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Farewell to
Coffee Country
Editor of the Reformer:
With no apparent comment at all from the usual town talkers, Harmony Lot institution Coffee Country did its last day of business on Friday, June 8. Elaine and Rob made the very generous gesture of holding a customer appreciation day on June 9, offering free food and coffee to acknowledge the customers they have connected with over the years.
On Aug. 6, 2000, after moving here from Massachusetts, I schlepped my last box into my new apartment above India Palace, and stumbled down the stairs muttering "coffee." I was directed around the corner to Coffee Country. Since then I have been privileged among many others to know Felicia, Keith, Jane and, most recently, proprietors Elaine and Rob, and all of their colorful and gifted employees. I have seen all of their lives and families and children grow. I have hooked up good friends to work there, knowing how great the match would be.
I am sad to see them go, but know there is more to come. And I know, at this passage, that cliche has not led to this closing. Please, do not disrespect the very aware and professional owners of Coffee Country by claiming that Brattleboro "killed them" or that any large scale economic operation put them out of business. Some small business owners may discover that the business has come to own them, and they make a reasoned and complex decision to draw back and realign to the things that
I am very fond of the present and past operators of Coffee Country, and I ask -- no, I demand that their difficult decision not be tainted by rant and cliche. Praise them for their wondrous contribution to the community, and wish them well. They have earned it.
Fran Hutchinson,
Newfane, June 11
Good to see the experts give VY the ‘green light’
Editor of the Reformer:
On May 23, I attended the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s public meeting in Brattleboro on its annual safety assessment of Vermont Yankee. Prior to the meeting, I read the announcement from Nuclear Regulatory Commission administrator Bill Dean of the NRC’s findings on Vermont Yankee showing that the plant had once again earned the commission’s highest safety rating of green. It was nice to read an informed, balanced, experienced voice of reason discuss the highly debated issue of whether or not Vermont Yankee is safe.
Dean said: "Throughout 2011, our inspectors kept close watch on safety performance at all 104 commercial power reactors operating in the United States. Vermont Yankee was among those that met our clearly defined performance criteria last year ... In addition, our inspectors spent time in 2011 verifying that there were no immediate safety concerns at Vermont Yankee, as well as all other U.S. nuclear power plants, following the March events at the Fukushima Daiichi facility in Japan. Those reviews indicated the plants remained safe for continued operation."
In other words, Vermont Yankee is safe. The agency that is chock-full of nuclear experts, watchdogs and independent safety inspectors -- many of them focused almost exclusively on Vermont Yankee -- has looked at the plant, considered the ramifications of Fukushima, and determined that the plant is safe. After a review based on clear, proven scientific information, not politics and fear, the NRC has given Vermont Yankee the "green light."
Jim DeVincentis,
Vernon, June 7
Fox News promoting
mis-information
Editor of the Reformer:
Democracy requires a well informed citizenry. The mass media has an obligation to provide reliable information. One can be sure that just about any headline Fox News presents is inaccurate. Fox uses tactics to scare their audience into believing what their conservative leaders want inside Americans’ heads. The scariest part, however, is that they’re good at it.
It is disconcerting to see the most watched and most profitable news channel in the world cramming the most lies and exaggerations into the minds of willing and gullible audiences. Fox’s most commonly used tactic is something called Panic Mongering. Panic Mongering means taking everything to the extreme in order to scare audiences; whether it be Muslims, homosexuals, liberals, or the birth control pills your neighbor takes, something or someone is always "attacking" something or someone else and it affects you directly and takes away all of your rights.
Obviously ... a perfect example of this is President Obama’s recently announced support of gay marriage. Many were cheering and praising Obama for his sincere efforts to make more Americans feel accepted that day, but no, Fox News had to (attempt to) ruin it by posting this headline on their website: "Obama Flip Flops, Declares War on Marriage," which was later changed to "Obama Flip Flops on Gay Marriage."
Another tactic, among many, commonly used to get their point across is by invoking the Christian god. Many conservatives are terrified of upsetting their god and are willing to believe anything that the news says will guarantee them a ticket to heaven if they support such and such. "They’re the self-appointed protectors of Christianity in America against the liberal atheist hordes," said Jon Stewart with his usual flair of sarcasm. But he’s right; Fox News presents stories and opinions (to them, facts) with such confidence that one would think Fox CEO Roger Ailes had brunch with god himself earlier in the day.
It’s disturbing that so many Americans are seemingly brainwashed into believing in what the Fox propaganda machine spews simply because they have the power and money to do so. Hopefully the country as a whole will come to realize Fox News’ faults in the future, but with the growing rate of attention media receives because of the constant fear and the increasing accessibility to headlines through new electronics, I regretfully believe that that is just about as likely as it is to see Fox News support a liberal politician.
Annie-Elizabeth Caltrider,
BUHS junior,
West Chesterfield, N.H., June 7
Do the math!
Editor of the Reformer:
Re: The article about the $50-bill snatching (June 8). If the couple was parked on Elliot Street and had just taken the money out of an ATM, it would seem the ATM was the one at People’s Bank. But their ATMs only give out $20s; you can take out $40 or $60, but you can’t take out exactly $50. They could have taken out, say, $100, but that would have been five $20s.
Don McLean,
Guilford, June 11
