Autumn in the North Cemetery.

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

Friday, March 11, 2011

She's Just A Good Person

I try not to endorse a particular person politically when I write.  My reasons for not doing this are several, but mainly it is because I want to remain fairly neutral here on sturbridgecommon.com, and when I do speak up for someone, I want it to stand out as being special, and unique.  Seems that it is respected a bit more when we don't use our powers of endorsement for every Tom, Dick, and Harriet.

I have mentioned here in the past when I do like a particular person.  Just that feeling is special, because, although there are many people I like, there are few that I will declare my "like" for publicly.

Well, this morning is one of these mornings I am going public, and declaring my "like" for a person that is running for the one year term on the Board of Selectman, Angie Ellison.  Angie, and her husband, Mike, and their two daughters are neighbors of ours, and ever since we first moved in a few years ago, she has always had a smile, a wave.  This is important in our society of keeping ones distance, and not acknowledging those next to you.  Does it make her a great candidate for selectman?  Well, it's a start.

Besides being a welcoming neighbor, Angie is also very proactive. A couple of years ago I mentioned to her that I had been to the Post Office here in Fiskdale and had spoken to the Post Master about having all the mail boxes on Route 148 placed in front of their respective homes on their own side of the road.  Route 148 was a lot busier than it was years ago, and having residents walk across the state highway to get their mail was not only something from the 1950's, but also very dangerous.  I had been watching an elderly neighbor of ours "dash" across the road to her mailbox each day to retrieve her mail.  When I saw her, I grabbed it for her, but there were far too many times I wasn't there.  I was told, by the Post Master, to have a petition signed by all those on the road, and a reason for the requested change submitted to the Postal Service on a particular form.  The Post Master did admit it was a dangerous situation, but the petition is how to get the government ball rolling.

I don't like red tape, and this was red tape.  A simple route change, and notification to the residents to move their mailboxes from across the street to in front of their homes would have been all that would be needed, but this was the Federal government, not Wally World, and the red tape is built in.

I mentioned this to Angie one day, and she smiled, nodded in agreement that it needed to be done, and asked me to let her take on Operation Mailbox Move.  I smiled back, and a short time later she came to me and told me that the Post Master had seen the danger of residents crossing the road to get their mail, and that a change would be coming soon.  A few months later a notice went out from the Post Office, and residents made the mailbox move.

Now, how Angie did this without a petition, and government forms filled out is beyond me, but she did.  I was surprised, but she wasn't at all.

Angie is not only proactive, a worker, and someone that can see the changes that can benefit others when those changes are either ignored, or not seen by others, she is also a good person, and neighbor.  I know all this from personal experience.

I will always believe that good people deserve a chance to serve others if they have the desire.  Angie has that desire, and has already served on two school committees in town.  I have also witnessed Angie taking on a job after telling me she could do it, and then get it done as promised.

That's all I need; a good person telling me they will do something for others, and then doing it.

Something, and someone, to think about during this upcoming town election.



For more information on Angie Ellison go to her website at www.angelineellison.com --ed.

2 comments:

  1. We need to add good person on the board of selectmen in Sturbridge she has my vote.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Read what you had to say about Angie and then went to her blog to see what she had to say. Liked that she doesn't know all the problems or challenges and that she doesn't have all the answers; but is willing to research and work on them. This tells me she has no hidden agenda other than to be fair and work for all residents of Sturbridge. Angie, you have my vote.

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