A Gold Mine At Fairfield Hills

To the Editor,

Within Newtown there is a gold mine waiting to be discovered and its treasures harvested. This mine that I speak of is not a quarry of precious minerals, though it holds the potential to be as equally beneficial to our town. This mine I am referring to is the series of old buildings and open land of Fairfield Hills.

Our town could profit from Fairfield Hills by transforming the old structures into a downtown shopping area, a phrase that brings to mind the image of neon lights and overbearing advertisement. But before you shake your head and throw this letter aside, picture this: walking down a brick sidewalk, one hand slipped into the hand of your spouse or child, the other hand carrying your favorite ice cream, as the two of you stroll down the street, peering into the decorated windows of quaint stores.

This picturesque scene is a reality in many towns and could exist right here in Newtown. It could be a charming place where our citizens could all gather to and enjoy a day or afternoon out in town.

This area could be cultivated with gardens where Newtown citizens would be able to hold receptions for all kinds of occasions. Concerts could be held there without being surrounded by the noise of Route 25, one of the great downfalls of The Pleasance. A performing arts center could be erected drawing performances of all kinds — from your daughter’s ballet class to performers from afar.

With youth finding entertainment in the backside of Big Y, a downtown area would get kids off the street by offering them an uplifting source of entertainment beyond the two-dollar movies at Edmond Town Hall. Without anything to do, our youth and adults have gone to horrible extremes to feed their entertainment needs. If we were to fix Fairfield Hills up we would be offering an alternative to degrading and harmful activities for our citizens.

Many of us have been able to visit and benefit from the new Ferris Acres Farm Creamery on 302. This is just a small glimpse into the kind of success any businesses would have in some kind of downtown area, success that would spill over into our town’s economy. If people in this town do not want to pay ever-increasing taxes they must be willing to allow some kind of commercialism in order to provide a more substantial form of income for our town.

By allowing Fairfield Hills to become a quaint downtown area, every single citizen would be benefited. It would welcome in a desperately needed source of entertainment and sense of community to Newtown. Simultaneously it would offer jobs for our citizens both young and old. It would boost our town’s financial state, and could even go so far as to lower taxes. Newtown, overall, would be less of a collection of homes and farms, and more of a town — a rural and peaceful town.

Sincerely,

Tamarra Kemsley

14 Merlins Lane, Newtown                                       August 23, 2004