Please see the Pomfret Times online: http://www.thepomfrettimes.org/

Daryl Hartman designed this website and I was impressed with the simplistic and easy to use format. This newspaper has been in existence for about 14 years, and is published once a month.  It has a lot of good information about Pomfret, and from time to time, has information about our whole area.

On page 2 you will see campaign statements by Bill Loftus, Leah Shad, and Steve Adams and an endorsement of Bill by Jim Rivers.

Page 3 has an article on the Neccog Animal Center for Northeastern CT and some wrenching pictures of pets that I would adopt if I could.

John

Besides the Eureka moment of making an important or, at least, useful discovery the most satisfying experience I had in research was receiving a fundable rating on my federal grant applications from other scientists. In this process, notable scientists would sit in committees in Washington DC, called study sections, and discuss the merits of hundreds of grant applications and then vote on them resulting in scores that were above or below the fundable level. On a few occasions I was invited to become an ad hoc member of such committees because of the nature of my expertise. The next most satisfying experience was having a research paper accepted for publication; this also happened as a result of peer review; and I published about 60 research papers during my career – the more prestigious the journal, the greater the feeling of accomplishment. The next most satisfying event was seeing others pick up on my findings and extend them to something more valuable. This form of satisfaction usually comes several years later. I checked the citations of my papers recently and found that some of my papers are still being cited as references some 15 to 30 years after the papers were published.

One protein that I discovered and named plastin continues to be investigated as a biomarker and possible drug target for diagnosing and treating various forms of cancer. (more…)

“ I’m pro-school anyway , ” she said , “ and I enjoy it . I enjoy the kids . I enjoy having conversations with them and watching them deal with life … throwing ‘ em reality bombs every once in a while when they have problems . I just try and give them a different way of looking at stuff . ”

“A state report recently released shows that of the 1,125 complaints against outdoor wood-burning furnaces filed between 2005 and 2010 with the state Department of Environmental Protection, 317 of them were from Brooklyn, the most of any town.

Ashford had 57 complaints and Woodstock 29. Thompson, Putnam, Plainfield, Killingly and Sterling each had 20 complaints.”

“In Brooklyn, more than 300 of the complaints have been against one furnace, at 30 Tatnic Hill Road, Girard said. Public records list the property owner as Carl Meshanic. “

Tricycle was notable because he was missing the lower part of his right hind leg and left fresh blood prints in the snow. Gray was more mysterious and strickingly beautiful in color. Neither cat would let us approach him and would move away down the stone wall behind the bench into the brush if we came near. If we left food and returned inside the back door, they would reappear to eat.

We suspected that tricycle lived in a crawlspace under the floor of a storage area in our garage. It was bitter cold that winter so Becki put a cat carrier (with door open) lined with a blanket in the crawl space. We don’t know where Gray goes most nights but I leave the door to the storage room over our garage open enough so a cat can slip in. I have often found Gray hanging out in that spacious room protected from the elements.

After many months rolled by Tricycle allowed us to pat him while he ate. When warm weather came, we would leave the kitchen door open so he could sneak in and eat where our other cats ate, but he would always leave quickly if we entered the room. Tricycle then found that he could escape the house by leaving through the cat door in the laundry room through the pantry next to the kitchen. By last winter, Gray also had found the cat door for entry into the laundry room so we left food on the floor there. Soon he was sleeping in laundry baskets some nights but he would never venture further into the kitchen.

It was last winter that we started keeping Tricycle in the house by closing all the exit routes. We started giving him hugs and he showed his appreciation by purring like a lion. Now he rolls on the counter where we feed him or on the rug to expose his belly for a belly rub. For the last four months, off and on, he has been sleeping at the head of our bed above Becki’s pillow. If I awake in the middle of the night, I make sure to reach over for a few satisfying touches.

Gray, although skitish, eats in the kitchen with the rest of the cats and they all seem to like him. If he is outside on the bench, he will greet me with a pathetic meow and lets me pick him up for transport into the kitchen. I imagine that Gray will bed down in the laundry room this coming winter and be available at feeding times in the morning and evening. 

Click to enlarge

“Memory - all alone in the moonlight.
I can smile at the old days,
I was beautiful then.
I remember the time I knew what happiness was.
Let the memory live again.”
…
“Daylight, I must wait for the sunrise.
I must think of a new life,
And I mustn’t give in.
When the dawn comes tonight will be a memory too,
And a new day will begin.”
…
“Touch me, it’s so easy to leave me
All alone with the memory
Of my days in the sun.
If you touch me, you’ll understand what happiness is.
Look, a new day has begun.”

July 25th flying Southwest from T.F.Green to Phoenix, with a plane change in Chicago, I was sitting next to a young lady who was on her way to Phoenix for a very sad occassion. Apparently, two of her friends (high school or college) were involved in an accident and one of them was tragically killed. What was so bizarre about the accident was that the victim who was killed was mis-identified by hospital personnel for three days. It was widely reported by the news that the hospital was extremely busy and the identification procedure was not followed and they had the surviving victim as the fatality. Of course this was a shock to the families and friends who were later told of the mistake.

On the non-stop return flight from Phoenix to Providence, on Thursday, I sat in front of a man probably in his early 30’s flying with his two daughters aged 4 and 7 coming to visit their grandmother for a couple of weeks. We were stuck on the ground in Phoenix due to a severe thunderstorm that gave us some of the most spectacular cloud to ground lightening I have ever seen.

Finally, we were on our way an hour or so later than we should have been. This “gentleman” was very loud during the flight and he was constantly up and down the aisle chit chatting with the flight attendents, often leaving his two children alone. The little girls were very patient, but on one occassion, when “daddy” had left to flirt with one of the flight crew in the rear galley, they went looking for him. Unfortunately, I had gotten up to use the rest room in the rear of the plane where this “Lothario” was trying out his best lines on the female flight attendent.

I was totally delighted when the little girls broke past me to interrupt the dad’s “tete a tete.” He chastised them for getting in my way as I tried squeezing into the on board lavatory. All I did was smile and think to myself, “Good job girls! Get your father back into his seat where he belongs!”

Ahh the “Friendly Skies” where you never know what you will encounter next.

Chicken  lovers, beware: Taking man’s best friend for a ride could be risky.

Nearly 60% of chicken owners have driven while distracted by their birds as passengers, according to a new survey by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Chickens (ASPCC). Only 17% — about one in six — ever use bird restraints, which can prevent these pets from being a distraction and protect them and other occupants in a crash, the survey finds.
 
In crashes, unrestrained chickens pose an unintended threat to the driver and other passengers, says Minorca La Fleche, manager of traffic safety programs for chickens at AAA.

She says an unrestrained 10-pound chicken in a crash at 50 mph will exert 500 pounds of force on whatever it strikes; an 80-pound chicken (or turkey) in a crash at just 30 mph will exert about 2,400 pounds, she says. Unrestrained chickens also can prove distracting by climbing onto the driver’s lap, interfering with the ability to steer or crawling onto the foot pedals. (more…)

Woodstock RTC - 35 click throughs

Woodstock DTC - 20 click throughs

Click throughs to other local sites by the last 1100 Cafe visitors from the Cafe:
68 www.norwichbulletin.com/
44 www.remindernews.com/
42 www.bowensgarageinc.com/  
39 www.karenmcfarlin.blogspot.com/  
35 www.woodstockrepublicans.com/
25 www.woodstockschools.net/boardmeetings.htm
21 www.killinglyschools.org/
20 www.woodstockctdems.org/
17 www.townofwoodstock.com/
14 www.jenranrealty.com/
11 www.taylorsbb.com/
7 www.taylorbrookewinery.com/

 We noticed that “News and Scheduled Events” has not been up-dated since May. For example there’s no mention of the scheduled DTC cookout at Nahaco on Sept. 12th. The Cafe has been asked what time this event starts and how long will it run on the 12th.

Officers 2010 - 2012:

Chair	Charles M. Super
Vice-Chair	Suzanne Woodward
Treasurer	Glenn Lessig
Secretary	Trish Dehls

Members 2010 - 2012:

Saul Ahola
Bill Brower
Lois Brower
Sarah Jo Burke
Richard Canavan
Richard Cass
Heather Cavalli
Cliff Davis
Gail Dickinson
Sara Dziedzic
Richard Fontaine
Sara Harkness
James J. Kaeding
Christine Lessig
Reece Painter
Suzanne Rosendahl
Linda Simons
Kent Weaver
Lee Wesler
Margaret Wholean
Peg Wilson

You are welcome to join the Republicans at our dinner at Camp Nahaco! The date is Sat. Aug. 28th, 4-9pm.

If you’ve never been to Nahaco, its a great place. Tickets are $18 for adults which includes your choice of either a Lobster Roll or Steak. Kids $8 for a Hot Dog meal.

from Bill Sowka, Secretary

http://www.woodstockrepublicans.com/

The Republicans have a garish and grandiloquent website which has everything including the kitchen sink. For example the calender of events is not the Town Committee scheduled events but the scheduled events of the entire town. Would you like to know when Senior Dominoes is happening?  I wondered if this site is on the same server as the Town website because it takes forever to load pages like the town site. They also mispelled “endorsed” in several places (I guess they didn’t really mean it ). The website also states prominently that “We are the Republican Town Committee, Woodstock, CT. Nora Valentine is our Social Media Director and Manager.” Isn’t this a little redundant or is she managing something else?

Members

Michael Alberts
Daniel Atwood
Michael Bernardi - Chairman
Bettie Brooks
Ronald Cabana
Dorothy Durst
Wayne Durst
Henry Doughty
Randy Earle
David Fortin
Nancy Gale
Roger Gale
Richard Garceau
Jeffrey Gordon
Ed Higgins
George McCoy
Ed Monroe
Nancy Nystrom
Chandler Paquette
Steven Rosendahl
Scott Sincerbeaux
Travis Sirrine
William Sowka - Secretary
Daniel Very
Lynne White

I boarded a United flight from Baltimore-Washington Airport to Chicago in around early 1986. I had a seat on the aisle about six rows back at the front of the coach section. As usual I was one of the first to find my seat because I was a frequent United flier. Then I observed a large loud group of teenage kids filing in. It turned out that this was Chicago’s Hawthorne High senior class trip to Washington DC returning home.

