By BERT COPIAE
A few years ago, my friend sent a satirical letter to a supervisor of one of our many northern townships in the county.
The town was experiencing some minor financial difficulty. My friend suggested the answer to the township's problems was to build an UFO maintenance and servicing facility within the town limits. He emphasized they could have another Roswell, N.M., tourist destination as well.
Recently, the OBSERVER published an article saying a grant was forthcoming to extend the runway at the Dunkirk Airport at the cost of $2.4 million. This is on top of other money spent including $302,000 for design work.
Guess what? Most runways I've landed on are in a straight line. There definitely shouldn't be a need to spend $300K to figure that out.
These grants are paid by our tax money. They are supposed to justify the public good and to benefit the majority of us.
For the most part, things like sports arenas, transit systems and airports don't meet this standard. A small airport like the Dunkirk facility doesn't even come close.
Our politicians and government are failing us in this particular endeavor.
When I left this area in the late '60s, things were relatively well managed. When I returned 10 years ago, they had become dysfunctional. Today if it wasn't such a tragedy, it would be comical to see how we are being maneuvered. The runway extension is an epitome of self-serving.
We are being manipulated to benefit a very small number of people. What is happening may not be criminal but it is definitely unethical. It's time to stop this nonsense and waste.
How many of your readers have actually flown in and out of the Dunkirk Airport? We can stop this extraordinary waste of money. Let the politicians know of this moronic scheme. In the interim, let's welcome the UFOs.
Bert Copiae is a Fredonia resident
