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J ty if 'I +4 W \ 1 1 V • l n i Fl Ci WPTIINT wrwll^l 1 Misperception of firefighters Reading the front page of Friday's edition might give some folks the mis- taken impression that volunteer firefighters have nothing better to do than haze rookie smoke-eaters and drink in the firehouse when they're not answering fire alarms. That's sad, because it's not the case most of the time, and it certainly isn't here in the North Country, thank goodness. Our local firefighters don't have time for such shenanigans, because they're too busy keeping up with state-mandated training, honing their skills and raising money to keep their fire companies out of the red. The aforementioned story, which re- ceived national media attention the other day, involved a volunteer fire department near Buffalo that put 15 rookie firefighters through a recent weekend ritual. The newbies were ordered to march around the neighborhood accompanied by a goat and chicken and sing the National An- them every time they spotted Old Glory. When they returned to the fire station, the probies were required to strip down to their underwear, kiss the goat,, get swatted on the rump and submit to small electric shocks while the veteran firemen, drinking heavily, ordered the wannabes to get them more beer. Law-enforcement officials are in- vestigating the incident and at least one rookie may sue the Doyle Fire District. More disturbing than the incident itself, however, is the inference that this unacceptable conduct occurs reg- ularly in a majority of volunteer fire stations. Nothing could be further from the truth. Fifteen or 20 years ago, many volun- teer fire companies openly and liber- ally served alcoholic beverages in their fire stations at any time of day. Volun- teer firefighters had the reputation of being hard-drinking womanizers who spent weekends at the firehouse swilling beer. That's a rarity today, in part because of changing attitudes on drinking, more women in the firefighting ranks, increased profes- sionalism and expensive liabili- ty-insurance premiums, just to cite a few reasons. There are many others. Most important, however, is that local .volunteer fire companies — faced with dwindling memberships because of the hours and hours of training, maintaining fire apparatus, answering alarms and the time such activities take away from quality family time — need now to offer incentives to attract new members. Many have. And hazing and drinking, not exactly useful, motivating tools, don't enter into it. Volunteer fire departments and rescue squads in these parts have worked extremely hard to raise the levels of professionalism in their ranks. They've been very successful, despite difficult economic times and fewer folks willing to volunteer their time to help their neighbors. Be proud of them. In My Opinion Regional landfill helps all counties By H. FRANK GOULD The following statement was presented to the Essex County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 6. Many Essex County taxpayers believe sale of the Lewis landfill to a private operator is a viable alternative, many others believe selling is not the only alternative. In any event, a substantial num- ber have expressed deep concern over the unwar- ranted haste to consummate this sale without prior public discussion. Certainly, before you approve sale of an asset that has cost us a minimum $8 million we are en- titled to a public discussion of all pertinent background information including total costs plus an in-depth study of the legal, financial and en- vironmental effects both short and long-term. Additionally, in order for taxpayers and board members to make an informed decision they should also be made privy to a full disclosure about the potential purchaser including (but not limited to) its owners and executives, their background and experience and the company's finances and track record. Certainly (if they have not already done so) it would be prudent for the board to insist on an in-depth background check of the prospective pur- chaser. The best available information indicates that so far the Lewis Landfill has cost Essex County tax- payers at least $8 million. A recent appraisal valued the project at $6.5 million, a net loss to the taxpayers of $1.5 million. Now, the Essex County Board proposes to sell the landfill to a private op- erator for just over $5 million, increasing our loss to $3 million. Essex County isn't alone in this quandary; most certainly it's not a situation of our making. Cur- rently the local press has daily stories about land- fill problems facing Clinton County, Washington County, Warren County and Saratoga County. Tens of millions of taxpayer dollars are already in- volved, tens of millions more will be spent and our predicament only worsens. The situation is another classic example of federal and state bureaucrats improving unfunded mandates on local property owners without giving the slightest thought as to the potential disaster they have created. Perhaps one solution would be for'North Coun- try taxpayers to insist their respective county legislatures get together and join all landfill pro- grams under a non-political \North Country Waste Disposal Authority.