An open letter to Governor Shumlin and to our federal and state delegations:

This winter Route 9/Western Avenue off of Interstate 91 Exit 2 in Brattleboro has been in abominable shape.  Despite the best efforts of the Brattleboro Department of Public Works to keep ahead of new pot holes through patching, both new-timers and old-timers in town say this is the worst shape they have ever seen the road.

Traffic has slowed to a crawl as everyone tries to avoid flat tires or damage to their undercarriages. 
Drivers bob and weave like prize fighters, hopefully not into the fists of oncoming traffic.  (Of just the
drivers the DPW has heard from, department head Steve Barrett reports well over 20 blown tires.)  This focus on the decrepit road condition distracts drivers from watching for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Humans are not like penguins. We are not designed to walk on the ice. My father, who is in his 70’s, was walking in his hometown. The sidwalk was not cleared, and he slipped and fell on his side with a sickening cracking and terrible pain.This simple fall resulted in 6 broken ribs. He is in much pain, can hardly move, and even breathing is hard for him.

On my street, here in Brattleboro, I have noticed that again and again and again, some people clear their sidewalks, and some do not. South Main should be passable all the way from one end to the other.

Right now, there is slush, and tonight, the slush may well freeze, bumpy and slippery.

Sixteen Senators and what do you get? “Another day older and deeper in debt. Senators Sanders and Leahy don’t you call me cause I can’t go. I owe my soul to the company (stole).”

We spend a broken record’s worth of time in repetitive cadence about the vagaries of entitlements, the disabled, the plight of the elder poor, the kids, and then just your general poor people, not to mention the downtrodden middleclass.

Here’s what I got out of the budget discussion at Tuesday’s Selectboard meeting:  “We’re broke.  Must close library, sell parks.”  Now I know that they didn’t actually advocate for any of these draconian changes, but these items were mentioned, and somehow that became my takeaway from the meeting.  Unnecessary frills may have to be eliminated because important things like police and fire facilities must be built and next year we’ll need a new grader.

Welcome to the new reality, folks: Towns can no longer afford themselves.