[vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Earlier this month, the Scranton Times-Tribune published an article rehashing the Dimock story containing absolutely zero new relevant factual information. We responded with both a letter to the editor and a blog post expressing our exasperation that although testing by Cabot, the PA DEP and the EPA have found that the water meets safe drinking water standards the newspaper continues to publish these redundant stories.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Today it became evident that we are not alone in our feelings – Anne Van Lenten, a resident of the Dimock/Springville area and a member of the Dimock Proud group, submitted her own letter expressing frustrations towards the article.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Anne Van LentenDimock ProudOriginally published in Scranton Times-Tribune on 10/18/12
Editor: The Sept. 30 article: “The Methane Mess: Are leaking wells still allowing methane to seep into Dimock’s water?” spent 2,930 words trying to create a controversy where none exists. It spent these words propping up a thesis of a researcher from a North Carolina university at the expense of residents in our small Susquehanna County town. This is nothing less than a travesty and a dereliction to the very community the Times-Tribune supposedly serves.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]A researcher seeking to save face looks at EPA data, makes conclusions that the EPA itself didn’t make and that officials involved with the initial DEP investigation publicly refute. How is this news?
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]What is clear is that The Times-Tribune is struggling to remain relevant and this reporter seemingly can’t accept that our water is safe. Otherwise, why spend so much space on an issue where the only new development is one researcher’s hastily found opinions on what is occurring in an area he knows little about?
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]If our paper of record cared about the quality of life in the communities it serves, it might decide to stop manufacturing stories like this where none exist. We are a strong community but this continued thrashing at the stroke of the Times-Tribune pen is wearing us thin.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Want to know how we feel about Cabot Oil and Gas? Stop by the annual picnic it holds every year which draws thousands of Northeast Pennsylvanians. These folks likely will express opinions vastly different than those expressed on these pages.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Perhaps the Times-Tribune can run an article of equal length on the fact that EPA, after conducting extensive testing, found that Dimock’s water does not pose a threat to human health or safety. I won’t hold my breath.
You can read more from Anne and other Dimock residents at their website, DimockProud.com. It details their struggle with overcoming the untruths still being spread about their hometown.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]In their own words:
This website is hosted by Dimock residents and members of Dimock Proud, in an attempt to dispel rumors and bring to light factual data. The Dimock Proud group is a strong voice for very proud landowners – and is the catalyst for the Enough is Enough campaign to end a moratorium placed on a nine-square mile area in Dimock.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row animation=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Once you remove the media from Dimock, the truth becomes a little clearer. Dimock is, and always has been, a place of clean air, clean water, and friendly people. What we lack in population we make up for in bountiful farmlands and typical Pennsylvania landscapes.
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