City Manager Jim Greene joked in poor taste not once, but twice during Fire Chief Parnell’s 40 years of service celebration. Greene joked that he hears that the department needs more firefighters every month, so he identified 15 new “recruits,” pointing to other city admin in the room. He went onto give Chief Parnell a plastic firetruck to help our aging fleet, the oldest apparatus being 29 years old. It’s shameful the city manager would make such comments when the firefighters and our trucks are stressed to the breaking point. Thank you to Chief Parnell for praising our firefighters for their hard work and dedication, despite budget shortfalls.

— Ethan Chirico

Salisbury