Now is the time for all good ...

... men (and women) to come to the aid of Grace Hall.

Folks (and I don't mean just the handful who have shown direct interest so far), you've got seven months. You've got until the second meeting of the Woodstock City Council in April. That's April 2009.

You'll have to put the economy, the recession, the depression, the lousy local and national real estate markets, the stock market, employment, the election, the holidays - yes, even Groundhog Day - aside and move Save Grace Hall up to the top of your To Do List.

Seven months will pass in the bat of an eyelid. It's going to take organization, time and money to put together a plan.

Document everything. Every phone call. Every letter. Every email. Every fax. Every conversation.

One employee asked Tuesday night where everyone interested in Grace Hall and Orson Welles had been over the past years. Well, no one was threatening Grace Hall with the wrecking ball.

I would urge a website or a blog (free at http://www.blogger.com/) to put this in front of the community and keep it there. The excellent remarks of Kathy Spaltro and Dan Lemanski (and others) could be posted for all to read - and to re-read.

As I drove up Highway 47 yesterday, I glanced over at Grace Hall. It is a grand building. It deserves to stand.

On September 16, 2008, Mayor Sager said he "would like to see all options to preserve Grace Hall exhausted before they make any decisions." Even at the City Council meeting on October 7, he and they acknowledged that all options had not been exhausted. And then they voted - and approved the special use permit that includes demolition of Grace Hall.

Seven months, folks. April 21, 2009. Organize!