Attending legislative meetings lately has become a bit like following the White Rabbit down that dark hole. A legislator who had run for office only four months ago on the platform “Take back our nursing home,” a soulful, humanistic, passionate Democratic woman, was voted in as chairperson of the Sullivan County Legislature in January. We all cheered! 

Almost immediately she transformed into a harried bureaucrat who presides weakly, with nothing much to say besides “We’re late,” and shuns her former allies as if they were dog poo. This month, she covertly signed on to a letter to continue the last chairman’s pet project to privatize the nursing home, reversing her position completely. 

What the heck happened to her? Did she eat from the wrong side of the mushroom? I really hope that the woman I liked is still alive and napping somewhere in Wonderland. Meanwhile, here in Sullivan County, we’re stuck in a hall of mirrors where, despite all evidence to the contrary—including a one-star rating, anonymous letters from unhappy county employees, citations and penalty fees, and an outstanding tab of close to $10 million—legislators and county management continue to insist that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the care at the Adult Care Center and that Infinite Care is doing a fab job there. 

The vice chair, who had blended in well with the former gang of thugs in the legislature, now stands out like a sore thumb among the better spoken new group, ranting at the latest full board meeting about how residents being neglected in a nursing home are like the customers in his autobody shop who feel neglected when their cars aren’t ready, and it’s just too bad for them. 

I wonder how his customers felt about that, not to mention the 120 residents of the Adult Care Center and their families. I hear that employees from the Department of Public Works were assigned over March 22-23 to help nursing home staff pass patient meal trays up and down the stairs in a conga line, because both elevators in the facility were not working. Whose fault was that? You can be sure that whatever the truth is, it’ll be snowed over. Curiouser and curiouser!

Lise Kennedy
Neversink, NY