From the week of April 27
Earth Day cleanup
promotes healthy waterway
To the editor:
Local volunteers gathered on a damp and chilly Earth Day morning last week to clean up an area along Thorntown Creek in Bordentown City. This waterway, which wends its way through the city and empties into Crosswicks Creek, has been identified on the recently adopted Open Space Plan as a proposed "greenway," a protected corridor that provides habitat for wildlife, preserves water quality and provides opportunities for passive recreation.
In an effort to promote greater awareness of the city’s "green" places, the Bordentown City Environmental Commission (BCEC) has organized annual Earth Day cleanups of different sections of Thorntown Creek for the last four years.
The results of the cleanup were impressive: 46 extra-large bags full of assorted trash, plus a six-foot mountain of large items, including more than 40 car and truck tires, four bicycle frames, three bed springs, one vacuum cleaner, one air conditioner, one car hood, and hundreds of cans, bottles and wrappers. This now dramatically "greener" section of Thorntown Creek will hopefully no longer be a magnet for trash and neglect.
Many thanks to the volunteers who gave of their time and energy to enhance our local environment. Thanks also to the Public Works Department for collecting the refuse and supporting efforts to enhance the greenway corridors in the city. To find out more about Thorntown Creek and the local environment, feel free to check out the BCEC website (www.bcec.us) or visit our table at the upcoming Street Fair.
Mike Hunninghake
Chair, Bordentown City
Environmental Commission
A taxpayer’s suggestions
To curb state spending
To the editor:
I am sure you did not intend it, but I found your April 20 editorial to be rather amusing. Every time the citizens cry for reduced spending, someone says "tell me how." Did you ever edit a script without having a copy of the script? Makes no sense, eh?
Well we citizens don’t have a copy of the NJ State budget. You send me a copy and I will get out my red pen and fine tooth comb.
The politicians have the budget and darn well know how to cut it. The problem is that they do not want to cut it. So don’t put the responsibility on the citizens. I will also guarantee you that the minority party has already suggested ways to cut spending and the majority has ignored it all. And yes there are plenty of big spenders in the minority, too.
Even with the aforementioned handicap, I will give it a try. Here are my cranky, pompous and muckraking suggestions. This is a small percentage of the potential list.
1. Stop wasting my tax money on radio ads that tell us that we have a smoking ban.
2. Stop wasting my money on a smokers quit line and ads for same.
3. Stop installing guard rail on the I-295 median where there is already a 50 foot grass divider.
4. Stop the NJ Supreme Court from legislating. They mandated billions to school districts that are not poor.
5. Combine school districts after we tell the "home rulers" where to go.
6. Stop Corzine’s lay off exemption for state union workers.
7. Reduce or eliminate county governments. It’s been done before and it works.
8. As a minimum, eliminate county school authorities.
You see, it’s not all that complicated but it is political and that is the problem. As related to these issues, you can sum up the politicians and the unions in one word: dishonest.
So how about it? Where are 100 more people with eight suggestions? With my brain, that is, I didn’t need a computer, that totals to 808. So how about turning 808 suggestions into the state and what will they do?
Please, please, please, don’t make me laugh again.
Al Mizenko
Columbus

