Letters and Commentary

389

Keep Pets Safe in Hot Weather

To the Editor:

With scorching temperatures expected across many parts of the country over the next few days, I wanted to take this opportunity to send along some information to help pet parents keep their animals safe.
Keep Cool:  Dogs and cats can become dehydrated quickly, so give them plenty of water when it’s hot outdoors. Also, make sure your pets have a shady place to escape the sun if outside, be careful not to over-exercise them, and keep them indoors when it’s extremely hot.  “Parked cars, even with windows open, become very hot in a short amount of time, and this can lead to heatstroke or death,” says Dr. Louise Murray, vice president of the ASPCA’s Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital. On an 85-degree day, it takes only 10 minutes for the inside of your car to reach 102 degrees, even with the windows cracked an inch or two; and in 30 minutes, the inside of a locked car can reach 120 degrees.
Spot the Symptoms:  The symptoms of overheating in pets can include an increased heart rate, drooling, excessive panting or difficulty breathing, mild weakness, seizures and an elevated body temperature (over 104 degrees).  Elderly, overweight, and pets with heart or lung diseases are more susceptible to heatstroke. Pets with short muzzles like pugs, bulldogs and Persian cats become overheated because they cannot effectively pant.  These pets should be kept in air conditioning to stay cool.
Splash Safely:  While the temperatures are ideal for a dip, it’s important to not leave dogs unsupervised around a pool, as not all dogs are good swimmers. Intro­duce your pets to water gradually and make sure they wear a flotation device on board a boat. Rinse your dog after swimming to remove chlorine or salt from fur, and try to keep your dog from drinking pool water, which contains chlorine and other chemicals that could cause an upset stomach.  Also, make sure that your pet does not have access to the concentrated pool chemicals, as they are highly toxic to animals if ingested.
Beware of “High-Rise Syndrome:” During warmer months, many animal hospitals and veterinarians see an increase in injured animals as a result of “High-Rise Syndrome,” which occurs when pets – especially cats – fall out of windows and are seriously or fatally injured. Keep all unscreened windows in your home closed and make sure adjustable screens are tightly secured.
Additional information about how to protect your pets in hot weather can be found at www.aspca.org/pet-care/pet-care-tips/hot-weather-tips.aspx.
Bret Hopman,
 Manager
Media and Communications,
 ASPCA

MADD Supports Proposal to Require Ignition Locks for Convicted Drunken Drivers

To the Editor:

Throughout the U.S., 16 states require ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ignition interlocks save lives and reduce drunk driving recidivism by 67 percent.
MADD supports S-1750, because 50 to 75 percent of convicted drunk drivers continue to drive without a license. S-1750, authored by Senate Judiciary Chairman Nicholas Scutari, reforms the DUI laws in New Jersey by requiring ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers.
License suspension is not the most effective way to protect the public from convicted drunk drivers, or to rehabilitate the offender. S-1750 is a more effective approach to stopping drunk driving by requiring interlocks for first-time convicted drunk drivers and helping reduce the number of repeat offenders on New Jersey roadways.
DUI laws requiring ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers in both Oregon and Arizona have resulted in more than 50 percent decreases in drunk driving fatalities. In New Jersey, ignition interlocks are currently only required for repeat offenders and first-time offenders with a blood alcohol concentration of .15 or greater.
Patricia Russo, Victim Advocate, MADD New Jersey
Frank Harris, MADD State Legislative Affairs Manager

Thank You for Helping Us Paint MC Pink

To The Editor:

