Editor’s note

A letter to the editor published in last week’s issue of The River Reporter, entitled “Does no one remember?” and written by Carmen Rue, contained incomplete information, which is in conflict with research done by this newspaper staff.

Newspapers covering Sullivan County in 1992 and 1993 did publish numerous stories that reported that alleged racist images had been found on three lockers of Monticello Police Department officers. However, James Malloy, the village manager of Monticello when the stories were published, described the images differently in a May 31, 2005 letter. Malloy described a magazine cartoon found on one locker as “a practical joke from a fellow police officer” and the other images as “a sticker from a motorcycle riding club called ‘Second Street Motorcycle Club’.” Malloy saw the images first-hand during a tour of the department locker room with then Monticello Police Chief James Ramsay.

In a June 22, 1994 memorandum from the Village of Monticello, Malloy apologized for calling for the resignation of the three Monticello Police Department officers who were allegedly involved. “I believe that I acted hastily, regret my actions and apologize for my comments,” Malloy wrote.

In the memorandum, Malloy also wrote that he never confirmed the names of the officers, which appeared in a January 29, 1993 article in the Times Herald-Record. Malloy wrote that he “denied the involvement of the fourth officer, which the Record took as confirmation of the remaining three officers.”

There was no formal conclusion to the incident at the time.

Thanks to youth editor Richard Ross

Strangely enough, when I think about how much energy you gave to this ‘fantastic project’ [Shakespeare in LaPolt Park] over these summer months, I am almost speechless. Your support and encouragement all along the way were truly awesome!

So many people have told me how wonderful The River Reporter’s coverage was. The beautiful front-page photographs and the wonderful stories you wrote were really in-depth and captured the true essence of what it took to pull this entire collaborative effort together.

On behalf of all the beautiful children involved in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (and their families), the Village of Liberty and the entire community of Sullivan County, my heartfelt thanks and sincere gratitude for a job extremely well executed! I truly believe your involvement helped to make this event as successful as it was. I look forward to working with you again in the near future. Thank you so much.

An ‘amen’ to two recent letters

Two recent letters on both national and local concerns speak very clearly on matters in which people are looking through rose-colored glasses or plugging up their ears.

Regarding the first letter, in the September 15 issue of The River Reporter, Charles Sidlowski bluntly tells us the truth in “The populace is being misled.” Americans tend to be emotionally charged with the flow of the issues presented via the media. At the same time they absorb blaring headlines, they too often fail to explore the issues in a balanced way, inasmuch as our news is hardly ever presented from a balanced perspective. This is an excellent environment for seeding weak and vulnerable minds with propaganda, as Sidlowski so eloquently suggests. Whoever said the U.S. never does wrong, from international unilateral invasions, to denying 15th Amendment rights to voters, to the point of nearly repeating the Inquisition? What we condemn in other nations we are adopting here on our soil.

We’ve become puppets, but need to sever the brainwashing strings and remember that “government for, by and of the people” is supposed to be exactly that, not a government for and by only a select few people.

We have an administration in Washington bragging about bringing democracy and freedom to parts of the world lacking such, while the very elements of these wonderful ideals and theories are quietly eroding beneath our feet. Yet we continue to wear rose-colored glasses and earplugs. The U.S. is not a mentor in the full sense of the word; it has a cesspool of its own that is in need of a serious sewer cleaning.

Also, a “right on” to Wendy Ziecheck in her September 22 letter, “Taxes out of control.” To be blunt, I’m sick of paying high taxes too. There are no schools in my hamlet with administrative and pedagogue paychecks to pay, and I haven’t had lakefront property in over 20 years. So leave me alone and stop draining my pocket with more than 50 years in over-assessments, especially when the town refuses to return any services in my community.

Going to the well once too often

I am writing this letter to try to make people aware that our water table is six inches below normal. Approximately five weeks ago our well started acting up. Two weeks later it went dry. After speaking to many people we began to realize we were not alone. We spent four days on the phone to a variety of officials trying to find out why we have not even been put on a drought watch. We spoke and asked for help from supervisors, commissioners, our representative and so on, only to be told finally that each municipality can make a declaration of a voluntary drought emergency. If this had been done, it would at least have made some people aware that we all share the same water in the ground.

Our riverbeds are dry; our brooks are no longer roaring. This is affecting wildlife, along with plant life and many other resources that depend on our waterways. Admittedly, my well is not a drilled well. It is an original well. Due to that fact, we conserve water all the time.

Our township is growing by leaps and bounds but our water supply is not. Here in Upper Lackawaxen Township (Bohemia) we are surrounded by three water towers. Welcome Lake Road has a water line crossing it at the intersection of Route 590 and Welcome Lake Road. The line travels through the woods behind houses having no access to it, and then comes out to service a large resort. Our wells are being affected due to the tremendous draw of water from the ground to service large communities and a large resort, and are in danger because of the tremendous amount of building going on.

