Dear Source:
I feel compelled to respond to Mr. Pfiender's comments about his position on the Sirenusa Project as well as his unfair comments about Catherine Fahy. You obviously do not know Catherine. She is a positive, active (and happy!) community member; an active member of Rotary; and business owner. When Catherine appropriately spoke her truth to Senator Wesselhoft-she spoke for MANY St. Johnians-in fact-I believe that she spoke for the majority. I note that you are writing from NY? This leads me to think that perhaps you may not be totally aware of the situation that Sirenusa project has created. The illegal, unplanned; unorganized work by the builders have created many situations which greatly impacted the average St. John citizen.
Consequently, we have more congestion; safety issues; local people's houses have been flooded; rocks have rolled down hills because these builders have been so "disrespectful". Growth has been so rapid on St. John; building laws so ignored because of the lack of DPNR staffing; and our "system of government" so inadequate to date (I believe those internal changes are now being looked at by Gov. de Jongh) in representing St. John-that THIS project is the "poster child" of EVERYTHING that is wrong in development!
The message sent here is the wrong message. It says that money is more powerful than the general will of the people. This creates even more "frustration" between "have's and have not's"…an issue that must be addressed- as it is tearing at the basic fiber of our cultural value: Respect for people first-…not how much money you have; or people in positions of power, you know. The fact that this vote was taken at the last minute-again- like Bill #6905 has angered many St. John citizens as well!
It erodes even more, any small degree of trust in government that still exists. This is not good! Many of us have spent days going to Legislative meetings; faxing; calling…to get our voices heard- we felt so strong on this issue. Many of us work 2 and 3 jobs to feed our families and pay high rents to live here. The result-once again- is that the majority of St. Johnians have been ignored…and disappointingly by our newly elected Senator-at-Large. I am doing my personal best to understand Senator Wesselholf's "conscious choice" however I continue to be very discouraged in her decision. I understand she is a freshman; I understand she did her best; up until this vote-I was thrilled at the leadership she has demonstrated in her new position. I do not believe former Senator Craig Barshinger would have ignored the majority of our voices as this was done.
There is only one more thing to do. Our new Governor must be contacted. Please ask him to veto this Bill! We must "make lemonade out of lemons"; continue to unite St. Johnians for the betterment of the Community in which we live and work. We need to continue to have our voices heard no matter how exasperated we feel. Mr. Pfiender, thank you for providing me with the passion I feel, to respond to you.
Bonny Corbeil
St. John
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