The views and opinions expressed in our letters section are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Hudson Valley One. You can submit a letter to the editor here.
The horror, the horror
Magical spell for protection against unwanted opinions:
1) Deep cleansing breath.
2) Say the words, “Did I f*cking ask you?”
3) Repeat until desired effect is achieved.
4) Blessed be.
They say, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” Well, I couldn’t possibly be any closer to Rethuglican letter-writer George Civile than by being under his skin. As always, he is bewitched, bothered and bewildered. Happy Halloween!
Neil Jarmel
West Hurley
Woodstock first responders: our community treasure
A week ago, I fell off a 30-foot cliff at our home here in Woodstock. We called 911 and ten minutes later the first responders began to arrive. In another few minutes, a couple dozen responders from every department were here to help. They had to cut several trees down to get me to the road where an ambulance was waiting. Very soon I was being carried on a stretcher to the ambulance and finally transported by helicopter to Albany Med, where I received excellent care.
I feel lucky to be alive. I have tremendous respect and gratitude for these men and women who selflessly give their time and energy to help others. They are true heroes and are deserving of any and all support we can give them.
Len Sapiro
Woodstock
Lizzy vs. Little Bear
So, I was able to attend the meeting that Lizzy had organized to explain her claim and reasons why she had to close the Little Bear in the Bearsville Complex.
There must have been between 20 and 25 people attending, and Lizzy started showing pictures of the restaurant’s kitchen and trying to convince everybody about the issue of dirtiness in the kitchen, plus that the owner had not been willing to see what real cleanliness means in her eyes.
My first concern was: How come the owner of the Little Bear is not present so that she would have been able to share her side of the story? So, being that was my first thought, I felt that this meeting was mainly one-sided and basically unimportant to give whatsoever any credit to it. But I stayed, and this is basically what transpired:
After Lizzy gave her arguments about clean issues, she asked the attendants to participate with their views. Several people raised their hands (I would say three or four) and basically repeated what Lizzy had said, with slight additions. For example, one of them had been able to talk to the owner and she had explained that she was unable to make her employees comply with that desire and she was not able to control the situation. Another mentioned almost the same thing that Lizzy had said, and they all sounded like her acolytes. It left me wondering.
When it was my turn, I was able to express my views, which were very much opposite to the ones that were given before. I expressed my opinion that had to do with the fact that the issue of “clean” was very much dead because that restaurant had never been closed since it opened 40 years ago, and Lizzy’s claims were not of importance. I always thought that the Health Department decides if a restaurant is fit to be open or not. Of course, I was interrupted and I had to ask Lizzy to regain control of the meeting and ask the noisemakers to let me express myself.
I continued to emphasize that the issue of cleanliness is in the eye of the beholder, which made several people giggle. I could not understand why. Anyway, I finished my exposition and the same people that had talked before me decided to contradict what I had been saying. I raised my hand after they all talked and, to my amazement, Lizzy tried to ignore me, saying that I had already expressed my views. I explained that the people who just expressed their views had been given a second chance, so I deserved a second chance, too.
Again, I brought up the issue that the walls in the basement of the kitchen had to be fixed because of the humidity, but I was wondering why Lizzy, the owner, had not done her job. There were probably other issues that had not been taken care of as well. I sat down and the person that was sitting in front of me who had been mumbling nondescriptive expressions suddenly decided to make his views loud and clear and was directing his insults towards me. There was some mumbling around the room, but he was able to continue with nasty expressions. I picked myself up and left the room. It was a really ugly experience.
The meeting came to an end and we left the premises. I started to think that Lizzy also said that the restaurant had received around 178 violations in its lifetime. I realized that for the 40 years it has been in existence, 178 violations is not that much, and probably they had all been corrected and that’s why the restaurant was never closed. I was also wondering if the kitchen photographs that Lizzy had on display had been fixed in a way to look the way they looked – especially nowadays, since it can be done so easily.
The other issue that annoyed me a lot was the fact that Lizzy had told everybody that we were going to have a tour of the restaurant, and when she was asked, she answered that she did not think the restaurant was ready for a tour. That was a lie, because Lizzy had the key to it and she could have opened it for us to look at it. But she did not want to because it was empty and left impeccable, and then her claim would have been totally dismantled.
The other issue that surprised me was that when I said the restaurant had never been closed, somebody jumped up to complain that the standards of the Health Department are too low. I really wanted to laugh.
