Letters to the editor (5/4/22)

Afghan Circle

With great turmoil, the US government pulled our forces out of Afghanistan last August, as the Taliban took control. This led to a mass exodus of refugees, with about 85,000 eventually coming to America. Initially housed on US Army bases, by February they gradually dispersed into communities throughout the country, one family at a time. They were helped by non-profit immigration agencies and volunteer Sponsor Circles. The absorption of so many in such a short time, with little government assistance, represents the greatest humanitarian effort here since the Underground Railroad assisted thousands from slavery to freedom.

The Hudson Valley has done its part in this herculean effort. From Westchester to Albany, Circles spontaneously sprang up, meeting the call for humanitarian action and personal commitment. Over a dozen Afghan refugee families, arriving penniless and alone, have been welcomed, resettled and integrated into our towns and cities. Locally, the Afghan Circle of the Hudson Valley has assisted refugees to fortunately find a safe haven here after literally being hunted by the Taliban.

Supporting our Circle, we’ve had the assistance of dozens of non-profit organizations, service providers, local companies and generous donations from over 160 people. Our task only starts when families arrive, as we need to fully support them, find them medical care, get them proper paperwork and help them find jobs. Soon, we will be assisting another family coming here in dire straits. If you’d like to assist them in any way, please go to www.afghancirclehudsonvalley.org and drop us a line. A lifeline.

Tash akur (Thank you in Dari).

Harv Hilowitz
Founder, Afghan Circle of the Hudson Valley

Give Woodstock Library the home it deserves

Three years ago, I bought a large collection of Blu-ray movie discs at an estate sale. After I sorted out the ones I had use for, I asked the librarians at the Woodstock Library if they could use what I had left: several hundred discs. They told me that Blu-rays were circulating quite well, but that there was no room to add that many more to the collection. So, we agreed that I would store the discs until the Library had more space, which we expected to occur soon.

There still isn’t enough room, a symptom of the problems that have been facing the Woodstock Library. On May 10 we will have the opportunity to vote for the purchase of a new Library building, which will allow space for expanding the collections, along with rooms for numerous activities that we can’t arrange now, including much more room for children’s programs and for teenagers. The building on Dixon Avenue is being offered to the Library at below-market value. I hope we will take advantage of this great opportunity and give the Woodstock Library the home it deserves.

Although I am a member of the Library Board, this letter is written as a private opinion.

Leslie Gerber
Woodstock

Time to vote Yes!

On Wednesday, April 27, I attended the informational meeting about the new Woodstock Library and came away with these thoughts.

Some opposed the new Library for being “out of town” and that there are some people who do not have cars and they will not be able to go the mile-and-one-half to the new Library. Woodstock is a semi-rural community where almost everyone owns a car and would be able to go to the new Library down the road. The few people who do not have personal transportation manage to shop, get to the doctors and go to Kingston. There will be a way for them to get to the new Library on Dixon Avenue.

Another concern was expressed by one person about the lack of a traffic pattern review. The traffic situation at the current Library is a nightmare. The turn at 212 and Library Lane is awful. Two cars going in opposite directions at that turn is nerve-wracking, and then you are dealing with people in the road crossing back and forth going to and from the Library.

Dixon Avenue, where the new Library is located, is a wide road with great sightlines. The parking lot is large and off-road. No one has to be crossing streets to access the building.

Finally, the toxicology report: The latest report, done by a reputable company, states that the building is safe. The naysayers question the report, but there is no reason to believe that their numbers are more valid than what the Board presented from a current inspection. There is no reason to think that the Library Board would want an unsafe building for their family, friends or the community.

I have lived in Woodstock for over 50 years and have been an active volunteer with the Library for 42 years. I have served on the Library Board for a number of terms. I have served on the Friends Board for many years, and I still am member of the Friends. For 42 years I have been actively involved with the Book Barn. My heart is with the Library.

My greatest fear is if this proposal is voted down, Woodstock will not be getting a new Library and we will have to live with an old, antiquated and unhealthy one for many, many years.

Please think long and hard before you vote.

Leslie Siegel
Bearsville

Green & clean

The Town of Saugerties: Supervisor Fred Costello, Jr., and Town Board members Leeanne Thornton, Peg Nau, Mike Ivino and Zac Horton would like to thank the listed participants for their involvement during the Green and Clean Days, which were held on April 9, 10, 23 and 24, 2022, through their collection of roadside litter along town roads to aid in the beautification and greening of Saugerties.

Volunteer team captains: Bob Howe, Barbara Krzywonos, Stephanie Bassler, Amy Feinberg, Joan Authenrieth, Brian & Linda Carmody, Mike and Cindy Saporito, Linda Beck, Phyllis Clark, Barbara Hammerstone, Renee Reynolds, Annie Hoffstatter, Jessica Brott, Jennifer Mangione, Ted Suttmeier, Jill Finger, Eric Fenn, Joan Lamb, Edith Bolt, Elin Menzies, the McClain Family, Tami Pelham, Kate Stickler, Kathy Bridges, Julie Coon, Shep Casden, Bill Summer, Steve Arnold, the Sagazie family, Laura Swanson, Tress Palmer, MaryAlice Lindquist, Diane O’Malley, Richard Frisbie and Michele Pedersen and the volunteer team members who helped these individuals with the project.

The Town of Saugerties is very fortunate to have such an asset as these volunteers that have pitched in to do their part for the community.

A special thanks goes out to the Highway superintendent Ray Mayone and his department and to the Transfer Station manager Doug Myer and his employees for the collection of the gathered roadside litter and for accepting/disposal of the litter.

Fred Costello, Jr., Supervisor
Leeanne Thornton, Town Board member
Peg Nau, Town Board member
Mike Ivino Town Board member
Zac Horton, Town Board member
Town of Saugerties

Good Cause

Every person has a right to safe, stable housing, without which we cannot truly be free. That’s why we need the Good Cause Eviction bill. The bill will protect tenants from unjust evictions and end unreasonable rent hikes. Without it, it’s easy for landlords to abuse tenants, retaliating against them or displacing them to gentrify neighborhoods. We have to change things. It’s time to prioritize people over profit.

Predatory developers and landlords trap communities, especially Black and brown people, in a system that forces them to choose between buying food and paying rent. Over 100,000 adults and children around New York are homeless, with millions more at risk for dangerous evictions.

I believe in a New York where every human being has inherent dignity and all people have safe, stable housing as a human right. I believe in a world where we value people over property. And I believe this world is possible if we work together.

I am calling on our representatives to support Good Cause because New York must recognize housing as a human right – no exceptions. Every person, every family deserves a safe, stable place to live. Working together, we can make that a reality.

Laura Motta
Kingston

And the answer is?

The exchange at the Woodstock Town Board meeting went like this: Our supervisor said, “The Library’s attorney wrote another resolution [and] the Town’s attorney confirmed the resolution [regarding the Library’s proposed move to Dixon Avenue] and gave it his blessing.” Councilwoman Maria-Elena Conte asked if the Town Board members had received a letter from the Town attorney regarding his confirmation because she hadn’t seen one. Councilman Ratcliff said he hadn’t seen one either and asked, “Does it exist?”

At the meeting, the resolution was tabled by a vote of 3 to 2 (McKenna and Ricci didn’t vote for tabling) to continue the discussion at the following meeting. However, according to a recent HV1 article sometime after the vote, “McKenna said the resolution would not be discussed at the April 19 Town Board meeting as previously planned.” Why?

Howard Harris
Woodstock

The best wine is the one you like

Choosing a wine is more difficult than choosing a husband.

