Despite shortcomings, Canton showing signs of progress

By Guest

Dear fellow citizens:

What a thing of art is the Pleasant Street repaving project. It goes on and on, but like the new Senior Center, it gives folks employment. And it will be mightily appreciated come winter, so take as much time as you need, guys. Just get it right.

I feel the same way about the Senior Center. I did not believe the head of the project at town meeting when he boasted, “We’ll have it ready in April and bring it in under budget and on time, as we do every project.” Remembering the flood of 2004 at the library, I knew it would be a long time before we actually moved in and said so at the meeting, as did another citizen.

And of course, my prediction, based on history, has come true. They recently said it would be ready in October, and now it’s been pushed off until December. And frankly, I really don’t care so long as they get it right! It’s too small, as every senior who uses senior functions all over town knows.

So don’t be surprised, as I put on my divining cap, to see some friend of the old-boy system in town buy up the house for sale next to the K of C building. Then they’ll flip it to the town after the furor from enraged seniors, who know, as they figured before, that there would not be enough room in that tiny little place for “all of our functions” as we were promised.

Did you know that Stoughton elders can have their own raised garden at their beautiful senior/youth center? They also have a nice private library, and when they have their weekly movies they don’t have to be interrupted by conversations in an open room. You might want to check me on this, but the last time I saw any statistics on our two towns, Canton’s tax base was much higher than Stoughton’s. They’re supposedly blue collar and we’re not. But you can’t tell that from our two senior centers, and I’m including the new one in that statement.

We will sorely miss our old yoga friend, George O’Brien, the 86-year-old Canton walker who was a faithful member of our group and raised the standard for us all. He didn’t care that he was the only man stretching to Sheryl’s direction. We loved to hear his stories, and I can only hope that his kids and grandkids are as wonderful human beings as he was. RIP, George. I feel your presence in that room in the library yet.

Despite our library’s inauspicious “re-beginnings” in ’04, it has certainly grown to encompass many services for the townspeople, as has the high school. My grandson is learning to design video games there, and concurrently half of the town’s kids are in the soccer camp on campus. The Recreation Department’s camps compare favorably with other camps at twice the price. Our special education program brings in money from towns that don’t have as progressive a one as we do.

So somebody’s doing something correctly here in town, and despite the collusion that allowed the Conservation Commission’s former chief to give contracts to himself, Canton is doing pretty well. Thanks to the Canton Citizen and the Boston Globe for exposing corruption.

Sincerely, the gadfly,

Alice Brown

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