Not something to aspire to

To the editor:

Noel van Swol is quoted in the September 24 issue of The River Reporter as saying, “this area is little Texas.” So I decided to learn more, and I googled “Texas has the highest.”

Texas has the highest poverty rate in the nation. Texas has the highest rate of child hunger in America. Texas has the highest teen birth rate in the United States. Texas has the highest number of uninsured citizens, the highest national rate of uninsured children and the highest rate of people without health insurance. Texas has the highest home insurance rates and the highest foreclosure rate in the United States. Texas has the highest number of alcohol-related traffic deaths and injuries, the highest rate of criminals executed and the highest percentage of churchgoers in the United States. Texas has the highest number of violations under the Voting Rights Act. Texas has the highest carbon output in America.

Then I searched “Texas has the lowest.” Texas has the lowest percentage of high school graduation in the United States, the lowest personal credit scores in the country and the lowest wages of all 50 states. And Texas has the lowest unemployment rate in the nation—bingo!

Mr. van Swol—we ain’t no Texas, yet. Besides, Texas is fast becoming a desert. The state is suffering its worst drought ever. Let’s export freight trains filled with water to its devastated farmers and parched citizens.

This is the big and beautiful Upper Delaware River, and we, 5,000 good people of the Damascus Citizens, like it just the way it is—peaceful and pristine. Fish abound in our waters and bald eagles soar above. Neither the “Halliburton loopholes” nor blind greed will prevail. We will not allow the destruction of our beloved river and the priceless watershed region.

Lehman branch a part of library plans

To the editor:

Pike County needs and deserves a great library system that serves all residents, including those who live in Lehman Township.

Currently, however, the Pike County Public Library System is stretched to its limits. It has been this way for several years due to rapid population growth, skyrocketing demand for library services, and county funding that hasn’t budged since 2000.

The Pike County Public Library has a sensible and realistic long-range plan to expand its services geographically to meet the growing needs of all residents. The plan includes three new library buildings, including one in Lehman Township, one in the Blooming Grove/Palmyra area, and the new system headquarters in Milford.

The new Lehman Township branch will be a real resource for the residents of our township. In addition to free books and DVDs, a new library branch would have programs for residents of all ages, special programs for kids, and community meeting rooms. The library has invited interested residents to participate in the planning for the new branch. This is an opportunity to ensure that Lehman Township gets the library services it needs and deserves.

However, before these plans can go forward, voters must say “yes” on November 3 to the library tax referendum question. The alternative will ensure the indefinite postponement of expansion plans—including the proposed Lehman Township branch as well as immediate cuts in existing services.

Join me in voting “yes” to preserve and improve our county library system, including the new Lehman branch.

Public libraries are a symbol of the First Amendment

To the editor:

Reading renews our imaginations, taking us beyond the everyday. Reading forces us to see the ways we would be poorer, what kinds of experience we would be missing, and what strengths we would lack if we did not read.

Libraries are a uniquely American phenomenon. No other nation makes available to the general public such an array of libraries. We can thank the generosity of philanthropists (Andrew Carnegie) and the municipalities that braved objection to the dedication of tax money for library support.

The early “social libraries” had their beginnings in New England in the late 1700s. Based on the ability of the user to pay for the service, they formed the foundation for the first true public libraries in America.

As a boy, Andrew Carnegie had been unable to pay the subscription fee of $2 a year to borrow books from one of the country’s first public libraries. Public, he learned, does not always mean free. Our library in Pike County is struggling financially. In November, a ballot initiative will allow us to give libraries and books, among our most important cultural artifacts, our more vigorous public support. The library tax will average $35 annually for each home.

The library is a critical component of the free exchange of information, which lies at the heart of our democracy, in both the actual and symbolic sense. It is the guardian of freedom of thought and freedom of choice and a bulwark against manipulation by demagogues. Libraries support the idea that all people are endowed with the natural right to knowledge. Isn’t $35 a small price to protect the finest symbol of the First Amendment of our Constitution?

Support our universal American right to free speech and access to knowledge. Vote YES on the November ballot to support the library tax.

A window of opportunity

To the editor:

I understand that, because its funding has remained constant for nearly 10 years, the Pike County Public Library (PCPL) is now close to running out of operating funds and may soon be forced to steps such as opening fewer hours each day, and even closing one or more days a week; closing altogether one or more of its branches; closing a number of its “drop boxes” (where books can be left for pick up by the library); eliminating a number of library services for which the library is currently paying and which it currently offers free of charge; cutting back on its web based services; and significantly reducing staffing. All of this means we are likely to experience delays and more difficult access to more limited and costly library services.

The PCPL certainly no longer is the library of yesterday, i.e. a mere repository for books. One look at the PCPL website ( www.pcpl.org ) and you will agree that the PCPL is poised to become a multi-facetted resource center. In a way, you could say that the PCPL already offers each one of us a window of opportunity to a lifetime of learning through both traditional and information technology based library services.

On the November 3 ballot, you will be asked to support a dedicated tax in the order of $35 per average household per year to assure that our library can continue to provide each one of us with a life time of learning. Support your children’s future and the development of Pike County; vote this November to fund the Pike County Public Library.

What about the Ken Burns’ national parks series?

To the editor:

I really enjoy Jonathan Fox’s critique of cultural events in the area. I feel that he is an accomplished critic. However, I am disappointed that he mentions the “Great Lodges of the National Parks” PBS series, but not the Ken Burns series, “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.”

I am finding it an absolutely fascinating series, far more than I could have expected. Most particularly interesting and inspiring are the stories of the, mostly, men who struggled to develop the concept of a national park, and then to create them. An absolutely amazing assortment of men. I highly recommend the series.