Bethpage-Tribune_2002-11-22

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NOVEMBER 22-28, 2002
VOL. 40 NO. 46 SERVING BETHPAGE, ISLAND TREES, OLD BETHPAGE, PLAINVIEW, SEAFORDAND PLAINEDGE FORTY CENTS
Traffic Light Installation at
Charles Campagne Elementary &
Bethpage High School Underway
Legislator Ed Mangano fought for and gained approval for a
traffic light at the Bethpage High School parking lot on Cherry
Ave. Bethpage High School Principal Toni MacLeod, Asst.
Principal Kevin Healy and School Aide Christine Chiarappa
thanked Legislator Mangano for his efforts in obtaining the
traffic light. The preliminary work is completed and the actual
traffic light is expected fo be delivered and installed shortly.
Students, parents, and staff
members of the Bethpage School
District, and motorists who travel the
roadways that front Charles
Campagne Elementary School and
Bethpage High School can look
forward to much safer conditions as
workers have begun installing traffic
lights for both buildings.
One traffic light is being installed
at the entrance/exit of Charles
Campagne School. The light will
control traffic along Plainview Road,
including vehicles entering and
exiting both the school and the
northbound entrance to the
Seaford/Oyster Bay Expressway,
which is directly across the street
from the school. Last summer, the
district reconstructed the Charles
Campagne School driveway,
aligning the entrance of the school
with the entrance to the parkway.
'The traffic light in front of
Charles Campagne Elementary
School is another example of our
efforts to make Plainview Road
safer," said Bethpage
Superintendent of Schools Harvey
Hilburgh, citing the driveway
reconfiguration that set the stage for
the traffic light. "The health and
safety of our students, parents, and
staff members is paramount to the
Board of Education and
administration. This goes a long way
toward preventing accidents from
occurring in the vicinity of the
school."
Superintendent Hilburgh
thanked State Senator Kemp
Hannon for securing the funds to
install the traffic light, as well as the
Charles Campagne PTA's Traffic
Light Committee and the present
and past PTA presidents, who have
spent years lobbying for the light.
He credited Josette Scuza as the
driving force behind the movement.
The traffic light at Charles Campagne
School will be raised sometime in
the next two weeks. Crews have
also begun the excavation to install a
traffic light at the entrance/exit of the
Bethpage High School student
parking lot on Cherry Avenue. Mr.
Hilburgh also thanked both past and
present members of the Bethpage
High School PTA for their efforts
toward getting this traffic light
installed. He credited Nassau
County Legislator Edward Mangano
for securing funds for the high
school traffic light and past PTA
member Chris Chiarappa for her fine
work.
'This is the result of many hours
of hard work from our parent
organizations and represents the
perfect example of what can happen
when dedicated community
members collaborate with their
officials to achieve a common goal,"
added Mr. Hilburgh. "In this case,
the common goal is safety...for all
Bethpage residents."
Both traffic lights are expected to
be operational by the middle of
December.
Partial Reopening of Bethpage
Community Park Slated For Nov. 29
Oyster Bay Town Supervisor
John Venditto announced that
there will be a partial reopening of
some facilities at Bethpage
Community Park in time for the
opening of ice skating season on
Friday, November 29.
"I am pleased to announce that
there will be a partial reopening of all
covered surfaces, including the ice
rink, tennis, handball and basketball
courts, and parking lot on November
29," Supervisor Venditto stated.
"The decision to reopen these
facilities was made following
additional testing of the soil, air and
water along with an evaluation by the
Town's environmental consultant
and discussions with the State
Departments of Environmental
Conservation (DEC) and Health
(DOH), the Commissioner of the
Town Parks Department and my
fellow Town Board members.
The Supervisor went on to say
that the swimming pool will be open
for the summer 2003 season. In
addition, the playground directly
adjacent to the pool will be
upgraded with brand new
equipment and a soft play surface
and will reopen in the spring of
2003. All grassy areas, including the
ballfields, picnic area and picnic area
playground, will remain closed and
will be fenced off from the rest of the
park until remediation, where
necessary, has been completed.
The DEC has informed the Town
that their discussions with Northrop
Grumman concerning additional
testing of the grassy areas and the
remediation process have been
positive and continue to move
forward.
"I made a commitment that the
park, or any portion of the park,
would reopen only when the Town
was satisfied that conditions were
suitable for public use," Supervisor
Venditto stated. "We have received
those assurances from the DEC,
DOH and our own environmental
consultant concerning the plan to
reopen the covered areas of the
park. We look forward to a full and
complete remediation of the grassy
areas of the park following
discussions between the DEC and
the responsible parties.
Festante Leads Golden Eagles
To Title Game
Rich Festante (#28) is congratuidied by teammate Billy
Bruno (#23) after scoring one of his four touchdowns in a
record-setting performance against West Hempstead.
Photos by Terry Gilberti, Syntax
Rich Festante Sr. must have touchdowns and rush for 265 yards
been proud. After all, the man who
scored the first touchdown in
Bethpage Golden Eagle history just
saw his son, Rich Jr., score 4
(most of them in the first half) leading
the undefeated Bethpage squad to
a record-setting victory, 62-19 over
(Continued on page 8)