To the editor:

I grew up in Narrowsburg and have continued to stay in touch with the area through your paper. I enjoy reading it and applaud all the awards you have well deserved.

A few years ago I wrote a letter regarding your cartoonist Frank Holmes. Here I am again writing the same kind of letter because Mr. Holmes simply doesn’t get it. I wonder which part of “Hitler is not funny” he doesn’t understand? And don’t you as editor have any say about what he submits?

Reading through The River Reporter a few weeks ago I felt that I was slapped in the face. There in rather bold black and white was Hitler’s smirking face—again. It is in poor taste.

Mr. Holmes did a similar piece a few years ago. At that time you published my letter and his response. I don’t have a copy of that response but the gist of it was a rather condescending, “humor is in the eye of the beholder.” I don’t think that logic applies. This man is responsible for the death of six million people.

The caption of his latest Hitler cartoon is “What a piece of verk.” I think Mr. Holmes is the “piece of verk” for not getting that seeing pictures of Hitler is disturbing and that there is no humor found there.

If there was any other way to stay in touch with the news of my old home town, I would cancel my subscription in protest. But loss of one subscription would not affect you, and I would be the one who would lose. I just hope that in a few years, I do not find yet another attempt by Mr. Holmes to make the Holocaust the brunt of his humor.

Carolyn Bennett
Glassboro, NJ

To the editor:

Thank you so much for publishing the photo of my family’s antique farm tractor in last weeks Things Are Happening section (June 5-11, page 5S).

The tractor, an iron wheel 1938 Farmall F-12 belonged to my uncle John Yonchik, of Wilkes Barre, PA, and was brought to the area by my father, Charles Deckelman, a few years ago. The restoration process was under way when this photo of my Dad was taken at the 2001 Callicoon Tractor Parade.

Unfortunately the tractor was lost last spring when the garage it was stored in burned to the ground. It was wonderful to see a photo of this lost family treasure.

Congratulations to the organizers of the Callicoon Tractor Parade on its growing success. We enjoyed participating again this year.

Sandra Deckelman-Coots & family
Lake Huntington, NY

To the editor:

In the visual arts—painting, sculpture, photography, dance, mime—there is a tradition of social statement. I may cite Picasso’s Guernica, which hangs at the UN Security Council (except when the U.S. Secretary of State speaks there) and Goya’s series “Los Caprichos” and “The Disasters of War.”

In other creative arts—poetry, playwriting, and music—there is similarly a tradition of social-political expressio The Kulon painting now in the news it is untitled, leaving interpretations to the viewer. The black and white photo of the painting in TRR [it would have been better to see it in color] shows a fine work by a skilled artist. The painting should not have been removed from the group of works exhibited at the Sullivan County Government Center.

The other side of the coin of the realm is that no one dares suggest removing any paintings representing “great” war victories or statues that glorify war heroes at government properties around the nation. Are we going to selectively apply the First Amendment of the Constitution?

Mort Malkin
Milanville, PA

To the editor:

It was with great pleasure that I visited Sullivan West’s new high school nearing completion in Lake Huntington on May 31. This new educational facility, coupled with the existing school facility’s parallel renovation, will create new and expansive educational programming and learning opportunities for the community’s children now and for generations to come. This is an immeasurable gift. Those who supported the merger, past and present school board members, and the Sullivan West administration deserve tremendous credit for having the wisdom and tenacity to bring this effort to fruition. Congratulations!

Buck Moorhead
Callicoon, NY/New York City, NY

To the editor:

What a wonderful day!

The Sullivan West School community has recommitted itself to excellence in education. A budget has been passed and two highly qualified people have been chosen to represent “we, the people” on the school board.

Let us continue, as a community, to move forward to provide the best in education for our children.

Congratulations to us all!

