Happy Thanksgiving

As we join hands to give thanks
for all that we have,
think of those who suffer today.

PRAY for PEACE.


and the safety of those who
personally deliver it.

UNITY

團結

UNIDADE

団結

ЕДИНСТВА

단결

UNIDAD
אַחדותּ
الوحدة

HOW
and
"if not NOW, WHEN?"

Veteran's Day

PEACE is possible because of the Honor, Valor and Courage of the Men and Women who serve our Military.

Serve our Soldiers by standing alongside them in opposition to the use of Water-boarding and other forms of torture by Gov't Intelligence and security contractors.

Honor our soldiers by doing something kind for a Veteran or a military family.

There are about a dozen young men and women from Kerhonkson and Accord who are currently serving. Many are in Iraq and Afghanistan facing significant danger.

Call their families, ask for the soldier's address, send a package of holiday treats and include the many day to day things they are not provided. Make their strenuous and difficult days a little brighter.

If you can afford to, take a military family out for a meal at a local diner, or maybe, get the children coupons to go roller-skating or even be a secret Santa and drop off a few extra Christmas presents.

There are a few recently discharged soldiers around. These folks need us to help them in their transition. If you know one, get going, right now! Stop by their place. Take them out for a cold one. Go fishing or hunting or 4-wheeling. Or, just hang out and watch TV. What helps most is regular camaraderie and maybe a hug or two.

Perhaps you know a older Veteran who lives alone and would love a visit. Something as simple as stopping by with a couple of beers to watch a game or maybe he hasn't gone out to the diner in a while.

Remember the past,

honor those who served and
work towards peace.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

CONGRATULATIONS

to ALL of the WINNERS

in the

TOWN of ROCHESTER

and

ULSTER COUNTY Races

Sadly, the commenter below feels the need to demonstrate that some people are unable to be gracious and even hopeful that our community can be civil and perhaps, as Carl has stated he wants to accomplish, unified. With luck, the voice of angry malcontents will not be the theme of the next two years. Remember, throughout the Reign of Terror and subsequent Thermidorian Reaction aka "White Terror", followed by the Empire de Napoleon, the French starved while their leaders cried out "Viva la France".

VOTE YOUR INTEREST!

Tuesday Nov. 6 - Today is Election Day - Do not forget to VOTE!

Polling Places are open from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm

Election District 1 - Accord Fire Company, Main Street, Accord

Election District 2 - Town of Rochester Court House, 140 Samsonville Road

Election District 3 – Rochester Fire Company, Samsonville Road

Election District 4 – Alligerville Fire Company, Creek Road & Co. Route 6

Election District 5 - Accord Fire Company, Main Street, Accord

If you don’t know where to vote, call the Ulster County Board of Elections at 334-5470

The basic principle behind capitalism and its political corollary - democracy, is that people are generally rational. Taken further, it states that the mostly rational decisions which individuals make translates to a generally rational group decision. However, such is not always the case.

We teach our children to be strong and not follow the crowd and we discourage ‘group thinking’ in our institutions. However, perhaps more often than we would like to admit, we are influenced to support issues and ideas which are not in our best interest. This usually occurs because people have both a reason and a knack for writing and delivering great sales pitches or speeches or, in the case of advertising, entire ad campaigns, want to get us to do things, buy things or support ideas that do not enhance our lives and, in some cases, actually hurt us.

With the privilege of freedom comes responsibility. As citizens in a democratic nation, we choose from a wide variety of options available to us. We must make decisions that are hopefully, wise ones. Balance is a lovely word and a nice concept but what does it mean when choosing between the best interest of a group, our personal best interest or an extremely narrow selfish interest. Wisdom is not as prevalent as we would like to think so we must be circumspect when we are asked to vote for someone because it is in ‘our’ best interest. What does that really mean?

Those attempting to influence your vote or support for ‘your’ best interest can and often are interested in ‘their’ best interest. Their interest may be general, individual, or a very selfish interest. How can you tell if what they are advocating is actually good for you or is it just something that sounds good and it either doesn’t effect you or, perhaps, it is good for them and maybe, after thinking about it, it is really not so good for you.

So here on the local level in the Town of Rochester how do we know if something really is in your best interest and are there selfish interests trying to get you to vote for ‘their’ best interest by telling you it is in ‘your’ best interest?

Let us revisit our three fellows from a previous posting; Rural Character(s).

First we have Mike who works in construction. He is in his mid twenties, still single, paying off a loan on his pick-up truck and saving to build a modular house on the land his grandfather left him, that is, when he isn’t hunting, fishing or snowmobiling. On the surface, it would appear that it is in Mike’s best interest to back whichever party can provide for easy, free of government influence, fast track development of land because Mike really needs to get more work setting houses and clearing land. The more houses that are built, the more money Mike will make, its as simple as that! However, wait a second, what about hunting? Maybe it is not that simple. Where will he hunt? What will Mike's town be like in the future; with all those new houses? Will there still be small town, his small town? Mike doesn’t know the answers but he does know that someday he wants to be able to take his son hunting up near his grandpa’s place, the same place his dad took him. With uncontrolled development, he may get lots of work, but is it worth giving up someday taking his son hunting where his own grandfather used to hunt as a boy. He wonders, maybe we need a couple of good laws to stop them from building everywhere.

Next, we have Robert, his friends call him Bob. Married with grandkids, in his early 70’s. Bob is in good shape and very involved with community activities. Bob wasn’t born here, he was born in tiny little farm town in what is now suburban Chicago. He fondly remembers growing up in a place where everyone knew each other and farm trucks and tractors were more plentiful than cars. After retiring from IBM, Bob and his wife decided to stay right here because it is so beautiful and safe, he has become used to life around Accord. Bob thinks of himself as a God-fearing country boy and is proud of his NRA sticker on his Subaru. His favorite president is Ronald Reagan and he has voted Republican his entire life. Bob has been hearing a lot lately about how if you do not support a certain political party you are unpatriotic and even worse, somehow the implication is that if you do not support the right folks you are not right with God as well. He scratches his head and remembers the days when folks accepted a few laws as a way to grow nicer towns. He also recalled visiting his hometown while on a trip to Chicago. When he was a teenager, new subdivisions, separated by the remaining farms began to sprout up everywhere. It used to look nice in that shiny 1950’s way. Even his folks moved into a split level and they loved how modern everything was. Nowadays, the entire town has been built up and strip malls, mostly empty since the Sears offices closed, litter the roadsides like grave markers. The modern look seems shabby and cheap now. Bob resents being questioned if he is a real Republican. As he told me “Those guys may fool some of these nice folks but I know a fast talking salesman when I see one. If they really gave a hoot about this town they would line up to pass regulations to control growth – I should show them pictures of what happened to my home town. I wish people would realize that same ones who are saying that zoning laws are un-American and bad for business are the same folks who own hundreds of acres they hope to cash in soon. I know what is really in my interest – to see that my investment in this home is not destroyed by trailer parks and trashy growth.”

