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A little of this and that ...

By Charlie Haeffner

Odessa, March 9 -- Ahhhh ... spring. The world is brightening, thanks to sunlight (yes!!) and warmer temperatures.

The spring sports season is upon us -- at least practices. That's always an uplifting thought for me, because I'm really ready to start shooting games outdoors again.

High school spring musicals are coming at us fast -- the Odessa-Montour production of "The Wiz" on March 18-20, and the Watkins Glen High School production of "Bye Bye Birdie" on March 26-28. I always love those efforts.

At the same time, I have the itch to travel, so I might take off at a moment's notice. If so, I'll take along my laptop and try to keep up on the website from remote locations.

****

I'm still shaking my head over our leaders (see column below). Our governor insists he has done nothing wrong, our ex-Congressman Eric Massa -- after mea culpas -- has been crying conspiracy against him by the White House, our Regents are looking at finally eliminating most of the Regents exams (decades too late, in my view), and our state Legislature is flailing about, trying to come up with a budget while we wait, down below, just waiting to be dumped on.

I won't bother going into all the budgetary speculation and hand-wringing that is going on locally. It will all play out in due course -- when the villages unveil their budgets, when school boards finalize their spending plans and send them to the voters, and when the county lawmakers start looking closely at the mess ahead that they're facing. At this point I don't see any disasters immediately ahead, but that doesn't mean next year won't bring some.

****

The whole Marcellus Shale drilling situation has been lying dormant for a few weeks -- but expect that to start heating up soon. I imagine the DEC will finally weigh in with parameters for the drilling companies, and then we'll see concerted movement. Look for anything but smooth sailing, what with truck traffic and road repairs and dust concerns and debates over water quality and a significant impact on the local economy. This is likely to get quite loud.

****

A young lady of uncommon common sense is being honored by the Sullivan Trail Chapter of the American Red Cross when it presents its annual Heroes awards on Thursday, March 18 during a 7:30 a.m. breakfast at the Holiday Inn Riverview on East Water Street in Elmira.

The organization will present awards to five individuals and one organization in three categories: Life Saving, Community Impact and Life Time Achievement. The one that caught my eye was a Life Saving award going to Hannah Hubbell, who at the age of 6 made news of the very good kind in early December.

Hannah -- a student at B.C. Cate Elementary School in Montour Falls -- is being honored for her actions in securing help after the car her mother was driving skidded off Route 224, struck a tree and came to rest near a creek. Her mother was seriously injured in the crash. Hannah received a special award from the Schuyler County Sheriff's Office soon after the incident. We had a column about it some time back, which you can see by clicking here.

****

Back to our former Congressman. I watched his appearance Tuesday on the Glen Beck show on Fox, and felt a bit like Beck -- not sure why Massa was on or what specifically he was trying to accomplish. Basically, Massa said he just couldn't fight anymore. He wanted to do this interview and one more (Larry King, later at night) and "then go away." There was no fire, basically -- just platitudes ... generalities. Pretty ho-hum stuff after the build-up. In fact, Beck said near the end that he had just wasted an hour, and apologized to his viewers.

Then on the King interview, Massa seemed more focused, and King's questions were sharper than Beck's had been. The discussion was multi-layered -- as have been Massa's explanations for his departure. It was also -- as much of government has been lately -- quite discouraging.

It wasn't exactly a train wreck. But it was, as commentator Ben Stein said afterward, rather "sad."

Indeed.

*****

And earlier:

The girl from whom I fled ...

By Charlie Haeffner

Odessa, March 5 -- I'm sitting here, mulling, trying to write a column on ... well, I know not what. It just seems like I should be saying something. I think this feeling, this need has something to do with all the head-shaking I've been doing lately.

We have a governor who can't seem to get out of his own way. We have a Congressman who said, reasonably enough, that health was forcing him out of a run for re-election; but then decided to resign in the shadow of a seemingly unseemly allegation. We have a Congress that seems hell-bent on ramming a health-care bill through, damn the rules. We have an economy that is spluttering, and we have, as a result, a lot of folks out of work and possibly more to follow -- including some of our teachers.

We had a respite called the Olympics, which were inspiring and entertaining (although I've seen enough curling to last me a very long time), and we've been entertained by the success of the Odessa-Montour girls varsity basketball team. But the drabness of the winter has seemingly counterbalanced those pluses.

