The 16th annual Long Island Agricultural Forum will take place next Thursday and on Friday, Jan. 24, at the Suffolk Community College campus in Riverhead.

Open to growers and dealers in Long Island's agricultural and horticultural industries, the forum's sessions will focus on potato, fruit, and vegetable farming; viticulture; floriculture, and nursery growing. Current issues in agriculture, such as property tax reform, labor, wildlife management, and the use of pesticides, will be addressed. Pesticide training credits can be earned by those with pesticide applicator identification cards, and a trade show of over 50 agriculture-related businesses will be open during the show.

Next Thursday evening, participants will have an opportunity to socialize at the Vineyard in Aquebogue, where there will be hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar beginning at 5:30 p.m., and a buffet dinner with entertainment, magic by Maljean the Magnificent, at 6 p.m. Registration can be accomplished by calling Linda Lynch at Cornell Cooperative Extension in Riverhead, one of the program's many sponsors.

Michael McAllister will use slides and models on Saturday to explain the dynamics of Long Island's groundwater supply, in a program called "Flowing Above, Flowing Below."

The 10 a.m. to noon event will take place at the Bridgehampton headquarters of the Group for the South Fork, which is sponsoring it. Reservations have been requested.

Outdoors on Saturday, Ilmar Ratsep of the East Hampton Trails Preservation Society will lead a five-mile walk on Napeague, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Hikers will pass pine and oak forests, dunes, and sand strands, with Mr. Ratsep pointing out the different ecosystems along the way. Hikers will meet at the Long Island Lighting Company power station on Napeague Meadow Road, north of Route 27.

Elsewhere Saturday, the Long Island Greenbelt Trails Conference is hosting a two-to-three mile hike around the Caleb Smith State Park in Smithtown beginning at 9:30 a.m. The Conference's offices, in Blydenburgh Park in Smithtown, are the meeting place.

The East Hampton Trails Preservation Society will hold the first of a series of "guest speaker" hikes on Sunday, starting at 10 a.m. The East Hampton Town Crier, Hugh King, will relate local history while Richard Lupoletti leads the trek. Those wishing to stretch their minds as well as their legs will gather at the trail entrance on Spring Close Highway, about half a mile north of Route 27 and immediately north of the railroad overpass.

Finally, on Wednesday, the Society's Nancy Kane will lead hikers on a "movable feast" walk through the Nature Conservancy's Merrill Lake Sanctuary in Springs. After exploring a backyard trail system, hikers will repair to the leader's house nearby for bagels, scones, hot liquids, and conversation. The meeting place is the sanctuary entrance, off Springs-Fireplace Road. Ten a.m. is the hour.

The joys of sharing life with animals are many but there is one glaring drawback to pet ownership - beloved as they may be, pets do tie one down. Arranging a trip away can involve as much planning for the animals left behind as it does for the humans doing the actual traveling.

Patrice Gleasner of East Hampton has the solution for pet owners with wanderlust. Since August she has been operating Perfect Pet Care, a professional pet sitting operation.

Professional pet sitting is a relatively new service available for the pet owner and a new career opportunity for the entrepreneurial animal lover. It used to be a simple matter for vacationers to ask a neighbor to stop in and feed the cat, but life has grown more hectic.

Dogs Love Kennels

As Ms. Gleasner explained, "People are busier. Everybody works now. People don't feel comfortable asking their neighbors because they know that person's busy."

Many of Ms. Gleasner's clients leave their dogs at home to be cared for there as opposed to boarding them at a kennel. This came as somewhat of a surprise to me since most dogs of my acquaintance seem to view a trip to the kennel with delight and excitement and once there they disappear into the facility with wagging tails and nary a glance back at their desolate owner.

Though Ms. Gleasner said that there are some dogs who do not tolerate a kennel situation well, she does admit that, in the case of many dogs, home pet sitting is more for the owner's psychological benefit than the animals, saying, "A lot of people have problems with boarding."

Cats Do Not

Cats, on the other hand, definitely do have a problem with boarding. Other small mammals such as ferrets, rabbits, hamsters, and gerbils may also find the boarding situation objectionable.

The lucky pet owner who finds a qualified pet sitter can travel happily, rid of pervasive anxiety and guilt.

