Your decisions affect me

To the editor:

In response to Jo Clearwater’s article “Visioning the Upper Delaware?Welcome to the New World:”

Jo Clearwater needs to get a grip on the real world before envisioning a new one. She's concerned about the pollution from five milligrams of mercury in a discarded light bulb. She had better take a harder look at the EPA list of chemicals in the fracking fluids used for gas drilling.

Why won't the Northern Wayne Property Owners’ Association (NWPOA) put a moratorium on signing gas drilling leases (the gas will always be there and proves to be more valuable over time) until federal regulations are back in place to benefit the entire community?

Why were community member landowners not allowed to ask questions at NWPOA meetings unless they paid a $25 membership fee?

Jo Clearwater says "many of us are working to create ways to bring sustainable energy for all of us." To the NWPOA and Jo Clearwater I must say: Don't create anything for me (especially bordering my property) unless you consult me, thank you very much.

Damascus, PA

Hell to pay at 7,000 feet

To the editor:

The devil is a coming to Damascus to drill a hole to hell. Armed with his usual fare, a carrot and a stick.

Timing his entrance, making sure the keepers of the land are in dire straights. Their government has abandoned them to the inferno. Stripped of government support, the deck is stacked, there is no clean air or water in hell and we don’t need it here either.

His lethal strategy divides neighbors: “I don’t care if you lease to me, your neighbor will, and I get you anyway. Divided I win.”

The beauty of the land is threatened only by the devil’s attraction for the dire darker depths 7,000 feet below.

The devil is coming to Damascus to drill a hole to hell. To make the surface in the likeness of his burning pit.

Charming his clients while his new customers get fracked, he plays a game that only he can win.

For the sake of our neighbors and the planet, fight fire with fire.

Impeach Bush/Cheney now.

John Dzwonar

Let’s find out what’s possible

To the editor:

In a perfect world, there would be unified intentions and shared goals among people. In some ways, the residents of Damascus Township live in a perfect world.

Those who have a multi-generational history in this area, as well as those who have found these hills of Pennsylvania after living elsewhere, share a deep appreciation of the existing natural offerings, namely our air, water and the land itself. Thus, we are unified by a respectful treatment of our environment.

Currently, this commonality is being challenged by a complicated 21st century issue: the gas companies are pursuing us.

To all of the resident and non-resident landowners in the township, I ask the following questions when the threats of this pursuit are discussed and when devastating results are cited.

Would you agree that the success of any endeavor depends upon its initial level of preparation and subsequent, structured development? In other words, if a person were to be treated by a poorly trained dentist and the outcome of the treatment were irreversible, dental damage and/or deformity, would you then profess that dentistry was the enemy and should not be sought under any circumstances.

Natural gas drilling companies are not all created equal. Let us try to preserve our potential for unity and strength by continuing to research and evaluate the gas challenge with our intellects and our hearts, for the sake of our children and grandchildren and all those who will follow.

Cappelli plan deserves support

To the editor:

For 40 years I have worked, lived and raised my family here in Sullivan County and watched its slow decline. It is now 2008, and our economy is worse than ever.

Is there any realistic hope for a major economic revival for our community?

Yes: the plan put forth by Cappelli Enterprises for “Entertainment City” at the Concord Hotel site. This project has the potential to begin the long-dreamed-of revival for our entire region.

Cappelli’s plans for the Concord property include not only a new convention center and hotel, but housing, a world-class spa, a shopping village and more. They also include the relocation of the Monticello Racetrack and Racino, adding a gaming attraction through gaming partner Empire Resorts.

The level of investment Mr. Cappelli is talking about will be well in excess of a half billion dollars and could reach $1 billion.

In order for this plan to become reality, we need help from Albany. Not funding, but only to think outside the box, to lead with progressive action.

Cappelli wants an incentive for his investors in the form of a reduction in the state share of increased revenue from slot machines at the facility. He would only receive this benefit if he achieves his goals of creating 1,000 permanent jobs and doubling the current revenue that the state receives for education. If he fails to meet these projections, he receives nothing. It is like paying a salesman a commission, with no base salary.

Cappelli would eventually like to see legalized casino gaming in the Catskills and at his resort. As he points out, the state has already accepted the concept when it gave its blessing to the plan for the full casinos on Indian-owned sites in the Catskills.

I urge not just our elected officials, but every resident of this region, to get behind the Concord plan. We have to let our leaders know that we can’t pass up what could be our last chance.

An honor to join the registry

To the editor:

It was with great shock and sadness that I learned of Regina Wagner’s illness. Regina came into my life when I was 12 years old and became a student in her seventh grade English class. Mrs. Wagner (as I knew her then) taught her class with an enthusiasm and caring that made that class the highlight of my day. She opened up a love of reading and writing that has carried and served me well beyond my high school years. Mrs. Wagner exposed not only me, but the entire class to authors and literature that we may never have discovered on our own. She enriched and nurtured, taught and cared for all of the young people that were fortunate enough to have been her student.

In later years, she became my friend, always with a smile and a hug as we would reconnect and chat about past times and current news.

It is with great honor, because of my meeting Regina Wagner all those years ago, to be able to join the bone marrow registry on May 15 at St George’s Church in Jeffersonville. I urge everyone who knows Regina to join the registry. If not a match for her, you may be a match for someone else.

We should all be so fortunate as to have a ‘Regina Wagner” in our lives, a beloved teacher, woman and friend.

Damaged goods

To the editor:

The most recent Cine-Art screening at the Callicoon Theater was a notable disappointment, and I’m writing in hopes of avoiding any such in future bookings.

I’ve always applauded Cine-Art because it indicated the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance (DVAA) recognizes serious cinema as a major art form that properly falls under its promotional umbrella. So when the latest event was announced—multiple screenings over a long weekend of “There Will Be Blood”—I made a point to attend with a friend.

The minute the feature came on, we could scarcely believe our eyes: the print was so badly scratched it should never have been rented out for projection. The screening I attended was the last in the series, meaning this damaged print had been foisted repeatedly on an unsuspecting public. Twenty minutes in, we left our seats to protest to the guy who’d been manning the ticket-booth as we came in. “Yeah,” he admitted, “they sent us a damaged print.” “Is it this bad throughout?” we demanded, knowing the film ran over 2.5 hours. “It comes and goes,” he said.

In this he was mistaken: the cross-hatched scratches were constant; they were less intrusive in scenes of bright sunlight, but “There Will Be Blood” is a dark film, and the scratches made it difficult to evaluate Daniel Day-Lewis’ intense Academy-Award performance.

By sponsoring these screenings was the DVAA saying: “Oh, it’s only a movie,” undercutting the Cine-Art program? Would it have gone ahead with an exhibition of brutally-damaged paintings or photographs, or a display of chipped ceramics? I believe that the Callicoon Theater, knowing they had a defective print, should have cancelled these screenings. At the very least, they should have posted a warning at the box office, leaving it up to each patron whether to settle for a compromised esthetic experience.