Letters to the Editor
‘Basket of deplorables’ comment is deplorable
To the Editor:
Hillary Clinton’s "basket of deplorables" was one of the most deplorable comments I’ve heard from a national politician. To overgeneralize half of Donald Trump supporters as racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic and Islamophobic shows how out of touch she is with the people.
I know many Trump supporters who are good and decent people. I know many Trump supporters who condemn racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia and Islamophobia.
The fact that we want to shake up the establishment in Washington and end insider business as usual does not make us deplorable.
Chris Ager
Amherst
Does Department of Public Works have extra money?
To the Editor:
The town of Milford has just been hit with an emergency $100,000 repair of two culvert pipes that developed a sinkhole on Mason Road near McGettigan Road.
So far DPW has only stabilized the road. Full repair is to follow and for safety’s sake, ought to be done soon.
At the Aug. 29 Board of Selectmen’s meeting, Chair Mark Fougere said this culvert "wasn’t even on the list of things we needed to do. So this stuff just crops up, unfortunately. Surprise!"
But where’s the money going to come from?
According to the town’s attorney, the Department of Public Works has a lot of money in its budget.
On Sept. 14, attorney Drescher argued in Superior Court that the town be allowed to spend around $30,000 to construct two new temporary sports fields with no irrigation or amenities at the Brox property on the south side of Heron Pond Road this year without the need for voter approval to "plant grass," as he put it.
But does DPW really have an extra $30,000 in addition to $100,000 lying around in its budget?
We are told by the BOS that Milford has many old rusted culvert pipes just like the ones that failed on Mason Road. Isn’t this where the entire $130,000 ought to be going?
The selectmen need to explain why they are willing to spend $30,000 on Brox sports fields when there are much greater priorities, such as the culverts that are in urgent need of repair.
Suzanne Fournier
Coordinator
Brox Environmental Citizens
Milford