The Westfield Leader Newspaper
The Times of Scotch Plains-Fanwood

CYAN YELLOW MAGENTA BLACK

David B. Corbin

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The Westfield Leader

Member of: New Jersey Press Association National Newspaper Association Westfield Area Chamber of Commerce

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The Official Newspaper of the Town of Westfield and the County of Union Official Newspaper of the Borough of Fanwood

and the Township of Scotch Plains

THE TIMES

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Westfield, N. J. 07091 P. O. Box 368 • 1906 Bartle Avenue Scotch Plains, N. J. 07076

Suzette F. Stalker

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Horace R. Corbin

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Gail S. Corbin

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A& E and EDUCATION

Kim Kinter

NEWS & EDITORIAL

Following Competitive District 7 Primary, Campaign Staffers Look for Next Job

Now that the Congressional primary season has concluded, staffers for those unsuccessful candidates must evaluate their options.

After working since December nonstop starting early in the morning and going late in the evenings as well as weekends, many staffers are taking most deserved vacations.

The Congressional campaigns includes lots of phone work, from garnering financial contributions efforts to gaining support from county committee members at the political party conventions held in Essex, Middlesex, Somerset and Union Counties.

Jordan Lieberman, campaign manager for Assemblyman Joel Weingarten’s unsuccessful Congressional bid, is planning a crossthecountry trip with a friend of his who worked on the prematurely concluded U. S. Senate bid of state Senator William Gormley. As for his future Mr. Lieberman noted, “I have a strong interest in campaign finance reform.”

During the recent campaign there was a lot of discussion on 527’s, political organizations under Internal Revenue Service guidelines, which are exempt from financial disclosures as part of Federal Election Commission rules. The U. S. Senate is considering legislation to require these groups to disclose their contributors.

Dan Ronayne, manager for Patrick Morrisey’s Congressional bid, will be heading to Ireland for week to attend a friend’s wedding. He is looking to his Washington, D. C. contacts for his next position. He has not ruled out working on a campaign for a House race.

Mr. Ronayne previously worked on the mayoral race in Baltimore.

Ron Connor, manager for Democrat Joel Farley, has hopes to get involved in the campaign of Democrat Reed Gusciora in his uphill battle against popular incumbent Republican Congressman Christopher Smith in the Fourth District.

As for the candidates themselves, Mr. Morrisey will be visiting ballparks around the country as part

of a vacation. Mr. Weingarten has headed back to his busy legislative schedule, while Tom Kean Jr. will complete his doctorate dissertation in addition to helping federal, county and municipal candidates in their campaigns.

Given the loud and supportive ovation he received at last week’s county Republican convention, it is almost certain Mr. Kean will be running for another office in the future. Mr. Kean, who finished second in the primary to Michael A. Ferguson, has been mentioned as a State Assembly candidate next year in the 22nd Legislature District, which serves Westfield, Scotch Plains, Fanwood and Mountainside.

His campaign manager, Kerri Koch, said she has no immediate plans and may just take the summer off. She has talked to the campaigns of some outofstate candidates but has indicated she would like to stay put in New Jersey.

Mr. Weingarten must also begin to plan his reelection campaign for next year in the 21st District. As a local newspaper, our staff had the chance to interact almost daily with the many staffers in the Congressional campaign. No one can truly imagine the empty feeling they are left with after working so hard to achieve a victory.

In the end, however, being actively involved in a campaign brings one closer than most individuals to the election process. These individuals helped bring their candidates closer to the people and, in that regard, helped provide a dialogue during the primary battle.

The election season now approaches fall where the intensity will only be highlighted by a Presidential campaign.

As a newspaper, we publicize the views and activities of candidates while occasionally poking fun or providing criticism. We see how hard it is for them to bare all to the public. The candidates and their staffs work very hard while putting everything at risk. Yes, there are big gains for the winners and great disappointment for the losers.

We need them all and voters too. When the New Jersey Council on

Local Mandates ruled that public schools did not have to fund 90 percent of the total cost of educating their charter school students, it threw a monkey wrench into New Jersey’s Charter School system.

The ruling will lead to an estimated $6 million funding shortfall for charter schools throughout New Jersey — coming at a critical moment for the charter school movement.

It is vital for New Jersey to provide charter schools with the funding they need to continue educating our children.

Consequently, I am sponsoring legislation that has already been approved by the Assembly Education Committee and the Assembly Appropriations Committee, which I chair, to ensure that charter schools have the funding necessary to remain open.

