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Post by bobbbiez on Feb 22, 2010 12:59:06 GMT -5
Hell of a lot of house for one family isn't it? What the hell, it costs enough to heat that damned place to pay for the maintenance at a couple of state parks for a season. Well Clipper, it wasn't built yesterday. As the White House also. So why the complaints now?
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Post by dgriffin on Feb 22, 2010 13:29:13 GMT -5
Rod, yes I was a teacher for two years. So then if was DisneyWorld and rained money, why'd you stop? Rod, after taking an early retirement from my lifetime career, I renewed my teaching certificate and taught for two years. In that district, I found in many cases teachers were babysitters and administrators were so caught up in a PC mentality ... not to mention covering their own asses ... student discipline quickly declined to yield many toxic classroom environments. I'm speaking of that particular district. Regarding teachers, I found many to be hardworking and dedicated, but also a goodly number of dolts who should have found work elsewhere. They were not forced to leave because of unions. Regarding unions, I had no hesitation in joining. My father was a staunch union supporter, after all, and I recognized that without a union any teacher is exposed to the whims of an administration that is often running scared of parents. But I also recognized the unwholesome effects possible on the state's school systems from a state-wide union of teachers who were all trained in the liberal halls of the State University of New York, and whose natural inclination was toward higher and higher salaries,which of course is not surprisng. I also found among teachers a large cohort of very sheltered individuals who had done nothing since reaching puberty but sit in a classroom, first as students and later as teachers. The lack of life experiences was startling to me, and often quite annoying. But they were nice enough, usually, and some of them I count as friends. Anyway .... deciding to leave that school district, but wanting to remain in education (I liked the summers off!) I took my next job with another school district as the director of their networks and computer resources. Luckily, this was a district run by a superintendent who really knew what he was doing, was an excellent manager of people, a wily politician when it came to dealing with parents and a good guy to work for. I stayed there until my final retirement from full time work.
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Post by rodwilson on Feb 22, 2010 14:02:37 GMT -5
Great points Dave.
"Regarding teachers, I found many to be hardworking and dedicated, but also a goodly number of dolts who should have found work elsewhere. They were not forced to leave because of unions." I think this is pretty much the case across MOST unions isn't it. My wife used to be an officer in her district and there were cases that they stepped back on in fairness to the school and the district.
"I also found among teachers a large cohort of very sheltered individuals who had done nothing since reaching puberty but sit in a classroom,". That's funny. Party on Dave!
I do know that benies have been reduced a good deal. A friend of ours is in financial services and says that my wife is fortunate to just have gotten in on the retirement tier she did because they have gotten a whole lot less "generous".
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Post by denise on Feb 22, 2010 20:02:55 GMT -5
Thank you for clearing that up, Bobbie. I had this picture in my head of stationwagon full stopping at the side of the road and hiking it up into my grandparents' woods for a weekend squat!!!
Didn't think of people using state lands/campgrounds without amenities. Who cleans up the garbage on these "free squats"? I assume that everyone is not a "Tidy Heidi" like you are.
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Post by bobbbiez on Feb 22, 2010 22:39:42 GMT -5
I would assume the usual State department who picks up on the road sides does that but can't say as fact. What I have seen in my many years of camping is that most people who enjoy camping also are very serious about keeping the environment clean. My family and group of friends that camped with us had this motto................."if ya brought it in, you take it out." We even picked up stuff others might have left. Kind of what I do on my street now. I even asked the DPW to re inverse me for the cost of the blue bags I buy since I'm picking up everyone else's garbage in the neighborhood. They haven't moved on that request. ;D
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Post by Ralph on Feb 23, 2010 0:29:27 GMT -5
An outhouse? No Stoney, the mansion we keep the Governor housed in. I suppose we could close it down and let them live in an apartment at their own expense, but they would probably complain that it wold put the whole staff there out of work.
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Post by rodwilson on Feb 23, 2010 8:05:32 GMT -5
An outhouse? No Stoney, the mansion we keep the Governor housed in. I suppose we could close it down and let them live in an apartment at their own expense, but they would probably complain that it wold put the whole staff there out of work. He still maintains his own private residence as well.
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Post by clarencebunsen on Feb 23, 2010 9:11:27 GMT -5
I read a suggestion today from the Suffolk Co. Exec to have corporate sponsorship for parks. Perhaps NYS could hold an auction for naming rights to the Adirondack State Park. Bank of America Park has a nice ring to it, don't you think? How about General Electric Falls at Niagara or Saranac the Official Beer of the Oriskany Battlefield Monument?
Something that has bugged me for a long time is the practice of politicians putting their names on "Welcome to... " signs making new signs necessary with every change of administration. Not every state does that.
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Post by dgriffin on Feb 23, 2010 12:23:32 GMT -5
I am always annoyed by the names of such places as the Pepsi Arena, etc. Taxpayer money built the auditoriums. Maybe a commercial concern took over the maintenance of the place, but I'd like to see the profit picture, too.
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Post by Clipper on Feb 23, 2010 13:11:07 GMT -5
I agree with Clarence. People visiting the Adirondack Park or camping at a state park probably don't give a damn who the governor of the state is, and we have to pay for the revisions to the signage every time the administration changes.
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