Dear Editor,
Any “nightmare” Ms. Helen Hallenbeck may be experiencing regarding her failed septic system is not the fault of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection or the Catskill Watershed Corporation (Septic Horror Story, August 4). The persons responsible, it seems, are the individual who holds her Power of Attorney and perhaps the contractor hired to work on her property.
Nobody disputes that according to State law Ms. Hallenbeck’s septic system failed and that she, as the homeowner, is responsible for its repair or replacement. The DEP notice that was sent to Ms. Hallenbeck on June 1, 2004 very clearly stated that the Septic System Replacement and Rehabilitation Program is administered by the Catskill Watershed Corporation and that the CWC should be contacted to determine whether she is eligible to participate in the program. (A copy of this Notice was made available to the Olive Press prior to publication.)
The DEP inspector could not have guaranteed that New York City would reimburse all or part of the cost of repair or replacement, as it is the CWC and not the City that makes such decisions. And it is outrageous to suggest that Ms. Hallenbeck was threatened with eviction. The DEP’s enforcement powers do not include eviction notices, and DEP has never attempted to evict anyone.
The person who was given responsibility by Ms. Hallenbeck to manage her affairs should have paid more attention to the instructions in the Notice before committing to begin any work. Clearly, there was inadequate attention given to making the decision of whom to hire and at what price. As to the matter of cost, that is something that the homeowner or her representative has to work out with the contractor hired for the job. The DEP’s role is to review the engineering plans and approve them if they meet regulatory requirements. The DEP has no role in making sure that a homeowner gets a good deal from the contractor she chooses to hire.
Typically, a homeowner will solicit and receive several estimates for repair work and will accept the lowest bid from a reputable, qualified contractor. And also typically, the repair will be accomplished at the minimum cost to the homeowner. It is obvious that what happened here is something quite different. Whether the poor decisions made on behalf of Ms. Hallenbeck were simply the result of negligence, or something more self-serving can only be the subject of speculation, but to say that this is a “bureacratic [sic] nightmare,” as the Olive Press describes it, is to unjustly imply that the problems are the result of government rather than individual incompetence.
The DEP has been very clear in its dealings with Ms. Hallenbeck and has been very patient even though the necessary work remains undone. Moreover, the Septic Replacement and Rehabilitation Program has been a great success. Any blame for her present predicament must be laid at the feet of those individuals who are supposed to be looking after her needs and acting in her best interests.
Ed Polese, P.E.
Director, Bureau of Water Supply
Division of Engineering
New York City D.E.P.

Dear Editor,
Onteora High School will be sending out a Welcome Back package within
the next two weeks. Included will be the 2005-2006 OPT/OUT Form for 9-12th graders. The Federal No Child Left Behind Law mandates that the schools 'allow' parents to opt out of having their school send the children's information to the Department of Defense for Recruiters to use. To achieve this, the parent must send the form back by Sept 9th. It will be stored safely in the school office. Make a copy before you mail it in.
This does not guarantee that families will not receive phone calls from Recruiters (who ask for your child by name,by the way). The New York Times reported in July that the Military will soon contract information gathering out to marketing firms, thus avoiding Privacy Laws.
Be aware of the new "Peace Corps Option" in the Recruiter's sales talk. That is, after enlisting for a certain amount of time in the Army, the child can appy to "switch" to the Peace Corps. The glitch is that there is no room in the Peace Corps. They take a tiny fraction of applicants as it is, and the enlistee will have no special status on the list.
If you or a friend are at all concerned about the extent of the Military presence in your adolescent's school, you might want to investigate CCAMOS, Onteora Community Concerned About the Military in Our Schools. Our Onteora parent/taxpayer group's message is "We want to ensure that the young people have all the information they need to make a decision which will affect them for the rest of their lives, and might cost them their lives." You can reach Onteora CCAMOS
at 679-6938.
Joan Walker
Woodstock, NY

