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o* >- oc < ac CD iu 11. < a «/> ac i- </> o a. iu < Q O <z < UJ X 'l 11 « s fevj^Gii;; ; Editorials • Viewpoints • Comments Our Firemen We dedicate ourselves every day of the year No vacation, no pay, we're just volunteer Firemen, we're called, because of the job we perform Our duties are many, from dusk until dawn From Our Readers We learn in the classroom and at the training center too Many hours are spent working just for you Let's not forget our medics who bear The knowledge and experience in cardiac care During the past year we've answered your calls Emergencies & fires, nine hundred and forty in all You called during the day and even at night We make it our business to keep you in sight Now comes a time when we call on you For assistance and support to help us make it through We only ask of you to do a small part The amount you give, we know, comes from the heart. PLEASE HELP US TO HELP YOU SUPPORT THE SOUTH FARMINGDALE FIRE DEPARTMENT The above poem, written by a k^ajj^okfiiteer fireman, tells the story as well as any editorial comment we could make. It's fund drive^ime for all the local fire depart- ments. They need and deserve your help and support. Dear Mr. Starrett: The Income Tax season has arrived and the working \poor\ are being assessed to support themselves and, also, the political raids on the treasury for vote-buying. Welfare payments and food stamps are a cost only to the taxpayers and not to the Tax- Free Foundations and In- ternational Bankers. Receive a salary increase and your tax rises; Your silence won't stop the injustice but your represen- tatives should be informed of your views as a worker who supplies the Nation's needs. Our Founding Fathers knew that charity was the voluntary giving of one's self, one's time and money, and not the political coercion to take from somet? give to others. Remjnd-^your representativeuof-the need for TRUEj?epresentation of your ail- By Ronald J. Masciana-^he^year support and not the FiremaOr&F^F.D. election time support only. Sincerely, Francis A. Collins Dear Editor: In his Jan. 27 ment, our Capitol Com- \esteemed\ It was an historic first last week when Long Island govern- ment officials and oil industry representatives faced each other across a table in Mineola and began talking seriously about the risks and the rewards of Atlantic offshore oil and gas drilling. We told the oil men that if we are forced by the federal government to accept the risks of offshore drilling, we want a share in the rewards, too. Our talks began against the backdrop of a natural gas shortage that has once again shocked Americans Into recognition of the critical energy problem that we are facing, a problem that has grown worse instead of better since the Arab oil embargo of 1973. As I pointed out in this space last week, we are importing twice as much oil from the Arab countries now as we did three years ago. In 1973, the most tangible signs of the energy problem were the long lines at the gasoline pumps, and most of us suffered only minor in- convenience. But another em- bargo now, when we are twice as vulnerable as we were then, would be an unmitigated social and economic disaster. And even without an embargo, the daily widening gap between the energy we produce and the energy we consume should be cause for genuine national concern. The oil men point out that Atlantic offshore oil - if there is any - would help narrow that gap, at least for a while, and give us, more time to develop the Stye Jarmmgiak $ a*t \YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER\ - Established 1920- 51 Heisser Lane, Farmingdale, N.Y. 11735 Telephone: CHapel 9-0131 - 0170 Publisher ....... Joseph Merendino Editor/Manager . Robert J. Starrett Production Mgr Steven Vid Published every Thursday by Island-Wide Publications, Inc. Joseph Merendino, President; Steven Vid, Secretary-Treasurer COMPOSITION RESPONSIBILITY This newspaper will not be liable for errors, appearing in any advertising be- yond the cost of the space occupied by the error. By—Lined Articles &> Columns are the sole opinions of the writers & do not necessarily represent views of the paper. Second Class Postage at Farmingdale Post Office. SUBSCRIPTION RATE: 1 YEAR 15.00 MEMBER: New York Press Assoc. MEMBER: Nassau County Press Assoc. MEMBER: American Newspaper Repre sentative MEMBER; National Editorial Assoc. congressman, Ambro stated that public financing of the Presidential campaign was an \unqualified success.\ That the \overwhelming influence of special interest groups, business and labor, was considerably diminished, and the Washington Power Brokers were replaced by the public ...