A quick, correct decision

February 11, 2008 04:00 am

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{"Body Text Edit"/} In a development it seemed would never come to pass, a local county selected voting machines to replace the lever ones still in use _ ahead of the date mandated.

Early last week, Otsego County picked an optical-scan machine, which has the benefit of a paper trail should it be needed.

That decision is particularly impressive given that it came not long after the state Board of Elections made up its mind. And changed it. And was forced to change it.

First, there were three choices, then one, and then a court order allowed a second option onto the list. And on Thursday, two more were added by court order. Another lawsuit, awaiting a decision today, could add a fifth machine. And half of the state Board of Elections is appealing one of the machines on the list.

The only machine not contested is the optical-scan model made by Sequoia Voting Systems Inc. of California, the one ordered by Otsego County.

The county recognized that it had a consensus on a machine, saw the one it wanted was available and ordered it. That's how voters should be served.

Waiting around until _ or past _ a deadline, as the state has done since the Help America Vote Act was enacted in 2002, is not the right move.

We find optical scanners the best option, and they were the earliest available. All of our counties should have acted just as quickly and correctly as Otsego did.

{"Headline24"/}Good step for environment

{"Body Text Edit"/}Oneonta has taken many steps in the past several years to become more eco-friendly.

The city has investigated buying electric cars for use by various departments. The public transit buses run on B20 biodiesel, a biodiesel mix. And last month, the Common Council set a goal of reducing city government's nonrenewable energy usage by 5 percent by next year.

Now, Oneonta plans to have a hybrid-engine trolley in use this year, Mayor John Nader said.

The trolley will be purchased using a federal transportation grant. The state Department of Transportation, which administers the grant, notified the city last week about funding totaling $555,000, of which $444,000 is federal, $55,500 is state and $55,500 is local. Of that funding, $375,000 will be for the trolley.

Otsego County also received a nearly $600,000 federal grant, which will be used to replace eight vehicles in the 12-bus fleet. The 16-passenger vehicles will have modified engines that burn fuel more cleanly, Otsego County Planning Director Terry Bliss said.

As part of the grant program, which, in part, encourages transportation agencies and municipalities to reduce pollution by using clean-fuel vehicles, Chenango County will receive $1,288,000, and Schoharie County, $328,800.

Public transportation can be an effective tool in reducing pollution. If the public transportation vehicles are more environmentally friendly, the impact is that much better.