All Entries in the "Commentary" Category
To the editor: Thank you to all Green Up Day volunteers
I would like to express greetings and gratitude to many who made Green Up Day 2017 a vibrant reality. Thank you! To the volunteers: More than 22,000 people of all walks of life and varied ages volunteered to come out and clean up litter from Vermont’s roadsides, public and natural spaces and waterways. They did […]
Op-ed: President’s baseless claims undermine trust in voting
By Jim Condos Vermont Secretary of State On Friday, President Trump announced the establishment of a commission by executive order to investigate the presence of voter fraud in elections. Despite continued assertions by President Trump that widespread voter fraud, in the millions, occurred during the 2016 election, there has been no evidence that any widespread […]
To the editor: The French vote and an ode to joy
On Sunday, May 7, the Springfield Community Chorus celebrated its 50th anniversary by performing Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, the final movement of the Ninth Symphony, with the Choral Society of Bennington, at Springfield High School. Also on the program was John Rutter’s Distant Land. It includes these words, which the chorus sang with passionate intensity: […]
To the editor: Answers to Act 46 merger questions
Saturday’s Andover Information Forum on the proposed school merger was attended by about 25 voters and generated a many good questions. What follows is a recap of the questions and the answers that were discussed: Why are we talking about a merger? ACT 46 requires that small, local school districts consolidate into larger unified school […]
To the editor: Board members urge Yes vote on Act 46 merger
We urge the residents of Andover, Baltimore, Cavendish and Chester to vote on May 2 in favor of forming a single pre K-12 school district, the Green Mountain Unified School District. A “yes” vote merges the governance structure of the existing school districts into one school district. A merger will stabilize the tax rates for […]
Commentary: NEA funds help the arts reach rural communities
By Charma Bonanno ©2017-Telegraph Publishing LLC Congressman Peter Welch is due a lot of credit. While his peers in other states are also holding town hall meetings, Rep. Welch has gone the extra mile of pulling together small groups in a variety of fields to discuss how Vermonters would be affected by the sweeping cuts […]
Editorial: Good grief, Gov. Scott!
© 2017 Telegraph Publishing LLC Local representatives and select boards hoping to get Route 11 between Londonderry and Chester repaired for years must have felt a bit like Charlie Brown. Autumn after autumn, in the Peanuts comic strip, he tried to kick a football held by his nemesis, Lucy. And no matter how solemnly she […]
To the editor: School gardens connect kids with good food
At this time of year, the anticipation begins to build toward the last day of school and many teachers find that working in the school garden, or simply growing plants in the classroom, is a welcome hands-on activity that successfully engages students with their curriculum. Most schools in the region have some sort of school […]
Commentary: Vermont’s ethics crisis
By Bill Schubart The Vermont legislature is at an impasse trying to decide whether to establish and adequately fund a statewide ethics commission that has real enforcement capability. There’s been considerable favorable testimony by Vermonters, ethicists and Secretary of State Jim Condos, who has been a relentless champion of government transparency, inclusion and establishing such […]
To the editor: Local rules for local schools
Earl Butz – Richard Nixon’s Secretary of Agriculture – was famous for telling farmers to “get big or get out.” His tenure set off a frenzy of consolidation in agriculture pushing small farmers off their land and turning neighbors against each other in an everyone-for-themselves scramble for more acreage. Farming began its perilous decline from […]
To the editor: Wild for Pollinators program benefits Vermont environment
Vermont has more than 275 species of bees, three of which have recently been added to the threatened and endangered species list. Across the world, and in our own backyards, many pollinator populations are being threatened by pesticide use, habitat loss, climate change, parasites and disease problems, and more. Wild for Pollinators is a new […]
To the editor: BRGNS thanks Okemo, volunteers and skiers for food drive
The clients, employees and volunteers at Black River Good Neighbor Services in Ludlow sincerely thank Okemo, its employees and especially its skiers for a highly successful food drive on March 19. Each spring and each fall, Okemo holds its Cares and Shares food drive to benefit Black River Good Neighbors in the true spirit of […]
To the editor: Four towns vote May 2 on GM unified school district, board candidates
On Tuesday, March 21, the Vermont State Board of Education approved the formation of the Green Mountain Unified School District. Residents from Andover, Baltimore, Cavendish and Chester will serve as school directors for the new district. On Tuesday, May 2, 2017, each town school district will be voting by by Australian ballot on the formation […]
To the editor: Thanks to area firefighters for saving house
To the volunteer firefighters of Proctorsville, Cavendish, Ludlow, Springfield, Chester, Reading, Weston, Mount Holly, Ascutney, Walpole and Weathersfield who rallied to our home in the early hours of Feb. 15 to fight our house fire, we are eternally grateful. Through your efforts you were able to control the inferno and save our house. While there […]
To the editor: Sen. Clarkson updates legislative progress
The Vermont legislature is in the throes of “crossover’ – that two-week period when bills being considered by the House or the Senate must pass from one body to the other if they are to be enacted into law this year. This marks the half-way point in our legislative session. All of us worked hard […]
To the editor: Time to move on after Chester board passed UDBs
I would like to compliment the Chester Select Board for showing strong leadership at the Wednesday March 15 meeting. I was not thinking ahead so I was surprised by the chairman’s not allowing comments about the UDBs. Once that was stated it made perfect sense that that process was over and we were on to […]
To the editor: Challenge authority, not each other’s integrity
I would like the opportunity to address comments made to me regarding my previous letter and also respond to Frank Seawright’s letter, which I guess was a indirect response to mine even though he didn’t answer my criticism. I also would like to clarify my take on things here in Windham. I challenged Frank, not […]
To the editor: Windham board chair Seawright responds to critical letter
As chair of the Select Board of the Town of Windham, I was recently vilified in a letter sent to various Vermont news outlets. Besides the peculiar accusation that I am “classless,” the letter criticizes a challenge at this year’s Town Meeting to another sitting Select Board member, who was up for re-election. Although the […]
To the editor: Feds urged to restart tool for FAFSA applicants
The U.S. Department of Education and IRS have announced that they have shut down the income retrieval tool that simplifies the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. The Vermont Student Assistance Corp. is urging the Education Department and IRS to act quickly so that students and families do not have to manually enter […]
Commentary: Middlebury mob, education and free speech
This commentary originally aired on VT Public Radio By Bill Schubart Many young people are, by nature’s design, rash and impulsive and in loco parentis educators must often deal with the fallout from their students’ lack of experience. Real-life consequences and good mentoring, mature them over time or they become infantilized adults. The recent protest that turned […]
