Bethpage-Tribune_1986-02-06

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VOL. 20 NO. 43 Week of February 6 - February 12, 1986 20 cents per copy
County Board Continues Commitment
To Motorist
The Nassau County
Board of Supervisors has
approved a $7 million capi­tal
appropriation for the
resurfacing of County
roadways during 1986; $6.2
million of the proposed pro­ject
will come from County
revenues while the remain­ing
$800,000 will come from
the State of New York under
the auspices of the Consoli­dated
Highway Improve­ment
Program (Chips).
According to Oyster Bay
Town Supervisor Joseph
Colby much of this funding
will go towards refurbishing
roadways within the Town
of Oyster Bay.
Specifically, Colby noted
that the County has deter­mined
that among the roads
to be resurfaced in 1986 are:
Manetto Hill Road in
Plainview from Washington
Avenue to Sally Lane,
Syosset-Woodbury Road in
Woodbury from Turret
Lane to Aron Drive, Locust
Valley-Oyster Bay Road in
Matinecock form Bayville
Road to Dogwood Road
and the South and North
Service Roads in Old West-bury,
respectively, from
Post Avenue to Jericho
Turnpike and from Jericho
Turnpike to Wheatly Road.
"The periodic resurfacing
of all County roads is under­taken
to rehabilitate the
existing road surfaces,
resulting in better and safer
riding surfaces and concom­itantly
reducing road main­tenance
costs," Supervisor
Gulotta said. "In order to
insure that the County's
roadways continue to meet
the needs of motoHsts, it is
imperative that at least 150
lane miles of highway be
repaved each year. The
funding which the Board of
Supervisors has authorized
today, is evidence of the
County's commitment to
maintaining a road network
which is second-to-none."
Finally, Colby concluded,
"Nassau County residents
rely on the automobile as
their primary means of
transportation, therefore, it
is imperative that local gov-enment,
acting to meet the
needs of its residents, insures
that a continued and syste­matic
program of road
resurfacing and refurbish­ment
be carried out. I firm­ly
support the County's
efforts to upgrade its infras­tructure,
and was happy to
have lobbied on behalf of
those roadways in the Town
of Oyster Bay in greatest
need of repair."
Bethpage Couple Longestti/lamed OnLL
Plans are underway to
honor over 100 couples from
our area who have been
married 50 years or more..
An islandwide search has
been conducted by World­wide
Marriage Encounter to
find the longest married
couple on Long Island. This
search has been conducted
in preparation for celebrat­ing
World Marriage Day.
World Marriage Day, held
each year on the second
Sunday in February, was
brought into existance to'
draw attention to the beauty
and romance embodied in
marriage. And, this year's
emphasis focuses on the
reality that marriage can
and does last a lifetime.
Many area churches have
• identified the longest mar­ried
couples from within
their congregation and are
hosting celebrations honor­ing
all marriages. Here on
Long Island, there will be a
special Mass celebrated at
St. Agnes Cathedral in
Rockville Centre on Febru­ary
9 at 3 p.m. Couples and
their families planning to
attend this celebration will
be assembling at 1:30 p.m. at
1986 Humanitarian Award
various locations around the
island where motorcades
will be formed to proceed to
the cathedral. Walt Whit­man
Mall in Huntington,
Sunrise Mall in Massapequa
and South Shore Mall in
Bay Shore have been desig­nated
as the gathering
points.
One of the highlights of
the day will be the arrival of
Mr. and Mrs. Bernard
Schutz, married 68 years, at
St. Agnes. As a special treat
to them, they were chosen to
receive the use of a chauffeur
driven limosine to take them
from their Bethpage home
to the cathedral. Along with
the other couples nomi-'
nated, they will also receive
flowers and a special certifi­cate
commemorating the
event.
Mr. and Mrs. Patrick
Graziose of Hauppauge,
who have been coordinating
our local World Marriage
Day events are delighted
with the outcome so far.
They reported that, "It has
been truly uplifting to talk
with and listen to so very
many couples who have kept
their love for each other a
very'precious gift after many
difficult but rewarding
years. Their love and ours
deserves to be celebrated."
A former Village Justice
and prominent Farmingdale
attorney for the past thirty-four
years has been named
recipient of the St. Mary of
the Angels Home 1986
Humanitarian Award.
John E. Gillies, an attor­ney
for the Village of Farm­ingdale
since 1979, and pres-'
ident of St. Mary's board of
directors, was cited for his
compassion and participa­tion
in the Home's programs
for troubled youth. St. Mary
of the Angels Home began
its service to youngsters in
need in a one-building facil­ity
nineteen years ago.
