To the Editor:

I had the most pleasant experience Saturday touring the new Newtown Police Department Station. I had read about the opening event in The Bee and since I have fond memories of working in that building way back when it was Gateway Bank’s Operations Center, I put it on my list of things to do to stop in and see if I could grab a quick look at what they’d done to it. I ended up taking the whole tour and I’m so glad that I did.

The Newtown PD is charged with maintaining our safety, and yet many of us take their existence for granted. I remember when the Department was tucked into the west corner basement of the old Edmond Town Hall, and that when they moved to the Ruwet-Sibley building, it was considered then to be a major and long overdue upgrade. But I guess I had forgotten how long they’d been there, and had not realized how antiquated, crowded, and inefficient that building had become. What a great job our officer guide did in pointing out the many ways their effectiveness will be improved by their new surroundings.

Being a police officer in normal times is tough, but being one in these times is beyond tough. I am very pleased to see our tax dollars invested in moving this institution (finally) into the Twenty First Century by granting it the physical resources necessary to protect our community for decades to come.

Randi Allen Kiely

70 Mount Pleasant Road, Newtown November 9, 2020