Sparrow
Phoenicia

“Bro-science”

When the words “open your mind” come out of ole Tucks: You want me to tan my what, Tucker Carlson? Greenlighting red-light therapy. Testosterone can change the world. The Internet is laughing at Tucker Carlson’s new program. Where’s the data to suggest that shining a red light on your balls will have any benefit? Oh, and “testicular tanning” is not even an accurate term. It would be akin to calling a day on the beach something like intestinal tanning. Therefore, a more appropriate term instead would be scrotal tanning. Nevertheless, Tucker Carlson has jumped the shark.

Hahaha – so what’s a Trump-loving, conspiracy-obsessed Fox News-viewing guy to do? Gives a whole new meaning to the term “junk science.” Fox News is heavily invested in the idea that a decrease in testosterone is making men more liberal and less masculine. Every time I think Tucker Carlson and his viewers can’t get any dumber, they manage to surprise me. I do have a hard time seeing the downside to MAGA men sterilizing themselves, however.

At first, I thought it was funny! Then quickly realized there are millions of men that believe this BS! Can’t make it up! Let’s not forget that Fox News beat a defamation suit by successfully arguing in court that Tucker Carlson shouldn’t be taken seriously. I guess “he’s done moved on” from Dr. Seuss, Mr. Potato Head, Big Bird et cetera. Carlson has fallen off a deep end of trolling and insanity, perhaps, and now he’s dumbing down science for the masses. If you need proof, just watch these clowns.

Fox has cornered the market on crazy. Tucker Carlson is a “private part!” Light bright unicorns unite! Can the Republicans get any more ridiculous if they tried? I can’t stop laughing! If Tucker and his pals fried their family jewels, it would be a service to humanity, wouldn’t it? In fact, he might be happier doing some red-light therapy instead of his nightly red-face therapy.

How ridiculous does Fox News have to get before people will recognize that it’s hot air and fake? How can anyone listen to his crap? If he and Hannity were on the beach together…That would be tanning two testicles! Is this somehow related to those “Jewish space lasers” someone else was worried about? Weren’t they being used as the reason for all those California “bushes” to be set on fire?

Maybe this is all a test. Do not attempt to adjust your set. You have entered the Twilight Zone. I doubt Tucker’s testosterone and masculinity levels could rise to the level of “man” even if he stood in front of a red sun. Bleach, anyone? Hydroxychloroquine? Ivermectin? So, add Carlson to the list of snake oil salesmen.

Instead of shining a red light on your private parts, turn off Tucker Carlson. My advice for Fox News viewers: Please find a real news station and not just entertainment/talking heads who provide faux conspiracy theories or any other bad comedic misfiring.

Most importantly: Before you try shining different types of light on your crotch, ask for real scientific evidence and talk to real reputable medical doctors first. If you’re experiencing symptoms of low testosterone, like fatigue, low libido and difficulty building muscle when working out, you can see a doctor. If you’re told your levels are within a typical range, please don’t stick your balls in front of infrared light. After all, your balls are not disco balls. At least, they shouldn’t be.

Bottom line: There doesn’t seem to be enough groin evidence for use of red-light therapy in this manner yet. Next up: Become a visionary – jus’ stare a while into the sun! Brought to you by Tucker Carlson’s Dear Leader of the GOP. Again, I’m laughing out loud!

Neil Jarmel
West Hurley

Why not a water pipeline?

“The Eastern part of the country has gotten more rain, on average, over the last 30 years than it did during the 20^th century, while precipitation has decreased in the West,” a New York Times article of 2021 states.

Wildfires in the West have been large and the burning stretches from spring to fall. Usually, the fires blaze in woodlands that have grown dense through no-burn management over recent decades. The most recent fire to hit national news, though, was a prairie grass fire, driven by high winds, that ended by devouring parts of two small towns in Colorado. At the same time, in the Northeast, longer, hotter summers and increased rainfall (between 1895 and 2011, “Regional precipitation increased by approximately five inches, or more than ten percent,” according to a website managed by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Program Office).

One sensible solution might be a pipeline to carry water from the sopping-wet East to the desperately dry West – although there are certainly a host of difficulties to consider. First, as the same NYT article notes, “It’s not yet clear whether these changes in precipitation are a permanent feature of our warming climate.”

Second, while drought and added rainfall are general trends, there are variations within that trend that might mean the West would get no water from the East some years, unless the East sent more water westward than it could afford to share. We have seen something like this happen between the Colorado River and Southern California.

Then there’s the matter of cost. The XL gas pipeline was projected to cost $8 billion. But whatever the cost of a water pipeline across the US, it would have to be weighed against the loss of homes, agriculture and industry that the projected long, severe drought throughout the American Southwest will cost. The Bay Area Council Economic Institute estimates that, “When counting insured losses, the 2020 wildfire season is estimated to have produced between $5 billion and $9 billion in destruction.” For 2017 and 2018 that figure was over $10 billion each year. In these raw terms alone, a pipeline that would alleviate the worst of the West Coast drought would be worth the investment. And that doesn’t even begin to count the benefit of job-creation and of avoiding the cost and social disruption of resettling of millions of Americans to less thirsty parts of the country.

America has built a mythos around its forward-looking character. But now we are faced with a rapidly building climate challenge that forces us to answer the question: Are we really a country that can see a disaster coming and take the necessary bold steps to avoid it?

Maggie Boys
Port Ewen

Great opportunity

Woodstock is very lucky! Without any disruptive construction on Library Lane, the Woodstock Library has a chance to move into a modern, environmentally sound building at a lower cost than rebuilding or renovating where it is. Please vote Yes in the bond election on May 10 at the Hornbeck Community Center on Rock City Road.

One of the best features of 10 Dixon Road is that it is next door to the Dixon Road House restaurant. Another amazing feature is the fiber-optic cable already connecting the building to the Internet at an undreamed-of high speed. This means that every computer in the place can be going full out at the same time, with no one experiencing lag – even for folks in the parking lot.

This building will serve Woodstock well for the next 100 years. What an opportunity! Please vote Yes.

Stuart Auchincloss
Woodstock

Vote Yes on May 10

On May 10, voters can take advantage of an opportunity to purchase the beautiful Miller-Howard office building for use as the community’s new Library. The building features abundant environmental advantages that will save money in the coming years, ample parking, safe entry and exit plus enough room for the many programs this community will support.

Jeff Collins and the Library Board provided open and straightforward communication throughout the negotiations.

Vote Yes on May 10. Our future depends on it.

Irwin Rosenthal
Woodstock

Woodstock needs a great Library

Let’s look at the Woodstock Library with my friend and neighbor Nell.

Nell is six years old, born in Woodstock, loves to read books. Her mother takes her to the Library every week; they pick out books and leave in five minutes. Nell’s mom is sensitive to the mold smell in the Library. The children’s room is too small and crowded for Nell to be comfortable.

Five years from now, Nell will be 11 years old. Will she and her friends go to this Library to do their schoolwork? Not likely. There is not enough room for them.

Now, imagine that the Library moves to 10 Dixon Avenue. Nell and her mother will go to the children’s room right on the main floor. It’s a large, bright welcoming room – and they stay for an hour. Five years from now, 11-year-old Nell will go the Library with her friends after school. It is a wonderful safe place for them to do their homework. A friendly librarian to assist in finding the books needed for a report. A volunteer tutor to help with the algebra take-home test in a private study room. And where will I be? On the second floor sitting in a comfortable chair by the window with a view of the mountains, lost in a novel. When Nell is ready, she will come upstairs and I will bring her home.

Woodstock needs to provide Nell and the next generation with a great Library. As one of the elders of this town, this will be our legacy.

Vote Yes on the bond issue May 10.

