Letters to the Editor - 9/26/24

Celebrating new affordable homes in Salisbury

Dear friends of affordable housing,

We are happy to share the news that construction is now completed on 10 new affordable rental homes at Sarum Village in Salisbury. Our community of supporters has been essential to getting us here. We welcome the community to come celebrate with us at the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony from 3-4 pm on Monday, Sept. 30th at 34 Cobble Road. Two of the new homes will be open for a tour.

Hope to see you there,

Peter Halle

President

Salisbury Housing

Committee

Gratitude toward my rescuers on Lion’s Head

On July 24 I was hiking alone on the Appalachian Trail near Lion’s Head mountain. I had just passed the peak of the mountain and was headed north when I slipped down a damp rock outcropping and fractured my ankle. I knew right away that I was in trouble, and that I would need help getting off the mountain. The part of the trail where I had fallen was very steep and rocky, and was over a mile from the trailhead. Using my mobile phone I was able to reach the emergency center at the Salisbury Fire Department. I explained that I was badly injured and would need help getting off the mountain. I was told to sit tight and wait for help to arrive. Some 45 minutes later I called the dispatcher back to inquire as to how much longer I would have to wait for help to arrive. She told me that it was taking time to put together a rescue team at the trailhead, but that they would be arriving soon. A short time later an entire team of some 15 to 20 volunteer rescuers arrived where I had fallen: a Salisbury Fire Department EMT; a retired physician; and three separate rope teams — one from Great Barrington, Massachusetts, one from Amenia, and one from Connecticut. The medical team attached a splint to my leg and ankle, and members of the three rope teams loaded me onto a specialized rescue stretcher which was balanced atop a large wheel. The teams then used ropes to pull me up and down the steepest parts of the trail, all the while team members on both sides of my stretcher steadied me while they carried me down the trail. It took the rope teams about 45 minutes to get me to the trail head where there was an ambulance waiting to take me to the Sharon Hospital.

Recuperating at home following ankle surgery at the hospital, I have had a chance to reflect on what may well be the rarest of human virtues: gratitude. My rescue from Lion’s Head mountain has made me very aware of how blessed I am to live in a community and nation where I have so very much to be thankful for. Needless to say, I want to express my sincere appreciation to the nearly 20 men and women volunteers who carried me safely from the Appalachian Trail rock ledge where I had fallen. I was a total stranger to all the rope-team members who dropped whatever they were doing that weekday afternoon and traveled to the Bunker Hill Trailhead. There is a very good chance that I will never again encounter any of the men and women who carried me to safety. But I want them all to know that I am well aware of how richly blessed I am to live in a community and a nation where there is a long tradition of helping strangers who are in distress. I can not possibly repay them for their efforts. The common bonds of trust and caring they exhibited that day are crucial to holding American society together.

Arthur C. Fort

Millerton

Putting hydrilla problem in a larger context

The recent series on hydrilla by Deb Aleksinas and the Lakeville Journal did much to educate the community on the threat this invasive plant poses to the Twin Lakes and other lakes in the community. This is timely and important coverage, and I hope to see more of it in the coming months and years.

I say years because there is no quick solution and the Twin Lakes Association, working on multiple fronts with dozens of partners, expects to be in the hydrilla fight for as long as it takes. We will need community engagement and support if the lakes are to remain healthy, biologically diverse, and open for recreation.

Allow me to put our hydrilla problem in a broader context.

Our entire watershed area is under stress from a variety of factors including climate change, migration of aquatic invasive species, development, and increasing public use. Despite these pressures, Twin Lakes remains quite healthy. For example, Twin Lakes water quality today compares favorably to historical data and is much better than many lakes in the state. But make no mistake, these lakes are vulnerable, and conditions are changing rapidly, especially as it pertains to hydrilla.

The TLA has moved aggressively. We have shown we can and will act decisively.

We have begun a comprehensive multi-year study of the Twin Lakes watershed, the first since 1986. The goal is to identify and assess sources of pollution and sedimentation entering the lakes so that we can develop sound mitigation strategies.

