On behalf of the Glen Cove Scouting community, I would like to thank all of the wonderful people and organizations that made this year's Scout in Government Day such a success. Scout in Government Day is a unique opportunity to expose Scouts to the workings of our city government and judicial system.

Special thanks to Mayor Ralph Suozzi, city council members Tim Tenke, Sean Dwyer, Delia Whitton and Tony Jiminez, city clerk Tina Pemberton, city attorney Vincent Taranto, City controller Sal Lombardi, Judge Richard McCord, the Volunteer Fire Department, EMS and Police departments for dedicating a Saturday morning to this program.

I would also like to thank Assistant District Attorneys Melissa O'Rourke and Bob Biancavilla for sharing their professional expertise with the Scouts. The Scouts thoroughly enjoyed exploring the world of CSI and learning about how DNA is used to solve crimes. The day would not have been possible without your willingness to share your time and talent with our youth. We also thank the North Shore Lions Club for once again underwriting Scout in Government Day and to King Kullen and Stop & Shop for assisting with refreshments.

Congratulations to this year's honorees: Nancy Sobeck for the Boy Scouts, Elaine Marinaccio for the Cub Scouts and Barbara Betkowski for the Girl Scouts. You have all made a lasting impression on our youth and for that we are all grateful.

Last but not least, thank you to all of the Scouts who participated in Scout in Government Day. Whether you toured the emergency services agencies, learned about DNA or participated in the mock city council meeting, I hope you came away with a better understanding about how our city operates, as well as the duties and obligations shared by all Americans.

Again, many thanks to all who made this day possible.

Cynthia S. Rogers

$2,629. What's that number? Well, that's the debt that every man, woman and child living in Glen Cove owes from a history of city government mismanagement.

Newsday (Feb. 18) has just reported that Glen Cove is up to its neck in red ink - a total of $70 million dollars and growing. There are 26,622 (2000 census) residents in Glen Cove. If you divide the amount of debt by the number of residents, guess what? Voila! $2,629 per resident. To a family of four, that's $10,518 that you owe, thanks to the bungling of several city administrations, and most significantly, the current one.

The fact is that the Ralph Suozzi administration had run up the debt by at least $18 million in just two years of incompetent governance before voters sent him back to do more damage. Now, according to Newsday, our mayor has plans to borrow even more. The State Comptroller's office has said, "Don't do it. You can't afford it."

To add insult to injury, on Feb. 26, the City Council is going to have a public hearing to legitimize the illegal appointment of a friend of the mayor's family as deputy mayor for $69,500 per year. It's not legal because she doesn't live in Glen Cove, so the mayor and his council are planning on changing the city charter to cover over the illegality of appointing her in the first place.

This is a meeting that absolutely no one in Glen Cove should miss. This mayor is driving Glen Cove into a financial abyss and almost the entire community has no clue of what is really going on. Tuesday, Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m., City Hall.

Warren Coyle