Another Great Olive Day Celebrated
Another beautiful September's almost over, and another fun Olive Day celebration passed. Sure, there were some who still questioned the underlying political reasons for what's become the community's biggest celebration, but they were largely subsumed as everyone went beyond partisanship to simply have a good time together.
There were also some deeper thoughts brought forth by the date of this year's Olive Day, on 9/11, which had an effect on the town beyond any connections to people lost to the tragedies of that fateful day nine years ago, or the patriotic wallop we all took watching it unfold. Memories of the old Lemon Squeeze, for example, and the weeks when local travel was upended by the closing of the Dividing Weir... all out of misguided fear.
So much has happened since then, though, that who we are now, as a municipality, seems a world away from who we were then. Our taxes went up, we got yanked into a bitter battle over regional (or at least school district-wide) equity matters, and then our taxes stayed up after we finally caught up with revaluing who we were as a town. We've gotten used to major detours, but are also now preparing for a new Route 28A, a little straighter than it once was, through half our town. And there's a new sewer system in Boiceville, setting up the possibility of a real town center... eventually.
All were celebrated, in their ways, at Olive Day. Along with the promise of a great autumn ahead, albeit with some major changes. Here, as well as everywhere.
Enjoy the beautiful weather!
PS

Editorial

Some Things To Be Thinking About...
Now that school has started and everyone's back in work mode, there are a few odds and ends from the summer we feel need addressing. Most are issues we'd like to think are at the front of responsible minds in our area. And yet, we worry that they may have been overlooked.
First off, as our front page story notes, isn't it time we start to look seriously at safety issues along our Route 28 traffic corridor, as promised by so many over the past decade? And while we're at it, maybe we can also start working together as towns and counties on not only counting our individual dollars and cents, but sharing services and opportunities as a means of future savings... as well as creating a better regional identity to those who pass through our area not knowing of all our longheld differences?
Next, how about taking the work completed to create a state-of-the-art auditorium at the high school one step further, by upgrading its acoustics so we can really start programming world-class music (including whatever our Voicefest friends offer)? And reminding ourselves that yes, the arts DO make a difference.
While we're at it, though, can we also return to serious talk about just how we want our education system to look in the years to come? Are we going to choose a new path towards full centralization or support for community schooling or just wing it for a while longer?
On a state level, whatever happened to our state budget? What's really getting funded, in our area, and what's not? Is Belleayre shifting focus based on climate and economic changes? Shouldn't we know where to peg our futures?
Similarly, on a federal basis, are we really so disgruntled that we're simply going to punt on all those hot-button issues some of us don't think worth discussing, such as a better healthcare system that serves all of us, , the continuing threat of climate change, needed changes in energy sourcing (and consumption), and truly meaningful financial reform... including continuing usery-like bank payments, loan default set-ups, and income inequalities? Do such issues rate as serious, or will we simply leave them for the rest of the world to wrestle with?
And yes, what about that Phoenicia Sewer proposal? Are we going to finally see some serious infrastructure investment into our corridor's main town or spend the coming decades talking, like many municipalities that refused New deal projects during the 1930s, about what could have been, once, before what should have been was simply let to pass by, on a gamble?
Nice to be back to school, eh, to face the serious stuff again.
Drive safely... and stay thoughtful.
PS