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-Hats off to employees at the Charlestown Town Hall for helping with the emergency delivery of a baby in the Town Hall parking lot. Wyoming resident Katherine Higbee gave birth to a healthy girl in frigid temperatures in her mother’s car last Thursday. Charlestown rescue personnel arrived shortly thereafter, cut the umbilical cord and transported mother and baby to South County Hospital.
-We are sure the Attorney General’s Office has better things to do than worry about James Mageau’s appeal of a conviction of assault. They are saying he can’t appeal the original ruling — let’s leave this ugly incident in the past where it belongs.
-The Bill Felkner case is heading to the State Supreme Court. Our reading of the Chariho Act and the Town Charter leads us to believe Felkner can hold both seats. His reasons seem to be noble — increasing transparency and school choice. Every town needs a squeaky wheel and if he wins his case, three towns may benefit from his squeaking.
-We like the direction the tri-town council subcommittee is heading: sharing public works equipment, consolidating police dispatchers, hiring the same company for revaluations, sharing GIS resources, and sharing resources in general. With a decrease in state aid as a sure thing, expenses and taxes will rise for all three towns. It’s time to consolidate and the tri-town council is on the right track.
-Along the same lines, we like to see that the Chariho Regional School Committee is proposing a budget that is basically level funded for 2009/2010. At the latest budget workshop, they outlined some small reductions to keep the budget steady.
-Though we don’t like to see deadlines extended, extending the phase out of cesspools in Charlestown is a necessity in these economic times. How in the world are regular folks going to come up with the money to pay for these systems — especially if a denitrification system is required? We don’t know, but it’s up to the Charlestown Town Council and the Wastewater Management Commission to figure it out. Before any of us realize it, 2013 to be exact, the state will require that all cesspools be eliminated in the salt pond region. Better start thinking and coming up with solutions to lessen the financial burden.
-Congratulations to the new Charlestown Town Council and the Recreation Commission for working out the fee structure at Ninigret Park. Now is not the time to be losing vendors.
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