Jeers for Monday, Feb. 11, 2013

To a federal judge for allowing Woodstock physician Wayne Longmore to avoid prison time even though his activities deserve such a sentence. Longmore was sentenced to only six months house arrest and three years probation even though he prescribed thousands of addictive painkillers without a legitimate medical purpose. Those are the kinds of drugs that have ruined many a life and shattered many a family. Yet the judge decided that the doctor deserved lenient treatment because if he was able to stay out of jail, he would be able to earn an income to help support his daughter in school. Many a criminal who has been found guilty of lesser charges has recently been put away so it is impossible to comprehend how a judge could be so wrong. The doctor's activities will have lingering repercussions for years, yet he will suffer what amounts to a minor inconvenience.

To postal inspectors who damaged the reputation of a former school board president in New Paltz. When Donald Kerr signed for a package that was being delivered to someone else in his office complex, he was doing the kind of neighborly thing that most of us take for granted. Because the package turned out to contain marijuana, postal authorities arrested him and charged him with possession. A grand jury wisely decided not to bring charges, but not before the damage to his good name was already done. Anybody asked to sign for a package now will have to think twice.

To Trustee Carmen Rue and Mayor Gordon Jenkins for once again making a mess of hiring a village manager. Three trustees seems ready to move on in a businesslike fashion and hire somebody to conduct the village affairs. Rue and Jenkins want to change the form of the village government instead, eliminating the position and giving that power to the elected mayor. Considering how hard it has been for the village to find and keep a manager, the two should be working with their colleagues, not against them.

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