I nearly drove off the road the other day when I passed the home of Sharon Gaboff and saw a “for sale” sign on her front lawn. I immediately called to find out what was going on. I was stunned to learn that this amazing woman who has been running a small business in town for years and would like to expand her services to suit the needs of our community is being denied that option.
When my husband and I moved here over 12 years ago from Manhattan, we liked the surrounding horse farms and the country environment. Little did we know that with this beautiful country environment come “critters.” My lifeline has been Sharon Gaboff. When I picked up a cat from the side of the road that was near death from having been hit by a car, I called Sharon. When my neighbor and I were in a panic because a cat had been in a tree for three days, we called Sharon. When I found a raccoon in my garage, during daylight, I called Sharon to be assured that the raccoon was a nursing mother and not a rabid animal. When a local farmer passed away and his 12 cats were abandoned, my neighbor and I began to feed them. It was Sharon who made arrangements to trap and have these cats neutered and spayed, or by now we would have hundreds. Sharon is the only “baby-sitter” our beloved Cisco will go to. When no one else would groom him because of his many skin tumors, Sharon took on the job. I could go on and on.
All these years, Sharon has gotten out of bed in the dead of night to go to the rescue of someone in need of help as a member of the Millstone First Aid Squad. I was picking up Cisco one evening when Sharon heard a screech outside and ran out to assist a motorcyclist who had spun out on the curve.
Sharon has provided a much-needed service to our community for many years without ever having had a complaint placed against her. Her vision for a much-needed upgraded facility should be embraced by our community. As a small business owner, she does not have the financial means to continuously address insignificant issues. I am appalled that so much money and time is being expended by Sharon and our town.
I hope there is a way for our governing body to work with Sharon Gaboff to keep her and her much-needed services a part of our community, and appreciate that she is a small business owner providing many needed services.
Karen Schwartz
Millstone