I noticed in the article in the Jan. 30 edition of the Harvard Press that most of the board members who were deliberating on the town’s financial crisis seemed to agree that education is our highest priority, “followed by public safety.” Bob Thurston is quoted as explaining the reasoning for this conclusion by saying that people waiting to have their roads plowed are experiencing a temporary inconvenience but, “Hopefully a kid only goes to fourth grade once.” But what if the roads are unsafe and a piece of emergency equipment can’t get to someone who needs help, or a car slides off the road and the driver is badly injured? A “temporary inconvenience” can become a serious and permanent situation. I agree that education is important, but public safety is critical. We want our children to have a good fourth-grade experience, but we must make sure our police, fire department, EMTs, and Department of Public Works have the resources they need to do their jobs safely.
Brian Schimpf
Littleton Road
