{ title: 'The Gouverneur tribune-press. (Gouverneur, N.Y.) 1959-1973, November 01, 1972, Page 3, Image 3', download_links: [ { link: 'http://www.loc.gov/rss/ndnp/ndnp.xml', label: 'application/rss+xml', meta: 'News about NYS Historic Newspapers - RSS Feed', }, { link: '/lccn/sn93063670/1972-11-01/ed-1/seq-3/png/', label: 'image/png', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn93063670/1972-11-01/ed-1/seq-3.pdf', label: 'application/pdf', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn93063670/1972-11-01/ed-1/seq-3/ocr.xml', label: 'application/xml', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn93063670/1972-11-01/ed-1/seq-3/ocr.txt', label: 'text/plain', meta: '', }, ] }
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iximizing- the ef- jqiiipment and fa- by each organiza- emphasized that Marketing Agency nge the member- f individual pro- lea and NEDOO eparate coopera- on«. that the Agency i of legal, finan- ational integrity overned by a made of repre- m Dairylea and t hands nd garnishing them with love and *ity. Keep warm votion and serve • for years. in the future more education will be ung people how to >undant life rather to make more g. A good place to te an attempt to :alled and much - leration ages studying and ier is the logical bridging the gap uld be a unifying * than a divisive vords of Charles ark, The Greening • says: , work toward the of a society in ;pect and a mutual sdom replace the d separation of the iteration of each hich he is enabled ird the brightest the human spirit.\ from ALUMNI f SUte University «dam.) <:•#•' Hunt at your elbow i'v^-.^ ,.!% Making hay while the sun shines A fairy tale of sori BvROBERTBAJAN INTRODUCTION The following is a fairy tale of sorts. It is a story about a ..mythical Utopia and how its value-laden foundation was polluted by a bad fairy—Deceit. As with other fairy tales, this one has a moral for both young and old alike. The reader should understand that what follows is the opinion of the author. THE TALE Once upon a time there lay nestled at the foothills of the Adirondack^ a Utopia of sorts. Not that most of its inhabitants recognized it as such. But, this is the way people are A few people even got quite excited about the whole thing. Some of the local civil servants, aware of the inflation in land value in the area, mused over how they would spend the in- creased revenues that they planned to collect from the locals in the form of tripled am quadrupled real estate taxes, \It's time to reassess,\/tney announced. \I wonder hjow much my salary will go^dp...this is better than a promotion/' they thoucht Some pf the citizens who •owned landxnear the proposed development site, land that had been in the family for decades, fell^fbr the delusion of overnight The area was surrounded by wealth. Some of the local beautiful rolling mountains and ^businessmen rubbed their hands carppeted by lush forest*. Magnificent rivers tumbled through the region on their never- ending journey to the sea. Wild- life was abundant. Most import- ant however, wa*' the breed of humans found there. They were cut from good stock—and while not as wealthy in material things as their brothers in suburbia, in the past this had not been terribly important to them. /'' Amidst a society pervaded by drugs, crowding, violent crime, environmental pollution and a host of other diseases, this rather isolated area had somehow maintained a set of standards that everyone else in the country only dreamed of. A woman could stuTwalk the main streets of the various towns without fear of being assaulted; kids could he brought up with a decent set of values—not based on shooting heroin or dropping LSD; and a man still was able to find solace in the great out-of-doors—instead of sitting on a concrete stoop, \watching rats, .chasing other rats People were straight and values were real. One might think that this was \Hicksville.\ USA But no, it was a major cultural center only hours from one of the \greatest\ cities in the world Unfortunately, the real world is not blessed exclusively with good fairies Bad ones also infest it. One day. a bad fairy from far away herizons entered the area This bad fairy didn't look bad. She had her true identity ingeniously cloaked in a garb that appealed to those who could not see through it The bad fairy was named Deceit Her stepsons accompanied her They were named Greed and Power Un- fortunately, they were known by aJJ sorts of pleasant sounding substitutes: environmental concern economic prosperity, etc But isn't this the way a fairy tale begins * In the beginning, only 8 very' fev people could see through the great hoax that was being per- petrated on the area It seems as if the bad fairy toid the local populace how economically depressed they were and how their natural resources were really of no value unless \developed *' Some people were shocked when they learned that development implied carving up 40-tquare miles with a battalion o/ bulldozers subdividing what remained into LOCK) lots, and