Do you want the good news or bad news first?

Let's do the good news first.

Our own Webster selectman Deborah Keefe shows yet again that she is a multi-talented person with a zero tolerance for the usual nonsense that has often become the norm for town meetings.

I appreciate the need for the meetings and fully support the premise for which our country was founded: Freedom of Speech. However when that speech seems to go nowhere and is often adrift  in a sea of befuddling nonsense, it's obvious that the founding principle has gotten lost along the path of making intelligent decisions.

At first it was fun to watch the zoo and see what pearls of wisdom would come forth from some of our most illustrious citizens. But as I got to know those same citizens and realized the mockery they were making of the very process, it became less humorous and more insulting. Sadly, it also became all too obvious as to why it's difficult to get a quorum for the town meetings.

I'd rather sit home after a long day at work and watch anyone of the numerous reality television shows than to go back out and witness the never ending Finamore and Beresik debate. At least in between segments of The Bachelorette or America's Got Talent you can run out to the kitchen and get another beer or a snack. At the high school you can't drink anything stronger than water and at this meeting a good stiff drink would come in handy.

The sad part of all this is that over the years I've come to realize that  while they may have a valid point or idea, the delivery of that point gets lost within the  ranting and continual diatribe, making most of us scratch our collective heads and ask... "What is he trying to say?"

So it's easy to understand why Ms. Keefe is so good at keeping the yelling matches and temper tantrums to a minimum when you factor in the skills that come from having years of experience as the director of a child care center.

Thanks Deb!

Now for the bad news...

No matter how you shake the dice we're going to pay for the new Park Avenue School one way or another.

If we don't pass the June 25 debt-exclusion vote and demolish the school our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are going to suffer. A quality education and the abilities of future generations are going to suffer.

"Oh please Ginger!," you might say. "It's just elementary school."

But it's much more than that. It's where the entire educational relationship is made for a child and parent. It's where a child either falls in love with learning or looks at school as just another babysitter from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm.

For many years the Park Avenue School has been the little school that couldn't. It couldn't get funding for renovations. It couldn't get the funding for temporary additions. It couldn't get any better and continued to decline as the larger school's needs outweighed the smaller school's problems.

Well, it's time to spend the money and give this school the attention it's long deserved. It's time to build a new school and reconfigure the grades into the groupings that will best serve our community and our children. It's an easy decision when you consider the benefits and the financial return for the money spent.

And if we do pass the debt-exclusion?

Yep, the taxes are going up. Even though I'm now old enough to be considered a senior citizen (because I now qualify for a 25 percent discount at the Goodwill store every Tuesday) I'm advocating this school. Why?

Because one day a long time ago, our parents and grandparents felt our education was that important to do the same thing. They believed our education was important enough to increase the taxes so the "small school that couldn't" could be built on Park Avenue. I think we need to make the same decision and make the school everything it can be for the future generations of Webster.