UPDATE: I just wanted to acknowledge several comments I received about the lack of snow plowing on side streets. I worked at home today, Dec. 31st and as of 3 p.m. NO PLOW came down my end of the street. I saw the plow around 11 a.m. go down an adjacent street, but for some reason over the past several years, my strip of roadway gets totally missed.
I agree with some of you that the town is probably waiting for after 4 p.m. when it will be overtime. Yep, Then the town complains about shortfalls. Snowplowing is a matter of public safety. If the fire or ambulance cannot get up a hill or go down a street, don’t tell me that is not a danger to people. IT IS!!
For the lousy $30 savings on a persons’ tax bill, PLEASE PLOW THE ROADS!!
COMMENTS:
BILL M said:
My street which is off of Peck Lane did not get plowed last time until several hours after the storm had ended. I cleared my walk and several hours later, I heard the plow go by and deposit several inches of hard packed slushy snow back onto my sidewalk and driveway which I then had to go out around 9 p.m. and remove. This is rdidiculous. What are we paying taxes for?
Carrie Dunhurst said:
I live on Marion Road, and the last storm which was I believe the day before Christmas Eve, I was coming home around 3 p.m. as it began snowing. I saw a plow just driving down the road, not throwing sand, nothing.
Also, I wanted to add that if the Cheshire Police Department wants to give out a ton of tickets, they should park on Marion Road after 1 a.m. and then they will see semi after semi barreling down the street. They are driving so fast it shakes my house.
Marianne L said:
I live on Peck Lane and my road got plowed but it was icy the last time. I guess they don’t throw that sand anymore-too bad. But at least the town did not k.o. my mailbox this time–kudos to the plow drivers for that.
Justin Taglia said:
I don’t have any problems with the roads. They were a little snow covered, but I think the Town of Cheshire did a good job. It was the state that sucked!! Route 10 was terrible, so was Route 42. It seems we are going to get a lot of snow this year, and with the economy the way it is–something will have to suffer.
Well the year 2008 is coming to a close. It was a tough year for many people. There was a glimmer of hope in November, when Barack Obama became the first African-American President-elect. Hopefully, he will add some strength and encouragement to this country. Only time will tell.
I know the night of the election-after the announcement was made that Obama had won-it felt like New Years Eve. I will never forget the images of people jamming Times Square in New York City and in Chicago, seeing hordes of people running through the streets.
It was electrifying.
I know most of that hoopla has died out and reality again has set in. The Holiday shopping season was a BOMB to say the least. I mean let’s face it, when you have retailers letting consumers name their price, in a sense, haggle, you know the bottom has just about dropped out.
I have a couple of items to pass on to you that caught my eye. The first is a list of “predictions” by Saxo Bank entitled “10 Outrageous Claims for 2009.”
The economy is a big part of the Saxo Bank predictions. I think the economy is bad, but the media is making things worse-and by media-I mean the ELECTRONIC media, not the newspaper media so to speak.
In that light, it will be interesting to see if one of these five interested parties end up making an offer on the papers owned by the Journal-Register Company. Remember, interested may mean just that-INTERESTED. I am interested in buying these papers too-but there is NO WAY I have this type of money. Something to think about.
I don’t think a new owner will be able to fix this situation. The Journal-Register Company spread themselves way too thin, acquiring all of these papers and Connecticut Magazine. It was just additional ad revenue. Good reporting was sacrificed for money. Maybe they didn’t think people would notice-I think they did.
I really believe a lot if not most of these papers today have lost their passion for the news-for reporting. You see, it takes TOO MUCH TIME to research and dig for information. People are not used to waiting for this anymore. They want instant news, ie. CNN, YAHOO, MSNBC, etc. They don’t want to read long winded details-they want fast and sketchy.
The old days of newspaper reporting are gone. it is a lost art sad to say. If you want to see how newspaper reporting used to be, over the holiday weekend, rent “All the Presidents Men.” It may not be the most accurate account of the Watergate debacle, but it is a primer on HOW TO DO A NEWSPAPER STORY.
Notice how much time these two men spent. How much information they acquired. How much detail. You will NEVER see that again.
I try to write long posts, because I try to put in as much detail as possible. This is how I was taught as a reporter back in the old days, when newspapers were still the main source of information.
I notice my former colleague, Len Grimaldi who writes the “Only in Bridgeport” blog puts in a lot of info also. That is how he was taught-the old newspaper reporter way.
I hope you will read the Only in Bridgeport blog from time to time. I have provided a link under “Blogs” I especially want the Town Government to see how open things are in Bridgeport. I am not saying Bridgeport is perfect-IT IS FAR FROM IT-but people, even those involved in the government, are not afraid to speak their minds.
Again, Bridgeport has had to lay off an additional 51 city employees. I was reading some chats about this and found out that every civilian employee in the Bridgeport Police Records Department was laid off.
What I found astonishing was a comment on Topix, (for what that is worth) by someone who stated that a Sergeant in the Bridgeport Police Records Department made $140,000 a year. MADNESS!! And you people in Cheshire are worried about Schools Supt. Florio. CHUMP CHANGE!!
I know many of you in Cheshire don”t like Town Manager Michael Milone, but he does try to keep a lid on spending for the most part. I think he is a little too protective of the town and should let his “hair down” so to speak and relax. But things are changing more and more, even though I still think Channel 14 is hype.
I really start laughing when I watch those propaganda shows the Town Manager appears on. You can tell he is after a “certain image.” And I notice Channel 14 keeps running that budget overview-bottom line-if you keep telling yourself the sky is green-after a while you believe it!!
Speaking of the economy, the second item that caught my eye is the idea by the town of Wallingford to revitalize their downtown. Do you wonder what these people who run Wallingford are thinking? Are they crazy, or is this smart economic move?
I have always said that Cheshire should have incorporated this “Lifestyle Center” idea into West Main Street. This is where it belongs. In the middle of town-not up at the complete outskirts of Cheshire. It belongs right in the heart of the town. Where the most traffic is. The easiest to get to. The buildings are there-they just need a facelift.
Wallingford is also looking to incorporate retail with “affordable housing.” And again, by affordable, for all you worrywarts out there, I do not mean Section 8 housing. I mean housing a young professional or a person just starting out could afford!!!
Cheshire needs to get on the ball with this idea NOW. This town already dropped it when they did not pursue the Apple Valley Mall, which co-incidentally, would have been located in the same area as this proposed Lifestyle Center (in the north end of town on the Cheshire, Southington line.)
The difference is, that 25 years ago, there was no Brass Mill Center Mall in Waterbury and no Westfield in Meriden. This would have been stand alone and I believe money would have been made.
But no-we had to hear the whiners-”we didn’t move here to Cheshire to look at a mall” or “we don’t want to encourage the wrong types of people to come here.”
OK, have it your way. Let’s see what will happen with the Cheshire operating budget NEXT YEAR. This town may be eating its words!!
