Open letter to the Board of Education:

Since the Montgomery County Branch of the NAACP is one of the foremost civil rights organizations in the county, we were please to see the positive results of the due process in the Valerie Ervin' case.

Now that the furor concerning Ms. Ervin's employment and holding a seat on the board has concluded due to the decision by the ethics panel, the board needs to get to work on real issues that pertain to our children's quality of education. Such issues as actually resolving closing the academic gap of African American students at all grade levels, lack of consistent diversity training among all administrative staff in the system, lack of minority teacher hiring and retention, disproportionate number of African American male students in special education and high suspension rates among African American and Hispanic students. These are critical factors that should be at the heart of any spirited discussion at a board retreat or any other board meeting.

As voters in this county, we do not want to have anyone on the board to discount our voice. Valerie Ervin ran a fabulous campaign that brought together very knowledgeable and diverse groups that coalesced around important issues that really matter to us as parents, community activists and citizens of Montgomery County. The community wants to see a representative, dynamic, energized board that will address substantive issues and will work together on behalf of our children and our schools.

Henry Hailstock, Olney

The writer is president of the Montgomery County Branch, NAACP.

Why have an ethics panel if it can act only at the request of the board member who has the potential conflict of interest?

When this panel was approved, it gave the public some hope that this elected body would have a process in place to help maintain the integrity of the board, its members and its decisions.

Years of working the elections polls have taught me that school board members are elected based on name recognition, the Montgomery County Education Association's "apple ballot" and alphabetical placement. Sadly, the board elections are not viewed as a "big deal" by most voters. Had the electorate been polled, the majority would not have known about Valerie Ervin's employment. It didn't become important until she became a sworn member of the board.

As Sharon Cox has learned the hard way, any attempt to bring potential conflicts to the attention of another board member or the ethics panel is done so at great political and professional risk. Maybe that explains why the rest of the board members have quietly and complacently sat back in their comfortable chairs and allowed Ms. Cox to lead the effort to protect the integrity of this board's decisions and of future boards.

Linda Rigsby, Gaithersburg

The first time I was eligible to vote in the county school board election after moving to Gaithersburg from the Midwest, I voted for Sharon Cox. Last fall when she and Valerie Ervin and others were candidates for school board posts, I again voted for Ms. Cox. Now I'm beginning to question the wisdom of my decisions.

It now appears that she is not very welcoming to Ms. Ervin, one of the newest school board members. She prematurely raises the issue of whether Ms. Ervin's position as a confidential aide to a County Council member constitutes a conflict of interest in her role as a school board member. Whether or not her "regular" employment turns out to be a problem for Ms. Ervin while she serves on the board remains to be seen.

As a former Midwestern school board member, I understand the importance of school board members asking questions and getting answers that help them carry out their policy level responsibilities. But I believe the first order of business for Ms. Cox is to support Ms. Ervin in her effort to get acclimated to the educational issues facing the county, not to cast suspicion on her employment situation.

Marvin Lynch, Gaithersburg

Open letter to the Board of Education:

I am a public school student. From our perspective, it is very hard to understand why time is being spent on this issue.

As we move through school, we are constantly waiting for the board to take action on certain issues. We count on you to act quickly so that our concerns about school might be addressed before we graduate. Frankly, we don't have time for partisan politics.

Please remember that you were elected by the voters to protect and improve our education. It's all about the students, please keep their best interests in mind and set aside partisan concerns.

Avi Edelman, Silver Spring

The writer is a 10th grader at Montgomery Blair High School.

State provides needed checks in parkway debate

I would like to praise the Maryland Department of the Environment for not rubber-stamping the county's application for an environmental exemption to build the Montrose Parkway ("Environmental leaders question Montrose Parkway," Feb. 2).

By asking the county to provide, among other things, "a more detailed analysis of the (19) alternatives that provides in-depth documentation of the process ... which should also address the potential environmental impact of each alternative," the department restored our faith in the checks and balances that need to be in place for good government to move forward and protect the environment.

