Woodstock CT Café

…Little boxes made of ticky-tacky,
Little boxes, little boxes,
Little boxes, all the same.
There’s a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they’re all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same.

And the people in the houses
All go to the university,
And they all get put in boxes,
Little boxes, all the same.
And there’s doctors and there’s lawyers
And business executives,
And they’re all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same. Read the rest of this entry »

Recently I stumbled over the website ConnecticutMag.com which published a rating of the towns of Connecticut by the criteria summarized below. I decided to take the 70 towns with populations between 3500 and 15,000 and combine them into one list to see where Woodstock stood in desirability in the eyes of someone outside the community.

ConnecticutMag states “Although Rating the Small Towns is not meant to be the last word on any of the towns included on the lists, it can be a good place to begin your thought process if you’re thinking about moving or merely seeking comparisons with like-sized places around the state.”

ConnecticutMag.com also said “Of course, we understand that there are lots of reasons for loving a place-or not loving it-that go beyond test scores at the local public school or how much money gets spent on the library. Things like community spirit, cultural diversity, a good local bakery and the reliability of cell-phone reception are not so easy to quantify. Nor is the affection so many of us have for the place we call home.”

Their criteria were as follows.

EDUCATION: This category combines five elements: the 2003, 2004 and 2006 Mastery Test results for 4th, 6th and 8th grades; results of the 2004, 2005 and 2006 Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT); local SAT scores for 2004, 2005 and 2006; the percentage of students passing a 2005 standard physical-fitness test and the percentage of 2005 public high school graduates who went on to four-year colleges. Test scores are weighted more heavily. Read the rest of this entry »

The Aussie has a possible solution in a comment below. Admin

In the town election on November 6th approximately 4150 adults decided to stand up and NOT be counted. This estimate is based upon approximately 8000 residents of which approximately 1800 are probably ineligible to vote because they are under the age of 18 years old. If the total number of eligible adults is 6200, then the 2043 ballots that were cast represent only 33% of vote-eligible adults.

It would be interesting to know who these people are and their demographics, and then ask them what would motivate them to vote besides a sunny warm day. Voter apathy appears to greatly out-number voter competency.

If we compare the previous municiple election with the election held on the 6th, there were about 400 less ballots cast this time. So about 400 voters were turned away by the bad weather.

Of the remaining 3754 that did not vote (after we remove the fair-weather voters), 2646 are registered to vote, but just don’t care to vote. Then there are about 1100 adults in Woodstock that aren’t even registered. A fair percentage of these people may be young people who are unconnected and uninterested in the political issues of the Town. To reach these people candidates might try accessing them on MySpace or FaceBook. Read the rest of this entry »

See Cheryl and one of her paintings below. Admin

An update on what is happening here in Winchester/Winsted regarding the Gilbert School contract.

As a Board of Education member in Winsted it is my understanding from the Superintendent that the town of Winchester is paying about $13,750.00 (give or take a few dollars) per student after the signing of the new contract. We have less students attending Gilbert, and now we pay more money. As you have mentioned a figure of $12,304 per student at Gilbert compared to your $9, 804.00 at Woodstock Academy I thought you might like to know that after all the negotiation and malarkey was over in Winchester/Winsted we are now paying more than ever for sending our students to Gilbert. This is partly due to two factors. First is that the Board of Education did not include a fixed tuition amount in the contract and therefore Gilbert can charge whatever it wants. The majority on the school board pushed this contract through without any input from the community or oversight from Selectman or a vote of the people. The Gilbert contract was never voted on by the people of Winchester. The Gilbert School continues to hand a bill to the town for whatever they want and we pay it. Read the rest of this entry »

I have spent the better part of the past week trying to make a little sense out of the old-fashioned whuppin’ the Republicans gave the Democrats (including this writer) in last Tuesday’s election. I dug into an old cardboard box where had I tossed all sorts of campaign literature, articles written about the candidates, and the candidates’ own statements about what they stood for and read them again. I have to admit I’m even more puzzled now than I was just after the election about the reasons for the magnitude of this defeat, but more importantly, what it means. In general after events of this sort, my reaction is to think something along the lines of an old Buddhist saying, “Good news, bad news, who knows?” I’m not sure I feel that way after this election and I must admit I’m fairly worried about what lies in store for our town.

