Surely, the first towns came about when man domesticated animals and planted crops, but the first culture and good living began when man learned to share the work and so provide leisure for family functions. As long as man is scrabbling in the dust for food, clothing, medicine and fuel, he cannot think of other things.

In the beginning, towns were run by honest, hard-working people with one thing in mind: each other – in every way. That’s how people of yesteryear differ from our modern society…

Today, I believe towns are run by greedy managers and selectmen who only have their interests at heart, along with a select few who do their bidding. Getting rich off struggling townspeople seems to be the only incentive to being an official of a town. But without people, there is no town.

So many current leaders have people looking across the oceans for enemies, and perhaps there are some enemies there, but the true enemies are the town officials all across America.

Town officials keep raising taxes to feed their greedy existence, to embellish their lavish lifestyles and to feed their inflated egos.

When are the taxpayers going to put a stop to the excessive town spending? How many people live paycheck to paycheck? No one is ever safe this side of the grave as long as taxpayers give greedy town officials the power to tax the people to the brink of extinction.

Phillip E. Webber Sr., Sabattus