When was the last time YOU visited our 80-year-old library? If you have not done so within the last few months, PLEASE do so now before you make a decision on how you are going to vote on Dec. 14.
Did you notice how difficult it is to get into the building? Was it easy to find a parking space? How about the walk up the steep steps to get inside?
As soon as you enter, did you notice how the librarians are squeezed into a tiny work space, with barely room to pass one-another to help patrons?
Did you see the so-called children’s area? Can you imagine a group of tots crammed into that space for story hour, with all the distractions of everyone coming in and out?
Did you go into the main floor “reading room”? Tables and uncomfortable chairs are jammed into the space, with displays of audio books and tapes and a computer or two. Is it a place where you’d like to read?
Did you go upstairs into the “stacks”? You really should do this. It is a scary proposition: The stairs creak, the floors sag. Finding a book is a challenge. It’s a miracle that the entire upper floor hasn’t collapsed.
Given all these challenges, it is to our current library staff’s credit that they are able to help as many Highland residents as they do (over 65,000 visits last year!).
We need a new library to offer space for children, for teens, for quiet computer use for those who don’t have a computer, for a space to just sit and read, for a place for community meetings, for careful storage of our town’s historical documents and on and on.
A new library is going to be expensive. None of us likes to pay more taxes. All of our bills go up, yet, how can you place a price tag on a community library? Estimates are that our beautiful new library will cost an average household around $1.50 per week. Isn’t this within the reach of most of us? (Postponing construction of a new library will be even more expensive in the future.)
Please go visit our current library and then determine that you will vote to provide our community a new space to be proud of.
Stephanie L. King
Highland
A “no” vote for the proposed new library in Highland
After attending the information session on Nov. 30 for the new Highland Library, I came away feeling that the community has been left out of the discussion for a new library all together, and I am disappointed at the bitterness that exists over this issue and appalled at the casualness that the board has towards paying almost a million dollars of the taxpayers money to design a simple structure.
I don’t see this as the community’s wishes or what the community wants, but something sold by Butler, Rowland and Mays, who’s only interest is over three-quarter-of-a-million dollars in direct fees for what amounts to an architects and PE’s work. I think the community was clear that we do have a need for a new library, just not this grand.
The library board has done a disservice to our community. When asked why all of a sudden this has to be done, we were told that they have been searching since 1989 for a new library. As a frequent user of the existing library since 2003, this was a total shock to me -- having NEVER heard a word about this or a request for input.
Now we are left with an all-or-nothing choice in one shot. One that I cannot support as it stands, feeling left out of something that will belong to the community, designed elsewhere with no input of the users.
Perhaps if the library board would have consulted and asked the community before committing to this, then more of the people that HAVE to pay for this or risk losing their homes would be behind the plan.
Stephen Spor
Highland
Invest in the Highland Library
Over the last few years, we, the people of Highland, have supported and built several wonderful outdoor facilities of which we can be proud. What Highland still lacks is a true indoor facility, a place to come to during the cold, dark days of winter. Now it is time to take the next step together. By voting yes on the library bond issue, we will have the opportunity to create such a facility.
Some people have voiced concerns regarding this project. The only real reason I have heard for not approving a new library is FEAR. Fear of taxes and fear of bad times. But let’s face it, when have we ever stood up and said “my taxes are too low” or “now is the right time to build a new library”? When have we ever been happy to pay taxes? The sad truth is that for some of us the times will always be bad. These are not arguments to vote against the library, these are powerful reasons to vote yes.
When you have little or no funds, where else can you go to read a book, rent a DVD, use the computer and/or enjoy a program? This library will be a place where we can see exactly what our taxes have bought. This will be a place that belongs to us. This new building will be a true community center. It will be a place to meet and share a lifetime of good times. We simply can’t afford NOT to build this now.
Let us face our fears and then let them go and come out on Dec. 14 and vote YES on the Highland Public Library referendum. It is one of the best investments we can make for ourselves, our families and our community.