After we took off, the students got rowdier and by halfway to Chicago they were out of control; the profanities could probably be heard in the small first class section at the front of the plane.  At some point the kid across the aisle from me started shouting and whipping the kid who was sitting directly behind me with the black wiring that connects the headphones to the music. Whack, Whack, Whack was the sound that followed after each pass of his wind-up.  All this action was seen out of the upper corner of my right eye causing me to flinch every time the kid took a swing.

I don’t know what the passengers behind me were thinking but the elderly passengers in front of me were terrified by the uproar.  The worst part of this scene was the two flight attendants standing at the entrance way to the coach section taking this all in with blank expressions of their faces. It astounded me that they did nothing and seemed perplexed more than bothered.

After five or six whacks passing by my head,

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I started the summer off with an eleven day visit to my family on the west coast. Once I returned my focus was on what I should do on my daily respites from eldercare.

We have someone who comes in every weekday morning from 8 to 10 to look after the rheumies and again someone else in the afternoon between 1 and 5. Sometimes I have stayed at home and taken advantage of the time to quilt, but not on humid days (the living room is the only place we have AC and the sewing machine is in the bedroom).

Sometimes I used the time to get supplies. Today was my monthly excursion to requisition a month’s worth of canned cat food. I was able to get to that after my morning walk at the track at Bentley Field, which is how I’ve been spending a lot of my morning respite time.

However, the greatest discovery I’ve made this summer has been the Thompson Library and Community Center… especially appreciated on those mucky humid days for its AC.

Click to enlarge. They have Internet access which, if you know me, is a definite plus. There are computers there for patrons’ usage, but I just bring along my laptop. There are even electrical outlets to use. You have to have a library card to sign on and need to register it with the front desk before you can sign on, but after the first time there isn’t anything more rigorous than a log-in page to slow you down.

The wonderful selection of audio books has allowed me to load my player with some great selections so I have something to listen to while I do chores at home. I’ve been listening to the Outlander Series and have been able to log on to the library’s site and request copies that have been out on lend. The librarians have been most efficient at notifying me when whatever I’ve requested has come in.

The library’s environment is open and airy; well-lit, of course. It is relatively quiet, unless you’ve headphones on (which I usually do). There is ample seating both at tables and otherwise. There is even a couch, though it is regularly occupied by a man who seems always to be encamped upon it reading voraciously (sometimes accompanied by a bit of muttering, though not at all distracting).

There seems to be a fairly large selection of games available. Since the only games I play are on Facebook or my phone, I have no way of vouching as to their focus, but I’ve seen a fair number of kids of all sorts taking them home. There are movies as well, but I really haven’t  even made enough of a foray to vouch for them either.

The staff is friendly and quite helpful, the restrooms clean and all in all it has been quite a nice place to be able to hang out.

Our current system produces a visitor map which is misleading because it shows only one balloon for each town where multiple visitors come from. I’ve added a new widget in the right sidebar that will produce a red circle of which the area of the circle will reflect the number of people checking in from Woodstock and the surrounding towns. It will be interesting to see what this visitor map looks like. We should start seeing incomplete results after a two days. I included the ballon from Washington DC - yes, a visitor from the US Congress. We also have other visitors who are from outside the state and country. For example we have multiple visits from a military base in Quatar on the Arabian Gulf. We are happy that people who leave Woodstock can still tune into the Cafe and read/see things that will not be found in newspapers that are on the Internet. We greatly appreciate travelers’ visits.

Missing Thompson vote:
Judge of Probate
Leah Schad 141
Kathleen Murphy 399

Judge of Probate
Steven Adams 115
Mary Ann Champney 180

Probate Race figures now include Thompson’s results

The first number next to the candidate is voting in Woodstock only. The second number is voting in the Probate Judge district (Thompson votes have not been posted) or statewide. Thirty-three percent of the registered voters in Woodstock voted (994 voters).

*Endorsed Candidates

Judge of Probate - Woodstock, Putnam, Pomfret, Brooklyn, Ashford, Eastford, and Thompson (Thompson not added yet).

Republican Nominees

Stephen J. Adams* - 260 and 882 997- winner in all towns except Putnam, Thompson and Woodstock

Mary Ann Champney - 274 and 521 601

Democratic Nominees

• Leah Shad* - 346 and 1485 1626 - winner in all towns, except Thompson

Kathleen J. Murphy - 101 and 548 947

Governor

Republican Nominees

Tom Foley* - 234 and 49,493 (95% - 99% precincts in)

Michael Fedele - 183 and 45,637

Oz Griebel - 101 and 21,753

Democratic Nominees

Dan Malloy* - 227 and 101,354

Ned Lamont - 221 and 73,875

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An email has been circulated that makes wild accusations about some area candidates. From my own knowledge I can say that this email is completely fabricated with UnTruths. The cowardly email comes from an ‘untraceable’ service provider (domain) and tells UnTruths in an attempt to embarrass children and other innocent people as well.

In the past the Café exposed one character that used this approach but I don’t think this is the same individual, at least alone.

I am quite confident that no candidates or political party are responsible for this email. If you have received this email show your distaste by voting for the candidates who have been attacked.

And for the perp … we are on to you.

 See the full analysis at JenRan Realty.com. You have to register to read Jennifer Esposito’s monthly news letter which contains a monthly Northeastern CT housing market analysis.

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(I have) a completely different experience that poses what I feel is an interesting question about human behavior in our society. Hopefully others here will find it interesting as well.

It might be akin to what Becky was referring to in her post #6 above when she says, “To wax philosophical for a moment… our culture has, for the better part of the last half century, bit by bit, instilled in each of us how ’special’ each of us are. Special people needn’t bother with the rest of us. Not only is everyone special, we have also done almost everything we can to avoid explaining how things work in real life. There is no awareness of how each of us fits into the fabric of life - the structure of society.”

My family, like so many others, is having to tighten up the wallet in these tough economic times (not whining, just setting the scene here). About a week ago, a very close relative emailed me a video about a business opportunity. I dragged my feet and didn’t watch it until yesterday when her persistance got the better of me. To me, it sounded like a pyramid sales scheme veiled as a “MLM” (multi level marketing) model. I do not have a business background so I only had a vague idea that such things exist, but did not know particulars. I googled and researched these terms in an attempt to educate myself.

I came upon a very interesting article in which the author first educates the reader as to what these “business models” are and how they work. But at the end of the article, the author discusses how they are illegal and are being allowed to permeate our society anyway from politics to Wall Street, to the average Joe on the street.

Here’s the link to the article if anyone else cares to read it:

http://www.falseprofits.com/MeaningofPyramids.html

Here’s a link to the author’s website also:

http://pyramidschemealert.org/category/news/

So yesterday, as I was settling in back home after being out on a long road trip out of state for a legitimate job interview, this “too good to be true” offer falls squarely into my lap. My relative tells me how she’s making money hand over fist because she got into this early and very near the top of the pyramid. Two men co-founded the MLM in question and my relative is close friends with a friend of theirs so my relative is probably in the second or third tier of the pyramid.

So here I am, minding my p’s and q’s, trying to get a job the old-fashioned way, the kind where I get paid an honest wage for an honest day’s work, and then this whole MLM thing comes out of nowhere and clubs me in the head.

I have decided not to participate.

So the question is, what would you do if you were me? And more for public discussion, what do you think most people in my shoes would do? If you had a chance to get in to a business opportunity early, when there’s still money to be made, but you know it’s probably shady and immoral, do you toss your values and principles aside in favor of keeping a roof over your head? Or do you hold tight to your values, even if it lands you in the poorhouse?

These pyramid schemes, dressed up as legitimate business opportunities (in the form of MLM’s) are becoming mainstream. Yet the only ones who profit are those at the top few tiers and those few profit at the expense of others’ losses. Amway has been cited as one example of this kind of company. Is the founder of Amway the successful business genius he’s purported to be, or is he a carnivorous criminal? What about Usana vitamins? I know someone right here in town who got sucked into selling those and is in debt to the person one tier above her to the tune of $800.00 while the CEO’s sitting pretty.

Our culture has evolved with a “kill or be killed” mentality toward survival. So am I an idiot to take the moral high ground and not jump into this scheme near the top where I can profit off others’ investments? Am I a whimp for not getting into this dog-eat-dog scheme when I’m near-guaranteed to be the predator and not the prey? I hope I’ll at least get brownie points toward Heaven for this!

The global map on the right shows that most of the very recent visitors are from the US. I found out that I could expand the map in regions so the third map in the center shows the concentration of visitors in the Connecticut area. The fact is that most of our visitors come in from Woodstock which would be represented by only one balloon. We have many visitors from surrounding towns as well.

Click each map to expand and get the full picture.

Be there or be square!  No excuses – drag yourself there, like Doug dragged me to so many things!

BONUS!  MOVIE IS PRECEDED BY A LIVE RAPTOR SHOW!

No Kenny, raptors are not dinosaurs  (like Velociraptor.)  They are birds.  There will be a half hour educational program with live raptors, courtesy of Horizon Wings wildlife rehabilitators of Ashford, CT. They will probably bring a Kestrel, Red-Tailed Hawk and an owl. See sample of shows they do here. The raptor show is GREAT for kids.

• LOCATION: Palmer Hall, 523 Route 169, Woodstock CT 06281 (yellow brick building, past the Woodstock Fairgrounds, near the “hill”)
• TIME: 7:30 p.m.  Raptor show from 7:30 – 8, movie begins at 8.  There will be a brief intermission.
• Each film will have a brief introduction by the Woodstock Historical Society, and Larry or Bet Zimmerman. Discussion follows for those who want to stick around.

Friday July 30, 2010, 7:30 p.m.

