Bury him, and more importantly his editors, in mail people. Don't sit there and be silent. Stand up make some NOISE! Speak now or its one more brick in the wall between you and your riding areas!
Text of my letter:
I am outraged and sickened by the latest filth to spew from the twisted mind of Fred LeBrun. I can only hope that he didn't really mean to say what was printed in his "Landowner has right to fight ATVs" column and that the typist garbled his text because she had trouble reading it due to the color of crayon LeBrun used. The fact that the editors allowed it to go to print casts doubt on their intelligence as well. But lets look at the facts.
Mr. LeBrun when a weapon is discharged at an unarmed person, as was done by Mark Ferran, its called assault with a deadly weapon, and its illegal. When you place boards studded with nails on a trail, as was done by Mr. Ferran, its called reckless endangerment, and it is also a crime. These acts are considered criminal BECAUSE SOMEONE COULD GET KILLED! Mr. Ferran may not like ATV users on his property but that does not give him the right to respond with deadly force. If Mr. Ferran is serious about keeping ATVers off his property and the posted signs and the police aren't doing their jobs then he should learn about a wonderful invention called a fence. Its a lot cheaper than jail time in the long run.
Mr. LeBrun makes the observation that, "It strikes me America is not the land of bearing with it when it comes to injustice." So lets talk about injustice for a moment. In 1986 the state legislature passed the original OHV Registration and Trail Funding Act. In 1990 after raising more than $500,000 dollars for trail construction and maintenance that were never spent the fund was abolished, the monies were moved to the general fund but the registration requirement remains. Since then an estimated $5 Million has been stolen out of the pockets of OHV owners in the State of New York for absolutely no benefit. That's called taxation without representation and if I recall this country went to war over that. Injustice indeed. We are NOT terrorists Mr. LeBrun, we are the victims of corrupt environmental special interest groups and the state government they've hog-tied.
Here's a dose of reality (something not often found in your column). NY has the 6th largest OHV economy in the USA (source: MIC, 2000). That is hundreds of thousands of people spending millions of dollars in the New York state economy. Other states have already realized the benefits to dealing with OHVs in a rational manner. States like Michigan, which has over 3,000 miles of OHV trails, know that the income from OHV tourism has a real benefit to local economies and the state's bottom line. They also realize that properly managed OHV trails have a minimal environmental impact. In fact in 1993 the Department of Environmental Conservation published a position statement that recommends that trails "be established...to provide a recreational opportunity to a sizable constituency which has expressed the need for a place to ride ATV's."
Mr. LeBrun, in closing allow me to make a suggestion. You should take an opinion writing course from a reputable instructor. The point of a persuasive essay is to make solid, persuasive arguments based in facts, not to spout Earth First propaganda while foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog. You should also take a course in critical thinking, it will help you sort valid arguments from emotional propaganda. Also, you may want to give up granola cold turkey and take a small vacation where you go spend some time with people who work for a living. The experience will give you a whole new perspective. In the meantime please turn in your crayons to the editor.
Dave Kennel
Watkins Glen, NY
Here's the email addresses I use:
editor@timesunion.com;
postmaster@timesunion.com;
flebrun@timesunion.com
SPEAK NOW OR FOREVER LOSE YOUR RIGHT TO RIDE
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"MIS, how may I abuse you."
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