1972-02-17

              Cheek the Community Log for Next Week's
Happenings - Pages CI 1- 8
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WHERE THE HISTORY OF YOUR COMMUNITY b Kctwutu wttKLY
An Official Newspaper of the Incorporated Village of Farmingdale — Serving Greater Farmingdale, Bethpage and Melville
V o l . 9 NO. 2 6 Second Class Postage has been paid at Farmingdale, N. Y. 11735 • Published by THE OBSERVER, INC., Box 146, Farmingdale, N. Y. Thursday, February 17, 1972
MOMENTO: Lt. Charles F. Steuer, ( left) of the Nassau County Police Department is shown
receiving a replica of a call box from Inspector Joseph P. Gallick, right, at a retirement dinner for
the two men at Mah Jong Restaurant, in Syosset. Over 250 fellow cops and officers attended the
event.
Two Farmingdale Police Officers
Retire After 30 Years Service
Two- well known police officers
of the Nassau County Police
Department have retired after
more than 30 years of service
each and were feted at a farewell
dinner at Mah Jong Restaurant
on Jericho Turnpike in Syosset by
their fellow officers and
patrolman.
They are Inspector Joseph P.
Gallick, of 76 Jefferson Road,
Farmingdale; and Lieut. Charles
F. Steuer of 32 Spruce Street
South Farmingdale. Inspector
Gallick spent most of his police
career in the Second and Seventh
Precincts. The Weinberger
kidnapping case, the Ivan
Jerome fire and disappearance
and the Damon baby cases all
came under his jurisdiction.
Lieut. Steuer joined the force
April 22, 1939 in a class with
former Commissioner Francis B.
Looney who is now in the New
York City Department.
Both officers were presented
with calendar watches and other
momentos. In addition Steuer
was presented with a replica of a
police call box. It seemed that
when Steuer was on duty he
would be plagued by people
leaving the receiver off in the call
boxes and then running at top
speed. The switch board would
start buzzing and flashing and
Steuer would come on the radio
for the patrolmen in the sector to
get to the call boxes.
Ron Swoboda Scores
During Rap Session
Ron Swoboda, of Mets World
Championship fame and now a
Yankee, is a young man who
could probably do very well on
the banquet circuit. May be he
does that anyway but he also does
something else, for which he is to
be highly recommended.
Headlines We Can Do Without
The following is an editorial comment by the
FARMINGDALE OBSERVER:
The events at Farmingdale High School last week were a rude
reminder that our hometown is part of this restless world. Under
the surface of the quiet, even placid life to which most of us have
become accustomed in our neck of the woods, apparently the
same cross- currents and swirls of emotion are active that
elsewhere have erupted into even more violent incidents.
Because white and black children were involved, a brawl that
must be considered a more or less normal occurence whenever
and wherever over 3,000 children are gathered at close quarters,
automatically became headline news, assumed major
proportions. For us, too, it became a headline story, as it had to.
We would rather have done without it, though, just as most
residents could have done without this news event, we're sure.
Let's therefore resolve that all of us keep our perspective, let's
all promise each other to not do anything that would add fuel to
the fire of emotions, that would bring about a repeat of last
week's unfortunate events. And let's acknowledge with a sense
of gratitude the prompt and in its decisiveness measured
response of our school administration.
Swoboda is working for the town
of Oyster Bay in an effort to stem
the tide of increasing drug abuse.
In that capacity he spent an
evening with the young people of
PRICE, the anti drug abuse
center on Farmingdale's South
Main Street. He did, at least to
our imagination, score heavily
that evening with those who
might have been or still are in the
grips of addiction.
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" I am very concerned about
this drug problem in our
society,'' he said, " I have two
sons myself and I have to do my
part to do something positive
about it." Swoboda pointed out to
the youngsters that no athlete can
stay on top of his game once he
has started on the drug trip which
can only lead downhill.
When one of the members
mentioned that freedom is the
one thing that young people want
most, Swoboda had an answer
that certainly should have been a
home run: " Anybody who uses
drugs and becomes addictive is
probably the most enslaved
person in the world. He is not the
one who can dictate his actions
any more. It is his addiction that
tells him what to do."
