Trust is not a big word. It's a word that we relate to integrity, confidence, love, faith, honesty and the list goes on.

We trust our doctors to prescribe the right treatment for what ails us. We trust our police to protect and aid us. We trust our judges to make the right decisions. We trust our school teachers and administrators with our children's education and welfare. Each day I read in the newspaper how this trust has been broken.

Webster defines the word "trust" as "reliance on integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc. of a person or thing, confidence."

When I was young, I trusted just about everyone until they proved me wrong. But growing up in the late '60s things started to change. By mid 1970 or more precisely the end of my first month in Vietnam, I found that trust was no longer in my reasoning or vocabulary. When your life depends on who and what you trust, you tend not to trust anyone or anything. Unfortunately, this is one of the demons I carried home with me.

But that was more than 35 years ago and many things have changed in our world, country and community. What was important to us then in many cases is unimportant to us now. Today, trust has become a very sacred term to me. I can count on my fingers how many people in my life I truly trust.

Over the past few years, each autumn and spring, I try to go turkey hunting. It usually turns out that the only turkey in the woods is me. For many years, the demons that traveled home with me prevented me from walking through the woods carrying a gun. I could not go hunting. For me, it would take a very, very strong trust to have someone with a loaded gun go walking through the woods with me. As of now, there are only two people that I go hunting with. One of those people is Tim Almeida.

I have known Tim for more than 20 years through good times and hard times. We have watched each other's children grow up and marry. I envy Tim for he has a gift that I do not possess. Tim has always been able to do the right thing at the right time and understand why it needs to be done. Tim is able to pass that understanding along to others. Tim has always shown integrity and confidence in all his involvement and activities in our community.

As a resident of this village for more than 55 years, I have watched many trustees pass through our community. Some were good, some weren't. But for me, none of them had what their title called for and that was my trust. You must trust people who will lead you. You must trust that they will do the right thing for the right reason. You must trust that they will listen to your problems and concerns. You must trust that they will act to ensure the best quality for life for our community. That is why they are called trustee.

On March 15, I hope the people of the village will support the Hometown Party candidate for trustee and add their trust to mine by voting for and supporting Tim Almeida.

Richard L. Stillwell