Marcia Patten
Shady

Support passage of Woodstock Library bond

I enthusiastically support passage of the Woodstock Library bond on May 10. Please join me by voting at the Community Center.

Proposals to renovate old building were all wet

Perhaps nothing speaks to the need for the Library to move better than the flooded lawn every time there is a rainstorm. Each time that there is a heavy rain, it causes a huge flood that swamps the lawn and also adjacent lawns. The current Library sits in a stream path, and that same condition has plagued the building itself, leading to mold, bad air and weakened underpinnings. Renovating has been a poor choice from the outset. Rebuilding on the same site might have, at greater cost, remediated some of the problems, but moving is truly inspired. And moving is also much more cost-efficient, and eliminates any gap in service to patrons. It can save millions now and more going forward as our Town grows.

The Dixon Avenue building is not only dry, but green

The proposed move to the Miller-Howard building located on Dixon Avenue just off Route 212 is an intelligently conceived and green choice. The site of the building is dry and clean, and the existing building is one of Woodstock’s greenest and most sustainable. Beyond the obvious qualities of the building, the need to renovate is modest and the changes thoughtfully designed. Among other things, the modifications retain the light and countrylike feeling of the space and the site.

Getting there will be easy

We are a rural town. A large number of Woodstock residents actually live in the hamlets to the west of the Town where the current Library is located, so a modest shift to the west, as represented by the relocation to Dixon Avenue, will actually be more convenient to many. Furthermore, most Woodstock households own two or more vehicles and a very few have no transportation. To accommodate those without access to cars, the Library plan will provide them with a variety of free “shuttle” options for getting to and from the new location. The Dixon site has 60+ parking spaces, far more than the current building, so driving will become a more attractive option to most patrons.

Affordable to taxpayers

Having a state-of-the-art and future-proof Library in Woodstock is finally within our reach at a modest cost per household. At $3.95 million, the cost of the bond to each taxpayer will come to only $7 a month: about the cost of a few cappuccinos or a beer. It represents an important educational and cultural investment in our community.

I hope you will join me and vote to support the bond for the future of our Woodstock Library.

Doug Sheer
Woodstock

Preserve human rights, freedom in Ukraine

There is a sense of frustration in our society, especially when our media gives us around-the-clock coverage of Ukraine. What can we do to stop Putin’s war crimes of aggression and occupation?

It is ironic that the war crimes that the US could end are the ones we never hear about. Take the slaughter and famine in Yemen: a million people without homes and tens of thousands of children starving. Saudi Arabia would stop the carnage if the US said that it would no longer fuel their planes, supply their bombs or protect them in the Middle East.

The 70-year siege of Palestine has been going on much longer. Over eight million have been forced to leave their homeland in one of the world’s largest diasporas. Palestinians remaining have faced a rigid apartheid state, one condemned by Amnesty International and the Harvard Law School. In the words of Nelson Mandela, “The United Nations took a strong stand against apartheid; and over the years, an international consensus was built, which helped to bring an end to this iniquitous system…but we know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”

Far from opposing Israel’s war crimes against Palestinians, our country protects Israel at the UN and supplies it with $4 billion a year in military aid, most of which is used on helpless Palestinians. Why isn’t the US leading world pressure on Israel to end its apartheid, as well as striving to preserve human rights and freedom in Ukraine?

Contact Jewish Voice for Peace – Hudson Valley (https://jvphudsonvalley.blogspot.com), Middle East Crisis Response (https://mideastcrisis.org).

Fred Nagel
Rhinebeck

Free speech is not dead…yet

As long as most of us have been around, we naturally took for granted our constitutionally guaranteed right to free speech. If we ever said anything egregiously wrong or offensive, we would likely have been held accountable, in some way, by those affected and those around us: family, friends and others who would then ignore us or even ostracize us. We didn’t need a meddling, tyrannical government to start monitoring, canceling or punishing our speech.

Now, along comes Elon Musk. If he is sincere and walks his talk, he will try to restore our rights to freedom of speech, hopefully in an honest and transparent manner. If this is simply his true agenda, then why would any rational legal citizen object to it?

And yet, to no one’s surprise, most on the left are having a meltdown, including a number of Twitter twit employees. God forbid Twitter now be held accountable for their biased algorithms if Musk follows through with his assertions that he will expose and make transparent the methods through which Twitter operated to suppress conservative/Republican viewpoints and how he plans to remedy their toxic behavior. And it remains to be seen what effect this may have on Zuckerberg, Instagram and other similarly biased platforms who use the same methods to censor all views that don’t coincide with theirs.

And it’s no coincidence that, less than a week after Musk bought Twitter, one of Biden’s many ineffective/incompetent lackeys, Alejandro Mayorkas, decides to establish a new Misinformation/Disinformation “Governance Board,” which sounds very much like another forum that will join Zuckerberg et al in an attempt to continue silencing and canceling the free speech of all people who disagree with their talking points.

Finally, to add insult to injury, the person assigned to “lead” this new board, Nina Jankewicz, is a documented champion of spewing disinformation herself! She has said that the Steele dossier was authentic and truthful. She also has been quoted as saying that all stories about Hunter Biden’s laptop are fake, as she even referred to Hunter’s laptop news as a “Trump campaign product.” I wonder if her delusional mind still tells her that Mueller found Trump guilty of Russian collusion. Such a ludicrous board and “leadership” appointment is even worse than putting the proverbial fox in charge of guarding the henhouse. And, to give us all a clue as to her mental instability, she was also quoted as saying “free speech makes me shudder.” What more do we need to hear to convince us of the dangers in her character and bias, as she assumes her new position?

For any remote and minuscule possibility of objectivity, honesty and transparency, we hope that she will not only put a sock in her mouth, but that she also dons a pair of mittens so that she won’t be able to operate a keyboard, either.

John N. Butz
Modena

True community conversation about future of Winston Farm needed

What regard, I ask, would such people have for the Town, Village or residents of Saugerties? (None whatsoever.)

Thanks to Rokosz Most for the pitch-perfect reporting in the April 27 edition of this paper about the Chamber of Commerce breakfast held at Diamond Mills on April 20 to showcase the proposed development of Winston Farm, under the misleading title “Celebrate Saugerties.” There are many disturbing aspects of the event to comment on, but the “new” strategy of getting the zoning changed without being tied down to specific projects, and then “let the market weigh in” on what the actual projects would be, is the worst of them. “The market” only means one thing here: that the people with enough money will decide what happens on the property. That’s the strategy that has brought both our economy and environment to the brink of disaster, or maybe already pushed it over the edge. That is the worst possible way to go forward in thinking about this project.

With respect to the benefit to Saugerties: “The market” is a very big place. It is already understood that the three developers will sell off the property by parcels as soon as they have prepared it for development. Does anybody think it’s likely that buyers with that kind of money will be from Saugerties? So much for keeping the money in the community. And what regard or obligation, not to mention loyalty, will outsiders have for the Town, Village or residents of Saugerties? None whatsoever. And as a slight aside here, assuming that commercial development is allowed to take place, why does anyone imagine that it’s residents of Saugerties who will get the promised jobs, of whatever quality? Or even be given preference? The same skeptical questions go for residential development.

The developers may be men of good will, but their judgment appears to be clouded. At the very least, they’re using an outdated playbook. And some of our elected representatives seem to be lost in the same fog. I am asking them to stop cheerleading for the developers and start a true community conversation about the future of Winston Farm.

