Dear Editor,
Voicing ones opinion in the public forum is important. However, it is helpful to our community only if the facts are straight.
In a recent letter to the editor, the developer of the Belleayre Resort at Catskill Park made several misleading and factually inaccurate statements about The Catskill Center for Conservation and Development. We have gone on record several times, as has the Catskill Preservation Coalition (CPC), as being in full support of the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center (BMSC) expansion. Indeed, the economic payoff for the central Catskills would be significant.
We have asked to see the expansion plans for two important reasons. First,
if the Belleayre Resort is built as proposed along with the Ski Center's expansion, the prudent thing to do is to look at the cumulative impacts of both projects on our communities and environment. Second, we are seeking the disclosure of the BMSC plans to ensure that the expansion can move forward in the face of the tremendous drain on the area's resources, particularly water supply, that will result from the location and scale of the proposed resort.
The Catskill Center and the CPC have endorsed the alternative put forward by Congressman Maurice Hinchey. His proposal envisions a scaled down Belleayre Resort project that would stimulate economic growth and could dovetail with the BMSC expansion while protecting the irreplaceable resources that define
our communities. Eleven environmental organizations are on record supporting Congressman Hinchey's alternative because it balances economic development with the protection of our natural resources. Unfortunately, the developer of the proposed Belleayre Resort does not.
Tom Alworth, Executive Director
The Catskill Center for Conservation
and Development
Arkville, NY

Dear Editor,
They’re doing it again folks. A dangerous and insidious movement is taking place, right under our eyes this year. They are trying to take Christ out of Christmas. I have it from reliable undisclosed sources that the Grinch behind this movement has now been identified as none other than the ACLU.
The take-over of our “One Nation, under God” is being perpetrated by the amoral, anti-death penalty lefties, as they continue to attempt to sacrifice our values. This outrageous push to strip religion out from our Constitution, shows, once again, that the liberal media is covering up the really important news with frivolous stories about such things as, WMD’s, whatever that was, one-bid contracts from the government and 4000 % profit on army supplies and other trite issues
For God’s sake’s folks, this is America. What is war for if not for profit? That’s what this country stands for. That’s what we send our brave young men and women to preserve. In addition, they want to take away our Christian right to celebrate Christmas, American style.
We all know what Christ would have wanted for Americans. He sacrificed his life for us to celebrate with joy and wonder at the toys, jewels, electronics and other disposables at this joyous time. Christ would have wanted a flat screen TV in every room. Does anyone doubt that?
What they want, is to take over the Christmas tree with their puny candles, Kwanza fruits and vegetables and Muslim belly dancing. .
They want to take over our shopping sprees, symbolizing the very essence of this great nation, with their puny presents and long, boring speeches. And most of us don’t even know that it’s going on, right under our eyes.
Meanwhile, the media continues to cover up this dangerous movement, while at the same time, trying to take away tax cuts for the wealthy. Well, if they wanted to be rich, they should have gone to Harvard.
We can ignore those leftie liberal freaks and fight them right here in Ulster County.
Let’s get out there and shop folks. Buy the biggest brightest Christmas balls you can find, chop down those trees and create exciting fire hazards. Wrap your presents sin extra layers of disposable paper. Get dozens of those toys that keep your kids attention for l0 minutes or less, and celebrate Jesus with a drink of egg nog . He’d be proud of us.
Jill Paperno
Glenford, NY

