Hammer Resigns From ' Operation Raincheck' Protects Consumer
Plainedge School Board
Lawrence I. Hammer, President
of the Plainedge Board of
Education announced his intended
resignation to The Observer last
Thursday just as The OBSERVER
had gone to press. He made the
announcement to the Plainedge
School Board Thursday evening
following a lengthy agenda. Although
he had told his fellow
trustees shortly before the meeting
began of his intention, the
announcement came as a shock
to those present. He had been
reelected as Trustee for a second
term in an uncontested election.
Hammer read the following letter
dated July 18 tome Board and
the taxpayers present.
" For more than three years I
have had the honor and the privilege
of serving the Plainedge
Community as a member of their
Board of Education."
" During the past few weeks,
it has come to my attention that
the Board of Education will soon
be asked to consider the creation
of a new position within the District."
" Because of my legal, commercial
and School Board experiences
and background, I feel that
I could better serve the Plainedge
Community in this new capacity,
than I could by continuing my
service on the Board of Education.
Accordingly, it is my intention to
make formal application for such
position, at the earliest possible
time.
" Rather than create problems
for either my colleagues on the
Board of Education, or for the
Members of the Administrative
Staff, I deem it advisable to
hereby tender my resignation as a
Member of this Board, so that
my application, when submitted,
can be impartially considered by
Dr. Rinehart and the Board."
" I want to take this opportunity
to express my sincere appreciation
for the confidence and the cooperation
that I have received
over the years from all of the
Members of the Board of Education,
the Administrative Staff, and
the people of Plainedge.
His resignation was accepted
immediately and although the
gavel was turned over to Vice
President James Ackley, who
automatically, by law, became
board president, the Board members
were too stunned to carry
out the procedure.
Although someone moved that
the meeting be adjourned, Trustee
Robert Mackreth spoke, expressing
regret for Hammer's
resignation and his appreciation
of Hammer's efforts for the children
and district. He added, " I
would like more discussion with
Mr. Hammer and the board relative
to his application for thepo-
- sition as cited in his letter.
There's no budgeted amount for
the position he referred to. Before
I can make a judgement, I
need more information."
Trustee Michael Lanzarone
said that he was " stunned and
sorry" over the^ announcement.
Trustee Mrs. Gerri Palancia also
said that she was sorry about
Hammer's resignation. Superintendent
of Schools, Dr. John
Rinehart also expressed his regret.
Ackley said that he had
always supported Hammer and
that he would be missed.
The position calls for a purchasing
agent to be filled from
a Civil Service list and possibly
labor negotations. Hammer, an
attorney described it as similar
to a ' house counsel'.
The board met Tuesday at 9
p. m. in the new administration
building to discuss what it will
do about the board vacancy. By
law, the board may appoint someone
to serve until the annual election
in May; it can hold a special
election or it may leave the
post unfilled until the May election.
However it did not discuss
the matter, but the Board elected
Domnick Gagliardo as Vice
President to succeed Ackley,
who is now President.
A new idea for the protection of
Nassau County consumers and
storeowners called " Operation
Raincheck," will be initiated by
the Nassau County Office of Consumer
Affairs, County Executive
Eugene H. Nickerson announced
this week.
i " The new program evolved
from a recent series of County-sponsored
consumer seminars
and is designed to give both
the consumer and the storeowner
protection from possible misleading
advertisements that promise
much, but give little," Nickerson
said.
Nickerson said that according
to the Office of Consumer Affairs
that receives and processes such
complaints, many customers, in
response to advertisements, have
gone to supermarkets and stores
to purchase " sale" items, only
to find they were " all sold out."
Realizing that this kind of situation
and complaint is poor for all
businesses, several Nassau
County supermarkets and stores
have voluntarily established a
policy of issuing a " raincheck,"
which gives the consumer the opportunity
to buy the item when it
is available at the prior advertised
sale price.
John A. Occhiogrosso, Commissioner
of Consumer Affairs,
said that such a policy not only
Free Boat Exams Being Made
Courtesy Motorboat Examinations
will be made by United
States Coast Guard Auxiliary
Flotilla 13- 2 at the boat basin
at Tobay Beach on weekends.
Persons requesting a safety check
of their boats mayt have it made
by a qualified Auxiliary Inspector-
Examiner who will check all legal
equipment and such additional
equipment considered essential by
the Auxiliary.
When a boat meets the Auxiliary
standards it will be, awarded a
special seal of safety decal. There
is no charge for this service and
discrepancies will be reported only
to the owner.
Since a boat carrying such a
decal more than meets the
minimum legal requirements, the
Coast Guard and most State authorities
normally refrain from
making any official inspection or
boarding unless there is an obvious
violation of law.
