Letters
to the Editor
To the Editor:
I am stunned by the article
in-which Jeanne Adams wrote entitled "Anime Fans
Take It To Boston". This article tells about
our group that went to the convention. First off,
she didn't cunsult the whole group about having the
right information... of which a lot of the article
has wrong. 1. We didn't do the funky chicken dance,
and 1. We didn't win anything in the masquerade.
Another thing is that she left out pictures of two
other members of the group who also had a costume.
I, and the rest of the group, would like you to re-write
this article... or write another one, apoligizing
for all of the "mis-haps" and telling the
truth.
Hannah Coons, Gray
To The Editor,
The outcry about Donna Hill seems to me a bit like
a witch-hunt. I have known and interacted with Donna
over the years, as a Town Councilor, board member,
and private citizen. I have always found her helpful
and responsive. It is my perception that her motivation
has always been to look out for the best interests
of Gray, not her personal interests.
There are only two kinds of people who do not make
mistakes. Those that do not do anything or those are
deceased. When I read your article, it said that Donna
Hill was the Deputy Elections Clerk, which means there
is an Elections Clerk who is responsible for the Deputy
Elections Clerk's work being correct. The Elections
Clerk in this case is Mitch Berkowitz, who also is
the Town Manager. The Town Manager is the only town
employee who works for and is directly responsible
to the Town Council.
Where does the blame lie? Was Donna's work checked?
Was the same mistake made by others who checked her
work? Was the mistake corrected once discovered? Were
procedures developed to prevent the mistake from recurring?
Where should "the buck stop"?
Peter Gerardo, Gray
To the editor:
Last week a letter writer insisted that the facts
prove George Bush won Florida fair and square in 2000.
However, the historical consensus is considerably
different. Some things worth remembering about that
debacle:
Bush "officially" won Florida by 537 votes
out of 6 million cast.
Responsibility for ensuring fairness in Florida elections
belonged to Secretary of State Katherine Harris, who
also happened to be Bush's state campaign co-chair.
Before the election, Harris illegally purged thousands
of mostly-minority, predominantly pro-Gore eligible
voters from Florida voter rolls. After the polls closed,
Harris - again illegally -- stopped a mandatory machine
recount when it started showing erosion in Bush's
tiny election-night lead. Her action left the returns
from twenty Florida counties unverified.
After the Florida Supreme Court overruled Harris and
ordered a recount of disputed ballots under longstanding
recount rules, Harris openly collaborated with Republican
campaign operatives even as she continued to issue
rulings affecting the recount -- all of which favored
Bush. Republican county officials also allowed Bush
partisans to modify disqualified absentee ballots
to make them legal.
The single attempt at a comprehensive hand recount
was halted by the U.S. Supreme Court's infamous 5-4
decision -- a ruling of such dubious constitutionality
that it included a unique warning to future litigants
not to use the case as precedent. More than 500 law
professors have publicly denounced the decision.
Republicans spent $14 million challenging the Florida
vote, four times as much as Democrats.
An independent inspection of all 175,000 disputed
Florida ballots, and documents from the judge presiding
over the hand recount proved that if it had gone forward,
Al Gore would have won Florida's electoral votes and
the Presidency.
One can only wonder how much the Florida travesty
has undermined our ability to sell American democracy
to a skeptical world today.
Paul Proudian, Gray
To the Editor:
The citizens of Gray
do have some hard issues to contend with right now:
traffic problems, school funding, tax worries. But
they have a treasure in Gray that should make them
proud; the public library.
My family moved to Gray last October. The very next
day, we headed for the Library. A good library is
more than books: it is a place for reference materials
and guidance. We were immediately greeted by the smiling
countenances of Priscilla and Kathy. They welcomed
us to the community, helped us find needed services
and allowed us to check out books right away.
All of the staff at the Gray Public Library have been
consistently courteous, helpful, and cheerful. The
people of Gray should be proud of this institution.
Sincerely,
Mary Lou Schalk, Gray
Hello,
I just wanted to write that I caught Jeanne Adams'
article about the group that went to Anime Boston
and found it to be an excellent, well-written piece.
We here at Stone Bridge Press, who have been publishing
books about Japan for several years now, love to see
more people enjoying Japanese culture through anime
and manga. The article not only described a fun convention
but gave an excellent introduction into the West's
enjoyment of this pop-culture phenomenon. Well done
and enjoy the anime convention season, Ms. Adams!
Jaime Starling,
Stone Bridge Press
Berkeley, CA
Dear Gray Residents:
Over the past five months
the Town Council worked with the Manager, Departments,
and volunteers to craft a municipal budget. During
this process Council received valuable public input.
This document started as the Manager's budget, became
the Council's, and now is the Town's budget. On June
5th the good people of Gray will decide on the raising
and expenditure of tax dollars, please come and exercise
your right.
The end result of this
work and public input is a budget that attempts to
provide to the needs of the community. In an attempt
to address these needs, additions in personnel are
proposed for Public Safety and Public Works.
These additions would provide an improved level of
protection and service for the community. Many services
operate at a critical limit, as the population of
Gray has increased from approximately 4,300 in 1986
to an estimated 7,800 in 2004. Many services the Town
provides increased dramatically over this same time
period, and overall we are experiencing many of the
financial growing pains felt by other surrounding
communities. However, the cost of providing these
services decreased from $538 per person in 1986 to
$266 in 2004. This is a 49.4 percent reduction in
cost versus an 81 percent increase in population.
The Town budget received
line-by-line scrutiny throughout the process. Challenges
were made to existing and proposed positions in the
budget, attempting to do more with less. One of the
more important developments in the budget was the
work of the Council and Manager in forecasting revenues
to reflect the actual amount received. This will result
in lessening the amount of undesignated funds and
less reliance on property taxes as a revenue source.
June 5th you will have
your opportunity to decide, please come and exercise
your right as a Gray resident.
Sincerely,
Matthew E. Sturgis, Council
Member
