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Comments in reverse chronological order: updated 11/24/07
ADMIN, 11/24/07
CYBERSPACE
[Worth Repeating]
These anonymous comments were posted in the readers' comments of the massively cut and hightly slanted version of last month's Associate Press feature story, just published in today's Ithaca Journal:
"MY NOTE: The last word is usually the most important.... and the way it ends in the Journal [which cut tha last 9 paragraphs of the original article] paints Rowland in a positive light, glosses over the lasting damage she has done to what was once a wonderful community, and I believe undermines the impression and conclusion of the fine and skilled reporter who wrote it.
Pleasant Rowland willfully and arrogantly wrecked the village. All the money she spent in Aurora went to please her, and no one else. It was no act of philanthropy, it was an egotistical imposition of will by a cruel and callous woman. She wanted, and got, every business building in town, and then dictated who and what would be in them, and how they should be run. And they are being run to pander to the demographic of a 50+ woman with plenty of disposable income, and no one else. Most of Aurora's residents don't figure into this.
And despite the malicious yet silly zeal you hear from shallow sycophants like Randi Zabriskie (who personally profits from Pleasant's tourists visiting her dress shop) , there are plenty of people living in Aurora who wish they had never heard of Pleasant Rowland. Wells president Lisa Ryerson should be ashamed of all the trouble she has brought to Aurora. In the end, it truly wasn't worth it."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
TAXPAYER, 11/5/07
AURORA
[A possible explanation]
My understanding (and I could be be wrong) is that different municipalities tax at different percentages of full assessed market value. Aurora / Ledyard only taxes about 69% of full value, so the difference for the county tax levy has to be made up with a larger percent increase.
Presumably if every township, city, and village in Cayuga County was taxed at 100% of full assessed market value, everyone's taxes in the county would go up the same amount per $1,000 of assessed value.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
QUESTION, 11/2/07
AURORA
[Tax increases on horizon]
If the Cayuga County tax rate rises 2.1% per $1,000 assessed value ... how can the county tax rate for Union Springs residents be set to go down 0.1% but set to increase for Aurora residents a big 11.51%?
The assessment of my little house hasn't gone up much (yet) because of Ms. Rowland's overpriced buying spree of village property. But why is the new rate per $1,000 assessment for our county taxes being set so high for Aurora? Can anyone help me understand this? Thank you.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
LINDA CONLEY BALLARD, 10/15/07
MANHATTAN BEACH, CA
[Heartbreaking...]
My heart is breaking as I write this. I grew up in Seneca
Falls, part of a large extended family that has been in the Cayuga Lake
area for many generations. Once a month, all those years ago, a group
of us (aunts, uncles, cousins) would drive around to the Aurora Inn for
Sunday breakfast. Oh, how the Lazy Susans in the center of the big,
round, tables would spin as we all shared our lives, our hopes and
dreams, and our meal! Then we would walk along outside, sun or snow, and
let our imaginations wander and wonder as we took in the charm and beauty
of Aurora.
In the 1990s, I brought my new husband to visit my hometown, and we of
course stopped in Aurora during our drive around Cayuga Lake. Aurora
has so much HISTORY! He, too, was totally charmed.
What now? I weep. What will be left of our memories, our heritage, if
the "boutiqueification" of lovely historical villages such as yours
continues? I shudder to imagine.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
ANON, 10/15/07
AURORA
[The middle aged drama queen]
Having watched Rowland at close range for years, I'd say your analysis of the strange psychological forces at work here is spot on. Your characterization of a "middle aged drama queen" nails her behavior as well as the hysterical devotion she induces in her followers.
I do think the AP article is excellent, however. The writer tackled a big, 6-year long story, and overall produced a quite accurate piece full of detail and color, probably the longest, best written piece to date. After years of slanted, pro-Pleasant pieces, her impartiality comes as a welcome relief and restores my faith in the profession. (Reporters should not take sides but give readers information enabling them to make up their own minds -- principles more honored in the breach now days...)
For the first time since our last AP feature back in 2002, a reporter didn’t simply parrot the old monotonous lies of the "Ban the Coalition" crowd as though they were truth (e.g., that we are a just a "handful" of "jealous" hicks opposed to "progress"). Instead of letting it slant her whole story, she put the bizarre animosity right where it belonged, pouring out of the mouth of RZ. I think O'Neill spoke with, and listened to, more people on "our" side than any previous reporter, and she worked hard at getting reticent, fearful, discouraged people to talk, and kept her word of providing anonymity to those who needed it.
If the Hoffman Institute sets up shop in town, I hope Helen O'Neill comes back to do a follow-up story.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
AVM, 10/14/07
CALIFORNIA
[Monument to a monumental ego]
So much to say, so little time! I read the O'Neill article.
I thought it was good, but not as well-written as I had expected. It
was actually like many other similar articles, where the writer doesn't
take sides, stays impartial, and gets a lot of quotes from the "usual
suspects" around town.
What really came through in this article was the fact that PTR did not
rennovate Aurora, or whatever you want to call it, for the common good.
She did it to satisfy a longing within HER. As I have mentioned on the
messageboard, she seems to be obssessed with her own past - trying to
both re-create it and correct it. The Aurora Inn was never as it is now
when she was at Wells, neither were many of the other business, homes,
etc. that she bought and made over.
The ludicrous "cinnamon bun"
epsisode highlights her intense need to have things exactly as she remembers
them to have been in her mind, not as they really ever were. Look at
her recent "rescue" of Red Pine Camp in Wisconsin. If you read that
story, you would have recognized many of the same nostalgic phrases she has
used to descibe Aurora, telling everyone how very important Red Pine
was to HER and her own life. So, in the end, Aurora is really nothing
more than than the "momument to ego" that a PTR supporter claimed it!
wasn't. She may be a maverick business woman, but she sure doesn't
have developed interpersonal skills. You don't come into a tiny,
close-knit community like this one, and remain a mysterious, elusive figure who
doesn't take questions from a bewildered public. She's just a
middle-aged drama queen! One last thing, I obviously don't know Randi Z. but I
thought her comment about people possibly "spitting" on Pleasant if she
walked down Main street, absurd and embarrassing.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
JENNIFER, 10/14/07
TORONTO
[Lord of the flies?]
Does Randi Zabriski realise that she called her hometown
people "idiots" and "flies" in your National newspaper? She also accused people of crude and lewd acts. She should be the one afraid to walk down the sidewalk. How can she claim to love her little village, but hate all the people? Does her husband Steve ever read poems to HER that make her weepy and misty? I wish she would share the poem he read to Pleasant, it might bring some humor to the whole sorry mess.
Randi, you should shut your mouth around reporters, you do not help
Pleasant at all! I hope she does not shun you for your remarks about the town she so dearly loves.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
ADMIN, 9/10/07
CYBERSPACE
The account of the August meeting of Aurora's municipally appointed Community Preservation Panel has been updated with a response from the C.P.P. Chair here.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
WATCHMAN, 9/09/07
AURORA
[Creepy]
Watch all those visitors, mostly female, dressed only in black and/or white. You'll see groups of them, during the day, on the street, often entirely in black, even in 90 degree summer heat, all in black. Watch how strangely they behave. They are the Hoffmanites. (Either that, or a Johnny Cash fan club which keeps meeting here, over and over and over again.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
AVM, 9/08/07
CA
[But... what IS the plan?]
Good observations from Resident about the "feminization" of Aurora... During my short visit during the summer, it was fairly obvious to me that there was a lack of men. I think I saw 4 or 5, including my husband, compared to dozens of women, mainly in groups... It makes sense, doesn't it? A small, safe, quaint village, gussied up to the nines,and full of nostalgic sights that trigger the ol' memory banks. Just the way these women might remember things to have been in their youth - or perhaps in their fantasies of what life was like in their parents/grandparents era... It reminds me of the type of people who like those Thomas Kincade paintings - perhaps these women see Aurora, with its plethora of lovely old homes, as one of those paintings come to life? In fact, I would contend that this aspect of present-day Aurora as a theme park for middle-aged women has been the most successful result of PTR's gentrification scheme. Unlike other things in the village, it is working out as planned.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
RESIDENT, 9/08/07
RIGHT HERE
[Aurora as girl getaway]
So why this recent, strange feminization of Aurora?
Sure we had a women's college before, but the village itself still felt nearly normal in gender balance. (Always more elderly women than men around, of course, but then the old gals generally live longer.)
Since the Rowland takeover / makeover, we find ourselves invaded by small swarms of summer tourists in which women seem to outnumber male visitors by at least 9-to-1. Dozens of women on the street, walking, talking, gawking, acting like this is just the cutest place ever. The few guys with them, poor creatures, look sooooo bored, but some of them are dutifully holding hands with their wives, as if they've been told that this is a romantic getaway and they had better behave accordingly. It’s really very strange. What's going on?
Is it just that Rowland's marketing vision is so narrow? Can't she find a basis for appeal other than her own tiny slice of life experience as a middle-aged (now older) rich white obsessive narcissistic domineering female? Certainly her line of dolls & accessories was pitched more to the mothers and grandmothers than little girls. Just as Dorie's ain't designed for kids, families, couples or gents. It's obviously meant for lunching ladies of a certain age who might bring a very special child from time to time. Is it just lack of imagination coupled with a monumental ego? Or is something else at work...
In any event, it certainly seems to be the women who are drawn first to the protest car, who spend the longest time perusing it, some of them looking truly troubled and disillusioned, and who often come back and finish reading it after their husbands have wandered away...
Glad the vandalized protest car is still on the street, though I wish the knifed tires could be brought directly to the attention of the tourists -- the flats are too easily missed from the sidewalk. They reveal the dark, ugly reality underlying the totally phony "pleasant" facade forced upon this village. You know, the knifing of four tires seems such a decidedly masculine act of violence, one that many of those lady tourists might find quite disturbing...
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
CONTRARIAN, 8/29/07
AURORA
[Update - all four tires were knifed, not just deflated]
And now the "protest car" downtown has been effectively
vandalized.
It's a bit of a shock to see it come to this, but not really surprising;
after all, we've known all along the low intellectual level of the
pro-Rowland crowd... some of them have demonstrated their lack of glial
capacity on this site from time to time. Most of all, though, we know
how dim these people are from having to contend with their sophomoric,
logic-defying and low-brow brand of polemicism, which always seems to boil down to "we're right and you anti-Rowland people are just
bitter and mean and stuck in the past." Clearly these folks never won any
debates in school, if any of them ever even joined the debate team.
Here's where the stupidity in this recent stunt lies: A) it would, one
presumes, make the owner of the car only more determined to keep it
there. If they haven't given up by now, this kind of intimidation is like
throwing a gauntlet down. B) it shows up the pro-Rowland bunch as a
crowd of thugs.
Let's say you're Joe Tourist (or in the "new" Aurora
you're more likely to be Josephine Tourist -- since the village seems
geared almost exclusively, now, to attracting well-heeled,
late-middle-age/elderly bourgois women). You come along the "protest car," the windows
of which are emblazoned with anti-Rowland statements and such. Clearly
the car was driven there and parked. But it now had four flat tires.
Obviously the owner didn't do this to his own car. It wouldn't take
many brains to see that it was done by those who don't like what the car
says. I think most people (even a tourist) would find such a thing appalling. It'd certainly lower my opinion of the Rowland crowd...
