Woodstock CT Café

by George McCoy 

Kevin,

Thank you for your words of support. I agree with you 100%!! Voters need to know that this group which calls itself “CPS” cares as much about “prudent spending” as a hog is concerned about the mud in which it lays. They have hijacked the term “prudent spending” as a smoke screen to their long term approach when dealing with the town’s boards of education and finance, namely the threats of or actual waging of costly law suits that must be paid by the tax payers. I understand Mr. Powers’ lawsuit against the school district to secure special education for his son cost us $67,000.00!! And this man thinks that he can cast a fair and impartial vote regarding the school system budget each year? Kind of like asking the wolf to guard the chicken coop, in my opinion!

George M. McCoy
Republican Candidate (Incumbent)
for Woodstock Board of Finance

These comments reflect my own personal opinions and concerns and in no way are meant to reflect the opinion of the Woodstock Board of Finance

by Becki

This election is a very important election. It may look like a pretty boring ballot with so many unopposed candidates, but it is of utmost importance that Woodstock’s voters turn up at the polls and VOTE.

The state has finally figured out that they have about five pounds of potatoes in their ten-pound bag. Connecticut’s bond rating has been reduced. So, not only will it be harder for the state to borrow money (not necessarily a bad thing), whatever we do borrow will incur a higher interest rate (because our bond rating has been lessened).

Recent conversations in Hartford indicate that the state is planning on reducing the Education Cost Sharing Grants (ECS funding) substantially. The figures I’ve heard (from an interview on WINY) would create an 18-20% increase in taxes for town property owners just to maintain a 0% budget this coming year.

It is essential that those we elect be ready AND willing to work together to face the challenging economic environment that will be facing us. There is a considerable learning curve for anyone taking a seat on the Board of Finance. For these reasons I will be voting for Richard Cass and George McCoy to be seated on the Board of Finance. Of the four candidates, both Cass and McCoy have real experience on the Board of Finance. Both have experienced at least two budget cycles.

What we do not need any more, in this town, is the obstructionist approach taken by some of our very vocal citizens. We do not need to continue to allow the bullying tactics of a minority of citizens who are not interested in anything beyond their minutia-focused agenda. We no longer have the luxury of doing anything but getting down to business and making the painful cuts that will be needed. This requires teamwork.

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from George McCoy, Republican Candidate for the WBOF

October 30th, 2009

Dear Woodstock Voters,

One month ago I wrote an open letter to the townspeople and parents of children in Woodstock schools which conveyed my concerns about the upcoming election and the expected low voter turn out, since this is an “off year” election, and the fact that many of the seats will be uncontested.

I warned of a small but very active group which attempted to force a recall of the Woodstock Board of Education earlier this year, and their new attempt to put two of their own onto the Board of Finance this November 3rd. They couldn’t get what they wanted in June, and now they want the only other means at their disposal, the ability to control the town and school district finances.

The work of all the candidates is done. The outcome of this election is now in your hands. Please remember to vote this Tuesday, November 3rd. The polls are open from 6:00am to 8:00pm. Please remind your friends and family to vote as well. The direction Woodstock will take in the management of the town and the education of its children will be decided. I hope that this decision will not be made by a select few with a longstanding history of personal vendettas, but by a true majority of Woodstock’s registered voters.

I would like to thank the Woodstock Republican Town Committee for their endorsement and enthusiastic support of my candidacy, and I am particularly pleased and grateful to have the endorsement of CPWF, Community Partners for Woodstock’s Future, a non-partisan advocate for Woodstock’s future!

In closing I would like to remind everyone that a food drive for those in need will also be conducted at the town hall on election day. Please be sure to bring a non-parishable food item to leave off when you come to vote.

Sincerely,

George M. McCoy
Republican candidate for
Woodstock Board of Finance

With prompting from George McCoy, the Cafe would like to remind everyone that a food drive for those in need will also be conducted at the town hall on election day. Please be sure to bring a non-parishable food item to leave off when you come to vote.