All Quiet on the
High School Front
The open conflict that broke out last Thursday
morning at Farmingdale High School and resulted in
an ugly free for all involving about 150 students is over.
But, according to a school spokesman, the difficult part
is just beginning. He was referring to the work
necessary to stop similar conflicts from occuring in the
future.
" The cooperation from parents
and the police has been very
encouraging," John Regan,
assistant to the superintendent of
schools, said yesterday. " The
parents of the students involved
in the fight have really put the
law down to their offsprings and
everybody is watching his step."
The school administration have
suspended four students who are
believed to have been the ones
most responsible for the incident
on Thursday. A formal hearing
on the suspensions will be held
this Monday. According to the 8th
precinct, a warrant against
William Russo, 17, for
harassment was signed by
Michael White and a Far­mingdale
teacher, Edwin
Schlosser.
Last Monday the parents of the
white and black students in­volved
in the fight met separately
in the High School. Later on, ten
representatives of each group got
together in a closed session.
Afterwards this group of twenty
met with school officials and
informed them of their common
concern for the safety of their
children and for a fair treatment
to all students. The parents
agreed to continue their meetings
and they also guaranteed the
conduct of their children
There were also some
demonstrations on Monday in
front of the High School. About
150 students were walking up and
down carrying signs which read
" School Discriminates Against
Whites," " Us Whites Want
Rights" and " We Go Back When
Russo Goes Back". On Tuesday
morning however, everything
was back to normal, including
attendance.
In a letter to parents and
students of the Farmingdale High
School, Dr. William A. Kinzler,
superintendent of schools, and
John A. McLennan, principal of
the High School, informed
parents about the incident at the
school and explained why the
school remained closed last
Friday: " Rumors were brought
to us that a certain segment of the
students involved were planning
to return Friday and bring out­siders.
The police and school
administration agreed to close
the school for the safety of all
children while we investigated
the rumors and took further
proper action."
The letter concluded by
thanking " the thousands of
students who behaved and
cooperated so well".
During a meeting of the entire
faculty of the Farmingdale
Senior High the professional
interest committee, representing
the faculty of Farmingdale
Senior High School, expressed its
unanimous support of the prin­cipal,
John A. McLennan, for his
prompt and effective action in his
fair dnd impartial handling of the
situation in the school on Thur­sday
morning.
Village Faces
Cost Increases
And Election
Monday night's meeting of the
Farmingdale Village Board of
Trustees gave a perfect
illustration of how circumstances
sometimes destroy man's best-laid
plans: A letter read by
village clerk James McKenna
informed the village board that
the Town of Oyster Bay is in­creasing
its incinerator charges
from $ 6.00 to $ 7.00 per ton, ef­fective
June 1, 1972.
Whatever figures for next
fiscal year's budget were already
assembled, they now will have to
be revised upwards by several
thousands of dollars. And there is
really nothing they board can do,
just as there was nothing it could
do when the Town of Oyster Bay
doubled its incinerator charges
not much more than a year ago.
Farmingdale needs the Tobay
incinerator, whatever the cost.
All that mayor John Hallahan
could. do in response to the
notification from town hall was to
accept the inevitable with as
much grace as can be mustered
in such a case.
After a public hearing on two
new ordinances in respect to
changed rules on parking fields 2,
4 and 6, and zoning regulations
for the business area south of
Fulton Street, the appointment of
Dorothy Kelly, Josephine Jones,
Frieda Grell and Jean Kraus as
election inspectors was an­nounced
- a reminder that the
village elections are not too far
away. —
The election itself will take
place on March 21 from noon to 9
p. m. at village hall. Registration
has been set for March 4, also at
village hall.
Except for trustee Willis
Carman, Jr., all members of the
village board are up for re­election,
if they so choose. Ap­parently
they have so chosen, and
also apparently no one will
challenge them. With litUe more
than one month to go before
election day, no challenger has
yet appeared on the' horizon.
Unless tnings change very soon,
the quiet village of Farmingdale
will have a quiet village board
election.