Since the news broke about Dr. Harvey Finkelstein's practice of reusing syringes, thousands of his patients have feared for their lives. The atrocity lies not only in what Dr. Finkelstein did, but in our state and county public health authorities learning of this practice in January 2005, yet choosing not to notify those at risk until nearly three years later. It is downright reprehensible that they willingly put lives on the line, clearly without weighing the potentially fatal consequences, while they played the blame game and pointed fingers at everyone but themselves.

It is shocking that, at the same time, the county is campaigning to take control of the public drinking water utilities through consolidation efforts spearheaded by the county executive. Based on the recent handling of the Finkelstein case alone, it would be ill-advised to turn control over to Nassau County to make decisions regarding the local water supply.

Better to stick with the commissioner-elected system that has worked for as long as 100 years for many water districts and allow them continued hometown control over decisions about budgets, capital improvement projects, water rates and issues affecting the quality and quantity of the drinking water.

In Westbury, the water quality is excellent, the utility bill the lowest in the mailbox and the tax rate less than 3 percent of the total residential tax bill. Additionally, every penny collected by Westbury Water stays in the district and goes toward managing and maintaining its facilities as well providing good service to consumers. We cannot say that the same would be true if the county gets its way.

Our county officials should focus on better addressing the responsibilities they already have on their plates and stop trying to fix something that isn't broken.

William C. Olson
Chairman, Westbury Water District