16 The Courier sun • JANUARY 30, 2014 for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com editorial letters Non-partisan benefits I’ve been reading a lot about the “bad” Republicans not wanting to extend unemployment benefits and how the “good” Democrats want it extended to help the unemployed. Let’s all be clear about this. Most want to extend unemployment benefits. The only difference is that some want to pay for it and others simply want it added to the $17 trillion national debt. When will this country be able to have an honest debate about such issues without injecting partisan politics? Bob Friedrich Glen Oaks Village Principal must go The principal of P. S. 107 in the Rockaways needs to be terminated immediately! She has been absent quite often; teachers are afraid to stand up to her, parents can never speak with her due to her constant truancy, and the entire school is in a state of confusion, without the necessary teaching materials and curriculum guides for the teachers. Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina needs to come to this school herself, and not send her deputy to see what is happening. The parents and teachers need to unite in their demands that this principal be removed from this school and be replaced with a true, caring principal who will work with everyone there to restore credibility and respect. John Amato Fresh Meadows Unfair treatment Recent articles have described the ill-treatment of Mary Ann Carey, District Manager for Community Board 9. She has given many years of dedicated service to the community. Great numbers of community members have benefited from her leadership. Despite her effectiveness, she is obviously being forced out of her position. When our community was faced with problems, be it small or huge, she was always available to hear our concerns and help us resolve issues. Her assistance has been invaluable on numerous occasions. No matter A clarification: if it was a speeding problem on our residential street, or inappropriate development, or graffiti, we could count on her able assist. No person with such a long record of community service should be treated in such an insulting manner. I hope that she will be spared the political hatchet. William Herbert Kew Gardens Acts of selflessness The rash of tragic school shootings of recent years continues to bring irreparable grief to the national community and tests our resilience and readiness to tackle issues of bullying, gun laws, civic policies and the tone and direction of society. Nobody should exploit these tragedies for personal gain or to make political points. But let’s note that teachers were among the heroes whose intercession no doubt prevented the further loss of lives. They belonged to a union. Naturally their courageous actions were moral impulses of humanity that had nothing to do with labor contracts. That goes without saying. Yet it still needs to be said that they were unionists whose honorable conduct did not contradict union values, but rather mirrored them. There are many people who actually believe that teacher unions are made up of members who wouldn’t give you the time of day unless they got paid time-and-a-half. By giving others a new lease on life they got paid a royal compensation of gratitude and self-ratification. Ron Isaac Fresh Meadows Couldn’t get to work I heard and read that Mayor Bill de Blasio refused to close the schools, his reasoning being that since the snow stopped at 10 p.m., the streets would be plowed by morning. What he failed to take into account was that with approximately 11 inches of snow, teachers and support staff had a lot of work to do in the morning to dig out their cars, shovel their driveways to make a path to the street, then shovel their sidewalks to keep pedestrians safe and not get a ticket from the Department of Sanitation (they hit Maspeth and Woodside heavily last storm). Lee Rottenberg Middle Village IDENTIFY THIS PLACE Go to www.queenscourier.com and search “Identify This Place” to find out where this is sun WWW.COURIERSUN.COM 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 Warren Susman 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 Sales fax: 718-631-3498 website: www.couriersun.com e-mail:[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Entire Contents Copyright 2014 by The Courier Sun All letters sent to THE COURIER SUN 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. No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of THE COURIER SUN. The publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Errors must be reported to THE COURIER SUN within five days of publication. Ad position cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication. VIctoria Media Services assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold The Courier SUN and its employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement. In last week’s issue, we incorrectly identified the principal of St. Francis Prep. His name is Patrick McLaughlin. We regret the error. INVALUABLE RESOURCE Question: What can be considered an invaluable neighborhood resource and a go-to place for people of all ages? Answer: The Queens Library system. Despite the negative attention, our borough boasts perhaps the best libraries in the nation – even the world. With FREE classes, workshops, Internet access and other research materials, the Queens Library has become the place where students go for important class work – and the place seniors go to socialize and keep up on current events. They have employability programs, consumer health programs, cancer screenings and primary care physician visits booked right at the Library – which have saved lives both literally and figuratively. After school programs for hundreds of thousands of children have been upgraded to be among the finest you will find anywhere -- and all are free. The Queens Library is one of our communities’ most crucial institutions. An official Library statement points out, “In the past 10 years, under Thomas Galante’s leadership, Queens Library has hosted 128 million visitors to its libraries. 5.4 million people have attended free programs. More than 200 million library items have been borrowed. An estimated 5 million children have depended on Queens Library as a safe haven after school.” Libraries have become cultural centers in the neighborhoods they serve. So don’t delay. “Enrich your life today.” WHAT TOOK SO LONG? It was nearly four months of anguish that Vanessa Fontaine, Avonte Oquendo’s mother, suffered through, as she wondered and waited for her son to be found. Unfortunately, Avonte’s story ended in heartbreak and tragedy. But Senator Charles Schumer is trying to ensure that no other parent ever endure the same heartbreak. “Avonte’s Law” will create and fund a program providing voluntary tracking devices and increase support services for families of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or any other developmental conditions in which bolting is common. The program would only include children whose parents choose to use the devices. Our only question is WHAT TOOK SO LONG? We applaud Schumer in his efforts to keep our children safe, but more needs to be done in schools, in the classrooms, for special needs students. Perhaps the Department of Education might take a lesson . . .
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