Remembering a friend and hero: Susan Getzendanner
Twenty-five years ago my friend Susan Getzendanner gave her life so some of us could live on.
Susan was a vice president at Fiduciary Trust and worked on the 97th floor of 2 World Trade Center - the South Tower. And she was the floor fire warden and it was her job to make sure everyone got off the floor safely in the event of a fire or accident.
On September 11 she did her job well but died in the process.
She loved Salisbury and had a weekend cottage at the foot of Mount Riga and spent many fun summers here with her friends.
To honor her, an American Elm with a small plaque was planted in front of the Salisbury Association’s Academy Building on Main Street. The July 4th storm blew the tree over but I understand another tree will be planted.
Susan and I were friends and members of the Blue Hill Troupe, a Gilbert and Sullivan non-profit company performing mainly in New York.
She had a wonderful smile and loved to travel to remote places and collected art and handicrafts.
She is a hero and patriotjust like the other close to 3,000 Americans who died for us that day. Let us remember Susan and the others and thank them all.
Victor Germack
Salisbury
Thank you, Salisbury Volunteer Ambulance
We can be so proud of the service given in our towns by this remarkable group headed by Jacquie Rice.
I had occasion to find out just how prompt, professional, thorough, kind, pleasant, patient and gentle my crew of five were.
My thanks to my town for having such a great service and to Josh, Genevieve, Robert, Adam and Mike for being a part of it.
Ann Spoor
Salisbury
Eliminate train station instead of moving it
There is a special town meeting on September 16 at 7 p.m. to vote on whether or not to spend money on moving the former train station in Lakeville.Please show up and vote.
Lakeville is taking a beating from officials in Salisbury and here is one way to make it right.
When the town approved a plan to turn the Holley Block into affordable housing, it not only created a massive eyesore with no clear future, but it also took away the only public parking and the only parking space for the nearby shops.We can partially remedy this by eliminating the decrepit train station and turning the site into public parking.Spending any money on an unused and not needed building just to move it seems nuts.No matter how you feel about this, if you live in Lakeville and want any control on its future, please show up and vote at the Town Hall on the 16th.
Theodore Rudd O’Neill
Lakeville
Drifting drives innovation
The Gridlife event which features drifting during some of the weekend is rather unique because the participants and fan base are so different from the usual auto racing crowd.
These are much younger people who have developed a passion for cars.
Unlike car racing that demands deep pockets, the cars that are popular are often inexpensive ones that are then modified into sporting machines. Why is this important? It’s not just that a younger audience can take part, it’s that the modifications and pursuit of mechanical problem solving is what develops a person's ability to diagnose, repair, invent, and improve the machines that we all rely on.
We need young people who can fix our cars when the standard mechanic has come to an impasse. The yellow crash barriers you see on the highway were invented by Lime Rock local and famous race car driver John Fitch; he crash tested them (personally) at Lime Rock Park. Let's remember that the greatest developments in technology and safety come from either war or competition. I prefer competition.
John Light
Sharon
A view lost for generations
For generations, East Street has offered one of Sharon’s most beautiful mountain vistas—a sweeping landscape of open fields and distant mountains reaching toward Cornwall and Mohawk Mountain. Through changing seasons and unforgettable sunrises, it has been one of those special places that quietly helps define the beauty and rural character of our town.
Today, that landscape has been dramatically altered. A wall of arborvitae has been planted across the open field, interrupting what was once an expansive, unobstructed view. And this is only the beginning. As these trees grow taller and fill in, in just a few short years they will form a solid wall of green, completely obscuring the mountains beyond. To see something so naturally beautiful disappear in such a senseless manner is difficult to understand.
We understand and respect that property owners have the right to make decisions about their own land. But some decisions reach far beyond property lines, and this one has changed a landscape that has long been enjoyed by the community.
Perhaps those responsible will someday make Sharon their home and come to understand what this place has meant to those who already call it home.
This was never simply about the view from one property. It was part of traveling East Street, part of Sharon’s character, and something anyone passing by could stop and appreciate.
The mountains and sunrise will remain. What will disappear is our ability to see them across this extraordinary open landscape—a view that has been enjoyed for many generations and one that those who come after us will never have the opportunity to experience.
Greg & Kelly Kilmer
Sharon
