Mailbag

To The Editor:

We are at a critical juncture in the future of the Onteora Central School District, and unless voters in all the communities respond on Election Day, May 20, our children, taxpayers and communities will suffer a terrible and irreversible body blow.

To The Editor:

Nobody enjoys paying school taxes, and for those who don’t have children in the system, it must be particularly painful. But until our politicians find another way to fund our schools (which we’d appreciate), we’re stuck with it. All the more reason to know what’s happening with school taxes in the Onteora Central School District.

To The Editor:

Approximately one month ago, I admitted my dad to Margaretville Memorial Hospital (MMH) for rehabilitation after three months of hospitalization in a downstate hospital. Many of the staff downstate were bewildered with this decision, thinking that a larger facility was better. Knowing differently we made the move and a few days ago he came home.

To The Editor:

I have to admit, I must give Invenergy an A for consistency. They are persistent in their efforts to hide health and safety information from the residents of Roxbury and Stamford. Not only did they remove the information in appendix O of the DEIS, which contains a warning to turbine operators and technicians “Do not stay within a radius of 1,300 ft., unless it is necessary.” They also removed the list of toxic oils and lubricants that are located within the turbines. The manufacturer states, “May cause cancer, very toxic to aquatic organisms, may cause long-term adverse effects in the aquatic environment.”

To The Editor:

Having gone to the meeting at BOCES on Saturday which was supposedly to get people’s impression on the environmental impact of the wind turbines that are proposed for the area, it must be said that the antiwind turbines people were out in force and most of what was said was the same old rhetoric.

To The Editor:
I recently returned to Belleayre Mountain for the first time in 18 years. I first skied the Old Peekamoose Trail in December of 1931, almost two decades before the ski center was built. As an adult, I worked at Highmount Ski Center in its early years and was a builder of and major stockholder in Plattekill Ski Center in Roxbury. In the early 1960s I came from private enterprise to Belleayre, rising up through the ranks from ski patrol to the post of superintendent.

To The Editor:

At a recent village board meeting on April 21 I observed many
individuals in attendance expressing their concern with regards to the
proposed water storage tank on Paradise Camp Road. There was also
frustration regarding reimbursement monies promised by the MARK Group
for properties connecting to the recently created sewer district if
done before the end of December 12, 2007.

To The Editor:
On Sunday, June 8, my four-year-old daughter, Kathryn, and I will be participating in the 21st annual American Cancer Society GWB Challenge alongside my family and other participants in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Many people will be walking, running and even riding their bicycles to help raise money towards the ACS Mission and helping to find a cure for cancer.

To The Editor:
On April 9 the Onteora High School Life Skills class and members of Onteora DECA prepared for and hosted a Senior Citizens’ Prom at Al’s Restaurant in Phoenicia. Over 70 guests enjoyed the free music, food and party atmosphere made possible by grant funding provided through the Lower Esopus River Watch’s Learn and Serve America program, NYS Education Department and the Corporation for National & Community Service.

To The Editor:
In many circles, talk revolves around what people can do to stimulate the local economy. Usually people think of large-scale manufacturing and other large corporate businesses as the economic drivers needed to jumpstart and drive the economy. Although these large industries are no doubt important, particularly on a national and global scale, I believe that the average person has more direct influence over the start-up and success of small-scale, family-owned and operated businesses.