So, I'll do what I do when I'm feeling a little down. I'll look backward for some kernel from my past that can part the clouds. Let's see ... why don't I visit the girl who said I had eight personalities? That's always good for at least a tenuous smile.

******

Her name was Karen. She was blonde, and cute, and smart as heck. She was a freshman at Michigan's Albion College in my freshman year there; a classmate.

We met at a mixer, I think; at least that's where she first made an impression. We danced, and it felt right, and we started hanging out together between classes, and in the evening, and on weekends.

We were, in short order, something of an item; although I must say that my friends -- a small group from my dorm with whom I had quickly bonded in the first few weeks of school -- didn't take to Karen. They sensed in her a need to control. I, of course, was blinded by her blondeness and, well, the fruits of dating.

But over time, which is to say weeks -- I did not, before ultimately embarking on marriage to someone else much later, date anyone for longer than weeks -- the relationship soured. Most notable, to my mind, was her assessment of my personality ... or rather my multiple personalities. I don't recall exactly how she broke them down, but I think there was the Fun Charlie, and the Cerebral Charlie, and the Typically Male Charlie, and the Romantic Charlie, and so on.

I heard about this assessment -- this dissection of my persona into eight distinct entities -- second- or third-hand; Karen did not actually psychoanalyze me to my face. But as she tried to gain control over our social life -- where we'd go, who we'd see, which friends I could have, and so on -- she also seemed to want to control my mood ... my personality at any given time. She clearly wasn't enamored of the eight personalities in their entirety, but there must have been something in there that she liked. I imagine that most of all, she wanted to be with the Doormat Charlie.

Predictably -- at least it's predictable in hindsight -- I started avoiding her. Not that she was that easy to dismiss. It was a small campus (her father, parenthetically, was a professor there, meaning she was actually both of the college and a townie) and she cornered me eventually, and forced me, in my awkward way, to offiicially end it. I think she wanted to see the Nervous Charlie, and possibly force an appearance by the Regretful Charlie.

But end it I did.

*****

We shared the same campus for another three-and-a-half years, but I don't think we encountered each other very much. She ended up dating a fellow from one fraternity, while I joined another fraternity. Social standing and alliances at Albion were very Greek-oriented.

I don't know what became of Karen after graduation, although I imagine she did very well in life. As I said, she was extremely bright. But every so often -- such as in economically and politically depressing times -- I think back to her, almost as if she has remained a touchstone across my years. In any event, she obviously left an impression.

So, in the spirit of our times, I would like to invoke the memory of Karen -- blonde, bright, capable, controlling, and someone from whom I fled.

It was, I imagine she would say -- if for no other reason than to get in the last word -- the Shortsighted Charlie in action.

******

Okay. That's my Karen story. Now I will tell you that while there was a Karen, and there was some truth to the fact of her eight-personality assessment, most of what I just related was embellished.

I structured it as allegory.

The fact is, I've always suffered from a bit of Shortsighted Charlieness -- from tunnel vision. But in running this website, I have on occasion embraced that particular shortcoming. I use it to shy away from the negative in stories -- from depressing matters involving governors, Congressmen and the economy, for instance -- except when unavoidable, like when a forced resignation occurs. And, to go further, I cover very little in the way of police and court news -- very little of the underbelly of our society.

I also tend, as in the case of my allegorical Karen, to bristle when anyone -- and in general I'm referring to our so-called leaders -- tries to control a situation through intimidation or silence or bullyism or character assassination or whatever. I see it nationally a lot, and on the state level alarmingly often, and locally on occasion.

I will leave it to you to speculate exactly from whom I have fled -- who, in essence, is not covered here for reasons more practical than allegorical ... more a matter of my preference.

In the meantime, I owe a thank-you to Karen (who has probably long since forgotten me) for serving as the untameable shrew here. She really was nicer than that.

*****

And earlier:

Legislature members (from left) Dennis Fagan, Tom Gifford, Mike Yuhasz and Paul Marcellus listen as Schuyler County League of Women Voters president Max Neal explains Thursday's program at the joint Rotary Club-League luncheon.

The time to hesitate is through

By Charlie Haeffner

Odessa, Feb. 26 -- I was a big Doors fan back in the '60s. Jim Morrison was flat-out cool in an independent, give-'em-hell kind of way. His music spoke to my generation. And among my favorites from him was "Light My Fire," which included the classic line "The time to hesitate is through."

