Watch Your Back Folks!

Just when we thought it was safe to go back in the water, another shark attack! We just killed Jaws, and here comes his brother dressed in sheepskin pretending to be a lamb. I refer of course to the acreage in south Hudson known as the Green Meadow Golf Course and its spokesman for the owners, Attorney Jay Leonard. The Friel family, through Leonard, are using the very same traffic consultants as the former developers who were driven out of town, want the very same interchange off the Sagamore Bridge into the golf course acreage, through the very same wetlands that they were told they could not violate previously, and under a direct question from a senior member of the Planning Board to Attorney Leonard as to what the Friels planned to build on the site were it ever sold, Bo Jangles, nor Sammy Davis, Jr., never tap danced faster in their lives than attorney Leonard did in evading the question, stating that he wanted to get the roadway system set up before any other plans were made. I'd like to quote Attorney Leonard in a statement he made to Hudson-Litchfield News, published in the August 31, 2007 issue; he said, "The Green Meadow property will be developed over time; right now the demand is for space in retail." If you believe that, I'd like to sell you some swampland in Florida. How much more retail do we need around here? Within five minutes driving time of the foot of the Sagamore Bridge where it meets Lowell Road there is as many as 15 million square feet of all kinds of retail space, all kinds of stores, malls, restaurants, plazas, and more, being built at Spit Brook and Daniel Webster Highway intersection, as I write this epistle.

Attorney Leonard also stated in his article, "As for now, the golf course is alive and well." Why wouldn't it be at the prices they charge there for a round of golf? He then went on to say, "The riverfront will be protected and utilized, but, for now, there are no specific plans. If all goes according to plan, this may be a tremendous opportunity for Hudson and the surrounding area.” So there are no specific plans but if all goes according to plan it'll be great for Hudson. Which side of his mouth do you figure he was talking out of this time? He is smooth. Very smooth.

I warn each of you not to be taken in by this handsome, smooth-talking, young fellow. In watching him, my first thought was "I'll bet foxes go to him to learn new tricks." He is good, very good, but we in Hudson and the surrounding towns cannot be taken by him. We, HudsonGrassrootsCentral members, must be more vigilant, more attentive, more wary, more distrustful, and more cautious than ever, in what we hear and what we read. If we cannot attend Selectmen or Planning Board meetings, we must watch TV channel 22 and take notes. We must get all our friends and neighbors registered to vote and get them interested in what is going on in our community, and we must get them all out to vote on town meeting day. Any of you who'd like to join us in our quest to keep Hudson a nice, quiet, happy town are invited to join us by logging onto HudsonGrassrootsCentral.com and signing up as a member. We are over 250 members now and growing. Keep Green Meadows happenings in the forefront of your mind and "watch your collective backs." Keep your eyes and ears open always.

Watch Your Back Folks!

Ron Peters, HudsonGrassrootsCentral - Hudson