But then of course this stunt wasn't meant for the tourists. It was
meant as a signal to the owner. An intimidatory signal. I hope he/she
doesn't bow to it. I hope the car stays right where it is. And I hope
the person that did this thing gets caught.
More than anything, it shows how petty and small-minded some of the
people in Aurora are, or have become. Whoever was responsible, you can
bet that the "Rowland mafia" are crowing about it. The sad thing is, they probably won't stop to
think how insecure and frightened it makes them look -- that they can't
take a little criticism, a little honest protest. They have to shout down
and intimidate those who disagree with them. This is just another
example. We've seen it in other forms at village meetings, where the
Rowland circle acts out and speaks out inappropriately, carrying on like
children, or worse, making actual threats.
This is the level to which community relations has sunk in Aurora. The
catalyst was Pleasant Rowland... but you can lay the blame at the feet
of those who willingly support her and can't stand to be opposed.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
KARIN W, 8/26/07
AURORA-ish
[Maybe it's legal, but is it moral?]
Forced resignations are business as usual at Wells College.
Sometimes you get a nice little story as a send-off, like "moving on
to better things" or "family issues" -- I was given the additional slap
in the face of absolutely no notice given to the community at all -- I
had people coming up to me as much as a year later not realizing I
didn't still work at Wells! That after 17 years of service at a
pittance wage and covering up for my boss' lack of work for years.
My
resignation was forced, and no different really from the story told by so many
others: I was told I wasn't doing enough work, and two sentences
later I was told I did too much work above and beyond my job description
and it made the other employees "uncomfortable." (Remember being the
bright kid in high school and how your peers resented you for making them
look bad because they were slackers but you had your work done? --
Some adults are no different.) Imagine then after pointing out this
contradiction being told "Don't twist my words!" Well, I'd say they
were already pretty twisted because the quality and volume of work had
nothing to do with it -- it was more a case of jealousies and fears that
didn't exist before I got my degree and was no threat (real or
perceived) to anyone else's position. Certainly the State believed my
resignation was coerced and upon my petition forced Wells to pay my
Unemployment benefits.
Just don't be thinking this is something new in the past
year -- there are plenty of employees before and since who have been
forced to leave Wells because somebody didn't like them -- nothing to do
with their job performance - including quite a few who have had gag
orders in one form or another. Almost all employees anywhere in this
country are "at-will" employees who can indeed be legally fired at any time
for no reason at all.
[QUOTE] We had an employees meeting, and we were told that everyone
there was staying, after hearing rumors that everyone would be fired.
Later, when I called to get my schedule, the manager began by telling
me than she did not schedule me because I wasn't a "good fit". She then
claimed that "every employee there has complained about me", which I
find impossible to believe. When she continued to tell me that I was
discourtious to my customers, I became not-so-nice. I loved so many of my
customers, and never treated any of them with less than respect. ...When
I asked for what grounds she was firing me, she said she didn't even
need a reason...
The way she went about this entire thing was unprofessional, and
personally insulting. Never mind the fact that firing a single mother of 5
children 3 weeks before the holidays, for no legitimate reason what so
ever, shows this foundation's lack of care for its employees.
I was a good employee ...honest, hard working, prompt, dependable, and
experienced ...My customers loved my bubbly personality, and my sense
of humor. I really did want to be let go from that job because of the
misery that the management brought me for the entire time I worked
there...So, even though part of me was relieved to hear I didn't have to go
back there, the kick in the head was still just that; a kick in the
head. [ENDQUOTE]
PTR is not the only person who does this kind of thing in Aurora. Look
around at Wells College. Check to see how many faculty and staff have
been fired "resigned" or forced to "resign"(because that is the word
used when people are let go) from Wells in the last twelve months. Reason
given by Wells..."they have resigned", "moved on to better or other
things", "because of family commitment". What is it about power and women
in Aurora? My friend told me she resigned because she did not want to
be told to resign or she did not want to be fired. Speak up against
injustice, point out the faults/shortcoming, or shortsightedness of these
women and out you go. DO NOT ROCK THE BOAT. Ask no questions. Answer
"Yes ma'am" and you are all right.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
AVM, 8/14/07
CA
[Thanks for your interest... prayers are welcome, too]
It seems that PTR is rather like a Martha Stewart run amok.
You know, into the "Good Things" in life, and very interested in how
everything should look, obssessively controlling and detailed-oriented. I
would also say interested in historic homes/architecture but after
what she did to the Aurora Inn, I dare not!
Actually, I became aware of Aurora's plight after reading an article
about successful American women entreprenuers, and Stewart was mentioned,
as was Rowland. I read about her contributions to Wells in the form of
improvements to the college's public spaces and the partnership she
set up with them. I also read about her rescuing Mac-Childs from
bankruptcy court, so the business could carry on and hundreds of local jobs
could be saved. But I also read about the opposition to her schemes and
projects, and her careless violation of the public trust when she
"restored" the Aurora Inn.
I have more than just a casual interest in all of this. Although I now
live in California, I'm originally from Auburn, and remember visitng
Aurora when I was a child. My parents often attended various cultural
functions at the college and in the village, and my uncle was friends with
the then-president of the college (in the 60's). For some reason,and
I'm not quite sure why myself, the situation with PTR infuriated me.
Although I don't know anyone in Aurora, I felt empathy for its residents,
as they watched in helpless frustration as one person basically bought
and then changed their village. The whole thing seemed so undemocratic
to me, and the political and social dynamic seemed almost feudal!
Last month, my family and I visited Auburn and the surrounding area. My
eldest daughter had an appointment to meet with a dept. chair at
Cornell, and so we found ourselves traveling through Aurora. I was already
very familiar with the whole PTR situation, had read and posted on this
forum for over a year. I wasn't sure how I would feel to actually be in
Aurora, and needless to say, the whole experience was rather surreal.
It was a weekday afternoon,and both the Aurora Inn and Dorie's were
busy with the lunch crowd, which seemed comprised mainly of women. The big
white house which houses (Jane Morgan's?) the expensive dress shop was
also pretty busy. But the market was empty, as was the business next
door, Bet the Farm, I think it's called. I saw the infamous Fargo and
Pizzaurora, but since it was afternoon, I didn't expect anyone to be
patronizing it. I saw some of the controversial houses - Webb, Lyon,
French, etc. but didn't get a close look as I was just driving by. I als!
o mailed a letter at the P.O. - it's mid-century facade didn't blend
well with the rest of the architecture on Main street, and I imagine
that is another reason PTR wants it torn down, besides for parking.
Two things struck me about the village: one, that it is a truly lovely
place and setting; very peaceful and serene (except for the trucks
rumbling through!) And two, that you can immediately tell that "something
has been done to it". It seemed too nice, too gentrified. If I didn't
know better, I would think everyone in the town was very wealthy. It was
sort of like a mini-Skaneateles. But it didn't seem authentic. It was
so different from all the other small, rural hamlets and villages like
it around Cayuga lake, and for that matter the entire Finger Lakes
region. Maybe PTR would nod and beam with pride at these words. Perhaps this
is what she wants, and has sought to achieve. Anyway, we left in the
middle of a thunderstorm, and came back a different route, so that was
the end of my Aurora encounter.
I enjoyed my brief visit to Aurora and hope to return in the near
future. Until then, I will keep following the progress of events, mainly
through the words and thoughts found on this web site/forum. Keep fighting
the good fight!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
THOURGHTS FOR AVM, 8/14/07
?
[No, not quite all...]
I speculate there may be a couple of reasons:
First, as mentioned here often, the faculty value their livelihoods.
It is very reasonable to assume that if any prof publicly advocated
against Rowland and Ryerson, that their work life would be jeopardized, or
at least made to be very uncomfortable. In her role as president,
Ryerson has shown herself to be a cold and self serving bitch.
Second, I think there also may be a kind of circling of the wagons
mentality among some of the Wells employees, including some of the
faculty. They realize so many others in Aurora are disgusted about what has
happened, and may feel embarrassed about their own impotence in helping
it to happen by not objecting ( see above paragraph). This guilt leads
to defensiveness towards those who do object to Rowland, and before you
know it, they find they are on the same team as Ryerson. Not all, of
course, but I have observed it in some. It's another example of the
type of social disruption Rowland has created in Aurora.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
LOCAL, 8/14/07
AURORA
[Bricks, not brains]
It's often been noted that PTR flatly refused to put any
money into any form of academic support, but rather insisted on putting
money only into physical improvements at the college. Not only do quite
a lot of the faculty resent that (though, as you say, one has to be
careful what one says in public if you value your employment), but it has
given rise to much speculation as to WHY she is only interested in the
physical space of Wells College. Just what ARE her plans for Wells and
Aurora? They don't sound very benevolent to many of us....
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
AVM, 8/13/07
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA>
[Again, the answers are pretty obvious...]
...Another question for you all: If what you say is
true, and most of PTR's benevolence is in the form of physical improvements
to the college and village (her version of gentrification) why would
Wells faculty support her? Wouldn't they rather have her money go
towards educatonal improvements or salary increases rather than just cosmetic
changes? It seems so blatantly superficial and I'm surprised that
these academics wouldn't be more resentful and critical of her. But perhaps
they fear for their positions at the college.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
TAXPAYER, 8/4/07
AURORA
[Bad as it seems, it could have been worse]
The philanthropic practices of the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation can be observed through its 990-PF filings with the Internal Revenue Service. These are online at GuideStar.Org and make for interesting reading, especially if you check out who gets what and when. This foundation primarily supports educational causes and performing arts organizations. Generally, donations are given on a regular basis, noted as quarterly or annual contributions. Many are approved for future payment up to six years in advance, giving recipients the security of knowing that the foundation�s support will continue.
That is never the case with the contributions to Wells College. Those contributions, robust in some years and lean in others, are erratic in timing, unpredictable in amount, and are -- unlike those for any other educational institution -- always listed as being for "buildings" or for "maintenance of public spaces."
The Overture Center in Madison, Wisconsin, is not a focus of the PTR Foundation (although Rowland did give a pipe organ for the new concert hall). Overture is the creature of Rowland�s husband, Jerome "Gerry" Frautschi. The project occasioned significant controversy and opposition.
Here are just a few of the points I remember from the press coverage at the time: 1) a thriving "college-town" community of shops, restaurants and bars would be destroyed in favor of a single new, enormous "attraction," 2) a project funded by private money somehow acquired the governmental power of condemnation, so that business owners who refused to sell were forced off their property by eminent domain, 3) the existing performance spaces of small local arts organizations were destroyed in favor of construction of a huge space that could only be filled by national touring companies of mega-hits, 4) Frautschi's donation was held at his direction wholly in stocks, and a market downturn eroded the capital before construction payments were due so that taxpayers got stuck with the bill for all future upkeep, 5) nevertheless Frautschi retained control of the property and governance of the Overture Foundation, even though city employees and taxes were keeping it afloat after the center's construction, 6) and Frautschi's friends were quick to try to capitalize on the Overture cachet by building luxury condominiums in the neighborhood, 8) etc.
Residents of Madison described Frautschi as exceedingly generous and totally ruthless in getting what he wanted for this project. And he rolled right over the experienced government and activist citizenry of Madison, Wisconsin. (Note: Madison is the state capitol and home to a state university.) I've always thought Pleasant learned a lot from Gerry, and tried to apply it here.
But in her monomaniacal effort to realize her vision for our village, Rowland did not get as far in Aurora as her husband did in Madison. He pretty much buried the opposition and is now publicly hailed by all as a hero; not so here. You can keep calling us ignorant rubes, middle-class snobs, or weak-willed academics, but together a hardy handful of us acted early-on to at least partially block her scheme. She did not succeed in establishing herself as resident queen of whatever it was she so desperately wanted to plant here. For that, I am grateful.
The Overture opposition websites seem to have disappeared, but here are a few random links from an old set of bookmarks I saved with press coverage on the Madison Overture Center Development:
AVM: ...It should be clear as to why Pleasant Rowland chose Aurora, and you in
part answered that question yourself a year ago: it's a smaller, far
more provincial town than Mt. Kisko...
I feel there's an important point that needs to be made... namely that we
who oppose Rowland are often accused, by her supporters, of being
people who merely "hate change." What they fail to consider is that in a
very real sense it is Rowland who "hates change"---her agenda was to roll
back time and return Aurora to some fanciful, idyllic, 1950s
existence. At least that's what one is led to believe by listening to her own
words. Of course it's only partly true; in reality it might be
more accurate to say that what Rowland was trying to do was reconstruct
Aurora to match her vision of a sort of faux Victorian theme park
similar to her "American Girls vision" of reality. At any rate the fact is
that she has shown what can best be described as contempt for the
village as a community and for any construction, old or new, that didn�t
match her �vision.� Aurora had moved on from what she remembered,
and she didn't like it...
I don't know
what actual charity work Rowland has done elsewhere besides the
Overture Center ... she certainly has done
none in Aurora. She hasn't given a dime to local schools or the local
library or any other community organizations; the "philanthropy" she's
conducted in the village has been limited solely to donating money to
re-do furnishings and decor (to the demands of her taste) in some
of the buildings at Wells College and to giving money to renovate
buildings and businesses in Aurora--most notably the Aurora Inn,
which was an intact late-Federalist era structure which she gutted
and remade, spoiling both the original interior as well as the facade.
To my knowledge she has given no money whatsoever to Wells College for
things like faculty retention and/or recruiting, upgrade of equipment
or infrastructure, or scholarships--the very things any college most
desperately needs money for. ... So her status as a
"philanthropist," to my thinking, is very much in question....
As to CJ Koepp, the link provided by the webmaster tells you who she
is. Your questions about Webb House are tougher and we can only guess at
the answers. Koepp is clearly in league with the Rowland clique.
They all strongly support her. It's also known that Rowland was
determined that Webb House was going to go where she wanted it... and this meant that one of
two old, unique buildings was going to be torn down so that Rowland got
her way. This is, finally, what happened. For all appearances it
SEEMS that Koepp was brought into this as a beard, yes, so that Rowland
could make her desires re: Webb House come to pass without it seeming to
involve herself directly. Koepp is adept at garnering sympathy from
people....I've watched her closely and I don't believe her act---an
act which a lot of people fall for... who see this as a victory for the poor, put-upon professor
against the wealthy Holland family. Never mind that Rowland was almost
certainly behind things all along and that ... there were more sensible alternatives for Koepp than buying Webb House,
demolishing Lake House, moving Webb House in its place, (on top of a
creek, yet) and raising it an additional story into the air. Far more
sensible. And yet she "had" to have Webb House. It's very suspicious.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
AVM, 8/2/07
CALIFORNIA
[Same author answered some of these same questions last summer: scroll to very bottom of this page]
Who is CJ Koepp? Is he/she a resident of Aurora? Was it
PTR's intention to always sell Webb House to another party? Or is Koepp a
beard for PTR and the LLC? In other words, when PTR saw the difficulties
Webb House was having, perhaps because of who owned it, did she decide
to sell it to get her goals accomplished another way?
I'm trying to piece all of this together because, to an outsider, it is
rather like a mystery novel, full of intrigue and drama. I don't mean
to trivialize these very real problems in any way, so I hope no one is
offended by those remarks.
I often wondered why PTR chose Aurora as her "victim" instead of some
place closer to home, say, a small town in Wisconsin or Illinois. There
are, undoubtedly, many lovely towns there in need of some TLC and a
wealthy benefactoress. I know she and her husband have already given much
to several charitable causes in WI, namely the Overture Center, which
is laudable. But why come all the way to NY to manipulate this village?
Do you think she intended to live in Aurora permanently, at some point?
Perhaps before things got too hot?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
HANNAH, 8/4/07
"AURORA"
[Then give your full name and get a local IP!]
Laura, I live in Aurora. I know you. You know me. This is a small village (under a 1000 with Wells students) and one does not have to turn over stones to know what happens here.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
L. HOLLAND, 8/3/07
AURORA
[Sloppy is one word for it]
Hannah: I don't know you. We have never met. Yet you remind me of someone
else whom I have never met. A woman named Robin Driscoll.
Like you, she didn't let not knowing me stand in the way of judging
me. Like you, she embarrassed herself by publicly disparaging me, my
family, and my home. She did this at a village meeting, without ever
meeting us. Also like you, she does not live in Aurora and clearly had no
idea what was going on here, but she did not let that stop her from
babbling a speech of malicious lies, inane gossip and gratuitous insults.
Funny, just a few months later, when she wanted something from us, a
sale of lakefront property behind Lyon House, our new house went from
being likened to a "big ugly office building" to "your lovely
home".
Hannah, I have never met you. You have based your opinions of me on
hearsay. That�s a sloppy way to go through life.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
INTERLOPER, 8/1/07
AURORA
Thank you, Contrarian, for your insightful rendering of the
vexing situation that Aurora finds itself in after the deluge that is
and was PR. Because of you and your fellow contrarians, the world will
be safe for democracy, decency and all that is good and right in this
world. Or at least in a few square miles of southern Cayuga County.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
CONTRARIAN, 8/1/07
AURORA
[She divided and hurt Mt. Kisco, too, but it didn't last as long...]
Wrong, "Interloper." Yes, there's some town & gown aspect
to the complaints you'll read on this site, but they largely relate to
the current president of Wells College rather than the college itself.
And in fact I could say very nice things about the contributions of
other colleges in the area to their respective communities, so for myself,
at least, this has never been about simple Wells-bashing.
In fact, very little of what is said here by anyone has anything to do
with the college per se. It's about Pleasant Rowland. Wells College
needn't even exist; PR could still have come into our village and done
what she's done regardless. The college merely gave her an excuse; she
used it as a wedge to drive herself into Aurora, because she was
looking for a village to make over in her twisted image. Mt. Kisko, NY had
the sense and the strength of will to push her out before she could do
real damage; Aurora was far easier pickings and PR knew it. It's
undoubtedly the real reason she came here. Aurora was her second choice, the
village that was less likely to put up a strong fight, because it was
smaller and weaker, and populated largely by rubes whom she knew would
bow down to her wealth.
The note above your entry says it all: show us another college town
controlled by a megalomaniacal billionaire. You clearly haven't been
reading through this site well enough or have only chose to hear what you
want to hear.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
INTERLOPER, 7/31/07
AURORA
[Sure: show us anther college town controlled by a megalomaniacal billionaire!]
This is classic town-gown stuff. Aurora is no diferrent
than any other college town because, afterall, no matter where you go,
there you are. The complainers complain alot about goiings-on but can't
list any community accomplishments or contributions & the college looks
out for its own interests, apparently without consulting the townfolk.
Same as it ever was.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
CONCERNED AURORAN, 7/31/07
AURORA
[Stupid plans, inept boards, or both?]
To Hannah: I had to respond to your smug, self-righteous note even though it was
directed at someone else. To begin with, what could Laura Holland possibly be envious about, in
regards to CJ or anything CJ has? Nothing. I'd suggest you think
before you toss your rhetoric around, "Hannah." You only sound petty
and ill-mannered.
As for complaints about the Holland's new house, I've heard them too,
and they're nonsense. Take a look around, "Hannah" ...Aurora has several houses just as big (if not
bigger!) than the Holland's new house. No, the main reason most people
complain about the Holland house is because of what you tried to pin Laura
Holland with yourself: Envy...
As for the Hollands having broken any building codes, it's a simple
matter of record, "Hannah." Go back and look. The
Hollands submitted detailed and professional plans from the start to
the village boards. (Which CJ did NOT do, by the way). Moreover,
it's a matter of fact that the Hollands did not
have to secure one single variance for their project. Again,
this little rumor against the Hollands...is absurd, and is motivated, again, by apparent
envy. The Hollands got to build this enormous house--therefore they
must have accomplished such a thing illegally and backhandedly. No, it
couldn't possibly be that the Hollands were within their rights to
construct that house, could it?
And even if we were to agree, for the sake
of argument, that their house was too big--it couldn't possibly be
that your village boards are inept, could it? That they couldn't read simple architectural plans and make an informed judgement based on
them? Oh, of course not--because admitting such a thing might mean that those same boards ignorantly okayed the outrageously stupid plan to
move Webb House (the Holland's old house) on top of an existing
creek while also agreeing to allow the raising of that house by another
story.
Your remark about CJ's house being "prettier" than the Holland's house
is so childish it shows you up for what you really are, "Hannah." And don't lecture people about "hate," Hannah. The fact is you are
ignorantly (and hatefully) attacking Laura Holland when this
isn't your fight -- unless you're CJ hiding behind a false name,
which I doubt.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
HANNAH, 7/29/07
BATON ROUGE
[She's writing from Louisiana!?]
One ought not to be vindictive and envious Laura. I have
heard complaints about your "too big house" and citizens of Aurora
wondering if you have not broken the building code. Why are you so against CJ?
Get over it! She bought the house you never wanted. It has been
placed next door to you and it is going to be prettier than yours. Pity you
did not have the vision to make changes to it rather than building a
new house. DO NOT HATE!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
TAXPAYER, 7/27/07
RIGHT HERE
[Questions about the amazing expanding house...]
Those new plans for CJs proposed open ditch to replace the buried storm drain -- don't they also show a new 12-foot deck on the back of Webb House? Was that addition ever approved by the Planning Board or the Community Preservation Panel? Or, like the new enclosed mud-room just added to the north, can no one remember this deck ever being approved?
Meanwhile... is that a Stop Work Order on Webb House? The orange sheet taped to the door of the new addition? Has the unapproved expansion been halted?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
L. HOLLAND, 7/23/07
AURORA
[New plans: an open drain ditch?!]
Subject: Formal Request
Sent: Monday, July 23, 2007
With this letter I am formally requesting that the Village of Aurora have a Stop Work Order issued immediately for the CJ Koepp and John Place project at 327 Main Street, in Aurora.
I request this Stop Work Order based on the following:
1. The terms of the height variance granted to Koepp and Place have been violated.
2. There has been construction on the site that has been neither submitted to nor approved by the appropriate village governing boards.
3. Koepp and Place misrepresented the status of their drainage plans to the Aurora Planning Board in November 2006. They declared they had DOT approval when they had not.
4. They have only now formulated plans with the Department of Transportation. These plans grossly deviate from those that were approved by the Aurora Planning Board on November 8, 2006. These altered plans dramatically and adversely affect the neighboring property, and because the plans include an open ditch they also affect the aesthetics of the entire neighborhood. These plans have not been submitted or approved by any Aurora village board.
As construction on this project is ongoing, I request immediate action on this formal complaint.
This is a matter the Village of Aurora must address, as these are blatant violations of village law.
