Left With No Choice

To the Editor:

In “Getting Action from the Highway Department,” [Letter Hive, 1/28/11] Christopher Karpenko assumed — wrongly — that I (and my neighbors) didn’t call the highway department before “publicly blasting” them for plowing my street only once during the worst snowfall in decades; in fact, I called twice, my neighbors called several times as well. My first call was met with the following comment: “Uh, sorry.” My second call was met with, “We’ll see what we can do.” Shortly thereafter, a plow arrived and moved the snow not up onto our lawns, but actually to the end of our driveways.  So we know who had the last laugh.

Taxes are a form of fee for service. After repeated pleasant phone calls and requests for service for which I pay taxes, I was left with no choice but to write to The Bee.

(1/31/11 Update: As of today, we are delighted to see that our street as well as the surrounding ones have been plowed, and widened substantially. We feel far safer, are very grateful, and thank Fred Hurley and Newtown Public Works for helping us out.)

                                                Thanks,

Elissa Altman

13 Webster Place, Newtown                                     January 29, 2011