We try to keep things light and upbeat on the Wakeup Club, but there are times when being a local station means more than that. The recent accidental shooting of a two-year old in Jewett City is one of those stories that makes everyone shake their heads in disbelief. Three issues spring out of this tragedy. The whole gun control debate comes up again, with little chance for anything getting resolved on a national scale much less a local one. The question of parental responsibility, and how anyone could let this happen without tighter supervision, was also brought up on Friday's show. We were quickly reminded that the family is stricken with grief and posthumously pointing the finger of blame won't bring this toddler back.
The third issue relates to the community as a whole: Jewett City has had a knack for attracting negative press for decades. For a relatively small community, the borough has been in the headlines in more ways than we care to recount here. I know firsthand that there are many borough residents who work hard at making Jewett City/Griswold a better place. Maybe the best intentions could not have prevented this latest tragedy, but is there something more that can be done to improve Jewett City's less than stellar image? If the borough's citizens could respond with a clear voice the way they did on the question of keeping music playing from atop a church, maybe less bad news will follow a Jewett City headline.
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