Friday, December 6, 2019
Vol. 79, No. 49
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SERVING BETHPAGE, OLD BETHPAGE, AND PLAINVIEW
More contaminated soil found in Bethpage Community Park
SOARING EAGLES DAY
BY GARY SIMEONE
Students at John F. Kennedy Middle School celebrated Soaring Eagles Day to promote the power of making good choices and the importance of good character. See page 19
Plainview resident retires from a lifelong work helping others BY GARY SIMEONE After 23 years of service, Plainview resident Hillary Rutter is retiring from what she calls a lifelong passion of helping others. On January 10, 2020, she will retire from her post as director of the Adelphi University NY Statewide Breast Cancer Hotline
& Support Program. The program runs the oldest breast cancer hotline in the country, and provides counseling, support groups, educational programs, community outreach and advocacy to thousands of New Yorkers. “When I came to this program in 1996, it was a much smaller program,” said Rut-
ter. “Through the years it has really grown and we have so many more volunteers on board who are responding to the needs of the breast cancer community.” As a director of the program, she is responsible for duties such as supervising See page 18
Leftover contamination from the former Northrop Grumman site continues to plague residents in the Bethpage community. Recent findings from exploratory testing by the State DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) in May have uncovered additional contamination in the soil beneath Bethpage Community Park. The site is near a ball field that has been closed since 2002 and is targeted for cleanup by Northrop Grumman, with oversight by the State DEC. In a Town of Oyster Bay meeting that was held earlier this year at the site, Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino expressed his frustration at the delayed cleanup efforts. “Since becoming Town Supervisor, I have made the cleanup of underground issues in this community a top priority,” said Saladino at the time. “This dormant property is finally ready for a new chapter. We are thrilled that remediation efforts are getting underway so that we can return this field to the residents of Bethpage with the assurance of safety for our community.” Testing in May discovered volatile organic compounds, including a carcinogenic solvent known as TCE (trichloroetylene) at 15 times the target cleanup goals set by the state. The discovery was made in the extreme eastern corner of the
park right outside of the ball field. Erica Ringewald, DEC director of media relations, said that that the contamination is located over a pit where Grumman once dumped solvent-soaked rags and steel drums. It is believed to be located 36 to 50 feet below ground in a narrow two to eight-foot thick interval. “We did do a full and detailed investigation prior to this finding and to clarify there is no new groundwater hotspot that has been identified,” said Ringewald. “It’s not unusual for us in the course of a remediation of this scope to find some isolated areas that were not previously characterized.'” The park was closed to the public in 2002 when testing found elevated levels of contamination inside the soil. Sections of the park were eventually reopened after followup testing, and in 2006, the park underwent a significant remediation project. The ball field area remained closed, however, after contamination was found to spread far underground and the cleanup effort required was deemed as exorbitant. Northrop Grumman submitted a revised delineation work plan for DEC review and approval on November 15. The company expects to start an in-situ thermal remedy next spring to rectify the situation. While this treatment is occurring, Grumman is required See page 18
Fundraiser for NYPD police officer PAGE 4 TOB presents Holiday on Ice show PAGE 8