HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes of September 15 amended text.pdfMinutes of September 15, 2008 as approved:
James LaVeque introduced himself and his group as members of “Save the Deer” of
Ithaca. The group, who he introduced as Eric Huang and Jenny Stein, was video taping
this Board meeting. He spoke on behalf of the Park family, who has contributed funding
to non-violent issues of deer control in the community and plan to vigorously oppose any
methods of violence to the deer. He then read the following message: “This message is
a summary of informal comments shared with me by Adelaide Gomer, so these are my
words, not those of Adelaide Gomer and Dorothy Park. Adelaide and Dorothy are
committed to supporting the nonviolent resolution of human-deer conflicts and also
vigorously oppose any approach that entails killing deer. For those not aware of the
history, the Park family has made a substantial financial contribution to achieve a
nonviolent solution in this community that benefits people and animals alike. The point
being that they are stakeholders in this process as well as long time residents. Adelaide
and Dorothy Parks would like to communicate their ongoing concern and commitment to
work with the Community to achieve a positive nonviolent solution.” Mr. LaVeque spoke
on the fact that the deer issue was discussed in Cayuga Heights in 2001 at a public
meeting. At that meeting, of the 20 people who spoke, 19 spoke passionately against
harming the deer and one, (a bow hunter from out of town) was in favor. This is an issue
with two sides. There are many concerned citizens and the public needs to be involved.
The work that was done on this issue in 2001 is summarized on their website,
savethedeer.org. Kate Supron asked how many members of Save the Deer are from
Cayuga Heights. LaVeque answered that the group is just starting up again so the
membership is small, but growing. Jenny Stein said that in the 2001 meeting, Paul
Curtis’ wife said that the deer do not belong to Cayuga Heights, they belong to the
residents of the State of New York. The issue at hand is not an issue for Cayuga Heights
to deal with alone. The last time the Community discussed this issue, it was
overwhelmingly against culling.
**********************************************************************
Proposed Change to the Minutes:
James LaVeck introduced himself as a concerned citizen and a member of a citzens’
group called Save the Deer, and was also bringing a message from Adelaide Gomer and
Dorothy Park who could not attend the meeting. He stated that he has a seven year
history with this issue in the Village and was very involved with the last handling of the
deer issue in 2001. His message from Dorothy Park and Adelaide Gomer is that the Park
family has contributed a great deal of funding to develop a non-violent solution to deer
issues in this community and they continue to be committed to supporting non-violent
resolution of human-deer conflicts. They also plan to vigorously oppose any introduction
of violence into the method of dealing with those conflicts in this community. And they
are concerned, committed and ready to work with the community to achieve a positive
and non-violent solution. On behalf of Save the Deer, Mr. LaVeck stated that this is an
issue with two sides with a lot of concerned citizens. As the issue gets more publicity,
there’s going to be more public involvement. We all need to be prepared for that process
and be aware. He also wants all of the contents of the meetings that were held in 2001
made public so we aren’t inventing the wheel. Much information will be on the
SavetheDeer.org website. Kate Supron asked how many members of Save the Deer are
from Cayuga Heights. Mr. LaVeck answered that the group is just starting up again so
the membership is small, but growing. Jenny Stein said that in the 2001 meeting, Paul
Curtis’ wife said that the deer do not belong to Cayuga Heights, they belong to the
residents of the State of New York. The issue at hand is not an issue for Cayuga Heights
to deal with alone. The last time the Community discussed this issue, it was
overwhelmingly against culling.