By Rick Liou
The concerns that Patty Dahlgren has voiced impact all of us, not just the ~100 in attendance on the evening of 7/31 or the 350+ members active on the special Bedford Facebook group. Truth is, there are still Bedford residents just learning about what has transpired these past few weeks, and people are shocked and disheartened at how the community was so largely kept in the dark.
Not everyone is as brave as Patty. She is absolutely not the only one who wants answers! I commend her for leading the charge and for her energy and persistence in getting us the answers that were promised. Despite not being as public, engaged or vocal, many residents deeply appreciate her continued efforts to champion our concerns – just as we all appreciate our town officials and police department for stepping up to ensure the safety and interests of the community.
We nearly missed the opportunity to do so with this Hanscom project because we barely had any notice prior to the start of the project. Yet because of the efforts of everyone involved, I know we’ve gotten concessions like reduced hauling hours, speed monitors and street sweepers. I certainly noticed the added police presence, and I sincerely hope that our officers and police department are being compensated by Massport for any overtime hours. Without the details and answers that were promised at the Special Selectman meeting on 7/31, we’ll never know if Massport did in fact anticipated and considered all the needs of our citizens. This is a lesson we can all learn from and it’s why it’s important that we continue to push for answers. I don’t think the request is unreasonable and we deserve to know. Any lessons learned today can be applied to tomorrow. This goes for everyone, including Massport. So I ask that our town officials continue to work with and press Massport to get us the answers that were promised.
I’m so proud to be a member of this community. It’s people like Patty and all those who have stepped up that inspires and energizes me. I have had many conversations about this ordeal with my children and I can see that they are learning from this experience. I hope they walk away understanding that our society affords us the right and freedom to fight for what’s important and what’s right. And it’s our civic duty to participate and get involved. We all have a voice and if we get organized, we can make sure that our interests are rightfully represented.
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