peddliag this off on land* speculator* wtx> also urea tar away. However most of the people werea t realh* fazed They cbdkTt want to get «votod Several hundred nuies away. * people listened to tht repeated screams and witnessed the protracted beatm* that reauhed tc the munier of a Mn Onovese They dxfc : want to either with glee in the dream of anticipated vast future profits •- The seeds of Deceit had been sown by professionals who were skilled in the art. They took root. The bad fairy's stepsons nurtured them. The silent majority became increasingly concerned—all they could see was the rich getting richer (perhaps) and the powerful getting more powerful (perhaps) They were heard to mutter \you can't fight 'em— they're too big \ They felt helpless. A few with big dollar signs in their eyes smirked as they stated 'you can't stop progress.\ Nobody, not even the most brilliant scientists in the world, really knew what progress was. but that didn't matter. It placated the people A lonely doe with fawn trem- bled as chain saws started tearing down trees for aerial surveys which preceded the bulldozers. But alas, the surveyors were a little \hasty.\ and many of the trees that were cut down were on private property—acres of them—and without the owner's permission, of course The developers—alarmed at this \mistake\ which could spoil their \image —tried to persuade one of the landowners, whose property had been desecrated, to settle out of court This man couldn't be bought Other men and women in the area, perceiving with genuine alarm the monumental hoax thai was being perpetrated on the 'dumb, northern hillbillies \ couldn't be bought either They formed a citizens group—a determined group This citizens group got into the action before the bulldozers A just God would have smiled At first the group was on shakey feet No one had ever been faced with such a problem But the men were men and the women, we men They were stalwart and resolute—although to the genera] public this was not immediately apparent Initially the group numbered about 25 \militant antis* 1 —as the owner of a large chunk of the mass media disparagingly called them—in HIS newspaper Twenty-five imembers ... This wasct even 10 percent of the number of fuli-time legal people employed by their opponent But. most booties will teU you that after a certain <degre« odds mean nothing- other things come into play A thousand miles sway a tingle mas had challenged the »- scrupuloos activities of the country's largest automotive corpora t>oc A corpora txr whose virtually infinite monetary legaj and political resource* were massed ic both te§al and illegal fotnie against this max But. the mas was detersuned He woe And so it was. In^a\ country where corporate cptfhe had been handled with a slap on the wrist— if not written>oYf as necessary' for \progress — or even more commjmy. ignored...the little > the end of the stick was fing heard The citizens group grew slowly and painfully..., very painfully. They needed citizen backing and money to finance their fight. It wasn't uncommon while trying to raise funds to hear a \friend\ say. \Sorry but you know how things are\—as a wisp of shame dissolved the \friendship.\ The hurt and dissolution were terribly deep. Lesser people would have been beaten. But, the mighty oak doesn't grow overnight either. It too has to weather a few storms before maturity. And the tide—does it not take time to swell? And the tide did swell...the group grew. A nationally known environmental attorney joined their ranks. A systems analyst from the largest management center in the world assisted them in laying out a complete action plan Societies concerned with the environment from across the nation formally offered their support. An ecologist from here, a limnologist from there, a world famous economist, engineers of all descriptions offered their professional services to the group...for free! The scope of concern and support had become national, almost overnight, although this was not immediately appreciated in the local area What had been a group of 25 had grown to 2.000. Four thousand dollars had been collected locally in Si's. $5's, and $10's But, this, too, was changing Large contributions were popping up Where the slick PR men from the corporation far away had laughed as they toasted in lavish surroundings the ease with which they could step over the North Country masses—there was an unfamiliar, not too comfortable, feeling constricting their guts It was hard for the uninitiated to see The confident $100-grand- year smiles were pretty hard to see through An investor from here— another from there—caUed the corporate leaders Every day the value of their stock fell to a new- record low What would happen to their investments in the future*> Investments that had grown from a few hundred thousand to a few hundred million dollars in a decade How much was it going to end up costing for this i&nd in up-state New York* Would they be abie to 'unload property without mineral rights 0 They had par- chased