I'm sure a great many citizens of the valley were disappointed to read that the long-sought after and much anticipated Central Susquehanna Valley Thruway project has again been put on hold -- this time until 2009, or at least until "victory" has been achieved in Iraq and the infrastructure in Baghdad has been rebuilt and paid for.

Waiting a bit longer for a bypass is, after all, a small sacrifice to pay to keep the terrorists at bay and to bring democracy to the Middle East. We've waited 40 years so far. What's the big deal about waiting another few years in traffic for our tax dollars to pay for our own infrastructure improvements?

I wonder if the voters of this valley will realize that the thruway project is yet another casualty of the so-called war on terrorism and will vote in the fall for a much-needed big change in Washington, or whether they'll seek comfort and reassurance in the same old tired politics and vote for the status quo with its promise of business as usual. It's going to be an interesting election here in "The Valley."

Bill George,

Kreamer