Janet Asiain
Saugerties

Vote Yes for Woodstock Library bond vote

I would like to compliment the Woodstock Library Board for its diligence, resourcefulness and transparency. With the passage of the bond vote on May 10, I feel assured that current Library members, their children and grandchildren will be well-served. There will be facilities for all – members and staff alike. The new Library will include meeting rooms, work stations, a secure gallery space, areas to sit and read, easy-to-access sections for children and teens and nonfiction and fiction areas et cetera. Extensive parking spaces will be available, with the possibility of shuttle transportation from the business area of Woodstock. And the Library Fair will still be in town.

As with every place of gathering, user health is paramount. To this end, environmental studies have underscored the safety of the Library’s new location.

I encourage members of the Woodstock community to cherish the memories of the Town’s development throughout its history. I also encourage the community to build on the present to make life better for everyone now and for our children and grandchildren. We all are part of Woodstock’s history as each day is lived. By voting Yes on May 10, we all can help that history evolve in a positive way.

Terence & Linda Lover
Woodstock

Reasons to vote No on Library bond vote May 10

There are very good reasons to vote No on the Library bond vote May 10. If the bond vote passes, the Woodstock Library will move to Bearsville in the Light Industrial district, which has Town water but not Town sewer. The Library plans to purchase the Miller-Howard building on Dixon Avenue, now an office building, and convert it to a Library, and at a later date, add an extension. Here are reasons to vote No on the Library bond:

Since the Library is a separate municipality, they are not legally required to comply with Woodstock’s zoning, Planning Board and other environmental reviews, including a traffic study. These would be legally required of any other entity in Woodstock, and should have taken place before a taxpayer bond vote to purchase the property.

The Library is a change of use from the office building. The Library says it can verify that the occupancy rate is the same as the office building, according to Health Department regulations. This may be accurate for daily use, but the new design additionally has a meeting room that will hold 60 people. And the Library plans a future expansion. No one has examined the septic system, installed in 2013, to see if its capacity meets this change of use, now or in the future. Is there room on the site to expand the capacity of the septic system if required? This site sits in the wellhead protection area for the Town’s water supply, and Town wells are two blocks away.

Toxic contamination from Model Optics manufacturing for over 30 years has been found buried on the site. Some is at high levels, but no remediation is legally required at this time. But this is not “a clean bill of health” as the Library proclaims. The toxicity is still there, buried on the site; and remember, a Library expansion is planned, which will mean excavation. The potential for legally required remediation of the toxins is a liability for us, the taxpayers. We will become financially responsible for the buried contamination of over 30 years once this building is purchased.

Having worked in three libraries including Woodstock, I am very familiar with library patron use patterns. The move to Bearsville is not in the public interest. The Woodstock Library is first and foremost a public resource and belongs in the central hamlet of the Town, accessible and convenient for all. Accessibility for all and convenience are cornerstones of library facility development.

The Woodstock Library trustees absolutely have a feasible alternative to moving to Bearsville. Hire an experienced library designer, create a fine new library design reflective of the historic Library and Woodstock architecture. The Library on the tree-lined site in the hamlet benefits all Library patrons and is at the very core of Woodstock’s identity. I believe this would get overwhelming support from taxpayers.

Pat Jackson
Woodstock

Apply & reapply

Last month, governor Kathy Hochul announced that New York State awarded $638 million in grants to municipalities and public authorities for 199 water infrastructure projects. Unfortunately, our application was not selected to receive a drinking water grant from the NYS Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) via the NYS Water Infrastructure Improvement Act (WIIA). Only the City of Kingston received a WIIA award in Ulster County this round ($3 million towards Cooper Lake Dam’s remediation). This was the fourth time we applied since 2017. We received one award in the last four EFC rounds.

2017 🙁

2018 🙁

2019 awarded

2021 🙁

Writing and preparing technical grant applications with reports from engineers is expensive and time-consuming, so we have already pivoted and used some of our 2021 EFC application to request grant assistance through congressman Antonio Delgado’s office. In this latest application, the Village of New Paltz is applying for a grant to fund a $982,600 water and sewer project. If we are selected, we would have to contribute 20 percent of that cost using local water and sewer funds paid for by ratepayers.

Proposed project

Sewer: The Route 32 Pump Station was constructed over 60 years ago. This sanitary sewage pumping facility underwent major repairs ten years ago and currently pumps approximately 480,000 gallons per day of sanitary sewage to the Village’s Wastewater Treatment Facility located on Huguenot Street. The Pump Station currently serves the northern portion of the Village along the Route 32 corridor in the NBR zone, which includes the properties with potential residential development. The existing pumping station has outlived its useful operational life and will need to be replaced if any additional wastewater from potential housing is added to its current pumping capacity.

Water: Connecting the existing water main on Huguenot Street to the existing water main on Route 32 along Old Kingston Road with approximately 3,000 feet of eight-inch water-main hydrants and valves will eliminate the need to shut down the entire northern portion of the Village water system in the vicinity of Route 32 during a water-main break. Users currently affected by such incidents include the Village Arms Apartments, Duzine Elementary School and all residential and commercial users from Mulberry Street to the Village line above BOCES. Water service interruptions force the Duzine Elementary School to close and all students to be sent home, because a school cannot operate without running water. This upgrade would eliminate or significantly minimize the need for the school to close when work is being done on the Village’s northern section of its water system.

This proposed project is a priority because these water and sewer upgrades will allow for planned construction of desperately needed affordable housing, as well as improve critical portions of the Village’s water and sewer conveyance systems that currently serve the northern portion of the Village.

Hope we have better luck with Congressman Delgado and the federal government. Our .250 batting average with EFC doesn’t feel great.

Mayor Tim Rogers
New Paltz

Beautiful clean building solves Library needs

Dear fellow Woodstockers: We’re one vote away from moving our Town Library to a much larger, healthy facility! 10 Dixon Avenue is a beautiful, new (2015), solidly built two-story building. It’s already built. No construction is needed, so no Library downtime. The Library will stay open and move right in after interior remodeling.

Our Town will finally have the full-service Library we deserve and need. Bright and clean inside, its windows and walls are super-energy-efficient. There’s plenty of light in every room. With 12,000 square feet of floor space, our larger Library can become a true community hub for families, seniors, children and students, supporting all the cultural and entrepreneurial creativity Woodstock thrives on. Multiple activities will be possible at the same time, day or night, with lots of individual spaces for meeting, mentoring, creativity and growing businesses.

And the grounds? Colliers Engineering, the nation’s top geotechnical and environmental testing firm, soil-tested the entire property this year. They gave 10 Dixon a clean environmental bill of health. Public health is assured.

There are so many pluses: 10 Dixon is centrally located – within three miles of 2,700 Woodstock households. Fiber-optic lines (already installed) will make it the fastest Internet hotspot in town. A 44-space parking lot, two tiers of rooftop solar panels, a generator for winter power outages, a climate-controlled room for Woodstock’s historical archives. This is the dream building the Woodstock Library has needed, and it’s a bargain. Nothing like it could be built for anywhere near the same price.

Please, don’t let this opportunity slip by! To make it happen we need everyone to vote Yes on Tuesday, May 10. Come to the Mescal Hornbeck Community Center from noon to 9 p.m. to make our new Town Library a reality. Need more information? Go to woodstock.org/planning or call the live Q&A line at (845) 600-0032 to ask questions.

Tim Moore
Woodstock

Time to make new memories

The Woodstock Library is a second home for my 15-year-old daughter Devon and eight-year-old son Kiernan. They’ve performed Shakespeare and Roald Dahl there, they’ve volunteered at every library fair and they’ve read countless books. They grew up on 5 Library Lane. Are they a little sad about a move to Dixon Avenue? Maybe, but they’re not sentimental about possibly saying goodbye to the old building. Because they know “the Library” isn’t a building. The library is them, and it’s the people who work there and all the other people who check out books and participate in programs. They know it will be better for all of those people that make up the library to have a building that has the right amount of space and that is a healthy and environmentally friendly. They will always have wonderful memories of 5 Library Lane (trust me I’ve got about a million photographs) but it’s time to make some new ones on Dixon Avenue. 

