Back in June, a pair of motorcyclists waiting to turn into their driveway on Route 13 were rear-ended, winding up in the hospital with traumatic injuries. This Friday, tomorrow, there will be a benefit for them from 5:00pm to 10:00pm at the Dryden VFW on Route 13. Tickets are $20 in advance (and the article lists many places to find them) or $25 at the door.
The article also looks more deeply into issues with Route 13 and with New York State's insurance policies for motorcyclists. I suspect a lot of Dryden residents will nod their heads when they read:
Nancy said she is frustrated with -- among other things -- a straightaway stretch of Route 13 near her house and the New York State Police barracks. Drivers use the spot to pass at high speeds, she said.
"We've tried for years to get the speed limit lowered in this area," she said. There have been four fatalities in front of their house, she added, and everyone living near her has been in an accident in that area.
I tend to regard all of 13 in Dryden as dangerous - sometimes for the design of the road itself, and always because of the way people drive on it. It's especially strange that there would be a lot of speeding near the State Police barracks, but somehow it does seem to happen.
There's more on the Ithaca Wastewater Treatment Plant coverage issues, noting Dryden's 2% ownership again.
On the opinion page, there's a new set of letters to the editor:
Liam Murphy of Ithaca(actually Snyder Hill) writes to support Jason Leifer for Town Justice.
Dan Lamb of Freeville supports Jason Leifer for Town Justice.
Stu Berg of Dryden writes to support Mary Ann Sumner for Town Supervisor and David Makar for Town Board.
John Bailey of Dryden writes to protest how badly his attack question on Mary Ann Sumner was received at the Varna candidates forum.
Normally, when I report on letters to the editor, I try to describe them pretty neutrally. Unfortunately, I cannot extend that courtesy to John Bailey, both because of the way he asked his question and because of the way he tells the story here. He spent most of his time politely accusing Mary Ann Sumner of not believing in God, and when he finally got to the question, it didn't start as "her foundational values in making decisions" but rather "how you'll be making decisions affecting people that do believe in God and have faith."
Bailey is also wrong that "nor were other candidates given the opportunity to voice their opinions" - the moderator asked the other candidates if they were interested in answering, and none of them, Republicans included, wanted to answer. Perhaps they knew the question was asked in way too loaded a fashion?
As someone who quite definitely believes in God, and who believes that our faith can and should inform our values and our politics, I am utterly appalled by the confrontational approach Bailey took at the forum, and find this letter a continuation of his attack.
Posted by simon at November 1, 2007 8:42 AM in Ithaca Journal , politics (local) , roads, traffic, and transit