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Working with Schools, Holiday Program Plays Santa Claus for Needy Children

To the Editor:

Wouldn't it be nice if there were a local community service that was simple, quick, low-cost, and didn't involve meetings? The "Claus" (Children Loved by Another Understanding Santa) project is such an opportunity.

For the past seven years, I've been one of several coordinators for Claus. This program was founded in Princeton in 1990 by a handful of mothers who realized that while their own children would be opening presents during the holidays, many in their community would not.

Working with area schools and social agencies, I gather a list with a choice of two items that the child/teen wishes for. The cost should not exceed $30. Then I contact "Santas" (you) and you buy, wrap, and deliver the gift back to me. I then deliver the gifts to the schools for distribution to the parents, which enables them to be Santa for their own children.

If you or a friend, neighbor, family member, etc., would like to become a Santa, please give me a call at (609) 279-2787 and I will provide you with information about a child. I assure you this is a wonderful way to kick off the holiday season. I look forward to hearing from you.

EMILIO T. DiSANTO
Mount Lucas Road

Riverside Elementary School Parents Support UNESCO Halloween Campaign

To the Editor:

I want to alert readers in Princeton to Riverside Elementary School's upcoming Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF collection this Monday, October 31, on Halloween. Children will be carrying the bright orange boxes along with their trick-or-treat bags and requesting a donation toward UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund. This year, for the first time in its 50-plus year history, UNICEF will direct half of its trick-or-treat box funds to the U.S. on behalf of the youngest victims of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. The other half will go, as always, toward fulfilling UNICEF's mission of providing for the basic needs of children everywhere: food, water, shelter, healthcare, and education. Last year Riverside raised $750; this year we hope to raise $1000.

Please have some change or bills on hand to give to these children, and encourage them as they help to care for other children around our needy world. You may also make donations directly to UNICEF, or read more about its programs at www.unicef.org.

MOLLY DYKSTRA
PTO UNICEF Coordinator
Riverside Elementary School

Friends of Princeton Public Library Had Most Successful Book Sale Ever

To the Editor:

On behalf of the Friends of the Princeton Public Library, we thank everybody who donated books to our Annual Book Sale and everybody who flocked to the Library's Community Meeting Room to buy those books. You made the sale the most successful in our history. We thank you for helping the Library.

You are invited to our next Annual Sale, October 13 through 15, 2006. Until then, you can always find a wide selection of books at amazingly low prices in our daily Ongoing Book Sale located to the right of the main staircase on the Library's first floor.

Rapid Action by First Responders Saved Life of Heart Attack Victim

To the Editor:

The N.C. Jefferson Plumbing and Heating family would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Princeton Borough Police Department, the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad, the Mercer County Paramedics, and the Emergency Room staff at the University Medical Center at Princeton.

It was the rapid and composed response of Borough Police Sgt. Robert Currier and Officers Sean Cahill and James Martinez that saved the life of our cherished longtime employee and dear friend Karl Zabel, after he suffered a massive heart attack on Monday morning. The prompt response of the emergency medical teams and the expertise of the University Medical Center Staff will forever be appreciated. You all had a hand in a miracle. Karl is currently recovering at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia.

JILL JEFFERSON
N.C. Jefferson Plumbing
Witherspoon Street

Penal Parking Policies at Train Station Are Harming West Windsor's Reputation

Editor's Note: The following is a copy of a letter sent to Christopher Marion, West Windsor Parking Authority.

Dear Mr. Marion:

I am writing to you to ask for your assistance in an urgent and disturbing matter regarding the West Windsor parking lot at the Princeton Junction Train Station. The lot I am referring to is the Vaughn Drive Lot, for which residents may pay a $3 fee to park for the day.

On October 17, my husband arrived at 7:20 a.m. to the Princeton Junction train station in order to buy a ticket for the lot, which was completely empty save for a handful of cars. When he drove up to the window, where someone should be to sell tickets, there was no one there. The small office was dark and shuttered, and no one was available to sell tickets although the lot was not full. No sign of any sort was posted saying the lot was full or had been sold out.

Having nowhere else to park, and needing to board a train, my husband chose to park in the empty lot. When he arrived home that day, he was issued a $60 ticket by the West Windsor Police Department for parking in the lot.

According to the West Windsor Parking Authority's website, "The on-site attendant is available from 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the trailer located to the right just as you turn into the lot." During the last three weeks, there have been more than three mornings I have counted when this was not the case, and the lot sat empty while stressed and frustrated commuters looked desperately for parking even though there was none. Several other conscientious and law-abiding members of the community, who parked in the lot the same day as my husband, and other days when this has occurred, also arrived home to expensive tickets from the West Windsor Police Department.

This is an outrage.

We have attempted to apply for a parking ticket, but were informed that there is a two and a half year waiting list, and a very expensive charge simply for the right to appear on that waiting list.

My husband and I are hard working people who pay very high taxes in order to take advantage of all the benefits our community has to offer, one of the most important of these being the ability to commute from the area to our jobs in New York and Philadelphia. The parking policies mentioned are illogical and harmful to the reputation of the town.

I believe this ticket as well as all other tickets issued on this day should be retracted, and that you should hold the Parking Authority and the West Windsor Police responsible for their actions, which are unfair and illogical.

I would be happy to appear before a judge to contest this ticket, and do not feel I should be penalized financially for expressing my concerns as a taxpaying member of the community. When I called the Municipal Court and asked if I might contest this ticket, they informed me that I might be charged a penalty of up to $1,000 dollars for such a plea, if a judge found me guilty. This sort of penalty seems unnecessarily harsh for taxpayers who simply would like to outpoint a parking policy that is not working.

If my concerns are not addressed, I am also willing to gather the signatures of my fellow residents and commuters so you may see that this is not an isolated problem. It is a phenomenon that continues to occur to the detriment of our community.

CARA HUGHES MARCANO
Dorann Avenue

After-School Tutoring Center Thanks Walk-A-Thon Fund-Raiser Volunteers

To the Editor:

I would like to publicly thank the PINS (Princeton In the Nation's Service) student organization and particularly Drew Fredrickson and all of the other volunteers who helped to organize the Walk-A-Thon which raised much needed funds for Springboard and PYA, the two Princeton after-school tutoring centers.

Springboard meets every Monday through Thursday that the Princeton Regional Schools are open, on the third floor of the Princeton Public Library. We offer tutoring and homework help to all who drop in. There is no appointment necessary, no charge, and no commitment to keep returning. We are staffed by a certificated teacher each day plus many volunteers from the community and Princeton University.

Until this school year Springboard had been funded jointly by the Princeton Public Library and the Princeton Regional Schools. In February we learned that the Board of Education would no longer be funding any non-profit corporations, and so our funding was cut in half. We have had to reduce the number of certificated teachers that we employ --- from two on site daily we can now afford only one.

The monies that PINS raised for Springboard will help to insure that the program can continue. We are currently exploring other funding options and I would welcome any help from the community. I can be reached at Springboardinc@gmail.com.

Thank you to all the walkers, organizers and organizations that were part of this special event. You have my eternal gratitude.

JOYCE TURNER
Director, Springboard Inc.

For information on how to submit Letters to the Editor, click here.