Bethpage-Tribune_1986-06-19

              BETHBAGE
COP I
I 1 7U
Island Trees Plainedge
also serving
Seaford Old Bethpage Plainview
VOL. 21 NO. 10 Week of June 19 - June 25,1986 20 cents per copy
Cheers For Physically Challenged Kids
It was a weekend to
remember.
Not once did anyone chal­lenge
the Guinness Book of
World Records and some­times
the most resounding
cheers of all came for young­sters
who didn't finish first.
That's the way it was for
Georgette Sullivan, a 10
year-old from Malverne.
She started out the four days
of participating in the New
York State Games for the
Physically Challenged by
negotiating the 25-yard free
style event for 8 to 11 years
olds in two minutes, 25.7
seconds. Others finished
considerably ahead of
Georgette, challenged with
cerebral palsy.
But she was a winner. It
was the first time she had
attempted to go that far and
it became a struggle just to
finish. But finish she did and
that's what brought about
the prolonged applause for a
gutsy little girl who just
would not quit.
Governor Mario Cuomo
emphasized the point in his
welcoming address that offi­cially
opened the games the
next day on Friday, May 30.
"All of you have excelled
just by being here," he told
the field of nearly 700
entrants, aged 8 to 21. "You
are an example to all of the
rest of us~the ones who
have no physical problems—
but who know that we all
have challenges to meet
every day of our lives."
The Governor emphas­ized
that "This is a very
proud day for the whole
family of New York State ."
"When the Games for the
Physically Challenged
began last year. New York
became the first state to hold
them," he said, noting that
others were sure to follow
with similar programs.
Cuomo had a tough act to
follow and he knew it.
Highlighting the opening
ceremonies was 16 year-old
Meggin Kennedy's "soul
solo" of a song that
expressed the feelings of all
people, however challenged.
The Long Beach High
School student sang "The
Greatest Love of All" and
there were even grown men
who gave in to their feelings,
admitting that on such a hot
day the perspiration was
coming right out of their
eyes.
"There will be nothing
quite as beautiful on this day
as Meggin Kennedy's great
song," said the Governor—
and it wasn't just perspira­tion
below his brow.
Well, not quite, but there
were so very many beautiful
moments.
To begin with, it was a
panorama of color wherein
every participating youngs­ter
proudly wore a bright
pullover shirt with the logo
of the physically challenged
emblazoned in blue. They
immediately won over the
vast audience of nearly 3,000
by police estimate that
thronged the stands around
the Olympics-standard
track at Mitchel Park in
Opening Day
Uniondale.
The Long Beach High
School marching band,
directed by Ed Kennedy,
was the big musical winner
in the non-athletic part of
the program with its blue
cald marching band leading
the parade of athletes on to
the field and with Bruce
Kaplan, an instructor, pro­viding
an accompaniment to
Meggin on a synthesizer that
gave out grand piano
volume.
The Commissioner of
State Parks and Recreation,
Orin Lehman proclaimed
the theme that there were
only winners.
"This is a time for all of
you to make new friends,
and to learn more about the
sports that you are involved
with, therefore .you are all
winners," he declared.
It was a time also for
bringing Long Island per­sonalities
to the forefront.
No one was overlooking
Miss Long Island, Susan
Fortunato from Nesconset,
who will represent the area
in the New York State
beauty pageant. And the
long-time voice of the New
York Islanders, the four-time
Stanly Cup winners
from nearby Uniondale,
Jiggs McDonald came on
strong as the day's Master of
Ceremonies.
The communications
giant, NBC, sent anchor
woman, Pat Harper, out
from the core of the Big
Apple to chronicle the
action for the viewers of
Channel 4. But she could not
match the direct action of 14
youngsters from the Mill
Neck Manor School for the
DeaL They had their own
way of getting the message
to a large number of hearing
impaired boys and girls out
front. A sign language
instructor on the podium
relayed the word they, in
turn, sent sign messages to a
number of kids who could
see but could not hear.
For the sightless there was
a special bond of faith, a life­line
of safety that enabled
blind athletes to run at full
speed, tethered by a cord to
a guide runner who directed
them along the way.
Nassau County Executive
Francis T. Purcell put it
clearly into focus when he
observed that "this magnifi­cent
event did not just
happen, it was a total team
effort by a support group
from Long Island and, in
fact, from all over the state—
they rnade it all possible."
Both Purcelland Cuomo
commended the Games
staff, headed by Susan Gor­don
Ryan of Syosset and her
key associates, Jant Gilvey
of Merrick and Sonja
Kuntzler of Valley Stream.