Capitol Report
By Repjames Grover
Second Congressional District
Every day you read about a
conservationist group objecting
to some form of governmental action.
Sometimes the complaint has
to do with a dredging project.
Other times it is a public condemnation
of wetlands, allowing
a builder to reroute a stream or
establishing an airport. All of
these objections are well- intentioned
and worthwhile. Unfortunately,
while these objections are
being listened to and often heeded,
the pollution that they are designed
to stop goes on.
When a person in the Second
Congressional District hears
someone talk about air pollution,
he usually dismisses the issue
as a New York City problem,
something that isn't a problem
for him now but might become
one someday. But someday is
fast approaching and in many instances
is here. There may be
blankets of smog in the cities
which haven't reached our area
yet, but we already have soot
and dirt from the air falling all
around us. Hun your hand over
your newly polished car. You
shouldn't have to wonder long
as to why your hand is dirty.
livery minute of every day,
more and more things are polluting
our air. Look up into the
sky and watch a large jet streak
across your view. That jet is
pouring kerosene soot exhaust
out into the atmosphere at an
alarming rate over 80 lbs. in
take- off alone. The only thing
that lessens its affect is the
great distance that the plane is
from the earth. But what about
the situation when planes are
approaching and leaving airports.
Diesel trucks and automobiles
throw fantastic amounts of oil
and gasoline exhausts into the air
every day. The pollution of the
air we breathe comes from all
sources and directions. The wind
picks up dirt. Chimneys of industrial
plants cause it. Crop
dusting planes throw off their
plant poisons into the air.
My intention is not to play the
role of the alarmist. But, I do
want to point out where we appear
to be headed. Today we can
look around and breathe our air
without fear. But, we have seen
vyhat has happened to the water in
our bays and lakes. We are paying
or contemplating paying fantastic
sums of money to straighten out
our water situation. We can't
afford to get far behind with the
air we breathe. We must stay
alert to keep air pollution under
control so that it will not become
the problem to us that it is in
New York City. We have passed
good anti- pollution laws. Now
let's enforce them.
makes for " contented consumers"
but also eliminates from
everyone's mind the possibility
that the ad was used solely as
misleading " bait" to lure the
consumer to the store.
He also stressed the importance
of management notifying
both its customers and store personnel
about their policy to avoid
unnecessary complaints and misunderstandings.
County Executive Nickerson
has directed Occhiogrosso to
survey the approximate 500 Nassau
supermarkets and stores engaged
in extensive advertising to
determine those which have
adopted a raincheck policy and the
details and terms of the policy.
Commissioner Occhiogrosso
said, " We will welcome the comments
of the businesses concerned
and will seek to encourage
them to adopt policies which will
lead to the elimination of these
complaints."
He cited the following examples
of typical complaints received
by his office:
Last January a customer went
to a department store to purchase
a bottle of beauty lotion that was
advertised in a daily newspaper.
She was told that none was in
stock. The department manager
stated that the item had not been
stocked for six months.
In a second complaint, turkeys
advertised in daily newspapers at
28 cents per lb., 8- 12. A woman
visited the store, asked for a
12 lb. turkey and was told none
was available. The consumer
was advised to return the following
day when the store would save
a 12 lb. bird for her. She returned
the next day and was told
it was not available. She was then
told by the butcher that " they
never had any." The management
of the chain later told the Office
of Consumer Affairs that they had
a raincheck policy and had re-emphasized
the policy to store
personnel.
In May, a customer went to
purvhase a toy truck advertised
at $ 6.99. She was one of the
first customers in the store on
the day of sale, but was refused
the truck with the explanation
" they were all sold out." When
she protested to the store
manager, 16 were finally released
from stock.
Nickerson said that " Operation
Raincheck" will represent a
major program of cooperation
between the Office of Consumer
Affairs and loca business " in
maintaining high standards of fair
business practices and responsibility
to the public in advertising.
Police Continue Work On Mystery
The FBI, the Eighth Precinct and the Seventh
Precinct of the Nassau County Police continue
to work on the Minutemen death threat mystery
as well as the bomb scare tipped to the Nassau
County Police as directed against Farmingdale
Public Library Trustees Carl E. Gorton, who is
an avowed member of the John Birch Society.
The Police have added surveillance around the
vicinity of the homes of the recipients of the death
threats. These include Farmingdale Public Library
Director, Orrin B. Dow of North Massapequa;
former Trustee Paul Tilford of Massapequa Park;
Trustee Dr. Albert Meyerstein of Farmingdale
who did report a scare to the police at 1 p. m.
last Tuesday when a noise alerted him to a
disturbance on his lawn ( it turned out to be a
Volkswagen car which had run onto his lawn); and
former District 22 School Board Trustee, Bernard
Lang.
