To the Editor:

I took a ride tonight to go and look at the place where she left this earth. A lapse of judgment, a missed visual cue. Who can know? A road that allows 55 miles per hour right up to the stop sign. [“County denies danger at Westerlo intersection after fatal crash,” The Altamont Enterprise, July 2, 2025].

Beautiful, rolling hills and farms and homes. Cows pasturing right at the corner, looking up curiously to see me stopped and gazing around. I have driven these roads through many years with love and awe for the beauty and the obvious work of God and of people.

A flashing light may be too much. That long stretch of highway doesn’t really need that.

But somehow on that crossroad, I would think there’s a way to give more notice of an imminent stop. Maybe two signs spaced a few hundred feet before the actual “Stop” sign, with the number of feet coming up of the “Stop” sign underneath in regulation font.

I think that would meet the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices or MUTCD requirements for signage. I’ve seen it in some places.

Something simple. It doesn’t have to be flashing lights and solar-power panels. But this intersection has caused a previous fatality years ago and continues to be a source of issues for traffic and safety. I’m sure that we can find a way to help with that.

Jessica Rowinski was the daughter-in-law of my good friend Linda, who was also hurt in that accident and called me from the hospital once she was able to do it. With broken bones and broken heart she let me know what was going on. Amidst my cries, she told me how her family has been impacted.

In memory of Jessica Rowinski, a mother, wife, and daughter, and a friend, and in honor of the Rowinski family, I am respectfully asking our community in Albany County to find some solution that will work for local motorists and unsuspecting travelers, and keep our land as pristine as we can for the cows. 

Please and thank you. 

Debra Trees

Albany