NEWS
Editorial Goodrich Ends Tarnished Career
Sarah Goodrich announced that she is stepping down from her longtime position as Executive Director of the Schoharie Area Long Term Recovery organization, five months after an expose on hundreds of thousands of dollars in misappropriated funds.
The move comes over three years after the organization ended its last significant flood recovery operations and during a furtive transition towards economic revitalization.
This move is certainly a positive one, and one that will require far less money intended for flood victims to enter into the pockets of paid staff. It’s also a sign that the dozens of comments we received after our November article added up.
Sarah entered into the post-Irene scene as a major leader in flood recovery, but stood almost alone in her inability to leave the stage. As other volunteers moved on and died, she continued collecting a full time paycheck while hundreds of families still suffered. All the while the organization, which curtailed its actual operations, was lauded and abetted by almost every smiling politician and other media.
It’s difficult to say that Mrs. Goodrich completely gave back all of the goodwill she earned after Irene. After all, dozens of reconstructed homes and businesses are no small feat. However it does reinforce two fundamental ideas of community service:
1. There is always a time to step down gracefully. It is better to be a Cincinnatus than a Philippe Petain.
2. If you are betraying the public’s trust, especially for personal financial gain our paper will find you out and expose you. For far too long almost every bad idea, fiscal gamble, and backroom deal has been abetted by local leaders and media. This is our first scalp-- and won’t be the last.
Matthew Avitabile-- Publisher
The move comes over three years after the organization ended its last significant flood recovery operations and during a furtive transition towards economic revitalization.
This move is certainly a positive one, and one that will require far less money intended for flood victims to enter into the pockets of paid staff. It’s also a sign that the dozens of comments we received after our November article added up.
Sarah entered into the post-Irene scene as a major leader in flood recovery, but stood almost alone in her inability to leave the stage. As other volunteers moved on and died, she continued collecting a full time paycheck while hundreds of families still suffered. All the while the organization, which curtailed its actual operations, was lauded and abetted by almost every smiling politician and other media.
It’s difficult to say that Mrs. Goodrich completely gave back all of the goodwill she earned after Irene. After all, dozens of reconstructed homes and businesses are no small feat. However it does reinforce two fundamental ideas of community service:
1. There is always a time to step down gracefully. It is better to be a Cincinnatus than a Philippe Petain.
2. If you are betraying the public’s trust, especially for personal financial gain our paper will find you out and expose you. For far too long almost every bad idea, fiscal gamble, and backroom deal has been abetted by local leaders and media. This is our first scalp-- and won’t be the last.
Matthew Avitabile-- Publisher