Letters to the editor

For the Feb. 21 issue

By:
Board member was

out of line at meeting

To the editor:
   
I attended the East Windsor Regional School Board meeting on Monday, Feb. 10. I was outraged to hear Board of Education member Robert Laverty address the audience during board forum announcing dates and times of upcoming anti-war demonstrations. He used this opportunity to advocate a student "field trip" to The War Memorial in Trenton so that our children could participate in an anti-war demonstration. He went on to suggest that perhaps there were teachers or someone who would like to organize this as a school sponsored field trip.
   I could not believe my ears! In all my years of attending Board of Education meetings I have never been so upset. I was under the impression that board forum was an opportunity for board members to address issues that concerned the educational needs of our children. How dare Mr. Laverty use his position to advocate his own personal political agenda? To even suggest that our children become involved in an anti-war demonstration was an insult to every member of our community.
   Perhaps I took this issue so personally because members of my family, including my husband, have served our country proudly. Many Hightstown High School graduates are currently serving their country and this community, and would be devastated to know that a member of their school board was not only undermining their efforts but also encouraging other young people to follow his lead.
   I feel that Mr. Laverty and the entire East Windsor Regional School Board owes this community an apology — Mr. Laverty for using his position to advocate his own personal political agenda and the rest of the board for sitting silently while one of their members violated their own code of ethics. While we are all entitled to our own personal opinions, a school board member has no right to use this forum as his own personal pulpit.

Suzanne Jaketic
East Windsor

Keep pets warm

and dry in winter

To the editor:
   
In what is turning out to be one of coldest winters in recent history, the Governor’s Domestic Companion Animal Council wants to remind readers to keep their pets secure and healthy this season.
   In addition to the risk to your animal, you could be subject to legal action for failing to shield him or her from harsh winter weather conditions. New Jersey state law 4:22-17 states that any person failing to provide an animal with proper shelter or protection from the weather can be fined $1000 and/or sentenced to six months in jail.
   The Council offers the following guidelines to make 2003 a happy and safe year for your animal companions:
   • Don’t leave dogs outdoors when the temperature drops. Most dogs, and all cats, are safer indoors, except when taken out for exercise. Regardless of the season, shorthaired, very young or old dogs and all cats should never be left outside without supervision. Short-coated dogs may feel more comfortable wearing a sweater during walks.
   • No matter what the temperature, wind chill can threaten a pet’s life. A dog or cat is happiest and healthiest when kept indoors. If your dog is an outdoor dog, however, he/she must be protected by a dry, draft-free doghouse that is large enough to hold in his/her body heat. The floor should be raised a few inches off the ground and covered with cedar shavings or straw. The house should be turned to face away from the wind, and the doorway should be covered with waterproof burlap or heavy plastic.
   • Pets who spend a lot of time outdoors need more food in the winter because keeping warm depletes energy. Routinely check your pet’s water dish to make certain the water is fresh and unfrozen. Use plastic food and water bowls rather than metal; when the temperature is low, your pet’s tongue can stick and freeze to metal.
   • Warm engines in parked cars attract cats and small wildlife, who may crawl up under the hood. To avoid injuring any hidden animals, bang on your car’s hood to scare them away before starting your engine.
   • The salt and other chemicals used to melt snow can irritate the pads of your pet’s feet. Wipe the feet with a damp towel before your pet licks them and irritates his/her mouth.
   • Antifreeze is a deadly poison, but it has a sweet taste that may attract animals and children. Wipe up spills and store antifreeze (and all household chemicals) out of reach. Better yet, use antifreeze-coolant made with propylene glycol; if swallowed in small amounts, it will not hurt pets, wildlife or your family.
   Whatever the weather, remember that your pet will be safest and happiest at home with you. A little common sense (and a lot of affection) will go a long way toward making this season a comfortable, happy one for both of you!

