Honesdale news

Changing gears: the name of this holiday season’s game

By Derek Williams
Posted 10/14/20

Downtown Honesdale is in the Ward 1 Voting District for the borough. That means I* vote at the senior center but, this year, there are some alternative options for these exciting times. Voting by …

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Honesdale news

Changing gears: the name of this holiday season’s game

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Downtown Honesdale is in the Ward 1 Voting District for the borough. That means I* vote at the senior center but, this year, there are some alternative options for these exciting times. Voting by mail and delivering completed ballots to the Bureau of Elections or a designated dropbox for Wayne County are also available. My ballot came in the mail last week.

What seems like a lot to consider is straightforward enough once you have a solid information source. Neighbors on this side of the Delaware can visit www.www.votespa.com for a bunch of great information, and everybody can contact their county election officials for up-to-date information. And to ensure your ballot is properly filled out and able to be counted, River Reporter’s Owen Walsh provides great step-by-step instruction: www.bit.ly/RRvotebymail.

This time of year is typically festival season for Canaltown. That includes voting for favorite movies at our Short Spooky Movie Fest and picking a costume concept for the Wayne County Arts Alliance’s (WCAA) Halloween Bash. Changing gears is the name of this season’s game.

The WCAA has a skeleton auction fundraiser in progress. Folks can pick and bid on their favorite skinless character. Each is designed by a local artist. Find them online at www.waynecountyartsalliance.org to learn more.

The Cooperage project has started to carefully roll out events again after their vital, recent turn toward keeping the community fed. Check out their social media feeds and mark your schedules.

The Canaltown Spookyfest is looking to forge a virtual path for the 2020 festival season. Until more is figured out, the more important thing to note is our opportunity to vote on the third of November.

Elections cover a lot of ground with a few ballot pages and pen strokes. Participation is rich with consideration and engagement. It’s well worth the sticker.

Do you want a say in municipal policies that might disadvantage mixed-use progress or the ability to safely walk around? Then, voting for your local representatives who maintain those policies is for you. Do you have thoughts about legalizing something that shouldn’t have been illegal in the first place and has disproportionately handcuffed a disadvantaged segment of our community? Then, voting for your state representatives who support enabling legislation is for you. Are you concerned about our collective ability to live on the only planet we know we can live on, believe everyone should have health insurance, think voting is important enough that election day should be a paid federal holiday so it’s as easy as possible to vote? Then, voting for your federal representatives who address these national issues is for you. There’s something for everybody!

The recent debate, like our sensationalized news, offered some glimmers of truth between unnecessary stretches of chaotic noise. Little moments I’m considering at the polls. Some candidates encourage you to look out for trouble during voting, while others encourage you to simply vote. Some candidates like it when courts decide the fate of effective policy, while others seem to prefer representatives crafting laws that benefit people. Some candidates don’t trust you but want you to trust them as gatekeepers of exclusive access to address our biggest, collective concerns. Others trust a construct that makes them beholden to the people and their vote.

Party rhetoric and Facebook memes tell a very small portion of the actual stories we share. People are good to and look out for each other a lot more than you’d be misled to believe across many channels. An election is a fine time to take stock of that. Stay safe and vote.

* Derek Frey Williams, Electoral College Abolitionist, Canaltown. Visit interweb portals @canaltown552.com for more local landscape stories.

downtown Honesdale, election, Wayne county, canal town, festival, short spooky movie fest, halloween bash, the cooperage

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