The mot juste

To the editor:

FOLLY: Architecture, a whimsical or extravagant structure built to serve as a conversation piece, lend interest to a view, commemorate a person or event, etc., found esp. in England in the 18th century.

The above is just to clarify the third dictionary definition/usage of the word “folly,” which appeared in the headline “Peck’s folly in the Big Eddy,” (The River Reporter, August 24-30), accompanying the article regarding the lighthouse recently built on the sandbar on the Big Eddy. I submit this in order to make clear that Mr. Peck, a lifetime entrepreneur and one who has indisputably and generously given a great deal to this community, was being neither insulted nor disrespected. I personally was about to get into high dudgeon about the use of the word until I looked it up and realized it was quite properly used in the article. Nice folly, Art! And thanks, The River Reporter, for challenging me to look up the word before protesting about its usage.

Friends of river drift off course

To the editor:

Invoking the federal Clear Water Act, the trout-fishermen’s organization “Friends of the Upper Delaware River” (FUDR) threatens to sue the town of Hancock for authorizing the dredging and stone-cladding of creeks and streams after the recent floods. According to FUDR’s lawyers, “naturally flowing, environmentally critical tributaries have been turned into storm drains.”

But those of us who witnessed the flood saw that the streams and creeks that we all now miss and mourn were destroyed by the flood, not the town. Gushing torrents scoured a 30-foot-deep canyon in the middle of Lordville Road and threw the creek 50 to 100 feet off course, taking tons of silt, stone and trees with it, tossing utility poles around like toothpicks, undermining historic buildings and making the road altogether impassable. River waters were contaminated by broken sewage treatment plants and fuel tanks set awash in basements and driveways. Fish or insect eggs would have had to have been wearing little bullet-proof jackets to survive.

Basic services could not be restored in Lordville, Cadosia or on Sand’s Creek Road—regardless of whether one’s home was built in a floodplain—until roads were rebuilt. There was no imaginable way to put streams back into grooves that no longer existed and to keep them from washing out with the very next rain without the various disturbances mentioned in the threatened FUDR suit.

The storm-drain appearance of our wayward creeks is heartbreaking. But I didn’t and haven’t heard of a more realistic and affordable solution to the short-term emergency we faced than the one taken by Hancock. Fishermen with money to spend on legal fees would do better to help fund plantings and seedings along the flood-torn tributaries to control erosion and provide microclimates for birds and insects so that trout streams may heal more quickly. To turn our tragedy into a lawsuit will only compound the disaster.

The medium is the message

To the editor:

After attending the Sullivan West Board of Education meeting on August 30, I was appalled by the phrasing of some of the motions on the agenda. For example, the wording of one motion, “disposal of Sullivan West High School at Lake Huntington…” caused me great concern. I do know that our very qualified staff at Sullivan West teaches our children that how we phrase things and the vocabulary we use are as important as what we say.

The words one chooses can elicit confrontation or teamwork. The way several motions were written absolutely conveys confrontation and the idea that we are not a community willing to work together. I beg to differ. I would like the board of education to properly represent the strong sense of community and teamwork that I see at every soccer and football game, band concert, PTSO meeting and fundraising event held in the district. There are many, many more examples, including the school committees I have gladly served on.

I think we are an amazing community and have accomplished a great deal. The staff, parents and students are a team, and they work together for what is best for the district. I am very proud of what the Sullivan West community has accomplished and the spirit in which they have accomplished it. I do hope we are able to improve the way in which we present information and are able to continue to move forward in the months ahead.

I ask all board members to think carefully about what they say and how they say it. After all, everything they do and write represents this school district.

Try Tasini, if you’re tired of corporate Democrats

To the editor:

Even though I’m a woman of definite liberal leanings, I will not vote for Hilary Clinton in the upcoming primary.

She could have taken a courageous stand against the war in Iraq, with absolutely no political liability (unless she was thinking she might look bad when she ran for President if the war were successful.) Never mind that she happens to represent a state that is overwhelmingly against the war. Never mind that lives of American kids were at stake.

She serves or served on the Board of Directors of WalMart—way too cozy with a corporation whose ethics are deplorable.

She is a member of the Democratic Leadership Council, a group whose positions are right in line with the desires of large corporations and the Bush Administration. It is this group that, in my opinion, uses corporate media to make sure we really don’t have a choice when we go to the polls. We get corporate Democrats (DLC types) or corporate Republicans.

So who is Tasini? I went to his website and found a guy whose platform favors working people, is anti-Iraq occupation, and had a good environmental position. His positions seemed well thought out and practical. Take a moment to check Tasini’s website, and send a message on primary day.

Why the rhetoric?

To the editor:

I am a volunteer at Catskill Regional Medical Center (CRMC) who is somewhat puzzled by the rhetoric leveled by the people at Crystal Run against CRMC. I have been volunteering in the emergency room for eight years, and I must tell you the doctors and nurses who work there are dedicated and proficient in their duties. They are thoughtful and sympathetic to the needs of their patients. It is also worth noting that they do not attempt to treat illnesses or injuries that are beyond their capability, but immediately transport patients to the proper facility.

To the best of my knowledge, the resident doctors react the same way. The medical equipment, MRIs, cat scans and x-ray machines are also of the latest technology. The registration personnel treat all incoming patients with the utmost care and sensitivity in securing all necessary data. Most important, no one is turned away because they lack insurance coverage.

It should be borne in mind that working with the CRMC and not castigating it is in the best interest of Sullivan County citizens, as well as the Crystal Run Medical group. Finally, everyone should realize the CRMC is the only full-service hospital in Sullivan County.