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Seize the opportunity without VY Editor of the Reformer:
The debate over the re-licensing of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant must include consideration of the fact that all the power generated by the plant is being sold out of state. This fact is little known among most Vermonters and is under-reported by the media.
Senator Bernie Sanders and other reputable policymakers have developed rational plans for Vermont's energy future that do not include nuclear power in the energy mix. We already have proof that these plans are viable, as we do not currently rely on energy produced by Vermont Yankee to power our homes, schools, businesses, municipal buildings, etc. Let's seize this opportunity to embrace renewable energy on a massive scale and usher in an exciting new era of green energy technology.
Kim Friedman,
Newfane, Sept. 1
Where's the outrage?
Editor of the Reformer:
A single mother is forced into self-protective exile for the sake of her child to avoid court-ordered visitation/custody "rights" with a lesbian who had shown no real interest in the child until this young mother had left their partnership. So she and her daughter fled the country whose courts would assign sole custody to the lesbian claimant.
The good-hearted and right-minded pastor who knowingly or unknowingly assisted in this escape is jailed for "assisting in parental kidnapping," convicted
I doubt that any jury of upstanding Vermonters would uphold such misapplied law if they were allowed to know the young single mother's full side of this issue. "Only One Mommy" by Rene M Lindevaldsen, Esq. tells the mother's story drawing from interviews and a journal kept by her during this ordeal, the legal issues involved, and also scientific insights as to the true nature of human relationships that turn LGBTQ; no, it's not an innate trait for certain individuals who "can't be anything else."
"Only One Mommy" is an excellent book, praised by those who understand the problem, and fiercely denounced by the LGBTQ community. Even a reading of the book's reviews exposes this polarity which is tearing at the foundations of our nation. Just read these reviews to see which side is expressing overt hatred over a book written with compassion, but espousing "telling the truth in love."
Dave Garrecht,
Guilford, Aug. 24
George Heller
will be missed
Editor of the Reformer:
The trustees, staff, volunteers, and members of the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center -- past and present -- will miss our dear friend, former board president, and longtime honorary trustee George Heller, who died at his home in Putney on Aug. 23. We are hard pressed to think of any aspect of this institution that has not benefited over the years from George's generosity, aesthetic sensibility, community-mindedness, and cheerful, hands-on involvement in the museum's day-to-day affairs.
An architect and builder by trade, George played a vital role in the initial conversion of Brattleboro's historic Union Station building from train station to museum. Later on he was active in a group known around the museum as "The Angels," retirees who worked every Monday for 17 years on various improvement projects, including the construction of display cases for exhibitions and furniture for the administrative offices. As recently as 2011 George helped plan the substantial renovations to the museum's Wolf Kahn & Emily Mason Gallery. On that project, he particularly enjoyed working with architect Karolina Kawiaka on the design of the museum's new reception desk, gallery benches, and podium.
George's personal wish list for the museum building included the reconstruction of the elevated walkway that once extended from the upper level of Union Station out over the railroad tracks, from which staircases led down to the platform. If and when that structure is ever rebuilt, we will call it "George's Skywalk" -- but only informally, because despite his abundant generosity to this organization and many others, George never sought to have his name in lights.
Although George is no longer here to personally prop up this place he loved, the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center is today a thriving, vital institution, thanks in large part to his legacy of generous support.
Danny Lichtenfeld,
Director, Brattleboro
Museum & Art Center, Sept. 4
Gannett supported
the arts
Editor of the Reformer:
To the long list of items supported by Sen. Robert Gannett I am pleased to add the arts. Sen. Gannett always supported appropriations to the Vermont Arts Council and other arts endeavors funded by the Vermont Legislature. Locally, he steered several foundations, notably Crosby and Dunham-Mason, which, as Elizabeth Christie already noted in her letter, supported the work of many area non-profit social service groups. Those foundations also helped non-profit arts organizations.
Further, Bob and Aldie Gannett were steady and longtime personal supporters of local arts. In the mid 1970s, the newly formed Arts Council of Windham County created a Friend of the Arts Award, which was to be given annually. The idea was not to recognize artists or those managing arts organizations, but, very specifically, to recognize individuals, institutions, or businesses who had made valuable contributions to the vitality of the arts in this community. The first recipient of this award was Sen. Gannett.
Don McLean,
Guilford, Sept. 5
Who's fooling who?
Editor of the Reformer:
Marcia Leader raises a possibly troubling issue about food stamps, having observed them being used for purchasing cigarettes by somebody dawdling in front of her in a checkout line. Her point seems to be that based on this observation, there could be "millions" of people, evidently a distinct class, using food stamps inappropriately, ripping off you and me, and now we have to pay for healthcare for all of them, too.
I went right to the USDA website fns.usda.gov/snap/retailers/eligible.htm, and found that cigarettes are not allowable purchases under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; neither are alcohol or non-food items, nor take out foods, or, interestingly, vitamins or medicine. In this case, is the abuse of the system the fault of the woman who tries to get away with using food stamps for a prohibited purchase, or of the retailer for selling them to her? Who's scamming the system, the buyers or the sellers? What conclusion are we being asked to reach from this ambiguous situation -- that these millions don't really need food stamps because they are buying cigarettes with them, and we should therefore get rid of them (you choose)?
Maybe to be fair, she should also be suggesting that to prevent this abuse we need to clamp some more regulation on our retailers. Finally, given her leap from food stamps to health care, and going along with her implication that millions on food stamp recipients are also smokers who lack the moral strength to use their food stamps legally, I say providing those people with some Obamacare, which includes preventive health care through which some of them might be provided information that would help them to quit smoking, would be a great idea and a worthwhile expense.
Roger Turner,
Dummerston, Sept. 5
