Safety at the Enfield Gun Range
I would like to respond to the article on the Enfield Outing Club shooting range published April 17. As a 50-plus year user of the range and current EOC secretary, I would like to point out the following.
In regards to range usage, for many years there were no posted hours and there was no gate; people could arrive pretty much any time they wanted, so anybody stating that the range hours have increased is incorrect.
In regards to the safety of the range, a great deal has been done in the last 20 to 30 years to make it a much safer place than when my father brought me there for .22 practice in the late 1950s. The first big step was the gate, which only current members have a key or combination for. For the most part, this keeps out non-members who have no reason to be there. People can still park outside and walk in, but if one of us finds them there, they will be asked to leave. Another big change was having range officers; these gentlemen orientate new members to the proper use of the range and have helped make up the range rules. The rules are posted on a sign in large letters for everybody to read.
A login sheet is used so we know when somebody has used the range; this helps us chart usage. Guests are allowed, but must be with a member and sign the login sheet and sign a liability release.
In regards to use of the range by firearm instructors, this is a great thing as far as I’m concerned; a youth group uses the range to instruct young people how to safely handle firearms and to learn target shooting. In regards to a self-defense firearms course taught by Massad Ayoob, this is more of the same; people are taught how to safely handle their firearm in a defensive situation. This course is held four days a year, a tiny portion of the time the range is available. Most of us in the club are pleased that Mr. Ayoob runs his course here; he is a nationally known firearms expert and we are lucky to have his expertise. He is a member of the EOC and I believe he has a summer residence in New Hampshire, so he is hardly an outsider. Defensive firearms courses are becoming more and more common; having a course like that is a way that the EOC changes with the times to respond to the public’s needs.
In regards to lead found in wells around the range, I’m not surprised about this at all, because for many years the town of Enfield had a burning dump where the transfer station is now and I well remember it continually burning for years and years.
One of the points in the article that had me scratching my head was a comment about the pictures of attractive young women being put up as targets. I frequent the range fairly often and had never seen this. One of my fellow members told me what happened — people put up cardboard cut from old boxes to attach to the wooden uprights to staple their targets to; one of these pieces of cardboard had a girl’s picture on it. I personally don’t care for targets of that nature but some people do enjoy the targets with zombies on them.
The EOC range is a safe place to shoot and will remain so; the officers and members frequently discuss ways to improve the safety of the range and I’m sure there will be improvements in the future.
Michael J. Ibey
Secretary EOC
Enfield
The Media Slight Sanders
I’ve finally had it with your approach to covering Bernie Sanders and his campaign! I’ve been noticing the slightly to mostly negative items you choose to reprint from the Washington Post, Bloomberg, etc. These mainstream media sources support the center-right status quo agenda. But have you noticed that your audience is mostly to the left of what you print, particularly on Bernie Sanders? He beat Clinton by 22 points in New Hampshire and got 86 percent of the vote in Vermont. In the Upper Valley primary voting, Bernie was the hands-down favorite (except in Hanover).
Here’s what finally got me: the Valley News front page, April 29, a picture of Bernie with the headline “Spending Juggernaut.” It referred to a long article on the back of the front section entitled “Sanders Campaign Enriches Select Group of Vendors.” The story tries to smear Bernie for spending $91 million of the amazing amount he’s raised from small donations on media fees and ads. We read phrases like “money blitz,” “biggest spender,” “how lucrative it can be to harness a large base of small donors online.” The indication is that something corrupt is going on.
Not so long ago, someone checked and found that a popular news show had given 81 minutes of air time to Trump and 21 seconds to Bernie. He has had to scramble hard to get any of the mainstream media to cover him and his cause. How else can he reach the people ready to hear his message than by buying ad time?
As if this negative article wasn’t enough, the opinion page in that issue ran an column titled “Sanders Faces Challenge to Stay Relevant.” This column proceeds to say that Sanders is likely to fade into obscurity, his movement to fail as Obama’s did.
Bernie Sanders is the only person on our political stage wise enough to say that it’s not about electing one person president. It’s about all of us getting in there and making the changes that we want to happen.