\ This group would work with the best available consultants and develop a bind- ing, long-term, multi-county cooperative program to be operated by a qualified bonded bidder from private industry. Once a program is developed and approved it would then be time for North Country taxpayers to insist their elected representatives in Washington and Albany intervene and remove the thousand and one bureaucratic roadblocks that are sure to develop. Since this program requires the cooperative ef- fort of at least five North Country counties, plus action on the part of the taxpayers, it's probably quite simplistic. While it's not the only possibility, it is a start and it sure beats Essex County tax- payers taking a $3 million loss just for openers! Gould it corresponding locratary for ACT — Tlcondwoga't Association of Concerned Taxpayers. -In Washington- Your voices in government R«p. John McHugh 24th Congressional District Room 416 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: (202) 225-4611 (518) 563-1406 Rep. Gerald Solomon 22nd Congressional District 2265 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: (202) 225-5614 (518) 477-2703 S«n. Attorn* D'Amato 520 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Phone: (202) 224-6542 Sen. Daniel P. Moynlhan Room SR-464 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Phone: (202) 224-4451 -In Albany- Sen. Ronald Stafford 45th Senatorial District Room 502, Capitol Albany, N.Y. 12247 Phone: (518) 455-2811 (518) 561-2430 Assemblyman Chris Ortloff 110th Assembly District Room 450 Legislative Office Building Albany, N.Y. 12248 Phone: (518) 455-5943 (518) 562-1986 (518) 483-9930 IWSJUST POU.OWNG ORDERS FRPM RELIGIOUS NUTS Albany Armchair Geneseo — so good it makes you misty MorcVtoUtt* OttawayNewsServte* \I wish I were 18 again,\ I muttered to myself a few weeks ago as 1 put my taillights to the Geneseo State College campus and drove off after an overnight visit. Of course I'd like to be 18 again, or 23 or 34 for that matter. There'd be less of me and what there was would have a 28-inch waist again and be topped with thick brown hair, not thinning gray. But I digress. What I was thinking that rainy November day was that it would be great to be 18 and a college freshman and be going to a school like Geneseo State. This is a campus that decided about 15 years ago to be something more than just another SUNY college that sort of did a little bit of everything kind of okay but didn't do anything really great. Know what I mean? Geneseo's faculty and administration decided to buck SUNY blandness and become a great public liberal arts college with a focus on teaching. And they did it. Pick up any college rating guide and you'll find Geneseo State pulling down mentions like: — Ranked number 6 in nation for \sticker price\ among regional colleges and universities in U.S. News and World Report's 1996 guide to America's best colleges. — Number 16 in the nation in Money Guide's 1996 top 100 college buys. That's just some of the current accolades. A list going back eight or 10 years would be as long as a New York Jets losing streak. What makes Geneseo the best school in the SU- NY system is that it specializes — high quality lib- eral arts — and does its specialty better than any- one else.. As interim president Christopher Dahl says, \We do what we do best. People here are pretty clear about our undergraduate focus. We are clear about our mission and that helps explain our suc- cess.\ This is the kind of school that nourishes stu- dents, shapes them and gives them a top notch education, all at the relatively low tuition of $3,400. I went to college in 1971, when school - \it's a far-out experience, man\ — was a place to hang out while deciding whether to join the Peace Corps or start a commune. Then the collegiate pendulum swung hard right during the early 80s — \greed is good\ — when schools pumped out MBAs faster than Michael Jackson switched plastic surgeons. But after walking around Geneseo State and talking to students I get the feeling they've found a happy medium between blissed out hippie-dom and button-down overdrive. Geneseo's faculty certainly expects a lot from students and they have to work hard to pull down good grades. But they also know how to kick back and have fun. Another plus is that with 5,200 students Geneseo seems about the right size for an under- graduate college. Not so big that you feel like a faceless ant but big enough to generate a dynamic pulse. Add to that the fact that the campus is in the middle of New Englandy Geneseo, a nearly perfect college town, that has been designated a National Historic Landmark. The campus is terraced down a hill behind Main Street, a leafy boulevard anchored at one end by a village park and at the other by the columned county court house. In between is plenty of angle parking along a busy business district that features a Birkenstock sandal store, Buzzo's music, pizza, burger and Chinese joints, used book stores, a travel agent, veggie eatery and a tarot card reader. Everything a student needs is a three minute walk off campus. I'm sure life at Geneseo isn't all colloquiums, high-toned discussion, and thoughtful research papers. There must be some depressed students, campus rapes, some burned out professors, alcohol abuse and Town 'n' Gown tensions. But even on a bad day, when the wind had knocked down all the leaves and the crying sky overwhelmed my shoes' ability to keep my feet dry, I could see Geneseo State was a place that could