Shelter Island Reporter Letters to the Editor

Shame
To the Editor:
Whoever took down our turtle signs (“Slow Down, turtle crossing,” August 3) for the second time, on the causeway leading to Little Ram … shame on you.

Everyone I told about this is shocked and appalled. If you had a gripe, you should have made it public. You took property that didn’t belong to you and disposed of it somewhere. The signs cost $23 each so I believe this is petty theft.

Return the signs to the causeway. Just lay them down in plain sight, then leave them alone once we put them up again.
MELANIE CORONETZ
Shelter Island

Criminal violation
To the Editor:
I read your excellent piece on one Islander’s attempt to bring drivers’ awareness to turtles crossing the road on the Ram Island causeway. However, I am dismayed that someone took it upon his or herself to remove the signs. I learned they were then re-installed, but again were removed.

Was this the work of an overzealous environmentalist objecting an impingement on “their” vista? If the signs were installed with the approval of town officials, this must certainly constitute some form of criminal violation that I hope law enforcement is investigating.
BRUCE G. MILLER
Shelter Island

Compelling suggestions
To the Editor:
Our family has followed with great interest the important efforts of the Shelter Island Town Board and the Deer & Tick Committee to combat the increasing problem of tick-borne illness on our Island.

Since the formalization of these efforts a great deal has been learned about the limits of any one solution, such as the 4-poster program on the one hand and the ever more serious health conditions caused by disease-carrying ticks on the other.

It is an ever-growing threat to the neurological and biological health of our residents including our children in particular. We may not understand the magnitude of this threat for years to come.

It is with that background that we urge our town leaders to aggressively adopt more measures to combat this issue. Some of those involved may recall that our father, Governor Hugh L. Carey, assisted with obtaining state support for programs that included the 4-poster.

We would like to clarify, though, that this was driven not out of a desire for that program as a single point solution. Rather, he was adamant that this threat needed to be approached as a health epidemic. As such, both speed and openness to a variety of solutions are warranted and, in fact, required.

Current research, guidance and results in other communities including Block Island indicate that aggressive culling of the deer population should be part of a comprehensive solution. The Shelter Island Association and others have put forth compelling suggestions, including most notably, a program of effective compensation for hunters on our Island who are integral for the culling to happen in an effective and sustained manner. We strongly endorse this proposal.

We must do all that we can in an expeditious manner to prevent tick-borne illness from becoming a larger health epidemic than it has already grown to over the recent years.
BRYAN J. CAREY
Shelter Island

Survival
To the Editor:
As for immigration: In 1922 and 1924, Congress passed laws limiting immigration of Southern Italians and Eastern European Jews. These restrictions were only repealed recently. Nothing is new under the sun.

America has survived several really whackadoodle elected officials and continues to flourish, so please vote.

As for ticks: Consultants, studies and surveys cannot solve the problem. Burn the underbrush before the greening of spring to bring down the epidemic tick population. The Shelter Island Fire Department could oversee this as it once did.

The politicians in the New York State Legislature should follow the lead of its sister state, Pennsylvania, where burning is allowed. It is a far greater-sized state than New York with pollutants, commerce and industry on par with New York.
ANNA MARIE RAMPMAIER
Shelter Island

Blocking the view
To the Editor:
One of the best aspects of the Village of Dering Harbor has traditionally been the sweeping view of Dering Harbor from Shore Road. In recent years, however, the new towering hedges that several owners have planted, have blocked the views from those passing by, which seems a real loss to me.

Praise to Kirk Ressler, Ari and Margarita Benacerraf, Bob and Theresa Ruttenberg and Esther Hunt for their preservation of such a beautiful part of the Island.
CAROL TIERNAN
Shelter Island

It takes a village (well, a town)
To the Editor:
On July 29, The Shelter Island Cricket Club beat The Rest of The World (and the weather) and in doing so is on track to raise over $10,000 for the Shelter Island Ambulance Service.

One of the greatest elements of this annual event is how many Islanders, part-time residents and visitors make it a success.

Given the weather, we were more thankful than ever for the tents donated by Shelter Island Party Rental. We appreciated the Fire Department coming down — with beer — to set up their tents even if the wind turned out to be too strong to put them up. SALT once again helped to feed and “water” everyone while helping to raise money, The Island Boatyard provided the field which became a cricket pitch thanks to the help of the Shelter Island Highway Department and the clean-up would have been a different story without the help of Shelter Island Sanitation. John Yang once again designed and sold, with the help of family and friends, stylish cricket club merchandise. Annabel and Lucy Browne helped raise money and entertain the younger crowd with face painting. And Russell Smith provided the PA system which helped reduce some of the crowd’s confusion as to what was happening on the pitch.

And last but not least, thank you to those who showed up to play, support and donate, and our sponsors: ACE Hardware, Apple Bank, BC Partners, Binder Pools, Brian Cass Carpentry, Chaloners of the Hamptons, Co. Collective, Florin Pensions, Indus Capital, M. Wein Realty and Star Magazine.

Thank you all! See you all again for next year’s match on Saturday, July 28, 2018.
Howzat!
DAVID SHILLINGFORD & GARETH JONES
Shelter Island

Decency, turtles and ticks
To the Editor:
Kudos to busy Lisa Cholnoky (“‘Campaign for Decency,’” August 3) for sending 535 letters to Congress and thanks to the Reporter for covering it. In the process of being decent, perhaps we should all attempt to make the right choice, Congressman Lee Zeldin’s comment was profound.

Melanie Coronetz is busy doing a great job helping save our turtles. One comment: If you attempt to help the turtle cross the road, please take it in the direction to which he or she is headed; and be patient with our turkeys; one was murdered last week on Midway Road. Remember, they eat ticks.

As for ticks, the full-page ad last week from the Shelter Island Association was amusing — show me the 110 deer per square mile. Perhaps with our highly technical iPhones and drones there could be some justification to that statement.

And, why are we spending mega dollars when the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is against the 4-posters and the permethrin used to kill the ticks? Perhaps a solution is if the white-footed mouse was eliminated by burning off their habitat areas in the spring.

They seem to be the initial cause of Lyme, but then the DEC has something to do with that not happening. Burning would also eliminate some of the vines that are not Island-friendly.

Check out the August 5 article in Newsday for the vaccine that may be available for Lyme, which will keep you busy and thinking! It’s filled with amazing information.
GEORGIANA KETCHAM
Shelter Island