The reason I feel this way is that despite parsing virtually every word uttered by the winning candidates, I can find precious few specifics about exactly what they will do once they are in office. I’m not talking about some of the more egregious (?libelous) excuses for campaign literature that found its’ way around town over the past month — for instance the sheet that referred to one Democrat as “admitted…enjoying drunken lifestyle” and another Democrat as being involved in an auto accident (I wonder how many of us have not had an accident?). While I hope that whoever put that out (the author did not see fit to identify his/herself) did not win a seat or, if they did, will understand that there is simply no place for that sort of trash talk (or people who talk that sort of trash) in our town, I’m more concerned that most of the other statements and literature give virtually no clue as to how the candidate would operate once in office. What all of the winning Republican candidates’ literature and statements seemed to have had in common was an absolute lack of specifics and a profusion of platitudes and meaningless promises. Read the rest of this entry »

CONGRATULATIONS to Erika Phillips, Jared Oleksiak, and Alana Spaulding! These three young students are Woodstock’s recipients of this year’s CAPSS Superintendent Awards. The Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents’ Superintendent/ Student Recognition Award is a rigorous and highly selective honor. Our three students were recognized for leadership service to the school, academic prowess relative to ability, and service to others in the community. These students today were presented with a Certificate of Excellence by Superintendent Dr. Francis Baran at an awards ceremony on November 13, 2007 at the Brooklyn Middle School Auditorium. The Woodstock Board of Education is very proud of the strong example these students set for their peers!

School staff and administration write of our recipients:

Erika Phillips (fourth grade) is a kind, patient, responsible, and hard-working student who puts forth her best effort every day at school. She is well-liked and respected by both her peers and adults. Erika has excellent class participation and is willing to try new and challenging things. Her contributions to class discussions are insightful and she models risk-taking, organization, initiative, and persistence on a daily basis. Erika has the special ability to cheer anyone up, and to overcome thoughts of discouragement or disappointment in herself or in others, and transform those feelings into encouragement and increased effort.

Jared Oleksiak (eighth grade) is a student who goes above and beyond what is expected. He strives to do his best academically in all classes. He also demonstrates his caring for others through his church volunteering and helping elderly relatives when needed. He helped to beautify our community through a volunteer project at the Woodstock Fair this summer. Jared’s maturity, responsibility, and caring make him an ideal recipient of this award.

Alana Spalding (eighth grade) demonstrates strong community service. She is active in her church and at age 14 plans to join her local fire department’s junior volunteer program with the objective of giving back to her community. She also participates in our school student government. While participating in these activities, she maintains a high level of academic achievement. All of these qualities make Alana a worthy recipient of this award.

Oh Wise and Wonderful, Great and Powerful Wetzel! How we are enriched by your Eminence! How we are enlightened by the fortunate opportunity of any morsel of your Guidance. You Alone have the Knowledge of what is Right! We bow in Amazement at how Blessed we are that you have come to Woodstock to deliver us from those who would deign to disagree with Your Decrees.

We scoff at the notion that any could be so low as to question Your Absolute and Infallible Command. How dare anyone have the audacity to consider any information not directly approved by You, the All-Knowing. That You, the Master of All ‘Correct’ Information, do not smite these disrespectful cretins or turn them to pillars of salt is Proof of Your Magnanimous Benevolence.

How we marvel at Your Conduct and your Higher Being. We are not worthy of Your Presence. How can any of us possibly attempt to achieve Your Perfection? How can we even justify trying to mimic Your Masterful Success? We can not help admire the Great Achievement of Your Most Enviable Life! Who among us would not desire such Attainment? Please, oh Sensational and Glorious Liege, Read the rest of this entry »

To stir the pot a little bit I thought I would talk about my view of the election outcome.

