Waste plan critique is right on

To the editor:

“A 20th Century solution,” your editorial in the November 19 edition of The River Reporter, is right on. I can only hope that you will have more influence on the “powers that be” than the many of us who agree totally have had. The mismanagement of the landfill for years has come back to haunt us all. Our elected officials are responsible, thereby making us responsible for having elected, then reelected them. Think about this at the next election. Perhaps we will be lucky enough at that time to have someone competent and caring run for office. And hope Alan [Sorensen] will run again and David [Fanslau] will be reappointed.

Cathy Farris

New trash fee needs rethinking

To the editor:

It is not too late for the Sullivan County Legislature to reverse its ill-advised vote inflicting an enormous new trash removal fee on the already abused local taxpayers. This action also erased what little progress the county had made in the matter of the higher costs being applied to the greater users of the system. Further note that New York State faces a huge budget shortfall disaster this week, and a January county/town tax increase is already in the works. Given the economic status of the residents, this new fee is unrealistic and oppressive.

Adding insult to injury, we will now pay this new fee and haul our own trash to a remote site. Expect more roadside dumping and secret drops at public receptacles. Many urbanized areas that use the blanket fee or tax system include the pickup service. Some western Sullivan residents pay a by-the-bag price with dumping costs included.

Last week’s River Reporter editorial saved the delegates from belatedly doing their homework when it clearly explained how many parts of this trash removal process had been overlooked. While the fee system was easier, it was not better.

Late or not, the legislature needs to roll up its sleeves, dig into the details and develop a sensible, balanced program that serves the public at a fair cost while meeting ecological goals and, importantly, based on the Pay as You Throw standard.

An inequitable and irresponsible solution

To the editor:

I am opposed to the handling of trash legislation that was passed last week by the Sullivan County Legislature. In part, that’s because of the lack of incentives to recycle and the unfair arrangement of taxing all householders the same amount per year no matter how little trash comes from their residence. It is also due to the exportation of trash to some other area. It is irresponsible to make someone else have to live with our trash. Yes, some other area gets paid by us, but I’ll bet the people living close to that landfill, like those by the Monticello site, have no choice in the matter. As we become more sensitive about this, I’ll bet we get responsible and stop exporting our problem.

I am deeply disappointed that the legislature, with the exception of Alan Sorensen, did not have a deep understanding of the need to recycle. Our beloved and beautiful earth allows and supports life, including human life, in major part because she recycles everything, with the exception of some manmade chemicals, thus ever renewing and making available that which is essential to life: oxygen, clean water, fertile soil, etc. We must recycle so as not to overwhelm the natural systems with our wastes, making them unable to support life.

I close with a word about inequity. I recycle literally everything from my home by composting all veggie-type stuff and getting recyclables to the landfill (I believe the county gets paid for these). So I end up each week with maybe, at most, one quarter of a grocery-sized bag that goes out as trash. Why should I pay $181 a year for so little compared to others throwing away much more?

Have any of you considered withholding $181 from the tax bill in January until such time as trash law is changed to be both equitable and environmentally loving? Let me know.

Distressing stereotypes

To the editor:

We found both the article “A house is not a home,” as well as the River Muse column regarding “weekenders” in the October 8 issue extremely distressing in their tones of xenophobia and stereotyping. We are proud to be weekenders. We cherish the natural beauty and lovely people in the region. Like Mr Goldberger, who wrote a letter in the October 29 issue, we pay our ever-escalating property taxes and school taxes in full, despite not using the school. It would make sense that we should have a voice in the leadership of our community, given that we actually pay more taxes to the Town of Highland than we do to the City of New York. The refrain of “taxation without representation” once again comes to mind.

As for Ms. Collins, we understand from her recent reply that she was trying to be humorous. However, we believe she may have crossed the line between humorous and offensive, and such humor often begins with stereotypes. Speaking on behalf of other weekenders whom we have come to know, we love to support our neighbors and attend community events and happily patronize local businesses. We would enjoy being considered normal members of the community rather than aliens from the planet of New York City.

