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More Facts On The Alligerville Case

I'm surprised that reporter Terence Ward forgot to mention that the wedding events venue in Alligerville will host only 12 events during the ENTIRE year.

The Save Our Hamlet group's attorney was clearly off the mark vis-a-vis noise. He didn't know what he was writing about. My opinion of what I heard in that letter was that here was another attorney going through the motions (and not very well, I might add) and simply taking the group's money.

Mr. Ward also forgot to mention how the planning board chairman was able to get a traffic count on use of the road in question: 1000 cars per day. The wedding venue, with approximately 100 people (even if each comes in a car per) would only increase the daily use by 10 percent.

Mr. Ward also seems not to think it important to mention that the overwhelming attitude was NO NEW USES in Alligerville. That was obvious and is an unreasonable stance. The people turning out for the public hearing like their quiet "hamlet" just the way it's been.

As my wife pointed out at the hearing, just a couple of miles north of that quiet little "hamlet" many other residents of the town have had to deal with five commercial mines that were allowed under the "old way things were done around here" COMPLETELY unmitigated; as were two sawmills and a racetrack that routinely violates the original noise limit by nearly 30 dBA (an increase of 10 dBA is perceived by humans as a doubling of noise). As regards the mines, they operate 10 hours per day six days per week). Sawmills operate at least 8 hours per day. The race track is allowed I believe 22 events during the season.

Again, I remind the readers that the wedding venue will only be functional for TWELVE days per year.

The noise study conducted clearly shows that the mitigation regime included in the town code does what it's intended to do. There will be virtually ZERO noise at surrounding neighbors' properties.

As for "projects happening too quickly," this is the exact same thing we on the code committee heard when the new code was being created. For people who want NO change, anything becomes too quick of a change.

As for the many claims of reduced home values due to the wedding venue, as a wise attorney told me, "You think so? How much do you believe it'll decrease the value of your home... Then go ahead and sell it for that amount." No one ever does. In fact, NO homes will be devalued.

Requested of the planning board was for them to exercise section 140-53 of the Town of Rochester Zoning Code which is a renewal option the board can use that will have the applicants appear after one year to address any VERIFIED COMPLAINTS in order to gauge mitigation success. My guess is that not a single Alligerville resident will attend that meeting with such a verified complaint should the planning board exercise that option.

Steven L. Fornal
Accord


Democracy Is Not A Spectator Sport

The biggest change after July 4th is the deal that was struck between US and Iran after 20 months of negotiations. It apparently includes severe restrictions on the amount of nuclear fuel that Iran can keep for the next 15 years, and the reduction of its stockpile of enriched uranium by 98 percent and much more.

Israel is the main opposer of this deal, since they are threatened by Iran no matter what. They are right next door and have a history of trust and mistrust over the years.

As I look at it from "over here," I consider ISIS our second biggest threat (the biggest one is below), and I hope that those that believe that Iran might team up with ISIS are wrong and that this new deal that we are close to making will pull Iran further away from them, making both US and Israel somewhat safer.

With all the weapons that humans have created out of natural resources, they are turning against all of us. We got a hint of that from Agent Orange, when it was discovered that it eradicated about 15 percent of Vietnamese vegetation and contaminated its soil and rivers, passing down into the fish.

Therefore, as an "environmentalist," I turn to my Number One biggest concern, and that is the salvation of our natural resources. Since I began my dedication to this cause in l987, when I was told about it by the Native Americans, I wondered when We, the People would ever begin to pay attention to the threat of life on earth.

That's a dramatic way of expressing it, but I see that California is finally beginning to concern itself with its 4-5 year drought and the Weather Channel is now beginning to cover some floods, although they rarely call it what it is.

Recently, a former Exxon Mobil eemployee came out with the fact that Exxon knew about it in l981, and apparently billionaires like the Koch Brothers are funding "Climate Change Denial." So we can't rely on Fox News or congressmen such as Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, as I know you don't. But getting the truth about Climate Change is more likely to come from meetings in small towns like Woodstock, and we haven't even seen a drought yet.

So let's be active during the coming months, since once the snow comes it's harder to get together and figure out how to keep our precious environment as beautiful as it is and how to get the right representatives elected, so that they can represent us as they are supposed to. What could be more important?

Jill Paperno
Glenford


Believes Obama's Iran Accord Is A Bad Deal

I listened to the president's news conference on the Iran nuclear agreement, and I'm convinced he would have been hard-pressed to make a worse deal.

