Letters to the Editor Policy

Set The Market Straight

The whole world is being affected by the very few people who work at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Everyone in authority has figured it out. Speculating with the world’s food and fuels will break our world. Each day I see it in the news and on the internet. Look at the figures, people. So why should a very small few people control our destiny? Why do “they” do it? Why are “we” allowing them to continue? It’s obvious that they are in control, and are getting away with it. We helped stop Hitler from taking over the world, it took America some time to realize it, but we helped in the end.

A commodity like corn (or all the grains) has a certain value, like the grains themselves. Their value should not be speculated. A drought in Africa, God forbid, should not dictate what American grains should be priced at! See what I mean about stupid; sounds silly, right? How words like “drought” or “frost” or “floods” are seen as forecasters of our world’s commerce. So why are we allowing this nonsense to happen? I can see supply and demand making someone money, but not put our world’s food and fuels in such dire straits! It is almost tyranny, or sacrilegious, for our world leaders to allow this to continue! It’s time to get the world markets back in perspective. Let’s not think someone else is going to do it for us. Let’s set the market straight! Or is the sky falling?

Come on, since when is a barrel of oil worth so much, or a grain of wheat? To whom is it worth? The world better stop the very few who are manipulating the markets, before it is too late.

Sincerely,

Peter A. Seman

Thompson PA

“Intelligent Solution?”

Susquehanna Boro Council’s intended ban of street parking is an intelligent solution? Of course it is, for all the council members. They have driveways!

Doesn’t the boro have a right-of-way, 25 feet from center of the road to the sidewalks? Why don’t they widen the streets?

Are they going to provide parking for the residents who don’t have the luxury of off-street parking?

As far as snow plowing goes, they didn’t enforce the parking during snow storms. Residents were told to move vehicles before storms. How many actually were moved willingly? How many were still on the street and not towed? How many have driveways and are not enforced to utilize them?

Home owners’ property values will go down should they try to sell their homes.

Yes, this is a very “intelligent” solution!

Sincerely,

Brenda Lake

Susquehanna, PA

Support Ron’s Team

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Half of all men and one third of all women in the U.S. will develop cancer during their lifetimes.

On July 25-26, from 1:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m., the American Cancer Society of Susquehanna County will sponsor “Relay For Life” to raise funds for cancer research. “Ron’s Team” will participate for the third year in memory of Ron Rowe, who lost a courageous fight with esophageal cancer.

Please consider supporting us by logging on to www.RelayForLife.org and type in Ron’s Team, or send donations to Sue Rowe at 28598 S.R. 92, Susquehanna, PA 18847.

Sincerely,

Sue Rowe

Susquehanna, PA

Zoning: Who Benefits?

Let's cut to the chase. Recently, we've had a great deal of discussion about zoning; good or bad? I think the real question is: Who benefits?

Ideally, the community and property owners should be the beneficiaries. Let's examine that premise. The majority of property owners who answered the initial survey were not in favor of zoning. They wanted to protect their property rights, but they didn't want – nor did they see the need for – restrictive zoning. The present ordinance is very restrictive and, in effect, removes many of the rights the property owners wanted to protect.

What does zoning protect us from? Some people believe that zoning will protect the environment. But today the biggest threat to the environment comes from natural gas exploration. Zoning doesn't and cannot protect the county from that, nor can it completely protect us from landfills and subdivisions.

Susquehanna is one of the poorest counties in Pennsylvania. A constant refrain is that we need more jobs to keep the young people from leaving. Does the zoning ordinance do that? Quite the contrary, it makes it much more expensive and difficult for young people to start home-based businesses, or even fix up their property. The zoning ordinance requires new permits and fees for a large number of things people can now do for free.

So who does benefit? Clearly COG expects to benefit. They're building a new building which they justify, at least to some extent, by their increased responsibilities in administering the zoning ordinance. The planners benefit. The ordinance is so complex that many of the supervisors acknowledge that they don't fully understand it. Planners will be required for many years to interpret what they've written.

Some supervisors expect to benefit by maintaining control over their townships. This benefit lasts only as long as these people remain in office. I lived in a small town, where the old residents thought they could maintain control through restrictive zoning. When the new residents didn't elect them, they were the ones losing their property rights under the very laws they had created.

The answer to the question then, for me at least, is that the bureaucracy wins and the property owners lose. Because this ordinance is complex and restrictive, I suspect in the end we will all lose.

Sincerely,

Nancy Famolari

Montrose, PA

It’s The Gun Grabbers Again

The National Rifle Association has just announced that it will spend $40 million for the upcoming elections, including $5 million to defeat Barack Obama.

Coming on the heels of the recent Supreme Court decision defining, for the first time, an individual right to own guns, this seems like wasted money. Their quadrennial warning that the Democratic candidate, whoever he is, will confiscate our guns is no longer a credible scare.

I think the NRA has been exposed for what they truly are: not a gun-rights group, but a PAC that uses guns as a wedge issue to promote a thoroughgoing right-wing agenda. Keep that in mind next time you hear them say, "EEK! Obama is going to take away your gun!" No, he's not! Now let's forget the silly scare tactics and deal with the issues seriously for a change.

Sincerely,

Stephen Van Eck

Rushville, PA

I Miss My Friends

I want the family of Joyce and George Burdick to know that I am still sad that Joyce and George are gone. I have been writing to Joyce for over two years, and I had planned on visiting her, but then I got the sad news that she had died, and shortly after, George passed away.

If anyone in the family would contact me, perhaps someday when I visit Susquehanna, we could meet. Joyce always said we were related to her by my family!

My address is 1505 Highland Ave., New Hyde Park, NY 11040, telephone (516) 358–5664.

Sincerely,

Charlotte Burke

New Hyde Park, NY

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. 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

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