I find it quite funny all the offended uproar, with its charges of snobbery, about what was obviously meant to be a tongue-in-cheek, lightly amusing piece about the pronunciation of French names in Vermont in the Jan. 8 Sunday Valley News. How unfortunate are those letter writers to have so little to worry about in their lives!
My name, Phaneuf, derives from an attempt by French Canadians in 1700 to pronounce “Farnworth,’’ the surname of my 12-year-old ancestor Matthias who was captured in Groton, Mass., during an Indian raid and sold to (or rescued by) the Black Robes (priests) in Quebec. Matthias married a local girl and had about 15 children whose many thousands of descendants populate both Quebec and New England today. There are several variations of the spelling of Phaneuf, including Faneff and Fenoff.
Stan PhaneufNewbury, Vt.
Protect Animal Corridor
I am a Lebanon resident and abutter who has been concerned about “scattered and premature” elements in Doug Homan’s proposed Houses on the Hill subdivision. I would like to commend the members of Lebanon’s Planning Board for commissioning the study on which staff writer Tim Camerato reported in welcome detail in “Report Pinpoints Wildlife Crossings” on Jan. 17.
I would also like to add information that I think materially expands the relevance and strength of this report. The wildlife crossing cited in the Valley News is across Slayton Hill Road between Homan’s large parcel of land and the Lebanon-owned natural area on Storrs Hill. What is not addressed in the study is the much less trafficked (by humans) Farnum Hill Road, which is part of the modern extension of the historic Old King’s Highway. A protected trail continues along the old roadbed on the southern edge of Homan’s property.
This entire stretch of road and trail is an extraordinary wildlife crossing made possible by the city’s ownership of Lebanon’s largest natural area on and around Farnum Hill. The wildlife we see at our home at the end of Farnum Hill Road currently has clear passage through the Farnum Hill Reserve (which extends nearly to Plainfield) across Farnum Hill Road and the protected trail, through Homan’s land and onto the city’s Storrs Hill land. Were Homan permitted to build as he is proposing, it would sever this vast wildlife corridor, a resource the city may proudly say it has enabled by its thoughtful foresight.
The city’s brochure for hikers on the Farnum Hill Reserve identifies the following wildlife: red-spotted newt, showshoe hare, deer, fisher, fox, bobcat, grouse, turkey, woodcock, barred owl and songbirds. While they are not mentioned, we, and others living in the neighborhood, have seen generations of bears moving back and forth across the faintly delineated human presence marked by Farnum Hill Road and the Old King’s Highway trail.
Shelia W. MoranLebanon
An Ominous Tweeted Reference
Donald Trump’s tweet asking “Are we living in Nazi Germany?” in response to intelligence agency reports regarding Russian hacking and suspected Trump campaign complicity is ominous.
Trump has frequently pre-emptively lashed out at political opponents with accusations that mirror his faults.
Given Trump’s attacks on our free press, his xenophobic nationalism, racist attacks on Muslims and Mexicans, disregard for the truth, favoring of national foes such as Vladimir Putin and Julian Assange over our own intelligence agencies, not-so-subtle threats toward government employees who do not agree with him and encouragement of thugs at his rallies to physically attack protestors — all tactics used by the Nazis in their rise to power in Germany — one might wonder if his reference to Nazi Germany is an indication of his intended future policies.
Phil RobertsonWoodstock
An Idea for Dresden
I would like to see the new Dresden superintendent, Jay Badams, focus some of his energy on reforming educational inequality in the Upper Valley once he gets settled into his new job.
As an outsider who grew up in the Upper Valley, I would like to see the creation of an Upper Valley Learning Community with some degree of open enrollment within the participating school districts.
Geographically speaking, it seems as though there would be some economy of scale and social integration opportunities if an UVLC began with some integration of Hanover and Lebanon. I wish Mr. Badams the best of luck in his new positions and offer this challenge: “Now that you have the latitude that comes with financial strength, don’t become complacent.”
Jeffrey Bird Omaha, Neb.
History Rewritten
Thank you for publishing Jean Liepold’s perverse views on civil liberties (“Why Bash Trump?”) in the Jan. 17 Valley News. I responded to Liepold before the election because I feared she had bad history teachers.
I now see Liepold is playing Orwell’s Squealer and rewriting history on the barn wall. Let’s set the facts straight again. Donald Trump was not elected by “the silent majority.” That was Nixon. A plurality of the popular vote went to Hillary Clinton this election. A majority of Electoral College members cast ballots for Trump.
Liepold asks how long one must be “tormented by the leftist, liberal Valley News continually bashing Trump.” I can’t say how long for sure. The Valley News has never come across as particularly leftist to me, but I hope it isn’t more than four years.
If Liepold finds it intolerable to live in a country where one can question an elected official’s personal history and policy stances, may I suggest Iran, North Korea or Russia as an alternative living situation? Oh, the torment of First Amendment protections!
Aaron Brown Strafford
Prevent Cruelty to Animals
Wouldn’t it be great if there were a way to predict which people might commit violent crimes? Well, there is! Animal abuse has been consistently linked to other violent criminal behavior.
Studies have shown that up to 67 percent of violent offenders have committed acts of animal cruelty. In fact, the FBI now tracks crimes against animals, alongside felony crimes such as arson and murder, because it is a strong early predictor of human-on-human violence.
At last, the New Hampshire Legislature has the opportunity to pass legislation that will widen the scope of early identification of violent criminals. Next week the New Hampshire House of Representatives will consider a bill to amend our animal cruelty statute to include cruelty against non-captive wild animals, such as free-roaming squirrels, raccoons and deer. So, for example, those who intentionally set a squirrel on fire, purposely run over a skunk or bludgeon a fox to death would be charged with a felony. The proposed amendment, however, would not apply to any activity authorized by law, such as lawful hunting and trapping.
New Hampshire is one of only a handful of states that do not protect free-roaming animals from human cruelty. Neighboring Maine and Vermont do provide this protection. Please urge your state representatives to support this common-sense change in the law, for wildlife’s safety, as well as for our safety.
Jack Hurley Claremont