Woodstock CT Café

I attended the graduation day Commencement Ceremony at Woodstock Academy last Sunday. Because of the rain, the ceremony was held in the auditorium. I sat in the stands along with 500 to 600 other parents and relatives with a tear in my eye as I studied the 245 graduating seniors in front of me. It’s hard to imagine what thoughts were on the minds of these seniors because I can’t remember what was on my mind during this same occasion some 40 years ago. In my case all that I can remember was that it was a beautiful sunny day in June and I was surrounded by my best friends as I listened to the Valedictorian and the Salutatorian give their addresses. I can only conclude that this calm picture probably reflects my disposition at the time. I had a summer job as a lifeguard at a local beach and I was to be off to college in the fall – so everything was settled. But, unlike my closest friends, I had no clue about a career at the time.

I have a much more detailed picture of my graduation day from college four years later. I listened to a presidential candidate give the Commencement address, received my diploma, handed my diploma to my mother and grandfather, hopped in my Healey, and headed back home without delay. I had fifteen days to sell my car, and prepare myself for a summer on my own in Europe. I had no itinerary or companion which, I learned, was the best way to do this. This summer in Europe was the last time I could be carefree (and I was tacitly aware of this), because I had decided where I wanted to head. I had committed myself to four-plus years of graduate school and this turned out to be the right move for me in retrospect. I earned my Post Hole Digger degree and embarked on a serious and productive career that was, at least, very satisfying to me personally. Read the rest of this entry »

Duh!

We have a nasty situation in Woodstock as you all know. There have been many false accusations about the Woodstock Public School system (WPS). If the dastards that are spewing this information actually were dealing with truths then everyone would listen. Unfortunately, there is so much lying going on I’m sure there is a lot of confusion in Woodstock about what the truth actually is. I guess this is what tabloid news is all about.

In the past all of the dys-information has been coming from the CPS’ers. It’s most disturbing that we now are seeing this kind of crap from other sources. The common denominator among these muckrakers is they like to hear themselves rant. Read the rest of this entry »

…this reality was not of the superintendent’s creation…

Some members of this community seem to be able to find fault with the local ‘Bucket Brigade’ and their annual attempt to extinguish the reoccurring budget fires. Mind you, there is no shortage of hecklers in the crowd, willing to throw barbed innuendos and caustic criticisms, but nary a drop of water, directly at those who, in harried and pressured situation, fight valiantly to extinguish the eternal flames of fiscal conflagration.

Once again, at Thursday night’s Board of Education meeting, several criticisms and outright challenges to the superintendent’s ability and honor were catapulted to the forefront of not only the discussion, but also the citizen’s commentary. While criticism should be a welcomed and instructional tool of analysis, it can also be the bloody cudgel of those who would find victory in the diversion of administrative energies toward battle with an irritating and troublesome mosquito.

To those who feel compelled to question the motivation, rectitude and competence of our superintendent, I would ask that we all consider for a moment our own expectations. As the height of the flames of our annual fire dance increase, do we really expect a bucket brigade to be able to effectively quench the blaze? Read the rest of this entry »

‘Fact Checker’ is absolutely correct in his explanation of the monies in the WAS tax return. To correct the statements made in this article, we replaced the word “cash” with the phrase “other fund balances and assets” and italicized this phrase where it was inserted twice. Then we added the next sentence, also italicized, “Of these assets, $1,052,288 represents $142,628 in cash and $909,660 in savings and cash investments.” Thank you, Fact Checker, for your input. The author has also left a comment.Admin

“The Town of Woodstock receives nothing for this lost weekend of ‘fun’.�

We are about two months away from the annual Woodstock Fair. I have to say that there is something intangibly nice about having a fair in town. As a kid I would live for the late summer day when my hometown fair would open for a few days. That was a small fair to help fund the local church. Nevertheless, it was a magical event for a kid. When we lived in the South, I would take my kids to the county fair which was about a tenth the size of the Woodstock Fair and we always enjoyed spending a few days there seeing the animals, using the rides, and having meals. These were easily affordable fairs and the emphasis was on community gathering and the farmers’ contributions, but, of course, the kids were dazzled by the carnival atmosphere.

