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Letters to the Editor
By COUNCILMAN MATT ADAMS
May 23, 2023
Dear Editor: This is a tremendously busy time for the Scotch Plains Recreation Department, as all the upcoming summertime activities require enormous planning and coordination. Just imagine: There are many programs and events being planned through May, June and July, jockeying for space ...
Dear Editor: I’m writing this letter as a concerned resident of both Scotch Plains and Union County. I’ve been contacting both Township and County Officials for years regarding their blatant disregard of not implementing protection of existing mature trees on active park construction ...
Dear Editor: Our nation has a rich history of military service, with millions of men and women having served in the armed forces since 1776. Our veterans, through incredible sacrifice, have protected the freedoms that we enjoy as Americans. While we may never be able to fully repay them for ...
Dear Editor, I’d like to wish a Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms in our community. As a mother of three young men, I know the ups and downs of being a mom in this day and age. In my case, it’s mostly good, and I hope that’s the case for you, too! It’s that time of year when our college ...
Dear Chief Lestarchick, Deputy Chief Skip Paal and Captain Mullen: I would like to Thank you for honoring the raffle win from the Coles PTA event. My kids got to ride to school on a fire truck with their friends which is a lifetime memory created for them. This experience will go a long way, ...
Dear Editor, I was sad to see Lori and Pat Carlin depart as owners of Fanwood Bagel, one of town’s most popular and successful businesses for 24 years. Their retirement is well-earned. They supported many of our public events with free food including Fanny Wood Day, Earth Day and Memorial Day.
Dear Editor: It is amusing to read Facebook posts and Letters to the Editor that have described The Friends of Brookside Park, Scotch Plains, in all the ways spelled out in the title above. To the people who know me, stop laughing. To those who don’t, please stop by the upper parking lot of ...
Dear Editor: It’s time for our children to have fields that are respectable, safe, and usable. Some of us have graduated to VoTech from playing at Booth or Brookside, and some of us have just begun playing the infamous 22 “Goose Poop” field. Having played opponents in multiple surrounding ...
Dear Editor: The improvements to Brookside Park has become an often talked about topic the past few weeks, and I would like to discuss a few of the issues that we are facing together as a town. A lot of misinformation and false narratives are circulating about the Brookside Park improvements ...
Dear Editor: As many of you are aware, on April 18, 2023, the Scotch Plains Township Council voted on, and overwhelmingly approved by a vote of 4-1, an ordinance to secure a low interest bond of $3.8 million to fund a project to make long needed improvements to Brookside Park. These improvements ...
Dear Editor: The Friends of Brookside Park celebrated Earth Day, April 22, by collecting signatures from fellow residents on a petition to put a $3.8 million park plan, part of which includes the installation of artificial turf in Brookside Park, up to a vote by the entire community. The ...
Dear Editor, You know it's springtime in Fanwood when the annual community cleanup comes around. I hope you’ll join me Saturday, April 22, at the south side train station parking lot to join other volunteers in picking up trash in our town. There will be breakfast and giveaways. Then next ...
Dear Editor, This week, the Township Council adopted a spending plan for the upcoming budget year. In preparation, we issued what some would consider to be an impossible challenge: To develop a smart, streamlined budget that includes funding for the many initiatives underway. And, despite ...
Dear Editor: On April 18th, the Mayor and our Town Council voted to adopt a $3.8 million bond ordinance for renovations to Brookside Park which include replacing the natural grass field in the center of the park with artificial turf. A group of residents from across Scotch Plains has begun ...
Dear Editor: On April 20, 1999, as I folded laundry while my two-year old son toddled around the house, breaking news disrupted an otherwise ordinary day: At 11:19 am Colorado time, two high school students, armed to the teeth (two 9mm firearms, two 12-gauge shotguns, a Hi-Point 995 Carbine with ...
Dear Editor: As an advocate of the Brookside Park project, the easy and most perhaps politically expedient course for me would be to simply vote yes without explanation. That would leave my decision to stand for itself, without addressing the exhaustive process that I went through to ...
Dear Editor: After I learned I was being terminated as Head Softball Coach at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School, more than 100 of my softball constituents including college and high school softball coaches, and current and former players and students and their families contacted me. Most asked ...
Dear Editor: As we prepare for a final vote on whether the township council spends nearly $4 million on improvements - including the addition of artificial turf - to Brookside Park, we, the community, should be clear on the realities of this proposal. Deputy Mayor Ellen Zimmerman, in moving ...
Open Letter to Mayor Losardo and the Town Council of Scotch Plains: Please do not install any more artificial turf fields in Scotch Plains. Plastic grass pollutes, creates heat islands, off gases methane and ethylene, contributes to more red tides and algae blooms, puts more micro plastics into ...
Dear Editor: This is one student’s opinion on the possible turf update at Brookside Park. I personally believe that more athletic fields should be turf rather than grass. In my opinion, you get more consistency when you play on turf fields rather than grass. The grass fields are overused, and it ...
Dear Editor: The Scotch Plains Municipal Council has voted to introduce an ordinance to spend over $3 million dollars of taxpayer money to install artificial turf on the entire field at Brookside Park. This Tuesday, April 18th, the Council is scheduled to vote on the final adoption of this ...
To the Scotch Plains Town Council: The Children’s Environmental Health Center of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai strongly discourages the installation of artificial turf playing surfaces and fields due to the uncertainties surrounding the safety of these products and the potential ...
Dear Editor: Friends of Brookside Park met on Saturday, April 8, to show support for responsible funding of improvements at Brookside Park. We believe that a $3.8 million bond (about $3.4 million of which is for improvements to an existing natural grass baseball field and the installation of ...
Dear Editor: On March 29, I had the honor to join other veterans at the Vietnam Veterans monument at town hall to mark National Vietnam War Veterans Day. It has been 50 years, to the date, when the last combat troops left South Vietnam, as well as the estimated date when Hanoi released the last ...
Dear Editor: People in New Jersey Congressional District 7 should be concerned about Representative Tom Kean, Jr. 's recent virtual MAGA rally that he attempted to disguise as a telephone town hall. A true town hall meeting is one where elected officials listen to a diverse sample of the people ...
Dear Editor: I realize you can’t please all of the people all of the time. But contrary to what I heard at the town meeting last week, it seems that it is the minority that want to dictate to the majority. I heard a lot of whining about Scotch Plains not being as cool as neighboring towns ...
Dear Editor: I am writing to express my support for the proposal to create a turf ball field at Brookside Park. Our lack of field space and clean, safe and accessible facilities is a black eye on our town and a constant source of frustration and shame for residents. For decades ...
Dear Editor: Every year, Scotch Plains is pleased to play a significant role in the Mayor’s Wellness Campaign (MWC) through the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute. It is a statewide community health initiative in partnership with the New Jersey State League of Municipalities. Through ...
Dear Editor: I have an idea for Scotch Plains – something I think we should implement here. Please hear me out. Before I tell you what it is, I’ll describe some of the pros/cons first: Cons: It’s going to be very expensive, with high installation and maintenance costs. It’ll last about ...
Dear Editor: I write to you as a resident of Scotch Plains and also the president of the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Baseball League (SPFBL). I write specifically in regard to the Brookside Park Field Project. There is a major, pressing issue in our community, and we need to do something ...
