Editorial: Make your views known on land trust

[Swimmy]

Editorial: Make your views known on land trust

Anyone else find it absolutely hilarious that the od is bitching about 30 days? Everyone involved has had ample opportunity to comment on this application, 2.5 years to be exact! The 30 days is more than enough time to review what everyone has already been reviewing and commenting on!

Oh well, someday the crackpots will od and be replaced, hopefully by intelligent people.

[frankcor]

::sigh::

Not even the editor read the EIS? What part of "final" doesn't he understand? The time to comment was 2 years ago.

[Clipper]

There comes a time when throwing good money after bad is futile. The county has spent and spent and spent, in their campaign to discredit the OIN and to collect taxes. All this time nothing has been done to attempt to negotiate payments in leiu of taxes. Oneida county and a few towns have planted their feet and are hell bent on proving their LOSING point.

When it is all done, I predict that the OIN will be victorious in placing most, if not all of the contested land into trust, and that is only fair and equitable.

What is ironic, is the fact that the OIN has been willing to negotiate on many occasions and the county planted their feet and refused. Litigation is expensive and not always the most efficient way to reach agreement. In fact litigation may settle an issue, but leave NO agreement or resolution of conflict between parties. It may settle the legal issues, and still leave both parties with a feeling that they spent their money on nonsense and ended up with only 1/2 of the pie, which is what they should have settled for to begin with.

My idea of a solution is for the OIN to have the land they presently want put into trust, put into trust. The OIN should not be allowed to put any future land purchased into trust. They started out with 32 acres and have built an empire. The empire is large enough, and they have enough undeveloped land to take care of any venture that they would want to pursue in the near future.

I would predict that sometime in the future, there will be an amusement park operated by the OIN on some of the farmland they have purchased. They are extremely innovative and good for the area. They have gone from a bingo operation to a gambling destination, a golf destination, and a major employer in the area. The next logical move is to become a FAMILY destination with a theme park for the kids.

The OIN will put Central NY on the map again. Why not cooperate and work with them instead of against them? Jealousy and greed will get us nowhere. They are on their way up, and Oneida county doesn't have the resources or the clout to stop them.

Oneida County would be better off cutting their losses, and spending their money giving their Sheriff's Department deputies a fair and equitable contract, and moving on.

The battle with the OIN has become a personal crusade for Townsend and crew, and they have long since lost sight of what is in the best interests of the majority of county residents. Unfortunately, the money being spent on their little crusade, is coming out of the pockets of ALL county residents, not just Verona and Sherrill residents. It is being thrown into the wind on a losing proposition, when there are sewer issues, and other important infrastructure items that would benefit from the funding.

I don't know about anyone else, but I would rather see my tax money spent on improving life in Onieda county instead of pissing it down the drain in legal fees, by Townsend and company.

[Swimmy]

The only thing I would correct in that post is that the land isn't just going in to protect the empire. The whole point of the IRA is to preserve the Indian tribe's culture, ancestry, and to provide the indian tribe with the ability to self-govern and have a place to call their home. Some of the undeveloped land is ancestral in nature, some of it is to preserve their culture, etc.

Otherwise, I totally agree with you. And part of the negotiations that could be reached is that OIN agrees not to put more land into trust. In fact, they could have agreed to not attempt to foreclose their properties, accept payments in lieu of taxes in exchange for their not putting the land into trust. Additionally, they could bring back the Silver Covenant grants too.

Too bad my "elected representatives" DON'T represent me!

[Clipper]

When they first built the big building over on the old reservation, I went there and looked around at the cultural exhibits and such. There is a rich history there, and it would bring tears to your eyes just thinking that this proud tribe ended up on a 32 acre res with nothing but a few double wides and trailers. I have a friend that lives in one of the homes in the new development down the road from the old bingo hall. It is great to see them succeeding and thriving for a change.

It is ironic that nobody around Oneida would hire an indian, and now many of those same people are working FOR and indian, haha.