LETTER: Officials may disagree but all want what’s best for Grafton

To Ozaukee Press: First of all, I would like to thank our police officers, firefighters, EMT and first responders for keeping Grafton residents safe. It is great knowing we can rely on you to be there for us. Our public works and park and rec departments and library, as well as our village development staff, do a great job in making our village the pride of the north shore. This has been an interesting year. We have had many issues that were very emotional, as well as controversial. We’ve had accusations and strongly worded discussions at committee meetings and Village Board meetings. There is nothing wrong with having different viewpoints and you can’t always agree on everything. In the long run, we need to do what is right for the good of the community and make the leadership stronger. With situations that we have encountered, I think we wonder why do we do this. It is obviously not for the money or part of our career growth, but we do care about this community and want to give back. Let’s look at the village officers and their roles outside the Village Board. One trustee is involved with school functions for children and had been a foster parent. Another trustee is a firefighter and brings quality concerts to this village every summer. We also have a cancer nurse who helps many people each day. One trustee is involved with Riveredge and eye screening at our schools. Another trustee works with many aspects of Ozaukee Family Services plus chairs a Christmas event that brings lots of people to downtown Graafton. One trustee is very involved in many aspects of the local Lions Club, plus takes seniors to appointments when needed. Our village president is very involved in activities that are fun events for our residents in Grafton as well as activities that bring many tourists to our wonderful village. I think you can see one common denominator here—we are here to help the residents of Grafton in varying ways, thus making it such a great community to live in. As we end our year and celebrate this wonderful season, let us have peace and good will for all the residents of Grafton. David L. Antoine Grafton Village Trustee