One reason that libertarians dislike government institutions is because of the implied warranty. This appears to be Roseanne Sullivan's issue – that a better than average Regents grade should guarantee adequate preparation for community college work.

I find that I must reluctantly come to the defense of both of these government institutions.

First, I wish to commend OCCC for maintaining standards within a larger educational system that is too prone to pass students along to the next level. What is good enough for a Regents diploma just may not be good enough for success at the college level. The English Regents is only a single exam but it must test many linguistic skills. A good grade may be obtained in spite of serious deficiencies in one area. Many colleges have standards that reject deficient applicants. Those which do not have such requirements should not permit a student to face the difficulties, and very possible failures, that result when skills are not remediated.

And the Regents… In New York State we have a uniform standard which allows students, parents, teachers, and outside observers to measure the efficacy of the educational process. But since very many students elect to earn a Regents diploma the standards cannot be set so high as to deny that diploma, and perhaps high school graduation, to students who have done well enough, but are not at the level required for a college degree.

The sad truth is that many grade-schoolers are not ready for middle school and many middle-schoolers are not ready for high school. With open admission (as at OCCC) there are simply many high school graduates who would not be able to benefit from higher education without first sharpening weak skill areas.

The system has served the hypothetical "85" student well. The Regents exam was not graded so severely as to fail the student and OCCC was good enough to detect a problem area and offer remediation. This will serve the student well in college as well as in later life.

The teaching-to-the-test that is so common in Regents courses (and now in the lower grades for the 4th and 8th grade proficiency exams) does learning and education a disservice, but juggling the scoring rubric for the exam is not the answer. Neither is trying to pin down that implied warranty. If Pine Bush, or any school – government or private – wishes to, they can certainly offer courses that go beyond preparation for the Regents exam.

Bob Prener
Grahamsville

I have been a resident of this community for 40+ years and have been witness to both the "Ups" and "Downs" that have hit this valley, i.e.: urban renewal, the closing of the little mom/ pop shops that dotted Canal & Center Streets, loss of restaurants, clothing stores, the closing of Schrade and the closing of VAW.

It is understood that some of this was due, in part, to greed of mismanagement, not only locally but also on the national level. People thought they saw opportunities to go forward and what happened in the long run was that our economical strength was sapped and many of our stable assets disappeared. Employment was nil, housing priced out of reach, etc.

Recently, however, I was given first hand introduction to one of the last assets in our community. I became ill and was admitted as a patient at the Ellenville Regional Hospital. I cannot praise this facility, the administration, staff, volunteers, etc., enough. We are truly blessed to have such an asset in our midst. Believe me, I know there are many nay- sayers out there, but, I can only speak from first hand experience and the quality care, truly warm compassion of ALL can never be replaced.

One of the best healing factors, I believe, is to feel safe and assured and truly believing that those serving you really care. I found all those factors wrapped up in the people serving our community at Ellenville Regional. I can never praise them enough or thank them enough. Wake up Ellenville - Preserve your Assets!!

Carol Distel
Ellenville

Bill Kemle's article (Daily Freeman ,12-17-09) on the Ulster County Department of Social Service's submission of 7.56 million dollars in contract obligations to the legislation at the last meeting of the year raises a billboard not a red flag of something wrong with our government. It would appear we have an out of control county department that does not feel it needs to follow policy and procedure. The contracts for the 7.56 million dollars had not been reviewed or approved by the comptroller's office or the county legislature. This appears to be a gross departure from acceptable and legal government administration.

Who's watching Department of Social Services? 7.56 million dollars is a lot of money. If even a small percentage of that were questionable or worthy of reduction, Ulster County could fund employees who are scheduled to be laid off. If even a small percentage of the 7.56 million dollars was inaccurate and available to the budget many programs could be refunded.

Something is wrong, be it lack of policy and procedure, lack of oversight, or lack of interest. The Ulster County Legislature needs to restore its leadership role in governing this county and they need to do it now. It behooves the legislature to empanel a special committee to review the actions of the Department of Social Services. The County Executive and Comptroller should participate and cooperate with this special committee and conduct a thorough review of the operations of the department of Social Services. The actions of DSS cannot be allowed to stand.

Ulster County has a new form of government and there may be some problems making it work properly but the problems must be addressed even if it takes a little effort. We are heading into a new year and there are numerous challenges facing our country and our county. I believe an appropriate resolution for the New Year would be to embark upon a major bi-partisan effort to make Ulster County government efficient and effective with an eye towards lowering taxes. "If you build it they will come", if you lower taxes business will return to Ulster County. If government, business and the people of Ulster County share a common vision of success we can make good things happen. Let's put Ulster County back in the technology business and create opportunity and tax base for our citizens.

Jack Hayes
Gardiner
Ulster County Legislator