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Pubhsher^ Catiiieirtliie Moore
Managmg.Ej$$r;feljNr'Crowley
Lake Placid News gditdr Richard Rosentreter
News Editor Brittany Bombard
Editorials
Good news from our
e are excited by the news that North Country
Community College plans to offer a two-year
degree program in environmental science,
with which graduates would be well prepared for. future
education and careers.
North Country, with its caring faculty and with the
Adirondack^ as a brilliant backyard laboratory for
study, can do an excellent job of preparing science students for the future, at less cost to them of starting at a
four-year school. The community should also be
pleased because a well-regarded program like this
might prompt more scientific institutions to set up shop
here, boosting the economy. This field offers good jobs
that many NCCC graduates might be able to return here
to pursue. Science jobs can also often be done by
telecommuting from home, and it's been repeatedly
shown that many scientists love the residential quality
of life this area offers. Precedents include the established success of Trudeau Institute in Saranac Lake, the
continued flowering of Paul Smith's College's biology
department and the projects that have sprung from the
ashes of the former Upstate Biotech lab in Lake Placid.
All in all, the science and health fields are a good fit
for this area, as was acknowledged by the recent
Comprehensive Economic Development. Strategy drafted by the village of Saranac Lake and town of
Harrietstown.
With this science program and an overhaul being
planned for the main campus in Saranac Lake, NCCC is
on the right track.
W
Good news on
broadband access
e're glad to see Gov. Eliot Spitzer following
through on his election promise to improve
the upstate economy. His commitment to
making sure that even the most rural residents of New
York have access to broadband (high-speed) Internet is
a good step and will let the North Country be more
competitive as a location for all kinds of businesses to
set up shop and add good-paying jobs, which are badly
needed.
Although there is a broadband network in the North
Country, it is too limited and too expensive to access to
be in the realm of possibility for most people and businesses. Imagine a business' owners deciding whether to
set up a plant with hundreds of jobs here or in Albany.
They prefer the quality of life here, but they'll go to
Albany if that's where the needed utilities can be taken
for granted. Just as with the rural electrification movement of last century, this effort should be steered by
government but remain in the hands of private enterprise.
Also, as a recent Buffalo News editorial writers
astutely noted, government should ensure universal
Internet access because the Internet is the best vehicle
yet toward public access to public documents, which
the government has a duty to provide.
W
The Only Daily Newspaper
Published in the Adirondacks
Business Manager Donna Leonard
Production Manager Steve Bradley
Press Foreman Rick Burman
Circulation Manager Ruby Vann
Sports Editor Corey Kingsbury
Features Editor Andy Bates
Office: 54 Broadway, Saranac Lake, New York
Mall: P.O. Box 318, Saranac Lake, NY 12983
Phone: (518.) 891-2600
Fax:(518)891-2756
News e-mail: adenews@adirondackdailyenterprise.com
(ISSN 10972811)
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Published Monday through Saturday except Thanksgiving,
Christmas and New Year's Day by Adirondack Publishing Co Inc,
54 Broadway, Saranac Lake. New York 12983.
Cj, Ogden Nutting, president. William O. Nutting, secretary,
Duane D. Wittman, treasurer. 1500 Main St., Wheeling, W.V
(&2G07 Adirondack Publishing Co.
„
leans too heavily on
e of Jonestown massacre
1 ,1
*>-. * iv& y
1
A.
1 2 ^ Adirondack Daily
I ^ r i s ^ printed ah article by
Brge J? Bryjak titled, "Mass murder'types, part 1: from Manson to
McVeigh." Although I commend Mr.
Bryjak's efforts, I do take some exception
to his analysis of Jim Jones and People's
Temple.
Although the overall scope of his section on People's Temple (mass-death as a
result of pressure from a singular individual) is accurate, I believe-that some of his
statements hyfte article are sometimes
misleading, miscalculated and at times
patently false.
Mr. Bryjak states in his article that Jim
Jones was a "charismatic leader of a religious group." Such a label may be accurate, but only to a point. Certainly in the
early days of People's Temple, the label
"religious group" would have been an
acceptable description. Jim Jones did, in
fact,,use Christianity as a sort of springboard for his ever-evolving philosophies.
