Charity Begins At Home
To The Editor:

Several important issues that were either raised in the Jan. 31, 2007 issue of the Gazette or presented on the TV or radio news media have been on my mind recently and I would share my comments and opinions with the many readers of the Gazette.

I thoroughly support an idea of restricting sex offenders to live near schools or day care centers or in [neighborhoods] where there are children. I have heard of such vicious cases of child molestation by these offenders and these children are scarred for life both emotionally and physically as a result of the vicious acts that have been committed upon them. No child must be fearful of being prey to predators. This is not a violation upon the civil rights of sex offenders. To protect a human life of an innocent child is a priority.

I was impressed by the 21-year-old Ceasar [Borja] whose dad recently passed away as a result of a rare and progressive lung disease that he got as a result of the tedious work at Ground Zero as a first responder. That young man is so mature, so smart and such a representative of the community of those who gave their lives and their health for those in need. We must not have these heroes die in vain or suffer without the necessary health care or compensation for these families. We must urge our lawmakers and our president to increase the amount of funds for compensation to the families and medical care to the ill victims. We must show these heroes and their families that we appreciate them and that they deserve health and supportive care. Too often we forget to help those in need in this nation and send many millions to support a raging, unjust, cruel war. We must think of our priorities first and remember that charity begins at home.
Cynthia Groopman
Long Island City