There's a First Time For Everything in Manchester

Hello out there in Patchland! My name is Kim Raile Smith and this is a year of "firsts" for me. It is the first time I've ever been asked to blog about anything, so I was pretty excited to become a part of Patch.com. Unfortunately, my computer imploded on the very first eve of my very first blog, and I raced off in a panic to good old Office Depot to purchase my very first laptop. And yes, this is indeed the very first thing ever typed on my brand new laptop.

While it is not the first time I've been grateful to be a Manchester resident, it is the first time I've ever been ecstatic to call this "little town inside the big city" MY hometown! My husband and I bought our home here in West County in 1991. In 1999, we were incorporated into the city of Manchester and immediately noticed a big improvement in our services, from trash collection and snow removal to street repair and our very own police department. So I was grateful. Life went on, we raised our family, and I decided to take Manchester's CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) program. Through CERT, I met several of our city's police officers, so I decided to enroll in the Citizens Police Academy as well. As a resident of Manchester, it really gave me an appreciation of the job these dedicated men and women do. 

Through these programs, I met many residents and city employees.  I began to take more of an interest in local politics and began attending board meetings-another first for me. I had read the minutes on the city's website for several years, but to see the meetings in action was quite another matter entirely. There was unbelievable discord among the board of aldermen and several important issues, including the appointment of a permanent police chief, raises for city employees, repairs to roads, sidewalks and the city pool, fell victim to the backbiting and game-playing that was happening on the first and third Mondays of every month.  So, along with other residents, I began speaking out at the meetings, yet another first for me. Meeting after meeting, I watched the momentum grow as more and more residents spoke out to remind our elected officials that it was their duty to represent the interests of the city and its residents, not their own personal agendas. When it became apparent that our words were falling on deaf ears, I watched residents of Manchester in all three wards work side by side to campaign for candidates John Schrader and Paul Hamill, both of whom chose to sacrifice their own time and money to run for office. And on April 5th, I watched democracy in action when both Mr. Schrader and Mr. Hamill won a seat on the board of aldermen.

Finally, the best "first" of all, on the first Monday of May, 2011, I watched as our newly elected aldermen were sworn in. I looked around the room at the many people who worked tirelessly to make a difference for our city, many of whom I am now proud to call my friends. I then watched our new board of aldermen pass several bills, appoint Tim Walsh as our new police chief, and accomplish more in one night than had been accomplished in the previous two years. At long last, I am certain that the city of Manchester-MY city- is in good hands. And for that, I am, for the first time, ecstatic, and very proud, to call Manchester my home.