Unfortunately, the city of Lebanon’s proposed budget does not include any funding for the Lebanon community pool for this summer (“Proposed budget includes layoffs, curtails projects,” Nov. 10).
I have been a Lebanon resident for more than 30 years, and truly believe that the pool is one of the things that makes this city special. It is enjoyed by residents of all ages as a place to cool off, stay active, exercise and to socialize. Most important, it provides a safe and affordable place for our youth to learn how to swim. Not only is swimming a fun way to beat the heat — it is also a lifesaving skill. I have seen my three children and many others become strong swimmers and make new friends while having fun at the pool throughout the years. The pool also provides good summer jobs and experience for many responsible and hardworking high school and college students.
Closing the pool for a second straight year would be a tremendous loss for the Lebanon community. If you would like to see the pool opened this summer, please contact the city councilors, the city manager and the Lebanon Recreation Department before the budget is finalized.
KIM PAIGE
Lebanon
The idea that Lebanon should devote more resources to combating mental illness and homelessness is not radical. I think a majority of residents would agree that the need exists. You don’t have to look for suspicious individuals “infiltrating” the city to explain why this subject has been raised. Longtime residents support the idea and know that expecting the state of New Hampshire to fill this need is not realistic.
Money is limited, and when a need is recognized it is common practice to look for something that can be cut. The police department is not sacred. Its budget should be scrutinized like all the others. The comment by Chief Richard Mello that any reduction in his budget will have a “catastrophic result on public safety” is really too much (“Police defunding gets tepid reception,” Nov. 20). Everyone likes to think their work is important, but it’s rare to see the idea expressed with that degree of hyperbole. Maybe the chief can provide more details about the threat that his officers are barely keeping under control. Is it terrorists? Maddened pot smokers? Zombies? Or maybe we can come down to earth and agree that losing a couple of positions while having some responsibilities moved to another agency is not the first step toward chaos.
CLIFFORD CARY
Lebanon
Jim Kenyon’s column on Sunday (“No tenure for them”) rightly takes Dartmouth College to task for laying off “rank-and-file workers” while the higher-ups stick around. However, Kenyon could have looked at his own newsroom if he wanted to examine layoffs.
That’s where I and several of my former colleagues worked for many years before we were laid off by the Valley News in March. As Dartmouth golf coach Rick Parker says in Kenyon’s column, “All of a sudden you get a Zoom call saying you no longer have a job. The lack of compassion and emotion is mind-boggling.”
Kenyon mentions a 56-year-old Dartmouth worker whose severance pay will “tide her over” and who didn’t lose her medical insurance. I’m 50 and worked full time at the paper for 10 years. I received no severance and my medical insurance was cut after several months. I believe others who worked at the Valley News even longer had similar experiences.
Dartmouth’s finances are on a different scale than those of the Valley News. But before the paper takes the college to task for its layoffs, perhaps it should glance in the proverbial mirror.
My co-workers and I were loyal to the Valley News. If only the paper had been the same to us.
TRIS WYKES
Lebanon
The unnecessary killing of millions of turkeys — curious, intelligent and trusting, like those in the Valley News photograph being called to slaughter — is horrendous, and unhealthy (“Soon-to-be cold turkey,” Nov. 19).
And we’re celebrating this?
Turkey production is cruel to the birds and the workers and harmful to humans. Between 2018-2019, more than 300,000 pounds of turkey meat was recalled because of salmonella concerns. Many diseases today, including COVID-19, probably have their origins in eating meat. (Wuhan market, anyone?)
Even on a small, local scale, is there a humane (translate: kind) way to slaughter an animal? Hanging upside down, its head in a “killing cone” to have its throat slit? Watch a few videos about slaughterhouses.
What about the concept of giving thanks every day, not just one, for all that you have, and being grateful on a daily basis, without sacrificing a living, sentient being in the process?
DARLENE BLAIR
Claremont
This Thanksgiving, in addition to the health and safety of my many family, friends and colleagues, I am profoundly grateful for the many people, old and young, Republicans, Democrats and independents, local and national, who safeguarded our democracy in their roles as election workers. These true patriots devoted time and energy to serve our Constitution to ensure that the voices of all voters were heard.
Facing longer-than-usual hours and, sometimes, threats to their health and safety, these everyday heroes showed a true devotion to our nation unmatched by many of our political leaders. I am thankful for our ordinary citizens who stepped up to keep our democracy for the next several years despite unprecedented threats from within. Thank you, election workers, from the bottom of my heart.
SUE HAGERMAN
Enfield Center
It is comforting to know that election officials in every state have confirmed that the 2020 election was the most secure in our history. But how can others say it was a fair election?
Republicans and their allies have devoted some $20 million to wage more than 300 court fights across the country to strike down election rules that encourage higher voter turnout. This includes the Republican effort to throw out more than 120,000 votes in largely Democratic Harris County, Texas, because it was a drive-through voting location. The judge said ridiculous; the votes will count. President Donald Trump is still hammering the false claim that widespread mail-in voting allowed cheating by the Democrats — without supplying any proof. Some counties in the West are larger than many states, and they were just allowed one drop-off box.
Milwaukee Republican officials opened just five polling places for the entire city during the April primaries, reducing turnout by up to 8%, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. In some Democratic regions, people had to wait up to six hours to vote. The very conservative Supreme Court sided with the Republican Party in saying that Wisconsin could not count ballots received after Election Day, even if they were postmarked before.
Since the election, many lawsuits were filed to try to reverse the results. Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, wants $20,000 a day to work at reversing the election. What do you think all the countless high-powered lawyers are being paid? Trump met with Michigan GOP leaders trying to reverse the election results. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., requested that 30,000 legal ballots be thrown away in Georgia. In stonewalling President-elect Joe Biden’s transition, Republicans are endangering our national security.
These are just a few of the ways Republicans have tried to cheat while accusing Democrats of cheating. Republicans know exactly what is going on. How would they feel if it were the Democrats doing this?
JIM DAIGLE
Plainfield