Bethpage-Tribune_1972-04-06

              Island Trees Serving Bethpage - Plainview - Island Trees - Plainedge - Seaford Old Bethpage
VOL. 6 No. 22 Thursday, April 6, 1972 10c par copy
Grateful Workers Honor
Bethpage's Louis Agiesta
SURVIVAL KIT for use by students surveying tran­sportation
patterns in Bethpage is prepared by Debbie
Poulos, president of Students Against Violence to the
Environment, the high school ecology club. Student
Surveyors, who will receive their kits by the end of this-week,
were cheered by the report that County
Executive Ralph Caso had expressed interest, in the
project. (Photo by Gerard F.Donlon, Jr. and Michael
Marrara).
Seminar Probes Problem
Of Packaging Wastes
The Environmental Technology Seminar, "scientists
and engineers for a cleaner environment, will host a
panel discussion on the problem of packaging and solid
WThe d S s i o n features panelist from government,
industry and ecology groups and will be, held Thursday,
April 18 at 5:30 p.m. at the Bethpage High School,
According to a Seminar statement:
The rising affluence of the American consumer has
stimulated a rapid growth of ''convenience
oackaeing including non-returnable bottles and cans.,
™S material is used once and is promptly discarded
contributing nearly a third of the municipa solid waste
hSSSSTm attempt to alleviate this situation he
Nassau County Board of Supervisors will w j j t e :"
bill to ban non-returnable beverage conteiners
following a hearing now scheduled for 17 ApriL ine
purpose of this panel discussion is to lay the ground­work
for the public hearing by exploring in depth the
underlying issues, identifying possible solutions, ana
examining their environmental and economic con­sequences.
;
Tobay Youth Councils Poll Senior Citizens
Town Supervisor John W.
Burke announced this week that
volunteers from the Town's 11
youth councils and represen­tatives
from its senior citizens
organizations are conducting a
survey of senior citizens and their
The'gbals of the survey include
the location and identification of~
the senior citizen population,
assessment of its needs in
relation to existing medical,
financial, recreational and other
available services within the
Town of Oyster Bay and the
recruitment of talented and
energetic senior citizens for
community activities.
Supervisor Burke said A
significant goal of the project is
to increase mutual un­derstanding
by bringing together
both young and old alike in a joint
endeavor."
This program, originally
designed in the summer of 1971
by the Town of Oyster Bay senior
citizens* division staff, was tried
on a pilot basis in the hamlet of
Oyster Bay and, as a result of this
survey, many senior citizens are
now receiving health care,
shopping service for those unable
to leave their residence, and
other vital services.
"We now wish to advance this
project to each community in our
Town", Burke added.
What started out as a tem­porary
job almost forty years ago
has terminated with a citation
from Nassau County Executive
Ralph G. Caso, laudatory
remarks and a bear hug from
County Comptroller Angelo
Roncallo, and a tremendous
outpouring of love from more
than ISO friends and business
associates who attended a
retirement reception for Louis
Agiesta held at Eisenhower Park.
The Italian-born Bethpage
resident retired March 31 as
Director of Office Services for the
Nassau County Department of
Social Services, a pest he has
held since January, 1942.
He has served seven Com­missioners.
His current boss,
Commissioner James M. Shuart
quoted Adlat Stevenson , ' -
describing Lou as a "civfliZL.
man," whose contribution to the
Department knows no bounds.
"Ask Louie," is a Department
of Social Services byword,
reflecting the wide range of
duties performed by the versatile
trouble-shooter, whose sup­portive
roles range from pur­chasing
agent, red-tape ex­pediter,
supply overseer, to
driver, printer, office architect,
furniture mover, and even, on at
least one occasion, house painter.
Years of Involvement
That kind of involvement does
not surprise Agiesta's co­workers,
who love and respect
the soft-spoken fellow whose
heart is as big as the modern
Department he "fathered."
Typical of his contribution,
beyond the expected, is the week­end
in the 1930*s when he and
then-Commissioner Edwin W.
Wallace painted a vacant house,
which had been deeded to the old
Welfare Department, so it could
be ready for occupation Monday
morning by a family in need of
shelter.
Agiesta and Commissioner
Wallace were such close: com­panions
on-so many projects that
Mrs. Wallace often said it was not
unusual to have the Com­missioner,
when he was home,
call out, "Hey, Louie, get me a
cup of coffee."
Agiesta's own wife, Vera,
always had to maintain a Very
flexible home schedule, because
it was nothing for him to start out
with the Commissioner of an
afternoon, on routine calls, and
end up attending a meeting in
Albany or some upstate location
checking on conditions-at other
Departments of Welfare.
Agiesta remembers well the
time he drove the Commissioner
to an upstate convention, only, to
be introduced as Deputy and
asked to report on some program
in Nassau. He modestly says he
jumped up and turned the
speaking over to "the real
Deputy, Harry Campbell, who
_JDLUCK; NassaujQounty CpniptrOj
Roncallo presents a cittailoi* «n*w ;$$***»•.,..
Ralph G. Gaso to JLoiiis Agiesta, Director Of "»«««
Services forHhe Nassau County Department of Social
Services, at retirement reception to honor his 39 y e a rs
of government service. Agiesta is a long-time resident
of Bethpage.
Aerospace in Bethpage, and have
homes in that community, very
near their parents. There are six
grandchildren, whom Agiesta
looks forward to seeing even
more of in his retirement days.
The day ahead mean time to
travel a bit, revisit old friends,
work in the garden, enjoy the
lively grandchildren, and cherish
the memories of-"the old days."
"Agiesta's government career
began during the depression, as
"an -investigator for TERA, the
Temporary Emergency Relief
Administration in the Town of
Oyster Bay. When Nassau County
was established by Charter in
1938, the Department of Public
(Continued on Page 4)
knew what it wassail about."
The Agiesta Long Island roots
are deep. The oldest of seven
children, he came from Italy with
his parents when he was two, and
moved to Bethpage. from
Brooklyn at 15. In the early days
of home development on the
Island, he drove a truck for a
construction firm, but was forced
to give up what was then a high-paying
job when he suffered an
injury. After a short while as an
auto mechanic, Agiesta found the
temporary work with TERA and
began his 40-year government
career.
Agiesta and his wife have three
sons, Frank, Tom and Lou, Jr.,
all of whom work at Grumman
*^MMUNITY*AWARDTVrom the LevlttowD-I.land Tree.^Veteran.
J H w a r . g o e s t o M m . Florence Cullem <c>. P " S * e r ^
H^lTTrfl>W«Tnd senior member of the Island Tree. School
S S f c V u X v * ! ! - - S W •» WUlowbrook School for the
Mentally Retarded.