8th annual essay contest winners: Finn Shanahan, Stella Iselin, Victoria D'Andrea!...

Hi all...

Kudos to Finn Shanahan, Stella Iselin, and Victoria D'Andrea-- the three winners of my 8th annual essay contest for graduating high school seniors from Rhinebeck and Clinton!...(scroll down to see their winning entries (and more from years past)-- 500 words or less on what they would do if they were in my shoes!)...

Over the years these young men and women have come up with a number of
good ideas (and I've presented at least a dozen $100 savings bonds at the annual commencement exercises to winning graduates-- presenting three more tonite)...

Recall graduating Rhinebeck High School senior Rachel Neifeld's award-winning essay several years back (see http://www.petitiononline.com/teencntr-- effort
started by yours truly for local teen center with folks like the late great John Honey; 12-mile walk-a-thon I organized with Rachel and her family on this back
then):

Rachel then wrote: "I would put great effort into
creating a place for teenagers to associate after
nine o' clock. Instead of having to travel to
Kingston to find some night time entertainment,
there should be a casual setting for people to
reside in the center of town. A community center
in the heart of Rhinebeck would provide kids with
reasonably priced food and events during late
night hours when other options are limited. This
desperately needed social setting, dedicated to
the youth of the town, would be a great place to
grab a bite to eat after a movie, or just relax
with friends on a Friday night. With something to
do, kids may be less likely to have drinking
parties at friends' houses, and would not resort
to unhealthy recreational decisions."

But to the point-- read below recent
award-winning essays from Rhinebeck High School
graduating seniors Finn Shanahan, Stella Iselin,
Victoria D'Andrea,Kayla Arsenault, Forrest
Hackenbrock, Alex Landa, and Scott McDonald-- and
contact us if you'd like to see their dreams and
visions actually become reality sooner than later
in Rhinebeck and Clinton!...
[you just never know what might happen if we pull
together on these to make them happen!]

Joel
444-0599/876-2488
joeltyner@earthlink.net

[ad astra per aspera!]

http://dutchessdemocracy.blogspot.com/2011/05/my-eighth-annual-essay-contest-500.html

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

From Finn Shanahan:

"As a growing individual, I have relatively dynamic values and concerns. I am certain that some issues – both local and global – will be as if not more important to me in twenty years. My ethics and beliefs will likely remain the same for the most part; however, many of my interests will fade with adulthood, only some of which will be replaced by new ideas. Now I am thinking, weighing, postulating, reading, writing, creating, seeing, reacting and expanding more than I ever have or ever will in such a short amount of time. Therefore, in considering what I would do as a County Legislator, I believe it is most meaningful to speak honestly as a developing and curious young person with interests of the most immediate, personal value.

It’s certainly not impossible to skateboard in Rhinebeck. In my experience, being stopped by a police officer is quite rare. Still, a generally negative attitude and undeniable bias towards skateboarding is something most skateboarders know all too well – those of us in Rhinebeck are no exception. As County Legislator of Rhinebeck, my eighteen-year-old self would work towards creating a skatepark. This is not a new idea – in fact, in the past few years, the community has expressed a surprising amount of support: we have held fundraisers, signed petitions and proposed designs. I am confident that there is enough support to see such a project through.

On a recent trip to Southern California I visited three skateparks. Though more crowded than any skatepark I am used to, all of them were beautiful. I found myself talking to surprisingly friendly strangers. We all share the responsibility of keeping skateparks a positive place because we have a common passion. The preservation of most public skateparks has to do a great deal with the tremendous sense of community that one can cultivate. In addition, I began to wonder why being at a skatepark feels fundamentally different than being out on the street, and decided quite simply that a park gives the skateboarder a sense of belonging, an assurance that he or she ought to be there.

