Secure the Homeland…or at least Downtown Plymouth

It is Tuesday morning, August 31, 2004. As I entered my office at Ayer Insurance I noticed that one of the two flower barrels in front of the office has now been removed. But this was only the impetus to write this letter. Yesterday, Monday, August 30, 2004, both of the flower barrels had been completely turned upside down. All the flowers in one barrel were completely destroyed and the majority in the other barrel was severely damaged, but salvageable for the next few weeks. Each year the Main Street Program encourages businesses to participate in this program. The crux of the program is to beautify and to create an ambiance for the downtown district. Why and for what reason does anyone find it necessary to destroy or steal these barrels? The majority of the damage does seem to occur on the southern end of Main Street. But in talking to various business people along Main Street who are no longer participating in the program I have discovered that they are frustrated but the occurrence of vandalism. At our agency we have experience more than out share of vandalism to the flower barrels – flowers pulled out, barrels tipped, and yes even stolen. But, we decided not to let the acts of a few spoil what many are trying to accomplish. So what is the purpose of this letter? To express disappointment? To express frustration? To vent? To encourage others not to give in? Yes, all of those and more. The Main Street Program has done a great job unifying businesses and making the appearance of downtown Plymouth attractive. I call upon the Campus Security and the local police to be more strategically located in downtown areas especially after “closing hours.”