Just as people have friends and relatives all across the country – many of whom they like and get along with – I have other friends in different areas of Western New York. Dan and Denise reside in the Reinstein Woods and they are four-legged, related to those animals pulling Santa’s sleigh. Dan is a buck and Denise is a doe, and they do a great deal of hiding during hunting season – bow and arrow as well as shotgun.
Originally the private preserve of Dr. Victor Reinstein, who added ponds and more trees to the property, the state of New York assumed control of this 292-acre area off Como Park Boulevard near Bellevue, a section of Cheektowaga. That took 17
place in 1986 and that’s the good news. The bad is that Bellevue is known for a stone quarry, a few landfills and an asphalt-producing facility. Led by Donna Hosmer and John Stonefield, who worked diligently for the Cheektowaga Citizens Coalition, people have been fighting these businesses for years and it has yet to end.
If you look at the high rates of sickness and death in the area – asthma, auto-immune disease, lupus and various forms of cancer, you will probably blame the industry in the neighborhood.
The massive trucks hauling stone from the quarry run on diesel fuel, which isn’t very healthy for anyone nearby. The particulates in the air cause asthma, which can be found at a higher rate than in almost any other location in the Buffalo area. Close to the entrance, which is the exit as well, can be found a day-care center. Neither the children nor the teachers are safe being there. Producing asphalt is harmful, too. Nearby, the landfills may be capped, but capped fills have been known to leak and emit toxic poisons into the air and water and onto the land, affecting the health of the four- and two-legged animals there. It is rumored that the anthrax-flavored desk of Tom Brokaw can be found in one of the landfills there – you may have thought he wanted it as a souvenir for his study when he retired. Environmentalists who care for the people and the neighborhood have even more damaging 18
evidence about those evil companies. These corrupt corporations continue with their lust for the almighty dollar, having no concern for the community.
“Dear, why is the quarry still operating? It was supposed to stop operations years ago, and yet, Buffalo Crushed Stone has been seeking to expand for who knows how long,” said Dan.
“We’re a few miles away and the woods afford us some protection, but I’m not sure how much since we’re downwind. If that’s not bad enough, we have to put up with the town killing off our friends. If the corporations don’t get us, the government will. Maybe we should move,” replied Denise.
“You know how much I hate moving. We could do that, but that would just be giving up. We figured out how to survive during ‘bring a deer home for dinner’ season, so we can probably come up with some action to force these companies to close up shop in Bellevue and leave forever.”
“I hope those thieves clean up the mess they left and pay for damages. There’s probably room in the jail for them, too,” added Denise.
“I don’t think too many people or animals will complain about a bit of overcrowding in the penitentiary,” said Dan.
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