Dear Editor,
Early this morning, December 13, 2005 at 12:01 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, one Stanley "Tookie" Williams went from this life to another; just where is not clear. By 12:20 A.M. there was no further contact or dialog with this person and it is not for us to consign anyone to an eternal place of residence.
As of 10:00 A.M. today there are still remnants of Mr. Williams' supporters and sympathizers milling around San Quentin prison which hosts the death chamber in which Mr. Williams was it's latest guest. I and many others of sound mind and reason wonder why the intercession on Mr. Williams' behalf after surviving for 25 years longer than his victims. One victim was 21 when Mr. Williams shot him as he lay in submission, face down on the floor. That 21 year old man would now be 51 and probably enjoying a wife and family. The other 3 were executed in a different location, different day, different crime. They would probably be enjoying life as expected.
Stanley "Tookie" Williams invented the "Crypts" street gang of national fame who has the dubious distinction of having executed more people than the Mafia and independent criminals together [AP, 12/13/05]. A joint investigation by local police and FBI targeted Mr. Williams who was arrested and charged in accordance with the laws of California for murder and other attendant infractions. He was found guilty and sentenced to execution. The lawyers representing Mr. Williams did "due diligence" and appealed the conviction [and sentence] a number of times over the 25 year "grace" period he enjoyed. All failed by the preponderance of evidence and the efficiency of the court(s) which brought us all to December, 2005. Governor Schwartzenegger was "shoe horned" into the fray with of course the objective that he would share the "blame" for "Tookie's" demise. The Governor rejected any clemency or commutation and the US Supreme Court declined a stay of execution.
"Tookie" Williams has become an icon in that he wrote children's books on how not to get into trouble. He was nominated for a Nobel Peace prize and a Nobel prize for Literature, something even Yassar Arafat could never arrange.
What else do we know about Stanley "Tookie" Williams? Well, the books didn't work too well with his own son who is doing big time in a California prison. The Crypts are still around as a "Tookie" legacy and I have had the questionable honor of knowing a few in the Bronx. Initiation into the Crypts for the young men demands that the applicant kill another person [stranger preferred] in the presence of a "back up" or two. For a young female candidate she has a choice of killing someone or engaging in sex with a male member in full view of other [mixed] members.
Since the recent drive to "save Tookie" began the only name we have read or heard of is "Tookie". The victim's names have been erased from the original news media reports of 25 years ago. Their relatives have become more obscure and one might think the victims never had any worthwhile friends.
I would add that the demonstrators holding the vigil outside of San Quentin were/are a strange lot that brought all kinds of campaign slogans and causes to the meeting; "Abortion Rights", "Get out of Iraq", "Bush is the Executioner", and a plethora of other grievances. Had I been there to oppose execution [which I do] I would have left all my other placards and signs at home to display appropriately at other gatherings. And when I say I am opposed to execution it is with the understanding that a mutant or Cretan such as "Tookie" Williams will do life without parole and the lawyers will be barred from any attempt at "springing" him. Ah, but the lawyers have entre to these appeal cases and get paid by you and me for their endless efforts. They petition the court and the court grants them permission [with pay], OK ? So I grudgingly vote for execution until life without parole becomes part of my safety net.
And we should not forget the killing of two fine NY City Police Officers and the shooting of a dedicated NY State Trooper in the last couple weeks. Please don't tell me as Mayor Bloomberg did on TV last night that, "guns kill people". If that is so then let us send our guns and ammo with instructions to Iraq and keep our young military folks at home. Do cars kill people? Do kitchen knives kill people? Do people kill people?
Glenn T. Anderson
Olivebridge, NY

Dear Editor,
Thoughts on the 24 November 2005 “ON THE TRAIL “ article.
When a comrade or loved one falls it is a compelling reaction for those left standing to try and help the fallen one. The urge to do so is stronger than the instinct to save one’s own life.
Your hunting party killed two deer walking together .The second one because it failed to move fast enough after the first was shot.
We can only guess at the bond that had been forged between the two. We can only speculate on the number of sunrises and sunsets they had seen, how many miles they had walked together, how many close calls they had seen each other through. However formed, the strength and depth of this bond is evidenced by the unwillingness of one to leave the other behind. It was a hesitation that proved to be fatal.
In your article you make it sound like a mistake, and I guess it was. And in the world where these deer lived mistakes are unforgiving. Still, I think we can agree that it was a noble and honorable thing to do… far more noble and honorable than taking aim and pulling the trigger.
Greg Perantoni
Saugerties, NY

Dear Editor,
Once again, when the chips are down, Dean Gitter resorts to what he does best: distorting facts and sowing fear to get what he wants. Mr. Gitter’s letter in the Phoenicia Times last week is just the most recent example of his willingness to spread false and misleading information in an attempt to divide a community. It is what people do when the case they are arguing is weak; Mr. Gitter no doubt hopes that skewing the facts will shift the focus away from the numerous adverse environmental impacts created by his ill-placed and oversized resort.
To restate yet again for the record, the Catskill Preservation Coalition (CPC), of which the Catskill Heritage Alliance (CHA) is a member, has steadfastly supported expansion of the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center. One reason we are opposed to Mr. Gitter’s proposed mega-resort is that it would draw water from the same source as the ski center and could thus limit an expanded center’s ability to serve its growing public.
And again for the record: neither the CHA nor the CPC opposes the development of tourism in the Central Catskills. In fact, the Coalition endorses the regional development proposal recently released by U.S. Congressman Maurice Hinchey. The Hinchey proposal, based on Mr. Gitter’s resort plan, envisages a scaled-down development package which would spur regional growth—including the expansion of the ski center—while protecting the very resources essential to the character of the Central Catskills and the drinking water supply of nine million people.
It is perhaps not coincidental that Mr. Gitter should again float these falsehoods at this time. He is currently appealing a ruling by an independent DEC Judge that found against his mega-resort proposal on 12 of 16 issues following a comprehensive pre-“trial” hearing. That is a significant legal obstacle, and Mr. Gitter will likely be left with the prospect of several more years of adjudication.
The writing is on the wall. If Mr. Gitter really cares about the Central Catskills and its communities—as he claims—it is time for him to reconsider the Hinchey alternative, scale down his proposal, and get on with development. The only one who should be ashamed is Mr. Gitter.
Susanna Margolis
Chairman, Catskill Heritage Alliance
Fleischmanns, NY

