There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile,
He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile.
He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse.
And they all lived together in a little crooked house

I am taking this poem somewhat out of context here, however you may interpret it. I have some opinions and fact that might straighten out his reason for being. I have owned my home for almost twenty years and have retired here in the Town Neck area of Sandwich. My house was built in the 50’s as a summer home and I winterized and refinished it before moving here. Many homes in my area are not winterized but still intact and enjoyed in season. I believe it is time to speak out about people moving into the neighborhood ( the Johnny-come lately, if you will), building huge homes on 1/10^th of an acre and complaining about this being “THEIR” neighborhood and dictating our lifestyle here for the past five years. This petitioner has over stated his false concern with our neighborhood and is attempting to carry it to the Town level. His petition to Amend the current noise Bylaw and his facts to support it have come way short of validity and reason and I find them personally offensive, as do most of us here in Sandwich.

He did have 100 signatures in support of his Amendment, almost 2/3 of which were from persons on almost a half acre or more. His news quote borders on scandalous, ridiculous accusations and unsupported detail. Yes, this has gone past the thought of outlawing wind chimes and flapping flags. Perhaps he should have put more thought into erecting a large ‘castle’ on a small lot and thinking that he could change everything around his little 1/10^th of an acre in a densely populated neighborhood. The population in Town of Sandwich has only increased by less than 5% since the bylaw was last amended in 1999.

The petitioner also wrote “Because of these inconsiderate people, the present bylaw does absolutely nothing to protect us”. I must assume that he includes himself one of the ‘considerate people’, like the Knott Avenue neighbor on the police blotter that maliciously cut down their 95 year old widow neighbor’s trellises and sunflowers that he said “attacked” him while he worked on his boat in his backyard! Or one of the ‘considerate people’ who offends neighbors with his distasteful abusive and profane language and references that even I had to ask him to leave my yard because nobody should talk in such a hateful and obscene way, at least not in my yard.

My suggestion is first for neighbors to enjoy each other’s happiness and wellbeing and at times let things go, if they are having fun enjoy it and if you can’t then just bear with it in a neighborly manner and not try to criminalize their seldom indiscretions. Or perhaps, since you are so unhappy with your so-called inconsiderate neighbors, you should consider moving and enjoy your “sounds of silence” instead of the sounds of music. Please leave Sandwich alone….please VOTE NO ON ARTICLE 31 at Town Meeting, Monday May 3^rd, 7pm at the High School.

Terry Everatt

2 Freeman Ave

Sandwich, MA 02563