I don’t know what Lizzy’s issue is against the Little Bear, but she sure has not been able to prove what she has been saying for the past few months. We Woodstockers would like to find out, because there are quite a few of us that are extremely sad about her nonsensical decision.
Fanny Prizant
Bearsville
Timely actions for climate
As a member of both the New Paltz Climate Action Coalition and Hudson Valley Green Party, I would like to alert everyone about the importance of contacting federal, state and local officials to urge them to use the authority of their offices to promote sustainable energy and agricultural practices – always good advice, but very timely, as delegates from the world over gather in Glasgow to start the COP26 climate conference on November 1. We need to honor the Paris Accords and to do better than that agreement in order to mitigate climate disaster.
In New York State, voters should vote Yes on Ballot Proposition 2 “to protect public health and the environment by adding the right of each person to clean air and water and a healthful environment to the Bill of Rights in Article I of the New York Constitution.” Voting began on October 23.
Worldwide, there is a global Ring Out for Climate event. New Paltz and SUNY New Paltz will participate by ringing bells for ten minutes on October 30 (rain date October 31), starting at 1 p.m. Join in at the corner of Main and Front Street s] in New Paltz starting at 12:15 p.m. Tin Horn Rebellion will provide rousing live music. Bring your drum or pots and pans to join the Ring Out at 1 p.m.
Andrew Dalton
Pine Bush
Shape up
A bagel is not as round as it looks.
Sparrow
Phoenicia
Winston Farm project not appropriate
The planned 800-acre Winston Farm development in Saugerties does not belong in a residential area. The development is planned to have 700 multi-family homes, 100 private homes, a 45-acre amphitheater, a water park and a retail center. The multiyear buildout will be years of construction that will permeate the area for miles around while decimating 800 acres of farmland.
Planned housing will add 2,000 residents. The amphitheater will hold 15,000 attendees and their cars. The retail shopping section will attract more people and cars. Routes 32 and 212, Buffalo, Lodge and Hommelville Roads are all identified as being developed egresses.
The drain on the area’s water supply system will be over 800,000 gallons daily, putting neighboring homes dependent on wells at risk of not having enough water. Millions of tax dollars will be required to provide services for ambulances, firetrucks, police, trash collection, water, sewage treatment, snowplowing and road maintenance.
This is a not appropriate for Saugerties and is instead a regional or multi-state destination site similar to Disney, Legoland – similar to what should be built in a rural area – not in a small town of 19,000 residents.
Despite Town officials indicating support of the project, and the amphitheater in particular, the data on Woodstock ’94 described it as out of control and so loud that residents of Rhinebeck complained. It also caused massive traffic, parking and litter problems.
This development will overwhelm the County and Saugerties, and as such, it needs to be modified and scaled way down.
Andrew Cowan
Saugerties
Kevin, Kayleigh & Aaron show up for Saugerties
As a longtime resident of Saugerties, I am more interested in a candidate’s character, integrity, vision and experience than where they graduated high school or which sport they excelled at as a teen. For me, it’s who shows up, who does the work and who runs a positive, thoughtful and inclusive campaign. That’s why I am voting for Kevin Freeman and Kayleigh Zaloga for Saugerties Town Board and Aaron Levine for Legislative District 1.
It didn’t take a campaign for me to see Kevin and Kayleigh at Town meetings and events; they are there – all the time. I’ve listened to their measured and thoughtful responses to issues of the day. You won’t get knee-jerk reactions from them. They listen, research, engage in ideas and are open to thoughtful debate. As we emerge from the pandemic, we need elected officials who believe in science, not political ideology. When the next inevitable crisis arrives, we need officials who have the life and career experience of tackling problems with plans, not rhetoric.
Aaron Levine will represent Saugerties in the Ulster County Legislature with dignity, transparency and compassion. He will be a great team player without compromising his principles or the best interest of our Town and County. With $34 million from the American Rescue Plan on the table, Aaron will help shepherd those funds to improve the lives of those most affected by the pandemic. He will champion the people.
Saugerties neighbors, please join me in voting for Kevin Freeman and Kayleigh Zaloga for Town Board and Aaron Levine for Ulster County Legislator in District 1. We will be well-served if they are elected.
Christine Dinsmore
Saugerties
Reelect Jonathan Heppner to County Legislature
We have been impressed with the performance of Ulster County legislator Jonathan Heppner for a number of years now. Jonathan is just the sort of leader that Ulster County needs in these troubled, anger-filled times.
