This week's Dryden Courier is stuffed full of Dryden news. The front page leads with coverage of Dryden Middle School's presentation of The Pirates of Penzance, including both a picture and a story on the musical and its production.
An article on the Etna Fire Department's troubles quotes Town Board member Steve Stelick extensively, saying:
"They just have nobody to respond some days... They have a $100,000 contract with the Town of Dryden that should be for fire protection and we don't see that as happening."
Stelick doesn't see this as a problem unique to Etna, but rather as the result of a long-term volunteer drought that's hit Etna first. The article mentions the high costs of paid fire protection and the possibility of hybrids, which combine volunteer and paid firefighters much the way Dryden Ambulance does. The article notes that "Etna fire chief Tom Lobdell did not respond to phone calls," and Stelick seems to be the sole source for the article.
Inside the paper, writer Tony Hall talks with veterans at the Veterans' Day observance held November 11th. There's also a piece on the welcoming party for new Dryden Recreation Director Jennifer Staton that was held this past Wednesday, which talks about her background as assistant coordinator in Lynchburg, Virginia.
There is also a letter to the editor from Dryden school bus driver Becky Colbert asking drivers to be more considerate of school buses on Route 13 - "in a three day period, I had fifteen cars pass through my red lights." An article on a Cornell symposium looks at how climate change might affect local farmers.
In sports, the Courier briefly looks at Dryden Girls' Basketball in an article looking at the sport in the area generally, and a note on the Dryden Boys' Soccer team's closing loss in the state tournament. There's also a piece on the November 13th inductions into the Dryden Athletic Club Hall of Fame, including Bobbi Lynn Hamilton, John Snyder, Paul "Buddy" Lang, Bill Finnerty, Sr., Doug Smith, Kenneth T. Brown, Jr., Deb Prignon Tvaroha, Lee Stuttle, and Gloria Zirbel.
Posted by simon at November 21, 2004 11:05 AM in Dryden Courier , agriculture , emergency services , recreation , schools (Dryden) , weather