To the Editor:

I was reading your paper’s article on the fire at the Donato family home on Krumkill and Normanskill roads [“Community gives after four die in Normanskill Road house fire that may have been preventable,” The Altamont Enterprise, July 12, 2023].

In the article, Michelle Thorne, mother of Emily who was deceased and Anthony, who survived, wrote thanking the community for all of their clothes and gifts for her son. She also mentioned that their father, Arthur, was an amazing man with a heart of gold. She also had nice things to say about Arthur’s girlfriend, Rebecca Monterosso, and Arthur’s uncle, Dale Donato. 

It was a lovely tribute to all who perished in that horrible fire. She ended by saying, “Please hold your children a little extra tighter next time you hug them. Life is never a guarantee and you never know when it can be the last. My hugs with Anthony are an amazing feeling.” This coming from a woman who had to bury her beautiful 5-year-old daughter and now has to help her son, Anthony, to live with what he had just experienced. 

Then comes the ugly part of the next paragraph: Permit problems. The building inspector told us about the structure of the house, no permits for the flowers that were sold, the chickens on the property, only to say he would later determine they were not in violation of the town code. The article went on and on about different violations.

This was about the community’s loss. This could have been put in an article by itself. Why did you have to ruin the beautiful sentiments of a grieving mother?

Have you no shame? The loss of a young woman, two men, and a sweet little girl. This was about the beautiful sentiments of a grieving mother. 

Mary Graffunder Clark 

Voorheesville

Editor’s note: The section of the story headed “Permit problems” addressed the cause of the fire from the town building inspector’s point of view.