How many times have you been with someone who knows everything and believes that their concerns are the only concerns that are important?
Howard Harris
Bearsville
FACT OR FRICTION
It looks like Michelle Bachman has made her choice to go for friction. She believes that African Americans were better off when they were slaves than they are now. I guess she has something in mind for them if she becomes President. If the Democrats don’t use whatever media they have left to let all African Americans know what she believes in, then they deserve to lose to her, or to any Republican that runs in the upcoming elections.
Here’s her quote on Slavery: “Slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African American baby born after the election of the USA’s first African-American President.”
Well, on second thought, I must say that she might have a point there. After all, slaves lived in houses owned by their white owners, and women were often raped, so the children were indeed living in a two-parent home, right? Besides, if you stop to think about it, where do you think all those “Mulattos” came from?
Here are two quotes from her on homosexuality: “It’s part of Satan I think to say that this is ‘gay.’ It’s anything but gay.” And another: “If you’re involved in the gay and lesbian lifestyle, it’s bondage. It is personal bondage, personal despair and personal enslavement.”
One more from the frontrunner of the Republican party: “Carbon dioxide is portrayed as harmful. But there isn’t even one study that can be produced that shows that carbon dioxide is a harmful gas.” — Rep. Michelle Bachmann, April, 2009.
As scientists know, if the body fails to eliminate CO2, it can cause asphyxiation, so to give her the benefit of the doubt once again, maybe her lack of knowledge is why she doesn’t believe that we, the people, need health care. Did that make sense? No? I’m just trying to keep in step with the frontrunner. It’s not easy.
Jill Paperno
Glenford
WHY I LIKE TERRIE
Why is it almost all candidates seem to promise the same things? Open government, more transparency, won’t raise taxes and will listen to the people. They may even believe these things as they say them. So, how are we to choose?
I am supporting Terrie Rosenblum for Supervisor. How did I choose? I’ve known her for 30 years. She’s smart, she’s funny and I truly believe she cares. Terrie has helped me when I needed her help. She has shown compassion for others in need. Terrie has delved into complicated issues and tried to make sense of them for her fellow Woodstockers. She’s not running for self-aggrandizement or for power. Of that, I am sure.
We citizens tend to criticize those in government and often for good reason. What we don’t do well is appreciate the work that many good government officials perform. There are those who run for public office because they are willing to do the work. Terrie Rosenblum is one of those.
Sasha Gillman
Shady
REAL NEWS
The articles in Woodstock Times are more and more feeling like a kind of PR for our local Chambers of Commerce — (pumping up the Playhouse and Shandaken’s eateries in the last issue for example.) Why can’t we expect some authentic journalism in our weekly paper? We already know Woodstock’s radio station is doing “international” rock muzak and couldn’t give a hoot about anything of consequence in our area.
However up the road there exist some pretty impressive journalism models. There are two new radio stations (WIOX Roxbury and WGXC in Catskill/Hudson) which take their communities quite seriously. The Catskill Mountain News is doing world class research into local issues covering the local environment with responsible reporting in depth.
What issues are we missing? Well, fracking for one. Does anyone in Woodstock want to know the status of local leases and the position of the DEC and the NYS forestry service? Or what about our local legislators? What is their position on fracking? The New York Times took fracking quite seriously with extensive FOIA work and a comprehensive look at the economics of what some have called the “Enron of the environment.” And how about Round Up? Recent reports indicate that the ubiquitous herbicide has caused birth defects and cancer in lab animals. Why is it being sprayed copiously next to the tourist rail tracks and our state highways — often just a few inches away from reservoir feeder streams.
And there is real international news in which Woodstockers are a crucial element. This story has made headlines from China to Paris to Johannesburg. The U.S. Boat to Gaza was organized by Woodstock citizens. Three of our neighbors have put their lives on the line to stand up for justice in the Middle East: Richard Levy, Nick Abramson and Gail Miller have been on the boat and have been active in the actions with include hunger strikes and attempts to run the blockade enforced by Greek officials doing the bidding of Israel and the U.S. Woodstock and Saugerties residents Jane Hirshman, Laurie Arbeiter and Helaine Meisler are key support persons in Greece for this action.
