Bethpage-Tribune_1994-02-25

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COPIES
'•hpage Lib
. \well Ave
>qe NY 11714
Serving Bethpage, Island Trees, Plainedge, Seaford, Old Bethpage & Plainview
VOL. 27 NO. 8 FEB. 25-MAR. 3, 1994 25 CENTS
JACK McGAFFERY IS
GRAND MARSHAL
OFBETHPAGE'S
ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARADE
district for 39 years - mathematics
teacher, coordinator in the junior
and senior high school, track
coach for 13 years, math super­visor,
assistant high school prin­cipal
and nowj computer
coordinator.
In the summer of 1962 - once
again, acting on a hunch (that it
would be great to see America) -
Jack and a friend packed up a car
with two sleeping bags and
headed West. After touring Glacier
National Park, Seattle, California,
heading east, they made a fateful
stop at the Grand Canyon. For
there, in the most unusual of
circumstances, he met his future
wife, Mary Quinlan of Boston.
They were married the following
August and moved right into the
community Jack had grown to
love, Bethpage. Jack and Mary
have six children. They all
attended St. Martin of Tours
School and Bethpage High School
and in what became a family rite
of passage, learned to drive by
chauffering their father to work.
Each day had a stressful
beginning.
In 1969-79, Jack was awarded
a National Science Foundation
grant. He and the family returned
to California where Jack studied
at the University of San Jose. He
earned a master's in mathematics
education. Four years later, he
published several high school,
mathematics textbooks for Ginn &
Co. For a while, he was an adjunct
professor at NCC.
John Jr. and his wife, Pamela
live in Hicksville. He is a banker
in NYC and will soon be a father
for the first time. Eugene is
engaged to Ellen. He is working
for Corporate Properties Investors
in Manhattan. Next is Michael.
(Continued on Page 4)
Bom in Greenport, on May 21,
1931, Jack McCaffery has been a
Long Islander all his life. The
eldest of four children born to
Martin and Frances McCaffery, his
early years were spent in carefree
"country" living in Southold, Long
Island.
He graduated from Southolcj
High School in 1948 and entered
the U.S. Merchant Marine
Academy at Kings Point. Upon
graduating, he worked for Amer­ican
Export Lines as a third engi­neer
on board the steamship,
Examineranti for the Grace Lines
on board the Santa Barbara.
unce in port, ne got out or tne
engine room and was able to tour
the Mediterranean Countries and
South American ports of call - an
exotic time in the life of this young
officer from SJouthold.
After several years at sea, he
acted on a hunch (that he might
like teaching) and a love of mathe­matics
and enrolled at Hofstra, a
candidate for masters in educa­tion.
Jack did his student teaching
at Farmingdale High School and
then - again, on a hunch - applied
for a job in Bethpage. Interviewed
in the morning, hired in the after­noon,
hehas been a fixture in the
WATER DISTRICT BOND ISSUE
The Bethpage Water District has
recently petitioned the Towns of
Oyster Bay and Hempstead for
approval of a 6.4 million dollar
bond issue for the purpose of
financing needed capital improve­ments
to the District's facilities.
The bond money is slated to be
used for the construction of two
water treatment facilities at well
sites located on Sophia Street and
South Broadway, a new elevated
storage tank to be located on
Plainview Road adjacent to the
Seaford—Oyster Bay Expressway,
and the drilling and construction
of a new supply well.
The capital improvements are a
direct result of the information
obtained from the groundwater
study being conducted by Grum­man
property. As a result, the
District is anticipating difficulty in
providing adequate quantities of
safe drinking if this plume reaches
District well sites.
Engineering studies prepared
by the District and approved by the
NYS DEC and Nassau County
Board of Health indicate the Dis­trict
must take immediate action
to protect the quality of its drink­ing
water. Both agencies have
approved the plans for the con­struction
of well head purification
facilities which are the subject of
the bond issue. To date, monthly
testing has shown none of the
contaminates has reached the
wells to be fitted with treatment
facilities.
The District is currently nego­tiating
with Grumman and the
Department of the Navy for reim­bursement
of the cost for the
construction of some of these new
facilities. The District Commis­sioners
have estimated the cost of
the bond issue, after contribution
by the responsible parties, will be
approximately $16 per year to the
average Bethpage homeowner.
The District will hold a public
meeting to provide the residents
with an opportunity to obtain
additional information on this
subject on Monday, March 7th at
7:30 in the evening at the Bethpage
Public Library meeting room.
MORE THAN FINE ART
Local Artist Sacchitello Embarks on Exciting Project
To Educate Youth On Importance of Our Seas
(See Letters To The Editor on Page 5)
. • .