(letters from July 20, 2006)

Dear Editor,
Is the Onterora School Board confused or what? Or maybe they forgot to do their homework. First they hire a school Superintendent that had to resign after the board found out that he had troubles in his district. I still can’t believe that apparently no board member thought to make a phone call to the school district that the Superintendent worked for before they hired him. If they had checked it’s more then likely they would have found that there was a big problem in that district.
As reported the board decided to hire back several special education positions that they just voted to eliminate a few months ago. During the budget process the board voted four-to-three to eliminate those positions to save over $300,000.00. Now the budget must be increased. I guess at that time they were thinking about all the tax payers that are finding it increasingly harder to pay their taxes. Now evidently tax payers don’t count. Every board member that I communicated with before the elections last May told me that they were very concerned about the cost per student in the Onteora School district. In fact Dave Patterson in an e mail said that the rising cost to educate students in the district was one of his prime reasons to run for a seat on the board. Of course the $44,000,000.00 plus budget that the board accepted earlier this year raised the cost per student in the district.
The next turn of events that would make anyone wonder what they were thinking is when they elected Marino D’Orazio President of the Board when last year they ousted him. What will be the next thing that they decide to change?
William Warnecke
Glenford, NY

Dear Editor,
Dave Patterson stepped down as president of the school board, at the July 11 meeting, citing the reason as lack of confidence in him by two school board members. Patterson’s sense of fair play and calmness will be sorely missed.
Marino D’Orazio was voted in as President. During the course of the meeting, D’Orazio yelled and hurled accusations LOUDLY and relentlessly over the microphone at Rita Vanacore because they disagreed. While some board members sat helpless, others were unsuccessful in calming down the rancor directed at Vanacore by D’Orazio.
Regardless of who was right or wrong, D’Orazio’s behavior is an embarrassment to the school board, to the position he holds, and how he is seen by the community. All his bellowing didn't win him anything. He lost what he was fighting for, but in the fight, he showed what the board members will be up against this year with him as president. This man is a bully of the highest kind. He lives to argue. He is a lawyer. He's the kid that loves to play, but runs with scissors. As a leader, what a poor example of decorum he sets for the students and staff of the Onteora School District.
By the end of the meeting I was shaking internally from the episode, and expressed my concerns privately to D’Orazio about the physical effect his yelling had on me. He blew me off and never extended an apology as any gentleman would have done. I expressed my concerns to two of the board members who voted for D’Orazio to be president. They blew me off also. It was an affront to be treated so condescendingly.
The Onteora School Board and the district are facing big issues this year: the possible downsizing and consolidating of classrooms, the possible building of a local campus, and the selection of a new superintendent. The school board does not need a tyrannical, abusive, father figure-cum-president to badger them in their decision making.
Mr. D’Orazio, gets a vote of “no confidence” in leadership from me.
Judith Boggess
Shokan, NY

Dear Editor,
I was glad to read Mr. Teplensky's remarks that were quoted in this paper. It is his right to make choices for his family, but not his right to force his values on other young, vulnerable kids. His obvious determination to make sure predatory military recruiters have daily access to our children while they are trying to learn is unacceptable to me, and most parents I know. His jail-house vision for our schools assures a nightmarish Gestapo-like educational environment of dogs and police, even coming into our own homes! Our children are not criminals! They are students! This awful obsession with more and bigger jails is breaking our county and must stop before our schools and neighborhoods are incarcerated.
Teplensky's failure to reveal his religious belief shows me he is sympathetic with the movement to Christianize the public school system. "Intelligent Design" is stealth code for religious indoctrination. Teach various courses in religion, but not in the science classroom. I strongly respect Mr. Teplensky's right to his own beliefs, but his obvious desire to force his personal beliefs on others makes him an bad choice for School Superintendant. Far worse, this is a consistent national pattern of fundamentalist religion walking hand in hand with the military and repressive prison culture and politics. Freedom of religion is a founding principle of America. Politics and religion don't mix.
On another note, I wish to express support for the person who created the post cards criticizing Bob Cross and the proposed Belleayre Resort. They contain fair and accurate statements. Freedom
of speech is another founding principle of America. People who run for public office must be prepared to face criticism from their constituents. Mr. Cross does not have his temper under control. He just got in a "fist fight" outside town hall with someone who opposes his administration's policies. I have heard that Mr. Gitter got in a fight with an opponent a while back. We do not need this barroom brawl mentality in Shandaken. I believe words are more powerful than fists anyway. To Mr. Gitter: Please restrain yourself! Don't extend the grotesquely elongated "Emerson Plaza Shopping Tunnel" all the way to Route 17. To Mr. Cross: No slapping.
Dave Channon
Shandaken, NY