Michael Hunt
Woodstock

The market rules

Buried inside the coverage of the Ulster County Chamber of Commerce Breakfast (Hudson Valley One, April 27) was “a newer strategy” for the Winston farm developers.

Instead of specifics highlighted in former presentations and in the Winston Farm’s gauzy website — a potpourri of promises that have excited many residents of Saugerties, garnering their support — the developers “now intend to pursue the rezoning without tying themselves down with specifics.” In other words, they are making no commitments, just seeking a blank check.

According to Winston Farm public relations man Josh Sommers, while “engaging the community,” they instead intend to “let the market weigh in on what (Winston Farm) should be.”

In other words, approve their request for black check zoning (the PDD, or Planned Development District) and they will build whatever sells. Amphitheatre? Waterpark? High-end housing on large lots? Boutique hotel? Offices? Apartments? Retail? All or none of the above. Whatever.

Let’s agree that the developers — highly-respected local businessmen — are entitled to a fair return on their investment, which, according to Hudson Valley One, was only $2.75 million (not $4 million as previously reported) for 800 acres. Based on the property’s current zoning, they could easily achieve that goal. Or, with blank check zoning, they could just sell the entire tract for a nice profit.

The rezoning will be up to the Town Board, some of whose members have already vocally supported the developers even before the required public process and studies get underway. But, said Sommers, “once the zoning is potentially approved, the market will determine the type of interest” in what ultimately rises on the site.

To those who enthusiastically support the Winston Farm developers’ open-ended rezoning request, please be careful what you wish for. The three gentlemen may have the best of intentions for Saugerties, but, ultimately, as their new PR man has said, it’s not their intentions that will determine what goes there — the market will decide.

Gene Meyer
Saugerties

Vote yes for 10 Dixon Avenue

10 Dixon Avenue will give our community the new Library it has been asking for. A clean, mold-free, energy-efficient building with pre-existing solar panels and an on-site generator. Fiber-optic internet service. Larger, separated areas for children and for teens. More space for books and quiet spaces for reading. Community spaces for meetings. A presentation space for programming that can be held without disturbing other Library patrons. Full accessibility. Ample off-street parking.

There will be no disruption of Library services during the transition. The Library will stay open at the existing site and be able to move right in to 10 Dixon once interior remodeling is complete.

Independent environmental testing done by Colliers Engineering has given 10 Dixon Avenue a clean bill of health. Read the reports yourself and learn more about the project at woodstock.org/planning or call the live Q&A line at (845) 600-0032.

Our town deserves a Library that meets its needs. Don’t miss this opportunity! Vote YES, Tuesday, May 10th at the Mescal Hornbeck Community Center from noon to 9 p.m. 

Julie Parisi
Woodstock

Talk of the town

Remember Billy? He hated styrofoam, but he also told us much about the ‘Clark belt.’

If Ed (Sanders) and friends, could levitate the Pentagon in the 60s, why can’t Ed, now, with the late Billy Faier’s guidance and approval, levitate the frail, little, old, controversial library in our increasingly gentrified, miasmic, gang banging Town of Woodstock?
Seniors could sit on their porches, or balconies in unaffordable subterranean-standard housing, look up, with telescopes loaned by Bob Berman, and see, hovering in geostationary orbit, though meretriciously outdated and an anachronistic excuse for Thoreau-like simplicity, our moss-nourished little library?
If they wanted a book, couldn’t drones deliver them?

On the other hand, Elon, so sagacious, so charming, so contagious (though never once as deliciously wry as the late Alan Midgette, our own Oscar Wilde) could catapult, as he did a forlorn automobile, the proposed Big Library all the way to that tempting, heavenly outpost of geekdom, Mars

Bearsville Flats doesn’t seem so exciting, even for strict bibliophiles like the late, and well-dressed, especially at poetry-fests, Mr. Perkins.

Besides, who needs ‘community’ these days? Too late, too late!  Just one Immanuel Kant, walking punctually around the block, everyday, like Bill Devoe or Ricochet, can’t provide a sense of place. Not even steadfast Steve Romine, remind and rewind yourself, can build real community by becoming suave…

Better to digitalize everything; it’s nano-fast and quicker, cleaner, more efficient and, lo and behold, creates that lambent, amnesiac bliss suitable for living everywhere all at once or, like in Erehwon, nowhere at all.

Ron Rybacki
Woodstock

Woodstock, embrace the future!

The Woodstock community will be faced with a clear choice on May 10th. We can vote YES on the library bond and get an amazing facility that will support us for the next 50 years, or we can vote no and live in the past.

A YES vote will provide the community with a building that is ADA compliant so everyone can access the entire library. A no vote leaves us a building whose second floor is not accessible to those who cannot climb stairs. A YES vote will give us a building with a modern, efficient HVAC system instead of one that is so filled with mold that many people cannot even enter it. A YES vote will provide the library building with renewable energy through the already existing solar panels. A no vote means continuing to rely solely on carbon fuel to heat the building. A YES vote means that the patrons can park in the spacious 44-space, off-street parking lot. A no vote means continuing to try to find one of the few parking spaces and having to back out of that space onto a busy road.

Of course a library is more than just a building. It is what is done in the building. With a YES vote, our library’s patrons will be able to reserve one of the five collaboration spaces for their meetings or work groups. A no vote means that they can’t use the library to collaborate because there is no space for them. A YES vote means that our young children will have a dedicated space. A no vote means that they will continue to be jammed into a small corner. A YES vote means that our community’s teenagers will have a space of their own in the library. A no vote means that all they get is a single couch.

One of the most important functions of a library is to preserve, protect and make available knowledge and history. With a YES vote, the library’s important historical archives will have a protected place to live and will be available to the public. With a no vote, these archives will continue to be tucked away.

A YES vote means that we move into the future. A no vote just means more of the same damn thing! It is time to embrace the future and vote YES on May 10th!

Voting takes place for all residents from noon to 9 p.m. at the Mescal Hornbeck Community Center.

Jeffery A. Collins, President
Woodstock Library Board of Trustees

Woodstock Library Bond Vote
Are you short on time but full of good intentions, wishing you could do something significant for our Woodstock community?  In just a few days you will have an opportunity to give a few minutes of your time that will have lasting benefits for our town.

Please vote YES for the Library Bond to relocate our library to Dixon Avenue. Your YES vote is necessary to move an important and very much needed community project forward.

All registered Woodstock voters can vote on Tuesday, May 10th from 12 noon to 9 p.m. at the Mescal Hornbeck Community Center on Rock City Road.

You can vote even if you don’t have a library card.

Gayle Jamison
Woodstock

What is the Woodstock Library Bond vote for?

It is a vote to move the Woodstock Library to Bearsville.

Albeit the library web site says that what is presented are “draft plans” — there are numerous deficiencies in the plans that will need fixing at an unknown impact on the cost of the project. For example:

1.  “A large, multi-use program room for all age programming that is accessible to all.”  This room is large enough for 60 people — but sadly is on the second floor, 64 feet away from the front door exit and is shown having emergency exit doors opening into the room.

2. A discrepancy between what has been stated at meetings as a current occupancy of 65-70 people and the draft plan which shows 99 seats, not counting  the 60 person capacity of the multi-purpose meeting room. Assurances that the existing septic system which was designed for the previous occupant (+/- 70 persons) is adequate are questionable if the new capacity of the library is 159 people.