Angela E. Grieco
Highland
What were they thinking
I have mixed feelings about the proposed nearly $7 million library in Highland.
It cannot be denied that the drawings of the proposed library are very pretty. It looks like it will be a nice facility, with timely access to the Hudson Valley Rail Trail, as well as easy car access. It is certainly much better than the current facility. That cannot be denied.
One the other hand: WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?
Here we are in the middle of what is now commonly accepted to be the Great Recession. Many people are unemployed. Many people are being laid off or are under immanent threat of layoff. People are losing their homes because of their inability to feed themselves and also pay exorbitant property taxes.
It is doubly insulting to have the bill for this library added to our school district taxes, which are already through the roof.
A public relations expert has been hired to sell this to you much as these experts also sell all sorts of stuff we really don’t need. And we will pay their salary too.
However, I do think that it may actually be personally worth what it is going to cost so that I can ride my bike to pick up a book or movie.
In the end, I am inclined to secretly hope that the vote on the this significant expense passes, although I am definitely voting NO. And I urge you to do the same.
John Steele Jr.
Highland
The time for a new library is now
The time for a new library for Highland is now. When looked at carefully, you will see that your added costs are really minimal and not draconian as many of the naysayers will have you believe. The cost will be around 20 cents a day for the average home; two dimes a day for god’s sake! This will be money well spent, an investment to meet our current needs and the future development of the town.
There are those who say we should wait for better economic times. But later will mean much higher costs to borrow the money, buy the property and build. That would be truly a waste of our valuable money, not to mention denying ourselves the benefits of a new library and its expanded services for yet more years.
Sure, it is interesting to talk of opting for a library half the size of the 13,000-square-foot one planned by library experts who have a proven track record of meeting the real library design needs of other communities. Half a new library gives you half the benefits of a properly-sized library. Looking at other libraries built in recent years, cutting back to say 6,000 square feet would likely cost 60 percent of the planned new library, i.e. it would not save all that much and would leave us with an inadequate facility.
I ask you to vote yes on the Dec. 14 referendum that will okay the bond issue to build the new library. Everything I have seen tells me the size is right for the demonstrated growing needs of our residents. I believe that this new library will be important for the Highland community. The new library will help revitalize the center of town by drawing more library users to better facilities and ample parking. It will spur development by telling people and businesses that this is a town that cares about its basic services, such as those a great library will offer.
Rafael Diaz
Highland
Support the new library in Highland
I am writing to support the proposed new library in Highland. Books and libraries have been very important for many years in my family. I belong now to the book club at the library. We meet monthly to discuss a particular book and on occasion invite local authors to speak to us.
Some members read a hard copy, some listen to DVDs and some read on Kindle. The books and DVDs are supplied by the wonderful library staff and this all results in a shared experience. I believe that with a new upgraded and safe facility many more folks -- both adults and children -- would benefit.
Rita Downing
Highland
Vote “yes” on Dec. 14
We strongly believe that the proposed new library for Highland will enrich and strengthen the entire community. An expanded and modern facility will, like a magnet, attract both residents and visitors to its important services:
-- More young children will hear stories read to them and learn how our stories can change lives.
-- Students from all grades will have greater access to books, periodicals, DVDs and computers for their homework and other educational activities.
-- Adults without computers will have easy access to them and to the research skills of our librarians.
-- A public meeting room will serve a variety of purposes to enrich all of us in the community.
The new libraries in Gardiner and in New Paltz have greatly benefited those communities and we think the same will be true for Highland.
Join us in voting “yes” on Dec. 14 for a new library in Highland. A community is strengthened when its library is supported.
David Krikun
Phyllis R. Freeman
Highland
“Fuzzy” promotional material
Volunteerism is a wonderful thing...Just look at what has been accomplished by the Hudson Valley Rail Trail Association over the past several years! Highland has been enriched by the Harvest Fest, Moonlight Walks and even black-tie events that raise funds to support the rail trail and, therefore, the entire community.
