Letters to the Editor August 18

Posted 8/21/12

Walking the walk in Mamakating

This letter is in response to Chuck Petersheim’s letter to The River Reporter in the August 11 edition. It appears that Chuck has spewed unsubstantiated …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Letters to the Editor August 18

Posted

Walking the walk in Mamakating

This letter is in response to Chuck Petersheim’s letter to The River Reporter in the August 11 edition. It appears that Chuck has spewed unsubstantiated accusations without knowing the facts. In his letter, he identified a modest real estate investment of mine (G-Mart) in the Town of Mamakating, stating that it “utilizes not one alternative energy or truly energy efficient product.”

This couldn’t be further from the truth. The fact of the matter is that the business has over the last year and a half partnered with Orange and Rockland (O&R) and instituted numerous energy-efficient programs that reduced the businesses energy use by 25% and demand by 30%, resulting in a total yearly reduction of approximately 150,000 kilowatts of electricity. The programs we instituted included:

• Installing new LED ceiling lighting

• Installing 30 new LED refrigeration-case lighting

• Replacing 85 case fans with state-of-the-art new energy-efficient motors

• Replacing frozen food heated door elements with energy-efficient elements

• Replacing parking lot lighting from high-output 420 watt incandescent bulbs to 120 watt energy-efficient LED bulbs

The total cost of the programs was approximately $70,000, of which O&R contributed a percentage. Ironically, I have also been asked by O&R to speak to other customers on their behalf attesting to the benefits of these programs. Moreover, we have been approved by NYSERDA for a financing program to retrofit open refrigeration cases with closed French doors, resulting in more energy saving.

In closing, any business that would like more information regarding the energy efficient programs available from O&R discussed above, can contact me directly at wgmart @gmail.com.

And Chuck, maybe we could sit down and you could buy me a drink at that new elegant resort in our town on 211 Mail Rd. and discuss the definition of walking the walk.

Jim Gutekunst,

Eldred, NY

Where were they in January?

This letter is in response to the article in the August 11-17 issue of The River Reporter regarding the Pond Eddy Bridge. In the article, it is reported that Barbara Arrindell, director of Damascus Citizens for Sustainability (DCS), said that the public has not seen the causeway plan. If she or any other representative of DCS had been to the meeting held on January 21 in Shohola, PA, as reported in the story “New Pond Eddy Bridge unveiled” in the January 27 issue, they would have seen that the facts were laid out as to what was happening and how it was going to proceed. Richard Plunz, who had been one of those spearheading the movement to preserve the bridge, was away, so he sent Pat Carulo as his eyes/ears. I went to see if the planners were at least in the right ballpark.

There were detailed maps. The answers during the Q&A were not flim-flam answers. I spoke in depth with David MacEwan, local project liaison, about the project, and why the authorities weren’t willing to consider repairing the bridge rather than replacing it. I was told that federal law mandates any new bridge must be able to carry a load of 35,000 pounds. Period. The end.

My question is: where was DCS when that group needed them most, and what prompted them to jump in now? In their backyard they have another bridge that has been closed and is in danger of replacement (Skinners Falls) and another that is half closed (Narrowsburg) at their front door. What are they doing about those? Maybe they should open their eyes closer to home.

Larry Braverman

Beach Lake, PA

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here