\ Nothing could be further from the truth, for he himself is part and parcel of the \power broker'' group being the liberal Democrat he is. The most glaring untruth about the decrease of labor in- fluence is contradicted in that the power of organized labor unions, which represent only 21.6% of the American workers, has in- creased rather than decreased. And of that 21.6%, no doubt there are many members who are forced to belong in order to hold their jobs. The vast majority of -American workers are not represented. The Supreme Court ruled that a portion of the Election Law, which allowed Congress to ap- point some members of the Federal Election Commission, was unconstitutional, that since [•Continued on page 9] defiant From Assemblyman Philip Healey alternate sources of energy that we are surely going to need when the last oil well runs dry and there is no more. It's hard to argue with the facts. And the facts are that we need more oil and gas now, and the Atlantic is a potential source of more oil and gas. So one of the key questions is how serious is the environmental risk. We are going to dig a lot deeper into that question in future meetings with the oil men but the basic answer seems to be that they are minimal. Among the more than 2,000 offshore wells that the industry has dug, only one caused a major disaster. That was a well off Santa Bar- bara, California, and it was quickly cleaned up with no permanent damage. Since then, the technology for offshore drilling has vastly improved, and offshore operations have been hedged in with a host of federal requirements that must be met before the first bit is sunk and federal regulations that must be observed to the letter. No machinery or equipment that is operated by human beings is completely fail-safe. But the oil drilling equipment is so sophisticated, and the operators' training so rigorous, that the chances of a major spill seem slim. And if a spill were to occur, there is legislation pending in Congress that would set up a Superfund to clean it up and to reimburse anybody who was damaged by it, whether in- dividuals or municipalities. What about the rewards? If we have to have offshore drilling, will it do anything for Nassau County? I'll talk about that next week. Motorists in New York State, especially those who have acquired \points\ on their license for speeding or other violation, ought to note with the greatest interest a new experimental program being in- stituted by the Department of Motor Vehicles; Normally, \points\ are not eliminated from a motorist's driving record until a certain period of time has elapsed and there is little the motorist can do to upgrade his or her driving record during that time. That may change under the program. The Department of Motor Vehicles is offering an advanced drivef training course and those who complete it successfully can remove three penalty \points\ from their driving record. The amount of \points\ charged against a driver depends on the type of violation but acquiring a total of 11 \points or three speeding violations within 18 months, would be grounds for license revocation. The goal of the new program is to reward drivers who make a serious effort to improve their driving skills and the Motor Vehicle Depart- ment feels that this would result in greater safety for everyone using our highways. The new experimental course is being offered in only three com- munities in the state so far, but is likely to be expanded if it proves successful. The course provides an eight-hour program at a cost of $20 and concentrates on defensive driving skills. Classes analyze accidents and their causes, reviews safe procedures for highway driving, passing, pedestrian rights and the effect of alcohol on a driver's skills. The program can be completed in two Saturday sessions or three weekday sessions. r 1 rerun raw fsfncfinfif?rnc?fi I ... Remarks of Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Colby I During the past few days I have received a number of letters from residents complimenting Town forces for the delivery of prompt and efficient service. In some cases the writers refer to specific in- dividuals, and in others they know simply that Town personnel were courteous and responsive to their calls. It is gratifying to know that residents appreciate the efforts of men and women who serve the Town. A program began last month should serve to further promote the delivery of thoughtful and effective service to all who live in Oyster Bay. Last Wednesday marked the conclusion of the first of a series of six- week seminars for Town personnel adopted from a course developed by the Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Eighteen middle-management employees, who hold positions of responsibility throughout the structure of Oyster Bay's government, have met once a week for two-hour periods during this time. They participated in management training sessions encompassing such matters as ef- fective communication, problem solving, development of supervisory skills and budgeting. A similar number of different employees will shortly begin their first six-week session. After that, the first group will return for ad- vanced training, and the second group will return later in the year. By the end of the year, approximately 120 employees will have received instruction from their fellow workers in Town government who hold upper-ievei supervisory positions, and most of whom are certified as teachers. There will always be some in government, industry or business who will do only that which is absolutely required. But the past per- formance and present activities of many in Oyster Bay's government is a reflection on the fact that most who serve the Town take pride in what they do. I frankly enjoy receiving letters from residents who compliment the Town on a job well done. Such correspondence is spurred by the efforts of responsible employees who take their jobs seriously.
