To the editor:

After reading the Bethel Woods/IDA/Bethel article on March 6th, I’m left wondering why every time I read an article about a big business (think Resorts or now Bethel Woods) seemingly exposing the Sullivan County taxpayer to some unexpected tax burden, the articles written are so circular and unclear that I’m left perplexed as to what the point of the story is. Is Bethel Woods honoring its original agreement, or not, and if not, why and how?

The obscuration in these important stories tells two stories - the difficult needle a local paper must thread when reporting on large community players with friends in high places, and the pattern of large community players to change the terms of the deal long after the deal was struck.

That may or may not be true with Bethel Woods - I couldn’t figure out what the article was trying to say, other than it was important, considering its prominent ‘above-the-fold’ headline location. 

Chuck Petersheim

Milford, PA