Letters

Every parent’s nightmare unfolded over three days last August, during the massacre of 300 adults and children at a school in Russia.

In many ways, that attack was as horrifying to the Russian people as September 11, 2001, was to us. It exposed a weakness where weakness should not exist: in the security of a school. It left the people of Russia wondering whether they would ever feel safe again.

Here in New Jersey, we are uniquely at the forefront of the war on terror. Terrorists see our rich concentration of infrastructure, population density and location as a transportation hub of the East Coast as conspicuous targets.

New Jersey has been proactive in our domestic security planning. Today we have done more than most states to prepare for the threat of terrorism.

As we continue those efforts, my administration is placing a special emphasis on school security because what happened in Russia must never happen here. Every child deserves a learning environment that is free from fear, and every parent deserves to feel safe when their child is in class. We will not let terrorists take away the simple act of sending our children to school.

Unprecedented effort

This spring and summer, specially trained police and school officials are visiting every one of New Jersey’s 3,758 public, charter and private schools to conduct a thorough audit of every school’s security measures. So far we have trained 1,000 individuals for this task, which we will finish by Labor Day.

This statewide effort is the first of its kind in the United States.

To support this project, the state Department of Education, New Jersey State Police and the state Office of Counter-Terrorism created a checklist of security measures that should be in place at every school.

Those measures include a close relationship between each school and its local police department. School and law enforcement officials must frequently review and update their emergency plans. And police must maintain a strong presence at all school construction sites - especially in light of the attack in Russia, where terrorists used a construction site as cover to hide weapons at the school.

The checklist requires a review of each school’s buildings and grounds and the plans to fix any weaknesses. Measures include keeping hedges trimmed and doors locked and removing objects that could give access to the roof.

The checklist calls for a review of each school’s safety and emergency plans to ensure they are up to date, and to ensure all staff know their role in an emergency.

And the checklist requires a review of the school’s procedures on visitors’ access, bus security, deliveries and other issues.

The officers are looking for improvements each school can make immediately, before the next school year begins.

They are also collecting information that will help us create a vast database with details on security at every school in New Jersey. That information will help us decide what steps should be taken at the state and local levels, to make the schools even safer.

Staying on the cutting edge

These audits will help determine where we can best use new innovations in security technology.

We are developing recommendations right now with the Model School program underway in West Paterson. Model School, led by New Jersey Institute of Technology, is testing smart cameras that can distinguish between normal hallway traffic and suspicious activity. The program will also test smart ID cards for school staff and a biometric system - such as fingerprint or retina scanning - for school visitors.

The technologies will help officials keep a minute-by-minute watch on what is happening on school grounds.

We are also working with Rutgers University to create a comprehensive course for new and veteran teachers on school security and emergency management.

These are not necessarily things today’s educators signed up for when they started their careers. But New Jersey’s teachers are supportive, and have shown they want to meet this new challenge.

New Jersey is safer than ever but we must not be complacent. We will continue to devote our best minds and best resources to keep our children and schools as secure as possible.

Richard J. Codey

acting governor

A salute to emergency medical service teams

The members of emergency medical services teams are ready to provide lifesaving care to those in need 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As a partner in this perpetual care, Monmouth Medical Center salutes EMS as a vital part of every community and enthusiastically joins the American College of Emergency Physicians in their celebration of Emergency Medical Services Week, observed from May 15 to 21.

EMS is a crucial public service, a system consisting of emergency physicians, emergency nurses, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, firefighters and educators who care for victims of sudden or serious illness or injury. This system depends on the availability and coordination of many different elements. The 911 emergency number, search-and-rescue teams, and pre-hospital and emergency department personnel are some of the critical elements necessary for the EMS system to work.

The signing of the first official National Emergency Medical Services Week proclamation in 1974 recognized the accomplishments of the men and women who dedicate themselves to saving the lives of others. In 2005, National EMS Week provides an opportunity to honor the more than 750,000 EMS providers by celebrating the “three R’s” that describe EMS: ready, responsive and reliable.

EMS Week is the ideal time to highlight how EMS makes a crucial difference in the lives of Americans, and as a physician and hospital administrator, I know that access to quality emergency care dramatically improves the survival and recovery rate of those who experience sudden illness or injury.

At Monmouth Medical Center, where our emergency department is led by Dr. Jennifer Waxler, a past president of the New Jersey chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians, we have made the strengthening of our emergency services a priority. In the last year, we have added a dedicated pediatric emergency department and emergency angioplasty services to the continuum of lifesaving health care services available to our local community. These important services ensure continuity of care — which often begins with the arrival of the EMS caregiver — and provide support structures for patients and their families while easing their stress through the knowledge that their community hospital, too, is ready, responsive and reliable.

Monmouth Medical Center honors the contributions of EMS providers, our partners in care, and during the celebration of EMS Week, we stress the importance of strong public support for the well-trained professional who comprise the EMS system.

Frank J. Vozos, M.D., F.A.C.S.

executive director

Monmouth Medical Center

Long Branch

Small shop owner finds it hard to stay in business

It was with great interest that I read a story stating that acting Gov. Richard Codey was surprised that there will be a “higher” amount of money coming into the state from the last quarter. Funny, I don’t find that surprising at all. Being a small-business owner here in New Jersey, I am finding it harder and harder to stay in business, let alone make a profit. It is no wonder with all the fees that are added on an almost monthly basis from everything to cleanup tax, tire tax, cell phone tax and various other “incidental” fees that I am able to make any money or see any profit. What is happening is a disgrace. We are being “fee’d” and taxed to near bankruptcy.

With our industry being exported and people losing their jobs or having to take less paying jobs, small businesses like myself are being put in a vice and every last dollar is being squeezed from us. If people do not have a viable well-paying job, where will they get spendable income? We are becoming a “dollar” store country, with one cropping up on every corner. Is that what we want to present to the rest to the world? We have sent all our jobs in manufacturing packing to other countries, we have sold the public on “discount” stores selling items made overseas. We are destroying the small mom-and-pop operations that are a vital part of our economy. In New Jersey, we have become the laughingstock of not only our own state, but the rest of the country. Is there any help? Will it get any better? I hope so for the sake of our kids and the future of this state.

I am eagerly watching the political arena; I like what some of the Republican candidates are saying. The problem is, will the “machine” let them make the changes and tough decisions needed? Only time will tell. What has to happen is the people need to get more involved with their own destiny. Vote, speak up and let yourself be heard. We cannot and should not sit by idly while our country is being sold, stolen or just plain given away.

While I hold on to one last glimmer of hope, I am reminded of a saying I once heard, “Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible and achieves the impossible.”

Bob Lanzieri

Brick

Cream Ridge Golf Club and AHS are a good match

On behalf of the players, their parents and the coach of the Allentown High School Golf Team, I’d like to express my gratitude toward the staff and ownership of the Cream Ridge Golf Club.

Cream Ridge’s flexibility and hospitality have helped to spirit the boys through another delightful season. Whether it was pointers from Bill Marine (the head PGA professional), accommodation for the team’s ever-changing schedule, or just letting the team members play outside of their regular practice schedule, the Cream Ridge organization has always had the athletes’ interests at heart.

Many of the players have become so comfortable there that they’ve begun to feel as if Cream Ridge is more than their home course; it’s become their home club.

For the team’s sake, we can only hope that the association of Cream Ridge Golf Club with Allentown High School Golf will endure for years to come.

Thomas W. Berry

Millstone