A Good Election
The best thing about the election is, well, it’s over, and it’ll be nice to be able to talk to folks again without politics as part of the background noise. Nobody moved to Olive or stayed in Olive for some political reason. We’re all here because we want to be, and for most of us that’s no small part of who we are. And we’re all staying, wherever we go, and we’re all staying together.
There will plenty of time for analysis of the election results at our kitchen tables, post offices, and wherever else we gather. Much as we have in common, we’re also a community where to some degree different values coexist, and all of them need to be factored in and accounted for. The minority is no less a part of the whole than the majority, just a bit smaller, and the five people on our town board will represent those who didn’t elect them just as much as those who did. It’s not perfect but it is representative democracy, and whether we like the results or we don’t, it’s worked.
In our town races, the Democrats did better than we thought, holding onto their majority clearly. But we’ve got to hand it to incumbent Cindy Johansen, who proved a strong public servant, and Paula Minew for running strong races. Similarly, we should be glad someone of Paul Ragonese’s stature stepped up for a run for town justice, even if it was against the popular Ron Wright. The good thing about the races this year was that they showed the beginnings of real races to come, always a sign of health for a community.
Best was the passing of the benefits package to help draw in new firefighters for our Olive departments. What good news for all of us!
Meanwhile in a parallel universe, the world goes on. Soon enough - November 17 - hunting season will open…not perhaps the economic boon it used to be, but still a meaningful boost for some of our local businesses. For some of us that means time in the forest we often don’t make for ourselves, and an important connection with friends, the past, and the wild around us. For others, it means a time to dress our kids in blaze orange or avoid the woods altogether. For most, it’s a time to start preparing our dens for winter, for time with our families, and for the inevitable turning inward to a more reflective season.
Winter does seem slow in coming this year, and after our soggy summer, few were surprised fall came late. The colors weren’t as spectacular as usual but nice on the whole, seen through a warm and mostly dry last couple of weeks.
Up Route 28 a spell at our local ski area, Belleayre Mountain though, snow guns have been primed for the first cold snap. The road to the main lodge has been beautifully resurfaced, and inside it’s been remodeled to create more usable space for when things are hopping. Two new intermediate trails have been added this season, along with much-improved lift access to the challenging Cathedral Brook Trail, the Catskills’ answer to the Colorado Rockies. Down at the Discovery Lodge the kids program has been expanded, and expectations are running high for the mountain’s 54th season, including a realistic hope of breaking the 200,000 skier-visit mark by spring. Just one among many hopeful signs for a bright economic future here.
There’s a lot of positive things going on in our town, and as usual at The Olive Press, we’ll be focusing on them as best we can. There will no doubt be a lot of looking back in the coming weeks and months, as many of us try to interpret change and stability in our local government, and understand what it means for us and our families. It may mean less than we think, or there may be long-term positive implications for our town and our region’s future.
In elections some candidates don’t win. But nobody willing to step forward and try to help guide their community was a loser this week. That, we believe, is something time will prove, as together we try to grow the strongest community we can from the rocky ground we’re planting and building on. It’s been a good season though, and with time and care, things grow better.