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Letters to the Editor
By DENNIS A. DAGGETT
October 31, 2023
Dear Editor, I write to express my strong support for Bob Meara as a candidate for the Sparta Township Board of Education. As a parent of school aged children in Sparta Schools District, I want the best educators, administrators, and board members who are dedicated to achieving the best ...
As a parent of children who will soon be in the Sparta school district and ally of educators and administration in this town, I am uneasy about this upcoming election for more reasons than I can count. -Rallying teachers and administrators, whose salaries and benefits make up 80% of our budget, ...
Gagnon and Grana took $6000 from the NJEA last year during their failed campaign for the Sparta Board of Education. I don’t want Sparta Board of Education members taking money from the NJEA and then sitting across from the Sparta Teacher’s Union negotiating a contract or handling ...
Recently, Kaitlin Gagnon posted a campaign statement titled “Sparta: Headlines For All the Wrong Reasons”. What she failed to mention in her statement, is that she has been actively involved in contacting many of the news outlets to draw attention to our district board meetings. So why the need ...
I recently read a letter to the editor that commented about members of the public “disrupting” recent board of education meetings. I had watched that meeting via live stream, as I watch most, and this letter encouraged me to share my thoughts on the behaviors taking place at the board of education ...
People who know me know that I say it like it is. The “Stop Raising Taxes” slate of Wood, Grana, and Gagnon are selling you a load of garbage with their slogan. Grana and her running mates have complained about legal fees. Yet, what Grana has failed to mention is that she has filed numerous ...
For years the League of Women Voters has held debates for candidates running for the Sparta Board of Education. I understand a debate was again proposed this year but only 3 of the 7 Sparta Board of Education candidates accepted the invitation. It is important that people in a democracy are ...
Dear Editor, I am writing to express my enthusiastic support for my esteemed former colleague and dear friend, Dana Dumpert, who is running for a seat on our Sparta Board of Education. I have had the privilege of working alongside Dana for several years, and I am confident that her commitment, ...
Alright, Sparta, let's get real for a moment. Are we about to fall for the same trick twice? Last year, we placed three liberals on the town council, with most votes not driven by candidate qualifications, but by opposition to a warehouse. This year, the same group is attempting a similar maneuver ...
October 24, 2023 To the Editor, It has recently come to light from copies of invoices made available to the public that the current Sparta Board of Education has overspent their legal representation budget by almost $200,000 for the 2021-22 school year. In fact, the monthly average of legal ...
The Jewish community is currently going through an extremely difficult period. A horrible attack on innocent people in Israel, unspeakable, sadistic torture, gleeful butchers and cheering mobs. The scenes have horrified and sickened every decent human-being. Jews around the world are shocked and ...
Spartans have recently learned hard lessons about partisan political agendas’ influence on our local elections. Just look at the “Mega Warehouse” debacle, where a partisan agenda led to ordinance changes that paved the way for developer Diamond Chip’s warehouse application and a potential end to ...
After months of troubling action taken by some of the Sparta Board of Education members, the following statement was delivered in the second public comment session of the 10/19/23 BOE meeting: We believe our schools, students and staff deserve to be part of a district that follows best ...
Since the Sparta Board of Education contracted with attorney Marc Zitomer of Schenk Price Smith and King in 2019, our district’s legal expenses have consistently gone over budget year after year. In the 21/22 school year alone, legal expenses reached an all-time high of $346,175 — that’s $196,176 ...
We, the undersigned, along with many of our fellow Spartans, are astonished, dismayed, and deeply disappointed that the Planning Board does not seem to appreciate the urgency and seriousness of the current Diamond Chip lawsuit against our town; a lawsuit designed to deprive two-thirds of the ...
Over the last several days the Voices of Reason slate for the Sparta Board of Education has made some vocal claims that the Stop Raising Taxes slate is lying to the Sparta voters. First, there was a heavily edited video circulating online, then some large billboards throughout town, and finally a ...
Editors: I have an obvious way the Sparta Board of Education can save money: The issue of how to handle transgender students is being litigated elsewhere even as we speak. Let's avoid a boatload of legal expenses by seeing how cases out of Marlboro, Manalapan-Englishtown, and Middletown turn ...
To the Editor, Now that we’re deep into the fall season, our favorite neigh-‘bears’ are desperate for as much food as they can find to prepare for hibernation. While bears are in this period of frenzied eating (known as “hyperphagia”), it's important for New Jerseyans to be "bear aware" to ...
Given the inflammatory language used and number of columns written by certain candidates for Sparta Board of Education, one would think “Parental Rights” is the burning issue of this election. Indeed, one current BOE memberrunning for reelection says parental rights is a “hill she’s willing to die ...
Roxbury seems concerned about all the new traffic from the trucks from the proposed warehouse to be located adjacent to Route 80. Did I mention Roxbury is getting 500 acres of open space, softball fields, 3 soccer fields and football fields from the developer? and millions in taxes? IT IS NOT A ...
Just concluded watching the September 28th Board of Education Meeting; I am a conservative. I believe in individual liberty, that each person is free to live their life as they see fit, as long as they do not infringe upon the rights of others. Laws and policies, even if well intended, ...
In 2021, our Sussex County Commissioners agreed to accept the donation of the Dennis Library from the Newton Library Association, as well as a $3.5 million grant from the State of New Jersey, which they would match, using funds from the sale of the Homestead. These funds would make possible ...
Remember all the months of whining and sniping by the two members of the old guard about their new colleagues on the council? With comments about how inefficient everything had become? About how the meetings were too long? And how they started too late? About how the offices in town hall were ...
On behalf of The PFLAG Sussex County board of directors, this letter is in response to the reported bias crime perpetrated in Sparta on August 27th. PFLAG Sussex County is a local chapter of a national organization which was founded in 1973 to support and advocate for the families of people in ...
Sparta homeowners experienced a 5.8% hike in property taxes this year, largely in part to school budget increases. As we enter the election season for open Board of Education seats, you’ll see incumbent board members promoting themselves for voting NO on the recent budget, insinuating that they are ...
Dear Editor, Recently as a concerned community member within a residential area of Sparta, I attended a meeting before the Sparta Zoning Board and its Officers in protest of the proposed variance change from residential to industrial to the adjacent property to my home for 54 Maple Tree Lane. I ...
The month of August is the turning point for Sussex County and Sparta Traffic I was born and raised in Sparta. I left for 20 years for my career pursuits. I returned 22 years ago. I love Sussex County, and Sparta. My family moved from Brooklyn to Sparta in 1948 for the beauty, forests and ...
OPEN LETTER Sparta Township Council and Residents On August 8, the Town Council with its new majority will face the FIRST MAJOR TEST of last year’s big election issue: KEEP SPARTA LIVABLE A vote is planned on Ordinance 23-15 for the development of the open fields along Rt 15, within ...
Dear Editor, I am writing to express my support for Father John’s Animal House rescue and to encourage others to consider making a monthly donation to this worthy organization. Father John’s Animal House rescue is dedicated to rescuing and caring for animals in need. They provide a safe haven ...
Summer’s here and so are backyard barbecue gatherings, swimming pool parties, Sparta Arts concerts on the weekends (Great lineup this year—check out the SpartaNJ.org website), a great time to get away from all the congestion in our lives. Except that a new zoning ordinance—soon to be voted on in ...
