The front page of your first week of February issues contains a picture and an article about Dewey Street residents opposing Raymond Rice wanting to "repair" his fence that is adjacent to Dewey Street. Neither the story nor the picture properly explain the reasons for our unanimous opposition.

Your readers should know the picture they saw is the "after version" of changes made by Mr. Rice to the fence. The town highway installed the barricade guardrail shown in the picture because of the changes. The "before" version was an approximately five feet high chain link fence in pretty good condition. The old fence was of the same design as the fence on the line between the Rice property and the properties of the two houses at the end of Dewey Street to the left and right of your picture. The old fence at the end of Dewey Street was connected to the property line fences of the houses on either side of Dewey Street and followed the same line. The old fence did not have a gate for vehicular access. In front of the old fence on the Dewey Street side was a small garden formed by tiered railroad ties and white painted rocks. There was no highway barricade. Dewey Street residents believe the garden was on town property.

One day last fall construction crews came, removed the garden, removed the town's Belgian block curb, removed the old fence and installed the gate one can see in the "after" picture in order to allow cars to drive onto the Rice property from Dewey Street. These changes were made without obtaining permits or variances from the highway department for a curb cut or the building department to modify the existing fence. Mr. Rice's address and driveway is on Colonial Parkway where he has about 200 feet of frontage. Dewey Street residents do not see why, after so many decades without it, he now also needs access to our dead end street on the other side of his property. During heavy snowstorms there will be no place to plow the snow if there is a driveway at the end of the street. We also object to all the additional traffic which will come to our block to visit and/or service the Rice property. At its residents' request Colonial Parkway is posted for no parking at any time of day on any day of the week. Because of this posting Dewey Street residents do not think it fair that Mr. Rice or future occupants of his house be allowed even the possibility to use Dewey Street as a service road, parking lot or short cut.

Dennis Sears