Virtually every business owner or manager that the Green Mountain Economic Development Corp. works with in Windsor and Orange counties cites the lack of decent housing and child care as the most important factors hampering recovery from COVID-19. We believe this it true throughout New England and beyond. Both were well-known issues beforehand, and are obvious to everyone now. They cut across all professions, income levels, political persuasions and locations and they influence decisions about returning to work, finding a new job, or even moving to Vermont.
As we learned in the 1970s, when public kindergarten became a viable option for everyone in Vermont, the positive results for children enrolled in well-run programs are substantial and irrefutable. It is sad, therefore, that old Nixon-era arguments are now being voiced by some against increasing public funding for high-quality child care and pre-K for families who require that option.
For Vermonters who feel their children would be better served at home and can afford that solution, they would remain free to do so. It is unfortunate that the U.S. lags most other industrialized countries — 36th out of 37 in one study — in providing a viable solution. As Gov. Phil Scott says, the most important stages of human development begin at birth, determining a good future and success in life.
The quality of any program is influenced by funding, and it requires careful consideration and deliberation. This is true of all decisions about public benefits, and the societal and economic costs of not dealing with the lack of high-quality child care are not something we can ignore any longer. The alternative is ugly, and I am reminded of the old saying, “You get what you pay for.”
I encourage you to speak to your employer or employees, elected officials, child care center operators and educators to learn about the status of child care in your region, plans to respond to the shortage, funding methods and how you can help. Please keep the lack of housing in mind, as well. Thank you.
ROBERT HAYNES
Norwich
The writer served as executive director of Green Mountain Economic Development Corp. from 2015 until 2021 and now leads development efforts for a regional child care center in Randolph for GMEDC, with the Orange County Parent Child Center as the operator.
I reluctantly decided to write to the Forum upon reading the Valley News report on the recent tragic shooting in Hartford (“Names, details released in fatal Hartford police shooting,” Aug. 7). The crux of my reluctance is that I don’t want to appear to applaud police violence or brutality.
The current atmosphere in our country is anti-police: “Defund the police.” And yes, there have been bad cops. Everyone on the planet with a cellphone has a camera and this, combined with the demand for police body cams, will surely eradicate these bad apples in time.
Now, the group calling itself Hartford Residents for a Resilient Community has indicted the Hartford Police Department, even without a final and complete investigation by the Vermont Attorney General’s Office regarding this incident.
I am amazed at the temerity of this organization to demand release of investigative materials and of its disparaging condemnation of police officers responding to dangerous situations, some of which prove deadly to the officer. The Vermont State Police report, as provided to the Valley News, indicates that the victim attacked this officer so badly that he had to be treated at the hospital. Instead of crowds gathered outside the hospital praising this officer upon his release, the “Residents for a Resilient Community” group infers that if you call 911, be prepared for death resulting. C’mon, folks!
I am fond of the hypothetical in making my point. Please indulge me. Perhaps the “Resilient Community” folks could adopt a new policy whereby members could be included on a “NO 911” list. Then they won’t have to sweat it. The police won’t hurt them responding a possible robbery, or an even worse scenario. Perhaps the attacker will have a sudden epiphany. Roll the dice with that one
The alternative to this unfortunate situation is this: The officer is killed and the thug gets away. That ain’t the way I read it.
DONALD B. PERRON
Lebanon