I received the Cheshire Fire Department Gift Account expenditures for 2010. I don’t have any balance or anything.  All I know is that they have spent $30,000 so far.

I will need a day or two to put the document in the computer. As you know, my blog WILL EXPIRE on February 27th. I have already made these arrangements. I do feel bad about it but it is time to move on.

When I was a young girl, I dreamed of being a newspaper reporter-and I WAS!! I really believed in what I was doing-informing people-giving them the news and the information they deserved to know. The pay was crappy but the people I worked with didn’t care-they really didn’t. The people I was associated with on the various newspapers I worked on-The Osage City Journal Free-Press in Kansas; the Norwich Bulletin; The Bridgeport Post-Telegram and the Amity Observer-DID NOT REALLY CARE ABOUT SALARY EITHER.

THEY BELIEVED IN WHAT THEY WERE DOING!!! They dedicated their lives to this-being a reporter 25 and 30 years ago  this was a way of life. I don’t know what it is today. I think it mostly is about getting ads sadly. Most of these papers are starting to look like an advertising bonanza.

I know someday soon, most newspapers will be gone. I hope I am not alive when that day happens. I really LOVED the newspaper business and I was honored to be a part of it. There is nothing like it-a new product every day. Being the first to know about an event and telling the rest of the world-it was GREAT!!

Even when I left the newspaper business, I always carried it in my heart and that is why I did this blog. It allowed me to continue to inform you and give my opinion WHICH WAS ALWAYS HONEST AND FROM MY HEART.

Whether you agreed with it or not, that was superficial. I did not have to run with the ball in this town-BUT I DID. I am not connected to Cheshire, I am not a public official, I had nothing to gain from this financially. It was just a personal satisfaction. I DID ENJOY IT.

It will be hard to move on-but I will. I know many issues will never be addressed again sadly. I hope all of you will go to the Town Council meetings, get involved with the Board of Education and Planning and Zoning. Exercise your right to be heard.

I want to thank my son Gordon for helping me with this blog. This was HIS CREATION-MY IDEAS BUT HIS TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND I WILL BE FOREVER GRATEFUL TO HIM.

Even though the Cheshire Town Council did not meet this past Tuesday-THE WALLINGFORD PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION DID!!

I know, I was there. The roads were AWFUL. I-691 was like the Twilight Zone about 2:30 in the afternoon. Tractor trailers stalled on both sides of the road, cars skidding. One van was in a ditch in the divider. Then around 5 p.m., I went to go down Rt. 68 in Cheshire and IT WAS CLOSED OFF!! So I had to go down that road by the reservoir. OMG!! people were skidding, getting stuck trying to go up that hill-that is because most people don’t realize that you don’t put the car in “D” when it snows. Put it in “2″

This stops the wheels from turning as fast. That is why I like driving standard transmission because you can control the rate of spin on the wheels and use your gears to slow down without having to hit the brakes.

Here is the photo taken on my cellphone while I was stuck on 691 Tuesday afternoon. You can see the van in the ditch. It was very icy and the roads were not plowed because this storm took everyone by surprise. We all thought it was over Tuesday morning-SURPRISE!! CLICK ON THE PHOTO TO ENLARGE.

Oh I forgot-when I got home this afternoon around 2 p.m. I got a call from the State of Connecticut’s Comptrollers Office regarding that $20 jury payment check.

The woman was very nice and she understood why I was upset. It wasn’t the money-it was just the idea that is what Connecticut and most states think of people doing their civic duty and more important-the crime victims. I told her-are the crime victims worth $20?? Is this the price tag you put on them?? Would a loved one of a murder or rape victim feel vindicated knowing this?? Is my time and the other jurors time worth just $20?? I told her my mom went to jury duty in the 70′s and got $10 a day!! HELLO!!

I told the woman I would rather the state admit they can’t pay for jury duty than to insult is with this measly pittance which ISN’T EVEN MINUMUM WAGE if you factor the travel time which I was not paid for and the lunch. At least the parking was free but the garage was four tenths of a mile away from the courthouse for God’s sake!!

I was told that the check would be re-issued to me because they could not void it out. I told her I would donate it to charity, probably to the Petit Memorial Fund which I feel so deeply about.

More on Thursday. Goodbye.