Constructing a skatepark in Rhinebeck is perhaps less important to me than reducing carbon emissions and energy usage, creating jobs, or working towards proper educational funding, all of which would be ways of making this Duchess County a richer place to live. These are unquestionably more pressing issues that affect our world on a far greater scale than that of a skatepark. I choose this issue because of the ephemeral place it comes from. The way in which I view my home will never be the same, and there is a simplicity to this sort of interest that I think is worth holding on to. The most meaningful and organic of my concerns are those that both help me to grow and remind me of who I am."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

From Stella Iselin:

"Though we know our neighborhoods are integral to life, we
spend, as a society, altogether too much time focusing on the world
outside and not enough focusing on our own community. We all know the
details of Wiener's unfortunate Tweets, and most of us are updated
daily on the situation in the Middle East. But do we know who our
Mayor is? Do we know who represents us on the Town and village
Boards? Does the average person follow the goings on of our
representatives at the County level? Most likely, the answer is no.
Why? We think our local government is too trivial to bother with. We
like to focus on "real news" instead of the humdrums of our town
committees. What most of us don't realize is that our neighborhoods
are the fundamental units of society. The only way to affect a major
amount of social change is to start by reaching one person, one
community. The way we interact with our neighbors and our towns shows
us a little bit of ourselves. By participating in local government,
we recognize that the world is too big for us to change. By working
on the local level, we can change the places that we hold most dear:
our schools, our hospitals, our recycling, our sidewalks, and maybe
our own little slice of the world.

A County Legislator should have the needs of the
people at heart, as should all elected officials. But a County
Legislator should also focus on having people think and act locally.
As county legislator, I would first and foremost raise awareness for
the idea that our local issues are worth caring about. We do live
here. And while we don't want oppression in the Middle East or
useless people in Congress, don't we also want to focus on
hydrofracking and the relicensing of Indian Point? Shouldn't more
people be worried about lethal chemicals in our drinking water?
Shouldn't more people be worried about a volatile nuclear power plant
that is not very far away? Instead, people focus much more attention
on things that are not within their grasp to change. They donate
money to faraway causes, but will probably not spend anything on
local causes, because if it's happening in your own backyard, it is
not interesting. The citizenry needs to open their eyes and realize
that local action affects them much more directly than the tsunami in
Japan, as astonishing as that might seem.

One way for a county legislator to facilitate this
idea of acting and thinking locally is to encourage local media.
According to Jeremy W. Peters and Brian Stelter of The New York
Times, a federal study recently has found that "Coverage of state
governments and municipalities has receded at such an alarming pace
that it has left government with more power than ever to set the
agenda and have assertions unchallenged." This means that because
local governments are not covered, our elected officials are getting
away with corruption that previously was checked by the media. Since
the collapse of several local newspapers, this could happen in our
towns. All the more reason that we should focus on local issues."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

From Victoria D'Andrea:

"County Legislators are forced to make many difficult
decisions during their career that involve the future laws of the
county. Though the task isn't easy they devote their time and
efforts to making our county a better place. If I were County
Legislator I would work to acquire more federal funding to create
more green jobs and more health safety awareness in schools.

In High Schools all over the world the safety of
students' health is taking a backseat in many school budgets. All
schools in New York State are required to have at least one Automated
External Defibrillator (AED). You can say to yourself, "Wow that's
great!" Or "One isn't going to be enough." Depending on the size of
the school an AED can be very hard to reach, especially if a person
is running about 400 meters there and back to get the school's only
AED. Rhinebeck High School has about 500 students and still manages
to have three AED's placed in the school. At Rhinebeck each student
is required to take Health where they will be certified in CPR and
AED usage. More schools in Dutchess County should use Rhinebeck as a
model of good health safety in schools. As County Legislator I would
change the law so that per every 300 students there is one AED.

County laws should be thought of in each aspect of life
whether it be in jobs, schools, or the environment. The environment
is mother to us all and has given us shelter, food, and much more.
The human race won't survive without a healthy and functioning
environment. Dutchess County should work to create greener jobs such
as an Hudson River Clean Up Project and recycling in major
businesses. I would also work on promoting solar and wind power as a
renewable resource. Our environment is important to our survival, and
with landfills starting to fill up and carbon dioxide polluting the
air, people will turn to environmentally friendly products. The
Hudson Valley is already on the road and sitting at the light. It's
your choice whether we go on green.