There is no community of this size in the United States that has sent so many people in the defense of Palestinian rights. And this is not newsworthy? For shame.
DeeDee Halleck
Woodstock
HELP SHELTER FAMILIES
School will be open in a couple of months. At the Domestic Violence Shelter (The Washbourne House) the kids will head off to school each day, just like the children in your neighborhood. But for most, it’s a new school with unfamiliar faces and unknown routines. A new outfit/new sneakers may help boost their confidence.
There are some families who are facing the reality of homelessness and poverty due to domestic violence. Family Domestic Violence Services is looking for individuals, family groups or groups of co-workers who would like to adopt a child/children for back to school clothes and sneakers.
The donor would provide either a gift card or new clothes to a child whose family is recovering from the trauma of domestic violence and adjusting, possibly to a dramatic reduction in income and standard of living. You can help put a smile on the face of a child this year.
If you can help out, please call me at 845 331-7080 ex.127.
Kathleen Welby-Moretti, Program Director
Family Domestic Violence Services
Kingston
JOJO FOR SUPERVISOR
To all those who have had enough, here’s an option for your consideration:
Today, JoJo, a 4-year-old, 23 pound, gentle Cockapoo, and a life-long Woodstock resident, is announcing his candidacy for Town Supervisor. We are confident that JoJo will be a serious contender in the forthcoming elections. During his campaign, over the next few months, JoJo will address local issues and town mistakes in an attempt to win your vote. Although JoJo is currently the “underdog,” keep in mind that he is in this race for the long run. With all ears up, JoJo and his supporters are aiming for victory. He will initially run as a “write-in” candidate in the September Democratic primary.
Bizarre but true, dead men and women have won political elections across the Unites States. Mel Carnahan, a dead man, won the Senate seat in Missouri. Carl Geary, a dead man, won the mayors race in Tracy City, Tennessee, as did Harry Stonebraker, a dead man, who won the mayors race in Winfield, Missouri. Bob Kasun, a dead man, won as city councilman by a landslide in Bisbee, Arizona. James Thomas, a dead man, won the race for District Judge by 8,000 votes in West Palm Beach Florida (28,350 to a combined total of 20,475). Jenny Oropeza, a dead woman, won re-election to the California State Senate by a comfortable margin of 58 percent. The list goes on and on.
More to the point are the residents of Sunol, California, who elected a dog, named Bosco, for mayor, over both human candidates. And in Sioux City, Iowa, a Labrador retriever, named Jake, earned the most write-in votes for City Council. Now you too can elect an alternative at the Democratic primary instead of either of the two individuals running for Supervisor by exercising your legal right to “write-in” your favorite canine. The likelihood of a dog doing further harm to our community will be insignificant compared to the irreversible damage caused by unqualified, reckless individuals, oblivious of their very stupid and arrogant behavior. Certainly for these inept human candidates, the space between “who-they-think-they-are” and “who-they-really-are” is actually an embarrassingly wide gap. A vote for JoJo is a vote that you have had enough of this same old mendacity.
Jay Cohen
Woodstock
CORRUPTION BEGINS AT HOME
Where is corruption born? Not in the White House, or the Kremlin, the UN or a CEO’s office. It starts with the individual. The personal choice to live a life of integrity, or not, and from there it grows. This choice then extends and impacts one’s family, extended family, friends, community, town, county, state and nation. Corruption does not commence nationally and filter down. It breeds in villages, town boards, county courthouses. It becomes a practice allegedly for the “greater good,” but unfortunately it reveals itself to serve the good of a few at the burden of the many. How can the poor and working class afford to battle such corruption? Law suits and lawyers are expensive and judges, local officials and others with influence are enjoying the comforts of the same bed. So, it comes down to personal integrity. Where is one’s own line? How far can the masses be pushed with no recourse? What would you do if the air you breathe and the water you drink, the homes you live in, were to be threatened; your quality of life diminished. Local, State and Federal officials are playing poker with our lives and they are cheating during the game. Maybe it is time to treat the cheaters the old fashioned way.