TOUCHING THE VOID

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I drove out to the post office today. I turned right on to Center Road from Route 197. As I was coming off of 197, a white or silver F-150 was tailgating me as I was doing the posted speed limit (40). Once I got on to Center Road and started doing the speed limit (30), the tailgating continued, and the truck started driving in the middle of the road as if it wanted to pass me. As I came to a stop at the 3-way intersection of Bradford Corner and Center, I flashed my right turn signal for a moment, but then remembered that I was going straight, and turned it off. The driver of the truck decided he didn’t want to be behind me any longer, and as I came to a complete stop as usual at the stop sign, the idiot decided to swerve to the left, drive around me as I was at the stop sign, and blindly barrel through the intersection and go flying up Bradford Corner. This driver could have had a collision with another vehicle turning left towards me, a bicyclist/pedestrian/animal crossing the intersection, etc. And, if I hadn’t realized what they were doing, I would have started moving straight as they tried to turn right in front of me, and I would have collided with them. Of all the dimwitted actions other drivers have done to me, this one takes the top of the stupidity list.

If the driver of this truck reads this site, please pipe up. What was your motive? Where were you going that you had to perform such a dangerous stunt like that, potentially risking my life, your life, and the lives of others in the intersection, in order to save a minute or two to get to your destination? (more…)

Ruling:

“Since 1996 Monsanto has held a European patent relating to a DNA sequence which, once introduced into the DNA of a soybean plant, makes it resistant to the herbicide glyphosate, which is commonly used in agriculture. Farmers can thus eliminate weeds without harming soybean plant cultivation.

This genetically-modified soybean plant, known as the ‘RR soybean plant’, is cultivated on a large scale in Argentina, where there is no patent protection for Monsanto’s invention.

In 2005 and 2006, European companies imported soy meal from Argentina into the Netherlands. Tests carried out at Monsanto’s request revealed the presence of traces of the DNA characteristic of ‘RR soybean’, which indicated that the imported soy meal had been produced using that type of soybean plant. (more…)

 Although the sign says “elementary school, the new Union School is a K-8 school according to the town website. The picture below was taken by Becki on Monday. It’s a better picture than Union displays. At the Union website it is stated that Stafford High School is the preferred high school by the Academy is also an option. Transportation is provided to Stafford HS but not the Academy.

The students of Union and their parents must be thrilled to have a new school for September.

from Pamela

My name is Pamela Santerre. I am currently in Graduate School (Lesley University-Cambridge, MA) and am working on thesis/memoir of my grandparents’ rocky marriage before, during, and after the Flood of 1955.

Local history is my passion, and I am well aware that there is more to the history of Northeastern Connecticut than can be found in any history book. It has long been my dream to capture the rich oral histories of Connecticut permanently.

I would love to talk to anyone with first-hand accounts of what it was like during the Flood of 1955. While I am currently focusing my research on the below topics, I would welcome any and all experiences.

I know there are many “old timers” that might be homebound or in nursing homes and would appreciate the chance to talk to someone about their younger selves. Feel free to pass along my contact information.

While you would not be paid for the interview, you would be compensated with an acknowledgment in the thesis/published book and my eternal gratitude.

Topics/People currently researching:

* Victor LaPointe (my great grandfather)
* Norman LaPointe (my grandfather)-worked for GI Taxi (1951-?), New Haven RailRoad (1944-1945), and Putnam Mills.
* Anthina Leasca Lapointe Sylvester (my grandmother)-worked for the Putnam mills and American Optical in Putnam.

* Belle’s Barn- dance hall- Thompson, CT
* New Haven Railroad
* GI Taxi
* Doc Waldron swimming across the flooded Quinebaug to get to his patients at Day Kimball
* South Meadow Street, Putnam, CT
* Centennial Celebration of 1955

I may be reached at (860) 234-5288 or psanterr@lesley.edu.

I (and my thesis) thank you!

For those who forgot what happened read “The Salt Fairy” published in December 2006.

Alberts said, “What we’re doing to improve the facility is long overdue.”

Sure Mike  Thanks for making it happen

In light of the test scores below we thought we should remind readers of the state of funding of the Woodstock School System with these figures from the Strategic School Profiles District Data Table 2007-08.

This source appears to be the most recent source of data on Per Pupil Expenditures by Districts (it gives the 2006-2007 expeditures) budgeted before the Great Recession.

How did this year’s Woodstock Middle School 8th Grade compare with these communities in CMT scores. At least in Math and Reading we almost look comparable, but we still have some work to do in Writing. Nearly 50% of Woodstock 8th Graders were “Advanced” this year and close to 85% of Woodstock 8th graders were at Goal or higher in Math. We were not much lower in Reading either. In Writing we were slightly above the state average whereas the four Gold Coast towns excelled in Writing. In Math and Reading it looks as though our 8th Grade Class is competitive with these four brainiac towns in Fairfield County and next year’s 8th Grade class also looks promising.

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Presumably this 8th Grade class had most of the same students from 4th Grade through 8th Grade. If you look at the dark blue (advanced students in this class) and light blue (students at or above goal in this class)  in the bar graphs, you can easily see that (overall) the number (%) of advanced students increased progressively in each year in each subject area throughout their progression from 4th Grade through 8th Grade. The data also show that this growth is striking in comparison to the state-wide average which also improved.

In general the same phenomenon can be seen for the students in the goal or above goal category (light blue). At the same time the percentages of students in the three lower categories diminished progressively (green, yellow and orange).

Perhaps it can be said that kids in the yellow and orange categories were successfully challenged to improve as well. This may be an equally important accomplishment of the school system. I would not be surprised if there are some gems in these lower categories that will flower later in life and do great things.  

I believe that this result indicates that the students in this class have thrived within the K-8 Woodstock School system.  This could only occur as a result of the hard work by the school administrators and teachers who have clearly created a positive education experience for these students.

This indication of improvement may also be true for Pomfret but it is not consistently evident in the graphs further below for Brooklyn, Eastford, Killingly, Thompson, Mansfield, and Tolland.

Congratulations to all who have been involved over the years with our successful school system.

Next Friday July 23, 7:30 p.m. : Never Cry Wolf.

Z FLIX:  Summer film festival sponsored by the Woodstock Historical Society, in honor of Doug Zimmerman.  Movies with outdoors and nature themes will be shown on the big screen at Palmer Hall, 523 Route 169 in Woodstock on Friday July 23  and July 30th at 7:30 p.m.  The film on July 30th will be proceeded by a  LIVE RAPTOR SHOW, courtesy of Horizon Wings (of Ashford – www.horizonwings.org.)  Family matinee Sunday July 25 at 2 p.m.  Bring a cushion for the antique wooden seats.  Admission is FREE.   Refreshments will be offered for sale. Donations are welcome. The Woodstock Historical Society is a 501(3)(c) non-profit organization.  See schedule and more info at www.cragman.com/zflix.htm

Students (%) who scored at the advanced level are in dark blue.
Students (%) who scored at/or above goal but not advanced are in light blue.
Students (%) who scored at/or proficiency but not at goal are in green.
Students (%) who scored below proficiency are in yellow and orange.

District 19 is E. O. Smith in Mansfield

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1. Woodstock vs. the State - Grades 6, 7, and 8.
2. Woodstock vs. the State - Grades 3, 4, and 5.
3. Math scores - Comparison of Woodstock in the last 3 years in bar graphs.
4. Science scores - Comparison of Woodstock with surrounding towns in bar graphs.
5. Reading scores - Comparison of Woodstock in the last 3 years in bar graphs.
6. Writing scores - Comparison of Woodstock in the last 3 years in bar graphs.

Data obtained from HERE

Click each Thumbnail to expand the image.

Students (%) who scored at the advanced level are in dark blue.
Students (%) who scored at/or above goal but not advanced are in light blue.
Students (%) who scored at/or proficiency but not at goal are in green.
Students (%) who scored below proficiency are in yellow and orange.

Math in Woodstock K-8 grades
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Shot in more than 200 locations across the globe, this extraordinary documentary narrated by Pierce Brosnan reveals the infinite variety of plant and animal life of the ocean’s deepest depths and surrounding ecosystems. The film features breathtaking cinematography that captures the everyday drama of animals including killer whales, polar bears, birds, seals, crabs, fish and dozens of other fascinating creatures. 2006.
91 minutes. Rated G. Considered okay for kids 6+, but animals do attack each other.
Watch trailer here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzMtG54qynA

The first movie in the series was Walkabout.  Parts were probably not suitable for children, and the dialogue was hard to understand due to the acoustics in Palmer Hall.   I had thought about doing Alive (survival after a plane crash) but thought it was a bit too dark.  Also, we got a suggestion to do a film with more of a nature theme.   This one has less narrative, but is interesting and visually stunning. 

We will host an optional discussion session afterwards.

This film series is sponsored by the Woodstock Historical Society, in honor of Doug Zimmerman, who was Program Chair for 8 years, and who also served as Vice President.

The Woodstock Historical Society will be showing these films on their new video system and screen.

Don’t forget a seat cushion! The chairs in historic Palmer Hall are old-fashioned wooden folding seats. 

More info:

• Admission is FREE. Refreshments will be offered for sale. Donations are welcome (the Woodstock Historical Society is a 501(3)(c) non-profit)
• LOCATION: 523 Route 169, Woodstock CT 06281 (past the Woodstock Fairgrounds, near the “hill”)
• DIRECTIONS: Mapquest at http://tinyurl.com/2a5nwxk
• TIME: 7:30 p.m. for Fridays, Matinees at 2:00 p.m. Each film will have a brief introduction by the Woodstock Historical Society, and Larry or Bet Zimmerman. Discussion follows for those who want to stick around.
• SCHEDULE FOR UPCOMING FILMS (subject to change) – see http://www.cragman.com/zflix.htm (ratings and trailers available)

Bet Zimmerman

http://www.cragman.com

Just a quick update. When we got home from my daughter’s birthday dinner, Marley was WAITING for us on the back deck like she was never gone! Thanks to all who keep an eye out for her. She is back from her “vacation” safe and sound!

