It has been a long, hard winter that has given me way too much time to reflect on Rumford, past, present and future. Such a vibrant, healthy, friendly town it was during the 1960s when my children were born. It is rather sad that the town has become the sorry mess it is now.

Some things are self-evident. The town cannot be brought back to its former glory. It will either morph into something else in the natural progression of time, or it will continue to rot.

When I read the sidewalk plans, it makes me nuts. Somewhere there are plans from the 1980s kicking around that served townspeople well for close to 30 years. Dig them up and use them again.

Leave out the trees; they are ridiculous here. Just give people sidewalks that can be safely used and stop wasting money on a grandiose plan. Spending more than $40,000 on a plan and no implementation is insane. Sub-contract the work out to a private contractor who has the equipment and know-how to do it right.

With regard to the cost of town police coverage versus county sheriff coverage, Rumford and Mexico should not be lumped together. The only apples-to-apples comparison that can be made is between the Rumford Police Department’s costs, including benefit packages and equipment, versus the sheriff’s package.

Townspeople need to accept the reality of where the town is now and fix only what is truly important to all.

Diana Pratt, Rumford

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