As a family we attended the Woodstock Fair for two years after moving to Woodstock. After those first two years, we had had enough. It was like eating too much of one thing and then getting sick. When this happens, it takes a long time before you recover and want the same thing again. Last year after many years of disinterest, I returned to the Fair with some guests. With some degree of embarrassment I was quickly reminded about what I did not like about the Woodstock Fair – that bad taste came back after perhaps about an hour of strolling around with my friends. It hits you rather quickly because of the densely packed tents and stores crammed with cheap carnie ware and not-so-cheap trinkets. Yes, the animals and their events are fun, but there is little space to stand comfortably and watch the animal contests especially if you are short in stature. The farm animals seem to be viewed by the managers of the Fair as just a side-light of the whole party taking up a very low percentage of the ground space compared to the uncountable vendor booths and food stands, and of course the rides and carnie booths to the east.

The worst part of all of this is the cost. After paying between $15 and $30 just to park car and enter the fairgrounds as a couple, it is difficult to avoid spending another $20 to $40 on food, drinks and a few trinkets for two in one day. This is probably a gross underestimate of the average spending for most who enter the fairgrounds, especially for the kids who enjoy going on all the rides. For those who return for 3 more days, the total bill is likely to be in the neighborhood of $100 to $200 per individual, or much more.

In 2004, the number of people attending the Fair for all four days was 260,000. If 250,000 attendees averaged $40 in costs per day, then gross revenues for the Fair and all of the vendors including those selling parking outside of the fairgrounds would be about $10,000,000. Of course, I could be off in this estimate, but the order of magnitude is probably correct.

A few days ago a comment was left by ‘Prudent Spender’ (but not one of them, e.g. CPS’ers) who identified an Internet source of the tax returns for all non-profit organizations around the country ( www.Guidestar.org ). I was able to download the 2004 tax return for the Woodstock Agricultural Society (WAS), the non-profit company that sponsors the Woodstock Fair. The total revenues declared for the WAS in 2004 was $1,495,535 and total expenses were $1,261,625 leaving a profit for the year of $233,910. This net income was added to other fund balances and assets of $2,265,292 to give total net assests or fund balances of $2,499,202 at the end of 2004. Of these assets, $1,052,288 represents $142,628 in cash and $909,660 in savings and cash investments. If the estimate of total revenues based upon $40 per visitor is a good estimate, then $8.5 million must have gone to vendors. I could be off – maybe there was only $4 million left in the hands of vendors…or maybe $12 million. Whatever this number might be, it is very large compared to the revenues declared by the WAS.

On this tax return the expenses for many individual line items (mostly Fair expenses) are neatly itemized. But these expenses pale next to the realization that the WAS earns several hundred thousand dollars each year, floats over a million dollars in cash assets each year, and the vendors (mostly for-profit vendors) walk away with between $4 and $8 million each year…or maybe even more. Read the rest of this entry »

Citizens React to Ms. Wholean’s Column in the Villager on June 16th

“…we could survive by raiding the cornfields and slaughtering the cows?”

From ‘Reader’ : What is with our First Selectwoman? What kind of an article was that? What’s her point?

From ‘Citizen with Child’ : Ms. Wholean, I’m sure you are for the most part right in saying “our farmers love farming.â€? All of us who have gardens share some of this “love” also. But, the weather is a variable every day, week, month and year – haven’t you noticed? Furthermore, the developers love developing and the builders love building. So, we help them too by looking the other way while Woodstock space is being exploited. I’m sure that the farmers also love the Woodstock Fair – especially for their subsidies - and they love their Town and state for reduced taxation under PA-490. I bet our teachers love teaching, also, including those that had to be let go because of your greedy Town-operating budget. And, you’re right about “food (being) a requirement for living.â€? Even amoebas and fruit flies need food. So, you are definitely right in making that statement. Read the rest of this entry »

The scuttlebut around Woodstock is that the Villager is mis-quoting Woodstock citizens (like on the front page yesterday) and perporting to quote citizens who were never interviewed.

“Save the newspaper, we’re out of toilet paper!�

In Mr. Bird’s weekly “opinion” editorial in the Villager (”The Bird’s Nest”, Friday, June 16th) he attacks the so-called “liberalsâ€? whomever they might be. When I forced myself to read his column, at first, I thought that I was reading a script for Monty Python.

