The landfill and the community: thoughts from another person

My friend Dominique Dear sent me this letter she and husband Ken sent to the Daily News in Dec. 2005. It's about the landfill and fits in with what I've already written about community today.

Reading the front page article in today's The Daily News (Crow Lane, Work at smelly landfill halted - City orders stop for third time due to complaints, byline Stephanie Chelf, Staff Reporter). On page A6, the column continues:

"New Ventures President William Thibeault intends to fight the city to keep working and questions the validity of some of the complaints from residents. (Quote) 'It's time for the city to step back and look at what they're saving and not listen to a handful of people and try to work together with the contractor,' Thibeault said. 'A handful of people complain out of 17, 000(residents).'"

Assuming that the quote is accurate, wondering to whom this (appalling)
appeal is directed? How debasing that New Ventures' president concludes that those of us in the broader community, not directly affected by the"olfactory factor" of his operation, have no solidarity with our fellow Newburyport citizens living near Crow Lane. Perhaps he may not realize that the coming change in administrations will not mean that the city will "step back" --- because the problems of the Crow Lane landfill have been aforemost concern for Mayor-Elect John Moak since the onset of his campaign. And when making that very point at the primary debates last September, the audience which was a random sampling of three generations of the Waterside people, randomly seated, nodded in agreement and applauded.

Let us demonstrate that unity at the upcoming public hearing held on December 21, 12:30 p.m. in City Hall Council Chambers, with our attendance or by forwarding the Board of Health an advance communication of our "comity" with the afflicted residents, in support of taking strong steps forward to resolve this issue.

Mr. Thibeault will soon find that the Waterside community of Newburyport is indeed "A City on the Hill," and that the hill of tribulations he imposes upon the Crow Lane neighborhood is a burden assumed by all, and that we make others' conditions our own, and will labor to stop their suffering once and for all.

[Note: "A City on the Hill" quotes from John Winthrop's moving homily to the passengers on the Ship Arbella, while journeying to Massachusetts Bay Colony 375 years ago this year. Winthrop inspired his fellow adventurers to"be willing to abridge our selves of our superfluities, for the supply of others' necessities ... uphold a familiar commerce together ... make other conditions our own ... labor and suffer together, always having before our eyes our commission and community in the work, our Community as members of the same body, so shall we keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace."]