On March 1, we each received two “shots in the arm.” The first, a physical shot in the arm, strengthened our resistance to COVID-19. The second, a psychological shot in the arm, strengthened our sense of community.
Both took place at Mascoma Community Health Center’s COVID-19 vaccination clinic. The procedure was well-coordinated and efficient. At one of the stops on the way to the injection site, we chatted with Alan Ricard of the emergency medical team.
Later, while waiting to make sure there were no serious side effects, we enjoyed talking with Emergency Management Director Bill Bellion. After waving to good friends in the car behind us, we were sent on our way.
In this pandemic-isolated time, the clinic provided not only injections but opportunities for safe socializing. It gave us another reason to be proud of our community.
Thank you to Mascoma Community Health Center staff and board, Canaan EMS, Canaan firefighters and Town Administrator Mike Samson for your community service.
JOANNA and JOHN CARR
Canaan
As evidenced by recent letters and advertisements, there is some spirited disagreement about the future of Faulkner Park in Woodstock. The good news is that we all agree it should and will remain a free public park in perpetuity.
To understand the debate about the potential transfer of the park from the Marianne Faulkner Trust to the town, it is important to identify the central question: How much direct control do the citizens of Woodstock want to have over the park and its future?
If the town accepts, management of the park along with an endowment will be placed in the hands of the citizens of Woodstock.
If the offer is refused, the trustee, JPMorgan Chase, a private bank based in another state, will continue to do its best to manage the park.
The primary reason the park has been offered to the town with a generous endowment of $850,000 is to better fulfill Marianne Faulkner’s wish to support this wonderful public resource locally.
Faulkner Park has not, and will not, be the “burden” described by others. The park is a Woodstock gem that has enabled countless citizens and visitors to connect with nature and improve our physical and mental health. At virtually no cost to the town, the park has improved the health, culture and economy of Woodstock while also conserving unique and invaluable natural resources on Mount Tom.
Accepting the gift should not scare anyone. The Selectboard has studied and gathered input from multiple perspectives for more than a year. It recently received a strong 8-3 committee recommendation to accept the transfer offer.
The park and Faulkner Trail will sustainably improve with more local engagement. In fact, it was the recent, much needed, overdue and impressive trail renovation efforts that inspired this transfer proposal. That project highlighted the value of increased public engagement and the myriad benefits of local control.
We sincerely hope that everyone in Woodstock will embrace this opportunity to more fully and democratically own and support Faulkner Park.
SUSAN BOSTON,
ALISON CLARKSON,
BILL CORSON
and RANDY RICHARDSON
Woodstock
The writers are, respectively, a member of the Woodstock Planning Commission; Vermont state senator representing the Windsor District; a Woodstock Village trustee; and development director for the Upper Valley Trails Alliance.
Hanover’s zoning has been seriously screwing up my life for seven years now. I don’t know if it is indifference or incompetence, but I do know it is remarkably inconsiderate, second-rate local government.
All I want to do is fix my house up by building a second floor on the part that doesn’t have a second floor. Somehow, building that second floor is against the rules. Can things get more asinine? The bureaucracy caused the problem when it zoned the land under my duplex in the single family zone years ago. The bureaucracy does nothing to fix the problem.
I would prefer to rebuild my house before I die, and time is limited at my age, but that appears to be a hopeless hope in Hanover.
WARREN T. COUGHLIN
Hanover
Dartmouth is supposed to be a liberal arts college. The humanities are crucial, critical, to that. Why on earth would it close the Paddock Music Library? What a ridiculous idea. One can’t browse a storage area like a library and maybe find something better next to the piece you were looking for, nor can one listen to music.
Keep that library open. It should always be STEAM, not just STEM, especially at a liberal arts college.
SUSAN BROWN
Enfield