River Muse column is a gift

To the editor:

My husband and I want to applaud Cass Collins on her very thoughtful and intelligent column. We appreciate having the opportunity to read it each week.

We were particularly interested in her piece in late December commenting on the war in Iraq. Her words captured many of our feeling about this absurd predicament in which our country has become involved. Often we wonder about what can be done to change things. We too have ordered the bumper sticker “Support Our Troops: Bring Them Home ALIVE!” It seems so insignificant, especially when we hear each day of more young people dying so far away from home. For what?

Our niece, who was stationed there, returned home in June. The family is so very thankful she returned safely, and she even became engaged to another soldier while she was there. But, yesterday we learned that the wedding has been “postponed” because this young couple is having a very difficult time psychologically. These are just two of the young soldiers who have returned with intense emotional scars. How often does the news feature any stories about them?

Again, Cass, thank you so much for your wonderful column. Keep up the great work! Happy New Year.

Great editorial

To the editor:

In the last few weeks, I’ve read a whole lot of press coverage and editorial comment on the five-casino Pataki proposal, and your editorial in last week’s paper was the best. Of course Pataki is bluffing. Accepting this plan would be like buying a house at the asking price, or paying the sticker price on a car. What a joke!

I wish we could say no and have the whole casino nightmare go away, but we know that is not going to happen. So, legislators, just say no. It’s a lousy deal, no matter whether you are pro or anti casino. It guarantees the county absolutely nothing, except that we will pay all the bills. No wonder town boards are passing resolutions against it.

If you have not called state Senator John Bonacic, 845/255-9656 and Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther, 845/794-5807 as well as your legislator and town board, this needs to be done immediately. Tell them to just say no to the five casino plan.

All there is to combat the power of the governor, the mid Hudson trade unions and Empire Resorts is you and me. And, it’s not over till it’s over.

Throwing the baby out with the bathwater

To the editor:

When we first began seriously entertaining the idea casinos coming to Sullivan County in the 1990s, this was a very different place with a very different economy.

I never really thought it was the answer then, but it seemed we lacked any other real alternative. That is not the case now with a performing arts center due to open in the foreseeable future, as well as the many large and small businesses that we have worked to attract to the county.

And now the state is proposing five casinos to be located in the county for reasons that appear to have little to do with the concern or well being of the people who live here. The notion of five casinos is an absurd one. Try to imagine going anywhere on a busy summer day in the eastern part of the county or on the main thoroughfares. Try to imagine one or two casinos going belly up? Try to imagine dealing with serious issues impacting our county that occur on or spring from land that is its own sovereign nation.

The benefits of casinos will not outweigh the costs of social ills, increased demand for services on town and county levels and wear and tear on our infrastructure.

We need to ask ourselves “What do we want Sullivan County to look like, not just now, but also 10 or 20 years from now?” and “what kind of place do we want to live in?”

We have a tremendous resource in our natural beauty and quality of life, which is evident in the skyrocketing real estate sales and prices.

Casinos will bring sprawl, unsightly commercial strip development and a tremendous increase in traffic, all of which will diminish our best asset and the reason why hundreds of thousands of people flock here every year: natural beauty, rural landscapes, strong sense of communities and great recreational opportunities.

To bring casinos into Sullivan County is really throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Casinos will revive historic resort industry

To the editor:

As a Town of Thompson resident, business owner and taxpayer in Sullivan County, I would like to voice my support for the expansion of the number of Native American Casinos from three to five.

Years ago, the Catskills, and more specifically Sullivan County, was host to several resort hotels with more than 20,000 rooms available for tourists. Today, as a part of the proposal for five resort casinos, we estimate the total rooms created to amount to 4,500. This is just a fraction of what we had back in the 60s and 70s and early 80s.

We should take advantage of the economic possibilities for our future or places like the Poconos in Pennsylvania will reap the benefits of our lost dreams. We are so very fortunate to have been chosen as the destination for these resort casinos.

Each project will undergo thorough Environmental Impact Reviews; each project will take place at different times through carefully planned time schedules, which involve phases. In addition, the state has fully articulated to us that they will support our projects with economic support so that the impacts faced by our county will be minimal.

