Ellenville High School will hold its annual graduation ceremony this Friday evening, but one of the members of the Class 2009 will not be present. Senior Sebastian Constable will be busy this weekend as he enters the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. In his years at Ellenville, Constable has been a standout student, a leader on the athletic fields, and a positive role model for any young student. Whenever a student is accepted into one of the service academies it is an honor for the individual, his or her family, and the community as a whole. Still, missing your high school graduation ceremony has to be bittersweet. Well, the Ellenville School District showed some pride (and some class) this past week when they presented Constable his high school diploma in a special ceremony. Nice touch……….I just got my bike back from the repair shop and former Ellenville H.S. social studies teacher Mark Steinhoff was the first to ask me if I would be wearing my helmet as I traversed the streets of Ellenville this summer. I will wear my helmet and I will once again encourage my friend, Ellenville Police Chief Phil Mattracion, to have his officers talk with kids and parents and encourage them to wear helmets whenever they ride bikes in our community……….Major League Baseball reported this week that former Chicago Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug in 2003. There's a shock. Are we supposed to believe that no one running Major League baseball knew that Sosa and Mark McGwire were on the juice when they looked like the Hulk and Samson and were hitting 60 and 70 homers? In addition to being forever tarnished, Sosa might have bigger problems. Seems that when Sosa testified before congress in 2005, he swore he never used any illegal substances. The folks that make up congress may be morons when it comes to making laws for our country, but it is against the law to lie at a congressional hearing, and Sosa may soon be playing for the Penitentiary All-Stars……….A few years ago a gentleman drowned in the Ellenville School pool. A tragic accident was made even worse when Ulster County Department of Health Commissioner Dean Palen sent his staff to Ellenville to investigate the accident. Despite reassurances from the overzealous Health Department members that they were just "fact-finding" and not looking to lay blame, within 48 hours, news reports appeared in the local papers that Health Department officials were seriously questioning the actions of the lifeguards and pool staff. The Health Department quickly closed the pool and proceeded to run roughshod over Ellenville. The person leading the investigation was a relative of Palen. It was evident that the Health Department officials were looking for any negative to expose despite the fact that an inspection of the pool by the health department the morning of the drowning found everything to be in order. The negative newspaper reports were devastating to the staff that worked at the pool. At that time, I was working for the village as the Summer Rec. Director and I pleaded with then-village manager Elliott Auerbach and Mayor Jeff Kaplan to fight back against the draconian measures being taken by Palen and his staff. I even spoke to a couple of the Ulster County legislators who represented Wawarsing. All I was told was that Palen "would be spoken to." Apparently, Dean Palen had wielded some powerful influence on the county level in his role as absolute ruler. The sad part of the matter is that Palen further endangered the Wawarsing youth by closing the pool as it encouraged kids to seek relief from the summer heat by swimming in the creek. Furthermore, it was obvious that had the drowning accident happened in a predominantly upper class pool — such as in the Town of New Paltz — that the pool wouldn't have even been closed down. Well, as Grandma used to say, "What goes around comes around." Last week, the Times Herald Record reported that Palen, who has recently been suspended from his duties with the county, was reportedly found with checks totaling $32,000 in a locked safe. The safe was located behind the desk of Palen's wife, who also served as his secretary. (Apparently, Dean Palen had this whole "nepotism" thing down to a science). I can't help but feel some level of satisfaction over these events. "Revenge is mine," said the Lord, but I have to be totally honest. Nothing would make me feel better than to see Dean Palen hauled off to jail in handcuffs. Bet old Dean won't be playing bully in the Big House. Here's the best part of the story. While Ulster County Executive Mike Hein has called for the thorough investigation of Palen and his practices, others have an opinion on the situation. As reported in the Times Herald Record, County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach said, "A large, looming issue is whether there were checks and balances." That's right folks, the same Elliot Auerbach whose overestimations of revenues managed to shortchange the Village of Ellenville budget by over $100,000 is now concerned about "checks and balances." You can't make this stuff up………..Getting back to our local issues, would anyone else like to hear a public statement from Mayor Kaplan on what he is doing to improve the business economy in our lovely village?..........You won't have to wait long next fall to see if the Ellenville Blue Devils football team will have enough to defend their Section 9 – Class C title. The Blue Devils open up at home on Friday night, September 4 against Class B New Paltz, which has competed for the sectional title over the last few years. Look for the strength of the Blue Devils to remain the line of scrimmage as All-Section A.J. Borriello returns for his senior season. Watch for fellow senior lineman Donald Corsette to show All-Section ability as well……….Ellenville boys' varsity soccer coach Maxwell Mead has made the playoffs the last two years and wants to take the next step. Look for the Blue Devils, who open next season at Webutuck on September 9, to improve to 10-6 with a very young and talented team……….At the recent Ellenville Athletic Awards Banquet, Athletic Director Mary Borriello exhorted the Blue Devils' female athletes to commit themselves to matching the recent success of their male counterparts. Borriello could have easily included the coaches of those girls' sports, as the Lady Blue Devils have not shown measurable improvement in the last few years. Again, this year, the Lady Devils will field fall teams in field hockey, tennis, soccer, volleyball, cross-country, and cheerleading. That's too many teams for a Class C school to be successful with, and before the girls are successful, something has to be cut. Until next time…