Great workers,
and good kids
Today, Sunday, Dec. 13,
a group of nine Cooperstown
High School students
gathered around my kitchen
table to stuff, seal, address,
and stamp hundreds
of envelopes for the Friends
of the Village Library annual
appeal mailing. I am
sure there were about a
dozen things these kids
would rather have been doing,
but they cheerfully
worked, organizing the job
among themselves as they
went.
They did this volunteer
work as a community service
because they are members
of the Leos Club,áthe
junioráarm of the Lions
Club.
You’ve probably seen
these young adults around
Cooperstown: they recently
unloaded the Christmas
trees for the Lions Club
sale; they hold food drives
at the Great American;
they help serve meals at
the Vets Club; they fold and
sort clothing that’s been donated
for needy families;
they go around the village
raking lawns in the autumn,
along with many
other tasks throughout the
year.
These kids meet early in
the morning — getting to
school an hour before the
other students once a week
— to discuss, plan, and organize
service and fundraising
opportunities that
they can help with in our
village.
The Friends of the Village
Library would like to
express our gratitude to the
Lions Club (especially to
David Pearlman and Paul
Weber, who supervise the
Leos) for encouraging young
people to embrace the spirit
of volunteering that is so
important to our community.
Specific thanks to Tory
Anania, Emily Brown, Ben
Breiten, Georgia Saphir,
Tiffany DeMell, Shyah
Miller, Robbie Katz, Jacob
Miller, and Natalie Grigoli
— great workers, and good
kids.
Karen Katz
President, Friends of
the Village Library of
Cooperstown
This may be
a harbinger
As a parent and citizen,
I heartily applaud Mr. David
Bertram’s elementary
school project which has
made his students and the
rest of us aware of the actual
levels of food waste in
the cafeteria.
This may be a harbinger
of a return to the classical
value, conservation of resources,
and to the acquisition
of life skills more fundamental
than high-tech
manipulations. Such progressive
teaching might
help the next generation
get out of our unhappy love
affair with over-consumption.
Albert Keck
Cooperstown
Thanks from
the Lions Club
As many of you may
have noticed, the Christmas
trees are gone from the
lot on Chestnut St. where
the Cooperstown Lions
Club held its annual sale.
This was our earliest sellout
in many years and we
have many people to thank
for that.
First and foremost are
the members of the community
who have continued to
support our charitable work
by buying trees from the Lions.
The money we raise
returns to our community
through the support we
provide individuals and organizations
in our area.
Specifically, we send our
gratitude to Vinny Russo,
for the generous use of his
property; Susan O’Handley
and the staff at the Cooperstown
Chamber of Commerce,
for their help
throughout our sale; ``The
Daily Star,’’ ``CoopersTown
Crier’’ and ``Freeman’s
Journal,’’ for announcing
our sale; Greg Hall and Bill
Devenpeck for plowing us
out; Brian Clancy and the
village crew for their help
on the site, and last, but
certainly not least, the Cooperstown
Leo Club for the
great job they did helping
to unload and display our
entire shipment of almost
two-hundred trees. We
wish everyone a Happy
Chanukah, a Merry Christmas
and a healthy and joyous
New Year.
Patrick Franck
Lions Tree Sale Chairman
So much for
greatness
Did anyone see the latest
U.S. News High School
Rankings? Almost 130 (of
670) New York State
Schools were recognized -
not Cooperstown, though
— so much for Greatness
by 2010.
What does U.S. News
know, or for that matter
Standard & Poors’ schooldata.
com, the New York
State Department of Education,
etc.?
They spew a bunch of
confusing statistics that
are no more than distant,
meaningless numbers.
It’s time to toss the numbers
and step inside.
Our senior class has a
top twenty-five student
who lacks the tools to write
his/her own English papers
— Mom writes them. The
same class has a top ten
student who does not have
the skills to attain an average
score on the verbal
component of an SAT exam
— falling short by approximately
100 points. And that
class has a Merit Scholar
nominee who was unable to
achieve a passing AP score
even after attending teacher
led after school study
groups.
These are not distant
numbers. These are bright
Cooperstown Honor Society
members. They have not
been provided the education
they deserve.
Aware of this, the board
of education vice-president
cites her children’s success
and claims the district is
sound. A former employee
praises the school because
her son earned his Doctor
of Pharmacy. And an alumna
and lifelong district resident
relies on loyalty in her
public support of the
school’s health. They are
not doing anyone a favor.
Our administration, faculty,
board of education and
community have complacently
twiddled their
thumbs ensuring that far
more than the fore mentioned
have and will be
shortchanged.
We need far more than a
new superintendent. We
need a hard-nosed turnaround
specialist.
Eric Rheinhardt
Cooperstown
