Everybody wants a raise. They want a cost of living raise every year. The price of everything is going up, up, up. I remember Marlboros at 50 cents a pack. I remember when you could get five loaves of bread for a buck. Milk used to be 95 cents a gallon.
But, everybody wants more money, and to get that money, the price of everthing goes up. Fuel costs, labor costs, lumber and screws costs go up. Anyone that shops on a regular basis knows this.
The Oldtown Toll Bridge has not had a rate increase since 1993. The cost of repairs and upkeep has increased about 300 percent in the last 20 years. The owners have asked for a rate increase, from 50 cents each way to $2 each way, and initial approval looks like it will be $1.50 each way. That is a 200 percent increase. I think they should have gotten a “cost of living” increase to match the price of repair and upkeep.
I use the toll bridge on a regular basis. My children and my camp are on the other side. My husband’s job and family are on the other side. I don’t like the thought of having to pay more, but I will. I understand economics. The bridge is a business, like any other. Now there is talk of closing it, because of all the people who want everything, but don’t want to pay for it.
I’d rather pay $1.50 each way than go all the way around. I’d rather pay $1.50 each way than to see the bridge closed. Some, it would seem, would rather make a fuss and lose it all together than just accept the fact that everything costs more, for everybody, including the bridge owners. So suck it up and be thankful that there is a bridge, before it becomes “bad business” to keep it open. There are still some of us who still find the bridge “cost effective” in time and money, and we would like to continue to use it!
And, yes, my husband works across the bridge, for one of the owners, and contrary to some people’s belief, he also pays the toll.
Rita Glaze
Oldtown
Editorials
Users of Oldtown Toll Bridge should be willing to pay more
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Walk Smart
Many local residents will be visiting Ocean City this summer, so it is worth noting that the resort has launched a campaign that it hopes will keep pedestrians out of harm’s way.
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Frostburg’s Bridge Program was important
After hearing rumors of possible changes being made, I just wanted to take a few minutes to put into words what the Frostburg Bridge Program meant to me as a child. Growing up in Frostburg, my parents were small business owners, my mother a teacher, and my father worked for the postal service.
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Trailer case bound to increase scrutiny on town of Piedmont
This letter is in response to the recent story concerning the guilty plea entered in federal court by Piedmont’s town foreman (“Piedmont town foreman Shingler enters guilty plea,” May 21 Times-News, Page 1A).
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Fixing community’s problems starts with your young people
I am writing this letter to the editor because I think our community really needs to work on plenty of issues. Some of them are:
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High priority
Maryland school officials on Tuesday put an exclamation point on the need to take student-athlete concussions more seriously.
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Cashing in
As anyone who lives in the area knows, economic gains have been hard to come by in recent years. The opening of the Rocky Gap Casino Resort is one of the biggest boosts the region has seen in some time.
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Why have the media been silent all this time?
When I read the Cumberland Times-News Editorial this morning, Friday, May 17, entitled, “Outrageous,” I laughed like a kid at a birthday party!
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What are chances this much money will be spent on road?
I was intrigued by cost data summarized in reporter Kathy Mellott’s recent article, “Completing southern link of U.S. Route 219 said to be best use of highway funds,” which appeared in the Cumberland Times-News on Tuesday May 14 (Page 1A).
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School board should be doing better job with less money
The Allegany County Teachers Association (ACTA) board of directors recently submitted a letter to the editor asking the Allegany County commissioners to fully fund the Board of Education’s budget request for the upcoming fiscal year (“Commissioners should fund school board request,” April 29 Times-News).
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Better ‘Click It’
If you notice more police on the highway this week, it’s for a couple of reasons.
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