Thanks, Tony

“She is still not back and the kids are beside themselves.” (Friday AM)

Last night, our dog Marley, got out of the house and is now missing.  She was last seen sprinting up past the transfer station.  If you should happen to see her, she is very friendly but a little skittish.  Please call Bridget at 860-928-2006.

Thanks, Tony

“Dawn Hooper, former president of the Greeneville Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization, said the discussion should have started before Norwich reached the point of closing schools.

‘It’s a little late,’ she said. ‘They knew this was going to happen with the budget. Then why were they not sitting down before now?’”

Comments under article:

“Make no mistake: discussions and decisions among the City of Norwich, Norwich Board of Education and the Norwich Free Academy are of vital importance at many levels, beyond educational and fiscal, for everyone, families with AND without children alike, living in Norwich. There must be an open and monitored process for exchanging views, developing strategies and implementing changes as needed for the benefit of all parties. We all know what happens when we try ‘private arrangements’ and should vow to not repeat our own history. ”

“NFA and the casinos have a lot in common. They both claim to do so much for the surrounding area, yet they wreak havoc that gets brushed aside because they are both sovereign nations. They deign to meet with our elected officials on their terms and the public learns nothing . Why the secret meeting? I thoroughly agree with Bill Kenny. Shine a light on this process. What percent of Norwich students become shining stars in the classroom, field, lab, studio,etc compared to the sending towns who aren’t held hostage to NFA’s tuition demands?”

“How many NFA graduates make the budget decisions in Norwich? How many decision makers in Norwich have children enrolled at NFA currently or in the past? NFA is virtually untouchable in that town because most of the town’s leadership has a tie to NFA and does not want to stand up to them. I know why building a high school is difficult for Norwich to do (the overwhelming upfront costs in my opinion), but at what point does the town look around at surrounding towns that have their own high schools and realize the cost per pupil will go down and produce long term savings?”

“to all commentors - you are absolutely correct. NFA has hidden behind its ‘private school’ status for far too long. While it is a wonderful school, it needs to participate in annual concessions and givebacks like the rest of Norwich’s eductional system… why should they be exempt? Who are the trustees to determine what the annual tuition cost to Norwich will be without considering the economy and the massive budget cuts to grades Kindergarten through grade 8 alone? NFA has tons of $$$$ through endowments and donations, so if they’re the private and sovereign school they claim to be when it suits their purpose, then why do they demand public funding at all? My children went there and weren’t even provided with bus service because we only lived 1.9 miles from NFA; not the required 2.0 that the powers that be deemed appropriate, despite the lack of sidewalks and if there were any, there were lumpy blocks of unshoveled ice during the winter months. Those in the public sector of Norwich have been taking wage freezes, furlough days, and making concessions for years … it’s time that NFA gets off of it’s high horse and show some empathy for the K - 8 population by doing do the same.”

“Something that may be interesting to note is that the state of Ct has nine ERG groups (education reference groups) that compare schools in similar groups based on a lot of factors including educational level of parents, socioeconomic status, family structure, etc. To compare, Avon is in erg A. Norwich students are in the 8th erg, H. Two of our sending schools are in the C erg and the others E and and G. I may be wrong, but this indicates to me that anything we can give our K-8 schools will improve their futures. If their families are not in a position to offer private lessons, camps, tutorials, and even enough healthy food for them to learn as they have the potential, how can these kids be adequately prepared for the ‘exceptional’ education that NFA supposedly has to offer? The kids who get into the honors programs for the most part have pretty privileged backgrounds and inside information on how to make their lives easier as they look towards their futures. I think the rules that NFA plays by are antiquated and that it’s time to stop clinging to the tradition and illusion that NFA is a priceless private pearl.”

For the small thumnail photos just click them to see the full size photo.

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One of our favorite activities in San Francisco was, and still is, walking the Golden Gate Bridge (Becki is there this week). Whenever my kids who lived in Odessa TX would visit, we would make a point of spending a day in San Francisco and having a date with the Bridge.
(click to enlarge the small pictures)

In May of 1987, I noticed that the 50th anniversary of the bridge was going to be celebrated in the evening with a spectacular fireworks display and a concert at Chrissey Field (near the Presidio) with the bridge lit up in full view for the ocassion. So Becki and I reserved a room at the Stanford Court on Nob Hill (our favorite hotel in SF) for the nights before and after the event. Six months earlier we had spent 5 days at the Court as the guest of Ryoichi Sasakawa, a billionaire Japanese industrialist who was visiting Linus Pauling.

We heard there was going to be a bridge walk starting at 6 AM on Sunday when the bridge would be blocked off to cars. So we got up early to take a cab over to the bridge because of our uncertainty about parking. Becki stood at one block corner and I went to the next corner to hail a cab; but there were no cabs to be found. Then another fellow showed up at my corner and we discussed the surprising fact that there were no cabs. I said to him that I have a car but I’m not sure where I would park. He responded that he was a VIP and had parking tickets for the ocassion. So his family of four and Becki and I piled into my 4-cylinder Mustang, which barely made it up to the top of Nob Hill, to head over to the bridge.

When we got to the parking area next to the bridge, we realized why there were no cabs. Everyone in San Francisco was taking a cab to the bridge. The organizers of the bridge walk had grossly under-estimated the appeal of the ocassion. Several hundred thousand showed up. Becki took the picture below of shadowy figures at about 6AM entering onto the bridge at sunrise.

We were two of the first to make it to the center of the bridge. That’s me on the left making some wisecrack to Becki. Standing next to me is the son of my VIP friend who was representing Bethlehem Steel which provided the steel for construction of the bridge. That family had never been to San Francisco or seen homosexuals before and were concerned about what they might catch. So they kept close to us thinking that we would offer them some protection. That’s Becki below with the hills of Marin County in the background before the crush. As you can see we weren’t crowded at the center at the beginning. We were oblivious of the happening that was developing. Little did we kow that we would be at the center of the bridge until mid-afternoon. A huge crowd was marching toward the center from behind us and in front of us from the Sausalito side. (more…)

BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF WOODSTOCK ACADEMY et al.
v.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION COMMISSION et al.Supreme Court of Connecticut.
July 22, 1980
Argued May 13, 1980.

Constance L. Chambers, Asst. Gen. Counsel, Meriden, with whom, on the brief, was [436 A.2d 267]
Mitchell W. Pearlman, Gen. Counsel, Hartford, for appellee (named defendant).
Martha Stone, West Hartford, with whom was Donna D. Morris, for appellees (defendants Ernest M. St. Jean et al.).

[This suggests that CPS filed the original complaint with the FOI Commission]

Before COTTER, C. J., and BOGDANSKI, PETERS, HEALEY and PARSKEY, JJ. COTTER, Chief Justice.

Exerpts: “Since Woodstock Academy performs a basic governmental function in providing public education at a secondary school level, is nearly entirely (over ninety-five percent) publicly financed, has its operations examined and certified by the state board of education so as to be eligible for reimbursement for tuition fees by local towns and for other statutory benefits, and is an entity created by statute for the sole purpose of maintaining a public school for the benefit of the inhabitants of Woodstock and other towns in the vicinity, it must be considered a public agency for purposes of this state’s FOIA.” AND “It would be anomalous if Woodstock Academy could avoid the requirements of the FOIA and not disclose its financial records to those persons who fund its operation in light of its extensive involvement with state and town government.”

Page 545
The plaintiffs Woodstock Academy, its board of trustees and its officers appeal from a judgment of the Court of Common Pleas, Bernstein, J., sustaining a decision of the defendant freedom of information commission that Woodstock Academy was a “public agency” within the meaning of the Freedom of Information Act (hereafter the FOIA). Since the FOIA subjects only public agencies to its disclosure requirements; General Statutes § 1-19(a); this case presents, as a matter of first impression, the significant question of what may constitute a “public agency” for purposes of the FOIA.

The defendants Ernest St. Jean, Vernon Fuerst and Robert Peabody, in their private capacities as public taxpayers in the town of Woodstock and as representatives of the Woodstock taxpayers association, filed a complaint with the freedom of information commission after the plaintiffs had failed to comply with the defendants’ request for the present

Page 546
and past financial operating records of Woodstock Academy. After a series of hearings the commission determined that the Woodstock Academy was subject to its jurisdiction because it was a public agency within the meaning of the FOIA and that the information sought by the defendant citizen group constituted public records. The commission then directed the plaintiffs to comply with defendants’ request. Upon appeal from these rulings, the trial court affirmed the decision of the commission.

The sole issue raised by the plaintiffs on this appeal is whether the trial court erred in concluding that the defendant freedom of information commission acted legally in determining that Woodstock Academy is a “public agency” within the meaning of General Statutes § 1-18a(a).

The trial court’s finding, read in the light of the memorandum of decision, reveals the following:

Woodstock Academy, which is located in the town of Woodstock, was established by special corporate charter of the Connecticut state legislature in 1802. The charter, as amended by the legislature in 1933, provides that the academy’s sole purpose is to operate a school for the inhabitants of the town and the vicinity. [1; see footnotes] Since Woodstock has no public high school of its own, the town’s board of education, pursuant to General Statutes § 10-33, [2] designates, (more…)

Ruling dated April 30, 2010

“Upon due consideration, it is hereby ordered, adjudged and decreed that the judgment of the district court be AFFIRMED.” (in favor of the Woodstock Board of Education)

“…our review of the oral argument transcript and the court’s written opinion reveals that the court conducted a careful and independent review of the record.”

“…it (the court) carefully considered the Appellants’ (Powers) claims on appeal, and referred to facts outside of those found in the Hearing Officer’s Final Decision and Order where necessary.”

“The district court was correct to defer to the Hearing Officer’s determination that Ms. Fulco (subject’s fourth grade teacher) was credible and rejected the Appellants’ contention that the school thwarted Ms. Fulco’s efforts…”

“…the school made additional efforts to help…”

“Ms. Manning (SPED teacher) volunteered to help…”

“In light of (the) evidence, the Board’s (BOE) actions did not constitute a material failure of implementing the IEP.”

