About that chocolate: not so simple

To the editor:

What is it about so-called watchdog groups that make these naive out-of-touch people miss the real story? Let’s stop all those poor children from working in those slave chocolate sweat shops so they can just starve to death or become child prostitutes.

Whatever happened to SCIL?

To the editor:

So what happened to SCIL or SCAL, as it was supposed to be called? This tremendously educational, successful and rewarding program had its last competition in May and has not been heard from since.

However, we had been told that it was not the end, but the beginning of a whole new program that would be based more strongly on academics and that it would not replace, but revamp SCIL.

Okay, okay, that sounded fine, but what happened to it? It is now mid-October and schools and coaches have received no word of any planning meetings or future competitions. In the past by October, SCIL would have had its first competition and first yearly planning session.

Has this too gone the way of the Gifted and Talented Program and County Countdown Competition, down the you-know-what?

As a Sullivan West Central School Jr. SCIL coach since the program’s inception, I have accompanied students to places they might never have gone but for Jr. SCIL: the Bronx Zoo, Intrepid Ship and Museum, Cooperstown Baseball’s Hall of Fame, Howe Caverns, Museum of Natural History in New York City and numerous other wonderful educational sites. I have watched young people learn, share, compete and enjoy these experiences. I have seen some of our most talented and able students stretch their minds, intellects and imaginations with new tasks and challenges.

Well, kids, I’m sorry to say that if you are some of Sullivan County’s brightest and most capable, you will receive few opportunities to be challenged and to reach higher and achieve more. It seems as if BOCES has killed all programs that might encourage and enable you to do this.

Sullivan should consider jail sharing

To the editor:

I realize the need to house Sullivan County Jail inmates somewhere other than in the current, unsafe facility. But given the county’s dire budget crunch, many area residents have been wondering about the findings of the state-funded, Sullivan-Orange-Ulster jail-sharing feasibility study. News of the study hit the sweet spot this spring, especially since all three jails were reportedly operating at 75 percent of capacity.

Yes, Sullivan would incur costs related to boarding inmates in Goshen or Kingston. But $80 million is a terribly burdensome figure to sink into a facility that may then have to compete for inmates to run efficiently. Besides the initial construction, there are also costs related to daily operation and maintenance, as well as the loss of annual revenue if the 50-acre Town of Thompson parcel were to exit the tax rolls.

My idea is to demolish the current Sullivan jail and build a small, overnight facility on the same location, thus insuring that inmates are available for county court the next day, but housing them at Orange or Ulster the rest of the time.

I know the Sullivan County Legislature has already approved purchase of land on which to situate the new jail, but hope it would seriously consider my proposal nonetheless.

Actions speak louder than words

To the editor:

Gas drilling can and must be stopped in our watershed

Fear is paralyzing when we feel we have no control over our lives and it can lead us to being powerless victims. There is much negativity in our world, with one disaster following another—we fear our sun because the ozone is depleted, we fear breathing air containing hidden toxins, we fear our water laced with toxic chemicals, we’re afraid to eat fish tainted with carcinogens from polluted waters, and on and on... so it’s easy to throw up our hands and think that we can’t make a difference.

We may withdraw inward—praying to a higher power, meditating, visualizing, practicing positive thinking, commiserating with friends. All this is powerful, but it can also become a crutch, keeping the focus on us. It can work to undermine us if that’s all we do.

We need less talk and more action. We are what we do, not necessarily what we say. “By their works you shall know them” (Luke 13:26)—this is a call to activism, to “walk our talk,” and it’s very empowering. If we can’t fix the entire world, we should stop breaking it and, in the meantime, we can try to fix a small part of our immediate world.

There is a “now or never” calling pulling us from the sidelines. Many organizations are working hard to make a difference, to keep our river and its watershed from becoming another environmental sacrifice zone. We feel angry, but not helpless. Each of us can do our part, based on our time, inclination and talents, and together we can make a last stand and show the gas companies that the Delaware River will be their Waterloo. Now is the time to act.

Milanville, PA