What will the summer hold for us?

Well, the spring melt off has occurred and the beautiful West Canada Creek is flowing at pretty much normal levels. The fisherman are out and they are catching fish, though mostly on bait and spinners. Haven't heard anything good from the fly fisherman, but it is still early and the water is still fairly cold.

The spring high water has left the banks muddy and some erosion has occurred, but all seems well. The question that seems to be on everyone's mind. . . what will the Canal Corporation do to us this year? Will they continue to manage in a reactive manner or will they finally begin to try and manage this proactively?

Will the New York State Governor's office put any pressure on the corporation to act responsibly or will they continue to allow them to do whatever they want whenever they want. The Canal Corporation has shown time and again that they do not care for the people who live in a very troubled state. An example would be the New York State Thruway. . .raising the rates is the craziest thing I have ever heard. IF they have a cash shortfall, they need to look for more ways to cut operating expenses, not increase revenues by rate increases.

This is going to be a very tough season on the traveling public with gas prices expected to reach $4.00/gallon by summer. Add to this increased expense a more expensive thruway visit and I think you will find fewer and fewer people traveling the thruway and lookin for alternative routes or just staying home. The Canal Corp/Thruway Authority needs to look at how it is charging travelers and compare to other states. If a family of four pulls a travel trailer from Ohio to Cooperstown, their thruway tolls round trip will be equal to or exceed their camping expenses for a weekend - I wonder how many people will travel Route 20 instead or just not visit?

I am optimistic that good things are going to happen in the Kuyahoora Valley this year and that no matter what the powers that be do, we are going to make the very best of things here. The birds are singing, the sun is shining (sometimes) and we are all ready for summer to get here.