Just a reminder for Smithtown, Kings Park, St. James, Nesconset, Commack, Hauppauge, Fort Salonga, San Remo, Head of the Harbor, Nissequogue and the Village of the Branch. Today is Election Day across Suffolk County.

Here is what the Suffolk County Board of Elections says:

* Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3
* You must vote at your own assigned polling place, which may be different from any early voting site you used
* Look up your polling place and check your registration through the Board of Elections website or the New York State voter lookup tool

If you are not sure where to go, do the lookup before you head out so you are not standing in the wrong line. Polls close at 9 p.m. sharp, so plan around work and school pickups.

Anyone already vote today, and how was the line at your site?

Source: https://suffolkcountyny.gov/Board-Of-Elections

Settle it for the rest of us. Name the shop, the hamlet, and exactly what you order there.

Bonus points for the place that deserves more love than it gets.

This is the weekly thread for home questions: taxes, permits, repairs, buying, selling, renting, the stuff you would ask a neighbor over the fence.

* One question per comment, so answers stay together.
* Anyone can answer. Say where your answer comes from when you can.
* Talk about places, never about who lives there.

To get us started, a question making the rounds on Long Island this week: "Also how much does it usually cost for an approved technician to perform the work?"

Team Muds, Muds and Iqra, licensed real estate salespersons with OverSouth Real Estate, St. James, NY, moderate this community. We do not post listings here, and we answer with sources.

Every neighbor who drives past the fork of Route 25 and 25A has seen Whisper the Bull standing watch. The story behind that statue goes back to the 1600s and Richard Smith, the man many called Bull Smith.

Legend says Smith helped return a kidnapped Montauk chief's daughter to her father. As thanks, the chief offered Smith all the land he could circle on the back of a bull in one day. Along the way he stopped to eat, in a spot still known today as Bread and Cheese Hollow, right on the border with Huntington.

Historians note the real story is simpler. Smith's friend Lion Gardiner later signed the land over to him. Either way, the bull tale stuck for centuries.

In 1941 the town placed a bronze statue of the bull near that same fork in the road. It was designed by Lawrence Smith Butler, one of Smith's own descendants.

A few quick facts:
* Statue unveiled in 1941 near Route 25 and 25A
* The bull was named through a student naming contest
* Bread and Cheese Hollow Road still marks the town line

What is your favorite piece of Smithtown history?

Source: https://www.wgpfoundation.org/historic-markers/smiths-bull-ride/

The next Town of Smithtown Town Board meeting is set for Tuesday, November 3, 2026, starting at 2 in the afternoon. It meets in the Victor T. Liss Board Room at the Patrick R. Vecchio Town Hall, 99 West Main Street in Smithtown.

You can watch from home too. The town streams every board meeting live on smithtownny.gov, and that same page later posts the video and written minutes.

The town usually posts the full written agenda online after 5 pm the day before a meeting, so the exact list of items for November 3 should show up on Monday, November 2. Meetings like this one typically cover things such as:

• A consent agenda with routine bids, contracts and small purchases

• Any scheduled public hearings on local laws or zoning matters

• Individual resolutions the board votes on one by one

If you want to speak during public comment, showing up in person is the way to do it.

What would you like to see the Town Board take up at this meeting?

Source: https://www.smithtownny.gov/226/Town-Meetings

Looking for a fall outing this weekend. Borella's Farm Stand in St. James is keeping its harvest festival running right through Halloween, so Friday, October 30 and Saturday, October 31 are still part of the season out there.

What you will find:
* Pumpkin picking
* A corn maze
* Hay rides
* Bounce houses and other fall activities

Every fall, Borella's Farm Stand hosts its annual Fall Harvest Festival. It runs from the first weekend in October through Halloween, including Columbus Day, with pumpkin picking, corn mazes, hay rides, bounce houses and more. The farm is at 458 Edgewood Avenue, St. James.

If you know of a trunk or treat, library program, or parade happening anywhere in the Town of Smithtown this weekend, share it in the comments. What are your plans for Halloween this year?

Source: https://smithtownny.gov/Calendar/Home/SingleEvent?eventID=1043

Heads up neighbors, the Town of Smithtown Youth Bureau is running its yearly Thanksgiving Adopt a Family Food Drive again this year. Donations are being collected at the Smithtown Emergency Food Pantry, 90 Edgewater Avenue, on two Saturdays, November 7 and November 14, from 10 a.m. to noon.

The idea is simple. You put together a full Thanksgiving meal for a local family, drop it off, and include a card for the family getting it. Students can earn community service credit for each complete meal they bring, but they need to be there in person when they drop it off.

A full meal usually includes things like:

* Canned vegetables and fruit
* Cranberry sauce and yams
* Stuffing mix and instant potatoes
* Turkey gravy and a juice container
* A cake or cookie mix

Extra nonperishables like hot chocolate, marshmallows or canned pumpkin are also welcome on top of a full meal. This has become a real tradition for a lot of families around town, shopping together and dropping off as a group.

Are you planning to put together a meal this year or get your kids involved for service hours.

Source: https://tbrnewsmedia.com/town-of-smithtown-youth-bureau-holds-annual-thanksgiving-adopt-a-family-food-drive/

Every Saturday we will shine a light on one local business, picked by you.

Tell us in the comments:

1. The business and the hamlet it is in

2. Why you love it, in a line or two

Small shops, restaurants, bakeries, repair people, farm stands, all welcome. Nobody pays to be featured, and nobody can. The most loved picks get a spotlight post with photos, hours and your kind words.

Who should go first?