The potential four week closure of the Chestertown Bridge will be a serious problem and the community is wise to oppose it but this action has also opened a window to an even more serious problem. Although a bridge closure will create significant safety hazards and financial problems, those issues will, at worst, be temporary, while the other problems recently uncovered are chronic and long lasting.
In an effort to highlight the safety problems that will be created by the bridge closure, the bridge task force has opened a window on a long festering and growing problem that seriously impacts many workers and employers in our area. Research by the task force has revealed that many of our most critical fire, rescue and hospital employees no longer live in Kent County but now live in Queen Anne’s where housing costs are frequently lower and school options frequently better. Similar studies will also show that much the same pattern exists with mid-level employees of the College and other organizations. Obviously, this is not a problem created by the State Highway Department or other outsiders. This problem is home grown. In the immortal words of Pogo: “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
For far too long the citizens of Kent County and our elected representatives have ignored the problems of our schools and the lack of affordable housing. Inadequate schools and housing mean that recruiters already have two strikes against them when they seek to hire new employees. And, when you add the recent closure of the obstetrics and pediatric divisions of our hospital we really strike out when it comes to recruiting young families. Ironically, “we are doing exactly what needs doing to get the results we are currently getting.” To get different results we must change our policies.
Perhaps with the best of intentions we have developed a pattern of focusing on retirees at the expense of young families but this policy is shortsighted and not sustainable. Obviously, we all need the skills and dynamism that only young families can provide. Hopefully, we will all continue our efforts to minimize the adverse impacts of the repairs to the Chestertown Bridge but please don’t lose sight of these other underlying problems while we still have a window of opportunity to address them.
David Foster
Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article
We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.