Woodstock CT Café

Every day a Town meeting occurs at this website. The number of commentors is a low percentage of the number of actual visitors who read the articles at this site. There are no harangues and no glaring stare-downs. Consider the possibilities.

Bert: “(you) might be suprised to find that your conspiracy theory is not valid.”

Ernie: I hope all of you realize what has happened in the Town of Woodstock. The Board of Education is in the process of spending alot of money to sue the Town Of Woodstock and the Woodstock Academy. They have unilaterally decided that Prop 46 is illegal because it prevents them as Agents of the State from providing a proper education because of a lack of funding. They are telling the Citizens of Woodstock who have repeatedly voted to support Prop 46 to shove it. They are seeking legal recourse to get their way because they lose at every vote and every cheap tactic they pull. When the one thing the BOE refuses to do is study their own budget and make the necessary cuts without hurting the quality of Education. I hope the BOE realizes they are out on a limb. As Public Officials they have deliberately presented a budget which is in violation of a legal Town Ordinance. They should be personally liable for all funds spent on their lawsuit. Woodstock is going to pay three times for this legal manuever. Money by the BOE to sue, money by the Town to defend 46, and money spent by the Academy to defend itself, Woodstocks share will be 40% of the Academy bill. Margaret Wholean is the Chief Elected Offical of this Town and her responsibility is to enforce all ordiances and rules of the Town. She is in favor of this lawsuit and I await to see her do her duty and defend 46. People of Woodstock there is something to be said of following the law and abiding by the Citizen’s votes at the ballot box, its called living in a civilized society. You are encouraging the breaking of the law and the ends justifying the means. I believe you will lose this battle and rue the day you chosen to behave like this. Education is a legacy we give to our children and the current public education system is failing miserably. The Teachers Unions and the Education Mafia only care about their special interest group, money and power. This not really about money because the money is there and the BOE can’t look under the carpet and expose all the waste. They must defend the status quo and just seek more money. After all money solves all of lifes problems. Isn’t that how you deal with your childrens problems, just give them all the money they want. Why do that with BOE who have been proven so incompetent and arrogant. Citizens of Woodstock wake up and say no the these people. Demand accountability and answers.

Bert: Mr. Wetzel, The BOE is not telling the Prop 46 supporters to “shove itâ€?. They are merely upholding their end of responsibility which is to provide a state mandated educational program which Prop 46 does not allow for. You have to expect a give and take, a battle and a counterbattle. This is the way the system works and the way in which any debatable issue needs to move in order to reach resolvement. Townwide voting is only the beginning of the process. Just because a majority of people voted to keep Prop 46 does not make it legal, nor does a vote gaurantee that there will be no counter actions. Although the electorate has a powerful voice, it is not the be all and end all. Read the rest of this entry »

Quote of interview by Jessica Durkin with Lindsey Paul, Chairman of the Board of Education, taken from an article published in the Norwich Bulletin, May 27th:

Ms. Paul speaking about the larger uncut budget:

“…The schools are facing a budget Paul said does not allow any new teacher positions, programs or buses, and there is a reduction in money for new textbooks and library periodicals. She said the school needs more money than is being allocated.

The board (of Education) has authorized the superintendent to seek intervention from the state Department of Education to look at the funding.

‘We have little area for discretionary spending,’ Paul said….�

Quote of interview by Jessica Durkin with Barbara Rich, Woodstock Town Treasure, taken from an article published in the Norwich Bulletin, May 27th:

“…Town Treasurer Barbara Rich said the school district cannot spend any more than the town gives it. The $14.1 million (education) budget is the highest allowable amount under the town’s property tax cap, Proposition 46. …(This is simply NOT TRUE! Would someone explain to Ms. Rich that Proposition 46 does not speak specifically about the Education budget? Would someone also ask Ms. Rich who is the “town” that she is referring to? Admin)

‘The townspeople need to understand that the budget they are voting on, as recommended by the Board of Finance, is the lower number, and the board (of Education) is going to have to live with it.’ …â€? Read the rest of this entry »

“The intent was to have an objective, respectable commission that advises the electorate of the Town� not Ms. Wholean

Ms. Wholean proclaims that “We were distracted from the merits of the fiscal 2007 budget� in the Villager on Friday, May 26th. What merits could she be talking about - she never explains what these merits might be.