Under Heppner’s firm but fair and far-reaching leadership, our County has thrived in areas of broad-based economic prosperity, one that benefits everyone, as well as environmental stewardship that will protect the natural landscape as well as allow proper development.
Heppner brings into practice his respect for diverse opinions, and his encouragement of peaceful and respectful public discussions of often-complicated and even thorny issues.
When Heppner writes, “I look forward to the much-needed work prioritizing affordable housing opportunities and expanding mental health services in our county,” he is speaking for the best interests of our County. Heppner also writes, “We must continue to focus on helping our communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic” – words we heartily endorse.
So, we encourage Woodstock, West Hurley and Glenford voters to reelect Jonathan Heppner for Ulster County Legislature. He’s just what we need.
Ed & Miriam Sanders
Woodstock
Keep a shining star
When voting this November 2, Jonathan Heppner is the best choice for me and the citizens of the communities that he represents in District 23, the Town of Woodstock and the northwest part of West Hurley. Jonathan’s intelligent, steadfast leadership, accomplishments and constructive influence is remarkable. One of the best choices in life is to accentuate the positive. By voting for Jonathan Heppner, we can push back against the negative voices and work toward preserving what is good, all the while improving life here in Ulster County. Let’s reelect this shining star.
Sam Magarelli
Woodstock
The return of live theater
To your readers with a love for the arts, I hope they’re aware of the Denizen Theatre, a non-profit arts organization producing intimate, professional, live theatre at Water Street Market in New Paltz.
The Denizen is holding its first indoor performance in over a year, with Apples in Winter. This one-woman show has the following premise: A man on Death Row asks for an apple pie. And his mother makes it for him in real time, live onstage, as she shares stories from their lives.
It’s got depth, sincerity and even some clever humor that will make you laugh. There are 7 p.m. shows on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets can be purchased at DenizenTheatre.com, and the production runs through November 14.
I’ve seen a half-dozen shows at the theater over the last few years and I cannot emphasize enough to anyone in Ulster, Dutchess or the surrounding counties how powerful this production is.
Steven Bierfeldt
Wappingers Falls
Property-maintenance ordinance
Residents of Saugerties need to become aware of a proposed property-maintenance ordinance that could land them in jail if they do not address violations that include weeds or brushpiles in their yards or peeling paint on their homes, after being cited by the building inspector, who would then have expedited recourse to your property to bring it up to very arbitrary and subjective standards, at your expense, or slap you with a fine of up to $1,000 a day. And have you measured your driveway lately? If it’s not a minimum 20 feet wide, you could be in very expensive trouble. (I’d have to move my house, built in 1840, several feet to the left to accommodate such grandeur.) The burden on the many lower-income residents of Saugerties could be intolerable. Certainly, it’s discriminatory and unfair.
These are just a few examples of the overreaching language in the proposed ordinance, which the Board insists is necessary to address health and safety violations, but which clearly goes well beyond that category, straight into legislating taste. Board members claim that it’s all in state code, “copied and pasted,” but many of its provisions are unlocatable in state code. They also reassure people who call with concerns that no one should worry, as they have no intention of persecuting residents over debris piles (like unraked leaves, perhaps, in a broad interpretation). But why, then, should the language of the ordinance allow it? And even if the current officials wouldn’t enforce such an ordinance too vigorously, which is not anything that I or many others take for granted even now, what about the Board and officials of the future? Bad law is bad law and we have to oppose it.
They also insist that it’s necessary because the building inspector is overloaded with calls from residents complaining about their neighbors. Why is this a problem in very recent years? Could it be because so many people overpaid for houses they purchased, sight unseen in some cases, to escape New York Cit during the COVID crisis and moved up only to find that not all of Saugerties looks like the ads and most of the articles in the repurposed Chronogram? They also say that certain very specific measures involving actual health and safety issues are next to impossible to resolve when they have only the state code to rely on, but no one disputes those measures. It’s mostly about what some people think their view of their neighbors’ property should consist of. In any case, while I sympathize with our weary building inspector, having a law like this imposed on me to make his job easier is not the way to solve his problem.
No version of this ordinance is available on any public website or posted in any public space, but those concerned (i.e., any property owner in the Town of Saugerties) can request it via e-mail from the town clerk at the following address: LStanley@SaugertiesNY.gov. Wake up and smell the wildflowers! And demand some transparency while you’re at it! The Board may have the legal right to push this ordinance down our throats, but it’s authoritarian in the extreme to do so and implies a bias towards gentrification of our rural community that may well result in unintended consequences for them when we the people get to the voting booth.
