Courier-Post from Camden, New Jersey • Page 8

Courier-Post ID I TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1989 8A INION IT'S EITHER A CENTAUR OR NEXT WEEK'S COVER FOR TV A urn i As readers see it Stadium: Cherry Hill baseball champs deserve home to play night games East Germans vote with feet Whether the number of refugees taking the Hungarian route to the West is 2,000, 4,000 or 20,000, the embarrassment to East Germany could not have been greater. The tidal wave of human yearning for freedom that has swept Eastern Europe has breached the ramparts built by its most repressive government. Hungary "has engaged in the organized smuggling of human beings," East Germany's official news agency grumbled. West Germany, the East Germans continued, was interfering in its internal Nothing East Berlin affairs. But nothing East COUld Say COUld Berlin could say or charge could counter the joy on COUnter the joy On the the faces of its citizens as faces of its citizens as dTeedom.to Austria they CrOSSed intO Not since 1961 have so Anctria many East Germans voted their feet Another 60,000 have used tourist visas to enter Hungary, one of the most westward-leaning of the Soviet satellite nations.

East Germany fortified its frontier in 1961 best known among the barriers is the ugly wall that still divides Berlin rather than continue to hemorrhage its brightest and most ambitious citizens. Once again its failure to satisfy its people has been spread before global public opinion. The timing' could not have been worse for the East German regime. Its leader, Erich Honecker, is 77 and recovering slowly from gall bladder surgery. He has been among the most outspoken of the East Bloc critics of Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms and, to reassert his grip on power now, may be tempted into severe measures to stop his people from fleeing their own country.

Another possibility is that the troubled East German leadership will be willing to accept the loss of face to provide a safety valve for its restive populace while it sorts out the succession to Mr. Honecker. It's even possible that the crisis will encourage East Germany to join the other satellite countries in moving toward glasnost and perestroika. Which of these scenarios comes to pass may well depend on adroit diplomacy and at least tacit cooperation between the Kremlin and the West, especially West Germany. It was appropriate for West German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher to hail Hungary for "its humane policies," but the less crowing from Bonn about East German problems the better.

In fact, West German leaders privately will admit that for all the political dividends the refugees provide, on such a scale as events now promise they could be a serious strain on Bonn's budget. Far better to persuade the East Germans to provide a more satisfying life for their people than to try resettling an entire population. Smoke-free zones Things aren't getting any easier for smokers, nor should they be. It's a free country and people still have the right to fill their lungs with carcinogens. But they shouldn't be allowed to inflict that smoke on others.

The way things are going, they won't be allowed to much longer. Temple University in Philadelphia and a number of hospitals in South Jersey have already taken steps to ban smoking period. Not just in patient rooms, but in visitor lounges, nursing stations, cafeterias. And last week a Senate subcommittee voted to prohibit smoking on all domestic flights period. The airline ban is now confined to flights less than two hours long.

This ban could do more for railroads than the diesel engine, and airlines may have to hire restroom police, but the ban is not unreasonable. It is just one more step in recognizing that cigarettes can start fires, a real hazard aloft, and that secondary smoke is hazardous, too. Burning tobacco and emitting slow curls of gray-blue smoke may have once seemed sophisticated, mysterious or poetic. Now we know it's just plain unhealthy. Smoke can cause or aggravate several severe and even fatal diseases, including lung cancer, emphysema, cataracts and heart disease.

Secondary smoke, while not nearly as dangerous as inhaling smoke directly, has been shown to be harmful, too. Not to mention irritating. Even smoking in crowded outdoor areas, such as stadiums, can be annoying to bystanders. But at least outdoors the smoke has a chance to dissipate. Stadiums may be one place where separate smoking and non-smoking sections will be effective.

Cigarette smoking has been banned on flights of less than two hours since 1987 and lighting up cigars and pipes has been banned since 1983. Those changes took note of the fact that air from all portions of the airplane is circulated through the same ventilation system, so smoke from any seat will reach all passengers, though in a diluted form. For that same reason, the proposed total ban in the air is justified. The law must assign a higher priority to the health and safety of everyone than the pleasure of a few. The water tower with "Cherry Hill, N.J." printed on it looks like a UFO as you pass it just before exiting the New Jersey Turnpike.