Let me digress… I would like to say that Chuck Edenburn and Blaine Moffa have improved in their coverage and writing about the goings on in Woodstock. They are young and enthusiastic reporters who are embarking on respectable careers in journalism, and I congratulate them for striving to improve their skills. I can only assume that when they leave the Villager offices after work, the first thing they must have to do is take a shower.

Mr. Bird, the Editor, builds his case against liberals by attempting to define who “liberals� are in a rather curious way. From his own words, a liberal is anyone who calls President Bush a disparaging ‘name’ or gives Bush a low ranking as a president. If this is true then 60-70% of Americans must be liberals. Liberals are anyone who makes “not-so-flattering� statements about Bush. Liberals are anyone who “lobs incendiary verbal volleys� but are “thin-skinned when any are returned.� “Loose-lipped liberals are the worst,� he states. He suggests that when the “shoe is on the other foot� (Bird’s statements are always riddled with trite clichés, like the title of his editorial, “What’s good for the goose…�), liberals “tend to curl up in a ball, suckle their thumbs, and cry for mommy.�

Mr. Bird further proceeds to build his credibility by aligning himself with Ann Coulter, an extreme right-wing conservative columnist, writer, talk-show host, and commentator ad nausea. Read the rest of this entry »

Articles can be submitted to the Cafe by emailing the article to woodstock @woodstockCTCafe.com or just submit the article as a comment. Admin

“I don’t hear anyone…saying that we need to write the schools a blank check. “

Please don’t vest too much in CPS looking out for any of the rest of us. I won’t give their opinions a second thought until they start broadening the focus to include all of the tax dollars we spend. Don’t buy their single focus on the education budget while there is no mention of the general government budget,… and the Board of Finance is given a free skate!

I don’t hear anyone on this site, or anywhere else, saying that we need to write the schools a blank check. The argument is not that we should throw money at the schools and not have a care as to what is done with those funds. But we have just laid off five teachers. We lay off the non-tenured teachers first, the ones that are usually youngest, the most energetic, the most dynamic and the ones that, in bringing new blood into our system, encourage creativity and, often, infectiously inspire those around them - staff and students alike.

We do have problems with our heating system and ventilation too. Any surprise? In these aging facilities we probably could use one hell of an upgrade. If we can’t even afford to pay for teachers, how the hell do you think we’d get that kind of trivial thing passed by the voters??? I’m not an advocate of going completely ergonomic to ‘enhance’ the learning environment, but I think a decent temperature range and good, breathable air should be no-brainer. Read the rest of this entry »

Take a look at Norwich Free Academy’s web site. This site is clearly there to inform students and parents. Woodstock Academy could learn a lesson from NFA. Compare the WA web site with the NFA web site.

“The haranges of detractors of the school system, the anti-educationalists, who view the school system in the same light as garbage pick-up, road maintenance, etc., are definitely diminishing the potential of the kids of Woodstock. “

To begin the process of budget cuts, 5 teachers have been let go for the next school year.

“…inadequate funding of the Woodstock education system will ultimately impact…students at the Academy and also their achievements later in their professional lives…�

According to the College Board, the SAT now does not measure any innate learning ability (e.g. IQ). Wayne Camara, Director of the Office of research at the College Board states that the SAT measures “developed reasoning,” which he describes as the skills that students develop not only in school but also outside of school.

However Stanford University psychologist, Claude Steele, has pointed out that the test is influenced by intercultural differences and has been found to measure only about 18 percent of the things that it takes to do well in school, and thus the test is not a very good predictor of how a student will do in college. Read the rest of this entry »

From the Norwich Bull, 6/23/06, regarding the school budget debate in Brooklyn: “Superintendent Louise Berry defended the budget, and said the school budget has increased according to the town’s population growth. She also said federal and state mandated programs for special education are increasingly expensive, and state funding has declined.

‘I recognize it’s a burden, but I also recognize we have state and federal obligations to educate our children,’ Berry said. ‘We cannot provide the programs we are providing to your children, your grandchildren, your neighbors’ children with any less money.’ ”

Oops!