My neighbors and I brought up many of these same points raised by the department at every opportunity over the past 20 years only to have them ignored by many levels of county government.

It is also our belief that the proposed road has nothing to do with traffic alleviation but everything to do with justifying the need for more building, since many of the 19 alternatives provide just as effective traffic alleviation with much less environmental impact.

We hope that after surveying the detailed evidence, the department will bring the county to its senses and prevent it from spending $68 million on a road to nowhere, which will destroy one of the last remaining areas of wetlands and fragile ecosystems in this area of North Bethesda.

Stephen M. Goldstein, Rockville

Praise questioned

I take exception to the positive characterization made by Webb L. Smedley about County Councilman Steve Silverman ("Criticism unfair to Silverman," Feb. 23 letter).

Mr. Smedley conveniently forgets that Mr. Silverman voted to increase the amusement tax, the telephone and cell phone taxes, quintuple the energy tax, maximize the piggyback income tax to the extent allowed by state law, and voted three years in a row to override the property tax revenue limit in the charter. There may be other tax increases he showed "decisive leadership skills" on too.

Mr. Silverman did champion support for politically connected non-profit groups, especially no-bid contracts to those groups using my hard earned tax money.

We can't have a Silverman fox guarding the Rockville chicken coop. We need the friendly lion Robin Ficker for county executive.

Teresa M. Denchfield, Bethesda

Moral values defenders pushing for slots

Shame on the legislature for passing the slot machine legislation.

What I find appalling is the hypocrisy of the defender-of-the-family party of values embracing this morally and socially corrosive gambling expansion while those home-wrecking, moral-reprobate liberals stand up against it. Evidently, when monied special interests wave dollars around, family values go out the window.

Let's hope this whole sorry business dies, as it should, in the reconciliation process between the Senate and the House of Delegates.

William Schultz, Silver Spring

Protestors' credibility undermined

I was glad for Marion Hunt's response to my questioning of student war protest signs in connection with Colman McCarthy's "peace" class at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School ("Disturbing view on war protest," Feb. 16).

It is good to see students involved in anti-war protests. But the best answers to bad arguments in favor of war are better arguments for peace.

Signs with unsubstantiated accusations, such as "Rich man's war, poor man's blood," undermine the credibility of protestors. It certainly looks contrary to the "thoughtful consideration and civil discussion of complex and controversial issues" that Ms. Hunt says Mr. McCarthy's class encourages.

And one can be civil in a protest (there is enough incivility in the world, and it does little to promote peace). In fact, being assertive and intelligent yet polite tends to disarm those who disagree with you that would rather dismiss you as an unthinking malcontent.

Gerald Schneider, Kensington

Cost of ignorance

Thanks for the Feb. 16 editorial, "Political machinations. I liked the touch of humor.

As one young volunteer fireman remarked to me a couple of years ago on the strange behavior of politicians, "It would be entertaining if it weren't so tragic."

I think my daughter hit the nail on the head one day when I was listening to some politician making one of those ridiculous statements and remarked, "How do they think they get away with it?" Her reply, "Dad, they depend on our ignorance."

People should read more, starting with the Declaration of Independence and Constitution.

Faulkner C. Thomson, Clarksburg

WSSC doing right thing with 'big dig'

Prince George's County is facing a dangerous water shortage in the not-too-distant future. Exercising its responsibilities, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission proposes a three-year construction project through parts of Montgomery County to avert the situation ("WSSC plans big dig," Feb. 16).

Already there are opponents. According to the article, they are concerned about dust and noise during construction, truck traffic, loss of trees and wildlife, traffic disruptions and encroachment on private property.

These are not entirely unreasonable concerns. Such a pipeline should be built in the most cost-effective, least disruptive means possible. Yet, problems related to construction will be temporary, new trees can be planted to replace the old, and is anyone seriously concerned about the effect upon the rampant deer population?

The need for this pipeline is great. Without it, our neighbors in Prince George's County will face dangerously low water pressure, reduced water availability and potentially poor water quality. Aren't they every bit as deserving of safe, reliable drinking water as are we?

