The-Leader_1977-12-29

              V
FRiEPORT
BALDWIN
ROOSEVELT
1 mERRICK
—^
Ti
Ti
EAST. mco», N V ^ U554 FREEPORT'S
NEWSPAPER
42iul YEAR Ni). 35 FUFEF'ORT. NEW YORK. DECEMBER 29. 1977 PRICE 15* PER COPY
-l.
Budget Increase At 50*
Local Youth ViHage Tox Seen As$ 10.71
Per $100 Assessed Value
•ci-.v;:::?---:--rtrc> ^^^y^:^-'-^~ --';•
FREEPORT:- A 15-ycar old
Frccpt)rt. High School tenth
. grader is' stilt on the critical list at
lydia E; Hall Hospital .with in­juries
he received when struck by
a car last Friday evening.
.William Messina, of VVestslde
Avenue, is reported to have-a
fractured skull. His . parents.'
Louise and WtUiain Messina.
ha>"e been keeping a vigil at the
youth's bedside.
The accident occured at Sunrise
Highway and South Grove Street,
at 8:17 pro,. December 23. Ac­cording
tp_ police reports, young
.Messina was bicyding across
•-Sonrise Highway ^ northbound,
' when struti by a car driven by a
19-year old fhxi;;^<Cca^ mam,
Janies'JackT Jack's Vehicle was
tteaded west on Sunrise Highway.
.-•. Freeport Police OfGcer Brian
-Whitty. arrived first dn the scene
arid icallcdflie Freeport FireDc-
'•; partm^,^ -Whose ' ambnlance
trahsported Messara to the hospi-
Jack wafnot charged."
FREBN)RT - A proposed S13,23l.S49.18 village budget, for the
ftspal year beginning March 1, 1978, will be the subject of a public
heitring Wednesday, January 4, 8 pm. at Village Hall. This year's tax
package would mean anincrease of 5(H per SlOO assessed valuation for
the Freeport home or property owner. The total village tax would be
S10.7iper$100.
THE TOWEH ABUVZE. Freeport'S volunteer firemen battle to protect
Uie rest of the o[d Brooklyn Waterwrorta building on North Brootaide
Avenue, adjacent to the Long Island railnsad traAs. The fire, which is
under invesliaailon Ijy the NassaylCounty Fire Marshal's ofTice, was
reported in theTile morning last Friday, before Chrislmas. Freepcrt's
modern firE-flghting equipment, such as the snorkte, and the depart-meni's
fire^fighfing knowledge are credited with saving the rest of the
tJuiWing. The tiistoric, Rc-nanesque structure - whicJi has been under
consideration for landmark status - suffered S200.000-S300.000
danr.age. primarily in its western end and tower. Although it was errpty
at She time of the fire, it had been used in the recent jiast by a natior.-
al!y knc^rn rock group for ret>earsais and by the Freepo^ Arts Cou-xil,
who had p ianned on converting ifte building's eastern porticn J-'.D a
theater.
(LEADER Phonos)
ChrlSftnos Eve'
Muggers Caught
• FREEPORT - Quick action by
two Freeport polkxanen made'
Christmas Exc a little'more bear­able
for an eldcriy muggjng
victim.
At ZiOS am on ihe rooming of
December 14.7+-year old Pat^ine
lindu-orth — a resident of Kings­ton.
New Yorii — was cSmbing
the stairs of the Long Isiand Rail­road
station at Hennr &rect and
Freepoa Plaza, intent on catching
a westbound train.
Halfway np to stairs. h<r»c>-er.
she »-as accessed In- r»-o white
male j-ouths who grabbed her
poctetbook. ran to the grccnd
level and fied socih.
Wasting no time, licda-ccth
saaried d-ran to a phctis toc-:h at
the stiiisn and rcpcrted the thrft.
Her descTTptkn cf the itttrktrs
(Co-t. CD Page 6)
The Freeport Board of Trustees
had held open budget workshop
sessionv from October to mid-l>
ecember. The five-person board
.met with departinent heads and
the village treasurer, going over
the various departmental re­quests
and the, projected re­venues.
Approximately. 1525.000
was cut from the original figures
submitted -by. the department.'
heads.' If the requests hadlbeen .
^lIonredtQ ttmnd. a village sp<^es-
< man explained, the tax iacreasc
cbtild have beenas high as Si .25:.•
Several • weeks . ago- TTHE
LEADER. Issue ^ . Dec... 15),
Mayor William White explained
that it had been impossible to
bring in a budget wtth ^ "aero"
- increase. -He pointed, to the
'vai;^oot.tiKieases legislated upon
'tliefiinage;.byji«iena and sUte
gcfvemmems. ^t)^ as hikes in un-employment
beoeSts and. the
village's cmtribotioD as an
cmpk^-er; pension and retirement
benefhs; and other sodil secority
measures. SpedSc budget figures
released last week show that the
allocatian for employee's bene­fits,
which includes.the recently
federally mandated payment by
the village' for uncmploymeni.
insurance, has jumped from
15.54% to 16.68% of the budget
pie. The village's mandated
payment for unemployment
insurance, as shown in the
budget..Is $75,000.. Retirement'
benefits have jgone from Si.2 "
millioh. sodai security from
$250,000 to $275,000 and work­men's
compensation* goes from
.S25p,000toS306,006. increases in
salaries.'have'also,.OLUsed the
.higher benefit payments. '
-'Anotherbudget increase, spe-
' cifically noted by village 'sources,
is b) Vu^iltty and other insurances
which has gone to'$434,000 in this
proposed budget from last year's
•$396,000.
- The proposed budget also re­flects
salai^ increases negotiated
by the.Ovil Service Employees
Association- and' the Freeport
Policemen's Benevolent Associa­tion.
The contingeiicy hind, set at
(CommonPage !(•) •
Music Rooms At Podd:,
Potential Fire Hazarcl?^
FREEPORT - On December 22. approrimalely one week after a
tragic donaitory fire straA a Rhode Island coUege. the question of ftre
safety was focused en a Freeport school. That nij^ht. at thic monthly
meeting of the Board of Education, a local PTA member described the
two raoDC rooms in Dodd Junior High School —-neither of »-hVch have
-»-indo»-s or fire escapes - as possible, dangeroos hazards.
The issue mas raised durtne the meeting's open session -^ during
» hich the pablic can tddieu the Beard — when Marilyn Roller, a Vice-
Pre«dert of the Nassau District PTA Coancil. was given the floor to
deJh-er a prepared statement.
-"I am here." EoCer read.j.
"Ja rdaXe jou psE.'icJy ^w^^e ct a
potertiillv disastrous srtcnicn at
Drtid Ju.-ior High School. Per­haps
tonight. »h3e the recent
of the Rhode Isiar.d dormi-
2CTT fre is V.VA fresh tr. our nur.ds.
\\xi wp ixcTv-idc cs »-.A a rrr:-
t-d-». I rrfer tn the iSui:icn b the
music rooms at Dodd Jun'K>r High
School. Because the law. as it
exists today, takes jurisdiabn
fmrn the County Fire Marshal and
local ftre and b-jilding authorities
md ghcs it u the alt-raighiy
Department cf Education, and be-
C3L-se the rreepoft Board of Ed-
;C<TT::.onPagc8)
-S>