Letters

Wake up, residents of Jackson. If you want to see your taxes continue to increase, then simply do nothing and allow the developers to continue building in Jackson. Proposals are in the works to add approximately 700 new houses in the Grawtown Road area of Jackson.

These developments are something that affects more than the people living near the proposed developments. The addition of approximately 700 homes (Megans Run included) will directly impact every citizen of Jackson, particularly those living on fixed incomes who will see their property taxes increase to build additional schools for the approximately 1,400 new students that will be added to our school system, additional capital expenditures for school buses, teachers, fire trucks, police, etc.

At least 1,400 more vehicles will be on roads that were never designed to handle that type of density.

This is possible due to an arcane zoning ordinance, titled regional growth, which allows up to four houses per acre in the Pinelands.

The Jackson Planning Board has been supportive of the 3-acre zoning, but the Pinelands Commission has not supported them.

It is time that all our elected officials, local officials, state legislative office and state representatives step up to the plate and stop developers from taking advantage of a zoning ordinance that will only hurt the citizens of Jackson.

Please contact our elected officials in the state Legislature and let them know Jackson does not want or need regional growth.

Ask them to intercede with the Pinelands Commission and restore some sanity to the development that is going on in Jackson.

What we need is a building moratorium until Jackson’s infrastructure can catch up with the growth in progress.

We need to demand that our elected representatives protect our rights as citizens of Jackson — that we don’t want our taxes increased so that developers can make their profits and move on. We don’t want traffic congestion, and we certainly don’t want the environmental impact that the total deforestation will surely bring.

The time to act is now. Please contact Sen. Robert Singer and Assemblyman Ronald Dancer at 2110 W. County Line Road, Jackson, (732) 901-0702 and ask them to represent your interests now — before it is too late and the bulldozers have done their damage.

Garth Michels

Jackson

Supporters of passenger rail wait for yet another study

This is my manifesto on passenger rail for central New Jersey. What has been accomplished in the last 25 years? Nothing much since George Buckwald and Frank Pallone, who fired us up to the concept of bringing back passenger rail to central New Jersey. They did have the foresight to see that central New Jersey will become the great boom area, and a high population explosion.

So where are we now? Back to square one. Over the years we who have been in the front line trenches, cajoling, talking, meeting with all people, politicians, agencies, and giving all our time and effort to bring this project to a fair completion. There is one thing we did learn over the years – when road blocks are thrown into your path at every turn it makes it a very hard fight to win your case.

Yes, we have seen millions of taxpayers’ money used up needlessly over the years by studies, reports, restudy the report and now we are awaiting a new report, which was due in the spring of 2005.

This, of course, puts NJ Transit in a very good position, always saying we cannot do or say anything until the report is forthcoming. Even though they know, as we of the Central Jersey Rail Coalition have been aware of for years, as to what is the best and cheapest route to develop for revitalizing passenger rail service in central New Jersey.

What are the problems and road blocks? Put in simple terms, stubborn positioning, county power plays, and selfish desires. There always were three routes which were involved for consideration.

• The MOM (Monmouth, Ocean, Middlesex) proposal – Lakehurst through Farmingdale, through Freehold, English-town, up to Jamesburg, and then meet at the Northeast Corridor.

• The Lakehurst-Farmingdale-Free-hold line going up to Matawan, and meeting up with the shore line.

• Lakehurst through Farmingdale, across the Garden State, to Red Bank, meeting up with the shore line (which by the way is still active as a freight line).

Now we can see the problems that we have encountered over the years.

Middlesex County has used its strong political power to fight the MOM proposal.

Monmouth County has been fighting hard for only the MOM line as it is the only thing it wants. The Matawan way, although the system originally was a viable way to go, is a problem now due to the tremendous building up within this area and also great political resistance, so, Monmouth says no to Matawan.

This then leaves the Red Bank system to be looked at. Monmouth says no to the Red Bank route.

All that means is that Ocean County is locked in. It has no say and is kept at the mercy of the M&M counties.

What irks me and many Ocean County citizens is that the Middlesex and Monmouth chief politicos are verbal and have hired and do spend tax money in order to fight for their desire within this conflict. We find our leaders in Ocean County just sitting in their ivory tower mum as a church mouse.

What is my conclusion? To all the thousands of people whose desire it is to see the return of passenger rail service in our area and to the many thousands who have signed petitions to government agencies, who also have come out at our call, to join together and to hear many politicos extol the great need for the revival of passenger rail, we in the trenches do salute you and thank you.

To the politicos who honestly want to see it come to pass, you must double your time and effort to see it come to life. By the way, the military, although they are staying on the sidelines, have for quite a few logical reasons desired to see passenger rail come to Lakehurst.

My thinking, after we read the latest report when it finally will come to pass ... we hope to see a solution and the first step for implementing passenger rail. We in the trenches do have our opinion as to where and how to go, but we feel courtesy asks us to wait for the final study report.

Milton Itell

Lakewood

Don’t extend political correctness to use of Christmas

I just came back from the mall, having made our annual trip to see Santa and have the girls’ picture taken. My older daughter no longer believes in Santa, but my younger one still does.

It’s been a joy to spend the time writing, rewriting, and then revising her letter to Santa this year. And of course a couple of telegrams regarding the forgotten toys in the first letter. She is a bright and inquisitive little girl, who will take a big chunk of my heart away when she no longer believes.

I am in fact Jewish, as are my girls. Every Christmas growing up, until I learned the unbelievable truth about Santa, I couldn’t understand why Santa never showed up at my house. But coming from an orthodox Jewish family, it was not the swiftest idea to ask about it.

We have always celebrated well in my family all the holidays of the Jewish religion. Christmas was always spent with very close friends, and there were always presents for my brother and me under a tree and presents for those friends when we lit the candles on Hanukkah. It was truly the best of both worlds.

I married a wonderful woman who is not of my faith, but without question respects it. I, respecting her beliefs, have no problem with a Christmas tree in my house. Well, one problem, I demand that it must be a live tree.

We all gather at my sister-in-law’s home on Christmas Eve, and while none of us are rich per se, on this night we are all very wealthy individuals. Going to church is a part of the evening, as her daughters sing in the choir. Later in the evening the kids all get to open presents, and then it’s home so Santa can come and load up the tree.

Nothing can describe the joy on my girls’ faces on Christmas Day when they come down the stairs to see what Santa brought them. I am in fact a very lucky person. I am also not politically correct. There are some in this country who wish to eliminate Christmas and call it just a generic “holiday season.”

This is something that could never be allowed to happen. Using every reference to Christmas there is can only help to avoid this. Wish everyone you see Merry Christmas; don’t send holiday cards, send Christmas cards. And when you tuck your children into bed at night make sure you tell them what the true meaning of Christmas is and all about Santa Claus. Not for nothing, you should also put a good word in for the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, too.

Michael Bernstein

Howell