Woodstock CT Café

The truth that is as plain as the nose on your face is that the major land owners who dominate the Republican party and the land use boards are determined to minimize any real land use regulation and have done so successfully essentially forever. This is not a secret - they offer their opinions publicly all the time. And they are right now undertaking an effort to reverse the conservation subdivision regulations passed three years ago.

You cannot, with credibility, state here that you do not understand the problem, and then draw a conclusion about the topic based on the tone of Dr. Gordon’s comments - this is simply inane. And you cannot state you do not understand the problem after the extensive information that has been provided to you here. If you do not understand then go re-read it - slowly.

The “birds and bees” language in the Plan of Conservation and Development and Zoning Regulations is simply not enforceable and is virtually never enforced. This is the result of 10-20 years of ridiculous “study circles” in which grouops of people who have no idea what they are doing play paddy-cake and agree only on such vague generalizations that they have ended up with meaningless land use regulations. In the meantime, there is no real land use regulation in Woodstock. And that is exactly what the Republican-dominated PZC wants. What part of this do you not understand, for God’s sake? Read the rest of this entry »

BlogNetNews Rates the Cafe High in Influence in the state because of our contributors and readers.

This measure tracks each blog (>60) over the last twelve weeks in a rolling average, producing a more stable measure of influence that reflects a blog’s longer-term impact on the blogospheric conversation rather than the “Official” single week results which can be influenced by a few really good or really controversial posts. There are many more than 60 blogs in the state but they’re essentially invisible. These top 20 are the most visible.

Jeff’s eliquent statement reminding readers that we all received funding for our educations from someone else prompted me to crunch some numbers.

I thought I would take a stab at estimating the cost of a public school education for us and our families.
Here are the assumptions I used to put together the Table at the bottom of this article:
I used 2008 dollars;
I assumed that the average cost per year was/is $10,000 (2008 dollars, averaging all grades together); and
I assumed 13 years of public school education (K-12).

If a resident is single for life (producing no off-spring) and was schooled in the public school system (K-12), his/her education cost taxpayers $130,000 in 2008 dollars. All individuals have the same cost. If you are a couple living together as a single property taxed entity, then the education of the two of you cost twice as much, $260,000 in 2008 dollars. Larger residental families increase proportionately by the number in the family. The third column is the cost to society for the education of you and your family, or perhaps the amount you owe back to society.  

Becki and I have only owned property in Woodstock for nine years and since then we have paid about $29,700 in property taxes. Mariah was educated in Woodstock from grade 2 through 12 costing taxpayers $110,000 in 2008 dollars. The total cost for our family unit’s education was $390,000 in 2008 dollars but other towns helped pay for that. [By the way, all of my public education took place in CT in Rowayton CT between Darien and Norwalk.] We expect to pay back Woodstock for Mariah’s education if we live long enough (knock on wood). Read the rest of this entry »

Questioner thinks to himself, “A free public education for all. A noble idea not only of benevolence but of foresight. What a great, noble idea. In order for a democracy to flourish mustn’t its citizens be educated?
Mustn’t they assimilate with great minds? Mustn’t they learn what opportunities and what truths await them? What a great model for a Great Society. I get it. I really do.” He smiles.

One day quesioner comes across a local blogsite. He reads an intersting comment written by a Jeff Kelleher. He asks his neighbor Jeff, “I’m not sure I understand your statement ‘if America is really a land of opportunity, I believe we must strive to offer a free quality education to all citizens.’ It seems to be a bit of a non sequitur,” questioner states, “afterall, by this reasoning, should it not follow, then, that if America is a land of opportunity we should provide everyone with free housing, with free healthcare, or even a free car?” While a free education is a Great and Noble idea, Questioner ponders, does it really gaurantee opportunity?

“Oh, but wait, these things really aren’t free afterall.” Questioner remembers, “I mean, someone has to pay for them, don’t they?” Questioner asks.

He remembers how he was once told by his sandel wearing professors at college, “But if we provide all of this “free” opportunity we will attract great talent, we will promote people from poor to middle to upper classes. Quality of life will rise for all….and….we’ll have a new, ever increasing inflow of taxpayers to pay for all these “free” things. The system will support itself. Don’t be so greedy, someday they will help pay for your social security! (At least we hope so).” Questioner was satisfied. It made sense at the time. (He thinks).

