All Entries in the "Letters to the Editor" Category

To the editor: Principal Ferenc invites parents to Proficiency Based Education meeting
Dear Green Mountain Parents, Students and Guardians, I am writing this letter to invite you to an informational presentation on Proficiency Based Education, to be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 1, 2018 in the Green Mountain Union High School’s Library Learning Commons. We will open the meeting in the LLC with a brief overview […]

To the editor: Make your voice heard
Chester and Andover residents, I invite you to participate in a brief, four question research survey about Community and Youth in Chester and Andover, Vermont. I am an Andover resident, an early childhood educator and graduate student at Goddard College. The survey should take 3 to 5 minutes and will be up online until April […]

To the editor: Watershed Alliance thanks communities for support
The Southeastern Vermont Watershed Alliance wants to sincerely thank the following communities and their citizens for supporting our efforts to monitor the waterways of our area: Brattleboro, Brookline, Dummerston, Jamaica, Londonderry, Newfane, Putney, Townshend and Wardsboro. Your support of our organization demonstrates your desire and commitment for our stream to be checked regularly throughout the […]

To the editor: Gun proliferation is part of problem
Gun rights advocates are fond of saying “guns don’t kill people, people do.” Presumably this means that someone who is intent upon committing murder or mayhem will always find a weapon of some sort and a way to use it. So, since guns are not the problem, there is no need to control access to […]

To the editor: GM Iron Chef teams cook up wins
St. Patrick’s Day proved to be a lucky day for two of the three Jr. Iron Chef teams that Green Mountain Middle & High sent to compete in the 11th Annual Jr. Iron Chef Competition in Essex on Saturday, March 17. GM teams have competed for six years, and our teams have been winners in […]

To the editor: Condos concerned by over-reach of Homeland Security bill
As Vermont’s Chief Elections Officer my responsibility is to ensure that our fundamental democratic voting rights are protected. I recently learned of language included in Section 4012 of H.R.2825, which provides for the reauthorization of the federal Department of Homeland Security, which would allow armed Secret Service agents to enter polling locations – at the […]

To the editor: Gun owners, control advocates can find common ground
On March 14, I watched about 30 Leland and Gray students walk out of their school and conduct a 17-minute demonstration to honor the 17 students and teachers who were slaughtered in the April 14 school-shooting in Florida, and to demand action by national and state legislators to prevent such tragedies from happening again. The […]

To the editor: Board chair urges ‘Yes’ vote on new GMUSD budget
The Green Mountain Unified School District became operational in September 2017. In short order, the board, represented by the towns of Andover, Baltimore, Cavendish and Chester, elected officers, organized committees, and began work on the budget. The budget proved challenging. We had anticipated substantial savings as a result of consolidation under Act 46. Because of […]

To the editor: Green Mountain Party seeks pay equity study
The Green Mountain Party has requested that T.J. Donovan, our state’s attorney, investigate the pay inequity between the sexes. We have requested the number of investigations done on pay discrimination for the last 10 years. We have asked for his plans to investigate the pay inequity we have been hearing about, where women are paid […]

To the editor: Chester Brochure Committee seeks listings, photos
Over the last three years, the Chester Brochure has become the premier marketing tool for Chester businesses and services. The addition of an online presence at Meet Chester Vermont and on Facebook has significantly expanded our reach and the effectiveness of this effort. Work is now under way on the 2018 brochure including: Contacting local […]

To the editor: In debate on mass killings, AR-15 restrictions must be addressed
Efforts by students to ban the weapon used to slaughter 17 of their friends and teachers on Feb. 14 in Florida have been rebuffed by lawmakers. None of the politicians with whom they met, including the president, supported making the sale of AR-15s illegal, even though it has been the weapon of choice in five […]

To the editor: Siano-Goodwin seeking seat on Grafton Select Board
I am writing to let you know that I, Cathy Siano-Goodwin, am running for the three-year seat on the Grafton Select Board. As most of you know, I am a long-time resident of Grafton, living with my husband Kirk Goodwin here atop Parker Hill Road. I have seen and experienced many changes in Grafton and […]

To the editor: AR-15s, similar weapons should be illegal
Another school shooting with 17 dead at a Florida high school. How many will it take before our legislators and president do something other than offer sanctimonious condolences? No other country in the world makes lethal weapons, like the AR-15, so easily available, and no other country has nearly as many school shootings as we […]

To the editor: Tom Bock’s update from Montpelier
Much has happened in Montpelier since my initial note to you starting with Gov. Scott’s annual State of the Budget Address. For the second year in a row, his proposed budget does not increase a single tax or fee. The governor’s General Fund Budget for 2019 exceeds this year’s amount by only $82 million, (a […]

To the editor: Londonderry Volunteer Rescue Squad thanks all who donated for successful raffle fund-raiser
The Londonderry Volunteer Rescue Squad thanks our friends and neighbors for their generosity in purchasing raffle tickets to support our annual benefit. LVRS raises funds each year to continue to provide free ambulance and rescue services to the tri-mountain towns of Andover, Bondville, Landgrove, Londonderry, Peru, South Londonderry, Stratton, Weston, Windham and Winhall. The funds […]

To the editor: Vote ‘Yes’ on Ludlow-Mt. Holly merger to keep option open
A favorite author, Glennon Doyle Melton, writes about crisis and how it can actually provide opportunity. She says: “The Greek root of CRISIS is TO SIFT. It’s what crises do – shake us until we hold only what matters most.” I believe Act 46 has created a crisis for the towns of Mount Holly and […]

To the editor: Lots happening with the CAES and GMUHS meal program
We are pleased to announce the introduction of Nutrislice – our all new Digital Menu program that allows everyone to access our menus and – for that matter – most breakfast and lunch menus in our district. The app can be downloaded to any device, phone, laptop, ipad and so on. The best part is […]

To the editor: Free and reduced meals program helps our students, our schools
Let me encourage everyone who has children in our schools to apply to participate in the free or reduced meals program anytime during the school year. In addition to ensuring that all our students get nutritious meals to keep them fueled up to learn, a lot of state and federal funding for our schools is […]

To the editor: An open letter to AOT Secretary Flynn from Londonderry Rescue
To Secretary Joe Flynn Vermont Agency of Transportation We are sending this letter of thanks and appreciation to VTrans for the temporary paving on Route 11 between Londonderry and Chester. The expansion of the project from 2 miles, as planned and advertised, to 8 or 9 miles has been a great help. The difference it […]

To the editor: Secretary of State supports net neutrality
Open and unfettered access to information is critical to a functioning democracy. The Federal Communications Commission’s decision to upend net neutrality is a major blow to our democratic ideals of open information access and free speech, allowing corporations to restrict what information Americans are able to access, and how they’re able to access it. This […]