Dear Editor,
The 1953, the year that Stalin died...and the year that the Town of Olive last did a property assessment.
1953, the year that the Korean War ended...and the year that the Town of Olive last did a property assessment.
1953, the year that George Marshall was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize... and the year that the Town of Olive last did a property assessment.
1953, the top five TV shows were I Love Lucy, Dragnet, Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, You Bet Your Life and the Milton Berle Show... and the year that the Town of Olive last did a property assessment.
1953, President Eisenhower ended all wage, salary and price controls... and the year that the Town of Olive last did a property assessment.
Fifty-two years ago the Town of Olive last did a property assessment - 52 years ago! For over 50 years, the town of Olive has not seen fit to share equally with the other townships the cost of Onteora education. But fear not, the rest of the townships in the Onteora School District, Olive is in the slow process of a new property assessment.
One can imagine how much the Olive residents were shocked with the increase of the Large Parcel action of last year. Shocked enough to elect three Olive supporters to the school board whose primary mission was to vote the Large Parcel plan down. With that mission accomplished, what will the Town of Olive do regarding their property assessment?
One needs only to read the weekly real estate sales in the paper to see how unjust Olive's assessment is - last week a property sold there for over $900,000 and the school tax was listed in the $1,000 range. Is this sharing the load for the Onteora school costs? Yes, property values are not the right way to provide school funding (as a retired individual I can assess to that) but it's the only thing we have right now until the politicians can get their act together and make personal income a base.
One can now only hope that the Town of Olive, after 52 years of inactivity, will continue their reassessment and finally pay their fair share of the cost of Onteora education.
Oh, by the way, Town of Shandaken, 1978, the year of your last assessment, saw the movie Annie Hall win the Oscar for best picture, SONY introduced the Walkman (the first portable stereo), and Karol Cardinal Wojtyla of Poland became Pope John Paul II.
Erwin Farnett
Woodstock, NY

Dear Editor,
As the summer draws to an end, parents and students alike are beginning to prepare for the new school year. As our high school and college kids return to the classrooms, they will once again find representatives of the United States Armed Forces occupying our schools. The infamous No Child Left Behind Law requires that our schools allow military recruiters access to the campus or risk the loss of federal funding. In addition, however, our schools are also required to provide the military with personal information which enables recruiters to contact our students, invading the privacy of our homes. Students and parents, however, by virtue of this same legislation, have the legal right to request that the school does not provide the recruiters with their names, addresses and telephone numbers. While this law requires that the school district notify the parents of their right, and some of our area schools have mailed 'opt/out' forms to the homes of high schoolers, every student and parent who does not want to be hounded by these increasingly desperate and often unscrupulous recruiters should make sure the they have notified the principal of their school that they do not want their personal information released to the armed forces or military recruiters. Schools must submit the list of students who have 'opted/out' at the beginning of the school year, so some of us may be obtaining these forms before the summer ends. If not, protect your privacy by writing to the principal of your local school district stating that, in accordance with the Child Left Behind law, you wish to have your name, address and phone number not be released to the armed forces or military recruiters. Our schools are institutions of education and should focus on learning while giving the well being of its students its highest priority. The military has nothing to do with education and these recruiters do not belong in our schools.
Nick Alba
Phoenicia, NY

Dear Editor,
Army recruiters are so desperate for warm bodies to send overseas that they are resorting to cold-calling a 17 year old Onteora viola player.
I answered the phone recently and assumed it was one of my daughter's friends asking for her. The recruiter's voice had such an archetypal teenage girl sound to it that the voices of Hilary Duff, Annette Funicello, and Gidget sound like that of cigarette and whiskey-pickled old harridans in comparison.
My daughter was polite but firm in turning down the invitation. I do hope that the recruiter went on to phone Jenna and Barbara Bush to ask them if their daddy will let them go to Iraq to fight his war. But I suspect we're not going to hear cries of "Bush lied, Jenna and Barbara died" anytime soon.
Carol Maltby
Olivebridge, NY

Dear Editor,
Local schools had better be careful otherwise they'd find Intelligent Design on their next year's curriculum, if George Bush has his way. You've read about his not-so-sneaky attempt in Texas that made the Liberals go through the roof.
He should have known that any reference to God, which Intelligent Design is all about, in public schools was a strict no-no. But then paying back his right-wing Christian supporters was more important to him. That's his problem. He's a man without principles.
Aside from it being illegal in schools, Intelligent Design is like a slippery snake, you can't get hold of it. The brightest people in the world argued about it for centuries and found themselves unable to decide whether it was a hokum or the bona fide stuff. There's even a big brouhaha brewing in the Smithsonian Institute about it and where everyone is a scientist.
To suggest taking something like that into a classroom was a stupid thing for George to do, although not quite as bad as to go looking for WMD.
His cohorts would say, "Hey, it's all a matter of faith not something that came out of a mathematician's mind, so stop with the arguments!"
That's precisely the point. That's why it no more belongs in school than sushi in McDonald's.
But the Intelligent Design advocates are a hard-headed bunch. They go to bed at night dreaming about it and again at breakfast. That's legitimate. But it isn't when they try to sneak it into classrooms as they are doing. If they succeed the kids might as well as forget about later-on SAT's.
Remember, however, George is only a tip of the iceberg, just as Kansas City isn't the only place where these people live. You never can tell, a few of them might even be in Woodstock, the center of local Zen Buddhism hence the need for careful vigilance. Not to do so is to endanger the young peoples' futures.
As a last word, I especially hope that it will never come to Kingston High School where my son once got a first class education.
Tosh Ninomiya
Woodstock, NY

