Shame on you Mr. Wolfner. I was waiting for you to come out of the woodwork. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop as the expression goes. You and Mr. Tenenbaum are a matched pair. You are, in fact, a disgruntled individual who likewise teamed up with Mr. Tenenbaum to run for Water Commissioner only to be resoundingly defeated not once but twice.

Speaking about disturbing and misleading information as you stated in the letter to the editor, why are you not honest and truthful? You have only to look at the records to tell the truth. You have a tendency to deliver half-truths, not all the facts with the intention of trying to make a case against the Plainview Water District and myself.

You were always a political opportunist having run for commissioner of the Plainview Water District with the support of the Republican Party only to be turned away by the electorate, as was your cohort, Mr. Tenenbaum.

Your fabrication of telling the public that Mr. Tenenbaum attended numerous meetings from 1986 through 1992 is a complete distortion of the truth and by your stating that you were there, does not make it factual or truthful. Mr. Tenenbaum distorts the truth and you swear by it. You also didn't attend meetings and, if your definition for "numerous" meetings encompasses approximately three to four meetings, then your definition is definitely contrary to Webster's Dictionary which defines numerous as "consisting of great numbers of units or individuals - many." I don't think Mr. Tenenbaum fits the definition of "numerous" meetings.

It is odd that in your letter to the editor you alluded to Mr. Tenenbaum's attending meetings during the period 1986 through 1992. What about the years 1993 through 2003, a span of 10 years? Neither you nor Mr. Tenenbaum ever attended a meeting. Where is your community spirit? What kind of environmentalist are you if you were so little concerned about the operations of the Plainview Water District? You were never an environmentalist as purported by Mr. Tenenbaum, but simply worked for the County of Nassau Dept. of Public Works as an engineer.

I am proud to say that during my tenure as a water commissioner for the Plainview Water District, I and my fellow commissioners took an active role and were in the forefront of a battle against the Town of Oyster Bay in opposing the continuous operation of a Plainview-Old Bethpage landfill by retaining legal counsel and joining with R.A.G.E. (Residents Against Garbage Expansion) and many others in successfully forcing the Town of Oyster Bay to permanently close the garbage dump which would have eventually polluted our pristine water. You, on the other hand, as an alleged "environmentalist" did nothing to assist our community and residents in the battle against the town, but on the contrary, you espoused the philosophy and position of the Town of Oyster Bay and the Republican town board (you were a Republican committeeman at the time) by wanting the landfill to remain open to the detriment of the Plainview-Old Bethpage residents. Where were your environmental concerns at that time, Mr. Wolfner?

You do not refute the fact that in my prior letter pertaining to Mr. Tenenbaum that the Commissioner of Public Works for the Town of Oyster Bay, who happened to be a "Republican town leader," never found anything wrong or illegal with the operations of the Plainview Water District.

As for the insinuation that I got paid for every water district meeting - how would you know when you were never there? There were many conferences and meetings with fellow commissioners that I had either in person or over the telephone and never got paid. However, I did get paid for those meetings that I attended. Yes, initially when I was elected a commissioner of the Plainview Water District, I received a whopping $40 per day (not an hour) for any meeting that I attended. Then I received a tremendous increase from $40 per day to $60 per day. Did I make over $100,000 working as a commissioner for the Plainview Water District? Possibly, but you fail to tell the public that this $100,000 figure covered a period of 16 years, which averages about $6,000 - $7,000 a year for night meetings, Saturdays, Sundays and other days.

As a practicing lawyer at the time that I was an elected official, I was billing my clients at the rate of approximately $200 or $250 an hour. At the same time, I was also receiving compensation from the Plainview Water District for meetings that I attended, for research, reading and reviewing pertinent material relevant to Water District matters and performing other tasks for the district either in the evening or daytime and received the sum of either $40 or $60 per day (not an hour) depending upon when a raise was sanctioned by the state legislature. Do you really believe I took the position to make money or to serve my community, the Plainview Water District?

How deceitful are you in telling half-truths and not presenting the entire picture.

No wonder the electorate turned you away more than once.

I truly believe that I served the Plainview Water District with honor and distinction and did everything in my power to be a responsible and dedicated community leader. I, for one, would have continued to reside in Plainview had my wife not passed away, having resided in Plainview for over 30 years.

You are truly a sad, disgruntled, disillusioned individual and I only wish that I could confront you directly rather than having to debate you over 1500 miles away.

Please be assured that this will be my last comment on this matter, as I no longer wish to entertain your nonsense or that of your cohort, Mr. Tenenbaum.

Bernie Chetkof