To the editor:

Tom Kane’s article “Warehouse rumor spurs residents” in The River Reporter’s February 20-26 issue brings to life several points surrounding promotion of local businesses and keeping jobs and tax money in Sullivan County.

Although it is stated in his article that “attorney Jeff Clemente was representing the neighbors of a possible warehouse...” it should be noted that Clemente does not represent all of the neighbors of the possible warehouse, and that some of the neighbors were never even approached by Clemente or the neighbors he represents, about this warehouse.

Our property borders the fields that are being considered for the new warehouse, and we would have full view of it from our porch and one of our bedrooms eight months out of the year. We are not represented by Mr. Clemente.

Since it opened, Gasko and Meyer has been based in Lake Huntington. The business has grown and prospered, and now seeks a new residence. The property that Gasko and Meyer currently operates on is located on Route 52, right in town, and is very well kept. There are several trucks in and out of there on a daily basis. At times the tractor trailers that make deliveries have to stop traffic in order to get backed into the loading docks, and it is common practice for travelers through town to have to stop or cross lanes in order to give the forklifts ample room to move around when loading the delivery trucks.

Now, Gasko and Meyer is seeking a new home, and has inquired about a large field on the corner of Route 52 and Short Cut Road, less than two miles from its current location.

This is a win-win situation for our town and our county. It is wonderful that the new piece of property that this business seeks keeps a hometown business in its hometown, and on the Town of Cochecton’s tax roll. It also keeps jobs in Sullivan County. The fact that it will alleviate the traffic congestion in front of the current warehouse is an added bonus.

Whether or not the town is spot zoning is up to the planning and town boards to figure out. In the meantime, before complaining about the warehouse being an eyesore, making too much noise or increasing traffic to the that intersection, think about the area now, the surrounding properties,and the amount of traffic that moves through that area on any given day, and ask yourself this: Given the neatness of the current warehouse location and additional tax money that will be generated, are we losing, or are we gaining when we give Gasko and Meyer the room to operate their growing business with a larger building, ample parking and plenty of space to move the trucks and forklifts around? In the long run, the Town of Cochecton, its residents and Sullivan County will gain.

Alan and Sandra Coots
Lake Huntington, New York

To the editor:

Endorsement of the KOZ site and the proposed Sterling Industrial Park have appeared to me to be hot topics for some political candidates in this election. I wonder how many individuals remember the Flexible Foam saga. Not long after the people in White Mills and Hawley were called an angry mob by WIDCO for not endorsing their project, we found that sensible people in Archbald are still fighting to protect their families from the effects of this company enticed to our area by WIDCO.

People who call themselves planners for the community advertised for this factory and are continuing to advertise for similar factories to come here. Perhaps those who are promoting these industrial parks, foam plants, and tax-free KOZ sites should reside next to them and work there.

This election I am going to choose wisely and vote for those who are more concerned with maintaining our healthy area and quality of life opposed to being part of an organization that orchestrates industrial sites over the well-being of our people.

James Mason
White Mills, PA

To the editor:

Mr. Schor’s most recent letter about casinos is very much in character. He now accuses me of immorality as he has suggested racism as my motivation for opposing casinos in the past. He totally invents the notion of my “claiming” that the astronaut’s “seven lives pale in comparison” to those impacted by casinos. These are his words. His idea.

What he does not do is engage the issues concerning casinos. And in this way he is very much like our legislators who have neither encouraged clarifying debate about casinos nor invited objective experts with information that runs counter to legislators’ mindsets to testify concerning this issue so very important to each of us.

The legislators, like Mr. Schor, are very much like spoiled children who demand the car and throw tantrums when reasons they can’t have it are offered. They just want it. And that’s all there is to it. (They wish.)

Lee Karr
Forestburgh, N.Y.

To the editor:

There is a very serious issue that faces Sullivan County that I feel should be addressed: literacy. Many of the present readers may not be aware that one out of four people in Sullivan County cannot read this newspaper. These folks are struggling so much harder than those who have reading skills, struggling to hold down jobs that pay enough to support their families, trying desperately to raise the reading levels of their own children, struggling against a constant embarrassment, and not knowing where or how to find the help to overcome any of this.

