Letters to the Rockville Centre Herald May 12, 2011

Vote for the school budget

To the Editor:


 This Tuesday, May 17, is the day to vote for our school budget. Our eight PTAs have voted to support the 2011- 12 budget, and we urge you to get out and vote!

The members of our Board of Education worked diligently this year to keep costs down, and the increase of 2.41 percent is the second smallest increase in 19 years. The passage of this budget will ensure that all academic, music and sports programs provided by our schools will remain intact.  



On behalf of the families of our PTAs, we would like to thank the members of the Board of Education and the administration for their work on this budget. While taking into consideration the fiscal concerns of the residents, they have sought to maintain the excellent educational programs provided to the children of Rockville Centre.  



Please join us in voting “yes” on Tuesday, May 17 at South Side High School, and come out to support your local schools and the children of the Rockville Centre community.

Kathy Baxley and Lisa Boranian

RVC Council of PTAs co-presidents

New FD chief vows to keep villagers safe

To the Editor:

Last week, as reported in the Herald, I was sworn in as Chief of the Rockville Centre Fire Department, along with deputy chiefs John Thorp and Robert Seaman. We’re proud to take the reins of the largest volunteer fire department in New York state, one whose more than 320 members responded to over 827 fire and 1,927 ambulance calls last year — an overall increase of over 400 requests for our services from the prior year.

Our members are your family, your neighbors and your friends. In fact, it’s likely that if you don’t already have a relative in the department, you have a firefighter or fire-medic on your block, in your church or synagogue, at work here in the village, or commuting with you. Our department’s size, dedication and specialized equipment give us the unique ability to effectively address all types of emergencies, which has resulted in our residents enjoying one of the lowest fire insurance rates in the state.

Over the past 12 months, we were called on to help during some of the worst weather-related emergencies in decades. Mother Nature brought the region to a standstill with record snowfalls, and driving winds and rain that left dozens of trees uprooted and wreaked havoc with power and gas lines. Our volunteers were on the job around the clock for days on end, removing downed trees, rescuing residents trapped in vehicles, and responding to hundreds of alarms for fires, gas leaks, motor vehicle accidents and medical emergencies.

We take all those calls seriously, and train constantly to be ready. Our membership recently completed a special Hazardous Materials course at the Nassau Fire Academy. Several members are becoming EMTs, and several of our numerous existing EMTs are upgrading their status to join the ranks of advanced EMTs and Paramedics already riding our ambulances.

As our village continues to grow with new multi-level building complexes, we’re also staying ahead of the curve, training with a new mutual-aid technical rescue team comprised of firefighters from neighboring departments.

There’s always something interesting going on. If you’d like to find out the latest and see how rewarding it can be to give back to your community by volunteering, feel free to drop by any of our firehouses on Sunday morning, or call (516) 678-9320 for information.

Along with deputy chiefs Thorp and Seaman, and our entire membership, I look forward to working with you to make Rockville Centre an even better and safer place to live.

John H. Bushing

Chief, Rockville Centre Fire Department

Herald was remiss about Holocaust Memorial Day

To the Editor:

We are reminded by the big league and little league media of all kinds of special days throughout the year. There are reminders for Valentine’s Day, Presidents Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, Set Your Clocks Ahead Day and dozens of others. The Herald usually follows the crowd. Holocaust Memorial Day on May 1 was mentioned by many of the major league media outlets, including the New York Times and the networks. But there was nary a word in the Herald.

I wonder whether the Herald realizes that Holocaust Memorial Day not only commemorates the unfortunate six million Jews who perished, but it also reminds people of the 50 million non-Jews that were killed during those 12 horrendous years. We must make sure that younger generations are made aware of what happened during this darkest period in world history. Ignoring Holocaust Memorial Day, as the Herald did, moves this medium a notch lower in my esteem.

Paul Keller

Holocaust survivor

Rockville Centre

Important message: Don’t drink and drive

To the Editor:

It is sad to learn of another teen killed by a drunk driver. When will the parents of these kids ever teach them that alcohol and speed don’t mix? At the speed limit of 30mph a car is moving over 45 feet per second. It appears from the photograph that they were clearly moving much faster.

I am just ashamed to say that our town is full of young people who year after year put themselves and others at risk. I graduated from South Side in 2005 and all too often people we knew growing up were arrested for being under the influence. I know more pressure will be put on the schools to teach kids that drinking and driving is wrong, but if you look at a lot of these situations I am sure there is some parent who is letting these kids party at their house.

My parents came from an era where it was okay to be 18 and drink, but I just don’t understand how these kids are not learning that there are major consequences to all of their actions. My father was a police officer, which is why I heard it everyday, but there are plenty of people who teach their kids the ultimate consequences that include lawsuits, suspended licenses, arrests and worse — death. I just don’t get it.

Maybe if there was an incentive to not getting behind the wheel besides just not being prosecuted, then maybe this generation would change something. Cabs are $5 to take one person anywhere in Rockville Centre, but maybe there is another way to steer them away from getting behind the wheel. It is clear that the old school methods of seminars and speakers just don’t work. It is also clear that too many members of this generation feel they are entitled to something, but invincibility is still not an option. I think it’s time for a sit-down with the parents — not the students. Some just may not know how to speak to their kids the way mine did.

Adam Cafarella

Rockville Centre

Attacks on president are racist

To the Editor:

Regarding Scott Brinton’s column, “Note to Birthers: Let it go” (May 5-11):

The Birthers will not, as Brinton suggests, let it go. Yes, they know the president is as American as they are. They knew that on day one. Regardless, they’ll continue with their campaign against President Obama as long as the media writes and speaks about it.

They no longer can call the president soft on national security, as he has accomplished in two years and three months what Bush could not in seven years and three months –– the killing of Osama Bin Laden. The attacks on Obama by the far-right wing (Birthers, Tea Partiers, whomever) are nothing more than a cover for racism. They simply cannot accept the legitimate election of an African-American man as the nation’s chief executive and commander in chief, just as they can’t square with a woman’s right to privacy or the legitimacy of love between two human beings that happen to be of the same gender.

Much of this would pass to the back page if a legitimate Republican candidate declared his or her candidacy for president. We’ve not seen one yet because those who really could be capable of winning do not want to go down as losers, preferring to wait one cycle. Defeating a successful incumbent is next to impossible. A quality Republican does not want to lose, as coming back a winner four years later is even more difficult than defeating a sitting president. After President Grover Cleveland, who won re-election in 1892, after losing in 1888, such a feat occurred only once in the 20th century when Richard Nixon won in a squeaker in ‘68.

The racist insults continue to be hurled, but Obama looks the other way, not to be drawn in. Instead of attacking the president on legitimate issues, where he is vulnerable, the right-wing extremists marginalize themselves as they demonstrate their racist dislike of a sitting president, a formula certain to result in defeat for them next year.

Joshua Weiss

Hewlett Harbor