As I’m sure most are well aware, people have been “putting Chenango County on the map” for decades now. From the Norwich Pharmacal Company in the late 19th century (Norwich Aspirin, Unguentine and Pepto-Bismol) to Agro-Farma (makers of Chobani yogurt); the ill-fated Chenango Canal (also late 19th century) to the state champion Norwich High School basketball teams of the early 1990s; even the decades-long success stories that are the Chenango Blues Festival, Colorscape Chenango and Gus Macker, to name just a few.
And yet it always seems the good – of which there is plenty – is almost always balanced by the bad, for which we’ve also (unfortunately) gained national notoriety. From the Wlasiuk, Pastore and Billy Lee murders (the Wlasiuk mess, if you hadn’t heard, is headed to court for a third time in June) to the recent horse shootings in New Berlin; the continued (and some might say rampant) drug abuse that can be found countywide; the influx of said drugs by way of big-city dealers convinced they can make a profit at the expense of our youth, our community and those addicted; not to mention the absolutely disgusting number of sexual predators we have living, breathing and committing their atrocious crimes among us, many of whom have yet to be caught, in all likelihood.
Maybe I’m being naive, but this is not the Chenango County I grew up in.
Case in point ... do you feel safe letting your children race their bicycles from one end of the city to the other?
Because that’s what we used to do ... and our parents knew we’d be safe.
Is it safe for them to be out on the street after dark, maybe for an impromptu round of Ditch or Hide-and-Seek?
We lived for that 25 years ago.
Should parents be worried that – sooner or later – someone will bring a gun to school?
The thought never crossed our minds – or our parents’ minds – back then.
Does Chenango County have a drug problem?
I think that’s a question that’s on a lot of minds these days.
Regardless ... and just for the record ... I’m not saying this is a bad place to live or raise a family, although it may sound that way. All I’m saying – and I’m sure there are many out there who will agree – is that it’s simply not the same.
