Stanley Pardons Potato In Inaugural Ritual

ALLABEN—In keeping with a brand new Shandaken tradition, Supervisor Stanley ceremonially pardoned a 4 pound potato today at a ceremony in the Town Hall. "Under my authority as Supervisor of the Town of Shandaken, I hereby grant this potato full and unconditional clemency," a smirking Stanley declared as he gently patted "Dick," a red potato grown in Big Indian and selected from millions of candidates yielded by this year’s harvest. "May he never find himself in a casserole. Right, little guy?" Like potatoes reprieved before him, Dick will ride as an honored guest aboard the second float of the Phoenicia Memorial Day Parade before spending the rest of his life in the comfort and safety of a tuber petting zoo.