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Page 4 Gouvemeur Tribune Press Thursday, November 27,2008 editorial page The Gouvemeur Tribune Press (USPS) 640-300 is published every Thursday by Gouvemeur Tribune Press, Inc., 74 Trinity Avenue Gouvemeur, New York 13642 Subscription rate: $33 per year Periodicals: postage paid at Gouvemeur, N,Y, Postmaster: send addresschangesto: Gouvemeur Tribune Press, Inc., 74 Trinity Ave., Gouvemeur, N.Y, M. Dan McClelland - Publisher Dick Sterling -Editor/General Manager Bobbi Jenne- Circulation/Billing Lisa LaVancha - Advertising Representative Sandy Wyman - Reporter (315) 287-2100 ' Happy Thanksgiving I hope that all of our readers have, a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday in 2008. I also hope that you have plenty to be thankful for. Even in these uncertain times, we should find the special moments with family and friends that are the source of wonderful memories that remain with us for a lifetime. We can all thank our faithful deliveryman, Donnie Fuller, who gave up a portion of his Thanksgiving morning so that our papers could be available in the stores-that were open on Thursday morning. Our subscribers can either expect their paper, or anticipate that it's on its way on Friday morning. Donnie has been delivering the Tribune for as long as I can remember, he braves every kind of weather condition imaginable and, of course, is the first in line for anyone who wants to voice a concern about the paper. He certainly is an important piece of the puzzle that brings you your paper every Thursday. Hungry in Gouvemeur I was absolutely shocked by the report that Pastor Bob LaVeck presented to us this week concerning the number of people who are in search of food every week in our .area. (See story on page 1) Pastor Bob predicts that his Grace Food Pantry' could see as many as 3,000 clients by Christmas. While many of us worry about keeping fuel in the tank, or are concerned about having enough presents under the tree this . Christmas, we should stop and think of the number of people right here in our own communities who are struggling from week to week just to keep enough food on the table. People like Bob LaVeck work hard all year long to be sure that those who need it the most are fed. We certainly need to make sure that the shelves in the pantry do not run out of food. This holiday season consider a contribution to the food pantry. Certainly a few extra food items help, but what really helps is a financial gift that allows for a few extra pounds of food to be purchased from the Syracuse food bank. It might well be the most thoughtful gift you could give this holiday season. Honorable Laura Slate Early this week Gouvemeur lost one of its true leaders. Laura Slate passed away on Sunday after battling serious - health problems for quite some time. Laura will go down in history as Gouverneur's very first female mayor. Her election in 1989 was followed by two more successful terms in office. Laura was never afraid to speak her mind. Earlier this year, as she has been for many, many years, she was an active participant at the Gouvemeur Village Board of Trustees meetings. She was always concerned about the taxpayers in this community, and for many years was a • powerful leader in the Democratic party. Her wisdom and deep compassion for Gouvemeur and the people who lived here will be remembered for some time to come. Laura was always a leader, and was certainly never afraid to voice her opinion, even if it wasn't in line with what most everyone else thought. She was also a very kind and caring individual. I will certainly miss her occasional visits to our office, whether it was to talk politics, or just discuss the things that made Gouvemeur so special... certainly she was one of them. Eliminating bonuses I find it amusing that Attorney General Andrew Cuomo released several news releases in recent days, first requesting that the firms that received billions of dollars in federal \bail out\ money refrain from giving their top executives bonuses, and then offering news releases praising those firms that actually followed his advice. I was always under the impression that bonuses were paid for doing a good job, for making money and keeping your customers and shareholders happy. I was shocked that these companies, like AJG Insurance and Goldman Sachs, would even consider offering bonuses to employees who had a hand in causing the collapse of these firms in the first place. Aren't bonuses rewards for doing a good job? The fact that these companies were even considering offering their top executives bonuses and salary increase certainly is a pretty good indication of why they were in trouble in the first place. Watch out for the bottle police I can understand why the state will occasionally send secret agents out into an area in an attempt to cut down of the underage sale of alcohol to minors. Usually we'll read the report in the local daily. More often than not those wh'6 are actually caught up in the undercover net will face charges and will usually lose their jobs. Now the state has found a new type of undercover sting... and it could soon be coming to a neighborhood near you... The can and bottle police are out there... just looking for the little neighborhood store that refuses to take back their wagon-load of empties! The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has