Our Readers Respond...


On Vines and Lines


Dear Editor,


1. Lila D’Adolf ’s letter (May 17 issue) calls for a program to remove the runaway vines which are choking the trees on the Saw Mill River Parkway. She should be notified that there is such a program. I remember reading several years ago, after a motorist had been killed by a falling branch caused by vines killing trees, that the Dept. of Highways had begun a program to clear vines from the parkway wooded areas. Since then I have occasionally seen crews removing vines. But I would imagine that lately, with the crazy storms having killed, damaged and downed many trees, that other priorities may have pushed this program to the back burner. And the sheer size of the task is in any case daunting.

2. Your paper with its investigative attitude is great. I am glad to see advertisers supporting you in increasing numbers, showing that business people, who might be expected to “go along to get along” and might not want office-holders marking them down for retribution, are not afraid to support a publication dedicated to exposing the widespread rot in public affairs in Westchester. It is a nice partial antidote to the feeling one gets now in this country, watching the Constitution slowly being destroyed while the public is busy lapping up American Idol and its ilk. Thanks, and keep it up.

Charles Zigmund, Pleasantville


Help Youth By Getting Involved


Dear Editor:


As a lifelong resident of Mount Vernon, I would like to point out some facts that were not mentioned in your article. First, the youth of Mount Vernon today have less available to them than the preceding generations. Old-time merchants used to employ young people after school in their businesses whereas today that isn’t the case. Mount Vernon has fewer businesses than it did years ago, car dealerships, factories, supermarkets and the like. Malcolm X once stated to the people of Harlem, New York, “Don’t shop where you can’t work.” This boycott
led to jobs being created for the community.

Secondly, concerning the Hip Hop Museum, if being the case that Mayor Davis failed the youth to have it built, there are alternatives. One being asking rappers such as P Diddy and Henry O, both formerly of Mount Vernon, to contribute funds to having it built. Also people in the community can raise money to create it. Look to Memphis, Tenn. To the Civil Rights Museum or to Cleveland, Ohio, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Thirdly, concerning youth violence, look to Newark, New Jersey which was shown on Channel 9 (WOR) in the broadcast Scared Straight. The City of Newark, with permission of the New Jersey Department of Corrections, took troubled youth, or young people in general, to state prisons to see what prison life is like. By them interacting with prisoners many of them will have second thoughts about gang life.

Here we have seen how this growing menace can be curtailed without so much taxpayer expense but by everyone getting involved; namely the Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Education, and finally the City of Mount Vernon by extending recreation, Police Athletic League and various programs.

Please don’t give up on these young people, plenty of successful people came from Mount Vernon; Dick Clark, Lynn Brown, P Diddy, Henry O, Denzel Washington, Allan Funt (Candid Camera). These young people need to be shown that they can be one of the aforementioned people too.

Dennis Fishbein, Mount Vernon


Re: “Youthful Violence Taking Over Mount Vernon?” 10th May 2007


Dear Editor:


It is disturbing, indeed, when one hears, as I did last night, of a student and his father being assaulted at Longfellow School (apparently the student was resisting induction into a gang). Disturbing, too, are the incidents noted in your article. I am little surprised, then, when I find that, of all the parents of my acquaintance, not a single one plans to send their children to Mount Vernon High School, where they have the dubious distinction of the lowest SAT scores in the County (Westchester Magazine, April 2007, pages 82-83).

So, what is the solution? I think we first have to look to the home, where children receive their first instruction.
It is of no benefit to a child if their parent(s) are missing in action, AWOL, or somewhere “upstate.” A child requires a parent, preferably parents, who are interested in and dedicated to expanding the horizons of their children through their example of hard work, good character, and way of living.

Education, or the lack thereof, has long-reaching effects on the lives of our children, their future prospects for
gainful employment, and their contribution to the next generation. It should, therefore, be a primary concern of each and every parent to see to it that their child(ren) receive the very best education that they can access.

Unfortunately, for many parents in Mount Vernon, this will mean seeking out a private or parochial school for their child to attend, or else paying tuition for an out of-district placement; or, simply, moving.

Why should parents want to invest 500K in a home, pay enormous property taxes, and, on top of that, pay for
school fees and transportation to a private institution because they do not feel they can reliably count on the safety of their child during school hours?

