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“We’ve
looked at property at the corner of routes 28 and 28A but
that wasn’t available for purchase,” said Lamont.
“Also a site on Upper Boiceville Road and one behind
the commercial establishment on the southwest side of Rt.
28, near the Esopus, where the old saw mill was.”
The most likely site at the moment seems to be on the northeast
side of 28 across from the 28A intersection, Lamont surmises,
situated to take in the main hamlet area in Boiceville as
well as the school.
“It’s a fairly substantial building but I better
not get locked into a size because this is a
preliminary report- not a facility plan with a bunch of
design drawings...yet,” added Lamont, who noted the
plant was not scheduled to be built until 2007. “It’ll
be about the size of Prattsville’s (plant, now under
construction), perhaps a little smaller. It won’t
be anywhere near the size of Pine Hill(‘s plant).”
A copy of the entire 3-volume report is available for public
review at the town offices in West Shokan, Lamont pointed
out, describing it as “pretty formal,” covering
how the different service areas were selected and reviewed
and what could be done in each as well as containing a lot
of useful maps.
“The service area includes the Onteora School and
the areas around it and across the street, the residential
areas- what’s called Upper Boiceville Road to near
Deerfield Road- the entire hamlet,” he noted. “We
looked at widening the service area but didn’t find
the need and the City doesn’t have the money to do
it, anyway. This main area includes the southeast side of
Piney Point Road- the side towards the school- and everything
between there and Rt.28A on the Esopus side...”
The project is encompassed in the Community Wastewater Management
Program (CWMP) managed by the Catskill Watershed Corporation
(CWC) through New York City Department of Environmental
Protection (NYCDEP or DEP, for short) funding. It replaces
the New Sewerage Treatment Infrastructure Program (NSTIP
or NIP, for short) which was also funded by the DEP but
administered by the New York State Environmental Facilities
Corporation (EFC), an organization which also runs the Upgrade
program that was put in charge of the overhaul of the Onteora
School’s wastewater system. You may want to jot those
initials down for future reference. There’s more to
come.
Onteora hasn’t made a determination, as yet, to join
the Boiceville community system but a recommendation that
they do so is in the report.
“It’s cheaper for the school to go into the
community system than it is to do their own system but the
Upgrade program had already committed the money,”
Lamont observed, speaking about a $1.6 million pledge against
the $1.2 million additional cost to include the school in
the hamlet’s system. “The Upgrade program is
responsible for the operation and maintenance (O&M)
of (an upgraded school water system and the City has agreed
to give the subsidy to the school even if they go into this
community program. So, if the bill to the school is more
than the school was paying for its system before it was
included in either the upgrade program or the community
program, the City picks up the difference.”
Lamont’s report also recommends a subsidy for commercial
establishments in Boiceville and he refers to a precedent
in the NIP program, which was forged under the Memorandum
of Agreement (MOA) between NYC and watershed towns and included
a $10,000 a year subsidy towards commercial use. The MOA
produced a list of 22 watershed communities with no wastewater
management program or infrastructure which would be funded
to create them. By priority, the first 7 funded by the DEP
through the EFC were Hunter, Windham, Fleischmanns, Andes,
Roxbury, Phoenica and Prattsville. The next 5 of the 22
in priority order (with Boiceville at number 9, after Bloomville)
were eventually funded after the renewal of the 2002 Filtration
Avoidance Determination (FAD) that saved NYC big bucks by
allowing them to treat water supplies upstate rather than
closer to home.
“Going into the community program costs the school
nothing but it has a big impact on the O&M fees resulting
from the program,” he explained. “That’s
because the larger plant is cheaper to run per gallon than
a smaller plant and the school will take up a substantial
portion of
the wastewater capacity. Including the school and reducing
the per gallon cost is of particular interest to the commercial
establishments because the program has a subsidy for residential
users but not for commercial users.”
Residential users will pay an operational fee of $100 a
year per “equivalent dwelling unit.” In other
words, a building with 2 apartments would pay $200 annually-
a fee to be updated for inflation every 3 years according
to the consumer price index- with the balance taken up by
the DEP’s O&M residential subsidy.
Commercial properties in the service area, however, will
probably be faced with an option, according to the Lamont
report’s charts, based on the design standards used
to develop the overall flow and estimates of metered water
use for each business. Price range runs from about $155
a year “up to $4,000 or $5,000 a year if they’re
metered and higher if they’re not,” Lamont said.
“The school’s flow will be quite a bit higher
than any other business or institution but that will be
subsidized by the Upgrade program, so we’re not worried
about them,” Lamont said. “But we’re concerned
about the cost to some of the other commercials and that’s
why we’ve recommended that the City consider a subsidy.
NIP communities that got wastewater treatment plants did
receive a $10,000 subsidy for total commercial so there
is a possibility of getting that. I think Boiceville particularly
needs one like it or greater because of how the formulas
are set for
the large flow. That will lead, I think, to an even higher
cost per establishment than in some of the other communities.
So, to make it all equitable, a commercial subsidy is really
almost a necessity. There’s some (businesses) that
I just don’t think will make it and it has to be feasible
for everybody to really work.”
The program will operate on a basic gravity system but a
pump station is also part of the design although its location
has yet to be determined. The location of the plant itself
is “probably going
to be an issue,” Lamont believes, and he anticipates
questions at the public hearing along the lines of “Well,
if the City wants it, why can’t they built it and
run it themselves like they did for Pine Hill, Margaretville,
Grand Gorge or Tannersville?” Or “What happens
if we run it as a sewer district and NYC goes bankrupt?
How long are the controls going to run? All that stuff,”
he predicts.
Lamont is confident that he has answers for most of the
questions expected. Like “What becomes of the output?”
“The plant will treat this wastewater to the extent
that’s required for either discharge into an intermediate
stream that leads to the Esopus or directly into it,”
he said. “That’s yet to be determined but it
will be ‘highly polished’ and treated wastewater
because, in the watershed, you’re required not only
to do primary and secondary treatment but also phosphorous
removal or, in this case, nitrogen or at least ammonia removal,
sand filtration and microfiltration through a bank of membranes.
It will be crystal clear and much more clean and polished
than it would
normally be outside the watershed.”
Ready
For A May 16 Vote
A third write-in candidate, George Haug of Shokan,
was announced by Olive Superintendent and Olive Matters
founder Berndt Leifeld at an April 23 Olive Democratic
Party meeting, to run on the same anti-Large Parcel
issue that brought in three Olive candidates last year.
At the current board’s April 18 meeting at Onteora
Middle/High School, a budget lower than what was previously
recommended was voted in, despite concern from several
board members that the further cuts were made without
presentations or proper public input.
School board trustee Lev Flournoy, who will not be seeking
reelection this year, said he would vote on the budget
but felt “uncomfortable with the process.”
School board president Dave Patterson assured everyone
that the line item cuts were a directive at the last
school board meeting and the cuts did not effect education.
Business administrator Victoria McAllen said the additional
cuts she came up with totalled $255,000. Reductions
were made to unemployment insurance, and health insurance
cost estimates was slightly lowered.
The vote was six-to-one, with trustee Herb Rosenfeld,
the only no vote, stating the cuts ran too deep.
The most controversial part of the budget consists of
dramatic cuts made to special education at a reduction
of $355,258. This includes the dropping of five special
education teachers, speech/language therapist, teacher
of the deaf, four teaching assistants and a part time
social worker. The high school cafeteria was filled
with concerned parents, special education professionals
and Onteora teachers trying to make one last effort
to convince the school board that they should reconsider…
to no avail. A vote to reinstate a popular Teacher of
the Deaf position failed by a four to three vote, with
Bernholtz, O’Connor, Patterson and Vanacore voting
against.
Trustee Mary Jane Bernholtz explained that if the capital
reserve fund receives voter approval, it would eventually
take care of repairs and other district needs.
As the budget was approved, members of the audience
booed with many then leaving quietly, many wiping away
tears.
In other business, the board approved Jeff Hanna as
acting superintendent of the district in the absence
of Superintendent Justine Winters, effective immediately
for approximately thirty days.
Patterson said, “Justine’s health is her
primary concern at this point, she spent a few days
in the hospital last week and she is home and she is
alert and talking to us, she misses us and we all miss
her, so lets continue to keep her in our thoughts.”
Winters recently announced that she would be resigning
as superintendent in June, due to illness. Hanna was
acting assistant superintendent two years ago and also
helped fill in for Barbara Boyce in 2005 during her
leave of absence. In related news, the board approved
$18,000 to hire Dr. Richard Lerer as an educational
consultant to help search for a new superintendent (see
news brief inside).
