Bethpage-Tribune_1974-07-04

              BETHPAGE
. tw*y
NV 11714
fP^l
TWPA'O -
OLD BETHINGE
also serving I S L A N D T R E ES
PLAINVIEW PIAINEDGE SEAFORD
VOL. 8 NO. 33
COMMENT
by Shari Miller
••The Areedmn of the press is one of the great
bulwarks of liberty. . .» -The Vir*h,ia n * r f S * S 2
Rights.
-The Virginia Declaration of
Last week the Supreme Court made a decision in
which they reaffirmed the supreme importance of the
maintenance of a free press to insure the existence of a
tree society.'The Court struck down a 61-year-old
b londa law challenged by, the Miami Herald and other
newspapers and unanimously declared that
newspapers can not be required to give free space to
political candidates to reply to editorial attacks
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, speaking for the
Court, said, "The choice of material to go into.a
newspaper and the decisions made as to limitations on
tfte^size of the paper, and content, and treatment of
public issues and public officials-whether fair or
unf air-constitutes the exercise of editorial control and
judgment. It l i a s yet to be demonstrated how govern­mental
regulation pf this crucial process can be,
exercised consistent with First Amendment guaran­tees
p*'••••« J E ^ p r a ^ M ^ l w v e ^ l M t o this tirrie~"
i i i a concurring opinion Justice Byron White wrote,
"The press would be unlicensed because, in Jefferson's
words, 'where the press is free, and every man able to
read, all is safe.' Any other accomodation-any other
system that would supplant private control of the press
with the heavy hand of government intrusion-would
make the government the censor of what the people
may read and know."
A newspaper editor should always provide accurate
reportage of the news and reserve judgment for
editorial columns. Yet the editorial right to express
opinion for public consideration should never be denied
or interfered with by outside officials. Newspapers
provide a vital wellspring of ideas-no attempt should
be made to stifle them. In a world of ever-increasing
complexity, an uncontrolled press is a liberty a free
citizen can not afford to sacrifice at any cost.
Thursday, July 4, 1974
10 cents per copy
Long Sought Tax Relief
Proposed For Nassau
Nassau County Executive
Ralph G. Caso pinpointed
property tax relief as the most
urgent problem facing local
government today and offered a
number of proposals to ease the
burden, including one to limit
local sewer tax rates, in
testimony prepared for delivery
to federal budget officials.
As head of the New York State
County Executives Association,
Caso met in Manhattan with
Frank Zarb, associate director of
the Office of Management and
Budget, and discussed with
federal regional officials
budgetary and policy issues OMB
will be considering : hv, its
preparation of the fjscalyear 1976
tedeVa*r budget.
In his remarks, Caso cited as
the major source of friction in the
existing system the fact that "the
most pressing domestic needs
are found at the state and local
levels, while the most productive
revenue source, the income tax,
is at the federal level."
Caso said property tax relief
must take several forms. He
proposed the following:
• Federal funds to pay all
sewer construction costs that
produce a local tax rate, higher
than $2.00 per $100 of assessed
valuation. •
• Federal . "circuit breaker"
legislation to; allow income tax
credits to homeowners and
renters whose property taxes
per cent oi
Bethpcrge School
Board Report
By Mary McCutcheon and Lorraine Carley
Nassau County Executive Ralph G. Caso (second from
right) presents grand prize certificate to Steven Riker
of Bethpage, winner of essay contest sponsored by the
Aviation Council of Long Island, as part of its Aviation
Week observances. Taking part in presentation held at
the ACLI display at Roosevelt Field are John F.
Pereira, (left), president of ACLI, and Louis Mancuso,
Jr., vice president of Mid-Island Air Service,
Brookhaven Airport. Contest subject was: "The Value
of General Aviation and the Local Airports to the
Community."
(Continued from last week.)
Alternate Substitute Teacher
Program
Mr. Eugene Murphy, English
teacher at Bethpage High School
and four students, came before
the Board of Education to discuss
and give a skeletal report on an
alternate substitute teacher
program. He explained. . . 150
students have formed a group
who have been active for the past
school year in such areas as
conducting seminars, where va
speakers were scheduled; they
have run five rock concerts, set
up and supervised by the
students, and from the proceeds,
$1000 was donated to the Suffolk
State School for the retarded.. ..
