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 read with great interest that the Friends of the Pond Eddy bridge have discovered a yet unnamed, but protected, species of turtle in the Delaware River. What next? Dinosaur eggs with prehistoric DNA? Yes, there are fish, mussels, turtles and other aquatic life in the river. However, like all wildlife, they have an amazing ability to adapt to a changing environment, if necessary.

The bridge is one of several slated for replacement. It is structurally deficient and has long outlived its life expectancy. The piers are crumbling, trusses are corroded and planks are rotted. All nostalgia put aside, it’s time to move into the 21st century. The bridge has become an eyesore since it cannot be sandblasted and repainted due to environmental concerns. This was last done in 1980. A low-strung new bridge without superstructure would definitely be an improvement. PennDOT has done an excellent job with modern bridge design and will incorporate local bluestone and other materials in the new structure.

The new bridge will open up more recreational opportunities, providing access to thousands of acres of state game lands and the Delaware State Forest.

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something,” Upton Sinclair once observed, “when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”

That goes for “... when his interests, real or imagined, depend on his not understanding it,” as well. This, in turn, explains the purposeful ignorance of such strange political bedfellows as Pataki, Schumer and others concerning the taxpayer-subsidized casinos they support.

Pataki, in particular, is making out like a bandit over gambling. By pushing a faulty law and posturing before selected and gullible audiences, he confuses the casino issue. In doing so he raises lots of money for his campaign whether his ill-advised casino plans succeed or flop like bags of slop (as they have for the last several years).

The great likelihood is that the lawsuits against Pataki’s fundamentally flawed gambling plans will, once again, reveal that those plans collide with NY State’s Constitution, leaving the anticipated BIA casino approval worth exactly nothing. And more people understand this than acknowledge they do.

Push the contentious issue of casinos aside for a moment. Then ask yourself if Wall Street investors, in their right mind, would offer money to any business whose very existence is being challenged by quite credible, and thus far, successful lawsuits. And there you have the honest reason that nothing costing serious money has been, or is, happening regarding Sullivan County casinos.

On behalf of this year’s American Cancer Society Relay For Life committee, we would like to thank the residents of Sullivan County for their generosity and support. Approximately 500 people and over 21 teams participated in this year’s event, raising more than $30,000 for the American Cancer Society’s programs of research, education, advocacy and patient services.

Relay For Life is truly a community event and we want to applaud the more than 75 survivors that kicked-off the event by participating in the opening survivor recognition lap. They are the reason we continue the fight and it reminds us all of a very important message—early detection is so important.

A special thanks to the many Relay For Life volunteers who worked to make this event a success. The Relay For Life committee did an outstanding job of pulling the community together and we would not have been able to do it without them.

We also appreciate the generosity of this year’s supporting sponsors for their contributions and participation in this year’s Relay For Life

Again, thank you for supporting the American Cancer Society and remember, it’s not too early to become involved in Relay For Life for next year. To find out how, contact your local American Cancer Society at 800/ACS-2345.

These lines are directed to “Slim,” “Slam” and “Shady”—protagonists for the “White Elephant” at White Mills.

These gleaming “knights” would have us believe that their pap is the truth, that FFP is the “Holy Grail” and that they have scores of knaves ready and willing to step into jobs that offer an annual turnover rate of 68 percent! Jobs that would result in the devastation of the Lackawaxen River Valley. Jobs that would remake White Mills into “Black Mills,” a reversion to what it was at the turn of the 20th century. Jobs that would “shorten a commute, save gas, save maintenance, elongate life (sic), provide a living ($7.50 per hour) wage and ensure familial responsibilities. Jobs that would offer the 95 percent underbelly of our graduates a means to stay and work near home. These “Knights in Shining Armor” offer these inducements as “golden nuggets” to the uninitiated to sate their own avarice and greed.

“Slim,” “Slam” and “Shady” claim universal support for their actions. Officialdom is quiet. Professionals are silent. Historians defer. There is no clamor to be heard from the rooftops. Where are all these voices of support? Why is their thunder muffled? Has the cat got their tongues? Are they intimidated? Why are they silent? Perhaps they attended our fire hall gatherings and truly understand the tenor of the people of our township, our neighbors and those who live downstream. All will certainly be affected by the insertion of such an abomination in our midst.

The “S-Men” whine that our petitions are signed by “Auslanders!” Yet, are auslanders themselves attempting to foist their agenda on our township, it’s immediate neighbors and the down-streamers, who, the “S-men” claim, have no voice. Are these rambling rogues of righteousness to be allowed to ride roughshod over our rural region? Can we countenance this cabal of conspirators and their cadre to do what they wish to our lives and our surroundings? Will we suffer these interlopers to invade our precincts, to despoil our quality of life and to pocket the spoils of their incursion with impunity?

To date, procedures and the law ride with “Slim,” “Slam” and “Shady,” but righteousness and justice shall prevail. Be advised “Ye Knaughty Knights,” the natives are aroused. Ride ye not your trusty steeds on the Wangam Road. Such incursions have been outlawed by the sheriff.