Letters to the editor October 26

Posted 10/25/17

The real offense Considering it appears the Town of Tusten just settled a lawsuit for violating the civil rights of a councilmember, I’m surprised a beacon of free press and government …

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Letters to the editor October 26

Posted

The real offense

Considering it appears the Town of Tusten just settled a lawsuit for violating the civil rights of a councilmember, I’m surprised a beacon of free press and government transparency like The River Reporter isn’t clamoring for more information. A non-disclosure agreement negotiated by town officials to protect them from embarrassment seems the epitome of bad governance and exactly what a newspaper is for. It served no public good to keep the settlement secret.

I remember the front-page article about a threatened lawsuit (that never happened) concerning a property owner impacted by the planned compressor station. Here we have a real lawsuit about the First Amendment, town councils bullying community members with egregiously interpreted codes and civil rights violation allegations, and the best TRR can do is mention the lawsuit was “settled” in a one-sentence aside. I guess the fact you mentioned it at all is progress, in some perverse other-universe type of way.

Certain members of the Tusten Town Board must be elated to have friends in such high places that protect them from public disclosure of their actions. The use of town codes, the Upper Delaware Council, the Department of Environmental Conservation and the National Park Service to further the ends of the radical “progressives” in our midst is the real offense.

Charles Petersheim

Eldred, NY

[Editor’s note: The fact that a non-disclosure agreement has been signed regarding any given matter means that none of the parties involved can talk about it without legal penalty, and that there is no legal way to force disclosure of any related documents.]

Clem and Barb Fullerton’s anniversary

Many River Reporter readers will recall The Complete Tangler, a column written by Clem Fullerton for the paper. Clem had a way of spinning some very nice tales about his experiences as a fly fisher. I met Clem way back in the late 1960s while surveying the Amawalk Outlet, a trout stream near Yorktown Heights. At that time, the local Trout Unlimited chapter had a group of dedicated anglers know as the “Rock Rollers” that worked tirelessly to improve the habitat in that river.

Clem and I lost contact for a number of years, but one June night on the upper East Branch, I heard a familiar voice, and saw a large black Stetson through the riverside foliage. I yelled out, “Fullerton, is that you?” Clem came up the bank, touting a cane fly rod, and we renewed acquaintance, and a friendship, that remains to this day.

Sadly, in July of 2005, Clem and Barb had to sell their house not far from Kellam’s Bridge and move back to Texas on a full-time basis. They were a part of our weekly gatherings sharing fish tales at camp near Downsville, and are missed by all. A short time ago, I was informed that Clem and Barb will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary with family and friends at home in Texas, on November 4. Readers who wish to send a note for this wonderful occasion, may do so by forwarding correspondence to: Clem and Barbara Fullerton, â„… The Edstrom’s, 269 Oak Hill Dr., Trophy Club, Texas 76262

Tony Bonavist

Hurley, NY

[Tony Bonavist writes one of the columns that has succeeded The Complete Tangler, Ramblings of a Catskill Flyfisher, one of which is printed in this issue in the Outdoors section.]

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