Dateline - WOODSTOCK
Many of our readers are getting excited about the prospects of Winter ending and Spring coming. Even though February brings longer days and warming sun, we don't indulge in even contemplating Spring until well into April. Here in Woodstock, we are deep into Pothole Season, which comes before Mud Season in late March. The cycle of sub-zero temperatures followed by a relatively warm rain yesterday has torn up large chunks of Main Street. There are three holes in front of the Woodstock Bank each able to swallow large dogs. The water-filled pit in front of the Woodstock Hardware Store already has one large truck tire in it -- torn off when Elmer Brashaw hit the hole in his F-150 in the early morning light. You might expect the highway department in your town to dash right out and fix such problems as this. But in Woodstock, our version of the Traffic Report tells us where the potholes are and h! ow to avoid the worst of them. In a few a few weeks, Mud Season will arrive and warming temperatures will cause mud to ooze up through every imaginable orifice, conveniently filling potholes that we not previously filled with miscellaneous auto parts. Because the Woodstock Highway Department knows this cycle and can count on it year after year, they save an average of $1,500 per year on unnecessary repair work. Each year when the Highway Superintendent gives his report to the residents attending Town Meeting, the news that we have saved more than last year on unnecessary highway repair work seems to trump the fact that Elmer Brashaw and others spent a total of $82,350 on repair work and wheel alignment. Fortunately, Town Meeting is always scheduled just before the opening of Maple Sugar Season -- when no one wants to think about sub-zero temperatures, potholes, torn of tires, and bent rims. When Maple Sugar Season comes, we're busy and looking forward to Spring.
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