1971-08-05

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FAKMIN6DALE m m vEK fflt
WHERE THE HISTORY OF YOUR COMMUNITY IS RECORDED WEEKLY
An Officiaf Newspaper of The Incorporated Village of FarminRdale - Serving Greater FarminRdale. Bethpage and Melville
VOL. 8 NO. 5 0 Second Class Postage has been paid at FarminRdale, N. Y. 11735 • Published bv THE OBSERVER, INC., Box 146, Farmingdale, N. Y. Thursday AUQUSt 5 1971
Quiet Audience During Public
Hearing of New School Budget
Despite the earlier demands and counter demands in relation to budget cuts to lower the tax rate,
there was practically no public comment about the newly proposed budget at Monday Night's school
board meeting in Farmingdale. There was only^ ne comment questioning the $ 10,000 reduction for
elementary textbooks. No one asked for greater cuts.
Till-] SIGNS are hanging all over Main Street now, announcing the
annual picnic of the Farmingdale Republican Club on August 15 at
the Chateau in Wyandanch. This particular sign was brought by
picnic chairman Robert Ffoh's better half Marjorie to Springfield
Appliances, where it was promptly hung by store manager Gordon
James.
The new budget to be voted on
August 18 was decreased by
$ 118,000. The estimated tax rate
for Oyster Bay Town under this
budget is $ 13.11, a reduction of
$. 11 from the previously
presented budget; for Babylon
Town, the rate is $ 20.41, a
reduction of $. 14
Trustee Terry Weathers
commented that the board has
tried to show some respon­siveness
to the public and that the
cuts were agreed to by a majority
oi the board. Trustee Tom La van
commented that about $. 07 to $. 08
Farmingdale Professor Visits
Prague for Acarology Congress
Dr. Michael J. Abbatiello,
Professor of Biology at State
University at Farmingdale, will
go behind the Iron Curtain this
Monday when he will present a
paper on " A Scientific Study of
Traffic Sinners:
Wait til Monday
The new parking rules on
Main Street, allowing only for
alternate side parking went
into effect last Monday.
Anyone walking or driving
through Main Street this week
could not help but see that the
new rules had very little effect
since cars continued to be
parked on both sides of the
street. According to James J.
McKenna, Farmingdale
Village Clerk, the Village was
lenient this week in order to
get Main Street visitors a
chance to get used to the new
situation. Only warnings were
given out this. Next week,
beginning Monday, things will
change. " On Monday, our
policemen will hand out
parking tickets," McKenna
said. Each parking ticket will
cost the offender $ 5.
the Life Cycle of Pseudobryobia
Drummondi ( Eeing)" at the
Third International Congress of
Acarology in Prague,
Czechoslovakia, August 30
September 7. Pseudobryobia
drummondi is a plant- feeding
mite. It was obtained from the
creosote bush by Dr. Abbatiello
on a recent mite- collecting
survey of Western and Central
Mexico.
This marks the Second In­ternational
Congress of
Acarology that the Farmingdale
resident has attended. In 1967, he
provided reports on his specialty
of mites, small tick- like
MICHAEL J. ABBATIELLO
organisms, more specifically,
orbatid mites, a branch of soil
mites, at the University of
Nottingham, Sutton Donington,
England.
Two years ago, Dr. Abbatiello,
who is listed in the Director of the
Acarologists of the World, was
invited to the all- important
workshop type of symposium at
the Kellogg Center for Continuing
Education, Michigan State
University, to help develop a
college- level curriculum in
Laboratory Animal Technology.
He pointed out that " this
marked the first time a group of
college educators are concerned
with developing a four- year
curriculum in the care and
management of laboratory
animals, leading towards a
Bachelor's degree." This had
long been advocated by Far-mingdale's
Biological Tech
Department.
Dr. Abbatiello plans to leave
with his wife, Gene, and eight-year-
old son, Michael, August 9,
to spend a few weeks doing
research work in different
European libraries and museums
and enjoying a holiday with his
family prior to arriving in
( Continued on Page 6)
of the cuts would have occurred
even if the budget had been
passed.
Among the cuts that would
have occurred anyway was the
$ 25,000 in transportation and the
$ 2: 5.000 in administrative per­sonnel.
The administrative
reduction was due to the
retirement of the Woodward
Parkway principal and the
partial closing of Main Street
School. ( See story on principal
appointments this issue).
