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._,. .. TIMES - PAGE 2- MAY'G. 19g7 \n This by Ron Holdraker Some People Just Won't Let Go Several weeks ago we printed a very important story about a Williamson vice princi- pallcoach accused of having sexual affairs with former students. The story was well- researched and all sources were confirmed. The guy admitted he did have an \affair\ with one student and eluded to an affair with another. After several intense meetings; the man took the high ground for the first time in decades and resigned his position. The story came to light after a front page story in the Times. This was most definitely .not the first time we broke, a major story in Williamson and other parts of this County and will most definitely not be the last. The man in question knew that resigning would be best for the district and quite frankly, got out before the heat really was turned on. We had cob tacted other girls spanning several decades, some who did not know each other, yet told the same story over and over concerning this man. In the end, no police action was taken since the statute of limitations had expired on any possible crimes. No girl came forward after 1992. Personally, after hearing the stories from the girls who would come forward,^ was pet- ty disgusted by the man who I once called a friend. What he put some of these young girls through with mind games and sexual contacts should have rated a long jail term, but the statute of limitations exist so the punishment we must settle for will be banishment. That should be the end of this story, but , alas, the saga continues. This paper was accused of ruin.ing a good man's career and upsetting the Williamson apple cart. One school board member who spoke out and rallied to get the public and the board to take action is being chastised. She is being labeled as an instigator, trouble-maker and snitch. She is the one who wavered from the course of \keeping things hushed up and status quo.\ There are a number of \silent sallies\ who should be tarred .and feathered for going up and beyond the call of duty to keep a cap on the crimes of this former school administra- tor, but Laurie Verbridge is not one of them. Instead of giving her a high sign for c&rage, there are certain elements of the \powers\ and community that would like to return to the good old days of smooth sailing by'de'riial. Laurie is unfortunately, the only school mem- ber up for election this year. She will have a challenger who under the guise of \unity\ will attempt to, unseat her. Currently, there are probably more rumors circulating in Williamson today than there were when we broke the original story. Helping in this trav- esty are some \powers\ and people who have to be second guessing their foolish roles in all this whoopla. Will Laurie Verbridge maintain her position on the Williamson school board? Will the board be brought more in line with her removal? I have seen many board members on var- ious school and town boards come and go. Unfortunately, voters have a short memory and some like to keep it that way. The Williamson School Board election should be- interest- ing. Will the \refohers\ who want to reform to the point of unity and \alls quiet on the Williahson front\ silence a voice of opposition? I really thought the whole issue was calming down, but not so. This week it was brought to our attention by several different teachers in the Williamson ,district that a let- ter was distributed to the teachers mailboxes. ,The letter requested to help the disgraced, former vice principaVcoach out, with financial contributions. Nowhere -in the letter was there any mention of helping out with'the costs of counseling that some of these girls have had to endure. Nowhere was there a mention of donations to the Rape Crisis Center for their efforts at trying to pick up the pieces from this former administrators weird sex romps with underage students. Somehow, the reality of the whole situation is underplayed by the \really nice guy\ memories some teachers,.students and other community members have of this man. I onIy wish you could hear the statements of some of his victims, the back room in-school sex that was anything but \ normal.\ The man did many fine things in his years at Williamson and he also did much damage that some will simply not face up to. By the way, if a reporter, or any citizen has knowledge of a crime being committed or possibly being committed, should they contact the police? Without hesitation,' the answer is a resounding YES. Just because of my reporter status, I still have a responsibility to fel- low human beings. Justice was brought in and the police officers in the room the day of the \meeting\ and who interviewed the girls know the truth. Too bad some other \wanna-be\ journalist couldn't see the truth through all the rhetoric and \official\ language. Perhaps that is why the Times is the largest selling newsstand paper in Williamson and the #1 paper overall -in Wayne County. Seems we keep beating the local \gossip\ paper to all the real news stories in Williamson, again, again, again and again. Here's a hint .... Sometimes the \official\ word ain't all it's cracked up to be! It is my sincere hope this puts an end to all the nanner-nanner the people in Williamson have to endure on this subject. The Times gives a damn, and always will. About The It'mee Deadline for stories and ads for the TIMES is Friday at 500 p.m. The TIMES is mailed and distributed to newsstands on Mondays. To subscribe to the TIMES, send name, address, citylstatelzip with a check for $1 6.50 for one ybar, ($145.0 for seniors over 55) to the TIMES, P.O. Box 608, Macedon, New York 14502-0608. (For 2 years subscription, the rates are $30 and $26 respectively.) The TIMES is legal newspaper for The Towns of Macedon, Walworth, Marion and the School district of Gananda, Marion Wayne and Palmyra-Macedon, as well as the Fire District of Marion, Walworth and Ontario. The TIMES (USPS #005-824) is published for $1 6.50 per year by the Times of Wayne County, Inc., publishers, West Wayne Plaza, PO. Box 608, Macedon, New York 14502. You can reach the TIMES by phone at (31 5) 986-4300; by fax at (31 5) 986-7271 ; by e- mail at Waynetimes@aol.com. Second class postage is paid at Macedon, New York 14502; POSTMASTER: send address changes to The TIMES, RO. Box 608, Macedon, New York 14502. Two Letters From T Director, T6 A Macedon Recreation tries very hard each year to come up with better ways of communicating activities to the 'general population. We- realize that