my view

On May 15, 2013, Dr. David Sager was terminated from his position as the deputy commissioner of the Sullivan County Department of Family Services (DFS). He was given no warning or explanation—just a letter from DFS Commissioner Randy Parker telling him to collect his belongings and leave.

In recent months, news outlets, employees and taxpayers have cheered Sager and Parker for streamlined procedures, client support and cost-savings at DFS.  Read more

It has been nearly a year and a half since I began my tenure serving as Wayne County’s coroner. Something that continues to impress me is the stunning reality that no two deaths are exactly the same. Certainly, details of one case may spark flashbacks to previous events investigated by the Coroner’s office; however, the specific and very personal circumstances of each death make my duties a very sensitive experience indeed.  Read more

Dec. 14, 2012, was my wakeup call. I was woefully ignorant about the gun violence in this country prior to that day. When I heard of the senseless killings of those children and teachers in Newtown, CT, I was brought to my knees in my living room in horror and sadness. I know Newtown; I lived there. It is just like my current Hudson Valley home, a small town filled with great caring people. That day, I counted down the minutes until 3:05 p.m. when I could go pick up my son from Kindergarten. I ran all the way to the school, held him in my arms and did not want to let him go.  Read more

As you already know… WJFF is in crisis.

Just like anything painful, crisis can be a good thing if we are willing to find purpose in it.

In that regard, I would like to offer some thoughts and proposals to consider:

In the case of WJFF, what has been festering for quite a while has now erupted, which means we have an opportunity to re-form in a way that aligns us with our true purpose—that of a community radio station. For me, the way we do that is crucial to its success and healing.  Read more

Let’s talk about WJFF.

People who have been following the local news know that something is up at WJFF. They know that a big meeting—standing-room-only at the village meeting room in Jeffersonville—took place on March 20. They know that frustrated volunteers and listeners spoke passionately, eloquently and sometimes forcefully to the board and to the station manager about the substantial degradation of our once vibrant, responsive and community-centered radio station.  Read more

The economy of upstate New York has been mired in malaise for several decades. This has been the economic bane of several previous governors and their administrations. It would be for Governor Andrew Cuomo, too, were it not for an unforeseen economic gift that has dropped into his lap.  Read more

I’ve been selling real estate in Sullivan County, primarily to second-home buyers from “the city,” for over a decade. It’s been challenging since the real estate market started tumbling, both here and around the nation, in 2007. Both the volume of sales and prices have fallen here about 30% since then. Second homes are a discretionary purchase, and during the darkest days of the recession, buyers were hoarding their acorns.  Read more

The controversy surrounding the Town of Callicoon’s new comprehensive plan isn’t really about fracking; it’s about democracy. The town board is pushing a plan that’s repugnant to a vast majority of Callicoon residents. A comprehensive plan is supposed to be “founded upon the town’s collective vision for our future;” but for most of us, the board’s draft plan isn’t a vision; it’s a nightmare.  Read more

Right now, all nine Sullivan County legislators are facing some difficult decisions in terms of how to set a new course for county government that envisions fiscal responsibility, ethical conduct and smaller, leaner government. The six new members of this group, with a year of experience under their belts, are considering important changes to address significant problems of prior administrations and to build a better county government.  Read more

A cornerstone of our rural heritage is in trouble. Our local granges need help.

The Grange, also known as the Patrons of Husbandry, is our country’s oldest agricultural organization, with granges in 37 states. For 145 years, the Grange has provided services that include supporting “economic development, education, family endeavors and legislation designed to assure a strong and viable rural America.” Full membership is open to individuals over 14 years of age.  Read more

December 21, the Friday before Christmas, marks the winter solstice, a date that also looms large for the so-called Mayan “end-of-the-world” prediction. Despite what you may have heard, the Maya did not predict the end of the world. What these ancient “astronomers” did do was produce highly accurate and complex astronomical calendars (and there were many) that predicted events such as solar eclipses, transits of the sun by Venus (a rare occurrence) and other celestial happenings.  Read more

[Editor’s note: This “My View,” which has been shortened from its original, is reprinted with permission from Lisa DeNardo’s blog, “Hullabaloo Homestead.” She posted it on December 4. Sadly, far too many people in the Upper Delaware Valley also find themselves facing this kind of financial hardship. You can read the entire blog posting at our link: http://rvrptr.ws/TZHPVF]  Read more

Last year I gave my sister a goat for Christmas. The thing is that she doesn’t’ live in Wayne County; she lives in Baltimore, and she certainly can’t have a goat there. So it actually wasn’t for her. The goat went to a family in Kenya. However, it was a gift given in her name through Heifer International, and she received an email and a card with my warm wishes, a picture of a goat and a description of the program that helps to feed families and make them self-sufficient. (Heifer gives families at least a breeding pair and some training so they can start their own herd.) My sister loved it.  Read more

There are a lot of issues swirling around our area that raise fundamental questions about what we want to be. I have been involved in many of them over the years. Today, it’s natural gas, but a decade ago it was rapid growth. A decade before that it was about gaming and before that it was the designation of the Upper Delaware as a Scenic and Recreational River.  Read more

Precious river, many people depend on you for their laughter, joy, comfort and peace of mind. Your majesty is vast. Your true beauty and strength are obvious and yet, hidden. One can only get the feel of just how strong you are when surrounded by your steady movement, your journey, your intense focus to get to the destination—to share and reunite with your sister waters.  Read more

The unexpected adoption of pro-natural gas resolutions by the towns of Delaware and Fremont struck Sullivan County’s liberal political establishment like a thunderbolt. This was a major political victory for local property owners.

For the last two months scores of desperate environmental radicals have attended monthly meetings in both towns trying without success to get those courageous town board members to back down and rescind their resolutions.  Read more

I attended Frank Robisch’s funeral yesterday.

A man who played a significant role in my childhood.

As a child he defined all goodness from the apples to the pigs, from the hills to the valleys.

And in thinking about his life, at least the earlier part, it always makes me feel happy—makes me feel the kind of warmth one finds in reading a good book.

I visited Frank this past spring at his nursing home in Honesdale. He barely remembered me.

And after the visit I felt odd. I felt disconnected with humanity.

I didn’t know how to talk to Frank. I didn’t know how to relate.  Read more

The letter to Governor Cuomo signed by superintendent Ed Sykes and town councilman Harold Roeder of the Town of Delaware, as well as supervisor George Conklin of the Town of Fremont, makes some claims that may exist in an alternative universe, but not in the one I live in.

First, “We have studied the facts and data.” When was that done? It certainly wasn’t done in public.  Read more

Can somebody please explain to me why in the world most members of the Delaware Valley School District Board would want to build a new elementary school on the same property as an aging 24-inch high-pressure gas transmission line, with the possibility of an additional 30-inch high-pressure gas transmission to follow, all on the same site?  Read more