Torrington’s East Side could secede

To the Editor:

Recently when reading some local history, I found a very interesting statute in Connecticut law. Apparently new towns can be formed out of existing towns when a portion of the population petitions the legislator for such a move. This is how towns such as Watertown and Thomaston were created when those citizens voted to leave Waterbury.

I propose, since the city of Torrington has chosen to take its citizens on the east side of town for granted, close our beloved East school, and decimate our property values, that we on the East Side hold a referendum to secede from the rest of Torrington and form a new town called East Torrington, or better yet New Litchfield (that name would be great for property values).

Then, as a new small town, we could get rid of some of the excesses in our government such as spending almost $500,000 keeping Coe Memorial Park beautiful for the resident halfway house population. Or paying for meter maids to enforce parking restrictions, which are strangling the downtown.

This proposal would involve many challenges for the people on the east side of Torrington, but in the end we would end up with higher property values and lower taxes. Also we will be unshackled from the dead weight of a tyrannical city government in Torrington, and its carpetbagger of a superintendent of schools. Torrington’s city government is destroying our property values and busing our children to urban schools.