1971-09-09

              NBHIUIl' HP*
WHERE THE HISTORY OF YOUR C( . 1 , . 1 ^ ' : \ '^^ '. SEKLY
An Official* Newspapi- r of Th- Incorporated Village of Farmii J> ^ * ** r\ a l N * * •* » • « • and Melville
VOL. 9 N O . 3 Second Class Postage has been paid at Farmingdale, N. Y. 11735 • Published bv iHE OBSERVER, INC., Box 146, Farmingdale, N. Y. . T h u r s d a y , S e p t e m b e r 9 , 1 9 71
Burke Promises Residents
Tax Freeze for Next Year
If prices and particularly wages are frozen - should not taxes be frozen as
well? No government official would get an argument on this from the taxpayers.
And for whatever it is worth, Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John W. Burke is
intent on doing his bit to hold the line on taxes in 1972. This action may not solve
the international dollar problems, but could have a salutory effect on the dollars
taken home by Tobay residents.
In a statement released in the process of being achieved,"
STUDENTS' GOOD DEED: Dr. Charles W. Laffin, Jr., President of
State University at Farmingdale, and Chairman of the College
Committee in the Long Island Olympic Fund Drive ( Right) receives
contribution ($ 50) from Victor Favuzza, Bellerose. part of the
proceeds realized by the Aggie Recreation Supervision Club in their
sponsorship of the recent Empire State Table Tennis championships
held on the college campus. Looking on ( Center) is Martin Bursden,
co- chairman of the Long Island Olympic Committee. Close to 1000
spectators watched the 200 contestants during the 2- day Tour­nament.
yesterday, Burke said he expects
to file with the Town Board on
September 15, 1971, a Town
budget that will hold the tax line
in 1972. The General Fund tax
rate of .616, the Highway rate of
.644 and the Building and Zoning
rate of .083 will remain the same
under the proposed budget.
The General Fund budget
totals $ 11,423,073. The Highway
budget is $ 5,059,621 and the
Building and Zoning budget is
$ 855,893. Burke said under his
tight fiscal policy he is hopeful of
holding the tax line in special
district budgets.
" The goals and objectives I
outlined to Budget Director
Joseph Macedonio in May of 1971
and on August 30 of this year are
Burke said. " The job freeze, plus
a careful line- by- line review of
departmental requests which
resulted in good reductions are
the principal factors enabling us
to hold the tax line in 1972. This
stringent fiscal policy will con­tinue
as I am fully cognizant of
the economic pressures currently
weighing upon our homeowners
and my objective is to continue lo
provide essential services with
the least amount of spending."
The Town Board previously
enacted a local law which
requires the Supervisor to file his
proposed budget by September
15. Upon review of the Super­visor's
budget, the Town Board
will set a date for a public
hearing some time in October.
Public Hearings on Curriculum
School Board Wants to Involve Residents
The Farmingdale School
district opened its doors this
week with all professional staff
positions filled. Charles Manso,
Assistant Superintendent of
Schools reported at the school
board meeting Tuesday evening
that the professional staff has 34
new faces and a net reduction of
28 people due to the budget cuts.
He also reported that this year
had a very small turnover rate of
just over 3 per cent in contrast to
6 or 7 per cent in previous years.
( This figure includes leaves of
absence and sabbaticals.)
In an effort to get public in­volvement,
the school board has
set up public hearings for each
school in the district. Trustee
Roberl Weiss, chairman of the
school board curriculum com­mittee,
said he hoped the public
will come to these evening
hearings to discuss curriculum
and other questions pertaining to
the schools. The schedule is as
follows: Oct. 5 at Main Street
School, October 6 at Northside,
October 12 at East Memorial,
October 13 at Parkway Oaks,
October 18 at Albany Avenue,
October 19 at Woodward Park­way,
November 3 at the High
School, November 8 at Howitt,
and November 9 at Mill Lane.
Weiss said that the curriculum
committee would also be meeting
with interested staff members.
The director of transportation,
Gerard Donolli, said thai the bus
fleet had been inspected and was
in good condition. Two new safety
features, right hand mirrors and
crash pads on the backs of the
seats, have been installed in all
the buses as requested. Donnolli
also reported that higher
protective fencing had been put
up on the west sidewalk on
Carman Road where it crosses
the Southern Slate Parkway. The
town of Oyster Bay will be put­ting
up additional fencing at the
approach to the walkway to
funnel the children onto the
sidewalk. The LI Park com­mission
did not raise its fencing
on the East side since only few
children use that sidewalk.
Gilbert McCotter, executive
representative of ARA, was at
the board meeting to answer
questions about the company's
administration of the cafeteria
program. He said the school
board still controls the menu and
quality and has a veto on per­sonnel.
Under the contract, the
school district will subsidize the
program no more than $ 41,000;
ARA would be responsible for
any higher costs. Board
President Robert Campbell said
that last year the subsidy was
over $ 85,000 including such things
as pension and insurance.
The Howitt Gymnasium is
expected to have a roof by the end
of the month and to be ready for
occupancy by early winter. Dr.
William Kinzler, superintendent
of schools, reported that con­struction
had been delayed about
two weeks because of an intra-union
dispute.
The School Calendar for the
year will be ready September 25.
The delay in publication is due to
the late passage of the budget.
Hawks Open Season
The big day has finally arrived: after many evenings
of preparation and hard training, the Hawks Football
League will officially open the new season this Sunday,
September 12. The Opening Day festivities include a
parade-, ceremonies and an exhibition game betweens
the Senior Hawks < md Syosset.
All Hawks asseiix^ i^ on Sunday before 1: 00 p. m. at
School and march down Main Street. The ceremonies
will be held at the Weldon Howitt Field and wili be
followed by the exhibition game. All Hawks fans - and
the OBSERVER is one of them - wish their team and
coach Jack Di Paola an impressive win.
All Hawks teams have been asked to decorate a car
to drive in front of each team for the parade.
Let's go, Hawks!
Beth page Park Blaze Kept
Local Fire Fighters Busy
When the trucks of the Far­mingdale
Fire Department
participated in the annual Labor
Day Parade in Hicksville nobody
would have guessed from the
HE MADE IT: Thanks to the impressive school crossing guard
mother in the background, this youngster made it safely across the
Schools opened all over the county uud caution is the word for motor
tfet used to each other again.
and some fancy footwork of his
busy street on his way to school.
ists and students alike until they
I'hoto: David Pokress
spotless appearance of their
engines that just a few days
before the department went
through a hectic fire fighting
period in Bethpage Park.
What appeared to be a simple
brushfire and a routine fire
lighting routine at the Park
turned into a major fire and
eventually required the
assistance of nine nearby Fire
Departments.
The brushfire was reported by
Bethpage Park on Tuesday af­ternoon
at 4: 30 p. m. Before Chief
Joseph Murphy considered the
fire under sufficient control and
was able to discharge his
volunteer lire lighters, 52 hours
had passed.
Murphy expressed his ap­preciation
to the neighboring
Fire Departments of South
F a r m i n g d a l e , Bethpage,
Hicksville, fericho Syosset,
Plainview, East Farmingdale,
Wyandanch, the Bethpage
Juniors and the boys from the
village Fire Department lor their
prompt assistance. The Chief
also stated that his men alone put
out a total of 14,940 man hours in
their attempt to keep the Park
from being destroyed by fire. He
also was most grateful to the
nearby plants who discharged
their men from work to help
combating the blaze.
Adult Education
Registration for the Far
mingdale Adult Education
Program will be held at the
Senior High School on Sept 13th,
14th and l;> th from 7: 00 to 9: 00.