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Massena supervisor says town duped by local cancer activist

Posted 11/14/11

MASSENA – Massena's Town Supervisor says he and the town council were duped by a local cancer activist into passing a resolution now being used as "outlandish propaganda" against local business and …

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Massena supervisor says town duped by local cancer activist

Posted

MASSENA – Massena's Town Supervisor says he and the town council were duped by a local cancer activist into passing a resolution now being used as "outlandish propaganda" against local business and industry.

Supervisor Joseph Gray, in a letter to NorthCountryNow.com, says Cancer Action NY Director Donald Hassig issued a self-serving press release to the media after the town council "adopted a resolution in support of federal and state government educational outreach programs to warn citizens of the cancer hazard imposed by persistent organic pollutants (POPs) exposure from food contamination."

In the release, Hassig said the resolution also recognized his work to create awareness of POPs.

And he pointed to the three plants in Massena--Alcoa, Reynolds Metals and GM Powertrain--saying the residents of Massena have received excess POPs exposure as a result of PCBs at those facilities.

Gray said he was under the impression Hassig merely wanted the council to back public education about POPs. In fact, Gray said he rewrote the resolution to make it "reasonable," and Hassig was happy with it.

But in the end, Hassig wanted to use the resolution to attack the industries, Gray said.

His entire letter follows:

To the Editor:

No good deed goes unpunished. I guess that old saying is more than a bit true when it comes to dealing with self-proclaimed cancer expert Don Hassig. When Mr. Hassig approached the Town of Massena about supporting his call for educating the public about the possible dangers of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), he brought forth a convoluted resolution that said just about everything was proven to cause cancer and we were all going to die from it next month.

I personally re-wrote the resolution so it was reasonable and something a sane town council member could support in good conscience. Mr. Hassig said he had no problem with my re-write, the important thing was to support his call for public education.

Apparently, that was not his real motive and I now regret ever trying to accommodate his request because it was obviously disingenuous. As I said, no good deed goes unpunished. As a result, it will be the proverbial cold day in Hades before I again consider accommodating another one of Mr. Hassig’s requests.

He should have told us that the resolution I authored and the town board passed at my behest would be used as the latest weapon in his arsenal to attack local business and industry with more of his outlandish propaganda.

I’m sure this letter will put me on Mr. Hassig’s hit-list, right up there with the St. Lawrence County Legislature and its Department of Health, but I really don’t care. I will wear his scorn as a badge of honor.

So, let this be a warning to any other local government body who is approached by Mr. Hassig and his mythical Cancer Action network. He is apparently a wolf in sheep’s clothing and his will take your good will plowshare and beat and twist it into a sword that he can swing with impunity at anyone who dares contradict his myopic vision of the world.

Joseph D. Gray, Supervisor, Town of Massena