From the April - May  2001 Edition 

Other Letters to the Editor   Stand Up and Be Counted  It must be a dream 'cause it can't be real And in a dream is just how we feel  With pseudo-smart people looking down their nose Standing about in their superior pose  Superiority is their game Not counting is their fame  Saying only stupid or lazy people don't vote right And we don't want them in this fight  We are simply better than all the rest And when we vote we vote for the best  Florida Superior Court says 'Just count the vote,' But do it everywhere and by rote  Then the U.S. Justices say 'We think you're right,' But sorry, you're at the end of this fight  'Cause we stopped you from the count by hand So the clock could run out and you'll not have a stand  So all the votes weren't hand counted, but what the hey You'll have your president any ole way.  Not by vote, but by law-- It's the craziest thing I ever saw  But then, to seek justice by the law is a joke 'Cause rich people always win over all the poor folk. Joyce Miller  (Ms. Miller recently joined the Chaucer Guild, which meets at the Fair Lawn Library the first Thursday of every month.)   Snow Shoveling Program  I am writing to you in response to the posting by "Zak" concerning high school students shoveling for senior citizens of the community. I would first like to address the issue of an article that was supposedly placed in the shopper this year. The only ad that was ever placed in the shopper was inserted in the year 1999, not 2000. There was no shopper ad this year for High School students to shovel for senior citizens. The reason being that the High School volunteers are overwhelmed with the response that we have received. Many factors go into the Snow Shoveling Program. Only a certain amount of High School students are able to volunteer. Unfortunately, there are not enough High School volunteers to meet the demand of the senior citizens who have expressed interest in the program. We place as many high school student volunteers with as many senior citizens as possible. However, they must live within a three block radius of the Senior Citizen. Under no circumstance can a High School student volunteer drive to a Senior Citizen's home due to the liability that it would put on the High School. We do the best that we can to place as many volunteers as possible. We wish that we can match a student volunteer with EVERY senior citizen but unfortunately, that's not possible. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. Sincerely,  Rich Bottner Fair Lawn High School Snow Shoveling Program     Thanks to Volunteers  Coming from Brooklyn to Fair Lawn 30 years ago I had my first experiences with volunteer services like fire, ambulance rescue and other such groups. Sometimes I have the feeling that these folks are not fully appreciated. Increasingly they have difficulty getting new members and we should all try to recruit new folks for them. I had one trip in an ambulance to Valley Hospital and the woman who handled me had a very professional manner. I sent a good contribution to show how I felt. Here's to those fine folks who learn the necessary skills and take time from their families to help all of us.  John Nichols   Likes New Format  The new format of the site definitely enhances it  Rich   Like Site  Hey, Great site, glad I found it....It would be great if you could get an image of the plan for Route 4/ Route 208 and post it. I understand that the library has one. Thanks again.  Brian F. [From the Editor: We haven't figured out how to get NJ Department of Transportation's plan onto Fair Lawn News. If anyone has an idea, let us know at editor@fairlawnnews.com   Like Your Web Site  I happened upon your web site and I am thoroughly pleased with its content and style.  Lou W.   Comments On Fair Lawn Web Sites  First, let me repeat what the Mayor and Council has stated recently, and that is what a great job Ron Lottermann, Borough Webmaster does with the Official Borough Web Site. Keep up the good work. Secondly, I would like to congratulate Phil Plotch, on his interesting Fair Lawn News Web Site of which I am already an active reader. I look forward to great things there from Phil. The Library web page needs work, and I am sure Penny Kaplan, Library Webmaster has plans to upgrade this site. Fair Lawn Creative Cable does a great job on limited funds and needs the support of all the Borough residents, and I believe the Mayor and Council must do more to help Candice and her staff of volunteers. Art Murray does a fine job as a presenter, and he even had me as a guest, which can't be that bad!  Keith Brown   Priorities in Schools Great job.  It is so hard to get an opinion published in the shopper and sometimes folks just like to "air" themselves out! I love the town of Fair Lawn and have been here many years. I am really tired of the board of education "crying the blues" about more money. I think the teachers around here make too much as it is. Not to mention the administrators. What I really feel is that we have a fantastic police force and the officers due other things for the public besides chase criminals. I had an elderly, paralyzed father who would fall quite frequently and the police were there to give him a hand, while maintaining his dignity as a disabled person. I also think that now fair lawn is much larger and we need to see that our police are no longer in a town. we are a small city. well, I am sure there are those that think I am small minded but from experience, I know that if a child wants to learn, it is the teacher who must motivate the student not fancy books!  Zak   Drainage Problem  Has anyone but me noticed that there is a drainage problem at the corner of 17th st and Morlot Ave? I have been told by the mayor that this is a county problem because it is a county road. Well, I feel sorry for all the people who go to the Temple on Morlot Ave. They have to"navigate " around huge puddles any time it rains. This all happened when the curbs were lowered for handicapped "ramps". Someone forgot to install a storm drain so that water would not collect there. It is really a shame. I am surprised the people having to deal with that are not in a uproar. That is a very busy intersection. WAlking into the street to avoid a puddle that shouldn't be there should not be an option. What good are those curbs if they are under water? Try getting a wheel chair through it without using pontoons. ( that is not much of an exaggeration). Lets see what kind of feed bac you get from this.  W. Vedder   Memorial Pool First we lost the diving boards, they were replaced with safe slides that now need a life guard stationed at the top, no lifeguard -- no slide. In addition the slides are only open on a limited basis, the diving boards were able to be controlled by "chair 1" and only closed during swim meets. Then the buildings were replaced with trailers. Remember the Board of Ed's opinion of trailers, that cost six million to replace the "temporary" trailers with permanent buildings. Well, the Powers that Be decided that the buildings at the pool had to be replaced, because of the damage done by Floyd, damage that was so severe that the cost to repair was so prohibitive because they were in a Flood Zone, but they were able to use them through the last pool season. So the buildings were replaced with Trailers. Maybe the idea is to haul them to high ground at high tide, the wheels are still on I hope they have quick disconnects on the utility hook ups. Now there are plans in the works [the Shopper News, Jan. 24 page 1] to use the pool parking lot for commuter parking, that's a great idea in the winter but what about during the pool season, will the pool members have to park on residential streets? Note to Manager Sacks: the lot may be already striped for parking, but it has more potholes then Rte 80. How's that for an amenity, do you think commuters will want to pay to park under those conditions? Us Pool Fools do because we pay for the use of the Pool and not for parking. If the town did not want to build in a Flood Plain, why are they going to spend more then a million and a half dollars to erect a new DPW garage off Saddle River Road? That's a lot tax of money to spend, to do "tire work on police cars," Mrs. Sacks Borough Mananager [the Shopper News, Jan. 3]. Just think what it would be if we had "Taxation without Representation"? Harold Vogel   What Do You Think?: Send an e- mail to editor@fairlawnnews.com or post a message on the Fair Lawn News Discussion Forum.