This pipeline must be built and I commend WSSC for taking action before there is a crisis.

Roger Johnson, Kensington

False claim repeated

In a Feb. 2 letter ("Sex ed could offend some students' cultures"), Tommy Le appealed to the school board not to implement changes in the high school sexual education curriculum. His particular concern is that a video included in one portion of the 10th grade curriculum may be culturally offensive to some families.

Unfortunately, Mr. Le has repeated a false claim about how the curriculum is being implemented. He wrote, "Some would argue that parents ... could opt out by signing some paperwork." This is quite the opposite of the county's policy. Parents must "sign some paperwork" in order to got their children into the unit, which includes the contraceptive information. The default position is that students do not take the unit; only those students whose parents take positive action will be shown the video in question.

Furthermore, I take issue with Mr. Le's argument that students who do not participate will be stigmatized. If the numbers of students who will be taking alternative instruction are as great as the unit's opponents say they are, there will be no more stigma attached to that choice than there is to any of the other choices students make about their classes.

Letitia Hall, Silver Spring

Suggested legislation

I read with interest that a bill has been introduced into the legislature (House Bill 817), entitled "Election law ­ Campaign Contributions by Persons Engaged in Gaming Activity in the State."

Can we look forward next year to a similar bill targeting developers and builders?

Kathie Hulley, Boyds

The writer is chairwoman of the Clarksburg Civic Association's planning committee.

Voters: Build ICC now

It fascinates me that a handful of Gazette readers would seek to thwart the will of our elected county officials who took the position that the study phase of the Intercounty Connector has run its course and the state has to move forward with the construction of this highway ("ICC option would end it all in Derwood," Feb. 16 letter).

I believe that when our elected officials ran on a platform to build the highway and were, in fact, elected on that basis, that indicated the majority of the county residents have spoken on this matter.

At some point, opponents should step back and recognize the will of the voters on this matter.

The residents say we must build this highway. Let's get it done now.

Joseph P. Bradley, Rockville

Don't sacrifice existing communities for new

County Council's Planning, Housing and Economic Development Committee is considering commandeering land that is slated for protection under the Legacy Open Space program to build a school needed for the buildout of the new Shady Grove Master Plan.

The purpose of the LOS program is to protect historically or environmentally sensitive land from disappearing due to new development. The LOS land in question is a 13-acre meadow adjacent to Washington Grove, which is listed on the National Register for Historic Places because even though it sits less than a mile from Interstate 370 it still feels like the summer camp founded here 137 years ago. At least 12 acres of the meadow is critical to protect the rural ambiance of the historic town from a new neo-urban community planned by the Oxbridge Co. on a 65-acre parcel of farmland adjacent to the town.

For four years, the town and the Greater Shady Grove Civic Alliance spent thousands of volunteer hours, and the town spent nearly one-third of its yearly expenditures to follow a county designed procedure for designation of LOS properties. The alliance also spent large sums hiring lawyers, water experts and a historian to study the meadow and its importance to the area. At the Planning Commission's direction, the town negotiated with the developer to allow a more densely clustered development in exchange for dedication of 12 acres as LOS, at no expense to the county.

Last December, PHED committee members Nancy Floreen and Steve Silverman proposed to use the LOS land for a school that will be needed for the 6,000 new residences planned for the Shady Grove Metro area. Why would the committee consider grabbing protected land? The committee claims that it cannot afford to purchase the land put into reserve for the school. The LOS property has already been paid for by the labor and funds of Washington Grove and the Shady Grove Alliance and would be free to the county.

The PHED says there is no money to purchase school property or LOS land, but the LOS program recently spent $2.36 million to purchase three acres in the Capitol View neighborhood of Kensington. Also, Floreen and Councilman Howard Denis claim that they will save land adjacent to Strathmore Hall with LOS funds. We had managed to save our historic context with no county funds.

