Regarding Town Clean-Up Day
Thank you…
- To the coordinators of this much needed event on April 29.
- To the coordinators who recognized that Suffield can be cleaner.
- To all the participants who came on such a dreary day.
- To the youngsters that learned that litter is unsightly and disrespectful to our community and will share their commitment.
- To the rain for maintaining a drizzle instead of a downpour.
- To the drivers who gave us space as we navigated busy roads.
- To the nip drinkers who have made us well aware that drivers who drink are on our town roads where we walk, run, ride our bikes and drive.
- To the police who try to make our roads safer from drivers that drink.
- To the litterers who refrain from throwing their junk deep into the poison ivy, tick infested brambles, and gullies. If you insist on being obnoxious and litter our streets, it is safer for the citizens who frequently pick up your trash to avoid these hazards.
- To other Suffield residents who pick up litter frequently, not only on the Town Clean-Up day.
- To the Department of Public Works and USA Recycling.
- To the people who will continue to properly dispose of trash.
- To those who have littered but plan to stop.
Joan Heffernan
Uncovering Forgotten History
I would like to send a heartfelt thank you to Bill Sullivan and his American Studies students at Suffield Academy for all their hard work on the Witness Stones project. I have followed along since the public was invited to help research Tamer in 2020. There are now four Witness Stones in town – one for Tamer, one for Titus Kent, one for Lewis Butler and one for Barbara Nichols Butler. The students (and interested citizens in Tamer’s case) have painstakingly combed through historical records in an effort to piece together the lives of some of our forgotten citizens. Along the way they have given life to the stories of each of these individuals.
Some mysteries remain. Perhaps one day a curious learner will find more information about Tamer, Titus, Lewis or Barbara. The presentations and dedication ceremonies for each stone have been wonderful and emotional. Giving humanity and dignity to those who deserved better while they were alive is a true gift. Thank you for teaching us about this important history. I encourage everyone to visit the Witness Stones (all near the center of town) and learn more about each person.
Andi Prusi
If Roles Were Reversed…
Alas, Democrats aflutter again in my hometown Suffield, Connecticut.
The Democrat-majority controlled The Friends of the Library are aghast that the First Selectman intervened to address a citizen’s concern regarding a book on ‘gender-inclusive pronouns’ on display at Kent Memorial Library (KML). The Republican First Selectman is of course vehemently smeared by Democrats for taking a stay action on par with temporarily stopping traffic on Halladay Ave. to help a local farmer get a wandering Holstein heifer in heat, back into the paddock.
If you turned the KML incident around would the response, be different? What if several versions of the holy Bible were on display at KML and a Democrat-atheist citizen complained to a Democrat First Selectman? First, would the Bibles remain, and would Democrat residents remain mute? Hell no.
I’m often reminded of the truthful mantra that prevails more and more nowadays, “If it wasn’t for double standards, the Democrats would have no standards at all.”
Methinks outraged Suffield Democrats should chill and have a vegan picnic outside Spaulding School on a warm Sunday afternoon staring at that stoic FJB-LET’S GO BRANDON tobacco shed that soon will be a memorial to the loser they worship.
Robert Molleur
Manassas, Virginia
Democracy’s Dilemma
As a person who is now 18, I took it upon myself to exercise my newfound democratic right and decided to attend the town meeting regarding the budget. One item I was curious about was why over $300,000 was being appropriated to a line item titled Bridge Street Park in the budget draft.
I was told by the chair that I was incorrect and to look at the slideshow which read future projects on the property where Bridge Street School used to stand, in about as pompous and degrading of a tone you can get. When I informed him what we vote on is the budget not a slideshow, he saw I was correct and said that they were going to add an amendment to make that correction.
For the first time in my life, I understood why so many people my age feel disenfranchised as this was literally my first time participating and was scolded for doing so; receiving no apology even after his mistake was acknowledged.
With 0.005% of voters in town attending, the budget was passed. Our town meeting form of government is one of the last forms of direct democracy left anywhere in the world.
If you’re wondering why, the answer is democracy is not a guarantee but a garden. If we take care of it by trimming it and planting new seeds, it is a beautiful thing. If we don’t, it will become overgrown with weeds and the garden will die.
Ryan Rookey