Letters to the Editor for May 16

Impending tobacco tax hike offers good opportunity to quit

The cost of cigarettes is going up by $1.25 a pack on June 3. Smokers might want to take the time to smell the lovely June roses as they breathe more easily when they quit smoking.

Good things happen when someone quits — easier breathing, more energy, lower risk of heart attacks, a better sense of smell and taste, and walking without getting out of breath. Quitting will bring on cleaner lungs and extra cash. There are all sorts of special savings for these quitters — starting with their lives!

High cigarette prices make lots of smokers quit. Smokers should take advantage of this money-saving idea. Help is available with the New York State Smokers’ Quitline. It offers free coaching and quit plans, free nicotine patches, gum and lozenges, free tips and information, and free online help. The toll-free Quitline number is 1-866-NY-QUITS (1-866-697-8487). More information is available on the Quitline Web site at www.nysmokefree.com.

Smokers: Quit now and get out with those June roses.

Kathy Buttaro

Colonie

Don’t let cats or dogs ‘play’ with pet birds

Regarding the May 12 article about parrots, “Caged pets her ‘great companions,’ ” the article was great, very informative. However, the picture of the dog and bird is sending a very dangerous message to bird owners.

One wrong bite from that dog, and the bird is dead. A game can turn deadly in seconds.

Birds have a very painful bite. If that bird decides he does want to play or if he becomes afraid of that dog, he will bite him, and then the dog will fight back. Very innocent, but very deadly.

The same goes for cats. Even though a cat may ignore a bird, birds become very stressed (which can lead to sickness) from watching a cat constantly near him. Also, cats carry something in their claws that is deadly to birds. Cats, dogs and birds can attack without notice; they are fast and we don’t always know why they attack. Your readers have a right to know that this cute picture can be a recipe for heartbreak.

Another very serious danger for pet birds is taking them outdoors. Hawks and the West Nile virus are very real issues for pet birds. Hawks, and the mosquito that carries the virus, can get to your bird in seconds. Even if your pet bird is in a cage, hawks can get the bird from the cage or if it’s on your lap on your porch. Birds also can become spooked by a truck or motorcycle, and fly away even if they have their wings clipped. Pet bird owners have to keep their birds indoors. This advice is what [state wildlife pathologist] Ward Stone advocates for pet birds.

Linda LaDuke

East Greenbush

The writer is president of the Capital District Cage Bird Club.

Send message by rejecting school budget

On May 20, residents will be asked to vote on the Scotia-Glenville school budget. I encourage a no vote on this referendum.

When we are asked to vote on school budgets, we in fact are voting on less than 10 percent of the total financial expenditure. Maintenance, supplies, non-instructional staff and community use of facilities are always among fallouts in a contingency budget. Program, capital and administrative costs — including salary and benefit increases — all remain in a contingent budget, mitigating any operating cost savings.

School boards have also become creative presenters by splitting out items like bus purchases to minimize the total cost of district operations. We also, to use language of the Scotia-Glenville board, face a sales job later this year as we apparently will be asked to borrow millions of dollars in order to accept and use a grant award of under $1 million! Can’t we just spend what we are being given?

The school board is also applying $2 million of fund balance reserves to this budget proposal to cover both business-as-usual expenditures and new program additions. By reducing costs and using these funds for items like maintenance rather than salaries, the long-term effect would be positive to both the taxpayer and district facilities.

Why vote when the vote controls so little? Instructional salaries and benefits generally account for nearly 80 percent of expenditures, and only school boards, not the taxpaying public, can control these. State aid and STAR programs are political fantasy; public education cost must be meaningfully managed. Our wise legislators awarded record-high school aid this year under formidable lobbying pressure — done in a so-called budget that has a growing $6 billion structural deficit.

Where will this aid come from? Our economy is floundering or, as the governor says, “tanking”; gasoline and food prices are at record highs; and we have yet to feel fuel-price increases driven by seasonal demands for travel and heating needs and tax revenue shortfalls from Wall Street. Our national debt is over $9 trillion, and New York state public authority and state-funded debt is currently over $130 billion.

Stop the madness by sending a message to your local school board! Vote by any means you can. Pick up an absentee ballot if you need to, but on May 20, by all means vote no!

J. F. Kulkus

Scotia

It’s not a park plan, but a soccer complex

The town of Clifton Park recently announced a project to encourage residents to use energy-efficent fluorescent light bulbs. They also distributed 250 white pine seedlings to residents for planting. Both projects are meant to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere.

Those seedlings will take about 20 years to grow to 20 to 30 feet. Meanwhile, the plans for a “park” in the western part of Clifton Park would require that about 30 acres of mature woodlands be cleared in order to provide 10 to 13 soccer fields.

The land in Rexford on Route 146, near Nott Road, was acquired in 2005 and was labeled as “open space.” At the time of the purchase, mention was also made of soccer fields. Residents assumed there would be a few soccer fields. With 10 to 13 soccer fields, this is not open space and it’s not a park — it’s a soccer complex. Can you imagine having a family picnic on the Clifton Park Commons during soccer season? A natural park that could be used and enjoyed by all residents — not just those with children who play soccer — would be a wonderful addition to the town.

I urge the board to carefully consider the soccer facility plan: The expense to turn this beautiful, hilly woodland into soccer fields is estimated at $6 million to 8 million. The town shouldn’t take on the expense of paying so dearly — both in dollars and natural resources — for a project that would benefit so few of the residents.

Marilyn DeLong Hubbard

Rexford

Malta Avenue school worth keeping open

As a recent student at Malta Avenue Intermediate School, I feel I can provide a unique perspective to the debate over the future of this historic school.

I attended Malta Avenue Intermediate School from 1998 through 2001, after attending Milton Terrace Primary School. Rather than being detrimental to my education, attending Malta Avenue was beneficial.

Compared to the Wood Road and Milton Terrace complex, Malta Avenue’s airy classrooms, large windows, grand auditorium and historic architecture made for a more stimulating learning environment. In fact, studies have shown students learn faster when exposed to natural light, a prevalent feature in historic schools such as Malta Avenue.

For an elementary school, the teaching facilities seemed more than adequate. We had a computer lab, music room, art room and library. In addition, Malta Avenue gave us the educational and social advantages of a small school environment.

It would be a crime to close Malta Avenue. I urge the school board to listen to the community.

George Calvey

Malta

The writer is a member of the Ballston Spa High School Class of 2009.

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May 16, 2008
5:04 a.m.

[ Suggest removal ]

coachmike ( no real name given ) says...

As to the " Soccer problem", Im sure the park will have plenty of room for family picnics and fun times,for you to walk and enjoy the park. As for the children who will play soccer, you should be glad that kids have an outlet to be involved with something that is positive for them, where they are not on the streets or getting into mischief. And don't worry the soccer kids could use some new fans to shout them on.