His challenge to opponents to come up with an alternative ignored the fact that, months ago, a bipartisan group of senators wanted to strengthen the sanctions on Iran if they didn't agree to dismantling their nuclear weapons and allow unfettered inspections. President Obama vowed to veto any such legislation.

Administration defenders now tell us that the rest of the coalition wouldn't have supported continuing the sanctions. Now we are supposed to believe that sanctions will "snap back" if Iran violates the agreement. Reality is, Russia and China will never allow the sanctions to be reinstated.

The only questions are how long it takes the Iranians to follow the Saddam Hussein blueprint on handling sanctions — first delaying access to some sites; then denying access; and finally, throwing the inspectors out completely.

I'm sure with Obama's history, with his failure to enforce his "red line" on Syria's use of chemical weapons, Iran has no concern that he will do anything when they violate the agreement. He's even allowing them to develop ICBMs to carry their nukes.

Barrack Obama: the American Neville Chamberlain.

John Habersberger
New Paltz


Lies About President Obama Continue...

Having proved as nonsense the claims that Obama is a Kenyan, a Muslim or a socialist, now a letter writer alleges he is racist.

The writer claims that Obama only makes public statements when black people are killed.

The president spoke at length and frequently and attended a prayer vigil after the murders of almost 30 white children and educators in Newtown, Conn. A painting by one of the child victims hangs in the White House.

After 12 white victims were murdered in a Colorado movie theater, the president flew to Colorado and met with victims' families and survivors of the shootings. His public comments were widely reported.

When six white people were murdered in Tucson, the president spoke at the nationally televised memorial service there.

I won't speculate on the motives of the writer of the letter, but it is difficult to believe they were made in good faith when the facts are so obviously contrary to her claim.

Kenneth Franzblau
New Paltz


Words Of Praise For Pope Francis' Economics

Capitalism is the economic tool in which a person, through creativity, ingenuity, inventiveness and hard work, can develop something which enables her/him to rise up economically — e.g. owner of a bodega, a tradesperson, a craftsperson, an inventor, etc.

Corporatism is the monoplization and control by a large economic body which consumes and controls workers, individuals and the public as the corporations pursue greater power and control over the people. It is the corporations which dictate to the "masses," defining who you are and what is good and appropriate for you.

When the pope is criticizing "unfettered capitalism," he is referring to "corporatism," which was and is the cause of much of the abuse of indigenous populations and the poor. It is a distinction which the extreme right commentators refuse to accept.

Paul Jankiewicz
Ulster Park


Fast Food Workers Need Minimum Wage Increase!

The members of the Governor's Fast Food Wage Board have been deliberating a minimum wage increase for fast food workers. Fast food workers hope that the Wage Board's recommendations result in a minimum wage of $15 per hour.

The principle embraced by the Governor is one that NYSARC, Inc. strongly endorses. People who work hard to earn a living should be paid a wage that is sufficient for them to provide for their families. Fast food workers are only one example of hard-working people who work full-time hours and still do not make enough to make ends meet. This discussion should not be limited to the food service industry.

Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul acknowledged this by indicating that "it starts here with this particular industry and I am sure we'll look at others as well." We encourage the State to consider Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) who support people with developmental disabilities. DSPs have direct responsibility for the care of others, but government payments to providers don't support a sufficient wage. DSPs require a significant amount of expertise and training to help people with developmental disabilities with activities of daily living, manage their health care, stay safe, and get out into the community.

The same can be said for other human services workers. We encourage the State to invest in the DSPs who provide care for people with special needs to ensure that they earn at least a higher minimum wage. DSPs are often paid with government funds, while fast food workers are paid by large corporations that can raise the price of their products to pay higher wages.

Increasing the pay for DSPs would be a cost to New York State. But if hard-working food service workers deserve special attention — and they do — then hard-working DSPs deserve at least the same salary. Human services workers need a minimum wage increase funded in the state budget commensurate with their responsibilities for ensuring that those among us who face the greatest lifelong challenges can live safe, healthy, and full lives as citizens of their communities. The well-being of people with disabilities is, after all, a responsibility of government that is explicitly articulated in New York State's Constitution.

Increasing the minimum wage for human services workers should be on the State's agenda and occur simultaneously with any other targeted increase.

Laura Kennedy, President
Steven Kroll, Executive Director
NYSARC, Inc.



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