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Community Corner

The Case For Preservation of Wright-Locke Hamilton Farm

Wright Locke Hamilton Farm has been there since the time of the  1600s when Winchester was still mostly farmland and woodland. Fewer than 2,000 residents called Winchester home, for much of the 1600s...fewer than 1,000. 
 
there are some in town...I won't name names but you know who you are Mr Natale and Mr Conte, who believe that your "HARD EARNED" Tax dollars should not go to support the farm and that we should level the farm and  build more residential homes on it
Well we've tried that haven't we for the past 10 years we've been trying to come up with a plan to make everyone in town happy and it just hasn't worked. 
AVALON BAY was way too crazy a development and would provide too large an influx of families.....then ABBOT Came in and it looked like a good medium ----preserving the farmland, and hiking trails that serve an important connection for Winchester residents to the land and to Whipple Hill in Lexington while still providing for some housing and economic return.
But then Abott defaulted on their loans and payments, and we were back to square one.
Now Mr Natale and Mr Conte claim that those who support preservation of Wrighte-Locke Farm are in the minotiry, but I disagree. I feel the majority of people in the town of WInchester, especially those who love the outdoors and nature, those who provide education for our students, and those families with children support the Farm and want the trails and educational programs to be preserved. 
SO in fact Mr Natale and Mr Conte, those of us in favor for the PRESERVATION of the FARM outnumber your minotiry 2 to 1.  
I feel most people in town , myself included, recognize the value in Wright -Locke Hamilton farm as a outdoor education center, and a education center for farming....People come to  pick raspberries in droves and several community events have been held there. The farm is an educational classroom for students from Vinson Owen school and other school sin the area.
Without the farm there would not be those opportunities.
I understand why some people want to just develop more homes on the land. But does Winchester REALLY NEED MORE HOMES?
Think about the last ten years, the increase of students in our schools, the burden it has put on our selectmen having to decide how to tackle the increasing school children. Think of how much more the traffic has increased as more and more people are driving through Winchester as the areas around us grow....and also people start dividing their land and putting up more homes to make a quick easy profit.
Think about it. DO we really need more homes in Wright-Hamilton Farm and Winchester?  And to debunk Mr Conte's view that we have too much open space in town, remember....the only reason Winchester has so much open space is due to the fact that we were lucky enough to be part of the mIddlesex Fells. Had it not for the Fells being created that whole ridge may have been developed.....so think about that.
We owe it to those conservationists of the early years of Winchester such as  Mr. .Manchester and Mr Ginn......who helped turn mills and a rail yard into what is now Manchester field, Ginn field, and the Aberjona River walk (Hopefully soon the Tri Community Greenway path)....and we owe it to the Winchester community and our youth to Protect and Preserve Hamilton farm at all costs. 
There will always be people in our town who want all the services given to them for free without paying taxes for it....or will always oppose any project the town ever puts forward...but we need to stand up to those people who wish to take away such valuable resources from the community such as Wright-Locke Hamilton Farm.
I would recommend we reexamine the Trust for public land's proposal to build a few residential single family homes on the site, while keeping the farm and trail system intact.
I would also like the Selectment to rexexamine the proposal of TAURUS as a possibility.
I would also ask the Selectmen and Townspeople to try to come up with a plan that would keep the TRAIL NETWORK and hiking trails intact...with ANY DEVELOPMENT as the farm is an important connection to Whipple Hill and the Lexington Trails.
I would ask the residents of Winchester to demand either the Trust For public land plan or Taurus.
But PRESERVING THE FARM  and the trail network is the most important thing. We cannot afford to lose such a valuable educational  and historical/cultural resource to extreme development. 
Sincerely,
Jeff Dearman
Precinct 1 Voter
Winchester High Class of 1995 

























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