Editor’s note: This open letter to the mayor and City Council of Winooski is by Rich Tarrant Sr., a Winooski businessman. The Winooski City Council held a public forum Wednesday evening.
Dear Mayor O’Brien and Winooski City Councilor members,
As a long term associate and “partner” of the City of Winooski, I am writing to encourage you to approve the F35 siting in Vermont.
My introduction to and association with Winooski began in 1961 when I arrived to attend St. Michael’s College and was greeted by the sounds of the Air Guard’s F-102s, afterburners and all. I didn’t mind the noise or the forced occasional class silence. I certainly can’t trace any loss of hearing or any other such harm to those days as a college student. At that time I was also a proctor for the Winooski teenage club and noticed no complaints from or objection to the F-102s from those teenagers or their parents.
Shortly after graduation in 1965 and with small children, we purchased our first home near the Burlington International Airport. The children attended Chamberlin School, the school mentioned by South Burlington F-35 opponents as subjecting children to hearing loss because of the F-35s. I note that my children have not suffered any hearing loss, and having become a family guy at that time, I realized the planes were a necessity for reminding a new father that his country was safe for raising those children.
Business visitors from other areas enjoy seeing the flyovers and often comment positively about their observation. I honestly believe the flyovers add to the experience and punctuate Winooski’s forward progress.
Recently my sons and I purchased and moved into the Chase Mill, making us holders of the largest amount of square footage directly in the flight path of today’s F-16s. And yes, business meetings are silenced for a few seconds here and there. Not a big deal and in fact, the flight path never entered our minds as we assessed the pros and cons of purchasing the Mill. As I look out my office window from that perspective I witness the largest boom and remake in the city’s history. I see the restaurants and shops bustling, and I witness a flourishing economic environment picking up steam. I see smiles on people’s faces and observe a general sense of well-being. Business visitors from other areas enjoy seeing the flyovers and often comment positively about their observation. I honestly believe the flyovers add to the experience and punctuate Winooski’s forward progress.
Further, during my occasional visits to the community center I do not notice any ill will expressed toward the flight path noise. In fact, it is somewhat amusing to observe the reaction when English language classes are interrupted by the planes. And I believe, but don’t know for sure, that the many foreign-born users of that center actually enjoy and appreciate what those planes signify. Perhaps more than us, they get it.
The Air Guard and its mission is a proud aspect of Vermont’s heritage and more specifically of Winooski’s history. In my over 50 years of being associated with Winooski I have not seen, heard or experienced any evidence that the Air Guard and its planes have done any harm to any aspect of this proud city.
I therefore implore you to vote tonight to re-up and continue this important role that Winooski has always played in the defense of our nation.
(Update: The Winooski City Council voted unanimously Wednesday evening, July 10, to oppose the F-35 basing in South Burlington.)