There must have been
many 16 hour days by these
dedicated people to get this
all together," said Purcell.
Mrs. Ryan, physically
challenged since childhood
because of polio, urged that
the theme of the Games be
just two words~"l can."
"Do not let your physical
limitations keep you from
your dreams of reality," she
said. "We had a great presi­dent,
Franklin D. Roose­velt,
who always will be
remembered, not as a man in
a wheelchair but as strong
and forceful world leader in
a time of world crisis. Every
athlete at these games has
the same potential to reach
for the stars."
King Calls For Attack
On Crack
Oyster Bay Town Clerk Ann R, Ocker gets ready to throw
out the traditional first ball at the opening game of the
Tobay Pirates Senior Citizen Softball Team. Captain
Charles Neville (right) of Bethpage and Manager Sam Zuz-zolo,
also of Bethpage, look forward to a winning season.
The team is one of two senior softball teams which operate
under the auspices of the Senior Citizen Division of the
Town's Department of Community Services.
Stating that use of the
de.adly cocaine derivative
"crack" is approaching epi­demic
proportions in New
York, Peter T. King, the
Republican canadidate for
Attorney General, is calling
on judges to impose stiffer
prison terms for persons
convicted of selling narcot­ics
~ particularly crack.
Noting that 6 out of 7 first
time felony convictions for
drug sales result in sentences
of one year or less in prison.
King said that "judges must
deal more severely with
Seniors Of The Year
Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Colby (second from
left) meets with (left to right) Eileen Condon of Farming-dale,
Ethel Habenicht of Hicksville and Daniel Sarubbi of
North Massapequa. The three were all named "Senior of the
Year" in reccgnition of their outstanding community invol­vement
and volunteer service. Mrs. Condon is a member of
St. Kilian's 1 Senior Citis^ea Club, where she serves on var­ious
committees and runs fiirid raisers and special events,
such as a collection at Easter of special items for residents of
the Suffolk Developmental Center. Mrs. Habenicht is
a member of the Plainview Colonial Garden Senior Citizen
Club and has been active for many years in the Town's
Volunteer Services Program. She is also a volunteer at the
Northport Veterans Hospital, putting in more than 5,000
hours in just the past five years. Mr. Sarubbi is a member of
the North Massapequa Senior Citizen Club and is on the
Senior Citizen Auxiliary Council for both a State Assem­blyman
and State Senator. He also serves as the Technical
Commission on Legislation of the Nassau County Depart­ment
of Senior Citizen Affairs.
Young Consumers Win Awards
At a ceremony held at Hofstra University on June 5th,
Nassau Consumer Affairs Commissioner James E. Picken
presented awards and congratulations to the winners of the
countywide Consumer Youth Contest, sponsored by his
office.
Picken said, "We challenge youngsters to-do a project that
demonstrates their consumer knowledge in an original way.
The winning entries were so creative, colorful and well-researched
that you have to be proud of these young
people."
Four students from Mrs. Goldberg's class at John F.
Kennedy Junior High School in Bethpage won third place
certificates for their group advertising techniques. They are
Joanne Assily, Hollie Hendrickson, Danielle Kelly and
Amanda Shaw.
merchants of death."
Calling crack "the most,
threatening drug of our
day," King pointed out that
"there is a documented
increase in compulsive vio­lent
crimes committee by
crack users struggling to
support their addiction. The
current police focus on
crack is important but it is not
enoyah to stop this epidemic
because the pushers know
they will be out of jail
quickly. Pushers realize the
immense profits to be made
and are willing to run the
risk of a minimal jail sent­ence.
In other words the
sentences which the courts
are handing down are not an
effective deterrent against
narcotics dealers."
Noting that organized
crime is a prim.e source of
the narcotics trade. King
called upon the Democrat
controlled State Assembly
to immediately enact the
Organized Crime Control
bill sponsored by Senator
Ralph J. Marino.
King said that the Marino
bill, which is modeled after
the federal RICO statute,
would authorize the Attor­ney
General, the Organized
Crime Strike Force and dis­trict
attorneys to prosecute
organized crime members
not just for their individual
crimes but for being part of a
"criminal enterprise." The
bill also provides for the for­feiture
of the financial inter­est
which the racketeer has
in the illegal enterprise and,
alternatively, authorizes
special fines up to three
times the amount of the
profits from the illegal
venture.
King said "this bill strikes
the mob where it hurts the
(Continued on Page 8)