Mr. Gillies, a native of
Washington, D.C. is a grad­uate
of St. John's Law
School, and a veteran of
World War II. He and his
wife, the former Nancy Har-tey,
are the parents of nine
children and eight grand­children.
Mr. Gillies has
been active in a variety of
community organizations
including "Cerebral Palsy,
United Way, Salvation
Army and the Red Cross.
He is a past member of the
Diocese of Rockville Cen­tre's
board of education and
also serves on the board of
Madonna Heights in Hun­tington,
N.Y.
Sharpshooters Shootout
The members of St. Martin's CYO and the
Bethpage PBC are "shooting the hoop" for the
benefit of people with disabilities in the Annual
Easter Seal Basketball Shoot-Out. Under the
supervision of coach Matt Coletta, the youngsters
will obtain pledges from sponsors and shoot
-baskets for a three minute period. Thanks to the
New York Knickerbockers and Madison Square
Garden Center, official Shoot-Out sponsors, par­ticipants
can win many exciting prizes, including
Knicks decals, baseball caps, sport bags, game
tickets, Shoot-Out t-shirts and the chance to par­ticipate
in the Lucky 100 Clinic held at center
court of Madison Square Garden, plus more! The
money raised by the students will help support
year-round Easter Seal programs and services on
Long Island, including stroke support groups,
residential camping, equipment loan and summer
speech therapy.
For more information on this special event,
please call the Long Island Easter Seal Society at
(516)421-2200.
In Memoriain
WILLIAM J. AHERN,
former Vice President of
the Bank of the Manhattan
Company and the Chase
Manhattan Bank, died
Friday, January 31, 1986.
He was 96 years of age and
had made his home in
Bethpage, New York for
the past 85 years.
Mr. Ahern began, a
career in banking in 1905
as a messenger for the
Mechanics Bank of.Brook-lyn.
In 1908, at the age of
19, he joined the National
Bank of Brooklyn. He
graduated from the Amer­ican
Institute of Banking
in 1916 and later served as
President of the Alumni
Association and on the
Institute's Board of Gov­ernors,
in 1928, the National Bank merged into the
Bank of the Manhattan Company (now the Chase
Manhattan Bank) and Ahern continued his service
with the Bank as Assistant Vice-President. In 1946, he
became Vice President/Brooklyn Division for the
Bank of the Manhattan Company. Reaching manda­tory
retirement in 1953, Ahern retired but remained
active in banking, serving as a Trustee of the Kings
County Savings Bank, and consulting for the Bank of
Hicksville on Long Island. In 1955 he came out of
retirement to become President of the American Trust
Company. In 1957 he moved to the Kings County
Trust Company serving as Vice President until 1964
when he again retired at age 75, continuing his rela­tionship
as a Trustee of the Bank until age 80, a career
spanning 64 years.
Mr. Ahern was active in many organizations during
his banking career, including The Bankers Club,
Rotary, The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, St.
Patricks Society, Emerald Association and the Mon-tauk
Club. He served as President of the Bankers
Forum, Vice Chairman, Group VII of the New York
State Bankers Association, Treasurer of the New York
State Bankers Association, Director of the Brooklyn
Committee of the Greater New York Fund and during
the second World War, served on the War Finance,
Committee for New York. Mr. Ahern also served as a
Trustee of the Roman Catholic Orphan Society of
Brooklyn, Director of the Brooklyn Chapter of the
American Red Cross and Director of Edward Ehrbar,
Inc. a major metropolitan area heavy construction
equipment distributor.
A lifetime Long Island resident, he was raised in
Plainedge, moving to Bethpage (then Central Park)
about 1900. Active in community affairs, he joined the
Volunteer Fire Department in 1910 soon after its
founding and remained active for many years. Mr.
Ahern was a leader in the establishment of St. Martin
of Tours R.C. Church in 1924 and has since been
active as a Trustee, in the parish Holy Name and St.
Vincent de Paul Societies. In addition he served on the
Bethpage Board of Education between 1932 and 1941.
One of the highlights of Mr. Ahern's long career in
business and public service was his successful leader­ship
of a campaign to change the name of Central
Park to Bethpage in 1936. Following this accomp­lishment
he was successful, with a group of others the
same year, in convincing Grumman Aircraft to relo­cate
their Corporate headquarters and manufacturing
facility to Bethpage. Both thee efforts had a profound
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