But, he inquired, “won’t we need a much larger government to help make this work?” No one answered, but a group of smart looking, sandeled, men and women wearing shirts with jack-asses on them, simply smiled at him. Read the rest of this entry »

I just have a couple of points/questions for you to consider (spoken to Rich). You mention that Seniors (and others for that matter) have no kids in the school system, therefore they shouldn’t have to worry about education. I have another point of view. Every child in our country is offered a free, public, and hopefully, quality education. I’m more than willing to concede that there are schools that are struggling to offer a free quality education, but I think it’s fair to assert that many public schools are doing quite well.

In any case, as a child, every future taxpayer receives a free education. When you grow up, and start paying taxes, you pay for your education. You may label this practice as socialist or communist, and I may have a tough time refuting your argument. Nevertheless, if America is really a land of opportunity, I believe we must strive to offer a free quality education to all citizens.

Let’s be honest. There is a class system in the U.S. There are have’s, have nots, and as our Presidents likes to mention, there are the have more’s that are the base of the Republican party. [as an aside, I’m not overly fond of either of the major parties in our country.] If we get to a point where the only way to get a decent education is to pony up the $$ that private schools charge, there would be the possibility of major class division/war in this country, much more than there is now.

Honestly, I get your point. Believe me, I know there are students who cost more time and money to educate than others. I do believe that some adjustments need to be made to the public school system to address the needs of all students. But I’m not sure the country would be better off if public education was only for “scumbags”.

As for Canterbury “leaning” on a particular high school for better tuition rates, well, good luck with that. I don’t mean to sound snide nor condescending. I just don’t see what bargaining power Canterbury (or any sending town) would have. Read the rest of this entry »

Headline in today’s Norwich Bull on the web - “Putnam: Hospital group holding fundraider party”
The event will raise (or do they mean steal) funds for (from) the hospital’s oncology center.

Since these are the ‘dog days’ of community news, the Cafe thought it should report that a ‘troubled’ citizen has been circulating a petition regarding the animal control service in Canterbury. Canterbury Selectmen recently decided to use the NECCOG dog pound service rather than maintain their own municiple pound. I think this is what Woodstock has done as well. Below is Brian Sear’s response to the ‘troubled’ citizen. It’s nice to have a First Selectman who can write.  

Dear Concerned Citizen:

Last week I received a summary from Mr. and Mrs. Motowidlak outlining their recent experience with the NECCOG Animal Control facility. As soon as I learned of the situation, I contacted NECCOG to get an explanation of the entire situation. That summary of events is attached (attachment below).

Based on the information provided, it appears the NECCOG staff responded promptly and effectively in dealing with the complaint on July 4. They removed the possibility of harm to one of our citizens, and the dog in question was placed in a safe and protected environment until its owner could be reached. Reasonable steps were taken to notify the owners of the dog’s location.

It is extremely unfortunate that as a consequence of NECCOG’s taking in an ill dog (who escaped from an adjoining room into the NECCOG lobby and created a highly offensive mess) the night before the Motowidlak’s visit. The Motowidlak’s faced an unpleasant environment when they came to retrieve their dog. If they had arrived a short time later, the area would have been cleaned and the situation put right. Read the rest of this entry »

The Board of Selectmen in Brooklyn have announced that they will hire a Town Administrator to run the town.

First Selectman Brian Sear
After failing to pass the budget twice, Canterbury will try again on August 20th with a proposed zero increase.

It’s a $13.97 million budget proposal for a town that has a population approximately 65% of that of Woodstock.

Cut from the education budget:
·         two teacher positions, including an eight grade teacher,
·         a new school bus,
·         new copier machines,
·         money for a maintenance shed from the education budget,
·         days and hours for librarians and secretaries at both the Elementary School and Middle School, and
·         a proposed increase in hours for an elementary school music teacher.

Cut from the town operating budget:
·         $31,000 from the highway department,
·         $20,000 for waste and refuse disposal,
·         Reductions in temporary office personnel,
·         closing of the dog pound and going to a regional service and
·         numerous other line-item cuts also removed $11,000 from the budget.

Yet fuel and electricity are going up.

One important line item was not cut – tuition payments to Woodstock Academy.

One resident said in the Norwich Bull “We’re going backwards in this town.”