Director of the Transportation Department Maureen Stancage
resigned effective May 12, stating personal reasons
for her departure. Hired last August, she is the third
transportation director in three years.
The future of the district committee disbanded and when
trustee Vanacore asked why she was told it was in large
part due to the board asking its consulting architects
for possible restructuring to look at other options
already turned down by the committee.
An Olive Matters rally about their new write-in candidate,
who did not answer calls from the press before press
time, has been set for May 10 at the Olive Library.
Who’ll
Be In The New Jail?
The state’s
auditors, who came under fire from GOP legislators for
meeting with Democrats behind closed doors during their
investigation last year, pointed out that deficiencies
in several key construction contracts led to delays
in the constrction, which then led to rocketing expenses
as the project’s overall cost rose from $71.8
million to$100 million and rising.
“There were no incentive or penalty clauses in
any of the contracts,” state auditors wrote. “As
a result, contractors had no incentive to finish their
portion of the project on time and within budget. In
fact, some contracts actually provided incentives to
delay the project’s completion.”
Furthermore, the legislature failed to look out for
rampant doubling-up of costs over the years the project
has been underway. And worse were the number of gifts
purchased for consultants – and legislators, in
some cases — with public money.
New Majority Leader David Donaldson faulted his predecessors
for failing to write their contracts for the jail correctly,
for establishing strong oversight over the project,
and
The jail project was first proposed under then-Legislature
Chairman Ward Todd, who left office in June 2003 to
become president of the Ulster County Chamber of Commerce.
Reports say the cigars in question were a gift to him.
Todd, who was later succeeded by Richard Gerentine as
chairman, has also come under fire in recent months
for a deal he brokered for a casino in the Route 209
corridor without any public input. There has been growing
talk of criminal investigations in that case, as well.
Todd, a former head of the Shandaken Republican Party,
did not answer calls for this or other stories about
the audit and Donaldson’s call for investigation.
Gerentine said he would not comment on the state audit
until the final version is issued while new Legislature
Minority Leader Glenn Noonan said the draft of the audit
should have remained secret because the information
in it, according to his beliefs, could possibly be used
against the county in litigation.
Back in January, soon after taking new new position,
Donaldson said the county Legislature should begin a
probe and issue subpoenas for testimony from the jail’s
lead characters, including Todd.
Meanwhile, officials with the state Comptroller’s
Office said this week that the early, unauthorized release
of the draft audit could undermine furture investigations.
“Those who leak an unfinished audit to the news
media usually have some reason to undermine the process,
usually because they are pursuing some personal political
agenda,” said David Neustadt in a letter to the
local press. “Such leaks committed by public officials
are unprofessional and often intended to mislead the
public.”
State audits are initially issued as draft documents,
and local officials are given 30 days to comment before
a final version is released. The draft contains a standard
request by the state comptroller asking “that
to the extent permitted by law the information contained
in this document be kept confidential.”
Coalition
United... For Now
“The
meeting went really well. I told everyone I will take
it upon myself to distribute agendas to all Ulster member
towns before each meeting,” Cross said. “I’m
even getting a scanner in my town office to do it on.”
He said that with all towns represented except for Warwarsing,
who couldn’t make it because of a time change
announced by Cross at the last minute, and Hardenburgh,
whose supervisor has taken his town out of the Coalition
for at least the coming year – and who spoke with
Cross in a private session after the main meeting in
Hurley – the general consensus was that although
the Coalition needed improvement, and long-needed executive
changes, it was better to stay united than to quit.
“We’re back on track… our strength
lies in unity,” Cross said.
As for problems others, including Shultis, brought up
about Cross’ having changed the meeting’s
time without proper warning several times, the Shandaken
supervisor said he was forced to do what he did because
of a changing schedule by state Senator John Bonacic,
who scheduled a press conference at Belleayre Mountain,
in Cross’ home town, at the same time he had originally
asked Shultis for use of his office.
“It did get a little confusing,” Cross admitted.
Shultis said that that Rochester supervisor Pam Duke
and he actually raised the Benjamin Franklin quote about
unity in the meeting, and noted that much of the gathering
was focused on keeping Woodstock and Marbletown from
leaving the Coalition as Hardenburgh had.
“Their biggest problem, as (Woodstock Supervisor)
Jeremy (Wilber) put it, is that there’s been no
communication about anything from the executive committee
or chairman for years,” Shultis said. “Cross
offered to put information on his Town of Shandaken
website but then Bert Leifeld (supervisor of the town
of Olive) said that wasn’t any good… the
Coalition should really have its own website and do
its own communicating.”
Leifeld had been a member of the Coalition’s executive
committee for years until being named as one of two
Ulster County representatives to the less-political
Catskill Watershed Corporation last year. His fellow
representative, former county legislator and current
Chamber of Commerce director Ward Todd, loses his seat
this May because only elected representatives can serve
on the CWC board, according to its bylaws. Leifeld was
replaced by his fellow board-member Bruce LaMonda. His
seat, along with all representation at the CWT, comes
up for election in May.
The Coalition of Watershed Towns first came to light
in the early 1990s after the late state Senator Charles
Cook provided seed money to fund a coordinated fight
against proposed watershed regulations being put forth
by New York City, which has controlled the region’s
water supply since being granted such authority by the
state in the early 20th century. After the CWT’s
efforts resulted in the reaching of a 1997 Memorandum
of Agreement between the City and Upstate communities,
brokered by Governor Pataki, the CWC was formed to administer
upstate regulations and negotiated grant-giving by the
city, and the Coalition lived on as a quiet “watchdog”
entity run, for nearly a decade now, by Windham town
supervisor (and former CWC member) Pat Meehan.
The CWT stayed out of the news until recent years when
its Executive Committee elected first to back involvement
in the Belleayre Resort battles involving Shandaken,
and then more recently, to call for a state legislative
amendment removing the word “reservoirs”
from its controversial “Large Parcel” legislature
of recent years.
Cross said neither issue came up at the recent meeting
of town supervisors, with Leifeld saying he’d
take the blame for the Coalition’s involvement
in the Large Parcel issue and Cross himself sidelining
into a defense of the Coalition’s involvement
in the Belleayre Resort issue, which came largely at
his instigation.
Shultis said that although neither issue was a hot topic
at the meeting, the Coalition’s decision to weigh
in on each was what brought the idea of the entity’s
splintering to a head.
As for Cross’ meeting with Fairbairn, designed
to try and bring the renegade long-term supervisor and
his town “back into the fold,” the Shandaken
supervisor said that his assurances that Meehan would
be leaving his chairmanship in December seemed to make
a difference.
Fairbairn, for his part, said he was still declining
to join for this year, and would see how things shook
out for the coming year before making a decision regarding
his town’s future relationship with the Coalition.
“I just don’t feel that Pat and the executive
committee are fulfilling the demands of their positions
at this time,” Fairbairn said. “Some changes
are needed, especially in terms of communications.”
The Hardenburgh supervisor faxed over copies of letters
he had sent the Coalition over a two year period about
his concerns and noted that none had ever been answered,
or even read into the entity’s minutes.
“Considering the exclusionary treatment and lack
of explanatiuon of the CWT toward some of its membership
we are curious if its decisions are truly representative
of the majority of its constituency,” Fairbairn
wrote this past winter, declining his town’s continuing
membership.
Previous letters complained about the Coalition’s
partisanship regarding the Belleayre Resort project
and refusal to listen to other opinions. They also mentioned
that the ongoing New York City-bashing by the Coalition
was counterproductive, given that the City was still,
and would continue to be, a player in local politics.
“We suggest more direct dialog and communications
with your membership. Entities working in concert with
each other can negotiate stronger compromises from all
parties from which it seeks concessions,” he wrote,
outlining a request for information on how the Coalition
ever contacted its membership about some of the controversial
positions its taken in recent years, including input
regarding Gitter’s Belleayre Resort project. “I
strongly resent Chairman Meehan’s implication
that I do not attend to communications sent to our Town
Board. It is ludicrous that Chairman Meehan places the
blame for his administrative shortcomings on the organization
members.”
Meehan noted at the Coalition’s recent April 17
meeting, when the Town of Halcott also decried his and
the organization’s actions, that the problem was
that towns had forgotten what the CWT did a dozen years
ago.
Furry
Tourists Of Boiceville
The pups arrived
in the area thanks to a rescue operation launched last week
by Sarah Muir of the Canine Country Club Boarding Kennels
in Saugerties where “Lab Rescue” is based. Rougeux,
who was looking for a place to board her own Golden Retrievers
during a trip she had planned, heard about the ongoing mission
to save dogs from over 200 that were being hoarded by an
Ohio woman from Muir and immediately volunteered to provide
a temporary foster home for a couple of the puppies.
