Friday, May 5, 2017
Vol. 77, No. 18
$1
Town wants updated law on cellular devices
SCIENCE OLYMPIANS
BY GARY SIMEONE
The Division Avenue High School Science Olympiad team qualified for the New York State Finals competition for the ninth consecutive year. Photo courtesy of the Levittown School District For the ninth consecutive year, members of Division Avenue High School’s Science Olympiad team qualified for the New York State Finals competition held at Le Moyne College in Syra-
cuse on March 10-11. After months of preparation and numerous invitational competitions on Long Island, at Yale University and in the North Poconos, the talented students
collectively won medals in 20 out of 25 events. In the New York State Finals, all four seniors on the team earned state medals. See page 25
A giant act of kindness at local school At the Stratford Road Elementary school in Plainview last Thursday evening, over 110 parents, teachers and students gathered in the school’s cafeteria for the 2017 Birthday Wishes event. This is the third year that the school partnered with the non-profit organization which
holds birthday parties for kids who are in homeless shelters. All of the families who attended the event, which was held from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. brought unwrapped gift boxes. Different stations were set up in the cafeteria as parents, teachers and students worked hard putting goody
bags together, filling out cards and blowing up balloons. Dr. Alison Clark, Principal at the Stratford Road school, said the event was a culmination of a multi-approached project within the school that focused on the theme of kindness and empathy See page 25
There have been a rash of phone calls to the Town of Oyster Bay recently from residents who are concerned about the newly installed cellular phone repeaters in their neighborhoods. From Woodbury to Syosset, residents have called in worried about the health effects of the box like repeaters being installed within feet from their homes. Oyster Bay Town Supervisor, Joe Saladino said that he hopes to quell the fear of residents by doing three things. Those things include initiating a study into the possible adverse effects of newer cellular technology, changing the law so local municipality’s can stop the installation of these devices until medical studies are completed and have a mandate that medical studies must be constantly updated. “I think it is fair for our residents especially with our ever growing technology, that we have a new study to look into the effects of these type of devices,” said Saladino. The Supervisor said he has called on his State representatives in Albany, including State Senator, Chuck Schumer and Kristen Gillibrand to look into the matter. “My stance is I’m with the residents on this and I’m not going to just blindly follow our Federal government or
big business who say that these devices are perfectly safe.” The cell phone repeaters or boosters are meant to improve reception in dropped coverage areas. They are not just a Long Island issue, as they are actively being installed in cities and towns throughout the country. Saladino said that in 1999 the Town tried taking a cell phone provider to court to prevent the building of cellular towers. “We ended up losing that trial because it was found we were without merit to try to prevent these towers from being built,” said Saladino. He said that the reasons the Town sought for preventing the building of cellular towers included health effects on nearby communities, reduction of property values and overall neighborhood aesthetics. In the meantime, he said that he feels the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) should have a moral responsibility to address the concerns of the residents. “Maybe to alleviate people’s concerns the FCC can allow people to contact their regional office and have a representative come out and test these repeaters with an RF gauge to display energy levels. Maybe hold up the gauge to one of these devices and to someone’s cell phone to compare the levels.”
Levittown Key Club unveils9/11 artifact PAGE 11 Top artists attend all county exhibition PAGE 10