Letter: Moving Forward After Newtown

The whole country continues to mourn the deaths of 20 children and six adults who died in last month’s school shooting in Newtown, CT. And while we wait for the motive to emerge and policy proposals to surface, we can speak out now on behalf of families who need greater access to mental health treatment and other social services that ultimately will prove more effective in protecting and strengthening all of us; children, adults and our communities.   

As the head of a human services organization, I believe it is part of our mission to inform and educate the public on important issues facing today’s families in a balanced and professional manner. As the result of this tragic event, there will be a temptation to look for quick answers; overly simplistic, one-size-fits-all solutions. 

Letter: Armed Guards Not The Solution

In response to Grace Merrell Slezak’s letter to the editor of Dec. 28, her suggestion of armed guards in every conceivable place opens the door to many questions.

One, how would you arm them? A guard with a side arm will not be enough to counter an attack such as the one in Newtown, CT. The guards would need assault weapons as well as flak jackets, etc. Second, how many guards for any institution? Third, how to pay for this? Suggestions of dropping foreign aid are irresponsible. Just recently, two past Secretaries of State, Madeleine Albright (Democrat) and Colin Powell (Republican), stated that foreign aid was important for the United States. Not only is it the right thing to do but it also wins friends and allies around the world, which we need more than ever in this country’s war on terrorism.

I appreciate Ms. Slezak’s concern for the safety of our citizens, some of her suggestions are reasonable, but fear tactics and thoughtless solutions are not the answer. If she prefers to live in what would be an armed camp, Fort Knox would be the place to live. For the rest of us who do not want to live in some Old West-Dodge City world…ban the big clips and weapons.

Edward Foote

Letter: Thanks To The Sea Cliff Fire Department

The Mutual Concerns Committee would like to extend its gratitude to the Gold Coast Lions for their generous donation to the Mutual Concerns Committee. Barbara Murray of the Lions organized a defensive driving class at Village Hall recently and the proceeds of that class were given to the MCC.

The Mutual Concerns Committee distributes food to those in need at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter.  We also provide food for those individuals in crisis throughout the year.  The current economic situation has made it necessary for more people than ever to need our services, sometimes on a weekly basis.  Thanks to the outpouring of support from the community and our local charitable organizations, we are able to help those in need.

Peggie Como

Mutual Concerns Committee

Letter: Restore Damage Done To Preserves

This letter was sent to County Executive Edward Mangano and Presiding Officer Norma Gonsalves on Dec. 17

During the Dec. 3 Legislative Committees session, the Rules Committee approved a $20 million contract for a “debris management plan,” enabling the county to clean up after Superstorm Sandy. Connected with this plan, Welwyn Preserve in my district was accidentally subjected to an inordinate amount of tree cutting. A head of Nassau County’s Parks Department gave public testimony at the same committees session that the wrong tree-cutting crew was sent into this Glen Cove preserve for several days. As a result of this, one of our few protected natural spaces was severely damaged.     

Letter: Happy Holidays

I would like to wish everyone a joyous holiday season. 

It has been a pleasure representing you this year as your Nassau County Legislator. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you and to meet so many wonderful people throughout the 18th Legislative District in the process. 

Letter: Keep Italian Language Classes In The North Shore School District

Allow me to provide a rebuttal to the North Shore School District’s reasoning for dropping Italian. As a spokesman for Loggia Glen Cove #1016 Sons of Italy in America and an at large Italian-American spokesman, we are vehemently opposed to the dropping of Italian as a language of study from the curriculum. Education in this country is a state responsibility; New York State allows each school district a certain amount of autonomy as long as they provide a core curriculum and teach classes that are part of the N.Y.S. syllabus. This means that the district can teach N.Y.S. approved curriculum and they (the local board of education) can tailor their curriculum to reflect the needs and desires of the community they serve. 

Letter: Praise For Mayor Suozzi

I am writing to you in order to sing the praises of the mayor of Glen Cove, our honorable Mayor Ralph V. Suozzi.

From the time that Hurricane Sandy made her devastating pass through our city, Mayor Suozzi went above and beyond his call of duty to keep us most informed, while providing critical information that we needed in order to weather this storm both physically and emotionally.

His daily telephone messages, filled with concern for his constituents, gave great comfort to this former mayor of Glen Cove’s granddaughter. Thank you, Mayor Suozzi.

Susan Gerhardt-Stanco

Letter: Mutual Concerns Gives Thanks

The 11th Annual Sea Cliff Holiday House Tour, which was held on Saturday, Dec. 1, was a huge success. 

On behalf of the Mutual Concerns committee, I would like to thank the following people:  The homeowners who have generously shared their beautifully decorated homes; the people who came from near and far to participate in this event; the many wonderful volunteers, without whom this day would not have happened; Sherlock Homes Realty; Atria of Glen Cove; The Sea Cliff Arts Council; The Creative Arts Studio; St. Luke’s Church and the 59 merchants and individuals in this community who donated food for the lunch and gifts for the raffle baskets.  

The proceeds of this tour will be used to provide nourishing meals and holiday baskets for those in need and to maintain the senior lunch program at St. Luke’s.

Peggie Como

Mutual Concerns Committee

Letter: Requesting West Shore Road Public Meeting

County Executive Mangano has agreed to hold an informational meeting on the West Shore Road plans he has created with Nassau’s Department of Public Works engineers. I will continue to advocate on your behalf to the county administration, but it will also be helpful for your community leaders to come discuss the plans with the people directing the project. We expect to hear details on things like emergency plans, detours and whether the road can be open on weekends. 

Letter: Thanksgiving Feast Gets Big Response

We would like to offer our thanks and congratulations to all citizens of the surrounding areas of Glen Cove, Sea Cliff, Glen Head, Locust Valley, Lattingtown, Bayville and Oyster Bay. When we began the Share and Care Thanksgiving Feast three years ago, we were uncertain how the community would respond to it. We were also stunned at the amount of people that were in need of it.

For those of you who aren’t aware, we just had our 3rd Annual Thanksgiving Feast at St. Patrick’s Church in Glen Cove for those in need. It is sponsored by seven distributors of Boars Head and supported by two local Knights of Columbus Councils.