Last but not least, is our friend Brad. Not only does he look like Tom Selleck but he knows it too. I think the local term for Brad is a citiot. He has certainly earned it. Brad tosses himself around town as easily as he tosses his cashmere sweater over his shoulders. Truly, Brad is a narcissistic peacock of a man. Single, childless and well manicured. What can we say; he has not yet had his new Mohonk sticker put on his car because it is still too new. Brad is both the dream and a nightmare for local environmentalists and conservationists. He seems silly when he speaks at parties about preservation because he gutted his stone farmhouse and made it like a museum inside, complete with real art. The consolation is that when asked, Brad opens up his checkbook and gives generously to community causes. Essentially Brad is a net gain for our town. He uses no services and spends or gives easily. However, some say it is unfair that Brad even votes up here. Recently Brad addressed this, “The first reason I registered to vote upstate because I pay more in property taxes in Accord than in NYC. The second reason is that I got good and mad a few years ago when everyone started going nuts up there. Here’s the deal; a group of developers, guys who own industrial sites, miners, loggers and folks who benefit from relaxed environmental standards were trying to keep the laws as easy as possible. These guys are tough guys and they have always had the upper hand in this town. All the normal people, regular folks, folks just like my parents, can’t get a break because these other guys are on all the boards and make all the decisions. A couple of years ago some weekenders, guys just like me, started to get involved and all hell broke loose because these local guys felt were didn't deserve to have a say so in our town. They love to take our money, its just not fair. If I can help folks who are like my parents and, at the same time, protect my own interest, then life is good. To me, it’s a no brainer to do what ever I can to help keep it beautiful up there.”

Stopping a moment and questioning if those who claim to be looking out for ‘your’ best interest aren't instead really looking out for their of their cronies best interest is sometimes hard to do, but it starts at an individual level. As citizens of a community, we are responsible for how our votes affect us. We cannot blame big government or anyone but ourselves if we vote for leaders who act in their or their pal’s own best interest instead of yours. We need to be conscious not only of what we individually, stand to gain, but also what we and our entire community stands to lose if we vote for those who have selfish interests in mind, such as developers and those who benefit from weak environmental standards. Acknowledging selfishness is hard to do, but it is the only rational way to approach our community’s issues. For us to be better citizens and voters, it needs to be done.

Think Rationally

Vote Your Interests

Protect Your Community

Links:
When did Candidates Stop Answering Questions?
The Good Ole Days
What We Got Here is a Failure to Communicate
Presenting - The Candidates
Bill Moyers Journal This Evening
Rural Character(s)
Subdivision Law Poll Results
Dear Rev. Moon
Neighbors and Local Government
Lets Talk About Tourism
What is Important to YOU and Why?
The Birth of a Blog


Please use the comment button to post your thoughts anonymously. YES, ANONYMOUSLY, just like in the voting booth.

Please use the e-mail button if you want to contact me. TOR2007 --click to e-mail.

When did candidates stop answering questions?

There is a war going on out there.
Here in Rochester, our election process has become so nasty, so mean and so awful in terms of mudslinging, rumor mongering, plain old lying and the worst part is how a regular plain old citizen, expressing his opinion, can become a victim of online ridicule and harassment. One poor guy's voter registration information was maliciously put onto the Freeman website after he posted his opinion about one of our local candidates, which some people disagreed with.

There is no doubt that in this town rumors and lies work well. Now we have a new tool of public shame - the information superhighway a/k/a the internet or, as they say in Brooklyn; da web.

This is an extreme analogy, back in the 'Godfather' days of the Mafia the women and children were never touched by the violence of 'the business' world. It should be the same way here. Members of the public, people not involved or running for office, should NEVER and I REPEAT - N E V E R - be made the topic of anyone's ridicule, scorn, research or further comments. People are entitled to their privacy and opinions and all this talk about high faluting values and these scholarly treatises on how our election issues are up there with the Magna Carta are a bunch of horse dung if people have become afraid to post their opinions because their so called neighbors will publicly and brutally ridicule them.

Here's the new rule - You don't get to hide behind the First Amendment, like a child hiding behind his mommy's skirt, and cry that it's your 'right' to say what ever you want to intimidate someone else from ever again considering using his/her first amendment rights to express themselves. The next attack on 'civilians' will be posted here, everyone will know it.

We are being ignored.
I always thought candidates love to proclaim how and why they are so great and why we should not only vote for them but why we should also not even think about voting for their opponent who is blah-blah-blah...

Suddenly, here in the Town of Rochester, is it OK that if candidates do not want to answer questions they just ignore them? Some have ignored every communication I have sent to them via e-mail and phone calls, both directly and to their party. I think that some candidates think they need to only respond to questions from their chosen audience. Perhaps, they think that they can render the question irrelevant by ignoring it. So, Readers, here is the deal; your one question, which seems reasonable and very relevant to me, has been ignored by some candidates.

The Question: What is your strategy for bringing the Town together?

Town Supervisor & Town Council Candidates
(in alphabetical order)

Carl Chipman: this candidate has not yet responded to our question.

Tavi Cilenti: this candidate has not yet responded to our question.

Pamela Duke:
We will continue on the path of creating a consensus driven proactive stewardship of our communities values. I will continue to work as I can with other community leaders, from the state, county and other communities, to prevent Rochester from turning into Westchester or Rockland County. The people of our town have said it over and over; they want to preserve our small town in terms of what it looks like and what our way of life is here. To preserve our community and encourage commercial growth, which will bring jobs, will bring our town together.

Francis Gray:
With the exception of those who own large tracts of land or those who have an interest in poor environmental standards, the vast majority of town residents want to know that our town will continue to look like a small town in the country; rolling hills, open farm fields, lush forest land, sweeping vistas of mountains. People believe in the family values that come with small towns; knowing your neighbors and taking care of and looking out for one another. Preserving our rural community while looking to the future with things like high speed internet and other things that encourage job development will not only bring our community together but will allow us to prosper.

