BRATTLEBORO — We recently placed a “Re-Site the Skate Park: Preserve Crowell Lot” sign in our front yard. The following morning, the sign has been stolen.
This is not the first time we have been vandalized since publicly opposing the skatepark plan, despite having never been vandalized in nine years previously. Apparently, the compromise being sought is too much to ask.
I walked around the neighborhood a bit to see if others' signs had been removed, and it appears they have not. I have filed a report with the Brattleboro Police to be sure it is, again, recorded.
As I write this letter, I am home alone. I am deaf and, yet again, feeling targeted and vulnerable, which was why we removed all the yard signs in the past and installed a burglar-alarm system in our home for the first time in our life.
Who would have thought these feelings would be part of living in Vermont? They were also part of the reason I dropped the appeal of the Brattleboro DRB decision to the Vermont Environmental Court.
I blame Brattleboro Town Manager Barbara Sondag and the entire current Brattleboro Selectboard for sitting in complete silence while I (and others who opposed what is now widely viewed as a town planning travesty) were openly harassed, slandered, and libeled publicly by members of “an official Town of Brattleboro Committee” and supporters of that committee's agenda.
There was an opportunity for leadership in this town which could have changed the course of the escalating tensions around this issue and tried to build community. However, it was an opportunity lost. How sad for all of us.
I am wondering if the Town of Brattleboro is tracking the incidents of harassment that have taken place against opponents of the skatepark, particularly as opposition to “the plan” continues to grow significantly.
Will the documented harassment that exists ever be discussed publicly as part of this story, or will such incidents remain distasteful and dirty little secrets while the town markets itself to tourists?
I previously wrote to the Vermont governor and attorney general, telling them of the harassment individuals in the community were experiencing and asking if this is how people in Vermont can expect to be treated when they challenge the powers that be.
I think with the growing opposition in town, this issue should be looked at before we have an incident more serious than lawn-sign vandalism, slander, and libel: something that would warrant a story in The New York Times.
If anyone else has had signs removed recently, please let me know. Also, please report the ongoing vandalism to the Brattleboro Police Department.