Discriminatory or not?

To the editor:

This letter is in response to “My View: Smallwood not exclusionary” in the August 30 issue of The River Reporter, written by Gail Rubenfeld.

In that letter, she mentions the assets of Smallwood, which include the lake, beach, tennis courts and park. These are our assets, and we do have, and will have, a complete set of rules for each of these entities. The lake waters, however, can be used by the general public, since they are under the control of the DEC as long as they are entered from public property at road heads and state lands.

I do not wish to restate the discriminatory aspect of the recently passed amendment, which could restrict civic association membership of townhouse residents. This issue may well wind up as a court proceeding, and the civic association’s amendment tested. However, we do not anticipate any reaction to the amendment unless and until a development takes form. Perhaps the developer may develop single-family homes instead of townhouses, and all of this posturing will evaporate.

The developers no doubt will come forward with new plans, since they do own the 200-plus acres of the golf course, which is in Smallwood.

We do not wish to go back to the “old days” of Smallwood, when discrimination was in fact de rigueur. One only needs to look at the deeds and early advertisements for Smallwood circa 1930 to see what I mean.

Bob Barrett, president of the Civic Association of Smallwood

An ounce of prevention

To the editor:

I commend the Sullivan West School Board for their recent decision to “shore up” the potentially hazardous beams at the Lake Huntington campus before allowing any students to begin the school year. I’m told that my worthy successor on the board, Ken Cohen, was particularly eloquent in his assertion that we shouldn’t put students into the building if there was the “remotest possibility” that the building was unsafe.

I totally agree with Mr. Cohen and the board in this assertion. In the spirit of this understanding, I would urge the school board to look into all the persistent rumors about the school building, since this would allow all parents of the district to know that their most valuable commodity, their children, are safe.

Have deep soil tests performed to make sure that no toxins currently exist in the soil, since rumors have dogged the project from its inception about possible dumping that occurred on the site. Verify that the building is not sinking, as has been purported in the community.

Some of the current and past board members have called such rumors “hogwash,” but not long ago these same people thought the rumors that beams in the high school building needed to be examined and reinforced were “alarmist.” Warnings help people to avoid tragedies, so in that sense the board has every responsibility to make sure that such alarms are thoroughly investigated. The parents and taxpayers of this district have a right to know that our students are safe.

Shawn Colin Bailey Sr.

Mileses, NY

An alternative way to honor 9/11

To the editor:

“Fair is foul and foul is fair.” (“Macbeth,” William Shakespeare). Shakespeare wrote of times, like now, turned upside down and out of sorts. Now we try to extricate ourselves from a degrading and immoral war that we know is damaging to our nation, yet we don’t. There is a debate about how much torture is to be allowed in interrogation.

I thought our sometimes humane nation was totally averse to torture. In listening to our President and his people, black is white and white is black, which is having the effect of making me hesitant to believe anyone in a position of authority.

Fear is still in vogue, but not as pervasively as for the two or three years after 9/11. So here comes the anniversary of 9/11 again and we are supposed to honor those who showed such courage on 9/11 and also to feel bad and frightened. Instead of this, I want you to join me, as we started to do last year, to celebrate peace and nonviolence on this day. Gandhi organized his first nonviolent protest exactly 101 years ago on September 11, 1906. I was surprised, and inspired too, by this coincidence.

On this September 11, friends and I are going to watch a video or DVD of a movie like “Gandhi” or “Friendly Persuasion” or some other work promoting nonviolence and peace. It feels much more positive and uplifting to me than feeling upset or just ignoring the day. Perhaps you would like to do the same thing at your home or maybe join us to celebrate love over fear. Lets choose peace.

Tim Shera