Letters to the Editor July 21

Wonderful hospital care

We would like to thank everyone at Sharon Healthcare and Sharon Hospital for the wonderful care given to my husband, our father and brother. Sincere thanks also to everyone for your prayers, cards, flowers and visits at the time of our bereavement.

Pat, Scott, Bob, Jeff Kelsey and Donna Jaromin

Wassaic

Tractor pull was a big draw

The Wassaic Fire Company would like to thank the following  for helping to make the tractor pull a success: Northwest Lawn & Landscaping, Floods Sanitation, Cousins in Wassaic, Keil Construction, Carquest, Tractor Supply Store, Sears, Tony Zunino of the Wassaic  Project and Luther Auction Barn, Lenny Morrison, Shawn Howard, Tink McGhee, Brian Whalen and family, Scott Boardman, Jessica Boscardin, Bob Butts, Ron Wenzel and  all of the fire company members who helped on the track and food booth.

Nancy Luther

Wassaic

The work is done

We would like to thank our neighbors and friends on Simmons Street. They have been so patient and understanding for over a year with our restoration and renovation of 38 Simmons St. They have put up with noise, trucks, Dumpsters, carpenters, plumbers, saws, dust and much more.

We would also like to thank our mayor, John Scutieri, and Larry Merwin and the village crew for their help and support during this project.

We sincerely appreciate you all and many thanks.

Dr. Robert Nelson

Loraine Doucette

Millerton

Hidden Garden Tour in Amenia was a success

The 14th year of the Hidden Gardens Tour in Amenia was a great success. The weather was perfect and more than 100 visitors came from 26 towns and six states — 54 of the visitors were new to the tour.

We are deeply appreciative of the owners who opened their gardens, of the volunteers, of the publicity accorded us by The Millerton News and by Robin Hood Radio, and, above all, of the local businesses without whose generous sponsorship the event would not have been possible.

All our proceeds go to enhance the town of Amenia. Daffodils will be available again this fall to residents of the town (over the past three years we have given away 30,000).

Next year we are planning on celebrating our 15th with more daffodils and something else in addition.

If you missed this year’s tour, plan on Saturday, July 7, 2012.

Diana Hanbury King

President,

The Garden Club of Amenia

Amenia

Pine Plains CAC should have done better job in explaining its purpose

As the chair of the Pine Plains Conservation Advisory Council (CAC), I would like to offer our apologies to our community for not better communicating the purpose and intent of the Proposed Stissing Mountain Critical Environmental Area Expansion.

Reviewing a recording of the hearing (I was unable to attend), it was evident that building awareness and educating the public as well as the Town Board is an essential part of our job at the CAC.

Given that the proposed law was submitted to the Town Board by the previous CAC over a year ago, we did not adequately bring ourselves and the community up to speed on the details of this law and the impact it would have on land owners in the affected area. As a result, alongside the reasonable questions and concerns of affected homeowners, the public hearing was used as an opportunity to rehash many of the fears that this law is specifically designed to address.

We will be making it a priority on the CAC to communicate more effectively and openly with the community regarding our goals and priorities such that any proposal we bring to the Town Board will be one whose rationale and impact is understood by those most affected by it.

In the meantime, there are two important aspects of the law I would like to clarify:

1. The expansion extends the Critical Environmental Area (CEA) boundaries to include the watershed of Thompson Pond, Stissing Lake and Twin Island Lake, recognizing that development in this area affects the lakes that are part of the existing CEA;

2. The only requirement of the CEA and its proposed expansion: Type I and Unlisted Actions as designated by the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act must complete the full Environmental Assessment Form (long form). Note: The majority of actions taken by homeowners are Type II and thus, are not affected.

Moving forward, the CAC will support the Town Board members as they seek to better understand the proposed CEA expansion and do our part to communicate its significance and impact to the community.

Gregg Osofsky, Chairman

Pine Plains Conservation Advisory Council

Pine Plains