Re Jan. 9 article, “Budget has no room for winter carnival this year”: “I may not be perfect, but parts of me are excellent” is a funny saying, but it could easily be applied to Schenectady. We all know about the imperfections, but can we try to focus on the excellence? We claim Central Park as one “excellence,” in any season. It’s really beautiful in winter, great for walking and for skating. If we get much snow, I hope we can keep the ice clear enough for kids to skate on. Our grandchildren skate there all winter, even in some unusual weather (I remember the freezing-rain pellets bouncing off my coat . . .) With all the recent talk about increasing the amount of exercise kids get, does it make sense to get rid of one of the opportunities? Of course money is tight, everywhere. But I hope something can be worked out so that this wonderful park can always be used to its fullest, in every season of the year.
Re Jan. 17 article, “Fans of skating pressure city to clear off ice on park’s lake”: When we were kids and wanted to ice skate, we used a shovel to clear the ice. Put down the placard, set aside your protest, and work for what you want.
Re Jan. 14 letter, “Central Park skating an indelible part of winter ”: I would like to commend Karen Kirstein and her group for organizing to clear the ice off Iroquois Lake so they could skate. I would also like to applaud Mayor Brian Stratton for his restraint under pressure [Jan. 17 Gazette]. You can’t spend what you don’t have — not to mention, putting another $30,000-plus vehicle at risk. This is a scene we are going to see again and again as it takes time for our economy to turn around. There will be times when, if you want something done, you better plan on doing it yourself. And what’s wrong with that? If the mayor has to choose between ice skating or swimming for the public’s pleasure, my vote goes to swimming. If the pools have to close, you can bet there will be a lot more crime in the city, and no one wants that!
SCHENECTADY Skaters keeping the ice cleared Central Park seeing plenty of use this year BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter
When the snow flies, the Central Park neighborhood will be ready. Since the city is no longer plowing Iroquois Lake, Darius and Karen Kirstein are organizing park neighbors to quickly remove the snow before it has a chance to stick, freeze and ruin a smooth surface with bumps and ruts. “If it snows, we’ll try to mobilize as many people as we can to go out there with shovels and save as much ice as we can,” Darius Kirstein said. He’s organizing everything with a Facebook group called Central Park Ice. So far, he’s been so successful that he’s even won over Commissioner of General Services Carl Olsen, who announced early this year that he had given up on plowing the lake. Now Olsen says he’s trying to find time for city employees to shovel when they finish the higher-priority tasks during snowstorms. “I’m working on means to help them,” Olsen said of the volunteers. He doesn’t want volunteers to use the city’s snowblower, though. “It’s city equipment. If they get hurt … . People stick their hands in snowblowers, people you would never think would do such a thing, and then wind up with less of a hand,” Olsen said. He’s in favor of “the old-fashioned shovel,” which he says he used as a boy on the lake. “When we wanted to skate, we took a shovel. We actually used to ride down the hill on our shovels, our skates around our necks,” he said. “On the way home, we would make some money shoveling off some driveways.” ..................>>>>..........................>>>>...............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01100&AppName=1
I know, you would of thought they were all disabled by the way they were gnashing their teeth demanding the taxpayers pay for them to clear snow. but now all is well when they told them the piggybank is empty, and if they wanted to skate they needed to shovel. Good.
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
If the idiots that run the city don't change their ways and cut spending across the board and balance the budget the downward spiral deeper into debt will continue until bankruptcy will be the only way out.
If the idiots that run the city don't change their ways and cut spending across the board and balance the budget the downward spiral deeper into debt will continue until bankruptcy will be the only way out.
it'll just fall through the ice
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS