It was exciting to read about the new iteration of CraftStudies in Alex Hanson’s Art Notes column, and the plans for its new, temporary home in White River Junction (“Crafting a future in a new location,” July 9). Hilde Ojibway was a marvelous choice to lead CraftStudies through this transition. And we will welcome her to AVA Gallery and Art Center as an interim executive director while searching for a new executive director. She is an amazing asset to any organization and has specialized in leading nonprofits in the region undergoing transition.
However, there is one small caveat about the wording in the column, which may have suggested to some readers that Ojibway is helping AVA “keep the lights on.” AVA has been operating throughout the pandemic in its Lebanon location with online programs and exhibitions as well as classes for all ages. A new exhibition of the work of Elizabeth D’Amico, Barbara Bartlett, Jon Gilbert Fox and Susan Osgood opened this past month, and starting July 30, we will be showing the work of Bunny Harvey, Laurie Sverdlove and AVA co-founder Elizabeth Mayor. In addition, summer art camps are in full swing, with just a few spaces left for registration (scholarships are available).
AVA has and will continue to serve artists and the art community of the Upper Valley and beyond throughout this transition. Indeed, later this summer, AVA will be kicking off a celebration and capital campaign to mark its 50th anniversary in 2023 with an exhibition of Corky Wennberg, Bill Peabody and Winkie Kelsey’s work.
We would like community members to know we are here and welcome their visit, either as a returning supporter or a new friend, and will continue to support the arts in vital and exciting ways through exhibitions, educational classes, artists’ studios and a wide variety of community outreach programs.
ALAN DiSTASIO
Hanover
The writer is board chair of the AVA Gallery and Art Center.
The budget that New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu recently signed sets up an educational voucher program that siphons state money away from local public schools to give to parents who send their children to private schools.
The Republican budget provision means that Lebanon parents who are now sending their children to such schools as Kimball Union Academy, or who home-school their children, will receive a check from the state in the amount of $3,000-$5,000 for each child.
The tuition at Kimball Union academy is $43,700. How many families who can’t afford now to send a child to Kimball Union will be able to do so under the Republican voucher program? And if more Lebanon families decide to pull their children out of public schools to send their children to private schools, how will the Lebanon School District make up for that loss of revenue? Hello, property taxes.
Thank you, Gov. Sununu.
BILL SECORD
West Lebanon
My name is Matt Coulon and I live in Pike. I’m a 36-year-old farmer who was drawn to Grafton County in 2019 by its fertile soils, natural beauty and friendly people.
A few months back, I was flabbergasted to see that some of the elected state representatives of Grafton County voted against a bill to ban vaccine passports in our great state whose motto is “Live Free or Die.”
I have felt violated as I’m sure many of you have in the year 2021, which saw great overreach and trespass on the unalienable rights of “We The People” by every branch of government. As our “sovereign” body politic teeters on the edge of a strange form of authoritarianism, I figured instead of writing emails to unresponsive representatives, I should just run myself! So, I, Matt Coulon, am writing to announce my candidacy for State Representative of Grafton County.
As a state representative, I pledge to vote to uphold the New Hampshire Constitution in Concord, encourage entrepreneurship in Grafton County, stand for freedom in all its forms and to be transparent with my voting record.
I encourage those who have questions, comments or interest in assisting me on my campaign journey to contact me at: MattForStateRep@protonmail.com. Together we can work to legalize freedom in Grafton County and beyond. Thank you.
MATT COULON
Pike
This week marks Korea Peace Advocacy week, a call for the United States to do its part to negotiate a peace treaty between North and South Korea. While history books often state that the Korean War ended in 1953, the fighting only ended with a cease-fire; as such, the two Koreas have technically remained at war for 71 years, leaving the risk of hostilities hanging over the peninsula and causing the U.S. to spend billions of dollars to keep 28,000 troops there. As a party to the 1953 armistice agreement, the United States must approve any peace treaty for it to be binding, but action on America’s part has been sadly lacking. In order to help achieve peace in Korea, and avoid a potential source of conflict with North Korea and China, the United States must commit to supporting the peaceful resolution of the Korean War.
As part of its 2021 advocacy campaign, the Korea Peace Now initiative is urging lawmakers to pass three key bills in the U.S. Congress: the Peace on the Korean Peninsula Act (H.R. 3446), the Enhancing North Korean Humanitarian Assistance Act (H.R. 1504/S. 690), and the Divided Families Reunification Act (H.R. 826). Collectively, these bills would obligate the U.S. government to pursue a peace agreement in Korea and help reunite Korean Americans with family members in North Korea who have been separated for decades. Currently, the congressional delegations of both New Hampshire and Vermont have yet to take action on these bills. If you value a lasting peace in Korea, please call your representatives and senators to demand that they support these bills and end the forever war in Korea.
My grandparents were born in Japanese-occupied Korea and lived through the devastation of the Korean War. Although they came to the United States five decades ago and are getting on in years, they still hope for a resolution to the war in their lifetimes. It is incumbent on us to take action to end the war and ensure that its horrors will not be repeated.
HAYDEN SMITH
Hanover