Everyone Loves Fire Trucks
Everyone Loves Fire Trucks
To the Editor:
Kudos to the Labor Day Parade Committee, once again they did a phenomenal job. I do have one important suggestion, though, for the future.
The Newtown Labor Day Parade Committee, in an attempt to shorten the parade, put out a set of new guidelines concerning floats, 18-wheel trucks, and commercial entries. The new guidelines stated that no entrant may have more than three vehicles in the parade (Shriners excepted). What wasnât clear to some was that this included the noncommercial, nonprofit, volunteer firefighters of Newtown. I discovered this the night before the parade and learned that if the Newtown volunteer fire departments wanted to have additional trucks in the parade, they would have to pay $250 per truck. I personally think this is wrong. The Labor Day Parade is the one day a year that we, as a community, are able to give these brave dedicated men and women a small part of the credit and recognition they deserve for all of the time and effort they exert placing themselves in the line of danger. Moreover, it goes without saying how much their volunteer teamwork saves Newtown taxpayers.
It would be my hope that next year and every other year we have this parade, the volunteer firefighters should be allowed to bring the trucks from their companies, as many as they like, and as many as we as taxpayers have paid for, without being charged. I donât think they limit the town to the number of fires they will respond to in a day!
My husband is a candidate for selectman and he informed me that he would have gladly set up a table at the end of the parade in lieu of marching, and invited the other Democratic candidates to do the same, in order to make room for our volunteer firefighters. But with all due respect, I hope we can correct it in next yearâs parade and as many fire trucks as a company wishes to display are permitted to participate. Letâs face it, not only do the kids love the fire trucks, but we adults do too!
(I would like to thank Kendra Bobowick and Nancy Crevier of The Newtown Bee for referring me to an article in The Bee that appeared on 7/31/09 (âParade Entrants Must Register By Mid-Augustâ) when I called with the concern regarding the parade regulations. They were extremely helpful).
Maribeth Hemingway
10 Overlook Knoll, Sandy Hook                         September 8, 2009