Cantu Questioned##M:[more]##
I’m disappointed that the perennial candidate for Plainsboro Township Committee seems to have lost his grip on financial matters. That was something he was good at. For decades he proudly pointed to our low tax rate as one of his greatest accomplishments. Maybe it’s true that Merrill Lynch had been carrying us all those years and our shifting tax base has finally caught up with us.
If he can really run the township so economically, what stops him from keeping our taxes level by lowering the tax RATE to offset the increased property valuations? Now that the picture is not so rosy, I see he’s pointing his finger at the state. I’m sorry he’s sounding like every other sour-grapes politician and not the leader we had come to expect.
What should I make of it when one side of his mouth says the state can’t blame spendthrift local governments, and the other side of his mouth has already started spending on a $10,”000,”000-plus library project that is not in the budget.
When taxpayers are still in shock and wondering how they can pay their taxes, and weighing the real possibility of having to move, I don’t think I want to vote for a politician who won’t listen to us, who doesn’t seem to have an answer, and who is adding to our debt like there is no tomorrow.
Peter Pfister
521 Plainsboro Road
Something’s Moldy in Plainsboro
About eight years ago my mother was moved from 20-07 Deer Creek to 10-07 Deer Creek due to an allergic reaction to mold spores. Linpro, the owner/managers at that time, and the Cantu administration were well aware way back then that mold could cause serious problems to anyone with an allergic reaction. Now some one else has become very ill and the reaction from AIMCO [the current management company] was an eviction!!
With the aging of the apartments there have been many leaks from old water heaters and PVC etc. There has been a rising number of apartments that are wet enough to grow the molds dormant in the walls and floors.
When I worked for AIMCO a few years ago I notified Nilma DeClet [AIMCO manager], Eileen Boyce [head of the Plainsboro housing department], and L. Darren Myers [Plainsboro inspector of multiple dwelling complexes] about mold in every apartment that I had worked in. I also refused to work in a few apartments unless I was given a filtered mask. When this was refused, I bought my own. I also warned my fellow workers about the dangers of mold and gave them Spanish language papers on the issue.
On leaving AIMCO’s employ I warned Nilma DeClet and Carlos DiLeo [who does maintenance work for AIMCO] that the mold situation needed to be addressed and firing me would not make it go away.
I have also spoken with Darren Myers about several problems from laundry rooms that are down for months on end — to mold and poor maintenance. In every case he has acted as an apologist for AIMCO’s poor management.
TRAIN is trying to raise enough money to have our apartments inspected as they should be. Any donations for this project will go to the study we intend to start as funds are made available. We believe that about 10 apartments spread through the rental community should give us a good idea of the problem’s true extent.
Home owners also should be made aware of the mold problem in Plainsboro. This is in fact a state-wide issue.
Patrick D. Goldsmith
TRAIN
www.tenantsrights.info
Color Wheel Kids
I am very grateful to The WW-P News (September 23) for announcing the Art Exhibit of the “Color Wheel Kids” currently on view at the Plainsboro Public Library.
Each opportunity that an artist is given to show to the public creates a new challenge for the pursuit of excellence. The Kids’ first experience was to share their work with parents and relatives. Now the community is involved, the Kids’ circle is bigger; so is their commitment to excel.
The News fulfills a great roll: besides keeping us updated in our area important issues, it follows the efforts of our young people, brings them to us in the exciting moments of their efforts and achievements, so that they can see themselves reflected in everybody’s eyes.
Kate M. Gaydos
Art Teacher
The Real Dirt
Thank you for your excellent article, “Digging Through Dirt & History” (The News, September 23). It was really a wonderful portrayal of me! Your article was a well written tribute recalling my first inspiration of the prehistoric past to my young mind.
When I read the article, I truly felt as if you were there, and saw me at Guyot Hall at Princeton University when I was struck by the great sense of wonderment I felt at seeing the dinosaur displays and prehistoric tools of ancient man! Your article was a fine presentation of the Native American prehistoric past in New Jersey. Jim Wade
To the Editor:
Thank you! More than 1,”000 individuals contacted the American Red Cross of Central New Jersey to volunteer their time at the chapter or down along the Gulf Coast! We are proud of the hundreds of volunteers from our area that have assisted the relief effort on both a local and national level following the destruction caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Our chapter, serving Mercer, Middlesex, Hunterdon and parts of Somerset counties, is deeply moved by the compassion shown by our community through donations of time and money to assist those affected by these disasters.
Our chapter has been busy supporting this national relief effort by conducting specialized training sessions to prepare 321 volunteers for the relief operation in the Gulf area, including 198 new volunteers. To date, 121 of these volunteers have already been deployed for two or three week assignments, with more looking toward deployment throughout October and November.
Members of our Disaster Family Services have been doing extensive client casework to help the 172 families that arrived in our chapter area after evacuating the Gulf Coast. These families have received cash grants, housing assistance, mental health support and other services.
The support of this community has helped the Red Cross raise the much-needed funds to provide assistance to over one million people who have been affected by the hurricanes. You arranged fundraising at baseball and soccer games, held concerts and auctions, sold hand-made crafts and lemonade, held school read-a-thons and sometimes just walked in and donated your hard earned savings. Your generosity is highly commendable. You have come forward to help your neighbors across the country just as you do right here in New Jersey.
Thank you for supporting the American Red Cross.
Kevin Sullivan
Chief Executive Officer
American Red Cross of Central New Jersey