Dear Editor,
Academic Year in America is bringing more than 1,000 international students to the U.S. this August and relies on the generosity of American families to provide a loving, caring home environment to these bright ambassadors. Essential to this mission is the support of civic minded individuals. AYA Local Coordinators play a pivotal role in the year long hosting of an international student.
Academic Year in America (AYA) is looking for men and women to serve as Local Coordinators and make a difference in the lives of young people all over the world! The process of finding loving, caring host families around the country and helping these students acclimatize to the U.S. are responsibilities of an AYA Local Coordinator (LC).
LCs are actively involved in making the international exchange a wonderful experience for the students and families. They act as a program liaison for AYA at a local level. If you live in the Phoenicia area and would like to work with teenagers from overseas, then perhaps being a LC is right for you! As an LC, you will work closely with the students that you place in communities in your area. You will supervise the students and meet with them on a regular basis to make sure they are getting the most out of their time in the U.S.
AYA rewards Local Coordinators for the number of placements they make over the course of a year. As a new LC, you can qualify for a place at the 2006 AYA National Meeting in Munich, Germany this November. Local Coordinators also earn bonus points that can be redeemed for travel or supplies to enhance your work as an LC: digital camera, computers, office supplies and business cards. The effort you put into the position dictates the rewards you receive.
Find out how you can change the world with us! Contact Kelley Quigley at ( 800) 322-4678 ext 5164, or e-mail kquigley@aifs.org.To download the LC application, visit: http://aifs-aya.cmail1.com/.aspx/l/66739/42688874/www.academicyear.org/lcapp.htm.
Danielle Carpino
Stamford, CT

Dear Editor,
I finally forced myself to read the ridiculously long letter written by
Maureen O’Sullivan on the evils of hunting. Whew, I barely have the strength
left to offer a response, but I’m going to give it a shot.
For the record, I don’t hunt any more. The last time I shot a deer I felt awful, so I stopped doing it. I blame catch and release fly-fishing, but the fact that I no longer hunt notwithstanding, I found Ms. O’Sullivan’s letter so critically flawed as to be outright offensive to my intelligence.
I’m sure there are a lot of rebuttal letters heading your way full of reasons why people hunt, so I’ll leave that to them that do and concentrate on the illegitimacy of her argument.
Ms. O’Sullivan’s attempt to use Dave Grossman’s book, “On Killing,” to bolster her argument is simply absurd. I haven’t read the book, but I did take the time to Google some reviews and an abstract and I spent about a half an hour on his Website, “Killolgy.” Guess what? Not a word about hunting. Not even when I put the word hunting into his site’s search engine. The main thrust of his important research is that violence (human on human violence, he makes quite a point about emphasizing that) in movies, video
games and the like desensitizes humans and, in particular, children to the killing of other humans. I am in complete agreement with that, but to take his research, cherry pick a bunch of stuff from it and use it completely out of context is not only disingenuous, but can only serve to undermine his very important work. I’m guessing Mr. Grossman would not be pleased.
How could someone use research on the horrors of war and murder (human on human murder) and equate it to hunting? Consider the following quote from Ingrid Newkirk, President, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals: “A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy.”
What the hey? you might rightly wonder. Simply put, the killing of a rat is the equivalent of killing a child. Accidentally run over a squirrel, might as well have run over a human baby. Sorry, can’t do research on a rat just because that research could result in curing your precious child of cancer, because the rat has as much value in our society as your kid. That’s how such a thing as using Mr. Grossman’s book as an argument against hunting can be proffered. Does this make sense to anyone?
Don’t want to hunt? Do what I do. Don’t hunt. It’s easy and you don’t have to get up real early. The world would be a very boring place indeed if we all thought alike, but that palaverous letter smacks of the city slicker that moves to a charming farm community and then lobbies his councilperson to outlaw the spreading of manure because it's smelly.
Welcome to the neighborhood Ms. O’Sullivan, but you have chosen to live in
an area rich in the hunting tradition, deal with it.
Colin Houston
Boiceville, NY