As County Legislator I would ensure the safety of
students in public and private high schools and I would work on
changing the county into a green one. Mr. Tyner I ask that you take
my ideas into consideration the next time you decide on what policies
you will be supporting; though I may have but a small voice with your
help that voice can become a roar."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

From Kayla Arsenault (and a few years back)...

"Growing up in Rhinebeck I've come to notice the
Fairgrounds rarely used. Using the Fairgrounds
for events such as concerts that our local Hudson
Valley bands could play at, a local drive-in
movie theatre, family potluck days, and various
competitions would be an effective use of the
Fairgrounds space. The local bands would gather
the surrounding towns creating a stronger
community. Many people from around this area
would come spread or get inspiration from this
event. Local businesses will benefit greatly from
this because many people will stop and eat or
shop at Rhinebeck's local businesses. Also
another plus would be that teens would get into
less trouble because they would be attending
these events instead of having free time to do
whatever they please.

To make families closer it would be great to have
family field days. May through August would be
acceptable months to have this because it would
be after the car shows but before the fair.
Things such as cook-offs, go-cart racing, and
bull-riding would be fun and exciting for people
to attend. For these events we could invite local
business vendors to serve, display, or market
their business' food. By gathering the residents
of the community it would truly strengthen our
neighborhood.

Another way to use that space would be to have a
drive-in movie theatre. This would give a place
for kids to go at night and is also closer than
the Hyde Park drive-ins. Some ideas for this
would be classic movie night for the seniors and
late-night movies for teens and adults.

I'm hoping that you will take these ideas into
consideration considering the fast growth in
crime in Rhinebeck. Involving kids, teens, and
adults back into the community is the main
purpose of these ideas-- so if you make any of my
ideas reality, I'm positive that a lot of things
will change around Rhinebeck."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

From Alex Landa (and a few years back)...

"Rhinebeck, New York- a rather beautiful town,
with an old-fashioned comfort that's rare these
days. It's become a famous place to raise the
young, and for the elderly to enjoy their wisdom
years. Where does the middle stand, the teens,
the young adults, and the working family? To be
honest, many teens and even adults find it
difficult to have a good time in town. This is a
fairly stale area in all honesty, which has many
people, teens and even adults resort to doing
hard drugs and drinking their time away. I've
lost friends due to this circumstance, and the
idea of an internet café could spark some
creativity through artistic means, as opposed to
resorting to artificial means.

This town lacks the creative side, as it's
focused on entertaining the elderly and wasting
too much time making artificial beauty to bring
in naïve spenders from large cities, primarily
New York City. Although the town has its fair
share of narrow-minded people, who take natural
beauty for granted, there are still the ones who
need a spot to be with other artistic people,
sharing their works, and having a mentally safe
environment. I propose to make an internet café,
of which is fairly self explanatory; a café with
Wi-Fi connection, but with more. I also propose
to include two separate venues to the side, one
being an art gallery of which could be updated
periodically. The second venue would be used for
different occasions each week, one week it could
be an open mike night, a battle of the bands,
poetry slam, karaoke, plays be performed, and
even setting up a projector and have a film
festival.

Not only could this generally bring a lot of
amusement to Rhinebeck, it could greatly improve
the economy. It would create new jobs; have
builders create the new building, people running
the café, setting up internet, creating the
events, and so on. It would bring more people to
Rhinebeck, as this idea doesn't seem too common
in Dutchess County, so it could potentially have
people bring their disposable income, which could
go to the school, and fixing up some less that
adequate roads and sidewalks throughout
Rhinebeck. It could easily relieve parental
worries; I'm sure they'd rather have their child
come home fatigued from creative stimuli rather
than narcotic stimuli.

Rhinebeck, New York- beauty, relaxation,
calmness, and low crime rate. Rhinebeck, New
York- stale, drug filled, and not the best place
for the middle range. This town needs spice, the
cinnamon on top of a well-made cappuccino.
Helping the economy, destroying boredom,
potentially lowering the drug problem, and bring
some more creative elements, I see, might not be
a bad thing. My purpose for said proposal is to
improve a town of which seems to dearly need
improving. Lest we not forget, in today's day and
age, living in a whirlwind of social demons, even
this small addition to Rhinebeck could serve as a
sanctuary to young, elderly, and middle range
alike."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

From Forrest Hackenbrock (and a few years back)...