I urge the Sullivan County Legislature to vote for Pataki’s resolution as a source of economic stimulation for our county. Our community is depending on you.

Stemming the tide of child exportation

To the editor:

I am writing this letter to you to inform you of my support of Governor Pataki’s proposal for five resort casinos in Sullivan County. During the 1950s, 60s and 70s, Sullivan County was home to more than 500 hotels with a total of 25,000 rooms. This current proposal for five resort casinos, in comparison, involves a total of 4,500 total rooms.

It seems logical to me that if we handled the visitors and tourists, as well as the traffic of more than 500 hotels in the past, we certainly can accommodate five new resort casinos. Furthermore, the entertainment value of a casino resort area will attract people worldwide and Sullivan County is in need of economic stimulation now!

We can no longer afford to export our most valuable resource, our children. My wife and I are raising five children here in Sullivan County. We do this with one full-time job and several part-time jobs including delivering newspapers early in the morning every day just to make ends meet. We hope that when our children graduate from college, they will come back to Sullivan County to work. But, there must be jobs for them to come back to. Each year, more and more local high school students graduate, attend college out of county and never return to settle back home.

Let’s make it possible for our children to come back home to great job opportunities by supporting five resort casinos, which will translate into thousands of jobs in Sullivan County.

I urge the Sullivan County Legislation to support a resolution for the five resort casinos. It’s important for our county’s future and the future is now.

Casinos mean more garbage

To the editor:

Recently there has been much press regarding casino gambling in Sullivan County. Much talk has centered around how many casinos we should have, if any. The pros and cons are many and all our politicians seem to think they know all the answers.

There has been discussions regarding how much the county should receive to cover the expenses involved in gambling; there has been much talk on the affect on the environment, on schools, on hospitals, on traffic and on crime.

Not a single discussion has been heard regarding one of the major problems confronting us presently and that is the landfill. What is going to happen to the garbage? I believe this is one of the things that should be addressed before anything else, considering the problems that currently exist.

Let’s hear about garbage!

Casinos are a great opportunity

To the editor:

Never will we have such a great opportunity to flourish as we do now.

Do we want a Sullivan County that will once again be turned into a thriving area, or one that is filled with tax-exempt land, empty storefronts and low-paying wages?

We all remember our great resorts, why did they close? The answer is simple—because of casino gaming. When Atlantic City opened, our resorts began to close. People wanted more, casinos offered that—not the Catskill Mountains.

We are talking about mega resorts with gaming, entertainment venues, restaurants, convention space, hotel rooms, high-end retail, spas, plus all the great things Sullivan County has like golf, skiing and fresh air.

It is interesting that people like Donald Trump is part of the funding arm of the anti-gaming coalition in New York. Is he concerned about our well being? Or, is he fearful of what casinos here will do to Atlantic City?

Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods have proven how casino gaming can succeed in a rural area. Visit them; look at the town roads, traffic flow, schools and the infrastructure. Ask Mitchell Etess from Grossinger’s; he now runs Mohegan Sun.

Five casinos can and will work here. They will not all be built at once. One should be placed in Liberty, where we badly need such a great boost.

Sullivan County will be protected with $15 million compacts, from each casino.

Casino gaming is not the only answer, but it the icing to our cake. Jobs of all types will be created. The economic boon will be beyond our imagination. Just think, Bethel Woods, Casino gaming, and maybe even windmill factories all right here in Sullivan County.

The legislature is urged to approve five casinos in Sullivan County.

Gambling is a moral issue

To the editor:

“Nothing is politically right that is morally wrong,” “play responsibly,” “support education,” and “create new jobs” are all slogans to justify the conscience of some and to deceive others. It is proven that legalized gambling hurts individuals, families and communities. How could anyone believe it will be different in Sullivan County? Check it out. http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/ngisc/reports/fullrpt.html; (National Gambling Impact Study Commission) http://www.ncalg.org/_vti_bin/shtml.dll/MAINcontact.htm; http://www.family.org/cforum/fosi/gambling/abp/.

Gambling is not loving others as yourself (Mark 12:28-31).