"Many pet owners just don't feel comfortable with the idea of their animals left in a box for a week and when keeping them at home there is a lot less exposure to disease," said Carol Tomas of the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters. Ms. Tomas pointed out an additional benefit of having a pet sitter - home security. Having a person stop by at least twice daily certainly keeps burglars at bay.

Specialized Sitters

Ms. Tomas has been a pet sitter in the Richmond, Va., area for over 20 years. "When I first started, I was the lone soldier. Nobody had heard of professional pet sitters," she recalled. Now the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters, the trade association she helped found, has more than 1,000 members.

As their numbers grow, pet sitters are developing their own specialties. In metropolitan areas there are pet sitters who deal exclusively with reptiles, others who deal exclusively with birds. For the tropical fish aficionado there are even fish sitters well versed in aquarium maintenance.

In rural and suburban areas, where there are fewer exotic pets, sitters tend to work mostly with cats and dogs. Ms. Gleasner's clients thus far have included nothing more exotic than a rabbit, though she wouldn't balk at caring for a more unusual creature. What about a boa constrictor? "I'm not squeamish!" she said gamely.

Though Ms. Gleasner majored in international affairs in college, after graduating she was thrilled to get a job on a more domestic front, at the American Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals in New York City.

"Animals have always been my greatest love and interest," she said.

"Greatest Job"

She spent the next 12 years working for humane societies in an outreach education capacity, though always making sure she also got hands-on time with the shelter animals. Eventually she felt ready for a change. "As much as I enjoy humane society work there is an element of sadness there. Pet sitting is a happier thing," she said.

Ms. Gleasner is clearly happy with her new profession, calling it "the greatest job in the world." But perhaps not the job for every animal lover.

Ms. Tomas stressed that pet ownership and an enjoyment of animals don't necessarily qualify one to work as an animal sitter. "They need to have extensive education in animal care and behavior. Just because they've spent some time with animals doesn't quality them anymore than having a tooth pulled qualifies me to be a dentist," she observed. And she also stressed the need for business savvy as well as animal smarts.

Quality Time

Ms. Gleasner pointed out that making a full-time business of pet sitting is very time-consuming and that ultimately many people might not find it fulfilling. "They may really love animals, but not a lot of people would be happy walking dogs all day," she said.

When she is carrying a full load of clients, Ms. Gleasner is on the road from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Many clients request multiple visits to their pets and she takes time with each animal.

"I give them quality time, I don't just throw the food down and leave," she said. This can involve walking dogs, playing Frisbee in the backyard, or just plain old cuddling.

"I took care of some pets last week, it was great. We had our Oprah date every afternoon. The five of us, me and two dogs and two cats, would all snuggle on the couch for an hour watching Oprah," Ms. Gleasner said with a laugh.

The Interview

When interviewing a prospective pet sitter, Ms. Gleasner advised pet owners to have the sitter meet the animal and to watch closely to see how they interact with the pet. The prospective sitter should not only have knowledgeable questions about the care of the animal but also should ask general household questions about the heat, turning lights on and off, and opening and closing blinds.

Both Ms. Gleasner and Ms. Tomas stressed that a pet sitter should have an extensive professional background in animal care as a worker in an animal shelter, veterinary hospital, dog obedience training facility, or grooming shop.

Ms. Gleasner also stressed that flexibility of scheduling is of primary importance, pointing out that a pet sitter with another full-time job will not have the time to make the several visits a day that may be required. Both women strongly advised pet owners to ask for references either from previous clients or from local veterinarians.

Guiltfree Traveling

Pet sitters can be found through referrals or bulletin board ads at veterinarians', pet stores, pet groomers, and animal shelters, through classified ads, and through word of mouth from friends and neighbors.

The lucky pet owner who finds a qualified pet sitter can travel happily, rid of pervasive anxiety and guilt. They know that the pets are in their secure home environment, sticking to their usual routines and being lovingly attended by a professional with an attitude similar to that of Ms. Gleasner, who said, "When I have animals in my care I think of them as mine. I enjoy them!"

Sailboats more than 20 feet in length will be phased out of small-boat mooring sites in Three Mile, Accabonac, and Napeague Harbors, the East Hampton Town Trustees decided last week. Another proposal offered by Harold Bennett, a Trustee, to increase fees paid by dock owners by 50 cents per foot, was defeated, although the Trustees agreed to revisit the proposal in a few months.

