The-Leader_1984-02-02

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Nenspapei
Village ol
Freeporl ,
- Freeport—
School Dislrici
. •
Baldwin
School Dislrici
F^eEPORT MEMORTAL LlBRAF^.v
iscoui m
T « ^ J . _ . )
FREEPORT. NEW YORK; FEBRUARY 2,1984
48th YEAR, No. 41
TREEPORT HEUORIAL LIBRART
W MERiUeK RD • 1 __1 _
FREEfORT iJ Y l l ? 2 0 6
,.i
PRICE 2 5 * PER COPY
T"* Cleveland School Hearing OhJie^^
Lone Dissenter To Task
Hearing Continues
^Weekend Fires Morrow, Of BoMwilt Teoclier's
Keep Baldwin
And Freeport
Vamps Busy
FEEEPORT/BALDWIN - Two
&es.over the past .w^ecd kept
Baldwin and Freeport vblanteer
firefighten busy. WhDe extensive
damage tesultod, there were no
injuries in any of the fires.
The Erst blaze broke out in
Baldwin shortly after 8 pm on
Saturday, January^, when a
house fire was repprted on Corn-well
Place, across- tmm Mike's
HarbOT Inn, in the southern
section of the community.
First arriving units found a
water&ont home fuUy involved in
heavy fire^and smoke. A search of
Ihe house Indicated that no one
was at home at the.time of the
fire. Before Baldwin vamps couTd
extinguish the blaze, the entire
• home was gutted.
Freeport Fire Chief Sieve
Wenk, who was summoned to the
Baldwin scene, as a Nassau
County Fir&.Marshal, to investi­gate
the cause of the Sre, indi­cated
that apparently, it was
started by- a malftinctioning
heater and spread ' rapidly
throughout the two story wood
frame dwelling.
Damage was estimated in
excess of $30,000.
South Freepon
FireSunday .
On the following, evening,
' Sunday, January. 29, Freeport
firemen were called to a general
alarm fire shortly after 8 pm, at
the former home of the Sandpiper
' Restaurant and Bar, on South
End Place. First arriving units
found a heavy {ire condition in the
rear of the building, and im­mediately
attacked the Gre. '
Although stfuctaral damage
-.was kei^ to a minimum by the
quick'work of firefighters, the
building's structural integrity Is
under Investigation.
Ftre Chief Wenk called for an
immediate inveitigation by the
Fire Marshal's OSice and the
Arson Squad, 'and the cause is
'•••'-•••' <Cbnt/on'PaiB«16)' v
Force Suggests Aucfion
.^ . By Ed Silverman
FREEPORT • Despite se>'eca) weeks advance notice and months of
publicity, Ihe Freeport Board of Education's second hearing on the
d'lsposition of the Qeveland Avenue School was sparsely allendcd and
produced no new recommendations from the community.
Barely two dozen people showed up for the public hearing Wednes­day
night January 25, after the
first hearing, held one week . afler a specially appoinicd task
earlier drew only two people force spent more than three
because of Inclement weather. months studying' the school
The two hearings, scheduled (Conl. on Page 4)
Ass'n., Testifies At Length
- by Joan Detaney
BALDWIN - The attorney for (he Baldwin Sd«»l'District, Jeromt
Ehrlicfa, concluded his cross-examination bf (enured Industrial Arts
' teacher Robert Sav«ryen during the Jiearing session held on Monday,
' January 23. Sawyers has been accused of tknipering with IA fit meter'
installed at Baldwin Harbor Junior High SchCDl to test for possible as­bestos
contamination.
During the cross-examination
-and in &e re-direct examination
by Sawyers' own attorney Robert'
Oearfield, continned references
were made to such written docu­ment
as the result of Sawyers'
Workman's Comtiensadon case,
various Right to Know requests
-filed by Sawyers, and certain
other complaints directed to the
School District, to Ihe Nassau
County Department.of Health,
the Attdmey Geniiral's office and
the Stale Department of Labor
- A l s o lAlifying was James
Morrow, the chairman of the
Baldwin Teacher's Association
(jrievance Cominittee, who out­lined
a hhtory of complaints and
Right to Know requests regarding
hazardous conditions filed both'
by Sawyers -and the teacher's
union and which, according to
Mcnrow, were never answered.
