Winsted must care for its possessions

Those of us who remember our childhood lessons will invariably recall a parent or guardian telling us something to the effect of “Why should I give you anything nice if you’re not going to appreciate it?” It’s the kind of thing you would hear when you left your bicycle outside in the rain or decided to set firecrackers off in your Matchbox cars.If only the town of Winchester had a stern parent who could come to town occasionally and remind us how poorly we are treating our home. That parent might take a drive down Main Street and ask why, after less than a decade, several trees in our beautiful downtown median have been torn out and not replaced. They might ask why many of our old Victorian-style lampposts have suffered similar fates — broken down to the base, removed and never fixed — while others don’t light up any more. Why is it so hard for us to repair things when they break here? Does anyone care?Mangled signs and ruined trees are the first things motorists see when they drive into Winsted from the west. Extreme weather and automobile mishaps have been responsible for the damage, but inaction is the simple reason repairs have not been made. Emergency federal funds were sent out to dozens of communities following last year’s freak October snowstorm, but Winsted somehow missed the boat when it came to taking advantage of the funds.The cherry trees in the center median of Main Street are the most important focal point of the town’s public Main Street Enhancement Project, the first phase of which was completed in 2003. Phase two of the project, which will extend the medians further east and west, is slated to begin this April. Imagine what contractors working on the job will say: “Why are we even building this? Look at how poorly the town has taken care of phase one!”Head to the east end of town and you’ll see that Northwestern Connecticut Community College takes perfect care of its landscape, fencing and lampposts, as does Northwest Community Bank. Winsted should take a moment to notice how much pride these community members take in their properties and take that as a lesson in how to care for the town’s possessions.One person who is at least paying attention is Dick Labich, a member of the town’s Economic Development Commission, who has spearheaded a program in which residents can make donations to jars located in restaurants and shops throughout town to help pay for new trees in the median strip. One of Winsted’s most active and caring constituents, Labich has also been the key player in a plan to get all-season, all-weather lights installed in the median’s trees, to give downtown Winsted a year-round sparkle. We just need the trees first.While Labich’s initiative is certainly commendable, it should be the municipality’s responsibility to take proper care of the Main Street median, which is being funded by millions of taxpayer dollars. Emergency funds to fix the median should have been approved weeks ago, and regular maintenance should be mandatory. Now that spring weather has sprung, the median is more visible than ever. The time to act is now.