Mickey Breitenstein
Woodstock
PETER PRINCIPLE AT THE TOWN TOP
Remember the Peter Principle? It is where in a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his or her level of incompetence. Well, both the Woodstock Town Supervisor, Jeff Moran, and his deputy Terrie Rosenblum have both have apparently reached their levels of incompetence. As the Chief Financial Officer of the town Moran, through total negligence, has dug this town into a financial hole that is going to take a massive tax increase to extract itself from. And if that weren’t enough, rather then trying to curtail spending, they are still squandering good money after bad. They are still running up bills for unnecessary and unessential fees for engineering studies, lawyers, and Coney Island boardwalks. And Rosenblum never says no.
Now, adding insult to injury, in order to apply a Band-Aid to the massive financial shortfall, Moran is proposing to sell, at a bargain price, Town Hall. Understand, this is just after spending tens of thousands of dollars for engineering and architectural studies to upgrade both the Police and Justice Court facilities that reside at Town Hall. Exactly where they are supposed to go and at what cost after the sale hasn’t been indicated. Quite frankly, I think Moran’s handling of the town’s finances borders on malfeasance. Perhaps, it is time for the State Comptroller to look into the town’s financial machinations. Of course this travesty cannot be accomplished without the consent of the other Town Board members who in the past have blindly supported Moran’s other questionable edicts.
David Menzies
Woodstock
HAPPY SAILORS DANCING ON A SINKING SHIP
This is getting hard to watch, we keep handing out money like nothing is wrong. We seem to forget about the huge nonexistent surplus that was forwarded. If we don’t stop the bleeding now, it might come to a human cost. I grew up with most of the people who work for this town and if anyone has to be laid off because of financial incompetence, it would break my heart. If I am elected, I will start at the top. The first thing I do is cut the supervisor’s pay by 10 percent.
This is not that I expect any one else to take less money, but it puts me on sound footing to ask everyone to think about where we can save. I will rotate the deputy supervisor’s job, and set the stipend per meeting. I don’t miss many days of work, and maybe the Board would kick it back, and save the town the whole amount.
For me its not about the money, or the power, or the prestige, it’s about being able to watch a Town Board meeting without being embarrassed, and being able to take some pride in my town. If we keep going like we are going, we will have to ask the W.L.C. if a tent city like Hooverville is allowed.
Lorin Rose
Bearsville
ONE SIDED WRONG
I hate the idea of denigrating Neanderthals. However, the Murdochs of the world do fall into such a category. Knowing that the empire created by Sir Rupert is a bit right of much media is moot; one must realize that there is no left or right of wrong!
Wrong is one-sided. Wrong should be punished…by law and in the eyes of those who prefer not to be referred to as Neanderthals. It’s only right.
With apologies to all right-thinking Neanderthals…
Chip Brill
Bearsville
STAYING HUMAN
For many years Israel has intentionally been creating a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Israel
denies this but the suffering has been documented by Amnesty International, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, UNRWA (UN Relief Works Agency), CARE, Save the Children (UK) and others. Many people living in Gaza have no electricity, medicine, food or water. Over the years the mass destruction, death and suffering inflicted by Israel upon the captive population of Gaza would not have been possible without U.S. weaponry and U.S. foreign aid (paid for by your tax dollars). In the West Bank of Palestine house demolitions, land theft, and attacks by Israeli Defense Forces occur regularly. Israel and her supporters do not want this ugly truth (or others) to be exposed and carefully manipulate politicians at home and abroad (like successfully pressuring the Greek government to scuttle the humanitarian Freedom Flotilla before it set sail to Gaza). Unfortunately, Israel’s callous and brutal behavior and apartheid policies towards the destitute and disenfranchised Palestinians are causing much of the world to question the legitimacy of the state of Israel. For long term peace and stability Israel must cease her inhumane and self-destructive policies and embrace a course which will allow both Israelis and Palestinians to “stay human.”