That came to mind, oddly enough, as I sat pondering the goings-on during a joint luncheon meeting of the Watkins-Montour Rotary Club and the Schuyler County League of Women Voters on Thursday at the Watkins Glen Elks Lodge.

On hand to answer questions from the luncheon crowd were Schuyler County legislators Tom Gifford, Dennis Fagan, Mike Yuhasz, Paul Marcellus and Glenn Larison. And first among the questions from the audience was one that asked, in essence: "Would you support a move away from multiple school districts in the county and toward a single, countywide school district?" The questioner mentioned how we have one superintendent for each district, when in fact we could have one, period.

Larison (pictured at right), a veteran lawmaker and a former School Board member in the Odessa-Montour district, said he thinks a county school district "is an idea that should be investigated" by getting the Boards of Education of the affected districts together to discuss it. This has been done in the past, he noted, without success. "But times have changed," he said, with enrollment down significantly over the years in the O-M district.

Legislator Yuhasz, who was principal at the Watkins Glen Elementary School for 25 years, said there were "many joint meetings on consolidation" during his tenure, and that each one "ended in failure." It all came down to "ownership," he said. "Watkins Glen didn't want it to be the Odessa-Montour/Watkins Glen district, and Odessa-Montour didn't want it to be the Watkins Glen/Odessa-Montour district."

Legislature Chairman Tom Gifford said that Schuyler's small population is overseen by eight town governments, four village governments, a county government, a state government, and three school districts (the Watkins, O-M and Bradford schools are all located within Schuyler).

"They're probably overgoverned," he said of the 20,000 county residents, adding that "shared services are doable."

An audience member mentioned that other school districts actually have at least part of their boundaries within Schuyler -- including the Dundee and Trumansburg districts, which could make a countywide district a little complex to effect.

(Parenthetically, the Trumansburg district has a sizable portion of its area within Schuyler -- which is why T-burg scholar-athlete-citizens, along with similar representatives from the Bradford, O-M and Watkins Glen high schools, are part of the annual Top Drawer 24 team honored in a spring ceremony at the State Park. That broad representation -- team members from four school districts -- is mandated by the Top Drawer executive committee in recognition of the way in which all of us who live in Schuyler County share a common land and heritage ... and should, ideally, share a common vision.)

******

The word "merger" was not mentioned at that Rotary-League session. It is a hot-button word, and "consolidation" seems to flow ever so nicely in comparison.

But it's essentially the same deal -- a sharing of services for the greater good, which is to say for the good of We The Taxpayers.

This is a difficult time as school districts grapple with the governor's proposed reduction in state aid and with growing health and retirement costs. The Watkins Glen district is feeling the squeeze created by those factors.

Superintendent Tom Phillips (pictured at right) has let it be known that in the ever-changing landscape of the 2010-2011 budget, insecurity is the byword. He and the School Board have arrived at figures and plans that may or may not be adopted, depending on what shape the state budget ultimately takes.

Right now, the district is looking at eliminating Driver Education during the school year, two Reading teachers, one Art teacher, a part-time Physical Education teacher, a Math teacher and an administrative position (that last one through retirement). After planning all of that and applying $900,000 of Appropriated Fund Balance toward the budget (thus reducing reserves), and by assuming the state will restore half of the proposed $825,000 state-aid cut, the Board found at its most recent session that it was still looking at a 6.7% increase in the tax levy.

"And that's not acceptable," said Phillips, explaining that he was directed to trim the levy hike to 4% or less.

But so much can go wrong -- starting with that assumption of state-aid restoration. If half of the aid reduction is not restored, he said, "then we'll be looking at grade-level and subject-area teacher cuts."

But factors like unforeseen departures or retirements would mitigate the damage.

"I want to emphasize we're in the preliminary stages, bouncing ideas around," he said.

******

The Watkins Glen district is not alone in its problems, of course; all districts have them. And when it's time to prepare next year's budget, things will likely be worse in the absence of the positive impact derived this year from the federal Stimulus Funds. If no such stimulus is repeated, that will only add to the challenges -- from state government on down.

The legislators on hand at Thursday's luncheon touched on the problems they face in the county's next budget -- a task so daunting "that we're already discussing it, and we usually don't start to do that until August," said Fagan (pictured at right). There will no doubt be choices made that will not be well-received, he said, noting: "The reality is we won't be very popular."

