I was teaching at Holy Trinity High School in Hicksville for three years before Father Bud Ribaudo arrived on the scene as Chaplain. The school was operating fine but he introduced a new program called "Discovery" - a disastrous agenda that caused many problems with its blatant relativism and new age interpretation of the scriptures. Bishop Kellenberg eventually stopped the program.

Father Bud and I debated openly at faculty meetings and were never the best of friends.

The big strike hit, when all four Diocesan schools' lay faculty went out on strike, except for one teacher - me - and I crossed the picket line for six weeks, undergoing tire slashings, damage to my home, accident calls from "police" to my wife saying Nick is dead on Route 106; and obscene calls to my children; and when I pleaded with Bud to intervene he just brushed me off: no comfort, no solace.

Usually at 3 p.m. I would leave school to go and work on my second job, never suspecting his appalling relationships with certain students: just his antipathy towards me!

I am outraged at what we subsequently discovered. These young lads were my students yet sadly those interviewed seemed to show no such moral outrage.

In the Jan.11, 1995 issue of the Diocesan paper is a feature article on Bud and how he studied and admired Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung and Silva mind control. This was disturbing because Jung hated Christianity and mind control is a frightening ability to have, to be a master of deceit yet.

I was beginning to find his homilies and sermons more and more puzzling, there was no hell, no judgment: God forgives all sins regardless of what they are!

This is the age old struggle of Good versus Evil. Evil is charming, alluring, promises all but delivers nothing. It was Judas who was only concerned for the economy, not souls. This is not a case of a "good" person gone bad, but of a bad person ruining the good (and innocent). After all, placing youth into the hands of educators is a trust. Placing youth into the hands of clergy is a sacred trust.

Nick LaBella

Editor's Note: Monsignor Charles "Bud" Ribaudo was identified in Newsday as Priest "O" in the 180- page Suffolk County Grand Jury report that cited failures of the Diocese of Rockville Centre to properly handle child abuse cases involving dozens of priests and their many innocent victims.

Tommy Robinson gave over a quarter of a century of love back to the community, which nurtured him, by being an inspiring coach and teacher to its youth. It is altogether fitting that we honor him for this, for he was fiercely loyal to Oyster Bay. I have the fondest of memories playing basketball on school teams with Tommy, who was always a devoted student of the game.

At a recent school board meeting, Lillian Livolsi suggested that the basketball court at the corner of West Main Street and Larrabee Avenue should be named for him and I heartily concur. The school board seemed quite receptive to the notion and I hope that this very meaningful gesture can be accomplished.

Tom learned his craft at that court as a youth and he came back as an adult to pass it on to the next generations, running summer basketball teams from that court. In addition to sweeping the courts clean, he saw to it that no player ever had to want for a ball by arranging with the kindhearted Mrs. Livolsi to loan out basketballs and tennis balls when he wasn't around.

Oyster Bay has changed in many ways since Tom and his sister, Marilyn and I entered the fifth grade at the Theodore Roosevelt School on the first day of its operation in September of 1962, but the sight of generation after generation of aspiring basketball players still honing their skills at "the courts," is a comforting reminder of the timelessness of love for a game, and love for a community.

Tom, I believe, used to take pride in the coincidence of sharing his initials with the 26th president and now it is time for the community to show that there is room in its memory for more than one great TR.

Stephen V. Walker

The Jan. 30 editorial, about the future Roosevelt Elementary School library garden to be dedicated to Brooke Jackman, said that:

"It is wonderful to see the legacy of Brooke Jackman encouraging the love of reading by helping to make wonderful surroundings for the young people in the school. Nothing can replace the loss of a loved one, but this outreach into the community will keep her memory alive and may encourage her love of books in others."

I think your readers should know that this is already happening, thanks to "Brooke's Books" nooks located in all three school district libraries: the current Roosevelt School library, and the Oyster Bay High School library.

Each library contains a section located by a large "Brooke's Books: Spread the joy of reading" poster and a selection of books identified with sticker labels indicating that they have been donated by the Brooke Jackman Foundation.

Richard Siegelman

Fifth Grade Teacher

Vernon School