Bethpage-Tribune_1972-09-21

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Island Trees
VOL. 6 No. 46
Serving Bethpage - Plainview - Island Trees - Plainedge - Seaford Old Bethpage
Thursday, September 21, 1972 10c per copy
Long Island Goes Big League m piainedge:
newest expansion team, not only will play regular
schedule in new Nassau Coliseum but also will have a
new facility-Royal Ice Rink in Kings Park-for
practice sessions. Here's Islanders' general manager
Bill Torrey (seated, center), being shown plan of soon-to-
be-completed by (1. to r.) Ames D. Reesa, Vince
DiNapoli, Douglas Kelly and John Amoruso, all con­nected
with project. Rink, with 2,000-seat capacity,
was ready for Islanders' workouts Sept 20, and will
open to the public in early October.-
New Faces In
Bethpage Schools
The Bethpage High School
faculty welcomed four new
teachers to the staff with the
opening of school this fall.
Miss Marguerite Sorensen, a
resident and graduate of
Bethpage H.S. is-teaching 9th and
10th year mathematics: Miss
Sorensen graduated from SUNY
at Plattsburg and did substitute
teaching work at Bethpage.
Mrs. Julia Sheldon from Glen
Head, N.Y. is teaching General
Science and Earth Science. She is
a Wellesley College graduate and
has a MS degree from C.W. Post
and L.I.U. Mrs. Sheldon has
taught in private and public
schools here on Long Island in­cluding
Friends Academy,
Bradley School, Port Washington
and Kings Point Day School.
Among her interests and hobbies
are her grandchildren.
Miss Sandra Cassens from Sea
Cliff is a graduate of Murray
State University in Kentucky.
She taught, business education at
Glen Cove High School before
coming to Bethpage. She has had
secretarial <uid office experience
in the business world. She will
teach business subjects and be
responsible for the new program
of career education co-sponsored
by the NYS Dept. of Education.
Miss Cheryl VanSyckle of
Levittown will teach swimming
as a member of the Phys. Ed.
Dept. Miss VanSyckle replaces
Mrs. LaFalce on leave, she is a
graduate of the University of
Kentucky with a BS degree. She
comes to Bethpage from Hewlett
High School where she taught
swimming.
Four former members of the
JFK Junior H.S. staff have filled
in vacancies in the high school
faculty. They are:
Miss Carol Morawski of
Plainview. She has a BA from
C.W. Post College, an MA from
Adelphi.and will teach American
and World History.
Alan Leyine of Brooklyn
graduated from Brooklyn College
and has an MS degree from
Hot's tra. He is teaching Spanish
second and thrid levels. Listed as
hobbies and interests a/e tennis,
languages and travel.
Mrs. Bojnnie Goldstein is from
Hempstead. She graduated from
SUNY Stony Brook and has an
MS degree from Queens College.
Mrs. Goldstein is teaching
French.
Miss Carol Perl lives in
Wantagh and is a graduate of
SUNY at Oneonta. She has
completed graduate study at
Colgate University and C.W.
Post. She has worked for Olivetti
marketing calculators. She is
teaching Mathematics at both the
Junior and Senior High Schools.
Rockin' and Rollin
"&**F*¥^W~-!^j&iSK^^^g^.^!y-. •irj=<"$sssj-ja*«
By Richard Wood
' The din would have drowned
out a drum-pounding, cymbal-crashing
rock and roll band. It
lessened neverthless, settling
down t)0 a continuous roar while
Tfte Plaiffeiige «et«or*Boafd-to©k
their seats at the head of the
Plainedge High School cafeteria.
But perhaps it was just the in­ferior
accoustics that seemed to
amplify and reverberate every
voice in the audience. ,
CALM BEFORE STORM
"Whereas the school district is
concerned with the mental and
physical condition of all em­ployees,"
the resolution read, " it
is resolved that the Superin­tendent
oi Schuuls is authorized
to order and obtain medical
and/ Or psychiatric examination
for any employees by "medical
officers approved by the Board of
Education for the school
district.-'
A few hands clapping. Many
blank faces. Numerous ex­pressions
of ignorance. What? No
further explanation from the
board. The vote. Unanimous
approval by the District No. 18
board.
A second resolution. The
Plainedge Board of Education
voting unanimously to approve
termination of the district's
present cafeteria contract. Citing
"default in the performance of
the food service contract," the
district was severing relations
with Nassau-Suffolk School
Feeding, Inc.
Expressions of disbelief pop­ping
from the audience as the
board revealed its.reasons.
Receipt of spoiled food from the
contractor. Delivery of food in
improperly sealed containers.