That comment, perhaps, helped send my thoughts back to the '60s -- back to Jim Morrison and The Doors, back to "Light My Fire," back to a group that had little difficulty with popularity. And maybe it was the oddity of the day Thursday -- a storm blanketing us, a quiet that reigned outside (broken by the occasional plow), a mood that begged introspection -- that led me back, too.

I swear, sitting at the window of my home later, looking outside, I could imagine the legislators lining up, instruments in hand at the luncheon, a spotlight on them as they performed a song that might secure that elusive popularity. They sounded like The Doors in my imagination, but certainly didn't look like them.

Instead of lead singer Morrison, guitarist Robbie Krieger, keyboardist Ray Manzarek and drummer John Densmore, I envisioned Larison, Fagan, Marcellus and Yuhasz, respectively, with Gifford managing -- and manning the spotlight. And joining them, fiddle in hand, was Superintendent Phillips.

Larison, I imagined, was leaning in toward the microphone, crooning:

The time to hesitate is through
No time to wallow in the mire
Try now; if we don't, we lose
And our votes become a funeral pyre
Come on folks, we won't retire
Come on folks, we won't retire
We'll try to lead the county higher.

You know that it would be untrue
You know that I would be a liar
If I was to say to you
Our situation isn't dire.
Come on folks, we won't retire
We'll work till we no longer fire
Our goal will be to workers hire.

The time to hesitate is through
It's time to be a thrifty buyer
Consolidate, budgets imbue
With shared services that will inspire
Come on folks, we won't retire
We'll work for you, we will perspire
Until we lead the county higher ...

*******

And earlier:

'The issue is about survival'

By Charlie Haeffner

Odessa, Feb. 19 -- I make it a habit not to weigh in any longer on matters involving school district consolidation -- or for that matter consolidation of any kind. I'll do the occasional story, but I'll generally keep my opinion to myself.

It's a hot-button topic that sometimes proves a little too hot.

But I received a message the other day that I will pass along. It was a private message from someone who would seem to be in the know, but not a message to which he wanted his name attached.

Like I said: hot.

Anyway, call him B. Moralis.

While there are a few examples locally of shared services (such as the recently completed, jointly occupied building on Decatur Street in Watkins Glen), this writer says that more of an effort is needed. He writes that it is time "for the county, towns, villages, judicial systems and -- yes -- schools to begin the discussion of how we can best serve our community and keep costs reasonable."

He goes on:

"Some would say we are well past reasonable, but this much is fact… if we continue to work in isolation, the cost of doing business will continue to spiral out of control. It is time for the leadership within all of these organizations to come together and devise a plan that regionalizes services and reduces or contains costs to the property owners of Schuyler County.

"This issue is far bigger than who is 'king' (or queen) of the county, town, villages, courts, police departments, roads or schools. This issue is far bigger than 'Indians' and 'Senecas' -- about who plays on what team, about who starts, about who is the coach. This issue in these times is about survival.

"Simply put, the monies are not available for us to continue to function in a system that is decades old. The stimulus monies are ending in 2011. Where will the next 'Pot of Gold' be found? We have burdened our children and grandchildren with debt because we are unable or unwilling to change. We have burdened our communities with property taxes so high people are leaving our state. The time for real, effective, meaningful change is upon us. Our future is at stake.

"While the financial crisis is one of national and state proportion, it does not absolve local leaders from the responsibility to work together to ensure the future for our region. Clearly state and national elected representatives will not willingly address the consolidation issue. Their standard response is “That is a Local issue of Local Control.”

"Well, local leaders, the solution is clearly up to you.

"Can you or will you rise to that challenge?"

*****

In case you hadn't heard -- or haven't seen it in the Legal Notices section on our Odessa Government page (here) -- we have two candidates for the two available trustee positions coming up for election in Odessa on March 16.

Incumbent Peggy Tomassi has been joined on the ballot by Timothy Hicks (pictured at right), the Schuyler County Watershed Inspector. Assuming there is no successful write-in campaign, Hicks will take the seat held for years by Rita Decker, who chose not to seek reelection. The term of office is two years.

Voting that day will be from noon-9 p.m. at the Village Municipal Building.

