By Anthony Rifilato
In what was a fitting memorial to David Portmore, a Baldwin native who was murdered 12 years ago in a carjacking in California, the Freeport Kiwanis and the David Portmore Memorial Fund sponsored a trip last Tuesday for disadvantaged youth with an activity David loved: fishing.
David was addicted to fishing, said Rene Fiechter, David's stepfather and a District Attorney who runs the Rising Star program. This was the first time the memorial which has been aimed at crime prevention for 11 years was in the form of a fishing trip. We really wanted a way to involve fishing because he just loved it.
David Portmore, 24, was the victim of a carjacking in California, where he was in the Navy stationed on the U.S.S. Missouri. He was married less than six months when he died. His mother, Eileen Callahan-Fiechter said the tragedy paralyzed her that first year. Out of that indelible pain arose a conviction: to stem the tide of violence, especially among children who are easily influenced and susceptible.
There's this intensity about it, and I constantly feel the need to do something to prevent more violence in our communities, Callahan-Fiechter said.
As Nelly and other tunes cranked out of the radio, kids ages eight to 15 from several community groups, including Freeport Pride, Moxie Rigby and the Salvation Army, took turns casting lines and also making a few jibes.
They let go of my fish because it was dead, Samantha Jackson, who caught three fish, said of the Captain Lou VII crew members, who often threw back fish when they were too small.
But her friend, Renee Jones, disagreed. No, it wasn't dead, it was still floppin'.
Joe Young, 15, a Baldwin resident who came with the Nassau County Probation Department, said he was ready to catch some fish.
This is my first big fishing trip and I want to do it again, he said. Later, during the raffle, he won a tacklebox. It's about time, he said, after having no luck with the fish.
O.J. Johnson was on a roll. His catch of the day: two sea robins, one sea bass and two flounders. Certificate of achievement please, Johnson playfully demanded.
A counselor with Freeport Pride, Willy Batista, looked on at the action and said, I think the kids were kind of skeptical at first, but now they're excited.
The outing is part of a long line of events that continues in Portmore's memory. Since the early 1990s, the memorial fund has sponsored an array of activities.
We gave out hundreds of bicycle helmets to kids [one year], said Dan Portmore, David's brother and a police sergeant from the Seventh Precinct. Every year we do something different dealing with crime prevention, and join with groups such as the Kiwanis.
Kids fished alongside several off-duty police officers who were on board to show them their fishing know-how.
It's a good learning environment for the kids, said Ray Maggi with the Seaford police department. It's also a good time for the adults.
Also on board were George Siberon, executive director of the Nassau County Youth Board, and his wife, Assistant District Attorney Patricia Wright.
I think it's really wonderful, Siberon said. It's a good way to get kids out there to meet the police and District Attorney.
Although the Kiwanis coordinate trips for kids often, they leapt at the chance to co-sponsor the event with Feichter, who is a Kiwani himself, and Callahan-Fiechter, who said her idea was a year in the making.
We always wanted to do a fishing trip, but it was difficult, said Callahan-Fiechter, who is also a senior probation officer for Nassau County. She said the intricacies of getting insurance, not to mention permission slips for each kid, was a challenge.
The entire trip cost about $3,000. When the Kiwanis were running low on funds for the outings, they knew who to call.
We welcomed Eileen's sponsorship, said Greg Abbate, a three-year Kiwanis member from Freeport. We heard about her interest because her son loved to do this.
The family loves to tell the story of when David caught a 54-pound sea bass from the Meadowbrook Parkway Bridge, and how it took him several hours of rigorously hoisting and dragging his line to reel in the squirming monster of a fish.
He came in second place in a Newsday contest, I think he lost by only a couple of ounces, said Bruce Portmore, David's father and Callahan-Fiechter's ex-husband. He sold it to a restaurant for $100 and two free dinners.
There were plenty of freebies for the kids last Tuesday.As kids left the Captain Lou VII, Callahan-Fiechter handed each one a fishing rod. We hope you use it and have many summers of fishing ahead of you, she aid.
I really enjoyed it, said Leronn Dorsey as he left the boat, who reeled in a mighty fluke earlier. I'm going to do a lot more fishing.
And O.J. Johnson, fresh off the boat with an armful of gifts, said, I got them all for my siblings. But I'll keep the fishing pole for myself.
Although their realization of having such a trip dedicated to their son was fulfilled, Callahan-Fiechter said of her work, It's never over. As long as you walk through Freeport and Hempstead and see kids who are still at risk. If only three kids from the trip take up fishing as an alternative it's an achievement. Fishing did so much for David. I hope it can do the same for these kids.
