This Treasure
Baton Rouge, La.
July 19, 2008
Dear Editor:
I want to thank The East Hampton Star for publishing Dave Krusa’s work “The Twenty-Bushel Day.” His style is reminiscent of Steinbeck or Hemingway. He’s authentic.
I can’t find one falsehood on the page when I read his entry. Moreover, I can see and smell the images he evokes in his writing. I hope that the local community will protect this treasure as they would the vanishing potato fields — if they aren’t already gone.
Sincerely,
Robert Savina
(Former resident of Sag Harbor)
So Giving
East Hampton
July 21, 2008
To the Editor,
On June 8, I crossed the finish line of the Long Island two-day, 35-mile walk to fight breast cancer. The walk is to raise awareness and money for the fight against breast cancer. Along with over 500 other walkers, I made a commitment to challenge my physical endurance and my emotional stamina. We prevailed, we were victorious, and our efforts will make a difference in the fight against breast cancer. I am proud to have been a part of the walk and the experience was unforgettable.
I would like to thank everyone for their support, kindness, generosity, and sponsorship. I turned to family, friends, and the community for support, and together with my 96 sponsors, I raised over $8,700 toward the fight against breast cancer. I have been moved by the outpouring of support which I received and I thank each and every one of you. I am proud and feel quite fortunate to have my family, friends, and the community in which I grew up rally behind me and be so giving.
Thank you; together we made a difference.
MAGGIE DUNN
Big Dollars
Springs
July 17, 2008
To the Editor:
After reading about Eli Zabar’s coming to Amagansett, I believe this coming Monday’s meeting from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at the American Legion is taking place too late for the businesses in Amagansett and the local community to speak out against this complicated arrangement between the Peconic Land Trust, the Town of East Hampton, and Eli Zabar.
First, there is Citarella in East Hampton, then Zabar’s in Amagansett. Is anyone in the Town of East Hampton government and the Peconic Land Trust thinking about the small-business person who is the backbone of this community?
Who in government is looking out for the local hard-working people who have established businesses in Amagansett and East Hampton and are being pushed out by big business with big dollars? What has happened to our town? What will happen to our townspeople?
The town has fought consistently to keep out chains like Burger King, McDonald’s, etc. How are we going to protect the businesses we have in Amagansett: Mary’s Marvelous, Vickie’s Vegetables, Brent’s, I.G.A., Stuart’s, and all of the other independent shops which are dependent on their clientele in order to make a living for themselves and their employees?
Why is the town in the business of putting the big fish in the small pond?
MAYDA IDONE
Call That Satire?
East Hampton
July 15, 2008
Dear David,
This is an open letter to S.I. Newhouse Jr., the publisher of Conde Nast.
Not since Henry Luce published, in a Christmas issue of Life magazine in the late 1930s, a photograph of Nazi Germany’s most favored Christmas tree ornament, a bearded Jew hanging from a scaffold, has a media icon such as yourself so demeaned a race.
You, Mr. Newhouse, with your Barack Obama New Yorker cover, have exceeded all boundaries of taste and publishing judgment.
Allow me to ask you what your reaction would be if Rupert Murdoch published a front-page New York Post cartoon with the entire Newhouse clan dressed in black Hassidic garb, adorned with beards, round fur hats, side curls, wearing prayer shawls and phylacteries, grasping and counting the gold produced by such ventures as Vogue, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker?
Would you call that satire? I hardly think so, Mr. Newhouse.
Going back to J. D. Salinger, Wolcott Gibbs, and James Thurber I have loved and subscribed to The New Yorker. This is over a half-century of loyal readership. But now, with that racist and pointless travesty, your disgusting cover is on the very last New Yorker that will find its way to my house.
Shame on you.
EDWIN GIFFORD
Simple People
East Hampton
July 21, 2008
Dear David:
Over decades of teaching in a public high school I met many kinds of intellect, and I eventually learned to respect them all, whether or not I liked it. I came to realize that some very smart people are quite literal in their take on input; they receive information viscerally and then may or may not go back to think it over.
I learned from my students to respect simple people, and that it is bad form, not to say bad policy, to disregard others’ habits of thought, or to crow over my own intellectualism, or to engage or nourish or cut too close to the fears of others for a laugh, or to say that those who don’t think like I do are deficient whiners.
