This letter was sent to the New Shoreham Shellfish Commission and copied to the Block Island Times

I need to go on record pointing out that the suggestions that Dave Beutel, CMRC Aquaculture Coordinator, and I made to the proposed changes to the aquaculture portion of the Harbor Management Plan were not incorporated. Not one of them.

This is more than a little surprising given that Mr. Beutel and I arrived at our suggestions independently, yet they were very similar. The former chair, Lois Bendokas, even responded with an emailed comment to our suggestions with the word “same.” At the time I had no idea what she meant.

So, once again I find that my input has been ignored, and once again a document has been produced for the Town Council’s consideration that does not constitute a truly collaborative effort. This will now lead to us having to contest the Shellfish Commission’s document at a Town Council meeting, wasting everyone’s time.

I think the conduct of some members of the Shellfish Commission is purposely adversarial so as to poison any possibility at reaching a consensus. It’s obvious to even the most casual observer that you owe your new Chair, Peter Voskamp, and the community, a much better effort. Members who conduct themselves in such a manner should resign or be removed by the Town Council, but then, that would require proactive management of problematic situations.

Christopher Warfel

High Street

To: the Editor –

The Block Island Early Learning Center would like to express much gratitude and appreciation to everyone -– businesses and individuals – who contributed their time, energy and funds to the Pasta Dinner. A big thank you to the Draper Family for the use of The Oar Restaurant, providing a picturesque spot for our Spring Fundraiser and for leaving us in the capable hands of George, Dave and staff. Your hospitality and help made us feel so welcome and supported.

Special recognition goes to Dave Sniffen, a true magician, who for the 11th year organized ordering and ran the kitchen with perfection and finesse, along with the help of his awesome annual kitchen crew: Jamie Johnston, Callum Crawford, Patrick Evans and Ed O’Reilly.

Island businesses, which contributed to our annual spring fundraiser, were: Mohegan Cafe, Eli’s, McGoverns, The Beachead, The Red Bird, Bethany’s Airport Diner, The Old Post Office Bagel Shop, Finn’s and Blocks of Fudge. The dinner was a great success for our families. Thank you, parents and staff, for your hard work. Congratulations to the winners of our raffles: Max Walsh, Alcy Stiepock-MacKay and Annie Hall. We are overwhelmed by the support from our community.

Many thanks to all who attended.

The Board, Staff and Children of the Block Island Early Learning Center

To: the Editor –

At the Town Financial meeting I raised the question as to the necessity of spending an additional $5,200 (five thousand two hundred dollars) to apply an organic fertilizer over and above the cost of a “synthetic” fertilizer. 

My understanding was that all town departments were directed to keep their budgets tight because of the fiscal difficulties facing the town such as: the need for repaving several streets, the unknown cost for repairing the beach pavilion, repairs to the Coast Guard station, etc. 

Further, the library had already expressed problems of a shortfall of twenty thousand dollars in their budget as directed by the Town Council. If we were awash with surplus funds this item would not have attracted me as strongly as it has. If one wishes to spend extra funds to use organic materials on their own property, so be it but this item involved our public tax dollars.

The nutrients in an organic fertilizer are formulated with organic compounds. These contain the primary nutrients of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. Synthetic fertilizers are generally salts which, when they dissolve in water (in the soil) make their nutrients available to the roots.

Further, they become available more rapidly than organic fertilizers. Thus, organic fertilizers “feed” over an extended amount of time. There are formulations of synthetic fertilizers that also provide for slow release of nutrients over an extended period of time.

“The nutritional elements that come from organic and synthetic fertilizers are the same once the plant being fed takes them up into its vascular system.” They both provide micronutrients to plants.

Now, both First Warden Kim Gaffett and Land Trust Chairman Barbara MacMullan defended the choice of an organic fertilizer as both organizations profess to be operating under an IPM (Integrated Pest Management) policy for their respective grounds management responsibilities.

For those of the general public who may not be familiar with the IPM program, it has been successfully integrated into the agricultural industry for over 30 years. It has not only reduced the amount of pesticides used in our environment but also has had a huge economic impact due to reduced costs of pesticides and their application.

“IPM is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices. IPM programs use current, comprehensive information on the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment. This information, in combination with available pest control methods, is used to manage pest damage by the most economical means, and with the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment.”

“IPM takes advantage of all appropriate pest management options including, but not limited to, the judicious use of pesticides. In contrast, organic food production applies many of the same concepts as IPM but limits the use of pesticides to those that are produced from natural sources, as opposed to synthetic chemicals.” Note – fertilizers are not pesticides. Pesticides are used to control (kill) target organisms. Fertilizers provide essential nutrients to plants.

School Committee Chair Bill Padien expressed, “that the cost of the (organic) fertilizer is worth it to make sure that the children are not exposed to chemical fertilizer. We need to think safety. Synthetic fertilizer is detrimental to the children and animals that use Heinz field.”

Rest assured, I, nor anyone else on Block Island, would not consider applying any product that would subject children to harm. Personally, I have never heard of any problems associated with children playing on fertilized turf grass.

