The-Leader_1985-08-22

              5o;
Oltlcial
Newspaper
. Village of
Freeport •
• •
Freeport
ScKool District
•
Baldwin
School District
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o FREEPORT. NEW YORK, • AUGUST22,1985
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51st YEAR, No. 18
•FREEFOHT UEaORlAI. LIBRARY
t MERRICK RD
FREEFORT H r X1520 6
PRICE 2 5 * PER COPY
Freeport Re-Examing Divesture
Lower Assessment
Aff ects BaidwinTax
Mayor Sform Says Village
Is Checking Legal Polnfs
FREEPORT - Without waiting for another round of questions and
opinions from disturbed residents on the joint issues of apartheid and
divesture, Freeport Village Mayor Dorothy Storm made a statement
Monday evening, August 19, which showed the village swaying closer
towards a position of economic sanctions against the South African
government.
Youth Drowned
In Closed Rec
Center Pool
FREEPORT - An 18-yearK>W
Freeport youth' drowned eariy
Saturday morning in the outdoor
diving pool, at the Freeport
Recreation Center. Jonathan
Myhand,' 18, and several un­named
youths ^had apparently .
g^ed access to the then-dosed
pool complex by going over the
fence. '"• .
According to the various police
reports, Myhand,--of 56 North
Long Beach Avenue, dove into .
the deep end of the pool a few
minutes after midnight and began
struggling in the water before
going under.
While police reports speak of
' two other youths in the pool area .
with Myh^d at the time, several
other sources told THE LEADER
that it was believed that more
than a half-dozen youths and per-
' haps adults were involved in the
midnight swim.
Apparently the first call for
help went to a passing Nassau
County police squiMl car going
through the village, but Freeport
° police officers Edwin Martin and
Wayne Giglio were at the scene
aImost,immediately afterwards.
Myhand was already lying at
the bottom of the pool, at the 13-
foot mark, when the pcjice gained
access to the complex.
Officers Martin and Giglio hit
the water with Giglio first able to
get to the bottom of the pool and
pull' Myhand up. Martin and
Nassau County Detective A.
Fisher of the First Squad assisted
in pulling the youth out.
~ Myhand was transported to
tydia E. Hall Hospital by Nassau
County police ambulance and pro-
' nounced dead there by Dr. Gruen
of the hospital staff.
Pc^ce are continuing an in­vestigation
of the incident.
Earlier Trespassbig
Village police records also show
that two days prior to Myhand's
drowning there was another
trespassing incident at the pool
complex.
(Cent, on Page 19)
School JaxRafe Will Be
12^ Above Pro/ecflon
. " ' ' byJoanbelaney
. BALDWIN - Decreases throughout Nassau County on the assessed .
valuation of telephone' company p'roperty were'felt in Baldwin with" its'
impact seen in an increased tax rate for the Baldwin School District.
According to Assistant Superintendent of Schools for Business Lee
Chapman, the phone company received a significant decrease in its as-
. sessed valuation. In addition,
removed at Plaza, Steele, Bald­win
Harbor Junior High and
Baldwin Senior High Schools,
and the District Offices. Jones'
indicated that the work would be
undertaken in accord ' with
E.P.A. standards which indude
pre- and post-testing of the
environment. He indicated that
the woA would be completed
by September 1. and that the
removal would pose no problems.. .
. Jones also annoanced the
School District's goals for 1985-
86. These'indude:
Complete the Strate^c Long
Rxinge Educational Plan.
Review and amend the
teacher performance evaluation
process. '
Continue to analyze the
Regents Action Plan and imple­ment
components in a. timely
planner.
Analyze and respond to the
Middle. States report and recom­mendations.
Implement the Scott Foies-man
Reading Program' in Grades
Continue to develop the stu­dent
data bank.
Develop a district p<^cy for
the use -of buildings wbidi re­flects
community needs and
the impact on the District.
Review the content, scope
and effectiveness of the health
program - Grades 4-12.
Complete- negotiations with
various employee groups.
Continue to expand public
relations.
Continue efforts to increase
the state's share of school costs.
Continue to improve the con­dition
of buildings.