Under the current system, local school districts provide 90 percent of the per student cost for each of its students who choose a charter school. State funding to public school districts, however, is based on the “Thorough and Efficient” (T and E) budget. This amount is often a lot less than the actual cost in the program budget.

The Council on Local Mandates ruled that the state law requiring school districts to pay 90 percent of the program budget violated the statemandate, statepay clause to the New Jersey State Constitution.

According to the Council on Local Mandates, the state can only require school districts to pay 90 percent of the T and E budget. For many charter schools across New Jersey, the ruling means they suddenly have very large holes in their operating budgets.

My bill would make up the difference between the two amounts with an appropriation directly to the charter schools affected. In other words, the state would pay the difference between the T and E budget and

NEWS FROM TRENTON

22nd Legislative District

Assemblyman Bagger Introduces Legislation Helping Charter Schools

By Assemblyman Richard H. Bagger

program budget, provided the program budget is the larger amount, for every student enrolled in a charter school or approved for charter school enrollment in September.

Charter schools represent an excellent opportunity for parents, teachers, private businesses and organizations to take a direct, positive role in our children’s education. But they are not going to replace our public school system nor will charter schools be in a position to guarantee a quality education for every child in New Jersey.

Still, they are an important part of New Jersey’s educational landscape and they should be supported.

With my bill, charter schools can count on the same level of funding they receive now, without taking further resources from local school districts or violating the state mandate, statepay amendment to our Constitution.

Ultimately, charter schools will mean that our children will get a better education. That is in everyone’s best interest.

BIKINI

Two very explosive incidents occurred in 1946 within five days of each other. At the time, these two events had a powerful impact on mankind. It is our policy to present all the facts surrounding these events and therefore, we shall, so to speak, let it all hang out.

On July 1, 1946 the United States detonated an atomic bomb on the tiny atoll (reef) of Bikini in the Pacific Marshall Islands. Four days later, on July 6, a French fashion designer, Louis Reard, introduced a very daring twopiece bathing suit. According to The Second World Almanac Book of Invention, this garment was made of cotton fabric and printed with press clippings.

Reard gave the name bikini to his creation, because he suspected that it might have the same psychological effect on men that the Abomb explosion had on the atoll. And while the bomb’s nuclear fallout has long since stopped, the bikini’s fallout continues to this day.

STAFF COLUMN

’Tis the Season of Junk: Scavengers Pound Streets

By DEBORAH MADISON

Once again, it is that special time of year when we all get to rid ourselves of our excess materialism and reflect on what’s really important. I am, of course, talking about that much anticipated holiday stretch in many area communities fondly referred to as “junk week.”

Amidst the trafficjams of scavengers in cars, vans, pickup trucks and flatbeds, we are confronted at every turn by just how abundantly overfurniturized we are.

The Department of Public Works in Scotch Plains reports, for instance, that the tonnage of junk generated during junk week is increasing every year. In 1999, Scotch Plains residents produced 1,879 tons of junk, an increase of more than 30 percent over 1997’s figures. That’s about the equivalent of filling Giant Stadium from top to bottom with junk. If we continue to produce junk at that rate, we will need a space the size of Rhode Island to contain our junk by the year 2020.

Obviously, we have way too much stuff. I shudder to think about the deplorably cluttered conditions that must exist in the homes of municipalities that don’t offer bulky waste pick up. Where do they stash all that excess baggage?

But there are numerous advantages to junkweek other than simply making room for more junk. Junk week offers us a unique and rare opportunity to glimpse into the private lives of our friends and neighbors. There is a lot you can tell about people from the kind of junk they accumulate; how well they cleaned their dresser drawers; what they ate in bed; what kind of books they read in college; how much they listened to their records; if they dust.

But if you really want to know who you’re living next door to, you have to know how to analyze the junk in more depth. For instance, I people prefer to live next door to people with a wellused croquet set and furniture that’s all beat up. They are much more likely to forgive your dog for digging up their flowerbed, than the family that lines up all their junk in neat, organized piles of sealed boxes, also known as recyclingretentives.

You never want to live next door to someone who throws away a perfectly good piece of furniture just because of a little scratch. They don’t like your children. Trust us.

There are also some interesting statistics that junk week reveals about us.