To check further, when I got home from the financial meeting I read the label on a package of synthetic fertilizer that I have in the garage. It is a Starter Fertilizer, (18-24-12) used for new lawns.

In addition to the Guaranteed Analysis, Directions for Use, When to Apply and How to Apply, was the following: “PRECAUTIONS: May be harmful if swallowed. Wash thoroughly after handling. Keep away from food, feedstuffs and water supplies.” Quite frankly, I would be more concerned for the general safety of our youth – and adults – with the incidence and threat of Lyme disease from the deer tick.

The label on all fertilizers, pesticides and most household cleaning products is reviewed, registered and regulated by agencies such as the U. S. Department of Agriculture, the Federal Food and Drug Administration and finally, by the Environmental Protection Agency. A label is not an easy document to be accepted and passed through these agencies.

The following quotation is included in the Environmental Protection Agency document – Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in Schools. “Fertilizers should be applied several times (e.g., spring, summer, fall) during the year, rather than one heavy application.” No mention references the use of organic fertilizer.

Frederick H. Nelson

Beach Ave.

(Nelson is Professor Emeritus, Cooperative Extension Service, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at University of Connecticut.)

To: the Editor –

Congratulations to David Lewis on the fine letter to the editor concerning the ill-advised Sosnowski bill. Contrary to the Block Island Times editorial and the Town Council, there is at least one voice of reason on the island.

There is a concept referred to as the Rule of Law which can be defined, in part, as a principle which creates order and predictability in a civilized society.

The Sosnowski process seeks a different path – one of convenience – which is not unlike what Champlin’s attempted to do when they disagreed with the expansion decision.

An unusually convenient and highly suspect decision from the Rhode Island Supreme Court was used in an attempt to nullify the authority of the Coastal Resource Management Council (CRMC). It was also used to pave the way for a clearly erroneous decision that was fortunately overturned by a restructured Supreme Court.

Certainly a bit of “only in Rhode Island” politics has been in play in the Champlin’s scenario. I strongly suggest that the Town Council refrain from playing the same game of sullied Rhode Island politics and retain a modicum of respectability.

The Public Utilities Commission followed the Rule of Law and acted correctly and responsibly within the purview of its lawful authority. The problem is that Deepwater got a tad greedy. David Lewis is right on!       

Terry Mooney

Old Mill Road

This letter was written to Chairman Handy and copied to the Block Island Times:

We are writing to express our opposition to House Bill 8083.

We have come to this position after months of attempting to weigh the pros and cons of this eight - turbine wind energy project just off the coast of Block Island.

We have been year -round residents of Block Island since 2005 and summer residents since the late 1950s. We believe in alternative energy and energy conservation and in the last two years have installed both solar hot water and solar electric PVS at our home, as well as moving aggressively on domestic energy conservation.

From the outset, we have been concerned about the wisdom of locating industrial-sized turbines so close to an area whose economy is dependent on tourism. We participated in the wind farm survey and commented heavily about our concerns; unfortunately, the published results do not reflect any of the conditional answers. In our travels, we have seen many wind farms located in coastal areas, but generally these have been near container ports or industrial land use areas.

On the other hand, it is clear that Block Island has a serious problem regarding the generation and cost of electric power. It is that concern which has kept us on the fence regarding the close-in turbine project.

Given the facts now at hand, we oppose the proposed legislation for the following reasons:

We believe that upending the regulatory process is most unwise and has many unintended consequences. We are in agreement with the Attorney General and will not attempt to restate his arguments, which we believe are very sound. Institutional stability of regulation is key in attracting and retaining important elements of the Rhode Island economy.

We believe that the job creation impact of this project is greatly overstated and is illusory at best.

We believe that the proposal places an undue economic burden on Rhode Island electric ratepayers, particularly on industries vital to the state’s economic health.

Finally, we believe that other much more cost effective and less visually intrusive ways can and must be found to meet the very real concerns regarding electric power for Block Island. We are hopeful that the PUC and the state will be productive in finding a means to finance a cable to transmit mainland power to the Island .

Thank you for the opportunity to express our views.

Sincerely yours,

Margaret B. Comings

William D. Comings

Mohegan Trail

To: the Editor –

It was with great sadness that Kerri and I learned of the passing of Bill Young. He and his classes were favorites of both of our older children, and we were looking forward with trepidation to his inevitable clashes with our youngest.

Bill and I disagreed on almost everything, and debated each other publicly and privately over the years. Whenever we found one of our occasional areas of agreement, each of us would spring it as a trump card, ending discussion of that particular issue.

Despite our disagreements, I had tremendous respect for Bill as a teacher for his dedication, professionalism, and charisma.

His help was invaluable to us in furthering the unconventional education that we’ve given our children.

I know that they benefited from his teaching and that they will miss him, as will we and the rest of the Block Island School community.

Rest in peace, Bill.

Sincerely,

John Spier

West Side Road

To: the Editor –

We attended the Rhode Island House of Representatives hearing on Bill 8083, which proposes to reject a decision of the Public Utilities Commission, which recently ruled that the charges outlined by Deep Water Wind and National Grid were exorbitant and commercially untenable for Rhode Island ratepayers.