Manuela Michailescu: this candidate has not yet responded to our question.

Donna Ragonese:
After spending over 40 years in education, social work and serving community organizations, as a volunteer and board member, I have learned a very simple and important skill - I will spend a lot of time LISTENING to people. I believe that will go a long way in bringing people together.


Do you have questions for the candidates? Please post your questions and we will ask the candidates to respond

How do you feel about the upcoming election?

Please use the comment button to post your thoughts anonymously. YES, ANONYMOUSLY, just like in the voting booth.

Links:
The Good Ole Days
What We Got Here is a Failure to Communicate
Presenting - The Candidates


Moderator's Note : We look forward to publishing profiles from any candidate who may have missed the previous deadline. Please use the e-mail button to contact me and/or click my name to send in your information. TOR2007 --click to e-mail.

Note on recent comment posted: a comment was received this afternoon that has been rejected because posts must be reasonably respectful. Perhaps, rather than attacking the candidates the writer dislikes, the writer can tell us some of their ideas about how all the people in our town can communicate better and what qualities he would like to see in a candidate. If the writer would like to discuss this with me, please send an e-mail - TOR2007. Thank you.

The Good Ole Days

from The New York Times
November 23, 1999

In Accord, NY, There Is Anything But; Clash of Workers and Weekenders Includes Suits and Death Threats

By KATHERINE E. FINKELSTEIN

Accord should be a place of peace.

Just 90 miles from Manhattan, this hamlet in the Hudson Valley, encircled by fruit orchards and flinty mountains, is home to two groups: plain-spoken farmers and truckers who scrape by on camaraderie and shrinking incomes, and Manhattan weekenders, who bought low-cost land from the 1970's on and restored dilapidated farmhouses into retreats.

This marriage of opposites has worked well throughout southern Ulster County, now a booming weekend destination where celebrities like Robert De Niro have built homes and where three-star restaurants have opened alongside package and hunting stores.

But in Accord, the conflicting cultures have bred a remarkable, and even bizarre, level of hostility: lawsuits have been filed; old-timers and newcomers have sworn off talking to each other, except perhaps to say something nasty; and accusations of harassment and corruption prompted both the F.B.I. and the State Attorney General to briefly open, and then close, an inquiry.

The battleground is 88 square miles of beauty within the town of Rochester, population just under 6,000.

The standoff began in 1992 over a speedway that reopened near the homes of newcomers, who have been fighting it ever since. The rancor has gone on to encompass various zoning laws -- namely who can or cannot build what where -- cries of trespassing, and most recently, an uproar over a truck shed. And in a measure of the extreme level of unease, the town has instituted a set of rules governing public meetings: no booing or hand-clapping.

Yet the issues, to hear the combatants tell it, have come to transcend property and zoning regulations. The longtime residents, some of whose families settled here in the 1600's, say they are fighting to preserve their informality and freedom, and, above all, their livelihood. The people they call the weekenders, some of whom have lived here year-round for two decades, say they want equal treatment as taxpayers and residents, and to safeguard the small-town qualities that first drew them to Accord.

''Here I come to what I think is this nice idyllic place,'' said Iris Lewis, 42, a Manhattan designer, weeping one recent morning in her stone home on 60 acres. Since then, she said, her life has turned into a nightmare.

Angered by a neighbor's truck shed, large enough for an 18-wheeler, she formed a group and sued the town last year, accusing it of selectively enforcing, and even changing, zoning laws to benefit longtime residents.

After that, cars began to trespass menacingly, idling on her property for long periods, despite the video camera and ''Keep Out'' signs on her driveway. Death threats appeared in her mailbox, Ms. Lewis said, including a cartoon last winter of stick figures crying and waving goodbye. ''Every year that I'm here,'' she said, ''it gets bigger and it gets uglier.''

Down the road, longtime residents say that Ms. Lewis and her wealthy friends are trying to remake Accord in their own image. ''Basically, this town is just farmers and truck drivers, and there's nothing we can do about it,'' said Lori Schneider, 24, who lives in a mobile home with her husband, a truck driver. The Schneiders were drawn into the fray after Ms. Lewis's group, Citizens Against Illegal Zoning, challenged their plan to build a truck garage in their backyard.

Gerald Meade Dewitt, a dairy farmer whose family has been here since 1648, said that the newcomers do not understand rural life. It ''isn't peace and quiet,'' he said. It is big trucks, rumbling farm equipment and compromise borne of poverty in a town where people scrape by to make a living. The equivalent, he said, would be like ''us going down into the city and saying, 'We don't like taxicabs anymore.' ''

From the late 1970's on, newcomers like Ms. Lewis bought land and created a tousled retreat unlike the Hamptons. Today, they own one-third of Rochester's 3,000 residential parcels. And as the town's former code enforcement officer, Michael Redmond, said recently, ''I keep constantly hearing about the people who don't live here. But everybody lives here. We're all us.''

The problems began in 1992, when a speedway that had been closed for five years roared back to life after town officials swiftly approved a special-use permit for an upstate farmer.

The newcomers demanded that the town study the environmental impact before letting the man reopen the track. But at a heated public meeting, officials contended that a town law limiting speedway noise to 79 decibels was protection enough. The newcomers were outraged, predicting a blow to their property values. The cars raced on summer weekends, bringing traffic and noise to their doorsteps. So they organized.

Lorna and Kim Massie, who moved from Brooklyn to a remodeled barn near the track in 1973, formed a protest group, Citizens Accord Inc., with 300 members. They began a legal battle that has lasted seven years; at each step, the town has successfully appealed. The speedway's owner, David Flach, a red-bearded farmer from Ravena, N.Y., says he has spent $300,000 in legal fees because the Massies have ''big mouths and big wallets.''

In 1995, the group sued the town, contending it had failed to enforce its own laws, after a sound engineer found that the speedway noise exceeded 79 decibels. The town then passed a law allowing sound levels to be averaged by measuring quiet time between races. Citizens Accord then sued town officials, accusing them of conspiring to deprive the group's members of their civil rights.

The costly litigation did not go over well with some longtime locals, who, the Massies said, began dumping garbage on their lawn, honking at them and making obscene phone calls.