Are voters voting on a bond for this library plan, which is in need of  alteration, or are they voting for a library of as yet undescribed design? Either way there is too much left unresolved to be comfortable that the requested bond figure is appropriate.

VOTE NO NO NO for the library bond.

Elaine  Hencke
Woodstock

Are they nuts?

George Orwell is freaking out that with all the effort he put into warning us about the political class, we let them get this far: Washington, DC now gives the pigs that ruled in Animal House human faces and names.  If we do not fight them now, and with all of our energy, America the Beautiful will be gone forever.

Do not tolerate being ruled by a Disinformation Governance Board.  Do not surrender your First Amendment Rights to this greedy mob.  Surely now, as 250 years ago, when Ben Franklin warned, we must all hang together or we will all be hung, one by one.

Paul Nathe
New Paltz

Connectivity

I’ve been living on Dixon Avenue for 40 years and have been a Woodstock Library trustee for 20 years. When I came to Woodstock, there was a public swimming pool behind The Watering Troff a pub where the Gypsy Wolf Cantina was and now the Dixon Roadside. When the weather became nice and the temperature got hot, the pool became packed with families to listen to music, have a beer and hang out with friends and neighbors.

When I was younger, I would easily walk or bike ride to town and back. I see younger people now walking or jogging Route 212, sometimes with a stroller. People forget that the hamlets of Shady, Lake Hill, Willow, Wittenberg and Mt. Tremper are part of Woodstock. Dixon Avenue is an easy bus or UCAT ride from town.

10 Dixon Avenue is a modern green building with solar panels and a generator so the library can be used as a warming center. It has clean recirculating air and is big enough to accommodate all the wonderful programming the library created for all ages with enough onsite parking. The programming has been created by listening to the public at all the cafes, town and Turning Outward meetings the library had for the past 15 years. This area and building is a connection between the Town of Woodstock and the western hamlets. The library is a place where people come together.

I would like to encourage everybody to vote YES on May 10 for the bond vote and bring back the connectivity we deserve.

Barry Miller, Vice President
Woodstock Library Board of Trustees

It’s now or never folks

The time is right, the time is now. Tuesday is the day to vote YES for the bond issue for the purchase of a new location for the Woodstock Library at the Mescal Hornbeck Community Center from noon to 9 pm. This is one of our best opportunities to make this happen.
It’s now or never folks.

Chris Collins
Bearsville

The Library is the heart of Woodstock

I want to shout out a big “Thank you!” to Ivy Gocker and the excellent team at Woodstock Library for their staging a truly successful “Poem-a-thon” on the lawn of the library on Saturday, April 30. The weather was perfect, the setting was sublime and the dozens of poets and singers and ukulele-players and reciters-by-heart and chroniclers and ranters and confessionalists and tell-all-ers made the afternoon a beautiful and meaningful one. It should be no surprise that it worked so well, since any event or happening I have either taken part in, or been an audience member for, has been done with care and originality by the library folks. Whether it is a public reading, a book sale, a seasonal festival or a thematic group sharing, like Nancy Kline’s fiction-writing workshop, which I am lucky enough to be part of this Spring, I am always inspired by the library and the people who are associated with it. It is truly the heart of Woodstock, and I must admit that I would hate to see it move from its present location. It just feels “right”, right where it is!

Martin Haber
Woodstock

Questions for Colliers Engineering

I am a licensed professional engineer and have been practicing for 50 years. One area in my realm of expertise is water quality and hazardous waste. I recently received a copy of the Phase II Environmental Site Assessment report, prepared by Colliers Engineering for the Woodstock Library Board. I have some questions for Colliers.

(1) ARSENIC. This is one of the biggest threats to the environmental well being of that area. I could only find it mentioned once in REC-1: Historic Manufacturing, page 3 in your Phase II report. Why? Your Phase I report (pages 298, 299, 300 & 301 had ten soil samples, the results averaged out to about seven. The DEC remediation level for arsenic, according to your report, is 16. In simple terms, a glass of wine with 16 units of arsenic in it will probably kill you and a glass of wine with seven units in it would probably give you the same results. It just might take longer.

(2) ARSENIC IN WATER. Why wasn’t the ground water sampled for arsenic. The EPA has established a limit of ten parts per billion. Yes, you heard me right — billion. That is such a minute amount that will compromise the water quality. Why is this so important in the Environmental Evaluation of this site? Let’s go to question #3.

(3) Why wasn’t the Woodstock Municipal Water District mentioned in this report? Its wells that supply the water for the municipal district are approximately 300’ south, on the same street (Dixon Avenue). The direction of travel of the ground water appears to be from 10 Dixon Avenue towards the lowest part in town, which is near the Playhouse by the Sawkill Stream that runs under Route 375. Guess what is between those two points? The Woodstock Municipal Water District, where their wells are located. I’ve never personally measured the depths of the seven wells that are there, but the report that was sent by the water district and made available to the 2,400 users recently, stated that the wells are 20’ deep and producing 300,000 gals per day for the system. If this is correct, the wells are going to be drawing from the top 20’ of the water table. This layer will contain the lowest quality in the water table. If Collier’s engineers had sampled the ground water at 10 Dixon Avenue (like they should have) and it had arsenic in it like the soil on site that is presently contaminated, it would have set off warning bells to the personnel, who run the water district.

Remember, I previously said, the maximum allowable amount of arsenic in drinking water established by the EPA is 10 PPBillion and we should find out what the results would be if it was tested.

(4) Why wasn’t it mentioned that the original building that housed the manufacturing operation of Model Optics for 40+ years was illegally demolished in 2015, along with the septic tank, seepage pits and drywell. This operation should have been done under the watch of the DEC, who would have tested the materials and dictated where it would be disposed of. According to the Environmental Assessment report, prepared in 2012 by Ecosystems Evaluation, an engineering firm located in Poughkeepsie for Miller Howard Investment, these materials were all contaminated with hazardous waste! Miller Howard knew that the site was contaminated when they bought the property! This site was never remediated properly during Miller Howard’s ownership. An important part of the history of this site, no?

There’s more, but I’m going to stop here. It’s more than enough to wet your whistle.

Vote no on May 10^th.

Joseph l. Doan
Woodstock

Woodstock Library is a terrific resource

I remind you to vote at the Community Center Tuesday, May 10th on the Woodstock Library bond vote. I am voting YES. I encourage you to also.

I have seen Woodstockers of all ages helped directly by Library staff, services or resources.

Here are a few of their stories:

The artist who had trouble printing something or opening an email attachment when I met her now has a website and active social media with her artwork.
With grandchildren on the other side of the world, the grandmother wants to print their pictures sent via email.
The graduate student who was finishing his master’s thesis distance learning (before it was cool) by getting many Inter-Library Loan books.
I saw the loud and interrupting youngster as disruptive but focused when we first met. He then grew into a conscientious student through the years of voracious reading.
I have helped parents submit applications for assistance so often, which is usually a stressful and challenging process.
I have seen parents and their children make lasting friends through story hours and children’s programs.
I have seen numerous self-employed people who couldn’t afford a printer use the public computers for invoices, taxes and more.
I have helped seniors gifted by their children with all kinds of technologies they need help learning to use.

These things happened in the last 12 years at the Woodstock Library. Impactful, beautiful, heart-warming and heart-wrenching things happen because of the staff’s assistance and attention. These are the things that it is impossible to put a price on. However, our investment in these shared resources is well worth it. A study on library usage statistics from 2017 to 2019 showed that for every $1 invested by Woodstock taxpayers, the community received $6.31-$7.07 in services and spending. That’s a 531-606% return on investment!

