{ title: 'The Long Island advance. (Patchogue, N.Y.) 1961-current, September 06, 1979, Page 1, Image 1', download_links: [ { link: 'http://www.loc.gov/rss/ndnp/ndnp.xml', label: 'application/rss+xml', meta: 'News about NYS Historic Newspapers - RSS Feed', }, { link: '/lccn/sn95071025/1979-09-06/ed-1/seq-1/png/', label: 'image/png', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn95071025/1979-09-06/ed-1/seq-1.pdf', label: 'application/pdf', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn95071025/1979-09-06/ed-1/seq-1/ocr.xml', label: 'application/xml', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn95071025/1979-09-06/ed-1/seq-1/ocr.txt', label: 'text/plain', meta: '', }, ] }
Image provided by: Suffolk Cooperative Library System
S3 <*5k fit SB BB aa By JO ANN McGRATH Shockwaves from the series of liquid propane gas-tank explosions that demolished the storage facilities of the Glover Bottled Gas Corporation Friday afternoon and caused the evacuation of 800 residents are still reverberating in the wake of the disaster-that-almost-was. Cool heads , pre-planning, volunteers from 10 fire departments and efforts of local , State Parkway and Brookhaven Town park police averted what could have K^«« *^*^i ^n.r^r. 4-n«-;n» ~f r. ^.«n n uiA »%:^s* j- . UVA^U L\iLCXl ULV aOLaUUll XtL CL Ol^CUUl^. ULK*\~K> of North Patchogue Fire erupted in the bottling area of the firm located at 675 Medford Avenue shortly before 2 p.m. that ignited the stored 20- and 30-pound , as well as 100- to 500-pound cylinders of li qui d propane . The resulting explosions , cLescriDcci by wit- nesses as \bomblike , \ sent shrapnel iiui iimg d ui»iall«_c Oi JL , <;UU icci ua W IIILG hot \tireballs \ and thick black smoke shot liitfVi pnnn0h fn hp 5ppn hv hnnfprc; nn ClrMt UUU Lil AJdj . Adjacent to the \fill area \ stands a 10 , 000 gallon main storage tank that was the first concern of the North Patchogue Fire Department as they responded with the aid of the Medfor d Fire Department to put into reality what Fire Chief Russell Huth described as a \ previously practiced pre-p lan \ for just such an emergency at ^ ricii bite \We have always felt the p lace (Glover) was a large potential danger , \ said Huth. He described the efforts of his department , in conjunction with the Fiie Prevention Department , in planning for the handling , of such an incident. \Explosions of this nature can destroy a whole town , \ he said. If the propane company on busy Route 112 incorporates in its being the com- Donents for such a maior disaster , why is it there ? \Because , \ said Brookhaven Town ' s Chief Fire Inspector Herb Davis , \legally we don 't have the right to make them move. \ He said that the propane company v>nri hoan nnoratinff for vpars before the LIKE THE FINALE OF A FIREWORKS DISPLAY the storage facilities of Glover Bottled Gas on Route 112 in North Patchogue went up in flames accompanied by a series of explosions as stored tanks of li quid propane were ignited. The North Patchogue Fire D epartment aided by the Medford Fire Department played streams of water on the main storage tank in a successful effort to keep it from exploding. Volunteers from 10 fire departments and 40 police units aided m evacuating residents and business people within a half mile radius of the explosions. —Rich Peters photo area became built up...years before an oi duiance had bean written that couid ever restrict their operation . What ordinance does exist was adopted in 1962 and it states that \ ...the bulk storage of liquid propane , for the protection of heavily populated oi congested commercial areas...(shoul d not exceed) the aggregate capacity of 2 , 000 water gallons... \ Because of this ordinance and , \ ...because locating bulk propane tanks of that size in populated areas is simp ly not good , down to earth , grass roots fire //*rw7 iimie>ri nn nnPP .3) RAth ei$ B l^e e^*^ fi^rt P t^ri rti^rM Mif 4 A n# 1^%^ «9 ^§3 ^s£> ^ ^ ^H£> ^kzs» ^^ ^s^ r a W$& H a H » ^sa s f w & ^0 & ^^ w S §1 JF Both sides in what ' s turned out to be a Suffol k Republican Party Civil War—the battle over who 'll be the GOP candidate for county executive this year—are op- timistic over victory as the contes t goes down to the wire. \It looks good , \ Lena Rubenstein , campaign manager for the incumbent , John V.N. Klein , was saying. Mr. Klein mop f nt£>/t of o **T y\ri rt Tclanrl Qoliitpc To^i r* VT CiO Aksl^Vt Ul U JL -J V/11^ AkJJLUAAV * k^*il*l.tu Vv/iill V.N. Klein \ $125-a-plate fund-raiser Friday night , and Mrs . Rubenstein was happy that Klein received the en- dorsement at the gala from County Cornpuullei Joseph Caputo , a residen t of Islip Town , where Klein ' s rival , Peter Fox Cohalan , hails from and is town super- visor . Long Island Regional Planning Board executive director Lee Koppelman read a statement at the event , from Suffolk' s only other county executive—Democrat H. Lee Dennison , who held the job from 1960 to 1972—d eclaring : \This county now needs Klein more than ever . \ \I started out as the underdog, \ said Cohalan this week \ and I have the funny feeling we may pull off a major upset . My vibrations coun tywide are very good. Peop le are anti-Klein in general , and I' m the beneficiary . And people have been hearing about what I've done in Islip and feel I can do the same thing for Suffolk. \ Smithtown ' s long-time GOP chief , Nicholas Barbato , Klein ' s political mentor , might have been acquitted last week of extortion snu gran^i ^arceny charges \but he was still a no-show for $200 a week on the payroll of the county msurance agent , George Tobler , and got ~—~+u«». ffiAn o «rcnib- from InA IVhirflfnrP CjI iGwCfcl ?X\TV 5* \V.-« \v««l v \^~ 1 - - 7 who supp lied the concrete for the South- west Sewer District. This remains as scandal and corruption , \ Cohalan said . Both sides have ' stepped up their ad- vertising in the last 10 days of the race , with Cohalan this week joining Klein in 3 (continued on p age 13) Wm A JS 9 |g^_g. JL ¦— © is B^ ® __. B ^_ „. A ^ S Jjp^ 4 K T ^ 'M» ' tmM « B Sr ^SB B iW *W^ ^^^QP l» 4% ^E^B BH Br * g ^^ fl^ iH jU^ ^ B^ BT W M B S^ fi^ iB B tST^B B ^ Wt Sff ^m nKmuSii Sawi ^^f SWmmJBBBB %rl %& ^5^ B ^p mv&BB BBB i<# mj rw Ul BBS %&£ %m \ 'Go west young man ' - West Main Street , that is. \ _ So says Patchogue Mayor James z,. Reese with a broad smile and twinkle in his eye. \There ' s no doubt about it. West Main Street is our next frontier , just waiting for the right investor to come along. It ' s an area with good potential , and it needs help. \ Help could be in the form of a federal grant , if Mayor Reese has his way. \West Main Street , \ Reese declared , \ offers good access , excellent visibility , and marginally used land that could be turned over for additional parking, as needed. \But , \ Reese e continued , \West Main Street' s investment potential must be put on a par witu suburban Snopping center opportuniti es . And the best way to ac- complish that is thro ugh federal funding to begin the revitaiization process. \ West Main Street' s future will be the subject of two public hearings scheduled for 4 p.m . and 7 p.m., at Village Hall , on Thursday, September 20. Village officials are seeking the input and advice of residents , merchants and property owners as to how to begin the redevelopment prog ram called for in the Master Plan. Mayor Reese intends to use these meetings as a basis for applying for $400 , 000 in Federal Community Development Funds under the Small Cities Program. This program provides federal monies to local governments , on an annual basis , for housing, public improvements or to improve economic conditions. This year the U.S. Department of Housing and Ur- ban Dev elopment (HUD ) is requiring that an applicant choose only one of the three categories. When contacted , Acting Mayor John J. Augustine elaborated on the Small Cities Program. \A few weeks back . I received notice that HUD will be accepting Small Cities Grant app lications up to October 1. While the competition among local ~~ *. ¦ .~^ .•».». <¦«¦. in finn/m fVtrt «-%w^rT**n w, ¦ o o. {^UVClUIUClILd lO llCl\-^ , bill* piuglUill lo IA good one , and could be very beneficial to the village . \ Augustine expanded on the si gnificance of the Small Cities Program , \It works directly into the Master Plan , \ he noted . \The Plan states that downtown Pat- chogue should maintain its prominent position as the retail center for our trade area . I translate this to mean a focus on jobs and improvements to West Main Street. Small Cities Funds can help us to (continued on page 17)
