In regards to a daily newspaper's recent report on two people in different incidents being ticketed for endangering the welfare of a child by leaving their children unattended in a vehicle... Accompanying one article was a photo of a 25-year-old black female, but no photo of the 60-year-old male. Since the male is a Woodstock resident, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess he is white. (Woodstock is 95 percent white, according to the 2010 Census.)

The paper seems to realize its disparate treatment by reporting that one police agency provided a "mugshot," while the other did not. Still, it was the paper's decision to go with only one photo. In doing so, they brought more attention to the female, and person of color, who left a child unattended than they did to the white male.

People may not think that such reporting is biased, but it does bias the reader, who now has an image of a transgressing mother, but not that of a transgressing father. Both should have been given the same level of reporting.

Arlene Foy Reynolds
Ulster Park

I attended the Stop Smart Meters Woodstock NY Forum at the Woodstock Library on Sept. 10. Even though the room was warm and heavy with humidity there was a recognizable sense of purpose in the eyes of all who gathered together that evening. The ongoing forum brought together people from all across the Hudson Valley region who share strong beliefs about protecting our environment. Weston Blelock was a gracious and able facilitator of the evening's program, "Impacts of the 5G Spectrum Smart Phones" by Dafna Tachover. (She is a practicing attorney at law in New York and Israel and a former officer in the Israeli Defense Forces.)

Ms. Tachover, a victim of overexposure to electromagnetic hypersensitivity radiation, related her experience. She clearly outlined the difficulty in tracing sources of pain and discomfort when said source is an invisible electronic wave. She identified the conflicting body of literature regarding the threat of electromagnetic exposure.

The fact that our federal and state governments seem to have partnered with the wireless industry is troubling. I am concerned that we the people have lost our thin layer of protection. There was a time when I may have been skeptical of Ms. Tachover's claims but a lifetime of manipulation by corporate America has changed my perspective. As a veteran of the U.S. Navy I served in the boiler room. I was exposed to extremely high levels of asbestos on a daily basis. I was able to buy cigarettes for 10 cents a pack. My brother was in Vietnam and was exposed to Agent Orange. I saw my government deny the toxic effects of these exposers for decades as veterans were denied medical treatment. I witness young men and women return from military service in the Middle East suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and overmedication. I listen to reports of their suicides and drug addiction and incarceration

We must be ever vigilant of whether our food has been genetically modified and if it is coming from countries that have laws protecting the quality of food. So yes, I am a more skeptical person than I was 50 years ago and yes, I appreciate people coming together like Weston Blelock, to protect other people who they have never met from Invisible Toxic Exposure. The Smart Meters Forum at Woodstock is a dedicated group of people who deserve more support from their elected officials. If I am chosen to be the New York State assemblyman from the 103rd District, I will work to insure the highest levels of safety and protection for all New Yorkers.

Jack Hayes
Gardiner

Hillary Clinton should be elected the next president of the United States.

She does not disparage or mock people or groups. She does not support extreme right-wing groups. Because of her experience, she knows and can successfully address the large and important problems of the United States (i.e. the economy, foreign affairs, security, defense, abortion rights, health, taxes, education, etc.) much better than Donald Trump. That is obvious to those who study the issues.

However, she seems to lack common sense when it comes to email, such as using her personal computers for U.S. State Department business, stating convenience as an excuse. Also, she leaves the perception that if you donate to the Clinton Foundation, you have access to her or her subordinates for special favors even if they never materialize. We should ask Clinton, how come you don't get it when any person with normal intelligence and common sense does?

Norman Baltuch
Poughkeepsie

Our earth cannot endure four years of Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. Climate change is a global emergency, yet neither of these candidates mention this catastrophe.

In a recent article in New York magazine Ben Strauss, climate scientist with the research organization Climate Central states, "In Antarctica enormous glaciers appear to be melting faster than previously estimated, making the current worst-case projections look more and more like probabilities." The article continues to discuss what parts of New York would look like given a certain amount of sea-level rise. At three feet, Hudson River Park and West Street would be partially submerged under water. A temperature increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius would eventually translate to around ten feet of sea-level rise. At 2 degrees, the eventuality would be about 15 feet in sea-level rise, which would completely surround the pools of the 9/11 memorial.

Given these disturbing probable outcomes if we ignore the problem, Hillary Clinton has still chosen Ken Salazar to head her transition team if she is elected president. Salazar advocates for fracking with no apologies or acknowledgement that water sources could be adversely affected. Fracking is also associated with earthquakes, like the largest earthquake in Oklahoma's history that occurred on September 3, 2016 at a magnitude of 5.8, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Jill Stein, Green Party presidential candidate, is the only national candidate who views climate change as a global emergency and speaks about it each time she addresses the American people. If elected, Jill Stein advocates for a Green New Deal. Like FDR's New Deal, Jill would create jobs, specifically 20,000,000 green jobs. This would solve the problem of climate change and the crisis of the economy simultaneously. Jill Stein would make wars for oil obsolete by transitioning us to 100 percent clean, renewable energy by 2030.