Eight hours of testimony from groups, including the Office of the Attorney General, the League of Women Voters, RI-AARP, Common Cause, the Conservation Law Foundation, representatives from environmental and conservation groups and private citizens, including ourselves, gave overwhelming testimony against this proposed reversal.

Anyone interested in following the legal process that protects us all should contact State Sen. Sosnowski and State Rep. Walsh as soon as possible and ask them to reject the bills that seek to circumvent the recent decision of the PUC on the Deep Water Wind project.

Susan Sosnowski: sen-sosnowski@rilin.state.ri.us (401) 783-7704

Donna Walsh: rep-walsh@rilin.state.ri.us (401) 932-1556

Pat Doyle, High Street

Sandra Kelly, Mohegan Trail

To: the Editor –

Here’s the deal.  Every time you, anybody, or me throws a piece of trash on the roadside or in the bushes or buries it on the beach, we are contributing to the end of the world.  I’m not kidding you.

When I jog or walk along Westside Road, I notice cigarette butts, beer cans, coffee cups, and pieces of paper.  The trash is building up on our precious island. 

When my wife and I walk along Crescent beach, we always see trash either washed up or left behind by partiers.  It saddens us.   Did you know that the filters in cigarettes (cellulose acetate) take from 2-5 years to degrade?  Some never degrade.  Aluminum cans take 200-400 years.  Here’s a list to think about.

 Glass bottles never degrade

Aluminum cans last for 500 years

Plastic bags: 10-20 years

Plastic six-pack holder: 100 years

Plastic bottles: indefinitely

Nylon fabric: 30-40 years

Common Styrofoam: indefinitely

Here’s an idea that will begin to clean up the trash.  If everyone would just pick up one piece of trash the world would be a better place.  The future of the earth would be a bit better.  Maybe we can even save the earth for our grandchildren.  Pick up one piece as you walk our beautiful island.  Every time I go for a run, I come home with something.  Imaging what will happen if we all just picked up one piece of trash every time we were out. 

Remember, take only pictures, and leave only footprints.

Chuck McMellon

Westside Road

To: the Editor –

Block Island Health Services would like to thank everyone who contributed to the success of our 13th annual Swing Into Spring, held on May 2.

Once again, the Spring House opened its doors and provided the ideal setting for our event, thanks to Frank DiBiase, David Houseman, Barbara Hirsch, Danielle Dziok, Frank DiBiase III, Ethan Fleming, William Koch, and Andrea Orr. Thanks also to DJ Sean Dugan for some great music. We sold 293 raffle tickets and awarded cash prizes totaling nearly $6,000 to William Hutchins, Barbara Temple and Mary Listini.

Other donors who provided food, beverages, and services are The Albion Pub & Restaurant, The Atlantic Inn & Eli’s, Ballard’s Oil, Bethany’s Airport Diner, Scott Cooper, Block Island Depot, Block Island Health and General Store, Belmont Market, BJ’s, Champlin’s Seafood, Club Soda & Weatherbee’s, Clark Farms, The Cooked Goose, Distant Shores, The Farmer’s Daughter, Will Gasner, Bob Gilpin, The Glass Onion, Highland Farm, Island Bound, Island Hardware, Interstate Navigation, Jerry’s Hardware, Kim Lemon, McGovern’s Yellow Kittens, Mohegan Café, Jim Murphy & Corn Neck Farm, O’Neil’s Package Store, Perkins Paper, Red Bird Package Store, The Rose Shack, Sandpiper, The Scarlet Begonia, Shelter Harbor Inn, The 1661 Inn and Hotel Manisses, The Spring House Hotel, Star Department Store, Stop & Shop, Ron Tierney, 234 Water, Chris Warfel, and Watercolors.

We extend our gratitude to all of these people, and to everyone who attended, helped out, donated, and participated in the raffle and silent auction. Thanks also to all contributing BIHS board and staff members and the BIHS fundraising committee.

Let us know if we missed thanking anyone.

You all made it happen. Hope to see you there again next year!

Monty Stover

on behalf of BIHS board and staff

To: the Editor –

The July 4th parade started as an old-fashioned neighborhood parade.

Over the years it has grown: bands, floats, Spirit of ‘76, Color Guard, clowns.

As the parade grew, so did the spectators. The chairs and tables lined up along Ocean Avenue and the crowd in town put Times Square to shame.

In an effort to reduce the possible dangers, the traditional starting point at Legion Park on the west side was moved to the Spring House - not as effective, but safer.

This year the Lions Club, the Chamber of Commerce and the business community appealed to the Double Ender Committee to use the traditional route from Legion Park to town.

At a recent Chamber of Commerce meeting, Police Chief Vin Carlone acknowledged and thanked the Lions for their generous donation towards additional officers for the day.

Speaking for the Double Ender Committee, chair Connie La Rue announced that the parade route would again be from Legion Park on the west side into town (much cheering came from Mudville)!

The American Legion Post #36 will be hosting a special ceremony honoring the Civil War Veterans from Block Island at Legion Park prior to the start of the parade.

Exact starting times will be announced later.

Yours for great parades and FIRE WORKS!

Connie LaRue, chair

Double Ender Committee

High Street