Bethpage-Tribune_1974-06-13

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VOL. 8 NO. 30
FEATurero
All
Thursday, June 13,1974
10 cents per copy
About PEOPLE
Downtown in Bethpage, Just
south of the tracks on the East
side of Broadway, is a little
yellow storefront. Written on top
in large black letters reads the
following: " P E O P L E" - 931-
9413". If someone took the trouble
to turn the handle on the yellow
wooden door and pushed hard
and entered into the building, he
would find two small rooms
adjacent to each other, each
funished with a desk and a set of
patched, upholstered couches.
Someone might be playing chess
or cards, music from a radio in
the background, others sitting
around, just rapping. He would
see posters decorating the walls,
a coffee pot, always full, and
someone, possibly Jim Mc Hague
or JMwrry Sin
greet him aii
done.
This is approximately what a
person, entering the present
office o f P E O P L E would ex­perience
at first glance, but
behind the crowded room lies an
ever growing and ever needed
organization in Bethpage, and
behind the plans to make this
organization prosper lies, among
others, two minds; that of Larry
Sims, Executive Director, and
Jim Mc Kague, Program
Director.
The job<B these two men have
taken on is one which the
Bethpage citizens will certainly
learn to appreciate. PEOPLE, as
the program is justly entitled,
has as it's objective to offer
Bethpage and its surrounding
areas a program of services
which would effectively deal with
the existing social needs focusing
particularly on the needs of the
youth population.
When the program took root in
January of 1973, it was by a group
of concerned citizens who
recognized the need for such an
organization. Efforts were made
at this time to reinstate the
funding contract with the Nassau
County Department of Drug and
Alcohol Addiction that had been
nrpyifHiglv sxtsndsd tG BAD A.
Bethpage Against Drug Abuse,
which became inoperative. Out of
these negotations P E O P L E
grew, attracting twenty to
twenty-five individuals who of­fered
their time and energies to
the developement of the
program. But P E O P L E still
had a long route to follow.
In September of 1973 the small
yellow storefront became the
headquarters of the P E 0 P L E
by Joan Alpers
organization, with the rent paid
by the Town of Oyster Bay the
center was kept open from 2 to 4
P,M. and from 7 to 10 P.M.,
manned by a volunteer staff
which had been involved in
training to help them in dealing
with the prospective needs of
clients. After word of intention to
grant funding by the NCDDAA in
the fall of 1973, PEOPLE began
to seek full time professional
staffing. In January of 1974 Jim
McKague was hired as Program
Director and in February, Larry
Sims assumed the position of
Executive Director.
Among the first efforts of .the
new staff were establishing P E O
P L E's organizational structure,
with the operations of NCDDAA,
and with the" heeds - of the*
Bethpage community.
'With all of these things under
consideration, the two men were
also faced with the even more .
immediate problem of a serious
space limitation within the small
yellow store front to effectively
perform these other functions.
Already the building housed eight
to ten youths daily, every week
the number advancing by three to
four. It is now inevitable that a
new, larger building be found and
this is one of the major priorities.
In the meantime, meetings
were begun with the Board of
Directors, school and community
leaders and interested in­dividuals
to help establish the
exact role which P E O P L E
would play. From these meetings
the major social problems of
Bethpage youth were
established: namely drug abuse,
educational disenchantment,
juvenile delinquency, and a
rising rate of alcohol abuse. One
of the major reasons for the
existance of these behavioral
problems seemed to be simple
boredom. It was also found that
other problems were intertwined;
These included unemployment
and job' disenchantment or
dissatisfaction, aii linked with a
certain amount of fear and
apathy. In that other community
organizations were also
providing services for the youth
population, it was therefore
decided th»t the role of PEOPLE
would be to work with those
other organizations in providing
<i program of services to deal
with each of these problems,
(to be continued next issue)
Clark to Open Nassau Headquarters
Ramsey Clark, who is seeking
a U.S. Senate seat from N.Y.
State, will be opening his Nassau
Headquarters on Tuesday, June
18. Mr. Clark is the only
Senatorial candidate who will
have a Nassau office. The grand
opening will take place Tuesday
night at 8:30 P.M. The
headquarters will be located at
240 Fulton Ave. in Hempstead.
The public is invited to come
meet with Mr. Clark and his staff
at the grand-opening celebration.
-Shari Miller
Election Results
Bethpage Island Trees Plainedge
The results of the three
School District election
and budget-votes held
yesterday are as follows:
BETHPAGE: The
school budget was passed
by a vote of 1102 yes to 803
no. The three school board
seats were awarded to
Michael Verderosa,
Joseph Parisi, and Lee
Hilton.