Highly involved Twin Lakes community members were instrumental in purchasing Mount Tom’s Hill and Miles Mountain, two environmentally critical parcels in the watershed. These parcels are on the Connecticut side of what is collectively referred to as “Cooper Hill,” and will soon be part of the Salisbury Association Land Trust and will be protected forever. These lands, along with protected abutting properties in Massachusetts, provide critical habitat for endangered species and permanently protect key parts of the Twin Lakes and Housatonic watersheds.

The issues affecting Twin Lakes are complex and interrelated. Managing them requires multiple interventions, sound scientific data, cooperation from numerous private and public entities, and support and alignment across a broad coalition of stakeholders.

The initiatives I’ve mentioned reflect a new normal, one with threats seen and unseen for years to come. The cost of addressing these threats is staggering. Annual lake management costs in 2021 were just $50,000. Lake management costs in 2025 will exceed $350,000. The TLA membership is shouldering two-thirds of these costs, the balance coming from the town of Salisbury and various grants.

The response from the Twin Lakes community, the town of Salisbury, and other stakeholders has been robust. But we need even more support from individuals and community groups to ensure long-term success.

To learn more, please go to the TLA website, www.twinlakesorg.org. Sign up for the TLA newsletter and become a member. Please help by keeping informed, committing time, and contributing financially to the stewardship of Twin Lakes.

Grant Bogle

President, TLA

Salisbury

Thanking White Hart for community support

I want to say thank you to John Ciliberto, Dan Winkley and Emma Osborne of the White Hart Inn in Salisbury. I went to the Tenth Anniversary Celebration the Inn offered on September 2, 2024. I am a regular Provisions in-the-morning person. I meet people in the library to talk, to knit and to snack or eat lunch. I love how the White Hart is building and maintaining a community for locals and guests in their spaces. And then they offered, as a celebration, food that was delicious — pulled pork, brisket, bread, red cabbage salad and drinks. Wow!

Thank you, John, Dan and Emma! And thank you all the staff and workers who know our names and who make us all feel welcome. I will keep appreciating your lovely decor and spaces, good hot drinks and breakfast sliders.

Kitty Kiefer

Salisbury

Sharon Center School ‘Trunk Or Treat’ appeal

Hello, my class and I are hosting a Trunk Or Treat on Friday, Oct. 25, at Sharon Center School, we need a lot of candy. We are also looking for community members/groups who want to decorate their trunks for this event. If you are willing to help us prepare for the Trunk Or Treat event, you could email Jpace@sharoncenterschool.org or drop off the candy to the office at Sharon Center School between 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!

Jill Pace

Dallas Speranzo

Sharon Center School Class of 2025

Sharon

Some questions for Jahana Hayes

Pamela Jarvis in her letter to the editor July 25 “Beware Project 2025” made a valid request to have questions answered by George Logan. Though he had nothing to do with Project 2025 and most likely never read the 900 page document that was issued and has publicly stated the only special interest he cares about are the people in the Fifth District, those who seek public office should be willing to answer voters’ questions.

The same should be true for Congresswoman Jahana Hayes who was quoted in the newspaper saying about Vice President Harris “But now I am all in. The policies of the Biden/ Harris administration were so good.”

So here are some questions for Congresswoman Hayes:

1)Do you support price controls as a way to control inflation?.

2)Do you support open borders?

3)Would you support Medicare for all and the elimination of the private health insurance industry?

4)Do you support a mandatory gun buy back program?

5)Do you support a ban on fracking?

6)Do you support extending the 2017 tax cuts that will be expiring Dec. 31, 2025?

The best way to have these and other questions discussed and answered would be to a have a series of debates between George Logan and Jahana Hayes throughout the Fifth District. That way voters would be able to make an informed decision on who they want to vote for to represent us in Washington. My hope is both candidates would agree to do this.

John Morris

Litchfield