I have been a life-long Democrat. In the 1982 election I strayed once and voted for John Anderson, the Independent candidate for President, because I was unhappy with Carter’s Presidency having lived it inside the Beltway, and I was also skeptical of Reagan. I had never voted for a Republican until this last election in Woodstock. Without hesitation I voted for Allan Walker and Chan Paquette hoping for the best for Mitch Eaffy. I also voted for Glenn Converse, Jeff Gordon, and Dexter Young – all respectable. In the previous municipal election, in 2005, I voted straight Democrat and felt some elation about the election result although I had little understanding of Margaret Wholean’s priorities. I attribute writing and reading at the Café, and the synergism of reading many inept articles in the Villager, to sharpening my interest in this election.

I met Joe Breen for the first time in late May 2007. At that time after several hours of discussion he asked me if I would compete for the nomination for the First Selectman position in the Democratic Caucus. With hesitation, I said yes. My hesitation was because most everyone in town knew that Becki and I were responsible for the Café. At that time, Joe was under the impression that the Café was run by a mysterious group of people that just included us, and we did not bother to straighten him out on this point. The Café has never been a Democratic vehicle as many Republicans who contribute to the Café can attest.

My hesitation in running was because successful politicians speak guardedly about controversial political issues and we had not. I think we saw guarded statements by Ms. Wholean and Allan Walker in the Villager, on WINY, and at the debates, and by Alberts last year. We had spoken up about our positions on virtually every issue in town and I am the first to acknowledge that I am not a politician by any definition. We were not about to retract anything including the fact that I had already endorsed the fundamental tenets of Joe’s position statement to the State legislature regarding the Academy. On the other hand, I felt that because I had done so, sometimes anonymously, I now had the responsibility to step forward and stand for these beliefs publicly though recognizing their unpopularity.

But I have to say, one governing motive for getting involved was to remove Margaret Wholean from office. This is why I attempted to defeat her in the Democratic primary held on September 11th. In addition, as stated during my primary campaign, Read the rest of this entry »

Margaret Wholean requested a recount for her race with Mitch Eaffy. John Leavitt conceded to Kevin Ford. We hear that as a result of the recount Margaret stayed the same, Mitch Eaffy gained one vote and Chan Paquette lost five votes.

November 9, 2007

Dear Woodstock Citizens:

We, the members of your Woodstock Board of Education, are committed to developing a strong and productive relationship with you. The Woodstock Public Schools belong to our town’s citizens. We are honored to be entrusted with setting the educational vision for our schools, developing the policies which guide our operations and fulfill our mission, and prioritizing budgetary resources to support our goals and objectives.

We recognize that we can improve upon the communication we have with our community. We recently formed the “Community Communications and Relations Committee� to strengthen communications and understanding between our community and the Board of Education. We believe that active dialogue with our community and with the parents of our students results in a stronger school system with better student outcomes. We hope to increase awareness of the activities and priorities within the schools and to encourage feedback from the community.

One of our first initiatives is launching this “Spotlight on Woodstock Education.â€? This feature will appear regularly in the Woodstock Villager and other local media, including the WPS website (www.woodstockschools.net). Read the rest of this entry »

In response to the discussion relative to education expenditures, the data are presented at BoE meetings and are available on the web. The state publishes comparative data through School Profiles and various reports.

The school profile for 05-06 (latest published) Woodstock Public Schools is available at this site.

Woodstock Academy is considered a separate district, it’s profile for 05-06 can be viewed at this site. Note that the WA profile doesn’t include any financial information.

An interactive report generator which allows the user to compare CMT scores between districts is available at CMT Reports.

The statewide chart most often quoted by the BoE refers to our Net Current Expenditure per Pupil where Woodstock is ranked 165 out of 169 towns in 2005-06. This chart can be found at here. We would have to spend $1,800 more per pupil to reach the median expenditure in the state, or about $2M per year. Read the rest of this entry »

Who loves Woodstock more? Who has lived here longer? NIMBY? Let the boards just do their job? My apologies for creating any anxiety or indigestion by asking you to consider learning from past events. Your comments reinforce my desire to simply live isolated from this commmunity….even further than I do today.