The mooring decision came on Jan. 7 after the Trustees re-elected Diane Mamay as their Clerk, or presiding officer.

"You'll lead us over the top," John Carley, a Trustee, said after the vote by the nine-member board, a reference to the recent Trustee initiative to assume broader powers. The panel also approved a small raise for most of its members.

New Mooring Policy

James McCaffrey was re-elected as Assistant Clerk, and John Courtney was rehired as the Trustees' attorney. Laurie Bennett will again serve as secretary, although it was announced that Lianne Miller, the panel's part-time secretary, had tendered her resignation. The board will seek a replacement.

After a lengthy discussion about mooring policy, it was agreed that in Three Mile Harbor, new applicants for Trustee moorings will be told to either dinghy out to the Trustees' large-boat mooring grid in the center of the harbor or go elsewhere if their sailboats are over 20 feet.

Owners of sailboats over 20 feet who now hold Trustee mooring permits in any harbor will not be asked to move unless they fail to renew their permits by March 31. If owners fail to renew, or decide not to, their moorings will be given to smaller boats.

Can Stay In Creek

The eight larger sailboats (up to 25 feet) permitted to moor in Northwest Creek last season will be allowed to stay because water there is deep enough and the basin is well away from boat traffic, the Trustees reasoned at the Jan. 7 meeting. The decision countermanded one made in December that included Northwest in the sailboat shuffle.

Ms. Mamay said the board's decision does not pertain to power boats because sailboats generally have deeper drafts and therefore must moor closer to the deeper navigation channels. Power boats up to 25 feet long are permitted in small-boat mooring areas when there is room.

The issue came to a head last summer when the only safe mooring for one particular sailboat in Accabonac Harbor was very close to the boat channel. The senior harbormaster, Bill Taylor, said the boat posed a danger. More boats - and more large boats - were the problem, Mr. Taylor said, speaking of increasingly congested harbors.

Over The Limit

There were 25 moorings in the East Harbor section of Accabonac, the most crowded harbor, last season, plus 11 at Louse Point, four off Shipyard Lane, nine off Landing Lane, and 12 off Gerard Point. Trustees have decided that both East Harbor and Louse Point are maxed out, while there is room at the other Accabonac sites.

The only losers in the short run are two owners of smaller boats who were mistakenly given Accabonac Harbor mooring permits last summer. "We have limits, and we had gone over our limits in Accabonac. We will send letters to them to say they are now first on the waiting list," Ms. Mamay said.

The mooring discussion took place during the Trustees' first meeting of the calendar year. It was the first meeting ever for the board's newest member, Mr. Bennett, who kicked things off with a proposal to increase, by 50 cents, the fee paid by dock owners.

Delayed Increase

Except in Montauk, the Trustees own the bottom and shore of the town's bays, harbors, and ponds. That gives them the authority to charge boaters, fishermen, and homeowners not only for moorings and docks but also for waterfront walkways, pilings, fish traps, and duck blinds.

Mr. Bennett said the $1-per-linear-foot fee for private docks and walkways should be increased to $1.50. The current $1.50-per-foot fee for commercial docks should be increased to $2, he said.

But Ms. Mamay argued that the increase, while reasonable, was not fair until the Trustees finished their inventory of all docks and made sure their billing records were complete.

Fee Schedule

The board voted to postpone the increases, and they approved the existing fee schedule:

The annual mooring fee is $3-per-boat foot for residents, increased from $2 just two months ago, $6 for nonresidents, and $10 for commercial fishermen. Those with boats in the large-boat mooring grid in Three Mile Harbor pay an extra $50 for the privilege.

Fish traps, pilings, and duck blinds each cost $10 per year.

There is a 50-cents-per-yard charge to purchase dredge spoil, with a $100 minimum.

A $10 permit fee is charged for snow fencing placed on Trustee property.

The property leases at Lazy Point cost homeowners $350 per lot.

Raise Approved

While they were at it, the Trustees voted to give seven of their members a $200 raise. The Clerk and Assistant Clerk agreed to keep their salaries at $8,700 and $6,500, respectively. The rest of the members' salaries went from $3,600 to $3,800 for the coming year, $3,100 coming from the East Hampton Town budget, the balance coming from Trustee funds. The Town contributes $6,000 toward the Clerk's salary, $4,500 toward the assistant's. Mr. Courtney's annual salary for his legal advice will be $11,400, the board agreed.

