1973-07-05

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AN OFFICIAL NEWSPAPE
SERVING THE GREATER FARMINGDALI
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Vol. 10 No. 46
Second Class Postage has been paid at Farmingdale, N. Y.
Published by THE OBSERVER, Inc., Box 146, Farmingd 11 wrsday, Ju ly 5, 1973 • 15c
Farmingdale Says Thanks
11 outgoing school board trustee Terry Weathers did not know how many friends
he had in Farmingdale, he certainly must have known it when he was the center of
attraction during the recent testimonial given to Weathers at the Four Seasons
Country Club. Shown above, top picture, Dr. William Kinzler, Superintendent of
Schools, presents Weather with a personal memento. Below: Weathers and his
wile Elsie are seen talking to Mr. and Mrs. Weldon E. Howitt. Bottom picture:
Oyster Bay Town Councilman Gregory W. Carman ( second from left) presents a
proclamation to Weathers. Looking on are co- chairman of the event Peter Allen
ileft) and Norman Krasnow.
Governor Vetoes School
Aid Bill for District
" The governor, in his wisdom, saw fit to veto a measure that the
State senators and assemblymen, in their wisdom, saw fit to pass this
year," that is how a spokesman for the Farmingdale school district
summed up his frustration and disappointment over the fact that
Assembly Bill 4666- A which would have compensated the school
district for its loss in revenue due to the MTA takeover of the Republic
Airfied, was vetoed by the governor.
payment of this special State aid. Im­portantly,
the bill fails to make an ap­propriation
to meet the payments that
would be required this year.
" The Attorney General, the State
Board of Equalization and Assessment
and the Division of the Budget continue to
recommend disapproval of the measure.
" The bill is disapproved."
Community Honors
A. Terry Weathers
Nearly 400 guests arrived at the Four
Seasons Country Club, Woodbury, to
honor retiring school board trustee and
active Farmingdale resident, A. Terry
Weathers. The affair was held Wed-rw
sday evening. Jur- p 9.7
As a result of Rockefeller's veto the tax
rate for the coming school year will stay
very close to the rate set before the
school budget was submitted to the
residents for a second time on June 23
when it was passed by a narrow margin.
Consequently, the tax rate will go up
$ 1,037 per $ 100.00 of assessed valuation
for residents in Oyster Bay and $ 2,306 for
residents in Babylon.
In explaining his veto, the governor
made the following statement:..
" The bill would authorize the State
Board of Equalization and Assessment to
establish a special transition assessment
for a school district whose property was
acquired on or after January 1, 1969 by
the Metropolitan Transportation
Authority, and where the property ap­propriated
constitutes five percent or
the school district. The memorandum
submitted with the bill states that it is
intended to assist the Farmingdale
School District to make up for the
assessed valuation lost to the district due
to the MTA acquisition of the former
Republic Airfield.
" It must be noted that section 545 of the
Real Property Tax Law already provides
a transition assessment applicable to the
Farmingdale School District. That
section provides for the payment of State
aid to localities where the State or its
agencies ( including the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority) acquires real
property in such locality which con­stitutes
two percent or more of the total
taxable assessed value on the preceding
assessment roll. Such State aid is in the
amount of taxes generated by the
transition assessment which is placed on
the local assessment roll. In the first year
after the acquisition in the required
amount, the locality is saved harmless
from any loss in revenue as a result of the
acquisition.
" The bill is similar to a measure
disapproved in 1971 that would have
provided special assistance to the same
school district although employing a
different transition assessment formula
( Assembly Bill No. 7993- A, Disapproval x
Memorandum No. 115). As in the case of
the 1971, measure, this bill, despite its
general language, would single out one
school district out of all the hard pressed
school districts in the State for the
discaii ee to lecogiUfcC in-,; olle; ^ e wno
became known throughout the state for
his knowledge and continuous work on
the fiscal aspects of school systems. One
such gentleman was Clifford Smith, a
past president of the State school board
and also past president of the National
School Board Association.
Weathers was president of the State
School Board and both the preceeding
and succeeding men in that position
attended; John and Peggy Ginter came
from Broadalbin and Mr. and Mrs. Ben
Miller from Ellenville.
Noteworthy guests included Mayor
Hallahan, Congressman Phillip B.
Healey school superintendent and
assistant superintendent, and members
of the school board and village board.
Judge Gillies was Master of Ceremonies
for the testimonial.
Weathers, who was sincerely touched
by the generosity of his friends received
a number of gifts including a plaque from
the PTA and a proclamation from the
office of the Town of Oyster Bay.
One particularly sentimental moment
came with the presentation of a plaque
from the Farmingdale Baseball League.
Gene Landecker, who began the league
with Weathers, came to the dinner to give
his friend the memento.
After receiving a gift from his children,
the man who has done so much for so
many, once again left his mark on those
present as he gave a rather spontaneous,
yet moving speech.
A Rare Display
Pfft... went the rocket, aah... went the crowd in anticipation as the fireworks of the
Village of Farmingdale got under way last Saturday night at the Weldon E. Howitt
school athletic field. Bang... went the rocket. There was not much in between. A dense
fog had settled over the entire Island that night and the result was an almost invisible
display of fireworks. Especially those high rise rockets zoomed almost completely out
, of range, only a faint glow far above proved that there was nothing wrong with the
rockets themselves.
Thousands of people, nevertheless, stood their ground, and enjoyed the show. The
small- fry rockets who did not soar quite as high could be seen, eerily shrouded bv the
fog. And there was nothing wrong with each bang...
Finally, much too soon for the spectators, the men firing off the rockets thought
perhaps that the log would get even denser and decided to shoot the works There were
a lot of pffts, a lot of aahs and bangs and then it was all over. The crowds dispersed and
the firemen closed their refreshment stand. It may not have been the best fireworks
ever, but it certainly was an interesting one.