Shelter Island Reporter Letters to the Editor: April 28, 2023
A gift in question
To the Editor:
Why is there a question about the wetlands of Shelter Island?
Why don’t people realize this gift from nature is important for fresh water for wildlife and the future?
We have lived on Shelter Island since the 1980s and our present house has a great expanse of wetlands in front of our home.
Spring and fall we enjoy watching the amazing migration of various birds flying into the wetlands for fresh water. A pair of geese arrive every spring to build their nest within the reeds, and wildlife drink from the water.
Our love of the natural world is why we live here on beautiful Shelter Island.
Please respect and save our open space and wetlands.
MOLLIE NUMARK, Shelter Island
Asking for your vote
To the Editor:
My name is Dawn Hedberg and I am running for re-election to the Shelter Island School Board. It has been a great honor to serve as a Board member for the last three years in the place I have called home for two decades. During my tenure, the following has been accomplished:
• Provided in person learning during the pandemic when most schools in the state were closed.
• Introduced Spanish language at the elementary level.
• Expanded extracurricular, cultural and athletic offerings including a soccer program.
• Offered more AP and college level classes; showed marked improvement on state tests.
• Never pierced the tax cap; had a 0% increase last year.
• Increased teaching Native American history on the heels of the now mandatory mascot removal in the state.
• Saved and budgeted money to repair our outdated septic system.
• Implemented the idea that retired textbooks be donated instead of disposed of in an effort to increase recycling efforts.
• Approved the purchase of a shuttle bus to save money transporting small classes and teams.
School Board members are a fully volunteer body and it has been a tremendous privilege to sit with these thoughtful, intelligent and compassionate people alongside our unparalleled superintendent, Dr. Doelger. We know how to work together.
Our job as a volunteer Board can be challenging, but interspersed with the difficult decisions are many rewarding ones. Approving educational and unique trips that have become rites of passage for a generation of our children, listening to students advocate for themselves and make passionate presentations to gain our support for new programs, or even to question existing policies, are perks of the job.
There are those who say this is a thankless job — they would be wrong. I’m asking for your vote on May 16.
DAWN HEDBERG, Shelter Island
When in port
To the Editor:
Those who know me have probably heard my “What Do you Do with a Drunken Sailor” ringtone on my phone.
Reading last week’s Reporter, with articles on ferry rate increases, library expansions, and yet even more hiring at Town Hall, makes me feel like everyone is spending like a drunken sailor.
The only difference is a drunken sailor only spends money the few days when in port, not 24/7.
PETER REICH, Shelter Island