Referring to your editorial about the cover of the latest New Yorker magazine: If those who disliked the July 21 cover of The New Yorker are indeed suffering from what you term a “deep satire deficit,” if they are indeed misreading a humorous 19th-century tradition, it’s perhaps because our nation’s populace and its thinking is less homogenous than it was in 1870 when Thomas Nast drew his political cartoons. This seems self-evident; nowadays we are much more sensitive to insulting others, because other people often have a take on things which is different from our own. As the diversity of our citizenry increases, our mainstream spoken and printed opinions must evolve accordingly.
The New Yorker cover may indeed point out ridiculous accusations aimed by some people at the Obamas. However, the elite message is so buried in the lurid medium that many Americans responded viscerally and only then may or may not have thought it over.
Looking at that picture, which offers up the worst of the worst of politically charged images, one can picture the intellectuals in the editorial suite of the magazine patting one another on the back and congratulating themselves on their brilliant and potent Mad-magazine-like presentation of the ludicrous, deficient opinions of some of their fellow Americans.
Well, these fellow Americans may be deficient, but they also have the power to choose their leaders, as we have been shown again and again. Not every citizen appreciates satire, but every citizen gets a vote.
This nation’s citizens are a mere 100 days from what is arguably their most important decision in history. Those who speak out or who have a public forum in the debate have a responsibility to choose their words and pictures wisely after taking a long, hard look at cause and effect. We don’t have the luxury of an intellectual wallow; it is not wise at this time (or maybe ever) to point and laugh from an elitist high ground.
It’s all fun and games till somebody loses an election.
Sincerely,
PATRICIA HOPE
Ugly Shock
East Hampton
July 21, 2008
Dear David:
Last week (July 17), you printed a rosy story in a special section devoted to energy sustainability about my house and my effort to install energy-efficient equipment, an on-demand hot water heater, and insulation wherever needed (in the case of my house, in the basement).
The story is true as far as it goes. This is the beginning of the rest. Of course the first thing I did was have my in-ground oil tank abandoned properly, drained and filled with foam, making it a no-threat oil tank. And of course I checked in with the East Hampton Town Building Department about the rebate given for this effort to make things green.
A few days before I received the necessary paperwork from the company that did the work, I checked again with the Town Building Department and I was told to come on, bring it in. A couple of days later, when I did just that, I was greeted by a big smile and the words, “You’re not going to like this, but we’re not doing this anymore.” Just like that. Cut off. Cut out. Not a word of warning, only encouragement when I called. What an ugly shock.
This should not happen to a resident who has been trying to do her absolute best to raise the energy efficiency of her house, to make it as green as possible. Because I am unutterably sad about what is happening to this planet, because I feel that every sentient person is responsible for doing something to help stop the damages to our environment, I have embarked on this project with hope and trust. Both have been dashed to pieces.
I am not blaming the town board and the supervisor for running out of money. I know they inherited a miserable deficit. But it is their responsibility not to fool people, not to lead us on and then pull up the moat. This is what they have done and it is not forgivable.
I wish there were recourse. Is there? Thanks for printing this letter.
NAOMI LAZARD
For $1.50
Springs
July 15, 2008
To the Editor,
I had an Irish guest who visited me on her way to her sister in Rhode Island. I offered her a ride via the ferries to Orient Point.
She felt obliged to put gas in my car and pay round-trip fares to cross to Shelter Island to the North Fork. It cost her $74. Arriving at Orient Point, I noticed a Suffolk County Transit bus. Upon my return home, I called to investigate.
Are you ready? For $1.50 you can get an S92 Orient Point bus from East Hampton to Orient Point. It takes you to Riverhead and then proceeds along the North Fork. The trip takes two and a half hours, the same time it takes via Route 114 and the ferries.
Talk about a bargain. Besides having a low carbon footprint, mass transit is the way to go.
JULIANA C. NASH
Your Museum
Bridgehampton
July 22, 2008
Dear Mr. Rattray,
After reading the recent press in this newspaper about the fiscal crisis faced by the Children’s Museum of the East End, many people have asked me how it feels to be CMEE’s new executive director.
While our financial situation is dire, I have found it enormously rewarding during my three weeks on the job to hear support for CMEE from members of this community and how CMEE could fulfill the needs of families on the East End. My goal is to meet with anyone who feels they have a stake in CMEE. I want CMEE to be your museum — an institution our children feel they own.
We are eager to receive advice from children, young and old, as we develop CMEE as a center enhancing what children learn in school, a place to learn stewardship, mentorship, and volunteerism, and a meeting ground for new friends.