The town observes its own laws, said Douglas Dymond, the code enforcement officer whose son races at the track. But he added, ''These people are against racetracks. They're against gravel pits. Their agenda goes on.''

Throughout Accord, newcomers contended that the town was giving businesses special-use permits to open in residential areas, violating zoning laws and aesthetic principles.

One longtime resident, Carlo Ferrialo, switched sides and joined Ms. Lewis's group, after a condemned bungalow colony reopened across the street from his immaculate mobile home. In memorandums, the town's building inspector, who is legally blind, reported finding no evidence of dilapidation on the site. So in June, Mr. Ferrialo hired a private surveyor who documented seven pages of violations.

By 1997, the newcomers contended that their efforts at redress were thwarted by ''collusion'' and ''conspiracy.'' At a town board meeting that year, Steve Fornal, a outspoken newcomer with long hair and a wispy goatee, handed out pamphlets that he said documented the town's manipulation of its own laws. With a withering tone, he read aloud the dictionary definition of codify. ''Note,'' he said, ''codification does not mean wholesale change of laws.'' The room exploded in applause.

The town responded by passing a law that prohibited hand-clapping, booing and demonstrating at public meetings. It also restricted citizens to addressing board members for no more than three minutes, and only if called on by the town supervisor.

Refusing to elaborate, Mr. Fornal said he had taken steps to protect himself, after his mailbox was was shot at and run over nine times.

The town supervisor, Robert Baker, who did not run for re-election and will step down on Dec. 31, did not return numerous calls seeking comment.

Last year, with paranoia and menace escalating, the newcomers found the ultimate object for their anger: a 29-by-50-foot truck shed built by a neighbor, Richard Smith. In person, Mr. Smith, 32, a slim and unassuming trucker, hardly looks like a target for fancy lawyers. But after he got a special-use permit to build a truck shed near his home, Ms. Lewis's group claimed that he was running an illegal trucking business there, and offered the Zoning Board of Appeals a stack of Polaroid photographs and public records to support its claim.

When Rochester officials upheld the permit last February, Ms. Lewis's group declared war. It sued Mr. Smith and town officials, claiming that they conspired to break zoning laws.

Richard and Jennifer Smith, meanwhile, sank $5,000 into legal fees, and held a victory party last summer after the State Supreme Court upheld their permit.

But in September, Ms. Lewis' group, Citizens Against Illegal Zoning, filed an appeal, which is pending. At an Oct. 12 meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals, Mr. Smith and Mr. Fornal got into a verbal tussle. Warned by board members to be respectful, Mr. Smith yelled, ''I don't think there's any respect in this town.'' A board member then called the state troopers and threatened to have him arrested.

The next day, Mrs. Smith, 28, sat at the kitchen table in their modest home and rifled through two years of newspaper articles, lawyers' letters and zoning documents. Like so many Accord residents, she compulsively keeps records of her battle.

''This is just to build a garage, so my husband doesn't have to lay out in the dirt and mud to do an oil change,'' she said, denying that they run a home business. ''In this town, you can't better yourself without a lawsuit. Where does it end?''

Now, you have something to talk about. We need your input. Please take a few moments to post the questions you would like the candidates to respond to, or, perhaps even more interesting, remember this article? Your thoughts?

Please use the comment button to post your thoughts and questions anonymously. YES, ANONYMOUSLY, just like in the voting booth.

What We Got Here is a Failure to Communicate

After several e-mail letters and a few phone calls some candidates refuse to provide this blog with Biographical Information etc. Please see election coverage Page #1 - Presenting - The Candidates.

I, personally, have made up my mind and know whom I am voting for. I could spend all day writing about why the candidates I happen to support are good choices. However, from it's inception, as I have defined it, my personal point of view is not the subject of this blog. The purpose of this blog is to provide a forum for constructive information to be shared between people who have an interest in the local election in the Town of Rochester.

Because we have only received input from candidates of a single major political party, we are faced with a dilemma.

After thinking about it, candidates who refuse to answer simple questions to a local blog are sending out a loud message about how much they respect all members of our community and especially the readers of this blog, who, at last glance, based on the number of hits, have been busy reading what we have presented. Therefore, we have decided to go forward with questions and hopefully the candidates will respect the readers of this blog enough to answer us.

We need your input. Please take a few moments to post some of the questions you would like the candidates to respond to. Please let us know if you would like the Supervisor, Town Council or Town Justice Candidates to answer.

Regardless of whether some candidates post their information or not, we will ask them your questions. The first question has just been sent out - look for the results on Thursday.

Please use the comment button to post your thoughts and questions anonymously. YES, ANONYMOUSLY, just like in the voting booth.

Links:
Presenting - The Candidates

Moderator's Note : We look forward to publishing bio's and profiles from any candidate who may have missed the previous deadline. Please use the e-mail button to contact me and/or click my name to send in your information. TOR2007 --click to e-mail.

Presenting - The Candidates

(unedited, in alphabetical order, by position)

Town Supervisor

Carl Chipman: after several requests, this candidate has not yet submitted biographical information.


Pamela Duke: Mother of two and Grandmother of two, lives in Kerhonkson. First elected to position of Town Supervisor in 2003, re elected in 2005. Personal Statements:

• When I first ran for office, I thought our town government could do a better job helping our residents. I think we have a more business-like attitude and are better equipped to handle the increasingly complex requirements that Towns now have to adhere to. I also thought that it was time to fix our outdated zoning laws. We’ve started the process in Rochester, and I want to work to ensure that it’s done properly.
  

• How do you plan to continue if elected (zoning) and name one thing you may have already initiated that you hope to support and promote even more? We’ve come a long way in the past four years working to address all aspects of growth. We’re the fastest growing town in the county and we have something missing and whether we want it or not, our town is going to grow. With that comes a need for more infrastructure, and potentially higher school taxes. If we want to keep our rural lifestyle, we need to manage that growth and I’m running for re-election to see that process through.
  

• Do you feel you have done an effective job so far and name one are you feel you have been most effective? I think that we’ve done a great job on the Town Board in addressing the future direction of our Town. We’ve improved financial controls and we have opened the dialogue on the direction our Town should go in the future. The decisions we are discussing and making now will have an impact on the shape of our town long after we’re all gone. I think that starting that dialogue is the most important thing that any Supervisor can do.
  

