Fuel assistance for women. Town Treasurer John La Brache has announced that single women and widows may apply to the Ichabod Washburn Trust Fund for fuel assistance. The process is private and the application form may be found on the town web site or at town hall. Trustees are La Brache, Town Clerk Mary Lou Murzyn, and John Veracka. The trust had previously been inactive due to a lack of trustees. The allowance, which used to be $65 is now given in the amount of $200 and funds will be distributed in March.

Rumors of his death were exaggerated. Selectmen Chairman Paul Gallagher looked crisp, fi t, and feisty at the board’s Nov. 25 meeting, dispelling rumors he had dropped out, died, had a heart attack and/or a nervous breakdown having missed a meeting or two. Paul thanked his wife and family for putting up with the demands of public service. Who doesn’t need a break from the daily grind.

There’s no free lunch. Town Hall was closed for business the day after Thanksgiving and will be closed the day after Christmas, but don’t get upset. Town employees have to use vacation time in order to have the day off. If they’re out of accrued time, they have to make arrangements to get into the building and work. This is one of those situations where our employees, who are not exactly paid handsomely, should just get the days off as a thank you from all of us to all of them.

Beauty’s minus her beast. The reportedly young and lovely Kara Brewton, the project manager who accompanied Thorndike Development through the 40R process which led to a big victory at town meeting, is now the economic development offi cer for the town of Brookline at a salary approaching $100,000. This appointment has angered Jim Conley, publisher of On Brookline, a web journal. In a recent column, Conley said Brewton’s appointment “is a perfect fi t for a government in service to real estate developers”. Maybe the recession hasn’t made it to Brookline. Maybe what Brookline needs is a lot of new housing units whose revenue will solve all their fi nancial problems. Then they’ll be as smart as we are.

Taken for a ride. It used to be that the town fully funded the Fire Dept., and ambulance rides came at no cost so people could be sick in peace. The going rate today is over $1,100. The selectmen recently acted on a request for an ambulance fee abatement and reduced the fee to $200 for that applicant. This is a tangled web we’ve woven because we accept payments of an estimated $725 per ride from health insurers. The remainder is billed to residents. If residents can’t pay the remainder or they have no health insurance, they are forced to go hat in hand to the selectmen to have their request evaluated which is humiliating despite the anonymity of the process. We, therefore, pay for ambulance service three ways, to the health insurers, through real estate taxes, and out of pocket. Three times Mark Beaton has asked his board to reconsider the acceptance of insurance company fees, but the response has been “Everybody does it.” Remember what your mother said when you used that excuse? “If everybody jumps off a cliff, will you do that, too?” This is the kind of shell game that has resulted in the collapse of fi nancial markets. The proceeds from the insurers and private citizens offset the Fire Dept.’s budget, but at what cost overall? And please do not misunderstand, the Fire Dept. does a great job. This is not about quality of service, it’s about taking a fi scally conservative approach to this insanity. Mark Beaton is right; this has to stop somewhere and why can’t it stop here? If it doesn’t stop, there exists a great opportunity for entrepreneurship.

Someone should open a limousine service with EMT’s as drivers. They can throw some defi brillators in the trunk and take you door to door in a stretch limo for about $100, a little more if there’s champagne in the backseat. The distance from Main St. to the Jordan Hospital is 7.3 miles and an estimated 11 minutes of travel. So we’re currently talking about $160 per mile. It’s enough to make you sick, or as Beaton says, “If the sickness doesn’t kill you, the ride will.” Tempus fugit and then some. Will someone in authority address the issue of the mostly ancient documents that pass for meeting minutes on the town’s website.

Take a look for yourself. This isn’t funny. It’s someone’s job to do minutes for each board and committee, and they are, for the most part, not doing their jobs.

Thanks. This issue has been quite the adventure and I have been richly blessed.

Everywhere I turned I encountered grace and the assistance I needed, and I need to express my gratitude to: my husband Dan Sapir, and our children, David, Steven, Susannah, and Amanda, our daughter-in-law Michelle, our son-in-law Chip, and the grandest kids Samantha, Hailey, Emily, Sophie, Evan and Aidan. You are my reasons for everything. I’d be a goner without the technical know-how, patience, and good cheer of Judy Randall. Dennis Randall helped me in so many ways, and I thank him for his wisdom. The smart, beautiful, and funny Joyce Rossi, our lynchpin, could make me laugh during a tsunami, God forbid. Thanks also to Eddie Costello, Catherine Martin, Nancy at the fi re station, Ruth Ann Cassidy, Henny Walters, Eugene Santoro, Janet Jacobson, Ed at Vineyard Christian, Gayle Metcalf, my guardian angel, Helen Gavin, my backup angel, every single staff member at the Kingston Public Library and their leader, Sia Stewart, the wonderful Lydia Mathias, John Creed, Skip Farrington, Ms. Cornelius and Ms. Newcomb at Ocean Spray, Selectman Mark Beaton, and Town Planner Tom Bott. Thank you to Hannaford store manager Todd Pluta, Dusty at the town hall for a kind courtesy, all of our generous and terrifi c columnists, particularly the incomparable Jim Farrell, and the special women of St. Joe’s. I thank especially all of our advertisers. Without you, this can’t happen. To everyone I wish a Merry Christmas and a Happy Hannukah. May your holiday season be fi lled with peace, not just the peace of the season, but the peace that passes all understanding. I wish you a New Year fi lled with joy, patience in trials, undying hope, prosperity, and good health for you and those you love, and may every conceivable blessing be yours now and always.