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Image provided by: Suffolk Cooperative Library System
BA B Y L O N PU B L IC L IB R A R Y SOUTH SHORE LI‘S LARGEST ! CIRCULATION WEEKLY NEWSPAPER SERVING t W COMMUNITY SINCE ^ P rinted on recycled paper W ebsite : www . babyeonbeacon . com MR E-MAIL ADDRESS: M |.NI WSH lit N C OM * m m m VOL. 4 4 NO. 43 P v t . B u j a n g r a d u a t e s f r o m a d v a n c e d t r a i n i n g Army Pvt Scott P Huian, A 2008 Graduate of Babylon High School, graduated from the Field Artillery Automated Tactual Data Systems Spe cialist Advanced Individual I raining course at Poit Sill, Lawton, Okla He is the brothei of David Buian, and Michael S Bujan, both of Kill S t , West As members of the Aimy's field artillery team, the course is designed to train soldiers as special ists to operate the advanced field artillery tactical data systems tor both cannon and multiple launch rocket systems Ih e spec talists play a critical role in the safe, accurate, and lethal delivery ot the field artilleiv's various lire support systems used to support infantry and tank units m combat Skills turning included methods ■of computing target locations using computers oi manual calculations, ammunition handling techniques, and opeiatmg and pertotnung maintenance on i elated equip ment, vehicles, generators, and artillery tactical and data systems., , , , Scouts Honor Christian Cederstrom of West Babylon and Sean Hubei of North Babylon, members of Boy Scout Troop 175, which is sponsored by The West Baby lon Lions Club, recently received the prestigious Eagle Scout award Christian performed a service proicct m order to complete the requirements for Eagle rank. He lepaited and refurbished \Ihe luther Room at Cross o f Christ Lutheran Church in Babylon. Sean planned and sup« vised the construction o f a pond with a waterfall at Oui I adv ol Consolation Nurs- l ng 1 lome m West blip Many of then family members, friends and p e « s attended their Eagle Court of Honor. Chi is- tian and Sean were honored by Suffolk County for completing the difficult Journey that leads to the highest award in scouting Pictured with Suffolk County legislator Wayne R Horsley ate Eagle Scouts Christian Cederstrom and Sean Huber. Go to the Beacon website: www.babylonbeacon.com and watch viedeos o f local events O F F I C I A L N E W S P A P E R Periodicals Postage Paid- Babylon Post Office, Babylon NY 11702 (U S P S 0396 0 -8 0 0 0 ) FO R SU F F O L K C O U N T Y •TO W N O F BA B Y L O N . V IL L A G E O F R A R v i .BABYLON^” — \ e n w r - t o m kM'NO1A9V0 L IN D E N H U R S T 3 w u v - , - i y y Q Q p i . BA B Y L O N SCH , . k i / s n l O t f f l W YA N DA N Cj ( 0 A r i V ^ Q n N O ! A S Published every! £ 0 0 3 * * . L O \ 1 JL b T 'fcW '^ * * * * * * * * * * 65 Dee', mmm, P u b lishers, C a rolyn an d A lfred Jam es INSIDE P a n thers a d v a n ce to p layqffs...P a g e 2 don Youth L a x jes s eason ...P a g e 3 P a r k h osts \coming...Page 8 O bits. ...P a g e 14C The Babylon B e a c o n is the hom e tow n new spaper o f the E lton F a m ily f r o m Babylon THURSDAY, November 4 ,2 0 1 0 50 CENTS Salaries, test scores, technology and more topics of spirited Babylon School Board meeting by Janine Logan Concerns about the Babylon School District’s most re cent state assessment scores, as well as dissatisfaction with special education needs, the progress with technology in the classroom, district spending, and salary costs were raised by several residents who attended the school board meeting Mon., Oct, 18. The Babylon Academic Committee for Excellence (BACE), a newly formed group of parents who are uneasy about the district's performance, presented its analysis of Babylon’s state assessment scores. Babylon’s scores, on average, dipped in some grade levels, and rose in others. It was these statistical changes that sparked the group’s interest to further investigate the district’s assessment re sults. The group’s goal is to work collegially with board members and district administrators to determine what can be done collectively to ensure that all children attend ing Babylon public schools are getting the best education possible, said BACE officials. “There is a sense <bf frustration [among parents] that kids are not getting what we want,” said BACE member Cathy Conlon. “Let’s get objective data and see what it says.” The group pulled public data on state assessment scores from the state education department website and com pared Babylon’s test scores against similar schools in Nas sau and Suffolk counties. “Grades three, four, and five are problem areas,” said Conlon. “We scored under average on our peer group measure in Math and English Language Arts ... but scored above average in Math grade six.” “In some cases we see trends that need investigation,” said BACE member Jeaxule Hannon, who co-presented the group’s report. Hannon holds an MBA and has a back ground in finance. A total of 48 charts were presented. Board members and administrators listened intently to BACE’s presentation and agreed to continue the dia log about testing and achieving excellence. Members of BACE and Daniel D’Amico, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, subsequently met on Friday, Oct. 22. (Continued on page 6) T i m sjJÿ*]E»T,s; TflftY,'HOT JUST F , o 3 c A f t s . A j H X A i p . i y y It’s going to take 20 years, but the Town of Babylon will have streets and roadways that provide a safer en vironment for pedestrians, vehicles, bikers and children at play. The Town adopted the Complete Streets Program recently, a nationwide initiative by which cities, states and local jurisdictions adopt a policy for future roadway projects to accommodate all segments of the community. “This can be a very effective program for any community and will not cost taxpayers any more,” said Babylon Town Supervisor Steve Bellone. The Complete Street program is a nationwide initiative for cities and small communities. “There has been a proposal before the New York State Legislature to do this on a statewide level, but it was evident it was going nowhere, so we decided to move forward with the program at the Town level,” said Jonathan Keyes, project manager for the Town’s office of Downtown Revitalization. Keyes said he began working with the Tri-State Trans portation Campaign and discussed Babylon becom ing the first municipality on Long Island to adopt the measure. The City of Buffalo has a similar program and- since Babylon adopted its Complete Street Program last month, Islip Town has followed suit. “One of the things we have been willing to do in Baby lon is set our sights on long-term planning, and not be focused only oh short-term gains,” said Bellone. “We redo roads every year, and if we include them : :i a ma ster plan, we can make them more usuable by everyone, and that is going to be a benefit for all our residents.” Bellone said that since the changes will be made as roads come up for repair, there is no additional cost. The program does not include plans to acquire any additional land through purchase or condemna tion, said Bellone. P rogram ’ s G oal For decades, traffic engineers have focused on efficien cy for motor vehicles in adopting their street designs, but residents are increasingly demanding features that meet other users expectations, according to the National Complete Streets Coalition, (CSC) formed in 2005 by groups such as the AARP, the American Planning As sociation and America Bikes. The Complete Streets framework includes not only ret rofitting existing streets but also adopting project, (Continued on page 6)