Since our inception the Standard has loudly and proudly advocated for local business and promoted community. We have advocated for local farmers, informed decision making, and open and responsible government. One of our underlying motivations has been the promotion of a local economy and appropriate economic development. We think that this is good for business and good for our community.
A less public story, but one which we think must be told, involves those that do not like or appreciate what the Sardinia Standard has stood for. The paper and those associated with it have been targeted as part of an aggressive and sometimes anonymous campaign. This campaign has tried to characterize us as a one sided “radical” newspaper. The malicious and unfounded accusations have targeted our writers, our advertisers, and our supporters. This is bad for business, and bad for our community.
One of the accusations that surfaces from one known individual is that the paper is little more than “Yellow Journalism”. Yellow Journalism is defined as writing that is exploitative, sensational, distorted, and misleading. The term comes from a late 19th century venture by William Randolph Hearst and his promotion of the 1898 Spanish American War. Hearst, who was famously portrayed by Orson Welles in the 1941 film Citizen Kane, acquired newspapers used the press to proclaim supporters of that war to be patriotic and those opposed as traitors. Hearst’s propaganda proved valuable and Hearst profited handsomely. The cost of the war in human life and turmoil was of no concern to him.
We do not feel that we are radical, or that we engage in Yellow Journalism. Our only profit is to see our community progress in troubled times. We think that is important. We challenge anyone to give one example in any edition or article of this paper, past or present that does not seek to tell the truth and report the facts.
Of course the truth and the facts may be inconvenient to some of our neighbors. Which we assume is why the high energy assaults continue more or less unabated. A couple of years ago, several individuals including Kathy Balus who later became Supervisor of Sardinia, felt that the other local newspapers-i.e. the Arcade Herald and the Springville Journal, were one sided, and not telling the whole stories on a variety of issues. In July of 2006 several of them started this newspaper venture. The issues facing our community then were as complex and mind numbing as they are now. The Standard stood up to try to bring honest dialogue to the residents and businesses of the community. For instance, the Waste Management Landfill Host Agreement was viewed by many as having been negotiated behind closed doors. This bred suspicion which turned to real concern. Many feel that it is not the best deal we could and should have. Rightly or wrongly, lots of people in our community were upset. Some felt that the Arcade Herald was not giving voice to these concerns. Some felt that the Arcade Herald was in fact complicit with a point of view that did not reflect either objective journalism, or open government. Apparently a majority of citizens in Sardinia agreed. After the Standard began publishing, an election was held, and Kathy Balus, an advocate of government transparency was elected Supervisor.
The Sardinia Standard is not, as some proclaim, just a Kathy Balus political vehicle. But we do support much of what she stands for. The Standard is not anti-Waste Management. We recognize that there is value in a positive relationship between the company and the Town. We are keenly aware of Waste Management’s political and business strategies. We know how it uses its influence, some of its hired help, and cash contributions to promote its best interests in Sardinia. WM was the single largest contributor to the Sardinia Republican Committee last year, giving $6,000 according to publicly released disclosure forms. They have a right to do that. And you have a right to know that they did it.
We recognize that there is value to the kind of technology that is utilized as state of the art by WM. We recognize that WM has marketed their commitment to doing the best that it can for the environment. We recognize that a land fill by its very nature can do a lot of damage to local environment. We appreciate that WM has made environment an important issue.
We recognize that the Co-Gen operation, which creates energy out of toxic landfill gasses, is considered a best practice. We also recognize that WM provides jobs. This is good.
We have our criticisms. We do not think that they are radical. We think that it would be better if the people that work there got paid more. One of the best investments in a community is better pay.
We do not think that the WM Host Community Agreement (HCA) with the Town is the best deal that the community could have. We think that it is seriously flawed. The current HCA can be terminated at any time by WM. Other communities have negotiated less radical termination clauses. Some even call for payments to continue for years after closure. The landfill won’t be going anywhere, even when the company moves on. It can’t expand forever, can it? What will be left to the community? Under this HCA, Sardinia and its taxpayers are left holding what could prove to be a very expensive bag for generations.
The Co-Gen agreement calls for payments to the town based on continued landfill deposits. This is incentive for the Town to allow the landfill to expand indefinitely. Town incentives for expansion are in WM’s best interest. We are not sure that it is in the best interests of Sardinia. This is a debatable issue. We could be wrong. But we will hold the concept up to the light of day.
The Co-Gen plant will produce energy for a hundred years after WM closes and no longer is accepting material or paying Sardinia anything. Why don’t we tie payments to the Town to the long term generation of power rather than the potentially short termed filling of the landfill?
We are also very keenly aware of the potentially ethically challenged deals that some of our Town Officials, past and present, attempt to impose. We need an ethics law.
We are very critical of the recent Gernatt zoning variance that was granted by the Sardinia ZBA. We see a possible conflict of interests between the former Chair of the ZBA, Mike Hannon, who is in the gravel business, who is also chair of the local Republican Committee, who is also husband of newly elected Town Councilman Mary Hannon, and the decision to grant a variance by the ZBA. Zoning decisions are at the heart of the Waste Management and Gernatt controversies and lawsuits. We strongly believe that zoning is the provenance of the people of the community and not the private gated playground of the connected and powerful. Is that radical? Or is that the law?
The Standard is a supporter of Kathy Balus and her so far successful attempts to shine a light on government, ethics, and closed door decision making. She advocates public participation, volunteerism, hard work, and recognizes the importance of appropriate and transparent zoning and planning decisions. She believes that Sardinia has a bright future. She knows that we need to improve our infrastructure and tighten up our fiscal and operational policies. This is good for our community. We like her and think her leadership is good for Sardinia.
We think that these critically important issues should be discussed and decided in an atmosphere of informed decision making. We advocate scrutiny, participation, and cooperation. We feel that the Sardinia Standard has been an important vehicle to help inform our community and we thank our friends and supporters.
