Letters are printed as they are received, or at the discretion of the editor, and without correction to grammar or spelling. It is requested they be limited to 500 words; correspondents may be asked to cut longer letters. Deadline is 1:00 p.m. on Monday.

Letters can be sent by e-mail to editor@riverreporter.com]

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To the editor:

I wanted to reply to Mr. Schor’s missive, but then realized that he used the word “Period” when making his point. Not the symbol one uses when completing a sentence, but the word itself. He said it first and that does it. Had I said it first, I’m sure that he would have countered. That puts an end to our conflicting points of view.

(But maybe he won’t read this, and I can sneak a couple of things, such as the fact that I had my own flag out on Memorial Day, that I disapprove of flag burners, such as those young Americans who did during Viet-Nam, many of which are now wealthy Wall Street executives. That the “rioters” in little Havana burned a couple of old tires and stopped traffic in a city where traffic is always at a standstill anyway. Shame on them. And that we both probably voted for Presidents who broke the law — I, for one, voted for Nixon — and that we probably have more views in common than we think).

...Fred had the final word indeed. He said “Period”. And that’s final.

Mariano Vidal

Livingston Manor

 

To the editor:

Have you noticed all the protest signs over the proposed new gravel quarry in Lebanon Township PA? As a nineteen-year resident of Tyler Hill PA, I can really empathize with those who feel that this new industry could threaten the peaceful rural atmosphere of Northern Wayne Co. To me, however the issue of environmental degradation from new industry anywhere in the Upper Delaware River Valley is a regional issue that must be reviewed for the potential cumulative effects on water quality and other environmental issues even in far off Lebanon Township.

This proposed project lies within the upper end of the Lackawaxen River drainage, one of largest of over thirty tributaries to the Upper Delaware River Basin. To date, based on studies completed by the Delaware River Basin Commission, only two tributaries in this pristine water system have shown any signs of stress related to man-caused pollution. In a nation now exceeding two hundred and fifty million citizens, it is difficult to find places that still have the outstanding environmental quality that shines in the headwaters of the Delaware River. Once pollution accumulates, beyond human health standards the quality of life we currently enjoy will never be the same.

There is a need to monitor both the local and regional potential for environmental degradation from new industrial development in any of the five counties that border the Delaware River in Pennsylvania or New York. (Including the possible addition of an asphalt plant and a cement factory to the budding gravel mines in Wayne Co.)

What is the long-term plan for increased medium or heavy industry in a pristine rural area like Wayne Co? Surely we can find cleaner industry that would fit in better with the natural beauty that attracts millions to this area annually. Or, do we just keep adding on more industry in the name of economic development until we have no more than the marginal environmental quality found in thousands of urban areas across America. Areas whose population’s flock to Wayne Co. to enjoy the quality of rural living they can on longer find at home. If we concentrate our regional planning on non .polluting clean industry, we can provide the economic base needed for the area without taking away what makes this area special.

Malcolm Ross Jr.

Damascus

 

To the editor:

The sounds are unmistakable: the unrelenting maxi-decibel music and the “boom, boom, boom ....” of the bass; the gleeful shouting, the hooting, the screaming, the bellowing, the swearing, the car-horn blaring, the firecracker shooting, the engine revving, the tire squealing and the car-alarm cacophony. The guests at Lander’s Skinners Falls Campground are having a good time; and while that kind of behavior would be obnoxious at any time of day, to top it off, it’s Sunday at 12:30 a.m.! Yes, it’s Memorial Day Weekend, 2000, and the neighbors just across the river in Milanville, PA aren’t happy campers.

Early in April, my wife and I and another couple met with Rick Lander to discuss this noise issue and, hopefully, to lay the groundwork prior to “the season” for some solutions. After we had stated our points of view, Rick proceeded to shake his head knowingly and agreed that it gets pretty bad and that’s because Skinners Falls is not a “family campground.” Rather, it caters to New York City policemen, firemen and other groups who come up for the express purpose of blowing off steam. He also stated that while he does employ “security,” they don’t try too hard to control the bad behavior because of the effect that would have on business. Indeed, this just-past Memorial Day Weekend we did see and hear many a besotted camper at Skinners Falls Campground “raising the roof.” Excessive alcohol consumption coupled with blase management will do it every time.

