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Editorials • Viewpoints • Comments u <u Xi a <v o Q >> a •o en l» S I es WD .S s u a Vandals J A Hack A letter sent to the parents of Woodward Parkway Elementary School students this past week by the Superintendent of Schools Fred J. Brockmann and Principal Patricia Desch indicated that an all out war seemed to have been declared against the school by a gang of vandals. According to the letter, over 40 windows were broken on a recent Friday night and others were broken during the day on Saturday by a group of youngsters estimated as being between 12 and 16 years old. Even the supposedly unbreakable plastic Lexan windows were smashed by heavy instruments. In addition to extra security personnel that had to be called in and police to investigate and patrol, the cost of the vandalism was over $2,100. It was noted in the letter that the vandals taunted the custodians (from a vantage point too far away for identification) to \put the windows back and we'll break them again.\ We don't have to tell you where the dollars are coming from to pay for this destruction, it's always the taxpayers pocket unless the vandal is caught and convicted. Then he (or she) or their parents have to pay. The school district would like to know what prompts young people to tak@ these actions and they have established a \hot line\ where residents can express opinions or information on a recorded message without identifying themselves. The number 249-7739 may be called between 4:30 p.m. Friday and 7 a.m. 'Monday or any weekday after 4 p.m. We may not have the answer to the problem, but we have noticed that as the use of marijuana and alcohol increases, the age of the users decreases. It is now down to elementary school level. We suspect that there is a strong possibility that even the younger \non users\ may be imitating their \peer heroes\ that do. From Our Dear Sir: I wish to welcome the Associated, Food store to Farmingdale. I have been shopping at this store since they opened and always find it a pleasure. It used to be a chore I did not like but Associated has changed that for me, they have very good sales and they always have their shelves stocked full, They always have the sales item no matter what day you go, the manager is very very nice and the sales people are very helpful, the meat is excellent and the prices are very good. I am sure I am not the only one who is happy that Associated came to Farmingdale and hope that they will always stay with us. Thank you Associated Welcome to Farmingdale Mrs. B. Catapano Dear Editor: Recently I read the gracious acknowledgement from Supervisor Colby pertaining to the endorsement you gave him in the recent election and his praise on your campaign coverage. I am writing this letter in the hopes that you will print a differing point of view. As a Democratic Com- mitteeman and former Cam- paign Co-ordinator for Judy Jacobs' campaign for Town Council, I take personal exception to Supervisor Colby's statement that your newspaper brought the issues of the campaign to the people of the Town of Oyster Bay. During the long months of the campaign, I never saw one article in your newspaper which pertained to the Democratic Party. In fact, on behalf of Mrs. Jacobs, I personally sent you press releases every week, many of which were important enough to have been published in Newsday and most of which were published in the other local papers, None of these appeared in your newspaper. I do not consider this bringing the issues of the campaign to the people and I would hope that in the future your newspaper would ' see fit to change its policies. Sincerely, Lawrence D. Misita Stye Iflaraungbale Jtoat \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 Farmingdale Post Division of Merlin Printing Co., Inc. Joseph Merendino, President; Steven Vid, Secretary-Treasurer COMPOSITION RESPONSIBILITY ThU newspaper will not be liable foi errors, appearing in any advertising be- yond the cost of the space occupied by the error. By—Lined Articles flt 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 $5.00 MEMBER: New York Press Assoc. MEMBER; Nassau County Press Assoc. MEMBER: American Newspaper Repre sentative MEMBER: National Editorial Assoc. CAPITOL Congressman COMMENT JEROME A. AMBRO Third District Things unfold in funny ways in the curious world of politics and government. The most unlikely developments are spawned by the interactions of governments and those elected to run them, as in the case of Wednesday's visit to Long Island by the man who holds one of the most powerful positions in the country, James T. Mclntyre, Jr., the acting director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. It's cot every day that the nation's Budget Director comes into Nassau and Suffolk to discuss a federal matter of great concern to local officials - the separation of our two counties into an independent planning unit. During my four terms as a Long Island Town Supervisor, I worked with various federal, county, town and village officials in petitioning the U.S. Government for designation of the bi-county area as a separate regional planning unit, apart from the Tri-State entity. This was more than just a matter of, regional pride or stubborn parochialism, but rather a justifiable and reasonable desire to control our own growth and to set our own priorities for a host of federally funded programs. While this effort has been going on for several years, what really precipitated Mclntyre's unique visit was the furor caused by the Tri-State Planning Commission's