Additional expenses of $ 90,000
for fuel oil and social security
payments increases not an­ticipated
in the original budget,
nor included in this one will be
covered through control of other
items. It was also explained that
there is an additional $ 50,000 in
income which will partly offset
their expenses.
Registration for voters will be
Saturday, August 7 and Wed­nesday,
August 11 from 10 A. M. to
10 P. M. In answer to Trustee
Lavan's request for clarification
of the State Education Law, the
school board attorney stated that
residents who will be eighteen by
August 18, the date of the vote,
will be eligible to register.
The board also passed a
resolution refining the wording of
the school board policy on the
accelerated program in the high
school. The policy now
specifically states " such ac­celeration
must be requested by
parents in writing and " in those
cases where necessary, the high
school principal may waive the
local requirement of the fourth
year of social studies," and may
permit doubling of English.
Marilyn Hametz
Library Submits
Reduced Budget
In its special public meeting
Monday night,- the Farmingdale
Public Library Board decided to
resubmit a budget to be voted
upon together with the school
budget on Wednesday, August 18.
The revised budget trimmed the
originally defeated budget by
$ 22,000.- to a new total of $ 374,900.
If approved, the tax rate would be
raised by two cents to 38 cents in
the Town of Oyster Bay and by
three Cents to 58 Cents for Suffolk
County.
SCARY: In order to avoid a collision with an unidentified vehicle on
Old Country Road and Post Avenue this Farmingdale Fire Depart­ment
Rescue Van made a sharp turn and found itself lying on its side.
Three persons were injured, none seriously. The only casualty was
one small oak tree. The accident occured last Sunday.
Photo: Robert J. Greco
Kershaw made the point that in
spite of all of the education and
information made available to
the public, there is still much
misunderstanding, much of it due
to the lack of communication
between children and parents. As
an example, Kershaw said that
" you may consider marijuana a
drug and the law may consider
marijuana a drug, but the kids do
not." ( The youngsters present
nodded in affirmation ) He
continued, " Youth believes there
is a difference between pot and
the other drugs," and unless we
operate with that understanding
we cannot be effective.
Gaita explained that drug use,
like other juvenile crimes, is a
symptom of the inability of the
young to adjust to the society
around them. In treating youthful
offenders the Probation Officer
often spends as much time with
the family as with the subject.
With a load that has exceeded 100
cases at times the work of the
Drug Scene- A Generation Gap
Probation Work Is Not a 9 to 5 Job
" When a young person is sent to jail it is because there is no other place to put
him." James Gaita, of the Juvenile Supervision Unit of the Family Division and
Walter Kershaw, Supervisor of the Adult Division of the Narcotics Unit, both
officers of the Nassau County Probation Department, presented an interesting,
informative and sometimes shocking discussion at a meeting of the Seaford
Community Against Drugs ( S. C. A. D.). The dozen young people present were
visibly impressed.
probation department is ob­viously
not a 9 to 5 job. Speaking
to interested groups and in­volvement
with other public
service activities adds to the time
put in.
The Probation Officer tries to
act as the catalyst in achieving a
better adjustment for the young
offender with his family, school
and society in general. Kershaw,
whose beat includes Merrick,
Wantagh, Seaford, the
Massapequas and Farmingdale,
is currently handling 236 cases in
the 16 to 32 age group, all drug
involved.
He said that a sociogram of any
of the communities would show
that all are quite similar. The
number of arrests in any par­ticular
area is no reflection on the
seriousness of the situation in any
one locality. One arrest- in
Merrick can be traced back to
over 50 users and pushers in the
neighboring villages. Adding to
the mobility of the users who can
leave their home territory to
score is a relatively recently
discovered innovation in the
merchandising of narcotics.
Drugs, especially marijuana,
are being sold by itinerant fee
cream peddlers. ( The next time
you hear the ding - a - ling and
your kid rushes out to make a
purchase, it may not be ice
cream that he will be getting cool
with.)
One of the most serious hin­drances
to all efforts to coun­teract
the increasing drug and
delinquency problem is public
apathy and complacency.
Anyone who says, " Not my kid,"
is simply deluding himself,
Kershaw said. " You've got to
become an advocate for your
stressed next - door neighbor."
He stressed the point that " A few
concerned people can't do it. It
takes an all - out community
effort."
The worried parent or
youngster can get help in­formally
on an off - the - record
basis. It may be possible to avoid
involvement with the police or
the court by exercising
prevention before the abuse
occurs. You may call Mr. Ker­shaw
at 535 - 2805.