LETTER: How many police?

In 1973, Aberdeen Central listed 401 graduating seniors. Aberdeen Roncalli listed 86. In 2012, Aberdeen Central listed 290 graduating seniors. Aberdeen Roncalli listed 44. One hundred and sixty three less graduates for a decline of more than 33 percent.

Any senior that had turned 18 on or before graduation day 1973 could legally celebrate their accomplishment with a cold beer.

In 1973, Aberdeen had a vibrant downtown. The corner of Main Street and Third Avenue Southeast had multi-story Herbergers, JC Penney, Osco Drug and a Bostwick clothing/department store. It was said that when talking about retail sales, this corner was the most valuable retail space in the state.

Besides retail, Aberdeen also had a vibrant downtown nightlife. A great variety of restaurants and a fantastic variety of night clubs. Starting at Railroad Avenue and heading south, people could eat and drink, and window shop for the entire evening, all the way to the wee hours of the morning.

In 1973, the general population of Aberdeen and, I believe, the student count at Northern were both more than in 2012.

In 1973, the Aberdeen Police Department had three AMC Ambassador patrol cars and had far fewer employees than today. There was no multi-million dollar police station, and the rapport between the APD and the citizens of Aberdeen was better than it is today.

The version 2013 Aberdeen Police Department is a mysterious entity.

I applaud Councilman Remily for questioning the size of this department.

We the taxpayers are paying a substantial price for this department, and looking at real numbers makes me wonder if we need to continue with this many police department employees.

Tom Burgard

Aberdeen