Army Corps Needs to Rethink Flooding Feasibility Study Mental
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Page 4 Thursday, October 3, 2019 The Westfield Leader and The Scotch Plains – Fanwood TIMES A WATCHUNG COMMUNICATIONS, INC. PUBLICATION ABCDICTIONOPQRSTDECEPTIONUVWXYZ The Westfield Leader The Scotch Plains – Fanwood Letters to the Editor — Established 1890 — TIMES Since 1959 DD Union County Freeholders Urge Action TM Legal Newspaper for the County of Union, New Jersey DD and for Westfield, Mountainside, Scotch Plains, Fanwood, Cranford and Garwood On Rahway River Flood Control Diction Deception Members of: Below are four arcane words, each New Jersey Press Association • National Newspaper Association • Greater Westfield Area Chamber of Commerce Union County, NJ – The Union County and other stakeholders in with four definitions – only one is cor- Scotch Plains Business & Professional Association • Fanwood Business & Professional Association County Board of Chosen Freeholders Rahway River flood control were able rect. The others are made up. Are you has responded to a recommendation to keep funding available. In 2015 the sharp enough to discern this deception of Periodicals – Postage Paid at Rahway, New Jersey by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Army Corps of Engineers even agreed diction? P.O. Box 250 • 251 North Avenue, West which effectively halts a decades- to place the study on a priority track,” If you can guess one correctly – good Westfield, N.J. 07091 long planning process for flood con- said Freeholder Chair Kowalski. “It guess. If you get two – well-read indi- Tele: (908) 232-4407 • E-mail: [email protected] • Web: www.goleader.com • Fax: (908) 232-0473 vidual. If you get three – word expert. If trol in the Rahway River Basin. Last is unacceptable for USACE to re- you get all four – You must have a lot of POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the offices of the newspapers at July, the Army Corps of Engineers verse course, without warning, and free time! P. O. Box 250, Westfield, New Jersey 07091 abruptly notified the New Jersey De- literally invent a reason for doing so.” All words and correct definitions partment of Environmental Protec- In its recommendation, USACE come from the board game Diction Published every Thursday by Watchung Communications, Inc. tion that work on the flood control stated that “locally imposed con- Deception. Paul Peyton Horace R. Corbin Jeff Gruman plan is no longer merited. straints and lack of acceptance of the Answers to last week’s arcane words. ASSIGNMENT EDITOR PUBLISHER SALES MANAGER “After 20 years of genuine progress, alternatives proposed has severely 1. Gyneconitis – A place or apartment Suzette F. Stalker David B. Corbin Michael L. Bartiromo USACE halted the study for no dis- limited the scope of our solutions.” reserve for women COMMUNITY ASSISTANT PUBLISHER & SPORTS MARKETING PRODUCTION cernible reason. We strongly urge the “In fact, the opposite is true,” said 2. Saurophagous – Subsisting on liz- Christina M. Hinke Ben Corbin Robert P. Connelly Army Corps of Engineers to resume Freeholder Chair Kowalski. “Union ards EDUCATION & ARTS SERVICES BUSINESS OPERATIONS work on this critical matter of public County has worked cooperatively all 3. Isopiestic – Indicating equal pres- sure safety and economic security for com- along with Essex County and the 4. Kopje – A hill with a steep side and SUBSCRIPTION PRICE www.goleader.com/subscribe munities throughout our region,” said Mayors whose communities lie within a flat top One-year – $44 • Two-year – $84 • Three-year – $122 Union County Freeholder Chair Bette the Rahway River Basin, and we Jane Kowalski. achieved consensus on a plan devel- ZADDICK The planning process has been un- oped by USACE.” 1. In Judaism, a righteous and just man der way since 1999, after Congress Freeholder Chair Kowalski out- 2. An arrow or arrowhead Army Corps Needs to Rethink approved funds for a feasibility study lined Union County’s concerns in a 3. A type of sweet onion for flood control in the Rahway River letter to New Jersey DEP Commis- 4. A water wheel with buckets CHEONGSAM Basin. The Rahway River Basin cov- sioner Catherine R. McCabe, dated 1. A Chinese warlord of the seventh ers more than 81 square miles within September 24, urging DEP to reject through tenth century Flooding Feasibility Study the New York metropolitan region, the recommendation to halt the feasi- 2. Chinese high-necked, closefitting After years in the making, officials learned last Essex Counties for years have worked coopera- including parts of Union and Essex bility study. dress with the skirt part way up the sides counties. “We strongly believe that taking no 3. A Chinese playwright month that the United States Army Corps of Engi- tively on a plan developed by USACE New York The action by Congress followed a action, as proposed by USACE, is an 4. A Chinese saber of the Han Dynasty neers (USACE) moved, without warning, to kill the District.” She noted that plan, known as Alternative series of destructive floods dating unacceptable outcome of the feasi- ABDAL Rahway River Flood Risk Management Feasibility 4a, supported by the above groups, was rejected in back to 1938, impacting Cranford, bility study process,” she wrote. 