She apparently now writes a column for the Villager called “From the Hot Seat” to inform us about what is on her mind. I read her statement and saw nothing but idle thoughts. She honed in on the two referenda surrounding Prop 46 as the “distractionâ€?. She ‘boldly’ pointed out the contradiction that the petition for the first referendum to repeal 46 was “brought forward by some of Prop 46’s most ardent supporters, apparently in an attempt to confuse.â€? She must have read the Café article published on March 31st entitled “The Prop 46 Referendum – A Strategy to Undermine and Punish the BOEâ€? where we started with the sentence, “The recent Proposition 46 referendum was likely a tactic by Mr. Wetzel and the Citizens for Prudent Spending (CPS) and possibly the Board of Selectman (BOS) to destroy the Woodstock Board of Education’s (BOE) position with its projected budget deficit.â€?

With all of the ranting that Mr. Wetzel has uttered here and elsewhere, the one denial he has not made is that this indeed was their “tactic� to rally people in Town against the repeal or amendment of Prop 46. And, his strategy worked very well in a very negative way. By “negative� I mean that thoughtless people were whipped into a frenzy to support a proposition that makes no sense - a proposition that even Everett Shepard would amend according to his statements on WINY. I suggest that the people who rallied to defeat the attempt to repeal or modify 46, would likely vote to eliminate Selectmen salaries if such a referendum was petitioned.

Ms. Wholean fails to point out that it was SHE who took a 25-signature petition and turned it into the referendum that manipulated and damaged the entire town. SHE openly stated in the Villager that SHE preferred to have a referendum at the Town’s expense because SHE was not comfortable with the tension of Town meetings. If SHE had recognized, as SHE states, that there was a contradiction in Wetzel’s petition then why did SHE convert it into a Town referendum? If SHE didn’t recognize this contradiction, then SHE must be unable to conclude that one and one makes two. It’s my impression that SHE doesn’t understand what SHE is doing. Her article suggests this with one vacuous paragraph after another.

The electorate of the Town has a right to petition, but to take a 25-signature petition and convert it into a Town-wide vote is a ridiculous exercise. I proposed that we have one more referendum – that is, to vote on elimination of the Selectmen’s salaries. Should the Selectmen receive salaries? YES or NO. I would be willing to bet $$$ that the NO votes would prevail…just like they did in the last two referenda. And, I would support this referendum with a petition of 500 signatures.

Ms. Wholean announced that she is taking the advice of the Board of Finance and forming “an advisory group to look at these issues of budgeting…â€? But, she never explained what issues she was talking about. She asked that anyone interested in this project to give her a call - how amateurish can she be? The only qualifications are that you have to be “hard workers and good listenersâ€? and “You don’t have to know about finance…â€? but you should be “open-minded and reasonably comfortable with numbers.â€? Again, how amateurish can one be? Read the rest of this entry »

Negotiations Over the School Budget

Representing the BOE - Lindsey Cleese…Representing the BOF – Shirley Palin

CLEESE: Good morning, I’d like to buy a lovely cat.
PALIN: Certainly Miss. I’ve got this terrier. (pointing to a cage)
CLEESE: No. I want a cat …really!
PALIN: Oh yeah, how about that? (pointing to another cage)
CLEESE: No. That’s a terrier too.
PALIN: Well dammit.
CLEESE: Well what do you mean? I want a cat!
PALIN: Listen, tell you what. I’ll file its legs down a bit, take its snout out, stick a few wires through its cheeks. There you are…lovely pussy cat.
CLEESE: It’s not a proper cat.
PALIN: What do you mean?
CLEESE: Well it wouldn’t meow.
PALIN: Well it would howl a bit.
CLEESE: How long would that take?
PALIN: Oh, let me see…er, file its legs down a bit, take out its snout, stick a few wires through its cheeks … (calling) hey Hosmer…can you do a lovely cat job on this terrier right away?

“…the health of our whole Community is at stake because of a few fools. “

It was three years ago that I attended my first Town meeting. It was the Annual budget meeting and I sat there in the audience, listening to children speaking (some even crying) about the loss of their Middle School programs and some of their special teachers who had inspired them. I listened as parents and children alike presented reasoning to defend a good school system in efforts to keep programs intact and plead for more funding. One parent wondered if stripping the K-8 system would eventually have an effect on performances at the Academy. The Headmaster of the Academy, Kent Weaver, stood up and agreed that it would effect their performances at the Academy. I was overwhelmed with a feeling of helplessness. How could we help our school system, and why was this happening?