The Selectmen are uncontested.

by Ken Rapoport

Woodstock’s last “Plan of Conservation and Development” had a full page photo of Pulpit Rock Road- which demonstrated our residents concern for preserving these unique place PLUS “The Plan” had ANOTHER photo from Pulpit Rock Road with a title focused on protecting valuable wetlands. Both PZC and IWWA- with many of the same members today- simply ignored our town’s “Plan”- and in many cases actually assisted Douglas Builders attempt to destroy all this with an 8 lot subdivision! Private lawsuits and private money were the only reasons this development was stopped. Okay Jeff or anyone else- want to explain why its NOT a WASTE of time to contribute input to the new “PLAN”???- when it was so thoroughly ignored before by both our appointed IWWA board(appointed by our selectman- where current selectman Mitch Eaffy put his wife on IWWA or Delpha Very,past 1st selectman’s husband, was placed on this same committee?). Heck- PZC did not even ONCE refer to “THE PLAN” when considering this previous attack against the clearly articulated desires of our community. So what am I missing? Time is always precious- so why are we making such a big deal about a document without any apparent or real impact? To me- it seems like window dressing to give the impression that Woodstock is actually concerned about conservation-(helps sell houses) while really focused on helping local developers and large land owners BUILD “anything anywhere”. So what have I missed? And please Jeff- don’t claim that in the future- things will be different. Certainly not with many of the same board members. My observation is the “Plan of Conservation and Development” is long on rhetoric and short on enforcement. From my experience- our boards don’t even reference this document. Can someone explain why we are getting all excited, and having meetings, about a non-binding, non-enforceable, and non-influencing document? Reminds me of that “feel good” MAFWA citizens advisory group. All it provides is propaganda to claim that our government is listening and acting on our community’s interests. I am having a hard time swallowing that based on experience and the facts.

by Charles M. Super, Democratic Candidate for the BOF

As election day nears, Woodstock citizens are naturally concerned about how their hard-earned tax dollars are going to be managed.  I decided to run for the Board of Finance this year because I thought this would be a good way for me to use my skills and background for the good of the community.  Since I am a political newcomer in Woodstock (although I’ve lived here with my family since 1998), I offer the following commentary so that Woodstock voters can make an informed choice about what I would bring to the Board of Finance.

Many aspects of the BoF’s performance in the past have been excellent, and continuity is important. There are three areas, however, where I believe I can contribute to improving the way your money is managed:  Clarity, accountability, and planning.

Clarity is an essential tool in judging budgets.  A budget proposal can be “accurate” in the sense that the numbers add up correctly, but can still be quite confusing.  A common tool in making budgets understandable and manageable is to use “cost centers” (functional units or types of expenses that can be identified for a particular purpose).  “Permanent office staff” and “temporary teaching staff” would be examples, as well as “computer equipment,” “expendable office supplies,” and “outside legal counsel.”   The General Government budget does this effectively.  Although the Board of Finance does not have line-item authority for the Education budget, it does have the responsibility to understand any budget it approves, and this is particularly important since Education is about three times the size of the General Government budget.  The BoF needs to have clearly organized, readily understandable budget presentations in all areas.  If elected, I will work for clarity. Read the rest of this entry »

John Leavitt, Treasurer

I remember Mr. Cass as the BOF representative who attended BOE meetings during contract negotiations. Mr. Cass was a thoughtful, fair-minded individual who asked tough questions of the BOE members in the negotiation process. Mr. Cass never politicized the process and spent a great deal of time doing research and finding out the why’s and wherefore’s of the contract negotiation process. I liked his candor. Mr. Cass is a valuable assest to the BOF he should be elected as a full member. comment from teachref09

In their full page ad published in the Shoppers Guide yesterday (October 27th) on page 41, the Woodstock Republican Town Committee (WRTC) endorsed Democratic candidate Richard Cass for election as a full member to the Board of Finance on November 3rd. This endorsement of Cass was made along with the RTC’s endorsement of their own candidates, George McCoy for the full time slot and Mike Dougherty for the alternate slot (opposing Ms. Wholean).

The endorsement of a Democratic candidate by the WRTC may be unprecedented.

In the final paragraph, the ad states as follows:

The ad further states as follows:

““

A public forum about Woodstock’s Plan of Conservation and Development will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday night at the Bungay Fire Brigade, 1256 Route 171.

The forum will be conducted by Town Planner Delia Fey. For more information, call Fey at (860) 963-2128.

by Jeff Gordon 

Thank you for mentioning the work under way (to Nary) by Woodstock’s Planning & Zoning Commission. The PZC has been getting good input from many people about our town’s Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD). Delia Fey, our Town Planner/Zoning Enforcement Officer, has been actively involved.

Although CT General Statute requires that only a “review” be done at least every 10 years, the PZC is looking to get as much input as possible from across Woodstock so as to do an “update” of the POCD. The POCD is indeed a very important master plan for Woodstock. Woodstock is to complete its review and update in 2012, so the PZC is starting the process now so as to give us and everyone more than enough time to invest in the POCD.

Anyone interested in attending the POCD meeting this Thursday at the Bungay Fire Brigade on Route 171 at 7 PM is welcome to attend. I look forward to meeting you there.
.

