48 The QUEE NS Courier • november 14, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com editorial letters THE QUEENS Victoria Schneps-Yunis Joshua A. Schneps Bob Brennan Tonia N. Cimino Amy Amato-Sanchez Nirmal Singh Graziella Zerilli Stephen Reina Ron Torina, Jennifer Decio, Cheryl Gallagher Melisa Chan, Liam La Guerre, Cristabelle Tumola Maggie Hayes, Angy Altamirano Cliff Kasden, Samantha Sohmer, Elizabeth Aloni Cristabelle Tumola Bill Krese Jan DiGeronimo Maria Romero Louise Cavaliere Celeste Alamin Maria Valencia Daphne Fortunate Victoria Schneps-Yunis Joshua A. Schneps Publisher & E ditor Co-Publisher Associate Publisher Editor-In-Chief VP, Events, Web & Social Media Art Director Assistant to Publisher Assistant Art Director Artists Staff Reporters Contributing Reporters Web Editor Editorial Cartoonist Director, Business Developm ent Events Manager Senior Acc ount Executive Classified Manager Controller Office Manager President & CEO Vice President Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361 718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441 website: www.queenscourier.com e-mail:[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Entire Contents Copyright 2013 by The Queens Courier All letters sent to THE QUEENS COURIER should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should include a full address and home and office telephone numbers, where available, as well as affiliation, indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request. 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Go to www.queenscourier.com and search “Identify This Place” to find out where this is Hope for the new mayor Congratulations are in order now that we have elected a new mayor. We fervently hope that mayor-elect Bill de Blasio will be able to accomplish much during his term in office. All New Yorkers want a better, cleaner, safer city and more job creation to boost the city’s economy. All city unions need to sit down with de Blasio and work together to come to an agreement on new contracts for thousands of city employees. These workers are the backbone of this great city and deserve the best contracts with the maximum salaries and benefits allowable. John Amato Fresh Meadows Veterans & Lung Cancer As we salute the men and women who served our nation on Veterans Day, the American Lung Association wants veterans and their loved ones to know that those who served have a higher incidence of lung cancer than the general population. November is also Lung Cancer Awareness Month, and the message that veterans have an increased risk for acquiring this dreaded disease is an important one that’s too often overlooked in the stories we typically read about both veterans and about lung cancer. It’s no secret that tobacco use in the military was once encouraged and that many who served developed a lifelong addiction. Yet despite all that we now know about tobacco’s dangers, members of our military still smoke at rates that exceed the general population. Add in the exposure to chemicals like asbestos, depleted uranium, smoke from burn pits and other harmful emissions, and this risk becomes even greater. The Lung Association urges veterans to talk with their doctors about their risk for lung cancer. We also encourage veterans who smoke or did smoke to visit lungcancerscreeningsaveslives. org, to see if lung cancer screening might be appropriate for them. We are here for veterans, and all Americans, who need help quitting smoking. It’s the most important thing a person can do to reduce his or her risk for lung cancer. Learn more about how we can help you quit at quitterinyou.org. IDENTIFY THIS PLACE Our Lung HelpLine, at 1-800-LUNG-USA (586-4872) is available seven days a week to answer questions about lung health and provide reliable information about quitting smoking. To learn even more about lung cancer, lung disease and how to best protect your lung health, visit our website at LungNE.org. Working together, we can raise awareness about lung cancer, reduce its incidence and increase the number of survivors. Jeff Seyler President & CEO American Lung Association of the Northeast School Daze It seems that every ethnic group is now clamoring to have a holiday added to the school year. This all started originally over eight decades ago, when the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur were given to the public schools. Now, everyone else is requesting that their religious holidays also be honored. If this is going to occur, the school year will have to be extended in order to meet the state mandate of 180 days. The next mayor needs to have serious talks with the DOE and the UFT regarding this issue. It is a serious one. John Amato Fresh Meadows Debt of gratitude As the nation celebrated the annual Veteran’s Day holiday, we all should remember the enormous sacrifices these brave men and women made for our nation. These veterans have fought in every war, from the American Revolution right through the Iraqi and Afghanistan wars, to preserve the wonderful liberties that all Americans enjoy. They were and are the true heroes and heroines of this nation, and we owe them a very deep debt of gratitude for putting their lives in harm’s way on the battlefields so that we can enjoy freedom. God Bless each and every one of them past, present and future. John Amato Fresh Meadows Remember, Reflect, RESPECT World War I fighting ended at 11 a.m., November 11, 1918 (the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month). Years later the day was officially named Armistice Day by a Congressional resolution in 1926. It was the hope of those who created Armistice Day to honor veterans and their service that World War I - The Great War - would in fact be “the war to end all wars.” Armistice Day became Veterans Day officially in 1954 after the staggering casualties resulting from World War II. Sixteen and a half million Americans took part. Four hundred seven thousand of them died in service, more than 292,000 in battle. There have been other wars since then, still requiring great sacrifice from our veterans. Too often, that sacrifice is the ultimate sacrifice. Thus, we take time on Veterans Day to honor our veterans’ sacrifices in the hope that we may find a way to “end all wars.” We solemnly ask you to take a moment and say a prayer for every one of these brave men and women who died so that we may continue to live free. And please say a special prayer for those who continue the fight, and for those who are fighting to reacclimate. As this new generation of vets returns home, they, like those who have served before, face many challenges as they readjust to civilian life. But there is hope and there is help. The caring professionals at the Veterans Crisis Line are specially trained and experienced in helping veterans of all ages and circumstances. Many of the responders are veterans themselves and understand what veterans and their families and friends have been through and the challenges veterans of all ages and service eras face. Since its launch in 2007, the Veterans Crisis Line has answered more than 890,000 calls and made more than 30,000 life-saving rescues. If you or someone you know is a veteran in need of assistance, call the Veterans Crisis Line at 800-273-8255. The staff of The Queens Courier would like to send our thanks to all of our country’s veterans of war for their contributions and service to our nation. Veterans Day is the one day a year set aside to honor military veterans, past and present – but we feel that should be every day. For all those who came home – and for those who didn’t – we say THANK YOU. PHOTO BY ORESTES GONZALEZ
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