A woman next to me mentioned under her breath that it was all “46″ and that we had a “spending capâ€? and that there just wasnt any more money. I then opened up my copy of the Town budget and flipped through it for the first time ever. I always read from the back- so I happened to land on the Parks and Recreation page. There it was- staring at me. A Town Beach budget of $20,000. Other line items on the page jumped out as well. They seemed silly considering the heart wrenching statements of children who would loose out on their education programs. Read the rest of this entry »

“…(it’s as though) you, the Academy, sponsor the damage inflicted by members of your own Board of Trustees (on the Woodstock school system).â€?

The comment by Citizen Cain points out a troubling contradiction in the composition of the Board of Trustees of Woodstock Academy. The statement was made by another commenter here at this site that “…the Academy can not be held responsible for Woodstock’s political problems.� Whether or not this is a direct quote of a statement made by the Board of Trustees of the Academy at the Trustees’ meeting Tuesday night, this statement almost certainly was inferred or implied in responding to the request of Lindsay Paul and Bill Loftus that the Academy reduce their tuition rates for Woodstock students for the coming school year.

All of the writers who have spoken at this site have spoken very positively about the Academy - there have been no disparaging words about the Academy to date. It’s my sense that the citizens of Woodstock take great pride in the presence of the Academy as a centerpiece of Woodstock …it’s what’s good about the Town. I personally feel this way and I have posted articles at this site that express my unhappiness with the idea that we should look for alternative high schools for Woodstock high school students. The thought of having our own public high school separate from the Academy repels me to the point that I posted the article on “My Son’s Vallydictorian Speech from da First Graduating Class of Woodstock High -2010â€?. I believe that turning over the education of Woodstock high school students to the Town would be a dramatic step down given the poor record of political hassling in Town. Until the Town managers can be guaranteed to function in a professional manner, I will perish the thought of turning over the oversight of the entire education system to the Town.

This is not to say that I have a negative view of our current Board of Education, the K-8 administration, or Superintendent Frank Baran. I hold them in high esteem and thank them for their tireless efforts and their perseverance in spite of the negativity of a minority element in our Town.

I agree that the Academy cannot be held responsible for Woodstock’s political problems and I mocked the thought of asking the Academy to reduce tuition for Woodstock students. So, I fully understand the Academy’s response. And, I forgive Ms. Paul and Mr. Loftus for posing this request to the Academy – they had no choice but to play out all options before going to the next step. I am 100% behind them and the Academy …with one small exception.

I say this is a small exception because I am virtually certain that the Academy is embarrassed by the contradiction that I now mention… embarrassed more than anyone. I am speaking about the fact that one of the members of the Board of Trustees of the Academy has played a major role in stirring up a truly negative atmosphere and attitude among the Woodstock voters and citizenry toward the Woodstock school system, its Board of Education, the Superintendent, the entire K-8 administration, and all of the teachers…and I emphasize, this individual has been doing so in the name of the Academy. Read the rest of this entry »

As the current budgetary process comes to a close, it is time to put together a commission to review the budget and budgetary process in preparation for the coming year.

The suggestion of forming and charging an independent group or commission to step outside of the present, annual toil, and struggle with the municipal budgetary crisis, to consider the myriad competing issues, sources of present problems, and possible solutions bears much merit. It would be worth the effort of requesting the Board of Selectman or Board of Education to enlist volunteers to undertake this mission. Read the rest of this entry »

Angry or redundant comments like those of Interested, and the like, will now be posted in the comment section of a previous article now known as the Siberian file by Admin. Or, you can go to the CPS’ers website for more of the same.

“…we need to listen and understand the other cultures around us…�

This last week I was fortunate to be able to listen to two very successful entrepreneurs talk about their philosophies in doing business. It struck me that their message could be applied to many sectors of life where opinions differ and a consensus needs to be built. We have this situation in Woodstock as we debate the future of the Town.