A new development was the receipt- of a post
card with an unidentified post office cancellation
mark by Mrs. Joan Bergman of Massapequa Park.
The post card was one published by American
Opinion showing a picture including the late Dr.
Martin Luther King with the caption of a Communist
training grounds. The post card ended in pen
writing ' Take it to the FBI. Go On*. The incident
is described by Mrs. Bergman in a letter to the
editor on page four of this issue,
hi the meanwhile a series of million dollars for development
' integrated kaffee Watches' are
being formed to get residents to
know mutual problems and to
become acquainted; FACT is
publishing its first news letter.
A clipping from a newspaper
in Middletown, New York gave
details regardingthe recent bomb
threat to Gorton's car, as well
as some hitherto unknown background
information. Accordingto
" The Times Herald Record" of
July 19, Gorton, an exLiberty
resident has been guarded in
Bomb Threat. Gorton was born
in Liberty and resided there 18
years. He was hospitalized at the
age of eight with polio. He was
graduated from Liberty High
School in 1954 and attended Far-leign
- Dickinson University
where he received an engineering
degree. He became interested in
the development of an airplane
which was also a helicopter.
In July, 1966 he received Patent
3,261,572 for a trithibious and
condertiplane, which Gorton says
has great military and commercial
potential. His basic idea
is not new, but attempts to make
one previously have been com-marically
impractical. In 1964
he worked at developmant of the.
dual airplane- helicopter and did
contract work for Grumman Aircraft.
He started construction of
a model in 1966, but needed one
of this convertible plane.
His mother, Mrs. Nellie Gorton
still resides at 34 liberty
Avenue, Liberty, New York.
Gorton also came into the headlines
when an airplane he was
piloting crash landed on a par-way
in Westchester. He was not
hurt by the accident.
In another development on a
possible lead to the case, a
second letter to the editor was
printed in the other weekly newspaper
in Farmingdale last week.
It was presumably signed by a
Robert Sebastian. No address
was given. The Letter was: " To
the Editor: I'd like to suggest
that we create legislation to register
pistols with silencers,
corner newsmen, insurance men,
milk men and fountain pens".
This language was reminsicent
of that used by the Minutemen
in their death threat letters.
In a letter published in the
July 25 issue, the same writer
allegedly wrote: Dear Editor,
" m his article of July 19, 1968
Newsday's Glenn Padnick clearly
points out that some leaders of
a new committee in Farmingdale
called F. A . C. T. contend that their
organizations principal target
should be the extreme right- wing
element in Farmingdale usually
represented by the local " John
Birch Society".
Farmingdale OBSERVER, Thursday, July 25, 1968
As all knowledgeable persons
know the " John Birch Society's"
aim is the destruction of the
Communist Conspiracy in America.
ft doesnt take much reading
between the lines to realize that
communism is much further advanced
in Farmingdale than many
of us realize."
Robert Sebastian
Town Gives Vets
Tax Exemption
Oyster Bay Town Receiver of
Taxes, Solomon Newborn, this
week announced that disabled
Vietnam Veterans will be eligible
for real property exemption upto
$ 10,000 toward the acquisition of
special housing, including land,
necessitated by the veteran's disability.
The unremarried widow
of the veteran continues to receive
the exemption, he added.
Newborn urged those who feel
they might be eligible for this
exemption to apply at Nassau
County's Department of Assessment
in Mineola.
Publisher Fred Noeth
Passes Away
The weekly newspaper industry
as well as the Republican
Party mourn the passing of Fred
J. Noeth, age 53, publisher of the
Mid- Island Herald and the Plain-view
Herald for ' the past 20
years. He was a resident of
181 Old Country Road, Hicks-ville,
as well as a resident of
Stony Brook, where his wife,
Sheila had formerly lived* She
is the publisher of the Beacon
chain of weekly newspapers,
based in Hempstead.
He was a reporter since the age
of 17; he worked for Newsday,
the New York Times and the
Brooklyn Eagle before coming to
Hicksville. He was elected president
of the Nassau County Press
Association five times and he
was a member of the Hicksville
Kiwanis Club and the Hicksville
Fire Department. He also served
in a public relations capacity
for ttie Town of Oyster Bay Republican
majority for man
years.
He is survived by his wife.
Sheila, a son, Arthur, and a
daughter, Mrs. Linda Scotti and
three grandchildren.
Mass was offered at 10 a. m.
on Thursday at St. Ignatius
Church, Hicksville; burial followed
at Holy Rood Cemetery in
Westbury. He reposed at the
Thomas F. Dal ton Funeral Home
in Hicksville where many publishers,
politicians and l* hok>
News staff attended.
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