But I have also spoken to so many people who needed a space for a meeting: they have a client they don’t want to meet at a cafe for privacy reasons, but they also can’t host in their living space. Or they need to meet for a video conference with their doctor, teach a class, or attend a meeting, but they don’t have cell service or the internet right now. These people are not served, nor is there a space for them anywhere else in Woodstock.

The Library staff is the best part of the Library. They do not have enough space to work. With spaces designed to service patrons in today’s world, our staff can more easily ensure all the shared resources we invest in are utilized.

Woodstocker’s cannot wait any longer for these spaces. Both our Town and our world have grown even more expensive. Shared resources like the Library can help community members afford more, access more and help maintain equal access for all. All Woodstockers need a place to go without having to pull out their wallet.

Please Vote YES for the Woodstock Library bond. It is a substantial improvement and well worth the expense. This opportunity to move the Library to a larger space saves money overall on the project. The trustees have done their due diligence investigating the property and its environmental conditions. Our Library is a fantastic resource. Please help make it an even better one.

Jessica Kerr
Woodstock

Choose love vote yes

The majority of the Woodstock community has called for an expanded library structure. Woodstock Library Board of Trustees has listened to staff, patrons, task forces and consultants. They have studied and weighed all incoming opinion and factual information and have concluded that 10 Dixon Avenue gives Woodstockers the opportunity to have a green Library building customized to service Woodstock’s current facility use and future programming aspirations.  This proposal has the best economic value over all other proposals and we may never see an opportunity like this again!  

At the new Library building there will be space for information, learning, creativity and collaboration.  Separated areas for children and for teens.  More space for books and quiet spaces for reading.  Community meeting spaces.  A presentation space. It will be 100% ADA accessible, with ample off-street parking as well as a model of energy efficient construction with pre-existing solar panels and an on-site generator befitting Woodstock’s commitment as a climate smart community.

When voting yes, you are choosing love and harmony for our community.  Vote yes for the love of books.  Vote yes for the love of the most economic, ecological and environmentally safe home for the Woodstock Library. Independent environmental testing done by Colliers Engineering has given 10 Dixon Avenue a clean bill of health.  Read the reports and learn more about the project at woodstock.org/planning or call the live Q&A line at 845-600-0032. 

Vote yes to better serve our seniors, our young families and their children.  Vote yes for the love of our community’s social welfare. I urge our Woodstock community to join together, choose love and vote yes.  

As we’ve been shown, every vote counts, I hope we can count on your support. Mescal Hornbeck Community Center 56 Rock City Road is the place for Woodstockers to vote yes for the library bond. The polls will be open Tuesday, May 10 between Noon and 9 p.m.

Reverend Kevin Kraft
 Bearsville

Commentary on life

Don’t be feckless, nor reckless, choose one swipe/tap or slide.  Make your own wise decision.

In order to be a full-fledged hypochondriac one must love all organs equally.

Low and behold, a breakaway from the GOP rat pack, Rudy Giuliani’s son is running for Governor of New York State.  Let us all pray.
For those of us prone to toe stubbing, why not invest in steel-toed socks.

Happy Birthday (same day) Willie Nelson 90, Jerry Seinfeld 68.

Gladys Q. Flitchnick
Ulster Park

Ill-prepared for the horrors of war?

“As the Russian bear unleashed its military, we were left ill-prepared to digest the horrors of such a war. No longer…” so concludes Carol Bergman’s HV1 article on the commemorative stamp celebrating Ukrainian resistance. Ill-prepared? 

In September of 1663, Dutch soldiers from Wiltwyck (Kingston) marched south to a village of native Munsee Lenape on a hillside overlooking the creek later named the Shawangunk Kill.  The soldiers set fire to autumn crops, slaughtered men, women and children and raised the village in flames. An account of the massacre survived in E.M. Ruttenber’s 1906 Indian Geographical Names: “When the Dutch troops left it, it was a terrible picture of desolation. The huts had been burned, the bodies of the Indians who had been killed and thrown into the corn-pits had been unearthed by wolves and their skeletons left to bleach on the plain, with here and there the half-eaten body of a child. For years it was a fable told to children that the place was haunted by the ghosts of the slain….” Twenty years later, the elegiac place-name Shawangunk, meaning “In the smoky air,” would radiate from the earliest land deeds near the site.

Of course, the massacre of natives and the stealing of their lands was being repeated by colonial settlers up and down the eastern seaboard. Massacring natives and stealing their resources would not cease as the young United States of America expanded its murdering and theft across the continent to the Pacific. The civilian massacres and theft and military expansion have never stopped: Spanish-American War, the Philippines, Banana Wars, Mexican Revolution, Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Granada, Panama, Gulf Wars, Somalia, with the establishment of over 800 U.S military bases across the globe. 

Ill-prepared? Brown University’s Cost of War project https://www.brown.edu/news/2021-09-01/costsofwar revealed that 20 years of post-9/11 wars have cost the U.S. $8 trillion, have directly killed more than 900,000 (and millions indirectly by disease, displacement and loss of food and clean water), and have displaced 38 million refugees in 80 countries.

Then there are the covert, regime-change operations savaged by the CIA since World War II, from Iran to Chile, from Central America to Ukraine. On February 22, 2014, the U.S. orchestrated a violent coup with Ukrainian ultra-nationalists of the country’s democratically elected government (transcript of U.S. regime-change plans: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26079957) in Kiev’s Maidan Square: https://consortiumnews.com/2015/07/13/the-mess-that-nuland-made/. 

Eight years ago this week, Odessa protestors of the Kiev-coup seeking sanctuary in the Odessa Labor Union Building from right-wing nationalist militias were beaten, raped, shot and burned alive, chronicled in a report of the massacre by the European Council: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2016/01/19/odes-j16.html. The militias spray-painted the building with swastika-like symbols and neo-Nazi graffiti: https://consortiumnews.com/2022/03/06/robert-parry-when-western-media-saw-ukraines-neo-nazis/. The Odessa massacre was covered by the BBC, New York Times, and CNN, among others. Ill-prepared? 

Since declaring independence from Ukraine’s U.S. installed government, an estimated 14,000 mostly ethnic-Russian civilians from the break-away Donbass region have been killed by Ukrainian shelling and scorched-earth atrocities committed by the right-wing militias incorporated into the Ukrainian military: https://mronline.org/2022/04/14/they-saw-and-heard-the-truth-then-lied-about-it/.

Ill-prepared for the horrors of war? If memorial stamps were issued for the victims of U.S. hegemony, the ashen fingers of the ghosts of the slain would envelop the world.

Christopher Spatz
Rosendale

A vote no vote on the bond issue May 10 is a vote for Woodstock and its library

Last Saturday I walked by the library and there before me was a lovely scene. The spring sunshine was caressing the green lawn with its magnificent trees and the graceful building. A poetry reading was happening.

I couldn’t help but think of the awful plan to take the library away and deposit it in this ugly industrial building far out of town. It brought tears to my ageing eyes.

A vote no on the bond issue May 10 is a vote for Woodstock and its library.

Peter Koch
Woodstock

Just say no!
As a longtime Woodstocker (8th generation) I am voting NO on the May 10 Woodstock Library bond vote for many reasons. The top three issues for me are: moving the library from its current location in the center of town, wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars and the 10 Dixon Avenue site was never remediated of poisons, per DEC reports.

The incompetence of the Library Board is shining through; by signing a purchase agreement with the seller which relieves the seller of any liability now or in the future regarding environmental issues at 10 Dixon Avenue — red flag?, by not having an inspection of the building or air quality tests performed, by wasting over a half of a million dollars on past debacles with nothing to show and for which have no community support and my questions were answered with inaccurate false information and lack of comprehension.