Eli Kassirer
New Paltz
FREEDOM FLOTILLA II — STAY HUMAN
On July 1, The Audacity of Hope, the U.S.-flagged ship in Freedom Flotilla II, threw off its lines staying it to a Greek dock and headed for Gaza. The 37 passengers cheered and laughed, hugged each other and cried in the crowning moment of a year-long campaign to have a U.S. Boat sail to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza.
We got no further than five miles out into the sea when we were turned back by a Greek Coast Guard cutter manned by automatic weapon-wielding Greek Commandos who insisted that we head back into port. After an hour standoff, we complied and were escorted back to a military dock, where the boat is impounded to this day. The Israeli blockade of Gaza had been exported to Greece. The Greek government, in the midst of a grave financial crisis, had bowed to strong pressure by Israel and the United States to stop the Flotilla from sailing. It had even passed a law stating that no ships, regardless of origin, be allowed to sail to Gaza. All in all, ten ships had been stopped from sailing. Israel accused the members of the Flotilla of being terrorists, of trying to smuggle weapons into Gaza, and threatened the Flotilla with snipers and attack dogs.
The Audacity of Hope not only carried no weapons, it carried no humanitarian aid. The Audacity of Hope carried only 37 peace activists and a media team, which included the NY Times, CBS, Al Jezeera, The Nation, and Democracy Now. The Audacity of Hope’s only cargo was thousands of letters from ordinary citizens of the United States to the ordinary citizens of Gaza. The Audacity of Hope only carried hopes of freedom and messages of solidarity for the imprisoned citizens of Gaza. The Audacity of Hope invited the United Nations to search our boat before sailing.
How do I know this? I was a passenger and organizer of The Audacity of Hope, and I’m no terrorist. So, why were we stopped from sailing? What are Israel and the United States afraid of? Why is there a blockade of Gaza? When will the world’s largest and most crowded outdoor prison be opened and the people of Gaza freed? When will we all insist on this?
Nicholas Abramson
Shady
TAX CAP FOR WOODSTOCK
Governor Cuomo signed a tax bill which has implications for all Woodstock taxpayers. The law establishes a cap on increases in local property taxes of two percent or the rate of inflation, which ever is lower.
New York’s property taxes are among the highest in the nation — 96 percent higher than the national average. As a percentage of personal income, New York has the highest property taxes in the country, and from 1998 to 2008, property taxes have grown by 73 percent.
This property tax cap will apply to all of Woodstock’s government entities; the fire district, the library, the schools, etc., but most importantly, it applies to Woodstock’s general budget. Last year, Supervisor Jeff Moran presented a tax increase of 38 percent for the general fund. This increase was reduced by draining the “unexpended fund balance” and by overestimating the year end surplus.
The town board has successfully spent all the unexpended fund balances and is now spending down the remaining reserve accounts. The town’s current budget deficit is approximately $350,000. The accounting tricks used last year aren’t available for the 2012 budget. There are no more unexpended fund balances, and Woodstock is faced with a staggering increase in taxes for 2012.
It’s apparent the Woodstock Town Board does not understand the budgeting process. According to Governor Cuomo, “The answer can’t always be for government more money, more money, more money. And the message to government, you’re going to have to make ends meet, tighten your belt, have to understand economics just like every business and every family...understands it.”
The two percent cap is a strong message to local governments to control spending. This is an election year, and voters have a chance to choose candidates that support the tax cap. If I’m elected to the town board, I will do my best to comply with the two percent cap on property taxes.
Ken Panza, Candidate for Town Board
Woodstock
HELPING HAITI
With thanks: To all the wonderful people who donated their time to Zoo Zoo’s benefit
for the Haitian People’s Support Project at Harmony Sunday, July 17.
Huge thanks to Terry and Pierre Leroy, for their ongoing work in Haiti, where planting of a zillion trees has been added to running their 5 orphanages in Haiti. Please check out their website and new photos. We raised over $320.
