To the Editor:
After a very long winter, we are all celebrating the green grass, daffodils and flowering trees. But all too soon we’ll have to deal with snow and ice on our roads once again.
In Marion, voters at the May 15 Town Election have an opportunity to help ensure that all our town roads are safer during the winter months. In the past, the town was unauthorized to plow and sand its “unaccepted” roads. This means that more than 100 of our streets were left unplowed unless residents of those roads arranged and paid for private plowing. This impacted the safety of everyone who drove or walked on those roads, as well as our town police, ambulance, fire department, school buses and trash trucks.
We can change this by simply voting “yes” on Ballot Question One at the Town Election. Passing this question allows the town to calculate any additional costs for plowing its “unaccepted” roads. The financial impact will then be on a future Town Meeting warrant for all of us to approve or disapprove. So a “yes” vote costs us nothing. It simply allows us all to further consider the balance between public safety and what may be a very, very small increase to taxpayers.
Please vote on May 15. And please vote for public safety by checking “yes” on Ballot Question One.
Catherine Murray, Marion
The views expressed in the “Letters to the Editor” column are not necessarily those of The Wanderer, its staff or advertisers. The Wanderer will gladly accept any and all correspondence relating to timely and pertinent issues in the great Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester area, provided they include the author’s name, address and phone number for verification. We cannot publish anonymous, unsigned or unconfirmed submissions. The Wanderer reserves the right to edit, condense and otherwise alter submissions for purposes of clarity and/or spacing considerations. The Wanderer may choose to not run letters that thank businesses, and The Wanderer has the right to edit letters to omit business names. The Wanderer also reserves the right to deny publication of any submitted correspondence.