Members also agreed their meeting schedule should remain the same. The regular monthly meeting is held on the first Tuesday of the month beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall, with a work session scheduled for the third Tuesday, at the same time, at the Trustee offices on Bluff Road in Amagansett.

Progress on the new Town Airport is ahead of schedule. The first phase, a new parking lot and entrance from Daniel's Hole Road, was completed this fall on time and $77,000 under budget, said Pat Ryan, the airport manager. It cost just under $700,000.

Mild weather through last week allowed workers to finish building the foundation and concrete supports for the estimated $1.2 million terminal building, which Mr. Ryan predicted would also be done on time, in May.

The first-phase savings will help offset the $1.8 million cost of the final phase, a new apron where passengers disembark and planes await their next flight. Money to start building the apron was recently made available by the Federal Aviation Administration, which is funding about 90 percent of the airport project, and the construction could start as early as March, about six months sooner than anticipated.

The completed project is expected to cost roughly $4.5 million.

A State Supreme Court judge has ruled that the lawsuit over whether East Hampton Town has adversely affected the property on which the Bistrian family is building a golf course in Amagansett must go to trial. The town has appealed.

In a decision released late last month, Justice Robert W. Doyle rejected the town's request to dismiss the $25 million suit filed in 1994 by Peter and Mary Bistrian. The decision had been delayed for two years due to a procedural mishap in the court clerk's office.

William Esseks, the Bistrians' lawyer, was buoyed this week by the decision. He said the town would find itself legally responsible for the contamination from the town landfill and for the subsequent three-year delay in the family's being able to proceed with its plan to develop their Stony Hill Country Club. He warned that damages could be very hefty and hinted that the town eventually might have to pay to bring public water to the property.

The general plan for a golf course was approved by the Town Planning Board in 1978. It runs southeast for more than 140 acres along both sides of Abraham's Path from Springs-Fireplace Road to Town Lane. The 60-acre landfill is on the south side of Abraham's Path between Springs-Fireplace Road and Accabonac Highway.

"The Bistrians are the innocent property owners. The town and the State Department of Environmental Conservation are the polluter and the agency that failed to properly supervise the polluter, and they are seeking to blame us for their own dereliction of duty," he said Tuesday.

Mr. Esseks, a senior partner in Esseks, Hefter, Cudahy & Angel, did not, however, sue the D.E.C. His clients, who have finished much of the grading for the 18-hole golf course, are awaiting permits from the D.E.C. for two irrigation wells. The first set of permits, approved in the 1980s, expired.

Town Confident

Frank Isler, the lawyer for the town, said he would soon meet with the Town Board to plan strategy, but added that he was confident the town would prevail. He said the Bistrians had not been harmed in any way by the landfill, and therefore were not entitled to any compensation. Mr. Isler is a partner in Smith, Finkelstein, Lundberg, Isler & Yakaboski.

In its motion to dismiss the suit, the town argued that the Bistrians failed to show they had been harmed by the landfill, that they were trying to enforce state landfill laws without authority, and that the complaint was moot since all landfilling had ceased.

Engineer's Warning

Justice Doyle ruled, though, that the allegations in the suit were sufficient grounds for a trial. He ruled that the landfill could be seen as a nuisance both to the Bistrians and their golf course and to the public in general.

The suit relies in part on a warning a town engineer gave the Planning Board in 1994 that groundwater flowing from the area of the landfill toward the golf course could carry contamination into the course's irrigation system, subsequently exposing golfers, groundskeepers, and neighbors.

Peter Dermody, a geohydrologist for the town, said this week that monitoring wells showed low-level contamination at the edge of the town dump property. No testing has been done on adjacent properties, and the D.E.C., which is supervising the monitoring and permanent shutdown of the landfill, is not likely to require it, he said.

Neighbors Opposed

In 1994, the owners went back to the Planning Board seeking approval for a clubhouse, parking lot, and two irrigation wells, and the application engendered considerable opposition from wealthy landowners in the Stony Hill area of Amagansett.

