On April 30, we received “An Open Letter to the Citizens of Newport” from the Sullivan County commissioners. The focus of the letter was to let us know that we would no longer be allowed to use the elevator at the Sullivan County Complex, located in Newport, “outside of normal business hours.” I quote: “We do not wish to harm the residents of Newport, but it is unfair to the other taxpayers of Sullivan County to bear facility costs that only benefit Newport’s residents.”
Really? I know several people who are not Newport residents who have attended events at the Newport Opera House and are Sullivan County taxpayers. I also know many people who have attended events who live in other states, as well as other New Hampshire counties. I do not know how many “benefited from those facility costs” by using the elevator. Perhaps we could put up toll booth.
I have never known the county commissioners to tell a falsehood, but here it is: “facility costs that only benefit Newport’s residents.” Shame on them.
This feud between the county manager and town manger and subsequent governing boards has been going on for years. It’s all about money and ownership. The elevator is there for those who choose or need to ride, who don’t know about the back ramp, and who need to access the Opera House “outside of normal business hours.” As a former member of the Newport Selectboard, I know the split has been lopsided for years, but prior administrations seemed to get along and didn’t use the elevator as a pawn.
Additionally, as moderator for the town, I am concerned about elections. There is a ramp. It is not always easy to access because parking is limited. It will be interesting when election days arrive and the elevator is locked at 5 p.m. on the dot. How many people will just not bother to go around back to find the ramp and subsequently not vote? How childish, how petty and how disappointing that the commissioners have taken this position.
VIRGINIA O’BRIEN IRWIN
Newport
On a recent get outta’ the house excursion, I ventured up Hardy Hill and down Sunset Rock as a diversionary tactic for boredom.
I’ve traveled this road since I was a kid, but I had never noticed before the wounds that the trees have suffered as a result of snowplows, drunken drivers, people just going too fast. It occurred to me to wonder how many people have been saved by those huge sentinels over the years. I was inclined to photograph them all but, of course, that would be folly. And who really cares? (Except the lucky ones who were spared from going into the abyss by those sentinels). Check ’em out.
DONALD B. PERRON
Lebanon
I have been trying to figure out why New Hampshire state Rep. Richard Komi, D-Manchester, was pressed to resign from the Legislature. Did he show malice against women by claiming that the woman who has accused former Vice President Joe Biden of sexual assault should not be believed because the construction of the female body could not be violated as she described? No, he showed ignorance.
Is a public display of ignorance by a politician grounds for demanding a resignation? One need only look at the number of President Donald Trump’s defenders to answer that one. Is male ignorance of female genitalia and how it works disqualification for anything? Legions of wives and girlfriends will attest that society would be depleted were that the case.
Let us not forget the late Sen. Roman Hruska, R-Neb., paladin for “mediocre judges and people and lawyers,” who maintained that they, too, deserve representation in the halls of government. Surely, we don’t want to be ruled by a bunch of elitists who know what they are talking about.
FRANK GADO
Quechee
I am outraged that the president of the United States would stoop to using the COVID-19 pandemic in a TV ad for his reelection. A disease that has killed more Americans than the Vietnam War, and is still running rampant in the U.S. and around the world, should never be referenced in a “Rah-rah, I’m great, reelect me” campaign ad.
SUSAN FRANKS
Canaan
My last water bill from the city of Lebanon was higher on an annual basis than my electric bill. I use approximately 1,200 cubic feet of water a quarter. I am curious if this is true for other residents.
TIM BOWEN
Lebanon