Not an asset- Daron Northeast (Scranton, California: credit, lawyer, houses)

[NYRangers 2008]

In response to the June 21 letter of Michael I. Jenkins

Not an asset

Editor: In response to the June 21 letter of Michael I. Jenkins about Daron Northeast: I am one of the bored citizens he says is trying to ruin Scranton’s future.

What I and other citizens are trying to do is to improve Scranton; we are being hindered by a majority of City Council. What Mr. Jenkins neglects to mention are the negative effects of Daron Northeast. Several neighbors have reported health problems they believe is because of the dust raised by Daron’s operation. These people had no health problems before Daron moved there.

Daron is in a KOZ zone, so they are not paying taxes. Also, the back taxes that were owed on the property were forgiven.

These negatives, especially the neighbors’ health problems, by far outweigh what little economic impact Daron is having in the city.

If Mr. Jenkins thinks Daron Northeast is so great, why doesn’t he buy a house near Daron and live there? I know he would have people standing in line to sell.

LES SPINDLER SCRANTON



Nice response letter to the Times about the silly letter by Michael Jenkins. Les is a regular speaker at council meetings and his letter is right on.

[weluvpa]

Your right on the money Ed. Les is a good guy and that previous letter was written by the mayors friends and or family members as they all are except for Pauls. I often receive nasty letters from the same group of pro Doherty writers that use the times to credit him and discredit the rest of us.

Maybe since Mr. Jenkins is a student he must have a pair of SWB rosey glasses for the Daron mess. Its easy to speak up when you are not properly informed about the truth. Its harder to prove yourself so thats why they all write to the times they only have to prove who they are not what they say.

[NYRangers 2008]

I can't believe Daron is in a KOZ zone and the city isn't get a dime from them. But they can give the city all it's pollutants. Real nice. And why were the back taxes forgiven.? Because the owner was a Doherty contributor and the administration let it slide? So corrupt. So very corrupt.

[NYRangers 2008]

Dan, I was watching the Scranton-Lackawanna Taxpayers meeting on 61 and they were talking about Daron. Bill Jackowitz mentioned that someone should go to the zoning and planning commision meetings and get the minutes of where and when they approved Daron, if they ever did at all. Some other members mentioned that if they contained the dust that Daron would be all right and it wouldn't be good if we lost jobs. That's when Lee Morgan said we shouldn't keep jobs at the expense of the health of the citizens of Scranton. I'm all for jobs too, but that plant should not be in that area around houses. Even if there wasn't any dust, the truck traffic is too much for that area. You def. know more about this topic than I do, so you probably researched every avenue.

[NYRangers 2008]

Scranton Sandstorms Are Unacceptable

Steve Corbett Reporting
corbett@wilknewsradio.com


Friday, June 29, 2007

One woman said she hasn’t opened the windows in her house for three years.

Another talked about “wheezing.”

A man spoke of his 82-year-old grandmother who is on oxygen 24-hours-a-day.

All called “Corbett” yesterday to blame the air contamination on Daron Northeast, a Scranton company that finds itself at the center of what many people believe to be a life-and-death controversy.

I don’t know if the masonry products that the company makes are responsible for anyone’s health problems.

I do know that government officials better find out.

Because they are whom the people in the area surrounding the plant depend on to protect them.

I’m not just talking about city officials.

I want state and federal pollution control agents to inspect the facility as soon as possible. I want a thorough review of procedures. I want answers and I want them now.

The shocking stories that people shared on the air yesterday seem almost too bad to be true.

One caller told me that he has contacted a lawyer after testing showed a relationship between the poor air quality in the neighborhood near the plant and an illness contracted by a family member.

I have no evidence that the link exists.

But I hope the case goes to court.

We need to know what if anything is making people sick near the plant.

And we need to know now.

Government officials have a duty to protect the people they are paid to serve.

Yet Scranton City Councilman Bill Courtright said on “Corbett” that he’s not sure if it’s his place to lead the charge on behalf of the people.

He also said that a city official told him that the plant is in compliance with all city requirements and that dust from the plant does not seem to be a problem.

I left a detailed message yesterday for plant boss David Lewis.

We’ll hopefully connect today and he’ll agree to talk about the issues on the air this afternoon.

I also want to talk with state and federal officials about past fines leveled against the plant for a variety of violations that were reported in the Scranton Times-Tribune.

But why stop there?

Not that long ago Hollywood made a movie about a crusading woman who lacked power but not the courage to take on a huge corporation that she believed was poisoning people with pollution.

Erin Brockovich became a hero in the eyes of the social justice world.

She now works as a research assistant at the same powerful California law firm that helped her take on the corporate world.

I know a California lawyer who’s friends with Brockovich.

I’ll call him today to see if she might speak with me on the air and offer her best advice to the people who live near Daron Northeast.

If nothing else, these ailing and desperate people should know that others care – even if it looks like city officials are not doing nearly enough to fight for them.

Several of them described a windstorm Wednesday that swept uncovered material from the plant’s storage area. If what they described is true, officials should consider closing the plant until corrective measures are taken.

People deserve to be protected.

Public health and safety must be guaranteed.

A once nice neighborhood is again under siege.

Sandstorms in Scranton are simply unacceptable.

We didn’t choose to live in a desert.
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WILK radio personality Steve Corbett is right on the money with the Daron issue.