Something of Value to Contribute

I was appalled by the statements made by Wayne Cooke at a recent selectmen's meeting. I need to tell him and the town about the man Cooke so cavalierly disparaged as not competent to volunteer for the Economic Development Committee.

Neal Crowley bravely fought in the Battle of the Bulge, came home from war, and put himself through college (the first in his family) on the G.I. Bill. He then, while working for the gas company in 1955, drove by an old cottage for sale in the Indian Neck area, put $10 down to hold the house, and bought it for $11,000, much more than he could afford back then, because he loved the town of Branford. During the '60s he volunteered for the auxiliary police because he loved the town of Branford. He began his career in sales, holding various jobs in the business world gaining knowledge and experience, until finally ending up at the State of Connecticut Department of Economic Development. During his 20-plus years at the state, he worked to bring business to the state, which made not only economic sense, but also logistical sense to the people living in the surrounding area. He may not carry an iPhone or even know how to get on the Internet, but he has read almost every book in the Blackstone Library and reads The New York Times and Hartford Courant daily.

So, when this 86 year-old man with a new hip and two new knees drags his aching bones to the Town Hall on Fridays to volunteer because he knows he still has something of value to contribute to the town of Branford, I hope Mr. Cooke won't be so hasty to knock him down.

William Crowley
Branford