Ever notice that nine out of 10 junk piles contain a Don Ho album? And, 98 percent of the junk piles contain the remnants of a tattered flannel shirt that should have been discarded several years ago. And, no one else can get coffee stains out of white upholstery either. Junkweek helps us to realize just how much alike we really are.

More and more families are making junk week a familytime to go shopping together. Each year, the scavengers, who prefer to call themselves “treasurehunters” are becoming more brazen, conducting their adventures in broad daylight. This also gives otherwise, lawabiding citizens a chance to show the little ones how to evade the cops. There is no longer any shame in being thrifty.

Only some towns actually have ordinances that prohibit scavenging. Scotch Plains, for instance has an ordinance on the books that makes it illegal to steal someone else’s junk. However, there is no such law on the books in Westfield or Fanwood, according to the police in those municipalities.

According to Steve Seioscia, District Manager for Waste Management, the company that collects all the junk, only the metals are recycled while the lawn refuse and some of the wood is chipped and sold as mulch.

Which brings to mind a mysterious phenomenon called the Universal Junk Cycle. It is possible that the metal folding chairs you buy next year, are actually made from the same metal from the refrigerator you threw out last year. Mathematicians have been stumped, however, on figuring out the exact formula that calculates that probability.

There are, however, some calculations that are easier to deduce. You can tell how well the economy is doing by the amount of junk that disappears from your pile before the town comes to get it. When you see middleclass families, driving up to your junk pile in a UHaul and dad is salvaging wood, mom is looking for the tea cups that match your grandmother’s cracked ceramic tea pot, and the kids are picking out onelegged Barbies, it’s a much better indicator of the state of the Union than anything Alan Greenspan has to say.

One thing is clear; there’s just so much stuff we can live without.

Obviously, we need to more carefully consider whether we really need something, before we bring it home.

After many years of observing junk week, a few old proverbs come to mind:

A couch in the grass, usually smells like mildew on the other side.

One man’s dresser is another man’s missing knob problem.

A threeleggedbureau in the bush is worth less than the one you already own.

A record that isn’t saved, is usually a record that skips.

A rosewood chifforobe, by any other house, would probably need some Lysol.

Many folks look down on the salvageshoppers, but you might want to consider another ageold proverb that is food for thought: “There, but for the graceperiod of Visa, go I.”

Letters to the Editor Letters to

the Editor

Memorial Day Store Closure

Appreciated

Editor’s Note: The following letter was sent to John’s Meat Market in Scotch Plains by a North Carolina resident who saw the store’s advertisement in The Times of Scotch PlainsFanwood.

* * * * * It was with great joy that I read your ad in the May 25 issue of The Times of Scotch PlainsFanwood stating that your business would be closed on Monday, May 29. What a wonderful gesture to try to help people realize what Memorial Day is all about — to honor our soldiers – especially those men and women who gave their lives for our country! How soon people forget. How sad!

Perhaps you have started a trend in that beautiful Township of Scotch Plains, that I still call “home.” I hope so!

Pearl L. Bottschinger Sanford, N. C. Council Talks About Summertime

Pet Care in Parked Vehicles

Sunny summer days will soon be here. On a warm day, the temperature in a parked car can reach 120 degrees in a matter of minutes, even with the windows partially open. Unbelievably, some people still leave their pets in cars with the windows only slightly open.

High temperatures can cause your pet to suffer from brain damage or die from heatstroke or suffocation. You should be alert for the signs of heat stress: heavy panting, glazed eyes, rapid pulse, unsteadiness, a staggering gait, vomiting, or a deep red or purple tongue.

If your pet becomes overheated you must lower his body temperature immediately, but safely, by moving him into the shade and applying cool (not cold) water all over his body. Use ice packs or cold towels, but be sure to apply them to your pet’s head, neck, and chest only. This will gradually lower the body temperature. Let your pet drink small amounts of

cool water or lick ice cubes. And of course, take your pet to a veterinarian right away — it could save your pet’s life.

If you see an animal in a car exhibiting any signs of heat stress or left in a yard, exposed to direct sun without proper access to shelter or water, call your local animal care and control agency or police department immediately.

In New Jersey, state law (N. J. S. A. 4: 2217) mandates that any animal in a person’s care must be provided with proper shelter or protection from the weather. Violators may be subject to a sizable fine or six months in jail. or both.

Nina Austenberg Chairwoman Domestic Companion Animal

Council State of New Jersey

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SPF Graduates Congratulated

We would like to congratulate all graduating seniors from Scotch PlainsFanwood High School and their parents. In keeping with tradition in our district, purple ribbons have been included with the seniors’ diplomas.