Dear Editor,
The election is over and the voters have spoken. For me this is now a time for reflection and analysis.
During the last year or so I have spent a great deal of time and energy, as a county legislator, focused on getting the new Ulster County Jail completed in the most expeditious manner. Unfortunately, I was so tuned in to this activity that I neglected to hear the real questions people were asking about the jail project.
What people want to know is how the jail project got so off track, so over budget and who was responsible for these circumstances. In other words, the old questions of who, what, when, where and why. These are questions that need to be answered for the benefit of the legislature, so that these mistakes are not made on any future projects and to answer all the questions that the people of Ulster County are rightly asking.
Therefore, I suggest the following course of action to the Ulster County Legislature.
Appoint a "Blue Ribbon Commission" to investigate all aspects of this project from its initial inception... planning, property acquisition, contract letting, construction phase, etc.... to the present time.
This commission should be fully insulated from any potential political pressure. It should not become a political circus - objective information is the goal.
The commission should be composed of two Democratic legislators and two Republican legislators to provide the necessary link to the legislature. In addition, there should be five non-legislative persons of appropriate knowledge, experience and political diversity to give the public the necessary confidence in the commission's work.
The commission should be adequately funded, given the power to subpoena material, to take sworn testimony and to engage independent, proper legal council when necessary.
This will not be an easy task; there will be no instant answers. It is an activity that needs to be done now while information and memories are still fresh.
Michael Stock
Majority Leader of the
Ulster County legislature
Woodstock, NY

Dear Editor,
Administrative Law judge Richard Wissler has been attacked for his ruling on the proposed Belleayre Resort at Catskill Park, but his decision to hear twelve issues was a responsible one. As Judge Wissler writes in his ruling, issues are to be tried if they are substantive, and "An issue is substantive if there is sufficient doubt about the Applicant's ability to meet statutory or regulatory criteria . . . such that a reasonable person would require further inquiry." Many reasonable people think that polluted runoff from two eighteen-hole golf courses, a brook going dry, area wells being pulled down, increased traffic on Route 28, light and noise pollution near wilderness areas and harm to streams that support spawning trout are substantive issues requiring further inquiry. The project as proposed is simply way out of scale for a Catskills mountaintop. Only Mr. Gitter's intransigence has kept it alive in its present form. His public outbursts, in which he makes all kind of wild statements, indicate how worried he's become.
And he should be worried. There are many compelling reasons for scaling back his proposal from two mega-resort complexes to one, as Congressman Hinchey has recommended. It's to be hoped that Mr. Gitter will accept a compromise, subject to environmental review, that will give him and his backers some of what they want while minimizing negative impacts on the Catskill Park and neighboring communities. Even if, on appeal, only some of the twelve issues end up being adjudicated, that will still be an extremely lengthy and costly process that serves no one's interests, especially his.
Norman Turner
Co-chair, Conservation Committee
Catskill Mountains Chapter of
Trout Unlimited
New Paltz, NY

Dear Editor,
People who live near Saugerties or near Ellenville may not realize that an Indian gambling casino in either will wound communities for fifty miles around. A casino's sphere of strong, malignant influence - increased gambling addiction and crime, decreased local non-casino business - will certainly include a wide circle of communities even if one alone has to pay for the traffic lights, connect the sewers, supply the water and watch Main Street wither. Moreover, not all 3,000-plus new employees coming from afar, many with school-age children, will enroll their children in the schools of the host town, which will be the main recipient of payoffs from the casino.
This letter is to neighbors in the Hudson Valley who are today as unaware about the consequences of casinos in Ulster and adjacent counties as I was three months ago. Learning what has happened in other communities of our state and neighboring states has horrified me. Predicted benefits to the host town are illusory. Commercial gambling casinos create or enable gambling addiction in individuals, while hooking government on donations contingent on government's kowtowing to them. Indian casinos pay no property or school taxes. They follow no state or local regulations except as they feel like it.
This letter does not detail what is so bad about a large commercial casino. For that, read the Padavan report "All Gambling, All the Time" which can be found at www.nocasinoeriecounty.org or look at a web site of one of the groups in New York State that treat the epidemic such as www.nosaugertiescasino.org or www.upstate-citizens.org or www.dontgambleourfuture.org or cagnyinf.org. www.ncalg.org is the web site of the National Coalition against Legalized Gambling.
The way casinos reach and aggrandize and hide behind laws you never knew about, if you think your town is safe because Saugerties or Ellenville are twenty, even fifty, miles away, you are wrong. If you think that Ellenville or Saugerties or Ulster are off the hook if the site-shoppers go elsewhere in 2006, you are wrong again. "Success" elsewhere will only bring them back one day, unless state and federal lawmakers and judges act in common sense to halt this epidemic. Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) has introduced S. 1518 to amend the Indian Gaming Rights Act so that IGRA cannot, as it now does, pre-empt a state's constitutional prohibition against commercial casino gambling. This bill needs sponsors in the U.S. Senate. You can write to ours, or you can go to http://capwiz.com/congressorg to email them.
Stephen Shafer MD, MPH
Saugerties, NY