Former committeeman comments on tree ordinance
While I appreciate Steve Chisholm's praise and acknowledgement of the work the committee did for the Jackson tree ordinance ("Shade Tree Chairman Sets Record Straight on Tree Law," Tri-Town News, June 11, 2009), there are, to be fair, some omissions of fact. Specifically, his comments attacking Mike Kafton were definitely unfair and misleading.

While Mr. Kafton may not have been a member of the committee when the concept for such an ordinance arose, he was part of the Township Committee, along with Sean Giblin, Mike Broderick, Joe Grisanti and I.

In fact, Mike believed so strongly in this that he initiated the motion for the first and second readings. To single out individuals when an entire committee passed the ordinance doesn't really tell the entire story. Every piece of legislation, regardless of what level of government, gets its support from attorneys, engineers, legislators, et al. If we didn't have the entire committee working on and supporting this ordinance, it never would have gotten passed.

So again, while I thank Steve for his support, let's share the accolades and give credit where credit is due, and that is to all of those who were on the Jackson Township Committee in 2001 and again in 2003 when the ordinance was modified and re-introduced after being struck down by Judge Serpentelli.

Today we can stand proud and thank all those who persevered and contributed to the success of the tree ordinance after it was successfully appealed in Supreme Court. As the poet John Donne once said, "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent." I think that pretty much says it all.

Marvin Krakower

Jackson