Janet Asiain
Saugerties
Comeau renovation
Based upon the article in last week’s issue of HV1, it appears that the Comeau building has a good chance of qualifying for National Historic Register status: a status “which would give the Town a lot of money to handle the renovation,” which would save us taxpayers approximately $840,000, as well as the cost of maintenance and upkeep. However, the Comeau addition project as proposed “will kill any chance of our qualifying” for the funding.
In the same article, McKenna is quoted as saying, “Nobody hates to spend money more than I do.” One would think that, with that thought in mind, McKenna would put the Comeau renovation on hold and wait until the Historic Preservation Office makes its decision. Saving more than $840,000 would be worth the wait.
Howard Harris
Woodstock
Dumping difficulties
When New Paltz decided to prohibit using any other garbage hauler than County Waste, many residents were upset. I felt like we should wait and see how it worked out.
The 180-degree change in service at our dump since Laura Petit retired has now changed my mind. If this Town makes the municipal dump a difficult and erratically available place to use while creating a private monopoly, there is a real problem.
Last week, I tried to use the dump Thursday. I am a lame 75-year-old woman who recently broke three bones in my dominant right hand. I admit, it was probably a very bad idea for me to visit the dump on my own, given my painful state. I had slowly loaded my car Wednesday after double-checking the dump posted hours, only to find the gate down and the dump closed Thursday. It seemed that employees took Thursday off for the Monday holiday!
When I arrived at the dump Friday, I told the attendant how much it pained me and that no one takes off a minor holiday anytime they please. The man asked if I did not think the employees should have their holiday, to which I answered, “If you were working Monday, you take that day off, not other days.” I admit, my voice was assertive and unpleasant.
Then, as I dumped my trash, another man came out and said he was revoking my dump privileges and that I should leave his property. He kept telling me to leave and threatened to call the police. I continued to dump my garbage with my one good hand and told him to go ahead and call the police. I would have immediately charged him with elder abuse. I then reported this to our supervisor, who said that man had no right to revoke my dump privileges and that he would make certain nothing like that ever happened again.
Still, the dump is now operating on reduced hours. I have heard that the composting permit was not renewed. If staff has lost the incentive to serve the public, this creates a bad atmosphere. This Town has created a business monopoly for County Waste. If the dump is a negative experience, there is all the more of a problem.
Caroline Paulson
New Paltz
Zoning law revisions
In his October 20 Hudson Valley One piece on Kingston’s proposed zoning law revisions, Rokosz Most downplays land-use zoning laws as opposed to form-based laws. We have long followed both. Use-based zoning is not so much about keeping out “shops and restaurants” from residential areas as preventing the shock to an owner of a private home into which she or he has poured their life savings, surrounded by trees and lawns, caused by the shock of construction of box stores, shopping centers, second-hand automobile sales lots, filling stations with their acres of asphalt parking lots pouring their thousands of gallons of stormwater into natural streambeds.
Used-base zoning still is a valid planning concept, though there is always room for creative innovation. Dan Shuster has been generous with his creative and highly professional services to our community.
Barry Benepe
Saugerties
Vote Row A in Hurley
Hurley voters: Be sure to vote for Democrats in our critical local election on November 2. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Depending on where you live, vote at the West Hurley Firehouse or at the Town Hall in Old Hurley.
Democracy is not a spectator sport, and every vote counts. Vote Row A for the future of Hurley. Learn more at www.hurleydems.com.
Tobe Carey
Glenford
County Legislature District 6 election
Phil Erner is a farmer, community organizer and the Democratic nominee running for Ulster County Legislature District 6. We need your vote on November 2 to get Phil into office and help build an Ulster County for all of us, but our work won’t end there.
Phil is endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America’s local chapter. We want politicians in office who will fight for us: the workers, educators, families and people of the Hudson Valley. Candidates like Phil, who are supported by movements (not big donors), are accountable, responsive and allow us to shape our future.
I have been knocking on doors for Phil and know that my district is ready for a representative who lives in our community year-round, does not support the Kingstonian and massive tax breaks to private luxury developers, fights for public transit and practices his beliefs through politics and direct action. Ulster County Legislature District 6 includes many parts of Midtown, Rondout and Uptown Kingston. If you want an Ulster County that cares for our most vulnerable and prioritizes our needs over luxury apartment developers, I ask you to vote for Phil Erner on Tuesday, November 2.