Non-delivery of related utensils
and serving items. Unsanitary
conditions at the contractor's
plant. Delivery of overcooked,
burned foodstuffs. Closing of the
contractor's plant by the Suffolk
County Board of Health.
It all seemed very confusing,
but once explained the taxpayers
responded with enthusiastic
approval.
The board would now seek bids
on an additional contract.
General aggreement followed-
Normalcy was ' returning,
ambiguity was leaving. The aura
that usually surrounds and
permeates Plainedge Sehool
Board meetings was returning.
The floor was than turned over
to Dr. John Reinhart, Superin­tendent
of Schools.
"I'd like to comment on the
openings of school for the fall
term," Reinhart began.
There were sighs of relief, of
understanding, of security. It
seemed like a school board
meeting again. The audience
listened with anticipation.
Dr. Reinhart began with an
All Night Long «^i^TT"&,T™rjiiP»:T?^^y°^y'm«igg^^
indirect reference to a "few
unfortunate matters," called the
transition from summer to fall
"relatively uneventful," then
briefly mentioned a few problems
with the school svstem's data
processing equipmenV%hd class
balancing procedures.
"We've also had some calls
relative to the traffic conditions
at the Eastplain School," con­tinued
Dr. Reinhart. "The
problem of signs and crosswalks
has been taken up with the police.
They will make a complete
survey of that area. We can
expect corrective action soon."
Most important, said Dr.
Reinhart, was the return of the
district's teaching staff with a
new 2-year contract. He indicated,
that a Memorandum of
Agreement had also been signed
with the district's custodial
workers.
'The board then read a letter it
had received from the Uniondale
School District. The letter
revealed that certain Long Island
Teachers and teacher's groups
were actively supporting various
candidates for the state
legislature. The Uniondale
district wanted to "alert other
communities to the dangers of
this teacher action."
The teachers, said the letter,
might wield considerable in­fluence
if their candidates were
successful.
The basis of the Uniondale
petition was that local education,
as a result of these actions, could
suffer in the long run. They
wanted the support of Plainedge
and other districts.
ROUND ONE
Things got confusing again for
the spectators and board as well
when a district resident
demanded that the board read a
letter he had previously written
to the board.
School Board President Terri •
Bahnken revealed that the board,
prior to the meeting, had voted
not to read the letter.
Board member Henry Cadrella
responded by saying "If the man
had taken the time to write the
letter, it should be read."
Sporadic applause greeted
Cardella's comments.
Board member Frank
McGrath then countered Car-della
by saying that the'board
shouldn't discuss personnel
matters..
After a brief, confusing debate,
the board reversed its previous
decision and voted in favor of the
reading of the letter.
The man then read his letter.
It wouldn't serve any useful
purpose to reveal the man's
name. But the subject .of the
letter was the treatment the
man's child received during her
first day at school; To paraphrase
the contents of the letter:
The child had difficulty in
adjusting to the new environment
of public school. She was crying.
She was taken to the nurse's
office. The man, advised of the—£
situation by his wife, went up to
tin* sehool; He found the ehHd in
the nurse's office "lying naked on
a cot under a sheet."
It was no way to solve his
daughter's problem, , the man
decried. "Unprofessional
behavior on the part of the-school,"
the man kept reiterating
loudly.
The board responded by saying
the matter was being in­vestigated
and that action was
being taken.
A number of people in the
audience now felt they could put
the'"first' resolution of the night
into context.
The audience supported the
man with empathic shouts of s
agreement.
Another individual countered
by asking the board why the
letter was allowed to be read
before a complete investigation
was made. It damaged the
reputation of the person involved,
the individual continued.
Distortion of basic American
principles were at stake, the
individual explained, in that
practically everyone had labeled
the person guilty prior to the
completion of a full investigation.
The board, she concluded, must
be held responsible for this gross
and unjustifiable indescretion.
No one on the board could issue
a satisfactory response. They
were silent. Apparently they
realized their mistake. But the'
audience came alive again.
The man and his wife grew
even more vociferous and began
screaming at the individual who
had simply raised a legitimate,
albeit emotionally-loaded
counterargument.
Others came to support of the
parents. Loud, screaching, un­friendly,
demanding voices
carried through the Plainedge
High School cafeteria.
The hypothetical rock band
would have been drowned out
again. And the board sat silent
through the whole disturbance.
ROUND TWO
After things eventually quieted
down again, the board devoted 20
banal minutes to" a debate over •,-•'
who should have paid for the
reception given for Dr. Brown,
the new High School principal.
Could the board use district
monies for receptions, teas and
the like? Was it illegal? If so. who
should pay.?
Board member Don Kanter
broke into the discussion with a
sarcastic question, "'Then
suppose the coffee we serve
executive board meetings
illegal too?"
(Continued on Page 1J