By CINDY TUNING
Three cheers for Nate Shinagawa, 23rd Congressional District candidate for nomination! Finally! There is now a glimmer of hope to bring Amtrak back to Dunkirk.
The death of Dunkirk began when a contract with the devil was made by a mayor long ago to tear down private homes and replace them with public housing. This was done to give non-working, non-residents a free place to live. The nail in the coffin was when Amtrak no longer stopped in Dunkirk at the rail station for passengers.
Well, "urban renewal" and the public housing boom can't be undone, but the nail in the coffin can be removed.
When I was in nursing school in Utica from 1973-76, I could only take the train as far as the Buffalo station and hope someone from home could bring me the rest of the way. Many trips were cancelled because there was no one who could come to Buffalo. My mother wrote letters to our legislature, congressman and Amtrak. No deal.
How easy it would be to pack a suitcase, hop on a train and go to Boston, Chicago, New York City. The sky's the limit, or should I say the rails the limit.
I don't like to fly, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that. Train travel is the answer. Dunkirk was thriving while the trains bustled in and out of the city. Trains are more than a part of our history, they are the foundation of it. How sad now due to the lack of interest, those trains pass right by us and so does our prosperity and future.
I don't know Mr. Shinagawa, but I'm behind him 100 percent. He gets us.
Cindy Tuning is a Dunkirk resident.
