Shelter Island Reporter Editorials
Proving a point
Shelter Islanders are worried about water.
As if it was needed, there’s now proof that statement is true. Concerns about drinking water and wastewater flowing into surrounding surface water are not just aired on this page of the Reporter or in our news stories, but are shared by the general public.
The Shelter Island Association (SIA) recently surveyed community associations across the Island, asking what worries their members the most, and the fate of the Island’s most essential natural resource rose to the top.
Following water worries as most concerning, the SIA survey — conducted by Stella Lagudis, general manager of the Heights Property Owners Association — found deer and tick-borne diseases were the important issues that Islanders want to see addressed.
When Town Engineer John Cronin sounded the alarm a year ago on what he termed a “crisis,” demanding radical steps to improve the quality of the Island’s water, that word had not been heard around Town Hall. Since then, the Town Board has taken steps to address a problem that won’t go away and is getting worse.
The most heartening fact of the SIA’s survey is the promise by the organization to bring suggestions to the Town Board on how to deal with the issue. This year two seats and the supervisor’s chair are up for election, so the timing couldn’t be better for the SIA and other organizations to bring ideas and, most importantly, pressure to bear.
A night to cherish
The word around town is that the 58th annual Shelter Island fireworks show was the most spectacular in memory. We wonder if the extravagant praise for the show has anything to do with the thought that just a few months ago there was a very good chance there would be no pyrotechnical displays off Crescent Beach this summer.
But after Chamber of Commerce President Art Williams announced earlier this year that the chamber, which had funded the fireworks in years past to the tune of $40,000 a show was bowing out, a core group of Kelly and Brett Surerus, Carla Cadzin and James Richardson stepped up.
They decided to manage the event, went to the community to raise the funds and were not disappointed. The show went off without a hitch and there’s money left over to prime the pump for next year’s funding.
Was the fireworks show more spectacular because it might not have happened? Hard to say. Let’s just leave it as an evening Shelter Islanders, of every age, will remember for a long time to come.