Awesome performances: Gloria Waslyn and her Parrots for Peace; Julie Parisi Kirby and T.G.Vanini of Princes of Serendip; Walter Dominicis and Neosho Kim Ramsey of El Rancho Deluxo; John Roberts Longyear; One Sky...big shout out to T.G Vanini on violin (that’s my band); Great sound by John Roberts Longyear (again); Graphic design and web work by Vivian Beatrice of ARTpages.us.
Finally, infinite thanks to ShaWu and Dechen, and everyone at Harmony who open the doors wide to music. Please come to the next Zoo Zoo’s and check us out on facebook or
www.landofxee.com for more about Zoo Zoo’s.
Mighty Xee
Chichester
GOD’S IRRELEVANT LAWS
All my life I have worked with parents, educators and pastors doing their best to teach children to respect the law, government and authority. We have aimed to make them constructive citizens and to keep them from the streets or prison. Such work is very rewarding. As the Hassidic saying goes: “If you save a child you have saved the whole world.”
With the passage of the bill to legalize gay marriage in the State of New York this changed overnight. Now children are being taught that the most important laws (God’s laws) are irrelevant and can be disregarded. This undermines the basic fabric of our society and threatens to destroy everything. Without clear moral standards, our country will head to a complete collapse that will invite chaos and anarchy like never before. As Dostoyevsky says, “Without God, everything is permissible.”
As dire as this might sound, it is not too late to do something. We should have a national debate about the moral standards and American values on which our country was founded. Gay marriage is not an issue of civil rights; it’s an issue of right and wrong. I believe that most people, in their consciences, know that gay marriage is wrong because it is against God’s natural order of creation and family, as clearly written about in the Bible.
Ironically, gay rights activists who claim to speak for tolerance and compassion are now becoming very intolerant of anyone who opposes their lifestyle. This fear-mongering is silencing thousands of people. We must respect one another, but if you do not support gay marriage, please do not become silent or apathetic now. Remember that our country was founded on freedom of speech and religion. Will these freedoms still be practiced when our children become adults?
Johann Christoph Arnold
Senior Pastor, Bruderhof Church Communities
Rifton
THE RICH GET RICHER…AGAIN
We can reduce our national debt by cutting spending, increasing taxes and encouraging job growth, so that more people are paying taxes, but Republicans are against raising taxes on the very wealthy.
In 2010, 1.3 million private sector jobs were added, which was the strongest job growth since 2006. Nevertheless, we still have a very long way to go, because 40 thousand factories closed during the Bush era.
Instead of investing dollars in the American way of life, the Carlyle Group is interested in investing nearly $2 trillion in China, India and Brazil, because Wall Street is addicted to profiting from cheap foreign labor.
A new cycle of poverty for millions of Americans began during Bush’s presidency, when tax cuts legislation was passed, which mostly benefited the very wealthy. The richest 1 percent of Americans saw their income go up an average of more than 10 percent each year between 2002 and 2007. As the richest Americans got much richer, the middle class saw their income stay about the same, and the number of people in poverty gradually increased.
Our Congressional Budget Office has found that giving huge tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans is one of the least effective ways to stimulate our economy. Republican politicians have continued to claim, that tax cuts benefit our economy, even after the Bush-era tax cuts provided ten-years of irrefutable proof, that tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires don’t stimulate the economy.
By letting all of Bush era tax cuts to expire, about $3.7 trillion would not have to be borrowed over the next decade.
The Congressional Republican tax cut plan would have add an additional $700 billion to the deficit over the next ten years and give America’s wealthiest people an average tax break of $100,000.
Jim O’Leary
Delhi
MONSTER’S BALL — THE SEQUEL
When Rudolph Giuliani joined those who mocked our President’s early work as a “community organizer” I felt sick to my stomach. It meant America’s Mayor — a man I once admired and even voted for — had fallen into the well of political bilge and sunk to the depths of the Bush/Cheney crowd. I knew the feeling well. It had struck when decorated war heroes were shamelessly slimed and turned into villainous liars overnight. It was the same nausea and pain I felt when they tried to muzzle concerned, hard-working and perfectly decent Americans by labeling all legitimate opposition to their wars as “unpatriotic” and even “subversive.”
