To the Editor:

After I read Brian Russo’s letter, “Pride in our work,” I realized that I, like others, am positively incorrect when I question our community oriented firefighters. Then I read a little article in Saturday’s Providence Journal, which was after I checked and saw only 14 homes in Johnston that were sold or lost for one reason or another. I wondered if one of those 14 homes could have belonged to a firefighter?

Mr. Russo wrote about his eight years as a Marine and how he left a higher paying corporate job just to become a community-oriented firefighter. How foolish of me to think that he could have been looking for job security, salary plus perks and protection from a union and the General Assembly. And I also would like to know how many people Mr. Russo saves or has saved during his community-oriented service as a firefighter.

I have learned that Local 1950 has supposedly made more concessions and what they are offering will be a significant change to their original proposal. I was prepared to vote to accept those changes (so-called gifts) but after reading Mr. Russo’s letter and not realizing what our community-oriented firefighters are doing for “we the people,” I decided to change my vote to a ‘No.’

Over breakfast Sunday morning, I could hardly suppress the emotions that I felt he said tongue in cheek. I was thinking about how much Johnston’s firefighters do for the residents of Johnston and for such a puny amount, pay and pensions, that I decided to change my vote ‘Yay’ to ‘Nay.’

When I gained my composure, I raced to my typewriter to let everyone know why I changed my mind. I believe, (once more with tongue in cheek), that we should go back to the original proposal and just double (he wrote as he fainted) what they asked for since they are only concerned about the community.

I then showed my wife what I wrote and she did away with our cost of living increases for the next two years, but what the heck, we can give up our Sunday breakfasts out and donate that money to any needy Johnston firefighter. She didn’t like my idea, thank God, so here we are with all this extra money.

Ernest Pitochelli Sr.

District 2 Councilman

Johnston