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Shelter Island Reporter Letters to the Editor

JO ANN KIRKLAND PHOTO | The Shelter Island Preschool Board of Directors are asking for support from Islanders.
JO ANN KIRKLAND PHOTO | The Shelter Island Preschool Board of Directors are asking for support from Islanders.

Support the Preschool
To the Editor:
The Shelter Island Preschool Board of Directors would like to take this opportunity to accomplish two things: publicly thank the Shelter Island Lions Club for their continued support, including a tremendously successful Scallop Dinner, which benefited the Preschool; and provide more information to members of the community and candidates running for office about the Preschool.

This year, the Lions Club chose to donate all the proceeds from its annual Scallop Dinner to our school. While the Lions have always been very supportive of our program, their additional generosity this year will help us greatly in funding our program and for that we would like express our heartfelt thanks.

The Shelter Island Preschool has operated for more than 30 years as an independent, private organization run by a volunteer board, with no formal connection to the Shelter Island School District. The Preschool has relied on the strength of the four-year-old program in particular to maintain financial viability, while keeping tuition affordable for local families.

The Shelter Island School District is celebrating its second year with a Pre-K option for six local children. Since this program started at “the big school,” the Preschool has seen revenues decrease by a third.

Studies show that every dollar invested in preschool can return those dollars up to 17-fold for communities. Children who receive quality early education are less likely to need special education services, more likely to graduate on time and less likely to commit crimes or go to jail. Many members of our community have been students or parents themselves at our Preschool and we would hate to see the doors close due to financial constraints.

As we look to the future, we are also looking to our community. We are thrilled to see that the town and the school district are working together to provide after-school options for our children. We find ourselves looking to local elected officials (and current candidates) and would like to begin the conversation: How can we work together to make sure the Preschool continues to serve our children?
VICTORIA WESLEK, BETHANY NOTLEY, NICHOLAS MOREHEAD, ARDEN WARD, KELLY and BRETT SURERUS
Shelter Island

Concise, logical
To the Editor:
Regular readers of this page mourn the passing of Mel Mendelssohn.

Mel was a frequent contributor to Letters to the Editor, usually weighing in on matters of social injustice. He was a gifted writer; his letters were always concise, logical and well-crafted. His compelling prose reflected his keen intellect and genuine compassion.

Mel was probably the most liberal man on the Island and I am perhaps the most conservative, yet I found his letters to be profound, provocative and on matters of social conscience his opinions were invariably morally inarguable. He will be missed.
DAVID OLSEN
Shelter Island

Well done
To the Editor:
Great to see the town and the South Ferry Hills Association (“Town partners with South Ferry Hills Association,” October 15) came to an agreement for the care of the Merkel Basin. A job well done on both sides.
JEFF SIMES
Former Shelter Island Town Supervisor
Margate, Florida

Blowfish salad
To the Editor:
My wife of many years spent her summer vacations at her grandmother’s house on Little Ram. Her grandmother’s name was Ethel Droser.

As my wife tells it, she and her sisters were always left behind when the men in their family set out in the motorboat to catch some fish. Her grandmother always assembled the girls together to catch blowfish off the dock and she would make blowfish salad.

Quite often, the men would come back in empty-handed. But the girls would always have their blowfish salad waiting.

As a child, I remember always finding blowfish at the beach. But during the last 20 to 30 years I do not remember them being very plentiful. Recently we have begun to see them again. My wife Liza has mentioned several times that she wishes she remembered how to make that wonderful blowfish salad.

I thought it would be nice to find out if any of the Shelter Island girls remember how to make this salad.
CHRIS CASEY
Shelter Island