They withdrew the application last year, however, on the advice of their attorney, who said further Planning Board approval was not needed. The board's own lawyer agreed with Mr. Esseks that the 1978 approval constituted a go-ahead.

The board had intended to re-examine the environmental consequences of the golf course in response to the outcry.

Since no clubhouse or parking lot was approved in 1978, the Bistrians eventually will have to seek site-plan approval for their construction.

"Different Issue"

That the Stony Hill Country Club has no clubhouse or parking lot is "a different issue altogether," Mr. Esseks said this week.

Should the town lose its appeal, both sides would then begin the lengthy disclosure process, during which the town would be required to hand over test results from its monitoring wells.

Mr. Esseks, however, said his clients would win no matter the outcome.

"If there's pollution, the town has to clean it up and compensate us for the delay. If there's no pollution, then let us have our water," he said.

Celebrations honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday are being held around the South Fork on Monday. All programs are free and open to the public.

The Calvary Baptist Church on Springs-Fireplace Road in East Hampton is hosting a program of guest speakers, singing, and poetry reading that begins at 1 p.m.

The Rev. Dino Woudard, from the Abyssinian Baptist Church of New York City, will speak on working together interracially. East Hampton Town Supervisor Cathy Lester and East Hampton Village Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr. have been invited to attend.

The Montauk Point Lighthouse Museum will sponsor a program titled "A Salute to the Seafaring Afro-Americans" at 2:30 p.m. A local historian, Hugh King, will give a presentation on the slave ship Amistad, which was anchored off the Montauk shore. Carrie Gilbert, a retired teacher and community volunteer, will read poetry, and David Chapin and Donna Armignacco of the Southampton Full Gospel Church will perform musical selections.

Baptist Services

The First Baptist Church on Sag Harbor Turnpike in Bridgehampton will hold a commemorative service at 2 p.m. The Rev. Elliot Cuff, a Harvard Divinity School graduate, will speak, and both church choirs will perform.

The First Baptist Church on Halsey Avenue in Southampton will hold its service on Saturday at 1 p.m., also with the Rev. Cuff as the featured speaker. The church is planning to dedicate its Jan. 26 service to Dr. King. All the money collected at the service will go toward its scholarship fund for college-bound seniors of the parish.

Third House in Montauk, the Ambrose Parsons House in Springs, home of the Springs Library, and a Sears Roebuck catalog house in Sag Harbor, the future home of the Eastville Community Historical Society, have been designated to receive funds from the state's Environmental Protection Fund, Governor George E. Pataki has announced.

Third House, part of Montauk County Park, will receive $82,500, which will bolster some $200,000 in county funds that were allocated for the historic house last fall. A county master plan for restoration and upgrading of the Third House complex was recently approved, which calls for roof work and restoration of the cabins as well as the upgrading of the entire complex to meet current health and fire codes. The county plans to begin the work immediately.

Roof Repairs

Parsons House in Springs is badly in need of roof repairs and will use its $20,000 grant to make them and to solve flooring and door problems as well. The house, whose original structure dates to the late 18th century, is listed on the National and State Historic Registers. It was rebuilt after fires in 1841 and 1851 and is considered a fine example of rural Greek Revival architecture.

In Sag Harbor, the Eastville Community Historical Society was granted $7,500 to restore one of the few Sears Roebuck catalog houses remaining in this area. The house was originally ordered from a catalog and assembled on-site at the corner of Route 114 and Liberty Street. It is in the Eastville section of the Sag Harbor Historic District.

Suffolk County, which gained ownership of the house a decade ago due to non-payment of taxes, donated the property to the Village of Sag Harbor. A long-term lease on the home for the Eastville Community Historical Society is expected to be finalized this week.

The house, which stood empty and unheated for 10 years, has fallen into disrepair. It has been estimated that it will cost approximately $90,000 for a complete restoration of the house, including a new roof, windows, and paint, although, said Kathy Tucker, a former Eastville Community Historical Society president who is spearheading the project, "we won't know just what it needs until the work starts."

The grant money, she said, would most likely be used to hire a project consultant and for a first phase that would include cleaning and stabilization to stop the deterioration.

The grant awarded fell far short of the $90,000 the society had applied for, so "I guess my life for the next few months will revolve around fund raising," Ms. Tucker said. The society hopes to receive community development funds from East Hampton Town as well as private donations, and it plans to use volunteer labor on the restoration where possible. Some professional painters had already volunteered their services, Ms. Tucker said.