This trumped-up negativity about Bernie Sanders downgrades your paper. I would suggest that you start buying a few articles from alternative media (start with Common Dreams) instead of supporting the bought-out mainstream media.
Patricia Greene
Canaan
Limit Police Powers
This is in response to the front-page article of April 29, “N.H. Senate Scales Back Bill to Reform Police Asset Forfeitures.” Here again, we see the various police and lobbying interests destroy good legislation and civic efforts in their attempt to maintain police ascendancy.
It is as if anything that would limit or curtail police activity is unacceptable. I have witnessed this type of thinking finding its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“We are in the middle of a ‘crisis’, and this is a tool law enforcement needs,” state Sen. Jeannie Forrester said. Lebanon Police Chief Richard Mello warned that diverting the money (from present uses) would “handcuff” his department.
That’s nonsense. This is supposed to be America, where police activities are held in check by civil rights, and various laws limiting their prerogatives and dominion.
What makes these types of forfeiture cases egregious, is that, whether the standard of proof is “clear and convincing,” or “preponderance of the evidence,” the police in these instances are generally likely to be judge and jury. Additionally, and idiotically, as the law presently stands, a citizen does not even have to be found guilty for the police to permanently confiscate money and property. The present bill seeks to rectify that issue, among others.
We must realize that this is America, and the authorities cannot always get their way like a small child. If we keep thinking in this manner we may end up in a police state, as fast as Sen. Forrester’s heart is beating.
John G. Lewis
New London
A Chance to Support Listen
It is high time we honor and support an important agency of the Upper Valley. Why thank Listen? We have all been witness to this important service reaching people from all walks of life — whether it be fuel assistance, summer camp scholarships, community meals, affordable clothing, housewares and many services provided. And now we have a unique and fantastic way to support Listen. It is our very first fabulous Community Flea Market.
You can help by hosting or sharing a booth or holding your own yard sale in Colburn Park in Lebanon on May 28 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. We ask for a tax-deductible donation of $30 for registration. Or if not ready to downsize, right-size or unload your worldly goods, just come to this fun event and bring your family.
The Montshire Museum will have a booth for kids to explore science and we are hoping for arts, crafts and more. And who knows what treasures you might find. Let’s make it amazing! If you want to have a booth or share one, please email or call Lisa Saturley at Listen. Register now at Lisa@listencs.org or call her at 603-448-4553. Thank you, Listen, for all you have done for us.
Joan Holcombe
Lebanon
Foster Care in Vermont
May is Foster Care Month in Vermont, a time to celebrate the hundreds of foster and kinship foster families in Vermont who provide safe, nurturing homes for children while they can’t be at home. It is with deep appreciation that the Family Services Division of the Department for Children and Families thanks them for their generosity, caring and willingness to “answer the call,” no matter when it comes. Thank you for all you do to keep children safe, support parents and help families stay connected. By opening your hearts and homes to children in need, you help us keep local kids local. Without you, children would have to live outside of their communities and away from their schools and all that’s familiar.
We’d also like to take this opportunity to raise awareness of the need for more foster families. The Hartford office has an urgent need for families willing and able to care for infants and toddlers, children with special needs, sibling groups and teens. They must also be willing to fully support ongoing visits with the birth parents. We also need folks who can provide respite care, which is much like foster care but for shorter periods. Respite provides foster parents with breaks so they can get things done, relax and re-energize. For more information, please contact Deanna Rounds at 802-295-8840 or visit us on the web at fostercare.vt.gov.
Deanna Rounds
White River Junction
Too Much Spending in Lebanon
Once again I put my hand in my pocket only to find SAU 88 was there first. Apparently, since they have run out of things they can think of to hit the taxpayers up for, they now use our money to hire consultants to find things for them. This is just outrageous! I am sick to death of their never-ending wishlists. And where, may I ask, is the “savings” we were supposed to see by building the middle school and closing down three underutilized elementary schools? Get a grip on your greed, Lebanon School Board, we cannot afford this.
Connie Kroner
Lebanon