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Wednesday, May 05, 1999     Page:

School vouchers violate church/state separation, caller says
   
SAYSO
    Governor Ridge’s vouchers for schools is wrong. When our forefathers wrote
separation of church and state, maybe this is one of the things they were
thinking about. The only ones that will benefit are the Catholic schools. If
you want to send your child to a private school, then you should pay for itI
was dismayed to see doggie obits on the same page as deceased loved ones. If
you must note these in your paper, please do it on another page. Please show
more respect for our deceased persons.
   
The student who said we should help kids and not threaten them is an
illustration of how far we have strayed from the old-fashioned methods of
bringing up our children that worked. We must not threaten punishment, but
it’s OK for them to threaten us. That’s sounds a little backward to me, and I
think that maybe we better go back to the old-fashioned methods. The woodshed,
that’s what worked.
   
Parents who don’t know or care what’s going on in their kids’ lives should
share more than the blame for their actions. How about sharing the expense?
   
The commissioners take time from their day to play golf or whatever and
then charge us extra for the work that didn’t get done. If we vote for any one
of them, we’ll deserve what we get.
   
When they took God out of the schools, the old devil didn’t waste any time
moving right in. Please put God back in the classrooms.
   
I doubt that the NATO bombings have the effect on our kids that some people
claim. Most of these kids don’t read the paper or listen to news, and if they
do, they don’t understand it, because history is no longer taught.
   
I keep reading in SAYSO about the highway and road litter and all the
suggestions that volunteers and even prisoners go out and pick up this
disgusting litter and garbage. We have on our books a $300 fine for littering.
Where are all the cops, and why are there not more littering arrests? Also,
the fine should be increased to $500 and in addition to the fine, any person
caught littering should have to pick up litter for 12 hours for each
consecutive weekend for 26 weeks.
   
I’m a concerned parent in regards to all the bomb threats that are called
in to the schools, but I have a very good solution. All the school officials
should announce that for every day a bomb threat is called in to the school
and the school is dismissed, the kids should have to make up that day in the
summer, in the month of June. I would think that would solve the problem of
the children calling in bomb threats.
   
Editor’s note: We received similar calls.
   
I’m calling about the garbage that’s piled on Public Square on the south
side. Each morning the city parks workers pick up the garbage from the cans
around the square and deposit it on the south side near the hot dog stand and
let it there until after 1 p.m. Now with the summer coming on, that’s going to
stink and it’s starting to stain the sidewalk now. If we were to do that, we’d
be told about it.
   
I just finished (Times Leader music writer) Alan Stout’s article in the
Friday Guide. The article was regarding the benefit concert for Karen
Greenberg Rivet. I’d just like to comment that it was such a beautifully
written article by Mr. Stout, it made me want to know Karen even though I
didn’t know her. I’d just like to congratulate him on a very well-written
article and very heartfelt article.
   
To the Nanticoke police station, please do not pull me over when I’m
swerving on your roads, I’m just trying to avoid the potholes.
   
If the SPCA from Luzerne County went into the Luzerne County Detention
Center and saw animals living in the condition that the children are living in
there, they would prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. Where, oh,
where are our county commissioners? And also, are they paying maintenance
people? The place is filthy. I think Children and Youth, and (Mayor Tom)
McGroarty and his NIT team, all of them better go in that place and the
taxpayers better get after the county commissioners.
   
The problem with schools is the lack of counselors or rather not enough
good counselors. What’s the average number of students per counselor in the
district? One hundred, 500, 1,000 to 1? Not very good odds for a successful
career or a future.
   
Hey, you Republicans from Pittston City, are you going to let two council
seats get away? Come on, get a write-in candidate and win in the fall.
   
I’m an employee in the county assessors office, and my comment is in
regards to your “Bouncing the assessors” article. I haven’t always been on the
right side of (Luzerne County Commissioner candidate Edd) Brominski, but one
thing I must say is the next administration, if Brominski is not part of it,
will be making a terrible mistake by firing him. They should, in fact, take
the time to listen to his progressive ideas that could benefit Luzerne County
for years to come. Don’t once again allow the political ax to hurt the people
of Luzerne County.
   