Also Caring Candles, or luminaria, will be placed at the school and the municipal buildings (weather permitting) on the evening of graduation.

We do this to show the graduates that their communities care for them.

We wish all seniors a safe, healthy and happy graduation and a terrific future!

Sharon Fitzpatrick Chairperson SPF PTA Council, Inc. Chemical Dependency Awareness Committee

Scotch Plains Aircraft Noise Group Thanks Mayor Marks for Help

The Scotch Plains Aircraft Noise Committee discovered a Federal Aviation Administration document that instructs controllers to divert air traffic from other areas, concentrating it over Scotch Plains from 11 p. m. to 7 a. m.

We are grateful to Mayor Martin Marks for his attention to this attempt to provide nighttime noise relief to others at our expense.

This data was provided to former Mayor Geri Samuel last year. Unfortunately, Mrs. Samuel considered it unimportant that Scotch Plains residents living under this air traffic route have their sleep disturbed.

After several requests for her attention to this matter, Mrs. Samuel publicly stated, “it’s been busy around here.”

Mrs. Samuel ended her term as Mayor without addressing this issue.

Ironically, some of the Democratic campaign material that helped get Mrs. Samuel elected, accused the Republicans of “indifference, and the absence of an effective plan to combat jet noise pollution.”

Mrs. Samuel’s term as Mayor had the least amount of activity concerning aircraft noise since 1989 when Scotch Plains was impacted by FAA route changes.

It is refreshing to see the return of democracy and an open, user friendly municipal government this year.

On behalf of everyone impacted by aircraft noise, thank you Mayor Marks for your help and understanding.

E. Dennis Hardie Chairman Scotch Plains Aircraft Noise

Committee, Inc. Writer Says Town Walks Should be

Scheduled on Another Day

I attended the Monday’s discussion: “The Erosion of Civility and Community Participation.” One important remark was that we respect each other and be polite and kind.

If the Mayor and Town Council representatives ask for participation of all the residents in Westfield, why are all the scheduled “talks and walks” on Sunday? Sunday is the Lord’s day, and the repre sentatives have to respect this by not

organizing public activities. It will be nice if the Mayor tells us what are the concerns the people mentioned last year and what was the follow up so that motivates people to participate in activities in our community.

Frank van Pijkeren Westfield

Former Mayor Chin Urges Residents To Lend Support to Westfield PBA

Fanwood Cultural Arts Committee Concludes Successful Season

The Westfield PBA’s fundraising efforts are presently underway, and all Westfielders should have received a letter from them. We strongly urge everyone’s generous contribution to the PBA, which helps support their member’s sick and death fund.

We have lived here since 1966, and we have always felt deep pride and respect for the excellent job the Westfield police do for our town. In all our encounters and meetings with Westfield policemen, they have always demonstrated professionalism, sincerity, politeness, integrity, compassion and a true sense of

exerting their strongest efforts in maintaining Westfield as a topnotch suburban town. As a former Mayor, I also had the occasion to work closely with all levels of Police Department personnel and have developed personal friendships with many of them. They are truly an outstanding group of law enforcement professionals.

Please dig down deep in your pockets and support our Westfield PBA.

Thank you for your consideration.

Mary and Allen Chin Westfield

On June 11, the Fanwood Cultural Arts Committee held its season finale at the Patricia Kuran Arts Center. Despite the sweltering heat, a number of residents and visitors from other communities attended and enjoyed the performances.

I would especially like to thank Mayor Louis Jung for attending and for his welcoming address. Special thanks also go to Councilwomen Cynthia Swindlehurst, Katherine Mitchell, and Karen Schurtz for attending.

Throughout this first season of 11 events, the Cultural Arts Committee has worked hard to introduce an arts program into the Fanwood community. I would like to extend my thanks to all of our performers, to our audiences, to Ray Manfra and his stay, to Merck & Company (for their donations), and to the

Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders (for the HEART Grant that made our project possible).

Most of all, my thanks go to our dedicated volunteer Arts Committee members Seena Allen, Robert Chang, Maryanne Connelly, Raj Dogra, Dee O’Brien, Tom Plante, Dan Weiss and Pam Yeager. It is a pleasure and an honor to work with them.

Adele Kenny Director Fanwood Cultural Arts Committee