Similarly, all of our surrounding communities have managed to build a network of dedicated volunteers to support their local libraries through fundraising endeavors and the promotion of a culture of charitable giving.
Imagine a local library fair that can consistently earn up to $30,000 to augment their funds. Hey, guess what? It happens at the Elting Library in New Paltz! Library patrons in New Paltz raised over $80,000 for their library last year. When Elting built their addition several years ago, almost $3,000,000 of it was funded through donations and work through fundraising. Similar stories of overwhelming public support can be told about the Poughkeepsie Library System, the Gardiner and Esopus libraries and (to a lesser extent) the Milton and Marlboro libraries.
During the past library year, ending in July 2010, the Highland Library earned a total of $500 in donations. There is no evidence that the library and its board did any fundraising activity or sought private donations. The Highland Library did not even have a “Friends of the Library” group. However, during that year, the library and it’s board explored several properties with the (costly) assistance of several attorneys, an architect, a public relations consultant and various environmental engineers and real estate agents. The library is now asking the community to fund a project that could be deemed excessive in comparison to any local library.
With the help of a public relations consultant, Highland residents have been the recipients of numerous promotional mailings from the library. These mailings have contained “fuzzy” mathematical calculations that might mislead the public on the actual costs per household of this ambitious project. Also potentially “fuzzy” are the library’s numbers concerning participation levels and the possibility of public funding and future grants. The Highland Library has a new web site produced by their public relations consultant that, unlike other libraries, makes no mention of volunteerism or charitable giving.
What is wrong with volunteering and fund-raising to help defray the costs to the taxpayers? If so many citizens in Highland are so (supposedly) passionate about a new Library, why can’t our community at least equal other nearby localities in volunteering and raising funds to show support, especially during this difficult economic time?
Ellen R. Heptinstall
Highland
In support of the new Highland Library
On Dec. 14, one week before the darkest evening of the year, a small group of shortsighted, but vocal opponents, will try to keep Highland in perpetual darkness. We find ourselves in a struggle over the need for a new library, and whether we can afford it. This struggle is not as much about the library building referendum so much as it is for the values of a community. The question is do we value literacy? Do we value education? Are we a community or just individuals?
The advocates of the new library hope to prove that when times are tough, civic-minded neighbors bind themselves together and face the future with courage and faith. They are in effect saying, “though we may not have arrived on the same boat, we are all in the same boat now.” Civic-minded folks know that the money they drop in the collection basket, or the food they deliver to the local shelter, is needed now more than ever. They know that it is imperative that we dig deep in order to still be able to contribute to the causes that are important. They look out for the needs of others because they believe that this is how you live in a community, and they have faith that someone, one day, will look out for them.
Some opponents have expressed anger about their increasing tax burden, yet this is so different. This proposal should not suffer because it is lumped in with other increases. In most cases, when a local tax or utility is increased, you do not get anything more for your money. If your municipal water tax is increased, you do not suddenly get more or better water. If your fuel oil rate is increased, you do not suddenly get oil that is six times more efficient. In so many cases we pay more for things, and get less, or if we are lucky, maintain the status quo. This is one of the rare cases where we will pay a little bit more and we will get substantially more value for our investment.
Imagine the message we send to our children about our values if the most beautiful building in our town is a library. It will be a reflection of our civic pride, a center for lifelong learning, and a gathering place for our community groups. More than any other place it will serve as a great equalizer and safety net, offering free access to materials to all people, regardless of race, creed or economic background. During economic hardship, our citizens turn to and depend on the library more than ever, that is why library patronage has more than doubled in the last decade. I believe that libraries do not cost money, they save money! Frugal people say “why buy things when you can share them?” You can borrow one or two books and one or two DVD’s per month and easily make up for the $78 per year investment.