Dear Editor,
In regards to your article about the Ashokan Field Campus and Steve Deutsch’s quote that it is difficult to get to our (New Paltz) campus to use it because it is 40 miles away. I live a mile from the Ashokan Campus, and over the years I have driven to New Paltz hundreds, many hundreds of times and my mileage is around 21 or 22 miles. This is a great difference and if erroneous information is being used in negotiations, it should raise a red flag... or at least an eyebrow.
Don F. Wyman
Olivebridge, NY

Dear Editor,
I find it extremely disturbing that apparently the "government" is rounding up, arresting, and confining the Rainbow People at their annual assembly. This latest? assult on our civil liberties has the stink of Bush and Gonzales all over it, as most, if not all, of the Rainbow tribe are probably left-wing if they are political at all. My source is: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/06/27/18283162.php
Phil Sullivan
Woodstock, NY

Dear Editor,
I have written several letters concerning the HAVA law and it appears that major changes are very soon on the horizon. Brad Williams who is the Director of the New York Independent Living Association (NYILA) sent me important information concerning the recent developments and what they mean for voters with disabilities.
The NYS Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno sent a letter to advocates who responded to an earlier action alert to update them about the Senate’s efforts to comply with HAVA.
Mr. Williams indicates that the letter was written in a “technical way” to “create a responsible tone” informing recipients about actions being taken by the State to comply with HAVA. The letter highlights the availability of federal HAVA funds, addition of state funds for polling access, and compliance with the recent federal court order.
All concerned citizens and advocates alike need to understand, according to Williams, this communication is “in no way shape or form, ensures full and meaningful compliance with HAVA for New Yorkers with disabilities. Even the “present court order referred to in his letter is woefully insufficient to provide New Yorkers with disabilities the ability to vote “privately and independently” on Primary and Election Days 2006. Most of the counties in New York State are looking to implement one fully accessible polling place per county with one or more accessible voting machines. This is an outright violation o the spirit and purpose of the HAVA law, and it imposes tremendous transportation barriers and does not even come close to meeting the voting needs of people with disabilities. New York City, for example, is in the process of “expanding” its’ already “inadequate requirement to only five accessible sites per borough,” which is totally absurd.
It is important to note the Hon. NYS Senator John Flanagan; Chair of the NYS Senate Elections Committee, recently went public with his “disapproval of this court approved plan.” Below is an excerpt from an Associated Press article by Marc Humbert on May 16, 2006:
Under a state plan before U.S. District Judge Gary Sharpe in Albany, many counties across the state would have just a few accessible voting machines in place for the 2006 state elections. That would leave many polling places without such new machines. In New York City, only one polling place in each.
New machines. In New York City, only one polling place in each of the city's five boroughs would have fully accessible machines for the disabled, said Flanagan.
"It is a bad plan," Flanagan told an Albany news conference.
In a letter to Sharpe, the Long Island Republican called the state board's plan "wholly insufficient to meet the needs of voters with disabilities in New York State. I believe the state can do better."
The current court order is being challenged by a group of disability, civic and civil rights organizations in the U.S. Federal District Court and the issue is far from resolved.
By obtaining state funds to help with polling place access begins another entire set of problems. The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) mandates both public and private access. This includes access to polling places. The owners of public and private properties are responsible for making their premises accessible. They should comply with the law, invest the monies to make sites accessible, or risk losing designation of being a polling place. Throwing more state public money at a given responsibility only adds to confusion. The exact process has not yet been fully defined. Does a site apply to their county, establishing no other alternative? The accessible site is in proximity, has an accessibility expert suggest the most efficient solutions, obtain necessary bids, apply to the state for final approval, hire the contractor, supervise the work and notify the county upon completion? This process could take several years. This is just not good enough for the concerned citizens with disabilities.
NYS Attorney General Spitzer sued three upstate counties back in 1999-2000 regarding the lack of polling place access. Two of the counties complained in the media and before the court date how impossible it would be to meet substantial compliance. Finally, in the end when the counties put their mind to it they were complaint within nine months by Election Day 2000.
There is an interesting article appearing in the July 5th, 2006 Albany Post-Star. It illustrates the beginning of some local responsible action on the part of election officials. It is satisfying to see them acknowledge, on the record, their own responsibilities under HAVA and the ADA. Their view of consolidating polling sites so that all locations are accessible and have one of the new polling places at the local Independent Living Center!
I will continue to keep the good citizens of Ulster County apprised of the current situation and will continue to pass on significant events as they develop in the days, weeks and months to come.
Thomas R. Siblo-Landsman
West Shokan, NY

Dear Editor,
Amy Goodman had an interview with a woman who's 18 year old daughter was recruited into the Army on the promise that she'd "travel and see the world" and get a college education.
In her Basic Training, she learned about "command rape". You won't find that expression on the internet, but apparently, you will find it when you get to Iraq.

