40 DELMAR GUILD 12.pdf - Spotlight Newspapers

Page 6 October 3, 2012 The Spotlight
If a tree falls...
You’ll read this week a story about the status of leaf peeping
in our fair state.
To sum up reporter John Purcell’s findings, some experts think
leaf lovers are in for a truncated, lackluster season of fall colors
because of a hot, dry summer. This
hopefully won’t be an economic
problem for the state (the early fall Editorial
season tends to be a booming time
for tourism), but it is a disappointing
appraisal nonetheless that comes on the heels of one of the worst
local apple harvests in memory. Fall, the much-beloved season of
so many northeasterners, is a little less ideal this year.
Of course, a minor hiccup in the cycle of natural colors is not
the end of the world. What is more troubling is the years-long
trajectory that is increasingly relegating nature to off-the-beatenpath
corners of the countryside in favor of strip malls, cookie
cutter housing developments and parking lots. The natural world,
it would seem, is becoming something you drive to rather than
something observed every day.
A 2010 report by a group of leading academic minds entitled
“Wildlands and Woodlands” found in the New England states,
forest cover has declined precipitously since 1950 after
experiencing a dramatic, century-long revival once settlers
stopped cutting down everything in sight. It’s much the same
story elsewhere. The problem is, what once took man and beast
months can take a logging crew a few days — the forests may not
be in a state of danger, but it is heading that direction, and quickly.
It is hard to imagine it today, but when Europeans first set foot
in the New World what was to become the eastern United States
was home to massive, towering trees that rival the redwoods in
California (many of which were also recently lost to logging, by
the way). White pines routinely grew to well over 200 feet tall.
In a matter of years, nearly all of these were felled to make ship
masts. At the rate we’re going, it is unlikely anything like them
will ever been seen again in this part of the country.
Today, there are only scattered patches of old growth forests
in New York (indeed, in the entire northeast) that were never
touched by human hands. It is important these resources are
protected, but it is equally vital we build the spirit of preserving
nature into our everyday lives. Nature need not be a special
interest, it is something that can become commonplace with a
little forethought.
We reported recently in our Saratoga County edition on the
Meadow Vista housing development outside of Saratoga Springs.
Besides being home to 21 domiciles, this area contains a public
preserve of forestland with walking trails. When we spoke to
planners from the city and developer Charlew Builders, we
were told this project is quite outside the norm because as a
conservation subdivision, few builders are willing to go to the
trouble or give up potential revenues to incorporate true open
spaces into their designs.
That is quite understandable, but what is also clear is developers
don’t need to take an all-or-nothing approach to their projects.
They should be encouraged by municipal planning boards to
incorporate natural features into their endeavors, or at the very
least create green space beyond islands of grass in a parking
lot (these do count towards a project’s open space percentage,
believe it or not). And beyond being encouraged, they should be
rewarded for taking such measures.
If we are unable to reconcile our desire for newer things —
new homes, new places to shop, new places to park — with the
world that surrounds us, a poor showing for leaf colors will be
the least of our worries.
the
Spotlight
Editorial Paginator — Jackie Domin
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Matters of Opinion in The Spotlight
Publisher — John A. McIntyre Jr.
Nursing home requires scrutiny
By DANIEL P. McCOY
The writer is the Albany
County executive.
There are many tough
decisions that I face as an
elected offi cial but none more
difficult than the fate of the
Albany County Nursing Home.
It is not a decision that will be
made lightly and has involved
many people from all walks
of life exploring the various
options. Over the past five
years there have been many
discussions about how best to
serve the fi nancial interests of
Albany County taxpayers, yet
also offer solutions to our most
vulnerable residents. Whatever
the decision is, I want to ensure
that those who need skilled
nursing care like that provided
at the nursing home get it.
Years ago, my family needed
to look for an alternative when
my father got sick. The Albany
County Nursing Home was the
answer. Through the years, as
I visited friends and relatives
at the Home, or as I toured
to survey operations in my
official duties, I have always
been struck at the level of
commitment of the staff and
the care they provide. I am
also continually reminded, as
I viewed rooms of elderly with
no family or friends visiting,
how critically important it is to
serve the needs of those who
have no place else to turn. Let
me tell you about the work that
my team has done so far on this
critically important issue.
Aside from the task of
developing and implementing
a $560 million dollar operating
budget, the Albany County
Nursing Home has been the issue
my administration has spent
the most time on developing
a solution for. Beginning with
the recruitment of our region’s
top health care leaders to my
Transition Team last fall, whom
I tasked to take an honest, fair
and professional assessment
of the nursing home with no
prescribed opinions from me, I
have pursued a resolution for
the Nursing Home issue with
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Point
of View
an open mind. I have learned a
great deal since my time in the
Legislature, and certainly more
about professional health care
beyond what I saw as a visitor
to a loved one. This process
calls for deeper thought and
not a reactionary decision that
was not fully vetted. In the past
few months since taking offi ce
we have accomplished the
following:
•Crews from our Department
of Public Works and Offi ce of
General Services Departments
made improvements to the
facility inside and out so the
Nursing Home would look and
feel more like a home to the
residents.
• We put out a Request For
Proposal to have an outside
management company run the
facility. The bids submitted did
nothing to address the cost
structure and in fact placed
additional costs on the County.
• We also put out a Request
For Proposal to transfer the
license to an experienced third
party, but received no bids
worth pursuing.
• We have brought several
of the region’s foremost health
care management experts
through the Nursing Home.
They looked at the aging facility,
commended the quality of care,
but recommended to close the
Nursing Home and invest in
support programs that allow
seniors to remain in their homes
and in the community.
The dramatic change in the
economy since I fi rst looked at
this issue as a Legislator has
changed our County’s fi nancial
fortunes dramatically. Like
every government or business,
these economic realities have
forced us to rethink some of
the ideas we once had. It is
crystal clear to me that Albany
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County cannot afford to build
a new nursing home in this
economy. The answer to the
challenge of balancing the
fi nances of the government with
the needs of our community’s
elderly, needs to be developed
through consensus between
my administration and the
Legislature.
For my part as I review
all the options and consider
my constituents, there isn’t a
Sunday that goes by that I don’t
get a call from my aunt who
says “Daniel, take care of the
seniors.” She is a nun who has
devoted 70 years to the Little
Sisters of the Poor caring for
seniors in our community. Her
words are all the inspiration that
I need to do the best possible
job I can on this complex issue.
In the coming months, the
Legislature and I need to make
the right decision…a decision
that upholds our moral and
ethical responsibility to our
seniors and is fi nancially sound
for Albany County.
What is the best way to protect open space?
Log on to www.spotlightnews.com to cast your vote.
Last week’s poll results:
“What is more important, keeping taxes low or
retaining services?”
• Keeping taxes low 55%
• Retaining services 45%
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point?
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