Dear Editor,
I think it would be a huge mistake to construct a traffic circle at the "four corners" in Mount Tremper. If it ever happens, those of us who live there could truthfully say, "there goes the neighborhood."
I live one house away from the four corners on Route 212 and for more than ten years I have spend many hours, many days working in my front yard with a full view and within good hearing of the four corners traffic. The proof is in the pudding; how many accidents have occurred there? That should be in the records. I believe it is years since one happened. I don't think it is a dangerous intersection and to call it potentially dangerous is meaningless; almost everything is potentially dangerous. Driving on Route 28 is much more dangerous.
Two things occur that should not. One: Cars coming from the direction of Route 28 ignore the "curve speed/25 mph" sign and drive through at higher speeds because they know they have the right of way. Many of these are locals. Possible solution: Put up a stop sign, making it a four-way stop. Two: Many vehicles coming from the direction of Willow completely miss their Stop sign. A light installed calling attention to the approaching need to stop could be installed back from the corner so it did not anny the people living on the corner.
One neighbor I talked to agrees with Zoning Offier Malloy, as I do, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." The word "boondoggle" was used to describe this project and in Merriam Webster's dictionary, a boondoggle is "a wasteful or impractical project or activity often involving graft."
Robert Jacobson
Mount Tremper, NY

Dear Editor,
Your paper carried a letter from Carol Martineau Lopez in which she made a statement about me that is without fact or merit and I must set the record straight.
In April 2000, I took a staff position at Catskill Corners, in addition to running my own business. At the time, a launch of the Emerson Inn was imminent and one of my areas of expertise is launching new businesses. I never planned to be a permanent employee of the complex and while I worked there, I also served other clients, wrote a newspaper column and taught school at SUNY New Paltz and Ulster County Community College.
Late in 2001 (about 16 months after I started) exciting new opportunities opened for my consulting business. I told CEO Mark Johnson, that I could no longer continue full-time work at the complex. I was urged to stay on as long as I could and work as many hours as possible as I phased myself out of that operation.
In the spring of 2002, I began work with a supermarket chain launching five new supermarkets over a period of three years. As a business launch specialist, it was an opportunity I did not want to miss, and I ended my staff relationship with Catskill Corners. So while it is true that I did phase out as the Marketing Director, it was not, as Ms. Martineau-Lopez states, after a five-year tenure and it was not, as implied, because of Ted Wright. It was by my choice, long before Mr. Wright arrived.
Since that time, I have done project based consulting work for Emerson Place. In all cases, the project scope was outlined in advance, the price I was to be paid was agreed upon in advance, and I was paid in full when I delivered the work requested. I no longer do any work at all for either Emerson Place or Crossroads Ventures. I have chosen to work exclusively with a non-profit social and economic development agency. I have no current connection, direct or indirect, financial or non financial, with Emerson Place or Crossroads Ventures, by my choice.
I will not, as Ms. Martineau-Lopez did, speak for any other employee, past or present at Catskill Corners or Emerson Place. I only ask that others not try to speak for or about me, and that they not twist facts about my employment to support their viewpoints.
Very truly yours,
Joan Lawrence-Bauer
Oliverea, NY

Dear Editor,
I did not mean, in any way, to disparage or offend any employees at Emerson Place. The intent of my letter was to communicate my experience of being employed at Emerson Place and to point out that if the ownership can not harmoniously manage and run a small complex, how are they going to manage and run a huge muliplex resort such as the proposed Belleayre project?
What I experienced were low wages, an inadequate compensation package (I could not afford to have an additional $20-$40.00 taken out of my $8.00 an hour paycheck to pay for health coverage, which was minimal) and in general, many dissatisfied and frustrated employees. In addition, I felt the complex was poorly managed as a whole, each venue against the other and a lack of unity among employees. Management spending priorities seemed incomprehensible (one example: they spent $3,000.00 on a fancy golf cart to move things around the complex and somehow, the budget would not allow for a decent printer at the Lodge).
Unlike the proposed Belleayre resort, Emerson Place fits into the environment in both size and scope. The buildings have been beautifully restored and well maintained. However, I suspect the management problems at Emerson Place will be duplicated in the new resort they are planning to build. Not to mention the environmental impact that such a place would have on a fragile eco-system. I wonder how Ralph Waldo Emerson would respond to a "Mega Resort On Walden Pond". Favorably? I doubt it.
Christina Fendley
Mt. Tremper, NY