Last week’s July 12th meeting of the Town Board brought that same feeling back again. I felt fine for the beginning, as an inspiring procession of speakers from our community gave me a sense of hopeful optimism I hadn’t felt in a long while. But then the Town Board drew one giant and ominous deep breathe, and proceeded to unleash a tarring and feathering of hurricane force magnitude, this time directed at yet another group of concerned citizens who had the audacity to try to make us a better Woodstock outside of the iron-fisted complete control of the town council.
It seems that “vetting” has become the new “stewardship.” Remember last summer when Terrie Rosenblum created such a fuss when folks without the royal stamp of approval expressed a concern about the fate of the Comeau Stewardship Plan? Their well-meaning offers of assistance and suggestions to guide the process were not well taken. Our leaders reacted as if an army of angry peasants had laid siege to the castle. Moran fled the kingdom for a safer summer elsewhere, leaving Rosenblum to defend the indefensible.
The deputy, in turn, after several nights on which shrieks of “Out, damned spot!” could be heard throughout the hamlet, responded with her characteristic tone of paternalism that it was not possible, since only the Town Board had the power and authority to manage the Comeau, that many complex issues of safety and insurance were involved that mere mortals could not possibly understand, etc., etc.
Despite the mess that gigantic fib led to, apparently they’ve decided to do it again. So on Tuesday they hauled out the same old bogeyman to stoke fear in us all, and to demonize Russell Richardson and the good work of the Youth and Family Council.
Just what is this “Safety & Insurance Committee” dragon, anyways? Why does it only come out of its dungeon to breathe its stinking fire at us only when our Town Board feels it needs to assert full control over something that has the potential to be a positive and successful initiative?
Who is on this committee? When do they meet? Why is this somehow not listed on out Town’s website, nor subject to the Open Meetings Law that requires the posting of notices and agendas and, heaven forbid, public access to its deliberations? For that matter, what exactly are these extraordinarily unusual insurance provisions — ones that forbid and restrict the uses of Town assets by some folks for some things, yet then disappear with a magical waiver wand for even far more risky things on the whims of the supervisor or his deputy?
Many of these questions have been posed before. I have submitted many FOIL requests trying to answer my concerns. I have received the bureaucratic equivalent of a raised middle finger in reply. This was both illegal and, more importantly in terms of teaching our kids by example, not very nice.
Perhaps others who share my curiosity will have better luck. In the meantime, I’m off to the Apothecary for something to settle my stomach.
Joe Nicholson
Woodstock
THE GREENING OF WOODSTOCK
Woodstock is the world’s most famous little town for reasons greater than our namesake concert. We are also known for innovative thought and leadership. Recently, there has been a lot of press coverage about our reliance on fossil fuel, global warming and our carbon footprint. While I don’t think we can single-handed change the world, I do think that we can be leaders in moving to reduce the factors that harm the environment and lessen our reliance on imported fossil fuels.
There are many ways that we can incorporate changes as a town that will lead to better results. We should explore how to promote advances in LEEDS building standards, solar electric, solar hot water and geothermal systems that will result in more “green” development that we can include in our permitting process. It will require better planning and a more conscientious combining of land use and our natural resources. As a member of the Woodstock Planning Board, I have seen projects built which have incorporated “green” development advances and I applaud those who have already done this and installed solar power systems. As a Town, this starts with a comprehensive plan which examines all aspects of how the Town functions and what its energy needs will be. We can continue to assist in “green” development as well as publicize the availability of other government incentives, tax breaks and low interest loans. Many innovations begin at the local level of government. Let’s start to make a greener environment in Woodstock by working together to achieve that goal and I have several suggestions.
I am a candidate for the Woodstock Town Board and an advocate for protecting the environment and greening our town.
