The-Leader_2009-02-26

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FREEPORT MEMORIAL LIBRARY
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The Stearns Park Civic Association will sponsor a political forum on Wednesday, March 11, at 7 p.m. at the Freeport Recreation Center. The forum will give all candidates an opportunity to speak. It will be run by the League of Women Voters.
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Thursday, February 2(5, 2009
FREEPORT'S DAVID AGU
(right) won a county wrestling title at 285 pounds on Saturday.
photo by Jeff Wilson
Miller off the ballot;
says he will appeal
Andrew Hardwick, Freeport's Mayoral nominee of the Change Freeport Party, has successfully challenged the nominat­ing petitions of Freeport Mayoral candi­date Anthony J. Miller.
Mr. Miller told The Leader he had received a letter from the Nassau County Board of Elections notifying him that four signatures had been removed from his petition, thus leaving him ineligible to place his name on the ballot. Mr. Miller has 99 valid signatures; 100 sig­natures are needed.
But Mr. Miller said he will fight the decision. "I plan to go to court tomorrow and fight this. Two of the signatures in question belong to my grandparents, both registered voters. One of my grandparents works at the polls. I'm still hopeful that I will be on the ballot."
Mr. Hardwick filed his notice of General Objections with the Village of Freeport on February 11. Mr. Miller is scheduled to appear at the Nassau County Supreme Court on Wednesday, February 25. Mr. Hardwick will also be in court.
Anthony J. Miller .and Andrew
Hardwick are challenging incumbent Mayor William F. Glacken, who is run­ning for his fourth term of office in the upcoming Village of Freeport General Election.
"I am very disappointed in the actions of Mr. Hardwick," said Mr. Miller. "Mr. Hardwick is clearly threatened by my candidacy. I find this to be a direct attack on my candidacy as Mr. Hardwick has not challenged the validity of the peti­tions of any other candidate in this race."
"We looked at all the petitions," said Mr. Hardwick. "We have the right to challenge the signatures. We had some duplicates and someone carrying peti­tions for him witnessed someone signing [the petition] two days before actually being signed."
"I'm a believer in the democratic process and I truly believe the voice of the voters should be the only deciding factor in this race," said Mr. Miller in a press release. "Mr. Hardwick is denying them that right."
The General Election in Freeport is scheduled for Wednesday, March 18.
- Laura Schofer
BCADA funding
held up by county
NORTHWEST CIVIC ASSOCIATION CANDIDATES NIGHT
Thursday, February 26, at 7 p.m. at the Freeport Memorial Library
Meet and Mm toik mdidumpr nidpr, mm aM vik^e justice,
by Laura Schofer
Eight weeks without pay.
Claudia Rotundo, Executive Director of the Baldwin Council Against Drug Abuse (BCADA) along with her staff of three full-time employees and three part-time employees, have not received a paycheck since December 31.
"We haven't received our January advance from Nassau County," Mrs. Rotundo explained. "Today is February 23 and my staff has worked without pay for almost eight weeks."
BCADA is a non-profit agency in Baldwin that provides drug and alcohol abuse treatment and preventive services to the residents of Baldwin and sur­rounding communities. BCADA also has a long-term relationship with the Baldwin School District.
The majority of BCADA's funding comes from the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASA) and is dispersed through the Nassau County Department of Mental Health, Chemical Dependency and Developmental
Local parks could close
Disabilities Services in 12 payments, the first of which was due in January.
Although the agency receives a small grant from The United Way of Long Island as well as donations from the community and its own fundraising efforts, BCADA cannot keep its doors open without the funds coming from the state via the county.
According to Mrs. Rotundo, the con­tracts with the county's Office of Mental Health, Chemical Dependency and Developmental Disabilities Services Were sent to the agency late. "The contracts went to the [county] comptroller's office by January 5 and 6. They have been sitting there all this time," said Mrs. Rotundo. "When I inquired about it. Commissioner [Arlene] Sanchez told me the comptrol­ler's office is short-staffed."
• Kara Guy, spokesperson for Nassau County, said "we are waiting for cer­tification from the [county] Legislature. Once certification is received it will go back to the comp­troller's office who will then
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Golden Gloves
come to Freeport
page 5
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