1. A carpet maker Study. The local region, especially Cranford, has July of 2018 “totally without warning” by USACE. Rahway and other communities. More “Union County residents and tens of 2. An Arabic street vender 3. A Mohammedan fanatic sustained significant flood damage over the years According to the Mayors Council, Cranford sus- recently, severe flooding occurred thousands of people throughout the 4. An Islamic cleric from Hurricane Floyd in 1999 to Hurricane Irene in tained “over $4-million in damage” from Hurricane during Tropical Storm Floyd in 1999, region are counting on us, and we POMOLOGY 2011. The financial loss from Irene alone exceeded Irene including damage to Brookside Avenue School a springtime nor’easter in 2007, and must fulfill our obligation to protect 1. The study of the various types of soil $75 million, according to the Mayors Council and Cranford High School; the first floor of the Hurricane Irene in 2011. life and property, among the most 2. The art or science of raising fruit Rahway River Watershed Flood Control. Cranford Municipal Building which was damaged “By working with the vigorous sup- basic responsibilities of our govern- 3. The study of widespread epidemics The Rahway River Watershed encompasses 41 and deemed unusable. In addition, 1,600 homes port of U.S. Senators Robert ment to the people we serve.” of catastrophic proportions Menendez and Cory Booker over the 4. The art of fermenting flowers or square miles of urban and suburban area in 24 were impacted, with 300 first floors damaged with Bette Jane Kowalski grasses to produce wine or liqueur years, and more recently U.S. Repre- Chair, Union County Board of municipalities in Essex, Union and Middlesex coun- an estimated $16.5 million in homeowner losses. sentative Tom Malinowski, Union Chosen Freeholders ties in central New Jersey including Cranford, Spring- The Cranford Canoe Club was also severely dam- Policy on Political field, and Millburn as well as the City of Rahway. aged. Eighty homes in Springfield sustained severe Reader Advises That All Residents Endorsements Alternatives considered included channel improve- flood damage adding up to $8 million in damages The newspaper will publish politi- ments in Cranford and modification to the Orange from Irene with businesses sustaining another $2.3 Should Scrutinize Their Tax Bill cal endorsements in its online media, Reservoir dam spillway in West Orange as well as a million in flood damages. A word of advice, we recommend you ment. So our borough operating costs run available with download of the news- nonstructural plan in the 10-year floodplain for the “They (USACE) state the study has been going on should always scrutinize the property tax much higher, but is offset downward. paper at www.goleader.com. Submit- Robinson’s Branch in Rahway. for 17 years. But that was the initial assessment bill when it comes in. There is a total “One shots” are a dangerous slope once tals should be emailed to USACE notified the New Jersey Department of which was a short review at a $50,000 cost. It has dollar amount noted right near the center they disappear. [email protected]. of the tax bill. But that is not the same The school district end: UP 4.2 per- Environmental Protection (NJDEP) on September only been since 2013 with the Mayors and federal amount when you add up the four cou- cent. But the BOE said it was only 1.9 Those who would like their politi- 18 that further plans to protect the area along the support from Senators and Congressman that the pons, which you will be paying forward. percent? Why? It depends how our con- cal endorsements also published in Rahway River from future flooding was not war- study has reviewed alternatives, “ said Dan Surprise. The coupons actually add up struction debt is spun. Last year, we had the printed newspaper can do so by ranted because “locally imposed constraints and Aschenbach, a former Cranford mayor and member to more. This is due to the school’s fiscal a “one-shot deal” out of our capital that using the paid service at https:// lack of acceptance of the alternatives proposed has of the Mayors Council. year does not match the municipal and offset our debt service lowering the total www.goleader.com/form/ county’s fiscal year. Plus going into the impact to .5 percent. But just the district bulletin.htm. severely limited the scope of our solutions,” accord- The flooded sustained from powerful hurricanes first half of the next year (2020) there is operations tax impact went up 2 percent. We publish letters to the editor in ing to a letter from Union County Freeholder Chair and tropical storms is likely to only continue in the some estimation done by the local fi- This year, that one-shot deal was no more the printed newspaper on issues of Bette Jane Kowalski, a Cranford resident, to New years ahead.