One of these men was the former 10-year President of the Pima Maricopa tribal nation, Ivan Makil. The second speaker was Mexican businessman, Salvador Apud, who provides consultancy and training services for global corporations. The common expertise that these two eloquent speakers offered was their ability to conduct business in multi-culture environments – one, an American Indian, doing business with Caucasian American, European, and South American businesses, and one, a Mexican, doing business with US, Japanese, and Brazilian companies. On the surface, one would think that such combinations with Mexican or Indian guidance would be at a disadvantage in the business world. However, a vast majority of new globally merged companies have either failed or lost money as a consequence of their inter-cultural alignment. The expertise that these men offer is the ability to cross cultural barriers to form successful cross-cultural business alliances. Read the rest of this entry »

Since the Villager has a “Pet of the Week” section, we thought that The Cafe should come into the 19th century and have the same. But there can be only one pet of the week at the Cafe.

Meet Gizzy-Doo, 1&1/2 foot long 2-year old Tasmanian dragon. Gizzy-Doo is a non-neutered domestic lizard. Gizzy-Doo came to us terrified of people … and still is. Gizzy-Doo in the right company loves to roll around while being scratched under the chin and adores belly rubs. Gizzy-Doo prefers a quiet home with no small children and definitely needs lessons on social instruction. Gizzy-Doo does not like dogs or cats but probably would enjoy the company of other lizards. Do you have room in your home for this lovely gentleman? Don’t even ask because Gizzy-Doo is being trained for a special mission.

You see, Gizzy-Doo does not like humans and, in fact, thrives on human blood. Gizzy-Doo is being bred to produce thousands of Gizzy-Doos. We figure that there are only so many CPS’ers so we only need several hundred off-spring. Gizzy-Doos especially like alcohol breath so they will be like homing pigeons to CPS’ers. Remember that scene in “The Godfather” where the guy wakes up with a horse’s head in his bed. The difference here is that Gizzy-Doo will not be dead. After he takes care of you, he will go on to the extended family. You can’t catch him, and most times you won’t even see him. ‘Straight to the jugular’ is Gizzy-Doos motto and he is at his best after dark.

Every time you hear a mouse running along the ceiling or in the wall, consider the possibility that it might not be a mouse …  it may be a herd of Gizzy-Doos introduced to your domicile by a political adversary. Remember, although you’ve got the votes, we’ve got the Gizzy-Doos.

As the Villager states “It’s not about money! Our mission is to eliminate cancer in our lifetimes” … think Gizzy-Doo.

The Villager also states that “personal attacks will not be published.” Believe me, there’s nothing personal about Gizzy-Doos attacks! Read the rest of this entry »

A Quote from Sender’s Comment “…Tonight (May 16th), Mrs. Paul and Mr. Loftus made yet again another pitch to the WA Trustees for a reduction in tuition. They were told that the Academy can not be held responsible for Woodstock’s political problems.” See full comment under the article, “The Board of Selectmen’s Performance…”

“…get as many school supplies at the Town Transfer Station as possible…�

On Thursday night (May 11) the Board of Education met to discuss options for cutting nearly $427,000 from their budget at the direction of the Board of Finance. In a feeble attempt to minimize cuts to the already strapped K-8 schools, the BOE tabled the discussion of cuts to the K-8 budget in favor of first requesting a reduction of tuition amounting to $147,000 from the Woodstock Academy.

The fuzzy math that generates this number of $147,000 is as follows:

The BOE has projected that there will be 481 Woodstock students at the Academy next year. The BOF will only accept 475 as the ‘legitimate’ projected number of Academy students - the BOF’s wisdom escapes me. Let’s remember that the BOF scolded the BOE for under-projecting this number last year. Is 481 students a more reasonable projection than 475, or is it not? Perhaps we should determine the identities of six ‘undeserving’ students who will not qualify for education in the coming year just to make sure that 475 is the correct number. So the BOE obliges the BOF by subtracting $59,500 (the cost of sending 6 students to the Academy in 2006-2007) from the amount that must be cut from the BOE budget to give $367,500 ($427,000 - $59,500 = $367,500). This is the first ridiculous permutation of the calculation.

Mr. Loftus of the BOE then reasoned that since the portion of the budget required to pay the tuition for our Academy students is 40% of the total education budget, the Academy should reduce their tuition charges to the Town of Woodstock by 40% or by $147,000 ($147,000 is 40% of the $367,500 that must be cut from the education budget). For this he should be nominated for the Nobel Prize in Economics. Is it reasonable that because the Town of Woodstock refuses to support the education system, that the Academy should just give the Town the money? I must be missing something because I do not understand this line of reasoning at all. Isn’t it a logical extension of this ‘creative’ thinking that the BOE should also contact the light and power company, the gas suppliers, and insurance vendors, and all other Town vendors to the school system and ask them to cut their bills correspondingly also?

