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In Focus: Answering a firm request can make difference in quality of life

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Casey asks Department of Justice for money to help Wilkes-Barre fight crime

For those of us who have spent countless hours researching and analyzing data in an attempt to discover the truth, and add clarity, as to why West Pittston remains the only heavily populated community in the Wyoming Valley without a levee, Exeter insurance specialist Frank Maher&#8217;s recent remarks warrant an immediate response.In an April 16 Times Leader article titled &#8220;Billions of dollars would be spent to protect only several hundred houses,&#8221; he said, &#8220;Although the homeowners may think a dike would be cost-effective, the corps may not.&#8221;Although I am not one to question the years of expertise that Mr. Maher has acquired in his chosen profession, his engineering calculations are, quite frankly, preposterous. A simple, 2 second Google search would reveal that the entire approximately 15-mile Wyoming Valley Levee project completed in 2003 cost $200,952,000 &#8211; or about $13.4 million per mile. To fill in the gap, which has made West Pittston the spill basin for the Valley, would require just 1.4 miles of construction. The cost is nowhere near billions!It is this type of capricious, fact-free headline reporting that results in preconceived notions that West Pittston Tomorrow has now spent years in combating.We expect and demand a more studied and cautioned approach from our &#8220;experts&#8221; and the media going forward. Less sensationalism and more facts would better serve us all.Bob RussinLevee chairmanWest Pittston Tomorrow

Letter to the Editor: West Pittston Tomorrow participant seeks to clear up claims about levee