PO Box 729

This opinion piece appeared in the Townsman, August 14 2008 edition

Update, fellow Townsman, on the Committee For Woodstock's Future (CWF):

As you may recall, Jay Wenk listed a campaign contribution amounting to $1000.00 from the CWF, giving two addresses for such committee: 186 Meads Mountain Road and PO Box 729, Woodstock. 186 Meads Mountain Road does not exist. I asked Jay who rented PO Box 729, but alas, he would not say. The CWF to date has not made the legally required filings with either the County or the New York State Boards of Election.

Then this curious e-mail was forwarded to me:

From: Edward Sanders
To: Toby Heilbrunn
Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2008 9:33 AM
Subject: Maybe you could send this around?

Message: Framed by the Hills
A Celebration of the Residents in the Artists Cemetery
Sunday August 24, 2008 2 pm. Fletcher Gallery 40 Mill Hill Road:

-a benefit to pay for a memorial stone at the Artists Cemetery for John Ernst, his wife the poet Pearl Bond, and their daughter Della:

Poems and Musical Celebrations by Ed Sanders, Mikhail Horowitz, Gilles Malkine and others (including Brian Hollander performing a salute to John Herald)

There will be readings, performances and music at the Fletcher Gallery, followed by a Walking Tour through the Artists Cemetery
to pause and pay tribute to a number of its artists, poets, philosophs, musicians and other residents

$12 suggested donation

You may send a donation
to the Ernst/Bond Stone Fund to
Box 729 Woodstock, NY 12498
Make checks out to The Committee for Woodstock's Future
[End message]

I received the above forward about thirteen seconds after finding out that PO Box 729 is not only the address of the Committee For Woodstock's Future, but also the Woodstock Journal, a defunct publication that in the past had been trotted out during local election cycles, and which hosts a web site.

The editor of the Woodstock Journal is Ed Sanders. I e-mailed him questions concerning the CWF, and have yet to receive a response.

So far this is what we know:
_ * The CWF raised several thousands of dollars at an art auction held at the Colony Café in June of 2007.
_ * The CWF issued check numbers 1003, 1004, and 1005 each in the amount of $1000.00 to David Lewis, Craig Barber and Jay Wenk for their political campaigns.
_ * The CWF, to date, appears to be in violation of New York State election law, which requires organizations that raise money for political purposes to file certain forms with the New York State Board of Elections.
_ * The mailing address of the CWF, PO Box 729, Woodstock, is the mailing address of the Woodstock Journal, edited by Ed Sanders.
_ * Jay Wenk, an elected official, when asked for specifics concerning the CWF and PO Box 729, demurred.
_ * Ed Sanders has been sent questions regarding the CWF (edsanders@netstep.net), but either hasn't read his mail for several days, or is otherwise too busy to tend to such nonsense.
_ * It is possible that on August 24 some very reputable people, including an editor of a local newspaper, are going to involve themselves in a money raising event sponsored by this murky committee that refuses to make a public accounting of the money they have so far collected and spent for political purposes.
_ * The Ulster County and New York State Boards of Election have taken no action, although they are quite aware of this situation.
_ * And the plot sickens

While visiting the Woodstock Journal website, I noticed that the page, "Vote Fraud Treason in America" is in the process of being updated. I hope Ed can interrupt this important chore to provide us, fellow Townsman, what information he may have on the CWF.

Hey, I'll read anything, so while at the Woodstock Journal web site I paused and paid tribute to a number of residents of Ed Sanders' funereal imagination, finding some amazing pages - not in the process of being updated - concerning the previous administration's tireless effort to gut the zoning law, extend water and sewer districts into Shady and Wittenberg, and build mini-malls from the Village Green right up to Cooper Lake. God, what horrible people they were!

But the real popper was this:

"Woodstock has one or two former drug dealers that are somewhat powerful and lurk in the background promoting development. Drug dealers bring a kind of sneaky, querulous mind-set to a small town, especially if they are behind excessive development. And so part of the current unpleasantness in the visually pleasing, still forested town of Woodstock is a ripple effect from such as these."

Study this paragraph for a moment, especially the modifiers.

"One or two…" Why not one or three? Or one or four? How strangely vague.

"Somewhat powerful…" Oh no, wait! The former drug dealers are also…

"Sneaky, querulous…" Okay, I can imagine sneaky drug dealers, but whining or complaining (which is what querulous means)? Let's put it all together: Woodstock has one or two somewhat powerful, sneaky, whiny former drug dealers…People write like this when they're sleep deprived.

Let's put the groggy prose into new pajamas:

Please, one or two former members of the sneaky, querulous CWF, step forward, tell us where the money is, and not be part of the current unpleasantness in the visually pleasing, still forested town of Woodstock, for we wish not the ripple effect from such as these.

Meanwhile, those of you paying $12 "to pause and pay tribute to a number of its artists, poets, philosophs, [what a sweet touch; philosophs indeed] musicians and other residents" of the Artist's Cemetery, be sure to get a receipt but DO NOT use it as a tax deduction.