The River Reporter Online - Letters to the Editor

[EDITOR'S NOTE: The River Reporter welcomes letters on all subjects from its readers. They must be signed and include the correspondent's phone number. The correspondent's name and town will appear at the bottom of each letter; titles and affiliations will not, unless the correspondent is writing on behalf of a group.

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.

I am shaken to my very core. Our very existence in this great nation of ours is in question. Are we safe? Will we attacked again? The answers are not simple. To think that these lunatics actually boarded a plane in NYC in what we can only assume was an attempt to try again is scary beyond comprehension.

My son went to school today wearing red, white and blue. I kissed him goodbye and told him to stand tall in his red, white and blue. And I ask that all of us stand tall, heads held up, dignity, strength and resolve pouring from our hearts and souls.

Don’t let the anger consume us, but also don’t forget the anger. The anger is going to keep us from falling to pieces. Hope is going to keep America America. Miracles occur every day. Miracles occur in the midst of complete and utter devastation.

We have come together as a nation. We will stand together whether in grief, sorrow and mourning or honor and dignity—we will stand.

Do not forget that we are Americans—free beings in the United States of America. They can tumble our buildings, murder our innocents, threaten and scare us, but they will never break us or cause us to be torn apart. We will be strong, we will do what is right. We will always be free.

On behalf of Teen Link to Community (TLC), I want to thank Tom Kane and The River Reporter for taking an interest in the problem of teen pregnancy in Sullivan County. This is an issue intrinsically related to other teen health issues: drug and alcohol use, adolescent HIV infection, teen violence, date rape and sexual abuse. The more we examine these problems in an open and critical way, the better we, as a community, will be able to find satisfying strategies for working toward solutions.

Sexuality education in public schools is a sensitive and controversial topic for many people. I want to clarify and elaborate on a few statements attributed to Mr. King and myself in Mr. Kane’s article.

As member of the Sullivan County Teen Pregnancy Prevention Coalition, TLC is one of several agencies that sponsored the August 29 workshop about comprehensive sexuality education. We are interested in promoting more comprehensive, fact-based sexuality curriculum in our area schools and, yes, some schools have worked harder than others to upgrade and expand in this vital area. One thing that Mr. Kane’s article didn’t mention is that national polls consistently show that eight out of 10 parents queried support the idea of sexuality education in public schools. The question in communities across the country might be best framed as, “What kind of sexuality education will best serve the needs of our children and families?” rather than, “Is sexuality education needed at all?”

With regard to poverty in Sullivan County as a factor related to high teen pregnancy rates: study after study of teens at risk show that there is a strong positive correlation between poverty and things like teen pregnancy, drug abuse and violence.

Part of our work as a teen support program is to encourage our community to provide economic opportunities as one means of encouraging teens to think in terms of long-term goals and a positive sense of future in their community.

While the turnout for the August discussion forum was not what we hoped for, certainly this was not because no one is interested. Far from it. Many teachers, school administrators, family services agencies, the Sullivan County Legislators, business people, parents and teens have expressed a unanimous wish to lower the teen pregnancy rate. Questions about better sexuality education in the schools are already part of an intense and very dedicated community discussion about teen health and well being.

TLC welcomes anyone interested in more information about teen pregnancy prevention to contact us directly at our Monticello office by calling 845/791-7429.

The letter in this week’s edition submitted by Rusty MacKechnie concerning firearms would be funny if it were not for the fact it is typical of the hysteria sweeping America by liberals who obviously feel their view is the only and correct view.

I, for one, am tired of such individuals and the Columbine bologna. One never hears of the countless lives saved by armed law abiding citizens and the squeaking left wing always seems to get the oil. As a former NYC police officer I do not recall any problem with law abiding armed citizens. The contrary is true of liberals being mugged or shot by armed intruders and street thugs.

I very much agree with Walter South and his criticism of the current regulations concerning the use of life vests while canoeing on the Delaware River.

I have been canoeing for 25 years and have always worn a life vest myself and required those canoeing with me to do so as well. This started on trips sponsored by the Boy Scouts and I have continued the practice since it makes good sense. We canoe with our dog and even he has a life vest.

You can always tell the experienced outdoorsmen—they’re the ones wearing the life vests! And its important to wear the life vest properly —not just on, but properly fastened and adjusted for a good fit.

The National Park Service is a sponsor of the annual “Delaware River Sojourn” each June, and participants on this trip are required to wear proper life vests. There are no exceptions for the Sojourn and there should be none whenever on the river. I would support a change in the regulations to require the “use” of life vests, not just their presence in a boat. It will take effort and education to change people’s practices, but it is important to do so. The requirement for fishing licenses is fully enforced, why shouldn’t a life-saving practice be just as important?

On behalf of Sullivan County Community College and its summer high school basketball league, I would like to thank everyone who made this year’s program a success. I would first like to express my appreciation to Daytop. Director Francis Corchado and Alan Jacovino recruited men from their program to run the scoreboards and keep score for each league game. I would also like to personally thank the Daytop participants who volunteered their time. They spent many hours at the college and did a tremendous job.

Thanks also go out to Mike Bernstein who organized and scheduled the officials for the league. These officials were professional and made sure that the athletes enjoyed the spirit of competition on the court.

Again, thanks for your assistance. I look forward to working with all of you again next summer.

Bryan Bury
Summer Basketball League Director
Sullivan County Community College
Loch Sheldrake, NY