LETTERS: Breast cancer, firehouses, pill addictions, more

Facts omitted about cancer risks

Keep A Breast Foundation uses provocative slogans on its controversial bracelets to bring attention to breast cancer prevention ["Bracelet Buzz; 'I love boobies' fundraising fad draws teens and tweens," News, Oct. 20]. This is a questionable method despite a laudable goal.

It is even more difficult to justify the objectification of women's bodies when the pseudo-feminist enlightenment insists on remaining silent regarding two significant risk factors for breast cancer: oral contraception and abortion. This omission is deafening and deadly. Maybe the foundation's next bracelet design should read, "Save the babies, save the boobies."

Dr. Lisa A. Honkanen

East Northport

More firehouse consolidation needed

As a former New York City firefighter and a local volunteer firefighter, I read with great interest the story about the merging of two separate, noncontiguous fire districts to save a few thousand dollars ["Fire districts to combine," News, Oct. 20].

My question is, why in Oyster Bay are there two separate, autonomous fire departments a few blocks from each other, near Route 106 and East Main Street? The budget for these two departments is in excess of $1 million a year. There are six chiefs between the two.

A mile away in East Norwich is another fire department that has two ladder trucks that can extend 10 stories, when the largest structure in town is only two stories tall. These trucks cost about $750,000 apiece, and during these troubled financial times are a complete waste of money.

Roberto Deceassette

Oyster Bay

Docs prescribe too many pills

In response to the story about OxyContin addiction ["Legal pills an Rx for concern," News, Oct. 21], I'd like to ask, where is the responsibility of the physicians and pharmacists who dispense these prescriptions?

Two years ago, my son, then 18, had shoulder surgery. His doctor prescribed 120 Vicodin - 120! I gave him maybe seven, so he could sleep, and flushed the rest. Recently, after minor surgery myself, I was prescribed 30 Oxycodone. All 30 went in the garbage disposal.

Who is accountable for this nonsense? Is everyone so afraid of a little pain or discomfort that we have to numb ourselves into addiction? And are we ever asked if our families have a history of addictions, therefore increasing the risk?

My son actually joked that he could sell the pills and make a fortune. That's the mindset of teens regarding these highly addictive pills.

Nancy K. Nee

Holbrook

Ethics commission should be free to give

When reading an article about political donations and Suffolk County's ethics commission, I was expecting to see some type of bombshell that the ethics commission members were receiving political donations or gifts from various elected officials ["Experts: Donations undermine Suffolk commission," News, Oct. 13]. To my surprise, this article had nothing to do with receiving gifts but rather talked of the members themselves giving out donations to others.

Newsday is so desperate to attack a Republican county executive that it is trying to insinuate that commission members are somehow being unduly influenced, not by receiving anything, but rather by voluntarily, as American citizens, giving donations to other individuals. Am I missing something?

Adam J. Clark

Ridge

Mangano's tax idea prompts cheers, jeers

I read with great interest the comment made by the director of the Association for a Better Long Island, saying that school districts have what amounts to a credit card to run up all kinds of bills at Nassau County taxpayers' expense ["Group backs Mangano plan," News, Oct. 20]. It was right on the mark.

The former county executive pointed this out, and current County Executive Edward Mangano seems focused on fixing this gross inequity. Kudos to them.

I found the comment made by the president of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association to be outrageous: "We are spending so much time on the finances of education, we don't have time to think about education anymore."

That aside, I feel that the real property tax issue is that expenses are simply too high. Our beloved Island is quickly becoming an island for the matured and affluent.

Jeff Schwartzberg

Roslyn

Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano has proposed the elimination of the county guarantee, which would mean disaster for school districts. He calls it the Common Sense Tax Act, but it is simply a ploy to impose $100 million per year onto the backs of taxpayers in jurisdictions other than the county.

The change would abrogate the pledge made by Nassau County in 1938 when it asked the State Legislature to give special permission to become the sole assessing unit for all municipalities in the county, in return for guaranteeing that no school district or town or village or special district would suffer as a result of the errors made by the county assessor.

When the county makes errors in assessments, should the villages, towns, special districts and school districts pay for them? How can 72 years of state statutes, practices and court decisions be wiped away with one act of the county legislature? Should money be diverted from classrooms to fund tax certiorari reserves?

There is no "common sense" in taking money out of one taxpayer's pocket and putting it into another.

There is no "common sense" in making the problem even harder to fix because the only level of government (the county) that can fix it will have lost the financial incentive to do so.

"Common sense" would mean fixing the problem instead of fixing blame.

Joseph C. Dragone

Roslyn

Editor's note: The writer is the assistant superintendent for business for Roslyn schools.