Albany Open Line
by Alex Rankin
Weathers Honored By Hofstra
Many people have been so rash
as to accuse the biggest Democrat
in Albany, Assembly Speaker
Anthony J. Travia, of fiddling with
the tally sheet on votes on bills..
Earlier this month he apparently
got caught.
It at least looked that way to
those who were in the Assembly
chamber the midnight the new
gasoline, cigarette and income
tax hikes were voted.
First a few facts. In the Assembly
it takes 76 votes to pass
a bill. On a roll call vote, those
wishing to vote in the negative
raise their hands. All others are
presumed, and recorded in the affirmative.
The clerk looks around
the room and when he sees a hand
up, he makes a slash mark inthe
negative column next to that
man's name on the tally sheet.
After the vote is announced, the
clerk reads aloud the names of
those who had voted in the negative.
At midnight the Assembly, with
Travia in the speaker's chair,
took up the gasoline tax hike. The
hands went up. Slash marks were
made and the vote was announced.
But the names of those in the
negative were not read.
Republican Assemblyman Ed-wyn
Mason of Hobart, who sits
in the last row, got up and asked
for the names of those in the
negative to be read aloud.
" Who asked for that?" said
Travia wih a f rown.
" I did," replied Mason.
Travia stared at Mason for
what seemed like two minutes.
" Read the names," he told the
clerk.
And when the clerk had finished
reading them, Mason's name was
not among those he had read.
There was an uproar. Assemblymen
got up and began milling
about, talking in little groups
and wondering what to do now.
Mason knew what to do. He
marched down to the clerk's desk
and demanded he be recorded in
the negative. He had had his arm
up during the vote.
Two others also came down:
Republican Assemblyman Ed -
ward F. Crawford of Oswego and
John H. Terry of Syracuse. There
were others too.
Before the uproar the gasoline
tax hike has passed by four votes.
The commotion lasted for almost
an hour. It took Travia that
long to get the four votes back.
Travia called Democrats to his
chair one by one. Some would not
come. He got angry at the clerk.
His legal counsel talked on the
telephone to Perry B. Duryea of
Long Island, the Republican
minority leader, on the private
line connecting the chair with the
floor of the Assembly. It was an
angry conversation at times.
That is because the gasoline tax
hike was part of a package agreed
to by Travia, Duryea and Republican
Senate Majority Leader
Earl W. Brydges of Niagara
Falls.
Travia and Duryea had worked
out a deal whereby a proportion
of both sides would vote for the
tax. For the Democrats this was
so it would look as if the Democrats
had carried a Republican
governor's tax plan through the
Assembly. For the Republicans
it was to let those among them
who are in conservative districts
or those who might be in serious
trouble in the November election,
off the hook.
There was also the problem
that Travia is a " lame duck."
Sometime this summer he will
become a federal judge - which
means that he cannot threaten
anyone because he won't be
around next year to make good
his threats.
Travia is a unique speaker. He
almost never, in contrast to other
speakers, leaves the chair. Some
suspect it is because he trusts no
one. Evidence for this is the fact
that he works long hours late into
the night in his office doing work
others would have delegated to
staff members.
This time it almost didn't make
any difference.
A. Terry Weathers, long a lay
leader in Long Island public education,
will receive the Hofstra
University School of Education's
fourth annual " Eddie" award for
" significant contributions to education
on Long Island" at a reception
in his honor from 3 to 5
p. m. on Tuesday, May 28 at Hof-stra's
University Club.
Weathers will be presented with
an inscribed silver statuette depicting
Pallas Athena, the eroddess
of wisdom, in the presence of state
Capitol Report
By Repjomes Grover
President Johnson has declared
the month of May as
Senior Citizens Month. Let us
hope that this recognition isn't
all that the administration plans
to do for its senior citizens
during 1968.
Too many people in high office
have contented themselves for
too long with platitudinous statements
while withholding significant
action. For example,
legislation recommended by Republican
Congressmen, which
would tie Social Security payments
to the cost- of- living index,
has been awaiting action for more
than two years. Meanwhile, recently
granted Social Security
increases are rapidly being eaten
up by inflation.
