Same old same in Delaware County
Watching the "Greatest Show on Earth" (the Delaware County Board of Supervisors organizational meeting), on Jan. 6, Donnelly nominated Eisel as chairman; Capouya seconded. McCarthy nominated Donnelly. Springing like a jack in the box, Bracci seconded. Donnelly "dutifully" declined. The resolution carried with McCarthy "naying."
Was it a rerun of Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Oklahoma"; the Humphrey Bogart classic "Casablanca" in "authentic" Delaware flavor; a preamble to the revival of "Pseudo-McCarthyism" on the banks of the West Branch or a brilliantly orchestrated "doomed to fail" "Palace-Coup," rendering leaders humiliated and superfluous?
Coy Bracci kept grinning! McCarthy went on "naying" several elections/appointments "just to be a pain" (The Daily Star, Jan. 7).
Is the county being run by emotionally overgrown kids/rebels without cause?
A superb public relations gimmick to "fool" votary: "Deep fissures `exist'" (my foot) in most-exclusive, self-perpetuating Good Ole' Boys, "Yes-Men" Choir! King Eisel is being challenged by Sir McCarthy!
County affairs have always been murky. In the '90s, local governments voted to hand over home rule and water, free of charge, to New York City. Then Chairman Christensen went to work for the state! Supervisor Rosa and The Daily Star's Diane Galusha became executives of CWC, creating numerous slots for supervisors as directors and providing a gravy-train ride to a chosen few. Cornell Cooperative Extension, Hamden and Delhi Tech opened doors to the powers-that-be! Galusha and historical society director Duerden sold books and held luncheons! Residents gulped snow-ball sandwiches with flood-water!
Now the board is crying foul over New York City's attempts to fool us. The county has started going underwater, physically and fiscally. Soon the county will look like Indian reservations. Doomsday watchers are predicting the "End is Nigh" (Dec. 21, 2012)! The only ray of hope for survival is gas-drilling; not wind turbines.
Shyamal K. SenGupta
Bovina Center
Bill would help protect nurses
As a registered nurse and member of the New York State Nurses Association, I applaud the Senate's recent passage of S4018, an act to amend the penal law in relation to assault on registered nurses. The bill makes attacks on registered nurses or licensed practical nurses felonies and adds the nursing profession to the same class of assault as attacks on police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians.
Like the above professionals, nurses provide a vital, yet often dangerous, public service. They regularly come into contact with patients, family members and the public, in general, whose level of distress may escalate to violence. Those unstable working conditions are often exacerbated in facilities that are understaffed, forcing nurses to work alone. Worse still, because many facilities do not foster environments that encourage the reporting of violence in the workplace, it is often considered to be "just part of the job."
By increasing the penalty for violence against nurses, you have elevated the professional profile of nursing. The passage of this bill signals to nurses, and the public they serve, that the violence will no longer be tolerated and its consequences will not be overlooked.
I thank you again for protecting New York's nurses and strongly urge the Assembly to send the same message and pass its bill this session.
Diane Earl
Oneonta
Foothills should focus on local talent
Pondering how such a well-intentioned project as Foothills, conceived and run by such well-qualified people could come to its present state, I can only conclude that early on there was a failure to fully appreciate the value of the performing arts in general and the nature of the arts in Oneonta in particular. There is as much, and arguably more, value to the individual and to the community in making music, dance and theater as there is in seeing and hearing it. And few communities can match our level of participation.
Performing is the quickest path to the appreciation of performance. Skills are acquired through experience. And community is built in shared activity. The region would surely benefit from a venue that imports excellent and affordable performances. But this is not a community content only to passively absorb its art; we want to make it as well. And making your own is often less costly than buying.
Rethink Foothills as first a home and showcase for community performance and it may find the broad public support it needs. If not it will have to try to survive on weddings and industrial shows while local performers and their audiences turn their attention to restoring the Oneonta Theatre.
Duncan Smith
Oneonta
O-Tigers' leaving a loss to community
As a long-time Delhi resident, I am greatly saddened by the news that professional baseball will no longer reside at Damaschke Field in Oneonta.
Throughout my life, I have enjoyed many summer nights with my family cheering on young players as their dreams came true. I even shed a few tears myself as I returned in 2009 as the athletic trainer for the Brooklyn Cyclones. While I may have been with the other team, the feeling of coming home was overpowering.
Here's to small-town baseball and those of us who enjoyed it while we had the chance. Thank you, Mr. Nader, for giving us that opportunity.
Deb Iwanow
Delhi
Citizens should vote on mural at plaza
There was an article printed in The Daily Star recently about a proposal to have an artist paint a mural on the eastern wall of Clinton Plaza. I think this should be voted on by the citizens of Oneonta for a number of reasons:
1) Who will pay for it?
2) Who will dictate what the mural will be?
3) What kind of paints will be used and are they environmentally safe?
4) If this is funded or granted, whose money is it?
5) What happens if the mural fades or chips away as we know it will due to the weather? Who will touch it up and at what cost?
6) What if it is graffitied? Who will be responsible to clean it and who will pay?
7) Since it is a privately owned building, do we, the city, have to have a permit in place to protect the city?
We must have some assurances that someone be held responsible. Maybe some assurance the artist will be held accountable for some quality control of materials used.
Instead of painting the wall, I suggest planting shrubs and flowers. Maybe the Oneonta Garden Club is up to the task ?
Anthony Ferrarese
Oneonta
