A letter from a reader.

I received the following correspondence from a reader, and wanted to share.


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Dear Keep It Klassy Salem,

We are having a baby in a month and hoped to get our car seat installed and/or checked by a trained professional. Many communities have such individuals working for the Fire Department. I called SFD and they said, “No, call the police department.” I called the PD and they said, “Well we used to have three guys trained to do it, but they let the certification slip and none of them wanted to be retrained.” The reason? “Well, it seems like such a simple thing, but the training is a week long and very complicated.” I said, “Well that seems to speak to the need to have trained professionals.” “Yeah, but they thought it was excessive.” He told me to try the Marblehead or Danvers Fire Departments.

Our Klassy town, Karing for the Kids!

Signed,
Salem Mom-to-Be


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I find this extremely disturbing. Frequently, during election season we are bombarded with messages stating that all of our taxes are necessary, "for the children." We must keep our police and firefighters, and teachers, and not let any of them go. They are all here to "protect and teach our kids." Don't cut the sales tax, the children will suffer.

What, I ask you, is more important to keeping kids safe than a properly installed car seat? What is more likely to harm a child than an improperly installed one?

The mayor, the fire chief, and the police chief should hang their heads in shame if this is how much they really care "about the children." Maybe the guys sitting in the folding chairs in front of the fire station should go take this class. You'd think if anyone would understand the devastation that can be caused by a poorly installed child seat it would be them.

Have a pressing issue you'd like to discuss? e-mail me at keepitklassysalem@gmail.com. No, cheap viagra doesn't count!