Bethpage-Tribune_1980-05-08

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BETHPAGE OLD BETHPAGE ^^INVIEW
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ISLAND TREES PLAINEDGE SEAFORD
VOL. 14 NO. 47 For The Week of May 8 - May 14,1980 20 cents par copy
Water Commissioners -
Then And Now
If you are. over forty, do you
remember who the most
famous water commissioner
of your youth was? He was
Throckmorton P, Gilder-sleeve,
The Great Gilder-sleeve
of radio fame. Played
first by Hal Peary and later by
Willard Waterman, whose
voices were indistinguishable
from each other, Gildy was
the Water Commissioner in a
town called Summerfield. The
job must have paid good
money because Gildy had a
live-in maid who cooked and
cleaned for bachelor Gildy
and his niece arid nephew
Leroy and Majorie
Forrester The maid's name
was Birdie Lee Coggins,.
Bill Ellinger was elected
Water Commissioner of Beth-page
this past Monday, but he
won't be able to hire a maid or
even quit his current job as
Superintendent of Buildings,
Grounds and Transportation
in the Roslyn Union Free
School District.
The job pays only a small
stipend, around $2,000 a year
and Bill has to use his own car
and gas oh his rounds. But the
native Bethpager of 47 years
remembers what the water of
his youth tasted like and he'd
like to taste it again.
In the '30s and '40's people
actually came to visit friends
and relatives in Bethpage with
empty jugs and bottles which
they filled and tpok home.
Simple tap water that Beth-pagers
took for granted. It
was simply the best water on
the Island, maybe even in the
world. Time, cesspools and
chemicals have changed the
taste, clarity and ultra-healthy
quality of the water.
Bill would like to see that
water return to as close-as-jpossible
as it was forty years
ago. That Js probably why he
selected to fill the unexpired
term of Gustave Bernhadt
who passed away in
November 1979. Gus had been
trying to save the water for 23
years.
Bill took on the job and saw
a tremendous, challenge
ahead. The well-water that
services over 8,000 homes and
business facilities has to be
constantly monitored. Eight
wells, ranging from 280 feet to
775. feet pump almost 15
million gallons of water per
day to the people of the water
district. ,
"The reason I ran for the
job," says Bill, "is that while I
was serving out Big Gus's
term, I realized that the
quality of our drinking water
is changing every day. For
health reasons alone, this may
be the most important job in
Bethpage."
The new commissioner has
-the experience to handle the
job. Bill, who has been a
volunteer fireman for almost
thirty years, has a back­ground
in large plant opera­tions
and maintenance and
over 12 years of top manage­ment
and administrative
experience. And Bethpage
believes in him. He carried the
election by a three-to-one
majority.
Bill and his wife Barbara
are the parents of Glenn, 25;
Steven, 23; Diane, 21;
William, 14; Marion, 10 and
Frank, 8. Does Bill believe
that Bethpage's Water
problems are insolveable??
Well to quote that great
philosopher on the Great Gil-dersleeve,
Peavey the
druggist, "Weeell now Mr.
Gildersleeve, I wouldn't say
that."
BIKE-A-Thon: Specially printed tee-shirts for those raising$10 or more will be among the prizes in
this year's Pamela Eppner Memorial Bike-A-Thon for Cystic Fibrosis. Displaying them are [left to
right] Evelyn Eppner of Plainview, Bike-A-Thon Co-Chairman John Murphy of Old Bethpage, Oyster
Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Colby and Town Councilman Salvatore R. Mosca. The Town officials
are serving as Honorary Co-Chairmen of the event, scheduled for Sunday, May 18 [raindate May 25]
at the Central Blvd. School, Bethpage, at 11:30 AM. Other prizes will include a bicycle for the person
raising the most money, a prize for the oldest and youngest riders, and windbreakers for all those
raising $50 or more. For information on registration, and to obtain sponsor sheets, contact the Bike-
A-Thon office at 746-0080.
The Bike-A-Thon Is Next Week
by Estelle Wenig
Bike-A-Thon time in Bethpage
brings back many fond memories
to the proprietor of the Donut
Shop located in the Stewart
Avenue Shopping Center. It was
in this Donut Shop on a hot
August afternoon over a cup of
coffee and donut that Bob Sandler
and I sat and drew the first bike-a-
thon route on a paper napkin
nearly three years ago. During
the past two years, the Bethpage
Pamela Eppner Bike-A-Thons
have raised over $17,0000 to help
fight Cystic Fibrosis that takes
the lives of many of our young as
it did Pamela. Eppner, the billiant
nineteen year old Bethpage High
School graduate nearly three
years ago.
The Third Annual Bike-A -
Thon this year will be held at
Central Boulevard School rather
than Kramer Lane School due to
sewer construction starting at
11:30 a.m. (rain date Sunday,
May 25.) Oystor Bay Town
Supervisor Joseph Colby and
Councilman Sal Mosca, the two
honorary co-charimen for the
event will start the event as
cyclists pedal along the two-mile
course along the streets of Beth­page.
Cliairmen for. -the ev«nt
informed me that this, year's
Bike-A-Thon will again feature a
new 10 speed bicycle as first prize
for the one raising the most
money plus.many other fantastic
prices for the runner-up bringing
in the most money, as well as a
prize for the eldest rider and for
the youngest rider. A t-shirt will
go to every rider who sends in $10
or more. $50 or more will entitle
r i d e r s to a Cystic Fibrosis
windbreaker. Exciting door
prizes will be awarded all
throughout the day and snacks
and refreshments will be
provided for all the riders. Also
on hand will be the team of bike-a-
thon mars halls as well as the
Nassau County Police Depart­ment
to supervise the two-mile
route commencing at the Central
Boulevard School. For the past
two years in a row, Bethpage has
been the number one fund raising
Bike-A-Thon for Cystic Fibrosis
in all of Nassau and Suffolk
Counties and from all indications
this year-s event will be just as
successful. Pre-registration
cards and sponsor sheets are
available at all Bethpage Schools
or can be obtained from the
Cystic Fibrosis office located in
sMine^la or by calling.746/0080.
Recent Tax Ruling Affects Beth­page
Nassau County is currently
experiencing a massive tax shift
from commercial to residential
peoperty as a result of the "860
Executive Towers" case.
In Bethpage, the Grumman
Aerospace Corportation had been
protesting its tax assessments
since the mid 1960's and finally
reached a settlement in late 1979.
The in-court settlement requires
Nassau County to refund $8.4
million, and also to lower the
assessed value of certain parcels
of land in the Bethpage complex.
The' potential loss was even
greater. These lowered
assessments mean a tax loss of
$750,000 to the Bethpage School
(Continued on Page 4)
Schedule Change
The play, Once Upon a
Mattress, scheduled to run on
May, 8.9&10 at Bethpage High
School, has been rescheduled
for May 29,30 & 31 because of
an emergency illness to one of
the cast members. All tickets
sold for the former dates will
be honored on any of the latter
dates.