Yes, the economy stinks, but that is actually one of the best reasons to support this proposal. Because of the economic downturn, the bond rate is at a 40-year low. Also, the owner of the property on Commercial Avenue is now willing to subdivide the property and has agreed to a reduced selling price. If the opponents were really interested in saving money, they could not find a better value than their local library, and they could not find a better time. Also, you can bet that if this bond does not pass now, it will cost way more in a few years.
During this season of giving and gratitude, it is time to make a wise investment in our future. Let’s tell our kids and grandkids that during that pesky recession in 2010 we were not afraid to step out into the light! I urge the citizens of Highland to please join me and my family and vote YES on Tuesday, Dec. 14 from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. at the American Legion Hall on Grand Street. The proposed new Highland Library is an idea that is long overdue. Your vote will count now more than ever.
Mike Wood
Highland
Wishing you all a green holiday
As we shop for the holidays, the Climate Action Coalition would like to remind you that whenever you can, think green and make a decision that is best for the environment: reuse, reduce, recycle.
A few ideas: homemade gifts from baked goods to jewelry and art work to everything in between. That could be a scrapbook with some photos; a poem or story or song, a collage or a 2011 calendar.
Group gifts: Pick names from a hat and get a gift for one person versus everyone. Can you all agree to give a reused gift -- something almost new that you no longer need or use?
Wrappings and cards: Create your own cards and wrapping paper from recycled paper including newspaper (the funnies are especially colorful). What can you reuse?
Gift alternatives: Make a donation to a charity in honor of someone. One such organization is www.heifer.org where you can select the gift of an animal which represents an opportunity for self-reliance for a family living in poverty.
We wish everyone a very green holiday. And please feel free to send us other suggestions or share what you did to climateactionnewpaltz@gmail.com.
Climate Action Coalition
New Paltz
Holiday giving -- an appeal for Kiernan Farm
In this giving season, I’m asking you to consider a donation to help preserve Kiernan Farm. Particularly, I’m appealing to those of you who voted for the bond act in 2006, which authorized the use of tax dollars to preserve farmland in Gardiner. Many of you who voted “yes” are now angry that the Town Board is not using bond funds to preserve the farm and I know that some of you have decided to withhold donations as a form of protest.
Am I nervous that the current Town Board will choose not to use tax dollars for future open space projects? Yes. Do I think that such a failure to use tax dollars would be a direct contradiction of what the voters decided? Yes. Do I think failing to use tax dollars will mean we will fail in our open space preservation efforts? Yes. Do I agree with the board’s current tactic to fundraise privately for Kiernan Farm? YES.
My final “yes” may seem an anomaly, but $50,000 is a very small number in the grand scheme of things, and if we can raise this money privately, it means we can stretch the bond fund further in the future.
Please, no protest votes -- we need your donation. And if you give generously, I’ll buy you a juicy Kiernan burger at next year’s car show. Send donations to: Town of Gardiner, P.O. Box 1, Gardiner, NY 12525.
Nadine Lemmon
Gardiner Town Board
Two more steps to save the environment
A week ago last Monday the New York State Assembly passed a temporary moratorium to wait until May 15, 2011, before issuing permits for hydraulic fracturing (also called fracking or hydrofracking where tons of water, sand and chemicals are blast under high pressure to force out the natural gas trapped deep within the shale rock). The vote was 93 to 43 with both Democrats and Republicans voting in favor of exploring the effects of this form of gas drilling on the environment and public health before proceeding. The State Senate passed the companion bill four months ago with a vote of 48 to 9.
If the Governor signs it, New York will be heralded as the first state to pass such legislation and take a leadership role in environmental policy. Pittsburgh was the first municipality to ban fracking in its city limits and was put on the map for this historic and courageous action.
