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, NOVEMBER 5, 1995 OPINION These ads will not be censored The Press-Republican has received a number of complaints because it car- ries advertisements for establishments that feature entertainment or products judged by the critics to be seamy. Let's examine the issue. The critics indicate that, as a family newspaper with an audience repre- senting the entire spectrum of age, gender and worldliness, we should aim our offering at the highest common denominator. Our objective is to present informa- tion a wide range of tastes would find interesting and important, bearing in mind the sensibilities of all. We go far out of our way to subdue and, some- times, delete matter we regard as un- suitable for public consumption. We do this with the spirit of the First Amendment guiding us. Censor- ship is anathema to us and at odds with our mission. The specific ads are for the Gosselin Hotel across the border from Rouses Point and Triple A, which sells adult videos and literature outside Platt- sburgh. The hotel offers nude dancing on its entertainment menu. Critics say we shouldn't publicize that menu. In the first place, there is nothing lewd or seamy about the ads. The photographs certainly are not. More- provocative photos can be found in lingerie ads, yet we hear no complaints about them. The fact that the ads specify that nude dancing is taking place and that adult entertainment is on sale are points of information. Some people will choose to avail themselves; others will choose not to. That is their right, with which we wouldn't presume to in- terfere. We wonder if the people who would seek to censor the ®oSselih ads out of the paper would oppose nudity in any form, including |%|%y magazine and Venus de Milo., If xiot, at what point does acceptable stop and unacceptable start? But perhaps more troubling is the possibility that the censorship will ex- tend beyond ads for nighteries that feature nude dancing. While nudity is those critics' particular bugaboo, for others it might be tobacco, flag-burn- ing, gun sales or other evils, real or perceived. Whose tastes will rule? In fact, if people are upset with Tri- ple A or the Gosselin and their offer- ings, their redress is not with us but with the municipality that allows them to conduct business. From our standpoint, the right to say a legally sanctioned activity is available must be protected, even if that activity isn't something to which we would gravitate. If we were to tell the proprietors of Triple A and the Gosselin they were barred from sending their message via the Press-Republican, not only would we be violating the spirit of the First Amendment, we would be inviting the stampede of censorship that would be impossible to contain. The ads meet our standards for decency. If you think the activities do not meet yours, we encourage you to stay away and not participate. However, remember that some peo- ple feel just as strongly that the activi- ties are not. only permissible, but desirable. Their stand is no less valid than any other. ANY LAST WORDS? ESI LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Inmates get no sympathy It's difficult to sympathize with fed- eral-prison inmates who are angry because of a tougher set of laws being enforced around the nation. At the risk of sounding simplistic about the whole thingt--©on't commit crimes, and no- body will bother you. The Federal Correctional Facility in Ray-Brook-has-hacLta lock its inmates into their cells lately because of the threat of disturbances. This threat ap- parently coincides with real distur- bances in federal prisons in four other states this month. Inmates are irate over mandatory sentences for certain* offenses, man- datory life sentences without parole for a third conviction and cuts in spending for education and recreation inside the prisons. As for the first two, America de- mands reductions in crime. Getting criminals off the streets is a goal vigor- ously embraced by the overwhelming majority of people. Commit a crime, you'll get locked up. Commit it again and again, and sayonara. We want you behind bars. As for the third beef, inmates can -feel^4ike^aainstreanx.Americ£Ljori. that one. Budget cuts are just as infuriating to law-abiding citizens as they ap- parently are to non-law-abiding ones. Race was also mentioned as a factor in the disturbances. If there is an un- warranted disparity in how black criminals are treated vis-a-vis white inmates, the prison system had better address it. America will demand it. But, as for the fact that life is tough inside prison, that was the idea. What the others are saying ... A sampling of recent editorial op- nion from newspapers aeross New York state: The Schenectady Gazette on state constitutional amendments: Tucked away at the top of the ballot this Election Day will be four proposals to amend the New York State Constitution. One of them, Proposal Three, is a dubi- ous measure that is being billed as \debt reform.