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It's official: Munson to hold Easter egg hunt
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - April 14, 2011)
It's official: Munson to hold Easter egg hunt
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
Munson Township Trustees rescheduled its plans for fire department budgeting last week, to tend to an issue that has all but consumed the township.
"As many of you know, the purpose of the meeting was to discuss fire department budgeting," Trustee Irene McMullen said to about 30 people in attendance. "We have postponed that agenda item and will hold the workshop on another day. I am guessing that many of you are here to tell us about your view of our proposed Easter egg hunt. Apparently, there has been a little bit of press about our event."
Ms. McMullen may have spoken with tongue in cheek about what had become a national story involving the removal of "Easter" from the egg hunt.
Trustees put the word "Easter" into the April 23 event planned for the township, voting unanimously after Mrs. McMullen's comments to make the event's official title an "Easter egg hunt."
And while Mrs. McMullen said she appreciated the discussion generated over the title, there were some comments that caused consternation.
She said many of the news accounts created more trouble by misrepresenting what had occurred. She said they related that the event had been held for years and that the word "Easter" only became a casualty this year when officials decided to change the name. But this is to be the first event of its kind in the township.
"Comments were misconstrued," she said. "This is unfortunate. The fact that news outlets chose to reproduce an erroneous story seems even more unfortunate. This misunderstanding has caused some consternation among our residents."
Mrs. McMullen said the reporting led to "threats to families, concerns about safety and frayed nerves on the part of our hard-working employees.
"You would not believe the vile, profanity-laden phone calls I have received the past few days," she said.
She said no one should mistake those nasty messages as an indication of what type of community Munson is. "I hope that everyone in this room will keep in mind that none of this malicious misinformation fairly reflects the kind, friendly community that Munson has always been," she said.
Mrs. McMullen quoted from Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia. "Running a democracy takes a certain amount of civic courage," she said. "And the First Amendment does not protect you from criticism or even nasty phone calls when you exercise your political rights to legislate or to take part in the legislative process."
Mrs. McMullen said trustees planned to include Easter in the title of the event and hoped that no one would take offense. She originally expressed concerns that using the word could offend or keep some from participating in the event.
"Some have expressed concern that we shouldn't have tried to undertake this event this year or that we should have had every detail planned in advance of this date," she said. "They may be commenting on the sometimes messy business of planning a new event, discussing the details and reaching an agreement. I believe we, as a community, are better for discussion issues, and that, in this country, a free and open, respectful exchange of ideas is one of our hallmarks."
Mrs. McMullen then described the event as having lots of plastic eggs that will be scattered for children to scoop up and a visit from the Easter Bunny.
"Our thought is that each child who comes will try to find a couple plastic eggs and turn them in for a small bag of candy," Mrs. McMullen said.
She said there will be two age groups, ages 2 to 5 and ages 6 to 9.
Mrs. McMullen referred to home builder Enzo Perfetto, who initially volunteered to provide the funding for the event if the name Easter was included in the title. She said he was the first of many in the community who have come forward to offer donations.
She said she hopes no one feels offended.
"I have been told, and can appreciate, that using Easter in the name -- even for an event that is centered around plastic eggs, candy and a large bunny -- may cause some in the township to feel unwelcome. That is very unfortunate, and we hope it will not be the case," she said. "We hope that all township residents will always feel welcome to attend any and all of our public events, including this one.
"As a former Sunday school teacher, I have seen the struggles of young children trying to understand the relationship of secular and religious symbols," Mrs. McMullen said. "Our Easter Egg Hunt is not an occasion for any confusion."
Mike Petruziello, of Chester Township, said, while he appreciated Mrs. McMullen's comments, America is a nation "founded under God." He noted that the Pledge of Allegiance notes that fact. He said his only question was whose decision was it to call it a "spring egg hunt," rather than an "Easter egg hunt."
Mrs. McMullen did not answer directly, only saying that she did not think there was a controversy over the matter and noting that two college classes have now undertaken a discussion on the news stories that followed the issue. "I hope people can continue to discuss it," she said.
Munson Township resident Bernadette Gliha also asked who was responsible for the issue, but, again, did not get a direct answer.
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