I also thank everyone who attended the 2008 CMEE Under the Stars benefit party. We were thrilled to show you the kinds of exhibits and programming that 40,000 visitors experience each year. Following up on CMEE Under the Stars, we’re working hard to raise additional funding needed urgently to put CMEE on a secure financial footing. We appreciate anything you can do to help us reach that goal.
We are planning a host of new interpretive programming, including an exhibition entitled “Fun 2, 3, 4,” designed to lessen anxiety about math and make it fun for kids aged 8 to 12. In conjunction with the exhibition, CMEE will present a series of engaging programs, from cooking classes to music workshops, where kids can see how we use math every day. If you think of ways this exhibit could serve your needs, please contact me.
I urge you to consider supporting CMEE financially or by donating your time or expertise. Whatever your background, we can use your help. Please call me at 631-537-8250, ext. 204 or e-mail me at Steve@CMEE.org.
We are grateful for the support and generosity the East End community has already shown to CMEE. With your support, CMEE has a chance to realize its full potential.
Sincerely,
STEPHEN LONG
Executive Director
Outstanding Job
Montauk
July 21, 2008
Dear Editor,
I wish to thank all of the people who helped to make our July 12 and 13 craft fair a success — all of the volunteers who put in so many hours of work at the hot dog wagon, the bake table, and especially those who helped us to set up and clean up when the fair was over.
Jim Grimes did an outstanding job in managing all of the food for the coffee table, the hot dog wagon, and the popcorn and ice cream. Dick White helped set up spaces for the vendors on Thursday and Friday, and he and Lawrence Cooke really helped to set up and also worked at the fair. Also, thank-yous are extended to the Parks Department crew of the Town of East Hampton for setting up the fence and also doing some necessary cleanup chores.
We are now preparing for our second fair of the summer on Aug. 9 and 10 and hope to see you there.
Sincerely,
BETSY WHITE
President
Montauk Historical Society
Save a Life
New York City
July 19, 2008
To the Editor:
Quite an unusual event happened last week in East Hampton that revealed both the heroic, selfless acts of a few beachgoers and the shocking behavior of a certain group of private lifeguards.
It was a sunny Saturday afternoon on July 12. Egypt Beach was beautiful as always. Spared by some of the weekend crowds, it was a perfect day with a surf that did not seem as rough as it was until I set foot in the waves and felt the strength of the current and the undertow.
I was playing in the sand with my daughter, oblivious to the surrounding sounds until I saw my boyfriend jump out of his chair and rush into the waves.
He had heard someone scream “Help,” and he swam toward a young man in the water who was holding another man who was panicked, exhausted, drowning.
The young rescuer and his twin brother were getting sacked by the waves and dragged by the rip, yet never let go of the exhausted swimmer, holding him firmly through the crashing waves and slowly bringing him back to safety.
One person screamed to get a lifeguard, and a man ran to a group of lifeguards on post at the Maidstone Club about 50 yards from where the rescue was taking place. I myself decided to run to the lifeguards, too, as it seemed no one was responding. What I found when I got there was just mind-boggling.
The lifeguards — one man who looked like he might have some experience and three teenagers who were waiting on direction from their supervisor — bluntly refused to even consider helping the person who had just been dragged onto the sand.
I started arguing with them, telling them it was their duty as lifeguards to assist a drowning victim, to which they replied that it was a “liability” to them, and therefore they would not leave their station. I asked them what was a bigger liability, staying at their station or failing to provide care to a victim who could potentially be severely injured or might need cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
The supervisor was adamant about not moving, as the victim was not on the private area of the beach, which led me to literally burst and basically order him to send at least one lifeguard out of the four that were on duty.
That triggered a complete panic amongst the three teenage lifeguards who looked at each other and asked, “What are we supposed to do?”
I asked if they had any C.P.R. training, any equipment. Nothing! It was as if the three young lifeguards only knew how to play lifeguard for a television show.
After five minutes of negotiations, which can be a deadly amount of time if someone is not breathing or is lacking oxygen, the senior lifeguard agreed to send what seemed to be his youngest, most inexperienced lifeguard to see what was going on on our side of the beach.
The victim had been dragged to the sand. He was now curled up in a ball, obviously in shock, pale, and unwell. The lifeguard did not ask one question or inspect the victim; he just looked confused and went back to his post.
