I wish to thank Rochelle Riservato for her Plastics are Forever article in the October 28th edition of the Journal that included a summary of the presentation I made for the Marbletown Landowners Association on October 21st entitled, Plastic Waste and the Seas Around Us and would like to add a few points.

Along with small plastic pieces being deposited in Laysan Albatross chicks' abdomens, the abundance of larger plastic pieces (many of which are plastic bottle caps) can cause a stomach blockage which, if not regurgitated by the chicks, can eventually cause starvation. Unfortunately, plastic bottle caps are not recyclable.

Plastics with recycle numbers (if present, usually found on the bottom of containers) that are considered unsuitable to hold food or drink are numbered 3, 6, and 7 whereas plastic items whose recycle numbers are 1, 2, 4, and 5 have been considered to be okay.

It should also be noted that the Ulster County proposed law (Introductory Local Law No. 3 Of 2009) concerning plastic was not a tax on all plastic nor a tax at all. Rather the proposed law called for a 10 cent fee for each plastic shopping bag provided by retail stores. The fee was to be kept by the store. The proposed law only dealt with what is termed a single use plastic item � the ubiquitous plastic shopping bag. The proposed law can be found on the web at:

http://www.co.ulster.ny.us/resolutions/ILL%20No.%203%20of%202009.pdf.

Again, I thank Ms. Riservato for her coverage of the event so that those not in attendance could become aware of the ominous problems caused by plastics.

Stuart Greenfield
Stone Ridge

In our ongoing effort the support the Walker Valley Fire Company, the Walker Valley Ladies Auxiliary held their 2nd 5K Run/ Walk on October 9, 2010. Half of our profits went to benefit Sgt Eddie Ryan of Ellenville, a local Marine injured in Iraq. At that time, Eddie was planning his own run in Washington, D.C. on October 31, 2010 with the help of Marine Veteran Bryan Purcell, his personal trainer Mark Potempo, and a special bike made just for him. We were thrilled when we were told Eddie wanted to run our 5K for a practice run. It was a privilege and an honor to meet him and his parents.

I wanted to thank everyone that helped make this event a success, members of the Ladies Auxiliary, our very special fireman, and the 5K committee.

Thank you to our sponsors, Cobblestone Quik-Mart, Walker Valley Auto, Middletown Medical, Dr. John Lichtenstein, Pirog Brothers Excavating, Canadian Tree Service, Ennist Concrete, Valley Supreme Liquors, K&D Entertainment, Personalize It, Mercurio Norton and Tarolli, Gagan Funeral Home, Ellenville Regional Hospital, Fresh Start, Blanket Oil, and Saft Electric.

Thank you to all the businesses that donated to our breakfast, Shoprite Montgomery, Dolans Farms, Hoeffners, Wal-Mart, Stewarts, Casey's Beer Shack, Peters Market, Cohen's Bakery, Adams Fair Acre Farms, Fort Lox Bagels, Subway, Thruway Market, Ellenville Beverage, Price Chopper, and Sam's Club.

Debbie King
Chairman 5K Run/ Walk 2010,
Walker Valley

Frack Action USA PAC celebrated a victory over Karl Rove in the battle to reelect Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-22). While Rove's American Crossroads group blasted Hinchey with almost $600,000 spent on attack ads, Frack Action USA PAC aired its own commercial with actor Mark Ruffalo highlighting Hinchey's leadership in the drive to regulate controversial gas drilling.

"This is a victory for the citizens of New York, who have stood up in defense of their Congressman from an attack of outside corporate spending," said Frack Action USA PAC Director Susan Zimet, who also serves as a legislator in Ulster County. "Maurice Hinchey has put himself on the line and taken on very powerful foes in the gas industry, so we were happy to do what we could to stand up for him."

Frack Action USA PAC drew attention in the final days of the election season as one of only a handful of "super PACs" unhampered by previous donor limits following the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision. The Washington Post covered Frack Action USA's involvement in the Hinchey/Phillips race and described the group as a "quirky and quixotic" citizen-led venture, in comparison to the rash of secretive corporate-controlled PACs emerging in support of conservative candidates across the U.S.

Although Crossroads has denied that it targeted Hinchey for his activism on hydraulic fracturing, the gas industry is one of the top corporate donors to the Crossroads group, with $2 million contributed by just one donor, Trevor Rees-Jones of Chief Oil & Gas. Chief is of the most active companies drilling in the Marcellus Shale formation. Rove himself is spending his first day after the election addressing a luncheon crowd at the Developing Unconventional Gas East industry conference in Pittsburgh, which is expected to draw significant crowds from across the region in protest.

Frack Action USA PAC spokesperson Mark Ruffalo blogged about his support for Hinchey on The Huffington Post on election day. "I wasn't surprised when Karl Rove's American Crossroads group began pouring massive amounts of money into TV ads to defeat my congressman from rural New York State. Maurice Hinchey is at the forefront of the movement to ask questions first, before drilling. We have to stand up for the leaders who are taking a common-sense approach and advocating that we use caution instead of gambling with our most precious resources. This issue is not going away anytime soon, and neither am I."

Hinchey, who has served in Congress since 1993, has been at the forefront of the effort to regulate hydraulic fracturing gas drilling. He is the author and sponsor of the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act (FRAC Act), which would close the so-called "Halliburton Loophole" exempting hydraulic fracturing from the Safe Drinking Water Act. In contrast , Republican Candidate George Phillips said he was supportive of hydraulic fracturing.

Frack Action USA PAC's ad aired in the final week before the election in Sullivan County, Ithaca, and Binghamton on CNN, YNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. The commercial ran 10 times per day on each station for a total of 40 times per day in each market.

In the ad, Ruffalo talks about his own home in Sullivan County, which is slated for heavy development of gas reserves. Ruffalo narrates a clip of water being lit on fire at a home in Colorado in an area with heavy hydraulic fracturing, and points out that gas companies are currently not required to disclose the chemical composition of fracking fluids, due to the practice's exemption from the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Claire Sandberg
Frack Action USA