Knowledgeable people know the importance of a thorough inspection of a building prior to purchasing. Many issues could become a money pit if not addressed early. The idea that the Library Board would go ahead and purchase (over pay) a building blindly proves they have no grasp of the situation.

The Library and the Town Boards are trying to push this project through very quickly. This project should be listed as a Type I project per NYCRR code, as a Type II project it is not allowed if it requires a change to the zoning. Why does the board insist a zoning change will occur AFTER the vote? Sounds suspicious to me. They expect the voters to accept their nonsense. Don’t be swayed!

The Library Board and the Woodstock Town Board have a fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers of the
town and they are not living up to their jobs.

Vote NO! on Tuesday May 10 at the Community Center between noon and 9 p.m.

Natalie Cyr
Woodstock

Jen tells the truth

Alarmed by her boss’ falling poll numbers and the increasing criticism he is receiving from the normally, sycophantic, pro-Democrat press, Jen Psaki decided drastic actions were necessary in order to restore confidence in POTUS Biden, especially since she plans on leaving her job for the greener pastures of MSNBC. For this reason, Ms Psaki decided to be completely honest with her press corps questioners. 

Shaking off any feelings of doubt about her plan and inspired by Jimi Hendrix’s classic rock song “Fire,” Jen crafted the following blazing diatribe for the consideration of both critics and disappointed supporters, alike. After alerting the press of her intentions, Jen invited them and special guests to her final appearance as press secretary. (The “special guests” included Joe’s old rival “Corn Pop,” the college woman he once called “a lying dog-faced pony soldier” and a man, who as a little boy knew Joe when he was a lifeguard.) As she began her truth telling, Jen put on her Jimi Hendrix wig and-while playing a mean air guitar to karaoke music of the song “Fire,” sang the following parody to her restless audience, with her special guests singing background.

(Note: the “little boy” guest of whom Joe once said “He used to rub the blonde hairs on my legs because he liked the way they stood up and glistened in the sun” is now the CEO of “Nair” the company famous for its hair removal products.)

 (POTUS for hire)

You don’t care about Joe? I don’t care about that

you think he’s too old (ha!) I like it like that

He can’t work hard…so he’ll never tire

Joe’s just a POTUS for hire

(Stanza)

You only chose Joe, it’s clearly understood 

because his poll numbers they were really good 

for 50 years his record was dire:

Now Joe’s your POTUS for hire

(Chorus: repeat after every stanza)

Joe is a POTUS for hire, yes, he is

just another POTUS for hire

 (Stanza)

You thought Hunter’s laptop wasn’t real: 

 cos 50 intel guys made the voters feel:

“it was bad info spread by Putin the liar”

and they elected a POTUS for hire

(Bridge)

The RINOS rolled over and let Joey take over

that’s what I’m talking about, yeah; get on with it!

(screaming air guitar solo by Jen)

(Stanza)

When old Donald lost you said that’s really swell

but Joe’s tired plans: they didn’t go so well

Kyrie Irving may be a “round earth” denier

but Joe’s a POTUS for hire

(Chorus)

Joe’s not a round earth denier but he’s sho ’nuff a POTUS for hire

(Stanza)

You know I answer questions nearly every day

And smart folks don’t believe a word I say

I once worked as “Obama’s town crier”

Now I’m Joe’s liar for hire

(Stanza)

Obama told Joe “You know it’s now your turn;

better build back better or you’re gonna burn:”

But build back better’s stuck in the mire

Cos Joe’s a POTUS for hire

(Stanza)

All those candidates the Dems are gonna run:

they all know the midterms won’t be a time for fun:

Big red wave will ruin Pelosi’s desire

‘cos she needs a Congress for hire

(Stanza)

The Dems are planning…to put sleepy Joe away

They better save those plans for another day

Bernie’s old…our party’s lost all its fire

and Kamala’s next in line for hire

(Stanza)

Some teachers say to children “Tell us how you’ll feel: does the sex you’re born make your gender real?”

Answer yes and they’ll call you a liar:

cos they have schoolboards for hire 

(Stanza)

You all paid attention to Will Smith’s “slap flop”

but you’re still ignoring Hunter’s bad laptop

I said that’s fine, cos I’m just a liar

and the biased press is for hire

(Bridge spoken to press)

You ain’t lazy: bias makes you act crazy!

That’s what I’m talking about: yeah, yeah!

(Stanza)

You want the truth? Well then you best take heed

‘cos what you want’s not what you really need

I’ll be replaced by another good liar

‘cos truth hurts your POTUS for hire

(The song fades to Jen repeating the chorus “I’m a false info supplier and a recent MSNBC hire” to the driving rock beat while thinking of how much at home she’ll be at MSNBC.)

George Civile
Gardiner

Living testimony

The March 30, 2022 issue of New England Journal of Medicine (“NEJM”) published a study:  “Effect of Early Treatment with Ivermectin among Patients with Covid-19” (https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2115869). The study was a double blind randomized, placebo controlled trial (“RCT”) involving 3,515 patients receiving .4mg of Ivermectin per kg (2.2lbs) of body weight for three days. The study found that “treatment with Ivermectin did not result in a lower incidence of medical admission to a hospital due to progression of Covid-19 or of prolonged emergency department observation among outpatients with an early diagnosis of Covid-19”.

Sounds pretty conclusive on the surface, except that the study was obviously designed to fail. 

The Frontline Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance (“FLCCC”) protocol for Ivermectin in early treatment is “.4mg to .6 mg of Ivermectin for five days or until recovered” (https://covid19criticalcare.com/covid-19-protocols/i-mask-plus-protocol/). Using Ivermectin for only three days at 4mg./kg will not stop progression of Covid-19 and no one ever claimed it would and to then declare that Ivermectin is ineffective is a joke.  Alternatively, 82 controlled studies from 815 scientists involving 129, 808 patients in 27 countries showed statistically significant improvement for hospitalization and mortality. Thirty-three of those studies were RCT’s and showed 83% improvement for prophylaxis, 63% for early treatment and 43% for late treatment. This is the bulk of the science that shows Ivermctin when prescribed properly is effective and safe, (https://c19ivermectin.com/), not just one study from NEJM.

That all being stated, last Friday I came down with the classic symptoms of Covid-19 as did my partner a day later. I am 71 and she is 66 years old so we are in the high-risk group for hospitalization. I did multiple home test kits all showing I was infected with the Covid virus. We both followed the FLCCC protocol using .4mg or 2.5 12mg. tabs of Iveremctin for 155 pounds of body weight. I was laid up in bed for one day and she was laid up in bed for three days. Our temperatures never went above 100.4 F and the fever lasted only three days. We were both very fatigued and had upper back muscle soreness.  After six days on Ivermectin, our symptoms dissipated and our energy returned.  Ivermectin clearly did what it claimed it would do, which is to lessen and stop progression of symptoms and remove the need for hospitalization.

Now as far as the NEJM’s recent Ivermectin study, remember when they and the Lancet, early on in the pandemic, published a study on Hydroxychloriquine not being effective and dangerous in the treatment of Covid-19? Well, both publications published retractions of those findings (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-lancet-retracts-hydroxychloroquine-studies-covid-19/). 

How many people in the US could have been saved if Iveremctin and Hydroquloriquine were prescribed?  Some say 500,000. Remember my partner and I are both in the high-risk age group for hospitalization for Covid-19 and we are living testimony to Iveremctin’s effectiveness and safety, as are many of our friends.  

Steve Romine
Woodstock