Stupid Rules

To the Editor:

I’ve often wondered what Newtown Police talk about when they sit three cars across behind the Sandy Hook Fire Department for hours on end. I figured maybe they were running tests on how much gas they could burn, without actually moving.

Now I know. They’re thinking up new stupid rules to enforce. In the spirit of “no teenagers in the public space by Edmond Town Hall” and “no teenagers at Dunkin’ Donuts,” they have now come up with “no drop-offs at the cafeteria parking lot at the high school.”

Don’t get me wrong. I think the officer that directs traffic at the high school is one of Newtown’s great unsung heroes. No, I’m talking about the officer who sits in his nice warm patrol car, waving people away from the lower drop-off area. Never mind that by dropping off there it takes some of the pressure off of the wildly overcrowded main entrance. (Who designed this place, anyway?) No, at taxpayer expense, this officer enforces a rule that has absolutely no effect on traffic, other than to slow it down even more.

I’m sure one of the topics of discussion behind the firehouse is, “How can we look busy since Newtown has way many more cops than it needs?”

Here’s a thought. Maybe they are trying to show us that we have way many more cops than we need. In these time of fiscal restraint, maybe we can use a few layoffs in the public sector. Why don’t you guys toss that one around, at the next meeting?

Jim Barber

33 Zoar Road, Sandy Hook                                         February 4, 2009