Going back to the Hartford Courant article published on July 22nd entitled “Top Football Programs Fail To Make Grades,” at first I could not think of the relevency of that article to Woodstock. The article, written by a former Notre Dame football player pointed out that there is an inverse relationship between academic achievement among Division I football players and success of their football teams. Both Notre Dame and Stanford University are noted for their high academic standards, but in the last decade their football teams have not done that well because the universities maintain higher academic requirements for football players. Other Division I universities are like clearing houses for football players who wish to play Pro Football. These college football teams are not about academics at all; instead, it’s all about money for the university at the expense of academics.

I have to admit that I really have enjoyed high school and college football and will continue to do so. As I have said previously, I’ve been to many great games at the Univ. Pittsburgh, Penn State, Annapolis, Stanford, UConn, and the Airforce Academy. At Stanford it was great to have a coach called ‘the genius’. Also, in Palo Alto, I’d often see George Seiffert (coach of the 49′ers) at the coffee house down the street from where we lived. While that other guy, the genius, had a very good offense with Steve Stenstrom as QB at Stanford, he forgot to provide blockers for Steve … and a defense. So poor Steve would get pummeled on every other play if he failed to throw the pass quickly. But Steve would have a long rest after four downs while the other team moved the ball down the field. Still, I enjoyed watching these games because ocassionally Stanford would pull a big upset. 

This is why I enjoy football - the thrill of an upset by an underdog. I cried the first time I saw “Rudy” and my heart was in my throat the first time I saw “Friday Night Lights.” This is probably part of the appeal of watching Army, Navy, and Airforce play … and even Woodstock Academy for that matter. I have mentioned previously that the best game I ever saw was Pitt versus West Virginia. In those years I went to every home game and saw Larry Czonka (Syracuse) and The Stork Hendricks (Univ. Miami Hurricanes) demolish the Panthers. But the West Virginia game was especially painful. Pitt was behind 34-0 at halftime and nearly everyone had left the stadium because of the score and the driving rain. Read the rest of this entry »

On July 23rd I received an anonymous piece of mail from South Woodstock. It contained an Op-Ed piece cut out from the Hartford Courant published on July 22nd entitled “Top Football Programs Fail To Make Grades.” I appreciated receiving this article which I read carefully. I will address that article in my annual article about Academy football next. 

There was a square yellow sticky note attached to the article with “F.Y.I.” written on it above the faint embossment reading “The Woodstock Academy Difference Keys to Community Excellence“ with a logo of a centaur. The centaur was holding up something in its left hand that looked like a head with blood dripping down but it was hard to make out exactly what it was…maybe my imagination was just running wild. When Becki returns we’ll try and scan it for Cafe’ers to see.

Since the sticky note was obviously Academy property with a subtle, subliminal indoctrination message, I assume that the sender is in some way connected to the Academy. This may be why the sender was anonymous. Me thinks that anyone associated with the Academy would not fare well if he or she were critical of the Academy.

It was pointed out to me a week or so ago that Wikipedia had put a lock on their Academy page obviously because others, probably students, were re-writing the history and reality of the Academy. It would be interesting to know why Wikipedia shut it down.

John

A poem by Katie Dvorsky
source (Hear Katie recite this poem. Very talented).

“it’s quarter to eight now
better get to class
shuffle in, zone out and plop down on your ass
now get ready to memorize what the book says is true
time to convert the cynics among alla you
now please refrain from thinking for yourself
for a mechanized mind is the key to wealth
and a home in the suburbs with 2.5 kids
align yourself with the paradigm of what a good citizen is
the state’s steady curricula has prepared me for success
yes i could pass any standardized test
and the endless educational opportunities that come with after school activities
have allowed me to see that everyone in stuco is better than me
and that poppin your collar is the key to membership in the national honor society
but the best part of school is learning from your peers
i mean who knew there were so many nicknames for queers
and spics and niggers and chinks and jews
and all the other kinds of people you never even knew
the commons are a breeding ground for intelligent thought
“like omg he’s dating her? she’s like soo not hot”
but maybe the students should take a break and give the faculty a chance to learn
that respect can’t be demanded it has to be earned
AND THAT YELLING AT A CLASS DOESN’T GET YOUR MESSAGE THROUGH
it just motivates us to keep laughing at you
so here’s to herding kids like cows into pointless assemblies
and here’s to my four year investment in mediocrity
now i march proudly through my school’s hallowed halls
past the cool kids hissing “dyyyke” leaning against the walls
woodstock academy
there’s no difference at all”