Email Contact for Pam Duke: pamdreal@aol.com

Town Council

Tavi Cilenti: after several requests, this candidate has not yet submitted biographical information.


Francis Gray: Married, lives in Kerhonkson. First elected to Town Board in 2003. Personal Statements:

• We started several positive initiatives during my first term in office and I would like to continue to ensure that they are completed and properly implemented. Each of these is designed to create an environment that is for the benefit of the people of the town as a whole and will help the town for the next half century, including the revised comprehensive plan, the revised zoning and subdivision codes, improved cellular service and wider accessibility to broadband internet service.
  

• I think the Town Board has done a lot to preserve our town’s character and resources for future generations, but the process has been divisive even though we’ve tried to give as many opportunities as possible for people to have input into the process. No body likes change, it can be scary, and the more people keep informed and talk about change together. If our community doesn’t manage change, we’ll be forced to accept whatever the next developer wants to do.
  

• As an elected official you will hear complaints regarding school taxes. Do you support a property tax reform movement and why? You’re right. Town Board has no input in to the formulation of school budgets or the tax levy that the school board passes down onto the town’s property owners. I have been very supportive of the property tax reform movement, and Rochester was one of the initial towns in Ulster County to help this movement move state-wide with the Hudson Valley Property Tax Reform committee that we worked on with neighboring towns. I would definitely work on this to see if we can get a state-wide consensus on changing the way our schools are paid for. Property taxes and other ad valorem taxes are not an equitable way for small communities like ours to pay for education.
  

• How do you plan to continue if elected (zoning) and name one thing you may have already initiated that you hope to support and promote even more? One initiative started that needs to be completed is the installation of the cell towers. This will allow new businesses that require broadband support to locate in Rochester; bring new revenue to the Town’s coffers (minimum of $32,000 annually) to help offset taxes and allow residents in Rochester the opportunity to work nearly anywhere in the world by telecommuting.
  

• Do you feel you have done an effective job so far and name one are you feel you have been most effective? On the Town Board we’ve opened the town to an open discussion shared by all who want to participate so that the town can develop into what the majority of residents want. Access to elected officials is important and I’ve always been willing to talk to anyone on any subject.

Email Contact for Francis Gray: fgray_040302@msn.com


Manuela Michailescu: after several requests, this candidate has not yet submitted biographical information.


Donna Ragonese: Mother of two, Grandmother of three, lives in Kerhonkson. First run for elected office. Personal Statements:

• I participated in the updating of the Comprehensive Plan (for 18 months) and have learned about the challenges facing our town. I would like to continue to be a part of the positive growth and development of our township so that ALL of us may have access to an affordable, comfortable, beautiful, healthy and safe environment.
  

• The first thing we have to do in our town is stop yelling at each other and spend more time listening to each other. There are a lot of things that can be used to divide us, but that won’t help us. In the end, we all need to work together to talk about new ideas – and old ones—that we can work together on to make our community better for our children. If everyone’s concerns are listened to, I think we’ll be able to join together.
  

• As an elected official you will hear complaints regarding school taxes. Do you support a property tax reform movement and why? As a former teacher and through my current activities with Cornell’s cooperative education program and early childhood learning programs in Rochester, education holds a special place in my heart. Good school systems are necessary for holding communities together. Unfortunately, the present way of funding schools is becoming extremely unaffordable for working families, our senior citizens and a large number of others. Something has to be done to ensure that we can provide the best education for our children in a way that is affordable and equitable and I would support any movement that would protect education spending in a fairer and more affordable way.

Email Contact for Donna Ragonese: Donna-marieragonese@msn.com


Town Justice

Albert Babcock III: after several requests, this candidate has not yet submitted biographical information.


Paul Shaheen: Father of three, lives in Kerhonkson. First run for elected office. Personal Statements:

• I think that qualifications matter in our local justice courts. Rochester is a small town, however, there has been an increase in the number and the complexity of the cases that we and other small town courts have seen. I believe that my legal education and 20 years’ experience as a practicing attorney will improve the ability of our local court to deal these cases in a fair and equitable manner and to provide the justice that all our residents deserve.
  

• Do you look at community service as an option when working with those who come before you on legal issues and do you use it. Please provide a comment how you feel it might save taxpayers money? I do believe in community service and alternative sentencing in cases where it’s appropriate. In my law practice, I’ve been in justice courts in a lot of towns around the county and I’ve seen a wide range of practices. I hope to bring my court room and legal experience to Rochester as well as my knowledge of the law to ensure that justice is served impartially and fairly. Community service and other alternative sentencing can save taxpayers money because it can be more effective in putting people on the right track, Incarceration costs tens of thousands of dollars per year and isn’t always in the best interests of the community or the offender.
  

Email Contact for Paul Shaheen: pshaheen@hvc.rr.com


Do you have questions for the candidates? Please post your questions and we will ask the candidates to respond

How do you feel about the upcoming election?

Please use the comment button to post your thoughts anonymously.

Links:
What We Got Here is a Failure to Communicate


Moderator's Note : We look forward to publishing bio's and profiles from any candidate who may have missed the previous deadline. Please use the e-mail button to contact me and/or click my name to send in your information. TOR2007 --click to e-mail.

From Bill Moyers Journal this evening, a discussion about a new book; AMISH GRACE, by Donald Kraybill, Steven Nolt, and David Weaver-Zercher, about the 2006 killing of five Amish schoolgirls in Nickel Mines, PA...

A year after the killings in Pennsylvania, the old school has been torn down and replaced with one named 'New Hope'.

Three of the surviving five girls are back in class with the same teacher. On October 2 the school was closed and silent for the day, in remembrance.

On the anniversary of their loss, the community once again spoke to the larger world, in a statement saying that 'forgiveness is a journey…you need help from your community of faith and from God, and sometimes even from counselors, to make and hold on to a decision to not become a hostage to hostility.' Hostility, they said, 'destroys community.'

Perhaps this is something that we, especially in the Town of Rochester, can all learn from.

How do you feel about hostility in your community?

Please use the comment button to post your thoughts anonymously.

The Polls are Closed and The Votes are In

Rondout Valley High School Capitol Project

Proposition 1 - Passed

1,714 - Yes / 1,339 - No

Proposition 2 - Failed

1,505- Yes / 1,529 - No

Blog Pages on HS Project Topic: (click links below)

• HS Project Blog Page #1
• HS Project Poll #1
• HS Project Blog Page #2
• HS Project Poll #2

How do you feel about the High School Capital Project Proposition Vote outcome?