“…illumination could be the only reason…increasing numbers keep coming back to the Café.â€?

I have been asking myself the question, “What would have happened if the Café had not come to Woodstock?� Has the Café just created a battlefield for the insurrection, the Al Qaeda of Woodstock, or the leadership clique that has run City Hall for decades? Then, is anything accomplished as a result of the dialogue at this site?

The Café readership has grown dramatically over the last six months from 20-30 regular readers to an estimated 300+ readers. The Café now sees routine visitors from many businesses in Eastern Connecticut, all area newspapers including the Boston Globe, State politicians, State government departments from both Massachusetts and Connecticut, contractors that do business in Woodstock, state and local law firms, occasional visitors from other States who the Café believes are Woodstockians on business and vacation trips (because they enter the site multiple times and spend time reading), Woodstock servers, and enumerable visitors through SNET, AOL, Charter and other servers.

Speaking for myself, I would not have the depth of understanding of the political and governmental activities and issues in Woodstock, if I had not read all of the articles and comments at the Café. Armed with this information, I can now read the Villager, the Norwich Bull, and listen to local politicos with validated skepticism. It’s unfortunate that a vast majority of Woodstock residents get virtually all of their information about Woodstock’s political and governmental activities from these poorly informed and biased sources that operate to achieve their own agendas.

What is the agenda of the Café then? The agenda can only be ‘the dissemination of information by Café participants’. There have been over 44,000 page turns and over 850 comments from a vast minority of actual visitors. Café’s only regret is that more Woodstockians are not contributing. Maybe some don’t contribute because they don’t access the Internet, or maybe they just don’t drink coffee or tea.

Webmasters at this site have not turned down any submitted comments or articles, excepting one scurrilous comment that won’t be explained. It’s quite a remarkable record given the crap that shows up on other more national blog sites. The Café did create the Siberian file for Mr. Wetzel’s comments but since then the Café has posted one of his statements in the form of an article “Bert and Ernie…�. The Café will not deny points of view that are contrary to others or a majority of Café participants as long as these points of view are civil and presented in a comprehensible fashion. The idea IS to point the finger, but only in fairness, honesty, and with the goal of being constructive to our society in Woodstock – however, in doing so, there will be a certain amount of impolite bluntness and criticism hopefully meant to be constructive and expose perceived failures and incompetence… sometimes attenuated with a bit of humor or parody.

Continuing on the Café agenda, we the readers/participants would like to understand other points of view and learn from them. The Café doesn’t care to have the names of the contributors – in fact, the Café prefers anonymity. Furthermore, when one makes statements here at the Café, these statements have to stand up to the scrutiny of Café readers. When speaking at this site, an author risks being exposed for providing misinformation because the author simply misunderstands the facts, or wishes to manipulate others. The Café hopes that readers will not let mis-statements or lies pass by without being SLAMMED … I mean, without being challenged. This is no site for playing nice, nice. Read the rest of this entry »

“…we can all work together to at least …”

This is a great site for all of us to vent our frustrations while at the same time have some fun. Most of the blogging that takes place here, however, contains finger pointing, some anger and a surliness that gets old from beating the same dead horse, prop 46, and its associated problems with the budget.

I’d like to address this column to everyone, especially Johnny Tlag and his McMansionites.

Mr Tlag, there is a big problem looming for our town that will, indeed, promote cookie cutter building lots with tiny houses loaded with special needs children and parents who could care less about the education budget or what their children are doing. Yes, sadly, there is that group of people, who for various unfortunate circumstances, are trapped and more than willing to bring their baggage to our doorstep. Who can blame them? I can certainly understand their plight. I was brought up in a housing project in Hartford. I know what it’s like.

I am not saying that all people in housing projects are undesireable…not by a long shot. But let’s ‘call a spade a spade’. A big influx of “affordable housing” will affect all of us bigtime in many ways. I don’t want to argue the merits of encouraging a migration of lower income people to our town, nor will I favor not encouraging it. I’m just letting you know that it could very well happen. It won’t be because of any action taken by CPS. It will happen because all of us, CPS’ers, McMansionites, and the rest have been sold out by our Planning and Zoning Commission. Read the rest of this entry »