Sincerely,
Laura Holland
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
TO DR. TAD, 6/13/07
IN THE HERE AND NOW
Aurora is a company town & and the company (Wells) has done just as they please w/o regard to laws more serious than building permits as far back as any can remember. As in other company towns....
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
L. HOLLAND, 6/12/07
AURORA
[Productive venting]
Venting can be beneficial to one�s health esp when
complaining in a meaningful manner results in those village officials
responsible attempting to avoid/stall/defer/ignore/delay/pass the buck/refuse
to answer/stonewall. I have attended many village meetings, read the village law book,
written letters, emails, made formal complaints and had conversations, and
so far, have nothing to show for the efforts but lost time. Maybe I
should have merely �vented�.
Not all �folks� feel free to complain in a responsible manner �
there are dominant forces at work in this village � forces that can
upend someone�s life. �Venting� isn�t doing �nothing�. It is keeping the topic out
in the open, keeping it alive, and reminding those responsible that as
much as they wish it would, it is not going to fade away, and that they
haven�t fooled or cowed everyone.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
DR. TAD, 6/12/07
IN THE HERE AND NOW
[Illegal...ongoing]
If the new Fargo construction has not been properly permitted, it must be illegal. Wells College LLC gets away with it because
they hold all the cards � and all the jobs � in the village. It is
shameful, it is abusive, it is a poor reflection on Aurora, but it is a
fact of life, so given that degree of power, it is understandable.
Unfortunately, that is the way the real world sometimes works. But if that
is what is really going on, it shows a real breach of ethics and
integrity on the part those in charge (Pres. Ryerson and Pleasant Rowland).
At this point though, most likely that revelation comes as a surprise to
no one.
If what I have gleaned from this website is true, and the Webb house
owners are also building unapproved additions (and getting away with
it), it makes me wonder if they are also tied into to same power
structure. From the newspaper coverage I have read, they have been quoted more
than once about being motivated by their desire to �preserve the
house�. So by that line of thinking, it is acceptable to ignore the
rules because it is for the sake of a supposedly noble goal. The owners
certainly are not about to refuse any behind the scenes assistance from
Rowland/Wells, because they want their house. But they cloak that
desire in loftier terms, in order to look good before the public, get their
way, and satisfy their own interests.
It is an ugly realization, and it is sad to see it being played out in
Aurora. But I have seen this kind dynamic at work before in other
university/college towns.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
SENT TO ALL FACULTY, 5/26/07
AT WELLS COLLEGE
[An invitation]
"Dear friends and colleagues,
Everywhere we go people ask us about Webb House and how our project is
going. Here is a chance to see for yourselves. Now that the
structure is safely attached to its new foundation and one can enter
through the front door (instead of using a ladder), John and I have
decided to have an Open House, this Monday, May 28th, 3:00-5:30p.m.
This will be the last chance to view the house BEFORE we start painting
and restoration. Please pass on this information to others in the
community whom you know might be curious to see the Webb House "up
close" in its new location.
Happy Graduation Day and Memorial Day Holiday to all. -- CJ" [Emphasis added.]
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
READER, 5/21/07
STILL HERE
[Senk, definitely. But remember Moncrief...?]
The June 2007 issue of Esquire has a little list entitled
"People You Can't Bribe". First on that list? "Employees of the United
States Postal Service."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
SIA, 5/21/07
AURORA
"Crazy inhumane being - or - obese self-loathing tyrant: you
decide!" --- can't it be both? I would like to vote for both. I'm
greedy that way.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
WE ARE NOT ALONE, 5/18/07
AURORA
[Crazy inhumane being - or - obese self-loathing tyrant: you decide!]
Look at this description of PTR a friend sent me from a 12/05 blog about her activities in Madison.
"You should not feel sorry for a crazy inhumane being such as Rowland who is an obese self-loathing tyrant who will go to any means to destroy hard working honest people's lives (too long of a list to mention) just to feed her own ego. I say great job to those who gave it back to Rowland. You know the old saying 'What goes around comes around.' Sent this to Pleasant Rowland & let her guess who's life she tried to ruin but failed to. Like I stated before the list is too long and she has a short memory and a small mind (the only part on her body that is small). If you disagree with this too damn bad. Maybe you should take a trip to Aurora, NY and talk to the citizens there and see if they feel sorry for Rowland & Frautchi. Rowland has destroyed that town."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
THE INSIDER, 5/17/07
WOW
[Ah, that "company culture..."]
�Hospitality executive Sue Edinger has been named
director of The Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality
Entrepreneurship at Cornell University�s School of Hotel
Administration, effective June 18. ...'Sue is a proven leader and innovator in the hospitality industry,
and we are delighted to have her join our team,' said Cathy Enz,
associate dean for Industry Research and Affairs at the school... 'We
believe she has the ideal background to build the Institute into the
leading center of its kind in hospitality management education.'
Edinger was selected in 2003 by philanthropist and entrepreneur
Pleasant Rowland to launch the re-opening and start up operations of Wells
College�s commercial properties, including the historic Aurora Inn, E.B.
Morgan House, Fargo Bar & Grill, Pizzaurora, Village Market and
Dorie�s Sweets and Treats. In her role as founding general manager for the
Aurora Foundation, she built the hospitality management team and
company culture that have won the properties the coveted AAA four diamond
lodging award, featured articles in national publications such as the New
York Times, and a spot in Select Registry. In June 2006, Wells College
resumed direct management of the commercial properties and Edinger
became general manager and director of Aurora Inn, Inc., the hospitality
management subsidiary of Wells College. ...The Pillsbury Institute was formed through a gift from Leland �Lee� Pillsbury
�69 and his wife, Mary. The Pillsburys announced plans last fall to
donate $15 million to the Cornell Hotel School in what will be the
largest single gift ever made to the school and one of the largest ever in
hospitality education.�
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
SIA, 5/14/07
AURORA
[Links added]
Will, the fact that you can write (apparently)
straight-faced recommendations for some ridiculous "process", and make claims for it
having improved your marriage, health, golf game, etc., is in itself
proof that the sort of people who go in for these quasi-cultish
"self-actualization" and self-improvement systems are simply the most
weak-minded, weak-willed types walking the earth. Have you ever heard of simple
will power, Will? If your life has problems and stresses, then
simply recognize them and make alterations. Done.
Of course it's not
easy --- if it was easy we'd all be sitting pretty. But the typical reaction
of a certain kind of person is to find that easy (or easier) way
out --- to fall back on some "process" or some conditioning that they think
will make all their little problems go away. Some people resort to
chemicals, some people resort to clique-ish group "processess" like
Quadrinity. Thirty years ago it was EST , gestalt therapy, primal scream,
blah blah blah, ad nauseum. And guess what, Will? They
never *really* work, not any of them. But lots of people delude
themselves, and the peddlers of this crap get rich. Yay for them, I guess. And
yay for the deluded. I personally prefer to handle my problems using
my own strength and my own resources. One last thing--it doesn't
surprise me that you're from California, Will... where people parrot and
pursue the latest fads that will bring them a better, happier life. Of
course these fads never work---but it's always sweeter to stick to the
honey, false as it may be, than to face the bitter that life is, along with
the good.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
WILL, 5/14/07
CALIFORNIA
[I'll bring the marshmallows!]
By the way, I am not in any way defending what Ms. Rowland
is doing in Aurora. If she's being a jerk, then I'm on your side and
you have my sympathies. I just disagree with the
witch-hunt-by-association that you are doing on the Hoffman programs and the people who have
done them. Just because a jerk likes something does not make that
something inherently evil. Apparently Ms. Rowland made her fortune on
dolls, but I don't see you suggesting a Barbie bonfire. [Nonsense: we roast her American Girl Dolls whenever we can.]
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
CONCERNED CITIZEN, 5/14/07
AURORA
[More on school budget]
I agree with Karin that the new buses should be voted for,
but I disagree with the addition of funding in the maintenance section
of the regular budget when we are getting new buses. Wasn't the whole
idea to buy new buses was to eliminate maintenance?? That increase
should be put into the 5 o'clock bus runs for the students so they can have
transportation not walking home.
The new communications system was
voted on in March 2007, so that should help with better input to parents
and students during difficult situations, if the money really gets
directed to that project and not moved to something non essential like in
the past.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
TAXPAYER, 5/13/07
AURORA
[Back to the post office]
What a mess Rowland has made for us. The USPS was perfectly happy with our PO facility and location. Their officials expressed surprise when contacted about a proposed move by our mayor on behalf of Rowland�s LLC. The USPS made it clear that they would not initiate a move to meet any needs of theirs.
But... because the VB initiated a relocation discussion, once Rowland�s move was under consideration it set in motion a federal process whereby everything about our PO had to be re-examined in terms of the latest USPS standards.
And so then it was decided that we need a new arrangement for our mail delivery trucks -- even though the USPS itself designed the system currently in use here. And then it turned out that our present facility is too large at 1400 square feet, and we deserve one only 2/3 of that space.
And it seems that this new downsizing determination translates into a severely reduced staff. So now, without any mail sorter on duty, we�ll be lucky to find mail in our boxes anytime before noon on weekdays, or before closing on Saturdays.
Lets hope in her upcoming closed-door meetings that Rowland decides, at long last, to leave us alone before still more jobs and services are lost in this village.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
KARIN W, 5/13/07
SOUTHERN CAYUGA
[Other issues: school budget]
On the subject of busses: our school busses have been at the bottom of the list in the whole state for passing their inspections for a few years now -- if we want our children to get to and from school safely, we need safe busses. Ours are old and very well-worn. Also, as a working parent who can't be here to put my kid on the bus or pick him up late after after-school activities, it has been more than just an inconvenience that the school has cut the late bus -- I have a kid
walking 5 miles home from school some nights. No, I don't think those aides should be cut either -- a lot of kids at the school could use a bit of extra help (and that includes extra bright kids at the other end of the spectrum who also get short-changed), but getting our kids back and
forth safely cannot be set aside either. The school did a fine job the day of the white-outs, and should be commended, but they need to get better communication in place desperately -- and a lot of that communication centers around transportation. Just my view on the issue as a parent in the school district.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
WILL, 5/13/07
CALIFORNIA
[And now he�s better looking, more popular, and can play the piano - without those tiresome lessons!]
Thanks "Happy to Hear That" and "How Absurd" for intervening
re: my brainwashing. Gee, I guess you're right - I must be brainwashed
because I've been brainwashed into thinking I'm not brainwashed. Of
course you could say that about anyone who expresses an opinion about
anything, including everything you see on this forum, i.e. you've all been
brainwashed into thinking those strong opinions you write and you're in
denial about being brainwashed.
But in my case it's true - the reason I'm much happier, my marriage is
rejeuvenated, my work relationships have improved, my health is
markedly better, I've effortlessly given up three life-long bad habits -- all
that is just an illusion because those ghouls at the Hoffman Institute
have brainwashed me and stolen my money. Thanks for setting me
straight. Just in time or I might have spread my evil to somebody else.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
CONCERNED CITIZEN, 5/12/07
AURORA
[Other developments]
Two items: 1] Heard today at the Aurora PO that the person
who sorts our mail has been cut. No more will we see our mail sorted
on time; especially if the window has customers. So much for the stamp
rate increase helping us out here in Aurora! By the way, if we can't
support the size of the staff (3) how come there is the need for a new
location? Can't they make do with what we have with some moderate
upgrade to looks?
