HOLY TRINITY SCHOOL CLOSING IS SADDENING

As I write this, I'm still close to tears thinking about Holy Trinity School closing. Where else can I enroll my son where he is cherished as an individual, inspired academically and spiritually and loved like family?

At this time I would like to say mahalo to our Holy Trinity parishioners who have always been very generous in their financial support of Holy Trinity School. Thank you so much for the opportunities you've provided so many children to achieve and make a difference in this world.

And mahalo nui loa to every dedicated Holy Trinity teacher who helped shape responsible, compassionate and exceptional children for the last 51 years at a much lower salary than your peers.

May God bless you, as you have blessed all of us.

DHSPROPOSAL

PERREIRA'S OPINION SHARED BY MANY

The editorial opinion shared by Randy Perreira in your paper speaks for the many thousands of people who share the same sentiments ("DHSproposal will increase social calamity,"April 14).

What on earth can the Lingle administration be thinking?

It is so unfortunate that when government mis-spends our tax dollars, it is always the school children and the less fortunate who suffer.

Perhaps it is time for our local people to start our own "Tea Party Group" and tackle real-life issues instead of political philosophies.

CURFEW

IN PRAISE OF ADULT FRIENDS FOR YOUTH

At a recent hearing conducted by Rep. John Mizuno at Kalihi Valley Homes, both he and police Maj. William Chur repeatedly acknowledged the work of Adult Friends for Youth in helping to dial down the heat of violent confrontations that had occurred between young people from KVH and Kuhio Park Terrace.

Your reporter was so focused on the curfew that this important detail was ignored in the story. In all fairness it was also missed by other reporters. The point is that more than the curfew has been taking place.

Under normal circumstances AFY would be content to do its work out of sight, but not now. A loss of funding in the amount of $200,000 that puts our work with gangs and other volatile young people in jeopardy is at stake. Without this work the community would be in serious peril.

It is imperative that we bring our contributions into the light to impress upon DHS Director Lillian Koller that her decision to divert federal TANF funds, intended in the state budget for work with gang and high-risk populations, is ill advised.

In order to avoid tragic consequences, those funds must be applied for the purpose intended.

EARTH DAY

IF WE REALLY CARE,THEN LET'S CLEAN UP

For Earth Day, I have a recommendation that the festivities be moved from Downtown to Ma'ili Point. There we can learn how it is OK to throw garbage, human waste and car parts into the ocean. We can watch as cars are torn apart and the oil and gasoline are left to seep into the beach areas and the ocean.

Garbage bags, plastic containers of every kind lined up along Farrington Highway can be a treasured sight for the Earth Day revelers.

I for one, am sick of it all. If we really care about this island, let's clean it up once and for all.

SPECIAL ELECTION

ADVERTISER'S CASE FOR CASE LAUGHABLE

I couldn't stop laughing when I read your April 18 editorial endorsing Ed Case in the special election to fill the 1st Congressional District seat vacated by Neil Abercrombie.

Listing your belief that Colleen Hanabusa would be a "female Neil Abercrombie" as a reason not to vote for her is totally illogical. Have you forgotten that the people of Hawaii kept Abercrombie in Congress for 20 years by increasingly large margins? Moreover, I don't know of any credible person who's questioned the fact that he could've kept his seat indefinitely had he not felt he could better serve us as governor.

If Hanabusa is smart, she'll do everything in her power to clone Abercrombie. Case would do well to do the same, except that he's too busy trying to clone Sen. Joe Lieberman.

SCHOOL LUNCHES

WRITER'S WISDOM SHOWN IN LETTER

Ninety-year-old Roxie Berlin (Letters, April 9) exhibits the oft-forgotten adage that wisdom comes with age.

This writer suggests a practical solution to tight economic times, specifically as it relates to public school lunches: Why not serve sandwiches? As she says, generations of students in the past routinely brought sandwiches from home.

In fact, as I remember, many of my own childrens' classmates enjoyed the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from home.

Our school lunch programs grew out of the belief that children who increasingly came out of single or absent parent homes needed a warm meal. But as Roxie says, hot meals are not necessarily more nutritious. And if my memory serves, many of the hot meals, results of complicated analyses by professional nutritionists, often ended up in the trash. There are other forms a nutritious hot meal can take a simple bowl of soup or a grilled cheese sandwich.

We live in a time when we need to "think outside the box." Going back to the past may produce some solutions.