in this fast paced world many of the usual means of advertising go unnoticed by some indi- viduals. Due to the fact that our commu- nity has grown, and the fact that the majority of our programs require volun- teer coaches, referees, and coordinators, some of the major programs must adhere to deadlines on registration. There is always a great concern that we reach the greatest number of partici- pants for our programs, and a, large por- tion of our commrmication is done by word of mouth, both from adults as well as children. We also make sure that flyers are put into the schools to be distributed to the children to take home. The school district has been gracious enough to allow notificatio~ of upcoming programs to be sent home with the children, and flyers are given out to each class. However, nei- ther the school, nor Macedon Recreation, can be held responsible for that flyer end- ing up in a parents' hands once it leaves the school. Our other means of advertising our programs comes through the local news- papers and advertising papers within Macedon and Palmyra. Articles, as well as paid advertisements, are published well in advance of sign-ups, and-many of our most recent contained actual registra- tion forms that could be cut out and mailed - in. Any pertinent information is found in these ads and articles, as well as the Macedon Recreation phone number for further infoimation. The new bulletin ,board in front of the Macedon Town Complex will carry a message concerning sign-up dates and times. We also distrib- ute posters in supermarkets, the Macedon Town Hall and Public Library as well as re Macedon Rec. I Parents ... the Palmyra Corninunity Center, as many of our programs are jointly offered between the two towns. And for those res- idents who have children in many of our programs, the Macedon Recreation line carries a message concerning all upcom- ing programs. There is also a new bulletin board at the concession stand at Bullis Park that will also carry important news of this kind. As mentioned before, our programs -are mainly run with the help of volun- teers, but those volunteers can be numer- ous to few. During our biggest program, Pal-Mac summer soccer, we find our- selves at times struggling to reach the correct number of coaches to handle the 600+ participants. It is for this reason that we put cutoff dates on registration for our programs. As many parents are aware, we do not require you to be experienced, .we help you to learn, so not becoming a volunteer ' due to lack of knowledge or experience should not be a problem. We as an organization do not wish to keep any child from participating in our programs. The more children that are able to .interact with others, the better. However, due to the constraints of book work, equipment, staff etc., we cannot leave registration open for an unlimited time. I apologize to those parents who are caught up in this \rat race\ and do not catch the ads or flyers that are our means of communication. However, we can not bring the quality progrvs we have, or expand to new levels, by signing on new participants daily. Please take a few moments from your busy schedules to remember when you signed your child up for these programs in previous years if you do not have any other means of'con- kt with our department. And ... As outgoing vice-president of the Pal- Mac Cheerleader Booster Club, I would like to leave with a few thoughts for the future. I have had three daughters in Pal-Mac Cheerleading. Each squad was talented and did their very best with what they had available to them. They were never treat- ed as a true sport in the early years of our association. They were labeled as unim- portant, although they were required to try out and attend practices, as well as deal with passing .grades just-' as the other sports programs were. They attended competitions that required traveling 'and long waits to compete, and very small support crowds. However, they did well, and placed in some of the local competi- tions.( Wayne County has always been behind in' keeping up with the times as far as progress in sports has been concerned, and cheerleading is no different. The advantages that the Monroe and surround- ing county squads have over Wayne County are phenomenal. Their-crowd sup- poG is overwhelming, and the \perks\ that the school districts, supporting teams, and booster clubs allow these squads is fantas- tic. ' Our cheerleading squad was fortunate enough to enjoy the fruits of a coach who demanded respect and hard work, as well as challenging the girls to reach above their potentials in order to compete with the Monroe County Squads. The difficul- ty factor in their routines was also a plus to their credit. Mrs. Cramer demanded that they be overall physically fit, includ- ing running laps on the back as well as weight training. Practicing every night after school, extra practices on weekends, and 'learning how to be dependent on everyone as a team, and not just on a few individuals. The basketball cheerleaders enjoyed the good fortune of being connected with . a winning team in basketball that took them to Glens Falls this year. The football cheerleaders also had the good fortune to cheer for a great team. I don't think any of them will complain that it wasn't worth the effort. With the determination of the coach, the parents and the girls involved, they .. were able to finally be competitive in the Greater Rochester competition, and did our School proud in placing. It was also an exciting change to see the number of basketball players attend to support the girls. We also saw the support of the bas- ketball and football booster clubs rise, which was a great benefit to the squad. We hope that through these relationships we can all become a better all around team. We, as a booster club, started many fund raising activities that thegirls partic- -ipated in willingly. Car Washes, a charity softball and basketball game, and a garage sale all helped the girls become closer, and try and show the community their worth. These are activities that should become staples, so please support them if you can. I would like to wish the future cheer- leading squads the best of luck, and hope that they take from this year the lessons learned and expand on them even more. I realize ,that Mrs. Cramer will not be returning this year for family reasons, but I can only hope that her replacement will have the heart and determination that she had for these girls. It does make a differ- ence. Cheryl Robbins OfNeil Road, Macedon Letters continued on pages 4 & 6...
