News & Features
January 2005

Letters to the Editor

Discussion of Bus Service Continues

(This note was forwarded to me concerning the bus service dispute mentioned last month.)

I am responding to an email you sent to the City of Worcester regarding bus service to the Brookfields. The Worcester Regional Transit Authority is an independent government entity and is not part of Worcester City government. WRTA consultants have recommended that Brookfield service be discontinued so that limited resources can be used to reach more people. The ridership on the Brookfield section of the route is low. If the WRTA Advisory Board wishes to pursue this recommendation, we will conduct public hearings, and the Advisory Board would vote on this and other recommendations in February or March. The WRTA will publicize the hearings so that you will have an opportunity to express your views.

Mary MacInnes
Administrator WRTA

Dear Ms. MacInnes:

The Brookfield Board of Selectmen voted at their November 30, 2004 meeting to send this letter in support of Senator Brewer’s position that the Brookfield bus run is essential to the residents of the town and must not be eliminated.
As Brookfield’s new delegate to the WRTA, Cheri Carty has no doubt told you, this bus run is very important to the livelihood of several families in the Brookfield and West Brookfield area. To eliminate this run would cause a major problem for residents who rely upon the bus service to get to their jobs.

Communities along Route 9 West, and especially the Town of Brookfield, are growing rapidly and we believe the need for reliable public transport will increase, not diminish, in the future for area residents. We therefore would like to voice our strong opposition to any further reduction in bus services to our community.

Sincerely,
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
Donna L. Neylon, Administrative Assistant

Call 911 for Highway Emergencies

In regards to your article in your December 2004 issue, volume 10 issue 9, on page 15. *677 works in Ontario Canada, not here in the USA. See related article below. OPP Dispatch is Ontario Provincial Police. Just thought you'd like to know. Maybe print a retraction before too many people try to use *677 and find it doesn't work for them. 911 is the better choice.

http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_cellphone_677.htm

Note: I regret my hasty decision to run this article. It was suggested to me to check the facts first, but I neglected to do so, obviously. My apologies to any who took this to heart. Please use 911 instead. Ed.