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 Letters to the Editor – Feb.1, 2008 |
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Towns At Fault, Not Wind-Project Foes To the Editor: There seems to be a minority of people who misunderstand the recent Article 78 decision against the towns of Stark and Warren. No where in the ruling from Judge Greenwood will you find that the petitioners were responsible for nullifying the approval of the Jordanville Wind Project, nor did they violate the Open Meetings Law. No where will you find that the petitioners have cost the town, county, landowners or fire districts any amount of money. The responsibility for this falls squarely on the town boards for their failure to comply with state laws. The ruling states that the towns’ approval was "arbitrary, capricious and unsupported by substantial evidence" and they violated the Open Meetings Law multiple times. The public’s trust was violated by the town boards. Regardless of your support for the Jordanville Wind Power Project, no citizen should accept this kind of behavior from our elected officials. The Article 78 lawsuit was a last resort that no one wanted to pursue unless absolutely necessary. It was expensive, time-consuming and could have easily been avoided by an open, two-way dialogue between the towns and their citizens, and a willingness of the towns to compromise. For me it took the filing of the Article 78 for the Town of Stark to even acknowledge that there were turbines in violation of the town’s own setback requirements, despite bringing this to their attention multiple times. Other petitioners had a wide range of reasons for joining the suit, whether health concerns, property values, quality of life, water quality, or destruction of their view shed, all impacted by the construction of the turbines. Petitioners included a cross section of residents from both towns including farmers, part-time residents, professionals, retirees, and parishioners and clergy from the Holy Trinity Monastery. All were willing to put their names on the line in order to see justice done, an especially difficult decision in such a small and close-knit community. I don’t think any of them regret their decision. Arguments against the Article 78 seem to indicate almost an acceptance of illegal behavior by the town officials; to that I don’t think there’s an appropriate response. This lawsuit and ruling could have applied to any large project reviewed under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, such as a jail or dump. Just because it was a wind power project doesn’t mean that the proposed project didn’t have serious environmental impacts. And just because a number of residents objected to the project as proposed and approved, it doesn’t mean that these same people are anti-wind. At numerous times during the review of the project alternatives and modification were suggested to help make it a better fit for the entire community, not just the few that stand to financially benefit from the project. The Article 78 decision is a precedent-setting case that will be referenced for years to come. It shows that citizens have the power to hold their local governments accountable and that there are consequences if government does not follow the law. I believe that a compromise exists for the Jordanville Wind Project if only the town boards are willing to listen to their citizens’ concerns and follow the law. STEVE REICHENBACH Advocates for Stark To the Editor: Just before Christmas, I had the unfortunate experience of being involved in an automobile accident as my car hit a tree after skidding off an icy road in Middlefield. Although I was banged up pretty good, I am lucky that things were not considerably worse. In these past weeks of my recovery, I have found myself reflecting upon this incident and would like to share some of these thoughts. First off, I cannot express the importance of wearing a seatbelt. When my car came to rest, I was within inches of broken glass, twisted metal and a tree. Had I not been restrained, I am certain my injuries would have been much more severe. Secondly, I advise you to be especially respectful of "Mother Nature" during these winter months. This is my 20th winter in upstate New York and in that time I have traveled through all kinds of inclement weather seemingly much worse than on that morning. Despite a clear weather report, there was some wet snow that fell earlier that morning. Whereas a road may seem to be just wet, there may be icy spots. I urge drivers to not take anything for granted and continually use extra caution this time of year. Next, and perhaps most important, I cannot express enough gratitude towards the emergency and rescue services personnel who assisted in my accident. I am grateful that a number of state troopers who were traveling either to or from the K-9 training school in Cooperstown saw the accident and called for help. As I was being extricated from the vehicle, I recall seeing and hearing many familiar faces and voices of many local community members. I cannot tell you how comforting this was. The professionalism and teamwork displayed by these volunteers to our community is something that I will remember forever. Whereas I would like to thank them by name, I, unfortunately, cannot recall them all. Besides, I truly believe that they all would say they were just doing their job. My renewed appreciation of these unselfish people urges me to remind those reading this to show the same and support these services whenever and however