Woodstock CT Café

Verizon is considering using a tower that already exists but is currently unused on a farm about a half a mile up Perrin from Route 171 according to Ken Baldwin. This tower can be seen from the road and is unobrusive. We don’t know if this replaces the cell tower off of route 198. Admin

Possibly good reference for Cell Tower issues based on a symposium held in Litchfield County CT. You can click through to the first chapter. Admin

Verizon Contact is Kenneth Baldwin, law firm of Robinson & Cole, Hartford – phone number (860) 275-8345 & email address kbaldwin@rc.com.

Speaking of P&Z matters and public hearings, I’d like to present the latest on the cell tower siting process. I spoke with Verizon/Cellco’s lawyer last week and he informed me that Verizon is currently looking for other potential cell tower sites in Woodstock. Verizon prefers to submit several possible sites to the Siting Council. This ensures that at least one of their site preferences will be approved.

For anyone new to this blog since mid summer, I am opposing the cell tower site on Rt. 198/Old Turnpike Rd. because it will be located 1000′ from my home and I have a child with Autism living here. There’s been much controversy both in this blog and in the public domain in general about the risks and health hazards of living too close to the strong electromagnetic field of a cell tower. Whether you think it is safe or not, isn’t really a consideration to Verizon, nor the Siting Council. (Read past archives in this blog for more comments/discussion on the health matter or visit the ” no cell tower in Woodstock” website for more info). Read the rest of this entry »

One other point worth mentioning is that many folks get involved only around budget, voting, and election times. They are quick to pass judgement and criticize at that time without having the full context of understanding of how decisions are made, budgets are formulated, and needs prioritized by the various departments and boards. Trust me, I understand, I’m as guilty as the next person. However, I do recognize that to gain this broad perspective and to build trust and understanding the taxpayers must continue their engagement throughout the year or their criticism often becomes flawed and their perspective unfairly biased.

I recently had the pleasure of attending the BOE meeting on Sept. 13. Unlike the prior meetings of spring and summer which were filled with heated budget discussions, unpopular proposals, accusations, and frustrating communication, this meeting was quite the opposite. It was very refreshing and actually focused on the true work of the BOE: the meeting of educational goals. And in this sphere of work, I can proudly say that Woodstock is very fortunate to have this BOE and Lindsey Paul is an exceptional leader. These goals were developed over many months and adopted May 24, 2007. They are as follows:

1. Promote measureable academic improvement while challenging each student to reach their full potential.
2. Develop well-rounded and creative citizens by promoting and assessing their physical, social and mental well-being.
3. Promote the allignment of curriculum grades K-12
4. Improve student achievement by providing continuing improvement of quality instruction.
5. Encourage community ownership of the Woodstock Public schools. Read the rest of this entry »

PUBLIC NOTICE
Town of Woodstock
Application pending on this property before
Planning and Zoning Commission
PUBLIC HEARING DATE: Thurs. Sept. 20, 2007
TIME: 7:30 PM Woodstock Town Hall
415 Route 169, Lower Level
FOR: A special permit application to use two existing fields at the Bentley Athletic Complex on Route 169 as a practice field and an overflow parking area
FOR INFORMATION CALL: 860.928.1388

In this string, several of you have jumped on the lack of funds as the issue and it’s true that revenue sources are a challenge, but more money in an of itself doesn’t address the issues (comments posted under “..Reconfiguration of the Academy…”).

First, let me say it’s my sense that most of the leaders (including many who contribute to this blog) who have sought to make change in the community and those who are struggling to maintain the status quo truly love the community and believe they are acting in good faith to make (or keep) Woodstock a wonderful place to live. Somewhere in the process, as a community we’ve come to believe that anyone elected to government from the “otherâ€? side has personal vendetta, an ax to grind or a disingenuous motive. Maybe it’s naive but as I’ve come to know many of those I have disagreed with, I’ve found that they do have the community’s interest at heart. Unfortunately, the truth is, conspiracy theories by their nature can’t be disproved. And there are those in this community that play on that.

