Bethany and Woodbridge, here we come!

Greetings Bethwood! ( And while "Bethwood" gets confused looks from people outside of this area, you all know who you are!) Welcome to Bethwood Patch, your very own local news, events and chatter website. We are for you and about you, and who "we" are is a unique group of people, from the old-timer Yankees of Bethany to the doctors and lawyers of Woodbridge to the hundreds of horse people who populate both towns.

I've lived in Bethany for more than 10 years, both as a horse person and a journalist, and have managed to stir up more than my fair share of controversy in both categories. I can't tell you how many times my old boss, Lorraine, called me into her office, tossed a printout of an article at me, and asked, "Are you sure you want to run this?"

You'd think I actually like trouble, the way I throw myself out there for all the world to criticize, but nothing is further from the truth.

I was probably one of the most painfully shy children ever born, and spent most of my childhood being relentlessly teased (curly/frizzy hair, "different," "weird") and being outrun by bullies and getting pummeled into the ground. So what I really like is to hunker down on my farm with my dozens of pets, writing little stories about them and minding my own business. Unless, of course, I see injustice or meanness. At which point, I should run for the duct tape AND USE IT. Because even though I'm shaking to my very core, I can't help but open my big mouth and defend those who can't defend themselves.

Which is why, when I took on  the job as editor of the Bethwood Patch, I told myself I was going to play it safe - for a change. I would simply do the job, get the news up on the website and mind my own business. Entering my sixth decade, you'dthink I'd be getting too old for controversy, and who really wants it in a tiny community filled with children and horses?

But . . . I was always taught that when writing community news, it's extremely important to look at what's happening nationally and globally and determine how it affects us locally (Lorraine again.) And what has been the hot topic these past few weeks? Well, bullying, of course, particularly of gay children, many of whom have recently given up and taken their own lives. Do I really want to start my tenure as editor here with something so controversial and horribly painful?

Duct tape, duct tape, duct tape, duct tape . . . SOMEBODY GET ME THE DUCT TAPE!!!

And yet, if you bound my mouth and tied my hands behind my back, I'd type with my big toe. I've raised two children, one of whom endured a stretch of bullying. As a parent, wouldn't I want to know what's being done to protect our children from this threat which has expanded from the playground to cyberspace? If your child is becoming a bully, don't you want to know what's being done to help him/her learn how to channel their aggression in a positive way and avoid expulsion or worse, jail? No one wants their child to be hated, at either end of this spectrum.

And thus, round one begins, amongst other things, with a look at what the Amity school system is doing to address this problem. How we protect our own says a lot about a community, and school officials have implemented programs to specifically stop bullying in its tracks. But here's the thing about Patch that makes it unique; it's interactive!  What's your experience with bullying in our school community? As a child? As a parent? As a teacher? We can have this conversation right here, right now! Or more appropriately, in the commentary immediately following the article about it. Which is one of the things I find most exciting about Patch, and why I leaped at the opportunity to sign on the dotted line.

So take a look at Matt Yale's coverage of Amity sports, and Melissa Nicefaro's reporting about Woodbridge town happenings. I'll be keeping you up-to-date on what's happening in Bethany, Pam Landry will guide you when you want to get out for some entertainment, and Brian Smith will amuse you with his ramblings (if some of you are having flashbacks of old-school WPLR, well, you should!) And while I may occasionally tempt you to drop a roll of duct tape in my mailbox, know that I will probably keep on typing with my big toe, and that conversation in a community is a GOOD THING.

And that's what Patch is here for, to inform, entertain, and keep the conversation going.

So let's get going! And welcome to Bethwood Patch!!!