Jill Stein is the only presidential candidate who has visited the site of the proposed Dakota Access pipeline, showing her solidarity and her commitment to protecting water sources.

Visit Dr. Stein's website at Jill2016.com. Climate change is an imminent threat. We must vote as if our lives depend upon it because in fact they do.

Lisa Jobson
Woodstock

Gary Johnson and Bill Weld, former two-term governors of New Mexico and Massachusetts, are running for president and vice president on the Libertarian ticket. The two, who are polling around 10 percent nationally and over 20 percent in some Western states, are being excluded from this fall's presidential debates on the grounds that they have not reached the requirement that they average over 15 percent in five national polls.

The requirement is set by the Commission on Presidential Debates, which ironically happens to be run exclusively by Republicans and Democrats. One of the required polls was conducted by CNN, who didn't include anyone under the age of 35 in their poll. By doing this CNN leaves millennials unrepresented in the poll, a group that accounts for 31 percent of all voters and coincidentally for nearly a third of Johnson/Weld supporters. Help protect our electoral system by demanding that Gary Johnson and Bill Weld be allowed into the debates.

Wiley Matthews
Middletown

Do you want to add the name of Donald Trump to the list of F.D.R., Harry S., J.F.K., L.B.J., Reagan, Bush? In all my years of voting for the president — for or against — I never considered any of them as fools. I am disgusted, ashamed, embarrassed for my country. I do not want to spend my next four years apologizing. Fools rush in where wise men never go.

Dave Fromson
Maybrook

In regard to the article on hit-and-run a long road to justice, I want to say what happened when my husband was killed by a hit-and-run driver. I know the police worked very hard to find the man, and I spoke with the DA personally. She always kept me informed. My belief in her allowed me to deal with my grief. I was offered victim's assistance and was told how I felt about any plea would take my feeling into consideration.

The thought of a trial is overwhelming. So I trusted the DA and the judge to make the right decision. The driver did not take the first offer, or second. As we got closer to the possibility of a trial and the offer was still not taken, I became angry at the thought this man did not want to accept responsibility. That is the toughest part. My statement was read to the courtroom and the plea deal was finally taken. The judge imposed what I felt was fair a sentence. The man asked the DA to tell me he was sorry, and I believe that.

In my case the professionals did the job they were trained to do and I did mine, trying to repair my life without my husband. I have great respect for the legal system and those who carried out my rights and those of my husband.

Debra A. Marroon
New Windsor

Maybe it's time the powers that be actually speak to those whose lives have been changed by medical marijuana. My husband suffers from body spasms (diagnosed as mini seizures) that were not helped by the pharmaceuticals given to him. Gabapentin did not work. Dilantin caused his femur to break resulting in five hip replacements. Depacote turned him into an animal (I was ready to divorce him). Several others also had horrible side effects.

Luckily we lived in New Jersey and his neurologist was able to prescribe CBD (smokable form) marijuana. One pipe a night and he was able to get off three different meds. I would call that a miracle. This does not get you high but absolutely stops the seizures! We were considering moving to New York state permanently but cannot. There must be more research allowed. Thousands could get off terrible meds just with this plant. Yes, only a plant. It is truly a miracle. His doctor was so thrilled.

Sherri Gordon
Yulan

While America struggled with a new world of the abnormal after the horrendous events of Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. Post Office was a quiet oasis of normalcy. Those men and women exhibited extraordinary courage to provide an example of service that perhaps would have only received more notice if, like our Congressmen and Senators, they had chosen to run and hide.

Many of us may have forgotten that a week after the 9/11 attacks a new wave of terror erupted whose toll eventually reached five killed and 17 others infected. Anthrax-tainted letters were mailed to media and political enterprises but they were hardly the only targets. Every postal employee was a potential victim.

I for one would not have blamed them if they had said they weren't going to work until preventative and safety measures were in place. But they showed up, and I admit I really had not thought much of it at the time. With so much of the rest of our country's institutions in various stages of chaos, I went to the local Post Office, handed over my letters to be weighed and stamped and got a cheerful goodbye. In hindsight, I could well have been a terrorist handing them an envelope of death. Yet they weren't dressed in decontamination suits – they weren't even wearing latex gloves.

As politicians exhorted us to go about our "normal lives" (as if any of our lives would ever be "normal" again), the professionals of the Postal Service did it and gave an unappreciated example that our country still worked. Heroes come in many guises, not the least the uniform of the U.S. Postal Service.

Christopher Randolph
Ballston Lake