Worst shape
As a resident and a parent of two children in Edgemere Elementary School, I feel it is of the utmost importance that I call your attention to the deteriorating conditions of our school.
It is my understanding that the Planning Board of Baltimore County is presently studying proposed building projects for fiscal year 1996.
It is also my understanding that Edgemere Elementary School is at No. 19 on a list to receive funds which would replace our school. Such a ranking is far too low, considering the condition of our school.
I have been through the school and have seen the numerous structural and cosmetic damages, some of which are as follows: water damage (most closets have had their contents completely ruined); soft, cracked floors; loose tiles; structural and stress cracks; peeling paint (so bad in rooms where pre-school children are that you can pull the paint off in eight-inch sections); sagging joists in our gymnasium; ceilings that are buckling (with tiles and light fixtures located directly above the children in classrooms); poor or no ventilation; bathrooms with no hot water; water fountains that had to be removed due to clogged pipes that could not be cleared.
Our children have to leave their windows open in the classroom due to the fact that the heat cannot be shut off or controlled at a comfortable temperature.
At 70 years, our school is one of the oldest and in the worst shape in Baltimore County. Edgemere is at a point now where we need to have our school replaced immediately before serious complications or accidents occur.
Edgemere residents and voters need a school that is conducive to serving our children's education needs and assist them in becoming tomorrow's leaders.
Suzanne M. Knutson
Baltimore
Public caning
Stories about caning offenders a la Singapore are again news. Anne Walker's recent letter (Feb. 27) was nice, but it missed the mark in several ways.
Ms. Walker questioned the effectiveness of caning. She seems unable to distinguish between violence, punishment and application of corrective, persuasive measures.
If the punishment corrects somebody's violent behavior, good. If not, repeated punishment might. However, punishment as a response to a violent act is reason enough.
It should be applied in public -- every Thursday noon at City Hall Plaza, say -- under the watchful eyes of TV cameras.
Douglas Poldmae
Baltimore
No manners
Is Baltimore a rude town? It would appear so from my recent observations.
I have been a music lover all of my life, and over the past couple of years I have finally had the opportunity to indulge myself and attend some live concerts by some big name acts.
Without fail, I can count on some group of people to talk during the headliner's act. Not quick comments to a partner but full blown conversations involving such pressing topics as: their favorite soap opera character's trouble, their troubles at work or where shall we eat after the performance.
At first I thought I was being an old fuddy-duddy with the bad luck to sit near morons. Now, however, it appears some of the performers are starting to notice the incredible lack of manners of many members in the audience.
At a recent performance by Buddy Guy, a noted blues legend, the general din of the audience during his slower numbers was unbelievable. Mr. Guy even commented once, stating that if you wanted to sing along that was great but if not, don't say anything.
The knuckle heads that comment was directed to never heard it, since they were too busy discussing the fate of Western civilization with their cronies.
I have seen Mr. Guy a number of times and he is a masterful showman who interacts with and feeds off his audience. He usually does a number of encores and actually comes out into the audience while playing. At this performance he did one half-hearted encore and his trademark tour of the arena was missing.
Do I fault Mr. Guy? Certainly not. He did his required hour and a half set, but this crowd did not deserve any more. I was embarrassed for our city.
Why do people pay a considerable amount of money to attend a concert and then spend the entire performance engaged in long, loud conversations paying little attention to the show and disturbing those around them?
This behavior is not limited to one venue. I have encountered this problem at all the major venues in this area. These people are generally not drunk and usually old enough to know better.
If you must talk, go to a bar where the music is intended as background and conversation is encouraged and welcomed. Leave the concerts to those of us who care about the music and respect the artist.
Barry Leech
Catonsville
Election prospects
There is a strong possibility that the next presidential race will be between a nasty, ultra-conservative Sen. Phil Gramm -- who is in the pockets of the Christian Right, the super-rich, the National Rifle Association and the racists -- and a cowardly, waffling, obsequious incumbent without the guts to stand up to the Republicans' obscene "Contract with America," which is really a "final solution" aimed at the poor, women and people of color.
The Republican Right dishes up a "contract" that the majority of Americans do not want -- namely one that rewards the lucky and punishes the unlucky.
Thirty-seven percent of Americans held their noses and voted. Those who didn't vote were not as apathetic as our media would have us believe, but were merely disgusted with their choices.
The time is long past due for a decent progressive party of the left to challenge the policies of our government, rather than its methods.
Where is our sense of social justice, economic fairness and democratic ideals if we settle for a choice between being blind in the right eye or blind in the left?
Gerald Ben Shargel
Reisterstown
Child support is tough because divorce is easy
R. L. Brown's Feb. 10 letter suggested that "unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise, the courts should grant custody to the parent being divorced, with the parent seeking the divorce being required to pay support."
The writer thought that "the result would be a much lower divorce rate and a much higher compliance rate among those required to pay support. With less contention between parents, kids would benefit as well."
I agree that kids probably would benefit from less contention between divorcing parents. But inventing a more peaceful divorce process has little to do with reforming child support laws.
What it does have to do with is reforming family law, such as the formation of a family court.
Parents who care about their children ought to consider carefully how divorce may affect them before deciding to seek one. Yet such considerations often are secondary to the wants, needs and desires of parents contemplating divorce.
Barring abuse, one really doesn't need a good reason to get a divorce. All you need are the necessary legal papers. Why stay in a bad marriage when you can start over again?
Unhappy in marriage, a spouse seeks divorce because it's what's best for him or her. But what about the children? Is divorce what's best for them, too?
Divorce is easy. Living with its consequences isn't, especially for children.
Reforming child support laws means reshaping the rules. But how many ways can we reshape the rules before we realize that it's not the rules that are failing but rather the parents?
The death of a loved one causes the survivors to make lifestyle adjustments. The death of a marriage has a similar effect.
Children born to a marriage that ends in divorce are its survivors, and while divorced parents can go on to form new relationships if they choose, children of divorced parents can't -- they have one mom, and one dad.
One can fail as a spouse and still be a good parent. Will society ever demand preservation of family ties during and after divorce the same way it demands payment of child support during and after divorce?
A new family court could work if its scope went beyond adjudicating financial matters like child support to preserving family relationships before, during and after divorce.
William A. McCann III
Jarrettsville
The king's English?
Under the picture of students returning to Lake Clifton High School after the recent fire there, a 17-year-old student was quoted as saying, "This don't make no sense."
Along with TV weather forecasters' "It didn't rain (snow) too much last night," and TV ads using "you" and " me" incorrectly, this has made me feel that the English language is going to pot.
Arthur G. Schuster
Lutherville