The good news is that Carol Wingert is running for supervisor in Tusten this year. A lifelong resident of the area, she is honest, well-informed and understands that the majority of the community has voiced their opposition to fracking-up the pristine environment we call home.

The bad news is that Peg Harrison sits “neutral” on the topic of fracking after three years of indisputable facts that fracking is toxic to our air, land and water. In last week’s River Reporter, Harrison is quoted as saying, “We can’t afford polarizing individuals who speak to the emotion of the topic but not the details.” Wingert speaks to the emotion of this topic because of the details. Most of us have invested our life savings in our homes here. Yes, we are emotional about the threat to the health, safety and welfare of our presently unpolluted town.

The good news is that Glenn Swendsen is running for highway superintendent this year. He wants to head a highway department that would be held accountable for the hours they work and the budget they spend. Swendsen will maximize our taxpayer dollars.

The bad news is that George Kinch has just recently used our taxpayer dollars to resurface a number of private driveways in the Flats. That’s a misuse of 30 tons of town material plus labor for private individuals. To make it worse, Supervisor Harrison minimized this in The River Reporter last week by explaining that he was mitigating the lip of the new road into these driveways. However, the usual gradation of four feet became 30 feet long in some driveways. Harrison said Kinch went beyond that for a couple of residents who were seniors on fixed income and then a couple more because other residents requested the same treatment. How can she support this misappropriation of our taxpayer dollars?

Please vote for Wingert, Swendsen, Ritter, Reynosa, and Samuelson.

Brandi Merolla

Narrowsburg, NY