Downsizing is never easy; there is always a human toll.
Inevitably people who have performed well in their jobs, sometimes for many years, are simply told they won't be needed any more.
Almost every knows of someone in that position, and you hope that somehow they will find something to fill in the gap.
Over the past two years, since the country plunged into the worst recession since the Great Depression, the stories have become familiar. In large corporations, hundreds, sometimes thousands, let go in a single swath.
But the City of Warren isn't a large corporation; if it were a commercial enterprise it would be a fairly small business.
It was disconcerting that when the downsizing came this month as a result of belt-tightening, it could have been handled a little more like a small business.
A letter in the mail or a telephone call might be expected when layoffs in the thousands, but not when they are in single digits and involve people with long, unstained careers.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Mike Reinke, and Mike Corbin for their service to the community.