Letters to the Editor Policy

This Is Our Chance

This past summer many of the towns in northeastern Pennsylvania fell victim to a devastating flood. New Milford was one of them. Some of the people in town were fortunate enough to find only a few inches of water in their basements; others no longer have a basement to find water in. Agencies like FEMA helped to rebuild homes and lend a hand to living situations all summer long, but a lot of the town is still in pieces, particularly the bridges on Church Street. With winter weather right around the corner, this is something that needs to be tended to immediately.

There are only two bridges to cross on Church Street, but both of them sit at four-way intersections, which would qualify as high traffic areas in a town the size of New Milford. With both bridges being blocked off, many of the people living near them are forced to take detours to leave town or visit other places in town. This is not only inconvenient, but may also prove to be hazardous once the weather decides to alter road conditions. And while I can only speculate that the snow will have negative effect on the already-damaged bridges, I can guarantee it won’t have a positive one.

The solution is simple: fix the bridges while we still have the time. Though it’s already starting to get cold, there’s still a lot of the fall season left to mend what’s broken. It’s been five months now, and I think the residents of New Milford would agree that something needs to be done. If they are damaged beyond repair, why haven’t we installed new bridges yet?

I know there’s a lot of planning and money that has to go into something of this caliber to prevent such damage from happening again, I’m not that naïve. But if something is not done soon, we’re going to find ourselves taking detours until next April. By fixing the bridges, we would not only make life on the road more convenient for people living near or around them, but we’d also be making it safer.

This is a town that I've lived in for a good part of my life, and I've never seen it change as drastically as it did when the flood hit. It was a terrible sequence of events, but this is our chance to bounce back and restore a town in need.

Sincerely,

Andrew Taylor

New Milford PA

Should He Resign?

On Wednesday, November 1, I attended the monthly Starrucca Borough Council meeting, held in the kitchen of the Community Hall. Five council members wee present; council member Don Haynes and council member Tony Palonis did not attend.

In order to accommodate council member Tony Palonis, the council meeting, which was scheduled on the first Monday of every month, was changed to the first Wednesday of every month, but Tony Palonis has been missing at four successive regular meetings.

Dear Starrucca Borough residents and taxpayers, I have a question to ask you; do you think it would be an honorable thing for council member Tony Palonis to resign from the Starrucca Borough Council?

Here is an excerpt from the Borough Code Book:

“Section 904. Right of Council to Declare Seat of Councilman Vacant for Failure to Attend Meetings, Etc. – If any person, having qualified as a member of council, shall neglect or refuse to attend two successive regular meetings unless detained by sickness, or prevented by necessary absence from the borough, or if in attendance at any meetings shall neglect or refuse to vote or by his withdrawal from council or otherwise refuse to act in his official capacity as a member of council, the borough council, acting without such person, may declare his office as a member of council vacant, and may fill such vacancy as provided in section 901 of this act. For such actions a majority of the remaining members of the council shall constitute a quorum.

“No such office shall be declared vacant for failure to attend meetings of the council until the holder thereof shall have been given opportunity of hearing before the remaining members of the council, at which time he shall show cause why he shall not be removed. He shall be given at least ten days’ written notice of the time and place of such hearing.”

Sincerely,

Brigitte D’Agati

Starrucca, PA

They Should Be Considered

When the Blue Ridge School District presents their tax relief plan to the voters in May, they need to carefully consider the denial of tax relief to non-resident property owners. There are elderly people in the district, living on Social Security, who have transferred their property to children while retaining lifetime occupancy and paying all taxes. A clear statement to this effect is written in the transfer deed. They are not renters, nor are they owners. In this case, the property owner does not reside on the property. To deny tax relief to this resident is not only unconscionable, but may be cause for litigation for relief in the courts.

Sincerely,

Eugene L. Henneforth

America Needs Them

In the paper, “Help For Farmers” Senator Arlen Specter is once again dragging out the dairy farmers’ misery.

My opinion is, it is time for all dairy farmers to get ready to supply the ethanol plants being built now with crops for making ethanol!

In three years, the plants should be up and running. Then the dairy farmers can sell their cows, and sell their crops planted to make milk to the ethanol plants!

At least then, the dairy farmer will make money on crops and still keep their land and keep farming, doing what God put them on Earth to do!

America needs to keep agricultural land! America needs gasoline. We need the farmers.

If the dairy farmers keep selling milk, hoping for a good price, they might lose the land to some bank for developments. The dairy farmers don’t need any more false promises, or small payments for their milk. America needs them!

Sincerely,

Peter A. Seman

Thompson, PA

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY
Letters To The Editor MUST BE SIGNED. They MUST INCLUDE a phone number for "daytime" contact. Letters MUST BE CONFIRMED VERBALLY with the author, before printing. At that time you may request to withhold your name. Letters should be as concise as possible, to keep both Readers' and Editors' interest alike. Your opinions are important to us, but you must follow these guidelines to help assure their publishing.

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