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From: Skywayinc@AOL.COM
Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 07:35:14 EDT
Subject: [ASTRO] "Stellafane Prison"
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Thought I would pass along a comment about the recent vote on building a state prison next to Stellafane by Sky & Telescope columnist John E. Bortle.
Yes...Stellafane will certainly suffer. Living so close to the Green Haven facility (near Stormville in Dutchess County, New York), myself, I can appreciate much better the impact than can most others. Just wait until the residents of Springfield find out how little such a facility will contribute to the local economy. Sometimes you get what you deserve!
To add: If the Springfield residents themselves do not care about natural places in their own town, should they then go to rot just because they don't want "outsiders" taking care of places they don't? Outsiders, carpetbaggers? What is this, the nineteenth century?
It is also a shame that the town chooses a prison as a way to try and boost their economy, rather than with something more positive and productive. View Michael Moore's film Roger and Me to see how not to boost the sagging economy of a US town in trouble.
Regards - John
At 08:26 PM 09/15/1999 -0400, Michael S. Lorrey wrote:
>Larry Klaes wrote:
>>
>> >STM-Secretary@home.com wrote:
>> >
>> >> To All:
>> >>
>> >> The revote results are in. The prison vote has passed by a wider margin
>> >> than before. 2345 For and 1535 Against. Springfield has chosen the
State's
>> >> offer to build a prison. We must respect the democratic will of the
>> >> majority.
>> >>
>
>As a person who lives about 30 miles from Springfield, I cannot be
>happier. While I am as pro-science as anybody, the Stellafane people are
>mostly out of staters trying to inject their unwanted two cents into
>local politics (and Vermonters have gotten sick and tired of
>carpetbaggers), and with total disregard for the local economic
>situation. Springfield is one of the most depressed areas of Vermont,
>and has been that way since the collapse of the US machine tools
>industry 20 years ago. There are plenty of better sites in Vermont and
>New Hampshire to view the sky from. I suggest they contact the Astronomy
>Dept. at Dartmouth College in nearby Hanover, NH for help in locating a
>new site. I know, for instance, that the college owns a whole township
>in the northern tip of New Hampshire that they just use for student and
>alumni camping and logging to support native american scholarships. I
>have a hunting cabin about 30 yards outside their township (Called the
>Second College Grant) and can vouch for the outstanding quality of the
>night sky there. For access to 'The Grant', you can contact Earl Jette
>at the Dartmouth Outing Club in Hanover, as the DOC controls
>recreational access...
>
>Mike Lorrey
>