Keeping the ‘Wow' in Warwick

To the editor: This year marks my family’s 20th anniversary here in Warwick. We, a struggling “almost” middle-class family, made the switch to rural life after my husband and I decided that Brooklyn was not a place to raise children. I remember the first time we came over Mt. Peter. My husband looked at me and said, “WOW! This is where I want our children to grow up.” I had four young children at the time, and upon arrival each one of them got out of the car with curiosity, hesitation and excitement. It wasn’t long after we came down the mountain, before we found a house we could afford in the village. Our first real home together as a family! The small house backed up to a field and sat adjacent to a park. It didn’t take long for my kids to realize how great grass can be. Twenty years later, I still live in the house in the village which backs up to the field and sits next to the park. A widow now and mother of five, I can tell you it wasn’t always easy to get by especially with our increasing tax rate here in Warwick. Trust me, over the course of 20 years in the village, I’ve seen my fair share of taxes. But, within that time I’ve also watched three schools expanded, one new school built, a new town hall, new police department, new fire houses, more ambulances, new developments (like Kings Estates and the expansion of Homestead Village), new traffic lights, new restaurants, a new railroad green, new wineries open and old orchards grow. My point in saying all this, is that it doesn’t take a genius to realize why our taxes have gone up. More People = More Cost For Everyone! Being that I was once a newcomer to this town, I also realize that with new people come positive additions like restaurants and stores. On Nov. 7 we will determine how this community will grow over the next 20 years. I am hope that you will join me and vote yes for the community preservation fund. I hope, because I want this town to grow, but in a controlled healthy way. I want to be able to afford to live here by keeping our taxes down; I want to keep our beautiful farms, our wineries, orchards, farmers, farmers’ markets, open space, our water clean and the unique sense of place that is Warwick. Join me in keeping what “WOW’s” each one and every one of us when we come over that mountain, by voting yes on Nov. 7, for the Community Preservation Fund. Carol Duncalfe 20-year resident of Warwick