I am writing to respond to your article on the new policies/restrictions regarding the fields/schoolyards in our community published in your July 23, issue. I have been a lifelong resident of Mineola (save four years away at college) and have always felt that these areas were a blessing to have in our neighborhood. As a child, the fields of the Mineola Middle School right down my block were within walking distance and provided great space to practice batting skills, how to kick a soccer ball, or hone up on my tennis skills by using the enormous MS wall as my opponent. I, like most Mineola residents, always valued having these school grounds as an integral part of our community.

Now, however, after close to 23 years of having ample access to these fields, restrictions are being imposed without good reason. As a teenager, the Mineola Memorial Park was closed after dark in an effort to prevent deviant behavior from taking place. A policy began where the auxiliary police would frequently parole the park to ensure no kids were hanging out. To my understanding, this policy is still in effect today. I guess the police caught on to the fact that swinging on swings can be quite lethal, and I should be thankful that they stopped me from performing such behavior at night. However, it seemed like this solution ended the problem of teens "loitering" around the park at night, and perhaps prohibited them from engaging in behavior that they would eventually perform in friends' backyards.

Why can't these simple measures be applied to the fields/playgrounds to limit the "inappropriate behavior" that Dr. Licopoli referred to? Why limit the use of these facilities? Is it really necessary to be excessively restrictive on what can and can't be played on the fields? If you ask me, using the walls of the school to bounce a ball against does not pose a threat to the school. To my knowledge, many of the windows of the middle school are plastic and very rarely were damaged due to ballplaying. On the topic of ballplaying, what exactly constitute "ball games?" Does this mean I can no longer play

"monkey in the middle" at the fields of the middle school because this is technically a "ball game," and not just catch? What about soccer? I guess one can make an argument that when folks play soccer, they're tearing up grass with their cleats. This can lead to dirt patches. However, such patches have been present on some fields for years. If these dirt patches were to be finally replaced with grass, it would be less likely for grass to be torn out.

I agree that a policy should be enforced so that school grounds are preserved and protected, but at this point these policies are beyond effective. These fields are being wasted. Even a friend who recently got a puppy can no longer run his dog in the vacant fields of the middle school. I'd venture to say that most pet owners who walk their dogs or take them running are responsible enough to pick up the animals' waste and make sure their pets are kept away from small children. So why not let them run on an empty field that's not being used?

It also seems a bit superfluous to me to employ an "outside security firm" to patrol the school grounds when: A) There's already the Mineola Auxiliary Police that should be capable of performing such a task and B) Our village can not even pass a school budget vote after two tries. Shouldn't taxpayer money be going to more pressing concerns of our district, instead of worrying about what kind of "ball games" are being played on the fields?

I can just imagine a new family looking to move to our community...impressed with this community, including all the fields and parks that are close by, little do they realize that flying a kite in the nearest schoolyard would qualify as "loitering," and they would be promptly escorted off the fields because of this "inappropriate behavior." Let the kids play, I say! We already live in such a sedentary society, we don't need a reason to inhibit kids from getting outside and playing. I think Dr. Licopoli should take the time to hear all sides of this issue and be open for input from residents on how to ameliorate this issue.

Alexander Keblish