For the record, we are not part-time-working millionaires. In fact, both of us are health care practitioners helping to care for seriously ill cancer patients. We often drive up late on a Friday night and then have to rush back late on Sunday to fulfill our obligations to our patients. The peace of the Upper Delaware Valley community allows us to recharge from the emotionally difficult lives we have chosen. While in the area, we never shirk from the chance to help our neighbors in any way we can. As the entire region struggles with the effects of our uncertain economy, is it wise to make anyone feel unwelcome?

A funny way to save the environment

To the editor:

I’m just a dumb farmer, so I was getting upset about all the nasty things that the environmental radicals are digging up about what happens when the gas drillers move in. You know, all the air and water contamination, dead animals, birth defects, cancer, etc. in Dimock, western Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Colorado, Alabama, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Texas and who knows where else.

It’s a good thing that in response to your invitation the true environmentalists, from the Northern Wayne Property Owners Alliance (NWPOA), are speaking up.

It was so exciting to learn that they didn’t lease their land for the money, but to save the environment. And that with the help of a few smart lawyers, they got a lease that virtually eliminates the nasty effects mentioned above. No longer need we worry about an out-of-control industry trashing our land. Or about toxic liquids and gases destroying our health. Now, we can all confidently protect ourselves by leasing our land and enjoy good health and prosperity, using the NWPOA lease as a model.

But let’s not be selfish. How can we help all those poor people around our country and around the world who are being poisoned by the oil, gas and coal industries? Maybe if the fossil fuel industry were awarded a prize (you know, something like the Nobel Peace Prize) for environmental preservation, this would be an incentive for them to stop polluting. Or maybe NWPOA could hire a team of really smart lawyers to stop the ongoing global environmental disaster.

Politically appointed board a bad idea

To the editor:

While the existing bylaws of the Pike County Public Library (PCPL) need thoughtful examination, the proposal for a government takeover of the PCPL Board by political appointees from the county’s 13 municipalities plus two by the commissioners is hasty, ill considered and deeply flawed. It would give equal representation to appointees from such lightly populated townships as Green and Porter as to the much larger populations in Dingmans, Delaware and Lehman. The 15-member board would be unwieldy, and too large to operate efficiently, particularly since there would be no mechanism to encourage the selection of individuals with the broad array of skills, talents and experiences that makes for an effective board. Most importantly, it would make it almost impossible to “throw the bums out” should that be necessary in the future. Just imagine what would be required for unhappy voters to have to work through numerous governmental bodies to effect major change in the library’s board. Under such a system, we can forget about accountability to the taxpayers or other stakeholders such as the users, volunteers and donors.

It is not necessary to have a politically appointed board for the voters to have leverage over the PCPL. Witness the current threat to withhold funding if the board doesn’t do what the commissioners want them to do.

I urge all concerned to avoid any perception of retribution for any aspect of the just-concluded referendum campaign and to consider carefully what is in the best long-term interest of this important community institution.

Another Telstar race?

To the editor:

With last Thursday’s arrest of former Pennsylvania House Speaker John Perzel on charges of being the architect of a tight-knit conspiracy that illegally spent $10 million taxpayer dollars for sophisticated computer technology (Telstar) to help Republican candidates win legislative races, it is worth noting that Telstar was most likely utilized in at least two local races. The first was the 2002 special election for the 176th district, in which Republican Mario Scavello was first elected. The second was in the special election for the 189th district, which was won by Democratic candidate John Siptroth.

Although the grand jury does not mention this race for the 189th specifically, there were many Republican operatives on the ground. It seems likely Telstar was used, given the Republican desire to take the seat. Given the recent debacles in Pike County, with write-in ballot counting, miscounting, and court-directed re-counting, the subsequent resignation under fire of a director of elections, and the continuing partisan activities of Republican board of elections officials, we need to ferret out any other Republican practices that attempt to subvert the democratic process. The upcoming grand jury investigation of House Republicans provides us that opportunity. We call on attorney general Corbett to pursue the opportunity vigorously.

Pike County Democratic Committee