Letters to the Editor
Published: January 7, 2010
Reckless hunting behavior
To the Editor:
I am the person who was recently injured in the hunting accident at the State Forest on Martha's Vineyard. I am writing in the hope that someone who knows the stupid and ignorant people who walked into the middle of our hunt and began spraying the woods with buckshot will remind them that what they did was reckless and almost killed a physician, father of three and grandfather of eight.
After a 10-minute ride to the emergency room, I developed respiratory distress and was intubated by Dr. [Tim] Tsai and eventually transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital by helicopter and cared for by a trauma physician who had recently returned from Iraq with the Special Forces.
I am home now recuperating. A pellet struck my neck but missed most of the vital structures and lodged in my vertebra, where it remains. It is only through the grace of God that I am alive and functioning.
I will not go into all of the miracles that have aided my recuperation; however, please be advised that there are a confluence of events, each of which is a miracle.
Again, for the ignorant people who invaded our hunt, I hope that they are apprehended only so that this will never happen again. They have destroyed a 50-year history of deer hunting and camaraderie between my predecessors and the Islanders, especial the Ben David family, whose children have maintained this friendship.
Joseph R. Asaf, MD
Centerville
The issue is offshore wind turbines
To the Editor:
Okay, time to jump in the waters, so to speak. The issue of wind power development in the state waters as mapped in the Ocean Plan has brought a certain amount of rare cohesiveness in the Island's response to it.
As our community is nearest to the Cape Wind Project, having another large commercial venture staring us in the face in an area considered so important to Islanders is just unacceptable. Having no control over what goes on in those waters is even more so. That being said, there is now the issue of working cooperatively with the federal Minerals Management Service Taskforce on future sites of wind turbines in the federal waters abutting Vineyard state waters.
In meetings I have attended with state officials, I came away with the impression that major wind power development will not take place in the state waters off the Vineyard. Several things that were said by them alluded to that. In fact, the quick acquiescence of state officials on the sovereignty of the MVC over Vineyard waters just enforces my view.
Is there the possibility of some development in the state waters? I would answer yes, but if that were to happen it will be on a small scale, perhaps a type of community/private collaboration. In a conversation I had with a Cuttyhunk official, he as much as said the same thing.
Also, the MVC will be able to regulate the scope of any local development. The Ocean Plan only allows existing approved technology to be utilized in the state waters. This is another constraint for developers, as future turbines will be much taller, create more power and can be sited in deep waters where they don't have to deal with as many local permitting issues.
The state has actually taken an extraordinary step and facilitated allowing the Vineyard community substantial representation on the Minerals Management Service Taskforce, and while that taskforce may not have the final say in offshore federal wind development, I believe its recommendations will be an important cog in that process. Development appears to be inevitable in the federal waters. Rhode Island is already entering into agreements with private developers in those self-same waters, so it makes sense to work with this taskforce to site turbines in the least intrusive locations from economical, environmental, and visual standpoints.
I certainly agree that the state's Ocean Plan is flawed in some of its assumptions, but that has little to do with what is happening beyond the state limits. To dwell on those flaws in discussions concerning the future of development in federal waters serves little purpose except to be ultimately tuned out of the discussion. It is far better to try and engage the federal officials in a meaningful dialogue, especially early on in the process. There certainly is nothing to be lost by participating in that dialogue.
Tristan Israel
Tisbury
Sold out
To the Editor:
I agree with Michael Scarborough, in the December 31 Letters to the Editor ("Island tradesmen disadvantaged").
Why are union contractors hiring illegals or Brazilians? I just don't understand in this economy, and millions out of work, companies still practice the hiring of illegals.
Look in the hospital: what do you see? I thought there are fines for such practices. Where is Immigration Services, again?
Jerry Stelle
Oak Bluffs
Regarding an uniformed critic
To the Editor:
John Abrams owes David Wiley and the people of Martha's Vineyard a public apology.
I personally filed the lawsuit with two other neighbors - neither of which was David Wiley. John Abrams caused the people of Martha's Vineyard to lose money, not David Wiley.
I would be honored to debate Mr. Abrams regarding the same.
Kudos to a concerned citizen, David Wiley. Shame on the developer, John Abrams.
Francis X. Crowley
Edgartown
Retail, actually
To the Editor:
Let us please remember that Morning Glory Farm (MGF) is a retail operation selling mostly produce trucked in by Sid Wainer and Sons. The farm stand is a facade for the retail business. Also known as a storefront. I am a resident of the MGF neighborhood, and I have listened to Jim Athearn shun a bikepath along the most dangerous stretch of Mashacket Road and shun the need for town sewering of local neighborhoods. He has plowed under perfectly fine produce rather than donating it and dump tons of nitrogen and pesticides on the fields via the compost pile which is merely a dump where Island landscapers bring their lawn cuttings from the most heavily treated lawns around. Seems Mr. Athearn is really skilled at presenting and selling his bill of goods.
Edward Klien
Edgartown
