Hey I know the face but never knew your name!

Over the past few weeks of meeting people I often got the same comment! Hey I know you I just never knew your name. Its funny how you can be so visible yet unknown. So I have put together a resume of sorts to help people who may have interacted with me at times and not realized where from.

PERSONAL:
I was born and raised in Rockland County; spending my

weekends in Brooklyn.
I moved to Ulster County in 1980. Found what would be my home in Chichester in 1985.

                                                                



I am a single mother of 3 son;s all of whom were raised right here in Shandaken.
Nick who 28 is a United States Marine. He spent a year in Iraq and at the age of 22 became a Veteran of a foreign war.
Alex is 25 and is living in Colorado! He grew up making pizza at Village Pizza both in Phoenicia and Shokan. He currently lives in Denver and is still doing what he loves to do, make pizza!
  Stefan is 20 he lives here with me in Chichester. He has been working since he was 11 and has worked at many of our local businesses! Sweet Sues, TownTinker, Brio’s, Mama’s Boy! He is trying to decide on what he would like to do with his future!
COMMUNITY:
I am a past  Co-president of the PTA at Phoenicia School and life member.
A founding member of the pilot program called Shared Decision Making that involved Parents, Teachers and Administration in the way our children were educated!
I was the driving force behind the community playground built at the Phoenicia School in 1991. My responsibilities included chairwoman, treasurer, public relations, funding and donations, coordination of the build.
Heavily involved in participation of children’s sports IE: T-Ball, Little League, Football and other after school activities in this community
Was the recipient of the National Jenkins Award which is an award the PTA gives to honor individuals who have gone above and beyond for our children.
I have been involved in this community almost from the day I moved in. In my 27 yrs of living in Shandaken almost all of my volunteering or work has been spent in Shandaken or in the very near vicinity.
EDUCATION:
  Graduated from Clarkstown High School in Rockland County
  Attended Katherine Gibbs Business School!
  I have received certification in Business Administration from Ulster Community College
SKILLS:
Proficient in Microsoft Works, Public Relations, computer skills, fiscal bookkeeping, avid phone skills, payroll, delegation of duties, office and time management
WORK EXPERIENCE:
  I have owned 2 successful businesses in this town

• How Sweet It Is (a home based business)

•  1994 to 2001 Village Pizza in Phoenicia and Shokan

1989 to 1992 worked at Alice in Videoland in Phoenicia


Substitute aide at Onteora Central Schools

Hostess at Sweet Sues for several years
From 2000 to 2002 I worked the front desk for Dr. David Rosenblum in Woodstock. I was responsible for scheduling appointments for patients, worked with the insurance companies, Workers Compensation, NYS Disability claims, daily docketing.
In 2002 I was hired by United Health Care Insurance Company where I worked for 5 years. I have an excellent understanding of customer service, became so proficient at my job that I was given the privilege of working from home.
In 2007 I was hired by the Town of Ulster as a court clerk. My responsibilities included, but were not limited to, daily docketing, scheduling trials for both V&T and Criminal court days.  Proficient at record keeping and correspondence. I had to work with a very diverse group of people, including Judges, Prisoners, Police Officers, Assistant District Attorney’s, young and old, foreign and American.
I had the benefit of working jointly with the town clerk's office so I am already familiar with many of the responsibilities of the office.
I have been front and center working with the public all of my life, in one form or other, both personally and business wise and always face to face. Working in a Dr’s office, Insurance business and the court, personal privacy is of the utmost importance as well as the law and understanding it. I value people’s right to privacy and discretion.


GOALS:
More convenient office hours: Half day Saturdays, later office hours 2 days a week
To treat everyone with respect and discretion.
 To make the town clerk's office a pleasant and professional experience.
To treat everyone, regardless of their standing  in society,  with respect and courtesy.
It is a privilege to be elected into this office. I take that very seriously. I believe that a little kindness will go a very long way.
To do everything in my power to help with paperwork/record keeping information that is requested. 


