Mountains, Lakes and People

If you will take the time to observe her, nature has many vantage points from which it will happily display its beauty for you. One of those locations is New Hampshire’s Lake Winnipesaukee.

There, you can enjoy the absolute clarity of a bright, sunny day -- no air pollution or artificial haze. Yesterday, as I sat near the dock, blue water spread itself out beyond the mouth of the cove to the opposite shoreline, where the southern sun lit up a broad 60-foot tall line of pines and deciduous trees acting as sentinels, guarding the water‘s edge.

Beyond the trees, the bold-green ridge of the Ossipee Mountain Range rose in the background, pushing itself up against a cluster of cotton clouds jutting out behind the peaks. The remainder of the sky displayed its blue dome, empty of clouds, completing the contrast.

People and processes here can be just as colorful. Nearby, the Moultonborough Public Library boasts a recently renovated and expanded building with quiet reading rooms, computers, and a wi-fi network, just like the Bridgewater location of the Somerset County Library System. One wonders how the people and government of the Granite State accomplish this and more with neither an income nor a sales tax; but, by golly, they do.

Saturday, my wife checked out a DVD, asking whether she might charge it against my daughter’s library card. No problem, said the librarian. Another day, when she returned a past-due DVD, my wife asked about the fee and was told that there is none. Oh, by the way, though, there is a “conscience donation.” Just drop what you think is fair in the basket! Honesty expected; honesty given.

Atop Mount Major

In New Hampshire, at the southern end of Alton Bay on Lake Winnipesaukee, rises Mount Major, one of a string of low-lying mountains which encircle this glacial lake studded with over 270 islands, small and large, some inhabited, some not. This irregularly shaped lake, with all its crannies, coves and bays covers 72 square miles of water.

Nearby and to the north, is Squam Lake, site of the filming of On Golden Pond. It is one of the myriad bodies of inland water which, in total, comprise the Lakes Region of north-central New Hampshire, a popular vacation spot which lies about 100 miles north of Boston, and an hour or so south of the White Mountains National Forest.

As a young man, while vacationing here years ago, I had climbed 1,786 foot Mt. Major. Yesterday was a perfect day to repeat that ascent -- temperature in the low 70’s, dry and sunny. All five of us started out on this mini-adventure -- my daughter, son-in-law and the their two boys. My wife thought the better of it and decided to do some local craft shopping. I, myself, wondered how I would fare on this second attempt many years later.

It’s 1.7 miles of trail to the top, beginning under a heavily tree-canopied, level path of smooth hard earth which quickly changes into a gravelly texture, graduating into a steep, rock-bound serpentine way which -- my cardio-vascular system reminded me -- was testing my age and ability to complete.

The final test began with about one-third left to go to the peak. At this level, it’s almost straight up on ragged granitic rock face where the angle varies from about 30° to over 45° in places. Very easy to get hurt, if you’re not careful. A good trekking stick, a little luck, and lots of caution also help.

At the summit, the geology flattens out, and we climbers enjoyed unobstructed views for miles in all directions, with the most satisfying panorama covering an arc from northwest to south, where the sky, distant mountains, lake and islands spread themselves out before us in hues of green and blue for our visual pleasure and reflection.

It’s a humbling moment, showing just where we really stand in the scheme of things.


NOTE: I am vacationing with my family, returning to New Jersey sometime during the week of August 20th . I may post occasionally while away.

Integrity and the Park Commission

“First you say you do, and then you don’t. Then you say you will, and then you won’t. You’re undecided now, so what are you gonna do?” Those words, taken from the lyrics of a popular '40's era song, encapsulate the shenanigans of at least two of the Somerset County Park Commissioners .

I was at the meeting a few weeks ago where four of the seven commissioners tendered their resignations to the county freeholders. The only stipulation that I remember any of them making was that they would step down as soon as their successors are appointed by the county freeholders. Yet, according to last Saturday’s article in the Courier News, several of the commissioners now seem to be backtracking.

The new twist is that at least two of the commissioners, Doyle Hunsinger and Rocque Dameo, are predicating their resignations on maintaining “the integrity of the park commission.” What does that mean? Institutions don’t have integrity -- only people do. It is the people who run an institution who put a public face on it, thus establishing the group’s credibility -- or lack thereof. In this case, that’s the Somerset County Park Commission. So, what, exactly, are these two gentlemen saying?

Dissolving or retaining the Park Commission is a decision that belongs to the public which created it. That is self-evident, and the Somerset County Freeholders should acknowledge that by putting the question on the ballot for the November election. That is the best way to maintain the integrity of Somerset County’s park system.

NOTE: I will be on vacation, returning sometime during the week of August 20th.

Park Commission Moves Ahead on Bids for Legal Assistance

Friday morning, at 7:30 am at its headquarters in North Branch Park on Milltown Road in Bridgewater, the Somerset County Park Commission held a brief, sparsely attended meeting where it agreed to pursue three subsets of the same topic: legal representation for its problems and issues.

The commission gave the go ahead for writing up two legal services contracts. The third item was – in the Commission’s own words – for a “List of Pre-qualified Attorneys for the ‘Pool’ of Legal Services.”

Translation: Thunder clouds are on the horizon, and there will be a lot more of your tax dollars spent by the Park Commission on attorneys.

A. The first proposed contract will be to hire legal representation concerning current investigations into the commission’s activities. The submission by a Chatham law firm specifies a $210 hourly rate for attorneys; $100 an hour for paralegals and law clerks; and, “separate billing … for any out-of-pocket disbursements.”

B. The second proposed contract – with a Morristown law firm – is to help the commission “to update and refine its policies and procedures.” The anticipated cost is $260 hourly for partners’ services; $250 hourly for associates; $100 hourly for paralegals; and, as with the first law firm, reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses.

C. The third item agreed to by the Park Commission was to establish a pool of six pre-qualified law firms from which the commission may draw. Two of those law firms are the ones mentioned above.

Out-of-pocket expenses are not trivial, as they could include legal research, investigation expenses, travel, expert fees, postage, messengers, photocopying, deposition transcripts, telephone charges, court costs, etc... Most of the hourly fees quoted above have been stated as blended rates.

Remember, all this is in addition to the cost of the Park Commission’s own in-house counsel who, up to now, has been advising it.

Whew!! It will take a Philadelphia lawyer to sort this out.

Is Your Home a Castle?

It’s the dead of night. Your children are in bed sleeping. You and your spouse have a house guest. The ambiance is perfect in your new Bridgewater home on Downey Road. You’re happy with your situation; and, then, your life is suddenly and violently interrupted by an event so traumatic, that no one who has not experienced it can possibly understand – a break-in by thugs who have no respect for your well-being or personal safety.

And you ask yourself, “Why?” Can the eight-and-a-half Gs reportedly taken at gunpoint mean so much to these thieves that they would risk the lives of the occupants? Can jewelry mean so much to them that they would pistol-whip a person and tie others with electrical cord? Why? What prompts such behavior?

In Christianity, there is an oft-quoted Biblical saying that a person should turn the other cheek: That statement has repeatedly been misinterpreted and misused to let people off the hook indiscriminately, thereby fostering more bad behavior and criminal activity.

A tough yet charitable Monsignor friend has a saying that, “There is no mercy without justice.” The courts of Somerset County need to make sure that the thugs who brutalized the Rogalskys while vandalizing their home are made to understand the meaning of justice in this community.