It was great to see the focus on electric vehicles in the Sunday Valley News (“Upper Valley going electric,” March 7), and especially the work that local energy committees are doing to encourage EV purchase. Sustainable Hanover also has a network of EV owners willing to answer questions about their cars, plus some basic information on the difference between plug-in hybrids vs. all-electric cars, and how charging works. That information is available by emailing bsteele@colby-sawyer.edu. The network has 69 EV owners in the Upper Valley, including 25 in Hanover. Hanover had 39 all-electric EVs registered in 2019, plus probably as many plug-in hybrids. So, we have started toward the goal of 100% renewable transportation by 2050 that was adopted by the town in 2017.
Despite four years of support for the oil industry by the federal government, state and local governments have continued to move toward sustainable transportation. And the Biden administration plans further federal incentives, including a possible extension of the tax credits on EVs for which they have expired, and funding for a network of DC fast chargers. Some predictions are for a 20% annual increase in EV sales.
EVs are not all high-priced; Drive Electric Vermont lists four models with a base price under $30,000, before the $7,500 federal tax credit. Available models include SUVs, minivans, all-wheel-drive and, very shortly, pickup trucks.
With that growth, there will be a need for many more chargers. Any new construction or renovation should consider installing chargers, or at least the infrastructure needed for later installation.
BEN STEELE
Etna
The writer is a member of the Sustainable Hanover Transportation Task Force.
Forum contributor William Wittik never fails to surprise me. His letter of March 16, however, (“Trump supporters need no absolution”) is unusual because he not only rebukes Los Angeles Times columnist Virginia Heffernan for her op-ed piece (“What am I to do about the Donald Trump fans next door?” Feb. 23) and urges her “to be less transactional about accepting kindness from Trump supporters,” but more pointedly because he offers his opinion that they “voted the way they did, not to support a man but to support noble ideas and values which he just happened to champion.”
I confess that I am dumbfounded. Which “noble ideas”? What “values”?
Can it be Trump’s advice on how and where to grab women that was recorded in the famous Hollywood Access tapes? Can it be the hush money paid to Stormy Daniels? Maybe it’s the ineffectual wall along the U.S. southern border that Mexico was supposed to pay for or, more pertinently, the forcible separation of migrant children from their parents? I draw a blank. Perhaps the reference is simply to Trump’s epistolary love fest with the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Un. To be sure, that love was never requited, but I concede that the attempt was perhaps “noble.” Or was it heartening to hear Trump’s exhortation to the Proud Boys, in the first presidential debate, to “stand back and stand by,” for if he hadn’t spoken to them so sternly, who knows what murderous violence might have occurred on Jan. 6 in the storming of the U.S. Capitol?
I still need help. Perhaps the next letter will come to the rescue. In the meantime, I will have to live in great perplexity.
EDWARD M. BRADLEY
White River Junction
I have read about the proposed development of the land behind the former Kmart store in West Lebanon, at the site where the Mascoma River drains into the Connecticut, for athletic fields. I have visited this location and found it to be stunningly beautiful.
Lebanon Conservation Commission member Sarah Riley has said that the area will attract “those out to enjoy a quiet walk.” Unfortunately, the cacophony of racket from cars and trucks crossing the bridge nearly directly above renders a walk there quite unpleasant. I can only imagine it pleasurable for those with noise canceling headphones. I cannot conceive of student-athletes being able to hear their coach’s instructions or their parents’ cheers from the sidelines.
RICHARD SACHS
Grantham
West Central Behavioral Health is a precious community resource for individuals, families and children who are experiencing depression and other mental health issues. The nonprofit community mental health care provider serves 2,000 clients each year totaling 55,000 client visits in Grafton and Sullivan counties. A huge percentage (85%) of its clients are either on Medicaid or are Medicaid-eligible (Medicaid covers only about 70% of the actual cost). They are the most vulnerable among us. West Central extends nearly $600,000 in charitable care each year. There is a huge gap between what New Hampshire Medicaid pays and what West Central must raise from private sources.
A November article in Lancet Global Health stated that for every dollar invested in treatment for depression and anxiety there is a $4 return in better health and productivity.
With COVID-19, the need for services provided by West Central Behavioral Health is greater than ever. The staff members are dedicated to working with their clients. They are often paid less than they can get in the private sector. As a former HR director at West Central, I know that many new-hires actually took a cut in their former pay to do this important work!
If you receive a stimulus check and are fortunate enough to be able to give some or all of it to a worthy cause, I suggest that you consider donating to West Central Behavioral Health. You can do so by visiting the website wcbh.org/donate/. I am delighted that I will am able to do so.
KIT HOOD
Sharon