If you believe a better world is possible, please join Mid-Hudson Valley Democratic Socialists of America (MHVDSA). We need you to help win this election; beyond that, there is a world to win. Join us. You can find more info about MHVDSA at https://mhvdsa.org.
Sebastian Pillitteri
Kingston
Thanks from Saugerties Farmers’ Market
The Saugerties Farmers’ Market would like to thank Hudson Valley One for its August 26 article by Frances Marion Platt with a photo by Dion Ogust on the market’s Harvest Home Dinners. The article’s reach resulted in new patrons coming for the first time to enjoy the small dinners in private homes prepared to show off and enjoy the delicious fresh and local food from the market.
The Saugerties Farmers’ Market, now in our 20th year, holds the Harvest Home Dinners annually to raise funds to pay for staff (market manager, operations staff, revived John Street Jam live musicians and kids’ art corner local artist Anita Barbour). We greatly appreciate the support of guests who come to the dinners and shoppers who buy at the Market.
We are gearing up for our last market of the season celebrating Halloween on Saturday, October 30, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at 115 Main Street in Saugerties, complete with pumpkin-carving and painting, costume contest, hand-painting, photo ops, costumed farm animals, games of pumpkin bowling and gourds ring toss, live music and spooky arts corner. The Market’s mission is to help everyone bring home delicious food, eat locally and seasonally and keep our farmers farming.
We thank all our customers and look forward to the Saugerties Farmers’ Market returning for the next season on Memorial Day weekend 2022.
Judith Spektor
Coordinator, Saugerties Farmers’ Market Committee
Saugerties
I’m for Joe Maloney all the way
If you didn’t attend the League of Women Voters forum in Saugerties on October 18, you can follow the exchange between Joe Maloney and Al Bruno, vying for Ulster County Legislative District 2, which encompasses Malden, the Village, Barclay Heights and parts of Glasco, on the Saugerties Lighthouse TV23 Facebook page, https://youtu.be/ja11VcJA5OA, airing October 30 at 2 and 5 p.m. and November 1 at 1 and 9 p.m.
You will not be disappointed in Joe Maloney’s instructive, measured, timely and passionate performance as he states his past record of accomplishments and voices a list of goals he’d like to see implemented for the people of Saugerties and the County, should he be fortunate enough to be returned to that legislative body where he took charge, challenged the status quo, kept a keen eye on the budget and questioned the powers that be. He has the arrows and headlines to prove it.
All politics is local, and he’s a strong voice for the voiceless – and that includes myself and most of you. For his part, Al Bruno was largely in agreement with almost everything Joe had said. Watch the video, get to the polls and you decide. I’m for Joe Maloney all the way.
Paul Andreassen
Malden-on-Hudson
More grant assistance for brown water
2021 update: applying for more grant assistance to replace water mains that cause brown water:
This fall, the Village of New Paltz has been working on another grant application to replace more of the tuberculated water mains prone to creating turbid or brown water.
In December 2019, New Paltz was awarded its largest-ever grant ($3 million) from the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation. That assistance will provide 60 percent of the funding for this 18,000-linear-feet project, including North Chestnut, North Manheim, Prospect, Huguenot, South Chestnut and a wooded area near Canaan Road that’s parallel to Mountain Rest Road. The Village will borrow the other ~$2 million for the $5 million project.
We anticipated completing the engineering plans and receiving okays from our New York State grantors in 2020 to commence work in 2021, but the global pandemic created delays. Since the second half of 2020 we have been working on this convoluted process that involves what feels like hundreds of e-mails, and anticipate finally starting the construction in 2022.
In the 2021 application that we are preparing before November’s deadline, we are seeking funding for a pressure-reducing valve at the aqueduct pump station and five new sections of water mains at:
1) Ridge & Lincoln,
2) Southside from Pencil Hill to South Chestnut,
3) Fairview,
4) Wurts and a portion of Mohonk Avenue and
5) Main Street from Huguenot to Prospect.
The 2021 application will also seek assistance connecting the existing water main on North Chestnut to Huguenot Street’s main to create a loop. Users currently affected when the northern portion of the water system goes down include the Village Arms Apartments, Duzine Elementary School, all properties on North Chestnut from Mulberry Street north including BOCES and the Bonticou View neighborhood. This proposed loop will eliminate two dead-end water mains and improve water quality and reliability for municipal water-users in this area.
