It gives me a great deal of satisfaction to report that, after being silenced in Bridgewater only yesterday, tonight I spoke at the VFW hall in Middleboro in front of over 200 people and the media.
I was asked to reprint my speech. Here it is:
Three months ago, my life was pretty normal. Then I heard about a land sale in Middleboro to the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe for a casino.
I was born and raised in Middleboro and so I knew exactly where that land was and I knew how close I, personally, was to it. In fact, everyone in my town of Bridgewater is closer to this proposed casino than 2/3rds of the population of Middleboro.
But I would later discover that it doesn’t matter if you live in an abutting town like Bridgewater or even as far away as Boston - because studies have shown that the quality life in communities as far away as 50 miles from a casino WILL deteriorate.
And sadly, Middleboro officials aren’t as concerned about quality of life as they are about money.
And speaking of money, I’ve started hearing other voices in the surrounding communities asking, 'Hey wait a minute, what’s in this for us? Middleboro gets some money out of this, but we don’t get a thing!'
But that’s NOT true! We get a lot of things.
We get a big increase in crime.
We get more drunk drivers on our roads and we get them on our roads 24 hours a day.
We get to lose local businesses. We get to pay more for low-skilled labor which gets hired up by a casino. We get to house and school the additional labor which needs to be imported to work at a casino since our region currently has a 95% employment rate.
And we get 60,000 more cars on the road every single day, and no matter how big and wide they make 44, we all know that drivers are going to take the back roads in. Those would be OUR backroads.
And we’re definitely going to get skyrocketing rates of gambling addiction, bankruptcy, foreclosures, child abuse and suicide. By the way, despite the $7 + million Middleboro agreed to take for this casino, a WHOPPING $20,000 A YEAR has been set aside for gambling addiction programs. That amount can’t even pay for a single staff person for a gambling addiction program.
There are so many things, we in the surrounding communities are going to get if this casino comes to Middleboro, I could speak all night. So, if you’re truly interested in learning the truth, go to casinofacts.org.
Most of us love this part of the world. Less than an hour to the beach or the city. I once wrote that places like Middleboro and Bridgewater glisten like green jewels in a landscape of asphalt and shopping carts. Towns like ours are becoming harder and harder to find. Instead of leaving our jobs in the city at the end of the day, and leaving the traffic and crime and social problems behind with them, we’ll be coming home to them. Because if a casino comes to Middleboro, then what happens in Middleboro isn’t going to stay there. It’s going to be our problem.
Folks, this casino is not going to be like getting a mall or an office park next door. This is going to be a 24/7, addict-generating, drunk-spewing, water-sucking, environment-crushing, ground-polluting, star-stealing, sky-scraping, traffic-jamming, economy-busting, tax-exempt edifice to Greed.
Which is why I, Mary Tufts of Bridgewater, and 155,000 of my neighbors in the abutting communities OPPOSE THIS CASINO!
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16 comments:
Gladys,
As a resident of Middleboro I thank you. Thank you for caring enough about the community that you were raised in to fight for its future even though you no longer live here. I am really saddened that so many are blindsighted by the idea of easy money. I keep asking myself and others, if this were such a good deal, as our selectmen continue to say, then why are so many against it? Why would the tribe/developers feel it necessary to bribe us with money? I, a resident of Middleborough, was not raised in this town, but have come to love it and proudly call it home. Like many, I hope for a better Middleborough, but not a different Middleborough, and I keep looking for that evidence that will prove to me that our town will be a better Middleborough because of the casino and you know, there is no evidence to support that. Through my research, independent of what Casinofacts.org and casino_friend.com have posted on their web sites, I have come to realize there is so much truth in the cliches that "the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence" and "be careful what you wish for", that I hope that the residents of this town come to that same conclusion prior to Saturday. For me, who was up until very recently an undecided vote, the choice is now crystal clear - NO AGREEMENT, NO CASINO
I see both sides and yes I am Pro Its okay to have a Prison system full of criminals in your backyard.
I dont see any complaints with that. But God forbid a 5 star resort and Golf complex wants to come to Town and pay to be there. we cant have that now can we.
Dear Middleboro Casino,
An escaped prisoner from the prison you mentioned once walked right past my daughter as she waited for the bus one morning. Fortunately he was on his way to give himself up. So please, don't get me started.
THANK YOU GLADYS FOR YOUR PERSISTANCE. APPARENTLY THERE ARE A LOT OF SHEEP IN MIDDLEBORO WHO LIKE TO BE MISLED. WE NEED MORE PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELF TO STEP UP TO THE PLATE AND NOT LET MIDDLEBORO GET SOLD AWAY.
I too see both sides. I just wish that the town officials did as well. The Finiance Committee is not endorsing this; the State Treasurer thinks it's a bad idea. My problem is that there has not been enough study to fully quantify the cost. What happens if the actual costs to the town exceeds the rabbit out of the hat numbers estimated presently. Who pays? That's right - fortunetly for Gladys, not her, becuase she is not a resident of Middleborough!
Hey Middleboro casino,
Gladys wears a golden crown.What do you wear,a golf hat and rabbit feet?What's up with the personal attacks on someone who cares more for this town than most.See you at Foxwoods.
