A recent announcement from the town of Hanover seeks to discourage residents from engaging in trick-or-treating, the central activity of Halloween, suggesting instead that we stay inside and celebrate alone or with our families. These guidelines are excessive, going far beyond the sensible measures we have successfully implemented across our community to control the spread of COVID-19, and are needlessly ruining one of our most valued and widely celebrated holidays.
Certainly, some traditional Halloween events, like bobbing for apples, should be off the table completely this year, and we should follow state and local guidelines regarding limits to the size of gatherings. But it is a false choice that we must either enforce a complete Halloween lockdown or allow an unfettered Bacchanalian event. The children in our community who are desperate to have a semblance of Halloween festivities are already going to school in-person and participating in sports and other after-school activities; we go to work, we shop, we dine in restaurants, we commingle on Main Street, and we have learned to do these things in a way that mitigates risk of spreading the virus. We can and should celebrate Halloween in a similarly safe way.
Trick-or-treating is already outdoors, it is easy to maintain social distancing, and it naturally includes mask-wearing. Residents who want to participate can turn lights on and either sit outside and toss candy to children from a safe distance, or set out individual bags of treats for kids to pick up. Trick-or-treaters should maintain social distancing, wear masks, avoid large groups and consider staying in their own neighborhoods this year. Let’s have Halloween, but let’s do it in a smart way. I’m proud to be a member of this community and I believe in our ability to celebrate safely together.
JESSE CASANA
Hanover
I am Virginia Irwin and I am running for Sullivan County commissioner. Recently, I have been the target of a smear campaign on WCNL radio in Newport. The ad campaign takes some of my record of public service out of context, twists the facts, makes innuendo and tells downright lies.
Let’s talk about my record. I am proud of the service I have given Newport and other towns over the 30-plus years I have been in public service. The most egregious part of the advertisement is a statement that implies I stole funds from the Newport Opera House Association and that is why I resigned one month before my term was up. This could not be further from the truth. One of the things I am proudest of is my infusion of new life into the Opera House board and being the driving force behind a strategic plan for its future. My “early departure” was mutually agreed upon by the board to facilitate a smooth transition to a new board president.
I won’t address the rest of the specious comments as space will not allow. Voters of Sullivan County, many of you know me. You know my record of public service. I didn’t accomplish everything I had hoped. But I offer no apology as I have worked hard on your behalf. My opponent is a man of integrity and a gentleman. I trust he is as chagrined as I am at these lies and innuendos.
I am running because I know I can make a difference for Sullivan County and put us on the map. Please consider a vote for me on Tuesday.
VIRGINIA O’BRIEN “BIDDY” IRWIN
Newport
The writer is a candidate for Sullivan County commissioner.
From protecting reproductive rights to confronting the climate crisis to saving protections for Granite Staters with preexisting conditions, it can’t be overstated how much is at stake in this election. New Hampshire needs a proven leader who will do whatever it takes to make sure we recover from this pandemic and move forward stronger than ever before. That’s why we need to reelect Jeanne Shaheen to the U.S. Senate.
When COVID-19 hit, she was one of four senators on a bipartisan team that created the Paycheck Protection Program, securing $1.25 billion in state aid for New Hampshire and saving thousands of small businesses and hundreds of thousands of jobs across the state. From her time as governor, and now in the Senate, she has been a champion for women, fighting for equal pay and to protect reproductive rights. She has fought to lower health care costs, secured funding for opioid response efforts, and consistently helped create jobs and boost our economy.
Her opponent, Corky Messner, just moved to the state from Colorado, and it is clear he is wrong for New Hampshire. He opposes COVID-19 state aid, denies climate change, opposes abortion at any time and, in the first Senate debate, even said preexisting conditions don’t exist.
Granite Staters can rely on Sen. Shaheen to always put New Hampshire first and work with whoever it takes to get the job done. While as a high school senior I may be too young to vote, I strongly encourage Granite State citizens to vote for Sen. Jeanne Shaheen on Tuesday.