However, "Apostolic Socialism" would
replace a purely Christian Fundamentalist
foundation as Jones morphed the baseline
tenants of his organizational philosophy to
follow a more "social activist" course. By
the time People's Temple reached
Guyana, the group was, for all practical
purposes, a socio-political group living a
communal existence. By using the singu-
Guest Commentary
By Josef Dieckman
lar label qf "religious group," I believe
that Mr. Bryjak misleads readers into
flunking People's Temple was always and
forever a Christian group. Such a distinction only further exacerbates the longstanding myth that People's Temple is an
example of an "evil church" comprised of
"religious fanatics" bent on killing themselves in the name of religion. Simply put,
they were socialists, not religious zealots.
Mr. Bryjak further claims that, due to
external pressures, "Jones decided the
only way out was mass suicide."
However, at the beginning of his article,
Bryjak opens with, "Jonestown, Guyana
was the locale of one of the largest mass
murders in modern history." So which is
it? Mass murder or mass suicide? Bryjak's
failure to clarify this point may confuse
readers. His original thesis is, in fact,
"mass murder," so by labeling the events
in Jonestown a "mass suicide," Bryjak has
contradicted himself. There is, after all, a
huge distinction between the two modes.
Additionally, I find Bryjak's claim that
"those who resisted were shot or stabbed
by a loyal cadre of disciples" is unfound-
ed. Bryjak fails to cite sources for these
apparent statements of "fact." What
researchers do know is that two people in
Jonestown were shot: Jim Jones and
Annie Moore. Reports of gunfire were
made, but the reasons for the gunfire (and
the results of it) have never been proven
to have been directed at resisters.
Furthermore, in my research, I have never
come across any evidence that states
resisters were "stabbed." While it is true
that some resisters were injected with poison, there is a difference between "getting
shot" and "getting a shot." As a side note,
the fact that there were resisters who were
injected is a significant blow to the
integrity of the "mass suicide" theory.
Lastly, I find Bryjak's description of "a
loyal cadre of disciples" to be somewhat
imprecise. "Loyal"? Yes. 'vCadre"? OK.
"Disciples"? No." By labeling them as
"disciples," 1 believe that Bryjak is, again,
only further propagating the "religious
group" myth. The connotations that the
word "disciples" elicits only serve to support the tired label of "brainwashed religious cultists" that has been handed down
to the general population for nearly 30
years.
Josef Dieckman lives in Woodburn, Oregon
and can be contacted by e-mail at
joeyjosef@yahoo.com.
*
Letters to the Editor
NCPR is better for Lake
Placid than WAMC
To the editor:
The following is a reprint of a letter I
sent to Dr. Alan Chartock, CEO and president of WAMC Northeast Public Radio, in
response to learning of its bid to take over
NCPR's 91.'7 Lake Placid frequency. His
e-mail address, alan@wamc.org, is publicly available on his blog. If you feel similarly, please let him know.
Dear Dr. Chartock,.
With all due respect, there is neither a
need nor a desire to have WAMC on the
air in Lake Placid. I firmly believe that the
vast majority of Lake Placid-area residents
agree with me.
I live in Saranac Lake, but I commute to
and work in Lake Placid. NCPR is a wonderful regional station and has a limited
number of residents to draw from to support its terrific regional programming.
Lake Placid plays an important role specifically in supporting NCPR's award-win- ,
ning Adirondack coverage.
Your failure to contact NCPR general
manager Ellen Rocco before submitting
your application was a GIGANTIC misstep on your part. And frankly, it was arrogant. It reeks of predatory practice and
general disrespect for a fellow colleague in
public radio. What value would WAMC
bring to the Lake Placid region that is not
already covered by NCPR? If additional
state politics is what WAMC would offer,
this is readily available through listening to
WAMC online. If you are looking to
spread your programming, why don't you
consider lobbying NCPR to carry some of
your N.Y. state political programs?
If you continue to pursue this unnecessary expansion, I can guarantee you that
there will be a very vocal group of
resisters from this region.
Sincerely,
Chad Jemison
Saranac Lake
In our society we have a tendency to
focus on the material things, and we have
many generous community members who
are working to make sure that local children have gifts, under their trees. But what
To the editor:
about when the holidays are over? It has
I have been hearing a lot lately about
been my experience, in working with
the tax cuts proposed for Saranac Lake,
many of these children, that there is no
and the proposed closing of the Lake
• greater gift then receiving the time and
Clear Elementary School.
attention of adult who is interested in
Being a resident of Franklin County, as
hearing what they have to say, hearing
well as an alumna of Lake Clear, I am
their hopes and dreams, offering guidance
greatly opposed to the closing of the
and support along the way. There is no
school. I was told that the closing of the
better present then having some one
school will reduce taxes by a mere .03
believe in you, no matter what, and accept
percent - hardly going to make a differyou for who you are, no matter what.
ence. I think the construction practices of
Please consider giving this gift of your
the school board should be held responsitime to a child in your community.
ble, or simply looked at, prior to the closMentoring is fun, flexible and makes a
ing of a school that provided me with a
difference! To learn more, please contact
great beginning to my education.
