03/21/08 - What I'm saying to these parents is: Don't give up, stand tall and fight for the stable education your children should be getting .....

Letters from readers

To the editor:

As a graduate of Hamilton Avenue School in 1954, I can fully feel the heartaches the school children and parents are going through. Life wasn't any different than it is now.

We were from Chickahominy, or as it was called West Belle Haven. You never met any prouder people than those who were born and raised in Chickahominy. We were never affected by the mural that hung in the gym. Or by being considered "stepchildren."

What that did for us was make us a great community to grow up in, where everyone knew your name. We respected one another, and to this day, anyone who came from Chickahominy still has great camaraderie with others. It made us stronger.

We turned out great carpenters, plumbers, electricians, refuse men, lawyers, doctors and morticians, and that is why Chickahominy is so great -- we were very diverse.

Our parents were not white-collar workers. They just worked hard so their children would have a great education and go on to college or be what they wanted to be, just like the parents now fighting for Hamilton Avenue School want for their children. We grew up with all nationalities and colors -- that's why we thought everyone was equal. And we fought for everything we had.

What I'm saying to these parents is: Don't give up, stand tall and fight for the stable education your children should be getting instead of being moved around. The children will be OK. It will make them strong and want to do their best just to show this town in years to come that they made it despite the obstacles they have faced. There are many people in this town who will stand behind all of you to help correct this large problem, myself included.

Dodi (Fallanca) McCollem

Riverside

The writer is a member of the Representative Town Meeting from District 12.

Please Read....

03/19/08 - May God Bless The Children Of Hamilton Avenue School Who Never Get To Compete On A Level Playing Field.

03/20/08 - Why Won't Betty "You Can Trust Me" Sternberg Let Hamilton Avenue Parents Independently Test The Contaminated Modular Classrooms?

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	Salman RUSHDIE Indian-born British novelist (1947-)