We moved to Milanville four years ago and that summer were treated to our first dose of the “fun” things that go on at the campground. In speaking to others in the area, it turns out that there are angry residents living on the banks of or near the river who have been putting up with this nonsense for as many years as Lander’s campground has been in operation at Skinners Falls. People simply feel helpless to do anything about it. I don’t feel helpless…but during the nighttime campground ballyhoo, I DO feel put off, put out and put upon by Mr. Lander, whose sole motivation, it seems, is to “bring home the bacon” at the expense of his neighbors.

I was in attendance last year at a public hearing at the Damascus town hall relating to a special use permit requested by Rick Lander regarding a parcel he had just purchased across the river from Narrowsburg. During the hearing, he stated that he’d always been a good neighbor and that the permit should be granted (it eventually was). I submit that Mr. Lander has a wonderful opportunity to now show everyone what a good neighbor he is by enforcing an effective “quiet time” rule at his campgrounds between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.

The Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River Management Plan, while not having the force of law in many respects, does speak to these issues in Appendix 1, Suggested Optional Requirements for Recreational Uses, where it states, in part: “All campgrounds...should be required to establish and/or abide by rules which will prevent nuisances...” It seems to me that, as a professed “good neighbor” and prominent corporate citizen of the Upper Delaware, Rick Lander should get in tune with the spirit of the Plan. His campgrounds needn’t be a destination for the All-Night-Rave Set.

Robert Wasserman

Milanville

 

To the editor:

One of the most frustrating activities in our society must be as a member of a local School Board. Most School Boards in the nation are controlled by the teacher’s unions (which encourage members to run in the districts where they live, not the districts where they work, which would be illegal) which also control PTAs.

Local School Boards’ power to make decisions is constantly being diminished by the ongoing unconstitutional (Amendment X) federalization of education and the abandonment of state and local sovereignty. Then, there is the matter of “bribery”. The politically correct term for bribery is “grants”.

A dictum throughout recorded history is “Take the King’s money, do the King’s bidding”. School boards are caught between a rock and a hard place. If they don’t accept the “grant”, they could be accused of fiduciary irresponsibility. Even if they reject the “grant”, the money will still be extorted from us in the form of taxes or “fees”, and it will just go to another more compliant, school district.

If they take the “grant”, they are in a game of no-win “gotcha” with the grantor and must follow the “guidelines”. The “School To Work” scheme is a classic example of this scam.

This is all on top of the indoctrination, which passes for education in most classes, especially in history and social studies. After an examination of the schools that produce most of today’s teachers, this should come as no surprise.

The real problem, unfortunately, is us. When was the last time you attended a School Board meeting? When was the last time you read one of your child’s textbooks? In ECS we still have board members and teachers with integrity and backbone. Attend board meetings, inform yourselves and support them and our children.

Alan G. Eisen

Yulan

 

To the editor:

POWER, PLUNDER AND GREED

It’s enough! Really enough! Public utilities, all levels of the media, pharmaceuticals, supermarkets, automobiles...the lust, the avarice goes on and on. Whatever industry, whatever groups that can grab a bigger piece of our income, whoever and whichever bunch of thieving hoodlums can suck our hard-earned dollars, pick our pockets, filch, plunder and steal have climbed aboard the “screw the public” bandwagon.

But the damn unmerciful satanic oil companies—they are the worst, the very worst. This gang of thugs are the most noxious of all. Each day they get more scabby, more swinish, more money-thirsty, more uncontrollable. They are a world-wide ruthless, perverse monopoly. They induce wars in which they do not fight but cause and compel others to do battle and die. Their corporate officers are shameless, arrogant, contemptuous bullies. Their detestable brutal and insolent greed is despicable; and we cannot seem to stop it, or at the very least, control it.

Our government quietly sits by—an innocent spectator—a do-nothing custodian. Have our legislators been bought? The shameless lies offered concerning the surging increases at the gas pump are unacceptable, false and weasel-words. They know that we are virtually helpless and a prime target for their corrupt deception. Somehow all this must stop!

How do we do it?

Morton Sunshine

Hurleyville