest boxes were built and placed at specific sites because of the loss of breeding habitat such as trees and wooden fence posts.

Those interested are asked to call the society's Natureline in Amagansett for the meeting place and time.

Does East Hampton Town have too much land zoned for commercial-industrial use - and how much does it need? The Town Board will have to answer those questions before deciding whether to follow through on the proposed upzoning of 140 parcels, including the shift of about 420 acres from commercial-industrial to residential zoning.

The town now has roughly 1,400 acres of developed and vacant land zoned for commercial-industrial use, about 1,030 of it in Wainscott. That is too much, according to some town officials and the Long Island Regional Planning Board. Others, such as the East Hampton Business Alliance and some targeted property owners, believe the loss of 420 acres of C-I land would not leave enough of it.

Mixed Response

At Friday's public hearing, the response was mixed. Eleven of the roughly 25 property owners and lawyers who spoke favored the townwide upzoning, though a few said the list of properties didn't go far enough.

The remainder criticized the list, drawn from the open space plan adopted by the Town Board a year ago. Most vehement were Donald Ferriss, whose family owns a 17-acre parcel on Accabonac Highway in Springs that is targeted to go from one to two-acre residential zoning, and three members of the Talmage family, whose 5.8-acre commercial lot on the railroad tracks in Wainscott would be upzoned to five-acre residential.

"Environmental Mugging"

Mr. Ferriss accused the town of "an environmental mugging" and "a sham to smokescreen the targeting of a handful of property owners." He said the proposed upzoning did not take into account that some properties could decrease in value and that their owners may not be able to afford the loss, an economic policy he likened to "Alan Greenspan on crack."

Noting that his family has owned that parcel for 43 years and has made no move in that time to develop it, he accused the town of trying to "confiscate" half. In a passionate and emphatic plea, he urged the Town Board to be "objective and responsive to a minority of its citizens who are under attack."

In Favor Of Upzoning

With the opposite view, Bill Fleming, an East Hampton attorney who made note of "all the high-priced legal talent in the room," said his clients - Ronald and Jo Carole Lauder and their daughters, Aerin and Jane, and Francis Fleetwood - favored the idea.

The Lauders, heirs to a cosmetics fortune, own 30 acres in five lots between Beach Lane and Wainscott Pond. Mr. Fleming said they like the idea of their land being taken into an agricultural district, believing it would increase in value.

Mr. Fleetwood, an architect who owns nearly 34 acres at Abram's Landing Road and Ocean View Lane in Amagansett, said in a statement read by his lawyer that he, too, thought the upzoning "made sense." His land would go from two to three-acre residential.

Talmages Protest

David and Jane Talmage own D.L. Talmage Inc., a contracting firm, with their son, Steve Talmage. They said they bought their commercial lot in 1983 as a place to someday expand the business, noting the lot is between the Town Airport and the railroad tracks, where "surely its best use is commercial-industrial," asserted the elder Mr. Talmage.

Mrs. Talmage criticized Supervisor Cathy Lester, quoted in The Star two weeks ago saying the upzoning would put targeted properties into more appropriate zones. "Maybe her tongue got caught up in the rhetoric," said Mrs. Talmage.

She went on to suggest the town would be better off without the Planning Department, which wrote the open space plan approved last year by the board. The department was abolished for a short time a decade ago by a Republican-controlled board, "and the town didn't go to ruin," she asserted.

Driving Prices Up

Her husband said the price of commercial land in East Hampton was too high "for a young person who wanted to stay in the area," and reducing its availability would only drive prices up.

Supervisor Lester took issue with a mailing from the East Hampton Business Alliance to its members, which claimed the upzoning of commercial-industrial land would leave "virtually no other place for businesses to relocate."

Studies by the Long Island Regional Planning Board said East Hampton Town, and Wainscott in particular, had a disproportionate amount of vacant commercial land compared with other towns, she said.

1,000 Acres Left

Supervisor Lester and Lisa Liquori, the town planning director, asserted that the upzonings would still leave about 1,000 acres of C-I property, including 642 in Wainscott, 251 in East Hampton, and 82 in Montauk.

"The Long Island Regional Planning Board said concerns about groundwater protection exist everywhere but in Hither Woods, and towns should limit commercial-industrial zoning to areas that are already improved. . . . The upzonings would still leave many other opportunities," said Ms. Lester.

She and Ms. Liquori also noted the Wainscott properties were all inside a water recharge district, created to protect the groundwater aquifer beneath it, and that commercial development could pose more of a danger to the aquifer than houses.

Mistakenly Included

But, 1,000 acres was "not enough to plan for future generations," said Sherry Wolfe, the Business Alliance executive director.