That was all I knew about Cherry Hill. Until recently. Fifteen young men from the township entered my life. They brought baseballs, bats, gloves, coaches, family and friends. They arrived with a quiet confidence and an air of determination that convinced me, before I ever saw them play, that they would win the Babe Ruth World Series.

While the average 15-year-old was enjoying the end of summer vacation, these guys were working hard. Theypracticed several hours every day. On days when they had no game, they practiced morning and afternoon. Their second game, 10 innings against Texas, started late because of rain and didn't end until after 1 a.m. The Cherry Hill players were so tired after that game that most of them just collapsed in their uniforms.

But, tired and hungry as they were, they never gave up. Cherry Hill was the dark horse in the tournament. While warm-; weather teams from Texas, Florida and California attracted all the attention, Cherry Hill moved through the winners bracket almost without notice, defeating the toughest competition in the series. Cherry Hill should be proud of these young men and of the coaches and manager who trained them so well. The Cherry Hill players told us often how impressed they were with our baseball field.

The Cranston, R.I., stadium is not a special facility for tournament play; it is our regular season Babe Ruth field and home field to the Cranston East and West high school teams. In the summer, the American Legion team, the 16-to-18-year-old Babe Ruth team and the Senior League teams play there. It is an ordinary ballfield that seats about 5,000 people and has an adequate lighting system. The Cherry Hill players all mentioned how much a lighted field would improve baseball in the community but added, sadly, that their township was unwilling to allow such a facility. It is difficult to believe that a community with the caliber of baseball Cherry Hill obviously has would not wish to provide these players with the best field possible.

They are world champions. They have represented Cherry Hill in a manner that is a credit to their community and state. Someday, perhaps, we will send a team to the World Series' Hill. If the people of Cherry Hill are willing to provide a lighted field for tournament play, I know they have the talent and dedication in their Babe Ruth organization to become a new and successful host. The boys Cherry Hill brought the love and respect of the people of Cranston, R.I., home with them.

The legacy they would like -to leave for future generations: lof champions, along with their trophy, is a lighted field where: the next series contenders can play PENELOPE T.SENCER Cranston, R.I. I'M Teacher pay: Huge increases uncalled for; daily wages already too high; After attending the Mount Laurel Board of Education meeting on Aug. 29, 1 discovered from speaking with members of the Mount Laurel Education Association (MLEA), school board officials and teachers that there is confusion on what the teachers union really wants. The average salary of a teacher in Mount Laurel is $30,305, or $162.06 per day for an 187-day school year. By comparison, an engineer with an annual salary of $45,000 for 305 work days earn $147.54 per day.

Teachers earn more per hour than other profes sionals. The MLEA asked for a 20-percent increase for the upcoming school year, an outrageous demand. Such an increase would boost average teacher salaries to $36,366 a year, or $194.47 per day. Industry has been limiting wage increases to between 2 percent and 4 percent for salaried professionals. For the last three-year contract, the teachers received an increase of 9.2 percent for '86-'87; 8.9 percent for '87-'88, and 8.2 percent for '88-'89.

That amounted to a 26.3 percent over three years. Why must the taxpayers always be overburdened? At a time when many companies are cutting back personnel and wage increases, bur teachers ask for astronomical pay raises. This doesn't make sense. Mount Laurel's public school teachers are paid 10.9 percent less than those in Medford; 10.4 percent less than those in Evesham, and 13 percent less than those in Tabernacle. I feel no attempt should be made by the school board to increase school teachers' wages to bring -them up to the wages of neighboring districts.

Why? Because those school districts are substantially overpaying their teachers. I would like to see Mount Laurel set a precedent by showing other school districts that fair wages for time worked are paid here. Teachers starting between $47,500 per school year is ridiculous since they only work a maximum of 187 days: That's between $26.74 to $31.75 per hour! If teachers want the same annual salary as other professionals, I suggest they supplement their income with income-producing activity during their non-teacher days, evenings and weekends. GEORGE KERLYN Mount Laurel Lake Worth: Park closing recalls wonderful past Where to write I read the article about the closing of Lake Worth Park in Linden-wold with great interest. It now becomes a part of the yesterdays of many of us.

There was the lake and then there was the Watsontown Roller Rink. I still maintain friendships with many of the people I met at one place or the other. The years of happiness that Bertha and Royden Haines, the original owners, gave to so many of us were endless. Many friendships were formed here, as were many marriages. The roller rink is long gone and now the lake is, too.

