What a mess!!!

In my humble opinion, keeping the former downtown afloat is not even in the top ten list of greatest problems that this city faces. That is something that should be left to market forces. City hall should be as accommodating as possible (as they should be in any other area of Middletown) but we must stop squandering our city’s treasure (and our children’s and grandchildren’s futures) on one harebrained scheme after another that benefit only a few.

1. One of the greatest problems our city faces is SPECIAL INTERESTS!!! For too long now, both overtly and behind the scenes, the shots are being called in Middletown to suit the interests of a small group of influential individuals and groups, to the detriment of the citizenry, and the city, as a whole. This must cease if our city’s fortunes are to be reversed.
2. Another is education (actually lack thereof). Harvard, Vassar, and MIT could all open branch campuses smack in the center of the former downtown and it will do no good as long as our school system continues to produce a high percentage of dropouts along with an equally high percentage of graduates who can barely read, write, or use arithmetic. Our outstanding athletic programs are no substitute for our scholastic shortcomings. The one or two professional athletes that we produce every decade cannot possibly support the multitude left behind with no prospects for self-sufficiency. Bringing higher education closer does not help those who cannot fill out an application by themselves. Many of our other problems flow from this situation.
3. Falling in line with the two above is the administration of both City Hall and the Middletown City School District. While there are many good employees on these staffs, there are also some “bad apples” that are spoiling the bunch. The bad actors must be weeded out. New policies must be implemented clearly outlining what is expected and explaining the penalties for those who fail to follow policy. The policies then must be implemented fully and impartially.
4. Yet the solutions to those problems begin with the solution to this one: Lack of leadership at the top. The above can only be achieved once both the City Council and the Board of Education are filled with citizens who are willing to admit that the above problems exist, and are willing to try to correct them. As long as our city leaders hold the position that “there is nothing wrong with Middletown”, that “all of our employees are the best”, nothing will change. Good, ethical people with no special interests or hidden agendas, who are willing to be true to both the letter and the spirit of the law, must run for the Board of Education and City Council to begin implementing the solutions to the above problems.
5. Even more critical than the forgoing is the apathy of the citizenry. The citizens of Middletown must become interested in, and educated on, these problems and then become involved in solving them. They must begin at the ballot box by electing the proper people to City Council and the Board of Education, and then remain involved to assure that those new elected public servants remain true to their goals.

It is really that simple, in my humble opinion.

Solve these problems and we will soon have a thriving, prosperous city.

Then all we have to do is keep it.

I admit that I am not a culinary school graduate, but a feel I must correct the unnamed “college official’s” recipe for a “college in a box”!!! The missing ingredient is NOT water.

I believe what he/she should’ve said is: “Just add MONEY!!!”