Ms. Wolfe said the alliance agreed with the Planning Board members who suggested last week the town should designate one acre of land as commercial-industrial for every acre it upzones to residential.

Pat Mansir, the Planning Board's chairwoman, Henry Clifford, a former Planning Board member, and Robert DeLuca, president of Group for the South Fork, agreed on one point, that the land along the railroad tracks in Wainscott was best suited for commercial development.

Ms. Mansir said it had been "a mistake" to include that neighborhood in the water recharge district, and a disappearing middle class was in need of affordable land for small business. She also questioned Ms. Liquori's statement that about 1,000 acres of commercial land would be left in Wainscott; that included 600 acres at the Town Airport not available for development, she said.

Not Good For Workshops

Ms. Liquori asserted that the bulk of the commercial land proposed to be upzoned was in large, as-yet undivided parcels, and as such "are not really available to the local businessman." A good part of the rest did not abut a public road, likewise making it unattractive for workshops.

"We could see a lot of applications in this area that do not meet the goal of affordable workspaces and do not protect the groundwater," she said.

Stuart Berman, agent for the owners of the largest block of land proposed to be upzoned, said he too thought the town had taken too broad a brush to the commercial district in Wainscott. His clients - the estate of Imre Rosenthal, Richard Brockman and his mother, Elizabeth Brockman, and the estate of Jolie Hammer - own 321 acres between north Wainscott and Northwest Woods. Of that, 203 acres would go from commercial to residential.

"Zoning is not the way to protect groundwater," asserted Mr. Berman.

While Mr. DeLuca of the Group for the South Fork agreed the board should rethink its plan for north Wainscott, he said that "everything north of the power lines should be preserved" and that he supported upzoning in general as a means to control development.

Michael Bottini, a planner for the Group and a recent appointee to the Springs Citizens Advisory Committee, also said he strongly favored the upzonings. But in Springs, Mr. Bottini said, the properties on the list did not include some that, if upzoned, would help maintain what is left of the hamlet's rural character.

In the same vein, he urged the Town Trustees to consider designating as parkland a large swath of land they own between the houses at Lazy Point and Napeague State Park to the south. It is now zoned for houses.

Sag Harbor Snubbed?

Mr. Bottini went on to say that there may be still too many half-acre vacant lots left in Springs and Montauk, where the drinking water supply is problematic. The county, he noted, requires at least one-acre zoning in areas where there is no public water.

Carol Morrison and Dorothy Disken, both members of Concerned Citizens of Montauk, also stressed Montauk's water problem, each asserting that upzoning would lower density, which would alleviate "the significant burden on the aquifers" there, as Ms. Disken put it.

Peter Davies, chairman of the Coalition of Neighbors for the Preservation of Sag Harbor, and representatives of several property owners' associations that are members of CONPOSH, addressed the board on a more general theme, asserting that Sag Harbor and its environs were left out of the drafting of the open space plan.

Too Pricy For Foxes

They were concerned with protecting groundwater, controlling traffic, preserving a "green buffer" around Sag Harbor, and avoiding the cre ation of a "village-opolis" be tween that village and East Hampton, they said.

On a lighter note, Tom MacNiven, a real estate broker and chairman of the Town Open Space Advisory Committee, said he spoke only for himself, the red fox he saw every day on a run through north Wainscott, and her three cubs. Mr. MacNiven said the fox built her den on commercially zoned land without benefit of a permit, but she and her cubs would have to move because they couldn't afford the going rates - $250,000 for vacant commercial land, $450,000 for a workshop.

He noted the Town Industrial Park nearby contained a church, a drug rehab center, a school, a private tennis club, a television studio, and not much in the way of true commercial activity. The town needed "some new tools" for creating commercial centers and encouraging the development of affordable shops, he said.

Before deciding whether to follow through on the 140 separate proposals, Mr. MacNiven urged the town to set new goals and find new ways of meeting them.

East Enders on the North and South Forks are reading four of the top 10 community weeklies in New York State. At awards dinners for the 1996 New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest last weekend in Albany, The East Hampton Star, The Sag Harbor Express, The Southampton Press, and The Suffolk Times all came away with accolades.

In addition to the awards, the annual convention of the association draws newspapers from around the state for two days of seminars touching on every aspect of newspapering. More than 500 members of the paid weekly press attended this year's event, one of the best-attended N.Y.P.A. conferences in recent years.

The East Hampton Star brought back awards in 11 categories, including three blue ribbons for first place, three second-place awards, four thirds, and an honorable mention.