Dear Editor,
We Americans are waging a "War on Drugs" that is taking an enormous toll on our economy and on millions of human lives. Started over thirty years ago, the fact is that drugs today are purer, cheaper, and more readily available than ever, yet we are spending in direct costs over $40 billion annually on the "War" against them. In this country, which holds 5 percent of the world's population, we have 25 percent of the world's prison population, the highest per capita in the world. And how much do you suppose that costs? But the lives that are ruined for many because of the mandatory sentencing for what is a minor, nonviolent offense is a disgrace. We are spending far more here than we are spending on programs that would be helpful in creating a constructive nature for our youth. If you want more information on this matter contact the Drug Policy Alliance, 70 West 36th Street, New York, N.Y. 10018, www.drug poliicy.org. The only way to stop this war is through political channels. Maurice Hinchey, our representative, is at the forefront of the affray to do this. Contact the Alliance and see what can be done.
Mescal Hornbeck
Woodstock, NY

Dear Editor,
Through my life I have picked up many important messages. All of them have helped me at times. Some once in a while and others daily. The message that might have impacted me most comes from a most over populated and polluted country. It is this, "each one of us as humans, think of ourselves the most important entity in existence. Or needs or wants our beliefs are the only ones that matter."
This is a flaw, an illusion of the mind and heart as we are all a part of the human race. No one person being more or less important than another. I am sadden and feel helpless at the hands of the current powers that be to make decisions for all of us that do not reflect all of our views. We are not alone in Phoenicia, Shandaken, Mt. tremper, Pine Hill. We are a part of a mountain range a part of a county a part of a state at part of a country and must begin to think as a group not as individuals only interested in our little gain or our us against them mentality. We as a group of people all with different needs and
interests and goals have to be heard to each other and come to a DEMOCRATIC a united republic outcome in our community or else what is left? Dictatorship of what ever government in is power at the moment? We put all these other countries on notice that we wont stand for their ultimate power over their people, but are we guilty of doing the same on a smaller but not less impactive level? Please take into consideration what a lot of us are saying. My little river will take according to the DEP and the DEC 50 or more years to heal just from this last flood . What do we want to do to our land? To create more hardship on the ecosystem and reap the short term benefits that true capitalism offers us? or do we look at a bigger picture and work within the conditions that the land we live on offers us?
I have had to switch professions many many times in my life and have adjusted to the change each time. Yes, maybe starting over is hard and not always welcome but to say there is only one path and quick fix to any one persons financial problems is shortsighted/ A persons right to do with his or her land as they want is a right but to do right by a community a planet in despair and an economy that is shaky at best lends itself to more open comment and input than I'm experiencing at this time.
Respectively
Wendy Grossman
Phoenicia, NY