been conducting a state-wide enforcement sweep to try and catch those who work in places that sell beverages, but refuse to take back the empty cans and bottles when asked to do so. On October 29, a total of 652 retail outlets were visited by the bottle police, and 127 notices of violation of the bottle bill were issued. Penalties for these first time offenders could be as much as $500.1 wonder if the $63,500 potential in penalties outweighs the cost disbursed to send DEC officers from nine offices, carting plastic bags full of cans and bottles to these establishments in search of a refund? Certainly laws and rules are designed to be folldwed. But who would expect a store clerk, who might be working alone, to hold up a line of customers just to count cans, bottles and plastic containers, dispose of them, wash their hands and issue a refund, before the next guy in line can spend 75 cents to buy a candy bar? The bottle bill is a good thing, but practicality should also play into the equation. Store clerks, particularly those who work in stores where they may be the only employee working at the time, should be able to request that a customer come back when there's more people working. Do we really need DEC officers taking time out of their schedules to play bottle police? -VCch SterUfiQ' By Sandy Wyman - Highlights of 1968 January 10—W. T, Grant store at 137 East Main Street is destroyed by fire. February 20— Gouvemeur High. School seniors present musical comedy \Mr. Crane\ at auditorium. March 20—Ronald Cochrane and William Scozzafava retain their seats as trustees on village board following March 19 election. April 17—Educational 1 television programs are made available to students at St. James School. May 1—r'Rever.end Stanley Brown receives Good Citizenship award from Silas Wainwright Post #6338. Gouvemeur Chamber of Commerce presents Julius R. Bartlett Memorial award to BlighA.Dodds. June 5—Sol Kaplan Department store notes 50\' anniversary. Mason Rossiter Smith, former editor and publisher of the Tribune Press is named consultant for the news media in Southeast Asia. July 17—John W. Rouse offers property at the comer of East Main and Rock Island Streets for development of a child museum and small park. E. J. Noble Hospital becomes a full partner with the United Fund. August 14—Officials of the Gouvemeur and St. Lawrence County Fair report a highly successful week for the 110 ,h fair. The Educational Public Information Center with John E. Burns as director opens at 40 Clinton Street. September 11—Women's Program of Canton ATC to offer a tuition free course at .E. J. Noble titled \Introduction to' Health Services.\ The Gouvemeur Garden Club honors Dorothy Corbin. Fire destroys Canali's Hotel on West Main. October 9—International Talc Company notes 75\' anniversary with, a party at the Elks Cltib. George Hurley, a 50- year member of the company receives a color television. The Gouvemeur Village Board accepts.the offer of the Gouvemeur Clerhis to sponsor a project for lost cost housing. November 13—The announcement has been made that a new W. T, Grant store will be built next year near the intersection of Route 11 and Rowley Street. The Bank of Gouvemeur will participate in the Marine Midland Charge Plan service. December A —The United! Fiind/E. J. Noble Hospital Fund has exceededits $15,000' goal by $193. The first class of Candy Stripers of 16 members is capped at the local hospital, Lynette Thompson will spend a year in school in South Africa under the American Field Service Americans Abroad program, Gouvemeur Fire Department Hose Company No. 2-100 years ago first row leftto right are Fred Richardson, Fred Earlirt, Ed Bracey, Burt Martin, George and George Rath burn, second row from the left Ben Miller, William Montgomery, William Jones, John Fortune Sr., Truman Wells and Burt Lasure, third row from the left Sam Carline, George Clifford, William Green, Gib Allen and George Cottrell, fourth row from the left William Whalen, Dallas Hazelton, William Miller and Ed Fortune. (Tribune Press photo) Tribune Press Letters to the Editor... Not allowed to wrestle at Gouvemeur To the Editor, My name is Clarence Cummings and I need to let other parents know of a situation that has occurred at Gouvemeur Central School. My son Zachary is on the wrestling team. My older son Tyler and I went to pick him up one day a little early so we went in to watch him. Tyler seemed to have a good rapport with the wrestlers and seemed to enjoy watching the practice. Later in the practice the coach approached Tyler and asked him if he was interested in joining the team.. Tyler was very excited and stated he would get his paperwork the next day. Please understand that it means a great deal for my son to be excited about something, so when this opportunity arose, we went ahead with it full force. However, Tyler was told that he could not go out for the team because he didn't hand his paperwork in on time. I understand that it takes a lot of paperwork and time to sign someone up -for sports, but I am willing to put in the time that someone else might not wish to do. If my son needs a physical approved by the school doctor, I will have the school doctor do the physical and pay for it with my own money. If he needs to see the sportsmanship powerpoint I will ask for it to be emailed and go through it with him. 1 am willing