I recognize this is a wee bit late however conisdering our blog site has been down for an extended period as our server was updated amongst other things and the general running around the holiday brings I am just getting around to it.

Happy holidays to all and I wish you all a safe, happy, and prosperous New Year.

The year 2008 has certainly been an interesting one. My family moved back to Bedford in April 2007 after buying a home and spending a few months remodeling it. After roughly a year of getting settled in (there’s much more to do still) I found myself getting involved in MonroeTalks.com and from there began writing a blog for blogsmonroe.com titled Out of the Shadows of Woody and Bo (which I longer write). About the same time I began commenting on news and events happening right here in our township on the Chatter section of the Bedford Now. The chatter section is a place where I have likely made friends and for lack of a better term enemies. Then in the summer of 2008 I was asked by then Editor of the Bedford Now, Dan Shaw, to write a blog concerning all things Bedford which if you are reading this you have figured out I accepted.

It has been my involvement on the Chatter forum and through writing this blog that has made 2008 an interesting year.  It has developed a certain levelof name recognition int he township as from day one I have not hidden behind the anonymity shield of the internet. It has brought with it a level of responsibility as when I write I certain wish to not only share my opinion on certain matters but when writing I only hope to share fact. It has also brought with it a sort of burden that was unexpected … phone calls, anger, spite. The phone calls have rarely bothered me as they have largely come from respected and respectful individuals whom I have already known or wished to know. This past election certainly provided that opportunity as I got to speak with Aaron Wiens who ran for Trustee in the primary, Dennis Steinman during the primary race, and George Welling while he was campaigning against Bob Schockman in the Clerk’s race. I’ve got to speak to other concerned citizens through this blog, through the Chatter forum, and some have actually called the house. It has been a rewarding and unique situation. What hasn’t been rewarding and unique is those who wish me nothing but ill will. Someday I am certain that even those people will grow an appreciation for the fact that I only do all of this out of my immense pride in this community. A pride I think we all share while opinions we may not.

So it is my wish that 2009 become a more cooperative and civil year here in the township. We have some issues facing us that may cause spirited debate, however, without working together to solve these issues we will only fail to move forward. So Happy New Year to all and I wish us all the best 2009 possible.

Now that George Welling has stated that he is satisfied that the election was run properly and that he will not challenge the election results I want to take a moment to officially congratulate all of our winners.

Supervisor: Walt Wilburn
Treasurer: Sherri Meyer
Clerk: Bob Schockman
Trustees: Gail Hauser-Hurley, Larry O’Dell, James Goebel, and Paul Francis

I hope that in this time of economic turmoil that we face nationally, in the state, and within our own township that each and every one of our elected officials will cast aside any differences in the name of unity and togetherness; this is precisely what we require from our officials as we face daunting financial decisions in an uncertain economy.

To our seven elected office holders please note that we will all be watching you very closely to see how you guide our township and we will be proactive. We will raise our voices at concerns and rejoice together in triumph. All of us, including yourselves, only hope for the best in this township. Please keep that in mind when making your decisions and casting your votes.

Thanks and congratulations.

General Election results are in for the township and a quick congratulations to all of the winners from yesterday’s election. Also, a quick thanks to all of those who ran for office - your dedication and love for this township is immensely appreciated.

Obviously there were no surprises in the race for Supervisor and Treasurer as those seats were uncontested. Walt Wilburn (Supervisor) and Sherri Meyer (Treasurer) will serve another four years for our township.

In what I won’t call an upset but perhaps a surprise Clerk Bob Schockman held onto his post for another four years. Mr. Schockman held off George Welling who ran a tough and spirited campaign for the Clerk’s office. Mr. Schockman won 9 of 14 precints but the clear advantage came in absentee ballots (I am guessing that is what the AV stands for on the pdf sheet) where Schockman picked up 525 votes over Welling; considering the total margin was 818 this was huge. Write in candidate Dennis Steinman reportedly garnered 15 votes.