My previous reasoning for vigorously opposing the development- and offering alternative building solutions- was to demonstrate beyond any reasonable doubt that the Woodstock Wetlands and PZC were so biased – that in the face of overwhelming evidence- it became abundantly clear that the process was neither being conducted fairly or honestly. After the last election- I thought the process had became more transparent but also more time consuming- because PZC gave equal weight to all sides- developers and citizens.

We have now returned to a pro-development, laize faire, special interest oriented planning and zoning commission…which will seek to have weak and poorly written regulations Read the rest of this entry »

It may have seemed that Joe Breen was smeared, but so were all of the candidates in some form or fashion. That’s the nature of politics unfortunately. Certainly the Democrats put on the better campaign and were the most articulate about their positions. So why do you really think they lost? This is not the time for the Democrats to place any blame on anyone other than themselves. In an election year we had the “Breen Proposal”, then we had the “9th Grade Retention Proposal” then we had the “P&Z Controversy”. Was it any surprise that their would be a voter backlash?

The argument that politics shouldn’t stand in the way if doing what’s right is foolish and shortsighted. The right thing must be done, but in a framework that is politically careful and correct so as to ensure a continuum of players with a slow forward movement. Two steps forward with one step back is better than falling down the whole flight of stairs. Acting unilaterally and with haste in order to acheive quick large gains comes at much risk and peril. The risk is losing everything and thereby setting back a great idea or a worthy platform. Read the rest of this entry »

The Cafe had 803 unique visitors and 2010 page turns on Wednesday.

I spent a lot of time standing out in the rain yesterday, watching people come and go to the polls. There were a lot of elderly during the mid and late morning. And a lot of building trade people. It almost felt like I was watching it all on a DVD or something. The Democrat set-up, a rudimentary, though fully functional green polypropylene shelter didn’t compete technically with the Republican trade-show tents. Nor did the Dems have nearly the number of signs. The Republicans were stoic and waved at everybody coming in. The Dems waved too, but we had made a strategic error in the placement of our ‘camp’ – we were to the left side of incoming voters – and more visible to voters as they left the polls. I don’t think it matters much. It was looking pretty lopsided for us early on – though I have to tell you I was heartened by each of you that returned my wave… and particularly appreciative of those effusive, undeniably pro-Democrat acknowledgements.

The constables were gregarious enough for having to work in the ducky weather and didn’t seem to favor one side of the drive over the other. Not that I would have thought we were being slighted if they talked more to the Republicans – after all, most of them have been in town a lot longer and have known each other for many years. Its easier to talk to someone you know than someone you don’t. Read the rest of this entry »

I have a few thoughts on last evening’s election results, as well as a few comments to make about what some people have posted.

I would be not telling the truth if I didn’t say that I am happy with having been elected to serve on the Planning & Zoning Commission. The toughest vote I had to work for was my wife’s – now I have another set of meetings to attend. I am humbled by the support I have received from people in town, be they Republicans, Democrats, CPSers (is that the right term?), and independents. I thank people here in Woodstock for having elected me to public office.

However, although I am happy with my success at the ballot box and for how I conducted myself during the election campaign, I am not going to gloat about it, to become cocky about it, or to become arrogant over it. I am very mindful that elections are fickle entities. Two years ago, the Republicans were drubbed and the Democrats won. This year, the Democrats were drubbed and the Republicans won. Who knows what will happen in 2 years.

But, I am not looking to 4 years from now when I will make a decision about running for re-election. I have much, much work to do on the PZC before then. I am reminded of a very remarkable quote from the movie An American President, in which Michael Douglas’ character (the President) says that “I spent so much time trying to keep my job that I forgot to do my job”. With that said, I will be focused on doing my job on the PZC instead of figuring out how to keep my job on the PZC in 4 years. If I act responsibly, think for myself, and do as good a job as I can do, then I will have a record of action on the PZC on which to run (win or lose). Read the rest of this entry »

Kevin states “I have set up a blog to talk about my experiences on the Board of Education, and to try and inform people from an insider’s perspective.”

Kevin E. Ford is a newly seated member of Woodstock’s Board of Education.

Please see Kevin In Woodstock

A link will be placed to the right for Cafe visitors to click through to this new site. Admin.