Thursday, April 11, 2013
The following letter to the editor was submitted by a Westfield resident.
- OPINION
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Thursday, April 11
To the Editor: As the thunderstorms rolled in last night, my thoughts turned back to Super Storm Sandy. As a 29-year resident of Westfield, I have never seen such destruction as that blown in by Sandy. About 90 percent of the town lost power. Sitting in the dark with no heat or electricity for six days was not pleasant. While I applaud PSE&G for restoring power as quickly as they did after this devastating storm, we need to take steps to protect against the next Sandy. Thankfully, PSE&G has come up with a plan to strengthen their electric grid called Energy Strong. They are ready to make major investments that will harden their systems against damage and reduce the impacts of the more frequent storms we are experiencing. The steps outlined…
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Improving communications tops the list of recommendations.
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Thursday, January 10
To the Editor, By now, it appears that Westfield’s leaders are well on their way to bringing Westfield back to normal after Sandy. To better prepare the town for the next storm, I offer a few New Year’s resolutions for the Westfield’s public servants to implement. 1) Improve Communications: The Town of Westfield needs to be able to better communicate the next time a storm or another incident threatens. The town already subscribes to the “Honeywell Alert Plus” system, similar to what is used by the Westfield Schools and many Union County towns, which can contact residents by phone, email, or text via after a simple sign-up on a web page. The Alert Plus system should be fully implemented as soon as possible. 2) Prepare …
Friday, December 7, 2012
Richard Mattessich says "we can't afford... to simply harp on the past."
- OPINION
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Friday, December 7, 2012
On Tuesday, December 11, 2012, voters will be asked whether they want to fund a bond referendum in the amount of $13.6 million for roofs. Many in the community agree with the Board of Education that roofs are a necessity and understand that they need to pay for them. There is disagreement over how roofs should be paid for – bond referendum or reallocation of the existing operating budget. What we really can’t afford to do right now is to simply harp on the past. My view, and I have stated it many times publicly, is that we need to bond the roofs today, and we need to make sure we don’t find ourselves in the same position the next time roofs (or other large projects) need replacement. Let me explain those two positions. First – we need to …
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Pro-referendum letter to parents shows bias, resident asserts.
- OPINION
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Thursday, December 6, 2012
How does the BOE justify the use of public assets and the subterfuge of sending its pro-referendum letter to all the schoolchildren parents through its principals? The failure of the Board to publicly send out notices to every registered voter is reprehensible. BOE elections are notoriously low turnout. Special elections are also low turnout. To mobilize only the parents and remind only the parents is a biased act unto itself. To threaten dire results to be borne by the children of those parents borders on extortion. The Board has known for years that various roofs needed repair. They used the money in the budget for maintenance for other things or didn't include money for those repairs in the next budget. They now are faced with the …
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Resident says, "While sports are important to their development our primary concern must be on their scholastic achievement."
- OPINION
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Wednesday, September 19, 2012
As a Westfield taxpayer, parent of three young children and owner of a home that looks out onto the proposed lit turf field I urge a NO vote on September 24th’s Bundled Bond (needed school roofs/luxury of plastic fields). Plastic turf fields are being built across the country – one of the Board of Education’s arguments for investing $3.2 million of our tax dollars. That does not make it a sound investment. In fact many communities find that in addition to the high up-front costs, the recurring costs are much higher then initially promised by planners and the plastic grass industry salespeople. Either the BOE is not being truthful and they will be renting out these fields and building the concession stands, bathrooms, locker rooms, sound …
Friday, September 14, 2012
Parents thank administration and district for responding to the needs of student athletes.
- OPINION
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Friday, September 14, 2012
The parents of the WHS gymnastics team would like this opportunity to thank the Westfield Board of Education and Sandy Mamary, the WHS Athletic Director, for the installation of the new Spring Floor, a state-of-the-art piece of equipment that contributes to the safety of our gymnasts. A spring floor allows gymnasts to increase the difficulty of their tumbling with less impact on their knees, ankles and backs. Having to practice and compete on a matted wood floor for the past several years has resulted in season-ending injuries for many of our best gymnasts and a significant deterioration in our competiveness in the county. The team’s record of six straight county championships was jeopardized last year as half our team was coming back from…
Friday, July 27, 2012
Linden resident took her business elsewhere during Wednesday's 5k and believes Westfield should have done more to make the public aware of road closures.
- OPINION
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Friday, July 27, 2012
I took the 10-15 minute drive from my house to Westfield on Wednesday at about 7:00 pm to do most of the shopping for a party I’m holding this weekend, planning on purchasing most of the items needed at Trader Joe’s. When I encountered a sawhorse blocking the street at North & Broad, I turned toward Lord & Taylor and planned to take the back route. I got as far as Cowperthwaite Pl. near Elm before I saw the cause of the roadblocks: dozens of people running in a race. Having just visited Trader Joe’s on Monday, I was surprised that I had not seen any signs about a race or road closures resulting from it, either along the course of the race or in stores. I sat at the intersection for about ten minutes, watching a never-ending stream of …
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
The Facilities Committee Chairperson said the committee will continue to meet "throughout the summer and discuss topics that were raised at the meeting."
- OPINION
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Wednesday, July 18, 2012
On behalf of the Facilities Committee of the Westfield Board of Education, I would like to thank the residents surrounding Westfield High School for coming to the Community Meeting on July 10. The purpose of the meeting was to provide the residents with an update on the September 24 bond referendum, which includes a lighted turf field at WHS, as well as to answer as many questions as we could. Joining the Facilities Committee, Superintendent Margaret Dolan, and Athletic Supervisor Sandy Mamary, were experts on field design, synthetic turf and lighting who provided explanations of the plan and answered technical questions. The facilities committee will continue to meet throughout the summer and discuss topics that were raised at the …
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Robin Rosen Chang said their letters demonstrate "how well these students can evaluate and respond to arguments and articulate their own views."
- OPINION
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Saturday, February 18, 2012
I am writing in response to Ms. Githens’s Letter, “Parent Asks for High Standards and Return to Common Decency in Schools,” which appeared on February 15. In this letter, Ms. Githens voices her objection to the decision by some Westfield High School English teachers to include the 2007 National Book Award winner, 'The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,' by Sherman Alexie, as part of their curricula. Ms. Githens complains about “new age, graphic narratives filled with expletives” and their “potential devastation…on our children’s overall quality of learning.” She also condemns the “anything goes” philosophy she feels exists in many of our schools. Ms. Githens goes on to articulate her view that books such as 'The Absolutely True …
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Resident discusses 'The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian' by Sherman Alexie as required reading for Westfield High School freshmen.
- OPINION
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Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Some of you may be aware of a controversial book that has parents concerned in Westfield. This book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie can be found on our intermediate school library shelves and has become required reading for our freshmen high school students. I am writing today not to stir the pot or finger point, nor to request a banning of this book, rather I would like to address what I feel is an even greater concern that we are facing today as parents and educators. Most people would agree that our country’s film and music industry often, shall we say, “lacks etiquette.” It is not surprising that young adult fiction has rapidly followed suit. What is surprising is that many of our schools have …
Southide W
5:29 pm on Tuesday, December 11, 2012
@ Gary, we live in a generation where no one wants to hear "no", and behaves as if they are the only ones who are entitled, absolve themselves of responsibility and accountability, blame others, only look at the surface of a problem, and the list goes on. more ›