Our water quality is tested and we have inquired with several experts about our “brown” water. It is considered common, in fact, an almost “normal” condition for most systems with older cast-iron water mains. But we must do better. Unfortunately, the best we are able to do while we wait for these capital projects is to advise residents to run their taps until water clears if it is running brown. Individuals paying for, and performing, their own system flushing is, unfortunately, one of our more effective tools while we are in the midst of trying to secure funds.
Tim Rogers
Mayor, Village of New Paltz
I am not amused
Regarding the proposed amusement park for the Winston Farm, I am not amused. Decades ago, the community managed to avoid a dump at that site and the slogan was, “Let Saugerties Grow Gracefully.” How sad that a creative community cannot come up with something graceful for this location, something culturally meaningful.
Rumor has it that our Town is going green. May I remind you that it was originally green. We ironically talk about solar “farms,” when in fact they are industries. We propose destroying natural green landscapes to be replaced by acres of industry, when our unused parking lots and dump sites could be ideal locations for this industry. Soon we will not be able to refer to this place as “the country.”
Joan Monastero
Saugerties
Endorsement for Phil Erner in UC Legislature District 6
Phil Erner is a farmer running for Ulster County Legislature in District 6, which includes parts of Kingston. He is strongly opposed to the Kingstonian, the luxury development project that has received millions in grants and tax breaks, which defunds our schools while driving up rents and property taxes. He also co-founded Friends of Kingston Public Transit Riders and has worked to protect bus routes for working-class Kingston residents.
Phil will fight hard for us in the County Legislature. Early voting is October 23 to 31. Election Day is Tuesday, November 2 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Please remind your friends, family and neighbors to vote as well!
Scott Koerwer
Kingston
As I see it
On Election Day, November 2, I urge District 23 residents to vote for Jonathan Heppner for Ulster County legislator. Jonathan is experienced, open-minded and committed to continually improving the lives of those that he represents. I can personally attest to Jonathan’s role in making my neighborhood safer, particularly in regard to traffic regulation. He opposes property tax increases and supports protection of the environment, affordable housing, stronger human rights and the role of mental health and addiction services in our communities. If these issues are of concern to you as a District 23 resident, then the person you can depend on to address them in a positive manner is Jonathan Heppner.
I also urge Woodstockers to vote for Bill McKenna for supervisor, Maria-Elena Conte and Bennet Ratcliff for Town Board, Richard Husted for Town justice and Scott Bonestell for highway superintendent. They all will work diligently for the betterment of the Town of Woodstock.
Terence Lover
Woodstock
Kathy Nolan for Ulster County Legislature
Kathy Nolan is running for election to the Ulster County legislature from District 22 which includes Olive, Shandaken, Denning and Hardenburg. And more important, she will represent all of us who live here.
Ulster County is special. Our quality of life, as well as tourism, a financial backbone to our local economy, is tied to having a healthy environment with clean air, pure water and contact with our beautiful natural world. Through access to nature and outdoor recreation, we get to know and love the world immediately around us and are willing to work to preserve it.
To this end, Kathy has had a major roll for 20 years to help make the Ashokan Rail Trail a reality and is also working to help preserve beautiful Onteora Lake
Kathy is people oriented, caring, gentle, dedicated, balanced and energetic. She unafraid to speak out for what is right.
Please vote for her in this election. We need her voice and her perspective in the Ulster County Legislature.
Toni Weidenbacher
Woodstock
The big mistake
The cost of winning the war against global warming that will not be paid is to require all eight billion people on Mother Earth, plus all those to come along, to dramatically change their behavior. That ain’t gonna happen, no way.
Those true believers, which is a lot of us, are on board right up until they see the plan: no trips to nowhere for nobody, not never! No beef or pork. No ‘imported’ anything. Laws limiting your choice about how many kids you can produce.
In the U.S., in Italy, Russia, Kenya, Korea, China; everyone everywhere must be willing to play by the same rules.
No Disneyworld, no NFL, no Hawaiian vacation, no second homes, no big cars, no water skiing, no downhill ski areas.
BS, you say? This planet is going to get warmer no matter how you talk the talk. You, and none of the other eight billion people we share this wonderful place with are going to stop having fun, live without air conditioning, or travelling!
Only one real reason you hear about it, day after day: to scare you into doing what other people want you to do. The climate alarmists want attention, and many of the loudest of them want your vote. Some want your money.