I'm glad ole' Glayds doesn't work for the other side!
www.middleborocasino.com
You can all see who I am, what I do and the answers to your questions, There is no personal attack! I like everyone, I just feel in my opinion its okay with that complex over there no complaints we learned to live with it, But on the other hand its not okay with a 5 star resort doont make sense to me.
as far as FinCom they were against this from the start and cahill wants the state to reap the benifits so of course hes against this then Raynham has an adult super store, I wonder if they pay the town a yearly payment to be there, why not it seems if you want to run a lucrative business these days you will pay through the teeth,
Gladys knows that she runs a business would you put up with being extorted from every tom, dick and harry of course not so why cant a five star resort open like any other business why do you need a town meeting, There is more traffic at the rotary from x-mas tree shops and every other trucking company make them pay to fix it too.
Hey calm down,
I like most and don't like most.All I want is no casino in Middleborough and possibly not in Ma.I'll go to war with the next town that doesn't want either.It's time for people to understand that towns are made up of people.People make the town.People are #1.People beat politics anyday.
I understand why people are afraid of a casino and I understand their concerns about compulsive gamblers and the like. But what I don't understand is why we have no uproar over liquor stores or bars in any town. People who drink drive up more of our costs than any casino ever would.If you look at the increase in car accidents,hospital stays,car insurance,deaths,liver problems,
compulsive drinkers,accident injuries and the like. No casino will drive up our costa as much as drinkers do yet everyone seems fine with that. I don't drink but I do gamble. So why aren't I entitled to a casino in my county but I have to tolerate all of the drinking establishments and liquor stores? Lets all just try to get along.
www.middleborocasino.com says
Take away ciggerettes and Booze and the fuel tax, and make people pay those taxes, LOL! want to hear some screaming everyone is looking at this as a Casino I look at it as a 1500 room 5 Star Hotel with all that goes with it Golf,Shows and Conventions everyone is focused on slots what about all the other components and yes there is a work force who will happily take those jobs seniors,handicapped etc! please do not deny Progress and opportunities for thousands of people because you do not like a slot machine I dont see anyone up in arms about the MA Lottery just loosing 12 million on there stupid gamble $20.00 scratch ticket come on people showed there not stupid nobody that I heard of anyway mortgaged there house for that stupid game.
In answer to the 2 above blog statements..drinking and driving is everywhere, NOT just where a Casino is located. Ever leave a wedding reception and wonder how that ' drunk couple' is going to weave their way home? One thing the town and area towns can do is have Police Roadblocks set up to catch these drunk drivers...when was the last time you saw one of those? Not Lately..As for Casino entertainment....I'm for it. I remember when Foxboro announced they were going to build a Football Stadium...and how some in the town resisted it. Now you pay dearly to see a game, park your car, eat, buy some shirts etc....but the payment to the town of Foxboro isn't mentioned much..they have a great deal with the Patriots.....Middleborough needs jobs, new growth and revenue and this casino WILL give us that. Vote YES........
"Weddings"?..come on now.
Weddings don't occur 24 hours a day, 365 days a week, with 30,000+ guests in attendant, at the same venue.
Stupid logic, goes to show the mentality of pro-casino
"Roadblocks"? why present a solution to drunk driving rather than preventing it in the first place.
We would not need roadblocks to accomodate the given rise in incidents of drunk driving that the casino will bring, if we do not build a casino in the first place.
It all comes down to the VOTE....that wonderful right you have as a resident of this great town. THINK....shall we say NO..like Lelyard Ct did.....they receive NOTHING from Foxwoods......It's a no brainer to so many people who have read the agreement, understand the agreement and want what is best for this town. The land was auctioned off.....the buyer happened to be the Wampanoag tribe.....they can build homes, a casino, a golf course , whatever they choose. The land is theirs to do with as they wish......time to decide if , just if ,you'd turn your back on future revenue to this town??.......I'll vote YES to the agreement. I'm hoping most are putting their ANGER aside when the vote is taken. Vote YES!!
I don't get it. The people who are opposed to this casino think its moving too fast. Where have you all been? These indians have been trying to get a casino for years. This is nothing new. This didn't happen overnight. I suggest to everyone in Middleboro that if this passes that you spend as much time making sure that this money is spent wisely then you are spending trying to stop this. Why is everyone afraid. The towns that host Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun don't appear to have gone down hill.Actually new hotels and restaurants have opened on Rt 2 heading to Foxwoods. And one thing about traffic. Yes traffic will be bad at first because everyone will want to go and see it. It was the same way at Foxwoods. Now the traffic at Foxwoods is no worse than normal. The casino traffic will be spread out over 24 hours and if the improvements are done right then it shouldn't be too bad.
But it is up to the townspeople to make sure that things go well. Run for selectman if you think you can do better.
Sad indeed, but majority rules I guess. I am opposed to the casino but I unfortunately am in the minority. It boils down to intelligence and common sense, something that is lacking in the majority of Middleborough residents. The percentage of adult residents in Middleborough that have a college degree is less than 20%, compared to a town like Dover where the percentage is almost 80%. You'll never see a casino in Dover. The residents just know better.
The casino is a bad deal for Middlebrough, bottom line, unfortunatley the people who are going to make the decisions are not intelligent enough to protect themselves.
You reap what you sow.
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