UPDATE: Shelter Island Reporter Letters to the Editor
Notice for political letters: No letters to the editor from candidates for the Nov. 3 election, or from their supporters, will be accepted for the Oct. 29 edition of the Reporter because it won’t allow time for other supporters or candidates to respond before Election Day.
Thank you, Islanders
To the Editor:
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the members of the Shelter Island Fire Department for escorting our family patriarch, William G. Dickerson, on his final journey across his beloved hometown.
We also want to thank the members of the Shelter Island American Legion Mitchell Post 281 for their tribute to this former warrior. They were able to assemble and perform a 21-gun salute that would have made this World War II veteran proud.
Thank you also to Father Peter and Bob DeStefano Sr. for their kindness, comfort and support and the many friends and neighbors for their condolences and for sharing their memories with us.
THE FAMILY OF WILLIAM G. DICKERSON
Shelter Island
Tribute to Carol
To the Editor:
We, the past and present managers of the Shelter Island Bucks, send our condolences to the family of Carol Galligan.
Carol was instrumental in the creation of the Bucks, and possibly the biggest fan throughout the years. Her commitment to the team extended far more than her presence in her spot down the left-field line at almost every home game.
It was Carol who spearheaded the drive to get the electronic scoreboard that now graces Fiske Field. At the start of every season, Carol would host a get-to-know-the-team party at her home, as well as hosting one or two players each year. As a member of the Advisory Committee, she always made valuable suggestions. When it seemed as if the Bucks would have to fold, she organized a group to ensure that the team continued as not only a viable franchise, but as one of the best in the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League.
Sandi Kruel, president of the League, said: “I first want to express my deepest condolences to Carol’s family and friends. She was without a doubt one of the most dedicated persons to the Bucks in every way. Carol will be missed and we will never forget her.”
She will be greatly missed. We hope the entire community will honor her legacy by following her example of enthusiastic commitment to the Bucks in the seasons to come.
CORI CASS, DAVE GURNEY, FRANK EMMETT, BRIAN CASS
Shelter Island
Get over yourselves
To the Editor:
I am disappointed to hear that the Town Board is drafting a “yard sale” law.
In these troubled times, it seems a bit petty to me. Of course, I am “mess immune” genetically, so I see, or don’t see, it differently than some others.
Nevertheless, how lame is it, really, that a few people, who have so much of the best that life has to offer, take it upon themselves to go after someone who has literally nothing but the stuff in their yard?
Yes, I think this is about one person in particular. This is not at all unusual on the Island. It’s just too bad that people can’t learn to drive by and thank God for what they have instead of resenting what someone else has.
That goes for messy yards, big houses, whatever. Get over yourselves, and stop insisting everyone live according to your standards. Maybe the slobs could clean up a bit, and maybe the neatniks could avert their eyes on their way by.
I think that the hegemony established over what we do with our properties is already sufficiently intrusive. Yard sales are a time-honored tradition.
Maybe we could work on some of the real issues facing us instead? Just a thought.
The law will fail, because it is easily sidestepped. And then? Then they come for everyone else’s “mess.”
It seems plain that we are becoming increasingly upper crusty/snobbish. It’s not such a great look, neat or not.
PAUL SHEPHERD
Shelter Island
Mr. Shepherd is a former Town Councilman.
Up the creek?
To the Editor:
Re: “Edward Hindin is a man with a plan for Shelter Island,” October 10.
While granting the fact that Shelter Island’s Comprehensive Plan hasn’t even left the starting gate, I still am mildly alarmed at the list of items that
Mr. Hindin says are the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee’s focus, i.e. “economic development, health care, education, housing and taxes.” I am hoping this list is neither exhaustive nor already, at this early date, writ in stone.
Regardless, it is concerning that one of the first bits of information Mr. Hindin shared with the community ignores the existential matters of clean fresh water and healthy bays. These items, addressed as distinct topics, must be at or near the head of the list. If not, in the not-too-distant-future the Island and its denizens will be up the proverbial creek without a paddle.
Let me close by saying to Mr. Hindin and the committee: I am sure there will be times when it appears to be anything but the case, but the people who love Shelter Island are behind you 100%. Good luck!
SCOTT A. ROBBINS
Shelter Island
The Manor and …
To the Editor:
So, there seems to be an issue with Sylvester Manor? My favorite hunk of ground in all of Shelter Island. What history there! You would think with a $1 million payroll, they would be able to slap a coat of paint on the Manor House and do some repairs.
I went there last year with a miniature windmill that was given to my husband years ago by a local person, telling my husband it was started by his father years ago and “if anyone can fix this you can, Jack.” Of course, it was on his bucket list and it is now on mine. I took it over there one day and said I have this and it would be “cute” to use for some kind of fundraiser.
Go away, lady, I was told.
I contribute what I can, but I can’t write a mega-donation check. Sorry. I love what the market has to offer, and all the doings the Education Farm has to offer, especially the musical extravaganzas every now and then.
Ironically, I live close enough that I am able to sit on my deck and hear it — magic!
Try as I may to comprehend all this “hoopla” is a bit disconcerting. Whatever. It beats me.
I often wonder every now and then if any of the attendees of Alice’s Fiske’s “Christmas Tea and Tree” ever met up with any of the ghosts. They are everywhere. But, they are happy ghosts.
So here we are with all these political signs all over the place, a blight on the landscape and it is the most beautiful this time of year. I do hope while our Town Board is in the process of creating law after law, how about one: “No political signs until two weeks before Election Day and then down 24 hours after.” Certainly the internet and the media are loud and clear, so “hook” the signs, please.
Now, Halloween. Kudos to the library and their intervention with this grandest of holidays. The committee has done a wonderful job. I am on the “Trick or Treat” route and so excited, at last after many years the goblins will come trick or treating once again to my front door.
An update on Tom and Tillie, the ospreys: They finally got the stubborn one to fly and they left right in time last month, I await their return in April.
Stay safe. Be kind. And vote!
GEORGIANA KETCHAM
Shelter Island
Thank you, Ann Brunswick
To the Editor:
It is with profound gratitude that I have this opportunity, serendipitously, to write to you regarding your tribute to Columbia University’s and Shelter Island’s own Ann F. Brunswick, Ph.D. (“Making the world a better place,” Aug, 13).
Ms. Brunswick is one tough and determined scientist who behind closed doors has a heart of gold. All of her work is data driven and stresses the need for having that complex balance of integrity, compassion, and a zeal for the pursuit of truth via science. She has taught us how to strive for a real biopsychosocial and longitudinal approach to understanding the complexities of this world without losing sight of the forest for the trees.
I strive daily to be mindful of the many values and skills she has fostered in me during my academic career and in my personal pursuits, to always honor and respect the plight of the individual and the need to persevere amidst the chaos of nurturing the greater societal good. It is a very delicate balance.
She has had, and always will have, a profound impact on my graduate career (including several publications) as a young 21-year-old from Boston eager to pursue the field of public health in magnanimous New York City, and on my later pursuits which included work with other prominent mentors, e.g., Drs. Morton Deutsch, Peter Messeri, Bruce Link, et al. at Columbia; Drs. Anthony Fauci, Don Des Jarlais, et al. working with IDUs and on HIV-1 vaccine trials at NIH/NIAID/NYUMC/BIDMC; Dr. Neil Cohen and others at NYCDOHMH where I was a senior scientist and responder on the WTC disaster along with subsequent bioterrorism events; and the list goes on with tremendous honor.
In addition, her tutelage fostered my scientific integrity and discipline while providing years of extremely complex and difficult years of caregiving for my late, beloved parents, along with my collaborations with prominent physicians at Harvard Medical School.
I am extremely honored and privileged, not only for my time working with Ms. Brunswick, but also for my wonderful friendship with her over the years, which includes special times on Shelter Island.
Thank you to Ann Brunswick and to the Shelter Island Reporter for recognizing her many skills and accomplishments which are all aimed, with great intention, at making for a better world.
STEPHEN TITUS
Cambridge, Mass.
