The Columbia Paper

EDITORIAL:Library move makes sense

July 22, 2011 by PARRY TEASDALE

PITY OUR SHRIVELED SOULS. Newspaper editors wallow in so much bad news and misfortune that it feels sometimes like we wouldn’t know good news if it bit us. But I feel the tooth marks of a positive story brewing in the City of Hudson.

The Hudson Library, officially known as the Hudson Area Association Library is going to move. And unlike some other recently announced plans to move public services (Sorry! Think positive, think pos…), this move and the way it’s being handled make terrific sense. Within the next few weeks the library board expects to announce both the sale of the building the library currently occupies and the lease of a new space in the city. But the new space isn’t intended to be a permanent home, just an “interim step” for the next five years or so while the library board plans for a new, long-term home. Read more…

EDITORIAL: What’s that echo?

July 15, 2011 by PARRY TEASDALE

GET OUT YOUR CALCULATORS and remove your ear buds. (If you don’t know what ear buds are, just grab a pencil). Now here is your first summer school math problem: Columbia County is buying a 125,000-square-foot building to serve as the office space for 150 people; how many square feet does each person get? (You can round your answer to the nearest whole number.)

If you said 833 square feet per person, congratulations. You now know what the county wants to do with $6 million of your money, as it buys the building on Fairview Avenue/Route 9 that Walmart vacated when it moved up the road to a new shopping center. Read more…

EDITORIAL: How slow can we go?

July 8, 2011 by PARRY TEASDALE

WHO INVENTED HOLIDAYS? In the news business, they just cause problems. Whenever normal folks relax and turn off their phones, news people scrounge for stories. Unnamed sources go to the beach and politicians actually spend more time with their families. Such thoughtless behavior creates what’s called a “slow news cycle.”

It was so slow in Chatham last Thursday that I was thrilled to see a Fox News 23 TV truck parked on Main Street around 10 p.m. You couldn’t miss it with the lights shining on the sidewalk and passers-by peering inside the control room. The network had unearthed something big. The guys in the truck were about to feed a live segment. Cool. Read more…

EDITORIAL: A manager: when, not if

July 1, 2011 by PARRY TEASDALE

SAVING THE BEST for last makes sense for kids’ birthday parties. It works for mystery novels and horror movies too. But burying a significant fact on the final page of a government policy document seems a little like hiring a stripper to jump out of a toddler’s cake. It’s surprising all right, but what, exactly, is the point?

Consider the report issued this week by a subcommittee of the county Board of Supervisors, which looks at whether the board should hire a county manager. The report is called “The Case for a County Manager,” a 36-page document prepared by a group called the County Manager Initiative Subcommittee. Given the titles of the subcommittee and its report, there isn’t much question about the conclusion. And sure enough, it recommends that the board hire a professional manager. Read more…

EDITORIAL: My speech to graduates

June 23, 2011 by PARRY TEASDALE

MY FATHER ONCE ASKED me what advice I would give my younger brother as he prepared to head off to college for the first time. Fathers take note: this is a very bad idea, especially if you have not rehearsed the answer ahead of time. It happened a long time ago, but I still recall the stricken look on my father’s face when I answered without hesitation, “Don’t take it too seriously.”

Fortunately, my brother did not heed my advice and went on get a good education. This story also has another happy ending in that it illustrates why no one seeks me out as a graduation speaker. With graduates preparing to confront the world’s absurdities, they’re better off hearing from somebody who earnestly seeks to offer inspiration with a straight face. Read more…