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Thursday, February 25, 2010

Well, it wasn’t all that much of a storm last week but it still could have caused a lot more problems than it did if it weren’t for the people who take care of our roads. We all see the plow crews out and about once we’re out and about, but what we often don’t see is these crews out and about while we’re still in bed.

In most towns, they don’t fool around waiting for the snow to accumulate to a certain depth: They’re out at 2 or 3 in the morning making sure that when it’s time for us to go to work or to school, we can get there.

We take a lot of this for granted, of course, because it is done so quickly and efficiently. We only notice if something goes wrong, if our road isn’t plowed by the time we need to get out, or when the plow leaves a snowbank at the end of our driveways. Breaks of the game, people, breaks of the game.

The people who take care of our roads deserve some applause. For communities that still have traditional town and school meetings, we can actually call for a round of applause sometime during the meeting. That would be nice. For towns that do all their deciding at the polls on election day, well, some of us could write letters to the editor of this paper thinking these folks for all of their hard work.

Or we could just wave and yell out, “Thanks,” the next time we see them out working. That would be nice, too.

Voting day looms

Yes, we know many of you are looking ahead to November when you can throw the rascal Democrats out and replace them with people like former congressman Charles (Term limit? What term limit?) Bass, who is so high on himself that he surmises you must be, too. High, at least.

But let’s not forget that a very important voting day approaches, one that, in some ways, has more of an effect upon our day-to-day lives than what we vote upon in November. That is our local elections and in the towns covered by our four newspapers, there are a lot of things to decide, not the least of which is who will represent us on boards of selectmen and school boards. These are people who touch us in one way or another almost every day, even though they generally only meet once a week or twice a month, in some cases.

But think about this: If you have an issue with a stop sign, or if you have a question about your child’s school, who you gonna call?

The people you vote for on March 9 can be of great help on everyday issues, so think carefully before you pull the lever or check the box.

Remember, too, that the people from whom you are about to choose are your friends and neighbors who, for the most part, want to help their communities. Oh, sure, there are some who run because they have agendas that, they hope, they can push on a local level, and that’s fine. But in general, those who seek school board or selectmen’s seats are just people who want to help.

And here’s something you might not know: It might be that once upon a time, being on one of these town boards was really, really part-time. In theory, that’s the case today. But ask any member of a local board and you’ll find out that the time they put in is much more than even they expected. They can’t just take their seats and vote. There is an enormous amount of preparation that goes into casting an informed vote and the vast majority of these folks do that preparation.

These people are important and that makes your vote important. We are always disappointed, however, at how many of you stay home on March voting day — even more of you than will stay home in November when you have a chance to say to Democrats, “We don’t like you any more than we like those other (fill in the blank.)” We hope you’ll take the time to vote. It’s good for you, good for your town and, who knows, maybe even good for your peace of mind, to wit: “Well, I did all I could. Sure hope it works out.”

Hoist by her own petard

Is it any surprise to any thinking person that Merrimack state Rep. Nancy Elliott had to eat her words, apologize, and then try to bluff her way out of her own embarrassment?

She was, in a phrase, hoist by her own petard, which as defined as “injured by the device that you intended to use to injure others.”

Here’s what she did: She claims to have gotten a message of some sort from the mother of a Nashua fifth-grader who, she said, told her that gay sex was being taught in Nashua public schools and she used this alleged call as fodder to push for the overturn of the state’s reasonable and, finally, fair support of gay marriage.

Here’s what she said about that: “Because we have made a marriage of same sex, they are now teaching it in public school. They are showing our fifth-graders how they can actually perform this kind of sex.” Ah, but … suddenly, she discovered that no such thing was being taught in Nashua schools (as any thinking person would have realized right away) and this week, she backpedaled.

We can all learn a lesson from Rep. Elliott: Think before you speak. And try not to buy into something ludicrous just because it supports your entrenched point of view.