It was not a lifeguard who saved the drowning victim, but the incredibly quick and heroic response of no less than one of your journalists, Timothy Small, and his brother, Blair, who stuck to the man in the surf, overcame the danger of a panicked victim grabbing and pulling them under, and slowly managed to make their way back to safety with the help of a couple of courageous men.
Thanks to a community effort of responsive beachgoers, the paramedics came quickly and showed great thoroughness by asking numerous questions and running the required exams on the victim, who did end up spending quite some time in the ambulance.
What I learned a few minutes later after sharing my frustration and disbelief over the pathetic lack of response from the lifeguards is that they even went as far as mentioning that they had witnessed the entire rescue.
Most people who visit Egypt Beach see and hopefully understand that it is posted clearly as a no-bathing beach, and I hope anyone who goes there does not expect assistance from the nearby Maidstone Club lifeguards.
It is a sad commentary on the conduct of those lifeguards that in a life-and-death moment, four people who are actually trained to save a life are more concerned with potential legal issues than the actual basic and humane duty of responding to the immediate needs of someone in danger.
Sincerely,
VIOLAINE ETIENNE
Concentrated Deluge
Noyac
July 20, 2008
Dear Editor:
We want to thank everyone — the hundreds of you for your spontaneous support of Larry at the news that they were eliminating his position as director of the Natural Resources Department and the folly of absorbing it into the Planning Department. A scary folly at that. Because of your noise and support the town board has now put that idea to bed.
The outpouring has been amazing. As his wife, I’m always running into people who tell me how much they love and respect Larry, but in this instance it turned into one concentrated deluge of well-wishing from all over the place.
And it galvanized and motivated people into action too. We were amazed by the letters to the editor by the 40-plus different people in all the different papers. By the people who showed up at the first packed town board hearing, and by this second town board hearing (also packed). And by everyone’s eloquence.
We thank each and every one of you. We’ve been moved. We are grateful. We are touched by all the support from the community, other branches of government, and our friends. It’s been a difficult time. But all of you have made a difference.
With many thanks,
JULIE and LARRY PENNY
Going Backward
Springs
July 21, 2008
To the Editor,
A few years ago I had a big problem with my well water. After several attempts to rectify it with various sources, I became desperate and decided to take my problem to Larry Penny.
I had never met him and walked into his office without an appointment. He listened to my story and was immediately interested, enough to call the county water authority to get the ball rolling. He gave me some other good advice, and ultimately my problem was solved with him following up on it.
The important thing is that he listened, even if he couldn’t help. I felt that I had someone in my corner.
We are going backward with his dismissal at a time when we should be more aware of environmental issues.
If we lose Larry Penny, we lose a treasure.
Sincerely,
RUTH A. JOHNSON
Penny’s Defense
Amagansett
July 18, 2008
To the Editor:
At the meeting Thursday night, I was gratified to hear that the town board has decided not to merge the Natural Resources Department into the Planning Department. But it is still not clear whether they intend to keep Larry Penny as its leader. There was a lot of polite hemming and hawing about keeping the department, but looking into “management issues.”
There was talk of a “cult of personality.” There was an appalling letter from a bitter-sounding, disgruntled ex-employee criticizing everything about Mr. Penny from his working hours to his tone of voice, which was actually read into the record.
Luckily, there were many citizens who stood up in Mr. Penny’s defense, including the amazingly wise and entertaining Stuart Vorpahl, who pointed out that Albert Einstein wasn’t known for his management skills, either. There were so many great speakers that I had to leave the meeting before I could recount my own Larry Penny story. So here goes.
One afternoon I was riding my bike and noticed something rustling in the bushes along the roadside. I stopped and discovered a wounded bird, apparently hit by a car. Fortunately, I had my cellphone. I called the police, who were very polite, but told me to try the Animal Rescue Fund. I tried calling them, but somehow my call was misdirected, and I got a wrong number.
By now, I was quite worried about the bird. So I called information and asked for Larry Penny. The operator recognized his name instantly and connected me immediately. Mr. Penny had someone from his office there in five minutes. Wow.
Now I don’t know anything about Mr. Penny’s management skills, but I can tell you that he has instant brand recognition, even with telephone operators. And he can get the things that matter done, and done immediately.
If the town keeps the department and gets rid of its leader, it’ll be sort of like keeping the bath water and throwing out the baby.
ALICE HENRY WHITMORE
Basic Malevolence
East Hampton
July 20, 2008
To the Editor,
The town board hearing last Thursday on the proposed change in the town code to eliminate the Natural Resources Department and make it a division of the Planning Department in order to get rid of Larry Penny resulted in a triumph for Mr. Penny, forcing board member Pete Hammerle to announce, during the middle of the hearing, that the plan was being withdrawn as he spoke.
