One Final Blog From Boonville

I make this final entry from the place of my birth, the beautiful backyard garden that my family has maintained for as long as I can remember. There’s a sign coming out of Rome, NY that reads, “Boonville, just 25 minutes to Heaven” This is a wonderful little village. Just on the borderline of the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains. The scenic ponds, lakes, and streams attract tourists from afar. Several years ago, a joint commission of county governments proposed creating a landfill up the road in Ava, NY. A local group of activist citizens and concerned residents kept the issue in the courts and the dump out of our beautiful, bucolic setting for many years. In the end, the “wisdom” of the original commission and the need to bury our garbage someplace, won out. I have not been by the dump or “landfill” as the “authorities” like to call, lately. So, I don’t know if the thousands of sea gulls have take up residence there or the smell of rotting garbage fills the countryside, or if the runoff of toxic waste that was so feared has come to fruition. I only know right now as I sit writing this, one tractor trailer after another rolls up the street just beyond this beautiful garden. All day, they come and go. Back and forth. So, children are at risk during the school year as the big rigs drive past the two major schools servicing the area, every day. And the way of life of this wonderful little village has been permanently interrupted.

At the Dutchess County Fairgrounds, I always say, “It would be totally inconsistent for us to be here to showcase agriculture and not be a good friend of the environment. Our Aug. 24^th through 29^th fair, will be a zero landfill event, in addition to all of our reclamation efforts. All of our garbage will be transported to nearby burn plants and regenerated into energy. Having my peace interrupted this morning by a parade of garbage trucks that despite the best efforts of the good people of this area were not able to stop, makes me more committed than ever to trying to be a good friend to the environment.