On Friday, May 2, I attended a meeting at the Westbury Memorial Library that was arranged by Sherwood Civic Association President, Beaumont Jefferson. Mr. Jefferson called this meeting to formally announce the intention of two candidates to run for the up-coming school board election, scheduled for Tuesday, June 3.

What was very interesting about this meeting was the impressive intermingling of the 'old' and 'new.' Old, in that the stalwarts and trailblazers, people who are usually on the frontline when it comes to raising issues and keeping them on the front burner, were out in full force. Then there were the folks who had recently moved into the community, or who have been more or less inactive when it comes to participating in local issues. Not since the water bill crisis three years ago have I seen such a cross section of people from diverse sections of the community gathered in one place to show support for or seeking to learn more about a particular issue.

Mr. Jefferson introduced Messrs. Rod Bailey and Scott Ottley who will be seeking election to the school board on June 3. Also in attendance, and formally introduced by Jefferson, was Karen Campbell, who was appointed to the seat previously held by Robert Troiano who resigned last year. She will also be running for election on the June 3.

This election should be a very interesting one. For the past few years the school board elections have gone uncontested, with the incumbents returned virtually unopposed- a fact that many people in the community, including my good friend Dr. Rudolph Clark, lament. Dr. Clark used to say it is a bloody shame that in a community such as ours we have to keep recycling people because others refuse to step forward to serve. Well, the fact that there are three relatively young, vibrant people offering to do just that, might be the signal heralding a new day in Westbury.

Chester McGibbon