Letters
Vas should pull plan to give illegals a license

Many of my fellow residents and I oppose granting New Jersey drivers licenses to illegal immigrants - no exceptions. We ask state Assemblyman Joseph Vas to please retract his legislative proposal, which would accomplish this, because it is wrong and it is illegal.

Mr. Vas recently stated that his bill was needed to afford opportunities to a "work force in demand?" By which employers? The answer is simple - illegal employers. Legal employers follow our laws and never hire people without verifying the proper ID.

The illegal employers Mr. Vas wants to serve really need to be punished themselves for failure to obey our federal and state employment and tax laws. They are unfairly benefiting from what others will not break the law to avail themselves of.

Since when does the "tail wag the dog?" But, due to the enormity of the problem (12 million lawbreakers in the United States), Mr. Vas' hand seems to be forced in working to grant that which is unfair to others. He wishes to offer lawbreakers the same driving privileges as those patiently waiting in line to become Americans? Absurd.

Joseph Vas may represent heavily Latino Perth Amboy, but he doesn't represent the wishes of most New Jerseyans and certainly not those of most Amer-icans, regardless of their ethnicity.

This is not immigration reform he advocates; this is unconditional surrender to others who wish to dictate the rules, after breaking them, by using only their sheer number as a bully pulpit.

I hope the power of reason dictates the result in this matter and that such silly proposals fall on death ears. Out-of-touch state assemblymen rarely get elected to Congress.

Marc LeVine

councilman

Freehold Borough

Resident sees no reason to change local govt.

Andrew Lucas and Joe Locricchio support a drastic change to Manal-apan's government that would require their resignation. While this Manalapan taxpayer welcomes their resignation, I believe that throwing out Manalapan's government is radical politics and bad policy.

Mr. Lucas said that concen-trating power in one person would increase accountability and checks and balances. This makes no sense, unless he is talking about pay to play checks and campaign fund balances.

On the other hand this effort is consistent with all the work Mr. Lucas and Mr. Locricchio did last year.

First they threw out Manal-apan's strong anti-corruption anti-pay to play ordinance. Next they rewarded a campaign contributor, which gives them experience with pay to play. And then they tried to ram the "Megamall" down our throats.

Now they want to concentrate power in one man. Forget that it led to corruption in [other towns]. That could never happen in Manalapan.

In Manalapan today, a developer has to convince a five-member Township Committee.

Imagine how much easier it would be if he only had to convince one person? And if he could do the convincing in the back of a limo, or on a golf course with an envelope full of green paper with pictures of presidents ...

And how about pay to play - this would make it, in the words of the Enron accountants, "Much More Cost Effective." Today the pay-to-player needs to contribute to different campaigns each year. With a strong mayor elected to a four-year term he'd only have to bankroll one campaign every four years. He'd have a much better return on his investment.

It gives new meaning to that slogan "the buck stops here." On the other hand, it would make it easier to find corruption - just look for the mayor.

Let's continue to require developers to prove each case to the Township Committee in open debate. Let's keep Manal-apan's Township Committee clean and simple, and honest. Of course, if Mr. Lucas and Mr. Locricchio still want to resign ... now that would serve Manal-apan's interest.

Larry Furman

Manalapan

Freehold Borough welcomes all cats, dogs at April 1 rabies clinic

Once again Freehold Borough is offering a free rabies vaccination clinic for cats and dogs. The clinic will be held on April 1 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the firehouse annex on Main Street.

Although the clinic is held in Freehold Borough, it is open to residents of any municipality. You do not need to bring any paperwork with you, nor does your animal need to be licensed in order to be vaccinated. For registration purposes you will be asked your name, address, telephone number, the name and breed of your pet, his/her age, whether or not he/she is neutered/spayed, and whether this is the animal's first rabies vaccination.

The vaccination offers protection for your cat, dog, family and community. The animal needs to be at least 3 months old to be vaccinated, and the first vaccination for an animal is good for one year. All subsequent vaccinations offer protection for three years. There is no limit as to the number of animals you can bring to have vaccinated. Dogs need to be on short leashes and cats need to be in carriers.

If there are any questions, feel free to call the Freehold Borough Board of Health office at (732) 462-7057 Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Samantha Daesener

Board of Health

Freehold Borough

Organization's parents night out was a successful event

The Special Education Advisory Committee (SEPAC) of Howell Town-ship was happy to host its second annual Parents Night Out and Gift Auction, held Jan. 27. With a turnout of approximately 260 people, it was a huge success.

Parents, family and friends came out together to share an evening at the Woodlake Country Club, with a sit-down dinner, gift auction and live music donated by one of the hottest local bands, Undercover. We would like to thank all those who donated their time, talents and gifts to support our wonderful organization.

