Letters to the Editor: Jan. 5, 2012
WADING RIVER
Stop them!
We just read the article about the Knightland shopping mall being approved and that the town is being sued. Thank God someone is standing up for Wading River residents. We are among the many who sent in a donation so we could fight the destruction of what still is a relatively small town with some rural charm. This situation is clearly out of control and our town officials are not acting in the best interests of everyone. It is deplorable. How could the town approve a plan for all these stores on this corner, of all places?
It just couldn’t be worse and they didn’t do one single thing to make it better, like getting rid of those entrances on Sound Avenue. Not to mention that the officials didn’t wait to see what the study says. And now there may be another shopping center coming! So that makes four new ones. If we don’t do something, Wading River will be swamped with stores, parking lots, lights and traffic. It will be no different than the rest of Long Island, and more like Route 58.
So, if it takes lawsuits to stop this from happening, then we will continue to send money and participate in this effort. If you feel like we do then you should too.
Ann and Helen Zurawinsky
SOUTHAMPTON
Remember the dogs
My first letter about the Riverhead Town animal shelter for 2012. Privatization should take place later in January. That’s the good news, along with the generous donations of blankets, treats, towels from Gillian Woods of the North Fork Animal Welfare League.
There have been six adoptions that I know of. But 30 dogs are still there. One adoption, Oliver, had both heartworm and Lyme disease. The medical program at the shelter remains a disaster, a PR job. Volunteers, please get involved. The dogs need to be medically tested and cared for. I only hope volunteers help pay for Oliver’s care as Vince Taldone did to save a dog he adopted from me, Champ. Euthanasias have begun; we’re back to the rubber stamp vets again like the one who killed Bruno Dec. 21, 2010. But Bruno’s death led to major positive changes at the shelter. Elvis is the next to go; so much for rehab.
My Christmas present came from Kent. They notified me that Buster, who had severe worms and weight loss from his stay at the Riverhead shelter, got a wonderful home. Everyone there loved him, as did Riverhead volunteers. I am still banned from the shelter and so all I can do is write and I have to rely mostly on information I get from others. Remember the dogs in 2012. Particularly their health issues.
Pat Lynch
JAMESPORT
Group homes are needed
I am always dismayed to read letters decrying the placement of group homes in our town. I do understand the seeming concentration of these facilities here versus elsewhere, but what is more disturbing is the subtle undertone of NIMBYism that is always lurking.
I am by no means an expert on the care and support of many of the less fortunate members of society, but I do understand that group homes offer a vastly superior setting for many, many people who cannot maintain a dignified or safe environment on their own.
I have heard the argument that these homes are a drain on communities because they do not contribute to the tax base — I would point out that Connecticut just concluded an in-depth study that determined institutional settings for those requiring round-the-clock supervision were almost two and a half times more expensive than group living; I would much prefer to see my tax dollars spent wisely and effectively right here in Jamesport.
Of course my feelings assume that those opposed to group homes in our town share my sentiment that all people deserve to be treated with dignity and are as valuable to our community as they are. I, too, have a group home on my street and I have never had a second thought as to the benefit this home offers or the small extra I might pay to grant these neighbors the same privilege I feel to live in our wonderful town.
Paul Farrell
PECONIC
This is the year
Happy New Year, North Fork! Here we are again, another year older and deeper in debt.
Say, are you still waiting for that hope and change to kick in? Oops, bet I hit a nerve with that one.
You have to admit, we got the change and after busting your butt all week I’ll bet that’s about all you have in your pocket. Wouldn’t it be great to keep more of what you worked so hard for instead of giving it to some Washington bureaucrat to spend on some frivolous entitlement or pork project?
When it comes to hope, my only hope is that more people woke up New Year’s Day and realized that this is the year we can put our great nation back on track.
In just a little over 10 months we will go to the polls to right the injustices perpetrated on us by the social progressives in the Democrat Party.
A progressive is a socialist and a socialist is a communist and it’s not my fault that the communists hijacked the Democrat Party. The problem is that there a large number of good and loyal Democrats who are oblivious of this fact.
My parents and grandparents wouldn’t recognize their party. This may come as a shock, but I was a devout Democrat until Jimmy Carter came along. I used to think that no one could be as bad a president as he was. Sadly, I stand corrected. Mr. Carter was and still is a jerk, but Mr. Obama and his ideology are dangerous.
Think I’m wrong? Think again. You’ll know that what I have stated is true when you see the squealing rebuttal letters against me. It’s not my intention to insult or defame the office of the president of the United States, just the ideology of the man that holds the office.
Wake up, America. It’s not who we are voting for, it’s what we are voting against.
George Dengel
