{"id":4366,"date":"2011-06-16T10:09:30","date_gmt":"2011-06-16T14:09:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/?p=4366"},"modified":"2011-06-16T10:09:30","modified_gmt":"2011-06-16T14:09:30","slug":"in-many-small-north-country-towns-government-is-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/2011\/06\/16\/in-many-small-north-country-towns-government-is-community\/","title":{"rendered":"In many small North Country towns, government is community"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week, two stories caught my eye and ear.\u00a0 The first was a piece in the New York Times looking at efforts to save Newcomb’s school district, a fight that we’ve covered here at NCPR.\u00a0 The passage that jumped out at me was this one<\/a>:<\/p>\n

George H. Canon, the town supervisor, feared the worst: \u201cIf the school died, the town would lose its purpose.\u201d The school system, with 35 jobs, is Newcomb\u2019s biggest employer.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And then there was the story on NCPR’s airwaves<\/a>, reported by Steve Knight, about the fight to save a dozen North Country post offices.\u00a0 In Steve’s story, two passages leaped off the page:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is kind of what\u2019s left of our community. We\u2019ve lost our stores. We have one store. A lot of bars though,\u201d one Parishville resident said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And then there was this section, which included the views of North Country Rep. Bill Owens.<\/p>\n

Post offices are important to communities [according to Owens] because they are a social center where people interact and keep tabs on one another.<\/p>\n

“[B]ecause these are small communities, when someone doesn\u2019t show up after a day or so, people will look in on them and make sure there isn\u2019t something seriously wrong,” Owens said. “So we run a real risk of losing that social fabric.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These very different politicians — conservative Republican George Canon and moderate Democrat Bill Owens — are describing a very real phenomenon.<\/p>\n

In much of our region, government entities from schools and post offices to nursing homes, armories and senior centers have become the heart and soul of communities.<\/p>\n

Taxpayer-driven programs provide meeting places, opportunities to break bread, venues to hear music, not to mention gymnasiums and playing fields where we watch our favorite sports teams slug it out.<\/p>\n

But is it a good thing that government is our pivot point?<\/p>\n

Are we asking entities like schools and post offices to fulfill functions that are inappropriate or force them to wander from their core missions — things like educating children well, or delivering the mail efficiently.<\/p>\n

And if it is a good thing, is it sustainable?\u00a0 Newcomb spends $70,000 per student educating children and has a 3-to-1 pupil-teacher ratio.\u00a0 And the sad truth is that many of these rural post offices see scant use.<\/p>\n

Should they be kept alive because of their social value?<\/p>\n

Let me say that I grieved when my hometown post office — in Sitka, Alaska — closed its doors.\u00a0 And I’ve been in a funk this year because Lake Colby school, where my son Nicholas started kindergarten, is shutting down.<\/p>\n

So I get the value of these places on an emotional level.\u00a0 But I think it’s fair to ask whether other institutions might not step up to replace government programs as community centers.<\/p>\n

I’m thinking now of the grange in Wadhams or Bluseed in Saranac Lake or the host of new farmers markets. Those are vital, vibrant crossroads for local people.<\/p>\n

If there is a real fabric and spirit left in these small towns, might it not find a new outlet that doesn’t need taxpayer subsidies?<\/p>\n

As always, your thoughts welcome.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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