Say no to smart meters
Have you received your notice that the Glasco water district will soon install a new “smart” water meter in your home? They may not call it that given the bad rap about “smart meters” these days, but that is exactly what it is. Smart meters give off radioactive signals that penetrate your home and cause a myriad of serious health problems such as heart disease, cancer, thyroid disorders, hormonal imbalances, hearing problems, and many more. And it’s even worse for children. But our Town Board is totally ignoring the health risks to you and your family, and insisting that we allow these risky radioactive devices to be installed in our homes. They insist these meters are safe, but no one can cite a single independent study by an outside agency that renders these devices safe. Any research that comes from the company that manufactures, sells, reads or distributes the “smart meters” is obviously flawed (and not to be trusted), as there is a huge financial benefit to them, and a huge financial loss should their research reveal the truth about the health risks to humans.
Why do we need new meters? Are the old ones broken? New water meters are an excuse to spend money and increase our taxes. Seems the Saugerties Town Board thinks differently than the vast majority of American households who refuse to buy large ticket items they simply don’t need. Instead, the board voted to spend a whopping $814,738.19 on unnecessary, unwanted, unwarranted, unhealthy “smart” water meters! And who do you think is paying for this? You guessed it, you are, the Saugerties taxpayer. Our sacred space is being invaded with a toxic radioactive device without our consent and the clincher is that we are paying for it! Unfortunately I am not joking, this is your Town Board.
The Saugerties Town Board already passed this, and the citizens of Saugerties had no say, but you can do something about it: Just say no. We don’t have to accept an insult to our health and well being. Our best defense against these unsafe meters is: do not allow installation of this device. Most water meters are located inside your home, and it is up to you to refuse entry for installation of these meters. It is your home, your private property and by the time your current water meter malfunctions it could be another 20-30 years! By then a safe alternative will likely be available. If you were not vigilant, didn’t ask questions, or relied on others to do the research for you, you may already have one of these cancer-causing devices installed in your home. But all is not completely lost. Get a large roll of heavy duty aluminum foil and place it around the entire meter, including the back wall. This will block some of the radioactive transmission of the device and offer slight protection from harmful radiation. Keep in mind that once a smart meter is installed it is virtually impossible to get removed; it is there to stay. By allowing smart meters to be installed in your home you are consenting to becoming a lab rat. For more info please see refusesmartmeters.com
Donna Greco
Saugerties
Casinos won’t benefit the community
In his letter appearing in Saugerties Times July 11, 2013, Mark Hoffstatter wishfully projects great economic benefits to local businesses from gambling casinos. I believe he is sadly misled. Casinos are run for the financial return to the owners, not the community. First and foremost are the gambling profits. I doubt that more than 5% of the gamblers return home with more money than they came with. Secondly, the casinos derive significant income from a captured audience who will be induced to spend all their money for food, liquor and entertainment on their premises, not at B&Bs and restaurants and bars in the village and town. Finally, they will bring their own higher paid staff and consultants from out of town, and probably many of the service staff as well. On top of that they will probably induce spenders from to desert the local restaurants and bars, thus hurting, not benefiting, local business.
Mr. Hoffstatter may enjoy a crowded casino environment with its superficial gloss and glimmer, but I prefer the history and people of Saugerties with their honest traditions and hard work.
Barry Benepe
Saugerties
Don’t print anti-Semitic letters
As a part-time resident of Saugerties living abroad (in France,) I like to stay in contact with my beloved cool small town on the Hudson, through Saugerties Times online. I’m always interested to read about local elections, the library, the water chestnut-hunt, how local business is doing, and read the letters to the editor….since everything in the paper happens locally. Except for one specific topic: that villain, Israel. There are millions of things that happen outside of Saugerties, but it seems that just one is worthy of making its way into the Saugerties Times letters to the editor, and this makes me very uncomfortable. Why no letters about the civil war in Syria, the ongoing genocide in Sudan, the oppression of minorities in the Muslim world, the murder of gays in Africa and elsewhere in the Muslim world, the Chinese colonization of Tibet, etc.? Not only are the letters I’m referring to virulently anti-Israel, and do they spread propaganda (lies), but the discourse behind them is anti-Semitic. I think that Saugerties Times shouldn’t let itself be used as a mouthpiece for hate-based rhetoric. That is ideology, not journalism— and it’s undemocratic.
Alain Dousset
Saugerties
Lille, France
Volunteer opportunities
The seams at Family’s Woodstock office are bursting with all kinds of volunteer opportunities. You can have fun helping at one of our events (you missed this year’s Mountain Jam but Drum Boogie is just around the corner). They all raise money to keep the Walk In Center and all of Family’s services going and we can’t do it without volunteers. If events aren’t your cup of tea, you might enjoy getting a bit of the satisfaction we feel when we solicit food for our Food Pantry at Hurley Ridge Market every month. It only takes a couple of hours and what a difference it makes. The office needs help with data entry, mailings and other computer tasks. These are opportunities that can fit your schedule and don’t require lengthy training.
We have some fledgling projects too like our new eBay selling project! And last, but certainly not least, Family has been collaborating with Healthcare is a Human Right for a number of years and together we offer a free Holistic Health Clinic in Woodstock every few months. It runs very smoothly and services dozens of people each time.Perhaps you have to skills to help coordinate this terrific community health service.
We will also be offering our signature Hotline Volunteer Training this Fall and encourage anyone interested to sign up now so that we can develop the schedule with your needs in mind. For this and any of the other volunteer options mentioned in this letter, call Family at 679-2485.
Tamara Cooper
Program Director
Susan Goldman
Outreach Committee
A great weekend
The 3rd annual Old Timers Day and The Great Saugerties Bed Race was held in the village of Saugerties and was a tremendous success because of the hard work and generosity of so many in our community. I want to thank the committee responsible for this event; Miriam & Eric Adams who sponsored the Old Time Carnival, Bill Yosh Jr., Greg Helsmoortel, Barbara Budik and Susan Murphy. Thanks also go to Mayor Bill Murphy, Mary Frank, Village Trustee Jeannine Mayer, Maggie Green, Bill Yosh Sr., Don Avallone, Bob Ciarlante and the Village of Saugerties DPW, the Saugerties Police Department who worked so hard to keep everyone safe while we were all having a great time, Doug Myer and the Town of Saugerties Highway Department, Greg Chorvas and the Town of Saugerties Parks & Recreation Department, Sue Sachar & Sauer Farm, the Saugerties Chamber of Commerce, Mark Smith, Ulster County Tourism, James & Ricki Tamayo, Tara Richardson, Raleigh Green, Adirondack Creamery, Sally Colclough, Ashley Drewes, Lisa & Christian Wasserbach, Rae Stang, Beth Murphy, Krause’s Chocolates, Helsmoortel Insurance & Realty, Lanny Walter, Ulster Savings Bank, The Center of Health, Main Street Restaurant, Fehr Bros, Paraco Gas Corp, Renwick Clifton house, Wolf Moon Barkery, Rock Star Rodeo, Peggy Schwartz & Town and Country liquors, and the Misfits-Women’s Roller Derby Club. The committee also wants to thank all the vendors who helped make the day such a success and of course, the Great Saugerties Bed Race Teams.
Marjorie Block
Saugerties
Join the family! 