you can. Also, I am grateful to the emergency room personnel at Bassett Hospital. They could not have been more accommodating to me and my family. Finally, a heartfelt "thank you" to the friends, co-workers and neighbors who offered meals, snow removal, rides and other services to my family during this time. We were once again reminded of just how wonderful the Cooperstown community can be. BRUCE BRODERSEN Cooperstown To the Editor: Thank you to all who made the Cooperstown PTO’s Holiday Breakfast & More a success. The "Come to the Table" silent auction, first-ever PTO Marketplace, Spirit Ware sale, and breakfast sales raised nearly $3,000 to benefit our community’s schools and students. Thank you especially to the businesses and individuals who donated items, gift certificates or services, including Alex & Ika, Applebees, Augur’s Books, Autumn Café, Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum, the Clark Sports Center, Cooley’s Stonehouse Tavern, Cooperstown Cookie Company, Danny’s Market, Depot Deli, DiMaggio’s Cooperstown Hotdog, Donna Borgstrom, Doubleday Café, Elena’s Sweet Indulgence, Essential Elements, Foo Kin John Chinese Restaurant, Green River Stone Co./Fossil Interiors, Hoffman Lane Bistro, Jackie’s Restaurant, Jillian Bos-Gourmet Road Show, Little Bo’Tique, the Maloney Family, Mohican Flowers, the New York State Historical Association, the Otesaga Hotel & Resort, Photography by Anita Briggs, Portobello’s, Rose & Kettle, the Sacchi Family, Schoolhouse Kitchen, Stagecoach Coffee, Stella Luna, Stewart’s, Stonehouse Gifts, Straws & Sweets, Tim Iversen and Tin Bin Alley. Thanks to everyone who attended, the Marketplace exhibitors, to Santa, and to the many volunteers who made this fun community event possible. We would especially like to thank Julie Cring, who acquired all the food for the breakfast, and led the team that served up a village’s worth of pancakes. ERIKA IDELSON ALICIA CHASE Cooperstown PTO Editorial ‘Insulting, Misguided’ To the Editor: The Jan. 25 editorial suggests replacing Democratic incumbent legislators with Republicans without offering any argument about the respective positions offered: It is, thus, a mere bit of partisan propaganda. Even papers with a consistent political point of view usually feel obliged to offer some argument. Arcuri and Gillibrand have been voting advocates for the expansion of health insurance, most particularly to children, to assist the more than one million New Yorkers (some of whom live in Otsego county) without medical insurance; they have opposed the war in Iraq: they have advocated appropriate tax relief, and sponsored specific measures for historical preservation and conservation. Mr. Arcuri’s piece in the same issue concretely details his positions and actions. While (thanks to Republican gerrymandering of the geographical area) they may not have been physically present to the extent the editorialist would like, they have not been unmindful of our needs. Equally remarkably, the editorialist supports the Republican Mr. Seward in his sinecure while detailing his shortcomings. To suggest replacing our incumbent Congressional representatives and assemblyman with persons who would be more closely aligned with the policies of the most disastrous administration in this country’s history, and to do so on a purely reflexively partisan basis, is both misguided and insulting to the readership. MARY ANNE WHELAN Cooperstown ‘C---’ Comment Hit Nail On Head To the Editor: Jim Kevlin’s summation of an article appearing in the Notre Dame Magazine, directed toward their alumni, has to give us food for thought. While the village survey conducted by the Notre Dame student group was on the whole a positive one, there were things they saw that hurt the quality of our tranquil little village. John Nagy, who wrote the article for the magazine, must have had feedback from one or more of the students. A student must have said to him, describing our main drag, “Now it’s almost entirely baseball memorabilia: high-end history and low-end crap.” Several years ago, when Grace and I returned to my hometown, I tried to describe, in a letter to the editor, changes we saw that had taken place on Main Street in the years that we had been away. It was not a nice description, but it was polite. Nagy’s quote describes it much more vividly. While gutter language is sometimes inappropriate for a family periodical, it sure hit the nail on the head when talking about Main Street, Cooperstown, NY, 2007. The degradation allowed by our village leaders is unconscionable. They saw it happening yet no attempt at control seems to have been made. A long-range plan devised many years ago was never follow or implemented. Tourism is important, but so is the quality of life for the villagers who had to live here the year around. Villagers are forced to travel far and wide to obtain simple necessities. It was warned that if we weren’t careful the village would meet the same fate as Lake George. Unfortunately, it has. Thank god we still have a few necessities such as banks, a post office, drug stores. But if the rest is “CRAP,” so be it. BOB LETTIS Cooperstown | Letters- Nov. 23, 2007 | Letters- Dec. 14, 2007 | Letters- Dec.21, 2007 | Letters- Jan. 04, 2007 | Letters- Feb.1, 2008 | Letters- Feb. 15, 2008 | Letters- Feb.22, 2008 | Letters- Feb,29, 2008 | | Our Services | Contact Us | Great Links | Return Home | Classified Ads | News Archive | Cooperstown Homes | Calendar -Best Bets | Letters to the Editor | |
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