The hearing exposed the basic malevolence of Bill McGintee, Brad Loewen, Mr. Hammerle, and Pat Mansir when the town board authorized the town clerk to read into the record a letter from Latisha Coy, a former disgruntled employee, claiming Mr. Penny had fired her, did not follow guidelines for piping plover restoration, harassed employees, and so forth.
As it turned out, Mr. Penny had not fired her; her claims about the United States Fish and Wildlife guidelines for piping plover restoration are inaccurate, and the rest of the charges are unsubstantiated.
Think back to the June 17 town board meeting when Mr. McGintee said the issue was not about Mr. Penny, while Mr. Hammerle claimed he could not tell the public why getting rid of the Natural Resources Department was important. Mr. McGintee, Mr. Loewen, Ms. Mansir, and Mr. Hammerle thought they had opened the meeting with their ace in the hole.
Instead, many speakers were offended and said it created the wrong tone for the meeting. Others, like Stuart Vorphal, said the letter writer deserved firing.
A longtime employee of the Natural Resources Department and caretaker of Shadmoor, Walter Galcik, gave his boss, Mr. Penny, complete credit for protecting the environment of East Hampton and said without the Natural Resources Department, the town would lose its power to protect the environment.
Folks who have served as volunteers with the Natural Resources Department know Mr. Galcik as a longtime and the hardest-working employee of the department, who has participated in nearly every one of the department’s programs.
So much for Latisha Coy.
Perhaps the finest compliment paid to Mr. Penny came from Susan Jewett, a marine scientist with the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. Ms. Jewett called Mr. Penny a “genius.”
Ms. Jewett said Mr. Penny, unlike many scientists she works with, had a broad knowledge and perspective of the natural world and could explain it to folks in everyday language.
The hearing left me with two strong impressions:
First, is that the support for Mr. Penny crossed party lines and included those who have had, in the past, disagreements with him. Second, is the viciousness demonstrated by Mr. McGintee, Mr. Loewen, Mr. Hammerle, and Ms. Mansir in their willingness to defame Mr. Penny by making public the letter from Ms. Coy, which contained falsehoods, misstatements, and unsubstantiated accusations.
Can anyone believe what these folks say? Can anyone trust them?
Residents of East Hampton can see for themselves by watching rebroadcasts of this hearing on LTV’s channel 18.
Respectfully,
TIM SULLIVAN
Conditions Dictate
Springs
July 19, 2008
Dear Editor,
Regarding Larry Penny’s “Nature Notes” piece about evolution in this week’s Star (“Going Up or Down?”), I would like to suggest that the question he explores — is man’s cultural evolution moving forward or de-evolving — is one of limited perspective, and that’s why the answer seems elusive.
The fact of the matter is that within this universe there really is no forward or backward, or even up or down. These perceptions are man’s perceptions, and only exist in our minds because of our human brain structure and visual apparatus that has, since the advent of man’s evolution to conscious self-awareness, caused us to view ourselves and all other “things” as objects that have a beginning and an end.
The truer perspective is that all “things” are nothing but electromagnetic energy, which is constantly evolving and changing as conditions dictate moment by moment. Things “live” when the conditions that cause a thing to be exist, and things “die” when they do not. It doesn’t matter if it is a person, a place, a relationship, a hedge, or even a hedge fund.
Albert Einstein showed in his Principle of Equivalence that one cannot tell direction based on force alone. In order to determine direction, one must have an objective point on which to base the direction that one is going. Since the force of acceleration is equal to the force of gravity, one cannot tell for example if the elevator car they are traveling in is going up or down without an objective point by which to compare movement.
The same is true in the case of evolution. There really is no forward or backward, except for how our human minds see it. Without the human opinion, all “things” are only evolving one way, from beginning to end. Said another way, one could posit that there is no past or future, but just what was, what is, and what will be.
If one realizes that every “thing” within the universe including this universe itself is energy in a constant state of dynamic evolution and is evolving because the circumstances and conditions affecting it are causing it to be that way, one is able to access an understanding that lets us see that if we want anything to be different than the way it is, one need only to change the circumstances and conditions (or the environment) that the thing is affected by and the thing will change and adapt accordingly.