The PZC is planning more POCD meetings. We have a schedule already for the remainder of 2009. We will be working on what to do in 2010.

It is important for everyone to remember that the POCD is not the PZC’s plan - it is a master planning document for our community. We all live in Woodstock together, so it is most important that we all work together to share our different perspectives, experiences, ideas, etc… to help guide the future of Woodstock.

I do agree with your pride in, love for, and enthusiasm about Woodstock.

Jeff

The above represent my own personal comments and do not in any manner reflect official statements or positions of the PZC.

by Nary

The news is just in about the Academy’s suspended application for development of athletic fields. The Army Corps of Engineers is waiting for Water Quality approval from CT DEP.

What may be obvious but worth stating is that this application was approved by Woodstock’s PZC over a year ago. Because a few PZC members had the intelligence and fortitude to add conditions to the approval for special permit, one of which was Army Corps approval — construction is still denied due to suspension.

If a venerable institution like the Woodstock Academy can put forward a plan as environmentally questionable as it obviously is — what will happen when this recession is over and less than venerable developers bring applications to IWWA and PZC?

Inland Watercourse and Wetlands Agency and other vital boards and commissions need good people to serve. Voting does matter and can change things; it can determine your family’s future for better or worse. Poorly planned development will not stay contained in the Historic District. We need good zoning in Woodstock and we need to work on it together — otherwise, your properties will be adversely affected also in time.

PZC is currently holding public meetings to gather input for the needed amendment(s) to the Plan for Conservation and Development. This document guides the town in long range goals of planning and development. The next meeting will be held on Thursday night, October 29th at 7 pm at Bungay Fire Brigade, 1256 Rt. 171. Please consider attending. Please consider giving up some of your valuable time to volunteer on a board or commission. Your involvement will keep Woodstock the greatest town in CT!

The numbers in the table below are the cumulative unique visitors measured by unique Internet Protocol numbers (IP paths), the total number of visits including return visits by single individuals, and the total number of pages turned from October 1 to 8:43 PM on October 28. Approximately 4000 of the Visits lasted longer than 30 seconds and approximately 2500 of the visits lasted longer than 2 minutes. There are a low percentage of unique visitors from other states and outside of the USA. For example while 46,312 of the pages turned were from US visitors (mostly in CT) 1843 pages turned where from visitors in Great Britain, 466 pages were turned by visitors from Latvia, and 93 pages were turned by visitors from the United Arab Emirates . 

Cafe activity is usually lower on weekends compared to the middle days of the week.

by Scott Sincerbeaux 

I agree with Kevin and Bill in the fact that we should accept Steve’s apology and move on. As Kevin says “what happened, happened”. No matter if we agree with the motivation or not, Steve did the right thing in terms of the apology. If you read through the posts on the last two articles relative to Steve’s letter there is a lot to consider. That said, he took the time to write the letter, no matter if we think it took too long to do or not.

Starting at curious, we need to begin anew with the BOE, working to give students the best possible education through skilled teachers, up to date technology and challenging curriculum. It is time to put the history of the past behind us, move on and judge not on what someone did before, but what they will do in the future. No group or board will always agree on everything. This is what makes our country a democracy. That said, we can debate with respect, keeping in mind the ultimate goal. Personal agenda or political affiliation should not play a part in the debates and ultimate decision making by the Board of Education. We can all be part of the solution, not the problem. November 3rd gives us the opportunity to start over, work together, make some changes in how we operate and most importantly go to work for the kids.

When rationalizing this, I would ask you to consider a time when you had a difference of opinion with a friend or family member. At some point, someone apologized, the apology was accepted and you moved on or chose to walk away. Let’s all move on!

“I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past” -Thomas Jefferson

by Con

I definitely agree in moving forward, but not if the call to do so is calculated to deflect needed focus on an important weaknesses; not until first recognizing exactly what that letter of ‘apology’ truly said, as well as supporting letters in the October 23rd Villager:

1) Mr. Rosendahl seemed to begrudgingly apologize mainly because he had to. His letter seemed to respond somehow to the fact that “This incident was mentioned in the recent Woodstock Villager article…” This may NOT be his reason (who knows?), but it’s telling that he remained silent for so long (and in the face of numerous voices publicly questioning his behavior) and only addresses the ‘incident’ after it’s mentioned in The Villager.

While we do hope he’s sincere, the deflective tactic of ‘reconciliation-while-apologizing’ is common and politically tried-and-true and it’s effective. It buries low road wrong-doing in high road rhetoric and diffuses further criticism preemptively.

