Shelter Island Reporter Letters to the Editor
Goat Hill grief
To the Editor:
My response to the April 7 letter to the editor about the situation at the Shelter Island Country Club (“New leadership for Goat Hill”) is: good grief! And I was not the only person taken aback.
How could this possibly happen? Perhaps it is now time for the county or state to take over this historical gem. It’s such a travesty. Apparently, the golf course itself is a total disaster. The clubhouse is in pretty good shape from what I have been told.
But it’s very difficult to have a golf club without a golf course.
With all of the fundraising on Shelter Island for other entities, what must happen here to get this major problem fixed? The tenant has obviously been negligent. There must be funds somewhere, since there seems to be funds for everything else.
GEORGIANA KETCHAM
Edible Garden
To the Editor,
For the third year now, I have the privilege of writing a letter of thanks to all the people and businesses that contributed to this year’s Empty Bowls event. Once again, it was a wonderful afternoon, full of delicious soup, bread, excitement for the raffle, and good conversation.
Our biggest thanks goes out to the restaurants that made all of the delicious soup: Commander Cody’s, Red Maple at The Chequit, Marie Eiffel Market, STARs Café, The Islander, SALT, Shelter Island Tavern, Vine Street Café, The Ram’s Head Inn, 18 Bay, Gardiner’s Bay Country Club, Sweet Tomato’s, and Maria’s Kitchen. The soups were outrageous! Thank you to Kyle’s for providing the delicious focaccia, and thank you to Elli’s Country Store for providing the paper goods we needed.
Thank you to Stephanie Sareyani for helping her students make such beautiful bowls. They are truly works of art! Thank you to the Shelter Island School District for the use of the building and to the custodial staff for help in setting up before and cleaning up after the event.
Thank you to Sarah Shepherd for putting together an amazing raffle, and for all of her help behind the scenes, as well as Jennifer Rylott and the school administration’s continued support of our school garden.
Thank you to all the volunteers who gave their time to help that day. They did an amazing job keeping the soup coming and for helping the event to go off without a hitch! And of course, thank you to everyone who came to the event. Whether it was for a soup-to-go, or for the chance to try all 13 soups, everyone who came that afternoon helped to make it the best year yet!
VICTORIA WESLEK
Co-coordinator, Shelter Island Edible School Garden
Kudos to the Kaasiks
To the Editor:
I just wanted to throw out a quick thank you for”The Drowsy Chaperone” cast, production crew, musicians and support group.
They managed again to bring a Shelter Island stage to life this past weekend.
Everyone played their part to perfection. As I sat and watched these youngsters doing things that I know I could never have done when I was their age, I am very proud of today’s youth. But to be fair, I didn’t have a production crew led by John and Anu Kaasik teaching me and convincing me that I could do it.
This performance marks 10 years of productions for John and Anu, and 10 letters from me praising every single performance.
I not only praise because they are good, but because I don’t know of anyone who can get more out of children than these two and their crew. All I ask them is not to make this 10 and out. Many of us stayed around all winter and we need some fresh springtime entertainment and humor. That is exactly what John and Anu did again for us this year.
If you are among the readers who missed this play, I am sorry because these are your friends and neighbors. We came here to live because of the natural beauty of the land surrounded by water but now discover that we are also lucky enough to have these wonderful neighbors who help make things even more delightful.
Thank you.
BOB DeSTEFANO
Shelter Island
Open it up
To the Editor:
Open primaries are more democratic than closed ones. They allow independents a vote and are less likely to disenfranchise people due to mismatches of party affiliation or lack thereof.
A bill submitted by New York State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. (I-Sag Harbor) “permits persons registered to vote, but not enrolled in a party, to vote in the presidential primary.”
The status of the bill is “In Committee.” I hope our New York state senator, Kenneth P. LaValle (R-Port Jefferson), will try to get the bill onto the “Floor Calendar,” passed, delivered and signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo.
I am one of those persons registered to vote but not enrolled in a party.
All too often there is very little choice at the ballot box by the time the general elections roll around, especially when there have been cross-endorsements.
States like New Hampshire have done well with open primaries. It would encourage more voter participation, prevent snafus at the polls and strengthen our democracy if all registered voters could participate in the elections their taxes are helping to pay for.
CHARLES JAEGER
Shelter Island
Right here
To the Editor:
April 17 to 23 is National Student Leadership Week (NSLW) and I would like to acknowledge the efforts of our local leaders in the Shelter Island High School National Honor Society.
Since September, this group has: Stuffed 500 bags for the 5K Breast Cancer run; raised $1,500 for Habitat for Humanity by sleeping in boxes overnight; spent six hours building a house in Orient; collected 625 items for our food pantry; made $374 in Shamrock sales for the Muscular Dystrophy Association; and, most recently, collected $1,157 for the American Cancer Society due to the extremely generous theater patrons for “The Drowsy Chaperone.”
Members have also worked individually to shovel out neighbors; bake cookies for the soup kitchen in Greenport; lead teen retreats; work with the Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary at the Halloween parade; assist with makeup for the elementary play; help with programs at Mashomack; paint for Empty Bowls; and participate in clothing drives … to name only a few charitable efforts they’ve contributed to our community.
This spring a team will collect change for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, participate in an all-night American Cancer Society Relay for Life, build six more hours with Habitat, and — well, who knows what else? Here is what I do know. The members of the team will be kind. They will be helpful. They will be humble.
The motto of NSLW is: “Right here. Right now.” Thank you, student leaders, for making a difference right here, in our community, right now.
JANINE MAHONEY
Shelter Island National Honor Society adviser