Library Plans

The restored building will serve as the Historical Society's headquarters and as a repository for historical materials related to Eastville and surrounding communities. One room will house a library, Ms. Tucker said, where regional, biographical, and genealogical research can be conducted.

Materials collected yearly for Black History Month presentations on a variety of topics will be available too, including those for recent programs about the Amistad slave ship and the development of black communities. The society's collection of Eastville and Sag Harbor photographs will have a home there as well.

A total of $8.55 million has been awarded to 128 projects throughout the state from the fund, which has allocated more than $105 million in the 1996-97 state budget for all projects.

Administered by the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the fund awards grants on a 50-50 matching basis.

More than half of East Hampton's year-round residents - 57 percent - have no insurance and are not eligible for Medicaid, according to Edna Steck, the town's director of human services. They need affordable medical care that only the County Health Department can provide through its clinics.

Mrs. Steck appealed last week for the former East Hampton Day Care facility on Cedar Street, soon to be vacant, to be converted to a medical clinic. The land belongs to the East Hampton School District, and the day care center has said it would donate the buildings.

On hand to support Mrs. Steck's plea to the East Hampton School Board were East Hampton Town Supervisor Cathy Lester, Dr. John J. Ferry, Jr., president of Southampton Hospital, Dr. Donald F. Bruhn, medical director of the county's Riverhead and Southampton clinics, Diane Mercieca of the South Fork Community Health Initiative, and Matthew Grady, executive director of the East End AIDS Wellness Project, who said the AIDS clinic off Route 114 will need to move within weeks, as its building has been sold to the Ross School.

Mr. Grady suggested the Cedar Street facility be renovated and shared by the county, the AIDS center, and Planned Parenthood, which rents part of a limited county clinic on Montauk Highway in Amagansett. Ms. Lester reported it would take just $40,000 to make the three portable buildings usable, according to town engineers.

The Amagansett clinic is "overloaded," Dianne Astorr, the nurse at East Hampton High School, told the School Board, and the Cedar Street location would be "good for those 12 years old and up."

But Robert Peters, a neighbor, said traffic "would be a nightmare. I'm surprised that the Supervisor would be so calloused as to put this in the middle of a [residential] neighborhood."

The new East Hampton Children's Museum has also asked to use the property. Both groups may be disappointed, however. Noel McStay, the District Superintendent, has said he may recommend razing the buildings and keeping the land for future district use.

Paul Peterson, a Montauk resident, could have won a million dollars in a Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes in the early 1980s, but he threw away the envelope without opening it. Like most of the garbage thrown out in those days, it was buried in one of the East Hampton Town landfills, presumably forever.

It resurfaced last fall, though, intact. Mr. Peterson, now a payloader operator, uncovered it himself during an archeological-type dig at the landfills.

The Town Board hired the company he works for, Grimes Contracting, to dig test pits in the landfills, two off Springs-Fireplace Road in East Hampton and one off Montauk Point State Boulevard. The pits would help determine whether it would make sense, financially and environmentally, to mine out the recyclable materials buried there since the early 1960s.

Mining Or Capping

The alternative is to build permanent caps over the mounds and monitor them in perpetuity for methane and groundwater contamination.

Either capping or mining is mandatory, but it is not known yet which would be cheaper. Engineers say a cap would be guaranteed to fail within 20 years, requiring costly repairs.

Mining the recyclables, trucking the remaining trash to an incinerator, and using the soil and gravel found in the dumps to reclaim the land would eliminate the monitoring costs and environmental scars that landfills present.

New Perspective

Mr. Peterson's payloader scooped up his discarded sweepstakes ticket with a load of sand and trash. Debbie Grimes, who periodically checked on the digging, screening, and separating operation for her family's company, happened to be there the day it was spotted on a screening machine.

"It was amazing to me that when the bags were ripped open, the garbage looked exactly the same as when it was thrown in. It gave me a whole new perspective on garbage," she said.

No Papers

At the deepest core of one pit the diggers found a perfectly preserved copy of Newsday from 1963. Newspapers, in various degrees of decomposition, were found layered throughout all three cells. Mysteriously, though, there were almost none in the Montauk landfill in layers thought to date from the late 1960s.

