Common sense
TO THE EDITOR: I would like to warn the person who wrote in Speakout recently about corrections officers being, homicidal, pot-smoking maniacs who are drinking and driving all over the North Country.
I know you're not a coward for being anonymous but rather just concerned for your safety, right? Please lock your doors. Corrections officers are everywhere. You never know when one is going to jump out and in a crazed moment snatch your children and get them stoned.
But I also am afraid to tell you more bad news: look around. These people are everywhere, not just in corrections! What is someone like you and I to do? Well, for one I decided that maybe (but just maybe) this is just what reality has in store for us, and that it is not an occupation that makes someone commit crime. I must be one of the fortunate ones considering my father was a corrections officer for 28 years and never once got me high, or drove drunk, or for that matter killed anyone. I must be pushing my luck though because I have also been with a corrections officer for seven years, and have a child with him. Please pray for my safety.
In the meantime please stop "worshiping the ground corrections officers walk on." It is not what they want, but maybe a little common sense would be refreshing.
Jessica Liberty
Ellenburg Depot
Good Samaritan
TO THE EDITOR: I would like to express my eternal gratitude to a Good Samaritan in the community.
On Sunday, Feb. 21, I was in the Post Office on Miller Street to mail a package, and had set an envelope containing a bank-by-mail deposit on the counter in the self-serve area because I didn't have a stamp. After hitting a dozen buttons to get the postage for my package (but not the stamp), I walked out mentally running through my list of errands, and didn't think about the forgotten envelope for about an hour. When I rushed back to post office, needless to say I did not find it.
I started running through all the possibilities: there was no stamp on the envelope, and the return address was in Montreal, so I had little hope it would get where it was going. I figured the most likely outcome was I'd have to apply for a stop payment on the money order, wait 6 to 8 weeks for a refund, and pay $15 for being so absent minded. I didn't even want to contemplate the possibility that someone would find a way to cash the payment.
I cannot begin to express my relief, and joy, when my bank notified me that the deposit had been received. Not only had the envelope been mailed, but someone had also been kind enough to apply postage. It does one's heart good to know that these values, kindness, generosity, honesty, are still in place.
Thanks from a grateful, if somewhat forgetful, former resident.
JoLynn Pelkey O'Connell
Montreal
Problems self-inflicted
TO THE EDITOR: My hat is off to Chief Sabo, Assistant Chief Lottie, and William Laundry at Plattsburgh State. It is a no-win situation while trying to actively manage a workforce in today's world, and it appears that Chief Sabo is doing her part in the process.
If some of her officers would be more professional in their own actions, the problems that exist would not be self-inflicted. I'm sure local court records will show far too numerous trivial tickets written to the local public for the sake of issuing tickets. I'm sure the PSUNY officers must have much more fulfilling duties than hiding in wait for that scofflaw with tinted windows? Chief Sabo, taxpayers deserve firm and fair management. Remain steadfast in your position and thank you.
Peter Demers
Peru
Animals exploited
TO THE EDITOR: March 31 marks "Cesar Chavez Day," a holiday meant to celebrate the life of the great labor leader. Often overlooked was his progressive stance toward animals.
"We cannot defend or be kind to animals until we stop exploiting them," Chavez said, "in the name of sport, in the name of science, in the name of fashion, and, yes, exploiting animals in the name of food."
Chavez was an infinitely better person than me and most everyone I know. But his vegetarianism was, at the risk of sounding sectarian, a half-step. As Gary Francione succinctly states, "There is every bit as much suffering and death in a glass of milk, ice cream cone, or an egg as there is in a steak."
Giving up animal products can be a lonely road. To help remedy that, I recommend downloading the "Vegan Freak Radio" and "Abolitionist Approach" podcasts from iTunes.
To quote Chavez, "Si, se puede!"
Jon Hochschartner
Lake Placid
Silent killer
TO THE EDITOR: You can't see it or smell it, and it can quietly sneak into your home without you knowing it: it's called carbon monoxide (CO), otherwise known as the silent killer.
On Feb. 22, a new law took effect that establishes stricter guidelines for homeowners when it comes to carbon monoxide detectors. As a firm believer in safety and prevention in the home, the Firemen's Association of the State of New York applauds this much-needed legislation called Amanda's Law.
For the first time in the state of New York, a carbon monoxide detector is now required in nearly all residential structures, regardless of the date of a building's construction or sale. The law was named after Amanda Hansen, a teenager from West Seneca just outside Buffalo, whose life was tragically ended by a CO leak from a defective boiler in January of 2009.
Every year in the US unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning claims more than 500 lives and sends another 15,000 people to hospital emergency rooms, according to the US Fire Administration. I believe Amanda's Law will help reduce these alarming numbers; a CO detector will let you know if a poisonous gas is lurking, alerting you to the silent killer and giving you the time to escape.
However, it's also critical to understand how the detectors work. I strongly recommend that you read the equipment's packaging and instructions to understand the difference between a true emergency and a simple maintenance issue of a dead battery or an expired detector, as the detector may emit different sounds for each situation. Most importantly, if it is a real activation, call 911 and get to fresh air immediately.
Jeffery Jacques
Firemen's Assoc. of the State of New York (FASNY)
Lake Placid
Greatly missed
TO THE EDITOR: On behalf of the Cowin-O'Brien family, I would like to thank the people of the North Country and beyond for the kindness and generosity shown to us at this time of great loss.
To the hundreds who came to celebrate Barry O'Brien's life and accomplishments and to those who brought comfort and food to our family, I would like to express our heartfelt gratitude. The area has lost a wonderful man, a great advocate for the taxpayer and a brilliant mind. He will be greatly missed.
Carolyn Cowin
His wife
Plattsburgh
Opinion
March 15, 2010
Letters to the Editor: March 16, 2010
- Editorial
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Editorial: No raise for state legislators
This is not the year for state lawmakers to look for a raise.
- Editorial: A pair of aces among the Cards
- Editorial: Nurses, aides: a breed apart
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Editorial: No raise for state legislators
- Cheers and Jeers
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Cheers and Jeers: Feb. 13, 2012
CHEERS to Peru High School teacher Kathleen Roach and Cardinal Points.
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Cheers and Jeers: Feb. 13, 2012
- Letters to the Editor
- Speakout
- In My Opinion
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In My Opinion: E'town water, sewer essential
Elizabethtown has a history of economic ups and downs, Town Supervisor Margaret Bartley writes.
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In My Opinion: E'town water, sewer essential
