Mailbag

To The Editor:
It was a great day.
On a beautiful Saturday morning, more than 55 volunteers showed up in Margaretville to join together to clean up flood debris and litter throughout the village. 

In four hours, two dumpsters were filled to the brim, roadsides and streamsides were cleared and some treasures were found.  Volunteers came back hot, sweaty and mud-splattered, and in a couple of cases with twisted ankles.

A number of second homeowners volunteered, happy to be able to help the area they love look clean again. 

To The Editor:
As residents of Hog Mountain Road, we endure along with our neighbors the inconvenience caused by the loss of the shortcut over the mountain, as reported in the Catskill Mountain News article of April 18-24, “Hog Mountain Road Repair Project Remains an Option in Middletown.” Although we do not need the shortcut to get to work, we, like our fellow homeowners along the road, have used it routinely to connect with CR 36 and as a “backdoor” to Margaretville, so we share the discomfort and discontent expressed by those petitioning for opening the road again.

To The Editor:
There hasn’t been a king or dictator in the U.S. since 1776 although Franklin Roosevelt came pretty close. His New Deal replaced America’s old Founding Father’s aristocracy with a new bureaucracy of Big Business, which increasingly is now run by managers rather than entrepreneurs. Formal ownership has been transferred to an army of anonymous and powerless stockholders. Political power has followed a similar path.

To The Editor:
I read Kurt Holcherr’s letter in the April 4 issue of the Catskill Mountain News with complete disbelief. 

It never ceases to amaze me that some people’s memories are so short.  Mr. Holcherr has obviously forgotten events like the BP Gulf oil disaster and has been ignorant of fracking problems that were made public in the film “Gasland.”  He has probably never had problems with well water, nor is he aware of spills related to pipelines such as occurred last year on the Yellowstone River.

To The Editor:
In response to Mr. Cerullo’s points about the government mandating that religious orders obey it and not their conscience:

Threatening a religious order with penalties unless they conform to a government fiat is coercion at best and persecution at worst and is blatantly unconstitutional. Lay people who work for these orders are free to choose other employment if they do not like the conditions. A master/servant relationship doesn’t exist.

To The Editor:
New York State’s politicians are about to make an important decision on our behalf, fracking. Fracking will give New Yorkers a much-needed economic stimulus and bring the nation closer to energy independence. It would generate much needed tax revenue for the state, county and towns.

It would create much needed good paying vocational jobs for the people in our community.

To The Editor:
I would like to congratulate Fred Woller and Harriet Grossman on their re-election to the Fleischmanns Village Board.  The people of the village have spoken.  Now is not the time for petty arguing.  We as a board must look to the future of the village, especially in these critical times.

To The Editor:
I’m a regular volunteer at the Bovina Public Library where Marge Miller has been the librarian for years.  She certainly cares about our library and does a lot to raise funds for it.

Your story in the March 14 edition left me with a lot of questions about the Fairview Library.  I appreciate Marge’s concern about balanced budgets and increased financial commitments for the Margaretville library, before the money has been raised to pay for them on an ongoing basis.

To The Editor:
Many thanks to Pauline Liu for her enlightening and informative article on the Fairview Library in the March 14 News titled, “Supervisor, Fairview trustees battle over library.” It was a very well-written, well-researched and in-depth report on an embattled, local and vital, institution that means a lot to many people in our community. See Kurt Holcherr’s wonderful Mailbag submission, “Librarian a tough act to follow” for the erstwhile contribution of the Fairview Library to our community.

To The Editor:
I would like to suggest that the Village of Margaretville make public its intentions regarding their newly acquired land at the Binnekill bulkhead. The bulkhead is in bad shape. Existing gaps in the bulkhead have grown wider and deeper as a result of the flood in August.