2) Mr. Richardson’s entire ‘platform’ seems to be that: A) he’s seen some big Financial Statements before; and B) that the town spent a lot of money last-minute in a tactic to burn all budget money so it would be refreshed 100% the next year. Is that it? - that this very common budget ‘tactic’, which is used by most every budget-dependent organization, charity, camp and municipality out there, is ALSO used by Woodstock? Again - this is COMMON BUDGET PRACTICE. Is this his basis of attack - that they should have been more organized, less last-minute? Importantly, he failed to name ANY of the “errors and issues with accounting practices” he claims repeatedly to have “uncovered” - and this was truly his best opportunity and forum to do so; it would have been quite strong, were it true. I believe he would have cited an entire list of “errors and issues” if he had uncovered them. There was no such list.

Again, this is a tried-and-true means of deflecting any relative candidate weakness and lack of REAL ammunition; lack of valid criticism and, most especially, deflecting point-blank his reputation as “anti-education”.

In support, as usual, Mr. Powers and Ms. Rapose string together vague, slogan-like platitudes and cliches about “hoping to elect people like us…”, “tax and spend” behavior and “tip of the iceberg”, while - like Mr. Richardson - pointing out that the current Board spent a lot of money last-minute in a tactic to burn all budget money so it would be refreshed 100% (like so many other budget-dependent organizations do).

Ms. Rapose also seemed defensive about, and tried to deflect, the notion of “bare-bones, maintenance budgets”. Unfortunately, Mr. Powers was specific only when repeating tired, old and inaccurate accusations - the rest of his hostile note seemed extremely patronizing and haughty - as though us dumb citizens needed someone smarter to explain all of these biased claims and details.

by John 

Thankyou Mr. Rosendahl for informing the few remaining public (that don’t already know about it) about your bad behavior (see this weeks Villager, page 10). You used this occassion to suggest that the BOE should start working together. Your article tends to suggest that you are going to change your ways.  But your brain transplant could be expensive and donors are rare.

Just for reminders:
One Lie After Another

Rosendahl’s Email to the RTC

More of Rosendahl’s Rhetoric

Mr. Rosendahl, please sit down and be quiet! You are an elected member of the Board of Education of Woodstock and as such you need to supervise your behavior so that it adheres to the oath you have sworn to uphold and the code of ethics your membership entails.

CT State Statutes – Oath of Office for Electors
and CT Code of Ethics for Boards of Education

As an elected official representing the citizens of Woodstock – which includes me – I am incensed at your bad behavior and purposeful disregard for your elected position as a member of the Board of Education. You need to button up and figure out what the sam-hell you are putting this community through before you utter another word, let alone another unsoundly composed malicious screed to be published in the local weekly.

malicious – characterized by malice; intended or intending to do harm
screed – a long speech or piece of writing, typically one considered as tedious

You, sir, are under the misplaced understanding that you are on the Board of Education to fulfill some agenda you remember having pledged while you were campaigning. The oath you took, as an elector, supersedes your personal feelings and the rambling campaign promises that you keep referring to. You are now a ‘member’ of a board and responsible to act like one. That requires you to put away your ego, your agenda and your preconceived notions of what you think is going on.

member – an individual belonging to a group such as a society or team
understanding – the ability to understand something; comprehension

The act of considering whatever comes before the Board of Education requires one to really process the information presented. More importantly, you are supposed to have an actual, I mean very real, understanding of the structure, operational process and realm of authority of the body of which you are a member. You aren’t supposed to sit there and throw up your arm, nearly stumbling over yourself, spewing out opinion as a way of sidetracking discussions. Apoplectically hurling anything across the table at anyone, let alone a subordinate, is inexcusable! You should be sanctioned for such deplorable behavior.

consider – think carefully about (something), typically before making a decision
apoplectic – overcome with anger; extremely indignant
hurl – throw (an object) with great force
deplorable – deserving strong condemnation

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Click to enlarge

I’ve heard others say that there must be something in the water that flows north down Brickyard to Route 197. This tainted water then appears to flow down Route 197 to the intersection of Route 169. The erosion can be traced by monitoring the Richardson signs that have sprouted up along this root of negativity. 

The earliest signs to sprout before each referendum and election show up at these very same sites, many times two or three of the same signs per residence (I guess that means they really mean it). After a number of years you notice the same pattern over and over again. Although when driving this root it seems like everyone in town is voting this way, this is not the case.

You may recall that two years ago before the last election, Ms. Valentine had her signs up at these very same sites in late August long before any others were put in place. Read the rest of this entry »