Letters
Magical dinner-dance brought back happy memories

On Tuesday evening, April 19, the Monroe Township Board of Education and Monroe Township High School invited senior residents of the township to what they called a Senior Prom.

The flier spoke of a dinner-dance and recommended black tie. My wife, Lila, and I were fortunate to get a pair of tickets. We went there with modest expectations and were totally unprepared for the fantastic evening in store for us and for all those present.

For starters, a carpet had been rolled out to greet us, and many of us were personally greeted by school board members, faculty and students. The cafeteria was filled with hundreds of smiling faces, balloons and beautiful music. It brought back memories of 61 years ago, when my wife and I, both 16 years old, attended my high school prom at the Hotel Pennsylvania in Manhattan. While the passing years have dulled some of the memories, this party reawakened many of them.

From the comments I heard from many of the attendees, and the thoughts and feelings I had, the party was a total success. The musical selections kept the floor filled with dancing feet. The vocalists were entertaining. And the food … wow — it was simply unbelievable. The salad had a choice of dressings, and the chafing dishes were never-ending, and oh, so delicious. And to top it all off, the desserts were mouth-watering, while the coffee and soft drinks were finishing touches.

Most of all, I must congratulate and thank all of the students, teachers ,administrators, school board members, cafeteria staff, and last, but certainly not least, the musicians who made the evening the special night it was.

The event was called The First Annual Senior Prom, and it was a wonderful start to what I am sure will become a much-anticipated annual community event.

Ray Laby

Monroe

JFVS program aims to be vital resource

NOVA, the vocational and employment services department of Jewish Family and Vocational Service (JFVS) of Middlesex County, recently held its first Strictly Business Breakfast, an event honoring businesses that contribute to the health and growth of the region’s economy through a commitment to work-force development. The theme of this year’s event was Developing Centers of Excellence.

We are extremely indebted to the Clarion Hotel and Tower, Edison, for its hospitality and generosity. We further wish to acknowledge and thank Stephen Jones, vice president of operations, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick, for being our keynote speaker. Strictly Business recognizes those employers that have developed relationships with NOVA to facilitate hiring and retaining trained, hard-working and dedicated employees. Middlesex County truly is a center of excellence.

NOVA is a multidimensional professional service agency assisting companies in identifying and fulfilling employment needs. NOVA also provides executive coaching and training for supervisors and critical-incidence debriefing for staff. Our goal is to be a dynamic resource for businesses and industry in Middlesex County.

Lisa Fiore

director of vocational services

Jewish Family and Vocational Service of Middlesex County

Edison

Benefit of rail line outweighs inconvenience to homeowners

Dawn Bittner’s letter to the editor (“Find Alternatives to Proposed MOM Rail Line,” Sentinel, April 14) gives a compelling argument why a light rail line may not benefit her.

My sister has a commuter rail line in back of her house in Connecticut, and we hardly notice passing trains. And the benefit of the line to riders, as well as to nonriders, because of reduced road traffic far outweigh the possible inconvenience of living near a rail line.

Bittner acknowledges that her area is becoming more crowded and that something must be done. But her proposal for more park-and-ride areas (along already-crowded Route 9) and putting pressure on new developers to donate land makes less sense than using existing rails that were there before she bought her house. Moreover, the price of her house undoubtedly reflected the existence of a nearby rail line.

Many decades ago we had more rail lines in New Jersey than we have today although the population was more sparse. Unfortunately, nearsighted planners at the time eliminated many of those lines, and we are paying for that in reduced rail service and additional road congestion today.

Adding lines is expensive. But not adding them might have a far greater long-term negative impact that future generations will have to live with. It’s time that we change our “What’s in it for me?” attitude to a “What’s best for the future of New Jersey?” attitude.

One need only look at the light rail lines between Bayonne and Weehawken, and between Trenton and Camden, to see a significant rider improvement.

Scott Ahlers

East Brunswick

Spiegel’s phone call was auspicious for Milltown residents

I would like to thank Bob Spiegel, executive director of the Edison Wetlands Association (EWA), for his effort to assist in the cleanup of the Ford Avenue redevelopment site in Milltown.

It was Mr. Spiegel’s phone call to the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) hotline that shone the light on Building 10 (former powerhouse) and Building 13 (former Algro Knitting Mills) and resulted in the DEP bringing in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to handle the project.

With the EPA taking over the jurisdiction of buildings 10 and 13, it forced the current owner to begin the cleanup now. As of today, it has led to the removal of 125 55-gallon drums, 40 barrels and 200 smaller containers, many of which were found to be leaking materials and were described by the EPA as containing “flammable and/or corrosive contents,” while conditions at the site were described as posing “a serious threat of a fire and/or explosion.” It has also led to the beginning of the remediation of Building 10, which has been boarded up to stop asbestos from getting out, while further removal of the asbestos is planned for the near future.

I commend Mr. Spiegel and the EWA for their efforts throughout New Jersey, as they have tirelessly worked to help clean up the environment in this state and have helped remediation begin on Ford Avenue.

Mr. Spiegel has assisted in making Milltown safer, especially for those residing on Ford Avenue. Ironically, he also assisted the future developer by saving him some remediation costs and having the current owner bear the costs of cleaning up buildings 10 and 13. Thanks for all your good work.

Stacey Waters

Milltown

Blood center issues plea for blood donors

Our state’s need for all blood types is becoming critical. While the New Jersey media often have stories about the need to donate blood, sadly too few of our region’s residents are blood donors. While the vast majority of New Jersey residents are generally in good health and eligible to donate blood, only a precious few choose to donate. As a result, each year New Jersey blood services must “import” thousands of units of blood from neighboring states to meet our hospitals’ and patients’ needs.

If a member of a New Jersey family needs a blood transfusion, the family just expects the blood to be available. Yet that expectation can only be met if our region has an ample and stable blood supply. For our state to have all blood types available, more New Jersey family members need to become regular blood donors.

Presently there are no substitutes for human blood. Blood products that hospitals continually need include red blood cells, platelets, and plasma. These products generally have short shelf life and inventories constantly need to be replenished. A healthy blood donor between the ages of 17 and 75 can donate every 56 days or about five to six times a year.

Educating the general public about the need to donate blood is a never-ending task. For more information about donating blood, scheduling an appointment to donate blood, or arranging for a group blood drive, go to www.nybloodcenter.org or call (88) 933-BLOOD. Please donate blood today — a family member just may need it tomorrow.

Maggie O’Shea

executive director

New Jersey Blood Services

New Brunswick