Peter Cross
Woodstock
A SPECIAL THANKS
A special thanks is extended to the many volunteers who keep the Good Neighbor Food Pantry going. Tuesday’s volunteers included Gene Huckle, Roseann Castaldo, Deirdre Dullahan. Wednesday’s volunteers included Karen White, Raji Nevins, Maritza Flores, Merrie Zaretsky, Lisa Calcagno, Inyo Charbonneau, Susan Rosen, Linda Zolezer, Gwen Tapper, Stella Singleton, Dianne Dunn, Lori, Deirdre Dullahan, Mike Lourenso, Barry Greco, Jean Campbell, Gene Huckle, Jo Schwartz, and others.
Thursday’s volunteers included Judy Fox, Inyo Charbonneau, Roberta Wall, Leona Juris, Bob Otto, Barry Greco, Lisa Calcagno, Lisa 2, Ann King, Jim Hansen, and others.
Saturday’s volunteers included Ann King, Marylou Paturel, Raji Nevins, Barbara Velazquez, and Lisa Calcagno.
Delivery day volunteers included Bobbie Blitzer, Mike Lourenso, Catherine Hazard, Jim Hansen, Deb Muise, Paul Shultis Jr., Al Abrams, Bruce Abrams, Hatti Iles, Dave Heath, Catherine O’Neill, Phil Sullivan, Deirdre Dullahan and others.
Corporate donations this week were offered by Sunflower Natural Foods Market, Woodstock Apothecary, Bread Alone, Hurley Ridge Market, and Jean Campbell Art.
A special thanks is offered to all the anonymous donors who shared grocery bags, money, and food which was dropped of at the pantry.
The next board meeting of the Good Neighbor Food Pantry is Monday, July 25 at 7 p.m. in the basement of the Woodstock Reformed Church. This meeting is open to the public and is held immediately following the monthly training class of the pantry which is offered at 6 p.m.
This coming Saturday, July 23, there will be a special fund raiser at Mower’s Meadow for several Ulster County Pantries sponsored by the Ulster County Board of Realtors. The Good Neighbor Food Pantry is fortunate enough to be one of the recipients. Please stop by the booth. We hope to be there both Saturday and Sunday.
Volunteers of the Good Neighbor Food Pantry are receiving complimentary Usui Reiki training classes at both practitioner and master levels.
A Reiki 1 class was held recently. Attendees included Jean Campbell, Karen White, Deirdre Dullahan, Gene Huckle, and Shelly Mellert.
A Reiki II class is scheduled for Sunday, August 7 at 10 a.m. Any pantry volunteer who has received a Reiki I certification is invited to attend this class. Reiki I classes are scheduled for Sunday, July 31 at 1 p.m. and Sunday, September 4 at 10 a.m.
The next food shipment will arrive on Tuesday, August 9. Volunteers are needed for this delivery. Cardboard boxes are available on shipment delivery day each month. There are usually a large quantity of both large and small boxes.
To make a donation to the Good Neighbor Food Pantry, please send your check to the pantry c/o Woodstock Reformed Church, 16 Tinker St., Woodstock, NY 12498.
For the most part, as volunteers we come together as we open ourselves to the experience of people who are not like ourselves. In this act of volunteering, we encounter jokes, company, sharing food, and working. This event has to do with offering everything we have, giving away control, and receiving what we need to live.
It’s not just about feeding people who come to the pantry with food. It’s also about nourishing them and ourselves. If you would like to join us, please come to the training session on Monday, June 26 at 6 p.m. in the basement of the Woodstock Reformed Church. Refreshments will be served. Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Woodstock
LOVE AND SUPPORT
“Joy is your sorrow unmasked…” Khalil Gibran
I can now state what I have experienced for others is mine also. The love and support which has come our way is gratefully accepted.
Soon to be a we…
Ralph Goneau
Dick Wilhelm
Woodstock
STAND UP FOR ISRAEL
If you love the Bible and the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, be an advocate for Jerusalem and Israel. If you love the sacred places and sites of Jerusalem and Israel, be an advocate for Jerusalem and Israel.
