Editorial: Congratulations to all of our People of the Year

Every year at this time we devote our newspapers to celebrating people in our communities who are doing extraordinary things in their everyday lives and careers.

Our People of the Year awards for 2018 run a wide gamut, across a number of areas, and highlight people who have made and continue to make a deep and meaningful impact on the residents of our towns, villages and hamlets.

This year, awards for The Suffolk Times and Riverhead News-Review go to the person who runs the East End Drug Court — an institution whose goal is to save lives — to the students of the now shuttered Mercy-McGann High School, an insurance agent, a high school volleyball coach and an educator who, for a half-century, taught children at Our Lady of Mercy Elementary School in Cutchogue, which now sits empty and unused.

We are also giving a Special Commendation this year to three men — two retired law enforcement officials and one current one — who were pivotal in solving the 51-year-old disappearance of Louise Pietrewicz of Cutchogue by finding her remains buried in the basement of a Southold home. Their dedication brought a very cold case to a close and enabled Louise’s family to finally learn the truth.

Read our profiles carefully, as we take our People of the Year awards very seriously. Celebrate the accomplishments of our winners along with us, and help us again next year when we begin the search for another deserving group.