Letters

I just discovered Monmouth Battlefield State Park, Manalapan, not too long ago. When seeing it for the first time, I actually thought it was one of the nicest places I’d seen in New Jersey.

In this time of growth, it was such a pleasure not to see a corporate complex, housing or any building machinery and materials for as far as the eye could see — to just see nature as it should be. It made me happy to live in an area supporting this type of place. Add to this the fact that it is a historic battle site to help remind our children and us why we should love it here, and why this place in which we live was so important that men and women gave their lives for us.

Now I am angered to hear that they may put a commuter rail line going through the park. The freeholders say they are thinking of commuters. People don’t move to this area for an easy commute — they already had that in New York. They move here for peace and quiet.

Experience has shown me that trains do not relieve traffic on local roads. Trains make traffic. Metro Park, Edison — the entire area was farms until the train station came. Now it takes 20 minutes to go two lights. Trains only attract out-of-area people to your town to use the train and to use the local roads to get to the train and to its parking garages.

If you must build rail lines, at all costs avoid the park, existing lines or not. If you need more of a reason, go to a battle re-enactment, and see if a commuter train is an appropriate memorial for the lives given there.

Elizabeth Fagan

Monroe

E.B. family extends thanks for caring, efforts, prayers

Where do I begin to thank so many people?

My son, Corey Muniz, is the East Brunswick boy diagnosed with leukemia. Since that day, so many people have come together to help us in so many various ways.

There was a blood drive held in Corey’s name. Our Frost School family held a Candy Peep Sale. A local Girl Scout troop worked hard at an all-day garage sale. Then there was the Haws family who worked together at their lemonade stand to raise money for Corey’s fund. The St. Vincent de Paul Society donated household goods to save us money on our weekly grocery bills. Many stopped by with groceries, or just to offer their support and prayers.

We need to thank the many people, near and far, some we know, some total strangers, who have contributed to the Corey Conquering Cancer Fund. We thank you all.

To my good friends, Jill and Eric Veit — you know we could never thank you enough. Organizing the Basketball Jamboree with the parents of the East Brunswick Hurricanes was an unbelievable success, raising approximately $14,000. It was obvious to all who attended how much effort was involved, and I am grateful to you all. As my husband, Arnie, stated in his halftime speech, “You will be in our hearts forever.”

Thanks to the many East Brunswick police officers who readily volunteered their time. A special thanks goes out to our mailman, Jim Wojick, who volunteered to referee so many games throughout the tournament.

It was truly amazing to see this community come together as it has. The efforts of all these people will never be forgotten. We will always reflect back on all these efforts for strength and hope to conquer this tragic ordeal.

Thank you, East Brunswick, for all the ways you have shown you care.

Cindy Muniz

on behalf of

the Muniz family

East Brunswick

S.R. Office on Aging Prom made seniors feel important

I recently attended the South River Senior Prom put on by the Office on Aging.

About 240 of us seniors attended. It could not have been better planned and organized. I was quite impressed, not only by the food, but also by the service. Those serving us included the mayor, members of the Borough Council, the police chief and many of our local policemen, members of the rescue squad, volunteer firemen, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, students, adults from various local organizations and employees of the Office on Aging.

A prom would not be a prom without the election of a king and queen. The flowers, gazebo and a park bench, along with great dancing music, verified that those who put all this together put their heart and soul into it. We also enjoyed the two professional elegant ballroom dancers and the different attire that was worn.

Of course, we seniors did all right on the floor, too. We “oldies” also enjoyed winning the many theme baskets that were put together and donated by vendors and local family members.

The sad part is that there were no local newspapers there to cover the community event. Hint to them: Community people like to read nice things people do for others. It may be local-yokel stuff, but it’s news too.

I commend each and every one of you who worked on the prom for all you did, and especially Amy Berg, the director of the Office on Aging, who worked very hard behind the scenes and made me aware of this wonderful event.

On behalf of all the seniors who were there, thank you, thank you, thank you. Y’all made us feel important.

