This year our children’s elementary school tried something different: PTA members were given a form to “opt out” of the PTA directory. Should they opt out, the child’s name would appear, but no other information, such as phone number, address, or e-mail, would be in the directory. As I scan the book that came out this year to look for possible play dates for my son, a sad-looking page with more blanks than information stares back at me and makes me wonder: What has our society come to, that we are so afraid of each other? The PTA directory is supposed to foster communication between parents, teachers and administrators, and by so doing, promote a sense of community within the school. It seems to me that our sense of community is starting to erode, due to an increasing number of people so unwilling to give out information, even in this closed, controlled environment. Aren’t we giving in too much to paranoia? Don’t teachers have enough work without having to be “intermediaries” for parents we cannot contact directly? Why should busy teachers have to pass out birthday party invitations or invite children to play dates?

Please, fellow parents in Wake County, I urge you to “buck the trend” next year. Our children need a true sense of community in our schools, and parents need to be able to readily communicate with one another. The PTA directory is for our children and our schools.

Amy Athavale, Cary

Good service worth trip

Unfortunately in this day and age, if you just get a friendly smile and a hello from a merchant, it is enough to make you feel like you are getting the level of customer service you deserve. The truth is, a friendly smile and a hello should be the starting point for the customer-merchant relationship. Recently I received such a high level of customer service, that I feel compelled to tell the world about it. Over the years I have frequented a local lawn mower repair shop. Every time I need parts or need to purchase a new piece of equipment, I always first turned to this local shop. Each time I arrived I was greeted by someone who did not only seem to be not glad to see me, but this individual also seemed as though they did not want to be there at all.

This year I needed to get a couple of pieces of equipment repaired for the spring chores, so I searched the Internet for another mower repair shop around the Raleigh area. Good ol’ Google pointed me to Mike’s Outdoor Power Equipment in Fuquay-Varina. Not only did I get a warm smile and a greeting, but Mike did an outstanding job repairing my riding mower and another small engine I had. He explained the adjustments he made to ensure that the mower was safe to use, provided a fully detailed professional invoice that summarized all the tweaks and checks he performed, and he charged a fair price. As a result, I want to tell the world to give Mike’s a try. I think you will find it will be worth the few extra minutes of travel time to “the country” to get genuine customer service.

Robert Reichel, Cary

We are all struggling

Why are the American taxpayers being asked, once again, to bail out Wall Street and the large bankers when they have squandered the first half of the money they were given?

If they want Americans to lend them more money they must first give back, or reconcile with America, the money they “wrongly” misappropriated. Secondly, they must lower interest rates to be the same as those for houses, cars and student loans.

We, the American people, are all struggling just as much as the banks and Wall Street are. How can they even consider to ask America for money when they continue to charge such high interest rates?

Thirdly, the cap must remain on all CEO salaries, dividends and luxury expenses until all monies are fully repaid. Finally, after the repayment is complete, America should have the right to decide the next step — not the banks nor Wall Street.

Diane Borgman, Apex

Message board dynamics

The letter writer in the Feb. 18 edition of the Cary News thinks that businesses should be allowed to advertise on Cary’s “dynamic” message boards so that the town can use the revenue to fix potholes. This is what I’ve learned about these ugly, expensive and useless message boards. There is one on Kildaire Farm Road that I pass daily on my way to work. I estimate this sign to be blank at least 80 percent of the time. I recently made a suggestion to the Town of Cary that it be used to warn drivers of a pedestrian crossing coming up, as this particular crossing at the intersection of Kildaire Farm Road and Wrenn Drive can be very dangerous to pedestrians, as drivers don’t always yield the right-of-way. I have in the past asked that the town do more to make pedestrian crossings safer in Cary and it did not go anywhere. I thought my idea was a good one but the upshot was that someone in the traffic division finally told me that these message boards were only used to give traffic updates. Go figure; I can’t.

Susie Putnam, Cary

Thanks, Caryites, for your kindness

As a new resident of Cary, I just wanted to compliment the people of this town for their generosity, their friendliness, and their kindness. I thought that towns like this had gone the way of the dinosaur, but I see that I was wrong.

I walk with a cane due to a medical condition, and am frequently surprised by the number of people who, when they see me out walking, will offer me a ride home, or to anywhere else I might need to go. The people here are a very generous group and I am proud, very proud indeed, to now be a part of this community.

Some people may talk disparagingly against this town and its people, but I am not one of them. To each and every one of you, thanks.

Charles White, Cary

Hard times need solution

With this hard times of getting a job, what are we supposed to do? Most people are reaching a point of no return. Do you think it is fair that all jobs now are requiring for one to have experience, and, yet, for one to acquire experience they have to work?

Don’t you think that the reason why many people are opting to work any kind of job that does not even relate to their carreer is because they want to have something to eat, drink and even have a place to call home. Times are hard and when the times get tougher, we need to think of a solution as to how we are going to live. We need to think of a solution that will lead us to a resolution that later on will build up and be the conclusion to all this confusion. If you have a destination, strive to survive.

Evelyn Mathara, Cary

Business jets are flying offices

CEOs are paid according to the wealth they create through their knowledge and leadership. Their company’s owners expect them to make the best use of their time. That is why corporate aircraft — little more than cramped flying offices — are important tools. They can operate out of thousands of small towns that airlines don’t, often bringing the only substantial revenue that keep county airports alive and their communities attractive to business. America has a large industry that builds and maintains corporate aircraft, for instance the new HondaJet facility in Greensboro, the Cessna Citation repair facility at the same airport and the new GE/Honda corporate jet engine plant at the Burlington airport. While news of the Spirit AeroSystems plant in Kinston has focused on plans to build Airbus components there, Spirit’s bread-and-butter business is the manufacture of the Boeing B-737 fuselage. Cary’s own SAS Institute owns a “BBJ,” the corporate version of the 132-passenger Boeing 737-700, (in addition to three smaller jets and a helicopter) in its global business, certainly contributing to the company’s recently announced record earnings. Those concerned about job security or the decline in their pension funds and 401(K)s should be demanding that CEOs use business jets more, not less. They’re good for business, and their use will create more high-paying jobs in North Carolina.

Kent Misegades, Cary

Political transfusion?

I disagree with the critics of Congress who say that the $787 billion economic stimulus bill will accomplish nothing.

Admittedly, it will not benefit the economy any more than transfusing blood from one arm to the other and spilling half of it in the process benefits the patient, but it’s never been about the economy anyway. What it will do is allow the Democrat majority the ability to claim credit for the economic recovery that will inevitably take place. Hence the Democrat majority’s contrived sense of urgency, lest the public begin to see signs of economic recovery before the spending bill was passed. Of course, economic recovery would have occurred sooner had Congress done nothing, but that’s beside the point. After all, when the president predicted “catastrophe” if the spending bill was not passed, he wasn’t referring to economic collapse, but a missed political opportunity to advance socialism and destroy the very capitalism that allows individual citizens to escape government dependency.

R. Paul Wilms, Cary

Cary-centric

In your Feb. 18 issue, you failed to mention that Julie Doran of Holly Springs High School recently won her third straight 4A state diving championship.

Perhaps this is because you were too busy telling us — in the newspaper that serves Apex, Holly Springs and Fuquay-Varina — how great the Cary High School swim team is. This a week after we were learned how great the Cary High School wrestling team is. Thank you for continuing to cover a wide spectrum of athletics in southwestern Wake County, especially the part of it pertaining to Cary. Jay Russell, Fuquay-Varina