outrageous scheme for the construction of 50,000 units of low- income housing. in Nassau County, a proposal unsound economically, environmentally, and sociologically. My office and most other Long Island elected officials immediately attacked the scheme. For too long, the needs and desires of Long Island and its citizens have been subjugated to the interests of the urban centers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, the three states represented on the Commission. What makes this situation even more intolerable is that only two of the 15 members of the Commission (appointed by their respective governors) are elected officials, and there are NO representatives from Long Island at all! The result is that an unelected group of bureaucrats surrounded by a swollen staff of ivory-tower planners, in which we have no representation, is drawing up blueprints for our future development and deciding whether or not we are to be eligible for all kinds of federal grants-in-aid. Long Island is no longer a semi-rural bedroom community in its relationship with New York City. It is rather an area of 2% million people with a diversified commercial and industrial sector, a prestigious university and research com- ponent, and a fairly hetero- genious population, a most frag- ile ecology. Long Island certainly has its own problems and needs. Surely, this is an identifiable and distinguishable governmental entity. This was recognized by the federal government itself, when it granted status to Nassau and Suffolk as a separate Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) several years ago. It is entitled to control its own destiny in terms of long-range regional planning and applications for necessary federal programs. As a Long Island newspaper pointed out, last week, we have 15% of the population covered by the Tri- State Planning Commission, and we pay 15.4% of the taxes, but we receive less than 6% of the [Continued on page 9] From Assemblyman Philip Healey M-i - One of the foremost higher education financing aids available to those attending public and private colleges and universities in the state is the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP). A TAP award is a grant based on the family's net taxable income and is adjusted to take into account other family members who are attending college. TAP is available for families with net taxable incomes (amount after all deductions) up to $20,000 with maximum grants of $1,500 for lower level incomes. Myself and other Republican legislators, however, feel that the maximum grant levels, should be increased. Toward this end, I co-sponsored legislation this year which would have raised maximum TAP awards to $1,800 but, unfortunately, the bill was not released from committee. This is one of the priorities for the 1978 legislative session. Federal aid is also available to help defray the cost of college education in combination with the TAP program. The Basic Ed; \tionr' O ^portunity Grant is also based on the family's resources ana is non-competitive. This is an outright grant and, like TAP, does not require repayment. These grants range from $50 to $1,400 for an academic year. Regents College Scholarships are also available in the amount of $250 a year to, resident students studying in New York State colleges. Qualification for the program, however, is by examination and may be used in addition to TAP awards but the combined total may not ex- ceed the actual cost of tuition. Anyone wishing to obtain a free copy ,of a pamphlet further describing higher education financing assistance can write to: Student Financial Aids Officer, State University of New York, 99 Washington Avenue, Albany, 12246. Xsl^ COLBY COMMENTS This week I was reminded that, although July 4 of last year marked the 200th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, 1776 was only the beginning of a long and painful struggle to attain the precious freedoms we enjoy today. Here in Oyster Bay 200 years ago, the people were already feeling the oppression of the British troops of occupation that arrived shortly after the defeat of the revolutionary forces at the Battle of Long Island on the heights of Brooklyn in August 1776. The freedom-loving rebel or Tory families were to suffer under the hands of their Loyalist neighbors as well as the British Army for seven long years. Our forebears were not to know freedom until the signbg of the peace treaty in 1783 and the eventual withdrawal of the British troops. Our bicentennial commemoration, therefore, should be an ongoing one so that we will remember the events and struggles of those dif- ficult years by which our independence and freedom were earned. Next year is also of particular historical significance in the Town of Oyster Bay in that it marks the 325th anniversary of the founding of SfLlS' 0, ? 16 ?' a ^^P of colonists from New England made the First Purchase from the Matinecock Indians of a large tract of land comprising the northern part of the Town. Both the bicentennial and the Town's 325th anniversary will be the prominent features of a quarterly calendar of historic dates and commemorative events and programs being prepared by our M^rS!\ 11 ?! c <> mmis si<>n under the able leadership of its chairman, Mas Dorothy Horton McGee. AU schools, libraries, clubs and other organizations are urged to develop commemorative programs and calendar Bicentennial Commission for listing in the •£&SK5&^J^ ** « tad to WP y° u p* 11 y* 11, w storical SSn pw!n act ini tles> tt can * reached at Town Hall by calling 922- 5800, extension 308 or 309.
