T20 Cricket World Cup in Nassau, Native American high school mascots, school taxes for senior citizens

Opposing views of Cricket World Cup

My opinion about the T20 Cricket World Cup is different from other letter writers [“For this tournament, we don’t hear crickets,” Opinion, June 9].

For many years, I have believed that it’s incumbent upon our county executive to find ways for people to spend money here instead of constantly raising residents’ taxes. This includes bringing in consumers to enjoy the many amenities that Long Island offers, such as our beaches and amazing health care system.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman found one, bringing an international cricket tournament here. Most of us know little or nothing about cricket, but many do. Hopefully, this roughly two-week influx adds to our income from hotels, restaurants, etc. but also leads to future tourism.

I, for one, having been warned weeks in advance of these matches, made adjustments for them in advance of the event.

— Marlene Natale, West Hempstead

Nassau County has promoted and prided itself on quality of life, highlighting beautiful parks and recreational facilities. That “quality of life” has been undermined by the World Cup Cricket matches at Eisenhower Park.

Longtime resident taxpayers helped build and maintain this county, including the police department and park and recreation facilities. Suddenly, cricket matches are plopped in the middle of a family park surrounded by residential neighborhoods.

Eisenhower and Cantiague parks have been closed to the public along with major road closures. And there’s spillover traffic on roads in every direction. Neighborhoods are jammed with illegal parking. These are just a few of the problems. When a match ends, some 34,000 fans disperse over the entire area. And worst of all, the World Cup has brought the threat of Islamic State terrorists to our doorsteps.

As a county resident, I have paid the well-known high price of Nassau County property taxes for 48 years so I could raise my children in a safe, family-friendly environment and then remain in my home to “age in place.”

This is what we get for it? Never again! World Cup matches of any kind do not belong here.

— Rosemary Fuchs, Hicksville

Lose our mascots and our history, too

It’s never good when the pendulum swings too far in either direction in our politics. Rest assured, we cannot erase history — and similarly, you cannot cancel nearly 100 years of the heart, culture and tradition that was practiced at Sewanhaka High School in, yes, the name of “Indians” [“Sewanhaka sadly says goodbye to the mascot,” Letters, June 5].

The plethora of opportunities to respectfully learn about and celebrate the history of indigenous peoples are disappearing — and gone with them, countless opportunities to learn from history, so we don’t repeat it.

It has nothing to do with fond memories of my former high school. I lived my professional adult life in a classroom for 35 years, teaching English-Language Arts and Social Studies. This entire debacle offends the best theories and practices of informed pedagogy. And New York State violates all of them.

— Diane Bentivegna, New Hyde Park

I went to school in Lynbrook. As luck would have it, the powers at the time chose the Owl as our mascot. No erasing is needed.

The school district is spending thousands of dollars to placate the Native Americans in New York State and especially the tribes on Long Island, where peace prevailed for the most part for centuries.

I daresay that all of us nonindigenous residents are proud to have grown up in places with Native American names. The hubris of tribal leaders has led to politicians caving from some kind of guilt, and Native American names are disappearing from this land once again.

They have fought so hard to be recognized. Why would they want their names or symbols erased?

— Susan Hennings-Lowe, Huntington

Cut school taxes in half for seniors

Once again, I ask, why can’t school taxes be cut in half for those of us in our eighties or older? It would help us to afford other things instead of stressing about paying taxes [“Keep seniors on LI by freezing taxes,” Letters, June 5].

I want to contribute to the schools here in East Islip, but not at the rate we’re paying now. Something has to be done to help those of us who supported many during our younger years.

If we’re good enough to vote on a budget, why can’t we get help when we need it? The School Tax Relief (STAR) program cuts a very small portion off the taxes, but the school tax is off the wall. It’s more than half of the full tax for the year. I’ve been paying school taxes since 1967. Go figure.

— Camille Morselli, Islip Terrace