An artists rendering of the proposed Taunton casino.
GUEST OPINION: Taunton can do better than a casino gamble
By Ethel Fraga
Posted May 24, 2012
Henry David Thoreau and I will be voting “no” on the Taunton casino referendum. He and I have still not recovered from the building of the Galleria mall. From the very get-go, he and I were of the mind that that beautiful land and all its creatures would be lost forever. Typically, malls have a limited time of peak activity. The damage has been done to our environment; business at the mall, as predicted, is declining. Meanwhile, stores on Main Street remain
underutilized.
Now Henry David and I are faced with the prospect of turning more precious East Taunton land into a casino. Lost forever will be our creatures, trees, grasses and wild flowers, and clean air. Many of us love the radiance of nature. It nourishes us and feeds our creativity. Light pollution does not substitute for starlight. Casinos and parking lots do not often move a child or an adult to stop and say, “Wow!” — the deepest human prayer.
Those of us who grew up on farms, see work as something that fosters human dignity and satisfies accountability to a power greater than ourselves for what we accomplish in the course of a day. I ask,
“Should I vote to have people in Taunton work at supporting gambling habits, drinking habits, maintaining environmentally destructive monsters?”
During my years at Taunton High School, I was privileged to work with many down-to-earth students who were gifted in every conceivable way. Now these students are serving the human family as corporate executives, contractors, chefs, physicians, drama school owners, community theatre directors, accountants, financial planners, dentists, political leaders, educators, engineers, geologists, attorneys, accountants, business owners, police, fire and emergency personnel, and technology specialists.
We want some of these people educated in our public — and parochial — schools to remain in Taunton. We want them to feel that they can raise their children here, in a community where the quality of life is good — better than good!
Can we preserve the best of Taunton by tapping the skills of people who are skilled at visioning and implementing change — people who have had success in seeking grants
or funding for job producing projects?
Can the mayor, town fathers appoint successful grant writers to seek the funding for jobs needed to reconceptualize the use of Taunton State Hospital, renovate some of the city’s historic buildings like City Hall, First Parish Church and even Cohannet School?
underutilized.
Now Henry David and I are faced with the prospect of turning more precious East Taunton land into a casino. Lost forever will be our creatures, trees, grasses and wild flowers, and clean air. Many of us love the radiance of nature. It nourishes us and feeds our creativity. Light pollution does not substitute for starlight. Casinos and parking lots do not often move a child or an adult to stop and say, “Wow!” — the deepest human prayer.
Those of us who grew up on farms, see work as something that fosters human dignity and satisfies accountability to a power greater than ourselves for what we accomplish in the course of a day. I ask,
“Should I vote to have people in Taunton work at supporting gambling habits, drinking habits, maintaining environmentally destructive monsters?”
During my years at Taunton High School, I was privileged to work with many down-to-earth students who were gifted in every conceivable way. Now these students are serving the human family as corporate executives, contractors, chefs, physicians, drama school owners, community theatre directors, accountants, financial planners, dentists, political leaders, educators, engineers, geologists, attorneys, accountants, business owners, police, fire and emergency personnel, and technology specialists.
We want some of these people educated in our public — and parochial — schools to remain in Taunton. We want them to feel that they can raise their children here, in a community where the quality of life is good — better than good!
Can we preserve the best of Taunton by tapping the skills of people who are skilled at visioning and implementing change — people who have had success in seeking grants
or funding for job producing projects?
Can the mayor, town fathers appoint successful grant writers to seek the funding for jobs needed to reconceptualize the use of Taunton State Hospital, renovate some of the city’s historic buildings like City Hall, First Parish Church and even Cohannet School?
Use of grant money or of federal aid would employ people to re-conceptualize Main Street. Dolores Demelo Milho has brought jobs to Main Street, Taunton, by building a vibrant wedding salon business and inviting related services into her own business space. She has also restored the New York Lace Store Building — a woman with a plan!
Can our local leaders, combined with state representatives and senator, work toward supporting the expansion of good medical care in Taunton so that people don’t have to travel so far for special care?
Can we be more supportive of local businesses in their efforts to grow?
Can we restore Cohannet School so that it will be a suitable environment for the Alternative High School and the Taunton Area School to Career programs? Both serve unique needs and deserve the
best leadership and teaching environment.
Can we re-conceptualize our library, given changes in technology, and keep it respectfully maintained and capable of offering us state of the art services?
And recreational facilities — the Boyden Bird Sanctuary on Cohannet Street, is untended and deteriorating. The 500 acres off North Walker Street, donated to the city in recent years by the former Sharp Estate, are becoming a dumping ground for waste disposed of illegally. Is there grant money or funding available to create the jobs needed to restore the dignity of and enable recreational use of these two environmentally rich recreation areas?
Instead of seeing a casino as a fast solution to Taunton’s economic problems, I hope that our mayor and City Council will think longrange and designate people who have vision and administrative ability to create jobs that give workers dignity, utilize the gifts of the beautiful young people we educate, and help create a Taunton where people of integrity feel comfortable living and raising their children.
Read more: http://www.tauntongazette.com/newsnow/x1832945503/GUEST-OPINION-Taunton-can-do-better-than-a-casino-gamble#ixzz1vsZbHI3b
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