it for peanuts—but the legal entanglements that ioomed in the future~4©oked messy The \public-image' —so important to the sustained unchecked and unparalleled growth of this corporation was getting soiled 'Their brochures had shown iocaJ icoromunities welcoming them with open arms They were beautiful brochures put together Iby masters They circulated around the North Coun- try .Advance PR rnec from the Ibtg corpora tx»—pointing to the itoveiy pictures m the brochure* were quoted as saying their company s \hallmark .was lar^entwc to the environment But the company put out other brochure*—that told a different story lr ooe Hem to Multiply lby Dividing (meaning her* tc mutaph your xvestabie income by subdividing property ?Jtx corporate president was quoted: To my mind the most important service we provide is the opportunity for people of all income levels, who live anywhere in the country, to purchase promising, pre-selected real estate of whatever size or acreage suits their in- vestment needs.\ To a person concerned with the environment, and reading this brochure, the corporation's concern for it was also con- spicuous—by its absence. Curves showed the exponential increase in land value—as it was chopped into smaller and smaller pieces. In a section entitled \The Development Concept\—one would find the following: \The biggest reason for buying acreage parcels is to gain versatility in the method of reselling your land You may sell parts of it for various uses. In the latter case, you have bought at an - acreage price and will be selling by the lot' price.\ Other brochures painted a similar picture, that of the cor- poration's historical policy being to buy a large chunk of land— \develop\ and subdivide it, and unload it on distant investors and speculators who hoped to do the same—on a smaller scale. How did the local surrounding communities benefit from this pyramidal subdivision 0 Where were all the people who were supposed to move into their property and benefit the local economy? Oh. they were flown in for a quick visit, a banquet, etc.— and the subdivision continued. It seemed sort of like speculation in the stock market. Everybody who owns stock, profits as the price spirals up- ward But where were the big economic gains for the local surrounding communities' 7 Nobody addressed this question specifically Few people even thought of it. And 20 other land development corporations waited .Waited to see if the local populace would tolerate—allow—them to sub- divide their backyard for the profit of distant speculators and a distant corporation Over three-thousand miles away an acrid pall of smog shrouded a enme-mfested drug haven that had once been the idyllic Southern California It was Friday evening The high- ways had become elongated parking lots as people scurried to escape THE monumental tribute to development Less than two thousand miles away—in the once-lovely state of Colorado—a similar shroud of smog concealed the Majestic Rockies, another salute to development—the next Southern California and just a few hundred miles away a family in Vermont winced A beloved piece of property which they owned had just been reassessed for the fourth time in four years They'd have to sell The weekend was coming and grown men cried How could this have happened to them 0 But this couM never happen to the North Country .could it* Developers are no longer in- terested IT. making a Quick buck .are they\ 1 Ask them They U tell you anything you want to bear until you've been had TSey say that history repeats itself and that mar. never iea mt from it Somewhere a^ong the line i pood faiTN entered ifte story Her **as Truth Time is usually the price you pay for the best hunting — and sometimes it will buy a hunting jackpot. Manys the time-rich loafer who bags more birds than the tfcne*poor tycoon. Yet, H isn't always the hunt- er with the most tkne who gets the best hunting. As John Mad- son of Wlncheeter-Westem told me recently, \It's something like Sophie Tucker's old song: 'It ain't whatcha do, it's the way whatcha do rt\\ Some of the luckiest hunters we know are the guys who make their own luck by doing much of their hunting near home during the week. There is this grouse hunter who takes an extra sandwich in his lunch box during the hunting season, and goes after work to some nearby grouse cover. He has the partridge hot- spots to himself because other local grouse hunters wait for the weekend. Or, for example, take the guy who often slips out for an hour or so after work chasing pheasants. Last fall, late in a Tuesday afternoon, he blundered into the pntadle of the main Hight He had top- shooting\ for four straight — a hunting jackpot, word spread, and hot-to- trot gunners headed for the swales that Saturday. Ttey were too late; the flight had gone through. There's for more hunting near home than most hunters real- ize. Many major game species not only survive at man's elbow. but thrive there: pheasants, grouse, cottontails, squirrels, ducks, shorabinfc, and some very