2] Also, heard today that SCCS Budget has a 4.9% cost of living
increase in it. How come we have to eliminate so many of the aides who
actually help our students and yet vote in an increase to the school board
and bus garage maintenance area. (By the way, the new bus proposition is
a separate vote item.) I for one will vote "NO" for this budget, as I
didn't get an increase in pay and those with slower reading and math
skills need those aides to help them achieve passing grades. Make the SCCS
School Board take another serious look at their figures.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
HAPPY TO HEAR THAT!, 5/12/07
NOWHERE
[Hang that brain out to dry]
Nice for you, Will - or should we say No Will Now, since
you've been "processed"! It's good to know that googling "Hoffman Qaudrinity" brings information
seekers to this site.
Because the outrage expressed here shows that a devoted practitioner of
that cult has not been able to convince a tiny village in rural NY that
she is the "generous" benefactress that she'd like to think she is.
And, let me get this straight. Really? REALLY? You are comparing the
posh get away mind surrendering Hoffman Institute to the work being
done by the American Cancer Society? And you say you aren't brainwashed?
Better think again! But...Whoops. Now you've been there, you can't.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
HOW ABSURD, 5/12/07
RIGHT HERE
Brainwashed people dont FEEL brainwashed, now do they? Wouldn't be much of a brainwashing if they were aware of it. Hardly a compelling defense of these sickos - which I say having met some of them. Whew!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
WILL, 5/11/07
CALIFORNIA
[We would probably trash any LGAT coming to our tiny town]
I happened onto your site when I Googled Hoffman Quadrinity.
I recently did their eight-day program and it was a wonderful,
fantastic experience -- the best thing I ever did for myself in my entire life
and it has changed me for the better permanently. I find, so far
without exception, that of the dozens of other people who did the Quadrinity
Process, none feel brainwashed, ripped off, or abused and virtually all
agree with me that it is a wonderful thing.
I don't know anything about Ms. Pleasant except that she donated the
site where the Hoffman Institute holds most of its programs in the United
States and that was an extremely generous donation for an an
exceptionally worthy cause.
So whatever mud you may want to sling at her, that does not justify a
witchhunt for others who endorse an organization she has been associated
with. If she donated money to the American Cancer Society would you
start calling that evil and trash-talk its contributors?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A SOURCE, 5/8/07
NY
[Edinger gone; where's Waller?]
Didnt see it anywhere on here so this may be new news, but
Sue Edinger is leaving the Aurora Inn as General Manager she has accepted a job with a college in the area that is not Wells. Glad to hear she is moving on, and getting out of Pleasants grasp!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
COALITION SUPPORTER, 5/5/07
AURORA
Well, folks from PA, we certainly could use a few more civic-minded preservationists who are willing to do more than complain after the fact. I suggest your explore the website, although it is a bit organic in development and inconsistent in content and it may be hard sometimes to tell the tell the players without a score card. Good background may be found in some of the early national press coverage. The summary of the lawsuit indicates what we have been up against. The heartbreaking photo pages give your a true picture of Rowland's attitude towards our historic heritage as well clear insight into the mentality of our village boards.
To Pennsylvania: Thanks for writing, it's nice to hear from
"outsiders" who don't jump on us for being ingrateful yokels who should
praise heaven for having a "benefactor" like Pleasant Rowland. I think
what I can tell you is this: Aurora will remain forever a more-or-less
quiet little village--simply by virtue of the fact that there is nothing
here to really draw people beyond the pretty scenery; nor are
there enough basic amenities nearby (or attractions) to make it viable as
a major tourist draw. The nearest cities of any appreciable size are
Syracuse and Rochester, both about an hour or so away -- not really a
convenient distance for tourists. So in that sense Aurora will always be
just a lakeside village with picturesque views and some small-ish
businesses (the Inn, Mackenzie-Childs).
The characterof Aurora is
another matter. This has been severely damaged, in the opinion of many
of us, by the actions of Pleasant Rowland and her supporters. Certainly the village community now has a wedge driven through it; we
no longer trust each other, and old friendships have been dashed to
bits (hard to believe, but very true). We have an arrogant rich woman
from the Midwest (Rowland) who has tried to remake our quiet little
village into her inappropriate idea of some kind of phony, upscale
attraction. It would be silly to deny the impact this has had on the community.
Housing values may be (falsely) inflated, but that just makes it more
difficult for middle-income folks to live here or move here. ...Whether Wells College is a going concern is an impossible
question to answer. Currently Wells is headed by a president with totally
inadequate professional credentials who also appears to be wholly !
in league with Pleasant Rowland. She and her husband (a village trustee) are clearly rabid wanna-bes, and their activities haven't, in the
opinion of many, been a good thing for the village or Wells
College. Here I am being diplomatic to say the least... At any rate, the question as to whether Wells is headed towards better financial times is not yet resolved....
Lastly -- Aurora has been designated an Historic District
for quite some time now--this is not something that is going to happen
but has in fact already happened. Sadly it has done little to protect
the character of the village. It certainly did not stop Rowland from
devastating the intact interior of our 150+ year old Inn, turning i!
t into a cookie-cutter Ramada....
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
WHERE DO I START?, 5/1/07
PENSYLVANIA
[A request for feedback...tho many answers are already on this site]
Dear Folks,
My wife and I spent part of this past weekend in your village. A delightful place. We were smitten by its isolation, size, and our perception that it would not suffer a huge growth spurt but that nice properties would be desirable. I was pleased to see that the village is a registered historic district. We enjoyed it so much that we drove around looking for real estate in the village. Please understand. We are not developers. We live outside a small town in Central PA. Our first home was an old brick farm house built in 1826, with two smaller brick buildings. We restored that home true to its original character. Saved it from being turned into apartments. A few years ago we moved to a "much more modern home", built in 1839. When we bought it an architect told us to tear it down and start over. We threw him out, found a sympathetic contractor, and worked with him to rehab the original structure so that it looks and feels like what it is: an old farmhouse.
I've spent part of the morning reading about the controversy connected with the Aurora Foundation LLC. And at real estate in Aurora. We would be looking for a weekend getaway, but it also hope it would be an investment. We do not have gobs of money. To do it would be a major stretch.
I'm not sure why I'm writing to you, other than my wife and I are typically sympathetic to organizations such as yours and the issues you have raised. Is Aurora a viable situation as a quiet village on the lake? Or is the remuddling, which on the surface looks quite nice, and the other endeavors of Ms. Rowland going to doom it? Will registration as a historic district be a boon in preserving the character of your village? Is Wells a going concern, likely to remain in existence? We're on the outside looking in, looking for information.
Knowing what you know, would you want to buy a home in Aurora? Thanks.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
JAY O'HEARN, 4/24/07
AURORA
[Audacity is one word for it...]
This morning, a local person taped blank sheets of white
paper to the car I park downtown to protest Pleasant Rowland. In so
doing, this person covered up all the car windows that are facing the
sidewalk, blocking out everything I had put up there.
As some of you may recall, a similiar incident occurred once before
last fall. At that time, I wrote a letter to the person who was doing it,
and asked that person to stop it. That individual complied with my
request, and has given me no further trouble.
This time out, someone else is involved. I have written a similar
letter to today's taper, and have every expectation that my request to keep
their hands off my private property will be honored.
But in the event this kind of behavior persists, I am asking anyone on
this forum who may agree with my car protest to please remove anything
that has been taped to the outside of my car. My material is all on
the inside.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can help out with this. I continue to
be astonished at the audacity of some of Pleasant's supporters.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
INDEPENDENT, 4/16/07
AURORA
[Keep dreaming, Georgie...]
Aurora Trustee god-help-us George Farenthold set himself up back in the Howard Dean days as the organizer of “Democracy for America” in Aurora, which continues to meet monthly at the Fargo -- even when no one comes, as was the case for his April 2007 meeting [ http://dfa.meetup.com/516/ ].
You’ll note that of this writing there are all of five “active” members listed, and George is the only one who actually lives in Aurora [ http://dfa.meetup.com/516/members/ ].
Nevertheless, he tries to promote his personal agenda for Aurora (on which he has been forbidden to vote as trustee because of his blatant conflict of interest) into a local Democratic Party Platform. Quote:
“My Activist Friends: PLEASE GET INVOLVED! Our government has still been failing us (and the world) because we let a guys like Rove, Bush, Cheney, Libby, Abramoff, Delay and their cronies control our Government. Their reign is now almost officially OVER! We, YOU and me have been helping fix that miserable situation. Now we have a solid voice in Congress in the Hon. Michael Arcuri. He now needs to hear from us. By the way, so do Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Charles Schumer. They ARE listening. Make your voice heard!...We have started taking back New York, the Congress and the country... Aurora remains the center of our local reform universe. With a little more support from the citizenry we will have a new Village Public Post Office, a new lake path, new Village parking and A NEW VILLAGE PARK... “ [ http://dfa.meetup.com/516/calendar/5531236/ ].
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
ANOTHER CONTRIBUTION, 4/12/07
ALSO REFUSED BY THE CITIZEN
[Two wrongs just make it worse]
Yep, this is America. And to the contrary, folks: Rowland has not stayed within the law. Repeatedly, our local officials allowed her to ignore statues that exist to protect community interests, public safety, and the environment. Maybe they thought they were �helping� the village by making it �easy� for her because they believed her claims of altruism. But by failing treat her like any other individual wanting to develop property here and by failing to hold her to account for improper actions, they made a terrible mistake. And we ALL have paid the price.
Now more projects are underway, with the possibility of more to come. Do we want to see the mistake compounded? Some of us would prefer to see the process righted so that all applicable laws are followed in both letter and spirit. That requires calling community attention to the problems that have been created here, and working to promote consistent, fully reviewed development practices. This is not �angry / victim mode,� it is activist mode -- a basic American right -- the attempt to effect change, improve conditions, and prevent what we see as further harm to the community.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
AURORAN 4/5/07
AURORA
[We've heard all these, but doubt the Citizen has..]
As suggested by "Hey FYI!" -- here is what I have been trying
to get posted in The Citizen online:
I have known Pleasant in many roles for quite some years. I have seen
her with fawning yes-men sucking up to her and eating it up. I have
seen her demanding that workmen break the law and do dangerous things
because she couldn't make up her mind about the placement of trees while
following safety rules. And I have seen her, first hand, be rude and
insulting to me, when she didn't even know who I was, for no reason at
all. I have seen her force Her Will on a community against its best
interests. I have seen her demean and terrify people who work for her
because a pillow was literally inches out of alignment on a couch in a
public area. I have seen her make deals with students to not move the
furniture in the dorm in which they lived because she just had to control
every tiny little thing. I have seen her flatly refuse to fund
educational programs in favor of cosmetics at Wells College when they were
sinking fast.
I have seen her ignore the very real concerns and desires of people who live in Aurora because it didn't fit with her vision.
I have read her very words in a college publication in which she states
quite clearly that she is better qualified to dictate to the Village
what's good for them than they are. (Check back issues of the Wells
Express for confirmation) I have seen her set policies as well as making
other changes to long-standing local establishment deliberatly to
discourage locals to patronise them because she doesn't feel they look the
part to attract her wealthy tourist friends...
You cannot say to me that this
woman is capable of compromise, much less willing to consider it.
