Letters to the Editor September 15

Posted 8/21/12

In praise of John Bonacic

I am a long-time resident of the area and a proud Democratic officeholder. That said, I can’t help but notice that our state senator, John Bonacic, has had his name …

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Letters to the Editor September 15

Posted

In praise of John Bonacic

I am a long-time resident of the area and a proud Democratic officeholder. That said, I can’t help but notice that our state senator, John Bonacic, has had his name dragged through the mud a bit lately, despite his years of service to our area.

Bonacic has worked tirelessly to help bring economic development to Sullivan County, particularly in my home of Monticello. He has focused on bringing funding for municipal projects, improving infrastructure and job creation. He has fought to return the Catskill region to a tourism destination, from resort casinos to environmental tourism.

These qualities are not Democratic or Republican. They are representative of the values we share as a region.

It is easy to look at politics in Albany or in Washington and be cynical. The best thing we can do as voters is to send the best person for the job to work for all of us; who is focused on improving the quality of life for all of the people he serves.

Sen. Bonacic continues to ignore party lines to do what is best for our region. I am certainly going to do the same and continue to vote for him. After all he has done, and will continue to do, for our region, he is the obvious choice.

I was proud to write in “John J. Bonacic” for state senate on Primary Day, Tuesday, September 13. He is the best candidate for the job.

Carmen Rue

Monticello, NY

Improving hunting habitat

Well, the New York Southern Zone bear hunt started September 10 and runs to September 25. Unfortunately, unless you know where a bear is, it is a bit difficult to find a bear with high humidity, warm weather and full green foliage; look for tracks, scat/poop, claw marks on trees, and where there are lots of acorns, beechnuts and berries.

Vermont also has a September bear season. I chose to drive down to the state of Delaware and try bow hunting for deer the first weekend in September. Four doe tags come with the hunting license, and I purchased a quality buck tag. Delaware deer hunting season goes from September 1 to January 31, so I’ll go back down there in January. (There won’t be mosquitoes everywhere then and no hurricanes/tropical storms.)

Delaware grows corn and soy bean outside of the woods, swamps and upland wildlife areas, which is a great idea. New York really does very little for our hunters. It does not have logging on state lands that I know of, which would curb forest fires and provide access roads and allow sunlight to the ground for new growth of small trees and shrubs/bushes and grasses. Nor does New York plant much, if anything, with the money coming from hunting and conservation. Old, big woods are great to hike in and look at, but are poor for wildlife and cannot sustain healthy deer, bear or turkey populations; all those animals need edge environment with apple trees, small trees for browse, brush/bushes, shrubs and grasses as part of their habitats. And yes, soy and cornfields and green leafy plants like turnips/radishes would greatly improve the quality and number of animals living in and around wildlife areas.

Let’s not forget our hunting and arms heritage; take a kid hunting or to the range.

John “JP” Pasquale

Livingston Manor, NY

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