The day before Thanksgiving Governor David Paterson on WAMC said, “This is a very good example of public participation. Our DEC (one of the strongest in the country) originally ruled that hydrofracking would not affect the water quality in the area, but we’ve received additional information and have not been able to come to a conclusion as to whether or not this is a good idea. Even with the tremendous revenues that will come in at this time -- over a billion dollars a year -- we’re not going to risk public safety or water quality, which will be the next emerging global problem after the energy shortage. At this point, I would say that the hydrofracking opponents have raised enough of an argument to thwart us going forward at this time.”
After the bill was passed in the Assembly the Governor became hesitant about signing, observing that the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) still has to create guidelines before permits for fracking are issued. These guidelines may not be ready by the date the moratorium ends.
I was in Albany the day of the vote. I spoke with Assembly members before they went into session and then I heard the debate. Assembly members had received an overwhelming grassroots mandate with phone calls, e-mails, letters and lobby visits. They argued and then voted for this time-out because it is safer to wait than put the environment and communities at risk.
First, please call Governor Paterson at 518-474-8390 and urge him to sign the moratorium by Dec. 13. This bill was passed in both houses by a large margin and reflects the public demand for action. The people have spoken and the Governor needs to follow the will of the electorate. And it is better for the environment to have this moratorium signed into law.
Second, please continue to educate family, friends and co-workers about this controversial method of drilling for natural gas in shale formations. A good web site is frackaction.com. Here is the link to a short but informative video to share: youtube.com/watch?v=nCyHS7fKmXI.
Rosalyn Cherry
New Paltz
Constitution study group
Liberty starts at home with each and every one of us and it’s vital to know and understand our founding documents in order to preserve freedom. Everyone is invited to join a Constitution Study Group on Wednesday, Dec. 15, 7 p.m., at the Gardiner Town Hall. This is an information discussion, not a lecture or class, and we welcome all, including young adults. There is no cost, it’s free. This time we’ll be discussing Washington’s farewell address. If you’d like to read it in advance and be prepared to discuss, call Pam at 255-3557 with questions or e-mail GardinersRight@earthlink.net.
Pamela O’Dell
Gardiner
Let’s do something about the Gardiner Town Board
The 2011 Gardiner budget was passed, which is no surprise. A while ago they predicted higher spending and a tax increase, which, to me, is also no surprise. The public hearing on the 2011 budget was a big farce. They knew a long time ago what they were going to do and how they were going to do it. This sad story about cutting the budget to the bare bones was a lot of bull. There are many ways the budget and spending could have been reduced, but I am not at liberty to say how because I will only make more enemies, if that is possible in this town.
From what I read in the local newspaper, the Gardiner Town Board intends to impose a Gardiner Day tax. There are 6,000 or more people in Gardiner. You are lucky if one quarter of the population comes to Gardiner Day. That does not matter with this Town Board. You will be taxed for it whether you come or not.
The Gardiner Town Board also proposed a contingency tax. I guess it is for a pet project that might come up or a political payback. For years the Gardiner Town Board has been warned about excessive and irresponsible spending, but they have total disregard for what might come up in the future and what the Gardiner residents have to do to survive. They seem to look as far as their nose and not further. You confront them and ask them simple questions and they will not answer. The town supervisor will not allow them to answer simple nickel-and-dime questions. In my opinion, they have something to gain or hide, or maybe both.
We have a town supervisor who says he cannot tell Gardiner agencies what to do with the tax money or how to spend it. If he can’t do that, what good is his job. He is supposed to supervise all fazes of Gardiner town government. If he can’t do it, why do we need him?
One senior member on the Gardiner Town Board already hinted about the 2012 budget and a tax increase, which is no surprise to me -- 2012 has not come and they already have their hand in the cookie jar. It is up to the residents of Gardiner to do something about this. If not, you will continue to pay. Don’t take my word for it. Wait until you get your tax bills for 2011 and 2012.
This November three of the senior Gardiner Town Board members will be up for reelection. This is the time for change. That is if anybody runs against them. The way things are going, maybe nobody else wants the job. I say to the Gardiner taxpayers, “Let’s do something about it.”
