Foothills president looks out for himself
A guppy will, during labor, continue to eat her babies until separated from the unlucky newcomers. While eliminating her competition for food, she terribly abbreviates her own bloodline.
Having read the article "Foothills board faults former director" in the online edition of The Daily Star, I am concerned that the gravity of Doug Reeser's witch-hunt is not seriously identified. (Jan. 7.) Mr. Reeser's greatest success as president has been to match the company's deficit with some scapegoats. That is to say, like a guppy, he has preserved himself but stunted the growth of the community, which was hitherto stimulated by Foothills. That the board will really attempt to salvage this project becomes unbelievable when I read Mr. Reeser's arbitrary assertions; he admits programming is already being cut.
From what I can gather, the new staff filled the positions of previous staff who did not leave for financial reasons. They were willing to take substantial pay cuts, and the Shared Work Program would have been the saving grace of the institution. In the article, Reeser maintains that the program, "didn't fit the plans and goals of the center." My question: Are these "goals" not to take handouts as a not-for-profit or not to pay the employees? The truth is Mr. Reeser needed either to fire the staff or his ego. Well, he wasn't ready to admit his failures as board president. The whole board seems malignant, though members did finally get involved to support Mr. Reeser when he found his scapegoats.
The original article is painfully innocuous, and we readers cannot afford filtered truths. What Doug Reeser so tactlessly presented the four employees over the holidays is the proverbial gift that keeps on giving, and I hope the taxpayers remember to thank him.
Paul Gavett
New Berlin
Gavett is a senior at Sherburne-Earlville Central School.
Downtown Oneonta has a lot to offer
This is in response to the recent letter-writer bemoaning the lack of variety in downtown Main Street. Wake up and smell the cappuccino!
Over the past Christmas shopping season, I found most of my gifts along Main Street _ men's boots, Christmas cards, kitchen gadgets, woolens, candles (at the farmers' market), toys and books. Plus, I visited a museum, watched a parade and shook Santa's hand for free.
I challenge that letter-writer to find another small city of our size and degree of isolation from the larger urban centers that is able to match the variety and vibrance of our City of the Hills. Granted, downtown is not the way "it once was," but I for one enjoy having what we do right now.
Donna Vogler
Oneonta