SEPAC continues to host such events as Howell Mania, SEPAC Kids Club, Family Fun Night and we continue to welcome informational speakers through the year.

Again, thank you for your continued support and we look forward to SEPAC's third annual Parents Night Out.

Patti Bell

Howell

Drivers and pedestrians must be aware of the rules

This is in response to a letter in the March 8 News Transcript regarding pedestrians crossing the road. The answer to the question as to why pedestrians cross the roads in the middle at un-traffic lit intersections, or walk along shoulders is very simple: it is because there is no place else to walk.

It was poor planning on our local and state governments not to require sidewalks for all developments or along bus routes. And while I don't condone pedestrians who dart across the road, forcing drivers to take evasive measures, pedestrians generally do use their common sense in making a decision as to where to cross and where to walk (after all, most of them are drivers, too, at some point). There are many places along Route 9, for example, where it seems to be safer for pedestrians to walk in the median than to cross in the middle of the road, then to cross at a light and take their chances on the shoulder (particularly around Texas Road). I agree it is not the best situation, but that is what we have.

As per state statute, pedestrians have the right to walk on the shoulders "on all highways where there are no sidewalks or paths provided for pedestrian use, pedestrians shall, when practicable, walk only on the extreme left side of the roadway or its shoulder facing approaching traffic."

Additionally, if there is no crosswalk or traffic control signal, pedestrians are still allowed to cross the roadway at right angles. Under a state statute, drivers are required to yield to a pedestrian crossing the road even within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection.

In any event, nothing relieves a driver from the duty to exercise due care for the safety of any pedestrian upon a road. If a driver does not like pedestrians in the road with them, they probably shouldn't be driving in a state where virtually every county is an urban county.

Driving is a privilege, not a right. A driver has a basic duty to make observations about surrounding traffic conditions, which includes pedestrians trying to cross the road. Highway responsibility is a two-way street. I have lost count of the times I have been in a crosswalk on Route 9, with the traffic light, and had to stop and retreat, even though I had the right of way, due to drivers making a right turn at the red, or using the jughandles, "forgetting" to look see if there were any pedestrians crossing the road.

Drivers who can not practice safe defensive driving with pedestrians should either avoid roads and times they may encounter pedestrians or park their car in the garage and hand in their driver's license to the Motor Vehicle Commission.

It is a shame that too many pedestrians are forced to cross in between intersections or walk along the shoulder because there is no other choice. How-ever, my sympathy goes out to all pedestrians and fellow drivers who must encounter drivers on the road who blame others for their problems and refuse to share limited space with those who choose to save fuel and keep extra cars off the road by using our legs and mass transit to transport ourselves in lieu of simply going to our car to get to our destinations.

Michael Oliver

Manalapan

Senior feels put upon by another sewer rate increase

Here we go again. Am I the only senior citizen feeling "put upon" over and over again by the Western Monmouth Utilities Authority? I don't think so.

How dare this so-called utility (unscrupulous is more like it) declare another substantial increase within a year ... dedicated to the senior citizen.

Who else is lucky enough to have one working bathroom, never mind two? Certainly not the populous "mini mansions" abounding in Marlboro. Why, they have anywhere from four to 10 bathrooms, with a few halves thrown in. How can this possibly be fair? Charging the same overall rate per household ... be it one bathroom or 10 is totally inaccurate.

The overwhelming increase last year ($22) was outrageous and now another increase of $4 makes it borderline criminal. Where are all the elected officials who are supposed to be protecting us? This utility is self-monitored. Why? They can increase senior citizens' rates "until the cows come home" or until there are none left.

Madeline Hattan

Marlboro

People came together to help residents find lost dog

On Feb. 24 at about 9 a.m. our dog, Ace, a black brindle, male Akita ran out of the front door, which had blown open. To say the least we were beside ourselves. Our home backs up to the Franklin Lane forest in Manalapan, which is 100 acres of preserved woodland near Route 9 north.

About four-and-a-half hours later with the help of Manalapan police, the Manalapan and Marlboro boards of heath, Town and Country Veterinarian Services, friends, neighbors, local postal workers, deliverymen and delivery-women, we were able to locate him near Franklin Lane.

We especially would like to thank our good friends, Susan Heckler, for first spotting Ace on the other side of Milford Brook, Rhoda Chodosh, Beth Ann and Nazire Fazlibegu, Dick and Maizie Frenkiel, Joanne Iantosca and Kim Silverstein for keeping us calm, focused and never giving up hope that we would find Ace that day.

We know that Manalapan is a great place to live, and that is because of its caring residents and the people that work in and around our beautiful township.

Rebecca and Alan Ginsberg

Manalapan