Henry Tortora
Gardiner
Thanks for supporting the Kodi kids
Thanks to the members of our community who continue to support the Kodi kids -- a sibling group of Kenyan AIDS orphans. The November 19th benefit to keep the children in boarding school was a huge success. Since 2003, your generosity has allowed a young Kenyan man to fulfill a promise to his dying brother that his six children would graduate high school. Graduating high school is a huge deal in Kenya, where just 43% of teens are enrolled in high school and only 19% actually attend. Yet today, three of the Kodi children have graduated. One will finish at the end of next year. The two youngest continue to work hard so that they will follow in their brother’s and sisters’ footsteps and do us all proud.
Again this year, world-class musicians -- KJ Denhert, Deanna Kirk, Peter Einhorn, Lou Pappas, George DeLeon, Dick Kniss, Gloria Jean, David LaPlante -- donated their talents to perform at a musical extravaganza. The Hudson Valley Dessert Company of Saugerties provided gastronomical delicacies, Sunflower in Woodstock supplied healthy beverages, and Adams Fairacre Farms in Kingston, Saugerties Price Chopper, Ulster Hannaford and Stop & Shop in New Paltz donated various products for the evening’s event. Thanks also to our media sponsor, Chronogram Magazine. The munificence of so many made for a wonderful evening. The openheartedness and kindness of the many people who gave lavishly ensured that the three remaining students will have another year of school. Our altruistic community has once again demonstrated Margaret Meade’s axiom: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
On behalf of the Kodi kids, we thank you.
Christine Dinsmore and Ruth Levine
Woodstock
Toni’s slogan will be, hurray for me
I was looking on the internet and my attention was directed to President Obama’s recent decision to enact a spending freeze for all government employees for two years. Congress didn’t fall under these guidelines, but also followed suit by not receiving a pay raise of $1,600. The President’s pay is $400,000 and it’s been that way since 2001. I think in the recent elections the people have spoken and the officials who weren’t up for re-election fear for their jobs and responded accordingly.
Recently, in the New Paltz Times story “Uncut”, there was no mention of the fact that our New Paltz Town Supervisor waited until the wee hours of the budget to sneak in her pay increase of $3,000. I think the fate of our current leaders who are up for re-election in 2011 is sealed by their own greed. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but next time you see Jeff Logan, Kitty Brown and Dave Lewis thank them for their unwavering course to keep your taxes at a minimum, under a 1% increase. The supervisor claimed she needed a raise because her own business in town was going though some rough times, WOW! Her slogan for 2011 will be “HURRAY FOR ME”!
I was in Washington, DC visiting family for Thanksgiving and was able to check out some of the downtown. I was told you’ll never find a parking spot. First, The Jefferson Memorial, then the Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, WWII Memorial, Arlington Cemetery and finally the Washington Monument. All were free and walk-up attractions, except the Washington Monument, for which you need a ticket -- given free at the ticket both at 8:30 a.m. daily or on line for $1. My sister said you couldn’t go up without a ticket and you needed them months in advance. Any way, having no ticket I asked the park’s officer if I could go up to the top and he said okay. And so Max, my niece, brother and myself went up. Unbelievable, my brother said. Impossible, everyone said. I realized that all the shrines and memorials are of regular people who were told they can’t, couldn’t, never, unbelievable or impossible.
Look in the mirror, you might see the person who can make a difference for everyone. Get involved and make an impact. Join the fire department, ambulance, town government, coach a team, help your neighbor, community and country.
Mine is the Town Board. The laws they pass affect all of us, some positive (rarely) and some in a negative way. The neighbors of Springtown and Plutarch are joined together to stand up for our property rights. The Town Board could admit they were wrong and reverse the Flood Plains Law. Instead, they waste our tax money on lawyers and town engineers to fabricate lies about events that never occurred. The board never even contacted Central Hudson to investigate the Dashville Dam. Even if you live in another part of town and you want them to stop wasting our money, come to the Town Board meetings and tell them so. Ask Toni who will be cutting the ballfields since she sliced the mowing budget. Maybe there’ll be a drought.
