Chevy M.P. Chevrette: ‘It’s a matter of trust’

I finally caught up with the March 30 guest column “Voting ‘no’ matters in South Hadley on April 14” which read more like a lengthy, one-sided letter to the editor.

I listened to and participated in the debate among Town Meeting members concerning the proposed override. It’s not just about numbers, but of sustaining the quality of life we’ve come to know in South Hadley; therefore, I favor voting “yes” on both override measures.

We must trust our Town Meeting members, two-thirds of whom voted for the 5-year, $11 million option, more than all the other choices, including “no” choice, combined. We must trust our Select Board, our town administrator, our town employees, and all the countless volunteers who give freely of their time to make our little corner of the world a better place, regardless of the divisions in our nation and the chaos gripping the world. Most of all, we should trust ourselves.

We need to give all these parts of our community the time, five years, and the wherewithal, $11 million, to finish the work correctly and completely. We must avoid playing the game of “whose ox is being gored” by parsing where and what to cut, creating factions and friction. Keep all services, including our Police Department, fully funded. Using the Override Tax Calculator, I was surprised to discover that the difference in cost to me between the two choices is negligible.

I’ve chosen to live in South Hadley, to buy a home, and to start a business. I am extremely grateful that my son Benjamin was able to enter first grade here under school choice when family circumstances compelled us to move temporarily to Holyoke. Cutting extracurricular programs and teaching positions is not an option: it will increase the net loss of pupils from our school system and accelerate what some have termed a “death spiral.”

I agree that we can put the proposed SHELD facility on hold. However, our youth and seniors deserve better, which is why we must follow our best instincts and choose to save South Hadley!

Chevy M.P. Chevrette, Town Meeting member

South Hadley