That’s because all things metabolize their circumstances and conditions and become what it is that those changing conditions dictate. You don’t make water boil by demanding that it does, or even wishing, hoping, or praying, but rather by creating the circumstances and conditions that cause the water to heat to the point of boiling and it will boil automatically. It will have no other choice.
The question of whether the environment that modern man has helped create for himself to metabolize and therefore become affected by is helping or hurting our evolution really is moot, at least in the big picture. No matter what the opinion of the moment, the ultimate fact is that we, individually and collectively, as well as every other thing around us including the universe itself is evolving from beginning to end. What happens along the way is a matter of the choices being made and results being realized within the dynamic of universal evolution as each moment becomes the next, and all things adapt to the changing conditions, becoming, as they must. If nothing else, it certainly makes for great theater!
In my alter ego as Michael Galileo, an artist, my work is all about exposing the power of choice to cause things to be as they are in any moment in our lives. The responsibility that comes along with this perspective is something that can be of use in trying to improve the condition of man’s evolution, if one is so inclined. Because in this world of unenlightened man’s subjective and limited knowledge, it’s the quality of the choices and the power that they possess to recreate our world more as we think it should be that is the truly scary part.
RICHARD KOSTURA
Makes Them Nervous
East Hampton
July 21, 2008
Dear Mr. Rattray:
You’ve probably noticed from last week’s letters to The Star that when the guy from California inexplicably announced last winter that he was running for town supervisor in two years, there wasn’t one letter to you.
But when Montauk’s Jay Schneiderman announces he’s changed his voter registration and admits that he does think about being supervisor, then the Democratic Committee scribes — Mr. Taylor and Mr. Gruber — are out in full force.
This should be a hint to the Republicans, by the way. Which candidate makes them nervous? (Or do the Democrats know about the draft-Schneiderman movement?)
Yours truly,
JASON MCLEOD
Political Vendetta
East Hampton
July 21, 2008
Dear David,
The rush to lynch Bill McGintee is such a massive overreaction to his budget mistake that it makes me wonder if people have any memory or background information.
This administration inherited a large budget deficit when it took over the government. The previous administration had created that deficit. It seems to me there have been budget problems passed back and forth through many administrations.
As supervisor, Bill McGintee has created and overseen many positive moves, which advantaged our town. The comprehensive plan was completed, good work was done on affordable housing, the local waterfront revitalization plan was finally passed, a great deal of land has been saved, senior services are better than any town I know, and our taxes are among the lowest on Long Island. He is there and available. Call him, he responds. Have an issue to discuss, you get a date.
His effort to not raise taxes was a mistake, led to misuse of community preservation fund money, and needs to be corrected. My advice to him would be that while his defense of the town accountant may be admirable, it is, under the circumstances, misplaced. But there is no question here of dishonesty or personal gain.
Instead of wasting the next year on a political vendetta, why can’t we allow the process of correcting the mistake to proceed and allow the supervisor to move on to more positive achievements?
Very truly yours,
ARLENE COULTER
On Vacation
East Hampton
July 21, 2008
To The Editor:
It always amazes me what can be learned from reading the law.
A while back, the town board, by unanimous vote, passed a resolution to “fire” Ted Hults, the town budget officer — a gutsy move for this board. However, we learned that under the law, the budget officer serves at the pleasure of the supervisor.
Our supervisor told the board that he was very happy with the budget officer’s work and would not fire him. (Has the supervisor now exonerated Mr. Hults from any responsibility for our $10 million-plus deficit?)
If the board really wanted to get rid of Mr. Hults it would appear to me that possibly they missed their opportunity a couple of weeks ago when Supervisor Bill McGintee went on vacation, reportedly to Florida (a homestead state)!
Consider this scenario: Pete Hammerle serves as deputy supervisor for the Town of East Hampton. He receives an additional $10,000 yearly for holding this post.
Section 42 of Article 3 of New York State Town Law defines the duties and powers of a deputy supervisor in the following manner:
During the absence . . . of the supervisor . . . the deputy supervisor shall preside at the meetings of the town board and shall be vested with all of the powers and may perform all of the duties of the supervisor under this chapter or any other law. . . .
Is it just me, or once again, did our town board miss an opportunity to act in the best interests of the town? Under town law, could not Mr. Hammerle, acting as supervisor in Mr. McGintee’s absence, have fired the budget director? Was it ignorance of the law or lack of spine that kept the firing from happening?
To the town board: Acquaint yourselves with local and state law, who knows, it may help you govern.
BEVERLY BOND