“I thought it was certainly a worthy cause to help
this marvelous woman, Sarah, save these dogs’ lives,”
Rougeux smiled. “She arranged all of the details of
getting them out of there and I know they picked up some
more of the dogs over the weekend.”
The Ohio dogs belonged to a breeder in Oakland Village,
near Cleveland, who apparently got a bit carried away when
she started collecting them.
“ She wound up with over 200 living in her small house,”
explains Sarah Muir with an Irish lilt, adding that the
dogs were seized after a court hearing on March 6th. Fortunately
for the dogs, Muir is plugged into an underground community
of animal lovers connected by the Internet which took note
of the dogs’ plight and spread the word. The Ohio
woman “had released some herself because she realized
she was in trouble and my husband went to Ohio and picked
up 18. Then we were waiting to see what would happen. When
she wouldn’t release any more, we were so afraid that
the judge was going to order them euthanized.”
Acting quickly, volunteers mobilized and soon a van dispatched
to the rescue returned with another 46 dogs, including a
mother and six 10-day-old pups.
“Then we had a ‘chain gang’ working, trying
to get them all in,” Muir said of the rescuers busy
processing and cleaning the new arrivals. “Of course,
we didn’t have enough room for them all but people
kept coming all day long, foster homers and other rescue
people. We had to get them all unloaded, feed them and get
them into separate places. What a day! When I came in at
lunch time, I had 30 phone calls and 69 e-mails- all about
the Ohio-Arkansas dogs.”
The “Arkansas dogs” were from another rescue
in progress at the same time. The Ohio dogs needed a good
cleaning up but were otherwise in excellent health, Muir
noted. “They are won-der-ful! Very afraid but coming
around nicely. All of the ones we’ve had tested so
far have had no heartworm, no Lyme (disease), no ehrlichiosis,
no fleas, no worms, so, (the Ohio woman) must have been
doing SOMETHING right. So sweet and pretty. Once they get
to know somebody, they want to curl up in their pocket.
They’re so deserving of families. All told, in the
last week we’ve rescued 74 dogs. Nine from Arkansas,
64 from Ohio and one local one. We always leave room for
local dogs but they usually come in one-by-one.”
The Arkansas dogs were sadly mistreated and “starved
almost to the point of death.” One of them is pictured
among the happy Ohio dogs on Lab Rescue’s website
at www.caninecountryclubny.com where she hopes to add the
story of the rescues within a few days. Sarah explained
that they would take in a couple of rescued dogs but would
have to turn some away when the kennel was full until her
husband, Campbell Muir, turned their garage into a rescue
base. Their kennel permit allows them to do all this, she
says, because the rescued dogs are covered under the license
as personal dogs.
Seven dogs have already found their “forever homes”
and two of the 6 youngest pups are spoken for when they’re
old enough to leave their mother. There are 8 dogs remaining
at the kennel and 13 in temporary foster care. The others
have been dispersed to other rescue centers in Connecticut,
New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.
“I’ve been getting e-mails from all over the
U.S. and Canada,” Muir said. It’s just a great
network and community. People have to realize how much we
need to rescue these dogs. They’re beaten. They’re
starved, neglected. We’ve saved so many from death
row- a lot of local dogs, of course, but we also took dogs
from a puppy mill in Georgia a few years ago and the case
in Sullivan County where they all had been terribly abused.
There’s never been this many before but they were
only on my property for one day and people started coming;
a lot of foster homes and friends. It’s amazing how
everyone rallies around from afar and from right in this
community. The schools are doing bake sales. Pet Smart wants
to do an ‘Adopt-a-thon’ for us. It’s just
wonderful!”
Donations to Lab Rescue are helpful in covering operating
costs and the show of support from the animal-loving community
almost as gratifying as the happiness of the dogs snatched
from dire straits. When one little girl from the school
gave 67 cents, Sarah found herself with tears in her eyes.
Betty Rougeux, at 657-8707, still has a 5 1⁄2 to 6
month old female, pure black Lab that’s had all of
her shots as well as Frontline and Heartguard testing, for
those interested in adoption. Others can be inquired about
through Sarah at 246-0751 or Kiscolabs@aol.com.
