With the holiday weekend now past, there was something that disturbed me greatly while watching the Brick Memorial Day parade. Brick holds the parade to honor those service men and women who have unselfishly served this great country of ours. There are those who made the ultimate sacrifice, and gave their lives for the very freedoms that we all take advantage of; those who are still in active duty; and those who are in the reserves. Whatever the degree of deployment may be, I would like to say a heartfelt thank you, as credit should be given to those who defend the very freedoms I enjoy.
One thing very noticeable at the parade was the lack of firetrucks and firefighters. Those of you who pay attention to the politics in this town may recall that Councilman Greg Kavanagh mentioned this two council meetings ago. He had mentioned that his particular fire department did not receive an invitation, and council President Scaturro asked the clerk to have them sent for the second time to all fire departments in the town. Councilman Kavanagh stated that there may not be enough time to prepare for the parade, and several council members and the mayor had made comments about how they hoped they would make a presentation at the parade (Remember, the parade was to honor all veterans).
While the adults who attend understand the true meaning of the parade, many of the children are fascinated by the firetrucks and the first aid vehicles as they drive by. Many of the children are simply too young to comprehend what the day should be about.
Well, come the holiday, the parade came and went, and there were no firetrucks from any company. The same firetrucks that our tax dollars pay for, the same firetrucks that (in my opinion, as well as others who shared theirs with me) should have driven in the parade to pay homage to the heroes who have served this country, were nowhere to be seen.
I agree that the firemen (and women) of these companies deserve the utmost respect as well, but, their “no show” for the parade is first and foremost a direct slap in the face of all veterans of this country, and secondly a slap in the face to all the taxpayers in this town who pay for the equipment they are in charge of, as well as the pension(s) they may receive from the company they serve in.
The first aid squads received the invites at the same time the fire companies did, and they made an appearance. Not every truck was there, but at least one from every company in the town [showed up]. I am sure the firefighters could have done the same. Perhaps I am not seeing this correctly, but I am seeing it as a lack of respect for the veterans the parade was given to honor. It was not a political parade, not a firefighters parade, and not a parade for the town – it was a parade for the current and fallen heroes of this country. The public lack of support and cooperation by the fire companies of the town to the veterans is just another black mark that the citizens of Brick will have to endure.
Michael A. Liloia
Brick
Student feels that global warming is a major issue for the world
Global warming is a serious issue that our population needs to be made more aware of. The dangerous effects of the global warming problem are presently among us and if something is not done soon to inform the people, it may be too late. It is believed that greenhouse gasses, mainly due to the burning of fossil fuels are the culprit. Global warming may be the reason why our earth’s temperature is slowly rising, which will not be a healthy occurrence in the lives of both ourselves, and the lives of those who follow us. I understand that a warmer climate may, to some untrained individuals, sound like a party, but in reality, the problem will be significant. This warmer climate not only will aid in the melting of our glaciers, but it will also raise sea level. This will destroy several thousands of coastal regions, as well as completely submerge some small islands. This will displace millions of people, something that I don’t feel our world can endure.
Another problem with the increased temperature will be the increase of rainfall that global warming causes. This, however, is not the type of rainfall that one may think. This rainfall will be in the same places that already receive plenty of rain, therefore not spreading the rainfall, and causing areas prone to flooding to receive more rain. Global warming will also increase the severity of hurricanes and tropical storms, which from what we saw in the news this previous year, will not be good for our world.
What can we do about this problem? Well, I know that I am just a child to you and I am sure that you are thinking, “there is nothing that I can do,” but in reality there is. If many of the problems are coming from fossil fuels, couldn’t you, as a newspaper, inform the people of this? You, being a popular newspaper in my area, could send out blurbs of information about global warming. Maybe you can run a special, and once a week include facts about what may happen to us if we don’t start taking care of our world. In today’s society, everyone is worrying about their health to prevent obesity, heart disease and cancer, but don’t you think that if they had any idea about what was going on in our atmosphere, it would cause them to care? Maybe they would even carpool to work. Or maybe they would spend the extra amount of money on that hybrid car that could save our world by using electricity in addition to gas. Who knows? Maybe you can actually make a difference. All I am asking for you to do is try, because you could be an example of what all local newspapers should be doing, and then, maybe our problems can be solved. It’s in your court now, what will you do with it?
Stephanie E. McClelland
Brick Township Memorial
High School student