“We have considered the Appellants’ remaining arguments and find them without merit…”

At last night’s WPCA meeting, Joe Campbell reported the following. The Academy and the town are currently working on an agreement regarding payment of the sewer extension to the WA. This will be an audited agreement that will address the town’s concern over the school’s ability to pay the cost of the sewer extension in full.

There will be a public hearing followed by referendum because the town must be the owner of the project in order to receive the $1.4 million of USDA money. Only 45% of the $1.4 million ($630,000) is (free) grant money with the remaining $770,000 received as a 3.25% loan over 40 years. This offer was made approximately 6 years ago but wasn’t acted upon.

As an aside, the money loaned to the WA for the Events Complex comes out of stimulus program so can be loaned directly to the school.

If the town votes the transference of ownership down in referendum, the Academy will proceed with development of the sewer line anyway according to Campbell but the school (and town) will not receive the 45% in grant money only receiving the loan portion. After a period of one year, the line will revert to town ownership.

At this time, the developer’s agreement is not drawn up. The $1.4 million estimate was cited by CME Associates as the cost of the sewer project.

One article on this subject:

In September 2006, an artificial turf field was unveiled to a packed house under the Friday night lights at Wisconsin’s Brookfield Central High School (BCHS).  In addition to a state-of-the-art field for football, soccer, track and the band, the synthetic turf brought the field utilization from 9% to 87%, with the largest benefactor being the school’s physical education program.

But if you broach the subject of the field in 2009, the widespread smiles seen at the unveiling have turned to sour faces by the community, school board, coaches and faculty. How did a beautiful 120 yards of green carpet come to be viewed instead as a political quagmire that left egg on the face of many?

It wasn’t the field, it was the funding …. (see the rest of this article here)

Also see a thorough article on “The spending spiral…” But in this case, USAToday is talking about big time HS football in places like Valdosta GA, and Denton and Odessa TX. The concept here is that these schools are competing for students from surrounding schools and systems and every student that leaves costs a loss of $8,000-$12,000 in tuition. With the new Killingly HS and school in Union, the Academy probably feels that they can reduce attrition and reverse the trend with Friday Night Lights. But this is an ever spiraling competion. It might be a better strategy to focus on academic programs.

If there are any handouts or if anyone wishes to summarized this presentation, we would be happy to publish these proceedings.

from Newcomer

For parents of children currently attending WES and WMS, you probably already know this from yesterday’s robo call. But as a reminder to anyone who is interested, a bullying and sexting forum is being held at WA in Bates auditorium on Monday evening, June 21st from 7-9pm. I believe WA is sponsoring this forum and I think the robo call message stated that Rep. Alberts and someone from the CT State police will be there. The message also asked that only children in grades 7 and up be brought along if a parent plans to bring a child with them. The message didn’t say why there’s an age limit but I’ll assume it’s because explicit language could possibly be used when discussing the sexting.

I’m glad WA is hosting this forum and unless something unexpected comes up at the last minute, I plan to attend. We haven’t dealt with sexting yet in our family and hopefully won’t have to, but the bullying has been an issue for a few years now. I’m glad to see both being taken seriously in a public forum.

The Academy doesn’t need to spend the money on this project. Remember these layoffs are not for real they are forcing good local people to resign in some cases, under the claim of decreased enrollment. With less kids, why do they need more fields? I would really wonder if they will do this right.

It appears that the sprinkler system they have now is very questionable. It looks like they pump run off water from Route 169 and the poop fertilized hay field on the field and the well just fills the pond if it doesn’t rain enough . Is this what we want for our kids who would be getting skinned up knees and elbows on their fields?

NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Judy Walberg, Woodstock Town Clerk (860) 928-6595 x320 townclerk@woodstockCT.gov

 Town of Woodstock and Pomfret CT

Hold Electronics Recycling Drive

—Residents invited to recycle unwanted electronics

Woodstock, CT (April 22, 2010) – The Town of Woodstock & the Woodstock CT Green Energy Committee in partnership with the Town of Pomfret, & the Pomfret Green Team and Smart Technology Management, will hold an electronic recycling drive on Saturday, June 19, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Woodstock Town Hall, 415 Route 169 in Woodstock.  

Residents are encouraged to recycle the following items: CPU/computers, monitors, servers, keyboards, mice, inkjet or laser printers, VCRs, DVD players, stereo equipment, spare computer parts, laptops, network equipment, scanners, fax machines, cables and wires, aluminum, copper, rechargeable nickel cadmium batteries, cell phones or telephones. No alkaline batteries will be accepted.

 ”We also want to encourage households to bring their current CL&P statements with them to sign-up and start saving on their utility costs.  Our team will be there to show you how you can purchase 100% clean renewable energy and SAVE MONEY every month at the same time. It doesn’t cost your more – we SAVE you more money.  Join Woodstock in providing a cleaner, healthier environment for our future generations,” explains Jim Stratos, chairman of the Green Energy Team in Woodstock.

The following items are assigned a disposal fee: TVs, Vacuum Cleaners and intact air conditioners machines. Donations benefit Four Corners Community Chapel.  For more information, call 860-928-6595 x 320.

Smart Technology Management, a Lincoln-based company, recycles the electronic items. Their zero-waste policy means that everything is reused, resold, reclaimed or recycled.

A comment left today under “Outrage” struck a nerve with me. The comment described a teacher in the elementary school who is “emotionally cruel” to young students. The comment went on to say that other teachers who are aware of the abuses by this teacher have taken some action to bring this to the attention of the administration. But I have no other knowledge of this other than an understanding of the impact of such behavior, if it indeed exists.

There is only one teacher in my experience that fits the description of “emotionally cruel.” I have had many fine and supportive teachers and mentors from day-one in elementary school through college and graduate school during my 23 year-stint in formal education. These teachers have given me wonderful gifts. Yet this one teacher, my 2nd grade teacher Mrs. Golding, stands out in my memory for the negative impact she had on my life – manifest mainly in my attitude and confidence as a student. The last time that the attitude surfaced was in my senior year in college. I was attending Psychology 101 in early October because I was required to take a ‘Biology’ course to graduate. I was repelled by the treatment of another student in the class by this aberrant professor. I was so bothered by this ‘psycho’ that I did not return to the class until I received a mid-term F in March in the final months of my senior year. I then became brutally aware that, if I did not pass Psychology, I would not graduate from college; nor would I be able to accept the full fellowship to graduate school that I had been offered. During later reflection on this situation, l recognized that my behavior was linked to a deep-seated hatred for that rare teacher that practiced “emotional cruelty” with students – the male professor was the resurrection of my 1st grade teacher Mrs. Golding. The class was a large class of over 100 students. In spite of the skeptical chiding of fraternity brothers, I took the only remaining opportunity I had to pass the course by aceing the final with the second highest score in the class. For years after this, I had a reoccurring nightmare that I had failed the course and had not graduated. (more…)

See reference in comment. Admin

Below is an interesting correspondence from the DC school system. The new DC teachers contract demonstrates good compensation in exchange for accountability. See, it can be done-for the benefit of all!

June 2, 2010

Dear DCPS Community,

I’m very pleased to inform you that DC Public Schools teachers have ratified the WTU-DCPS teachers’ contract. With this contract we can reward teachers for a job well done, and empower and challenge teachers to succeed at the most important work in the country. The contract will also better enable us to support teachers who need help, and to easily separate teachers who are not effective in the classroom despite these added supports.

Here are a few highlights of this groundbreaking collective bargaining agreement:

Retroactive pay raises across the board: The contract will include a 20 percent pay increase over 5 years, beginning in 2007. This means that DC teachers will be among the highest-paid teachers in the country.

Individual Performance Pay: The contract will establish a voluntary pay system of individual pay for performance. Teachers must qualify into it, and teachers who perform well can earn significant bonuses each year.

Mutual Consent: Both the teacher and school must agree in order for a teacher to work in a school in the system.

Accountability: Teacher performance rather than seniority will drive decisions on staff changes resulting from fluctuations in programs or enrollment.

Due Process: If a teacher is separated for being ineffective but does not feel the decision was fair, they will have the right to grieve the termination if they feel the evaluation process was not followed.
Few pursuits are more important than teaching, and there is no job more challenging or valuable than teaching in an urban school system. I cannot overstate how pleased I am that we have reached this point. This contract is our honest and best effort to recognize the power of teachers to shape the lives of our city’s children.

Michelle Rhee
Chancellor

YES = 342

NO = 152

9.8% of the voting population cast votes (494 votes).

see the Town Operating Budget with Increases and Decreases.

see the Education Budget.

see the decreases in the Education Budget.

see increases in the Education Budget.

see the Academy costs.

from Steve Adams, Republican Candidate for Judge of Probate

As an observer at this morning’s meeting, it appears that the sole deciding factor for the Court location was the cost to the towns. While I agree that Putnam is better situated for the population center of the district, there was not an affordable Putnam location at this time. The only other current option to Thompson Town Hall was in Brooklyn in the Green Community Center where the Regional Children’s Probate Court is located.

In my opinion, another significant reason for locating the Court in Putnam would be the proximity to Day Kimball Hospital. The hospital is the largest consumer of services for the current Putnam Probate Court, and will be for the new consolidated district. I know this first hand as the attorney for DKH over the past couple of years, and previously as a Court-appointed advocate for elders and those incapable of managing their affairs that were patients, along with the mentally disabled being treated in the Psychiatric Inpatient Unit.

Most people do not realize that the Probate Court handles much more than just the settlement of decedent’s estates. While that may have been the bulk of the caseload for the past and current Woodstock Court, all of that will be changing for the new consolidated Court.

The jurisdiction of our Connecticut Probate Courts also includes:
- the appointment of Conservators for people unable to manage their affairs;
- custody, guardianship and termination of parental rights regarding children;
- guardianship of individuals with developmental disabilites;
- commitment to a psychiatric institution and permission to adminster psychiatric medication for individuals with mental disabilities;
- review and accountings of agents acting pursuant to powers of attorney.