I graduated from SLHS in 2003.1 grad- Jennifer Harry, 891-2310 or jenniferharry@citizenadvocates.net. Happy holidays!
uated seventh in my class, as the class
Jennifer Harry
president. Off the top of my head, I can
Enhanced Mentor Program coordinator
think of at least five other people that
Saranac Lake
were in my graduating class in the top 10
percent, which included both our valedictorian and salutatorian. In my opinion, a
Letter and Guest Commentary guidelines
small school such as Lake Clear is one of
Mppt tp the editof 1
the leading causes to why so many of us
• t ^ ^ ^ h i r j i u n i t y -wh#Jj||
graduated in the top 10 percent. The small
v0m$'
letters of ti^ftipi
classes, community involvement, friends
wotd^. For opinions thai Mi
and mentors are priceless to the future of
youth in our area.
aft)?, jfe&fertowrite. $ J ^ w f
Please reconsider closing such an asset
to the community.
a p i g editor's &creB6n wHSer'tb piibThank you.
lisb an article as a Guest Commentary.
Sarah Keyes
We do not pay for these articles, horjdo
Paul Smiths
they necessarily reflect the views of the
Enterprise's editorial board or staff, teach
submission may be edited for grammar,
spelling, punctuation and accuracy^and
must contain the author's first agoplast
names^ place of residence and phor^hiirnbex
for verification purposes. x y p « n ? t
To the editor:
print phone numbers.) We will;p<jm$foy
Dear community:
one article per author every 3 0 | a y s u | ^ s
It is the season for giving, and I would
we see a good reason to do o t r ^ i f ^ | i # o
like to ask that you consider giving an
consumer
complaints, please;! aa^rssis
hour of your time, once a week, to mentor
these either to the Better Business Bureau
a child in one of the Saranac Lake or
or the state Attorney General's
Tupper Lake schools.
Lake Clear Elementary
School is worth saving
Please give the gift of
your mentoring ability
How to contact our state and federal elected leaders
In Washington:
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500
Comments: (202) 456-1111
Switchboard: (202) 456-1414
(202)456-2461 fax
comments@whitehouse.gov
Sen. Charles E.. Schumer
313 Hart Senate Office
Building
Washington, DC 20510-3203
(202) 224-6542
(202) 228-4562 fax
Closest district office:
Leo O'Brien Building, Room
420
Albany, NY 12207
(518)431-4070
(518) 431-4076 fax
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton
476 Russell Senate Office
V « " ,'.••.•-.'!?',
Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202)224-4451
(202) 228-0282 fax
(202)228-0121 scheduling
request fax
Closest district office:
P.O. Box 273
Lowville, NY 13367
(315)376-6118
(315) 376-6118 fax
Rep. John McHugh
2366 Rayburn House Office
Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202)225-4611
(202) 226-0621 fax
Closest district office:
104 Federal Building
Pittsburgh, NY 12901-9723
(518)563-1406
(518) 561-9723 fax
Rep. Kirsten GlUlbrand
120. Camion House Office
Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202)225-5614
(202) 225-1168 fax
Closest district office:
333 Glen St., Suite 302
Glens Falls, NY 12886
(518)743-0964
(518) 743-1391 fax
In Albany:
Gov. Eliot Spitzer
State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224
(518)474-8390
Sen. Elizabeth O'C. Little
Room 903
State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12247
(518)455-2811
Closest district office:
305 West Bay Plaza
Plattsburgh, NY 12901
(518)561-2430
Assemblywoman Teresa R.
Say ward
Legislative Office Building
Room 940
Albany, NY 12248
(518)455-5565
Closest district office:
7559 Court St., Ropm 203
P.O. Box ?17
Elizabethtown, NY 12932
(518)873-3803
Assemblywoman Janet L.
Duprey
Legislative Office Buijding
Room 937
Albany. NY 12248
(518)455-5943
District office:
•202 U.S. Oval ,
Plattsburgh, NY 12903
(518)562-1986
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