Letters

Letters to the Editor: Stop the politics, Jamesport development and the animal shelter

BARBARAELLEN KOCH FILE PHOTO | Virginia Lammers of South Jamesport (left) and Helga Guthy of Wading River show their lack of support for the Village at Jamesport.

CUTCHOGUE

A quest for truth

A democracy becomes dysfunctional when the representatives reject a sincere quest for truth. America has been mired in just such a morass for around five years now.

It’s time to place country above party. To do so, our representatives must embrace the truth of an argument at hand and reject the ideology of the party for the good and well-being of the governed. That really is why we elected them.

Every day we hear on the news of a politician saying another is lying. One says another is cheating. Yet another calls a colleague a socialist, even though they took the same position on the same issue 10 years ago. The one says another is trying to destroy America. This destructive rhetoric is tiresome.

It should be “Just the facts ma’am, just the facts” as Sgt. Friday would ask on “Dragnet.” The facts need to be accepted by our representatives in order to move the country forward beyond the one-upmanship that rules the day.

The alienation and polarization we’re experiencing is rendering our political system dysfunctional and preventing (so far) reasonable political solutions from being crafted and enacted. The American people are the victims.

We need to get our representatives back to the point where they look at facts, explore the facts and consider the facts. We need to get back to the point where views are formed by people who know what they’re doing and don’t rely on bureaucrats behind the scene working with computer programs and numbers.

We need leaders who can find the ray of sunshine even on a cloudy day. We need leaders who will stop the destructive rhetoric for the good of the country rather than rely on it to get elected and re-elected.

We need Americans to become aware of the facts of the issues of the day. We all need to have a sincere quest for truth and not be swayed by destructive rhetoric.

We can solve our many issues if we seek the truth and not the rhetoric or ideology of the moment. We need to seek answers that have a vision.

We need to leave this nation better than what we inherited it, for the sake of the sacrifice made by many to “preserve, protect and defend” it.

Bob Bittner

JAMESPORT

Who do they speak for?

Do we need more shopping centers and restaurants on the North Fork? Aren’t there enough on Route 58 in Riverhead? It appears that our leaders like blight. Most of us live here because we like green more than blacktop. If Supervisor Walter and his cronies like blacktop and concrete more than trees, flowers and grass, perhaps they should live in Manhattan.

Then there is the argument about “building a tax base.” Hogwash! Our taxes will not go down because the owner of the new Sloppy Sam’s Sizzling Steak, Salads and Sushi Restaurant pays taxes. The property owners will probably get big tax breaks anyway.

What happened to “majority rules”? Or the democratic process? If 250 Jamesport residents do not want shopping centers on Main Road and four politicians want them, why did our supervisor and his cronies even come to the meeting?

Jim Dreeben

SOUTHAMPTON

How can this go on?

Last week the Riverhead animal shelter had only one person, the part-time animal control officer, running the shelter. She had to clean up the kennels, feed the dogs and exercise them. The advisory board coordinator called volunteer trainer Gina Rizzo to help get dogs that badly need rehab back to their kennels, Ms. Rizzo told me.

Make no mistake, the town shelter is being run like a bad pound and few officials care. The good citizens raising money for a new shelter should dwell in the present reality for these dogs and raise money for the present. There is less than a skeleton staff to manage 24 dogs. It’s never been this bad. The only good news is the town is letting Ms. Rizzo do her job, and no dogs have been killed.

As I have asked so many times, doesn’t anyone care about these poor animals that spend 24/7 mostly in their cages? Rico, a lovely dog who was bruising his legs by banging them against the cage in frustration, was taken by Kent Animal Shelter. His legs have healed. Maybe he’ll get a home, like Buster, because the people at Kent really care about living creatures and their fates.

Pat Lynch

CUTCHOGUE

Random kindness

On April 7 I was the very happy and grateful recipient of a random act of kindness.

My 2-year-old son, Dillan, and I braved the weekend traffic to venture to Target for all our necessities — diapers, wipes, snacks and toys. Dillan was in deep-snoring snooze-mode, so I put him in his stroller then attempted to push him and pull a cart, neither of which was cooperative.

While over by the laundry detergent I was approached by a woman who referred to herself as “Chas.” She said she’d watch me struggle, and after putting her own purchases in her car came to find me to offer assistance. At first, I admit, I was a bit suspicious, but she explained that she would follow me with the cart so that I could get my shopping done without the struggle, as she had wished someone would have also done for her when her own children were younger.

Chas followed me through the store and when we got to the register she announced that this was where she would say goodbye. I thanked her profusely and offered to get her a coffee, soda, snack or something to convey my gratitude, but she deferred all and proceeded to the front door.

I just wanted to state my thanks to Chas and make the world, or at least the North Fork, aware of what an absolutely wonderful person this lovely lady is.

Too bad Dillan slept through the entire event, not aware that he was in the presence of such a fantastic individual. Hopefully, we can “pay it forward” sometime in the future.

Thanks again, Chas.

Heidi Wysocki