It has always been my position that our Connecticut Probate Courts serve as our ‘other’ Family Courts where the needs and rights of our citizens least able to protect themselves are protected. The new consolidated district deserves a qualified, experienced, compassionate and understanding individual who has successfully served as an advocate for the people of Northeastern Connecticut. I am running for the office of Judge of Probate because I believe that I meet those criteria, and because I wish to serve and work for the public in this capacity.

This statement has been submitted by Steve Adams, who approves of this statement; Campaign Treasurer, Glenn Converse

From Cafe Admin: Campaign postings are provided for an in-kind value ($1 each). The Cafe will provide the treasurer of any candidate’s Election Committee a receipt for the in-kind value of any candidate’s statements posted here at the Cafe.

The municipal leaders of the 7 towns to be serviced by the new Northeast Connecticut Regional Probate Court voted this morning to locate the Court in Thompson Town Hall. The new consolidated Court will handle Probate matters for the towns of Ashford, Brooklyn, Eastford, Pomfret, Putnam, Thompson and Woodstock, and will start operating in January 2011.

The recent mis-statements by our Attorney General, Richard Blumenthal, about his war record made him sound like a blumen idiot. I found his behavior very distasteful and troubling especially because I thought he was a good candidate for the Senate. Why do I feel strongly about this?

I did not serve in the military and would never suggest that I did … nor would I ever want to suggest that I did. In the fall of 1966, I entered graduate school in the School of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh to earn a Ph.D. in Biochemistry. I had entertained some thoughts of enlisting in the air force but the more I got into the course work, the more I started to appreciate where I was headed.

I learned that I was fairly high on the draft list and I had already taken the physical. Many may not recall that the Selective Service offered a test for students which, if passed, would allow them to finish their education with a II-S deferment. So I took the test in December 1966 and passed. At that time I was not a dissenter against the war in Vietnam but by two years later I was adamant against the war and Nixon/Kissinger’s expansion of the war. Their later “Peace with Honor” slogan was an insult to everyone’s intelligence.

Members of my family have had illustrious records in foreign service which I admire greatly. My father was born in Constantinople in 1913 because my grandfather was stationed at the embassy and also taught languages at Roberts College there. Grampa was a linguist who was literate in many languages including Latin, Greek, Turkish, French, and Dutch. As WWI progressed (Turkey was on the other side, the Axis) my father’s family had to leave Turkey. The Turkish military arranged to take over their house near the Bosporus on the European side for officers’ quarters. When the family moved back in 1919 after the war, nothing in the house had been disturbed.

In 1918, Grampa was commissioned as an officer in the US Army so that he could attend the Paris Peace Conference. His job was to escort T. E. Laurence (e.g. Lawrence of Arabia) to the conference. Years later in the late 40s my uncle John (also John Leavitt) was walking down the main hall of the Central Intelligence Agency at Langley when who should come the other way but Grampa. John said “What are you doing here?” and Grampa responded “Why son, I work here!”

John with Grampa at John’s graduation from Brown in 1938.  Click to enlarge

Uncle John was the real hero in our family. In 1941, while teaching at Roberts College in Istanbul, John became frustrated with the US for not entering the war (against the Nazis). So he went to the British Consulate and enlisted in the British Royal Air Force. After 18 months of training in Southern Rhodesia, he became a bombardier pilot and was shipped off to England. He later flew one of the planes that destroyed the German battleship Turpitz in Tromso Fiord (Norway). In a later mission his was one of the planes that destroyed Lutzow docked in Swinemunde (northern Germany; “ship was badly damaged by three six-ton Tallboy bombs dropped by the RAF in April 1945” Wikipedia). John’s final mission was to destroy Hitler’s “Eagle’s Nest” chalet, but the bomb would not release. Later he was able to release the bomb on a bridge west of Berchtesgaden.

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To radically change the subject, I heard that the Fair Association charged $6,000 for use of the grounds for the recent cancer fund raiser - “Walk for Life.” Any one know anything about that?

The Killingly school budget was approved by 6 votes. Recount will be completed in the next week. See the Norwich Bull.

by Ron

…I want to make sure that everyone understands - I believe that Killingly is doing the correct thing for the students and that the new building was needed.

I was stating what others have been saying and will present that side of the discussion.

We both agree that the economic timing is very unfortunate for everyone involved.

The OLD KHS building is a 1960s design and build. There are many issues and if I understand from some friends the building was sited in the accreditation reviews as needing some updating. Thus the push to get a new school built. The new school along with the laptops is helping to get some of the Brooklyn kids to attend KHS for their education. As we have seen in the WA budget process the ability to use students outside of the normal towns is a HUGE plus for the balancing of the books. So anything that Killingly can do to entice more students from Brooklyn to attend is in their favor. Comment from Ron

Killingly tax payers are revolting about the increases to their taxes because of the new school. There is a $1million start up cost that is part of this years school budget. There are complaints about the old building still needing services (read janitors and others) to keep it up and running thus adding to the costs to the town in additional employees. Many of these “facts” where hidden/not fully explained as part of the due diligence process.

The new fields look great, but because of limited budget in the building process the main field inside of the track is scheduled to be used for Football, Field Hockey, boys and girls soccer. The important note is that there is no watering system for the field and that it’s a grass field that has only had one year of growing/rooting. So come back around the last week of Oct to see if the field is not a large area of mud.

Once they allow general public access to the grounds you should go and take a look at what is really there. My understanding is that there are very limited practice areas for all of the sports unlike what the current KHS facility has. Also with the proposed cuts, I know that bus issues will surface yet again. And the current proposed Killingly cuts have all of the JV and lower sports programs removed… Can’t wait to see what happens if the proposed budget has to be rolled back to a 0% increase… Read today’s NB article to see the numbers.

There is a lot to be said about keeping the costs of the school on the students and not into new buildings if the facility can handle the student population. WA was upgraded 20 years ago to handle 900 but today it has 1200. That is one of the reasons that the sewer project is required now.

I am watching as Killingly schools are projecting on the next budget to cut 37 positions with 14 of them being teachers mostly from the elementary schools. IMO I believe that the focus of the cuts at the younger ages is because of HS accreditation concerns.

So where is the money best spent? On facilities or on the facility and services for the students… If the building can house the students and keep the class sizes in the low 20’s…

Yes some of the people behind the scenes did push through a new building but was it the best answer?

I read an article, I think it was the Villager, that said if Killingly went with a renovation project it would only be reimbursed about 50% of the cost incurred. With a new construction project 80% of the cost was paid by the state (taxpayers). Back in 2000-01 when Killingly was looking into the idea of having a regional high school project, Woodstock BOE and Supt. were invited to attend a meeting with the Killingly BOE building committee for preliminary discussions. That whole issue of building a regional high school to serve the students of Brooklyn, Killingly, Pomfret, Woodstock etc. went over like a giant lead balloon. No one believed back then that regionalization would ever work out. Too many people feared the loss of control over their domains and the idea of building a cooperative high school rapidly vanished. Of course had the this come to pass, Woodstock and surrounding area students all could have been entering this new facility in the fall.

There is a big story here, perhaps an epic story… but I can’t find it on the Internet. There must be a group of true heroes in Killingly who pulled off this remarkable feat. I say that this accomplishment is remarkable because of the also remarkably negative political climate that has existed for decades if not forever in northeastern CT.  I read through multiple Letters to the Editor of the Villager published in the last two weeks and found that the complaining gets old. I see the new Killingly High School as a tremendous gift to the students who will move in there next September and for a generation or two to come. And, there are heroes in Killingly who remain in the background quiet and confident that they did good. I wish someone would write up how the new high school came to fruition. This story would be a valuable lesson for other towns with decrepit schools.

But could this ever be done in Woodstock? Never in a million years because we have a high school that is over 200 years old … and it’s private. There’s the illusion that private and old is good. At the Academy, the athletic fields seemed to be the exclusive focus of the Board of Trustees and Headmaster Foye before Headmaster Caron took over. I wish Headmaster Caron the best but unfortunately the Board of Trustees is still the same.

Look at what the heros of Killingly were able to do. This could not happen with the Academy.

The Woodstock Middle School Public Speaking team is proud to announce a victory in their forth competition this season against Tyl Middle School, Montville CT on May12, 2010. The students competed in all 6 categories. There were 31 participants in grades 5-8. These students have been practicing diligently twice a week since September and will continue through May. Woodstock Middle School was honored for keeping the 1st place trophy. We are particularly proud of Cuinn Stevenson & Nick Wootton who had to compete last minute without their partners. They were quite courageous to maintain their composure. Nicely done!

The following students participated in the competition. For those who placed in their event, it is so noted in parenthesis.

Impromptu: Patrick Salisbury, Noble Valentine (2nd), Will Smith (4th), Erin O’Leary (5th)

Expository: Nick Wootton, Hannah Guilani & Brent Sorensen(1st), Jason Brule (5th), Richard Bibeault

Persuasive: Michael Audet (2nd), Natalie Bessette (4th), Jack Kelly, Rhone O’Hara (5th)

Story Telling: Melodie Newman, Shylin Albert, Allie Hill (4th), Patrick Houlihan
 
Poetry: Hunter Garceau & Hannah Mueller(4th), Bill Wong & Meg St. Jean (1st), Anna Grudzinsky (2nd), Brooklynn Saracina & Deanna Guilani (3rd)
 
Dramatic & Humorous: KC O’Hara (4th), Jack Liggett & David Redfield (3rd), Cuinn Stevenson, Emily Faist & Jordyn Woodland (1st)
 
Congratulations to the entire team for their hard work and effort this entire year! They carried themselves with honor and respect representing their school, their families, and their community. Thank you to the Woodstock Education Foundation for funding this program, we are very appreciative of their efforts for which many programs would not exist. 

As always, this program reflects the best of Woodstock Public School’s mission which emphasizes “a love of learning in an atmosphere based on respect and trust.”
 
