Kids need to go to school. Yes, they need to be safe. Yes, we can improve education. No, distance learning is not a long-term solution to a better education as suggested by the editorial “Ways to fuel Island’s future” [June 1].
“Reimagining” school every other day or half-days or just on weekends is discriminatory toward women and diminishes American education. Many of us live in the typical Long Island home where both parents work. I guarantee you that working women are not clamoring for school days to be alternated or reestablished in shifts.
Women needing to reenter the workforce after the New York “Pause” and return to our jobs are hindered by the necessity to continue homeschooling and limited day care options. Let’s be clear: Closing schools was necessary, but it made life harder on families, especially moms, and harder on children. Schools provide structure. They provide socialization. They provide meals. They provide role models for children. They provide specialized services for gifted children and children on the spectrum. Most of all, they provide meaningful education. So let’s remember: We need schools, and even more, we need kids to be in schools.
Maureen Murphy,
West Islip
I’m angry at President Donald Trump and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo for refusing to fund education because it slashed in half my loved one’s teaching job. The result is bleeding the schools of necessary teachers and creating havoc in the actual districts. Teachers are devastated by the decisions that the districts must make, like cutting classes in half, furloughing some full-time teachers, and who knows what else. Besides academic classes, will they cut sports, music, art and gym, too, to save money?
This is like an apocalypse in the schools. Like sticking a knife in the jugular of the districts, causing them to spurt blood and die. Please, politicians, make this stop. Parents, start screaming for the quality of your child’s education. Force Trump and Congress to fund education, where it’s desperately needed. How long will this go on?
Susan Peterson,
West Sayville
Saving money hurts sewers in long run
Normally, sewer pipes are placed in the ground deep enough so the wastewater can flow by gravity to the treatment plant [“Sewer plan gets boost,” News, June 2]. Recent voter-approved sewering in Suffolk County does not do this. In these recent addendums to save project money, piping is not buried nearly as deep, requiring each household to have its own pumps that need electricity and maintenance. I’m not sure whether residents know this. Based on past practice, these shallow collection systems are short-sighted and disingenuous, thrusting future expenses to the homeowner, not unlike the hodgepodge septic systems people are installing today. The county continues to rush into sewers that will not endure the test of time. Once again, all future county residents will pay the ultimate price under a different county administration that inherits this while the county executive uses the sewer stabilization fund to prop up the budget.
Eric Haack,
Babylon
Editor’s note: The writer was senior operations crew chief for Suffolk County Southwest Sewer District from 1978-2017.
Offended that Korea is the ‘Forgotten War’
Sol Wachtler hit a sensitive chord with me in his op-ed “‘Forgotten War’ not forgotten by me” [Opinion, May 21]. I, too, as a Korean Vet, have wondered all these 67 years later, how little the public really knows about the Korean War and its effect on all those who served and exposed themselves to heavy losses, physically and emotionally. I served in Korea as an artilleryman from 1952 to 1953 in the 7th Infantry Division. Upon my arrival home, fortunately, without harm in my ability, I functioned productively for 65 years as a financial adviser. Since my discharge in 1953, not one person has inquired about my experiences as a soldier in Korea except, perhaps, for my wife and, recently, my daughter, who has been taking notes of my life and Army experiences.
I often think about this and the “Forgotten War.” It’s as if lost lives and ruined lives didn’t matter. Like Wachtler, I care, and I’m offended and disheartened by the utter lack of recognition of what took place seven decades ago.
Norman Lev,
Manhasset
Another caution on reverse mortgages
I agree with “Reverse mortgages can help seniors, but be wary” [Business, June 1]. Note, too, the aggressive way that some reverse mortgage companies collect funds after the senior has died. The mortgage companies send collection letters 30 days after the death of the senior. Foreclosure actions start within 90 days from the date of death even if no legal representative has been appointed. Speaking with an authorized representative is difficult. Messages and emails often go unanswered. In my practice, one company once called the title company at closing to change the repayment terms.
This issue of aggressive repayment needs to be made crystal clear to seniors when they obtain a reverse mortgage so as not to unduly burden their families after their passing.
Patricia Howlett,
West Islip
Editor’s note: The writer is an elder law attorney and 2010 recipient of the New York State Bar Association’s Pro Bono Attorney of the Year in Elder Law and Persons with Disabilities.