Please use the comments button to post your thoughts anonymously.

Rondout HS Project Poll #2

What is wrong with the Rondout HS Project?
The scope is too large for our needs.	48% (12)
It does not have enough 'green' features.	8% (2)
The district will allow it to deterioriate like in the past.	0% (0)
The district only listens to the builders, not the taxpayers.	0% (0)
The district should use up all the excess fund balance to pay for it.	20% (5)
Nothing is wrong, I love it!	24% (6)
Total number of votes is 25.

Prop #1 & Prop #2 - Do not forget to Vote on Tuesday Oct. 2 6am-9pm

Anyone who has driven along Rte. 209 this weekend has seen the competing signs telling you how to vote on Tuesday.

The most important thing is that, no matter how you vote, to make sure that you VOTE.

Your vote counts.

Elections in our community have frequently come down to a few dozen vote difference.

Call your friends, call your neighbors, give your aunt's neighbor's cousin a ride if she needs one!

Just get out there and VOTE!!!

TUESDAY 6am - 9pm

Rondout High School Gym

Blog Pages on HS Project Topic: (click links below)

• HS Project Blog Page #1
• HS Project Poll #1
• HS Project Blog Page #2
• HS Project Poll #2

The baby and the bath water or... the continuing saga of the Rondout HS Facilities Project

In NY State property taxes & schools are currently inseparable, so while we put our efforts towards the reform of the entire NY system, we must work with what we got. After reading this blog you may want to learn more about how in NY public schools are funded along with the Property Tax Reform Movement by going to: Rondout Valley Property Tax Task Force. <--click link

The majority of those responding to last week's poll favor the school project. However, many comments are critical or hesitant at best. From talking to folks, it seems that very few are strongly in favor and most seem to be simply sick and tired of hearing about the project only to watch it drag on and become more expensive.

Here is some info on specific issues that folks are concerned with.

• The scope of the project with respect to the population study.

• I personally attended the Citizens Task Force meetings on this topic. While it is true that, based on our current birth rate and known population trends, the enrollment of the High School is expected to decrease in the future. It is also true that soon the current over crowding will begin to be relieved because there was a birth rate increase in late '80s through the early '90s. Planning for adequate classroom space considers not just known population values but includes planning for unforeseen change. We are a rural area with tremendous potential for residential development. Like it or not, we also are close enough to the ever expanding NYC suburban boundary to have a reasonable concern that, despite the study, our population will not permanently shrink and could even grow. Because of this realistic growth potential, the square footage of this project is reasonable.

• Green features - Is this important or a bribe to the eco-minded folks? You decide.

• From Manna Jo Greene - "Green Architects Amy Moses and Rick Alfandre will define high performance building and it value in face of rising energy costs. 4.5% of project costs will be dedicated to cost-effective energy-efficiency and other high performance building features. This will include incentives available for green building and renewable energy, cost benefits, and NY-CHPS guidelines. We are hoping RV High School will become one of the first in NY State to use the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) guidelines.... It will also set aside 4.5% of the total project costs for energy-efficient, high performance features such as super-insulating the building and the addition to save energy and utilizing a variety of other green building features. It could also include geothermal heating and cooling for the new construction, solar electric and/or hot water, and any other forms of energy efficiency or renewable energy that will pay for themselves or better over the 15-year life payback period and will continue to provide reduced operating and maintenance costs for years to come. These features will more than pay for themselves over the life of the bond and reduce our taxes by decreasing the District's operating costs -- even for the expanded project..."

• The District's Past History with Projects and Facility Management

• This one drives me crazy because the school is so seriously decayed, broken, smelly (yes, smelly!), and totally not up to modern standards or even building codes for health and safety. Our high school is a wheelchair bound person's nightmare. It is as big of a mess as the newsletter shows and perhaps even worse. Does it serve us any purpose to discuss this? Many folks believe it does, many are angry because it seems like it just gets worse. It is worth repeating again and again; The minute this project is completed it will begin to deteriorate. It is up to every citizen, taxpayer, resident, parent, teacher & student to demand that our school board maintain every facility we own.
  

• Fund Balance Questions

• This my personal big issue. NY State Law instructs school districts to hold no more than 2% of unencumbered fund balance as a, if you will, rainy day fund for non-budgeted, unanticipated expenses. Fund Balance comes from prior years where the entire budget was not spent. Because NY limits the amount of money a district can pile up in fund balance our school district has routinely funded all of its permitted reserve accounts, for instance; reserves set aside for increases in the anticipated costs of retiree health insurance, to the maximum levels permitted by law. The Rondout School District is well prepared for all sorts of financial contingencies. Based on a budget of about $55 mil we should have a fund balance of about 1.1 mil. While we do not have a current figure, it will be released in mid Oct., based on past fund balances, I estimate that we have in between 8-12 million in our fund balance!!!
  

• In my opinion, this is an illegal reserve account and THE PEOPLE should be allowed to use this money toward this project. In Proposition #2, the board agreed to release 3 mil of the fund balance towards the project. I believe that the board should be releasing all but 1.1 mil towards this project in either proposition. Assuming we have 8 mil in fund balance and the district kept 1.1 for an emergency. This would mean that Proposition #1 would cost the taxpayers nothing, zero, nada, bupkis $0.00! Proposition #2 would put 6.9 mil of fund balance into the project, which would leave the taxpayers to come up about $40.00/year per household rather than $68.00.
  

• Think about this - While the savings of $28.00 per household isn't a huge difference, the slightly lower tax rate per thousand could make a difference to a prospective business looking around for a new location!! Every little bit counts - we need our school district to return our money on this project!!!
  

Should we demand that our board reconsider this again until they get it exactly right or is this the best deal we are going to get therefore we should vote it in and thank our lucky stars we live in a country where we have both a vote and the right to discuss our options?

Note to readers - Recently, a commentator suggested that I have not posted the entire facts. I am not an expert on schools projects and I am certain that I have not included every fact there is on our HS project. I do not pretend to not have my own opinions, as a matter of fact I state them as 'my opinion'. I have created this blog to encourage folks to discuss the issue by posting your own comments, opinions and any facts you have on this important decision. I know people feel very strongly on this subject and I thank every commentator for their input.

