Letters
Interests, needs of children should win out

I read the “Your Turn” guest column by Audrey Cornish, who is aligned with Park Savers (“Diverting Land Will Hurt Open Space Forever,” Sentinel, Oct. 20), with great interest.

As the parent of a first-grader, who is without a classroom and currently attending class in the library of Barclay Brook School, Monroe, I am trying hard to be unbiased. I strongly believe in preserving open space, so I want to side with Park Savers, but I can’t. In my heart, my son’s education wins out every time.

Cornish has said that the upcoming public hearings are about a land swap, not about a school. However, I believe that the issue is about a school — one that we need desperately. Not every open piece of land in Monroe is suitable to build a school upon, or I am sure that we would be pursuing them.

As we have been repeatedly told, it would cost us at least $20 million more to build elsewhere, and trying to find a “plan C” at this late date would only exacerbate the overcrowding that we are already facing.

We’re all in this together, and I believe that we need to put our children first. They and their teachers are trying their best to make the current situation work. But while they hold class in the library or art rooms, sometimes with more than one class crammed in a room, we cannot just brush aside the basic needs of our smallest citizens — those who have no voice in this process but have the most to lose in the future.

Shani Henley

Monroe

Writer resents implication of ‘Godfather’ reference

This letter is in response to the column titled “Monmouth County, Where Treasure Is in the Ground” that appeared in the Oct. 20 issue of the Sentinel.

A government official is corrupt when a payment or a bribe is offered and he accepts it. The acceptance is the corruption. After all, doesn’t the official have the right to say no?

Certainly anyone offering a payment or a bribe to a government official should be brought to justice, but to say that Anthony Spalliero was “corrupting our elected officials” is not altogether true.

In addition, I just do not understand the columnist’s reference that “ ... the actual text of the indictment reads like the script for one of the ‘Godfather’ movies.” What is exactly being said here? Is it that any Italian-sounding name is an automatic “gangster” or “mobster” association?

As a proud American of Italian heritage, I resent the implication. In today’s world of political correctness, it is too bad that your paper finds it OK to make such a comment.

Marge Petroski

Milltown

Dedication, generosity, cooperation made memorial a reality

The Spotswood 9/11 Memorial Committee is pleased to announce the completion of Spotswood’s 9/11 memorial.

The memorial itself (granite twin towers with a beam from the World Trade Center) was installed last month, and the walkways and patio section was recently completed by our fine public works department.

A “peace pole” and marker, the contribution of our Rotary Club, was also added to the site. All that needs to be done is some landscaping (two trees, grown from trees on the World Trade Center site, will be planted), and in time benches will be added.

I would like to thank the 9/11 committee members for their dedication and hard work, our Spotswood officials for their great help and cooperation, and the many citizens whose generosity made this moving memorial a reality.

Frank Yusko

chairman

Spotswood 9/11 Memorial Committee