Letter to the Editor - Millerton News - 9-22-16

Religious persecutions go unreported

On Sept. 11, 2016, as our nation remembered those lost in the twin towers and flight 93 in Shanksville, Pa., Pastor Henry Prause of the North East Baptist Church shared part of a letter sent from missionaries we help support in Russia, the Kamilchu family.

It follows below:

“Possibility of a new wave of persecution: Two radical legislators in the Russian Duma [Assembly] proposed a bill that criminalizes the sharing of the Gospel in Russia. The bill was quickly accepted by the Russian Senate and was shockingly [believers hoped it would be vetoed] signed into law by the Russian president on July 8, and took effect on July 20. Under this new law, only an officially registered religious organization, such as the Russian Orthodox Church, can talk of God during corporate worship, and only Russian clerics can talk of God in their homes. Outside the official weekly corporate services, any sharing of faith with anyone who is not already of that faith is forbidden and punishable by a fine of $800. [Our actions are as in Daniel 6:10.]”

You’ve probably heard of Daniel in the lions den, but do you know why he was put there? Open your Bible to that chapter and read what took place at that time, and compare it to the above letter.

Today, much of the media does not report how Christians are being persecuted in  nations around our world: beheadings, mass slaughter, etc., because of our faith in God’s Son, Jesus Christ, and an enemy that wants to destroy Israel and America.

After Sept. 11, 2001 churches were full of people praying to God for help and comfort, but 15 years later church attendance is dwindling, and two churches in Millerton have closed, but Pastor Prause continues to preach and teach the Gospel message that, “Jesus Saves.” A sign on the side of our church proclaims that.

Over the years we’ve watched prayer taken out of schools, crosses and the Ten Commandments removed from government properties due to separation of church and state thinking. No respect for human life or our police or veterans, and the Second Amendment is under attack. Our nation’s wide moral declines. Also our nation’s flag being desecrated, people not willing to stand and salute as our national anthem is sung or played.

What’s happening to America? The nation our founding fathers envisioned and gave their lives for, as well as all who gave their lives through many wars to defend and protect our freedoms.

Could something like the persecutions of Christians in Russia and other nations come to America? I pray not, and in the days and weeks ahead we of NEBC will be praying for Christians around our world and especially our missionaries that they and we will stay true to our faith in God’s Word and His will, as in Daniel’s life and time.

Come join us in prayer as our country has many decisions to make in the coming months as our presidential election draws near.

Janet Murphy

Millerton

Corrections offered to news story

This letter is to correct the misinformation that was presented in the “Future of ambulance service discussed” article in the Sept. 8 issue of The Millerton News. 

The Amenia Town Board did not create the ambulance services committee with the Wassaic Fire Commissioners. At an October 2015 workshop at the Amenia Town Hall to discuss ambulance services attended by Amenia and Wassaic Fire Commissioners, Wassaic and Amenia fire department officers and members of the Amenia Rescue Squad, it was decided by those in attendance that each fire district would form their own committee, which would meet monthly at the Amenia Town Hall to discuss future ambulance services. The Ambulance Services Committee included members of the Wassaic Fire Commissioners, Amenia Fire Commissioners, Wassaic and Amenia Fire Company Officers and Amenia Rescue Squad chief and members. No one from the Wassaic Rescue Squad attended any of the ambulance service meetings even though they were welcome to do so. 

There were NO community members as stated in the article. In addition, Commissioner of Dutchess County Emergency Services Dana Smith and Dutchess County EMS Coordinator John Mahoney attended some of the Ambulance Services Committee meetings to provide guidance in the process and clarification of the regulations.

Furthermore, the Amenia Town Board voted to hire Bradley Pinsky, who specializes in EMS services, to oversee the entire ambulance services RFP process. Request for Proposals for town-wide ambulance services were sent out by certified mail on Aug. 25 to Northern Dutchess Paramedics, Mobile Life and EMSTAR, as these are the only ambulance service companies with a Certificate of Need to provide ambulance services border-to-border within the town of Amenia. 