“She’s $200 and you get $100 back when you have
a dog spayed or neutered- which is required,” Rougeux
said. “That just covers our medical costs for their
distemper shots and the tests. It’s totally no profit
whatsoever. If anything, we pay out of pocket for their
food. There’s a bunch of puppies that will be coming
along- including a litter of chocolate Labs we’ll
have to keep and care for for 8 weeks.”
You have to be careful, though, because if you have a big
heart- like Betty and the Muirs- a Labrador is apt to walk
right in.
Meanwhile, Town of Olive Dog Lovers and Volunteers, this
week, also launched a campaign to help dogs in need.
The plan is to replace an inadequate 2-dog kennel behind
town offices at Davis Park with a 6-dog kennel and the first
fund-raiser started on Tuesday when raffle tickets went
on sale. One of Hoppy Quick’s famous and coveted chain-saw
bears (a three-footer)has been graciously donated by the
artist for the drawing at the Olive Day celebration in September.
At their April meeting, the Olive Town Board agreed to match
the money raised by the volunteers toward the new kennels.
Contact Bev Stein, who is heading up the project, or watch
for raffle tables outside of the Boiceville Market or in
other local businesses.
A
Jar Of Olives...
Olive citizens are known for their community volunteering.
Pam Walkowiak and May Ann Shepard join Robin Sears and the
District PTA in presenting a Free Family Health and Fitness
Expo on Saturday, April 29 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the
Onteora High School. Screenings, booths and exhibits will
benefit both the older and younger members of the school
community to develop a healthier lifestyle. Local police
will host a bike rodeo and assist parents in setting up
official identification records for children in case of
an emergency.
Olive citizens are so respected that other towns honor them.
Mrs. James “Ernie” Levins has been asked to
be the Grand Marshall of West Hurley’s Memorial Day
Parade. Ernie, who has served Olive for many years on the
Planning Board, was the principal of the West Hurley Elementary
School. Her grandchildren, Augie and Chloe, will join her
in the lead parade car.
The Onteora Budget vote is looming on the horizon. You can
vote at any of the elementary schools from 2 to 9 p.m. on
May 16. The proposed budget is at the financial level of
a Contingency Budget, the lowest level the State says the
District would operate on in the event a higher budget failed.
It is deliberately low in response to taxpayer complaints.
There are two Board of Education seats up for election.
Herb Rosenfeld and Maxine Resnick are running for the seats
previously held by Herb Rosenfeld and Lev Flournoy. A budget
already at its lowest level and two unopposed candidates
encourages an apathetic vote. Why vote when the results
are pre-determined? Well, here’s a lesson in Civics.
There is a third candidate who has entered the budget process
in response to the lackluster budget and unopposed candidates.
George Haug, who has attended every Board of Education meeting
since I can remember, has decided to run as a write in candidate.
George said that he wants Onteora back on track as the educational
beacon that he remembers when he and his wife Peggy went
there. He wants that for his daughter Bridget and for all
the children of the District. He is a write-in candidate.
To vote for him, one must pull down (or across) the box
atop either candidate and write in his name—George
Haug. Since candidates run at large, the two candidates
with the most votes will occupy the two seats on the Board
of Education.
Today I attended a memorial service for Linda Byer’s
mother, Edie Jensen, who passed away last week. The service
was held in the Phoenicia Theater to honor Edie for her
artistic contributions to theater in set design. The Reverend
Darmstadt encouraged friends and neighbors to share stories.
Carol Davis listed the long list of productions since 1984
that Edie had worked on. As I looked around the packed theater,
I noticed many neighbors from Olive were there to pay tribute
to this talented and loving woman. It reminded me how very
much we share with our neighbors to the northwest. Town
lines and politics blur when arts, sports, and charity are
the focus. It’s the way it should be. Skiers and actors
transcend the “we and they” of political entities.
As we left the theater, I recited Shakespeare’s famous
quote, to myself, about how life was a stage and each of
us played many parts. Exit stage left, Edith Jensen; you
played your part well. Good show! Applause. Applause!
And the rain continues promising brighter days ahead. When
I was a child, we sang, “Rain, rain, go away…”
but we also ran out into the rain in free abandon and danced
in the mud with no regard for mess or decorum. We simply
danced because it felt good to dance in the rain. I hope
you have enough child left in you to slosh through the mud
and dance like no one is watching!
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