Nina Austenberg
Chair, New Jersey Domestic
Companion Animal Council
Flanders

Swimming article

seriously flawed

To the editor:
   
I am shocked and appalled at the poor journalism that was displayed in Neil Hay’s recent article about Hightstown’s performance at the Mercer County Swimming Championships. I write not only as a former Hightstown swimmer, but also as a concerned reader that an article with such glaring errors could ever be published by your paper.
   For starters, congratulations on correctly naming Keith Rizzi as Hightstown’s 1991 MCT champion. However, the most recent event winner for HHS was not Rizzi, but Damien Eurie in 1995, when he won the 100 meter butterfly and the 50 meter freestyle. Those wins also earned him the Swimmer of the Meet honors. I know this because I was a freshman on Hightstown’s team that year. Had Mr. Hay obtained a copy of the program from the meet, Damien’s achievements would have been painfully obvious. Yet, as we will see, fact checking is not one of the author’s strong points.
   The following point is a simple disregard for attempting to determine the actual date of events. The finals of the MCT were pushed back to Monday, Feb. 10, due to the inclement weather during that weekend. Mr. Hay stated the finals were held on Sunday night. Had Mr. Hay bothered to contact any of the athletes that participated in the event, he would have discovered this blunder. Which brings me to my final point.
   How do you allow your sports writer (I would pluralize that last word if anyone else wrote sports articles) to cite only one source in his or her article? In my experience writing for the Hightstown Ram Page and my college newspaper, the Wesleyan Argus, my editors have never allowed one-source articles. That is the first method by which to check facts and highlight errors. Mr. Hay, in the referenced article, only quoted head coach Ellen Mace. In fact, in my experience as a swimmer at Hightstown, all of Mr. Hay’s articles quoted our head coach and he never once bothered to ask any of the athletes or assistant coaches for their perspectives on the season or the event in question. Is this the kind of journalism your paper strives to achieve? I sincerely hope not.
   I hope Mr. Hay takes these lessons to heart and makes more of an effort to write more journalistically responsible articles in the future.

Rob Barlow
HHS Swimmer 1994-1998

HHS ice skaters,

fans showed class

To the editor:
   
Saturday afternoon, I attended the Mercer County High School Ice Hockey championship game between Hightstown High School and West Windsor-Plainsboro North High School at the Sovereign Bank Arena. I must say how extremely proud I am at the way the Hightstown students who attended the game comported themselves.
   From the outset, the WWPN students in the stands badgered and heckled our student athletes and spectators. While heckling is prevalent at professional hockey games (and as a 32-year season subscriber at Madison Square Garden, I know all about that!), it should not be part of a high school program that supposedly promotes good sportsmanship. Had the WWPN "fans" spent the majority of time "supporting" their own school team, and not gone negative throughout the game, that would have been fine. Our teens handled these uncalled for actions without resorting to a "tit for tat" response. Instead, they went about watching the game and rooting for our skaters. Even when some of the WWPN male students heckled several of our female students in the next section, we "kept our cool."
   As usual, Hightstown High School had a number of staff members at the game to ensure a calm atmosphere. This was the second game I attended this season where the other school didn’t have staff present, or if they were there, they did not get the necessary points across to their students. And I don’t want to forget how well our team handled itself on the ice. Even though our top scorer had to leave halfway through the first period, necessitating line juggling for the remainder of the game, the student athletes played their hearts out. Even as the deficit got larger and larger, our team did not resort to the "chippiness" so often seen late in one-sided games. It is a testament to the coach and the players that this game ended without feistiness and with the traditional handshakes that make ice hockey different from most other sports.
   Saturday certainly showed evidence of the way the parents and teaching staff of our schools have taught our kids the mature way to interact with others. Respect for others is a goal within our entire school district. All district parents and community members should be proud of how well our Hightstown High School students handled themselves that day. To sum up, WWPN might have won the battle on the ice, and for that they deserve congratulations, but when it comes to sportsmanship and maturity, our students scored a shutout victory.

Stu Dolgon
East Windsor

Letter distorted

President Bush’s record

To the editor:
   
Would your editors please check the facts on President George W. Bush’s academic record before publishing misleading letters like the one from Bernard Wright in your Feb. 14 opinion page? Mr. Wright states that President Bush was accepted to Yale Graduate School — not true, President Bush received his bachelor’s degree from Yale University and later his master’s from Harvard University and is the only sitting president ever to have a master’s degree. In the interim, he joined the Air National Guard to fly jet fighters. Anyone familiar with the military knows that passing the written jet pilot’s exam is a major academic achievement.
   Mr. Wright may consider President Bush’s SAT score of 1206 "low," but it happened to be in the top 20 percent of all those who took the SAT test in 1967. Liberals always go on personal attacks when they cannot coherently piece together an argument against policies they don’t like, by distorting President Bush’s academic record as Mr. Wright has done here in defending affirmative action.

Tom Greenwood
Cranbury