McTTOw also describedajdevelop-ing
concern by dbtr Industrial
Arts teachers who feared for their '
job security in an atmosphere
described by Mnrow.as one of
"Intimidation" by the ' school
district. Morroir also described
a series of events and attitudes -
toward Sawyers, which the wit-
- ticis said led him to believe that
there were othtrs who hU more
motive than Sawyers to contam­inate
the air filter. Also present
in the audience wasTrank Faz^
of the State Department of Labor, '
Drris'ion of Health and Safety,
who indicated that he'is attending
the bearings as "an Interested
observer."
The initial questioning of Saw--
yen indnded refeieuces to~ a
Workman's Contensation case
and appeal wUa Sawyers bad
won aind which b being ream-sidered
by the Workman's
C^ompensation Board.'
• EfaiCch's qnesdontag during
this bearing was'agxia farr^gi
ing, as in previous days, and
allowed both'Sawyers t
row to expand their' ahsrrers
and Indude background infbnoa-'
Uon regarding Oit behavior of
olhtr industrial arts teachers and -
district offioals. Morrow, outlined
several meetings of members of
the district's industrial arts de­partments,
to" which Sawyers
and two of bis friends, one a cx>-
co'mplainant, were not invited.
Morrow alleged that M one of
these meetings', Tim Chambers,
the teacher who testified at an
eari'ier session in behalf-of the
Baldwin School District, hidicated
concern for his job security say­ing,
"Mr. Sawyers is gotn^ to
cost us our jobs...He has got to
be stopped...someone has got lo
stophlro."
Morrow also stated that when
an attempt was made to explain
the problem of toxic substances
and hazardoiu working con­ditions,
another teadier said,
"I don't care about cancer. I
only 'care about saving-jobs;"
Morrow then,noted the seniority
level of certain teadiers. He
alleged that the teadiers .bad
been told by a district adniinis-
Uator' that, 'if Sawyers did not
stop complaining, the entire de­partment
would be shot down
and the stodenU sent to BOCES.
He said that the teadiers were
told at a subsequent meeting that
the "cost c( ihe grievance coold
result in the loss of Jobs and
personnel."
In his testimony,'Morrow also
described-bow—Sawyers'— two
. friends, Mark (Hatidaa and for­mer
department diairmah im
Mcbtire, were inTolotitarily as­signed
to o(hCr bnildingf so tllat
only Sawyers remaned at the
school. Ue then referred to a
. . .•.-. •.-. . .-.J . . . . . . . . .
,•.'.•..'-.• (Cont.'oa Pag* 16]
fi,jCOMMUH\rf LANDMAF^K will be restored as part ol the Freeport
Memorial library's present building project. Bull! In 1924, Ihe original
Memorial Library Building will be renovated lo serve as a Memorial
Room (as In above rendering), local history repository, adult reading
room and a meeting place (or community groups.
COMMITTEE MEETING. The Friends ol Tha Freeport Memorial _
-Library Restoration (^immlltM {MufTFox (i.), Qlnnie Brntaln and
"Friends" President George Manltzas (r.)] put their ideas together lor -
Iha "FrlerKla" year-toog restoration project lor ihe original Memorial
Library building. The "Friends" fund raising goal lor the restoration is
S2S,000 and th« first event In this proiaet'i* the Freeport Exchange
Club Cocktail Party to be held on Sunday, Fabruary 12,5-9 pm. Tickets
M t20are on aala through the "Friends" oTlt the Library. Proceeds -
from this annual affair will b« donated lo tht Library Retloralion Fund.
For tnforma<l6n,'cairth« Utirary at 379-3274.
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