Regardless, when we look at addressing the issues that are at the forefront in this election, it’s important to keep in mind that the specific proposals being debated are a means to end. The end being to assure we live in a great community. Here is a short list of the broad attributes of our community that I believe the various groups are trying desperately to address and that we need to balance (some but not all of which have been noted above). Read the rest of this entry »

Borrelia burgdorferi transmitted by the deer tick is the bacterium that causes classic Lyme disease. Also, the Ehrlichia bacterium is transmitted by deer ticks causing Ehrlichiosis, a similar systemic bacterial infection to Borreliosis. If you are tested and score positive for Borreliosis or Ehrlichiosis, then you become a statistic compiled by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). In previous years I have been diagnosed with Lyme Disease and Becki has been diagnosed with both Lyme disease and Ehrlichiosis but no confirmatory test ever proved these diagnoses. In each case Becki had a very high fever and rash where the bite occurred, while I had a rash and a mild fever.

In July I developed a more insidious Lyme-like disease that went untreated for three weeks. Then as in the past after I noticed an oblong rash presumably from a tick bite (near where I was feeling a focused muscle ache in my upper right arm), I received a prescription for doxycyline, the standard antibiotic treatment for tick-borne bacterial diseases. In each case, most of symptoms went away within 3 days after I started taking doxycyline but, this time before those 3 days passed, I developed a severe headache in the back of my neck and head, and upper shoulder pain. One night I felt like I was hit in the back of the head with a baseball bat (that’s exactly how it felt). Then as the pain in my arm subsided my shoulder pain and headaches continued at a lower intensity. I was taking 4 or 5 ibuprofens a day to get through work and sleep at night. It actually took me until late August, six weeks later, before I started to feel better. Then I got influenza which lasted longer than the usual 3 days because of my weakened condition. About a week and a half ago I started to feel normal again. Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday, 9/13, the Cafe had 438 visitors and 1483 page turns. This includes boycotters There will be nothing left for the Villager to report .Admin

John, Sorry to have gotten so busy this morning that I couldn’t supply the name of the WRTC candidate. It’s so nice out I had to get into the garden and enjoy myself.

Yes they did put Allan Walker up last night. My source was correct but it wasn’t my place to drop the bomb. Had the Democratic primary been held last week your request for an inteview to be their candidate would have had some legs but they decided on Sunday to keep Al as their primary nomination and B.S. (ha) as a waaaay back-up. Maybe he can still hook up with Joe and they can create a real B/S Party. Of course none of this answers the question of ‘why didn’t they put Delpha forward’?

As I mentioned yesterday they wanted a ‘he’. It seems that one of the old guys on the nominating committee has a problem with women in politics. Stu Bouldry comes from the manly side of politics and believes in going after the jugular style of campaigning. When he talks it’s as if we we’re in a world 50 years gone by. He actually told Mrs. Very that they needed fewer women in politics. That comes from more than one source so I tend to believe it. I hear from my friends that this guy shows up at meetings rarely and makes comments like ‘we did that 25 years ago’ well RTC it may be time to Retire The Clown. Read the rest of this entry »

“Life-long resident Allan Walker was unanimously nominated by the Republican Town Committee Wednesday night to run for first selectman. …Walker is a graduate of Nichols College in Dudley, Ma., and has 19 years of manufacturning management experience.” This statement was posted at the Norwich Bull website at 5PM today, 9/13/07. Admin

See Bill Jenkins’ comment under “My Primary Campaign” and his announcement of the Republican candidate for First Selectman.

Bill, One more point. I take it that you are announcing the Republican nominee for First Selectman (replacing Sirine) in Allan Walker. We haven’t heard the official announcement in Woodstock unless it was made on the radio while I was at work. No doubt this will be revealed in the Villager on Friday. If this is the case, and its true, then I would like to congratulate Mr. Walker on his nomination and wish him the best.

Mr. Walker will be running against Ms. Wholean (D) and a Ms. Nora Valentine (unaffiliated) who campaigns in two shades of pink. Ms. Valentine has stated that she is a Republican and she tried to get the RTC to nominate her in the caucus. The RTC was appalled so they nominated Sirine as a place-holder. Her website (www.noravalentinegitmeelected.com) suggests that she is focusing on Republican votes and she has also advocated a boycott of this Cafe because she’s afraid of hearing the perspectives of others.

