Letters
What others can learn from Michael

On July 29, 2005, my son Michael would have turned 5 years old. My husband, Adam, and I would be preparing for kindergarten, saving our pennies for college, and dreaming about our future astronaut, Army general or president-in-waiting. But Michael was born with a chromosome disorder called trisomy 13, and he lost his fight for life only four short days later.

Now, instead of his birthday, we are celebrating the fifth anniversary of Michael’s Feat, the charity named in his memory and dedicated to helping local families of seriously ill newborns. I approach this anniversary filled with sadness in his absence, and pride in his legacy. But what have I learned from these past five years?

I’ve learned to be grateful. I am grateful for a supportive family and parents who held me up when I no longer could. I am grateful for the three healthy children who followed Michael, and who continue to reflect his beauty and courage in their smiles.

I am grateful for the best set of friends that any person was ever worthy enough to have. The board of directors of Michael’s Feat continues with undiminished enthusiasm, the passion of a parent, and the heart of a heavyweight champion. I am grateful for the businessman and woman who gave of their money and time to help realize the dream of a shattered family.

I’ve learned to be grateful for the stranger who reads about this small cause, drops an e-mail of encouragement, and keeps my spirits up when the children are crying and the bills are mounting. I’m grateful for the public officials who recognize the cause in proclamations and by their presence. I’m grateful for local journalists who report on our successes and spend many hours with us helping to retell Michael’s story and the reason behind this cause.

But most of all, I am grateful for Michael. In four short days, he taught a lifetime’s worth. Never give in — not for anything, great or small, large or petty. Life is worth fighting for. Hope is not defined by how long you are here, but rather, by what you leave behind.

On July 30 from 1 to 5 p.m., at the picnic grounds behind St. Clement’s Church in Matawan, Michael’s Feat will host the fifth anniversary family barbecue.

Adam and Dana Puharic

Michael’s Feat

www.michaelsfeat.org

Scouts thank all who helped with project

On behalf of Junior Girl Scout Troop 1561 of Millstone, I would like to thank everyone who helped to make our Animal Fun Day Bronze Award project a success. Our goal, as a troop, was to educate the community about Adopt-A-Pet and Handicapped High Riders and the work they do to make a difference in the lives of others. Thank you to Rachel Johnson-Keller, director of the Handicapped High Riders. We learned how horses are used therapeutically to brighten the lives of handicapped children and how volunteers help to make it possible. Thank you to Sharon Gaboff, of Millstone, Adopt-A-Pet and coordinator of the Furry Angels. Adopt-A-Pet cares for abused, neglected and unwanted animals until homes can be found for them. The Furry Angels are a group of human and animal volunteers who go to hospitals and nursing homes to bring a smile to those who need it most. Attendees of Animal Fun Day were delighted to meet Karen and Mocha, Lori and Shadow, Joan and Coco, Carol and Kiwi, and Totu.

Thank you to Penny’s Petals, Tony’s Millstone Pharmacy, Rifkin Farms and those who donated prizes for the event. Thank you to all the Girl Scouts, friends, family and members of the community who came out to show their support at the event. Thank you to my co-leaders, Sue, Vini, Donna and Regina, who helped to make the girls’ vision a reality. Our troop will be donating pet food and supplies for Adopt-A-Pet. We also donated and planted annuals and shrubs at Riding High Stables. Kathleen Designs donated beautiful homemade quilted pillows as prizes. Beautiful Borders of Millstone donated their services, installing decorative concrete curbing and providing mulch.

Troop 1561, Mary, Tara, Jeanna, Samantha, Taylor, Andrea, Danielle, Vaness, Alexandra and Tori, I am very proud of all of you. You did a great job.

Laura Giffen

Millstone

Group seeks baseball equipment for needy kids

There is always exciting baseball happening throughout this region. However, I can’t help but think about all the players, teams and leagues that are less fortunate.

I often watch as many, if not most, players purchase (actually have their parents purchase) new bats, gloves and other baseball equipment. I also watch many of the opposing teams share a bat with several players; trade gloves in the middle of a substitution, and borrow catcher’s gear between innings.

Many of the children in our area are quite fortunate. My concern focuses on the children who wish to play baseball and are lacking the means. They may not be able to afford a bat or glove. Their teams or leagues may not have the money to continue to provide a good learning experience for their area’s youth.

I would like to ask all of you this question: Do you have gloves, bats, spikes, baseball, catcher’s equipment, or any other items that might benefit these individuals, teams or leagues? I am making an attempt to collect this equipment and find a new home for it. Has your child outgrown their spikes, or will they be using metal spikes in the future, and no longer need rubber spikes? Do they have a bat that is too small for them, or might they be using a large-barrel bat in the future? Do you have gloves, or catcher’s equipment that will no longer be used? These are the basic needs.

We are also looking for batting practice baseballs, pitching screens, complete sets of uniforms, batting tees, bat racks, batting bags, pitching machines, field-lining equipment, rakes, and any other baseball equipment you have to offer.

