Letters to the Editor: Week of March 1, 2012
Access to data
To the Editor:
Under the headline “GPS data to become resource for the town” in the February 23 issue of the Reporter, much is made of an online geographic information system (that would actually be “GIS”) contract entered into by the Town Board.
Great.
But the town has already had a GIS system, held closely to his chest by Councilman Peter Reich, for quite a while now. There has never been any public access to it, though it has been routinely itemized in the list at the left side of the town’s website. According to the Reporter, Mr. Reich said that some data in the system will become available to the public through the town’s website. Given that the system is publicly financed, what data in the system would not be available to the public, either directly or through the town’s website?
The Reporterʼ’s story also indicates that Mr. Reich thinks the Village of Dering Harbor and Shelter Island Heights might want to join in. Both the village and the Heights are integral, jurisdictional parts of the town of Shelter Island. A townwide GIS would, by definition, include relevant data from both the village and the pseudo-municipal community association on the bluff overlooking Dering Harbor and the Sound.
I’m an “embracer” of new technology too. But I don’t get warm fuzzies about gatekeepers who’ve shown a reluctance in the past to share informational wealth.
DAVID DRAPER, Shelter Island
Meatball weighs in
To the Editor:
My dog, Meatball, was very upset when I read him the letter about the dog park. He barked that the letter writer had no accurate information and was being negative and inaccurately influencing Island people. He asked me to set the record straight with a brief note.
1. No one will have to pay one cent except dog owners who use the park.
2. In case you haven’t noticed, we, on the Island, have a large number of elderly and infirm who would like to exercise and socialize their dogs and meet other dog owners.
3. There’s no final accounting. We’re in the process of writing rules of participation for the more than 100 Islanders who signed our petition.
Who knows? Dog owners who are lonely may end up marrying each other, as has happened at other dog parks on Long Island. Meatball agrees with this letter.
JERRY BERNER, Shelter Island
Field trip thanks
To the Editor:
The Shelter Island preschoolers would like to thank Bella Vita Pizzeria for their generous support in providing a hands-on and informative field trip. The children were able to make their own pizzas and thoroughly enjoyed the tasty, educational experience.
NATALIE REGAN, Teacher, Shelter Island Preschool
