Shelter Island Reporter Letters to the Editor

Quite disappointing

To the Editor:

I share the editor’s commitment to the environment but I’m not convinced that Rep. Lee Zeldin does (“Thank You, Mr. Zeldin,” Aug. 6).

The omnibus bill for water projects around the country, mentioned in your editorial, was noncontroversial and bipartisan. It authorizes but does not require “feasibility studies” for 36 water and conservation projects around the country.

No money was appropriated (except for the possible studies) and the bill is dead in the water in the Senate because of Republican opposition.

Although Mr. Zeldin was one of 34 members who spoke in favor of the bill, he did not even sign on as a co-sponsor. All in all, quite disappointing.

Sue Hornik

Bellport

Strong together

To the Editor:

Eisenhower said that in war, preparation is everything and the plan is nothing.

Make no mistake: We are a nation at war, as evidenced by the 170,400 COVID-19 deaths at the time of this writing. It’s not a war of rhetoric or freedom, although some, seeking a tether for their political ambition, have tried to turn it into one. It’s a war between short-term gains and long-term survival, and it’s one we can prepare to fight before this coming school year.

Re-opening schools is a mistake, and a potentially catastrophic one, because the truth is that pandemics have always, without exception, recurred in the history of our species. That means that COVID-19’s return to New York is a matter of when, not if. Doctors are saying as much when they warn teachers that they should permanently sequester themselves from their families.

Some people may say that keeping children at home teaches them to be fearful. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Keeping children out of harm’s way this autumn teaches them the importance of preparation; it teaches them the long-term benefits of short term-sacrifice; it teaches them that in a crisis where we are all subject to the actions of our weakest link, we have to make difficult choices to be strong together.

Matias Cava

Shelter Island