*****

And earlier:

Coming soon: Tour de Cure

By Charlie Haeffner

Odessa, Feb. 14 -- We've had bicycling visitors to our area in the recent past in the form of the Bon Ton Roulet --a cycling tour of the region that takes place over the course of a summer week and has many of its participants camping at predetermined locales, such as the grounds of Watkins Glen High School

In this year's Bon Ton Roulet, for instance, the tour goes from Auburn to Keuka College on Day 1, from Keuka to Naples on Day 2, and so on. The major stop will be Watkins Glen -- with arrival on Day 4, a stayover on Day 5 and departure toward Cortland on Day 6. This all happens in the last week of July.

But before that, we will have a bicycle event of a different sort -- a fund-raiser to help fight diabetes. It's called the Tour de Cure, and it will happen in our area on June 26, headquartered at Clute Park in Watkins Glen. It will, say its organizers, be an annual event.

Tours de Cure are actually run in 43 states, and in several highly successful locales across New York State -- at Saratoga Springs, Verona Beach, Rochester and Buffalo.

Now the Central New York American Diabetes Association plans to start a Tour de Cure here, with an initial goal of attracting 300 riders, 30 teams, and $90,000. Ultimately, after a few years, says the Central New York director, Alicia Shiland (shown in photo), the event will attract many more riders than that, and raise considerably more money.

"Saratoga Springs," Shiland said recently, addressing the Watkins-Montour Rotary Club, "raises $700,000 annually. And $2 million is raised across the state." But those other races have many more cyclists than Watkins can expect, having been in existence for years -- 14 years, in Saratoga Springs' case.

The day will feature a 100-mile (Century) trek as well as much shorter ones; the routes will have rest stops and food stops. Headquarters will be at the start-stop locale of Clute Park, where entertainment will be provided.

Money is raised through registration fees and pledges. "We ask $150 in pledges from each participant," said Shiland, "though I doubt we'd turn away someone with $120."

If you're not a bicycle rider, but want to participate, "we need volunteers," she said. "We need lots of volunteers, for staffing the rest stops, for serving food, for set-up, for clean-up ... for lots of things."

The organization is also looking for sponsors. Right now, said Shiland, Schuyler Hospital is the biggest one.

If anyone is interested in helping out or sponsoring, check out www.diabetes.org/tour. That should get you in touch with the people you need.

*****

A fellow writer wanted to pitch in anonymously on a story I started that was introduced here not long ago. It's a tale that opens in a bar, and has to do with the coming return of some as-yet unknown figure. (See that first effort on my Recent Columns page here.).

Anyway, this writer -- a talented sort -- understood the direction in which I was heading with the story and wanted to contribute. And so she has in the following paragraphs, which are full of puckishness. The story resumes in the same bar. It goes like this:

Thomas Dout, showing all of his 60 years and then some, was at the opposite end of the bar, near the rear, nursing a beer while offering advice to his friend Matthew:

“No matter how much you push the envelope, it’ll still be stationary,” he said, slurring his words slightly.

“True,” murmured Matthew, who punctuated the response with a burp. “But when he returns, I fear that I, as well as you, will have much to answer for. The things I have witnessed, and you have witnessed, and we have contributed to ... all I can say is "Oh, my God."

"Amen," said Thomas, and shook his head. Oh, my God, he echoed in his mind.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in town, Andrew Peters -- a sport fisherman by preference, and a petty criminal by chance -- was busy at home, working on his computer. He was trying to create identification for his latest project, ID that would be foolproof -- would escape detection by the authorities.

He too had gotten word of the pending return. He had received e-mails from his brother Simon and from Thomas Dout about it. And he had been far from tranquil since then.

He isn't going to like this; not any of it, Andrew thought as he continued working. If I were smart, I'd clean up my act now.

But he continued working, tinkering on his computer. His television was on, providing background noise. He always worked best with background noise.

"Stay tuned," a male announcer was saying, though Andrew wasn't paying much attention. "When we return, our headline story will be 'Cannibals ingest missionary, get taste of religion.'"

Andrew looked up.

Did he really say that? he asked himself, and shook his head. Maybe I heard wrong ... pretty funny, though.

He returned to his task, but a thought worked its way in as he did. It was this: Ingesting anything -- any experience -- that is contrary to habit is often the work of the devil.

And he had been ingesting quite a few contrary experiences lately.

No, Andrew thought. He won't be happy.

*****

Congratulations to the Watkins Glen High School boys varsity swim team for winning the Section IV, Class C Swimming and Diving Championship -- the first for the program since 1993. And the team made it look easy, outdistancing the nearest opponent by 102 points.

*****

For recent columns by Charlie Haeffner, click here.

******

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