Remembering Ed Crothers

When the tractor accident on April 24 killed Edward W. Crothers, his family lost a beloved brother, husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. Harford County lost a rare friend and citizen. The directors of the Harford Land Trust had the benefit of only three years of collaboration with Ed Crothers in trying to purchase and establish the "Forest Greens Lake Preserve."

Ed and Joyce Gahagan Crothers, his wife of 46 years, in 1991 seized the initiative and made a contract to purchase all the remaining lands of the Trustees of Forest Greens, Inc. It was their dream that the 145 acres never would be developed and would remain as a natural lake, woodland and wetlands open to the public. Their dream became the very first land acquisition of the Harford Land Trust. . . .

I knew Ed Crothers for only three years. I am sure that the people who knew him best, such as the 1,200 people who visited with his family the nights before his memorial service, could tell us a hundred different ways that Ed Crothers' life made a difference to them. . . . I feel blessed to have known him and worked with him, and it is impossible for many of us to express how grateful we are for his life and how much we miss him.

I think the writer of 112th Psalm (The Jerusalem Bible, Doubleday) knew the spirit of Ed Crothers:

For the upright he shines like a lamp in the dark,

He is merciful, tenderhearted, virtuous.

He is honest in all his dealings,

Kept safe by virtue, he is ever steadfast,

And leaves an imperishable memory behind him.

David P. Miller

Bel Air

The writer is project director and secretary of Harford Land Trust.

Aberdeen Election

Aberdeen voters: On May 3, you voted for a fresh start. I received your overwhelming endorsement in the election. I apologize to those voters whose doors I did not get to. As I walked the neighborhoods, I realized, being a novice, I underestimated the amount of time needed to cover the city. To those I did get to, I thank you for the courtesy extended and the time you spent with me. I thank my husband for his unwavering support; my family; my campaign manager, Jackie Ivins and family; John Krass; my church family; my neighbors in Hillcrest; my supporters at Burton Manor and those "golden agers" who exercise their civic responsibilities in such outstanding fashion. Also, I wish to extend special thanks to those of you who allowed me to place signs in your yards. I thank all for your votes, for your trust and your confidence in my abilities. I will endeavor to surpass your expectations.

Mary Lou Thompson

Aberdeen

The writer is Aberdeen City councilwoman-elect.

Teachers' Union

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We continue to get our priorities and objectives mixed up.

It is my understanding that the overwhelming purpose of public education is to educate all of our youth, to better prepare them to face the economic and social problems that they will be forced to face as adults.

We all know that our present educational system is a failure. Our students are sometimes graduate illiterates, and many fail to meet national standards. . . .

This cries out for change. Changes in curriculum, changes in subject emphasis and probably changes in method.

Recently, the state has indicated that teacher effectiveness must be more carefully monitored, and more aggressive steps ** taken to weed out ineffective teachers. Logic, and real intent to ,, improve our sorry record, makes this a possible first step in the right direction.

Surprise, surprise, the teachers' union is in violent opposition to this or any other attempt to weed out the incompetent. . . .

Of course, this all depends on your point of view. If a good education is the real objective of everyone, why does the union make seniority and job protection its top priority?

They have already lost out to some privatization of public schools and are threatened by "school choice," which could further reduce their involvement. One might think that the time has come for the union to change its approach to the educational process and re-align its priorities.

. . . If it doesn't like the proposed method as it stands, why not join in the campaign which is aimed at the improvement of a failed system? I hope it is not willing to defend the status quo at any cost. Everyone will ultimately benefit if intelligent, effective changes are made.

Fred C. Lange

White Hall

Smoking and Being Lied To

. . . To say cigarettes and smoking do not result in cancer, emphysema, heart disease, etc., is not only a lie, but an insult to the public's intelligence. For years, cigarette advertisements in magazines have had to print the surgeon general's warning to alert smokers of these deadly effects. . . .

Tobacco execs can't win this fight. The only question is how badly will they lose?

Dorian Bowen

Forest Hill

A cigarette is just a cigarette, right? Wrong.

A cigarette is made up of thousands of chemicals and 43 class-A carcinogens. Some cigarettes have even been sprayed with a chemical which was used as a biological warfare agent during World War I. And every day, smokers are inhaling these dangerous chemicals.

Although some say that these chemicals are being sprayed directly on a cigarette to keep an addict addicted, seven cigarette executives claimed that "cigarettes are no more addictive than Twinkies." . . . Twinkies don't cause 5,000 new cases of cancer every year in Maryland. . . .

There are millions of solutions to decrease smoking, but many are almost impossible to put into effect. Pressure on people to cut down or quit smoking seems to be working. If you know smokers, put the pressure on so they can get off.

Rachel Simon

Fallston

I cannot force someone to give up his rights, like smoking, to further my rights as a non-smoker. I do not feel strongly about the smoking issue. However, I abhor being lied to.

I made it through kindergarten and learned smoking was a great way to kill yourself. By the time I was a mature third-grader, I discovered that nicotine is addictive. Why else would smokers continue to smoke? Maybe because they thought committing suicide was a neat thing to do.

When I was also in third grade, I happened to have liked Twinkies. You know, those cakes that R.J. Reynolds Chairman Jim Johnston said were as harmless as nicotine.

Don't tell my parents, but I think I may have been a Twinkie addict. Any really intelligent third-grader can tell you that nicotine is addictive and Twinkies are not. . . .

Victoria H. Italiano

Baldwin