Work began late last month on a New York State Department of Transportation drainage project on Route 27 at Fort Pond that could ease flooding but add contaminants to the struggling water body. In fact, Concerned Citizens of Montauk says that if the project continues, and the group expects it will, the D.O.T. will be breaking state and federal law by sending unfiltered stormwater directly into the pond. 

Robert Gale Skinner, who taught art at Southampton College from 1966 until he retired in 1996 as a professor emeritus, died on Oct. 4 at home in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. He was 94.    

On the East End, we hear a lot about invasive species in the plant world, but the house sparrow was one of the original invasive species. House sparrows are bullies. They fight over dirt baths. They are nonmigratory, colonize habitat, and then profusely breed. When native migratory birds return to nest in the spring, these pugnacious birds force them away. 

Christine Yuska Cullum, a native of East Hampton, died on Oct. 9 from complications after a fall. She was 93.