I must agree with Ms. Hubbard [Letter to the editor: Stand up and do the right thing, Thomaston Select Board]. I came to that meeting because I wanted to hear all sides of the debate so that I could make an informed decision re the future of the Green.

I appreciated hearing everyone's opinions and still enjoy the fact that in America everyone has the right to voice their opinions, whether or not others agree. However, even if I decided in favor of locating either or both the Fire Department and the Knox Clinic on the Green, I left feeling I could not participate in a vote that is this unfair to so many of the residents of our town.

I travel for work so am not always in town during these meetings; I feel fortunate that I could make it to this one. When I know my schedule will take me out of town during a voting day, I plan ahead and vote by absentee ballot. There are so many other residents who, like me, may be traveling for work, tending to children, attending extracurricular events with their kids, working evening shifts, or unable to find a ride during the one specific hour designated for a show-of-hands meeting.

In a secret ballot, they would be able to vote absentee or get to the polls sometime during the typical span of hours on a voting day.

I was terribly disappointed at the attitude displayed by some of the Select Board when the majority of those in the room asked that this important question be put to a secret ballot vote. I urge the Select Board to reconsider its decision. A secret ballot would represent the wishes of many more Thomaston residents — which, I presume, is the desired outcome.

If the townspeople are allowed to vote, whether or not each voter agrees with the final result, at least we know it was arrived at democratically. I cannot imagine why this is not possible.