Town Meeting Tonight

In case you have not yet heard and happen to be one of the early readers of this blog about Middleville, in Herkimer County, New York, a town hall meeting is set for tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the Fire Hall on Route 28 (you all know where it is).

The topic is vandalism, and how to deal with it. In fact, this website is largely a reaction to it in that this is designed for citizens who see problems or have had problems with vandalism or other crimes to share them with neighbors. The idea is that the more everyone knows, the more effectively the problem can be dealt with. Sometimes in life problems are much bigger than anyone might suspect, but because everyone tends to assume they have been singled out, they are somehow embarrassed and keep it to themselves. They think the problem is somehow a reflection on them, not on the people causing the trouble.

Of course, in that respect, they would be wrong.

Villages like Middleville depend on neighbors helping neighbors, especially with things like this, because the troopers might not be right around the corner.

So, on this site, you can talk all you want about what is going on around you, and you can share pictures as well. Either post them here, or email your comments to: middleville@gmail.com, and we will post them for you - just text, or text plus pictures, or just pictures and a caption. Please provide at least a caption, which should include a date and the names of the people in the picture, if they are known. If you want your name used, say so. If you don't, say so. If you don't specify, your name will NOT be used in the postings here. Anonymity is guaranteed, unless you ask otherwise.

This information can also be confidentially forwarded to the state troopers responsible for protecting our village if you specify that you would like that to happen. Remember what the troopers said in the last town meeting, though - you must tell them what you want to have happen to the perpetrators involved. If you want to file a complaint, say so.

We are working to get a list of all complaints filed in Middleville, and we will post them all here, along with pictures if we can, so that everyone knows what is going on around town.

When people talk about open government, they sometimes use an analogy to sunshine - they say that "sunshine is the best disinfectant" to keep government clean. In this case, the analogy seems appropriate - the more light that is shined in dark places, the cleaner and healthier our village will be.

Got your flashlight handy?

MNY