[RP TownTalk] A neighborly hello

Wed Sep 2 15:17:59 UTC 2009

All
I like it when others "speak out".  Many of us do not have the  resources, 
education, experience to run for public office, but that does not  preclude 
us from having an opinion and voicing it.  This is America,  right?
If Don wants to invoke his freedom of speech rights, why should he be  
accused of "attacking" the status quo?
>From what I have seen, Don does more volunteer work in the town than many  
residents and I would call that an active role and not "sitting and  
complaining".  I would think the governing officials hearing what he thinks  would 
take that in stride and under advisement and be happy to hear some  feedback 
and use it their best advantage.  Often, they don't know what the  public 
thinks, so this could be a good thing.  There are many ways to let  our 
officials know what we think or what ideas we have.  One, of course is  going to 
the meetings but it is not the only way and if one chooses to use a  
different method they shouldn't be chastised for not going to the meetings. As  
long as we keep a civilized tone and a polite manner, there is nothing wrong  
with voicing our opinions.
Audrey

In a message dated 9/2/2009 9:16:38 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
regina at kreger.net writes:

Don,  it's great that you want to be involved in town governance. You've 
got  energy and ideas and a can-do attitude. If you find our elected 
officials  complacent, then why don't you run for office? Every race in 
town was  uncontested this last time. If your response to elected 
officials not  acting to your satisfaction is just to "speak out", to 
"point out the lack  of stewardship", it sounds pretty similar to "just 
sit and complain". Not  to negate your volunteer service in the town, 
it's just that this line of  attack seems singularly unproductive. If 
there is something specific you  think town officials should do, suggest 
it. Go to work sessions and  advocate for your point of view. If they 
don't act to your satisfaction,  try to replace them. That's called 
"democracy".

Don Lynch  wrote:
> <div class="moz-text-flowed" style="font-family:  -moz-fixed">Hello,
>
> I would like to acquaint everyone with  Melissa and myself.
>
> We chose to live here because it seems  that this is one of the last 
> places untouched by the corruption of  developers.
>
> A bit about my past...
>
> My father  fought in WWII and had the misfortune to be captured by the 
> German  forces and was a prisoner for eight months. He was forced to 
> work in  strategic factories that were daily strafed by allied forces.
>
>  Of all the hardships he endured, the one event that stood out in his 
>  mind, was what occurred at a soup kitchen line in the prisoner camp. A  
> Russian soldier was given the task of dishing out soup to both  
> Americans and Russians. The German soldiers were not kind to the  
> Russian soldiers , and in this instance, a German soldier shoved the  
> Russian prisoner into the mud while he was serving soup to his fellow  
> prisoners.
>
> The Russian soldier picked himself up and  continued to serve the soup…
>
> My father survived this ordeal  and came out a Disabled Veteran and 
> later was the head of the local  chapter of the DAV in the Washington, 
> DC area.
>
> He  worked for the Department of the Navy and established many 
>  apprenticeship programs within the Navy department.
>
> My older  brother was an auto mechanic in High School and my father 
> asked the  Montgomery County School system about opportunities for an 
>  apprenticeship in auto mechanics, the response was “there isn’t such a  
> program”.
>
> Well, my father didn’t like that answer and  so he started an 
> apprenticeship program in the Montgomery County  School system.
>
> So, when I feel that there are important  occurrences going on in this 
> town that should be addressed, I hear my  father’s objection to “it 
> can’t be done”.
>
> Responses  like “we should just look both ways at railroad crossings”.
>
> If  people would just examine the laws, they would realize there is 
> much  we can do as a community.
>
> There are laws in place that allow a  town to demand a railroad to 
> reduce the use of train horns in our  township.
>
> Certainly, there is much more in the area of public  safety and 60 mile 
> an hour trains roaring through our town at “at  grade” crossings.
>
> I’m not one who just sits and just  complains…
>
> As some of you know, I have put in many hours of  community service, 
> including, the Holiday Festival of Lights, the  ArtsFest, the Memorial 
> Day event, and created, along with our  fantastic fire department, a 
> new July 4th celebration, in addition to  five months of volunteering 
> at the farm market.
>
> So, I  can’t sit still when I hear a public official say “ there’s not 
> much  I can do”.
>
> Everyone in this town can do something about what  is going on.
>
> Complacency, well, I won’t stand for it and I  won’t let any elected 
> official in our town sit back and do  nothing.
>
> I will continue to point out the lack of stewardship  that is essential 
> in our leaders of this community.
>
>  There are some who will criticize me for speaking out.
>
> I will  just pick myself out the mud and continue…
>
>  Don
>
>
>  </div>
>
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