Folks, at the end of this century the 10 or 20 or 30 billion people will, most of them, be living large, having fun with friends and family. The coastlines will be a little changed, medicine will be much better and yet sadly, our grandkids will be worrying about money and war.
Paul Nathe
New Paltz
One word
After watching President Biden stumble, mumble and fumble at his recent Town Hall meeting, it’s obvious he is not capable of doing the job, which I’m sure China, Russia, Iran and North Korea have duly noted. So to the leaders of the Democratic Party who secured the nomination for him knowing this, I have one word: “evil.” For the rest of the Democrats and the Main Street Media who went along with the cover up knowing his condition, the word is “sinister,” and finally to all the voters who believed the story they were selling that he was okay and not holding press conferences and taking questions as he was sheltering in place due to COVID, the word is “sucker.”
One more word who is “they” that orders him not to take questions from the press? As the problems with inflation, the border, shortages, the FBI investigating parents worried about their children’s education and his handling of COVID we are without competent leadership. I know there’s no way he’ll be removed before the mid-term elections, but I suspect he’ll be gone soon after either resigning for health reasons or by use of the 25th Amendment.
John Habersberger
New Paltz
Vote for Bartels
Tracey does the hard work and the clear thinking to get to the best decisions.
We’re beyond lucky to have her, and we need her to stay on the job, on our behalf, on the rough road ahead of us.
Janet Kern,
Gardiner
Inconvenient facts
Responding to Susan Goldman’s 10/13/21 letter, Lee Reich’s letter 10/20/21 and Anthony Zackin’s 10/20/21 letter in HV1 newspaper. Had Susan G. taken her own advice and researched a little further, she would have found beyond the latest observational study I cited she found credible fault with, there are 14 previous Randomized Controlled Trials (“RCT”) that show cloth and surgical masks ineffective against viruses and were only designed for stopping bacteria (https://www.city-journal.org/do-masks-work-a-review-of-the-evidence#.YRSMsaJRXXk.twitter).
Lee R. is correct to point out that N95 masks are superior, but all masks have drawbacks, literally and figuratively, because they affect the wearers oxygen levels, trap yeast and bacteria (https://www.city-journal.org/do-we-need-mask-mandates) and are especially hard on children according to a recently published RCT in the Journal of American Medicine Pediatrics (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2781743). Government agencies and Dr. Fauci telling Americans that surgical and cloth masks protect against the spread of viruses is the real misleading misinformation Reich and Zachin should be upset about.
My responses to Zachin’s six points of contention and his references are as follows:
1. Link no good (“404-Not Found”) Reuters does not know more about the PCR test than Nobel Prize winner and inventor of the PCR test, Karry Mullis, who said the PCR test “ cannot tell you if you are sick” as it was not meant to diagnose disease “only measure genetic material that is in every human being” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scYudSweDAs).
2. Link no good (“404-Not Found”) 14 RCTs , showing the ineffectiveness of surgical and cloth masks, are far superior studies to the one alleged “paper” referenced on masks being effective.
3. Fails to mention his referenced study also shows vaccinated people are getting COVID-19 and can cause spread because the effectiveness of the vaccine fades after three month, two months according to another study and why booster shots are now being arranged (https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/06/health/pfizer-vaccine-waning-immunity/index.html).
4. Significant increase of COVID-19 patients in countries with high vaccination rates is documented in this recently published NATURE peer-reviewed study, contrary to claims otherwise (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8481107/).
5. It is common knowledge that VAERS reports were the gold standard for tracking vaccination reactions in all previous vaccines for the past 30 years.
6. Reference to a single article in Business Insider alleging Ivermectin does not work and turning a blind eye to 30 superior RCTs documenting Ivermectin 84% effective against virus infection and 63% effective in early treatment of the COVID-19, Zachin himself demonstrates real “bias and misleading misinformation” (https://ivmmeta.com/#fig_fpr).
Steve Romine
Woodstock
Quiet, no apparent crime
Town of Hurley was the scene of several misdemeanor crimes in the past two weeks. If caught, the thief or thieves who stole the campaign signs of only the three women running for offices on the Democratic Party ticket could be prosecuted. Did anyone witness these illegal acts? I am outraged by this affront to these very qualified women candidates. One site was at the end of Edgewood at Lucas.
Bardet Wardell
AKA Merrie B Wardell
Hurley
Join the family! 
