You got to excuse Town Councilman Marty Stetson for appearing at a Kent County Commission meeting in lime-and-blue thigh-hugging shorts, a clingy nylon tee-shirt and white cotton footie socks: he comes, as he explains, on a bicycle.
These days Stetson is a man on a mission. That is, a man on a bike.
And he is quick to point out to the County Commissioners he has had to chain his bike to a tree outside, and “you might consider getting a bike rack.”
“Who,” counters Commission Chairman Roy Crow, in a small jest, “needs a lock in Chestertown?”
A small jest brings small chuckles. Not a one, however, from Councilman Stetson, who is ordinarily frugal with them. Anyway, he’s got some serious points to make.
Stetson wants the commissioners to start thinking about running a bike path from Foxley Manor, where Chestertown’s own bike path will end, all the way out to the new community center in Whorton.
“I understand why they put the community center in the central part of the county,” Stetson says. “But it’s not really accessible to most of the population. A quarter of the population of Kent County lives in Chestertown. I suspect less than five percent live in Worton.
“And 12-to-15-year-olds can’t drive. There’s no safe way for them to get there. So, I suggest a bike trail adjacent to the railroad tracks, running from town to the community center.”
During the meeting, Commissioner Ron Fithian notes that the county considered such a trail some years back, but found it couldn’t go the whole distance because trains still run along a portion of the right-of-way.
The councilman counters that a bike path doesn’t have to take the entire right-of-way but can run alongside the tracks, or next to the highway.
Stetson, a buff septuagenarian, thinks it’s important for folks to get off their seats and on their feet: “We’re all getting fat and out of condition, and we need to get people moving. There’s no reason for us to be the way we are. I’m 72 years old and I can do 60 pushups and 100 sit-ups.
“I use my bike as my primary transportation around town. I swim three times a week and I bike almost every day going someplace. I ride down to Rock Hall for breakfast on weekends, from my house there and back, 25-30 miles. Fitness guarantees you a better life. You may not live longer but you will live better. You won’t have to carry around one of those little bottles of oxygen.”
Stetson carries no spare tire, either.
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