\ But the three others should be approved by voters. Proposal Two is the oddest of these. For example, it lowers the voting age to 18, even though the voting age has been 18 throughout the country since 1971, when the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed. What Proposal Two would do is make the state constitution consistent with fe.deral law in this and other arteas of voting rights. The only significant paift relates to the Motor-Voter law, which passed recently at the fed- eral level. If state law is not ad- justed accordingly — which this amendment would do — the state could be stuck with having to maintain two voting lists: one for federal elections, and one for the rest. This would be an expen- sive and unwieldy process that is worth avoiding. Proposal Four involves a land swap in the Adirondacks. It re- quires a constitutional amend- ment because it would involve the state giving up any part of the Forest Preserve, which it is constitutionally barred from do- ing. The state would convey 12 acres to the town of Keene, to be used as a cemetery. In exchange, it would get 144 acres from the town, as well as an easement restricting developing on neighboring land. Thus, the deal would be good for the environ- ment as well as serving the town's needs. Proposal One would have no Press-Republican 170 Mugiret Si, Plitdburgh, N.Y. 12901 (USPS 443-240) The Republic.n 1811, Till! Pteu 1894, The Piett-RepuUlcu 1942 Brenda J. Taliroio *.\ Publlihei . •*, Diniel B. Swift, Gcietal Manage! Sean T. McNimin, Mukttaj-Salaa MutMt Lynwn 0. Bwrio, GUa*lfitd AdvwtUinf Maoagar G«r» Rock, Ratall Advwtiaing Managir Chrti ChriitUn, Circulation Manaftr C«th«rfn« A. DuquatU, Controller Virgil L. CtoM, PrtM Foramen Danlal L. Thaytr, Production Managw Junta O. Fr«ny«, Distribution Suparviaor James D. Dyhko, Editor Robert J. Gridy, Miruginf Editor Lois M. demon!, News Editor Bruce Rowland, Buitaeia Editor John Down, Deaign Edttot Robert 0. Goctz, Spottl Edltot David Puzik, Photo Editor Dirniin Fanelli, Sunday Editor Publiahed daily «ach moraine nctpt cwtaln holiday! at 170 Mutant StrMt, Plattaburtb, N.Y. Telephone 561-2300? Second daaa poatag* paid at Plattaburgh, N.Y. 12901. Tht Prtaa-RnmbUcan la published by the PlatUburgh Publlahing Company DivUion of Ottaway Nawapapwt, Inc. National Advwtiaing BmnatnUUn: Fapnt Companla., 400 North StrSat Paul No. BOO, Dallas, Texw 75201-3119, Ana Cod* 214-969-0000. Subscription ratea by U.S. Mail $195.00 one yw; $107.90 aim months! $63.95 Uu«* .months. (Mail retei not applicable in anas aarvad by carrlar or motor dallvwy). Bats* for all other placaa and tptcial out-of-town ierviceman rates on raquttt. -. > . I impact on upstate New York. It expands jurisdiction of the New York City Civil Court and District Court, enabling them to handle claims of up to $50,000. It is periodically necessary because of inflation, to adjust such figures upward. These three proposals are good housekeeping measures, ad- dressing local needs and making government work more rational- ly. Unlike Proposal Three, the \revision of state's borrowing practices,\ they do not contain controversial features subject to various interpretations. Pro- posals One, Two and Four should be adopted. The Ithaca Journal on com- munications with the state: The opportunity to criticize state government is like shooting fish in a barrel. It might even be funny, if it didn't cost taxpayers so much. Allwash of Syracuse cleans up oil spills and has done jobs at Therm Inc. and other firms for the state Department of En- vironmental Conservation. While no one disputes the quality of their work, Allwash officials were also cleaning up at the pay win- dow, billing New York for over- time that employees were not paid and niislabeling worker categories and charging the state for higher wages. The DEC, to its credit, withheld $110,773 from Allwash's claim. To its discredit, the state didn't tell other agen- cies that Allwash was pulling some fast ones. Albany's alibi: There isn't a system for Agency A to tell Agency B that Company Y has ripped off New Yorkers. Allwash has been awarded several state contracts, totalling more than $4.2 million since 1990. Responsible government To the Editor: For the past sev- eral years, our City of Platt- sburgh's governing body has been so involved in internal conflict that true progress has been very difficult. It is time for a change! Mark Dame has been a consis- tent supporter of good and responsible government. He ran for alderman in Ward I, not to seek higher office, but to make a contribution. And ... as we all know he did. In concert with, and often as the leader of the \majori- ty of four\ (Gary Walker, Don Kasprzak and Bob Heinz), Mark brought some sense of control back, to a budget and tax rate that was out of control. Mark is also a team player. As mayor of our city, Mark Dame will pay attention, listen to and work with his fellow council members. He has a keen sense of the \meat\ of an issue and as the team leader will keep the council focused on what is important to the City of Plattsburgh and to us as residents. We have been fortunate for . many^years ^<3 be represented by responsible anxf rqonsefvifEive\ legislators Ron Stafford and Chris Ortloff in our State Senate and Assembly, and John McHugh in Congress. Recently, our North Country voters helped to elect a governor who has pledged to work with our repre- sentatives to make our state more efficient. Mark Dame will work with this team, not against it, for the betterment of Platt- sburgh. With our Air Base loss and po- litical turmoil across our border, this is a critical time, for Platt- sburgh. We urge you to elect Mark Dame as our next mayor of Plattsburgh. He is a proven lead- er and a team player. He will be effective in making Plattsburgh a model that other small cities will look to. Phillip and Maryann Green Plattsburgh Taxpayer groups join To the Editor: Representatives of four major taxpayer groups in Essex County met recently to discuss joint action at the county and state level. Present at the meeting, held in AuSable Forks on Oct. 14, were officers from Ticonderoga's Association of Con- cerned Taxpayers (ACT), the Moriah Taxpayers' Association, the Saranac Lake Taxpayers Association, and the AuSable Valley Taxpayers Association Inc., whose president, Joseph DeMarco, served as moderator. The 14 attendees exchanged views and related the experience of the individual groups in their home areas