Several members of Townshend's Board of Selectmen see public safety as someone else's responsibility. It is not, dear reader; it is yours, and it is mine.
As individual citizens, we are responsible for ourselves and for one another. Public safety is not a job that needs to be outsourced all of the time. It is a job that must be in-sourced. It is a job we must take upon ourselves.
Most of Vermont is rural, and rural living means there are tradeoffs in our lifestyle. We cannot, and should not, expect big-city amenities and luxuries in the woods, back roads, hamlets, or even villages of our state.
Our community firefighters, constables, emergency management, and rescue teams are citizens who take up where others are out of their depth.