Where would we be without those who make us what we are?
In picking up with last week’s topic… someone, somewhere is opining: “Why do I care if the school system dies off? I don’t have kids. Hey maybe my school taxes will go down!”
But when you follow the thought trail to its conclusion, you realize a balanced community is necessary if we are to have any community at all, and that includes a solid sector of year-round families.
Otherwise, when you call for help in a fire or medical emergency, who will respond?
It won’t be the carpenter, plumber or janitor that commutes to work each day in Old Forge.
They won’t be rising in the middle of the night to get dressed and drive 30 or 50 miles to spray water on your house… or transport you to a Utica hospital. Even if they did, how long would you be able to wait?
Our Fire and EMS responders are local volunteers, many working class, some young retirees, who are actually part of this community they serve.
Who will take their place in a few years? Congratulations to John Mitchell on his promotion to Old Forge Waste Water Treatment Plant Department Head. He has served the Sewer District and other departments well over the past 5 years.
The Town Board will now be looking for a new assistant to replace John, as well as a replacement for a DPW driver position. Will they fill these positions with commuters? Or will their choices help solidify our “community”?
These are not the town jobs of the 70’s. These positions are year-round, fulltime, 40 hours per week, paid vacation and sick days, a health insurance benefit valued at upwards of $16,000 per year. The most recent assistant wastewater treatment plant operator earned over $19 per hour, plus all the benefits and more listed above.
Admittedly, this compensation rewards two state certifications and five years experience.
We should all be asking our respective Government Boards to make all attempts at hiring locally, thereby taking one small step at contributing to the survival of our communities.
However they need applicants, local applicants, to even consider this request.
The choice is either to ignore our opportunities or to leverage them for our survival. Just a thought.
