Shelter Island Reporter Editorial: Good news
A seasoned editor once told a group of young reporters that there is no good news and no bad news. There’s just news.
We’ve had some news lately that is worth spotlighting here and the old editor should not take offense, but there’s been some really good news for Shelter Island recently.
The League of Women Voters of Shelter Island held its annual State of the Town luncheon April 22, which was an enjoyable, social afternoon as always, but it also afforded the League an opportunity to get its message out — vote.
By sponsoring and organizing the annual State of the Town luncheon, the League brings Islanders together for the town’s “report card” but also to have a chance to talk about life on the Island and share ideas.
What’s most important, perhaps, are the young people who attended, students from teacher Peter Miedema’s social studies class, who got to see democracy at work in their own hometown.
League President Lois B. Morris and her colleagues are continuing the essential work of teaching the lesson that every vote counts and participation in the political life of communities is one of the highest forms of patriotism.
More good news is PSEG doing a remarkable job bringing another power line to the Island with a minimum of disruption and, of all things, on time. The Shelter Island Heights Property Owners Corporation deserves credit for assisting in the effort with strategy and keeping the public updated on the project.
With the construction and clean up nearly complete it’s a rare — ever? — opportunity to express appreciation to a mammoth utility. PSEG, after taking over from the arrogant and clueless LIPA, has done a masterful job of running the second power line from the North Fork to the Island.
The PSEG contractors hit every deadline, a welcome change from the last bunch that tried to run the power line under the bay. That group was remarkably consistent in missing every deadline, only to scuttle the whole thing because of a broken piece of equipment — or something.
Stella Lagudis, Heights Property Owners Corporation general manager, has been open about the plans and has given enough lead-time to commuters and Heights residents to prepare for disruptions, which, as said, have been minimal. She and her organization deserve our thanks.
And Supervisor Gary Gerth, with the contributions of Town Engineer John Cronin and Town Attorney Bob DeStefano Jr. also deserves our thanks, putting together an action plan to clean up the town’s water and outlining future efforts to keep it that way (“Supervisor leads charge on clean water,” April 26).
Supervisor Gerth and his team laid out — in English and not mind breaking engineer-speak or lawyer-eese — a workable plan. The 17-point strategy might seem like a lot, but the individual points make up a concise list that keeps government accountable.
We salute Mr. Gerth for working hard to roll out the pure water action plan.