Clearly, Montauk residents weren't throwing newspapers out with the trash in those days, though the engineers analyzing the contents of the test pits aren't sure why, John Wingate of Fanning, Phillips, and Molnar told the Town Board on Jan. 3, when the Ronkonkoma-based firm presented its first round of findings.

Perhaps the papers were being burned in fireplaces and wood stoves, he told the board, or maybe the fishing was good and wrappers were needed, he joked later on.

In any case, the landfills revealed themselves to be truly rural and fairly benign in character - small-town dumps containing small-town garbage - which would certainly influence what happens to them in the future, Mr. Wingate said.

Like all landfills, though, they are not going to disappear on their own, no matter how much decomposable material they contain.

Plastic garbage bags, which appeared on the market sometime in the early 1970s, do not decompose. The diggers easily spotted the first layer of bags - garbage was land-filled in layers, separated by a covering of sand and soil - hanging down the sides of the pits like shabby garlands.

Mostly Sand And Soil

The engineers' breakdown show ed 64 percent of the two East Hampton cells and 75 percent of the Montauk cell was composed of sand and soil, which could be reused at little or no cost. The State Department of Environmental Conservation, concerned about contaminants, would most likely limit the reuse to one site or to another landfill.

"It looks like a nice topsoil. You could probably sell it, if the D.E.C. allowed you to," Kevin Phillips, a partner in the engineering firm, said. Supervisor Cathy Lester suggested it could be run through the nearby composting plant "and sterilized."

Various forms of metal, the only other material that could be recycled easily and cheaply, were estimated to represent less than 2 percent of the cells' contents.

The rest of the trash would most likely have to be trucked to an incinerator, the engineers advised, including the plastic bags and other forms of plastic, which were figured at about 3 percent of the mounds off Springs-Fireplace Road and about 4 percent of the Montauk cell.

Clear Of Toxins

Altogether, at each landfill, Grimes Contracting dug eight 20-foot-deep test pits and removed 2,400 cubic yards of material. All of it was put through a series of screens and conveyor belts that separated the sand and soil from heavier gravel.

Samples of the mined materials were sent to an independent lab, and tested clear of toxins, which could otherwise have called an abrupt halt to the mining idea and may have pointed to capping as the safest solution.

Odor, a lesser standard in the test, was "pretty strong" when the top third of the pits was being processed, but disappeared farther down, where moisture and subsequent putrefaction had ceased to exist.

The diggers got only one complaint, said Mr. Wingate, and that was from an Accabonac Highway resident whose house was in the path of "a steady northwest wind" for a couple of days straight.

D.E.C. Will Decide

While the Town Board must decide for itself whether mining is financially worth the trouble, the D.E.C. will have the final say.

The D.E.C. approved the mining study several years ago, but a lawsuit between the town and the agency over the permanent shutdown of the landfills delayed its start.

The State Energy Research Development Agency has given a $58,000 grant to the cause. The town borrowed the rest of the roughly $265,000 expense.

The D.E.C. recognized mining as a possible alternative to capping about nine years ago, and several feasibility studies like the one here have been done since then. Generally, the findings in other towns have been promising.

A pilot study in upstate Edinburg indicated its landfill was half soil, and presumably could be reduced by at least half. Hague, also upstate, had similar findings, and has begun a full-scale reclamation as a result.

But Carol Hanson, an owner of East Hampton Landscaping on Springs-Fireplace Road, asked the engineers Friday how, when Edinburg found it cost-prohibitive to mine the deepest part of its landfill, East Hampton could make it work.

Dr. Phillips said the cost analysis was coming, and Supervisor Lester said that, like Edinburg, the town could decide to mine just part of the landfills.

Nowhere To Go

Capping, the other alternative, has been estimated to cost more than $25 million, plus a considerable, though as yet unknown, amount per year to monitor the mounds for methane and groundwater contamination.

Mr. Wingate said his office was still at work on those figures.

Mining, he said, would take about five years, while capping could be completed in about two.

The pair of mountains in East Hampton measure about 2.5 million cubic yards altogether and the one in Montauk about 820,000 cubic yards, said Mr. Wingate.

They began as trenches that were eventually filled, leaving sanitation workers nowhere to go but up.