Emery L. Spirko

South River

Beware of funding education through state income tax

I have read several letters to the editor suggesting the use of a state dedicated 5-percent income tax to fund education, instead of funding education via real estate taxes. While the theory sounds quite good, I would caution against such a method.

Once the funds go to Trenton, I’m afraid we would not get back our pro-rata share for our school budget in each of our respective municipalities. I truly believe that the thought process at the state level would be to redistribute the funds so that the school districts that don’t perform so well in certain areas of the state would receive a higher level of funding, with well-intentioned hopes that the quality of education would improve in those areas. If this were to occur, we could still end up supplementing the school budget with property taxes.

Redistribution of funds is already occurring with state education funds, and more money spent per student does not guarantee better results. Just look at the average SAT scores, the percentage of graduates and the percentage of students going on to higher education — all figures that are published annually, listing each township within each county. Some low-performing school districts actually have among the highest levels of per-student funding.

Students will do well as a result of a combination of factors that include not just a sound school budget (which will enable the hiring of excellent teachers and the highest maintenance and upgrades to school classrooms and facilities), but most importantly include encouragement and oversight in the home. Without the encouragement with schoolwork and projects as well as the reinforcement of good study habits in the home, in most cases children will not do as well as those who do have this support.

My other concern about funding education via a state income tax is that the state may allocate the money with “strings attached” and impose certain requirements on the individual school districts. The local school districts have a better understanding of how education funds should be spent than a distant state bureaucracy would have.

In conclusion, although escalating property taxes are a growing burden to most of us, I believe that education should continue to be funded locally. If there is a way to give a discount to senior citizens who demonstrate need, I believe most residents would support this.

I live in East Brunswick, and my children have been in this school system since kindergarten. As they have progressed through elementary school, middle school and junior high school, I have to say that I am truly impressed with the quality of education they are receiving, and I would never want to jeopardize it by funding it via a state income tax.

Tina Hungrige

East Brunswick

Appreciate alum offers an ‘All-Matteo’ thank you

On behalf of those named to the All-Matteo Soccer Team, a heartfelt thank you is extended to everyone who made April’s Jamesburg High School reunion possible.

The only disappointment was that our beloved coach, Richard Matteo, was unable to be there that evening to pat our backs once more, tell a long story, and, of course, to share a laugh.

In the big picture, we realize the award is an obscure footnote, but in the youthful mindset of how and why we played and practiced, and in our fondest reverie today, it’s our wildest aspiration fulfilled.

There are those listed who truly were my childhood heroes, those listed who were my peers who have become my brothers, and those listed for whom I rooted and at whom I marveled behind the ropes as a fanatical alumnus. To have my name mentioned in such company is unlike any other acclamation I will ever receive. It’s the stuff that makes living in little old Jamesburg great.

However, in speaking to my “teammates,” one chord sounds clearly — humility. We know in our hearts that for every one of “us,” there are at least three others who deserve the recognition but were not named — players who practiced harder than we did, had better skills, added a magical chemistry and continually rose to the occasion, yet graciously stood in the background.

Rest assured, if we could have an imaginary game of “us” versus “them,” nobody would be the clear favorite or have a decided advantage — except, that is, for the team on whose sideline Coach Matteo chose to stand.

Rich Mendoker

class of 1968

Jamesburg High School

Lions Club grateful for strong community support

The East Brunswick Lions Club would like to thank the community for supporting our recent Golf Outing.

The event, held on June 1 in conjunction with the East Brunswick Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Friends of the South River Men’s Club and Accountants for the Public Interest, assisted in funding a nursing scholarship for a deserving East Brunswick High School graduate this year. The Lions Nursing Scholarship Program has been active for nearly the entire 54 years of the club’s history. A special thank you goes out to East Brunswick Buick Pontiac GMC, who sponsored our hole-in-one event. It is a new sponsor this year, and we appreciate the support.

The East Brunswick Lions Club is always looking for men and women who would like to assist the community. Anyone interested in any of the club’s activities or in joining may call Howard Adams at (732) 548-3092.

Michael Barnett

vice president

East Brunswick Lions Club