on a wide range of tax issues. They concluded that combining forces county-wide would strengthen their efforts to represent taxpayer interests at hte county and state levels. The attendees felt that the most pressing need at hte mo- ment is to reform the school fun- ding system to reduce the in- creasing overdependence on the real property tax. Mandate relief is also essential. A delegation will be formed to work with state legislators and other officials in Albany on these and other im- portant issues. This delegation could be expanded to include other North Country taxpayer representatives and will be po^ litically non-partisan, Attendees recognized that legislative solu- tions will require bi-partisan support. The Press-Republican wel- comes letters to the editor. All letters must be signed (except e-mail) and include the address and telephone number of the author. Letters must not contain more than 300 words. They should be typewritten. Those letters not meeting the criteria will not be published and will be returned. The Press-Repub- lican reserves the right not to publish letters it judges to be inappropriate. By mail: Letters to the Editor Press-Republican P.O. Box 459 Plattsburgh, N.Y. 12901 By e-mail: PRepub@aol.com ^i There was also considerable discussion of the Essex County Landfill situation. Concern was expressed that the Board of Supervisors might be tempted to seize on a \quick fix\ that could be disadvantageous in the long run. It was agreed to monitor de- velopments closely. The attendees agreed to meet as needed to plan action on these and other issues facing local tax- payers. Anyone seeking additional in- formation or wishing to comment may call Joseph DeMarco (AuSable Forks) at 647-5107. Joe DeMarco AuSable Forks 'Yes' vote urged To the Editor: From the League of Women Voters of the Town of Plattsburgh Area and the resi- dents of the Town of Keene: Vote \yes\ on Item 4 Amend- ment on Nov. 7th ballot: ex- change of state lands: an Amendment to Article XTV, Sec- tion 1, of the New York State Constitution. The amendment would authorize the state to convey to the Town of Keene, population 910, 12 acres of land for public use as a cemetery. The land is an abandoned farm ,not directly connected to other state land. In exchange, the town would convey to the state 144 acres of forest and, together with an easement over some town land in order to restrict further devel- opment. These acres are on the side of Baxter Mountain fronting on the east branch of- the AuSable River and contingent to state wilderness. The League of Women Voters of New York State has no posi- tion on this ballot issue. Howev- er, the state League of Women Voters has an overall position supporting \sound local land use planning throughout the park\ and supporting preservation of open space. The Plattsburgh League of Women Voters and the residents of the Town of Keene urge you 1 to vote \yes\ on the Constitutional Amendment for the following reasons: The 144 acres deeded to the state will increase \forever wild\ lands of the state held for recre- ational use by all its people. i C Possible future development by private or commercial inter- ests of this riverfront is prevented. The traditional, local \swimming hole\ is protected. ! „ Other land swaps have been made in the past of private lands for forest preserve land. This does not set a precedent. The state will pay annual amounts to the town in lieu of taxes. The town gains badly needed land for extension of its ceme- tery. The exchange is supported by the Keene Town Board, the Keen^ Town Planning Board, and by statewide organizations: the Residents Committee to Protect the Adirondacks, the Adirondack Mountain Club, the Association for the Protection of the Adiron- dacks and the Adirondack Coun- cil. . , . - A public hearing was held in Keene, Sept. 25, with no speakers opposing the exchange., Constance Miller Keene Valley Person to depend on —To- theEdiioK-I-am-writing this letter in support of Chris Rotella for re-election to the Common Council representing Ward 5. : In all the years that I have known Chris, I have known her to be a person I could depend on. She has always spoken to me in a straightforward manner, helping me find options I couldn't find myself. She has shown me un- parrelled integrity and common sense in dealing with people and situations. Her high level of energy and passion for a project has proven to me that she is a leader in the political arena that can be trusted to get the job done. These qualities of integrity, common sense, energy and pas- sion are attributes that need to be kept working for the future of our community. I will vote for the re-election of Chris Rotella knowing that our community's future is in capable hands. Gabriel M. Calvelo Plattsburgh Forfeiture called for To the Editor: In your recent article concerning the sentencing of a local sub shop owner for sales of cocaine on said shop premises, it was reported that the sub shop is up for sale. My question is why is this property not subject to forfeiture? In this age of people losing homes for cultivation of marijuana (a natural substance which in and of itself never killed anyone) for personal use, why is this person allowed to retain their home and business for distribution of a pro- cessed compound capable of death from a single use (remem-. berLenBias)? It would seem forfeiture stat- utes were tailor-made for this type of criminal enterprise. The location of, this storefront could be utilized as a teen drop-in or rec center and the proceeds from the sale of a home on Cumberland Head could go a long way in funding DARE and DWI programs, no to mention body armor for our police. Robert Kryvanis Plattsburgh Mora letters PageC-9
