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Posted by: Doug K
« on: June 29, 2020, 10:32:41 am »


It's almost beyond comprehension what's been going on here, and I've been silent too long on what the REAL problem is with a group who's advocating for keeping trees on unsafe dams and ignoring the public safety nightmare the owners of those dams have.

It's not the groups fault that they can't see the "problem for the trees", it's the fault of the community around them for not being honest and trying to help them understand the issues isn't trees, it's about SAFETY.

Folks, the New York Canal Corporation, OWNERS of a very large piece of property in our state, have said their property has become a HAZARD to the community. It has 127 miles of unsafe earthen dams or embankments as they're known by. For years they were owned by a division of NY State that considered the Canal an "anchor" and money pit. They were not allowed to fix issues, they were not allowed to admit they had dams, and that those dams leaked. I know this from FIRST HAND experience.

Now there are NEW owners of the Canal Corporation, and all that land. They are a safety conscious group, who understand dam ownership, dam regulations and requirements as an owner to report UNSAFE conditions to all local governments. These new owners want to fix the problem, and simply stated, "let all that happened before,  go".

Talking about bad dams and how they got that way serves no purpose if you plan to FIX them and insure they stay safe for generations to come.

And then, almost on queue, some local group steps in, who decided that the OWNERS of the dam were lying about safety of their property.

This Stop the Canal Clear-cut group says there is NO safety issue, it's a ploy to harvest trees, and that the public should join in their "crusade" to save us from these terrible new owners who want to take away shade. Not one mention of the fact that they give our communities safety from dams flooding us, the real problem. Not one thought that just maybe the owners of the property might know a little more than they do about these unsafe dams, dam safety and dam hazard ratings.

Nope, the LEADERS of this group know way more than the NYS Canal Corporation, Owners of the Erie Canal,  even about their own property and public safety.

Just ask them... because they have ZERO expert testimony to support this "these dams are safe" claim. You see, these STCC leaders have walked on that dam for years... it never broke before. It's safe to them, just because it hasn't broken yet it seems. That's probably what EVERY community says AFTER their earthen dams break and flood homes and lives away.

These Facebook group leaders have no expertise, have never researched dam safety or regulations and are going on what they call their "intuition & gut feeling".

I am NOT making this up people, the ECNA has been documenting the antics of this group since we started. This is a very dangerous game this group is playing.

But back to the REAL problem with a question, Why would ANY community want to support this group's ideas?

They are basically playing Russian Roulette with the lives of neighborhoods, friends and family with the Erie Canal as the GUN, and the Trees as the BULLETS.

Yet the community around them says NOTHING. In fact they are trying to appease them with inclusion into other "environmental" concerns of the area. No one challenges this groups "facts", which are few and far between. Not one Community Leader has challenged their LEADERSHIP on the safety issue being raised. Nope, like sheep many chant "trees are good" because this group can't understand that trees on dams "aren't good".

And within the STCC group there are few who have tried to enlighten their leadership and their reward is the same. They get "expelled" from the Facebook group, voted off Agte & Maier's Island. Really? It would seem that if you join the Stop the Canal Clear-cut group you'd better "check" your brain at the door. You won't need it inside, as you MUST think like the Founder & Co-Founders think or you're done.

Go look at these Canal Embankment dams... there are literally thousands of bullets to use. One 80' tall tree falling over on a a 30' tall embankment is going to cause a flood.

This STCC group just wants to ignore that fact, ignore that the trees have reduced all these embankments to Dam Hazard Ratings bordering HIGH hazard (some are there already). There are 100 miles of dams that still need repair across the state. Some of the worst ones, the most UNSAFE and tallest/longest are in Pittsford, Perinton, and Fairport... and still many in the western section that was partially cleared already.

And these are ALL unsafe dams if they have ANY trees on them.

If an Erie Canal Embankment Dam fails in Monroe County the Canal Corporation will simply say they tried to warn us.

And they will also mention that instead of believing the property OWNERS, who stated the danger and gave "Constructive notice" to all communities about the impending problems, the CITIZENS of many communities decided instead to follow the ramblings of a few "pseudo-environmentalists" who didn't understand the problems with dam ownership.

People will die, homes will wash away, peoples lives will be ruined. And many will finally understand the truth about the Facebook Stop the Canal Clear-cut Group... that they didn't know the first thing about Embankment Dam Safety.

What's the first thing about dam safety you ask?

Recognizing that the OWNERS of Erie Canal EMBANKMENTS probably know way more than we do about their own damn safety problems... pun intended.

It's time for Fairport & Perinton TOWN & VILLAGE LEADERS to stand up to the BLIGHT this group is causing. Public safety should never be boiled down to a "popularity contest" or be controlled by people who have no clue what side of a dam is unsafe?

It's time for REAL leadership in our communities, isn't it folks?





Posted by: Michael Caswell
« on: June 24, 2020, 11:25:42 am »

I was recently watching a TV program and it portrayed a woman running a business that was much along the lines of Holiday Magic, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holiday_Magic a cosmetics company  that was using what is called a pyramid scheme to market its products.

Unfortunately, these concepts only really worked for people at the top of the chain. Investors were ‘sold’ product, but they weren’t told how to sell to the end user, they were told to get other investors for their ‘downline’, starting their own pyramid. Consequently, there was hardly ever anyone actually using the product, but everyone pitching the same line.
 
I got to thinking this was a very similar situation to the canal tree fiasco. A few people ‘selling’ a concept, and numerous others taking the bait, and following along.

The objective wasn’t money,  but it was ‘self gratification’ for the hierarchy. Huge egos of the ‘administration’ ensured that the lies and deception were perpetuated.

Wild claims were made and the Canal Corporation were made out to be sinister and evil, and gradually the sheep sucked in this nonsense and put the leaders on a pedestal. They were almost gods. It was obvious they relished the limelight and were intoxicated by it.

Much of their lies and mis-information was challenged and despite numerous experts telling them they were wrong, they ignored this common sense, and continued. Sometimes they would  resurrect a theme and re-run it, as if we’d all forgotten those original lies.

Yes, this ‘tree thing’ has been  bought into by a lot of people, government employees, housewives, grown men, politicians etc. They’ve been sold a pup, and consequently have egg on their face and don’t know when to quit a losing battle.

To give credit where it’s due, the admin of this group did a good job of selling this ‘scheme’ to a lot of people. Pity that those who bought into this didn’t think to really look at the real problem here which was that a government department was self critical of its ‘product’, declaring it unsafe, and was trying to save people’s lives.

That will never likely sink into these people’s thoughts, even when the embankment dams are cleared and it becomes the norm to walk on a grass covered embankment dam.