Its been quite the week for our small town. We wrapped up a wonderful summer fest, heard compelling testimony from the ZBA public hearings and most importantly came to a consensus on our budget. Whether you supported this budget from day one or were opposed to it until referendum number four, Bethel has undoubtedly grown over the past couple of months and should feel a sense of serenity and pride. The compromises weve made have truly paid off with an increase in voter turnout resulting in a unanimous, yes, by 550 votes. Along with the town, our forum has grown as well, to over 530 active, opinionated, individual members all representing the same community. Our new members will witness the efforts put forth and should immediately take part in conversations and threads as their opinions have been inaudibly anticipated. Thats what the Bethel, Ct forum is all about. Were trying to propose and maintain discussions while investing a bit of our own thought into each others opinions. Were listening to those around us. Im going to reference a comment by a member this week. He mentioned how debates are similar to contests and with a contest there is usually winner and a loser and no one is motivated to lose so agreements on major points are rare. He then said this, which strikes so true as to what this page is about. Debates in general are useless and unproductive. Discussions on the other hand engender learning, cooperation and possible agreed upon solutions to problems we face. Now debates are a necessary course of action in many political arenas, but that differentiation alone shows a real shift in dialogue toward progress and engrains what were all about here. As in the title of this page, a social, economic and political discussion, were trying to avoid a win/lose locale because were all a part of something bigger, this community. Our competition is merely a challenge or obstacle deterring our town from moving forward, its not each other; and the ways in which we find a solution may differ, but in the end were still in this together. That mentality needs to stay fresh in our minds as we continue creating avenues to improve Bethel the best way we know how, and thats discussing it. Enjoy your weekend …….and before your weekend festivities start, make sure to visit the Bethel community market on the municipal center lawn, TODAY 4-7pm. Entertainment will be provided by Wry Bred and food is provided by Daily Fare, Green Grunion & Billys BBQ. Just by spending a little money with our local vendors you can directly make everyones weekend that much better! enjoy
Posted on: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 14:13:16 +0000
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