Apparently, when this young woman, Suzanne Swift, got to Iraq, she was invited by her Sergeant into his jeep and told: "you want to have sex with me, don't you, Swift?"
She went to her equal opportunity officer and reported the incident, but since he didn't believe her, she was on her own. After that, she was pursued by other's in command and felt that since her life was in their hands, she had best do what they wanted.
When she felt she had enough, she stopped complying, and the Sergeant made her wear a wall clock around her neck for 2 weeks. After l8 months, when she got out, she told her mother that she had to return, since they had forced her to sign a waiver ensuring her redeployment.
When she went on leave, she went into hiding. She was afraid to go back, not to risk her life, but to get repeatedly raped by her superiors. Later, the police came and arrested her for going AWOL, and at present she's confined to her base. she has a lawyer.
Since her mother put up a web site, she said that she'd gotten hundreds of emails and out of that she said that they've only gotten three negative emails.. Mostly, they had a huge number of people saying, “This happened to me, and it was swept under the carpet,” or “He was promoted and moved and it was swept under the carpet" or "my needs were not met, and I was treated like a piranha.” My message today to young women who want to serve their country. Take your basic training on the internet, on the streets and at the polls and fight for the return of Democracy.
Jill Paperno
Glenford, NY

Dear Editor,
Are we any safer today re: terrorists than pre 9-11? It matters not that we are the richest, most powerful and the nicest people on the planet as our fraudulent security measures and equipment are well fortified with loads of political hype and "smoke". [ref: the new catalog listing 11,000 mini-towns that attract terrorists].
As we arise each morning we are informed of some new and more bizarre terrorist attack on a different unexpected target. Instead of a rail road station the train itself now gets attention. And the list of dead and injured is extensive and "profitable".
My point is, "do we take an alternate route to work and home each day?" Do we go to Malls, Sports events, Museums,Theatre and other events? Reject mass transit and stay out of taxis; you may be riding in a "4 wheel bomb". Ignore Pizza shops and McDonalds. Junk food is not healthy anyway. Stay home!
One might think the military is a safe haven and it might be if one is stationed in Nepal. Each evening a list of 12-14 casualties runs across our TV screens complete with photos. [It's depression time].
Then our minds and hopes sink to a new low as we realize that we are no closer to discouraging or eliminating terrorists who enjoy doing what they do, especially joining their victims in a "happy" death. Just the planning promotes a "high".
There is however a possible solution; there always is. During WWII the allies wreaked havoc on those countries that harbored Nazis, Fascists and the terrorists of the day. Even occupied countries were destroyed in the retaking. We have differences among some retired Generals and "sub" Flags as to how to deal with this phenomena.
They can take a page from the Book of Joshua, a 13th century BC General who with his troops took down the walls of Jericho with a mighty shout; then rushed in and put the vanquished to death by the sword. Of course we have more than "hoots" and shouts in our arsenal but Jericho was destroyed and "burnt to the ground". Thus began the ACLU and UN with their numerous dubious complaints.
One modern day warrior states that bombing Dresden was not acceptable. Another declares the A-bombs that leveled Hiroshima and Nagasaki was an atrocity. Keep dreaming guys. It will only get worse until we either leave or decide to convert Iraq into a parking lot and then enforce the immigration laws back home for everyone.
There are those who remind us that we are descendants of Illegal immigrants and that is correct. The Native American welcomed us as history reveals; some upon landing on whatever shore and others as we moved west. Then we became greedy, arrogant and "superior" and eliminated our hosts either by annihilation or by moving them around onto reservations created just for them. Get the point?
I continue to ask [not rhetorically] why are we in Iraq? They have nuclear weapons or components? They have assorted gases and toxic materials? So do we. But we don't have that much oil.Then too, Iraq was terrorist free until we arrived. Sadaam would not have shared anything with Bin Laden or anyone else. Bin Laden applied for a "green card" but Sadaam stamped it "rejected". [See CIA].
The best thing we could do is pardon Sadaam and reinstall him without a leash and Iraq will go away [for us]. If he is not executed he will return. The Arab is persistent.
Now I must prepare for an analysis of the Israeli, Palestinian, Hammas, Hazbolah world wide local event that is usurping our attention re: Iraq. Stay tuned. It's sure to turn some folks off.
Glenn T. Anderson
Olivebridge, NY

