To The Editor

'Two Miracles'

Happened

The rockets red glare, the fireworks bursting in the air, the chemical spill was everywhere which gave proof to the citizens of Cameron County that Emporium was still there.

Dear Citizens of Cameron County: the trains that run over your tracks carry all types of hazardous chemicals. You may not be aware but you had two miracles happen in your valley.

During my visit to Emporium during 4th of July, I have never seen the trees so green. Not since my school days of Emporium many moons ago. Your fireworks polluted the air from one end of the county to the other which was worse than second hand cigarette smoke could ever be. Even the animals new better and hid.

The chemicals in the gun powder are poisonous when inhaled. Miracle No. 1 was when the thunder and lightening brought the rain and cleared the air. Fireworks are a waste of money.

Than, you had an environmental catastrophe when a train de-railed spilling its poisonous chemicals in the Portage Creek leaking 40,000 gallons or more of sodium hydroxide killing everything that the contaminated water came in contact with.

The only good thing out of this maybe the over population of turkey vultures that migrated to Emporium who might meet their faith by drinking the water and eating the dead fish.

Citizens of Emporium, the thunder and lightening that brings the rain cleans the souls of the valley. Could you imagine, if you did not have the miracle of the rain and the chemicals lingered in the valley, and more people in the valley would have come down with respiratory diseases.

Are you sure citizens that you want strip mining in your area? I am knowledgeable about contaminations and how they effect the environment. I spent seven years on an Environmental Restoration Advisory Board for Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, California under the suspicious of Wright Patterson Air Force, Ohio.

Joseph Yore Palmdale, Cali.

'State Should Pay

More'

To the editor:

Our organization supports the proposal to raise the state's payments to local governments in lieu of taxes.

Many of our members own homes and businesses in areas affected by large amounts of state-owned forest lands. It's time the state starts paying its fair share. By doing that, it will ease the burden on local taxpayers.

Local governments should be able to benefit from the revenue generated from stateowned land through timber sales, oil and gas leases and recreational opportunities. Even a modest increase in timber sales on state-owned land would finance the increased payments. All the state agencies have to do is manage their forests a little more actively, but within the means of sustainability.

From our standpoint, we don't want to see property taxes lead to people converting forest land into other purposes, or see people selling their land to entities that won't manage it into working forests.

Our organization is also concerned about the large sums of government-owned lands. The state and federal governments own roughly 31 percent of the forestland in Pennsylvania, yet provide less than 10 percent of the resources needed annually by the forest products industry. This puts tremendous pressure on privately owned resources. It drives up the price, which makes it tough for some of our members to do business.

This is truly a rural versus urban issue. With local tax reform a big issue in Harrisburg, the increase is state payments in lieu of taxes should be part of the equation.

Paul Lyskava, Exec. Dir. Pa. Forest Products Assn.