Ray Lunati
New Paltz
Finally something to agree on
Finally something that people of opposing political views agree on! Many in the Tea Party, the Cato Institute, USAction, the Center for Defense Information and those on President Obama’s bipartisan fiscal commission agree that we can cut defense spending -- $100 billion worth! We can stop maintaining cold-war bases around the world and buying overpriced weapons. Many newly elected Republicans are also committed to looking seriously at Pentagon spending.
Whether they agree that savings should go to education, jobs, health care and unemployment benefits is another matter.
Doris Chorny
Gardiner
We want to have some say in what goes on
In 2005, Congress passed a bill exempting gas companies from environmental regulations. As a result, hydro-fracturing (fracking) has been taking over the Western states and recently made its way to the East coast (New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, Colorado, Arkansas, Pennsylvania and now threatening New York and Delaware.) This is a procedure where water and chemicals are forced 8,000 feet into the ground. The fracking itself is like a mini earthquake. The intense pressure breaks apart the rock and frees up the gas. A well is drilled, between one and seven million gallons of water is needed and each well can be tapped up to 18 times. Fracking fluid is added to this water, which consists of over 596 chemicals like the toxic carcinogen ethyl benzene, corrosion inhibitors, gallants, drilling additives biocides shall control inhibitors, breaker aids viscosifers and liquid gel concentrates. We can’t get that water back. It’s contaminated. Avoiding contamination is inevitable.
The excessive use of water usage alone poses a very serious threat to our potable drinking water. Six states have documented over 1,000 incidents of ground water contamination. It bubbles and hisses when it comes out of the ground.
Not only are there health risks, but serious explosive risks. There is concern raised about the methods to tap these valuable resources. They have been categorized as environmentally risky and inadequately regulated. Despite environmental impact and well-documented heath risks and tangible outcomes, fracking is spreading all over the world. There are serious neurological consequences. Out West where fracking is already being implemented, well water and ground water alike is actually flammable and people are getting seriously ill. The cash pay off they are promising does not replace life or health and the money does not begin to cover the health costs that have been piling up for these poor people. Since the government lifted regulating these situations, people who are winning law suits are sworn to secrecy in order to get and keep their money; and it turns out, the money has never been worth the crime. This dilemma makes the plight of Erin Brockovich and Pacific Gas & Electric seem like light weights. Just to mention a few diseases that this contaminated water has resulted in are: Testicular cancer, malformation of embryos, bone marrow depression hemolytic (destruction of red blood cells), brain lesions and lung disorders (extreme shortness of breath).
Both domestic and wild animals are sick and dying. They are emaciated and going bald; this includes the cattle that are being raised for the beef we eat.
BUT, after all of the voices in New York State united, we have something to celebrate and we set an example for the other states affected by fracking. Just shy of 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 30, the New York State Assembly passed the moratorium on hydraulic fracture drilling. At the time the bill passed, more than 52,000 New Yorkers had signed the petition urging the Assembly to act to pass a bill, first through the New York State Senate, then the Assembly.
Though this is great news, it isn’t the end of the line. Not only does the governor still have to sign the bill, but it will come around again in May of 2011. This has nothing to do with political parties, it has to do with seeking normal everyday life without having to wear gas masks (to say the least). Let’s make sure they know we have a voice and we want clean healthy water, plants and animals. We want to live lives unthreatened and we want to have some say in what goes on.
Rev. Donna Favicchio
Highland
Help protect open space
The Gardiner Town Board committed $50,000 to help the Open Space Institute acquire the development rights to Kiernan Farm, a 139-acre beef farm just under the Gunks. A six-person committee has been raising the money privately.