Since Hurricane Irene we have shown how hard we can all work together to help each other regardless of if we knew each other or not.
Many of us chose to volunteer to help our local businesses and neighbors get back on their feet. I  volunteered at the Phoenicia Firehouse, which became the command center, immediately following the storm. I did this not because I was running for an office; I did it because I had lost nothing, no water in my basement, I had a generator 9so I did not lose food or lights), my son and my animals were all home and safe with me. I was fortunate and blessed and I knew it!  However I could not in good conscience sit in my home all comfortable with hot water and just let other people suffer its just not who I am.  After speaking with my boyfriend, who is a police officer, and he told me how very bad it was from Pine Hill to Mt. Tremper and about how people had to be rescued. I decided I needed to  do something constructive. Not knowing where to go, I went to the Phoenicia Firehouse on the first day and asked where I could be the most help. I was asked to join two other women to run the kitchen and distribute supplies to people. So that's where I stayed for two weeks straight for usually 12 to 14 hours a day! I went where I was told I was needed the most at the time. I learned so much about the dynamics of coordinating this town during emergencies and I will put those skills to use when ever they are needed.
That experience made me feel as if I could return the kindness that had been shown to me when my son was in Iraq. People I didn’t know would ask me about Nick and tell me he would be in their prayers. I found peace in a community that cared so much about a man simply because he was a child of this town. Together we can reunite this town to become a cohesive and peaceful place.  I believe that we have just shown each other how devoted we are to Shandaken. If we continue in this mind set we will successfully be able to draw people from all over who want to visit our beautiful community.
As a devoted local citizen and  I can give this job 100 % of my time. My experiences of a mother and business owner and dedicated employee has prepared me well for this opportunity. I am asking the town to help me become the next Town Clerk. It is time for a change and I believe that I am just the person to make it a positive change. This would be done with experience and kindness, by working hard, being consistent, always being courteous and discreet. It is my intention to make myself available to all the people.

United Shandaken Party line!

VOTE LOIS LAPINSKI ROW G

Of Signs and Party lines

  I am not at all naive about politics. I have voted in every election since I was 18. This happens to be my first time running for office and I must say seeing it  from this perspective is really quite interesting. This is what I have learned and observed over the past few months.
  People change overnight! One day everyone is friends it doesn't  matter whether you are affiliated with a party or not really. We were one of the unfortunate towns to be devastated by Hurricane Irene. It was a very very emotional and physical shock to us all. Some people were hit worse than others but we united as a town to get our Main St and business district up and running as quickly as possible. It took time and immense amounts of man power yet we did it. We showed a united front. I myself volunteered at the Phoenicia Firehouse which was the command center. I did this not because I was running for an office I did it because I had lost nothing, no water in my basement, I had a generator so I did not lose food or lights, my son and my animals were all home and safe with me. I was fortunate and blessed and I knew it!  However I could not in good conscience sit in my home all comfortable with hot water and just let other people suffer its just not who I am.  After speaking with my boyfriend who is a police officer and he told me how very bad it was from Pine Hill to Mt. Tremper and about how people had to be rescued. I decided I needed to somehow do something constructive. Not knowing where to go, I went to the Phoenicia firehouse on the first day and asked where I could  be the most help. I was asked to join two other woman to run the kitchen and distribute supplies to people. So that's where I stayed for two weeks straight for usually 12 to 14 hours a day! I went where I was told I was needed the most at the time. People like Teresa Grant who works at Bellayre spent the day prior to the impending weather set up a disaster relief shelter along with people who felt the same need to do something. She and the others worked tirelessly for weeks. I don't think they really had any time to sleep themselves there was too much to do! It was the only place people could find a cot, a hot meal and a hot shower! It is people like that who give of themselves for no other reason than its what you do! Everyone up there did an amazing job!  Many others choose to volunteer a few days later when the rotary set up a post in the middle of town and got many more people to help shovel muck and mud from peoples homes who were destroyed by the raging waters. So many people worked so very hard together. I did not find it necessary to make sure that my face was seen everyday in town because politics was not why I was there. I was there because it was the right and ethical thing to do. Not to fill a political agenda. The work that those of us in the firehouse did was equally as important we just worked behind the scenes. So weather it was being seen everyday under a tent in town or in a firehouse of which we have 5, the purpose was the same to help one another.
   Fast forward 4 or 5 weeks. I notice that people changed suddenly Republicans shouldn't be seen with Democrats visa versa! This was baffling to me in so many ways. If you were friendly to me a few weeks back what changed now. I'll tell you what election time is drawing near. Suddenly we are once again a town divided by party. If someone invited opposing candidates to a personal party they were chastised by their party. If a fund raiser is being held does it really matter who the money comes from as long as they are willing to contribute! Is a Democrats money some how different than a republicans? This made no sense to me at all. It just shouldn't matter in my mind! But apparently it does. Now being that I am on an independent line I try to be Switzerland. I speak to the same people I always spoke to, I shared a meal and laughs with who ever. I had no idea that you had to choose a side mostly because I won't do that. I am the same person everyday. I like you for you equally the day before an election as the day after. I am just myself and intend on staying that way.
  I was talking to one of our town elders recently and I was discussing this with him. He had spent 25 years involved in the politics of this town. He told me that it did not used to be this way at all. Opposing candidates who were friends to start with helped each other put out their signs. He told me that he and a friend who were both running for the same political seat although on different tickets would campaign and knock on doors together! He said politics in this town has changed so much "People are just mean and nasty. I just don't get it" At that time it was the most qualified who won and people remained friends. Which had me wondering why has the political feel of this town changed so much. Is it because people who run in party lines now carry agenda's? Is it because people are not as accepting of change or a need for change? Is it because new people have moved into town and don't understand the dynamics of those who have been here for decades? I don't really know nor did this gentleman we both just shook our heads and said how sad that a small town such as ours has to be divided.
  How do you go from working as a unit during a catastrophe a few weeks back to not speaking to him or her  today because of politics? Those same people you worked so hard with and tried to bring some kind of normalcy back to our town with are suddenly some sort of enemy! Not being that kind of person it boggles my mind. I just don't care what your party affiliation is! Quite frankly if you elected me and you came to my office I wouldn't even ask you if you were a democrat or republican its not my place. You are who you are equal in my eyes. Rich or poor,fat or skinny,black or white my job is to help you and treat you all with the same respect and courtesy!
  What brought me to this whole blog today was that weeks back some friends who were running in other towns said to me "Make sure you buy extra signs because they will be taken! You'll find them in a ditch or down an embankment but count on your signs going missing."  I knew that this happens because as I said its not my first time at the rodeo when it comes to elections. I did not however expect that in less then 24 hours my sign and a friends from a different party would go missing right from the bottom of my own street. We again were trying to do things the old fashioned way called working together for the good of everyone! Clearly someone else did not like that concept! I posted on my facebook page this incident, oh I found my sign tossed in the field near by, but my friends was just gone. I could not find it anywhere. This made me angry and I found it somewhat funny.  I expressed my feelings. I also informed who ever removed my sign and stole his that it was illegal to do and that even if you take a sign from someone in your own party it is still considered petit larceny! Vandilizing someone elses sign is also a crime (criminal mischief). I know these things because I work in the court system. Can you just imagine having your name show up in police beat just weeks before an election for sign stealing or vandalizing? How embarrassing would that be? I still don't understand the dynamics of this manuver.  Is it that by taking someone elses sign you will suddenly be more visible?  What my thoughts are is you are someone to be distrusted and if you would do something so petty as to steal a sign how could I possibly trust you to run my government? I personally would not and such antics would not garner you my vote. I myself don't play those kind of games. I think that the person with the best cridentials and ability should get my vote. Oddly enough after my Facebook post once again in less then 24 hours  POOF like magic my friends sign reappeared! Guilty concience or fear of arrest? Either way I am happy to see his sign back and hope that will put an end to all of this idiocy. Now I know what you are thinking,is she really going to be that gullible and believe that? No I am not! I know where my signs are and I can pretty much predict which ones and where they will go missing. To me it is a sign of fear or insecurity that you can not run on your own strength to win this. If you look on my page above that says "About Me" you can see my qualifications and experience for this job! I don't play games. I am the same person today as I will be the day after election win or lose. I don't really have time to waste running around like a thief in the night pulling other peoples signs out of the ground. I have much better and more constructive things to do with my life. Its a matter of trust and being able to face yourself in the mirror everyday and know you live by your own values, morals, ethics and standards! This world is difficult and ugly enough and I choose not to contribute to the negitive! Can you just imagine a time when the politics of this town was people working together as friends. What a novel idea!

