Sixty miles west of Boston, Massachusetts there is the small New England town of Sturbridge. Located at the junction of I-90 (The Mass Pike), and I-84 it has become known as the "Crossroads of New England". The town was first settled over 300 years ago, and like other small New England towns it has grown just enough over the years to be in a difficult place today. How do we embrace the future without forgetting how we got to our present? How do we attract the right kind of growth, and maintain who we are? And, what about our culture out here in Central Massachusetts?
These pages will cause one to think about how to protect what we have, our future direction, and how to move on in the very best way.
Those thoughts, and other ramblings, will hopefully inspire more thought, conversation, action, and occasionally a smile...
...seems to be working so far
Wally, the article says staff will be layed off, and some parks have swimming areas that MIGHT be closed.
ReplyDeleteMaybe people who use Streeter Beach should write letters to their legislators.
According to the State, there will be no staff, including life guards at Streeter Point. the Rest rooms will be closed, as well as the parking lot, however, the park will BE open. Go figure. No parking, no life guards, no rest rooms, I don't know, but color me closed.
ReplyDeleteSo, the park is open; but the parking lot is closed? Doesn't say the beach will be closed; but if the parking lot is closed then, where are we supposed to park? On the moon? Maybe we can all park up the Governor's butt. Oh well, there are plenty of other freshwater ponds around. This is the state of our state!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the "state of our state" is very poor. Here in Sturbridge we may not feel it as much as other communities, but when it comes to state run facilities we will. Wells State Park will remain open, though.
ReplyDeleteI agree the article about Streeter Beach is not well written and confusing. The bottom line they are not open for swimming or recreation they closed the parking and bathrooms the entrance is gated. Wells State Park is open for camping and hiking. There is a $2.00 parking fee. They have a swim area that is weed infested and no life guards or bathrooms near by; it is not a public swim area. It is great for hiking.
ReplyDeleteWith a bad economy these State run recreation areas are what makes escaping the summer heat affordable. The State made a big mistake closing them.
With the budget so far in the red, there is little they could do. If they kept the beach open, then some other service would have to be cut by the same amount, and that service may more dear than a beach. We are in deep stuff here in Massachusetts, as is the nation. Cut backs are they only way they can recover besides new taxes. We are fortunate enough here in the Bay state to get a bit of both. LOL!
ReplyDeleteMaybe if the State leaders didn’t take a 5% raise there would be more of our $$ available for us the tax payers.
ReplyDelete