Dear Editor,
I'm just finishing The War on Freedom by Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed, which documents the strong, albeit circumstantial case for the likelihood that elements of the US government had prior knowledge of 9/11. The book also charts the course of Western domination of the Middle East and cites examples from US history of other manufactured provocations for war including Pearl Harbor and the Gulf of Tonkin incident. As I was reading, I would tell people how impressed I am with the book but I would always admit that I wasn't sure what the title- "The War on Freedom" refers to
After President Bush's inaugural speech, it finally hit me that US foreign policy has, for decades, been engaged in a "war on freedom". On a national level, freedom can be defined as a country's right of self-determination. The US has sent its diplomats, intelligence agents and armies all over the world to frustrate countries' right of self-determination.
In most cases, it doesn't take much to discredit a leader or derail a fragile local movement toward independence and social justice- Cuba and Vietnam being two notable exceptions. As the CIA knows, there are only so many honest leaders and once one is removed, a nation’s dream of independence and peace remains only a dream.
When the Bush Administration keeps repeating something, be it “no child left behind”, “clear skies”, “medicare reform” or “social security reform”, we can be pretty sure that not only is it a lie but the opposite is true and this rule of thumb holds for "spreading freedom and ending tyranny." The Bush administration can be justly accused of a lot of things but being timid is not one of them. No lie is too brazen. When they go on a crusade to “spread freedom and end tyranny”, any country which has not yet turned over the keys to the treasury to Washington might as well be prepared for the same treatment Iraq is getting. They are about to be “liberated.”
Matt Frisch
Arkville, NY

Dear Editor,
President Bush has delivered his State of the Union address, and it’s good news all around...if you’re a wealthy campaign contributor.
If you’re a big contributor with policies before Congress, it’s time to break open the champagne because it doesn’t get much better than this. Just a few of the highlights:
Privatization of Social Security. A boon to Wall Street that would spell disaster for a growing number of seniors who depend on social security to live. Yet the Social Security Administration and the U.S. General Accounting Office have the data to show “the system isn’t broke, it doesn’t need fixing.”
Tort Reform. A payoff to big business donors who want take away the right of people to seek justice in the courts when wronged by big corporations.
War in Iraq. No matter how you feel about this war, it’s clearly been a financial bonanza for Dick Cheney's old firm Halliburton, which has the bulk of the Iraq contracts and is famous for billions of dollars in unaccounted expenses.
Is this any way to run a democracy? I don’t think so. And we don’t have to take it. That is, if we stop the bribery that politicians have to live by in order to get elected. If you have not yet heard of the Clean Money Clean Elections solution check it out at www.nycce.org. It’s time to stop money’s assault on the democratic process!
Irene Miller
Palenville, NY

Dear Editor,
It is with great pleasure that approximately 4200 Town of Olive Corporation Shareholders give heartfelt thanks to
Sheriff Boeckelman, Lt. Young, Lt. Freer, Sgt. Van Blarcom and the entire Ulster County Sheriff's Department, Mayor Sottile, Kingston Police Chief Keller and the Kingston Police Department, Kingston Fire Department, Dean Palen, Chip Schoonmaker, Darrin, James Rodden of Ulster County Health Department, for the huge effort put forth to plan for and assure a pleasant safe visit to the U. C. Legislature Meeting by Olive Shareholders on the evening of February 10.
With relatively short notice on my part, they all pulled together, swung into coordinated high speed motion, and cleared the deck for an amiable and productive Olive Shareholder- Ulster County Legislator pizza lovefest.
We are most appreciative of all of the hard work put forth by the above named folks on the behalf of Town of Olive Shareholders and offer permanent free Olive Civil Defense Pizza to all those mentioned above.
We look forward to more such Shareholder Meetings to parse out the many challenges the Town of Olive faces as a result of what appears to be unlawful larcenous legislation. I believe that unlawful implementation of Large Parcel through the efforts of Legislators Stock and Shapiro will ultimately cost more than the jail, with not a brick or beam to show.
Medical damages are mounting with approximately two thousand cases of insomnia and hundreds more of post traumatic stress disorder. With hundreds of children experiencing the fear of losing their homes and communities, the social workers and psychologists will be busy for years to come.
Lost productivity due to the mass insomnia will likely cost the County about 220,000 dollars a day, according to an economist I recently spoke to who has experience with similar litigation.
One day the lightbulb will go on at the Legislature and they will deem it time for Stock and Shapiro to spend more time with their families.
Over 4200 Olive Shareholders anxiously await that celebratory moment.
Olive Shareholders take note: Pan Olivian Woodstock Window Shopping Tours inaugurating this spring. See the homes of the rich and famous Legislators on the way to an enriching window shopping experience. Contact the Pan Olivian Woodstock Tour coordinator for your free Olive shareholder bus tickets. Service to Woodstock Town Board Meetings will inaugurate soon as well.
Charlie Blumstein
Krumville, NY