Some of us around town have noticed that the same people who supported Ms. Wholean in the primary have Valentine signs on their lawns. One of these people, for example is Jerry Ralston, the fellow that gave me the thumbs down after voting in the Democratic Primary – he has a Valentine sign at his entrance of Route 169 but no Wholean sign even though he clearly supported her in the primary. This suggested to another commentor at the Cafe that Valentine is not a serious candidate and that she’s a decoy candidate whose aim is to steal votes from the Republican nominee to assist Ms. Wholean in getting re-elected. This smells like a Wetzelean tactic reminescent of Wetzel’s bogus Prop 46 repeal petition in the Spring of 2006.

So it appears that the same people, the CPS/Academy coalition, who are also known for levying multiple lawsuits against the Town (this includes Ms. Wholean) and who controlled the primary vote, have plotted to undermine the Republican candidate in order to ensure that Wholean gets re-elected. In other words, Ms. Wholean and Ms. Valentine may be working together to win the election in November. And this appears to be for the purpose of securing the ownership of the Town Hall for Woodstock Academy to control the Town of Woodstock at all levels – zoning, finance, and most importantly the Board of Education budget. Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday, 9/12, the Cafe had 467 visitors and 1496 page turns. This includes boycotters .Admin

You can have my pen…when you pry it from my mentally acute, morally principled, intellectually revolted, cold dying hand. JL

Some will probably mock this but I took my own poll yesterday while standing in the rain from 6AM to 7:15PM (I took two 1hr breaks). I had 2 tall, narrow glasses that I used to document how the election was going. This activity along with acknowledgment of passing voters (averaging about 26 per hour) as they came to the polls kept me focused and busy. For every potential voter that smiled and waved with gusto, I placed a pinto bean in one designated glass; and for every voter who glared, stared, or just looked away, I placed a bean in the other designated glass. There was one fellow, who shall remain nameless, who gave me the thumbs down so his bean went directly to the negative glass. By the end of the day I knew the outcome before the vote was announced. About 188 voters were friendly and cordial, but a very significant 173 were on the negative side, so I concluded that I had lost. Obviously you don’t have to be unfriendly to someone you are not voting for, and over the last month I have met many friendly Woodstockians who didn’t share my views including some of my own colleagues in the Democratic party. So if there were that many uncordial voters then I was bound to lose.

I enjoyed the debate on WINY, meeting the few people that stopped to talk to me at the transfer station or during the garbage treks around town, making new friends among members of the DTC, and meeting Republicans and the unaffiliated who voiced their support for me. I also appreciated the cordial “Good luck” from Chan Paquette, Chair of the RTC, at the polls. Finally, the 11-plus hours I spent in the rain at the entrance to the Town Hall yesterday was a very positive experience for my elitist self and I don’t regret one minute of it. I wish to thank my wife Becki, Darryl Hartman and Dean Whitehead, Joe Breen, Bill Andrzeicik, Bill Loftus, and Robert Stucky for standing there with me. Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday, 9/11, the Cafe had 442 visitors and 1359 page turns. Admin

Wholean ….211

Leavitt…. 150

John Leavitt’s statement:

Inadequate and imbalanced educational funding, lack of a land use management plan, and poor financial management are like the salt barn environmental problem – they continue growing worse with time.

I appreciate having had the opportunity to bring the public’s attention to these issues, and hope the town finds the leadership that will address these problems in a serious way.

I hope the voters understand that, like the salt barn problem, our political leaders will neglect these problems at the taxpayers’ ultimate expense.

I would like to thank each of the voters who cast their votes for me and all of the people who stopped to talk to me at the polls yesterday. I value each vote like a gift. I will follow-up with more about this experience in the days to come.

John Leavitt

see the Norwich Bull article.

This is a proposal for fair representation of the sending towns on the Woodstock Academy Board of Trustees… not a take-over.

Academy Board of Trustees as presently configured

X X X X X
X X X X X
X X X X X
X X X X X
X X = 73.5% Academy Reps
W W
B B
P P
E E = 26.5% Sending Town Reps

Academy Board of Trustees proposed configuration

X X X X X
X X X X X
X X X X X
= 50% Academy Reps

W W W W W W
B B B B
P P P
E E
= 50% Sending Town Reps

X = ACADEMY Hand Picked Trustees
W = Woodstock BOE Reps
B = Brooklyn BOE Reps
P = Pomfret BOE Reps
E = Eastford BOE reps

A proposal for fair representation … not a take-over.