The library budget also
received the voter's- ap­proval
by a margin of 1184
tq 684. Incumbent
Margaret Lang was
reelected to serve another
5-year term on the Library
Board, titter Clair #acfc-man
was also reelected to
complete the 5-year term
ISLAND TREES: The
school budget was
defeated in its entirety.
The basic education
budget was defeated by a
vote of 1428 no to 726 yes.
The Transportation
proposition was turned
down by a vote of 1494 no to
634 yes. Equipment and
Library Funds was
rejected 1492 no to 623 yes.
Operation and main­tenance
met defeat by a
vote of 1511 no to 595 yes.
The Athletics proposition
was rejected by a vote of
Cafeteria funding
defeatedrBy a vote of
no to 675 yes.
x,^T^., ,,,.^ ~ d -,..... -- Incumbent Richard
she is presently filling by Ahrens was reelected with
appointment \ 1226 votes to Catherine
Collins' 993. Frank Martin
was elected to Mr
Dimitri's seat with 1269
over Mr. Grenier's 882
PLAINEDGE: The
school budget was
defeated by the small
margin of 1282 no-votes to
1109 yes. The two unop­posed
School Board
candidates, Jules Teck
and Fred Conklin, were
both approved by the
voters.
The Library Budget was
approved with 1350 yes-yqtes
over 1029 no. In-riimbfliit
griaw»r>> lanftwdeU
op-
586
J
1349 votes over his
ponent Peter Piro's
votes. /•
[ -Shari Miller
County Study In Waiter
Quality Leads To New Plan
On the basis of an tit mouth
water quality study by the
Nassau Health Department,
County Executive Ralph G. Caso
today announced he will seek
federal funding for a two-phase
plan to develop comprehensive
pollution abatement procedures
for the South Shore bay area.
The plan, which would cost
about $2 million and take two
years to complete, includes a
sophisticated cause and ef­fect
computer analysis of
pollution sources in the bay area
and a facilities plan aimed at
developing methods of
minimizing the effect of
pollutants on water quality.
The county study, which Caso
directed' the Health Department
to prepare in late 1972, pinpoints
sewage treatment plants, in­cinerator
discharges and storm
water runoff as the major
sources *{ pollution. Other
sources include runoff and
leachtate discharge from-sanitary
landfills, streamflows,
subsurface groundwater outflow,
discharges from boats and
thermal discharge.
The study gives the county the
first in-depth analysis of the
causes of pollution in Hempstead
Bay, Middle Bay, East Bay and
South Oyster Bay.
In listing the pollutants and
their characteristics, the study
notes, however, that the basic
source of the pollutants has been
the tremendous population ex­plosion
along the South Shore
since 1950. The population within
the drainage basin tributary to
the bays has more than doubled
in that time.
"The population explosion,
resulting in needed sewage
treatment facilities, incinerator
sites and storm water drains, has
led to the beginning of a possible
stressed condition in some of the
bay areas," Caso said.
"The county study, however,
should not be interpreted as a
cause for panic, but as an alert to
take action to protect the South
Shore bays for future
generations," he stated. "From
an ecological point of view, the
wafers are still in a healthy
staJie."
laso said he is giving the
[ealth Department the go-ahead
to apply to the U.S. En­vironmental
Protection Agency
inder the Federal Water
illution Control Control Act
lendments of W.I for a grant
*^ enable the county to engage
engineering consultants with the
expertise needed to determine
the individual effect of each
iurce of pollution on bay water
quality. This will involve the
development of a mathematical
model of the entire bay area.
The county executive said the
final step in the planning process
would be the developing of the
facilities plan to determine the
most cost effective methods to
restore the bays to the highest
shellfish standards.
Caso also is directing health
officials to explore the possibility
of a bi-county application to
extend the study to Suffolk
County's South Shore bay waters.
"This is not a government
problem alone," Caso stressed.
"It is everyone's problem. Waste
produced by more than a million
people in central and southern
Nassau finds its way to the South
Shore bays, directly or indirectly.
"So, rather than point the
finger of blame at someone else,
we should concern ourselves to
looking ahead with a plan to
restore the bay waters to the
highest possible standards," he
said.
Women Candidates1
Forum
by Shari Miller
The Nassau County W o ^ n s
Political Caucus held their
SCCond annual "Women Can­didates
Meet Women of the
Press" panel on Wednesday,
June 5. The Caucus is a bi­partisan
organization which is
mobilizing for change through
political action. The members
wish to see increased par­ticipation
of women-who com­prise
53 per cent of our national
population—as candidates,
campaigners, and voters.
State Senator Carol Bellamy of
Brooklyn moderated the panel
discussion. State Senator Mary
Anne Krupsak of Canajoharie,
who has announced her can­didacy
for the Democratic
nomination for Lieutenant
Governor, was a highlighted
speaker. She emphasized the
need for "the..politics of par­ticipation"
to insure the
(Continued on Page 4)