Last week I was visiting my parents in my hometown of Hartford and picked up their copy of the Valley News. I was saddened to read about the temporary closing and uncertain future of the Sherman Manning Pools (“Hartford Board Opts to Close Pool,” Jan. 10).
I spent many summer days at the Sherman Manning Pools in the 1990s with family and friends, taking swimming lessons and playing in the pool. The pool was the place to be back then if you were a kid. It was a place where families of all different income levels and walks of life could get together. My only formal swimming instruction took place at the Sherman Manning Pools, and since then I’ve been able to swim for exercise, participate in triathlons and feel safe around the water.
Swimming is not just a recreational activity or form of exercise; it is a lifelong skill that can enable children and adults to avoid life-threatening situations in the water. My community was saddened by the deaths in Burlington last year of two young new Americans who were unable to swim well and drowned while playing in the water with their friends. Low-cost swimming lessons and pool access is vital for healthy communities, and I hope that Hartford can come to an agreement to make necessary repairs to allow the pool to be open for generations to come.
Elisabeth Hodgdon
Burlington.
I am devastated. I just finished reading your story about the death of John Hennessey, who died Jan. 11 (“Former Tuck Dean Dies at Age 92,” Jan. 16).
John was a treasure to the Tuck School of Business, where he served as dean the year I started there, to Dartmouth College, the Upper Valley and to the world. He was a wonderful man, devoted to his family, dedicated to his students, dedicated to improving the world and an ardent supporter of the Socratic method. My heart is howling in pain at his passing.
Martha Luehrmann
Oakland, Calif.
The VtDigger story published in the Valley News on Nov. 25, 2017 (“Study: Dams Don’t Cause Erosion”), which reported that Great River Hydro, the owner of the dams on the Connecticut River, found that they do not cause erosion, failed to note that Great River Hydro used an unproven hypothesis to reach this conclusion.
The hypothesis is the “erosion ratio” that Great River Hydro used in its study of Feb. 4, 2017. That study, prepared by Field Geology Services, reads, “The erosion ratio was initially developed by Field Geology Services LLC, to identify potential causes of erosion in the Turners Falls impoundment. … The report was accepted by (the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) with no substantive stakeholder comments regarding the erosion ratio, so the approach should be considered valid. …”
On May 2, 2017, Princeton Hydro, a consulting firm hired by the Connecticut River Conservancy, reviewed the Great River Hydro study and wrote: “the revised study still utilizes and makes conclusions based on the ‘erosion ratio.’ This approach is not an accepted scientific practice. … No citation or reference is provided for this metric, and the metric is not used, to our knowledge, in the extant fluvial geomorphic scientific literature. The study does not demonstrate that the method conforms to generally accepted scientific practice, in fact the revised study states that ‘the erosion ratio approach for identifying potential causes for erosion has not been widely used.’ ”
Really! The Great River Hydro conclusion about there being no extensive erosion on the Connecticut River is based on an hypothesis that is “not an accepted scientific practice,” is not found in the scientific literature, “does not conform to generally accepted scientific practice,” and is not widely used.
Did Great River Hydro create a ratio to “prove” the conclusion that it wants?
In modern science, validation requires peer review, and an unproven hypothesis must not be accepted as a truth.
Let’s talk more about the erosion caused by the operations of the dams.
John Mudge
Lyme
It’s greatly disappointing that our Vermont legislators have chosen to follow Donald Trump’s example and bow to populism with their vote to legalize marijuana. No listening to the experts, authorities and others who have experience with the consequences of pot use. Don’t even wait to hear the recommendations from a committee of their peers. Just legalize another drug because it’s popular and garners votes.
I even heard one legislator state that marijuana has no effect on the general public. Guess that was his version of an alternative fact, because it certainly doesn’t fit what the rest of us know.
Apparently our legislators have forgotten that they are supposed to lead. Their duty is not to vote for what their constituents say they want, but for what is in their best interest, and the best interests of society.
My hope is that this vote, and the consequences of it, are kept well in mind during the next elections.
Stephen Raymond
Sharon
First comes the propaganda, like Hitler did, to convince the people with lies, like passing the huge tax bill that will make the rich richer and saying it will create jobs. This bill is to set up control of the people with money, and that is why it was rushed through Congress by our crooked politicians. It was never discussed with the taxpayers in this country. The only people who will benefit from this dishonest scheme are billionaires and millionaires, not we the taxpayers.
We will pay for it through cuts in programs, such as Social Security, Medicare and food stamps, which many people need to survive.
The wealthy in this country do not need these programs to survive. We just handed them these huge tax breaks.
The real job creator is infrastructure repair, not the tax break bill. It will put millions to work repairing bridges and roads. The politicians must to work together to pass it.
Also, the Roberts court has allowed big money into our voting system, and that has taken over our lives, our country, our politicians and our courts. Huge businesses are in control.
“Make America Great Again.” This is like what Hitler said, “Make Germany great again.” You cannot give money away and stay in business. Someone has to ante up. And that is you, the true taxpayer of America.
Robert Pollard
Enfield