Folks,

I need to weigh in on the PZC discussion. The republican dominated PZC- prior to the last election was horrible. The current PZC appears to take their role very seriously, and from my (admittedly) now limited current involvement- appears to go over board to consider, address and manage to the complete regulations. Ken Goldsmith- may have bothered individuals by his attention to detail as chairman- it certainly was appreciated by citizens such as myself- who have ever attempted to oppose development in this community. PZC could certainly continue to improve- but even in its worst moments- PZC is significantly better than the “old” republican days-and I am a registered republican! I am not familiar with the newest town planner- but the former planner- John G. is now employed by CME Enginners- the same group that received preferential treatment at times by this same town planner. Planners are available to advise and assist-AND WORK FOR THE BOARD IN WHATEVER CAPACITY THEY ARE NEEDED. WE ELECT CITIZEN BOARD MEMBERS to vote up or down on developments & land use- Please don’t get fooled into letting these non-elected planners decide what is correct – PZC is a political entity- and their decisions are not easily overturned. I would certainly PREFER that PZC is overly strict- rather than flexible and accommodating to developers. We still need to remove the leadership of IWWA- they have never accepted nor reviewed their flawed role in the Pulpit Rock Road fiasco. Like Bowman- I believe our selectmen candidates are talking about the wrong things- and are probably less important to the quality of town life than WHO WE ELECT FOR PZC, Board of Finance, Board of Education. Read the rest of this entry »

DEMOCRATS DON’T FORGET TO VOTE in the primary today! The polls are open from 6AM to 8PM. The Cafe will post the results of the Democratic Primary ASAP Tuesday Night between 8:15PM and 8:30PM Tuesday night.

Yeaterday the Cafe had 1183 page turns and 378 visitors today including elitist boycotters . Admin

Gail Dickinson MD stated in the Villager that “I am a Democrat not an elitist� inferring that the remaining Democrats on the DTC are elitists.

When I read this, I realized that I had been exhibiting elitist tendencies lately. For example over the last two years when I have taken my two mile walks, I have been compelled to pick up the trash along the roadside and stuff it into a large black trash bag tied to my belt. After these walks, I sort out the recyclables and load the garbage into my elitist ’93 Ford Festiva and embark on a quick trip to the Transfer Station. As Bob will tell you, I am there quite often because of the hope of finding a nice Christmas present in the shed. Believe me I’ve gotten some great stuff in the shed – two singing ducks, a jar of pickles, some extra-fine wine glasses, and a twelve place setting of Princess House crystal dinnerware … and so much more. Then there’s my prized possession from the dump, that cushioned stool that I place my tired, but well exercised legs on while watching Red Sox baseball and UConn football with a bottle of beer in hand on my elitist low def 22-inch TV screen.

Imagine my Festiva below with dents and scratches on both sides and a lot of black trash bags in the back…and my two Academy football stickers Read the rest of this entry »

This responds to a letter to the editor by Dr. Gail Dickinson appearing in the Villager yesterday, Sept. 7th, 2007.

Dr. Dickinson is in fact well aware of First Selectman Margaret Wholean’s interference with the Woodstock Planning Commission. First, under the guise of a bookkeeping procedure, Wholean asserted control of PZC’s privileged communications with its legal counsel, representing blatant interference with the PZC’s proper function and independent authority. Second, Wholean misused FOIA and, contradicting the town attorney, improperly interfered with an executive session scheduled by PZC to discuss the hiring of a new town planner. Third, Ms. Wholean has heavily involved herself in the work of the town planner, especially relative to the issuance of zoning permits, which is clearly the proper legal role of the Planning Commission.