The greatest blow to our elderly
has been the consistent operation
of our federal government
at a deficit. We have seen deficits
in federal spending for 33
of the past 36 years. The deficit
has become a way of life, but
it has reduced so many of our
retired folks to the poverty level
or below. Dollars saved with so
much effort during the Thirties
just don't add up to much in
retirement during the Sixties.
One of several things we in
Washington could do right now
and local educational leaders.
Hof stra's President Clifford Lord
will make the presentation.
Weathers has been a member
of the Farmingdale Board of Education
since 1958 and its President
in 1962- 63. Considered a
leading authority in the state on
subjects of public school finance
and state aid, he was the first
President of the Nassau- Suffolk
School Boards Association in
1959- 62. He is area director, a
member of the board of directors
and of the executive committee of
the New York State School Boards
Association. Since 1959 he has
participated in school finance legislative
conferences with the Governor
and state legislators.
Mr. and Mrs. Weathers, the
parents of five children, live at
315 Staples Street, Farmingdale.
Weathers is a communications
consultant with the New York
Telephone Company.
for our retired people would be
to put our fiscal house in order,
which would include long- range
programs of fiscal spending
• within our means to pay. It seems
to me that that would stabilize
what's left of their dollar income
and protect it from inflation.
Another action which can be taken
without increasing Social Security
taxes would be to tie
Social Security payments to the
cost of living and to remove
earning restrictions.
You don't see too many senior
citizens in the march on Washington.
Maybe they're too old to
demonstrate, or too ill or too
poor to spare the cash. Maybe
they're too proud to complain
and maybe they just got into the
habit of making do, of living on
what they have or on what they
can earn. They're people who
were raised in a tradition that
called for them to pay their way
or do without.
Senior Citizens Month is a fine
idea. Maybe Congress ought
finally to back its high- sounding
phrases with some solid action
to take care of the people who
supported their government
through so many years of hard
work.
Library Board Decides
Not To Resubmit Budget
Gorton Creates Fuss Over ' Pop' Posters
The Board of Trustees of The
Farmingdale Public Library
decided last Tuesday by a three to
two vote against resubmission of
the budget, which had been defeated
on May 9th. The budget in
the amount of $ 3 63,125 had called
for a tax appropriation of
$ 350,000. Board President Robert
Callahan and Trustee Carl
E. Gorton voted for budget resubmission.
Callahan made the
motion to resubmit the budget
providing the board would meet
to consider whether any trimming
was possible. Gorton had originally
made a motion to resubmit
a substantially reduced budget.
By law, the library will revert
to the tax appropriation voted
last year, which is $ 352,865. The
defeated tax appropriation would
have decreased the tax rate in
Oyster Bay section of the district
from 38 cents to 37 cents per
$ 100 of assessed valuation and in
the Babylon section from 61 to
59 cents.
According to Library Director
Orrin B. Dow, " The decision not
to resubmit the tax appropriation
would save the monies needed to
work up another budget and costs
of the vote. I'm grateful to be
able to get back to library service
rather than be concerned
about another vote."
In other action at the board
meeting, Trustee Gorton unfurled
two posters he had taken off the
wall of the employees room. One
was depicting President Johnson
with a leather jacket on a motor -
cyle and the other was a takeoff
of a painting, " AmericanGothic"
with a farm couple holding a sign
' Up the Establishment.' Two library
clerks, had put the signs.
The rest of the Board refused
to support Gorton's demand that
the posters had to remain down.
During the discussion it was
announced that the comparative
figures for Nassau County public
library pointed out that while
Farmingdale is the third largest
community in the County in population,
the library ranks fifth in
book use and 28th in the amount
of dollars spent per resident on
books.
Marino To Seek Senate Seat
Nassau Republican Chairman
Joseph M. Margiotta this week
announced that the Republican
Executive Committee from the
Third Senatorial District has designated
Ralph J. Marino as the
candidate for the State Senate
seat currently held by Henry M.