Dear Editor,
From the first pilgrims who came to practice their “reinvented” religion free from persecution, to the undocumented immigrants who now wander like Moses across the desert of opportunity in search of an economic Promised Land, Americans of all ages have always believed in the prospect —alas, the right—to reinvent their lives in whatever idiosyncratic ways they choose, a trait that, ironically, has come to define the core of our celebrities and icons.
When it comes to controversy and pushing the envelope, no two people measure up more than the “Material Girl” Madonna and Janet Jackson. Their fans have argued for years over which one sends more shock waves and which is the more valid artist. The truth is, neither one has the singing chops of Barbra Streisand or the dance moves of Fred Astaire, but their ability to reinvent themselves has made them permanent fixtures in the music industry. With energy, hard work, and the ability to drop jaws, these provocative powerhouses have already become entertainment icons and it’s anyone’s guess as to what else they have up their sleeves.
So what is it that makes it possible for some “celebs” to be the rubber that everything bounces off of and others the glue that ends up tarring and feathering them. Why hasn’t the Crow known as Russell fallen from grace for his violent outburst (allegedly throwing a telephone at the head of a hotel clerk) while others end up being one hit wonders on Bravo doing reality TV with wife and child.
Almost all celebrities express a feeling of invincibility and the ability to compose their lives, to reinvent the person they were to that which they feel they now need or want to be, and some achieve it several times over.
It is an ethic the Founding Fathers embedded in the Constitution, where before they declared our right to pray and say what we like (they had to amend it to do that), ensured that we could declare bankruptcy and start anew without fear of going to debtors’ prison. To be sure, while we like to boast that ours is the land of opportunity, it’s probably more accurate to call it the land of reinvention.
But in the rush to reinvent, many celebrities may lose perspective on where they have come from—sometimes rewriting history itself. This is where I think we can separate the winners from the losers in this game of illusion and disillusion.
No mater how many times celebrities nip, tuck, lift or flatten, despite admissions of child abuse, multiple personalities, tirades against psychology and conversations with aliens, the gems in the rough that always seem to sparkle are those who stay grounded in a sense of who they are.
Take for instance Ms. Paula Abdul of 80’s MTV video fame. It might have taken a decade or two, but she is back and she continues to be the powerhouse she was as a dancer, but now she takes on the likes of the press and “Simon” with the grace she showed on the dance floor.
One of the newest and most delightful reinventions is Teri Hatcher, of Desperate Housewife fame. As Lois Lane in the “New Superman” she was strong but vulnerable, quirky, but smart and on Wisteria Lane she has aged with grace and allowed herself to be the clumsy mom who is not afraid to call herself a “dork” publicly.
From Martha Stewart who would not know a good thing if it bit her in the ankle (above her house arrest bracelet) to “J LO” who has and never will be “Jenny from the Hood” with her Prada this and Gucci that, one must also admit with enough money, a thick skin and PR machine behind anything is possible.
In fact, you can even be a debutante of high society who made a porn movie, sued the man who taped it and then was photographed buying multiple copies in a sleazy adult book bookstore and still end up smelling like roses, or in this case like “Paris.”
Tinsel town has come along way since Plymouth Rock, but the natives are still restless and waiting for the next mythical Phoenix to rise from the ashes of the red carpet.
Josh Estrin
New York, NY

Dear Editor,
We, the New Paltz Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers),
wish to express our concern regarding the proposed development of casinos in both Sullivan and Ulster Counties. One does not need to look long to find information regarding the negative impact that gambling has on the community. It is our local families who will lose the most if casinos come into their neighborhood; this is not the message that those claiming “economic revitalization” are sending.
According to a report published by The National Gambling Impact Study Commission “pathological gambling is found proportionately more often among
the young, less educated, and poor” (August 1999). The Commission reported that “the presence of a gambling facility within fifty miles roughly doubles the prevalence of problem and pathological gamblers”. The effects of a casino in Sullivan or Ulster Counties will be destruction, not revitalization .
We are opposed to the development of casinos because we believe that
gambling can bring tragic results to families, friends, individuals, and the entire community. Instead, we seek development that is sustainable and community-oriented.
We feel the residents of Sullivan and Ulster Counties need jobs that provide constructive and beneficial services and create a positive impact on lives.
Patrice Salone
Lois Pan
New Paltz, NY

Dear Editor,
Both major American national peace coalitions are uniting in Washington Saturday, Sept. 24, for what promises to be the biggest march and rally of all against the war in Iraq. The event will take place as the people of our country are turning against this unjust and illegal war.
Residents throughout the Hudson Valley plan to attend. Three large charter
buses will bring Mid-Hudson region peace activists to the protest and back from Kingston, Poughkeepsie and New Paltz.
These comfortable buses, chartered by the Hudson Valley Activist Newsletter, will leave in the early hours of the morning and return in the late evening.
Roundtrip nonprofit tickets cost $45. To reserve seats, email jacdon@earthlink.net or call (845) 255-5779 requesting a reservation. Then make out your check to “Newsletter” and mail to HV Activist Newsletter, PO Box 662, New Paltz, NY 12561. The buses are filling fast so reserve early.
Jack A. Smith
New Paltz, NY

Dear Editor,
Of course HITS owner Tom Struzzieri is in favor of the development of the $298 million casino resort in Saugerties as mentioned in your story last week.
But it is more than disingenuous of him to go on about how it'll help our community and not to acknowledge how it's helped his business in California where he runs the Indio Desert Circuit Horse Show in the same town as the Fantasy Springs Casino?
This from the Indio Chamber of Commerce:
"Welcome to Indio, California, the site of the Sport of Kings with year-round polo matches, HITS Indio Desert Circuit Horse show, the biggest in the West, and Indian gaming centers with nonstop gaming action at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, offering bingo, blackjack and other card games, the new Carde Craps 'live craps' game, off-track horse wagering and more than 1,400 slot machines."
Aside from questioning whether card craps really is a Sport of Kings, Saugerties may well end up having more in common with Indio, California, than we ever could have imagined. Thanks to Mr. Struzzieri.
Marylyn Donahue
Saugerties, NY