This is the second season of this effort. We will need your donations to make this work. If you have any of the previously mentioned items, please call me at (609) 689-1033, or e-mail Pfuhrman@AlloyMarketing.com. I will make every attempt to pick up this equipment. Of course, if you can deliver it, it would be greatly appreciated. I will deal with the storage issues, but as time goes on, I hope to need additional space. Thank you in advance for thinking of others.

Peter Fuhrman

Bats, Balls, Gloves & Kids!

Hamilton Square

Mayor responds to former committeeman’s letter

One would think that after suffering the second-biggest defeat by any incumbent politician in Millstone history, John Pfefferkorn would have learned that the residents of Millstone don’t fall for his type of misinformation campaign anymore.

Giving the serious nature of the baseless claims he asserted in the Examiner, however, it is necessary to go through the exercise of setting forth the truth for those who may not know Mr. Pfefferkorn’s history.

Let’s get the personal attacks on me out of the way first. I have never represented anyone before the Millstone Township Planning Board or Board of Adjustment.

There are three main reasons Mr. Pfefferkorn continues his mean-spirited campaign of personal attacks against me and my family. The first reason is because he blames me for the fact that he was never mayor, and that he was not re-elected. The second reason is because I exposed the fact that on his watch the town lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue, and that municipal debt more than doubled due to his failure to do his job. The third reason is because I exposed the fact that Mr. Pfefferkorn’s last campaign received thousands of dollars from professionals and special interests, despite years of anti pay-to-play rhetoric.

With respect to the budget and taxes, let’s look at reality. Mr. Pfefferkorn in his own campaign claimed municipal taxes were going to increase to $0.28 after his third year in office. This was probably accurate given the fact that on his watch over $1 million of waste occurred and municipal debt more than doubled, hitting an all-time record high of over $15 million.

Through the elimination of waste and mismanagement, we expect to pay off millions of dollars of debt this year. This is impressive given the fact that I do not think Mr. Pfefferkorn paid off even $900,000 of debt during his entire three years in office combined. Whether Mr. Pfefferkorn wants to face the truth or not, we have to pay of the $15 million of debt he helped saddle the taxpayers with.

As for the pet cemetery, I cannot even begin to follow Mr. Pfefferkorn’s twisted logic. If some mysterious Republican Party bosses are controlling everything, why did members of the Democrat Party vote to approve the pet cemetery, and former Democrat Mayor Bill Nurko then vote to overturn the Board of Adjustment? Is Mr. Pfefferkorn now claiming the Democrat Party is controlled by the mysterious “Republican Party bosses” too? I guess if you are going to make things up, you may as well go all the way.

As for the rest of his nonsense, the facts pretty much show John is wrong as usual.

No competent accountant would represent to anyone that recreation revenue was supposed to be in the 2005 budget, that money flows into a special trust for recreation, not the general budget.

As for ratables, an applicant is coming in front of the Planning Board for the second time this year with a project that will generate about $500,000 a year in tax revenue on about 35 acres of upland. You can do the math. This will be a good ratable project.

Finally as for the St. Joseph’s Church trailer issue, the rule of law in New Jersey expressly states that a BOA member cannot vote on a variance application made by the parish he or she belongs to. The rule of law also expressly provides for Planning Board members to sit on the BOA in cases where there are not enough alternates to fill the empty seats. These are not rules created by any mayor, these are laws which were created by the state Legislature and by the Superior Court of the State of New Jersey. In Millstone we now follow the law. As for any delay in the application, the adjournment from May to June was requested for the church, by the church’s attorney. The Board of Adjustment was ready, willing and able to hear the application in May. If someone has told you otherwise, they are wrong.

It is unfortunate that Mr. Pfefferkorn cannot bring anything constructive to the political process in Millstone, but must merely continue his practice of personal attacks totally devoid of any accurate content. I, however, will continue to work with others to clean up the mess Mr. Pfefferkorn helped create. I welcome any and all residents to come to the Township Committee meetings to ask any questions if they still are not clear on all the facts.

Elias Abilheira

mayor

Millstone Township

Congress is taking wrong approach in energy policy

I’m writing as a concerned voting taxpayer of central New Jersey to express my deep apprehension over the national energy legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.

President George W. Bush and other anti-environment leaders in Congress say this legislation will solve our energy problems and help consumers hurt by skyrocketing gasoline costs. But in truth, this legislation is nothing more than a giveaway to oil and gas companies who stand to reap billions of dollars in subsidies from this proposal.

The energy bill recently passed by the U.S. House will open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to harmful and unnecessary oil drilling and do nothing to develop alternative energy technologies. We need to invest in the development of clean, renewable energy sources that protect our environment, strengthen our economy, and improve our national security by reducing our dependence on oil from unstable parts of the world. We need higher fuel-efficiency standards for vehicles and tax breaks for consumers who purchase hybrid cars. We need to make energy conservation a national priority — without lining the pockets of big business or special interest groups.

I call on our elected officials in Washington to pass energy legislation with these principles in mind, and I urge my fellow citizens to contact their representatives and demand a common-sense energy strategy for America.

Jason E. Genser

Woodbridge