Wake up, Christians and Jews of America! Be an advocate for the city and nation of the Bible, for Jerusalem and Israel and for the roots and treasures of both the Jewish and Christian faiths. Please don’t let anyone hand your precious Bible heritage, your precious Jewish heritage, your precious Christian heritage over to Muslim terrorists.
Please inform yourselves. Stand up for Benjamin Netanyahu, stand up for Jerusalem, and stand up for Israel.
Linda Woods
Kingston
A BAD DREAM
Am I having strange, disturbing dreams as I listen to the radio and read the news? New Hampshire denies funding for Planned Parenthood, Wisconsin defunds five Planned Parenthood Centers, a woman serving time in prison for murder miscarrying a child while on a drug, cuts to Social Security, Medicare, 12,000 low income women denied health care, reopening donut hold increases $3500 more for prescription drugs for seniors, Medicaid budget to be cut $770 billion, slashing nursing home assistance in half…others losing health insurance…
My bad dream continues — one in four corporations pay no taxes, even receiving IRS rebates! $3.5 billion to be cut for Children’s Health Insurance program, Pell Grants being reduced in the next ten years by $35 billion. The nightmare intensifies…congress aggress to a $17 billion increase in the already bloated military budget. In my bad dream I muse, couldn’t a paltry billion go for unemployment insurance extensions for the 20 plus million unemployed in the country? Sacrifices are called for, yet the president upped limo orders 71 percent. The first lady has a 25 member staff (other first ladies had 1-3) paying over a million dollars in salaries each month. Why not sacrifices from senators, congressmen? Why the burden of debt always on the backs of the poor, women, seniors, service people, disabled, etc?
I awaken from my nightmare. I wonder what planet I visited where it was all sheer madness.
Joyce Benedict
Hyde Park
RUPCO AND TOWN PULLED A FAST ONE
The Town of Woodstock Building Department under the direction of Jeff Moran, Supervisor, and Rod Futerfas, Town Attorney, issued the building permit to RUPCO on July 7, 2011 in violation of the Planning Board Resolution approved on August 5, 2010.
Why did they do that? Because they didn’t think anyone would notice. Well, I did and I warned the Town Board prior to the issuance of the Building Permit that if they went ahead with it, they would be violating one very important condition in the resolution which I have written about before: “Acceptance of Sanitary Sewer Force Main on behalf of Hamlet Sewer District, acceptance of Public Access Easement for public access to the on-site trails, acceptance into the Town Lighting District of the Project Sponsors’s infrastructure & Acceptance of Water Main on behalf of Town Water District by the Woodstock Town Board.”
Jeff Moran’s contention that the Planning Board Resolution was “flawed” and the condition of acceptance into the water and sewer mains can’t happen until after the infrastructure is in place is only backpedaling to justify having been caught in a deliberate scheme to bypass the resolution in favor of RUPCO.
According to Woodstock Times last week, “McKenna, in a separate interview, said that RUPCO in recent months had made known its misgivings about the disputed conditions for the building permit, supporting the perception that last week’s issuance of the permit resulted, at least in part, from the developer’s objections, as opposed to a spontaneous decision by town officials. ‘There was orchestration,’ said the councilman.”
And why is it only Moran and McKenna deciding everything? Why didn’t they include the other Town Board members in the discussion? Just what kind of town officials do we have? The kind that gives in or sides with bullies like RUPCO or the kind that follows the process and does the right thing? Looks like the former to me.
Iris York
Woodstock
THANKS FOR THE TRUCKLOADS
Phriends of Phoenicia would like to thank Jeff Collins Stonework for donating two truckloads of mulch for one of our village beautification projects.
It was used to mulch around the shrubs we planted last year alongside the wall in front of Mama’s Boy restaurant and coffee shop, on Main Street.
The donation was greatly appreciated, especially by the shrubs!
Patrick Kern
Phriends of Phoenicia
Post a Comment