Knicks' Former Guard Joins Assemblyman in Reading Project

While a special program Friday morning was intended to remind kids in the township's playground program to remember to read during the summer, one resident didn't want to miss a chance to meet former New York Knicks player John Starks.

Dorothy Deibert, of Warren, greeted Starks almost as soon as he entered the Susie B. Boyce Meeting room, where the joint reading effort sponsored by Cablevision, Kia Automobiles and the Knicks was held, with a souvenir basketball he'd signed many years before.

The ball was given to her deceased husband, James, at his retirement dinner. 

"When I saw he was going to be here, I thought 'I'm going to go down and get his autograph,'" Deibert said.

Starks signed the ball—and others brought by kids in the playgrond program—along with T-shirts and copies of "Calvin Coconut," by Graham Salisbury, handed out to the participants.

The autograph session followed a reading by Starks, Assembyman Jon Bramnick, R-21, and several of the children—as well as a test on the two chapters read.

According to Trent Anderson, head of Cablevision's programs for education division, Friday's event was part of the company's year-round Power to Learn program, which provides online tools for libraries and schools. The program in Warren, Reading to Achieve, is part of the company's educational outreach efforts.

"We to programs like this to encourage reading in the summer to remind kids to read," Anderson said. He said the company sets about seven such "big" events each summer.

Anderson said Cablevision has maintained a relationship with the Knicks since the company owned Madison Square Gardens and the Knicks, which was when Starks first became involved.

For Starks, the program reinforce his belief in the importance of reading—and teaching kids to focus on comprehension when reading.

"Obviously, as adults, we understand the importance of reading, and understanding what we read, because that's a key to success in life," Starks said.

The hour-long event proved entertaining for the officials as well, with Bramnick joking with the youngsters and with Starks, to whom he offered his vintage Knicks necktie.

"This is always the best part of my job as mayor," Mayor Gary DiNardo said of participating in the program with the kids.