To the Editor:

The goal of this letter is to make The Altamont Enterprise aware of how it invaded the personal life of a resident by publishing extremely private information that should not be made public about anyone!  

We the undersigned are shocked that The Altamont Enterprise would invade the personal privacy of any resident namely Randy Bashwinger [“Berne highway super files for bankruptcy,” The Altamont Enterprise, March 31, 2021].

This reflects a total lack of empathy for any resident’s personal business becoming public. This includes  family, financials, health, religion, and political affiliations. The Enterprise has obviously lowered its standards to sensationalism, politics, and whatever management thinks will sell.

In the future, we the undersigned will be very carefully reviewing The Enterprise for high moral standards, positive articles, and meaningful journalism. We also are very bored and weary of the politics and negativity of The Enterprise. 

We would recommend your newspaper produce stories of a positive nature. Stories pertaining to residents should inform the public in a productive way without the newspaper becoming an advocate promoting a political issue.

We long for a newspaper that will motivate and put meaning into our lives. The undersigned are only a sampling of the readers that expressed concern with the publishing of the above mentioned article.  

Richard W. Umholtz

Ed Ackroyd  

C. J. McDermott

Mike Collins  

Brian Gibbs  

Dennis Palow  

Violet Writer

Phil Stevens

Richard Filkins

Chris Allen

Bonnie Conklin

Norman Miller   

Charlie Van Wie

Amie Burnside

Betty Filkins  

Jennifer Gibbs

Sean S. Lyons

Stephanie Audino 

Editor’s note: Court records on bankruptcy are public documents. The Enterprise’s goal, on matters of public interest, is to replace rumor with fact. How a community reacts to facts — perhaps helping someone in need — is up to individuals.

Dennis Palow, Bonnie Conklin, and Sean S. Lyons are GOP-backed members of the Berne Town Board. Richard Filkins and Amie Burnside are Republican members of the Westerlo Town Board.