To the Editor:

The slap in the face must sting the many workers who so diligently give of themselves each day in service to their fellow citizens. Many of them are likely to say that they do not want to be paid for the work that they do, but I will always maintain that they should be paid for the many sacrifices they make.

Firefighters and paramedics provide such a service that they deserve every reward they are due. They literally risk their lives, their fortunes and their posterity coming to the aid of you and I, be it a kitchen fire or a traffic accident.

They are the unsung heroes, just like our law enforcement officers of Isle of Wight County.

And yet, the slap in the face comes from our county government, which decided so callously to renege on their stated plan to give the fire and rescue workers a state-of-the-art facility.

What shame.

Oh sure, you can blame cost reductions for this dastardly plan. But seriously, if the county had not wasted so much time debating the issue and just approved a plan and moved forward, that building would already be in use today.

But instead, our fearless Newport supervisor spearheaded the plan to nix what this county desperately needs: a modern facility that affords these dedicated workers with what every other city’s workers in Hampton Roads enjoy.

But the $1 million saved by keeping rescue workers cramped in a 30-plus-year-old antiquated building was spent buying swampland for a boat ramp!

Where are the priorities?

Dave Lyons

Smithfield