As regards another matter, I have long wondered why there is no (to my knowledge) trades and technical high
school in Mount Vernon. In Yonkers, NY, where I attended high school (more years ago than I care to count) there were, at that time, four high schools, three of which were on an “academic” or college-bound track, and one which was a trades and technical high school.

I should think that, by the time a student is 12 or 13 it would be possible to discern, through standardized testing
and other measures, such as grades and teacher observations, where abilities and inclinations lie, their strengths as well as their weaknesses.

I would suggest, then, that there be some division made between those students who are college-bound and
those who have demonstrated no obvious inclination towards, or talent, in academic subjects (a few of whom who will, undoubtedly, through sheer boredom, jealousy, or perversity of spirit, deliberately disrupt the efforts of those students who do have college in their sights). Given the salaries many skilled tradesmen (and women) can command, this would seem, to me, to be an attractive option. Established businesses, already part of the community, might offer these young people apprenticeships or internships which might well lead to employment after graduation.

The business and occupation of young men and women should be to educate themselves, to be an active participant in forming their futures through their experiences both in school and in the community. How can
this be accomplished, on either an academic or technical track, if they have to be concerned for their physical safety?

Those misguided young people who do disrupt the education of others, or who threaten the safety of staff or other students, should be dealt with swiftly and firmly. There should be no tolerance of anti-social behavior in or out of the classroom, in the guise of being “sensitive” or “correct” or in order to conceal or downplay chaotic conditions.

How many children have to be assaulted or die before a hard line is taken with these hard cases who are not
working towards college or an honest trade but towards an orange jumpsuit and leg-irons, to live at our expense in another State-run institution?

MaryAnn McCarra-Fitzpatrick,
Mount Vernon

Rose Wallace Hardy Celebrates 100th Birthday!

Mrs. Rose Wallace Hardy celebrated her 100th birthday last Friday afternoon, May 25th, at the Westchester Center for Rehabilitation & Nursing in Mount Vernon.

One of eight children, she was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where she lived until her family relocated to Manhattan. Her family was extremely musical, which fostered her love of dancing. Three of her brothers were professional musicians, working with Duke Ellington, the Savoy Sultans (the house band for NYC’s Savoy Ballroom), and the Jimmy Lundsford Band. Her sister Dorothy, who currently lives in The Bronx is her only living sibling.

She was married to her first husband, Ernest Wallace, for 36 years, until his death in 1968. She also survived her second husband, Sylvester Hardy, to whom she was married for 23 years.

Mrs. Wallace was employed as a home health aide. A devout Baptist, she loves to knit, to read and to do puzzles. Mrs. Wallace has been a doting aunt to her many nieces and nephews, who are threw the birthday party for her.

Editor’s Note: The staff of the Westchester Guardian take this opportunity to wish Mrs. Rose Wallace Hardy a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY and many happy returns.

Reader Takes Issue with Columnist Polvere

Dear Editor:

Someone once said, “But hushed be every thought that springs from out the bitterness of things.” It seems column after column George W. Bush is everpresent on the mind of Fred Polvere. In his latest of Thursday, May 17, “America At War: Fact, Fiction, Bush”, Polvere concludes with these words, “No amount of spin will prevent George W. Bush from being seen as the most incompetent and immoral president in the history of the United States.” It appears Mr. Polvere is a prognosticator.

He knows what the future holds and can say with certainty that Mr. Bush is destined for the scrapheap of history. While the nation is at war, and men and women of the military are in harm’s way, distraught and disillusioned liberals like Polvere, still smarting from the 2000 election, have maligned, wished harm, and accused this resident of lies and deceit, high crimes and misdemeanors, and yes even having foreknowledge and possibly involvement
in the September 11 attack.

Mr. Polvere and those who think like him are capable of cruel and malicious behavior. Their unrestrained and
inflammatory rhetoric goes well beyond the bounds of decency and good taste.

Their unnatural hatred of this President is disturbing, and gives credence to the existence of what is now referred
to as Bush Derangement Syndrome. It is also, I believe, a manifestation of a deep bias toward certain ideologies and beliefs. Love him or hate him, agree or disagree, George W. Bush is the President of the United States, and deserves some measure of respect.

Bob Pascarella
The Bronx