Voting is a privilege not a right!

Today is the last day to register to vote. Please if you live in Shandaken go to your local Post Office or Board of Elections on Wall St in Kingston and register!

I am sure all of you know or have known someone who has been in the military! I myself am lucky enough to have my father who is a veteran of WWII. He is now 84 years old and I could not be more proud of him. I also have a son who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom as a Marine! At the young age of 23 he became a veteran too.
The reason I mention this is because I think that people tend to forget that the right to vote is a privilege not a right! My father and son and many of your family members risked their lives selflessly in order to insure you get to keep this privilege and many other freedoms that most people take for granted. Honor their sacrifices made for all of us.
So I ask of you to excercise that choice and register to vote. Your local elections are just as important as Presidential elections. Its your town board that gets to decide what can stay and what can go in this town. If you have a choice to put the people you trust and believe in on that board why wouldn't you?  You really can't complain about who is sitting in those seats unless you walked into that booth and pulled that lever.
There is so much going on in Shandaken and I want to be an active participant! Although Town Clerk is not a position that gets to vote on issues by the board, I would still be a part of the process. So please help me help you and register to vote TODAY! There is a link so you can click,print,fill the form out and mail it in.
Looking forward to seeing as many of you as I can over the weekend! Enjoy and hope for sunshine.
http://www.co.ulster.ny.us/elections/NYvoterregistration.pdf

Benefit Art Auction/Proceeds to be donated to Phoencia Rotary Flood fund!

