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Dog owner speaks out on local
’dog issues’
Editor of the Reformer:
This letter is in response and addition to the letter "Is there a ‘dog issue’ in Brattleboro" (July 4).
As a new dog owner I am amazed at how many people do not have control of their dogs nor clean up after them.
Are there real leash laws?
Recently I had an ugly experience near the Marina with a dog owner who did not have control of his dog but thought he did. This area was OK to be off leash if you had control of your dog. I had my puppy on a leash and a man was ahead walking toward me. His large husky type dog came charging at my leashed puppy and me. I yelled to him to call his dog back but he did not. I yelled stop and it still did not stop. When the man came up to me, I got mad and said he should have called his dog back. He started swearing at me and got upset. He left a note that said "he was sorry if I did not know the difference between a dog charging to attack and one who was not."
Talk about going after the victim. This man was so upset I dared say something negative about his dog or him that I though he might have a heart attack (please sir, watch the Weimaraner owner in the movie "Best of Show").
This speaks of the situation in Brattleboro and other places. Many dog parks in the country have closed because of owners who think the rules do not pertain to them, whether picking up after their
A.M. Cohen,
Brattleboro, July 5
An atheist
speaks out
Editor of the Reformer:
In the past month I’ve had three discussions with people in Brattleboro, two who asked me why I am an atheist and one with a self-affirmed atheist. While both people stated that they were believers, both discussions were friendly with an easy give and take. The discussion with the self-affirmed atheist was nice, but brief.
All were surprised by my answer.
I remember a recent article that described Vermonters as the least religious state in the country. According to a recent Gallop Poll, the top "least religious" states are Vermont and New Hampshire, where 77 percent in both states report that they are unaffiliated, that religion is not an important part of their daily lives and that they do not often attend religious services. (It’s no surprise that the most religious states tend to be southern and Republican.)
A recent Pew Forum found that 25 percent of Americans 18 to 29 say they are not currently affiliated with any particular religion. This fits with the growing trend of young people describing themselves as atheistic or nonreligious, and bisexual, which might have something to do with young people readily forsaking the narrow confines of dichotomous labels embraced by their elders.
In Dave Garrecht’s letter in the Reformer, "Talking About God" (July 3), he writes "a ‘fool’ is someone who has trouble discerning fantasy from reality" and that god gave everyone "a unique DNA which includes its own chromosomes determining gender, etc. God knew you even before you were born with an identity all your own." I’m sure many paleoanthropologists would dispute Dave’s own mythology of what is reality.
A discussion of atheism should begin with the generally accepted definition: A person who is without god, from the ancient Greek atheos, meaning "godless, without god." Recently, and over the years, when asked why am I an atheist my response has been that I am not an atheist. I am a nonbeliever, which means that I do not believe in belief and that my daily life is not belief-dependent.
A religious person can call me an atheist, however, but I cannot refer to myself as one. The reason? It would be illogical to place me in the awkward and untenable position of being "without" something that doesn’t exist.
Vidda Crochetta,
Brattleboro, July 5
Vermont Yankee EPZ vs. EBZ
Editor of the Reformer:
There are a handful of signs out marking a so-called "Vermont Yankee Evacuation Zone." Yankee does not have an evacuation zone, but does have a 10-mile Emergency Planning Zone, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission requirement. The 650 men and women who work at Yankee have earned a green rating for safe operations, which is the highest rating by the NRC. This rating reflects that Yankee is operating within normal range, and met the NRC’s clearly defined performance criteria for safe operations.
Some of these sign-setters must be confused, as their signs are set far outside of the EPZ limits, or within a 10-mile radius of the plant. They missed out in being included in the EPZ, but luckily they and their communities are part of the Vermont Yankee EBZ -- the Economic Benefit Zone.
Of the 600-plus Yankee employees, nearly half are Vermont residents. Most of the rest are residents of New Hampshire or Massachusetts, some coming from as far away as the Holyoke, Mass., or Portsmouth, N.H. In addition to all employees being Vermont taxpayers, each of them also pays taxes to their hometowns, making their hometowns all a part of the Vermont Yankee EBZ.
Vermont alone receives more than $6 million in annual and local taxes from Yankee. Tax dollars are used throughout the state for various public projects, including the Clean Energy Fund, which is a benefit to all Vermonters.
Every 18 months, more than 1,000 contract employees come to the area to work at Yankee for a refueling outage. These supplemental employees come from all over the country, bringing business to local hotels, restaurants, and stores.
Each year, Yankee and its employees donate approximately $300 thousand to the community through sponsorships, grants, and employee pledges to United Way organizations. These dollars benefit community projects, school programs, healthcare, emergency services, clubs, and scholarships. All of these organizations and those who benefit from them are a part of the Vermont Yankee EBZ.
The EBZ reaches far beyond Vermont Yankee, much further than anyone would place a sign marking an imaginary evacuation zone. I am thankful to live within Vermont Yankee’s Economic Benefit Zone.
Richard January,
Jaffrey, N.H., July 2
