Letter to the Editor – open letter to Council

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Dear Editor, 

An open letter to Council:

It is Saturday, March 23 and I am having a coffee with my wife and reading a book (an actual book). There had been a smattering of snow overnight, not really enough to register on any scale except maybe the metric system, when behold the snowplow comes roaring by.  The blades don’t seem to be hitting the snow but the speed of the vehicle is sufficient to create an impressive cloud, with the result that I can now see the surface of the road. Though one pass would seem sufficient, what goes out must come back, and here it comes again.

Now my letter smacks of sarcasm but I am confronted with the optics of an action that probably has some significance in budget considerations at the Council level. The actual cost of sending the plows out to cover the large number of roads in our township must be considerable and heaven forbid if you are slow in responding, as the complaints will arrive fast and furious. But really, we have not had a lot of snow this year and one would think that it would be an opportunity to save in one area, and apply it to another of the many projects that confront Council on a yearly basis.

Anyway, my observations are not meant as criticism, because the work is being done. It is the optics. So now when I hear a forecast of possible snow I think of Rex Harrison: “Send in the plows, there have to be plows, don’t bother they’re here.”

Richard Christie
Mountain