Phoenicia, NY

Monday, October 10, 2011, 11:44:30 AM

Benefit Art Auction & Sale in Phoenicia

Monday, October 10, 2011, 11:44:30 AM | jen

http://www.phoenicia-catskills.com/benefit-art-auction-for-phoenicia-irene-victims
On Sat Oct 15th, an Art Benefit Auction and Sale will be held at Cabane Studios in Phoenicia, NY with 100% of proceeds go the Phoenicia Rotary Flood Relief Fund for the Town of Shandaken.
Fine Art by regional artists including Jenny Nelson, Polly Law, Richard Edelman, Loel Barr, Rita Schwab, Christie Scheele, Andrea Cabane, Dave Channon, Sylvia Weinberg. many more… offered in a silent auction, purchased at retail value at Cabane Studios and Gallery, to be closed out at 7:45pm. Giclee prints accepted, suggested retail value of artwork $500 and under (this is a no-minimum bid auction).
*Crafts, services, gifts, and anything else you can think of can be bid on or purchased at retail price on the spot at Mama’s Boy, 1-6pm.
*Benefit Comedy Performance of “Fully Committed” from 3-4pm at the Shandaken Theatrical Society,
*Receptions 4:30-6pm at Mama’s Boy, 6-8pm at Cabane Studios.
Donations are still being accepted! Drop off the weekends of October 1-2 & 8-9 and Friday, Oct. 14, noon-4pm at Cabane Studios, 38 Main Street, Phoenicia.

The excitement is building

Well we are a little bit less than a month away from election day November 8,2011. It was so nice to meet so many of you all at the Oktoberfest this weekend at Bellayre Mountain. The day was beautiful as were the change of the leaves. It seemed to make us all feel alive again. Bellayre has been a mainstay in my life and in many of yours. My 3 boys learned to ski on that mountain since they were in kindergarten. Shandaken always had a special winter program for our children to be able to ski at a reasonable cost. My boys are all grown and have gone from learning to ski to learning to snowboard! Some have worked during the winter at Bellayre.
For so long New York State wanted to privatize Bellayre Mountain. Most of us were against it. Along with the fact that it was much less expensive to take a family of 5 sking at Bellayre instead of Hunter or Windham. It has proven to be much needed by this community for shelter and safety of our friends and neighbors during Hurricane Irene. So many people were displaced from there homes and  Bellayre was the only location large enough to house the hundreds of people who needed a dry bed, a hot shower and three solid meals for more than 2 weeks. The volunteers worked tirelessly to collect donations of food,clothing and the many other necessary items we sometimes take for granted in our day to day lives. Residents that were evacuated were able to bring their beloved dogs and cats with them. I know that had made a huge difference in the choice for some to leave their homes even though they were in danger. I want to give accolades to the many people who volunteered up there. I think it is clear now how very important that mountain is to us. It is a place calm and compassion in the bad times and great joys all the rest of the year round!
There were many other locations that were used to aide the people of Shandaken. Every Firehouse from Pine Hill to Mt Tremper had hot meals and cots and was running 24/7. I myself spent all day every day for the first two weeks at the Phoenicia Firehouse along with Kathy Neal and Wanda( who oddly enough after 2 weeks together I never got her last name) and Lettie Longhi. We cooked and fed the first responders, the highway department, the many many volunteers and anyone who just needed a shoulder to cry on, a simple hug or a hot meal.
This was the Command Center for the town and it was going 24/7 also. I don't think I have ever made so much pasta in my life! Towns people brought soup or chili what ever they could to feed everyone. Doanations came from every where. Red Cross sent a truck filled with water all the way from Florida. These men unloaded that truck and turned around and drove right back home. This happened numerous times from places all over the east coast! Other fire companies came to help pump out basements. Some of them slept on cots in the firehouse for a week. It could not have been too comfortable but they never complained.
We need to be very thankful to The all of the local fire departments, the Shandaken Police,The EMS workers who for the first two days took care of this town without outside help!  Please realize that all of these men and women risked their lives to save others. Yes some are paid to do that but many others such as our fire companies are not! We owe them all a great debt of gratitude! If you see any of them stop and say thank you.
I can not fail to mention our town supervisor Rob Stanley. He heeded the warnings of the inpending weather and took all of the necessary steps to be prepared if we were hit! He spent his days from early in the morning to very late at night at the command center. Each morning and again each evening along with the Ulster County Sheriffs Department, the Shandaken Police Dept, Highway Department and various other state agencies . Taking care of what needed to be done. He was calm, he was organized and he was effective! He does deserve cudo's from us! Great job Rob!
So we have proved to ourselves and the outside world how strong we are and that we are survivors! It is because of this event and so many others that have drawn me to want to be a bigger part of this town. I want people to feel welcomed into our town. I want to be the one to help someone locate records about their properties or be their to share the joy of filling out a marriage certificate for a couple. The responsibilities of being a town clerk and varied and vast! I need your help to be the person to head that office! Please vote for me on the Independant line United Shandaken Party! It has been a pleasure to meet so many of you over the past few months and I look forward to meeting so many more! We need a change and I will go out of my way to prove to you that choosing me was your very best choice.  I think this is going to be an exciting race!