#MiddleburyCT #Greenway #FOIA
This month we launch a column to share thoughts more directly with our readers and to hopefully get feedback from them. One thing that has puzzled me is how little feedback we do get. So first let me share ways you can communicate with me. You can reach me by telephone at 203-577-6800, by email at beeintelligencer@gmail.com and by snail mail at Middlebury Bee-Intelligencer, P.O. Box 10, Middlebury, CT 06762. The newspaper is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MBINews and on the Internet at bee-news.com. And now, to share a couple of thoughts.
The Greenway
This gem provides us with a safe walking, bicycling and running space, and we are lucky to have it. When the snow flies, however, doing anything on the Greenway can be a challenge. Your editor has been out there in the winter when walking was a really treacherous adventure. Walkers before her left boot prints in slush, which then froze, leaving behind frozen boot prints that made walking and staying upright a challenge.
Those in charge of the Greenway have never agreed it should be cleared of snow in the winter. So, while town officials encourage residents to walk there in the summer, saying our roads are too narrow for safe walking, they won’t agree to clear the Greenway of snow in the winter. That’s when our narrow roads become even narrower with plowed snow on their edges. And I would suggest that’s when we really need the Greenway as a safe place to walk.
Sun shines on much of the paved Greenway during the day. As those of us with paved driveways know, if we clear snow, the sun finishes the job, often leaving behind a completely dry and snow free surface. A photo recently posted to Facebook showed the same thing happens with the Greenway. Someone had cleared a section of the Greenway, leaving behind a pristine, snow-free stretch of pavement.
While one person voiced concerns about the town being sued if someone slipped on ice, the photo clearly shows there is no ice where the path was cleared. While not all of the Greenway gets the sun during the day, the sections that do are good candidates for clearing. Some talk about cross country skiing on the Greenway, but few seem to do that, and it’s really not very conducive it. There are too many street crossings.
Better from this writer’s view to clear it and provide a safe winter walking space.
FOI Act
A resident recently publicly questioned the police department’s policy for disseminating information to the press, noting along the way that this newspaper had reported on a recent domestic violence arrest but had failed to report on a stray bullet that had entered a Ridgewood home some months ago. A simple phone call to either the newspaper or the police department could have provided an answer. That’s one reason I provided my contact information above. If you question what I do or do not publish, I am always happy to discuss it with you and address your concerns.
What the police (and town officials) may and may not do with information is outlined in the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act, commonly referred to as FOIA (foy-yah). Learn about it by visiting portal.ct.gov/FOI/Quick-Links/The-FOI-Act. Simply put, with some exceptions (notably minors), the information in police reports is public information.
The Middlebury Police Department sends out press releases with that information. Because I work shorthanded, not every press release they send to the newspaper ends up in print or posted on the newspaper’s website. We will try to do better.
Wishing our readers all the best,
Marj Needham
Editor and Publisher