First On Farming

Two stories on farmers and the state of agriculture on the East End - "Farmers: It's Not Just the Weather" and "Mecox Farmer Joins Exodus"- by Carissa Katz earned first place in the state for coverage of agriculture. The judges, members of the New Jersey Press Association, praised the articles as "well-researched, well-written stories on the economic, environmental, and cultural pressures on Long Island farmers."

The Star's Christmas supplement, "Holiday Dreaming," garnered first place in its circulation division for a holiday section. The judges called the supplement a "good, solid volume" and said the stories were "both informative and interesting." Virginia Garrison, the Star's managing editor, edited the supplement.

An advertisement created by The Star for Country Gear Ltd. in Bridgehampton was dubbed best small space ad in the top division for its "strong graphic image which conveys the message at a glance."

As for The Star's editorial pages, the judges said, "Beautiful layout. Strong editorials." They commended the volume of letters included in the section and gave the paper a second place award.

Russell Drumm's photograph of a Coastguardsman taken after the serviceman spent a night retrieving bodies from the Trans World Airlines Flight 800 crash was given a second place award for spot news photo. The judges commended Mr. Drumm for capturing a glimpse of the pain and anguish the Coastguardsman felt about his terrible task.

Testimonial Ad

A series of testimonial ads featuring local advertisers got The Star a second place award in its circulation division for best "house ad" campaign.

Finally Russell Drumm, Stephen Kotz, and Michelle Napoli earned a third place prize in spot news coverage for their stories on the T.W.A. tragedy. Mr. Drumm's "A Night in Hell," an emotional first person account of his night aboard a Coast Guard cutter combing the sea, moved the judges most. It "lends a personal touch to coverage of tragedy," they wrote. The story by Mr. Kotz dealing with those on the flight who had local connections and Ms. Napoli's article about the search for debris along East Hampton beaches did "a top-notch job of localizing the international story," they said.

The Star also received third place prizes for overall design excellence, best ad design, and classified advertising.

The other three papers on the East End of the Island with membership in the N.Y.P.A. had a stellar showing in the contest this year.

Express Success

The Sag Harbor Express, which competes in a smaller circulation division than The Star, drew raves. When points from combined awards were tallied up, the Express rated second highest in the state. Among the paper's prizes were six first place awards, including the coveted past presidents' award for general excellence. Judges liked the Express's photography, volume of spot news, editorial page, front page, and letters section.

The same award in The Star's circulation division went to The Southampton Press, with praise from the judges for its "solid content, with a no-apologies retro design," and "broad scope of the stories." The Press also took its division's first place spot news prize for coverage of the T.W.A. disaster that appeared in its Western Edition, and for best house ad.

The Suffolk Times, based in Mattituck, won a fair share of prizes as well, earning blue ribbons for best art photograph and photographic excellence. Over all, the Times was rated fifth best in the state this year.

The first of the piping plover migrants have arrived on the East End, and town and county officials plus a small army of volunteers are greeting them with open arms, but also with string fences, signs, and closed beaches.

The beaches of Cedar Point County Park in Northwest have been closed to vehicular traffic until further notice to protect the tiny white birds, which are on the Federal endangered species list.

County Parks Commissioner Michael Franks said on Monday that the action was taken in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which oversees the protection of threatened and endangered species.

Plover Spottings

Mr. Franks said that the Federal agency's attention was drawn to Cedar Park because one plover was found crushed there last season. The Nature Conservancy, whose volunteers had been trying to keep track of the birds, asked the county for help last year. Mr. Franks said that this year the county has been working directly with the Federal agency to create a plover management plan for the park.

"The beaches [at Cedar Point] are not necessarily closed for the season," Mr. Franks said.

"The signs are up now at the known habitats. As soon as the plovers are spotted, an overly large area is marked by string fences. When they nest, the 'exclosers' are placed," he said, referring to the metal fences designed to keep predators away from the nesting birds and their eggs. "We want to give them as much private time as possible. It could change, or it could stay the same," Mr. Franks said of the beach driving ban. He added that the park would take care to control pedestrian traffic around the nesting birds as well.

Larry Penny, director of the East Hampton Town Department of Natural Resources, reported on Monday that plovers had been spotted elsewhere in town. One pair has been checking out Sammy's Beach near Three Mile Harbor. Three pairs have been seen at various locations on Napeague. One pair and one unattached plover have their eyes on Gerard Drive. Another pair of plovers is nosing around Maidstone Park.

Project Halted

"They're just like ospreys," Mr. Penny said. "Some arrive early, some late. About one-third of what we expect are here."

