EDITORIALS/OPINIONS

Main News
County Living
Sports
Schools
Church Announcements
Classifieds
Dated Events
Military News
Columnists
Editorials/Opinions
Obituaries
Archives
Subscribe to the Transcript

Call Toady To Place Your Ad In Our Bridal Special Running March 14th

Please visit our kind sponsors

Issue Home February 14, 2007 Site Home

Letters to the Editor Policy

How Dissatisfied Are You?

I am a veteran of the American Legion, Post 357 in Hallstead, PA. I am also one of the officers on our Building Committee. In June, 2006 we were flooded and lost our social quarters, offices, veterans’ pictures, memorabilia and many other things that you cannot replace.

We were devastated, as a lot of others in our Hallstead area were.

But, with the help of our veterans, officers of our Post, Auxiliary ladies, Sons of the Legion and members we were able to pull together as a family and start rebuilding.

We are in desperate need of fill. There is a creek next to us that is getting cleaned up through FEMA monies. We contacted the county officials and were told we cannot have this fill.

Who can have it? New Milford Township can! This fill is being trucked down to New Milford Township. We now have to ask New Milford Township if we can have some of this fill. Which means, we would have to find someone to truck the fill back to our Post, and that is if New Milford will let us have some of it. We are told we probably will not get any of it.

Is that one of the most ridiculous things you ever heard of? Truck the fill to New Milford, and hire someone to truck it back. Unbelievable!

We are right near that creek. People need help in this area. New Milford Township needs to stay in New Milford and find different ways to get their fill. Why can this fill not stay in our area?

I am in hopes that someone can tell me and others, publicly, why New Milford Township is getting the fill from Great Bend Township, and we cannot have it. What is wrong with providing in your own area? Our town was hit hard from the flood.

We are a charitable organization that donates to the community. Our Post has done many things for the veterans and their family members, children in the area, and the list goes on. Most likely we have done something for one of those officials in Montrose, or one of our family Posts have, whether it is a VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) or another America Legion.

Do you believe in taking from one in the local area who needs help, and giving it to another who did not get hit as hard with the flood?

They say things work in mysterious ways. Who has the key to this mystery? This needs to be addressed and let our taxpayers and voters know why these kinds of decisions are made.

You may want to think about who you vote for next time. They may want something that belongs to you!

Sincerely,

Sue Nelson

Hallstead, PA

It Makes No Sense

I am writing in regards to our governing officials of Susquehanna County. What is wrong with them anyway?

In June, 2006 our American Legion was hit by nearly seven feet of water, completely destroying our downstairs.

We are now in the process of rebuilding. Our problem is that we need lots of fill for the building project. They are trucking the dirt out of the creek directly across our Legion to New Milford. We have asked to have it dumped for our use, but “no way” is their answer. Some of the stupid laws they have are ridiculous. All they would have to do is truck it across the street, but no, the law won't allow it. Why? This makes no sense to us. It is in the same township, and yet they send it to another township to pile it. If we wanted that dirt, we would have to pay for the cost of trucking it back. What is wrong with this picture?

Our guys have made numerous phone calls and made several trips to Montrose, to no avail.

These bigwigs will want our votes next time, but I am here to tell you that is not going to happen.

Sincerely,

Betty Booth

Great Bend, PA

Courting Calamity

It's getting hotter in the Mideast and it has nothing to do with global warming. Two more carrier groups are steaming toward the Persian Gulf. This adds up to four carriers and their support ships, totaling some 50 ships. These may be joined by the nuclear-powered carrier Ronald Reagan and six support ships. So is the navy all dressed up with no place to go, or does it have a date with Iran?

The new arrivals, the U.S.S. Bataan and the U.S.S. Boxer, are half the size of the other two on-station carriers, Eisenhower and Stennis. These pocket flat tops are designed to ferry Marines for amphibious assaults. Each vessel can carry 2,000 combatants and up to 42 troop-transporting helicopters.

When the Eisenhower was sent to the Gulf, it was, as we were told, a demonstration of U.S. power. But four carrier fleets, and possibly a fifth, looks less like a show and more like a showdown.

Assuming President Bush is gearing up for his third simultaneous war, what will a plan of attack look like. To begin, it will be shock and awe redux. Cruise missiles from the carriers and subs will take out 400 targets along Iran's Persian Gulf coastline and its interior. Following this will be successive assaults by strike jets from the two big carriers and land-based jets based in Bahrain and Turkey.

Next the choppers will land successive waves of Marines to occupy Iran's Gulf' littoral to protect ships from missile attacks. Then the deeply-buried bunkers suspected as sites for enriching uranium to weapons-grade purity will be attacked. If the administration's descent into madness is a guide, then mini nukes may be used.

Mini nukes sound cute, but they are not people friendly. A mini is equivalent to 1.3 million pounds of TNT and though planned to be detonated deep underground, it will still send up tons of radioactive material into the air. Within 48 hours, prevailing winds would spread fallout to cover a large area in Iran, most of Afghanistan, and then spread on into Pakistan, and India.

Meanwhile, on the home front, look for a propaganda barrage to whip us up into a war frenzy – again. The strategy will be to lay the blame for our failure in Iraq on Iran's doorstep. Weapons once said to be "from" Iran will be rephrased to read "by" Iran. Iranians will be implicated in the deaths of troops killed by sophisticated weaponry imported from that nation. Captured documents will purportedly prove Iran's involvement in Iraq. Disinformation from dubious dissidents will further blur the battle lines between Iraq and Iran.

Doubtless there is a strong connection between the nations. About 60 per cent of Iraq's 30 million are Shiite, while 90 percent of Iran's 70 million belong to the same Muslim sect. But it is in Iran's interest to have a stable Iraq. Supporting foreign militants would only destabilize Iraq. Iran's shaky economy cannot support the tide of emigrants from their war-torn neighbor.

The immediate consequences of the President's war du jour will be a price spike in all products that depend on petroleum – that's everything. The price of gasoline and fuel oil could go ballistic. Food, which depends heavily on petroleum products for fuel, fertilizer, and transportation to markets will also increase dramatically. An economic recession may develop that could spiral into a thirties-style depression. After that – the bad news.

Sincerely,

Bob Scroggins

New Milford, PA

Back to Top

 


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.

Thank you, Susquehanna County Transcript

For questions, comments and submissions contact us at:
susqtran@epix.net


News  |  Living  |  Sports  |  Schools  |  Churches  |  Ads  |  Events
Military  |  Columns  |  Ed/Op  |  Obits  | Archive  |  Subscribe