PAGE 8 THE OBSERVER NOVEMBER 28, 1968
EDITORIAL
Mayor Joseph Zureck announced this week that
leaf pickup on the streets of the village will
continue until the job is completed.
Superintendent of Public Works Hugh Newman
cautioned that problems are created when twigs
and leaves are mixed, since the suction hose
line gets clogged and the leaf pickup program
is slowed'clown.
In view of the problems regarding leaf burning,
the Air Pollution Board of the State of New York,
in conjunction" with Nassau and Suffolk County
Air Pollution Boards, will hold a public hearing
on December 10th, at 10: 00 a. m., at the Auditorium
of the Suffolk County Department of
Buildings and Grounds, Veterans Highway, Haup-pauge
, to discuss the implementation or amending
of certain sections of the existing Rules and
Regulations of the Air Pollution Act of the State
of New York. According to a member of the
Nassau County Air Pollution Board, they will
welcome any comments and invite those who may
be interested to attend the public hearing.
HANDICAPPED
We Get Letters
TO THE EDITOR
There is no one more deserving
of our interest and
assistance than the child who
is bom with a physical,
mental or emotional handicap,
yet we have all done
too little in the education and
treatment of these children.
The United States Congress
has recently shed a ray
of light and a spirit of hope
to these unfortunate children
and their suffering families
in the enactment, on September
30, of the Handicapped
Children's Early Educa- '
tion Assistance Act, to be
administered by the U. S. Office
of Education.
The new law, for which
$ 1 million has been appropriated
for fiscal year 1969, $ 10
million for 1970, and $ 12
million for 1971, will provide
for the establishment of
from 75 to 100 model centers,
geographically distributed
throughout the United States,
designed to develop successful
approaches in assisting
preschool- aged, handicapped
children. Unquestionably, at
least one of these centers will
be located in the New York
area.
It would provide educational
service for handicapped
children from birth to age 6,
consultative help to parents
and would stimulate community
awareness of the value
of early intervention to
prevent unnecessary debilitation
and dependency in later
adult life.
There is good reason to
believe that meaningful improvements
can be made in
the handicapped child's intellectual,
social, and motivational
development with the
intervention of a professionally
designed program.
As of now, less than half
of the Nation's 5 million
handicapped children are receiving
special educational
services.
As long ago as 1939, Dr.
Harold Skeels took 13 mentally
retarded infants from an
orphanage at ages 1 and 2,
placed them in an institution
for mental defectives,
but provided these babies
with mental stimulation in
the wards of the institution
by giving them 1- to- l relationship
with older girls and women.
He retained in the orphanage
11 infants who were not
as markedly retarded. After
two years he re- examined
these two groups. The children
who had received early
education and increased their
IQ's by 28 points, while the
11 children who remained
without early stimulation in
an orphanage dropped 26
points.
Dr. Skeels' experiment
was sensational— so sensational
that no one would believe
it. Years later, when
subsequent studies further
advanced this fact, Dr. Skeels
decided to follow up his two
groups after 21 years. The
results showed that all of the
13 children who had increased
their IQ's as a result of early
education were self- supporting
as adults. One- half of the
11 children who remained in
the orphanage without early
stimulation were in institutions
as permanent public
charges.
A handicapped child must
have a maximum chance to
live a full life, fulfill his
potential, and make a positive
and meaningful contribution
to this Nation.
Jfuniiiti0i. aU © Insrrutr
Published every Thursday by
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Mailing Address: Bos 492, Farmingdale, N. Y. 11735
This publication will not be responsible for errors in advertising beyond
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opinions of the - vrltrrs nd do not necessarily represent ' he view of the
Observer.
Editor, Observer:
The question of the possibility
of a teachers strike
and the closing of schools
was officially raised at the
November 18 meeting of the
Board of Education of School
District 22 as the result of
a motion by Trustee Roy
Spinetta. The essence of this
motion was that the Board
direct the Superintendent of
Schools to take adequate
steps to be prepared for such
a contingency.
The Board president stated
that there presently was no
evidence or likely possibility
of a teachers strike in Farmingdale.
She added that approval
of the motion might
stimulate a strike. She. requested
a vote on the motion,
which had been seconded.
The Superintendent then
stated that part of his responsibility
was to be prepared
for even such an unlikely
development. He considered
such a motion reflective
on his long record of
responsible performance. He
suggested that approval of
this motion would raise
doubts as to the confidence
of the Board in his discharge
of duties.
Trustee Terry Weathers
wisely counselled a withdrawal
of the motion so he could
move for tabling. He added
that this would permit deliberation
and modifications
to the motion. It was his
opinion that possible inflammatory
results might be
avoided. He also pointed
out that appropriate recognition
of the possibility of a
teachers' strike, however
unlikely would be consistent
with the essence of conclusions
reached at the" recent
New York State School
Board Association Convention
in Syracuse, that it is
the responsibility of School
Boards to keep their schools
open.