It is true that Ms. Wholean has routinely sought guidance from the leaders of Citizens for Prudent Spending, who are supporting her primary campaign. Wholean has made a practice of reiterating their anti-public education positions with the Woodstock Democratic Town Committee, with the public and in private conversations with BOE members and school administrators. Wholean’s improper interference with BOE follows the pattern established with the Planning Commission. This is the source of the split between Ms. Wholean and the Democratic Town Committee, which has made support for public education a priority. This civic responsibility is not shared by Dr. Dickinson, who – unconscionably – ignores the long-running campaign of harassment by CPS against this town’s public schools with the excuse that she is “listening to the peopleâ€?. Read the rest of this entry »

I support the Academy Football Program, as does Becki and Mariah. We think it’s a great opportunity for 80 players and student staff to participate in a healthy sports program. We are sponsors for Zack Wetzel. We would like to post a list of other players’ names so that other Cafe’rs can choose a player to sponsor. Alternatively, just mail a contribution to Jemal Davis, Head Coach, Woodstock Academy Football, 57 Academy Rd., Woodstock CT 06281. JL

The inactions of our last four First Selectmen, and for that matter all of the Selectmen of the past 12 years, has put Woodstock residents in the position of having to pay possibly millions in repairs, replacements, fines, and court settlements. Putting aside the consultants, lawyers, and bottles of water paid for over the last 22 months, the money started to flow out of the Town Hall coffers, big time, in June with the landscaping and digging of a 1000-foot well on the Bennett property. Did this cost as much as $20,000 as one person told me last night? Our roads, normally winterized at this time by the highway crew, are being neglected because the road crew has been put to work on digging a 1000-foot trench and landscaping on the Bennett farm. Next will come the fines from the State and the lawsuits, not to mention the cost of rebuilding the Highway facility and the Salt Barn.

Some would call me a Monday morning quarterback for bringing this up. I say that that this scenario exposes what has been missing in Woodstock as this problem came to the forefront. This will be explained further on down.

The last four First Selectmen, and their 8 second Selectmen for that matter, did not understand that if one of them had taken decisive action on our decaying highway and salt facility, they would have been seen as doing their job responsibly. As each election rolled by and new Selectmen took office, they each received the secret handshake and an embossed folder of records and warnings about the highway facility. Instead of tackling the problem, they each viewed this problem as an albatros. The subsequent inaction of our Selectmen led Woodstock to the point where the State has denied access to funding to help our Town and its taxpaying residents correct this situation. Read the rest of this entry »

Disclaimer: The following statements and opinions are my personal views and do not reflect the opinion or position of the Woodstock Board of Education. I am also a proud graduate of Woodstock Academy from the class of 1978 and a parent of three students one a graduate of WA, one now attending WA and one now attending Woodstock Middle School. FC

(Speaking to ‘Newcomer’)

As a “Newcomerâ€? you’ve obviously grasped the underlying issue in many respects much more clearly than many of the “Old Timersâ€? in the community. You are correct that Woodstock Academy does annually win the budget battle principally because they are not subject to direct financial control of the community. However, Woodstock Academy has in the past reportedly been sensitive to the fiscal pressure of the community. I have been told (and others more knowledgable than I should comment and fill in the details here) that Woodstock Academy was in dire financial straights in the early 1980s as direct result of bowing to that political pressure to keep costs down to the point the institution was in danger of bankruptcy. During that period Woodstock and Eastford were the sending towns and the enrollment from other towns in the area was minimal. Since that time WA has expanded its key customer base to include not only Woodstock and Eastford but to also include Brooklyn and Pomfret while taking a small number of students from several other surrounding towns. This diversification of the enrollment was a reasonable and responsible act on the part of WA to buffer itself from the impact of any individual town’s financial issues. WA has used the diversification to empower itself and become much less responsive to the financial pressures of any particular town. Read the rest of this entry »

Seeing all of the threads over the past several months, I am sure that people are tired of responding to Mr. Wetzel but I can’t let it go. Unfortunately, he always disappears after throwing a grenade and people start to ask him tough questions. But here goes a few:

1) How can you say that K-8 is mediocre when they score near the top of their group in the CMTs? You have absolutely no facts to support that, only your very biased opinion. A few weeks ago, I saw an article in the Hartford Courant that put Woodstock k-8 in the top 30 in the State. Just because you say it doesn’t mean it is true.

2) If you are judging mediocrity, why don’t you ever talk about the Academy? In the last CAPT tests, less than 50% of the Academy students meet goals for math!!!!! When they leave K-8, more than 70% are proficient. What is happening!!!!! Instead of taking on k-8 you need to fix your own house. This adds nothing to your credibility, you never want to challenge your friends and patrons.

3) To say that K-8 is wasting money is ludicrous. We are third from the bottom in the State. Do you have any facts otherwise! Is everyone else in this state a fool for paying into their school systems? Read the rest of this entry »