To the Editor

With regard to last Wednesday’s town meeting scheduled for 7 pm.

I arrived at the Newtown Municipal Center at 7:03 pm. The registrars were giving out voting cards upon proof of identity. I would judge that there were somewhere in the range of 25 people in orderly lines, and it took until about 7:10 for me to get my ticket. There were still several behind me.

The entrance to the council chambers was blocked so I went to the exit side to see if I could see what was going on. Imagine my shock when I was greeted by exiting town officials who announced that the meeting was over and that both measures had passed.

The thinking must have been that the meeting is supposed to start at 7 pm and tough luck to the line of people who had not checked in early. Why such haste when many of us had been asked to come to support the special appropriation?

I can remember when town meetings meant something and were not just nuisances to officials who could not wait for those who took the time to come to join them. They might as well have locked the door.

Very truly yours,

Robert H. Hall

5 Nettleton Avenue, Newtown                     July 24, 2013

(This letter was edited by the author on 7/30/13.)