– Time For A Tiara: Column by Ginna Young – - So, what’s the story here?

A few months ago, I wrote a column about how much I love our beautiful park (Brunet Island State Park) and mentioned when I was a little girl, that I saw a deer whose front legs had been broken and essentially scooted along on its elbows. It haunted me, all these years, what happened to that poor creature? Did it starve to death? Was it picked off by predators? Did someone put it out of its misery? Well, a couple weeks after that column was printed, a gentleman, who lives within the park, stopped into the office with an answer to my question. The deer lived for two years, after the one and only time I saw it. It was fed by the aforementioned gentleman and stayed around the hilly, wooded area back of his house. Unfortunately, one day, someone else spotted the animal, notified the local game warden and it was put down. I’m glad that the deer was loved, taken care of and actually thrived as long as it did, but sad that its life was cut short. Still, the relief I felt was immense. For three decades, I felt guilty that I couldn’t help the animal and that I didn’t know what became of it. Now, thanks to readers of this paper, I have my answer. After a discussion, with yet another reader, I’ve decided to try my luck again. There’s been a burning question in the back of my mind for years. Allegedly, the basement at the Cornell Public Library is......dramatic pause for affect...... haunted! While I’ve never seen an apparition there, I do know that I get a weird feeling when in the basement and that it feels like I’m being watched. Whether or not you believe in the supernatural (I do believe in spooks, I do, I do, I do!), there is interesting history there. The library used to be the town jail. I’m a little fuzzy on when it transitioned into the library, but the cells are still in the basement – unless they’ve since removed them in the last couple years. Anyway, so, the ghost could be a former police officer, a former felon, a former librarian, a former patron or a cat that got locked in. I don’t know, that’s the thing and it bugs me, I want to understand who it is and what happened. Why are they stuck in this plain of existence, why didn’t they move on? If anyone has any information on the basement resident, I’d love to hear about it. I’m not sure I’ll be able to help the ghostly being, but at least I’d know their story. I’d also like to know what the city’s policy is about those in the afterlife – whether he/she has squatter rights or owes a bunch of back rent.