Letters to the Editor - December 8, 2011

Sharon censorship is not acceptable

My wife Dianne Engleke’s opinion page cartoons have appeared in The Millerton News and Lakeville Journal since 2006. More than 270 of them have been published.

Earlier this year, she was invited by the Sharon Town Hall to have an exhibit of a selection of them in the gallery during the month of December. Dianne put a great amount of careful consideration into the selection of the cartoons to be shown in that venue. Prior to making the final decisions of which cartoons to show, Dianne took several cartoons over to show them to the woman who arranges shows for the gallery. She was told they were fine. Based on this she made her selection.

On Tuesday, Nov. 29, Dianne and I began hanging the show. We hung 24 cartoons (roughly half the show) and some promotional posters. First Selectman Robert Loucks was present when we hung them and offered to help. When we arrived on Wednesday morning to hang the balance of the work, 10 of the cartoons we had hung the previous day had been taken down. A man who said he was the building manager told us he took them down because they were controversial. He then went off and retrieved them and left without offering to discuss this with us.

We have been told that the decision to remove the cartoons was made by the Town Hall Committee. There was no attempt to discuss this with Dianne or anyone else.

 This is an example of the worst type of censorship. It is the type of thing that happens in totalitarian states. One person makes the rules on what the population can read, look at, hear, discuss. This is not what we expect from an open society such as ours. One has to question the judgment and agenda of someone who would do this. Dianne is very sorry that the people in Sharon will not be able to see her work and we are dismayed that one town official would take it upon himself to keep it from the populace. We hope people will let officials of the town know that this behavior is not acceptable.

Mark Liebergall
Millerton

Congressional abuses deserve real scrutiny

I was pleased to see Bill Schmick’s commentary on Congressional insider trading in the Nov. 18 edition of The Winsted Journal. I have long believed our Congressional leadership is populated by self-serving weasels from both sides of the aisle, but I had no idea how sleazy this operation was until I saw the “60 Minutes” segment on this issue. 

Although the president and the Supreme Court, as well as ordinary citizens, are legally banned from making investments based in privileged, inside information, Congress, remarkably, is left to their own devices and desires.

In case you’ve missed it, it’s not unusual for members of Congress to make investments based on information they garner in the process of developing legislation. Their decisions, therefore, may be based not on what is best for the country, but what is best for their bottom line.

It astounds me that this situation hasn’t been greeted with the same fury that envelopes the Penn State sex abuse scandal. These Congressional misdeeds affect every citizen of our country, not just a few unfortunate victims, their families and friends. I don’t mean to minimize the Penn State situation, but where is the public outcry? Why aren’t people demanding a comprehensive investigation of these latest Congressional shenanigans along with the hides of the elected officials who go to Washington to fatten their bank accounts rather than serve the needs of their constituents?

Is anybody paying attention? 

Everyone of voting age needs to demand that elected officials account for their actions and support long-ignored legislation requiring members of Congress to place their investments into blind trusts. Candidates in upcoming elections who refuse to support this requirement should categorically be rejected by voters at the polls. Candidates who pledge their support and then fail to follow through if elected should be considered to be thieves at heart and driven from office.

This is important. Get involved, become outraged. The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

Michael Tooke
Winsted

The Roast in Salisbury: Of coffee and love

The Jaklitsch family would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to the many customers, employees and friends of The Roast coffeehouse. The support and loyalty from this community over the years helped to make The Roast the great gathering place that it was. As you can imagine, the decision to close The Roast was difficult. Joe is coming to terms with the decision and misses seeing his customers every day. The Roast was such a significant part of our lives and the community. There is a sense of loss all around.

What has been a great comfort has been the outpouring of love and gratitude from so many in the community. We have been overwhelmed and quite surprised. We have received numerous cards, some very kind gifts, phone calls and visits. We were touched by the beautifully written newspaper article and the thoughtful letters to the editor. Joe was awed by the wonderfully planned “Roast” and party on Nov. 20 at St. John’s Church. So many friends and customers from the community came to wish him well.

Our special thanks to those who have worked at The Roast over the years, and particularly to those who organized the great “roast” and party for Joe. This experience says so much about what a unique and special place we have in Salisbury. All of this has meant a great deal to us, and will be treasured by our family long into the future. With our appreciation and love.

Joe, Barb, Wallis, Stephanie and new baby Beatrice
The Jaklitsch family
Salisbury

Bake and wreath sale was a success

Sharon Woman’s Club President Eileen Tedesco presented Ella Clark a check to the Sharon Fuel Bank for $2,195.93, the proceeds from our bake and wreath sale on Nov 19. The donation is especially important since fuel assistance from the state of Connecticut has been reduced significantly this year.

Many thanks to all of you — our bakers,wreath-makers and all our generous buyers —  for helping to make the bake and wreath sale a success and enabling SWC to continue its support of our community.

Kathleen Fuhr
SWC publicity chair
Sharon

Burying lines is still the answer

I read with interest Wm. Earl Brecher’s guest commentary this week in The Lakeville Journal and he is right on.

I did not have the statistics he had, but again it does not take a rocket scientist or fact-finder to figure out that someone was making a profit, and he now confirms what I had hinted about in my guest commentary the week before.

The answer is still the same. Bury the lines once and for all; make the companies pay for most of it, and some monies from federal and state governments for the jobs it will create.

John B. Zabriskie
West Cornwall

Estabrook memoranda available at library

Sometime in the 1980s, Bob Estabrook donated to Salisbury’s history archives typed copies of over 100 memoranda of conversations he had between 1956 and 1969 with world leaders while he was with The Washington Post.

These conversations took place during the early Cold War years and included both on-the-record and off-the-record meetings with many world figures, including John Kennedy, the Shah of Iran, John Foster Dulles, Arthur Schlesinger Jr., Jawaharal Nehru and many others.

In a 1990 letter to Town Historian Virginia Moskowitz, Bob said there was another set in the Kennedy Library in Cambridge, but that he was pleased for them to also be in Salisbury.

These memoranda have been gathered into a binder which is available at the Scoville Library. It may be asked for at the desk and is on reserve for use only in the library.

Katherine Chilcoat
Town Historian
Salisbury

Food Closet appreciates support

Thank you to all who constantly give — but especially during the holiday season — to the Sharon Food Closet. We are particularly grateful, as always, to NASCAR Dave and his pit crew, and this year to the generous Sharon Market businesses who joined forces to provide all the big birds we needed.

We also thank Sharon Day Care families, the Sharon Woman’s Club, Rotary, Sharon Hospital and other friends in need. What a team! Bravo, bravo!

Ella Clark
Sharon

Sports Association thanks the community  

The Salisbury Winter Sports Association would like to thank everyone who bought, sold and donated equipment to this year’s Ski and Skate Swap. Another huge thank you to the Lakeville Hose Company for use of their wonderful facility.

We will again donate the proceeds from this year’s sale toward underwriting the Salisbury Central School’s “Ski Adventure” program at Catamount Ski Area for the 2011-2012 season.

Ken Barker, President, Salisbury Winter Sports Association
Salisbury