That approach was deemed better than using tax funds because of residents’ already heavy tax burden. And despite the economy, the small group raising the money and our total lack of expense money, we’ve raised $22,000.
At the closing -- expected before year end -- we want to give OSI a check for at least half the $50,000. To do that, we need your participation.
Whether large or small, please send your tax-deductible contribution to Town of Gardiner, P.O. Box 1, Gardiner, NY 12525. More information is available at www.townofgardiner.org.
Protected farmland will last a lot longer than your daughter’s hot new phone. Guaranteed. Please help our efforts.
Raymond D. Smith Jr.
Gardiner
Help save a Gardiner farm
Gardiner’s fund-raising campaign to help preserve the Kiernan’s grass-fed beef farm needs your support.
A small group representing all political points of view has been working for six months to raise $50,000 to support the Open Space Institute’s (OSI) effort to insure that this beautiful, working farm in the shadow of the Shawangunks is never developed. The fund-raising committee and others in the Gardiner community are far from unanimous on HOW to protect Kiernan’s farm on Bruynswick Road. Some people want to use the Open Space bond. Others want to increase taxes on a one-time basis. And still others want to use voluntary, tax-deductible contributions.
BUT few disagree that protecting Gardiner’s rural, farm-oriented heritage is important. Once a farm’s gone, there’s no going back.
Also, a successful fund-raising effort will demonstrate to OSI that Gardiner is committed to protecting farms and open space. Thereby encouraging OSI to team up with Gardiner on future projects.
We’re about half way to our goal of $50,000. Will you help us save this important property? Please send your donation to the Town of Gardiner, P.O. Box 1, Gardiner, NY 12525.
Warren Wiegand
Fund-Raising Co-Chair
Gardiner
Wishing you all a green holiday
As we shop for the holidays, the Climate Action Coalition would like to remind you that whenever you can, think green and make a decision that is best for the environment: reuse, reduce, recycle.
A few ideas: homemade gifts from baked goods to jewelry and art work to everything in between. That could be a scrapbook with some photos; a poem or story or song, a collage or a 2011 calendar.
Group gifts: Pick names from a hat and get a gift for one person versus everyone. Can you all agree to give a reused gift -- something almost new that you no longer need or use?
Wrappings and cards: Create your own cards and wrapping paper from recycled paper including newspaper (the funnies are especially colorful). What can you reuse?
Gift alternatives: Make a donation to a charity in honor of someone. One such organization is www.heifer.org where you can select the gift of an animal which represents an opportunity for self-reliance for a family living in poverty.
We wish everyone a very green holiday. And please feel free to send us other suggestions or share what you did to climateactionnewpaltz@gmail.com.
Climate Action Coalition
New Paltz
Flags are removed from cemetery
On a recent trip to the Modena Cemetery to visit my father, I noticed that the American flags have been removed from all of the flag holders. At a recent meeting, the board members mentioned that they were going to “make it a rule” that flags could only be on the graves from Memorial Day to Veterans Day. My father was unable to serve his country for medical reasons, but we still had an American Flag on his grave. When they went around and removed the American flags, they removed my fathers as well. I realize that the cemetery owned the American flags on the veteran graves, but they DID NOT own my fathers and had NO right to remove it.
Our veterans fought hard for our country to give us the freedoms and rights that we have today, but it’s obvious that the board members of the Modena Cemetery feel that the families of the veterans and other loved ones buried in their cemetery don’t have the right to fly the American flag proudly over their grave all year long.
The ones who are doing this know who they are and should be ashamed of themselves. Their actions are so bad that it actually caused their superintendent to quit, which is sad because he truly enjoyed helping people.
I think it’s time for a change and things really do need to change. So keep yours eyes open for their only open meeting, which is usually in either June or July.
Lorianne Moranski
Modena
The problem is, the global warming zealots have lied so long and so much that we can't believe what environmentalists say anymore.