It seems to me that businesses would like to employ literate workers. Parents certainly would wish to be able to read to their children. Friends and relatives would wish to enjoy written forms of communion.

At a time when so much emphasis is on building, bringing business to Sullivan County and making it a more beautiful place in which to work and play, why not consider a commitment to tutor and give the joy of reading to a deserving adult.

Literacy Volunteers of America is a non-profit organization which provides a variety of free services to help people achieve personal goals through literacy. To stay the rising tide of illiteracy and improve the quality of life in Sullivan County, become a literacy volunteer. The next tutor training sessions are April 26, May 3 and 10. You can reach literacy volunteers if you wish to tutor, or wish to have a tutor, at 845/794-0017.

June M. Barrett, board member
Literacy Volunteers of Sullivan County
Smallwood, N.Y.

To the editor:

Now that we are in the process of church cleansing, wouldn’t it be an appropriate time for the church to cleanse itself of its hypocritical politicians like Kennedy, Cuomo and Giuliani who profess to be Catholics but deem it justified to kill 4,000 babies a day in the abortion clinics?

You can’t be both-Catholic and pro-choice.

Peter Vehstedt
Lords Valley, PA

To the editor:

A troubling piece of legislation, deceptively entitled the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act (ANDA), will soon be introduced in the U.S. Congress. Its purpose is to allow a whole range of health organizations and businesses—including hospitals, insurance companies, pharmacies, and HMOs —to avoid existing federal, state, or local laws having to do with abortion. If passed, it could undercut the guarantee of access to the full range of reproductive health services offered in New York State.

A New York State law, passed last year, requires all insurers (including those with religious affiliations) to cover basic preventive health care for women, including mammograms, bone-density testing, and contraceptive prescriptions. NYS is also considering ways to ensure that all hospital emergency rooms (including those with religious affiliations) offer emergency contraception services to rape survivors. This is how it should be, with fair and standard health care available to women everywhere.

Purely religious institutions such as churches and seminaries should be free to follow their chosen doctrines regarding abortion and birth control, but religious-affiliated hospitals and health insurance companies are not primarily religious institutions. They often employ people from varying faiths, little of their funding comes from the church, and their mission is to provide non-religious services to the general public.

The proposed federal legislation, ANDA, could allow health providers and businesses all over the country to opt out of providing vital services. If this happens, it will over-ride years of thoughtful decision-making at the state level, and prevent millions of people from getting the reproductive health services they need.

Sandra Opdycke
Poughkeepsie, NY

To the editor:

As I converse with many town supervisors, various government officials and residents throughout our beautiful state, region and county and especially those in the Town of Thompson, there is much conversation regarding shrinking budgets. Everybody’s hurting. There is no denying that resources are diminishing and there is not much we can do about that, not in the immediate future anyway.

But as all struggle with limited resources, I would like to remind everyone that the Thompson Town Board’s main goal is not to diminish services, but to control costs and do what is better for all our residents and taxpayers. This may seem to be the obvious thing to do, but in these times when money is tight, it is extremely easy to lose this focus.

Let us not allow ourselves to get derailed by this budget crisis. What if we decide to use this opportunity to refocus on what is important?

Instead of bemoaning the budget shortfalls, we challenge ourselves to fully embrace the duties and obligations associated with our elected positions.

What can we do? First, we must understand that the resources we manage are not ours, but rather those of our taxpayers and residents who put these revenues in our budgets. Next, we should carefully examine what we do and how we do it in relation to important, verifiable outcomes. Third, we must necessitate a new perspective: one that requires us to think and focus our attention on processes rather than just the functions outlined in our job descriptions.

Finally, we should call for supporting the generation of systematic, timely and relevant data for continuous quality improvement. We as elected officials should constantly be improving what we do so that we constantly add value while reducing costs. This is not an easy task. However, I encourage all officials to try it. The future of our towns depends on our immediate response.

And in the Town of Thompson, we continually strive for the best.

Tony Cellini, supervisor
Town of Thompson