The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

Letters & Comments

Letter To The Editor – Clarifying The Funding Of The New Lebanon Library

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To the Editor:
On behalf of the Trustees of The New Lebanon Library, I wish to address some issues raised (Letters, September 28, 2012) about Library funding.
First, recognizing how vital the Library is to the life and the future of our community, the citizens of New Lebanon have voted – not once, but twice, in referendums in 2001 and again in 2007 – to fund the Library under a New York State 414 statute. [Read more…] about Letter To The Editor – Clarifying The Funding Of The New Lebanon Library

Letter To The Editor – Misplaced Priorities?

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To the Editor;
I am writing in reference to a financial issue we are facing in the Town of New Lebanon. Our local cemetery is presently facing bankruptcy, and, should this happen, it will fall to the Town to take care of it. State Law prevents Town owned cemeteries from ever selling plots again, which means the cemetery would no longer be self-sustaining. We have also struggled to repair and add-on to our Town Hall, upgrade our park, etc. Yet, our local library is receiving an annual grant from the Town in excess of  $135,000.
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Letter To The Editor – Please Allow Her To Have Her Dream

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Dear Editor:
She’s been shut out by a chain fence, watched her family mistreated, endured property damage and been betrayed by the modern members.
It was early summer in 1948 when Helen Ellett, an avid horsewoman had a vision. Many times she had thought about the joy of having a horse club, a club that consisted of great friends that shared horses and the joys of riding in common.
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Letter To The Editor – A Clarification On Assessor Law

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To the editor:
During the local elections in the Town in 2011, one of the primary planks of the Democratic and Grafton Citizens Party platform was a promise to attempt to amend Local Law # 1 of 2010, to allow for a permissive referendum on the questions of an appointed versus elected assessor(s). After a significant amount of research into the matter, it is now clear that this is legally not possible. A number of State laws dating back as far as 1970 have led the NYS Office of the Comptroller to put out a legal opinion to towns that have made such a switch and have attempted to reconsider, that no provisions exist to allow for this to legally be done.
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Letter To The Editor – Support The Town Youth Program’s Summer Camp

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To the Editor:
Summertime and the living is easy… unless you are a parent and now have to find day care options for your children. I peruse my choices. I could just not show up at work until September and do lots of groovy things and really bond with my kids. Sounds like fun, but… I may not be welcome back at that stinky old job in September. Summer camps – lots and lots of summer camps around, but most of them cost $300 per week! Did I mention that I am not independently wealthy? [Read more…] about Letter To The Editor – Support The Town Youth Program’s Summer Camp

Letter To The Editor – Separate Treatment For Campground And Speedway

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Dear Editor;
I have just read the article in your paper pertaining to the New Lebanon Town Board Meeting of 7-10-2012. A couple of points that I feel are important were not addressed in the article, and I would like to address them now. As a member of the Planning Board in New Lebanon, I have objected on several occasions to both that Board and the Town Board to the “lumping-together” of Howard Commander’s Campground Permit and the Speedway. The Campground and the Speedway operation are two entirely separate entities and must be treated as such when conditions are placed on either.
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Letter To The Editor – Before We Move Forward

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To the editor:
I would like the residents of Grafton to know that before proceeding with the phase 1 environmental review for Grafton elementary school, I believe this phase 1 environmental report will require Town Board approval due to its cost, which is surely going to exceed the $500 Town spending limit. The Board should know the cost of this phase 1 environmental review up front and PRIOR to any action being taken.
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