Visioning

By Dr. Kenneth Hilton
Vision statements should be ambitious. Ours certainly is. Sullivan West envisions “a learning community committed to the continuous pursuit of excellence and equity, and dedicated to enriching the lives of all students.” “Excellence and equity… enriching the lives of all students”—those are tall orders, especially in light of the challenges and obstacles we face.  Read more

By Sean Zigmund

Since the dawn of agriculture, feeding ourselves has driven an increase in a myriad of other highly consumptive processes that boil down to a single equation: food = energy. Energy use will only increase as our population does, yet our primary source of energy, fossil fuel, is steadily decreasing. While renewable energy use in the U.S. is on the rise, its use is a fraction of what we use to live. Perhaps a neighborhood farming model is just what we need to move to a more sustainable future.  Read more

By Michael Morris

When I was offered the opportunity to write this article about my visions for the area, my first inclination was to write about the projects I am involved in and the benefits to the community. Then it struck me that my visions depend on the American people returning to the way we were as a nation on December 8, 1941.  Read more

We’d like to hear it.

Every four weeks, The River Reporter prints a “Visioning the Upper Delaware” column, written by one of our readers, addressing their vision for our area. They address challenges, propose solutions, or describe scenarios of what kind of place the Upper Delaware region could be, if it realized its best potential. The length is approximately 500 words.

If you have a vision you would like us to consider for a Visioning column, email us at copyeditor@riverreporter.com and describe it to us in a few sentences.

By Jonathan Fritz

As the new Wayne County Commissioner, I have quickly realized what a widely varied and demanding job I signed on for. Well, I’ll happily profess that I love it. I’ve got a great crew around me and fellow commissioners, Brian Smith and Wendell Kay have been truly helpful and accommodating. We’ve realized that the three of us “click.” Each has their own bag of tools that we bring to the job, and collectively we can tackle anything.  Read more

By Julie Courtney and Jennie Shanker  Read more

By CORA EDWARDS*

Given the fractious nature of American politics, why would anyone run for office? It’s a question I’ve asked myself more than once over the last 12 months, and my answer is always the same: I love Sullivan County, I want to work with others who love it too, and I believe we can achieve great things when we decide to work together.  Read more

By June Lombardi  Read more

The issue of drilling for natural gas in the Upper Delaware region is changing life drastically, physically in terms of economy, land, water and air, and relationally in the way people treat each other. Comments in editorials, Delaware River Basin Commission hearings and the like indicate that this industry is causing us to be a divided community. We all seem to want economic and environmental health and a strong community characterized by respect and kindness. What perspective might we gain by considering another nearby fossil fuel industry from a previous generation?  Read more

By By Doug Reiser and Robert M. Dufour

Our founding fathers conceived a public education system that would teach reading and writing and some arithmetic. The goal was to provide people with the basic skills to be good citizens so they could actively participate in our electoral process. Most villages and towns did not have schools; those that did had one-room school houses. The school calendar was (and still is) dictated by the planting and harvesting schedule of agrarian America. Students attended school when they could, and often did not get more than a sixth- or eighth-grade education.  Read more