"If I were county Legislator I would focus on a
few things. First I would attempt to survey the
youth in the area, maybe by going to elementary
high schools and asking various groups to fill
out questionnaires. In the survey there should be
questions about what kids would like to see more
of in our area. I feel that in the town of
Rhinebeck and Clinton, there is a lack of
recreational resources for kids. The mini park is
mainly for toddlers and younger kids. The rec
park and Crystal Lake are the only other area in
town that kids can play sports or hang out. These
facilities are in good condition and provide
recreation but there could be more. There is a
quite large skateboarding community that is
oppressed by a lack of skate spots. If there was
even a small skate park, at the rec park or
somewhere near by town, I think a lot more kids
would be active and interested in such
activities. I believe kids in our community would
also benefit from a community center where they
could just hang out, play pool, etc. If there
were to be a stage where bands could perform I
know it would flourish. I know this is easier
said than done but with the right sponsors and
support it is a possibility.

Another thing I would concern myself with is
environmental issues. I feel that many people in
Rhinebeck and Clinton are involved with the green
movement while others may not be. There should be
public service announcements telling quick tips
or facts on how to reduce our destruction of the
environment. These could be billboards, or small
signs around town, or commercials on the radio or
TV. Our community must be aware of our carbon
emissions levels and take a stricter approach on
littering.

The town of Rhinebeck obviously caters to
tourists, especially from New York City. I enjoy
our town and find it very unique and interesting.
I like how the only corporation is CVS. Corporate
involvement should be kept to a minimum in our
town. As I walk through town I notice all the new
establishments are upscale, and do not represent
locals' needs. There should be more stores with
practical items and prices, along with
restaurants.

I moved here in 2000, and did not like it very
much. However, as I grew up, Rhinebeck grew on
me, and I am now very happy and privileged to be
living here. I think we are living on a high
standard and should maintain that. The
suggestions I made are the only improvements I
can think of, because Rhinebeck is a very well
established town. As long as the town can
communicate with the community, the harmony that
exists will continue to live on."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

From Scott McDonald (and a few years back)...

"In a town like Rhinebeck where poverty and crime
are almost nonexistent, other subjects come to
mind when I consider what could be changed to
better our community. Our community as well as
our country as a whole misuses resources, create
ridiculous amounts of waste, and operate in an
inefficient manner. I feel it is appropriate and
necessary for me to use Rhinebeck High School,
the institution with which I am most familiar
under our local government, to demonstrate these
observations as well as provide alternative modes
of action.

Everyday Rhinebeck High School deposits hundreds
of sets of styrofoam trays and plastic silverware
in the trash. To me, this waste is inexcusable.
It would not only be cost efficient, but it would
relieve a huge environmental burden if our school
would just decide to buy real plates with real
silverware and wash and reuse them each day.
Also, Rhinebeck High School continues to feed the
kids processed, canned garbage from some large
food processing company located in the middle of
nowhere when they could be providing healthy
produce and supporting local agriculture at the
same time. The school could also set aside a
piece of land for growing fresh fruits and
vegetables and use it as an opportunity to teach
kids agriculture and nutrition as well as provide
community service opportunities.

The school district also tends to use artificial
light instead of natural sunlight by keeping the
window shades closed and turning the lights on,
frequently to keep kids from being distracted by
the outside world. This is wasteful in terms of
electricity and energy, not to mention artificial
light has been shown to be less stimulating to
students in a learning environment. For the times
when artificial light is necessary, the school
should have full spectrum light bulbs installed
as it is proven to be more likely to keep
students alert, healthier for the body
chemically, and cost effective in the long run.

If I were county legislator for Rhinebeck and
Clinton, I would try to impact the school system
for several reasons. Not only is the system run
poorly, but if done correctly, instilling values
of conservation and local agriculture in the
youth now would go on to prove very beneficial to
both our town and the world in the future."