Dear Editor,
Last month, I returned from New Orleans, where I worked for a week or so with an incredible relief organization, Common Ground Collective (where I left my son Mat to carry on). I would like to tell a bit of what I saw and the ongoing work of Common Ground Collective.
The devastation in New Orleans is beyond what I could have imagined, despite all I had heard. The Ninth Ward, one of the most seriously damaged areas, was also one of the poorest neighborhoods and at the same time a community with the highest percentage of owner occupied houses and a community to generations of working families.
Almost nine months after the Hurricane, the streets of the 9th ward, the 8th ward, and others remain ravaged as if the Hurricane took place just weeks ago. Other, more affluent neighborhoods, equally damaged by the floods are recovering. But in the poor, working class areas, street after street has only one or two houses, if any, being repaired. Houses are shells waiting to be homes again. There is rubble everywhere, piles of the remains of people's lives. Smashed cars, rotten and moldy debris fill the streets. And then like a miracle, there will be a house with beautiful flowers planted in front or a tree, against all odds, blooming with glorious pink flowers. And everywhere you see signs, nailed to homes which for now are only dreams: "We Are Coming Back!" and "No Bulldozing," screaming out against the attempts to destroy neighborhoods with a long history of struggle, family, community and also poverty, crime and hard times as well.
In the blazing heat of the day, you see people pulling from their homes rotten beams, broken refrigerators, furniture - everything which makes up a family's life. On the street corners and at the few stores opening up, people are greeting each other with "hey you back?" and hugs and handshakes and laughter and also the gazed stares of people shocked to come back and find their wholes world destroyed.
The spirit of people determined to reclaim their lives, with little resources is awe inspiring as is the energy and commitment of so many people who have reached out to help.
The Common Ground Collective is one of the amazing responses to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the lack of effective response from the government! Begun right after the hurricane hit, Common Ground had the first Free Health Clinic on the streets of New Orleans just days after the flood. Common Ground has grown from a handful of people to a network of hundreds of volunteers running three health clinics, a legal clinic, several distribution centers for food, clothing, essentials. It runs a media center, in a house in the 8th Ward known affectionately as "The House of Excellence," open to the public 8 a.m. to midnight daily with free computers and phones for returning residents use; a Women's Center; a tool lending library, providing a way to rebuild both houses and working lives as well. They are organizing workers coops - mechanics, plumbers and carpenters. They are developing community gardens, bioremediation projects and alternative energy sources. All this and more done completely by volunteers. Most of the volunteers live in an abandoned Catholic school in the 9th Ward. Hundreds of mainly young people live with bare necessities and daily go out at 7 a.m. to gut buildings of residents hoping to return. So far Common Ground has gutted over 600 houses and has over 400 more on a waiting list. Since the hurricane many thousands of people have worked with Common Ground, some for a week or two and many for months at a time. When I left New Orleans, CG had just taken over the management of a 350 unit low income housing project in the Algiers district, and have begun with a vision of what a viable low income community can be, complete with programs for kids, literacy programs, food coops, drug rehab and more, tenants organizations and more.
It was difficult to leave Common Ground and New Orleans and I asked, "what can I do from afar?" One clear, pressing need at Common Ground is for vehicles. Their work is spread out across the city. They desperately need a pick up truck, a box truck and /or a van. CG is a not for profit entity and donations are tax deductible. We are looking for individuals, companies, organizations which may be ready to trade in or "retire" a still viable vehicle and would be willing to donate to this incredible organization. We hope to form a caravan sometime this summer to bring such needed vehicles to New Orleans.
You can see more about Common Ground at their web site: www.commongroundrelief.org . For more information please contact me at: sue_rosenberg@hotmail.com or 246-3449.
Sue Rosenberg
Saugerties, NY