The
people of Aurora have suffered precisely because so many of us were willing
to give her a chance, to give her the benefit of the doubt, to trust her to do as she promised at the beginning. We lived -- and
we learned, the very hard way. Don't bust our chops now that we have
had the scales fall from our eyes, now that she has shown her true
colors and we know what she is, if we fight tooth and nail and get her out
of our town. That said, the Morgan Opera House is a lovely
establishment, perfect as it is aside from needing some repairs. I hope the
controversy of the fear of Pleasant sticking her nose in, through the various
of her lackeys who keep cropping up in association with the project,
does not stop people from donating -- take this project into our own
hands so we can prove we don't NEED Pleasant T Rowland in our community.
Support the opera house and the library as two of the last few
operations in Aurora NOT controlled by PTR/Wells/Aurora Foundation.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
WATCHMAN 3/30/07
AURORA
[Yes, and they are dangerous]
A while ago, the Hoffman org sold women�s jewelry with their distinctive symbol or logo. (Now you can get it on a mug or bag; check their website.) Back in 2001 several of us saw people of prominence in this village wearing that symbol. At the time, I didn�t know what it meant; but a visiting alumna pointed it out and explained its significance to us. Since the alumnae were on to them, these gals soon stopped wearing their identifying necklaces, but I believe that they are still devoted Hoffman Disciples and that they have encouraged the spread of the institute�s influence here. I know you�d like me to name names on this forum, but I am not going to do that -- sorry. Trust your instincts.
Severe personality flaws don't necessarily account for all HQP recruits. Well-balanced people can be drawn into such systems at the insistence of a boss, mentor, teacher, spouse, sibling or parent, and then get subjected to sleep-deprivation, extreme isolation, psychological abuse, hypnotism and drugs leaving them quite transformed and possibly brainwashed. I recommend reading some writings of Margaret Thaler Singer, including "Cults in Our Midst" and "The 'Not Me' Myth."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
WONDERING 3/25/07
ABOUT THE WEIRDOS
[Are they among us?]
I agree with the recent critical posts in this forum
concerning the Hoffman Institute and its Quadrinity Process. The more one
reads about the HQP, the stranger, weirder, and more alarming it
becomes. My opinion is that is must be weak-willed or otherwise mentally
flawed people who feel they need to introduce something like the HQP into
their minds and lives. It is upsetting to think that Pleasant, the
dictator of Aurora, is one of its most passionate advocates and supporters.
But several times I have read on this site of a suspicion that
Pleasant's supporters in Aurora have similarly been processed by the Hoffman
Institute. Given some of the behavior we have witnessed from this group,
I can see how those suspicions might arise. But does anyone know for
certain? The prime suspect would of course be Ryerson, and perhaps her
doltish husband, or the upper administration people at Wells. But
that is only speculation, and I don't like basing my beliefs on
speculation.
Can anyone reading this shed some light on this question? Do we
really have some of the Hoffman robots walking in our midst?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
LIKE WHO CARES, 3/17/07
AURORA INN
[Or not]
To occasional visitor - If you don't like it, you could leave
the village.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
OCCASIONAL VISITOR, 3/15/07
CAMPUS
[I could have danced all night...]
If this forum is any indication of "local life" then tango
lessons sounds like a decent alternative to riding the high horse in
town. I participated in the ballroom dancing several nights in Feb which
had a turn out of almost 50 people! I am glad to have something else
to do in this town!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
ANOTHER LINK, 3/9/07
VILLAGE OF AURORA
[Incredible origins of HQP]
Very informative first-hand account of origins of Hoffman Institute Quadrinity Process. Some highlights:
Founder Bob Hoffman was a tailor. He began his career as a "healer" giving psychic readings in basement of a clothing store in Oakland, CA.
He claimed "spirit-guide" of deceased Austrian shrink Siegfried Fisher co-created the HQP. Yes: a doctor's ghost "revealed" process to him, so it was OK he had no psychological training. (Fischer�s widow threatened suit over this claim.)
More insights into original and current process:
"His style was to evaluate and attack people, then point to their emotional reactions as example of negative programming, almost always violating the boundaries of professional behavior... In every session Hoffman lectured, shouted, cajoled, confronted, intimidated, humiliated, bullied, abused us. He called us ass holes and negative love buyers. This behavior perhaps forced some people to examine themselves, but it far exceeded professional boundaries appropriate for therapist/teacher, student/patient relationship. Hoffman justified his behavior by claiming that his basic message was so simple that it was hard to grasp without his unyielding confrontation...The bitch session, which replaced the "anger letter," was an experiential expression of anger, directed at a parent, using explicit language, physical motion, beating pillows, and screaming...
In a "mind trip," the client yanked out the umbilical cord that connected his or her emotional child to their parents and allowed them to grow up to their chronological age... He conducted other portions of his course through "mind trips" and I will mention two of them, the parents' funeral and the birthday party, because together with the other exercises already mentioned, these fill out nearly every essential element (except "Vindictiveness," "Play Day," and "Dark Side") of present HQP. After the prosecution and defense of both parents, we were asked to close our eyes and imagine that we were awakened in the dead of night by a phone call: our parents had been involved in a car crash and were near death. We were asked to follow the course of events from the emergency room to the graveside....
There was another mind trip when we were asked to visualize the birthday party that we never had, where we were celebrated and feted for who we were and not who we had to pretend to be in order to experience our parents� love... Both remain today in the HQP as elaborately produced events, with music, props, food. When combined with suggested visual images, they can and do induce the powerful emotional states Hoffman sought...the controlled emotional rollercoaster of the current HQP."
Hope you are wrong about this weirdness coming to Aurora. Hard to believe anyone could be suckered in by it. But according to their website, it seems to be spreading.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
ALUMNA, 3/2/07
CNY
[HQP in Aurora?]
Finally getting back to Anonymous from Nowhere way back on 11/19:
No, "nefarious" doesn�t sound silly applied to what�s happening in Aurora. Not at all. Destruction of real community life in the village may be just the first step. Perhaps so something else can be planted in the village.
Some alums share concerns expressed here about Rowland�s association with the Hoffman Institute Quadrinity Process. This organization -- which some might describe as nefarious -- seems intent on expanding. They�ve just devoted a resort in California to running HQP sessions year-round. (That�s the property Rowland bought for them back in 2000.) Maybe access to a quiet village and nice college campus in upstate NY would increase the HQPs intake?
Rowland is a "graduate" and advocate of this secretive 8-day �personal transformation� process. (It�s said she made all Americal Girl execs take the HQP treatment. It is known she gives �scholarships� for individuals to take the HQP.)
The HQPs current president emerged from the leadership of the long-discredited and out-right dangerous EST and Lifespring organizations.
It's hard to unearth on-line information about the group. (Participants must sign a confidentiality agreement. Those who ask questions are dismissed early in the process.) But the more we know about it the better. Here are some interesting links. Please add to the list!
Just noticed the big box trailer in the Post Office parking
lot. Boxes of stuff -- lots of stuff -- were being unloaded and taken into
the Heary Bldg. Does anyone know what's happening?
And, any news about Lyon House? I have heard that at the open house
five parties expressed an interest in offering bids.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
RESPONSE FROM PAUL SENK, 2/7/07
WINDSOR, CT
[Answer to residents who asked what "developments" would be presented at hearing]
Subject: RE: Aurora Public Meeting 2/21/06
Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 1
From: Senk, Paul J - Windsor, CT
"The primary information item I have to share may not be news to many. The only offer we received in response to our solicitations was for the Heary Building. So it has been tentatively selected for the site of the Aurora post office, subject to many things. The space and site will need to be designed to meet our accessibility standards, the historic preservation review must be successfully completed, an acceptable lease contract needs to be negotiated, local building approvals must be obtained, environmental reviews must be performed, etc. So while this is a milestone of sorts, there is still much work to be done, including listening to comments from the customers of the Aurora post office."
(Note: Is he really coming from Connecticut to tell us what we already know? Hasn't Rowland submitted modified plans for her project yet? Will new plans be presented for comment at the meeting without a chance for prior review by the public?
Here are links for an over-view of the project and a full chronology with documentation.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
COPIED FROM PAUL SENK, 2/7/07
WINDSOR, CT
[Notice of USPS Hearing]
Many of you are aware of the possible relocation of the Aurora Post Office. We have worked on this project for some time and have developments of interest to the Aurora Community.
There will be a public meeting on Wednesday, February 21st at 6:30 PM at the Aurora Fire Station. At this time, we will provide updates on our efforts to date on this project and will be available for your comments.
As always, your attendance and participation are welcomed!
Paul Senk
Manager, Real Estate
860/285-7006
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
VILLAGER, 2/6/07
AURORA
[Post Office - Heads Up!]
The USPS has asked the Village to set up a public meeting
with Paul Senk for Wednesday, February 21, 2007 at 6:30 PM in the Meeting
Room of the Firehouse.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
K.A.Hindenlang, 1/19/07
AURORA
[Village Board Public Hearing on Proposed Laws]
Attendance was small at the 1/17 meeting: 4 of 5 VB members (Farenthold absent), chairs of CPP and ZBA, deputy chair of Planning Board, and 6 other village residents. Nevertheless, the hearing lasted about an hour. The tone was informal and rather neighborly.
It seemed clear that the VB members present shared many of the major concerns expressed and questions raised in the hearing about main provisions in the two proposed laws (re building & fire code enforcement and unsafe buildings). But apparently the VB presented these flawed laws to the public anyway, thinking they had to pass such laws this month by state mandate. Some of the trustees had done some research, and determined that such haste was neither necessary nor desirable.
The VB seemed receptive to concrete suggestions for improving these proposed laws. Prior to the meeting, I had provided some trustees and chairs with a number of internet resources for comparing these proposed laws to statutes in other NYS villages and towns. They read and circulated the material, and I was thanked for my help. (I encourage anyone else who unearths information which might be useful or relevant to the VBs discussion of this matter to share it with them. Their email addresses are on the village website.)
Near the end of the hearing, the mayor stated the board's intention now to "go slow," presumably to revise the proposed laws to meet the needs of our community and conform to our own municipal code. My understanding is that the VB will meet with the village attorney, and then another public hearing will need to be held to receive comment on the proposed laws as revised.
Looking ahead, I remain concerned about what will happen once village attorney Fusco and code enforcement officer Staley re-enter the discussion. (Neither attended the meeting, although I believe some trustees had wanted Fusco present to answer questions.)
I have communicated with a respected and experienced ZBA Chair in another community about our proposed Unsafe Buildings Law. He was distainful and very suspicious of the provision to demolish all buildings unoccupied for 2 years, and wondered if our code officer was simply trying to generate additional fees for himself via this outrageous provision. I think the fact that Staley proposed a law with this provision, and Fusco apparently supported it, gives us some reason to question whether these men are acting in the best interests of our community.
Not Surprised by a snake wrote on January 03, 2007 3:38 PM: "Mr Fearon may have issues of his own to answer for, but look who tried to slither into his seat in a blatant back-door manuver. Given the smarmy Mr. Farenthold's naked ambition and thirst for political influence, it should come as no surprise. Still, I am bemused by this need in someone so unqualifed to be dealt into the game. But Mr Farnenthold lacks both the appeal and the smarts to get himself elected to such a postion (he does, howeve, suffer from no shortage of chutzpah) so he tried to seize the seat in whatever underhanded manner that he could. Deplorable."
Another anti-GF comment in the Citizen's coverage of county politics here
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
LAURA HOLLAND, 1/3/07
AURORA
"Well....." - Wrong! Diane Hutchinson made it very clear to
me that offers from me, or my family, would not be considered.