call out the best in a student. That school, even on an ugly November day, could make you wish you were 18 again, too. Violttta eovsra state government far Ottawoy Nsw» Service. Reader* may tend their comments to Ottawoy Newt Service, Pren Room, The Capitol, Albany, New York, 12224. ISI LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Flag burning not speech To the Editor: I read with dismay the conclusions of the very misguided gentleman who believes protecting our nation's flag from deliberate abuse is a serious loss of speech for all Americans. To begin with, burn- ing a flag is not speech, but rather an action which liberal courts may consider the expres- sion of one's feelings and thus protected by the First Amend- ment. A more conservative court may decide that speech means saying things, not doing things. Many actions or expressions are a violation of law. Certainly I can't punch this person to regis- ter how strongly I disagree. This expression of my feelings is pro- perly limited by law. Speech too, is regulated. You can't yell \Fire\ in a crowded theater, nor inter- rupt a religious service with your personal beliefs, nor shout pro- fanities where easily overheard by the public, nor threaten peo- ple with physical harm for no reason, and lastly, you can't make unnecessarily loud noise at night. Laws that have been on the books for many years pro- hibit all the preceding, yet both our Constitution and citizenry seem none the worse for these limits to our right of free speech. Affording protection to our flag would adversely affect only those few who are sufficiently ignorant, mean-spirited or unpatriotic to treat our national symbol in a manner beyond a legal limit. The vast majority in our nation favor such a law and I believe it is long overdue. James W. Dudley Port Kent The Press-Republican welcomes letters to the editor. All letters must be signed (except e-mail) and include the address and telephone number of the author. Letters must not contain more than 300 words. They should be typewritten. Those letters not meeting the criteria will not be published and will be returned. The Press-Republican reserves the right not to publish letters it judges to be inappropriate. By mail: Letters to the Editor Press-Republican P.O. Box 459 Pittsburgh, N.Y. 12901 By e-mail: PRepub@aol.com By fax: 561-3362 Press-Republican 170 Mugaret St., Plitbburgh, N.Y. 12901 (USPS 443-240) TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21,1995 The Republican 1811. The Pteu 1894, Tbe Fieis-RepuUican 1942 Brehd) J. Tallman Publisher James D. Dynko, Editor Robert J. Gtady, Managing Editor Lois M. dermonl, Newi Editor Bruce Rowland, Businen Editor John Downs, Design Editor Robert O. Ooeu, Sports Editor Dsvld Paczak, Photo Editor Daroian Fanelli, Sunday Editor Daniel B. Swift, General Manager Scan T. McNaman, Marketing—Sale* Manager Lyman O. Beiio, Classified Advertising Manager George Rock, Retail Advertising Manager Chria Christian, Circulation Manager Catherine A. Duquette, Controller Virgil L. Croat, Frew Foreman Daniel L. Thayar, Production Manager Jamea O. Frenya, Distribution Supervisor Published daily each morning except certain holiday! at 170 Margaret Street, Plattaburoh, N.Y. Telephone 661-2300. Second class postage paid at Plattsburgh, N.Y. 12901. The Press-Republican ia published by the Plattaburgh Publishing Company Division of Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. National Advertising Representative: Papert Companies, 400 North Street Paul No. 800, Dallas, Texas 75201-3119, Area Code 214-969-0000. Subscription rates by U.S. Mail $195.00 one year; 1107.90 six months; $53.95 three months. (Mail rates not applicable in areas served by carrier or motor delivery). Rates for all other places and special out-of-town servicemen ratss on request. DOONESBURY Garry Trudeau u vv ^ - ^ s> • er- sr A aS' eap « v - — -w- -^ - - - — . l 70KINAmnmiNCHfNA., MR.BUm,IKlHATK/NP OFIMmCTAFBUS. DRAMATIC! B&O& IMP? BAR- RlB&tti&VUMRBP, OffY MNmP, BUTTHAMKS !/•»» OUTWTH& 6LAmm.!\ ; TUESDAY; ! NOVEM|ER2 ByKEHl QttawoyN ALBANY - plan chang massive SUN\ cient and less aid, New Yor leges and unh \What about \ New York four states sidizes its pr system, whicl fluence many and the fact who attend t residents, ha decades. In While SUN far more sta dollars a yeai and tens of students. An colleges, the seen a big df in recent yeai In 1988, private colleg of $111 m operating ai< will get $35 n By compa receive more from the stafr Students ; leges are ak from the Tui gram. That's that providi those who c.£ cost of tuitior Boai NEW YO promise in V one of the bi Island and t! Sightseer: tions on Me promise be Republicans many federa \We had when we he; came right < Sharon McD who was wit The bud| Rikerj 17B Assoc NEW YO dozen city c expected charges thi mates at t\ for the jail prisoners, t union said I Norman I the Corr Benevolent charges we made in a years ago 1 city jail. The inv being con Departmen the FBI, ce tral Puniti which hous broken jail The Nev Monday th pressurin secretly r with their quette, an he could r whether 8 underway. In 1991 filed a suit beat inim reason, an< like the ii aggresso allegedly weapons\t Upon ai mates wei \initiation suit. Captair visors \ beatings < CPSU stal document* abuse,\ a which was is expecte year. The sui rection ofi various s dants. John Be Aid Sock unit, said have conti filed. Acti
