Letters
Urge legislators to fund education via income, not property, tax

East Brunswick was originally intended to be a middle-income suburban community with a mix of homes and farms, ideally located in the midst of large commercial and industrial cities, with the potential for a beautiful riverfront.

As East Brunswick grew in population, however, the school system also grew, and the need to fund education resulted in ever-increasing property taxes. To solve this problem, the town began trying to attract ratables in the form of industrial and commercial developments, driving out the farms.

This system of funding education through real-estate taxes has been the ruin of many formerly beautiful cities. Even after the farmland was chewed up by industrial and commercial sites, property taxes continued to grow. Senior residents, no longer able to afford their homes, moved away, and younger residents with children moved in. This resulted in additional strains on the school system and also required higher taxes.

The decay of once-beautiful towns and all that such decay brings with it has to stop, and it can be stopped. Petition the state to fund education by a 5-percent dedicated income tax that will be used only for education, and use property taxes to pay only for local and county government.

I’ve sent letters to all 80 Assembly representatives to consider a change in our tax structure in order to fund education, not through unfair and punitive property taxes, but through a dedicated 5-percent state income tax. Their comments were requested. I hope you will join me.

Frank J. Coury

East Brunswick

Thanks go out to those who contributed items for troops in Iraq

I am very pleased to draw your attention to the updated www.dvds4troops.org Web page. If you click on previous donations, you will see that the Spotswood schools and community have contributed a whopping 36 boxes filled with movies and music to our troops in Iraq. This leads the national effort by a great margin. Indeed, I have two more large boxes in my classroom to be shipped out.

Although our drive officially ended in the fall, donations continue to come in. The concern of the Spotswood community for our young men and women in the war zone has been incredible, and your History Club and Octagon Community Service Club congratulates and thanks you for your efforts.

Frank Yusko

adviser

Spotswood High School History Club and Octagon Community Service Club

Encouraging words for those fighting depression, bipolar

This is a letter to my fellow champions battling bipolar disorder or depression.

You are valuable, beautiful, artistic and creative in so many ways. You love deeply and are deeply loved by many who forget to reveal this to you. You impress the world by your uniqueness. You are to be commended for getting out of bed each morning to face the day, in spite of anticipated anxiety.

Remember to pick and choose your battles wisely. With every phase of your battle, you can fight successfully with the sword prescribed by your doctor. It will keep you balanced, so that when the unpleasant surprises greet you (as they often do), you’ll be ready to face that battle head on — even if it is brought on by self-judgment or insecurities.

When you feel misunderstood, avoided, ignored or biased against due to being “different” don’t isolate yourself — there’s someone out there waiting to embrace all of you. Remember that it is your courage and determination to live that makes you the champion you are. “You can be changed by what happens to you, but you must refuse to be reduced by it,” said a wise poet.

You are never alone, not for one second. Your fellow champions face similar challenges in the quest to keep one foot ahead of the other. Keep in mind that your self-worth cannot be accurately measured by anyone but your creator, who can see what no one else can — your precious heart. Learn from your mistakes, don’t condemn yourself for them.

Teach others how to treat you, for you have every right to be loved and respected.

So, during your next low — as the saying goes, play your favorite song and “dance like nobody’s watching.” Find that ballad you love and “sing like no one else can hear you,” and after a good cry, “love like you’ve never been hurt.”

Keep up the fight for life — you are worth it.

Candee Ramos

East Brunswick

Objection to cartoon is no excuse for acts of violence

This is a response to Abad Ahmad’s letter to the editor, “Story on Cartoons Brought New Info to Light,” that appeared in the Feb. 23 issue of the Sentinel.

Let’s remember that all people have the right to protest all things they may find offensive or insulting to their particular religious denomination. But what Mr. Ahmad fails to realize is that the constant violence and rioting that is being broadcast every day around the globe is the priority issue that must be addressed swiftly by Islamic representatives. The nauseating images of crazed mobs burning foreign buildings throughout the Middle East unfortunately reinforces Muslim stereotypes throughout not only America, but the world.

And if indeed at the heart of Islam we find peace, then condemning these despicable acts swiftly and vigorously is a strong step in convincing the rest of the world.

John Russo

Sayreville

Spotswood good Samaritan deserves thanks, praise

I just wanted to say thank you to the very nice gentleman named David who helped me out on Monday, Feb. 13, when I ran out of gas near the Schweitzer-Mauduit service entrance on Main Street in Spotswood.

I was with my infant daughter and was unable to walk to a gas station, and David waited with me while I called AAA. Upon hearing that the wait time for AAA to arrive could be as much as 90 minutes, David jumped in his car and purchased a gas can and some gas. He then filled my tank, and, with the help of the gentleman from AAA, was able to start my car.

I could not believe that this man, a stranger to me who was on his way home from work, would go so far out of his way to help my daughter and me. Thank you so very much, David.

Jennifer Connelly

Spotswood