"I wouldn't plan on being able to purchase either of these properties."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
WELL... 1/2/07
LYON HOUSE SALE
Now you have the info. Go down and look the place over. If you may want the house. I am sure they will not turn a bidder away.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
DOT, 1/2/07
AURORA
It's open to the public. Must be, because the sale and open house are being advertised in the village office.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
THE ONLY WAY, 12/31/06
TO BUY LYON HOUSE
[More info below...]
It is by bid only. There will be an open house I think it is on Jan 7 2007 from 10 AM - 2PM. Then you send your bid to: Diane Hutchinson, VP Wells College
Aurora, NY 13026.
I am not sure of a close date on the bids.
[Bids are to be in by January 22. Not sure if tour is open to public or just to Wells employees who may have first opportunity to buy. Call and ask Hutchinson at 315/364-3370 or 315/364-3295.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
G DE, 12/30/06
UPSTATE NY
[Potential buyer for Lyon House]
Being a small animal Veterinarian I would love the house to
live in and to put a small animal office in, but I am sure I will not
hear from the college, even though they said they would give me a call
if anything with the house ever changed.
I agree with X with all of the changes that have happened around the
house it may not seem like the best purchase in the world, but it could
still be a VERY workable and magnificant home with the right
applications. I will see if I ever hear from anyone at the college. Maybe I should
call my real estate agent.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
LYON HOUSE, 12/22/06
X
[Sorry this is late getting up...]
Wells can't expect much $ from selling Lyon house It is
rotting would take a ton of money to salvage, has a new public sidewalk
right next to it on one side. And as I hear, there are plans to squeeze
another driveway right next to it on the other side.
Plus it has zero lake front and almost zero back yard. sounds like
anyone's dream house, huh. Whose gonna pay much for that? they may have to
pretty much give it away just to get rid of it. What faculty member can
afford to fix it?
With all that is wrong with the building and lot, Can you imagine being
the agent trying to show that house? Ha. they need to find some fan
of old houses with big bucks, who only cares about the building and not
the land it sits on. If they can't find someone like that, Lyon house
will just sit there and rot some more.
PS, why isn't Pleasant interested?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
LAURA HOLLAND, 12/21/06
AURORA
[Neighborly relations...]
Dear Casual Observer (and, Neighbor, it seems):
Last spring I received a lengthy letter from CJ Koepp which touched on
numerous personal interests. While ostensibly an attempt at friendly
overture, it was (considering the situation )overly so . The letter
was quite presumptuous as well, both in terms of whether or not our
old house would be moved there, and whether or not the Hollands'
opposition to it would disappear once it had. I saw it as an effort to
ingratiate herself with me in a one-on-one fashion.
At that time, I sent her a hand-written response. I am posting that
response here now, verbatim:
Dear CJ,
This matter has never been about who is next door.
Our objection is to what is next door.
We do not want that house in the lot next door.
It does not belong there.
We were told it would not remain there.
We would not object if someone wished to build an appropriate sized
house on the lot.
We would never try to control who our neighbors are.
Sincerely,
Laura Holland
Those few lines pretty much sum up this ridiculous mess, as far as we
are concerned. We were lied to. We were told that house would be taken
away from there, and not end up 10 feet from our property line. At no
point in this very public dispute did Waller, Rowland, or anyone else
behind this fiasco deny this. They encountered difficulties in moving
it, so they unapologetically reneged, and took the cheap and easy way
out. That has angered us, as my guess is it would anger anyone if it
involved their own home and property, and trust.
We have enjoyed sharing our lakefront property with the tenants of
Morgan House, Lake House Apartments, and Lyon House, for the past 20 years.
We have enjoyed good relations, and made some good friends, with our
neighbors for the past 25 years. We have never tried to control who our
neighbors are and we certainly never will.
I recently discovered a copy of that "personal" letter from Koepp on
file in the village office . I realize, now, that it was a public
relations tool used by Koepp to gain more community support. Why else
would she put it on file in the villae office?
Laura Holland
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
INSPIRED, 12/13/06
COSMOS
Ryerson's and Farennthold's bedtime prayer. They probably
recite this every night:
The Our Pleasant
Our Pleasant, who art in Madison
Hallowed be thy name
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
In Aurora as it is at Wells
Give us this day our daily dollar
And forgive us our dissenters
As we resist those who dissent against you.
And lead us not into self determination,
But deliver us from diversity and independence.
Amen.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
ABOUT TO PUKE, 12/8/06
BEYOND BELIEF
[Pretty sickening...]
Some time ago, several Aurorans contacted the advocacy group "Options for Independence" desperate for help in getting through to our Village Board re their blind acceptance of Pleasant's proposal for a highly inaccessible Post Office & Lot.
They could do little to help, but somehow GF managed to turn their contact into an opportunity to transform himself into Aurora's "hero of the handicapped."
Gag! This man is absolutely determined to destroy our accessible PO & Lot and force serious burdens upon locals with limited mobility, but he manages to get himself an award for painting handicapped parking signs on the highway's shoulder! Take a look: the Citizen reports that he's an
Advocate of the Year.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
SIA, 12/5/06
AURORA
[More on the village website]
I can think of nowhere else (no place that I've ever seen
anyway) where citizens have to actually write to their village officials
to complain about content on the village web site, and instruct said
officials on what's proper content and what isn't. Aurora is insane.
Aside from everything else that goes on here that makes NO sense at all,
we also have someone like Jacci Farlow (I assume she's the one
responsible) who runs the village's taxpayer-subsidized web site like it was her
own personal MySpace page. It would be funny if we didn't have to
live in the midst of it...
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
LAURA HOLLAND, 12/4/06
AURORA
[Response from village official]
A village official has responded to my email and, along with
an apology, assured me that the Koepp/Place letter and photograph will
be removed today.
It was acknowledged that the posting of such material on a village
website was a mistake and that they are taking steps to ensure that only
appropriate material is posted in the future by formalizing a more
comprehensive set of guidelines for the village website.
I appreciate the prompt response to, and resolution of, this matter.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
LAURA HOLLAND, 12/3/06
AURORA
[Email to clerk's office re website]
Village Clerk & "Webmaster":
I have noticed that a letter from CJ Koepp and John Place, regarding
the relocation of our former house, has been posted under the December
News and Notes on the Village of Aurora's website.
Since this matter is a real estate transaction and a project involving
two private citizens and their private residence, I do not see the
relevance, nor the appropriateness, of a letter from them appearing on a
municipal, taxpayer supported website.
As everyone in Aurora is well aware, this relocation has been
controversial from its outset. There are, and have always been, two sides to
this story. Accordingly, in the interest of fair play and equal time, I
wish to submit a statement on this topic to the Aurora Village website,
to be posted alongside the letter from Place and Koepp.
Would you please let me know what rules/guidelines this private
citizen will need to follow ( length, number of pictures, etc) to have my
own letter on this matter posted on the Village of Aurora website?
Thank you.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
STRANGE BEDFELLOW, 11/25/06
AURORA
[Parallel non-intersecting worlds]
SIA -- I agree, though I think that after
living here a while you come to know there are
multiple worlds coexisting and not overlapping despite the geographic
proximity. In the countryside all around Aurora is a whole other breed of
folks, most of whom grew up in a culture of separatism -- they don't mix
with "people from Aurora" or try to mingle with "the people on the hill" (i.e. people
who work at Wells in administrative or academic departments, as opposed
to down at B&G or Housekeeping). Their perspective is very different
from that of those who do live and work in those places. Many of these
folks go (went) to the Fargo as a comfortable local place to drink (and
there is a culture of drinking like you can't believe out in the
countryside -- drinking and hunting and work -- and talking about drinking
and hunting and work, and telling stories from the past about drinking, hunting and work). I have
now lived in each of these worlds. It's been a real eye-opener to me
to live in a culture where drinking is the central feature of life, and
having your own local place to hang out with your own set of people is
what matters -- and they don't really care what happens
in the rest of Aurora, so long as they are left alone to drink with
their friends -- at the Fargo in Aurora, the 34 Club in Scipio, Cecil's in
Lansing, the King Ferry Hotel and the Genoa Hotel. No, I don't agree
with this way of thinking and don't find it a particularly healthy way
to live...but it is another
fairly sizeable group of people, mostly unknown to college people. So,
it does not surprise me that many of these people would not take strong
views against Pleasant except when she took over their watering place
and sissyified it and made them feel unwelcome and uncomfortable.
I knew some young people who were regulars there who started drinking in corn fields over the summer rather than go down to the Fargo, for
example, and boy, did they have bad things to say about Pleasant. I
know that the regulars at the Fargo are not solely of this breed, and
some were even college people, but I think this is the group of which you
are speaking now -- and it's a hopeless case to think you can change
them -- esp. if you are not of their culture. Work together where you
can agree (i.e. the Fargo) and don't expect them to ever get excited
about what Pleasant has done to the rest of town. They don't seem to
understand much less appreciate the culture of people living in the Village
any more than Villagers are ever likely to reciprocate. They are
strangely separate worlds, each with good points and flaws, just like most
humans on the planet. Find the good where you can and make your own way
with the rest. Pax.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
SIA, 11/25/06
AURORA
[Once more, with feeling]
S.B.: I have no desire to make an argument of
this, but I just want to say that you also have missed my point. I was
not talking about the people who finally woke up (albeit a bit late) to
what Pleasant was doing, and who now stand with us. I'd agree with you
that it doesn't matter when people wake up as long as they do. Rather,
I was talking about the people who still think that Pleasant has done
good things for Aurora except for what she did to the Fargo. In other
words, if PR hadn't touched the Fargo, they really wouldn't care about
what she's done to the village, and in fact many of them seem to think
what she did to the Inn (for example) was just fine, and it's clear that
had she taken no action against the Fargo, they'd still be more or less
on her side, or at least acquiescing to what she's done.
If you ask
me, it's that lack of conviction and sensibility about the issue that
fractures the anti-Pleasant side. Anyway, this subject only came up because someone said that all this "began with the Fargo," and it's
that mindset I was addressing. I'm certainly not interested in
establishing "elites" or tiers amongst those who stand against Rowland. I was
simply trying to say, "come on, let's get with it, folks. It's not
JUST about the Fargo."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
COALITION SUPPORTER, 11/25/06
AURORA
[Look forward, not back]
Let it be said that as a matter of policy the original founders and supporters of the incorporated Aurora Coalition don't say "What took you so long?" or "I told you so!" to anyone who comes around belatedly to understanding and sharing some or all of our very deep, ongoing concerns about Rowland's involvement in this village.
S.I.A., aka "Frustrated," I don't believe you resided in Aurora when we found the guts and raised the money to go to court and on to appeals in 2001-02. In any event, the situation back then was truly horrible. I think it might be helpful if you stopped dragging us back repeatedly to your judgemental interpretation of our past, whether you experienced it first hand or not. It just gouges the wounds and gets us nowhere. We need to look ahead, not back.
(Thank you for your comments, Strange Bedfellow.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
STRANGE BEDFELLOW, 11/22/06
AURORA
[Put your irks in a closet and let's get on with it]
I don't see much good coming of complaining about
people who didn't catch on to the ill Pleasant was bringing to our
community until she went after the Fargo -- that just sets those of us who
are now all on the same side against each other, as if trying to
establish some elite of "those who caught on right away" and exclude those who
are viewed as "johnny-come-lately" types. The fact is that we all need
to work together and be good and supportive towards each other if we
are to stand a chance of standing against the Pleasant/Wells machine. At
this point it no longer matters if some caught on sooner than others.