PRESCOTT HERZOG
Claremont
I am a senior at Dartmouth College, working this fall to increase youth voter turnout in the 2020 election. I want to highlight two of the main issues that make this election pivotal not only for the future of the United States, but the world: turning the tide of climate change and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Climate change is an issue that humanity must address together, regardless of nationality. President Donald Trump’s reversal of nearly 100 environmental regulations spells catastrophe for the chance of reversing global climate change. Climate activists across the world have made clear that the U.S. is integral to combating climate change. It is imperative that voters in New Hampshire, and across the country, vote for a president who will lead the global response on climate change. Joe Biden will be that president.
In early March, Americans went about their lives believing COVID-19 was not a serious threat because their president told them so. Sadly, the death toll increases as I write. A Biden presidency would lift the voices of scientists to shape an honest, coherent pandemic policy that Americans deserve.
It’s a sad irony that the only reason American schoolchildren have less fear of being gunned down in the classroom is because our response to the pandemic has been so pathetic that most schools remain online. Not only would Biden enact common-sense gun safety laws, which the vast majority of Americans support, but he would not lie to the American public about COVID-19.
DAVID VELONA
Hanover
I want to go on record as endorsing Jacob Holmes for Vermont state representative for the Windsor 1 district towns of Hartland, Windsor and West Windsor.
Holmes is a born and raised Vermonter. We first met while he was in the local Boy Scout troop. Over the years, we would stop and catch up whenever we would see each other.
He has been busy, getting a degree in psychology from Castleton State and serving in the Vermont Army National Guard for six years. He then went on to earn a master’s degree in criminal justice from Southern New Hampshire University, is now an officer with the Woodstock Police Department, and is married with two children.
If he is elected, he told me he plans to seek good advice, learn his job quickly and to do his very best. Then he plans not to run again, to give someone else a chance to bring new ideas into the mix. I agree with that. I think that was what the founding fathers had in mind: have average citizens get involved, do their very best work for the people, and then return to their private lives.
He was also very concerned about the high cost of living here, mostly due to high taxes. Some of his ideas are to find ways to lower taxes and make our state friendlier to businesses. We can try offering tax incentives to new businesses willing to move to our state, or to a current Vermont business that is already established here and wants to buy new equipment to be more productive or to hire more employees. Offering tax incentives make the idea a reality. I agree with him on these issues.
Jacob Holmes has my vote. Please consider casting yours for him.
ROBERT NORTH
Hartland
Prior to the primaries earlier this fall, I wrote to the Forum endorsing Mike Cryans for re-election to the New Hampshire Executive Council. In that letter I pointed out Cryans’ many strengths and qualities, tying them to what it takes to be the elite runner he is, logging 10 miles a day, every day, for the last 10 years: commitment, discipline, strength of conviction, fearlessness, etc.
That letter left out one very important quality, especially scarce among most politicians, and that quality is modesty. Added to his other strengths, this rare quality makes Mike Cryans the ideal candidate for reelection to the New Hampshire Executive Council.
GEORGE T. HATHORN
Hanover
I am supporting longtime Charlestown resident John Streeter for state representative for the Sullivan 8 district.
As a member of the School Board, elected in 2012, he developed a strong relationship with the administration and worked to cut the budget with fiscal responsibility and to maintain quality education standards. In 2019, motivated by the proposal for Charlestown to withdraw from the Fall Mountain Regional School District, he strongly supported a united school district and ran and was elected in 2020 to a one-year term on Charlestown’s newly established five-person Selectboard. He holds a strong belief in accountability and transparency and strives to make a difference in the community he loves.
He also has a strong working relationship with many New Hampshire House members and can make sure that our issues are heard as we look to the state to address education, prioritizing safety for students and teachers, school funding and crushing property taxes. He supports the need to continue the Affordable Care Act and provide access to quality, affordable health care, especially as COVID-19 impacts our communities and health care system. He believes that our economy is strengthened by investing in our workforce, supporting small businesses and standing up for a safe and productive work environment. He has stated that as long as we treat each other with respect and compassion, that there is no obstacle that we cannot surmount.
As we cast our vote either by absentee ballot or on Tuesday, this is also a time to be thankful and grateful for all the rights and privileges we have as Americans. We can all cast our vote for what we believe in, for our community, state and country. Our vote does make a difference. That is why I am voting for John Streeter and encourage others to consider him for state representative for the Sullivan 8 district.
KATHLEEN EAMES
Charlestown