On Monday, the Windham Township Supervisors will vote on an ordinance that will once again make the Windham Township Volunteer Fire Department — Department 19 — the official fire department of that municipality.
    The new ordinance, if approved, would rescind a 2003 township law which basically stated that Department 19 was not allowed to respond to any emergencies within the township. That 2003 ordinance also named the Windham Community Fire Department, Department 28, as the township’s official fire department.
    But now with Department 28 dissolved and Department 19 returning to the fold, it is time for either Windham Township to begin to heal the wounds of the past or risk tearing itself apart even further.
    To say that the last five years within the township have been tumultuous would be an understated. Ever since the departure of Department 19 — due to a disagreement with the members of the township’s board of supervisors at that time — and their eventual return, and the formation of Department 28, Windham Township has become even more fractured.
    And while Windham has never been seen as a close-knit community, the divides among its residents have grown even deeper over the past five years.
    It has gotten so bad in Windham Township that the wheels of progress within the municipality have come to a grinding halt. In fact, can anyone name the last community-improvement project the township has undertaken in the last five years? The only one we can think of is the announcement that the township would begin formulating a comprehensive plan. However, that announcement was made nearly five years ago, and no further steps on that issue have been made.
    But now the township has come to a crossroads. It is time for the township to begin to heal the huge divides between its residents. It is time to put aside the petty differences and begin to make Windham Township a better place for all.
    It is time for the community to begin to heal its deep wounds. If not, Windham Township will continue to be the laughingstock of Bradford County.