Strengthen the substitute
.teacher program.
the total decrease in assessed
valuation in Baldwin amounted to
518,000, a change &om past years
when the assessed valuation has
usually increased, even if only
minimally. In estimating the tax
rate,- the school district had pro­jected
a $270,000 increase in
assessed valuation.
As a result of these changes',
the tax rate, which is based on
a relationship between the total
tax levy and the assessed valua­tion
of the school district, will be
12t per SlOb of assessed valua­tion
hi^er than anticipated.
Although the actual taz'Ievy of
$23368,853 (sdiool ^strict and
library) remains essentially the'
same, the decrease in the as­sessed
valuationjaiuses the hike.
For a home assessed at $6,000,
this means a yearly increase of
S7.20 above what was 'expected in
May. At that time it was expected
that the sdKwI tax rate would
be $30,079 per SlOO <rf assessed
valuation. A $2,577 increase.
In the last several years,
. the SUte has lej^lated that
taxes must be levied ahd tax
rates established according to a
complicated four part dassifica-tion
system. This sets categories
of (1) homeowners, (2) apart­ments
and condocumums, (3)
utilities and (4) commercial.
This decrease in the utility
category, therefore, has caused
'the other categories jo^experience
kn increase.
Other Agenda Ilena
In other biuiness at the Bald­win
School Board meeting.
Superintendent of Schools Dr.
RoUand Jones announced that
removal of non-&iable asbestos
would. begin on August IS as
part of a "continuing preventa­tive
maintenance program."
Asbestos pipe wrapping would be
Mayor Storm, stating later that
"I am a woman and 1 can change
my mind" and reflecting that the
village's previous position cer­tainly
was not "carved in stone"
as she had previously claimed,
said she joins ."the rising tide'of
revulsion that has reacted to­wards
President' Botha's latest
repugnant statements."
In her remarks, which she said '
.she had. written at 7 pm, just an
.hourbefore. Storm noted that the
village's previous position also
called for an "immediate end to
apartheid as practiced by the
South Afiican government."
Storm's remarks were made at
the beginning of the Village
Board of Trustee's usual twice-a-
' month open -meeting. The
. village's eariier stand, which had
been met by ojpposition fix>m
. many local residents, subscribed
to the : Sullivan Pitnctples of
gradual . divestment by firins
doing business with and in South
Africa. ' "
"We_?re not insensitive to the
outcry "of our residents," Storm
now said, but cautioned that
"there are legal mandates by
which this Board is restruned."
Tbe«iayor explained that the
village was looting into- the
present bidding laws which state-that
contracts must be awarded to
the lowest resi>onsible bidder.
The pivotal words, she -noted,
were "responsible," quoting that
legal definiUon as "oiie who
possesses snffident capital
resources, skill, judgment, in­tegrity
and moral worth."
Moral worth. Storm continued
in her explanation, "has been
defined as meaning some form of
criminal activity by the bidder or
collusiye, fraudulent or illegal
behavior."
Storm said that a total embargo
placed upon South .Africa by
I>resident Reagan or sanctions
imposed by Congress "could lift
the village's restraints...We. have
contacted Congressional repre­sentatives
and urge you to do
so," she said.
The mayor noted that the'
House of Representatives has
already approved economic sanc­tions
against South Africa (Reso­lution
No. 1460) but that the
Senate must still vole on the issue
{the'ir Resolution No. 995). The,
Village Board, said Storm, is
awaiting espies of these resolu­tions
for review and is awaiting
. legal opinions.
Smith Calls
For Divestment
Trustee Ralph Smith, the
village'; first blad trustee, who
had come in for criticism at past
meetings, also had a prepared
statement.
"I find apartheid disgusting
and repugnant," affirmed Smith.
"The original response the
. [Village] Baud has made may not
have been adequate to some,"
Smith admitted, "but do not think
the Board did not agonize over'
XConl.onPage'l'ei'
(Cont. on Page 8)
FUN ON THE FIRE TRUCK. The volunteers of Freeport Fire Depart­ment's
Wide Awake Engine Company No. 1 brought one oi their
fire engines lo-Glaclten Park recently for the enjoyment.and education
ol the youngsters enrolled In the Freeport's Recreation Department's -
Kiddie Park Program. The program for youngsters Is held at Ixith
Glacken and Randall Parks four mornings a week during the summer. .