ANOTHER VOCABULARY LESSON

     One of the things I loved best in life was teaching. Not the garbage paperwork and not the petty nonsense that often comes with it, but the act of teaching, of seeing the light grow on a student's face as comprehension dawned, as the brain engaged. There is nothing to beat that feeling when one knows that not only has something been taught, but it has indeed been caught. So I must confess that these opportunities that the opposing camp gives me to teach are much appreciated.
     Today's lesson is the meaning of the word "emergency". The Oxford Dictionary defines it as "a serious, unexpected, and often dangerous situation requiring immediate action". There is a legal definition of emergency that we should also take into account. That is - "a sudden, unforeseen happening which requires action to correct or to protect lives and/or property...."
     Keeping those definitions in mind we now need to look back into the recent history of the Village. We need to remember that none of what has occurred with the roads and walkways, with the striping is sudden at all nor unforeseen. Five plus years ago, in David Israel's first term in office as president, the enormous undertaking of road paving was set into action. Granted, it was a needed effort but could have waited another couple of years for more money and certainly needed far more due diligence before entering into an agreement with M&M Paving. In addition, there were shenanigans with the funding and the contract, with neither being handled properly, even possibly liable to certainly civil recriminations.
     Needless to say, there have been problems with the shoddy job ever since. First David Israel and Ed Black denied all problems. They lied through their teeth but as is always so, the truth came out and the truth was visible to our very eyes. All we had to see were the crumbling roads, the gathering of sand and pebbles as the roads disintegrated, the huge cracks that grew like Topsy, on the roads and on the walkways, and the new lakes and ponds that graced our roads every time it rained. The drains and swales ? What was that, one might ask.
     For years these issues were neglected until it was so in your face that even they had to admit the truth and then, years after the deed was done, suddenly we had an "emergency" that needed doing. So contracts were taken out for piecemeal repairs, thousands of dollars worth and NOW, suddenly, the striping of the roads, which had begun to disappear the day they were painted on to a still wet roadway, suddenly, their redoing needed to be done NOW, as an emergency. Huh?? Really? Under what definition above did this come to be correct?
     The answer is - none. None at all. There was plenty of time for the proper pathway to contract approval to be done. The delegates should have been included in on this. The by laws say it, precedent says it, but David Israel and Ed Black say no, we will do it our way, never mind the by laws and of course, the officers and Exec. Bd. go along as they do not wish to crawl into their mouths or Heaven forfend they lose their little fiefdoms. Even Herb stands up there and squeaks how it was an emergency and did we want to wait till someone gets hurt? Yes, it needed to be done. The whole damn job needs to be redone, but proper process and procedure MUST be followed. Not following it got us into the mess in the first place.
     Nor was a lesson learned as time and time again emergency was redefined as needed. Wi Fi was going to be an emergency and now they are trying to do the same with Broadband. The elimination of the proposed amendments to the bylaws wherein term limits would be reinstated as they had always been, where multiple occupation of various UCO and Village wide positions would have been stopped in its track, where multiple, dictatorial votes by the same people would have been stopped - but an emergency new clause was turned in by the attorney on the leash, Rod Tennyson, who barks to David's command and suddenly the Exec. Bd. had veto power. Huh?
    So now the emergency powers and the emergency necessities that occupy David Israel's increasingly fraying mind, turn the delegates into figureheads with no real voting power, no real approval or disapproval of anything of any importance - only if the Exec. Bd. allows, meaning only if David Israel allows it. So gather your sops while ye may, for perhaps you, as delegates, will be allowed to vote on the budget - or maybe not, and maybe you will be allowed to rubberstamp appointments - or maybe not, and maybe....maybe.....what the hey, you have lost it all and just now are to be busy for an hour a month and feel important but are not, in truth. How kind and generous of David Israel to give us that hour. Putin has nothing on this guy.
    Is that what you want? Is that what the Village wants or needs? The answers should be a resounding NO, HELL,NO! Delegates, THIS is the real emergency - the usurpation of power by David Israel and Ed Black, the non elected consigliere, the robbing of power from you and us, the people, and concentrating it all in their hot little hands. That is the emergency. Think about it.