A special thanks to our coaches and organizers of this program, as well as their commitment & dedication, Dena O’Hara, Maggie Houlihan, Sharon Wolf & Deb Faist. A special thank you to those parents who traveled to see us compete.

Their support & time is greatly appreciated.

This is for the purchase of development rights to a 41 acre parcel on Barlow Cemetary Road near the Woodstock-Eastford border.

YES  209

NO 72

It take a minute or so to load this pdf document.

I always appreciate the open dialog we’ve had. Many times we even have agreed on this forum, but it’s more fun when we don’t. And I appreciate you kind words about me. With the risk of being presumptuous, I’m going make assumptions about your beliefs in attempt to reach common ground. Feel free to correct me where I’m wrong. I’m going to combine everything I’ve learned from you through various interactions with you on this site.

Where we agree: You believe that great teachers are currently underpaid. You feel they deserve raises. However, you also feel that there are many teachers that do not even deserve the money they’re making now, let alone raises, and it upsets you that unions protect these teachers to the detriment of the students.

Where we disagree: The way in which we identify great teachers. I feel that you believe that all teachers oppose merit pay because they want to protect there cushy jobs. I think most teachers would embrace it if it were best for the kids and done responsibly. Plans to date have not met that criteria in my opinion, but I’m open to discussion on how to meet the criteria. I also feel that it is wrong to deny ALL teachers raises that were fairly negotiated because you feel some teachers don’t really work hard enough for them.

As for the 4 points you made above, I will address each one rationally.

1) You’re right. I’ve assumed that you have never worked as a professional teacher without real evidence. I made this assumption, because I feel that if you ever had been a professional teacher, you’d be more aware and sensitive to the stresses, struggles, and hard work that good teachers go through each day. If I misread this, I apologize.

2) I’m not sure I’ve over exaggerated or misinterpreted your comments so far, though I have focused on certain ones that I’ve felt strongly about and just not commented on others.

3) My issue here is not self preservation. It’s just my theories and opinions in regards to contractual fairness. I’d argue that no employee in any field should be asked to forgo a raise they fairly negotiated. It’s my personal opinion about any profession, not just my own.

4) I debunk the merit based pay reform methods proposed to date because I believe them dangerous to the children. Just because I don’t have another one all figured out doesn’t mean I should stand by while a dangerous one passes through the political process, does it? Again, I’d love to have a thread where just you and I hammer out real details and fix this system. I think we’re both better at finding common ground than you give us credit for.

Thanks again for the kind words, and believe me, there are no hard feelings when I have these discussions with you. I can debate for days and never take it personally, and I hope you don’t take anything I take personally.

See article in the Norwich Bull.

Yes, we need to get this done. It’s 20 years overdue — the need has been overlooked for a long time by many.

The “I and I” problem refers to inflow and infiltration. Essentially, Woodstock is sending clear water along with gray water to Putnam for processing which is costly. Sometimes rain events spike the I and I but sometimes they don’t. This problem will be compounded by the Academy’s addition of flow to the sewer line although most people recognize that the Academy’s need MUST be attended to.

Woodstock has had a “Sewer Avoidance” policy in place since its inception. What this means is that ONLY those residences or businesses that fall in to the clearly designated sewer zone MAY hook up to the sewer line. If you are not in the sewer zone, you can’t hook up — doesn’t matter who you are or where you live or what your need is. Period. This means that Hill residents along with other residences may NOT hook up to the sewer if they want to or feel it is the best alternative for their property.

In my opinion from watching this closely for a number of years — the Academy route that hugs the east side of Rt. 169 for the development of sewer line is the most costly route they can take. If the school could place this line overland that is around the backside of the hill, costs would be significantly lowered with direct gravity feed and no need to expensively blast through a line of ledge along the road that will disturb traffic and take out a number of trees in the process. I believe that what halts this more reasonable and less costly plan is the (understandable) reticence of abutters to grant easements for this purpose.

Again, Woodstock is full of history. We all should return to the age old wisdom of being a good neighbor, of working well together in our community and to envision and then fashion a collective healthy future for all . . that is, one that works well for all. It hasn’t happened here or at least with this specific issue.

According to the Water Pollution Control Authority, the Town Sewer begins at the Woodstock Volunteer Fire Department and heads south and east to Putnam’s Peake Brook pump station. I was always under the impression that residents on the Hill were hooked up to the sewer, but I guess not. If any Cafe visitor has other information, please let us know. The sewer is managed by the Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA; semi-monthly minutes of this commission are posted at www.townofwoodstock.com ).

From the Sept 24th (2008) minutes: “Still no activity with the Inn at Woodstock Hill or the Woodstock Academy. Allan Walker did have a conversation with Richard Foye of the Woodstock Academy and the Academy has every intention of moving forward with the sewer extension to the school.”

From the Sept 9th (2008) minutes: The Woodstock sewer system which serves South Woodstock including Hyde School has Inflow & Outflow problems that impact the Town of Putnam’s Peake Brook pump station.

Questions that might be answered by the WPCA and/or the Academy: 

• How will 1200-plus new users of the sewer system impact the Town of Woodstock and Putnam?
• How will the costs for this sewer construction be passed onto taxpayers?
• What will this cost the taxpayers compared to the current cost of sewage management by the Academy?
• Will Woodstock taxpayers bare any costs that the other sending towns will not have?
• Will this sewer extension promote further expansion of the Academy?
• Will Hill residents have to share the cost of this sewer line construction if they intend to use it?
• Who will pay the Institutional connection fee (approximately $353,000)?

Where is the current Woodstock Sewer Line located?
(Answers provided by the WPCA at the Town Hall website)
“The sewer line runs approximately 5 miles starting at the Woodstock Volunteer Fire Station on Route 169 near the Woodstock Town Hall and including parts of or all of the following roads: Ellen Lane, Wainwright Drive, Holmeslea Court, Davis Road, Route 169, Butts Road, Liljegren Road, Nelson Road, Lane Road and ending on Peake Brook Road” (see the map of the sewer district at the end of this article where the above listed roads are identified).

When was the Woodstock Sewer Line established?
“The sewer line was established in 1997 by the Water Pollution Control Authority.”

Can I, as a property owner, hook up to the sewer line?
“A property owner is only eligible if their property is within the Town of Woodstock’s Sanitary Sewer District.”

How do I apply for a New Sanitary Sewer Connection?
“If your property falls within the Sewer District, you can receive an application for a new sewer hook-up in the Building Department at the Town Hall.”

How much does it cost to connect to the sewer line?
“Classification - Industrial $400,000.00, Institutional $353,403.00, Commercial $10,398.00, Residential $7,900.00, Apartments $6,900.00″

What are the yearly sewer usage fees?
“There is a sewer usage fee to all residential homeowners and businessess on the sewer line. The yearly residential flat fee for sewer usage is $424.32 per unit and is billed in two installments of $212.16 every July and January. The July billing covers the time period of the previous January 1 through June 30 of the same year. The January billing covers the time period of the previous July 1 through December 31. Businesses are on a metered sewer usage basis. Readings are taken on the businesses monthly and reported to the Water Pollution Control Authority and billed yearly at a rate of $4.65 per 1000 gallons. These bills are mailed August 1st of each year and covers the previous 12 months water usage.”
 
I trust the maps below show how the Academy plans to hook up to the sewer (these maps came from the Academy website). However, the Legend (below) was confusing to an amateur like me, because the lines indicating the location of the proposed sewer route our not exactly the same in appearance as those placed in the Legend by CME. It appears that the Academy will connect to the current sewer system by laying a sewer pipe along the east edge of Route 169 on the Hill. These maps do not extend all the way to the Fire House.

August 2006 drawing by CME (disregard the blue arrows showing “connection” )

(more…)

I’d be interested in hearing if the new CT teen driving laws enacted in August 2008 have changed the amount of crashes/deaths/etc. that teenagers have.

I turned 16 in March 2009. I didn’t get my learner’s permit until the end of April. Now, I still don’t have my driver’s license. I’d rather wait until I’m 18 instead of dealing with all of the restrictions.

The question is, what magically happens at age 18 that makes a new driver good enough to have all the restrictions lifted? I might wait all the way until I’m 18 to get my license. I might be 18, but I’ll still be a brand new, inexperienced driver with no restrictions whatsoever.

I worry about other people who suddenly have all the restrictions lifted, abusing the “freedom”, and getting into trouble. The new laws MIGHT decrease problems age 16-17, but what about 18-on?

I just don’t think it’s fair that every single teen driver has to deal with ever-tougher driving laws because of previous generations screwing up. I go THE speed limit at all times, come to COMPLETE stops under all circumstances, try my best to stay smack in the middle of the lines, treat the car extremely gently, NEVER use ANY electronic devices… yet, older people who speed, slow’n go at stop signs, cut lines on curves, and use cell phones while driving result in swerving all over the road and have the reaction time of an 80-year-old pay less insurance. That’s fantastic, don’t you think? At least higher grades bring down the cost a little bit. (more…)

This article was first posted on May 2, 2009. Because of the intervening by the State DOE this shenanigans is being corrected.

Board of Finance meeting on April 14^th was attended by all six members of the BOF.  A motion was approved unanimously to seat Richard Cass in Beth Murphy’s absence since Beth Murphy phoned in her opinion on the zero based budget. A zero-increase budget composed of the budgets of the Board of Selectmen and Education was approved by a vote of 4 to 2.

For the Town to support a $21,066,099 budget it was projected that there would be a shortfall in revenues of $458,663.

Two proposals were put forth to solve the shortfall problem.

“David Hosmer’s recommendation was to use the total unexpended amount of the K-4 Renovation Project ($217,393) plus half of the remaining shortfall ($120,635) from (general) fund balance and make cuts to the budgets of $120,635 (from the minutes).” Approval of this proposal would require further cuts in the total budget of $120,635.

“Glenn Converse made a counter proposal that the total shortfall be taken from (general) fund balance this year (from the minutes).”