Trustee Thomas Lavan
supported the Superintendent
and the Board President, and
would not support tabling
the motion. Mr. Spinetta would
not withdraw his motion
which was then defeated by a
four to three vote.
The above sequence was
surprising and unnecessary.
At the October 4 public
meeting of the Board it was
established as policy that any
motion on new business, without
prior knowledge by all
members would automatically
be tabled for future vote.
If such agreed upon procedure
had been followed
and the motion tabled it is possible
that an acceptable motion
could have evolved. The
record would then show that
the Board had not acted
impetuously on such a vital
question.
Anyone who is responsibly
aware of all the serious
educational problems in this
State and Country speaks
with undeliberated haste when
concluding that a strike,
even in Farmingdale is inconceivable.
If all groups concerned;
taxpayers, Board of Education,
touchers and administration
would agree, as soon us
feasible, to propose and accept
a salary schedule that
would place Farmingdale in
a position of being reasonably
competitive with adjacent
districts, the imminent preparation
of the budget and
subsequent public hearings,
could at least on this major
item, be conducted intelligently
and responsibly, hopefully
with much less bitter
contention. If this approach
failed it could be easily rec-nized
that those in opposition
were activated by selfish and
unreasonable demands.
Certainly, in the interest
of keeping our children in
the classrooms, at increasingly
higher costs, and even
greater if the classrooms
are closed, it is imperative
that everyone involved and
concerned, open their minds
and responsibly cooperate
in these explosive times.
H. G. Thompson
Former President of the
Board of Education
TO YOUR HEALTH
A new health service for
Nassau residents! The Nassau
Tuberculosis and Respiratory
Disease Association is
offering free breathing tests,
to screen for abnormal lung
function, on any one of
four successive Mondays,
November 25, December 2, 9
and 16. The tests will be
administered between 3 and
8 p. m. at the Association's
Headquarters, 1432 Old
Northern Boulevard, Roslyn.
Appointments must be made
in advance by calling 621- 2103
weekdays between 8: 30 a. m.
and 4: 30 p. m.
The simple test consists
of having the subject take a
deep breath and exhale into
a machine which will measure
the amount of air expelled.
This screening procedure
is used to detect impairment
of lung functions,
and it can lead to the discovery
of respiratory diseases
such as emphysema
and chronic bronchitis. A
report of each test will be
sent to the individual and
his private physician.
This pilot program is being
undertaken to determine the
prevalence of respiratory
disease in several sample
population groups in Nassau
County. This is another
service made possible by
Christmas Seal contributions.
Rx For Demo Party
On December 4 the doctors
meet in an Albany hotel
room to search for- a cure.
The patient is the state
Democratic party.
" We are in a state of
shock," siad John J. Burns,
of Binghamton, chairman of
the party shortly after the
ballots had been counted.
The patient is in bad
shape.
Over the past 10 years they
have elected only one statewide
official, the state comptroller
and managed to capture
both houses of the Legislature.
Arthur Levitt, the state
comptroller, has proven he
gets re- elected because of his
personal popularity and not
because he is a Democrat.
And so the only thing left
was the Legislature.
First they lost the Senate.
And now to complete the
proof that they won it in the
first place only because of the
Johnson landslide— they have
also lost the Assembly.
Millions of dollars of patronage—
which spells power
— were lost to Republicans on
November 5.
Now only thousands of dollars
of patronage are left to
fight over— the post of minority
leader in the Assembly.
The skirmishing will begin
December 4 when the state
Democratic party leaders
meet in Albany.
The outcome will have an
impact on the length of the
1969 Session of the Legislature
and what kind of legislation
will come out of it.
Two men are fighting for
the job, Assemblyman Stanley
Steingut, Brooklyn Democratic
leader and Assemblyman
Moses M. Woinstoin,
Queens Democratic leader.
Weinstein was majority
leader this year, and stepped
up to acting Speaker when
Anthony Travia left to become
a federal judge.
Steingut claims he has 50
of the 72 Democrats who
will be in the 1969 Session
on his side. Only 37 votes will
be needed to elect a minority
leader.
But Weinstein has a leg
up on the job.
It is no secret to those
who have talked to Governor
Rockefeller in private that
he much prefers to deal
with Weinstein.
In short, the governor believes
that he would have
to give up less to Weinstein
to get what he wants
passed in 1969 than he would
to Steingut.
Giving up will be important
in 1969.
Most observers agree that
the three- vote majority Republican
Assemblyman Perry
B. Duryea of Montauk Point,
L. I. has is highly fragile.
As a result Duryea, who
will be Speaker, may have
to suffer the political em-barassment
of having to go
across the aisle to the minority
Democratic side to get
votes he needs to pass bills
which he, the governor and
Senate Republican majority
leader Earl W. Brydges of
Niagara Falls have come to
an agreement on.
For that reason Republicans
will be pulling for
Weinstein.
Say You Saw
It In The
Observer
Farmingdale Public Library-The Observer 1968
