Opinion We Say Yes to the Howe Caverns Casino

After carefully considering the project, the Schoharie News has come to the same conclusion as most county residents: we need the Howe Caverns Casino proposal to succeed in order to stimulate economic growth and local employment in Schoharie County.

As editor of this publication, I will be the first to admit my personal vote against the statewide referendum last November on the question of whether New York State should permit the construction of gaming venues outside the Indian Reservations.

My reasoning was two-fold, as I hold strong moral objections to gambling in principle and I believed that we shouldn't compete against the interests of existing facilities, due to the unemployment disparities that already existed in those areas. 

However, after the announcement of Howe Caverns interest in hosting a potential casino and the debate that followed, it has become harder to oppose the concept when we have over one thousand residents jobless in the latest unemployment report with seemingly no viable options to reverse the county's long-term plunge into the economic abyss. 

Sure, there are lingering concerns over the societal and infrastructural impacts of having a casino located in Howes Cave, but local officials ranging from Sheriff Desmond to Public Works head Dan Crandell have publicly announced their support for the project, while discounting the arguments that directly target their areas of expertise. 

In the end, all we can do in Schoharie County is show New York State our support for building a casino in our community, and if we can help push the proposal get a little bit closer to that goal-line, we'll be in better shape for it.