A Blooming Town

I live in the town of Southbridge, where I was born and raised in a place where there was much emphasis on faith, fun and family. This is my town. And, as my town, I will stand up to remind others who have made comments recently saying, that we are no better off for the form of government that we now subscribe to, that we have always been and still are a jewel in the crown of Massachusetts. Your claim is unfounded, and simply not true. There is no going back to "the simplicity, days of our youth, given the complexity of the world we now live in, we need expert and full-time management. He keeps it all together like a well-oiled tool. We are grateful for his endeavours on our behalf.

Yes, I too am unhappy about the extra dollars that we have to pay for the "necessary" services, but they are what makes us unique, and in the end, is well worth the extra money. Towns who brag about their lower tax rates, don't also tell you that they call upon us to borrow in their need. Our services are second to none. We have qualified, and trained personnel who work hard at being "the best in their field" and do not deserve to be unappreciated. Yes, they do deserve their pay as hard-working employees.

People use our gym, our hospital, and other services such as the airport. It is a great place to live, as any city has concerns, we have ours which are met with one of the best police departments around. If you want statistics just look at the towns that surround us, that do not have the same protection, to see the numerous and increasing break-ins.

Water and sewer bills have gone up in the past, but at least we have the water we need and, it is clean and well maintained. It will be interesting for those who have wells that go dry in this season, of little and much needed accumulation, when there is none. Count those among your blessings. Yes, we do go out of way to help our neighbor, it is the American way-- is it not? Being a good neighbor has its reward. Towns have always looked to us and they still do. We are developing a reputation that makes one proud to say, Southbridge is where I'm from.

Stop living in the past. Let not the opinions of those who are not qualified, nor have the understanding of how to run a town, and who are uninformed of the challenges faced daily, tell us that a selectmen form of government is what we need, for our city-like town. We are looking ahead--to the future, not the past. Like it or not, it's what we are and it's going to cost us. Our town manager gets a decent salary for a very difficult and well-done job. His pay should reflect his responsibility and be considerately more than the quality people who report to him as "town employees." Most would concur.

This town is shaping up due to the fantastic people who give of their time, with numerous improvements. With determination, courage and steadfastness our Councilors are "the unsung hero's" that do not bend to the likes of the naysayers, but their concern is for the betterment of their town and it's safety and people. People should be proud to make this town their home and permanent residence, for to many reasons to list. This town has the vision of having outstanding safety personnel, who want nothing more than to keep it's residents as safe as possible under every circumstance and endlessly work toward it's resolve. They were there during the recent tornado, and are working to improve by developing communication and methods of improvement during emergency's of all kind.

Committed people develop and do not run from challenges, and while forging ahead, look to a time, when through many efforts, hope the dirge of cancer will be a thing of the past. But as for now, have secured a place of our own, so they do not have to run to the nearest city for cancer treatments. Much of the money has been raised on the backs of our own residents. Why, because we have people that remember how much sweat their ancestors put forth in building this great town. We feel their presence everywhere, we remember them and their participation in concerts, and parades, and football games. They have made us proud--this was their town and it's ours. We owe it to them to do the best that we can.

I have the privilege of working at a Community Program , where in feeding guests three times a month, I have met some fine people in this town. We are the best of the best, because we care for our own, and we help our brother, where and how we can. We have learned here that we do not run from our problems, but united we can make a difference to their resolve.

So, if you were not born here, something drove you to believe in Southbridge. We hope you will help the people who choose to see the positive things it has to offer and are not afraid to role up their sleeves in an effort to make Southbridge attractive to others who are looking to make us their permanent home. There are problems everywhere, if you look. Consider joining us in working toward that better day. We all need to work together, to meet our goals with positive solutions, embraced and realized in a team effort, which welcomes ideas as well as criticism.

I am confident that "empty storefronts" someday will be filled again as we have an attractive downtown, due largely to our architecture. When you look around, who has more to offer than us? We are not going back to what we used to be, why would we? We plan to forge ahead to what we will become, and that is very impressive. Our best and better days, are just ahead of us, Southbridge is a blooming town.