Recently they went to the Suffolk
State School for the day and
worked.on a one to one basis
(student and patient).
The group is now interested in
starting an alternate substitute
teacher program. Mr. Murphy
explained. . . when a regular
teacher is out for a day, the
school automatically calls a
substitute teacher in. He con­tinued.
. . in March they started,
on an after school basis, where at
2:30 p.m. they had a free rock
concert and another time a
hypnotist, where 100 students
attended. . . this was ex­perimental
to get the students
reaction. Now they would like to
set up, in the month of October,
during the 7th and 8th periods, a
program acquiring paid
speakers; for example, a science
class who would have a substitute
teacher, would now have a noted
scientific speaker, on the new
alternate program. He continued,
. . we could also get teachers,
, doctors, professionals .in the ESP
area, acupuncture, etc. . . . the
students would be in charge of
setting up and running this
program and would be paid
approximately $1.75 per hour.
A parent questioned, referring
to last year's Seminar Day, why
waste a day with the Black
Panthers or Ms. Swamee? She
continued. . . they met with a
great deal of disapproval from
the district. Mr. Murphy ex­plained.
. . you can get people to
come who have a cause, but to get
professionals in a given area, it
will cost money. . . This is
basically a frontier program,
they have it in Syosset and it is
working well.. . Plainview had it
and the reports are mixed, they
had problems with i t . . . it is also
instituted into 17 other school
districts.
A taxpayer asked. . . are
students going to have to go to the
alternate program and be a
captive audience or will they
have an option? Another parent
asked Mr. Murphy to consider the
feasibility in a vocational field,
such as, many students would
like to know what it means to be a
plumber, carpenter, podiatrist,
etc., have you considered this
area.,. . ?
Mr. Murphy requested the
Board of Education to consider
the expenditure of $1000 towards
this program. Mr. LoPaso made
a motion to approve the ex­penditure
and it was approved by
the Board of Education,
unanimously.
Herman Slavin Scholarship
Committee
Board member, Mrs. Elizabeth
Regan, on behalf of the Herman
Slavin Scholarship Committee,
presented the Board of Education
with a check for $3395.41. to be
(Continued on Page 7)
exceed a certain
household income.
• A complete federal takeover
of the cost of public assistance
and medicaid.
• An increased federal com­mitment
to aid to education.
• Increased federal funds for
capital and operating expenses of
local mass transit systems.
Caso pointed out that Nassau
County is committed to a
program of sewering the entire
county by the year 1990.
"To date, we have spent ap­proximately
$390 million and out
projected costs in the years
ahead run in the neighborhood oi
a billion dollars," he explained.
He added that at the present time
the federal government does not •
subsidize the cost of installing
: street by street sanitary sewers,
a Cost that is charged directly to
the taxpayers on the basis of an
ad valorem tax. '•',-. ;-:.y.
The tax rates for all proposed
collection districts in Nassau
range from $2.25 to $3.38 per $100
of assessed valuation, he noted.
"When added to sewerage
treatment and disposal taxes,
which currently run from $.62 to
$.64 per $100, this will place an
extremely heavy burden upon the
taxpayers unless financial
assistance is made available
from the federal government,"
Caso explained.
He said his proposal for a $2.00
tax rate limit would demonstrate
both a federal and local com­mitment
to paying the cost of
protecting the nation's waters.
" Caso characterized his
proposal for a federal "circuit
breaker" law as a "relief
measure for those least able to
afford local tax increases." Such
laws are in effect in 22 states.
They provide either tax rebates
or state income tax credits to
homeowners and renters whose
property taxes -- or the tax
portion of their rents ~ exceed a
certain per cent of income.
On the proposal for the federal
takeover of public assistance,
Caso said state and local
governments currently are
forced to shift financial resources
and administrative talent away
from other pressing problems
and focus them on a problem that
is really national-in scope and
should b? a national respon­sibility."
On increased aid to education,
Caso said "the property tax as
the principle base for supporting
the schools is no'longer viable."
On increased funds for mass
transit, Caso said
"moderately-pnced mass transit
is absolutely essential to the
economic and social well-being of
the nation."
The OMB budget meeting was
heldat 9:30a.m. Friday (June
28) in the second floor auditorium
of the U.S. Mission to the United
Nations, 799 United Nations
Plaza.