This starts out with an apology to readers: we didn't receive an email, fax or phone call to inform you of a meeting of the Oyster Bay Main Street Association on Saturday, April 20. Apologies to our readers. We would have loved to inform you of the opportunities offered.

Luckily, an announcement was made at both the Quality Communities Steering Committee meeting and the Oyster Bay Civic Association meeting and at the Oyster Bay Rotary meeting (several members are on the MSA board.)

But, with that out of the way, let us praise the MSA for an informative day. It was a joy to listen to Dan Burden give a vision for the hamlet. He presented the MSA with a CD that they can "burn" to make more copies of his quick ideas of what can be done to improve the quality of life in the hamlet.

As we have been considering what needs to be done, it is evident that we have to fix what has been broken. We have lost two movie theaters and an anchor store that brought people to the village. We have a great amount of traffic driving fast out-through town- without stopping to take advantage of the commercial opportunities here.

For local tourist attractions, Sagamore Hill and Coe Hall, visitors are directed around the hamlet and not toward or through it.

What we hope is that there will be another educational forum where Mr. Burden, or his CD, can inform more of our local residents of the ideas he has shared with about 680 communities here and in Honolulu and Australia. They are different from some of those being discussed for the village today, as solutions. His voice needs to be heard.

For instance, slowing traffic by making a smaller traffic lane; putting in roundabouts at difficult corners instead of traffic lights where cars build up for long waits. Many of you will remember one in Riverhead and one at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn.

They send people on their way safely and quickly without waiting for lights.

He suggested green areas to cut down the traffic lines along East Main Street to slow traffic down near the library and high school. The plans look so simple and workable that we want to reiterate: we need another educational meeting so that more people can become involved in the decisions.

These are plans that need community backing and we hope you will become that community. That is why we suggest you consider joining the Oyster Bay Main Street Association - ASAP. We have been sitting on the fence, watching what they are doing before we decided to wholeheartedly jump in with both feet. We are doing that now.

We have to follow the leader with the best ideas to re-create this charming, safe, quaint, historic, waterfront community. Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their party. Now's the time folks. There is no more time to sit on the fence. It is time to unite, act and prosper together!

- DFK