From wooden stirring sticks to economic development and dealing with drug and alcohol problems, the suggestion box at Coby's Café covers it all.
The box, at the back of the coffee shop and restaurant on Main Street, was the inspiration of retired SUNY Cobleskill Professor Tom Bowes.
He built the box and placed a sign on it asking for suggestions to improve the village, town, college and community.
"I think it provides an opportunity for the voice of the people to be heard," Mr. Bowes said.
"It's the idea that individual thoughts need to be expanded upon. . .in our culture, not just this community."
He pointed to Coby's diverse customer base: business people, retirees, people relaxing after exercising, college students, small groups holding meetings.
The suggestions came from many of them.
"We all should be more welcoming, and I think this [suggestion box] helps demonstrate that the individual person is important," Mr. Bowes said.
About two-thirds of the suggestions are about the community; the rest are about Coby's.
"I think that's good," Mr. Bowes said of the café suggestions. "They need to know what people think."
Given the opportunity to write anonymously, suggestion-writers took their task seriously; of the 50 or so suggestions, only a couple were off color.
This is only the first round of suggestions since Mr. Bowes placed the box several months ago. More will follow as the box fills again.
Here's the list of community suggestions:
•Create pedestrian walkways including trams to facilitate convenient access from parking to shops.
•Repossess the old railroad buildings for small retail shops and eateries. Such a transformation could make downtown Cobleskill a tourism destination in itself.
•Stop tearing down homes and houses. Our community is not a place for corporate warfare. Why are we so short-sighted? There will be two empty buildings at the end of it and five fewer houses. Ugh!
•Trash cans on new bridge.
•Free wi-fi.
•Improvements to skate park, please.
•Stop giving hicks more benefits than normal people.
•A movie theater with more than one movie showing.
Fix the delayed stop light coming to the intersection facing theater. Way too long a wait.
•Ice cream shop, with soft serve and many flavors.
•Keep Cobleskill beautiful, green and move in an earth-friendly manner.
•Tell police and residents to be nicer to students. You need us.!
•Towns all around bring in more activities.
•There should be a place for kids in town where they can hang out under a strictly supervised area--non-alcoholic, non-smoking, drug free. It needs to be low cost and or affordable for all.
•We really need a family restaurant like an Applebee's or Denny's.
•Free recycling containers in town and businesses.
•Get cameras to hand out tickets at the main intersection. Am sick of red-light runners and having to wait for my short turn.
•The fair should have top-name performers come in.
•Curfew! All kids home by 11. There are kids who wander around all hours of the night.
•Instead of a light by the theater, make a round-about.
•I know of parents who allow their underage children and their friends to drink. You need to get out there and bust it up and get some of these kids into treatment.

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Suggestions for Coby's were:
•During lunch, have more than one person making sandwiches because students have class and time to get food and eat before they go to class.
•Bring back the chips with meals.
•Open on Sundays, couches, art projects and bike rentals.
•Put blue drink in your beverage dispenser It's basically blue Kool-Aid. Mixed with Sprite it's exquisite.
•Give Stephanie a raise.
•I'm puzzled why a coffee shop is closed on Sundays. A Sunday morning would be the time I'd want to be here. Same with Monday-Tuesday hours.
•Great salads, better salad dressings.
•New sandwich: turkey lettuce, bacon and ranch.
•I just want to say how much I enjoy having this coffee shop downtown now. I actually never really came downtown much until it opened, but now I do run errands and stop in for coffee and internet. The atmosphere I great, it is comfortable and clean and the staff is pleasant.
•Coby Café needs a clock on the wall so everyone can see.
•Wooden stirring sticks.
•Offer two sides again.