This letter reflects concerns that impact all residents of Otsego County, the 2008 budget.

As I reflect about everything that has happened in the last year in the county, Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) and its cruel actions in January certainly come to mind. As you remember, the new CCE Director of six months devised a secret Five-Year Business Plan (which by the way is not being followed as proposed) resulting in six dedicated employees being fired; I was one of them. Without warning, we were told to clean out our office and be gone by 4:30 p.m. The locks were being changed as we were walking our possessions to our car. We were treated like criminals. This whole event was done with no regard to our length of dedication to CCE. The employees that they "let go" had many years invested in CCE, ranging from three years all the way to 33 years. I, myself had been with CCE for six years.

This event happened shortly after they (CCE) were granted a $25,000 increase from the previous years $100,000 from the County. Then they (CCE) gave every remaining employee a substantial raise, some up to 25 percent. Where is the fairness in all of this? Was that how you intended your increased appropriation to be used? With CCE having (six) fewer employees, it surely doesn’t need the increase in funds from the County.

From what I understand, they are asking for even more money for 2008. In my opinion, CCE, a USDA agency, should receive the same County appropriation as the Soil and Water Conservation Service, another USDA agency. CCE used to be out and about in the County promoting their programs; now all you ever read about is what CCE Delaware County is doing. Where is Otsego County CCE, and what are they doing with all of the money they are allotted? Even their 4-H newsletter has become a mess. With all the mistakes and writing errors and "canned" articles, I would be ashamed to publish it. It is a waste of ink and paper, time and postage, and reflects little in program opportunities for youth.

In closing, I am sure that if this matter went to a public vote, CCE would not get the public support that it had one year ago today. My vote is no additional money for CCE; in fact, they should be decreased to reflect the on-going public outrage toward the organization’s corporate approach to human services. The organization is no longer viable, and certainly not credible, and thus not worthy of our taxpayers’ hard earned money.

Michelle Sperbeck

Schenevus

Christmas is just not the same

This country man is angry. This is why. Consider:

A Christmas tree is called a "Holiday tree."

Fort Collins, Colo. wants to ban red and green Christmas lights from its public holiday displays.

Some of America’s largest retailers are purging "Christ in Christmas" in their stores.

Some schools have canceled holiday celebrations altogether to avoid offending those who do not celebrate Christmas.

Charlottesville, Va.’s annual Christmas tree lighting is now called a "Grand Illumination."

Christmas music? Don’t plan on singing about the birth of Christ in public schools.

A new principal at a Connecticut elementary school ordered taken down all Christmas decorations and insisted that "Twas the Night Before Christmas" be changed to "Twas the Night Before a Holiday."

In a Massachusetts fourth grade class, kids were asked to list 25 things about Christmas. One student asked the teacher if "Jesus" could be included. The teacher said she could get fired.

Schools have eliminated angels and Santa Claus as being too religious.

One school banned red and green. They were Christmas colors and thus illegal! Even candy canes and wreaths have been banned.

What is happening to America?

Fifty years ago Christmas was a magical celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth. Christmas trees and beautiful nativity displays, etc., appeared on public property all across America. Christmas music was heard (and sung) in Christian concerts in public school (and the school day began with a prayer). "Politically correct" Christmas music _ "Rock Around the Christmas Tree," "I Saw Mommie Kissing Santa Claus," etc. _ such as we hear ad nauseam today was unheard of half a century ago. Stores "afraid" to acknowledge the birth of Jesus? Unthinkable. Red and green were "the" colors of Christmas. When people greeted each other, it was with a heartfelt "Merry Christmas!"

Fast forward 50 years. Ninety-six percent of Americans plan on celebrating Christmas in some way. It seems that our governmental officials, corporations, and cowed public school officials are going to extraordinary lengths to purge the faith elements from Christmas 2007. A disease is rapidly spreading across this land _ a phobia about Christmas and its first six letters: C-H-R-I-S-T. In "protecting" the four percent who don’t celebrate Christmas, these perpetrators are trampling on the Constitution’s Bill of Rights’ First Amendment. What has happened to this once great country when you can no longer legally talk about Christmas in public?

Isn’t it time to protect Christmas and religious freedom from those who are sabotaging them in the name of political correctness?

This is not my America and I hope it’s not yours!

But these are just the musings of a simple country man who appears to be 50 years behind the times.

Merry Christmas!

Hobie Morris

Brookfield, N.Y.

McGwire

belongs in Hall

The Nov. 29 article, ``Goose,’ Rice hope 2008 is their year’’ contains another slanderous charge against Mark McGwire. It states, ``McGwire all but admitted taking steroids when he testified in front of Congress ... McGwire simply stated he was there to talk about the future, not the past. McGwire used Andro openly to help him recover from injury.

Andro was not illegal at the time. He has never failed a drug test. No one with an ounce of character has ever accused him of using steroids. Managers and coaches are the people who should be electing players to the Hall of Fame _ not baseball writers, who are nothing more than player wannabees. And yet, from their sanctimonious perch behind their keyboards they say that Mark McGwire _ who with Sammy Sosa literally saved baseball and the jobs of baseball writers _ shouldn’t be in the Hall because the ``think’’ he ``might’’ have done or used something that was not illegal at the time.

Larry Timpe

Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas