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Making Torrington a Safe Haven
By Christopher H. Cook, Torrington
My name is Christopher Cook and I am a candidate for the Board of Public Safety on the Democratic slate in the upcoming election in the City of Torrington. I want the people of Torrington to know some of the ways I have been preparing myself for this position.
During the past year I've attended several of the Board of Public Safety meetings at City Hall on Wednesday evenings. I found them to be very informative. Recently, my wife, Michelle, helped organize a food collection at the middle and high school for the relief fund for the September 11 disaster in New York. While helping to load trucks with the career firemen of this city, I was given the opportunity to discuss with them some of the problems and solutions facing the city of Torrington.
I also had the pleasure of speaking with a number of volunteer firemen at the firehouse on East Main Street, discussing ways and means of keeping such an important operation continuing in the positive direction that it is headed in now.
Touring in the Emergency Operation Center bus, a mobilized command center located at the police station that is accessible to all police, fire and public works departments, gave me a true sense of security.
Within the last several months I've ridden along with our police, and we have spoken about issues involving them. I also spent a number of hours with Officer Thomas Vannini, who had reviewed the E.O.C. plan and explained it in detail to me. I learned that in August the current administration (City Council and Board of Finance) allocated $19,000 to upgrade the support systems for emergency operations in Torrington. The city will use $10,000 to upgrade the computer system, $7,500 for printing information pamphlets containing "what to do" instructions in case of an emergency situation, and 1,500 to upgrade the website for the E.O.C.
I've told you how I've prepared for this position, and now I'll tell you why I want to serve you on the Board of Public Safety. The first and perhaps the only reason I have is that I want my wife and my four children to live in a safe environment in the city of Torrington. This can't be accomplished unless I try to make Torrington a safe haven for all of its people.
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