Finding Ulysses

Now in week nine of the energy crisis, gasoline has hit almost six dollars per gallon here in Upstate New York. In some small towns, like Cato, in northern Cayuga County, there are serious problems with the fair distribution of gasoline. Here in Ulysses, however, the situation remains peaceful, if increasingly anxious.

Governor Eliot Spitzer and the New York State legislature have authorized some emergency funding so that public schools can continue to operate, even with the increased costs of transportation and other energy. Still, the state funds are meant to complement local measures, not to replace them. So, in a special meeting on Monday night, the school board decided to switch to have students go to school only four days per week, instead of five. On Fridays, students are to work independently at home, or at the library, or, for younger students whose parents are not able to remain at home, at PTO volunteers’ homes throughout the Trumansburg school district.

On Tuesday, the Town Board held its own special meeting at which a proposal was discussed for a gasoline rationing system facilitated by the Town Board. The gas stations at the Shur Save and in Jacksonville would release gasoline to people holding ration stickers, much like the blue garbage stickers we already use for waste disposal. There was disagreement, however, about whether a system for tracking these stickers, to avoid the problems other small towns have had with gasoline hoarding, is called for. Some on the board seem reluctant to implement a rationing system at all, given that people would still be able to go outside of the borders of Ulysses to get extra gasoline. The suggestion was made to contact neighboring town boards, and the Tompkins County Legislature, to implement a region-wide system for rationing, and then hold another meeting next week to discuss the plan further.

While the Town Board discusses, member of Back to Democracy have teamed up with the Trumansburg Freecycle board to create a system for carpooling. In this system, people register their planned travel by road 24 hours ahead of time. Members of the growing network then volunteer to drive their vehicles, filled with other people going to roughly the same destination at roughly the same time. The people riding along chip in for the gasoline needed for the trip. These volunteer drivers earn extra points that entitle them to a carpool trips free of charge. The exact terms are still evolving, being negotiated on the spot, but word has spread quickly, and usage is heavy, although some residents are still driving solo.