to jump any hurdles that are put in front of me all for the good of my child. This issue was brought to the board (of education) and was voted down. Bless you members who are there for the students and shame on those who aren't. I just think that it is a shame that a child is denied a chance to go out for a team just because they didn't get their paperwork done in time. What will they do if a student from another district comes in and wants to wrestle? (good possibility since we live in a district with a large number of military families) Well, apparently they will be told no. This is really a. bunch of garbage, and again who pays the price... my son. Sincerely yours, Clarence Cummings Gouvemeur Re-think \paperwork\ rule for GCS athletes To the Editor, The last time I knew if a kid wanted to play a sport he or she was allowed to try out.., Not now in the Gouvemeur school district! If a student fails to sign-up for a sport within the signup time they will be denied, not only by the athletic director, but also by the school board. The way I look at this is that sports help to keep a lot of students interested in school, and in turn they try harder to keep their grades xip. Just because a student doesn't sign- up for a sport when it was posted shouldn't be a reason to deny them the opportunity to try out. The athletic director denied this student because the names of the athletes have already been sent in to section 10, and physicals have already been given. The question is why are tax payers paying the high cost for an athletic director if he or she doesn't want to do some paperwork? What happens when a new student moves into town? Will this student also be denied the opportunity to play a sport because they didn't sign-up for the sport on time? We live in an area that sees many military families moving in and out, so how fair is this to these students? What happened to helping kids succeed in every endeavor they may encounter during their school career? I think this rule should be re-thought because it's not only unfair to students that might sign-up, but it is going to have an affect on new families moving into our school district. A concerned taxpayer, Roger Rice Gouvemeur Do you remember? This picture taken overlooking the William Street railroad bridge shows an overturned railroad car and a crowd in the background. Believed the accident happened in the 1940's. If you can shed some light on this event, contact Joe Laurenza at the Gouvemeur Museum on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 1- 3pm or call 287-3193. (Gouvemeur Museum photo) II1PPV Letters To A Home Town TIANKSGIVIHG Thanksgiving FRDH THE By Angel Thompson-Georges • •• wm • in « You should be thankful y0ll sti u have a j ob » The words make me cringe. Maybe it is just all the doom arid gloom talk of the economy getting to me, but the sentence transforms in my mind to the rough equivalent; \Quit crying or I will give you something to cry about.\ No matter how well meaning or accurate the statement, I can't help but feel tliat it is coercion of gratitude hy means of undue comparison. I tend to be a silver lining kind of person, annoyingly so to some. I've been accused of looking for the sunny sides ina plate of scrambled eggs. In reality I am quite thankful to be gainfully employed. A lot of people aren't right now. But I also have confidence that if I suddenly found myself not, the world wouldn't come to an end, it would just change. The same way that North Country winters make one doubt that spring is any more than a fairy tale, but for sure by June or July spring arrives, I have a confidence that this \economic downturn\ will end. Boom time or tight belttime, I have a lot to be thankful for. My basic needs are met. I have a roof over my head, rent is paid and the heat is included. There is food in the cabinets, in the freezer and in the fridge, including five pounds of butter to sustain me through cookie baking season. Most of my winter wardrobe still fits and my boots don't have holes. I believe in 'hand-me-downs' and thrift shops too. My emotional needs are pretty well covered. My teenage son recently admitted that, \as parents go, I kinda' lucked out with you guys.\ My daughter gets a hankering for snuggling on a regular basis. I've got a companion for adventure, who is in no hurry to define what we 'should be', but is happy to enjoy what we are. I have friends to laugh and commiserate with, who remind me of my own worth when I forget. Mentally, I've got that silver lining thing going for me. Sometimes it is more like a fogged up mirror, but the above list has a way of wiping it clear. Somewhere in between the New York City motto of... \if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere,\ and the Northern New York motto of... \if you can survive the winters here, you can survive anywhere,\ there is me, and me is not a bad place to be. It is Thanksgiving, that holiday known for extravagant meals, football, family gatherings and.., Umm.., Oh yeah, ahd giving thanks. Without coercion or comparison, I encourage you to take a look at what you have got. With all this talk of hard times, it gets harder to see that some times because of the specter of what we might not have tomorrow. But it is today— Give thanks. Happy Thanksgiving! I hope this letter has found you and yours in good spirits and good health. Until I write again,..