We need to speak up and slow it down a bit before it is too late.

WVOS and WSUL are alive and well

Even though I live and work on Long Island, the news from both local Sullivan County radio stations, WVOS and WSUL reaches extremely far. I, like many of you, was sad to see Mike Sakell sign off and leave mornings at WVOS. However, if you were and are a fan of both, the histories will never fade. From Sakell to the Mambo King Mark Nelson, Tony Michaels, Marlene Aqua, Gary Nichols, Redneck Decker, Joe Holliday and my old on-air partner Kristen Speranza, WVOS did all it could to stay rich in community activism.

WSUL was a powerhouse with on-air personalities that made you feel like you were part of the show, like Rob Dillman, Tony Impieri, Eddie Wilson, Fred Mulherin, Matt Riley, Bill James, BC in the Morning, JM (John Manzi) in the PM. And both stations were blessed with John Conway’s historical insight.

Now the good news. They aren’t going away. Both stations have been left in the expert and caring hands of Bill Renyolds and Helena Manzione, who worked tirelessly to make WSUL the station that it is. It troubled me to hear others say that the stations will now be ruined, or that Sakell was pushed out. Neither of these is true. The stations will be successful because you, the listeners, will embrace the format that best suits you. Sakell felt it was time for a change and made his career choice. I for one am sorry that both Gene Blabey and Bill Renyolds sold the properties; however, if you look at the price tags, they would have been crazy not to. Renyolds and Manzione are now left with the task of keeping those stations rich in local history. Knowing both as I do, Sullivan County, you have absolutely nothing to worry about.

Good bets in the Catskills

The September 25 editorial in The New York Times entitled “Bad Bets in the Catskills” is filled with inaccuracies and omissions.

First, they ignore the job situation. Family businesses that had thrived for generations have closed, stores have been boarded up and pedestrian traffic has dried up. The per capita income in Sullivan County is below $19,000, with 30 percent of the population and 11 percent of families living below the poverty line.

Why would anyone suggest that gamblers continue to take their money to New Jersey and Connecticut without actively pursuing ways of keeping those dollars and jobs in our state? Those two states together had annual revenues from gambling in 2004 of $6.452 billon, filling their treasuries with entertainment dollars from New York State residents.

The editorial’s contention that casinos in Sullivan County would hurt the environment is equally absurd. For example, the proposed Monticello Raceway site is not on (or even near) the Neversink River, nor on the Shawangunk Ridge. It has been an established gaming location for over 45 years, located off Route 17 and future 1-86, meaning that no fishing streams nor pristine forests would be sliced and diced by roads and traffic should a casino be built at the raceway.

It is important to note that our economy is seasonal. We need year-round jobs desperately, jobs that support the merchants who live and work in Sullivan County. Sullivan County has only two major grocery stores and a few small malls even though we are one of the largest counties on a square-mile basis. We also have more tax-exempt property than most other counties in New York State, meaning that we need to find ways of building our tax base.

The New York Times editorial board should come here and take a look for themselves. Walk our streets, talk to the families whose children have to move away because they cannot find employment here. Then let them enjoy their wine and cheese vacation in our bucolic countryside. Afterwards, perhaps we can agree that the people who live here, and need to work here, should be held in the same regard as the trout that swim in our streams.

What is happening to good reporting?

I need to take pen in hand and let you know how displeased I, and a lot people, have been with your article of September 15, 2005, “Diocese removes controversial pastor.”

The article was severely slanted and outright anti-Catholic. Your reporter did not have the gumption to interpret the letter from the Bishop properly and was quick to speak to a parishioner who, of course, needs to remain “unnamed.” You take the word of a person who hides behind “unnamed,” and don’t have the decency to check out the story properly.

Your paper has been voted an excellent source of local news, but, to openly accuse a good pastor as “controversial,” without knowing all the facts, is, first of all, defamation of character, secondly totally anti-Catholic, and thirdly, has no business in a good paper.

Thanks from VIP

The staff, board, and volunteers of Victims’ Intervention Program (VIP) would like to thank everyone who participated in our annual chrysanthemum sale this fall. Whether you bought the flowers, sold them, delivered them or packed them, we give you our sincere thanks.

This year we sold 1,700 plants. We hope these flowers will remind the community that we need to work together to stop domestic violence and sexual abuse in Wayne County.

Our very special thanks go to Top Notch Distributors for the use of their loading dock, warehouse and staff, and to Diann Welsh for her invaluable help with transportation—which this year included two trips to Bloomsburg. We also thank the individuals at local businesses, schools, facilities and offices who acted as contacts, taking the time to coordinate orders, collect money and distribute the mums.

As always, the success of this annual event wouldn’t have been possible without the dedication and hard work of VIP board member, Lt. Larry Witt.