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Image provided by: Suffolk Cooperative Library System
2 • BEACON NEWSPAPER, February 2 5 ,2010 Things have been especially quiet, with a lot of Babylo nians away for winter break. Next Monday brings us to March, and everyone is pray ing for balmier weather.. .\Not yet,\ says Mother Nature! But spring does start later in March and can’t come too soon for most o f us. •The Babylon Fountain Committee is still busy trying to raise the funds to erect a re placement for the fountain donated by the Babylon Women’s Exchange at the end of the 19th century. Various fundraisers have been held and more are in the works. A small town in Pennsylvania, Ligonier, has generously agreed to let a cast be made of their fountain by the foundry that will re-create the statue for us. But Babylon will need to pay for the transport - o f the statue both ways and insure it while it’s out of Ligonier’s hands. Please make tax deductible dona tions to The Babylon Village Fountain and send them to Valerie Fronzo, Village Treasurer, at 153 West Main St., Babylon, NY 11702. •Get well wishes to Joann Fitts, who has been ailing for some time. Joann is one o f the sweetest people in . the village, and is missed by all her clients, co-work ers, and friends. •Also, best wishes for a complete and speedy re covery for Donna Consola. Donna broke a hip in an auto accident recently and is recovering. •Today is the 17th anniversary o f the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993. Who would have thought that nearly two decades later we would still be fighting against the same terrorists? Although we have come a long way in Iraq and are making prog ress in Afghanistan, it looks as though the war against these terrorists will go on for many more years. •On a happier note, today is the birthday of Levi Strauss. This man created the first pairs of jeans for California’s gold miners in 1850. There are few peo ple in the U.S. that have not had a favorite pair of jeans! Thanks, Levi! •How often have you looked at that small, desert ed, church on Montauk Highway in West Islip? Lo cated opposite CVS and Eaton Lane, the church has been empty for ages. However, sources tell us that it B a b y lon stu d e n ts p ledge to X th e T e x tw h ile d riv in g ¡1 Babylon II News * 1 & | Muse | by M a ry | G a llagher1^ Babylon High School students took a pledge to X the Text while driving as part of Allstate Insurance Company’s national public awareness campaign. Students received thumb bands which read “Txting Kills” to remind them that texting while driving is one o f the most dangerous driver distractions facing teens today. Senator Owen H. Johnson attended the Dec. 10 event at Babylon High School as students added their thumb prints to a pledge banner making its way to 28 cities across the country. The school that collects the most thumb prints wins a $1,000 Allstate grant for a Safe Teen Driving Program. Babylon and Bethpage High Schools won. In addition, Allstate will donate $1 to the National Organization for Youth Safety (NOYS) for every Facebook pledge supporter of Facebook.com/ thumbsuppledge. won’t be empty for long. Two large houses are to be built on the church property along Church Lane, and supposedly, the church will become a medical office. As it happens, a month ago I called the realtor han dling the property and was surprised to learn that the asking price for the church and property was over three million dollars. I was relieved, however, to find out the church itself is consid ered a historical property and cannot be destroyed or significantly altered. The building itself was last used as a Ukrainian Catholic church. The piece of land that it sits on was the First Presby terian Church or “First Church”, built in 1730. It was destroyed by the British army in 1778 during the American Revolution. An Episco pal church was later built on the site. Later, Squire Issac Thompson of Sagtikos Manor (a relative of the Gardiner family) and his ffiencls Tredwell, Anning, Mobray, Scud- der, Sammis, and oth ers, donated fiinds to build a new Presbyterian Church further west, in Babylon Village. The Sec ond Church was built in 1783 after the war ended. The current Presbyterian Church is actually the third church to serve its parish. Locals believe there may have been a cem etery on the .grounds of the original church and are concerned that the construction underway may disturb such graves. If anyone has further in formation about the site of the original church and its grounds, please contact me, c/o The Babylon Beacon. Any further information will be published in this col umn. Babylon High School student receives National Honor The National Society o f High School Scholars (NSHSS) recently announced that Babylon Junior-Senior High School student Sean Logan, o f Babylon, has been selected for membership. The. Society recognizes top scholars and invites only those students who have achieved superior academic excellence. The announcem ent was made by NSHSS founder and chairman Claes Nobel, a senior member o f the family that established the Nobel Prizes. Heritage Quitters of Babylon bring blankets to Wyandanch Head Start The Heritage Quilters of Babylon brought 88 small children’s-sized quilts to Head Start in Wyandanch recently. The quilts were all laid out on tables so each child was able to choose their own quilt. The teachers brought each class in separately and all the children said “thank you.” The group is already planning its next project. The quilters meet every Tuesday, 10 a.m. to noon, at the Babylon Historical Museum on Main Street. If you would like to join in or donate material, call Joy Torey at 631 - 539-2301. Babylon High School h as representatives from the MTA T.R. A .C.K .S. U n it visit R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s f r o m t h e program discussing im p o rtant safety M e t r o p o lita n T r a n s it A u th o r ity and d r iv in g sk ills n e c e s s a r y for T .R .A .C .K .S . U n it p a r ticip a te in young and inexperienced drivers. Babylon H igh School’s Drivers Ed Shown, left to right, are Police Officer John M atarazzo; Susan Colletti, Babylon High School Drivers Ed secretary; Police Officer Gerald Willis and L ee McLaughlin, Babylon High School Drivers Ed lecturer. Treasurer Carpenter honors members of the Ocean Beach Fire Department A n g i e C a r p e n t e r , S u f f o l k County Treasurer, presented Lee M a n n in g Buchsbaum w ith a proclamation acknowledging h i s extraordinary com m itm e n t to the O cean Beach Fire Departm ent. Also honored was Robert Thornberg, outgoing C h ief o f the O cean Beach Fire D e p a rtm e n t for h is service as c h ief for the past two year.s. Shown, left to right: O. B. F. D. Ian Levine, information officer; L ee Manning Buchsbaum and Angie Carpenter, Suffolk County Treasurer.
