By: centraljersey.com
To The Editor;
We, the citizens of South Brunswick, send our thoughts and prayers to those among us who have friends and relatives in Egypt at this time.
Jean A. Starks Kingston
Recognize sufferings of Coptic Christians
To the editor:
While this might not be on the hearts of most people in the South Brunswick/Princeton area, on New Year’s Eve over 20 Coptic Christians were killed when a car bomb exploded outside of their church in Egypt. Nearly 100 others were injured. The horror isn’t only that they were killed after celebrating church services in peace, but that this has been an ongoing pattern of suffering for this minority religion in an Islamic country.
Today, there were rumors of threatened attacks hitting more close to home in Coptic churches throughout the New Jersey area so that many churches ended their spiritual services, that typically run on the Coptic Christmas eve of Jan. 6, earlier than normal in an effort to protect the congregation from another incident if the threats turned out to be true.
It should also be noted that the above mentioned incident that happened on New Year’s Eve occurred after a similar threat was made.
For most of the past 1300 years, the Coptic church has suffered in silence. And while other atrocities around the world may sometimes drown out the tears of these Coptic mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters, I think it’s time for a change. Not only change in the way our country conditions the international aid it gives to foreign nations, but also time for change in the way we Americans perceive the world’s persecuted minorities.
It would be a great service of raising awareness and educating citizens, if the editors of this paper ran a weekly column on global minorities and their suffering. I, of course, think the first one you publish should be about the Coptic Church since they rang in the New Year in blood and mourning.
Eriny Mobarak South Brunswick
Tax form checkoff aids spay-neuter program
To the editor:
New Jersey taxpayers can show their concern for our companion animals when they file their state income tax returns in 2011.
For the first time, the tax forms will provide an opportunity to make a painless donation to the state’s Animal Population Control program, a low-cost spay-neuter program operated by the state Department of Health and Senior Services.
The APC program contracts with hundreds of veterinarians across the state to provide surgeries at minimal cost, $20 for adopted pets and $10 for those owned by people on public assistance. Since its inception more than 25 years ago, the program has surgically altered about 100,000 cats and dogs and is credited with dramatically reducing the euthanasia rate in New Jersey’s shelters.
To date, the only funding sources have been a $3 surcharge on dog licenses and the sale of "animal friendly" license plates. The tax check-off will provide additional funding for more surgeries, so when you file your state tax return, please take a moment to check-off for the animals.
Barbara Wicklund Member New Jersey Domestic Companion Animal Council Montgomery
