Not-So-Fond Memories Of Newtown

To the Editor:

I am writing to express my gratitude as Thanksgiving comes near for the 24 years I have spent in the beautiful town of Newtown. The wonderful education, and the friendships that have remained a part of our lives as we move south to a warmer climate.

I do, however, want to remind the town of the criminal mischief that took place last year on the evening before Thanksgiving. An evening of enormous alcohol consumption and destruction to several areas of the town and its residents’ homes and cars, not to mention the fear that the involved families felt as they were so rudely awakened in the middle of the night by these criminals who to this day to my knowledge have not been caught. One woman was asleep in her home, alone, several roads away from us, when several young men came up to her door, a long distance from the road, and threw boulders through her door. Imagine what that felt like? Car windows front and back were destroyed and damage done to the bodies of the cars all quietly, silently, in the middle of the night. There were 11 instances of home and property damage that evening.

The fear that one lives with after that does not go away for along time. It can happen anywhere but it happened in Newtown. In conversation with a resident in town I was told these criminals should get some “community service.” I have not gotten over that comment. Maybe we should also contribute to their rehabilitation? Depression counseling? This was serious. I know what really serious is, and have experienced “serious” myself, personally. But this was deserving of a whole lot more than community service.

I hope this Thanksgiving is wonderful for everyone in town and that the evening before the holiday the residents of town feel protected and can safely sleep the night before and then go visit with their families the next day. Unlike last year.

Carol Rodriguez

93 Deer Run, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.                November 14, 2010