Letters
Thompson mansion should have been saved

I cannot believe I am going to say this, but I agree with the gadfly that is Larry Loigman (“County criticized for mansion’s fire system,” Feb. 15) — only on the subject of the recent fire at Thompson Park. To spend $3.7 million — taxpayers’ dollars — and not protect the entire building is utterly ridiculous and deserves a complete and thorough investigation, and officials, employees or professionals need to be held accountable.

While I will be the first in line to say Monmouth County has the finest park system in the state, that pride is now diminished by the fire-ravaged building at Thompson Park. That building could have been easily saved with the installation of a fire suppression system, simply installed in every room of the building. I find it insulting to have it said that any criticism would be “kicking people when they are down.” Equally insulting was to say the criticism of county officials who “are in mourning over the fire” would be unjust.

In truth, the people who need to be consoled and who are in mourning are the county taxpayers who spent $3.7 million on a historic building that every county resident should have been able to say would be protected from within and without, for the next 100 years, and beyond. But some supposed and yet unnamed licensed professional(s) made recommendations that only allowed for the basement of the building to have fire suppression systems installed to safeguard the entire building. That is like having a generator in the basement of your home when the area is prone to flooding. Obviously the basement floods first.

I have watched as the county has spent tens of millions on golf courses, costs which rival the monies spent on world-renowned courses. I find no comfort in the statement that a “licensed professional” made a building code decision to install fire suppression only in the basement. I will be willing to bet the buildings at these overpriced golf courses have fire suppression systems throughout.

Selfishly, I hope that steps are taken to immediately rebuild this landmark. My hope is that someday in the future my wife and I would be able to take our grandchildren — the grandchildren we hope to have around us someday — to the building where grandma and grandpa met. I can assure you that building meant a lot to the two of us and “we too are in mourning” having met each other in that very same, now fire-damaged building, 28 years ago.

Joseph McAleer

Aberdeen

Board, not prosecutor, should deal with issue

The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office is reviewing the case of Middletown Superintendent of Schools David Witmer, after the Board of Education filed administrative charges against him and suspended him without pay. You have to be kidding me. Now it has come to light that those charges involve the alleged “misuse or misallocation” of vacation days and sick days. While I certainly do not condone any misreporting or any type of dishonesty, this whole affair seems like it could have been handled quite easily without all the fanfare.

It would seem to me with all the murders, rapes, child abuse, drug deals, sexual assaults, etc., we know are taking place, the Prosecutor’s Office and its staff have much more pressing cases to worry about than whether an extra sick day is in the account of the superintendent. Furthermore, the payout for unused sick days does not occur until one retires, so at this point in time no money has been misappropriated. Those in the local board office could have easily corrected any mistakes that had been made in anyone’s sick leave account. In fact, why wasn’t the director of personnel keeping watch on those accounts since 2003? How could the same “mistake” continue to happen year after year? Why didn’t the director of personnel alert the board in 2003 that a mistake had occurred?

You know the saying: the more things change, the more they remain the same. Well, the board has changed, the superintendents have come and gone, teaching staff members have left the district or retired, but farce continues to play itself out on Tindall Road in Middletown.

I do have a suggestion in all this: Middletown board and administration, clean up your act by yourselves and let the Prosecutor’s Office concentrate its workload on keeping us all safe from the real criminals amongst us.

Bette J. Shreiber

Keyport

Technology is ‘making the newspaper a dinosaur’

The newspaper business is facing the biggest challenge in its entire history, as publications across the country struggle to find ways to appeal to the next generations of readers.” That was the only sentence that made sense in Greg Bean’s Feb. 8 column “Schools get an F in teaching literacy.” The true problems are ingrained in modern society, not with educators and the philosophies and skills they utilize. If Bean blamed doctors and modern medical procedures on the deaths of cigarette smokers, because when he was a child everyone smoked and no one died from cigarettes, we would all laugh. The same is true with education.

In the past, I have worked with adults in the 55-60-year age range that came through the education system Bean talks about, and it failed them miserably. The new literacy programs used in adult literacy worked for them where repetition and diagramming sentences failed. What people like Greg need to understand is that change is good and is constant. The problem with newspaper circulation is not that young people can’t read them, it’s that young people don’t want to read them. The youth in our schools don’t read papers because they can watch the news 24 hours a day seven days a week. It’s not the educational system that’s making the newspaper a dinosaur on the verge of extinction, it’s modern technology.

You may also want to consider another sad fact. You mentioned the inability of prospective employees. It might just be that people you are attracting are no longer the cream of the crop. What was once a glorious profession is now a last choice! I would have ended this rebuttal with a quote from Aristotle, but according to Bean he and I would be the only people who understood it.

Ryan Bradley

Keyport

Citizens convention urged to address property taxes

In recent months, there has been much conversation throughout the state with regard to a citizens (i.e,. constitutional) convention. The proposal for this convention is so the citizens of New Jersey can balance fiscal policy, tax policy, and as most know, specifically to address and tackle the major property tax issue that each resident of New Jersey is facing each day.

So is there a need for this convention? All fingers have been pointing to the fact that the Legislature in New Jersey has failed. Why has it failed? As a whole, our elected officials have not worked in unity to put party agendas off to the side and focus primarily on the state of New Jersey and its residents. Not that it would be fair to say every official is responsible, but the final equation does show that New Jersey is in serious trouble, no matter how you look at the numbers, or who is responsible, we are New Jersey citizens and our state is in serious trouble.

So is the convention a good idea? Yes, as it will empower the elected citizen representatives to hopefully address and provide a solution to these issues. Does there seem to be more support from citizens and elected officials each day? Yes, the more people who hear about this proposed convention, the more that seem to jump on board and embrace it.

As with most things in New Jersey, this convention has only been proposed as a one-sided event. The convention will not empower the citizens to review and make determinations on the spending side of the budgets. This convention will not empower its citizens to take control of the overwhelming budget disaster that has been created over the past decade.

The double standard is just another example of why things in the Garden State are in disarray. As a citizen of New Jersey I find it insulting that some officials feel that the citizens can come together and work on a solution at a convention for property taxes, yet they feel that we do not have the ability to bring balance to a budget that has had a lack of balance and vision to begin with.

When you think about it in simple terms of what is being said, our citizens are smart enough to discuss property taxes that our officials have failed at, yet some officials feel that we are not smart enough to address the budget that our officials have failed all of us on year after year.

I am urging all citizens in New Jersey to contact their elected officials at all levels and express the need for the citizens convention. Property taxes is a real issue that affects the state, yet our out-of-control spending is no better. In the end, if the convention takes place and budget spending is not addressed, one thing will remain true – some type or form of taxes will be created or increased in the end that we will be paying for.

Fred Moltz

Aberdeen