Letters

Gun control

is not answer
To the editor:
   A couple of weeks ago a Japanese custodian broke into a school and killed eight children with a knife.
   This would not have happened if they had kitchen knife control laws on the books or a three-day waiting period. A background check would have revealed he was disturbed, and, therefore, he would have never been issued a permit to buy the kitchen knife. If they had closed the loopholes in the knife display shows, he wouldn’t have gotten one.
   Another thought: John Q. Public wants to purchase a handgun for whatever reason. He goes through the waiting period, the background check, and is cleared.
   He buys a gun. His 13-year-old son gets miffed at a high school friend, goes home, gets the gun and offs 10 students. The system, though working perfectly, has failed.
   Don’t misunderstand. I am not anti gun control. I simply see more gun control as a placebo, an action designed to make a generation feeling helpless over a tragic situation feel like they are doing something. It is a simple non answer to a very complex problem.
   I might also remind you that Cain did not use a 9 mm on Abe. He used a stone or a club or maybe even his fists.
   Only when we allow the Lord into our lives and allow him to change our hearts will the killing finally stop.

Harrison has

‘biased attitude’
To the editor:
   I am not sure who is more irresponsible, your paper for printing Mr. Harrison’s letter with its misinformation or Mr. Harrison for his pompous holier-than-thou biased attitudes.
   Normally I would not be bothered reading anything by Chuck or Joan Harrison who regularly vent their problems in this paper, but I saw the words condom and Harrison in the same paragraph and started reading his diatribe on women, HPV and some poor woman named Ashley. You see, I am an "at-home" parent, and things get a little dry now and then.
   In 1998. there was an article, which appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine on the HPV infection. Rutgers includes a section on this virus as well as the explanation of the 60 percent number, Mr. Harrison cites, in one of their Web pages. This disease can lead to cervical cancer, but, thankfully, not all strains of HPV are the same. Some strains will disappear on their own.
   I am quoting the material, which I found both at Rutgers’ Health Web site and other Web sites. The corpus of information available on this disease is impressive and very accessible.
   I still could not figure out why Mr. Harrison in his letter was bashing a person named Ashley. At first it seemed beyond rude and irritated me. Does Mr. Harrison have a daughter at Rutgers?
   I have no doubt that Mr. Harrison will have a lot more to say in this paper.

Live radio broadcast

enriching experience
To the editor:
   This past Friday, one-third of the West Amwell Elementary student body was part of a unique enriching experience.
   For an hour and a half, they performed songs, skits, musical pieces and dramatizations as part of a live radio broadcast — the West Amwell Elementary Radio Variety Show — on radio station WDVR 89.7 FM.
   It all started with the fifth grade. They wanted to try and stage a radio drama, complete with sound effects. Each class selected a play — one a comedy, "Baby Snooks and Daddy," and one a suspense drama, "Zero Hour." There was only one problem: where would they perform their plays?
   Enter radio station WDVR and their marvelous staff and owners, Ginny and Frank Lee. They agreed to let the fifth grade perform the dramas on their station — and more.
   The school was asked if it would like to have our own 90-minute variety show and open up the opportunity to perform on live radio to all students. The students’ response was overwhelming. Over 40 more joined in with songs, jokes and music.
   What a night! The students performed like pros in front of a live audience and gave a fabulous show.
   So, to the students, I would like to say thank you for your hard work and persistence and congratulations. You were wonderful!
   Also, thank you to the Church of the Brethren in Sergeantsville who opened their sanctuary to the students and their families and friends.
   And finally, thank you WDVR for your enthusiastic support, encouragement and unwavering dedication in having a true "people’s" radio station.