Bethpage-Tribune_1987-12-03

              BETHB«GE
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VOL. 32 NO. 31 December 3,1987 to December 9,198t 20 cents per copy
He/p Is Available For Heating Expenses Leaders Club Learns
Nassau County Executive
Thomas S. Gulotta today
reminded low income
households struggling to
keep up with the costs of
heating their homes this
winter that help is available
through the Home Assist­ance
Energy Program
(HEAP).
The Nassau County
Department oi Social Servi­ces
administers the HEAP
program, which is a federal
grant to help defray energy
costs. "Nassau has been
allocated approximately $3
million to help low income
households who meet eligi­bility
requirements," Gulotta
said.
"However, it is important
that eligible residents move
quickly to prevent heating
problems from developing
into crisis situations. Be
aware of the fuel supply, he
said. "Do not wait until oil
tank is empty to ask for help.
The earlier our workers
learn of a potential problem.
Bilingual Small Claims
Court Hotlines
The New York Public Interest Research Group, Inc.
(NYPIRG) today announced the opening of bilingual small
Claims Court Action Centers to assist Spanish - and
F.nglish-speaking. Now Yorkers in the use of small claims
courts.
Through the use of telephone hotlines, NYPIRG Centers
in Harlem, Brooklyn, Flushing and Staten Island will serve
residents in all boroughs. In addition, hotlines in Nassau and
Suffolk Counties are available to assist Long Island
residents.
The hotlines provide free assistance in case filing, case
presentation and collection of judgments. "Our goal is to
demystify the process of making a claim and collecting the
award when the loser doesn't pay," said NYPIRG Small
Claims Court Director Russ Haven.
The Centers at NYPIRG's Harlem, Flushing and Nassau
County offices will provide assistance in Spanish as well as
in English, a first, according to Jorge Murillo, Project
Leader at the Nassau County office. "This is an especially
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Annual Family Fnod Drm
the simpler it is to arrange a
resolution." "And, as
always," he said, "remember
to practice energy conserva­tion
measures."
Families receiving public
assistance who supply their
own heat will receive an
automatic HEAP grant
from the Department of
Social Services. Low income
households, not on public
assistance, may make appli­cations
for the HEAP grant
at local Unemployment
Insurance Benefits offices,
located in Freeport, Hemp­stead
and Hicksville.
Senior Citizens, over 60
years of age who meet eligi­bility
requirements may
mail in applications for
HEAP to the Nassau
County Department of
Senior Citizen Affairs.
F'or information about
the HEAP program, Nassau
residents should call 535-
4826 weekdays from 9 A.M.
to 4:45 P.M! and 542-3143
nights, weekends and holi­days.
Trained Social Service
workers operate around-the-
clock telephone service
to evaluate heating needs
and invovle appropriate
resources to resolve prob­lems,
according to Social
Services Commissioner
Joseph A. D'Ellia.
Assemblyman Fred Parola(R-C, Wantagh) joins members
of Boy Scout Troop 777 during final preparations for their
annual Family Food Drive, which is held in conjunction
with the St. Vincent do Paul Society. The project will pro­vide
holiday food for more than 30 local families and needy
individuals. Parola noted that Wantagh and Seaford area
merchants collected donations at their businesses and many
also contributed food. Paroia is pictured with Scoutmaster
Dan Marconi (left), St. Vincent de Paul Society President
Bob Sullivan (2nd lett). Assistant Scoutmaster Jarnes Bea­dle
(far right) and scouts Frank Padavan, Jr., Frank Farru-gia.
Marc Healy. Jimmy Beadle and James, John and Jason
Vassallo.
Self-Defense
The Bethpage High
School Leaders Club
recently took a four week
course at Fred Villari's Stu­dio
of Self-Defense. The
temale student athletes, who
wanted to further develop
the strength, flexibility and
confidence which are an
outgrowth of the study of
karate, arranged to study
self-defense through their
teacher, Mrs. Weikman.
Instructor Carl Hoffses
began each session with
silent meditation to help
students develop an aware­ness
of inner peace and an
ability to deal with emo­tional
tensions. A series of
warm-ups followed--
jumpingjacks, sit-ups, push­ups,
and wall stretches.