LH for example, will tell you herself that she thought
Pleasant was a good idea at first, yet today, now she has seen PTR's true
colors, she is as fiercely against PTR's machinations (sp?) in this
village as anyone -- does that mean she can't belong to the club, for
goodness sake?
Don't do the enemy's work for them by turning us all against each other. Don't blame people for being hoodwinked and/or
complacent at first -- that happens and sometimes people are right and
other times people find out they were wrong and it doesn't make any of
them less good people or less valuable allies now.
Me, I never went to
the Fargo if I could help it before or after, it was never a place where
I fit in, neither when it was a locals place nor now that it is a
chi-chi yuppified tourist place with an odd undertone of bar fights and
sleazy problems with the staff (so I hear -- can't say firsthand as I
haven't so much as peeked inside in years). I still recognize the value of
the place to many local folks and how it symbolically represents the
last public space refuge of those who didn't want to be part of
Pleasant's little charade of the Perfect Charming Small Town Village.
So, I beg
for ceasing the attacks, even mild ones, on those who didn't "get it"
right away; if they are with us now, put your irks in the closet and focus on the serious task at hand -- getting the stink out of our
town, with help from the johnny-come-latelys as well as those who see
trouble everywhere, whether it turns out to really be trouble later or
not. Politics has to make strange bedfellows to be effective and
effective is what we need to be.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
SIA, 11/21/06
AURORA
[Fargo a symptom, not the disease]
You make a good point M, but I'm not wholly buying it... I still hear people say that what Pleasant did was
okay until she messed with the Fargo, meaning that they still think she
did little else wrong EXCEPT for that. A lot of people still speak of
her as doing good things for Aurora, and their only real disagreement
with her is about the Fargo. That's the mindset I was addressing, which
to me isn't about being afraid to speak out (though I fully admit people
are still afraid to do that--I'm one of them) but rather is about
ignoring the facts.
The thing is, these people lost "their Fargo" in some
small part because they DIDN'T raise a stink earlier. Now yes, maybe
some of that was due to fear. Maybe a lot of it was. But that doesn't
explain the positive and quasi-positive attitudes towards PR that I
still hear from time to time... to wit, that she did a "good job" with the
Inn and has done other "good things"... but that they didn't like what she did to the Fargo. As if the Fargo was the only thing that
mattered. It's that stick-their-head-in-the-sand attitude that I was
addressing...which is what irks me.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
M, 11/21/06
AROUND
[Forlorn hope]
SIA, another way of looking at it: knew - with the exception of the original members of the Aurora
Coalition - that it was not in their powers or not in their best interests
to publicly express any objections to the Bulldozer.
So many stayed silent - SIAs themselves - and retreated to the Fargo,
the only real Aurora they had left. Rowland's "activities" weren't "OK", they were disturbing and
unsettling. But what could they do but hope that ultimately what she was doing
would bring good to the village?
There was an assumption, based on hope, that PR would have the good
sense to leave the Fargo alone. And as long as she did, it was a place
where they could speak freely, afford to gather, and be themselves,
without the watchful eye of the corporate beast.
The Fargo was "dandified" earlier - it wasn't a good sign - but it was
left in private ownership and the spirit remained intact. It was not
until local ownership was removed (and he was not just removed, he was
maligned as a pretext for getting him out of there) that the larger
uproar occurred. Because after that action many people realized that
their hope for good for Aurora had been a dream.
Of course it did not begin with the Fargo. But for many it ended
there. More than any one action, this one showed Rowland's true character
and intentions for this village.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
SIA, 11/20/06
AURORA
[Wake up and smell the roasting sheep]
I stand corrected [by Alumna on 11/1], thank you. What I meant to address,
also, is this myopic attitude of a lot of Aurora citizens; namely, this
phenomenon where many people in the village didn't even begin to get wary,
let alone angry and outraged, until Pleasant Rowland and her Foundation
(and the toadying Wells College) messed with the Fargo. There has
always been this this fairly-widespread opinion that Pleasant Rowland's
activities were "okay" until then (that is, until Jim Orman was tossed
aside and the Fargo was "dandified"). To this day I still hear people
talk like that, and it infuriates me.
There are still people in this
village who, although irked with PR over what was done to Orman and the
Fargo, will still say that she "did a good job" with the Inn, or that she
"revitalized downtown." They still look at Aurora and Rowland with
tunnel vision, ignoring the Foundation's openly-hostile-towards-locals
business plan for the Inn and the criminal way in which that histor!
ic old structure was gutted and turned into a cheesy-upscale Ramada.
Nor do they care about the unforgivable and totally unnecessary gutting
of the old schoolhouse/"Heary" building, which still sits vacant years
after its tenants were ousted. They didn't care about Lake House,
probably don't care about Lyon House all that much...all that they DO care
about is the Fargo.
And this is why I got so irked when I heard someone
say, yet again, that this all "began" with the Fargo. Blindness like
that shocks me to this day, and to my core. No, folks, all this "began"
when a nouveau-riche, self-important, pretentious, manipulative,
despotic, arrogant woman, thirsting for the power to make her pathetic,
class-conscious dreams come true, turned her ravenous glance on this poor
village and its woefully mismanaged and incompetently administere!
d college. If after all this time you still don't feel like sheep getting devoured by the wolf... well, then all I can say is that
dumb, shortsighted sheep usually get what they deserve.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
LAURA HOLLAND, 11/19/06
NY
[Lyon House situation]
The new sidewalk between Lyon House and the United Ministry
is attractive and inviting. But, that is a 16.5 foot wide right-of-way between Lyon House and the
church.
If that right-of-way had been paved as a roadway then Lyon House would
not have to unnecessarily pave a large portion of the precious little
property it has in order to create a driveway for 327 Main Street.
Why put in a driveway to the south of Lyon House if it abuts a
right-of-way on the north that would allow access to the parking pad in the
back?
I wonder if vehicles can still travel on the Lyon House/UM Church
right-of-way?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
GHOSTLY OBSERVER, 11/19/06
ELSEWHERE
Oh, yes! I noticed the mass retirement of our best and brightest. Saved cash and opened the door for the anschluss. No sir, I dont like it! :(
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
ANYONYMOUS, 11/19/06
NOWHERE
[More context?]
Nefarious may sound silly, but its no joke. Save Aurora's authentic village life? How about save it from whatever nefarious plans underlie all this, worse than just loss of life as we prefer it in the Village. PS - Some senior staff were against & are now mostly gone, you notice?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
ALUMNA, 11/17/06
CNY
[Historic context]
SIA wrote on the guestbook, "All this BEGAN with Rowland shouldering her way into Aurora. It began with the Inn, not the Fargo."
Actually, the Pleasant Invasion began before the Inn with the Campus Master Plan. PTR wanted to move, demolish, and redesign Wells buildings to create her dolly ideal of a campus. Ryerson and her nut-case senior staff did their damnedest to shove the plan down the college's collective throat. Many, many thousands of dollars were wasted on studies, models, charettes, and architectural drawings promoting the Pleasant Vision for Wells. But alumnae and faculty raised such a great big stink that the plan was finally dropped or at least indefinitely tabled. For lots of context, see www.geocities.com/savetheartsatwells/
Having been thwarted on campus, Rowland and Ryerson then moved on to consume the village. And Aurora wouldn't or couldn't get its act together in time to defend itself against these two megalomaniac madwomen. Is it now too late to save much of anything from Aurora's authentic village life?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
SIA, 11/13/06
AURORA
[Another summary of the situation]
[Facts re] Lyon House: A) it is not at all beyond repair, and it
wouldn't take huge sums of money to make such repairs happen... B) Despite this, Pleasant Rowland, in the
past, tried to get permission from the village to demolish Lake House... C) Wells College has refused
to sell Lyon House...Supposedly David Kirk was going to buy Lyon... [but] now things are back to the way they were. From
these three facts we can clearly see that Wells College has--presumably
at the command of Pleasant Rowland--earmarked Lyon for destruct!
ion. The tactic they've opted for, obviously, has been to simply let
Lyon rot where it stands, and then make a case for its destruction to
the village. In turn, the village boards--who have universally caved in
to these Rowland/Wells machinations, will at some point buy the lie
that Lyon is beyond saving. True, the village rebuffed Rowland on her
original attempt to raze Lyon House, but that was the single bit of
backbone that the village ever displayed and we're not likely to see a repeat
of it. We don't know what underhanded plans are behind all this, but
it wouldn't be beyond imagining, for example, that Lyon could be
demolished in order to provide more land for the new siting of Webb House,
(which after all, hasn't happened yet) or something related to that. At
any rate, we don't know what's really going on, but the one thing we can
be sure of is that something truly stinks in all this. I beg everyone
who looks into this web site to do what they can to keep that w!onderful old house from being destroyed or being allowed to sink furth er into ruin.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
K. A. HINDENLANG, 11/12/06
AURORA
[Other potential buyers]
For what it's worth, several outside observers contacted the Aurora Coalition over the years asking for advice on who to contact about purchasing Lyon (or Webb) House. We have no idea if the post below is from one of these folks, but GED's story seems consistent with that of the one couple we heard back from after making our standard recommendation that they contact Wells VP&Treas Diane Hutchinson.
This couple -- who sounded like experienced preservationists -- said they got "the brush off," that Hutchinsons said Lyon was not for sale and would not take their name and number in case the college changed its mind. They were terribly disappointed, and said they had "tackled houses in much worse shape" and really had hoped to save this one.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
SOMEONE WHO WONDERS, 11/12/06
NYS
[More questions about Lyon House]
The G DE post underneath this one, if legitmate,
really creates some curiousity on my part. I wish those people would
contact a local reporter with their story. Perhaps then more people could
realize that the college, Pleasant,(and apparently Koepp as well) are in
this only for themselves.
Why would the college respond with such hostility to a simple inquiry
about the availabilty of a piece of property? And why would they lie to
the negative about its condition to prospective buyers?
Why why why is the college so content to see that building rot away
before their eyes (and the eyes of the rest of the village)? The house
is rotting and the property itself is shrinking, being surrounded by
paving. Why didn't they try to sell it when it had more value? I thought
the college is perpetually cash-strapped.
This matter is a public relations disaster for the college, I am sure
that even some Pleasant supporters are disgusted with what they see
going on with that house. Does the college no longer care at all about
community relations or does it now disavow any responsibilty it has to
Aurora as the largest property owner in the village? If so, is it because
Pleasant is telling the college to act that way? Has Ryerson lost
all autonomy?
If the college wants Lyon house gone, does anyone have any conjecture
about what it wants to use that property for? There is no lake front,
and if the new driveway goes in its south side, there will be almost no
yard.
If Pleasant loves Aurora and its buildings so much, why didn't she fund
the rehab of Lyon house as a favor to the college? I have always
believed it to be none of my business how other people spend their money,
but in light of everything else Pleasant has done in Aurora, that
question is too obvious to ignore.
The situation of Lyon house is beyond bizzare. People in Aurora want to
hear answers to these questions, or to hear some kind of plan from its
owners about its fate. Lyon house is owned by the college, but is in
effect a community asset. But all that comes from the college or
Pleasant is a wall of silence. Why?? What is really going on? Opinions
welcome...
