Read the Reporter letters to the editor for the week
To the Editor:
I want to express my congratulations to both Annmarie Seddio and Louise Clark for showing tremendous effort in winning in their divisions in the 5K as well as helping to inform and educate others in the fight against breast cancer. It’s these women who I am proud to know and proud to call friends and neighbors.
Congratulations and thank you for all you do to help others!
TOWNY MONTANT
Shelter Island
Open invitation
To the Editor:
Over the summer months the Town Board was urged to reconsider the ban on automatic irrigation systems that, under a 2003 amendment to the town code, was scheduled to go into effect on September 1, 2013. Following a public hearing in late August, the Town Board enacted an eight-month moratorium on the effective date of the ban. The Town Board also appointed an Irrigation Committee to research the various issues relating to irrigation and to report on its findings and recommendations.
As stated in reports of our committee meetings in the Reporter, we are primarily focused at this stage on gathering information as it relates to the impact of irrigation on the quantity and quality of our groundwater. In particular, we are interested in information on irrigation systems and products on the market today that, with advanced technology, substantially reduce water usage and promote more efficient use of water. We are likewise interested in obtaining information on fertilizers, nutrients and pesticides on the market that minimize the impact of their use on the quality of our groundwater as well as the creeks, bays and waters that surround the Island.
So that all residents have an opportunity to provide information to the Irrigation Committee, we have scheduled a special meeting at Town Hall this Saturday, October 26 at 2 p.m. If you have information you would like our committee to consider, we invite you to attend this Saturday. If you have information but cannot attend, we invite you to send it to: The Irrigation Committee, Town of Shelter Island, 38 North Ferry Road, P.O. Box 1549, Shelter Island, NY 11964-1549.
THE IRRIGATION COMMITTEE
Chair, Thomas Milton; members, Robert Grosbard, John Hallman, Fred Hyatt, Mark Mobius, Walter Richards, Mary Wilson
Unforgettable teacher
To the Editor:
Earlier this week I opened my laptop bag and a small, quartzite pebble, a reminder of my visit to Shelter Island last week, fell out onto my desk. I took this as a sign that I should finally write something about one of the things I enjoy most when visiting Shelter Island — swimming — and the person who helped me become a good swimmer, the late Jack Wroble.
Mr. Wroble (I only ever knew him as Mr. Wroble) was my summer swimming instructor during the late 60s and early 70s. In my mind, I can still see his tanned countenance, hat, sunglasses and the whistle he would blow to help gather the participants together.
On those sparkling, summer days at Crescent Beach, the water was sometimes a little bit chilly, and the tide was (not accidentally) always against us. I can still hear his exhortations: “Inhale!” “Exhale!” “Breathe in!”. “Breathe out!” “Don’t look up; turn your head to the side!”
Now, over three decades later, whenever and wherever I go swimming, I still think of Mr. Wroble and his summer swimming classes. Those classes have enabled me to enjoy years of swimming on Shelter Island and in so many other locations. What a great legacy!
Those classes were truly a “gift that keeps on giving” and I will always be grateful for them.
DONALD E. BENDER
Livingston, New Jersey
