What does it tell us that Dartmouth has existed since 1769 and over those 253 years has maintained a relatively compact physical footprint? Could it be that in the past they acted with respect for the land, the town’s people and posterity? Could it be that they formerly used a decision-making process that was measured and deliberate?
What does it tell us that Dartmouth now feels a new dorm must be built on Garipay Field this year, with great haste, because the mighty institution cannot be troubled to address all the messiness of whatever administrative hurdles are presented by redoing the Lodge dorm or building at Crosby Street? Both of these sites they admit are also planned as dorm space.
Is this a commentary on modern society’s decreasing attention span or perhaps its ever-growing need for immediate gratification? Are these the ills affecting Dartmouth, or is it perhaps an ever-growing arrogance that Dartmouth feels unnecessary sprawl at the community’s expense is simply insignificant compared to getting what it wants? I’m conflicted as to the answer. Maybe it’s all of the above.
I believe the community needs to fight for its green space, recreational fields and neighborhood quality by continuing to protest this shortsightedness vociferously until the college backs down and sees reason.
Kurt Gantrish
Hanover
There are nine deadly reasons to close the “Charleston Loophole.” Before I give you those nine reasons, Vermonters have a life-saving solution in S.30, a timely measure that would ban guns in hospitals and close the “Charleston Loophole” once and for all. S.30 passed in the House, 84 to 49, and was called by House Speaker Jill Krowinski a “much-needed step” in bolstering our background check system (“House passes bill to close ‘Charleston Loophole’ in gun buys,” Jan. 29). We need S.30 right now.
Ban guns in hospitals? Yes, just as we already do in courts and schools. Dr. Ryan Sexton, an emergency room physician and president-elect of the Vermont Medical Society, testified for S.30 in part because of personal threats he and others have received.
The “Charleston Loophole” permits an individual to take possession of a gun automatically after three days even if the background check is not complete. This process is called a “default proceed,” which allowed Dylann Roof to obtain the gun he used to deadly effect in the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. (Note: 97% of background checks take about five minutes. The remaining 3% require further examination for good reason: They’re four times as likely to result in a denial.) FBI documentation showed that Roof wouldn’t have been able to buy his gun had the background check lasted more than three days.
Now, here are those nine reasons: Currently, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is still seeking nine guns bought in Vermont through a “default proceed” whose purchasers failed a background check. Sadly, we know it only takes one bad actor with a gun to go on a deadly spree (e.g., Sandy Hook, Las Vegas, Parkland, etc.). S.30 will remedy this.
It’s time Vermont banned guns in our hospitals and closed the Charleston Loophole by making S.30 law. If you agree, let Vermont Senator Dick Sears know. He chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, where S.30 returns for review.
Bob Williamson
Gun Sense VT Board Member
South Woodstock
Shame on Associated Press reporter Tim Sullivan for presenting false equivalencies in his distorted story, “A small town divided,” and shame on you for printing it in the Sunday Focus on Jan. 30. He pretends there’s no basis for choosing one view over another, presenting fear-based rumors and racist propaganda as equally as valid as science and verifiable data.
“Now anger is on the rise” and the threat of violence, he notes, but he doesn’t point out that the anger and violent rhetoric are coming only from the conservatives and conspiracy dupes, not the “liberals.” As a former journalist, I’m appalled at the shoddy work in this story. Rather than saying, “Look — half of this small town disagrees with the other half,” you would better serve the public interest by exploring how half the town got sucked into bogus, fearmongering, white supremacist-based claims of Armageddon that are designed to tear our society apart. Come on, Valley News — you can do better than this.
Sherry Boschert
Lebanon