I ask county residents to join Washington Grove in demanding that the County Council: (1) respect the processes put in place for designation of properties in the LOS program and for negotiation of plans submitted by developers, and (2) spend the dollars needed for public facilities in the New Shady Grove Master Plan.

Let's make sure that the character of existing communities is not scarified for new development.

Deborah Chambers, Washington Grove

Longdraft widening not needed

I've been a resident at Renmark Court and Pavilion Drive since 1988. I strongly object to widening Longdraft Road.

Why? We don't need it. They don't need it. The traffic jam is on Clopper Road, not Longdraft.

Save your money and use it to widen Clopper or for a Metro stop by Lakeforest.

Let's don't make the same mistake they made when they built a commuter lot on Clopper Road that no one uses.

Please think and look it over. This will destroy the neighborhood, parkland and environment.

Edwin Der, Gaithersburg

Hooks 'impressed me'

Last week I met with Tracey Hooks, who is running for a position on the Montgomery Village Foundation Board of Directors.

I talked with her at length and was impressed with her energy and commitment. The organization that I represent, Montgomery Women, does not endorse candidates for local boards such as this one. But I wanted to say that, as co-chair of Montgomery Women's Advancement Committee, I have met with numerous candidates over the last several years, and Tracey impressed me.

And as an activist in the county, I wanted to go on record as someone who has lots of confidence in Tracey and believes that she would represent the people of Montgomery Village well on the board.

Jo Ann Moran Cruz, Chevy Chase

Thanks for backing fund-raiser

Raising money in the current economic climate is not an easy task.

Local, privately owned businesses are feeling the pressure to make every business day count. That is why my family and I are very thankful that we were able to find support for our charity event on Feb. 20. With the help of more than 70 residents volunteering and contributing, we were able to raise more than $2,000 for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

We held a Casino Night at the Middlebrook Restaurant, which opened specifically to support our event. Also, Howard Entertainment of Potomac supplied us with casino style tables and chips.

The proceeds from this fund-raiser will support local efforts to assist community members who are affected by MS, and contribute to the growing research efforts to help find a cure for this debilitating disease.

Adam and Laurie Hartman, Germantown

The writers have been fighting MS since 1998 .

State provides needed checks in parkway debate

I would like to praise the Maryland Department of the Environment for not rubber-stamping the county's application for an environmental exemption to build the Montrose Parkway ("Environmental leaders question Montrose Parkway," Feb. 2).

By asking the county to provide, among other things, "a more detailed analysis of the (19) alternatives that provides in-depth documentation of the process ... which should also address the potential environmental impact of each alternative," the department restored our faith in the checks and balances that need to be in place for good government to move forward and protect the environment.

My neighbors and I brought up many of these same points raised by the department at every opportunity over the past 20 years only to have them ignored by many levels of county government.

It is also our belief that the proposed road has nothing to do with traffic alleviation but everything to do with justifying the need for more building, since many of the 19 alternatives provide just as effective traffic alleviation with much less environmental impact.

We hope that after surveying the detailed evidence, the department will bring the county to its senses and prevent it from spending $68 million on a road to nowhere, which will destroy one of the last remaining areas of wetlands and fragile ecosystems in this area of North Bethesda.

Stephen M. Goldstein, Rockville

Silver Spring's new signs: Something to smile about

Last summer, my family, including 8- and 10-year-old kids, discovered the center of newly refurbished downtown Silver Spring. Specifically the fountain. It was our excuse for repeated returns to the downtown section, which resulted in lunches, dinners, movies and shopping.

Now when I drive by the newly installed Silver Spring fountain sign, it puts a smile on my face as I recall the fun that we had in downtown Silver Spring. I also remember the fun that kids from toddlers to teens had splashing in the fountain and even more remarkable the other visitors who sat at tables nearby laughing aloud as they watched the antics in the fountain.

We now frequent downtown Silver Spring often and it is in fact our destination of choice.

These new signs clearly define for me the area of the newly renovated downtown Silver Spring and I (we) love it.

Susan Healy, Takoma Park