Letters to the Herald

For the June 27 issue

By:
Dead cat was not

the point of letter

To the editor:
   
I recently wrote a letter appearing on this page concerning the death of my cat and the traffic on Stockton Street. An East Windsor resident penned a reply in which she opined that blaming the incident on the Hightstown Police Department was ludicrous, and that I was an irresponsible pet owner. I should have kept my cat safe indoors. The author missed the point. The intent of my letter was not to lament the death of a cat, nor did I lay blame on the police. My letter was about the burden of traffic on Stockton Street and the apparent inability of town officials to address this problem. It was my hope to, in some small way, help avert a more tragic event, such as the death of a child.
   Accidents do happen, but they usually involve careless, irresponsible or uncaring people. This writer testifies that most people respect the 25 mph speed limit on Stockton Street as she can evidence by her "use of this street on an almost daily basis." Dear writer, you are the problem. Like so many other residents in the neighboring townships you use Hightstown as a ramp to the Turnpike, rather than avail yourself of the non-residential arterial highways surrounding Hightstown.
   This traffic is a blight on Hightstown, compromising the health, safety and quality of life of Hightstown residents. The recently constructed Route 133 was so mired in local politics as to produce a near useless, though tremendously expensive highway. Ramps and lights are so configured as to prohibit easy access to this highway. Traffic is shunted directly into Hightstown. Signs marking routes to the Turnpike direct traffic down Main and Stockton Streets instead of onto routes 133 and 130. During rush hours it is only the sheer volume of traffic that limits speeders. On off hours most drivers speed past my house in excess of 40 mph. The attendant noise and pollution is sometimes nearly unbearable.
   Hightstown is a quaint and picturesque little town with a big problem. This issue needs to be addressed positively if Hightstown and its residents are to thrive and prosper. We need the help, understanding and cooperation of our neighbors to do so.

Craig D. Evans

Hightstown

Soldier seeking help

in school adoption


To the editor:
   
My name is SSG Vilma Moreno. I am currently deployed and part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I am a former HHS graduate of Class 1997. I am the daughter of Maria Giraldo and sister of Oscar and Diana Moreno. I am writing this letter because I need some help. I am trying to work on a project, which involves schools.
   I am going to be adopting a school with some other soldiers. We need all the help that we can get. I am looking for people who are willing to send school supplies, used shoes, clothes, books, toys, and anything else you are willing to give. The school I am adopting is an all girls school. Their ages range from 6 to 17. But, it doesn’t matter if you send things for boys we can also donate the extra stuff to an orphanage. You can send all packages to the following address: SSG Vilma P. Moreno, 1AD, DMAIN, DIV CHEM, Unit 93054 (BIAP), APO AE 09324-3054.
   I also want to take this opportunity and tell my niece Anna happy birthday (June 14), she turned one. And to my brother Oscar, congratulations on your graduation (June 19). To all those parents who have a child here, if there is anything I can help you with please don’t hesitate to email me at [email protected]. I know that some soldiers out here don’t have phone or Internet access. I am lucky at a higher level and have some access. I am proud to not only be defending all of the Hightstown-East Windsor area, but the whole United States.

Vilma P. Moreno

United States Army
East Windsor

Twin Rivers is a

wonderful place to live


To the editor:
   
I was happy to read Ms. Caffrey’s letter in your June 13 edition. My complaint is also against the editor who keeps publishing these letters between Mr. Wally and the board of Twin Rivers. Enough is Enough! Twin Rivers, as Ms. Caffrey stated, has a paper of its own.
   We have lived in Twin Rivers for 31 years. Our children and grandchildren now live here. My husband has had a quadruple heart bypass, a heart attack, congestive heart failure and two carotid artery surgeries. In the court that we live are some of best neighbors anyone can ask for. Every winter since Stan’s operations, I would come out of my home and find our sidewalks cleared from the snow. I would go to my car, ready to shovel myself out, and all the cars in the parking lot would be filled with snow except for ours. I always found that strange. As I would finally find out, fabulous neighbors such as Mr. and Mrs. Flint Agyeman and Mr. and Mrs. Cliff Wilson always did it for us. When I asked them why, their answer was "just because." These are the kind of people that live in Twin Rivers.
   When we decided to plant bushes in our front yard, the Agyeman family would not let Stan lift a shovel. They spent six hours shopping and planting with us so Stan would not have to lift the heavy rocks and soil. Our front yard is beautiful because of them.
   Then there is the Twin Rivers Over-30 Softball League. Stan has played in that league for ages. When Stan got sick, he was devastated. Baseball was and still is one of the most important things in his life. However, the doctors said he could no longer play. I remember him coming out of the hospital one time on a Sunday, and he made me take him straight to the baseball field. Every player stopped what they were doing and came over to give him a hug. It was truly an extraordinary moment and one we will never forget. And then more wonderful people from Twin Rivers, such as Bob Davidson, Stu Cohen and Pete Weiss, made Stan an honorary coach on their teams so that he would feel like he still belonged. They have given him back part of his life and they will never know how much this has meant to us.
   Twin Rivers is not only about lawsuits, soda bottles and everything else that you publish over and over again that is negative. While I understand freedom of press, this has gone on too long. If someone is so unhappy where they live, they should find another place to live. Everyone deserves happiness.
   So you see, contrary to what Mr. Wally says or makes people believe, Twin Rivers is a wonderful place to live. And it is because of people like him that everyone who reads your newspaper thinks badly of where I live and I am truly sick of it!

Fran Finkelstein

East Windsor

Twin Rivers letters

should be limited


To the editor:
   
A couple of weeks ago I was pleased to read the letter from Linda Caffrey concerning all the many letters published by the Herald from disgruntled Twin Rivers residents about Twin Rivers issues, especially those from people quibbling about the price of soda. She felt that the Herald should not publish them because Twin Rivers has its own newspaper and because the subjects are of no interest to the rest of us. I’d often complained to family about this and wish I had been the one to write her letter.
   Last week, Mr. Wally, one of the prolific writers, countered with arguments as to why we all should care about what is going on in Twin Rivers. Maybe he has a point, but personally, I still don’t give two beans about the price of soda there or about any other community-specific issues.
   How’s this for a compromise? Using Mr. Wally’s population statistics, limit the space allocated to Twin Rivers infighting never to exceed more than one-third of space dedicated to letters to the editor. Better yet, set these letters apart in their own little corner.
   Thank you.

Janet Swartz

East Windsor