| Dipping my toes into the political waters. |
[Oct. 8th, 2009|03:45 pm] |
Hey folks.. yes.. it's been a while... life comes at you fast...
So.. at nearly 40 years of age, I finally found something to take a stand against. For those who don't know, I volunteer semi-regularly at Perkins Observatory. It's home to one of, if not the largest telescope in the state, and probably in a couple state area. It hosts hundreds of programs every year for the public to enlighten, educate, and inspire thousands of children and adults to be more aware of what's "up there". It has battled long and hard to stay open, staving off funding issues, the eternal creep of light pollution, and a general loss of funding to education sites. It hangs on with the help of a dedicate cadre of volunteers, the heartfelt dedication of Tom Burns, the director up there, and the support of the town/city of Delaware, OH.
Perkins is surrounded on all sides by a golf course.. a course that has been there since 1922. The golf course was recently purchased by a developer, who essentially seeks to turn the golf course into big box stores, office spaces and single and multi-dwelling homes. In short, the development would destroy the ability of Perkins Observatory to exist as a functioning observatory and research facility, and it would become little more than a static display and museum. The increased light pollution from homes butting up against the Observatory property would render any star gazing all but useless. So, for really the first time in my life, I decided to go to a city hall meeting, and make my voice heard. The place was packed with Columbus Astronomical Society members, home owners around the golf course, Ohio Wesleyan University students, and Faculty from the U and of course, Tom.
The city planning commission was genuinely surprised at the number and variety of people there. The Developer's Lawyer, and a team of architects, planner, and a property management company came in, and spun their tale of a great little compartment community, tucked into a scenic portion of Delaware, OH. They talked better road access, and more taxes, and how it would be making a better tomorrow today. They treated Perkins like a lawn ornament. I had a hard time restraining myself to shaking my head sadly at their claims.
Fortunately, the commission doesn't appear to be buying it, and one by one, The CAS people, one of whom was a volunteer there for over 15 years, and estimates some 25,000 people have looked through just his personal telescope, The Astrophysics department head, and Tom all eloquently pointed out just how woefully under prepared and uninformed the developers were about the nature of what Perkins is, what it does, and what their proposals would do to the facility. I had a chance to speak, and I did my best to explain I was a life long local resident, and that my father, an educator himself, took me there to learn about the stars, and how I in turn now take my daughters there to learn. I told them that Perkins was unique and precious and it was simply irreplaceable as a historic site, an education and research facility, and an attraction to the area. If the street lights go in? The stars are extinguished, and there is no moving or substituting or replacing them, or Perkins. I had a tough time keeping my voice from cracking while I expressed this, and I was pretty keyed up by the time I was done, feeling like I had just gone in for the fight of my life. If that is anything at all what going before congress is like... I have nothing but admiration for the people who choose to speak up on issues they care about. It was terrifying, but, I felt it was something I had to do. Since this was merely round one, I expect that I will have several more trips to make before we can see this development defeated.
Giving a damn about something in your town is difficult indeed, but doing nothing, that's shameful. I'm glad I finally got off the bench, and into the game. |
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