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Rat Story Overlooked
Benefits Of Oak Park
I really take offense at your article "Oak
Park's Rat Race" (Aug. 16, page 8).
Oak Park is a wonderful place to live!
We have shuls, a JCC, a Jewish Senior
Life residential campus, kosher restau-
rants, an all-kosher supermarket nearby
(One Stop), new and old yeshivah
schools, a host of public school options,
public gardens, Yad Ezra nearby, an
incredible bookstore (Book Beat) and
sidewalks!
We have an awesome community.
We are close to hubs like Royal Oak,
Birmingham and Berkley and not so
far from Detroit. They still sweep our
streets weekly.
I think that this rat problem is not
a thing that is specific to our amazing
city. We Jewish people cannot all live in
the western suburbs nor do we want to.
If someone from out-of-town looked at
your paper, they would think the rats
are overtaking Oak Park. Oy vey, they
would not want to move here!
And this is not so. Several years ago,
many of us stopped composting our
kitchen waste and doing other things
that attracted rodents. I would hope that
in the future you would accentuate the
positive.
I moved back to Oak Park in the '80s
and have been enchanted by the culture
here since. I would not live anywhere else!
Pamela Shriman
(proud to say) of Oak Park
You'll Remember 'Bubba'
Even After The Election
I am responding to your publisher's
"Odds And Ends From The Campaign
Trail" remarks alluding to the name
"Brad" being better than "Bubba" (Aug.
16, page 48).
After running my first campaign, my
team and I sat down and determined
that, with all things being equal, the
only reason why I lost was because the
Jewish community did not cross over
and support me in West Bloomfield
where your publisher stated that at least
20 percent of your readership resides.
We knew going in to this that I
was a huge underdog running on the
Republican ticket because of my pro-
choice position and the more moderate
issues that I support. The thought was
that if we picked up 25 percent of the
Jewish vote on the western half of West
Bloomfield, which should have amount-
ed to approximately 3,000 votes, we
would have won the splintered district
and moved on to beat the Democrat in
a district that is 55 percent Republican
and 45 percent Democratic.
We believe that our community was
more concerned about re-electing Gary
Peters and a very dysfunctional town-
ship board rather than electing me to
represent the 39th District in the state
House. Gary has been a strong leader
for Israel and a responsible moderate in
the U.S. House; he is a good man!
At the end of the day, it was my com-
munity that did not support me. Do you
really believe it was my name?
"Bubba" should be defined as: a
Jewish kid that came from nothing and
appreciates everything his community
has done for him and one who tries
hard daily to help anyone who is in need
because it is the right thing to do. Not
some Southern redneck ...
Every day since the election, I have
been receiving handwritten notes and
phone calls from competitors, sup-
porters of other campaigns, sitting
politicians and citizens thanking me for
bringing class back to the electoral pro-
cess. You will always remember Bubba
from this election, not that I came in
fifth, but you will remember my name.
Will you remember the man that came
in second or even the one who won the
race? Odds are no.
Bubba Urdan
West Bloomfield
B'nai Moshe Didn't 'Host'
Eagle Meeting Or Take Sides
I am president of Congregation
B'nai Moshe, and I want to clarify an
important point related to the Eagle
Elementary School meeting held at our
facility on Aug. 8.
I want to make clear that B'nai Moshe
did not "host" the meeting held by the
opponents to the site sale. We simply
rented out our building for a commu-
nity meeting (which we often do).
B'nai Moshe is a nonprofit religious
organization and does not "take sides" on
political topics such as this. We believe
in and advocate religious freedom for all
faiths. This is very important to us and is
a core part of our values.
As a result of the debate surrounding
this meeting, we are currently re-evalu-
ating our policy on building rentals. We
are considering the adoption of a policy
that prohibits the renting of our build-
ing to either side of bipartisan issues.
Either way, the rental of our building to
any group should not be interpreted as
an endorsement of that group.
If you wish to send me any com-
ments, my email address can be found
on our website, www.bnaimoshe.org .
Time To Drop Opposition
To Eagle School Sale
Enough is enough. I can't say it any
more clearly than that.
As a former Farmington Public
School teacher, administrator, and a
longtime resident of Farmington, I care
deeply about the education of the chil-
dren of our two cities.
Over the years, I have observed our
Board of Education make difficult,
complex and important decisions in a
number of areas. Their responsibility is
tremendous. And the hours they spend
gathering information and deliberating
over tough choices are countless — far
more than most community members
realize.
That's why I say to the Care4Eagle
group, "enough is enough:' Like many
of the community members I've spo-
ken with, I'm appalled at the depth of
the animosity shown by members of
Care4Eagle and the amount of time
they've stolen from consideration of the
real educational issues facing our school
board.
I'm also very alarmed when I consider
that a member of our current board, Dr.
Murray Kahn, is a part of Care4Eagle,
especially when I review on YouTube
some of the comments he made while
seeking election to the board.
When Care4Eagle attempted to try
in the courts the issue of the sale of
the Eagle site to the Islamic Cultural
Association, their case was dismissed as
having "no standing," which is instruc-
tive to us all.
To accuse Karen Bolsen and Howard
Wallach of bribery is slanderous.
Anyone who knows these two dedicated
and passionate public servants finds this
accusation absurd — and a measure of
the desperation of Care4Eagle as they
continue to distort the facts, divide the
community and distract from the busi-
ness of educating our children.
And let us remember that in
Farmington, thankfully, our children
come from a wonderful variety of racial,
religious and cultural backgrounds. Our
school board serves them all.
School will start in just a few weeks.
It's long past time for the Care4Eagle
group — including Dr. Kahn — to
let this issue go and, if they truly care
about the children of Farmington, to
allow the school board to move forward,
unencumbered and free of harassment,
as they guide us through another school
year.
Mary E. Brown
Dan Sperling
Farmington
president, B'nai Moshe
West Bloomfield
Letters on page 6
Lauren Potter
On Monday, September
10, 2012, JARC and
Temple Israel will host
Lauren Potter, who
plays Becky Jackson,
a cheerleader with
Down Syndrome on the
television series, GLEE.
Lauren will speak about
bullying and making her
dreams come true.
5:30 PM -
Intimate Pre-Glow
Dinner and Afterglow
Meet and Greet
'300/person
7:00 PM -
FREE Program
8:00 PM -
Afterglow
Meet and Greet
'36/person
For details call
Lindsey Fox-Wagner
at 248-488-7524
or lindseyfoxwagner
(qarc.org
32" Annual
Fall Fundraiser
.
[many-
OCTOBER 23, 2012
FOX THEATRE
www.jarcorg
248.538.6611
August 23 • 2012
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