Divorce, domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, and poverty increase where there is gambling. Do you love your neighbor when you contribute to the destruction of his life, his children, his family and his community? Gambling preys on the poor (Proverbs 14:31) Gamblers with household incomes under $10,000 bet nearly three times as much as those with incomes more than $50,000. High school dropouts spend four times as much as college graduates. Gambling leads children astray (Luke 17:1-2).

In a 1995 Florida high school survey 90 percent of teens had gambled; 6.6 percent were problem or compulsive gamblers. Nationally, one in ten teenagers and one in eight college students have gambling problems. What we are doing speaks so loudly our children cannot hear what we say! Gambling is based on greed and covetousness (Exodus 20:17; 1 Tim. 6:9-10).

Most people gamble to win money. The Bible warns us about the love of money, and forbids coveting what others own.

Followers of Jesus Christ be light and salt: refuse to gamble, support legislation against legalized gambling and pray. (Matthew 18:19)

Sullivan County Legislature, Governor Pataki and community leaders consider the biblical purpose of government: to protect the welfare of its citizens and to suppress evil. (Romans 13:1-5) “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil...” (Isaiah 5:20) We will reap what we sow!

Will Sullivan County defy history? What if the Bible is true?

Widening of haves and have nots gulf

To the editor:

The Washington Post reported that the inaugural committee is raising $40,000,000 from donors who need or have gotten special favors from the Bush administration.

This huge party will cost tens of millions of taxpayer dollars as well. Mrs. Bush’s specially made Oscar DeLaurenta dress must certainly cost in the thousands.

Yet, yesterday the New York Daily News reported that Mr. Bush’s 2005 budget includes a substantial cut to Veterans Affairs services. Further, as the energy sector seeks further profit-making deregulation from the industry-friendly Mr. Bush, Northeast PA lost power twice in the last two weeks because the power grid has not keep pace with development and power demands. Power conglomerates like MetEd are not being forced to keep the electric grid in tiptop shape or to convert to alternative sustainable means of power by any regulations with teeth, because this cuts into the profits of these big power concerns. So, I’m wondering whether President “Support the Troops” Bush and his Mrs. would be interested in having just a little less of a party—maybe $40,000,000 worth and perhaps Mrs. Bush could even wear a dress she already has. The Bushes could then request the donations from their corporate benefactors be forwarded to the families of wounded and dead soldiers and to MetEd, as a contribution to help citizens of PA who sat in the dark and cold for days because power companies are not required by sound government laws to have the capacity to deal with normal winter weather.

If not, I hope the President and his wife enjoy their party, their expensive clothes and their $2,000 a plate inaugural balls (there will be 10 of these) which surely will not be attended by any middle class hardworking Pennsylvanians—including those who have sacrificed their children to Mr. Bush’s war and paid for a good portion of this grand affair. I’m confident the heads of the big power conglomerates will enjoy their dinner though. Hopefully, it won’t snow on the 20th. I wouldn’t want Mr. Bush and the power company execs at his dinner to feel guilty while inadequately equipped soldiers in Iraq take baths with baby wipes and while I feed my children a dinner of cold cereal in the dark of my 45 degree kitchen.

Milford, PA

Let there be peace on earth

To the editor:

Lest you have forgotten there is still a war going on in Iraq, which in one way or another is having a negative effect on our lives and the life of our communities local and national. Right now the chances are high that an Iraqi or American is being injured or killed.

I saw a photograph of a Sergeant and his wife embracing upon his return from Iraq. The picture is deeply moving. There is strong emotion expressed on both their faces and the closeness of their embrace. He survived Iraq and their feelings seem to express deep relief and profound love for one another. Poignant.

Then there is the ongoing saga of the Americans and Iraqis who will never return to their families or will return no longer whole. There is enough heartache and tragedy in our world from natural disasters like the tsunami. The war in Iraq is man made and for me is even more of a heartache than the tsunami disaster.

The war in Iraq can be ended and peace restored to that devastated country and its people after the United States leaves and the United Nations moves in. If you care to help bring peace to Iraq, you will need to let your feelings be known by writing letters, e-mails, personal conversations, prayers, blessings, or attending a local or Washington, D.C. antiwar protest on January 20.

Please join with me and let there be peace.