I called each company to see if they not only had received the RFP and was told that they had, but also to make sure that they understood that the RFP was also for Wassaic as well as the hamlets within the town of Amenia. I was told by all three companies that they were working on an ambulance services contract proposal and were aware that it had to be received by Sept. 22.

Victoria Perotti

Amenia

The visit: a letter to my son on Hillary Clinton

I’ve been thinking about “the visit” every concerned mother must make.

 Here’s what it comes down to. Either I make the visit to see my 28-year-old son face to face, or, quite frankly, I can never face him again without admitting I could have done more to convince him that this election could spell the end of the world as he knows it.

When I wonder what to tell other voters about why it is important to vote for Hillary, the list of why not to vote for the alternative always “trumps” my Hillary positives. Some of the things she has fought for may sound like medicine, and most people don’t want to take their medicine, least of all children. This year, let’s call them the “children of Bernie.” But they’re OUR children too.

What will I say when my son opens the door and sees me standing there? Apart from a big hug, here’s how I will express how scared I am.

“I know how ticked off you were when Bernie lost the delegate count. The same way I would have felt if Bernie had deprived me of my desire to see a woman as president. But here’s the one thing I want you to know: Donald Trump thinks he can play with nuclear weapons like you played with dinosaurs and Legos. He has asked more than once, ‘Why can’t I use nuclear weapons?’ The answer is, if he’s President, he CAN and he WILL. And if there’s one thing I am going to try to prevent, it is Donald exploding YOUR future because a North Korean playmate bullied him on the global playground or because an ISIS-inspired neighbor climbed the wall Congress wouldn’t give Donald the money to build around our country.  So ... I am going to give you another hug, get in the car, and drive back home. But, can you please consider how seriously scary it is to give Donald Trump ‘the nuclear option?’ Can you please care about your future as much as I do by voting for Hillary Clinton this time around?”

This will involve a four-day, 27-hour car trip to Denver plus five minutes of my son’s time, and, yes, I am bringing along his father for ammunition. Strong-arming? Who cares! Whatever way we can show him WE care.

For those who have never felt comfortable knocking on strangers’ doors, don’t. But for goodness sake, knock down the doors of your own kids’ apartments, houses, trailers, and yurts so they witness your extreme angst about what might be.

Molly Scoville Fitzmaurice

Taconic, Salisbury, Conn.

Corrections offered to news story

This letter is to correct the misinformation that was presented in the “Future of ambulance service discussed” article in the Sept. 8 issue of The Millerton News. 

The Amenia Town Board did not create the ambulance services committee with the Wassaic Fire Commissioners. At an October 2015 workshop at the Amenia Town Hall to discuss ambulance services attended by Amenia and Wassaic Fire Commissioners, Wassaic and Amenia fire department officers and members of the Amenia Rescue Squad, it was decided by those in attendance that each fire district would form their own committee, which would meet monthly at the Amenia Town Hall to discuss future ambulance services. The Ambulance Services Committee included members of the Wassaic Fire Commissioners, Amenia Fire Commissioners, Wassaic and Amenia Fire Company Officers and Amenia Rescue Squad chief and members. No one from the Wassaic Rescue Squad attended any of the ambulance service meetings even though they were welcome to do so. 

There were NO community members as stated in the article. In addition, Commissioner of Dutchess County Emergency Services Dana Smith and Dutchess County EMS Coordinator John Mahoney attended some of the Ambulance Services Committee meetings to provide guidance in the process and clarification of the regulations.

Furthermore, the Amenia Town Board voted to hire Bradley Pinsky, who specializes in EMS services, to oversee the entire ambulance services RFP process. Request for Proposals for town-wide ambulance services were sent out by certified mail on Aug. 25 to Northern Dutchess Paramedics, Mobile Life and EMSTAR, as these are the only ambulance service companies with a Certificate of Need to provide ambulance services border-to-border within the town of Amenia. 

I called each company to see if they not only had received the RFP and was told that they had, but also to make sure that they understood that the RFP was also for Wassaic as well as the hamlets within the town of Amenia. I was told by all three companies that they were working on an ambulance services contract proposal and were aware that it had to be received by Sept. 22.

Victoria Perotti

Amenia