Wilton
Rotary Drummer
Wilton, Connecticut
April 28,2006 Vol. XXIII, No. XL
Editor: Paul
H. Burnham
Guests/Visiting Rotarians (Include if any) Christian
Brootz – member of the Armonk Club and guest of John Lemke, Dani Jaramillo,
youth exchange, Andrea Barron, Patriot Bank manager, Southport office, guest of
Wendy Macedo.
Announcements
1. June 2,
2006 – meeting – farewell to Dani planned; Dani was leaving the meeting with
Pam to go to Camp Jewell for a get together with all the exchange students in
the District.
2. District
Governor nominee for 2008-2009 is Rick Benson – congrats to Rick;
3. Pam
signed up a whole bunch of new Paul Harris sustaining members simply by
asking.
4. Trust
you did not forget to bring all your no longer usable computer equipment to the
High School on April 29 for recycling.
5. Karen
announced that we have an applicant for a World Peace Scholarship – Alllisandra
Calvo Freeman.
6.
Chamber News – They
have enough golfers for the 22nd shindig, but there are still
sponsorship opportunities. There is a
Chamber team being put together for Relay for Life.
7.
Ray was unable to pick
up much enthusiasm for the silent auction drive in the rain last Saturday. Richard hopes that club members show more
support next time.
8. Next week is Cinqo de Mayo, and Frank will
be presiding – John’s at the District Conference. All should come suitably attired.
Program
Pat Sesto presented on the
Town’s proposed purchase of the development rights to the Offinger Farm on
Chestnut Hill Road. Mary and Adrian are
good friends of mine with a beautiful tract of land quite visible from the
highway – although not all of us travel regularly in that part of town. Evidently the deal is that they will retain
the rights to the three acre site on which their home sits, but any future
owner of the fifteen acre farm site will be unable to use it for any purposes
other than approximately those it is currently being used for. The property has been in the Offinger family
since 1929 and there are no current plans to sell – but this is a wise estate
planning move for the family, as well as assurance that the land they have
loved for the better part of a century will remain as it has been since
Adrian’s childhood and therebefore.
The mathematics that has
been employed in the past to demonstrate that buying such an easement saves the
Town money in the long run is fatally flawed.
(It presumes that fifteen more children added to the existing population
would cause the Board of Education’s budget to rise by the per pupil cost
figured without these additional children times fifteen, which is simply not
the case.) This is not, then, a reason
to vote in favor of the proposal.
However, most of us would agree that a working farm is more beautiful
than a housing development, and many of us, not all by any means, would be
inclined to support the proposal on that basis.
Those of you who are Wilton
voters will have the chance to state your opinions on this point and other
budgetary matters at the Town Meeting, which starts at 7:30 on 5/2/06 at the
Clune Auditorium at the High School, and/or by voting thereafter or on
Saturday. Please take the time to do
so.
(Word is such a horrid word
processing language – it is simply impossible to get all the tabs correct
except by trial and error.)