This ‘solution’ seems like a foolish exercise that makes no sense, especially if you’re an accountant at the Academy. If the Academy accepts the BOE request introduced by Mr. Loftus’ proposal, I will admit to being just down-right stupid. But, it’s hard to be that stupid. I apologize for saying this because from Mr. Loftus and the BOE’s point of view, they certainly felt that they had no other options left.

This ‘solution’ comes on the heels of last year’s budgetary difficulties that led the Academy to accept a 0% tuition increase for ALL of its students in order to accommodate Woodstock. This ‘solution’ fails to acknowledge that the K-8 school system has been in this pickle for several years now and we are asking the Academy to pay for this. Let’s not forget that in past years under the ‘leadership’ of Mr. Snow, the BOE accommodated the BOF by submitting budgets that were less than allowed by Prop 46 for the purpose of ‘looking good’ in the eyes of the electorate. Even Mr. Shepherd suggested such in order to get elected during his interview on WINY a few weeks ago. Asking the Academy to ‘help out’ is truly unprofessional and laughable. Furthermore, this solution avoids acknowledging the real problem of an under-funded school system, in the process of giving the Academy a real knee-slapper behind doors. Read the rest of this entry »

Since the Villager has a “Pet of the Week” section, we thought that The Cafe should come into the 19th century and have the same.

Meet Gizzy-Doo, 1&1/2 foot long 2-year old Tasmanian dragon. Gizzy-Doo is a non-neutered domestic lizard. Gizzy-Doo came to us terrified of people…and still is. Gizzy-Doo in the right company loves to roll around while being scratched under the chin and adores belly rubs. Gizzy-Doo prefers a quiet home with no small children and definitely needs lessons on social instruction. Gizzy-Doo does not like dogs or cats but probably would enjoy the company of other lizards. Do you have room in your home for this lovely gentleman? Don’t even ask because Gizzy-Doo is being trained for a special mission.

You see, Gizzy-Doo does not like humans and, in fact, thrives on human blood. Gizzy-Doo is being bred to produce thousands of Gizzy-Doo’s. We figure that there are only so many CPS’ers so we only need several hundred off-spring Gizzy-Doo’s especially like alcohol breath so they will be like homing pigeons to CPS’ers. Remember that scene in “The Godfather where the guy wakes up with a horse’s head in his bed. The difference here is that Gizzy-Doo will not be dead. After he takes care of you, he will go on to the extended family. You can’t catch him, and most times you won’t even see him. “Straight to the jugular” is Gizzy-Doo’s motto and he is at his best after dark.

Every time you hear a mouse running along the ceiling or in the wall, consider the possibility that it might not be a mouse… it may be a herd of Gizzy-Doo’s introduced to your domicile by a political adversary. Remember, although you’ve got the votes, we’ve got the Gizzy-Doo’s.

As the Villager states “It’s not about money. Our mission is to eliminate cancer in our own lifetime!”…think Gizzy-Doo.

The Villager also states that “personal attacks will not be published!” Believe me, there’s nothing personal about Gizzy-Doo’s attacks! Read the rest of this entry »

“…new accounting requirements would allow assessment of whether Woodstock’s financial position has improved or deteriorated…�

At the risk of boring a dead horse to tears, I thought that I would bring up once again the obvious fact that the annual Town budget process is a catastrophe - poorly presented, poorly justified, difficult to comprehend, and not comprehensive. Perhaps it would be better to call this process the ‘knee-jerk’ and ‘pet project’ or “KJ&PeePee� budgetary process of the town.

This is a year when expenditures in the proposed education budget were >$500,000 above the amount allowable under Prop 46, and a failed salt facility needed to be replaced by the Town. Part of the $500,000 ‘over-run’ in the education budget may be explained in the revelation made by former Chairman of the Board of Finance, Everett Shepherd, on WINY when he said that the education budget came in lower than the budget allowable under Prop 46 in preceding years. This was, no doubt, due to pressure by the Board of Finance to produce inadequate budgets along with mindless compliance, to the point of financial incompetence, on the part of past Boards of Education. As he expressed his support of the amendment of Prop 46, Mr. Shepherd, in complete honesty, let it slip that he could speak up about this now because he was not running for office.