The U.S. Government recently halted a $9 million dredging project off Babylon's Gilgo Beach when plovers showed up. The Army Corps of Engineers, which authorized the dredging project, ordered the work stopped after consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"When people start talking about their pets and I tell them I have a snake, a lot of them say, "Ick! How weird!' " said Claudia Dunn of Noyac. But having a snake as a pet isn't weird at all to Ms. Dunn; in fact, it's somewhat of a family tradition.

Snakes have been the pet of choice in her household as long as she can remember. A family snapshot taken when Ms. Dunn was a toddler shows several young family members cheerfully brandishing snakes at the camera.

Ms. Dunn speaks confidently and knowledgeably about the care and handling of snakes while her four-foot-plus python, Houdini, slithers inquisitively along her quilted bedspread.

"Snakes have become the cool thing to have. But you have to learn about them and respect them because they can be dangerous. People don't realize how strong some snakes can be," she said.

All Muscle, Literally

Very strong indeed! Like all constricting snakes, Houdini is literally all muscle.

"He do esn't need to work out!" said Ms. Dunn with a laugh. "He spends almost all of his time curled under his bowl, but he never has to go work out at a gym to stay muscled."

Houdini is a ball python, a species native to the savannas and dry forests of western to central Africa. Its name is derived from its tendency to curl up into a tight ball with its head in the center when threatened. Ball pythons reach a maximum length of six and a half feet and are considered to be the gentlest of the giant snakes.

Ms. Dunn follows a strict protocol while working around her snake. She uses different routines for handling and feeding so Houdini will never confuse the two. The most common cause of injury for constrictor owners is when their snake confuses playtime with mealtime.

In A Snake's Grip

Though most constrictors are normally slow-moving and mellow, when striking at food, or what they perceive as food, they are lightning fast. Usually these accidents are painful but of little consequence.

However, in the case of very large constrictors, the animal's teeth can get hooked into its owner's hand or arm, causing it to bite harder and in some cases wrap its body around its hapless owner and begin to squeeze.

For such emergencies, Klaus Griehl, a snake expert, advises snake owners to keep a bottle of hard liquor handy. According to him, snakes abhor alcohol, so sprinkling a few drops near the animal's mouth will cause it to release its grip and speedily retreat.

After such an experience, undoubtedly the snake owner will also be in need of a few drops as he or she speedily retreats, too.

Need For Research

Prospective snake owners should do considerable research before purchasing a snake. As cold-blooded creatures, snakes have special heating requirements. Ms. Dunn uses a heating pad under Houdini's terrarium and a light over it to keep his living quarters at the 80 to 90 degrees he requires.

Prospective owners should also be aware of the different sizes some species can attain. Several types of boas can grow up to 12 feet long, and there are species of constrictors that can reach well over 20 feet long. Providing suitable living quarters for such a sizable serpent is beyond the means of most people.

If the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora lists the species of snake that is being purchased as in danger of immediate extinction or threatened, it is essential that the buyer obtain a copy of the export permit so it can be proved that the animal was purchased in accordance with the requirements of the Washington Convention.

Tenderhearted Beware

Since most snakes require live prey as dinner, they are not very good pets for the excessively tenderhearted. And prospective owners should realize it's not just a matter of throwing a rat into the terrarium and scurrying from the room in horror.

Having never been in the company of a snake before, I was surprised at how relaxing his presence was.

If the snake does not immediately strike and begin to devour its prey, the rat has to be removed from the enclosure, otherwise the tables may turn and prey become predator. Rats have been known to inflict serious bites and even kill some snakes.

Yet, once the snake owner has equipment and resolve in place, the care of these animals is absurdly easy. Snakes do not need to be fed every day. Some require feeding as often as every three weeks, but Houdini, who is not a glutton, only requires food every two months or so.

"I can go away on vacation for two weeks and not worry about him at all," said Ms. Dunn.

Aptly Named

Snakes do not require grooming or walking. Since they eat so seldom, cleaning up after them is infrequently required. And since they are totally deaf, snakes don't even require that you talk to them.

But if caring for Houdini isn't time consuming, finding him is, for Houdini is aptly named. He is continually escaping.

"A noise will wake me up at night and I'll think, 'Oh no, he's out again,'" said Ms. Dunn. Houdini's exploratory missions usually lead him into seemingly impossibly tight situations. Retrieving the errant snake tends to involve dismantling furniture or heating baseboards. "He likes to travel," said Ms. Dunn ruefully.

Beautiful Creature

Houdini is an extraordinarily beautiful creature. He is a rich chocolate brown with intricate tan markings. His small elegant head tapers gradually into his sturdy body. Having never been in the company of a snake before, I was surprised at how relaxing his presence was.

He also caused me to reflect, as I watched him glide easily in his silent way through his silent world, that arms and legs and ceaseless chatter are somewhat overrated.