large deer. Besides, during the week there is HtUe hunter competi- tion. This can mean better ac- cess to prtvmte land, more pri- vacy' on public land, and less human activity to disturb game Weekday game Is more likely to be where you would normal- ly expect it During the week- end fuss, game often behaves rihnormally. Short after**** jaunts also give the hunter a chance to sample a more complete variety of weather and hunting condi- tions. The best duck flight of the season, or the first good tracking snow, aren't reserved for weekends — and It's prob- ably just as well. The hunter who gets in a lot of short trips is more likely to hit the right weather-game combination than the man who makes only a few all-out efforts ~— especially when he hunts early and late fri the day when game may be most active. It often seems that hunting success results more from frequency of effort than from just intensity of effort And when frequency and inten- sity are combined, you'll find a guy with a f^exe>rfuU of wild protein. /^*r Hunting only on Saturdays or opening days is something like saving your partying foe New Year's Eve. It's fun, but you'll find a lot of traffic, confusion, and amateur competition. \ GOING — GOING — and its gone. Brisk breexes bring brisker bidding, and Autumn is for auctions. A WINDING COUNTRY ROAD BECKONS. Auctions eliminate higher consumer prices Where can you buy a dozen eggs for 30 cents a dozen ... or dozens of pounds of beef at 42 cents a pound ... or possibly find a $100 bill in the parking lot? At a farm products and livestock auction in New York State . . . that's where The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets lists auctions from Chautauqua to Hillsdale to Malone — and 44 or so more in between Most operate during the entire year on weekly schedules These auctions, said Dr Shaw, supervising veterinarian with the Department s Division of Animal Industry, are a vital part of the states food-flow economy. Without the auctions, the farmers would be without a market place other than to sell directly to the packer or wholesaler Much competition would be eliminated and prices would probably go up for the consumer Want to buy a calf* How about three dozen or 30 dozen eggs which were laid just hours before sale** A husheJ of just picked lettuce, you say 0 Although the average family doesn't go to auctions, it is probably because they aren't aware of them. The bargains that can be had in food are simply fantastic, but often the purchase has to be made in large lots ... or in the case of animals, the pur- chase would have to be made in the form of a live cow or lamb or pig It would be up to the pur- chaser to have the animal slaughtered and packaged if he wanted to. There are a number of custom slaughtering houses in the state ... but that's another story Many cattle and calves at the livestock markets are purchased by representatives of meat packing houses Farmers and cattle dealers also buy dairy cows at auctions The buyers are often from large out-of-state meat packing houses Since the livestock owner, cattle dealer firms, farmers, packing house industry and ^ultimately the consumer - public are affected by transactions at livestock and farm products auctions, the Department of Agriculture and Markets takes an active part in protecting the interests of all parties involved. The Department's Division of Marketing has representatives constantly checking with auction operators to be sure they are in line with state and federal bon- ding laws These laws, offering financial protection to shippers and consignors, control buyers who purchase farm products and livestock for re-sale The Division of Animal In- dustry; through its field vetennarians and aides, works with the auction operators to insure that proper sanitary standards are maintained at the auctions They also monitor the movement of livestock through the markets to be sure that only healthy livestock are sold as replacements to herds or flocks In addition they make sure that all livestock are properly iden- tified and recorded so that their movement to and from the sale can be traced if needed This includes the application of backugs to beef animals to in- sure that they are tested for brucellosis at the time of slaughter. Complete brucellosis elimination in New York State is desired This disease can be transmitted from animals to humans causing what is called undulant fever in man. In ad- dition, if a brucellosis reactor is found in a herd, the herd id quarantined and reactors are sent to slaughter. Although this sounds more farm - oriented than of interest to consumers, the consumer must ibe reminded that if livestock disease becomes rampant, the meat supply could drastically decline This, of course, applies to all farm products For more information on the auction in your area of New York State, write to your Department of Agriculture and Markets, Bldg B. State Campus. Albany, ;N Y 12226 THIS CIT MADE IRTUNG RE€DVSTRt<TK>N rich layer* af *•*•»*« TW farmatlaa tttr»cts r»et
