The-Leader_2009-10-22

              FREEPORT MEMORIAL LIBRARY
Yournewspaper CUSTOMIZED
for Freeport, Baldwin
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74th Year, No. 43 Freeport, N.Y. 11520
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Three Baldwin High School students -were selected to perform in the New York State School Music Association's (NYSSMA) Ail-State' Winter Coiiference in Rochester on December 3-6 - Senior Gretchen Sandberg as a violinist in the string orchestra, senior Jonathan Smith singing bass in the mixed chorus and junior Victoria Garcia playing trom­bone in orchestra.
First alternates are senior Eric Zuckerman for percus­sion, and senior Ian Robinson for both saxophone and jazz saxophone. The Baldwin students are among only 900 students chusen statewide" for participation in an All-State musical group.
PERFORMERS from left are Principal,Susan Knors, band teacher Scott Dunn, Ian Robinson, Eric Zuckerman, Jon Smith, Victoria
Garcia, Gretchen Sandberg, instrumental teacher Mary Ellen Janson, and Ed Chiarello, director of fine and performing arts.
Denenberg and Jones in 19th ID
by Douglas Finlay
Fred Jones
Fred Jones is a doctor of chiropractic with a practice in Merrick who is challeng­ing Legislator Dave Denenberg for the 19th Legislative District.
A chiropractor foi" 25 years who studied in Seneca Falls, New York, he earned the Merrick Man of the Year Award in 1995 from the Merrick Chamber of Commerce, and the Merrick Professional of the Year Award in 1998 from the chamber.
He us a volunteer in the Freeport Fire Department and its Emergency Rescue Company, a member of the Merrick Kiwanis Club and is president of the Three Old Cranks Car Club, which helps raise fiinds for such organiza­tions as Calhoun High School. He is also an official of the Roughriders soccer club.
Legislative District 19, which includes Bellmore, North Bellmore,- Merrick and parts of Freeport, North Merrick and Wantagh. He is serving his fifth term.
Mr. Denenberg is die chairperson of the Planning, Development and the Environment and- Public Works Committees and vice-chairperson of the Government Services and Operations and Labor Committees. • Legislator Denenberg has a degree in chemical engineering from Cooper Union, a law degree from Brooklyn Law School, and is a partner.in the New York law firm Davidoff, Malito and Hutcher.
He and his wife, Cara, • have three children: Amanda, 18, who is a fresh­man at SUNY Binghamton, and Danielle, 15, and Aron, 14, both of whom attend the Bellmore-Merrick schools.
Fred Jones
David Denenberg
Legislator Dave Denenberg (Democrat of Merrick) represents Nassau County
What is the state of the county at present? Mr, Denenberg: It is stable right now. We have had 13-sttaight. bond-rating
increases, which means that the borrow­ing institutions look favorably upon us.
The budget for 2009, even with a $120 million deficit, was balanced by a combi­nation of union and employee concessions, federal stimulus money and cuts to other agencies. We have the lowest county employee workforce in 40 years, which means continued savings.
In 2000, during . the • Gulotta Administration, there was budget of $2.5 billion, but with a $400 mil­lion deficit. The 2009 budget that County Executive Suozzi proposed was $2.6 billion, which the Legislature reduced to $2.5 billion.
The 2010 budget of $2.6 billion has a projected sur­plus of $30 million. We will continue to achieve results the people of the county expect of us by cutting costs, exposing fraud, reducing die workforce where necessary and reducing outside contiacts, which can add up to $40 million.
Mr. Jones: It is a financial mess. We
David Denenberg
have numerous problems that cause the residents to be overtaxed, such as a broken assessment system, which has cost the coiinty tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars.
The county executive hires out-of-town consultants, for example, who get high-paying salaries but don't redisuibute that money back into the local economy, they spend it where they live instead. That earned money doesn't go to a local com­munity butcher or for paying property taxes. The county also wants to privatize some parks, which would deprive the local residents of their park space that they pay taxes for.
For me the most impor­tant issue is the 2.5% increase in energy tax diat taxes firewood, electrical and fuels to heat our homes just in order to solve the financial problems of the county. That one we have to repeal -immediately.
The county has to be run more like a
business, where there is oversight about
(continued on page 3)
Scannell & Browne in 5th LD page 6
Remember
the needy
page 5
Village board
pages
Town, county
candidates speali
page 15
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