If you examine the education budget you will find tremendous detail in the number of lines and budgetary items. I am not questioning the importance or validity of any of these expenses. Nevertheless, they are impossible to justify on face value. If you look at the Town operating budget, which hasn’t born the intense scrutiny of the education budget, you see a lot of things we just don’t need. I feel sorry for Mr. Cinquanta having to pay for “Dial-a-Rideâ€? caper or the ferreting away of $100,000 for some fictitious future purchase of open space. I guess what the Town gives to the taxpayer in PA-490, it erases and reverses every year in other questionable expenses. And, let’s not forget the $350,000 to be bonded for the unneeded soccer field. Read the rest of this entry »

“…the Selectmen hide the money for these pay raises in the contingency fund..”

Since Prop 46 is so restrictive in this Reval year, it should go without saying that we have to first fund those things that are legally obligated. Until we can adequately fund our State- and union-obligations, there should be absolutely NO increase in salaries, personnel, programs or services. Read the rest of this entry »

“Local boards of education are not agents of the towns but creatures of the state. 25 CS 305″

I was appalled when I read the ‘minutes’ posted by the two citizens on the left and below. I was repelled when I read that Ms. Paul was delegated to speak only at the time of “Citizen’s Participation� rather than being allowed to speak of behalf of the BOE as a regular agenda item. This was not only low class behavior by the BOS, but it was downright rude and disrespectful. And, the way this happened was even more bizarre. Ms. Wholean was not able to figure out if Ms. Paul should be allowed to speak so she asked Delpha and Mitch what should be done. It was Mr. Eaffy who delegated Ms. Paul to “Citizen’s Participation� at the end of the meeting, known tacitly by the Selectmen as ‘the peanut gallery’. By this performance, these Selectmen exhibited disrespect for, not only the Chairman of the BOE, but the Town citizenry and their own Selectman offices. The members of the Board of Selectmen appear to view the BOE as an adversarial group, not a part of their team.

The Board of Selectmen functions like a ‘Soup and Marching Society’ – e.g. a low level club that makes appearances at cheesy celebrations. Both versions of the ‘minutes’ suggest to me the Board of Selectman have chosen to address a myriad of minor issues to fill up their agendas to avoid dealing with the truly important issues of the Town. I am reminded of the following description of the roles of Selectmen:

“Responsible for supervising the affairs of the town and responsible for guiding town officers and town bodies toward accomplishing the objectives of the town’s long-range comprehensive plans. Responsible for presenting to the Board of Finance the amount, purpose and proposed method of financing projected expenditures …�

If I were First Selectman, or any selectman for that matter, I would involve myself in understanding the budgetary needs for all town systems including the education system. Read the rest of this entry »

“The Selectmen were speechless when several citizens placed the burden back to the BOS…”

Who needs the Villager? Just some more information about the meeting to include only interesting highlights with a little opinion.

There was a large turnout from the education advocates and little show from CPSer’s. We needed to move to a larger room.

First, two gentlemen were appointed to the IWWA. One was a highly credentialed, motivated, younger fellow named Andrew Massey who hoped to bring to the IWWA knowledge and unbiased work. The second is fellow long time resident, Edward Conlin, who is an aquaintance of mine. He is motivated and sincere, although less credentialed - he was appointed as an alternate. Their interview process at the meeting was fairly thorough. This demonstrated to me that to elect members may be cumbersome and perhaps even lethal to qualified persons such as these. Public presence, pressure, and policing at these meetings may be a better deterrent to avoid unethical appointments. Read the rest of this entry »

“…divisiveness (over Prop 46) never will get better, and possibly will get worse, until the ultimate question of its legality is resolved.”

There were some answers to be had at last night’s Selectmen’s meeting. Not that anything learned was earth shattering, but at least we did get some new information. For some odd reason, I was shortsighted and forgot to write anything down, so this is all from memory. Please excuse me if it is not absolutely, meticulously accurate. I do vouch for its sentiment and general summation.

The selectmen discussed the resignation of Ian MacRae as director of the Town beach. Not wanting to leave the Town in a lurch, Ian had suggested a couple of names to Ms. Wholean of people who could take over the summer swim lessons. Margaret also hinted there may be a person that lives nearby Pond Factory that could keep an eye on the beach. Delpha noted that we have had problems with vandalism in the past. After lot of discussion Mitch suggested that the position be posted. The Board also agreed to write MacRae a thank you not. Read the rest of this entry »