It is a part of the changing world over which we have no control. However, no one can take away the wonderful memories and the love that many of us still have for Bertha and Royden Haines, as well as her daughter and son-in-law. IDA HAINES MARTIN West Collingswood Address letters for publication to As Readers See It, Courier- EftE-Box 5300' Cherry HiB. N.J. 08034.

Letters must be signed and-. bear the writer's address and tek ephone number. Only the writer's" name and locality will be pub-. lished. Letters are subject to edit ing and condensation.

As I see it Courier-Post A Gannett Newspaper If we're not careful, roads will be all we have left Robert T.Collins President and Publisher William Chanin Executive Editor John Kolesar Managing Editor Richard Pearsali Editorial Page Editor Kevin McElroy Metro Editor BobKenney Sports Editor. Debra Turner Features Editor JackWolfer Chief Photographer James A. Walsh Business Editor Laurie Stuart News Editor When the paries are there, they are so easy to take for granted. They are necessary for our healthy environment. When Omar Bradley made that statement, few were aware of the importance of our natural areas; there were so many open spaces.

Doesn't it amaze you, when you drive down a particular road that you haven't been down for awhile and find the fields and farms turned into mini-storage or a convenience store or a strip mall? How many malls do we need to support our needs? Will future "founding fathers" plan their communities around green sanctuaries, where children can run free, families can picnic and where volleyball, fishing and enjoying the change of season (without driving to New England) are the norm? IF WE DON'T APPRECIATE the beauty we have left and impress our children with the importance of our green spaces, the few activists we interview after ecological disasters aren't going to make much of a difference. The buck stops in our own backyards. Malcolm Wells left a bit of beauty to grace North Park Drive and, through his planning, it has endured, perfected by nature as he intended. Our parks are fragile; only styro-foam lives forever. If you would like to know more about Malcolm Wells' underground office, the Cherry Hill Library, which also was designed by Mac Wells, has a 10-minute video.

The writer is vice-president of Solutions Management, We, individually, are the solution to preserving and nurturing the green spaces in our Garden State. wall well moistened, the patching went well. When the wall was built, the lettering was etched into the surface, which insured its longevity and made the task easier. The painting was the best part because of all the comments extended by passers-by. But what pleased me the most was when a young man on a bicycle stopped and said, "I always wondered what that said." HE THEN READ the words aloud: "If we are not careful, we shall leave our children a legacy of billion dollar roads, leading nowhere except to other congested places like those they left behind." The quote is from Omar Bradley, the World War II general.

When you look to the left and see the Cooper River Park, green and lush, fish rippling the water, you realize how very fortunate we are to have this wonderful green space to enjoy. Our parks are precious. We, individually, are the solution to preserving and nurturing the green spaces in our Garden State. Don't litter. Be careful with the chemicals you put on the lawn and use in the house.

Try using waxed paper instead of plastic wrap. By LORRAINE DeLAURENTIS In the late '60s, Malcolm Wells designed and had built a beautiful, ecologically conscious, underground office at the "corner of Cuthbert Boulevard and North Park Drive. Being an architect and conservationist, Mac Wells wanted a model to show that we can build housing that both respects the land and maximizes -the use of our renewable natural resources. z'l have always admired the building and its setting. Whenever I was stopped at the traffic light on the corner, I 'would read the quotation on the wall.

I would daydream about living in a house in such communion with nature. The years took their toll on the wall and something profound and timely was being lost. Restoring the quotation the wall was important to me, since New Jersey was rap-Idly loosing its green space and the Cooper River Park is uch a gift to our community. I THE QUESTION was, how to get the wall restored? The Solution was to volunteer. Peter J.

O'Connor, the executive director of the Fair Share Housing Center accepted and offered the cost of all materials and supplies. But paint wasn't all that was needed. Upon closer examination we found that the concrete had crumbled, leaving little surface on which to paint. First, the wall had to be patched. With technical advice and a donation of patching cement from my dad, Ed Zie-linski, plus a little help from Mother Nature, keeping the Courier-Post editorial policy is established by a board.

Members include the publisher, executive editor, managing editor, editorial page editor and Wayne J. Daw-kins, Harriet Hubbard and Carl A. Winter, editorial writers..