October 2011
Take a stand on drilling
Election season is fast upon us, and an important, if not the most important issue before us, is natural gas drilling and the changes it will bring to our communities. What do our candidates feel about the issue and the ability of separate towns to revise zoning to exclude drilling? With the impending finalization of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation’s SGEIS (permitting rules), it is of the utmost importance that towns decide what action they will take before permitting begins. Read more
Email this pageLuchsinger: ready to lead
I’m voting for Claudine Luchsinger for Town of Cochecton Supervisor because she is smart, well informed, committed to our area, and has a wealth of experience that she will bring to the job. She has solid, practical ideas for how to improve Cochecton’s economy and “put us on the map.”
What really impresses me about Claudine is that she is the only Cochecton candidate who is not afraid to publicly state an actual opinion on the subject of gas drilling by fracking. She believes the current process is dangerous and supports using zoning to protect our water, property values and way of life. Read more
Beyond property rights
Tough times make for tough choices. The world has become a very troubled place. Thankfully, our inalienable right to choose who represents our concerns for basic needs remains a constant. We the people still have time to correct some past wrongs. One of those was to sign away our sovereignty to oil and gas behemoths with foreign interests and whose stocks are traded commodities. What we are left with, whether we’ve signed leases or not, no pointing fingers, is our right to protect our safety. We do still have a voice. We do still have a say in how the situation in Damascus plays out. Read more
Davis best for coroner
The race for coroner this year presents an opportunity to the voters of Wayne County to elect a highly qualified medical doctor with years of experience. The most populous parts of Pennsylvania make a medical background a requirement for the job of coroner. In rural areas like Wayne County, we don’t always have that luxury, but this year we do. Read more
Lumberland not like Tusten
Having attended zoning rewrites up and down the Delaware River corridor, I believe Peter Comstock’s claim that Lumberland’s rewrite process somehow mirrors Tusten’s rings entirely hollow.
Supervisor Harrison and her board did not allow an out-of-town attorney with no community ties to lead the first public comment period, and hover over the second.
Supervisor Harrison and her board did not allow the most vocal and fringe members of their community to overrun the dialogue and conversation. Read more
Goodman for District 6
As Election Day draws near, we decided that we really needed to check out what’s happening with the Democratic candidates in Sullivan County. So, like all good Americans, we booted up our computers.
Here is what we found. Cora Edwards has somehow convinced Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther that she single-handedly brought grant funding to Sullivan County. What we all know is that Ms. Edwards used to work for Sullivan Renaissance and worked with a team of Renaissance staff and volunteers to bring in funding. Everyone knows that it is not nice to take credit for other people’s work. Read more
Wrongful takings, the sequel
In calculating the impact of natural gas drilling on local economies, one of the areas that has remained the vaguest is the question of its impact on property values. On the one hand, we have reports that, for instance, rental housing becomes extremely scarce and rents skyrocket in areas with intensive gas drilling activity, which certainly sounds like a plus for landlords. Read more
Halcyon days
SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — High school sports create many lifelong memories. This past week authored the latest series of salient memories for a number of area individual athletes and the teams they represent. Cross-country runners entered the spotlight at the Division IV and V championships held in Liberty and Eldred respectively. Read more
4-H Rough Riders Horse Club meeting
Pocono Ranchlands Stable, 10am. Open to ages 8-18. 570/296-3400.
Natural gas webinar
"Natural Gas Development & Impacts on Agriculture" educational program, 1-2:15pm. extension.psu.edu/naturalgas/webinars/upcoming.
