By SHARON BALDWIN | Wilton

My name is Sharon Baldwin. Though I make my home in the country, I have not lived farther than five miles from Wilton in my 60 years of life. It is my hometown, and I have been immensely proud of that fact until recently. We have beautiful scenery, great inhabitants of the community that pull together for our neighbors, our students, businesses, churches and surrounding communities. 

  I have seen an ugly shift in the past couple of years. An annual festival was erased and any mention of it banned. It was a festival that many believe belonged to the whole community after being held for so many years. Then another festival was formed by the village board and, with some struggle, was successful.

  Longtime employees resigned; others filled in. One chose not to continue a new role, and another stepped back in. A pool employee was called out on social media for not performing the work she was paid to do. In most businesses, that employee would be given a verbal or written warning with explicit instructions on correct behavior and safety guidelines. The consequences of further infractions would be spelled out.  And that would be the end of that story. 

  Now we seem to want to drag things out and keep the discontent going. Now we have divided allegiances. Some from the past regime and some from the new and some from those stuck in the middle trying to make the local government work. A daunting task for any of them with the finger pointing and backstabbing. Imagine you at your job with hundreds of people trying to tell you how to do it! Everyone has an opinion.

So, here is mine. I believe those involved in this fracas are normally kind and honest (and many are Christian) people. Yet, I am having a hard time finding Christ in what I have seen and heard lately. Many things have been said and done that are spiteful and hurtful. Can we not instead extend our hands in apologies and forgiveness on all sides so we can stop hurting one another and start to heal our community? Can we bury the hatchet instead of grinding axes? Our children will be far better served if we can show them right from wrong and how to forgive and move forward.