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Around Town: Observations on the New and the Old

By Gary Wamsley
Berthoud Recorder

When I attended the first Thompson School District Board of Education meeting earlier this month I noticed the board members were not looking at the audience as much as usual. Then I noticed the notebook computer in front of each board member. The new superintendent has brought them into the digital age and now they refer to the agenda and supporting documents on their computer screens rather than having the printed document in front of them.

It was a little disconcerting to have them go through the meeting making so little eye contact with the audience, it made them seem more distant. It will probably save money in the long run and they and I will get more accustomed to the process.

More cost savings accrue because they apparently have also stopped sending the agenda to the media. I used to depend on that to remind me that another meeting was coming up and it is invaluable to keep track of the meeting. The agenda is now available on the district Web site and I can print it or download it to take to the meeting. This past week’s package was 74 pages and the savings on printing and mailing, not to mention staff time, can add up quickly.

We had our last home vintage base ball game this past weekend. We started around 11 a.m. and so did the rain. The cranks ran for cover and we huddled under the tent and a few umbrellas until the storm passed and then played the game. I now understand why baseball is not played when the field is wet. We play on a weed surface rather than grass, but it still tends to be a little slippery at times. I played behind (catcher) and that area started to get a bit muddy.

I am a pretty good fielder, but not a good batter (striker) so I decided to use the cricket bat. It is much wider and it is easy to hit the ball. I managed to hit a fly ball to the third base scout in every time at bat. Reflecting on the cricket bat, I decided that since it is shorter and heavier than a regular baseball bat, it is difficult to get enough velocity to hit the ball very far. The formula E=mc2 applies here too. The energy imparted to the ball varies more with the velocity of the bat than it’s mass. Back to the old bat next time.

We lost the game, no surprise there, but we had a great time and ate a lot watermelon and homemade ice cream.

We also raised some money for Ian Tinney who attended the game for a time. That effort continued in the evening with a street dance on Massachusetts Avenue. I was very impressed with the local band, the High Country Drifters. I am not a big country music fan, but they played a variety of music and the country songs were the older ones I recognized rather than the more hard-edged contemporary songs. They even did some “western” songs which I do like and which I differentiate from country.

On to new adventures, see you around town.