December Letter Sent to Cortland Standard by Randy Fox

Cortland Standard ?

Let me preface this opinion with the fact that I am a son of Cortland. Raised there, and hold small town values close to my heart.

Although I have not lived in the city for some time now, I do however keep track of what goes on in MY hometown. Point to fact, I still care very deeply for the city that I grew up in, and still love to this day.

Growing up in Cortland, I at one time delivered the Cortland Standard and was an avid reader. I never ever recall a time when the Standard was a tabloid and NOT a TRUE newspaper. The news was ALWAYS reported fairly and accurately with no slant. So now I see that unfortunately it has become little more than a biased and one way street leaning towards the right wing, and cowering to special interest, with no regard to the citizens need for the truth.

Your article last night on Mayor Feiszli's wish to start a homeless shelter not only was incorrect, it slanted so far out of the norm, it commanded that I write. Not only did you ONLY interview those who are obviously against such a thing, you never bothered to contact those that the Mayor had already reached out to. Folks who also see and believe there is a need. People that are pastors, people that actually see and deal with the homeless on a day to day basis. I am appalled to read that the answer to homelessness is to simply SHIP them to another county. Let somebody else worry about them, we don't want them in our backyard!! I work in a homeless shelter in Massachusetts. I see their plight every day. I know all the numbers and how to get them.Trust me, no one you interviewed has the foggiest idea how to even get a proper census of the truly homeless in Cortland County. But if you were to do your job properly you would already know this. You would have talked to me as you stated you would in your original interview with the Mayor. You would have talked to those actually on the front lines, that serve the meals in your soup kitchen, or give out food at the food pantry. Not some EXECUTIVE whose only concern is that the homeless are not in his or her's back yard.

From where I sit, Cortland was darn lucky to have a mayor that cared and still cares very deeply for a city that could only give her a fight at every turn, and a newspaper that helped them do it !! So in closing I fail to see where that is STANDARD,, far from it, it's not even SUB STANDARD !!

 

Randy Fox