The Sun and the Erie County Independent from Hamburg, New York • Page 4

Page 4 The Sun Thursday, April 19, 2001 TT UmTTnnnTTDTr a Boston hits a homer in park land purchase Boston officials saw an opportunity and didn't bury it with red tape or political games is a simple decision, but that helps so many of our youth. On behalf of the future Pele's, Mia Hamms, Jim Kellys and Mark McGwires of the Southtowns, thanks to the Boston Town Board for their decisive action. Let's play ball! Youth home in Hamburg There was a lively debate at the Hamburg Town Hall on Tuesday night regarding a proposed home for persons in need of supervision. (See Page 1 story). While the residents who live near the planned home on McKinley Parkway make some good points, especially regarding property values, there's little they can do at the town level.

These programs are operated through state regulations and the Town of Hamburg has its hands tied in such issues. It's true that that corner of the town has had its share of "invaders," but unless people move into a subdivision, how can people expect their neighborhood, whether it's near McKinley Parkway, in Eden or Boston or Evans, to go unchanged for 20 years? It's unrealistic. While opportunity knocks more often than most of us will admit, we don't always answer. That's not true in the Town of Boston, where a golden opportunity landed almost literally on the doorstep and town officials were savvy enough to take advantage of the chance. 4 Earlier this year a 17.5-acre parcel of land went up for sale.

The land is flat and was used mostly for growing hay. It didn't take long for Boston Supervisor Lisa Rood to put two and two together. Knowing the town was in dire need of more recreation space, she quickly rounded up support for the town to purchase the land to use in such fashion. The Town of Boston has long had one of the most active Recreation Departments around and its youth sports programs are bursting at the seams. Now, thanks to the quick footwork of Rood and the Town Board, recreation programs will have more space for soccer, football and other activities.

No longer will soccer games have to finish in the cold darkness of late fall evenings. With the conversion of the Boston State Road property to playing fields hopefully taking place next year, there will be a little more room for these already successful programs to thrive even more. Sure, it will be a little easier on the parents, but no one benefits here more than the kids. They get more opportunities to play the sports they love so much. It's an outstanding demonstration of local government acting like private business in that it made a quick decision without getting tangled in a web of red tape to better its constituency.

In a time where there are deep concerns about our youth and how to provide them with positive activities and influence, this era You call that funny? pJN. II I I I I II 1 rie Count? Inbepenbeitt unbounded success in a court judgement for which he must pay in the end by giving up his soul. He asks: "What's the catch?" NOT FUNNY One of the delicious political ironies is that the media elites have contended for months that the public is panting for campaign finance reforms despite the unassailable fact that the two leading "reform" candidates last year, John McCain and Bill Bradley, lost a com Humor and true wit, both intentional and unintentional, have become as rare as square grapes in our uptight, politically correct society. After all, George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde and Noel Coward are all dead. That said, let's cogitate on the contemporary hits and misses in what passes for humor and wit these days.

FUNNY. Although comic portrayals of President Bush as a bubble- Associate Editor: Felice E. Krycia Production Manager: Rachel Hirschey Typesetter: Diana Beckwith Editor: Rick Adamczak Reporters: Daniel Meyer Michael Petryshyn OfficeManager: Jeanne C. Corbv bined 40 of 47 state presidential primaries. After the U.S.

Supreme Court knocks out large portions of any campaign finance law on free speech grounds, many members of Congress, those lumps of lobby fodder, will breathe a huge sigh Public Journal RAY HERMAN Sun Political Journalist head are becoming a trifle tedious, TV's new Comedy Central sitcom, "That's My Bush," contains an occasional chuckle. Bush to White House housekeeper: "My old frat buddies from Advertising: Peggy DeTombe Dee Campbell. RicDimpfl Bradley Nagel Suzanne Gannon Circulation Manager: TeriJ. Scott Vice President of News Operations Brian Ackley I' I Zl -uL. i ASSO NATION Yale are coming for a visit today, and I want everything to look brilliant." Housekeeper: "Whoops, then you'd better leave." NOT FUNNY In the same episode, Bush stages an execution for the entertainment of his Yale fraternity brothers.

Gross! Over the top! FUNNY The Wall Street Journal is quite insightful regarding the vanities of hard-pressed, individual investors in a frequently tanking stock market. Face-saving investor quotes coupled with the investors' true thoughts in parenthesis are as follows: "My portfolio is pretty eclectic! (I have no idea what I'm doing.) "I've done really well in recent years." (I couldn't calculate my rate of return if my life depended on it.) "I did my research on this one." (I once used the company's product.) "I saw, this money manager on TV, and she said she really likes the company." (By the time I bought the stock, it was up $5 and the money manager had dumped her position.) NOT SO FUNNY "I used to be a day trader." (The regular hours, the fresh air, the steady paycheck. You know, I'm sort of glad to be back pumping gas.) FUNNY A grasping tort lawyer is promised of relief. FUNNY A Time Magazine cover proclaims: "Infidelity it may be in our genes." NOT FUNNY Some yahoo will use the above as a defense in evading personal responsibility. Does anyone need some dots connected? FUNNY In commenting on the proposed Bush budget, the liberal New York Times, scarcely a friend of the prez, sensed "the increasingly strident and conservative tone of this administration on many domestic policy issues." Hmmm.

Didn't Bush campaign as a conservative last year! Would the Times be surprised to find jewels in Tiffany's! NOT SO FUNNY Although conservatives are amused that Democrat bitter enders won't accept Bush over Gore in Florida despite Bush winning all the recent recounts, there is something rather sad that the Barbra Streisands can't (or won't) accept the inevitable. Streisand now and Jane Fonda a generation ago. The liberals have all the luck. Go forth and sin no more. Ray Herman's Public Affairs column appears in many New York State newspapers.

Herman is an award-winning political writer'and columnist. The views expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect those of The Sun. Official Sewspaper of the County of Erie, Town of Hamburg, Town of Eden, Town of Boston, Town ofSorth Collins, Town of Brant, Town of Evans; Village of Hamburg, Village of Blasdell, Village ofSorth Collins, Village of Angola, Village of Famham, Hamburg Central School District So. Frontier Central School District, Eden Central School District, Sorth Collins Central School District, Lake Shore Central School District, Hopevale L'nion Free School District; and area fire and improwment districts The Sun and Erie County Independent (USPS 233-420) 48 Buffalo Hamburg, N. V.

14073 is published weekly for S20 per year, S26.30 out of state per year. Periodical postage paid at Hamburg, New York. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Sun P. 0. Box 390, Hamburg NY 14073-0590.

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