Editorial

As we function in our day to day lives it is easy to forget that our country is at war, that there are American citizens putting their lives on the line to protect us.

The United States military makes a physical change to their uniforms for servicemen and women stationed stateside. Regardless of rank, they wear their fatigues for their daily business. This is to show support for their brothers and sisters in battle.

The Ashburnham Fire Department has started wearing red shirts on Fridays as part of a national movement to show support to the troops serving overseas.

On Tuesday, the Ashburnham Fire Association was honored by the United States Department of Defense, not simply for their red-shirted wardrobe change, but because they've instilled a culture and an attitude of supporting the troops - through donations of stuffed animals, candy, and then an ambulance and supplies.

Fire Chief Paul Zbikowski hopes this is the first of many ambulances to go from the United States to Afghanistan.

How compelling it is that these people who race into a burning building, these men and women who risk their lives to save ours, are the same ones reminding us of the sacrifices of the military.

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On a different note this week, the town of Westminster lost a key figure this week.

Town Planner Alicia Altieri, who passed away on Friday, Aug. 8, left her mark on Westminster through the grants she wrote, through the conservation land she helped preserve and through the industrial and housing developments she guided through the permitting process.

Altieri was more than a town planner, she was a mother and wife as well. She will be missed by all who knew her.