Our Town

This little town has had a rough year, starting with the big fire last April. The latest bit of Hell to fall our way has been a series of car vs. pedestrian accidents on main arteries. There have been 3 lately, resulting in 2 deaths so far. The third victim, hit last night, was in serious condition last we heard. The two people killed were good people, known and loved by many. I don't know who the third victim is yet, but he's an 82 year old man who was walking his dog when they were both hit. He was airlifted to Dartmouth, so he must be very hurt.

And, the director of our food pantry who's coordinated just about everything having to do with the needy and homeless for the last 20 years or so had a massive heart attack this past weekend. She's in CICU and not in good shape at all.

Our town has been hanging on through these crises for nearly a year now. A guy named Dave Eisenstadter is writing a book about Brattleboro's year from Hell and he has plenty of material. We're a pretty resilient bunch but all of this- fire, murders, flood, killed pedestrians, Melinda's shattering heart attack- is stretching it. I'm hoping the curse lifts soon.

Some of it could have been prevented. I still insist that the pedestrian deaths are a direct result of the low lighting we have. 5 years ago the town began turning off streetlights
http://www.ibrattleboro.com/article.php?story=20070529153345890
and the remaining lights were replaced with energy efficient bulbs. I don't know how many lights were actually removed but I do know how dark our roads are now. Are the lives lost and changed forever worth the few thousand bucks in savings? I don't think so.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9-pDSYPrio