To the editor:

The week of May 2-8, 2021 was “Public Service Recognition Week.”

The town of Barrington is gifted with many talented and dedicated public servants who are crucial to our well-being and have risen magnificently to the unprecedented challenges of this past year.

Our first responders have worked tirelessly to keep us safe and aid in our health, often at increased risk to themselves. Our teachers pivoted and changed how they instructed our children without skipping a beat and never losing focus on what was best for their students. Our town manager, town clerk and administrators kept our town running, including seamlessly reworking how elections are run- twice! The Public Works Department worked hard to maintain our public parks and beach at a time when access to outdoor spaces became a lifeline for town on lockdown. Another lifeline has been our public library, recreation department and senior center, keeping us informed and entertained, while assisting in critical services, like meals, vaccinations, accessing resources and completing the census.

Lastly, our elected officials have continued to work hard for the Town of Barrington during a time of great uncertainty and without a playbook. Monitoring, sustaining, guiding our schools and local government during untold hours of Zoom meetings and constituent correspondence, for almost no compensation.

It is important to remember that all the these committed public servants for the Town of Barrington did their critical jobs while also dealing with the consequences of COVID 19 in their own families and homes. They deserve or respect and our gratitude. Please join me in thanking our wonderful Barrington Public Servants, true “essential workers.”

Pam Lauria

Barrington