Curran. Curran announced that
he would not be running for reelection.
Marino, a 40 year- old
attorney from East Norwich, is
the majority leader of the Oyster
Bay Town Board.
Marino's name will now be
submitted to the GOP's committee
on vacancies for the Third
Senatorial District, which must
file an affidavit with the Secretary
of State by May 21st replacing
Curran on the ballot with
Marino.
In a joint statement the three
Assemblymen from the district,
Joseph Reilly, Martin Ginsberg
and Francis McCloskey said, " we
unite in supporting Ralph J. Marino,
for his experience in government,
knowledge of die district
and proven vote getting
ability make him the strongest
possible Republican candidate.
He will win big and he will serve
well." Reilly and Ginsberg added
that they did not seek die nomination
for they are confident of the
Republicans taking control of the
Assembly this Fall, and tiieir
seniority in that house will put
them in a position to better serve
their constituents. McCloskey
does not reside in the 3rd S. D.
Marino was elected to the
Oyster Bay Town Board in 1965.
In 1967 he narrowly lost in his
campaign to unseat Democrat
supervisor Michael Petito. He
was named Board Majority leader
in September 1967. An Army
veteran, he is a graduate of Syracuse
University and Fordham
Law School. He is married tome
former Etiiel Bernstein and tiiey
reside witfi their tfiree children,
Judy 12, Jimmy 10, and Bobby 3,
at 29 Gilbert Court, East Norwich.
Receive Academy Groups Receive Honor Ratings
Appointments
Appointments to the service
academies by Congressman
James R. Grover included a large
percentage of Massapequans.
They are: James Losson Head
Jr. of 40 Polo' Road, Massa-pequa
and James William Lauck-hardt
of 182 Charles Avenue,
Massapequa Park to the U. S.
MilitaryAcademy at West Point;
John William Goss of 309 Pacific
Street, Massapequa Park to
the U. S. Naval Academy and
Thomas Francis McGrath of 283
Ocean Avenue, Massapequa Park
to the U. S. Merchant Marine
Academy at Kings Point.
Eight major performing groups
from the Alfred G. Berner and
Massapequa High Schools received
honor ratings last Friday
in the adjudication at the New
York State Music Festival. More
than 940 students participated.
The ratings received were:
Berner A Cappella Choir - Grade
6A; Massapequa A Cappella Choir
Grade 6A; Massapequa High
School Band - Grade 6A; Berner
High School Band - Grade 6B;
Berner High School Orchestra-
Grade 6B; Massapequa High
School Orchestra - Grade 6B;
Massapequa High Girl's Choir-
Grade 6B; Massapequa High
Mixed Chorus - Grade 5B.
Slate ' Candlelight Bowl'
The Ladies Auxiliary of the
Farmingdale Baseball Leagues
will present a'Candlelight Bowl'
on Saturday, May 25 at Pequa
Bowl, Hicksville Road, Massapequa.
The fund raising event will include
a buffet, refreshments,'
bowling and prizes. Donation is
$ 10 per couple.
r REMEMBER
THOSE
YOU LOVED
WITH A
MEMORIAL GIFT
TO THE
AMERICAN
CANCER
SOCIETY
NASSAU DIVISION
1551 KELLUM PLACE
MINEOLA, N. Y. 11501
PI 6- 7530
or your local Unit or Branch
Gifts honoring special
occasions acknowledged
by appropriate card
Farmingdale OBSERVER -" Thursday, May 23, 1968
Marianno A. Lucca ( right), Chairman of the National Columbus
Day Committee presents a Special Citation of Merit to Assemblyman
Martin Ginsberg, second from left, for his sponsorship of a
resolution in die State Legislature which memorializes me United
States Congress to declare Columbus Day, a national holiday.
Nicholas Tucci ( left), who assisted Assemblyman Ginsberg in
preparing the resolution and Congressman Lester Wolff look on.
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