<span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="bbc_u"><strong>Romero New York</strong></span></span><br/><br/>Romero is a mid sized town in up-state New York. It is about eighty miles from Syracuse, not far from the shores of Lake Ontario and the sort of place that has seen better days. The town was prosperous through the two world wars, and into the fifties, sixties and seventies. It manufactured brown goods, white goods, refined sugar and had a large brewery. These industries have mostly moved on to cheaper locations, mostly China, and the town has been suffering a slow death as a result since the late eighties. There is still life, and there has recently been a small upswing as the middle class of nearby Syracuse has discovered the low land prices and 'charm' of the place, however there is not yet enough of an influx of new blood to bring the town back to its former glory.<br/><br/>Down-town Romero is built on a crossroads oriented to the points of the compass, one in every fifteen shop front however is closed as much of the business has moved to either the indoor mall on the edge of town or one of the strip malls closer to Syracuse.<br/><br/>The town is fed by a nuclear power plant just outside of town. This plant is modest by the standards of such things and supplies Romero and a few of the smaller outlying places like Westfalls. Being nuclear and fairly modern the plant is fully automated and power should be uninterrupted to the area's served for at least several months, if not years, depending on how long the fuel rods last and if the computers running the plant suffer any major failures. There are a lot of safety features in place to ensure the smooth running of the place.<br/><br/>There is a major water treatment plant a few miles out from the power plant that feeds the town. It takes in river water, purifies it and pumps it on to Romero and its environs. The plant is automated, though not as highly as the power plant and requires more regular maintenance. Within a few days of a lack of staffing the water quality will start to drop as filters are not changed and processes not followed. Within a month the tap water in the town will be unfit for human consumption.<br/><br/>The plant also processes waste water before pumping it back into the river relatively clean. The settlement tanks for this process can be strong smelling yet the distance from town usually prevents any foul odour from making it all that way into major inhabited areas.<br/><br/>The town has a modest police force, who are very good and kept very much in line by the local Sheriff who is very community oriented, stressing his officers focus on 'discretion' and 'care' rather than 'enforcement'. He is a good man and has served his community well for many years.<br/><br/>Romero Fire Department has two houses one to the west and one to the east of the centre of town. This is a throwback from the old days when there were more people living in Romero in the Eighties and they really only now need one firehouse. House 2 is scheduled to close.<br/><br/>There is a small community hospital, four floors, emergency room, two theatres and a number of wards. They have three ambulances and a helipad. All major cases and anything requiring complex diagnosis like MRI are shuttled to Syracuse.<br/><br/>There are numerous schools and one college. Romero Community College is a smallish campus that is recently on the receiving end of some major state funding and is looking to expand and attract more students. They are looking to one day in the near future attain themselves university status and are working towards this goal.