This call is in regards to the water rates that Pennsylvania American Water
Company wants. If they would fix all these water breaks that’s reported to
them, they wouldn’t have so much wasted water, then they wouldn’t have to ask
for increase.
   
People, do you really believe that any new school board team in any
district would not start hiring their own relatives and friends? Only Harry
Truman would have a real list of substitute teachers and be honest about
hiring them.
   
This is regarding the rash of asinine copy-cat bomb threats being made to
all of our local area high schools, middle schools and grade schools. My
suggestion is the school districts should install caller ID on all incoming
phone lines. They should also have the telephone companies install tracers on
all incoming phone lines. Kids stay in the school during the threat, trace the
call down, find the person making the call, arrest the person, and walk that
person through the school in handcuffs in front of their peers before they go
to jail.
   
Editor’s note: We received similar calls.
   
While I agree that we cannot be held hostage by lots of idle bomb threats
in the schools around here, I would like to say that while we can make up a
school day, we cannot make up a child’s life. And I think each threat needs to
be evaluated and taken very seriously in order to prevent another tragedy.
   
I’m calling regarding your article on Milton, Vt. I think it’s a fabulous
idea. I’m calling from Lehman. I would certainly help out, sitting at any pay
phone at any hour, I would help check lockers after school. I think the bottom
line is, if you remove the prize, you can go a long way.
   
I was just reading the article on (Luzerne County) Sheriff (Carl) Zawatski
limiting entrances into the courthouse. Why so much security at the
courthouse, shouldn’t our schools come first? The kicker is that the employees
won’t need to be checked. Doesn’t Sheriff Zawatski remember the post office
tragedies?
   
I love sitting on my front porch, I’ve been doing that for 60 years. After
being cooped up in the house all winter, we couldn’t wait to sit on the front
porch and get some fresh air. We didn’t have cars in them days, and now some
of us don’t have cars to ride around in. Those people who don’t like to see us
sitting on the porch are always on the go, never a still minute.
   
I feel sad and disappointed that the local media ignored the national
“Spank Out Day” on Friday, April 30. This event was sponsored by Family
Service Association and attended by Mayor McGroarty. The media pretends to be
interested in doing something about violence, and then ignores a positive
solution. The media needs to be more responsible.
   
Will someone from the state Attorney General’s Office please call SAYSO and
explain why gambling is OK at Pocono Downs, via the state lottery, and yet
gambling is yet illegal in Pennsylvania? This is probably the clearest
demonstration of hypocrisy in the history of the state.
   
I want to talk about the gas company. They’re coming around and replacing
their meters. Well, they came to me and asked me to replace a meter and they
were going to dig up my driveway. I told him OK, as long as you put it back
the way it was before they put the thing in. Well, what happened was, they
came in November, they dug up my driveway, put the gas meter in and they left.
And I have been calling ever since to have them repair the damage. There’s a
mass amount of damage out there, they destroyed everything, and in the
wintertime they told me I would have to wait until the winter broke. Since
then, all I have done is call, I get no results at all except that they’re
going to come out and do it. Now this is April and it still isn’t done, and I
thought maybe somebody knew where I could go further besides calling the
office and getting a promise.
   
Editor’s note: Without your name, the name of your gas company and other
identifying information, we don’t have enough information to check out your
situation.
   
You can file a complaint with the Public Utility Commission’s Bureau of
Consumer Services.
   
The address is P.O. Box 3265, Barto Building, 231 State St., Harrisburg,
Pa. 17105-3265.
   
Include the following information in your complaint:
   
The name on the monthly bill.
   
The name of the person filing the informal complaint. This is required if
the name is different than the name on the bill.
   
Address where service is provided if different than the billing address.
   
A home telephone number.
   
A daytime number where bureau staff members may contact you.
   
A summary of the problem.
   
Approximate dates the company was contacted.
   
A summary of the company’s response.