Stephen Stuart
Narrowsburg, NY

The following letter was sent to the Town of Bethel Planning Board

Dear Ms. Duncan and Board Members:

We, the undersigned residents of Moscoe Road, do respectfully request the board delay approval of the new development of 25 homes proposed by Ulticrest Funding Corporation for the following reasons:

1. The traffic on Moscoe Road has altered since Woodstone Corporation’s development of land surrounding the Toronto hydroelectric reservoir. Motor vehicle and construction noise as well as the racket of planes “showing” the site to prospective buyers begins at 7:00 a.m. and is continuous. The pollution from large trucks and vehicle exhaust has negatively affected the health of residents. Two residents have died since the beginning of the project.

2. Workers and other drivers connected to the development, often talking on cell phones, drive 60 to 70 m.p.h. on this narrow country road. Recently a resident’s cat was sliced in half as she took two steps onto the road.

3. When residents purchased homes on Moscoe Road, it was with the expectation of “peaceful enjoyment.” The noise and pollution has negatively affected our quality of life.

4. Residents no longer have easy access to the reservoir for which some of us have deeded rights.

5. The seasonal stream which will border the proposed development is less than 500 feet from the homes of at least five home owners.

6. The access road to the proposed development is less than an acre from Moscoe Road. Residents facing the stream would be proximal to new traffic and construction noise as well as the racket and pollution from Moscoe Road. Noise and pollution for all residents would increase markedly. It may not be possible under these conditions to enjoy time out of doors. Since many road residents are avid gardeners, this poses a serious hardship.

7. Since Woodstone owns and has exclusive rights to the access road to the proposed development, Moscoe Rd. home owners are alarmed.

Therefore, we request the board delay approval of the new development till at least 50 percent of the homes surrounding the reservoir are built. Hopefully, this would provide some peaceful enjoyment for Moscoe Road residents and for homeowners neighboring the access road (Split Rock Rd), while the development around the reservoir proceeds as planned.

Penny Brodie, White Lake, N.Y.
Denise Cervone, White Lake, N.Y.
Michael Cervone, White Lake, N.Y.
Nancy Fontanella, White Lake, N.Y.
Robert Fontanella, White Lake, N.Y.
Donald Gorton, White Lake, N.Y.
Gail Gorton, White Lake, N.Y.
Chris Krypalic, White Lake, N.Y.
Loretta Palma, White Lake, N.Y.
Yury Popov, White Lake N.Y.
Maria Rukaj, White Lake, N.Y.
Nick Rukaj, White Lake, N.Y.
Richard Shorter, White Lake, N.Y.
Mikhail Trapirov, White Lake N.Y.
Polina Trapirov, White Lake N.Y.
Art Woodard, White Lake, N.Y.
Elizabeth Woodard, White Lake, N.Y.

To the editor:

A question heard increasingly in the Sullivan-Ulster area is, “How come the Indians get to vote on whether or not they want a casino and we don’t?”

The question is a good one, and a measure of how good is the amount of cockeyed political baloney it has caused embarrassed politicians to generate.

The candid answer is that, as our constitution says, we must have a say concerning this life-altering decision. The Indians, with their long tradition of democratic process, evidently appreciate this, and our state constitution makes it clear that the only way commercial gambling could be allowed in the state would be through a voter referendum.

Casino interests, however, are frantically trying to get around that (at taxpayer expense, by the way) because with a referendum comes public debate, and that’s something they’re decidedly unhappy with. It would be a gamble for them. And they don’t like to gamble. Now get this. One of the reasons they offer in trying to avoid a referendum is a real humdinger. They claim that Indian gambling is not commercial. Sound nuts to you? Right! To me too. But that’s exactly what they’re saying. (As Yogi Berra said, “You could look it up.”) Or was it Casey Stengal?

But wait! There’s more! For some reason Albany permitted Saratoga to vote on the issue—but not us, thereby depriving us, not only of the vote but of equal protection under the law as well. And that’s only part of what they’re eager to do to make their rich friends richer while trying to trash our counties (and our Constitution).

Lee Karr
Forestburgh, N.Y.