Bath needs wise leaders at a critical moment
To the Editor,

Six decades ago, I drove through Bath on U.S. Rte. 15. I entered from the east under a large metal archway which proudly proclaimed, "Bath." I drove north on delightful Liberty Street and came to a huge granite statue of a soldier holding a rifle at the ready and clothed in garb of Civil War ilk. Beneath him were etched the battles of that war, reminding me of the thousands of lives lost to preserve our Union. He stood proudly in my path. I had a circle around him onto a beautiful boulevard lined with lovely globed lights on the center island.

Now, the metal gateway is gone. The lighted boulevard is gone. And the soldier has been relegated to an obscure place where he largely goes unnoticed; where he no longer obstructs traffic flow nor evokes gratitude for his sacrifice which gave us freedom to make free choices for ourselves and our community.

I suspect that most people not of Bath know us only for our National Cemetery and not the quaint and proud village we are.

Let wise decisions be made that will not further denegrate nor destroy the few landmarks remaining which make our Bath beautiful. Keith Dewey Bath