The girls learned a
number of punches, kicks,
and blocks, which they prac­ticed
both in individual
drills and practical situa­tions,
working in groups of
two. The guiding principle
of Shaolin Kempo Karate,
"restraint when provoked,
and defense when attacked",
was always stressed.
Members of the leaders
Club enjoyed their self-defense
sessions and several
Students practice punching drills.
Practicing blocks in groups of two.
expressed in interest in pur- strength, flexibility, weight
suing the study of karate, a
lifetime sport promoting
control, self-confidence, and
self-discipline.
Liico Employees Win Nassau P.D. Awards
MINEOLA, N.Y. A LILCO gas serviceman who
came to the aid of a teenage bicyclist hit by a car was one of
aix LILCO employees to receive awards this week for out­standing
service to Nassau County's Civilian Radio Motor
Patrol program.
The serviceman, Thomas Hedum, was cited by Nassau
County Police for his quick actions in connection with the
July 28 accident in Mineola. Other LILCO award recipients
included Hedum's dispatcher, Theresa Galleto, linemen
Charles Giordano and Robert Ennist, and dispatchers Wal­ter
Sharpe and James Wolfe. Each of the 18 award winners
received a plaque, with field workers receiving a $100 award,
and their dispatchers $50.
In its tenth year, the CRMP is a neighborhood watch
effort coordinated by Nassau and Suffolk County Police.
.Drivers of participating vehicles report crimes or accidents
via their two-way radios, and their dispatchers, in turn, call
911 to notify the police.
Hedum was working at a Mineola home on the afternoon
of July 28 when he heard the squeal of brakes, and a dull
thud. He ran out front and saw a 16-year old boy lying
motionless in the street, his bicycle in a tangled heap beside
him. He had been hit by a passing car.
"The kid was unconcious and bleeding pretty badly from
the forehead," said Hedum, who quickly radioed Galleto for
help. He kept the teenager quiet until police and ambulance
arrived.
In another incident, LILCO lineman Giordano radioed
dispatcher Sharpe to report a burglary in a Massapequa
Park tile store early on the morning of July 18. Although the
store was broken into, no merchandise or cash was taken,
and police did noi aprehend the culprit.
The third incident involving LILCO employees occurred
on the evening of January 9, when lineman Ennist came
upon two homeless men lying in the intersection of Front
Street and Hempstead Turnpike in East Meadow. Ennist
radioed dispatcher Wolfe to summon an ambulance.
"I didn't know if they were hurt or drunk, but I knew it
was a dark area and a car could run them over," Ennist said.
The LILCO lineman pulled his bucket truck over to where
the two homeless men lay, turned on his flashing lights and
set out flares. A short time later, the two men, suffering from
hypothermia, were rushed to Nassau County Medical
Center.
Ennist thinks LILCO workers make a positive contribu­tion
to the CRMP program. "When people see an accident,
it sometimes takes them a while to get to a phone. But we-have
our radios right in the truck, and that speeds things up
considerably."
Presenting the awards at Mineola Police Headquarters
were County Executive Thomas S. Gulotta and Police
Commissioner Samuel J. Rozzi. A representative of Cit­ibank,
the program sponsor, was on hand to present the cash
awards.
LILCO has participated in the CRMP program since
January, 1986. With more than 1,600 radio-equipped vehi­cles
in its fleet, LI LCO trucks, cars and vans comprise about
a fourth of all CRMP vehicles on the road in Nassau and
Suffolk Counties.
According to Police Officer Rich Hartell, the CRMP
coordinator in Nassau County, the police received more
than 200 calls from CRMP participants this year ~ more
than double the amount received last year.
"This year's awards show that CRMP volunteers don't
have to go out and set the world on fire to make the program
work," said Hartell. "They don't have to do anything out­standing
or heroic, just be our eyes and eais out there."
Participants, which include taxi and truck fleets, buses,
tow trucks, and LILCO's electric and gas service vehicles,
display the red, white and blue CRMP shield on their doors.