In the race for Trustee I would say there were some surprises, serious surprises. Former County Commissioner Gail Hauser-Hurley ran away with the vote total and will serve her first term on the board as will former Bedford Public Schools Superintendent James Goebel (the big shocker). Both Larry O’Dell and Paul Francis will be holdovers from the previous board.

The surprise in the trustee race, to me, is the elimination of Rick Steiner from the board, and the selection of Goebel and not Tom Covrett who is the chairman of the Planning Commission. I do think that Mr. Covrett perhaps lost some votes over his handling of the PC meeting on the Whitman property rezoning. I had assumed that Mr. Goebel would struggle due to the notion that he did not effectively lead our schools. Maybe I am the only one surprised, maybe not.

Finally, for the first time in 28 years of township board will not feature a familiar face in Dennis Steinman. I hope that, regardless of how you may feel, that we will all take the opportunity when we have it to thank Mr. Steinman for the years and countless hours he has given to this community. Not only has Mr. Steinman given back to this community he has raised his family to do the same; Tim has given generously of his time and I know was recently involved in landscaping at the Pocket Part and Doug is a volunteer fireman at the Lambertville station. Allow me to be the first to publicly thank Mr. Steinman and his family for all they have done and I am sure will continue to do for our township, thank you.

What does everyone else think? Surprised, disappointed? Share your thoughts, thanks!

Well, I finally had the opportunity to reach out to school administrators and business leaders via e mail today; next up is our township leaders (I just need to decide in what fashion I would like them to help contribute as I am not looking to make this blog overly political in nature).

The first individual to respond to me was my old junior high principal, Mrs. Mary Zaums. She was always an excellent administrator and I am glad to see that she is still over there leading a great group of young people as well as an excellent staff. Hopefully she is still there when Meghan, my oldest, finds her way there in 4 more years.

I found out that enrollment is indeed down at the junior high - 840 students - and less are expected next year. We, as a community, must find a means in which enrollment stops declining. I’m not sure if it is a lack of affordable housing for young families, the struggling economy, or a combination of the two. Regardless of the problem we need to fix declining enrollment as it is one aspect that could help our declining school budget.

Mrs. Zaums shared with me two great stories both of which I found to be very exciting and important lessons.

The first story came from an American History class (which I believe we took in the 8th grade) where a teacher was playing the Auction Game. The premise of the game is the teacher acts as the Treasury and controls the value of the play money with which he auctioned off desirable goods. When the teacher would decrease the value of the money the demand for the goods would then increase. Eventually the supply of the goods decreased because the teacher began gradually removing money from circulation.  The point of the lesson was to bring the current economic struggles of America into focus for these 13-year-old students. Mrs. Zaums stated that it worked very well because the teacher was a master as knowing students and being able to bring everyday practice to their level.

What a neat lesson. A focus on improving the economic struggles facing this nation is real and effects all of us; including these 13-year-old children. Imagine what a great opportunity these children have to go home and share this new experience with their families. Furthermore, imagine the opportunity to learn more at home and maybe even the parents could learn something from their child’s experience.

The second exciting story Mrs. Zaums shared was that she was taking four students to the Government Center to meet and talk to Bob Schockman, our Township Clerk, and to ask him to come over and register students to vote in a mock election this November at the school. Only those who registered would be able to vote in the mock election.

Again, what a great lesson in civics. I don’t recall being presented with this type of opportunity at that age. I do recall during the 1996 election, my senior year of high school, having some elected officials, or those running for office, come and speak to the Government classes. Bev Hammerstrom was there and I think Bob Schockman came to speak as well. Mr. Med Barr, a former township official, was our government teacher and I am sure this played a role in things.

Considering that the young people, my generation included, of this nation seem to not take their voting rights seriously I think any exposure at any age is important. I applaud Mrs. Zaums and those at the junior high who took this step to teach such an important lesson.

Hopefully this is the first of many posts that will focus on positive and exciting things going on at all of our wonderful schools. We truly have top notch facilities with top notch individuals leading our school system. I look forward to communicating with all of the administrators and others throughout the community to share stories like this with all of you.

Thanks to Mrs. Zaums for taking the time to communicate with me today and a thanks to all of you who have taken the time to read. You all make this worthwhile.