Riverview Medical Center hosted the Sixth Annual Paint the Town Pink this past May to raise awareness of the importance of annual mammography.  From quaint seashore towns, to the Two River Peninsula, and as far inland as Holmdel, the landscape of Monmouth County became pinker than ever before as the grassroots initiative that launched in 2007 took Monmouth County by storm.
It takes a village to help Riverview Medical Center achieve the mission of Paint the Town Pink. And, every year that village grows with more towns and more supporters helping us to encourage women, ages 40 and older, to have their annual mammogram.  2012 saw unprecedented growth for Paint the Town Pink as communities embraced the mission and supported the goal of raising funds to provide mammograms to uninsured and underserved women in their communities.
This year highlighted the impact of Paint the Town Pink, with stories of “Beyond the Pink” and the first Men in Pink campaign featuring Bill Rancic. Rancic, The Apprentice winner, star of Giuliana and Bill, husband, and a supporter of his wife, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, and who now serves as a compelling voice, delivering the message of the importance of annual mammography, and Paint the Town Pink.
The depth and breadth of the 2012 campaign went beyond the physical landscape spanning nine days and 10 towns. More than 15 community-wide events took place and the campaign garnered the support of more than 5,000 Monmouth County citizens.
Paint the Town Pink, Riverview Medical Center and Meridian Cancer Care thank everyone who supported Paint the Town Pink 2012. We are grateful for the overwhelming response from our Pink Towns of Pink Bank (Red Bank), Pink Haven (Fair Haven), Pink Beach (Monmouth Beach), Pinkson (Rumson), Pinkdel (Holmdel), the Atlantic Pinklands (Atlantic Highlands), Pinkbury (Shrewsbury), and Little Pink (Little Silver). Through the amazing efforts of local businesses, town officials, and residents, 2012 was our largest and pinkest event in its six-year history. Our supporters helped us spread the message of the importance of annual mammography and helped raise funds to provide mammograms to uninsured and underserved women in our community.
Special thanks to our Town Steering and Committee Chairs and Members, and The Care to Give Council, A Riverview Medical Center and Bayshore Community Hospital Auxiliary. Paint the Town Pink also thanks our sponsors and donors, our Pink Partners, our physicians, civic organizations, our local schools, and our town mayors and councils for their tremendous support, resources and efforts in helping make Paint the Town Pink so successful and so special.
Thank you to The Two River Times™ for sponsoring the TRT “Pink Spotlight,” a six-week series of stories about many of the amazing people behind Paint the Town Pink.
With the expansion of Paint the Town Pink, 2013 will cast a wider pink hue across Monmouth County. What began as an idea six years ago has been transformed into a grassroots initiative that is impacting a growing number of women and families in our community. To learn more about Paint the Town Pink visit PaintTheTownPink.com and be sure to follow us on Facebook.
Stacey Donovan, Paint the Town Pink Chair

Shouldn’t We Be Done Fighting over Birth Control?

To the Editor:

Forty-seven years ago this month, the Supreme Court ruled that access to contraception is a basic right. How is it that all these years later, opponents of women’s health care are still trying to limit our access to birth control?

Before the 1965 Griswold v. Connecticut decision, 32 women were dying for every 100,000 live births in this country. Today the rate is less than half that. Infant mortality has fallen even faster – from 25 deaths to fewer than seven deaths per 1,000 live births – as more children are born to parents who planned their births. That’s a 74 percent reduction in infant deaths.
Increasing access to affordable birth control helps prevent unintended pregnancies and reduce the need for abortion. It also has broader impacts for women.  Since 1965, with more freedom to plan their families, the number of women who graduate from college has gone up five-fold, the number of women in the U.S. labor force has more than doubled, and women’s incomes have come to constitute a growing proportion of family income.
Birth control has had such a dramatic impact on women and families in this country that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) named it one of the top 10 public health achievements of the past century.
Shouldn’t our legislators stick to working on the economy and other more crucial issues?
Georgia Blair, Shrewsbury

Two River Moments 

This is Sycamore Avenue in Shrewsbury in 1930. The Shrewsbury Post Office is in the middle of the street in background. The Presbyterian Church at Shrewsbury is on the left in foreground and Christ Church is on the left in the background. The sycamore, in the middle of the photograph, was planted by early colonists in the royal province of New Jersey and marked the Delaware Trail, used by Native Americans and later by George Washington’s troops on the Burlington Path. The tree no longer exists but a plaque about its history is located on the site. This photograph is courtesy of Dorn’s Classic Images.