Please take a moment to add your opinion on the poll question on the right.

Is the High School Capital Project good for us as a community?

Please use the comments button to post your thoughts anonymously.

Rondout HS Project Poll #1 Results

Are you in favor of the Rondout Valley High School $33,365,000 Capital Facilities Project?
YES! it will be good for the children, so it doesn't matter what it costs.	41% (9)
Yes, I am optimistic that a better school will save money in the long run.	23% (5)
No, it is too much money to spend, we should only do the minimum required.	32% (7)
NO! a fancy school is for rich suburban kids, the high school is good enough as is.	5% (1)
Total number of votes is 22.

$33,365,000 High School Capital Facilities Project ????

We, as the voting public of the Rondout Valley School District, are about to make a huge decision:

• Should we give the Board of Education approval to spend $33,365,000 on a High School Capital Facilities Project ?
  

Ultimately, this decision is about three things;

1. Will this High School Renovation/Improvement Project help our children be successful?

Many of the proposed renovations will simply bring the building up to code and will expand and modernize classrooms that currently lack adequate space and equipment to do such things as chemistry and biology labs. There can be no doubt that a clean new environment, without crumbling concrete stairs, old corroded windows and broken bathrooms will benefit students because cleanliness is better for their health, and safety is an absolute requirement.

Ultimately, the success or failure of students relies more on the support they receive at home, than how pretty their classroom is. But, the question remains, does a nicer school result in better grades?

One of the more well known studies was done in between 1999 and 2003 the HESCHONG MAHONE GROUP, Inc. of Fair Oaks, CA studied the effects of lighting and other physical comforts, such as ventilation, on productivity. They specifically studied students in classrooms with respect to their standardized test scores and attendance. The results were remarkable, after the data was retested and reanalyzed for accuracy, it was apparent that students exposed to the most sunlight had a 21% increase in productivity over the students with the least. Since, in corporate settings and schools, similar increases in productivity are no longer a mysterious consequence of increased sunlight but rather an anticipated result.

Perhaps the answer is simpler than a study can tell us.

If given a choice, where would you rather work? In an old office, at an dilapidated desk designed for a different job? OR In a modern office with a new work table and plenty of ventilation and sunlight? Would you be more productive in the newer office?

Should we be giving our students every opportunity we can afford in order to help them succeed?

2. Assuming everything about this project is what we want - Can we actually afford it?

This is in certain ways a personal decision. The school district has a bunch of charts and graphs on their website showing all sorts of combinations of how much this will likely cost each taxpayer. The bottom line is this: Most folks in Rochester have an average assessment of around $186,000. At that level, with Basic STAR, if both propositions pass, you will have a tax increase of about $68.00/yr. If you have No STAR, it will be about $80.00/yr. and with Senior STAR- $60.00/yr.

Is this affordable? Can your family afford an additional $5-7.00 per month to pay for this? Although none of us like taxes, most folks believe that public education is a good use for tax money.

Perhaps, the affordability question should really be - Is this a good deal, in terms of NYS coming up with their part of the deal? After reviewing the reimbursement proposal, for the standalone minimal Project # 1, NYS is scheduled to reimburse the district at a rate of 73% or $15,404,787 and for the more expansive combined Project #2, they will reimburse at a rate of 61% for a total of $20,215,595! The members of the Citizens Task Force along with the other planners have done a tremendous job in carefully using the state reimbursement schedules to get us the best deal possible. From this point of view this is a good deal!

3. Do we have faith in the Board of Education to manage the project?

• Has the Board of Education developed a plan that is cost effective both in terms of building it AND maintaining it, in the future?
• Does the plan adequately cover what is needed in order to avoid wasteful cost overruns in the form of change orders'?
• Is the Board of Education prepared to play hardball, if necessary, with the commercial building professionals from Turner and others in order to manage the spending?

These are the real tough questions. We can not even begin to discuss the school project plan with acknowledging the Enrollment Projection Study. We have a problem here! Based on a bunch of factors this well grounded, properly done study tells us that we are about to have less and less children in the high school. Unless something dramatic happens, for instance a major industry moves to our area (if only!) this downward shift in school population is almost certain. Has the proposal taken this into consideration? Does this mean we do not need this project? Let's talk about the current condition of the school and future maintenance.

This is where I get to say - It's my blog and I'll say what I want to.... In the past the district has done a horrible job of taking care of the facility. Some of the blame goes to the state for setting up the system that gives incentives only for huge renovation projects and no money towards slow steady upgrade projects done on a systematic, perhaps annual, basis. Part of the blame rests on the administration for not having aggressive building maintenance in terms of small repairs and other issues that should have been addressed from a janitorial/facility management point of view. The balance of the blame needs to be split between past school boards for a lack of foresight and leadership, poor management of the facilities and even poorer planning for not doing basic maintenance and for not anticipating and preparing for changes in building uses and academic needs.

Ultimately, it is us, the public, who are to blame for voting for school board members who have allowed this facility to become run down, unsafe, and shamefully decrepit. Have you seen the district's propaganda slide show, the school looks like buildings in places like Newark, NJ (no offense to Newarkites!). The worst part is if you go to the high school and take a tour to check it out, you'll see that it really is THAT bad!

So, can we trust them to keep up a new school?? NO Way - the only reason they ever do anything is because people complain. If this project passes, WE, THE PEOPLE, need to never allow a school board, administration and anyone in building maintenance, to let our investment decay to this condition again. We must force our board to spend their war chest of fund balance money on things like keeping our schools clean and safe, for students to learn in. It is never a savings to forgo facility maintenance, it always costs much more to fix later.

The answer to the second question is Yes, the original plan did not address the desire of the community to have a Green Building in terms of a commitment to the environment per se as well as the projected savings on utility costs based on a more efficient use of resources. As plans go, this is a pretty good design that works for us.

Ahhhhhh, my favorite part of this topic - Let me be as plain and simple as I can be about this: Commercial building professionals are evil sharks who's livelihood depends on squeezing every last nickel out of school districts like ours. Do I think the good folks from the EYP, Turner, the PR firm and others have been consciously taking advantage of us? Not really, but it is the nature of the process of doing projects, especially renovation projects, that unanticipated things always happen and they always cost more than originally planned. To blindly think that this isn't going to happen on our project is naive and silly.

CAN YOU SAY ULSTER COUNTY JAIL!!!!

What is equally silly is to imagine that our school board (unpaid volunteers who have normal day jobs, families and other commitments) and our school administrators (professionally trained educators with mission critical responsibilities running the schools) can manage a project of this size. We cannot, this is why we hired Turner Construction to manage the project. For a long time my big question has been - WHO IS LOOKING OUT FOR US? Who will manage the management company? If we had considered this back in 2001 perhaps the jail would have come in on time and on budget?

The truth is that we need a building professional to act as our ombudsman or clerk of the works. I envision that lunch meetings, opera tickets and golf weekends would be prohibited. I envision a person who would keep ridiculously detailed notes of everything that happened every day. Keep track of contractors coming and going. Keep logs of material delivered and used. AND, and, and... be a diplomatic but nevertheless PITA to keep things organized, going and honest. We are in the high tech world so this person would need a portable communications device to be in synch with everyone involved with the project including the computer which his/hers assistant would enter everything into project management software. What would this cost? Is this what we need to insure that we get what we pay for? If we vote for this project we need to insist that our investment is protected from the beginning... What do you think?

Please take a moment to add your opinion on the poll question on the right.

Is the High School Capital Project good for us as a community?

Please use the comment button to post your thoughts anonymously.

Rochester Subdivision Law Poll Results

What should the next step be for proposed Local Law #4 - Subdivision Law and Zoning Law?
A new committee should review this and come up with fresh recommendations.	48% (13)
The Town Board should vote it in and that's that.	48% (13)
Scrap the entire thing and let the old laws be enough.	0% (0)
It doesn't matter because we are going to do what ever we want because they cannot enforce this law.	4% (1)
Total number of votes is 27.

Rural Character(s)

What the heck is 'Rural Character'?

This question has been floated around over the last few years.

Rural America certainly looks different from the suburbs or the city but what does that difference mean to those who were born in the country or folks who moved from the city to the country?

For instance, on a mid September morning, while driving down Queens Highway, three guys look at the same view entirely differently.

• The young local guy is driving his silver 2005 GMC diesel pick-up. He grew up farming, and now works in construction when he isn't volunteering down at the fire house. To make some extra money, he manages to hay a couple of fields and sell cord wood because he wants to build a modular home on a lot his Grandfather left for him. He looks at the field and notices that the farmer has a new mower. He thinks, "Ayup, I'm going to need a new mower soon. I should stop by his place and check his out". He looks out onto the horizon and sees a few sprays of yellow foliage which make him smile. Fall means deer and turkey season. Hunting is good for his soul.
  

• The retired fellow drives a 2002 Green Subaru Forester. He and his wife moved here 40 years ago when he got a job at IBM. Now, they go to Florida for a couple of months every winter and live here the rest of the time. He looks across and thinks, "Winter is right around the corner, I need to call my neighbor and ask him to drop off a couple of cords of wood." He looks out onto the horizon and smiles because fall means that the grand kids will come visit to go to Kelders's Farm for pumpkins and Halloween corn. Grand kids are good for his soul.
  

• The weekender is stylish in his showroom fresh 2008 Metallic Blue Buick Enclave. He is on his way to Saunderskill Farm to get some bread and a pie. He passes the field and notices the Gunks in the background. He thinks about how lucky he is to be here. He scans the horizon and sees what looks like an eagle. "What could be better than to get involved in saving this beautiful place from becoming just like every other ugly suburb." Fall means inviting friends up to the country for delicious dinners in front of the fire place. Weekends in Accord are good for his soul.
  

Three men, one farm, one view, three different rural characters? What these men do not know is exactly how interdependent they really are.

Over the past few years the young local guy worked on scores of houses all over town. From mundane lawn cutting to being part of building a million dollar home he has helped make life better for dozens of folks. Local guys play critical roles as craftsmen, artisans, laborers and contractors. They fix cars, repair wells and will check on your place after a storm. As farmers, store owners and restaurateurs local guys feed the masses and then, as firemen or on the rescue squad, they show up to save you when you dial 911!!!

The retired fellow and his wife have been married for 47 years and have two grown children. Their son is an electrical engineer and lives just outside of Boston. Their daughter teaches fourth grade in Rosendale and her husband is a district manager for Cumberland Farms. They have two grand children, a boy and a girl. Like many retirees around, this couple provides day to day economic stability as they regularly go to the market, hardware store, bank and diner. Between he and his wife, they volunteer about six hours a week at the Church, Friends of Historic Rochester and the Food Pantry. His volunteer efforts and his steady reliance on local guys and businesses for everything from home repairs, car tune-ups to a couple of cords of wood provide for a strong and stable community.

The weekender, ahhhh, the weekender, everyone's favorite guy to pick on. Yeah, he can be thoughtless, he doesn't know a thing about living in the country and what's with that car.... it's shinier than the bald spot on his head! The weekender provides a couple of things that we all benefit from. First is money, and over time, we are talking lots of money. What's the first thing a weekender does? Spend money on their house; there is always a bathroom that needs to be gutted, a new kitchen installed, porches rebuilt and paint doesn't just put itself up! Next there is the maintenance; sprinklers, lawns, snow removal, cleaning, landscaping, pool work - the list goes on and on. Then, of course it's time to eat, and eat and eat! This money spent is very good for our community but is there anything else the weekenders provide? Maybe, it depends on your point of view. Clearly, weekenders often bring an upscale, hip, some might use the old fashioned term 'yuppy', values up with them. Amongst these values is a strong commitment to the environment and a desire to preserve the natural beauty and history that surrounds them here.

Hey, wait a second, doesn't the local guy hunt, doesn't he love the outdoors and the last I spoke with him, he said he wanted to get married and raise his kids here because it is safe. Aren't those the same things the rich dude wants; to be in the country, where it's safe while surrounded by nature? What about the old guy and his wife - all they want is to age gracefully, live where it's clean and to be safe?

We have a trend going here, don't we?

Maybe, just maybe, rural character isn't about apple pie, old houses, farm stands, views or even being a good old boy with a pick up truck.

Maybe rural character is really about something we actually already share - the desire to, even if it is just on the weekend, live simply, quietly and at peace with nature - even if that is defined by blasting a tiny corner of nature with a little bird shot early on a Saturday morning.

Think about this, Mother Nature is good for our town's soul!

Is preserving nature good for us as a community?

Please use the comment button to post your thoughts anonymously.