Glenn Converse made a motion, seconded by Ronald Cabana, “to take the budget revenue shortfall from General Fund balances and make no cuts to the budget.  This motion carried 4-2:

Voting YES

Glenn Converse, Vice Chairman
Ronald Cabana
Richard Cass
George McCoy

Voting No

Dave Hosmer, Chairman
Russell Dowd

The final motion of the night was to approve or reject the 2009-10 Town Budget of $21,066,099.

Again this motion carried 4-2:

Voting YES

Glenn Converse, Vice Chairman
Ronald Cabana
Richards Cass
George McCoy

Voting No

Dave Hosmer, Chaiman
Russell Dowd

Word has it that at the Board of Finance meeting held this week, there has been an attempt to amend the Board of Finance’s approval of the Town budget. A reversal of the previously approved budget was proposed and voted on to demand a further cut of approximately $120,000 from the total Town budget for 2009-10 (Dave Hosmer’s proposal at the April 14^th meeting).

Since the BOF was in full attendance and voted to approve the 2009-10 budget on April 14th, a reversal of this action could only have occurred in the absence of voting members and/or a change in vote from YES to NO. Who made this motion, who was absent, and/or who changed their vote. Furthermore, was this change ‘legal’?

At the BOF meeting on April 28th, Glen Converse was late and was replaced by alternate Tim Young. Beth Murphy was present this time and claimed that she did not know about the short fall. Dave Hosmer re-stated his original proposal and a vote was taken.

Voting No (to Hosmer’s motion)

Dave Hosmer, Chairman
Russell Dowd
Tim Young
Beth Murphy

A few months later last September (or thereabout) the state of CT looked around and saw all of the reduced town education budgets and the state didn’t have the money to make up for it. I don’t know exactly what they were thinking but I’d like to believe that they thought all the cuts to education spending weren’t a good thing. So they told the towns whose education budgets for this school year are lower than they were last school year (that would be us) that if they didn’t put that money back into the budget they would cut the state educational matching funds at a ratio of 2:1 of the amount lower. Since Woodstock was $90K lower this school year than the prior school year’s budget, the state was threatening to claw back $180K.

Interestingly enough when we were putting together this school year’s budget last spring we were told by the BoF to come in with a 0% increase. That is exactly what we did and if it was left at that there would have been no problem. Unfortunately at the 11th hour at a BoF meeting one of the regular members was a few minutes late and his seat was filled with an alternate. The BoF members then decided to cut the education budget lower than the 0% increase they had asked for and that was what was sent to the voters, thus setting up this scenario. (more…)

Here in the Woodstock area, students generally get to school one of two ways: driving a car or riding in a school bus. Both offer benefits of motor vehicles in general. Car drivers benefit from independence and lack of rules. Bus riders benefit from economics, safety, socialization, and comfort. While both vehicles are similar in a few ways, they have significant differences as well, but the bus prevails.

School buses and cars are both motor vehicles. They enable you to get to your destination many times faster than if you were to walk or ride a bicycle. Each is a shelter from the outdoor elements (plus insects and other pests) and has climate control for greater comfort. In addition to protection from the weather, buses and cars protect their passengers from other people such as murderers, kidnappers, pickpockets, etc.

The similarities stop here, however. There are several benefits to driving a car that are not found in buses. For example, someone who drives a car gets to be alone, does not put their trust in another driver, can listen to their own music (at whatever volume they want to), and is not exposed to germs from other passengers. Additionally, students who drive to school can arrive at and leave school any time they want to. While the earliest school bus arrives at around 7:00 in the morning, those who drive can wait right up until the first bell at 7:35 to arrive. If a student has a study hall first or last block, they might be able to arrive late or leave early, accordingly. Drivers can put anything they want to in cars, such as large projects and sport bags, while objects carried on the bus must fit in the passenger’s lap or they become a safety hazard. This brings me to rules; school buses have many, many rules that must be obeyed, such as no eating, no drinking, no talking loudly, needing to sit in certain seats, and more, while there are almost no rules inside a car.

While riding in a car has many conveniences, riding in a school bus is much safer. There have been a total of 407,000 fatal traffic incidents in the United States since 1990 (onlinelawyersource.com). 0.38% of these fatalities involved school buses. Only 9% of this 0.38%, or 130, fatalities were of passengers inside of a bus. This translates to just seven fatalities of school bus passengers per year. While processing these statistics, also realize that, being “the biggest type of mass transit in the United States,” school buses carry passengers on twice as many trips as transit buses do (onlinelawyersource.com). On the other hand, in 2008, about 3,500 teenagers from age 15-19 were killed in motor vehicle accidents (cdc.gov); that’s 500 times the fatalities compared to bus passengers! Another 350,000 teens received emergency medical treatment due to motor vehicle accidents. Furthermore, school bus drivers are required to have a commercial driver’s license (CDL) with passenger, school bus, and air brake endorsements (bls.gov). School buses are rigorously inspected at least once annually and put out of service if major problems are found. (more…)

There was also an interesting discussion on actually implementing the long ignored capital plan with some side discussion on the difficulty in getting people involved and behind the capital expenditures. I hope the BoF decides to spend more time with this and not let bad experiences of the past deter them from moving forward in the future with the capital plan. Funding capital expenditures out of our operational budgets (town and school) is a terrible idea.

I would also like to say that there is an important town meeting tonight at town hall (7PM). The state of CT let Woodstock know that we could not reduce the BoE budget last budget season. Unfortunately we (as a town) did by $90k. If we do not put that $90k back in the budget the state will penalize the town of Woodstock 2:1 in state funds. That is, if we don’t vote to put that $90k back in the budget tonight the state of CT will short the town $180k. If that happens we may very well end up having to go back to the town and collect that shortfall from the taxpayers (the town gets fewer services for their money and pays more). It would seem like a no brainer that we should pass this but I’ve been surprised before. I hope everyone can make it.

Thanks,

Kevin

This post represents my personal opinions and in no way should be considered an official act of the BoE or that I am speaking on behalf of the BoE in any way.

“Residents at a special town meeting (Preston) Thursday unanimously opposed outsourcing the school’s transportation, a cost-cutting move under consideration by the Board of Education. …’I think we need to stick with the bus drivers,’ resident Kathleen Rabon said. ‘I trust the bus drivers, I like the bus drivers, and I wouldn’t feel comfortable having somebody else drive (children) to school.’ ”

and from a previous article on April 28th

“ ‘What these private companies often do is they submit very low bid contracts, which forces them to come in and offer very low wages, and in order to be able to staff those positions for much lower wages, they hire much less qualified drivers,’ he said.”

Please let us know what happened in the BOF meeting.

from John

Why do we give these deadbeats any respect? Oh, I forgot… we don’t! Why don’t these people just get a real job so that the tax payers don’t have to put up with them and their costs. We should storm the BOF meeting tonight and demand that the school bus drivers be fired … every last one of them.

Never mind that they get up by 5AM to be at work at 6AM. Never mind that their pay is low and they receive no benefits - after all, six to seven hours of work a day is only part-time. Never mind the disrespect that they receive from their own employers … ‘hoity-toity, we are better that you are’. Never mind the challenges that they face every day on the road. Never mind that they have to refuel their buses on their own time (that’s why you see those dreaded yellow buses on weekends sometimes). These people are just second class workers and we wouldn’t employ them if the state did not mandate this.

We all know that it takes no education and no great intellect to drive a bus. And with the bad treatment the bus drivers receive, why do these scum of the earth persist. Let’s beat them back with a stick and maybe they will go away. Some, but not all, probably have no other options. So let’s relieve them from their miserable employment and do what Shultz and Powers have advocated for years. Let’s dump our school transportation system and go with Durham or some other service. Let’s pay out-of-towners to do this work. Afterall, wouldn’t that be cheeeaper? Then we wouldn’t have riff-raff interacting with our kids every morning and afternoon.

Yuk!

I’m hearing scuttlebutt that this may be about to happen again. The BoE’s budget was approved by the BoF and again certain elements are pressuring the BoF to change that decision and send a reduced budget to the town for a vote. It seems that certain minority elements in town think that it is a lot easier to pressure four people on the BoF to get their way instead of letting the voting public have their say.

I know this is short notice and I don’t know if anyone will have a chance to read this. According to the town’s calendar the Board of Finance’s meeting is tomorrow at 7:30 PM in town hall room 1. I hope you can all make it to show your support for our budget and at least give the voter’s a chance to vote up or down.

Thanks,

Kevin

This post represents my personal opinions and in no way should be considered an official act of the BoE or that I am speaking on behalf of the BoE in any way.

While the state of Ct. is experiencing an unprecedented fiscal shortfall, many hardworking people have lost their jobs and have seen the values of their houses plummet, and towns across the state continue to scrutinize their budgets, does anyone really think that the purchase of an obscure piece of land in a far corner of Woodstock is really necessary to “preserving the rural character” of Woodstock?

It’s not as if new homes are being built and the town is being scouraged by McMansions. So while the schools of Woodstock have taken great strides to cutting costs and services to students, the town apparently is not willing to bend.

A Special Town Meeting of the electors and citizens qualified to vote in town meetings of the Town of Woodstock, Connecticut, will be held on Wednesday, May 5, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. at the Woodstock Town Hall, 415 Route 169, Woodstock, Connecticut to consider the following:

“A resolution appropriating an amount not to exceed $100,000 from the Woodstock Agricultural Land Preservation and Land Acquisition Fund as the Town’s contribution toward the purchase price and associated costs of development rights to an approximately 41.4 acre parcel of land in the Town of Woodstock, Connecticut, currently owned by Martin L. and Catherine A. Nieski located on the westerly side of Barlow Cemetery Road.”

I bet the owners of the land are happy about this and I wonder if they had this land wrapped up in PA-490 all these years? Now they want the taxpayers to bail them out in the name of preserving open space! What a farce. What about the taxpayers? Who’s looking out for them?? Who’s going to buy their property when they want to sell it.

Tired of tax payer funded bailouts and frivolous spending while the schools get shortchanged?

Vote NO on the May 13 Referendum.