The day after election day, boy I am as happy as most of you to see this day come. I would like some feed back on how people felt about our new polling place. In side the building, every thing was peachy keen. It was not as good for many of the elderly,and handicap trying to vote. I saw too many people with canes, parking in front of the school, attempting to go vote, not understanding that they had to walk down the hill, to vote, only to walk back up. It became very apparent that there were problems, when one man stopped near our tent, and said he did not think he could make it back to his car. It got kind of crazy, because there was no sign saying that the handicap parking should have been down back, not in front of the school. I stayed in the driveway for three hours, telling people to park down back if they had trouble walking, and asked them to park up top if they were healthy. Sue Tourcotte went to the Town Clerks office and got two voting signs, with a arrow, but they were of little help. Well that was working well, until Templetons Finest, Det. Hall instructed me to stop helping people. I told him I was not trying to rain on his parade, but the elderly were having a hard time!! He told me it WAS NOT OUR PROBLEM, HE TOLD ME TO STOP!! oK, I said fine, if that is going to be the way you want it, I will go sit down. After that a man , who got out of the hospital with a major heart attack needed help. ( he was having chest pain, did not want rescue} . We dragged out the chair, and I stayed with him until his daughter could get the car, pick him up, and bring him home..I stopped alot of people from trying to walk down that hill, because it was obvious to me, they needed to park next to the building. My neighbor Helen is going to be 91 in December. She has parkinsons, and is very unsteady on her feet. She fell in the driveway, I helped her to my car to sit, and told her son to get his car, so we could go down back, and I could help him get her in the building. She got to vote which was good. Her son said Bevie, I did not know we had to come down here , thanks for helping. You all need to know, I will never stop helping people, that is who I am. I will not ignore a situation, if it is a bad one, just to make other people happy. There was poor planning on someones part, and we are very lucky no one got hurt. People were not happy with the change, and Sreve L. It is not because of me bitching about the parking, during the primary, that they changed the area. I found out in Orange they have a golf cart that takes people from the parking lot to the polling place, which I thought was a good Idea. We got this day through on sheer luck. There need to be a improvement, in the way these elections are held. The school belongs to the people, these are not second class citizens, and they deserve to be treated better. Bev.
How come there were no police officers at the top of the parking lot assisting or directing traffic? I parked up top because I had never been to the high school gym and thought I had to go in the front door like going to the KIVA. The people who run the elections have got to realize that not everyone that lives in Templeton knows their way around the school. I didn't live here my whole life and I don't have kids in school. There were officers inside the gym. But really, there should have been better signage and/or officials helping people go to the right place. Also, if the polling place was moved because the school didn't want the public to ruin their middle school gym floor, how come there was blue tarp on the high school floor as well? I tripped over the tarp and fell into someone else. Also, I saw a lady with a walker having a hard time rolling over the tarp. Is it not the taxpayers who pay for school improvements? Where else are we supposed to hold elections? Come on Templeton! We've been voting for 250 years. Can we try to figure out a decent process?
ReplyDeleteyou people have to remember it is not only Templeton's school it is Templeton and phillipston school if you want the school dept to make improvements to let Templeton residents to go vote then you need to ask phillipston also ...or just go back to the fire stations like years past !!!another words the school is doing you a favor by letting you go there !!!
ReplyDeleteAll the more reason to get the ET school up and running as a Town Hall ASAP so we don't have to deal with this "favor" that the school does for us.
DeleteThe "favor" will probably still be needed even after ET is up and running. The ET basement probably does not have enough room to hold all elections with in it.
DeleteSorry but the bit about the school doing us a "big favor", was not every ones favorite last night. I almost tripped on that floor covering myself, yesterday. I heard a lady fell on the stairs in the A.M. A big improvement has to happen before May. Buy then it will be light, you will be able to see where you are going. It would have been nice to see some Cert. people, or just anyone to help out. It is hard, there is not enough money in the budget this year, never mind next year. When we get the senior center up and running, along with T.C., that should work. I was so happy to see all of the new, young families in town, with all those little kids. Things are tough, but I have faith, that if we work together, we will make it. Bev.
DeleteIt was great to see so many kids going to vote with their parents. I hope they will grow to learn what a great right we possess to be able to vote in this country and will become voters when they turn 18. We need more people to take part in government in order to fix all our problems...both at the local, state and national level.
DeleteI hope there will be as big a turnout at the town meeting next week.
DeleteWill there be a blue tarp down on the floor of the auditorium too?
I guess I don't understand, your mad because the school is trying to protect the floor but would be even more mad if they dare to ask for more money because people are scraping it up by walking on it. Even if they had it in the middle school I am sure they would have put down the cover now that the floor has been redone. I agree with Anonymous 3:47 and ask that you all remember this building is for use as a school and they are doing their best to accomodate the town with its multiple meetings that they insist have to be there. You do not see this in other school districts.
ReplyDeleteActually when the new section of the school was built it was sold to the community that the building would be available for multiple community needs. Don't know why people think the school is doing such a "big favor" by being asked to hold up their end of the bargain. Now only if they would complete some repairs at the new section we might be able to keep it in use for a few more years.
ReplyDeleteThere were so many times in the past that "the gym floor" was walked on, with out a big deal made out of it. How many years, at the Craft Show, in November was the floor walked on?? They make floors,and things to seal them, as strong as iron. Enough with the excuses, it is as plain as the nose on your face, the school does not want us. We will recover, like one lady said to me," wait until they need money!" I do have to give the principal credit, he told me that he offered the cafeteria, to the town. Why didn't they do that? Bev
DeleteLet's try to think of ways to improve the voting location at the high school. Signage would be a big help. There are a few handicap spaces down by the high school gym entrance. We should get the word out to people.
ReplyDeleteIf you're healthy, park up in one of the upper parking lots and walk down. The driveway down to the gym is narrow and creates a bottleneck situation. The sidewalk is very narrow and uneven. People can only walk single file on the sidewalk. When people walk in the driveway, cars can't get by.
The lighting needs to be fixed. There was more than one light on the side of the school that was not working.
Keep the portable defib handy!
The voting place needs to be moved back to the Middle School gym or the lobby outside of that gym or the cafeteria. When no one can make a decision that makes sense there is something wrong with the chain of command.
ReplyDeletei have a question ...schools are suppose to be a locked facility to protect the kids so why is the school letting every body in there to vote who knows what type of people that could just walk in on voting days !!!i do realize that there was no school this time but all the other times there was school !!!in my opinion this is wrong in this day and age
ReplyDeletemike c
The chain of command for elections isn't the BOS office. it is the Town Clerk's responsibility for the election. Including the distance for campaigning to begin and end. It is the Town Clerk's responsibility to ensure the integrity and the security of the ballots.
ReplyDelete