Letters to the Editor 10/17/24

Salisbury Fall Festival appreciation & thanks

The 67th Salisbury Fall Festival was a huge success with the town filled with adults, children, and dogs enjoying a hometown celebration. People strolled along Main Street, stopping to visit the many booths, book sales, quilt show, and pocketknife exhibit. Kids flocked to the library lawn for pumpkin painting, crafts, glitter tattoos, games, and popcorn. A magician entertained young and old. The White Hart lawn was filled with the tents of local artisans. Live music was provided by The Joint Chiefs, Salisbury Band, a jazz musician, and a percussion group. People enjoyed dance performances by the Blue Studio and Martha Graham dancers. Over 20 scarecrows decorated the lawns—and people got to vote for their favorites.

Tremendous thanks go to our local organizations, churches, schools, businesses, and individuals who sponsored and participated in this year’s Fall Festival. Merchants planned a Sip & Stroll for Friday night to start the festivities. Organizations sponsored a variety of events, from a book giveaway to bake sales to a repair-it cafe. Food offerings ranged from hot dogs, chili, and mac ‘n cheese to food trucks and Lakeville Hose’s prime rib dinner. Booths offered activities to do, information to gather, gifts to purchase, and apples and cider to enjoy. SWSA ended the weekend with their popular Brew-Ski Fest at the ski jumps. And the events were further enhanced by delightful autumn weather!

Jeanette Weber

Fall Festival Publicity

Salisbury Association

President

Affordable Housing

Great to read about public and private groups working together on affordable housing and celebrating successes. (‘Affordable housing advocates celebrate wins, share challenges’ by Debra A. Aleksinas, The Lakeville Journal, Oct 9, 2024) Challenges in affordable housing are national in scope, with great efforts locally that can be helped with Congressional support. There is a bill in the Senate to help increase housing in America. A renter tax credit is also proposed that would insure that people experiencing poverty would not pay over 30% of their income in rent. Both of these initiatives are more likely to move forward if those who represent us hear our support for these and other housing initiatives. A call, 202-224-3121, or email to our members of Congress encourages them to take action on these critical pieces of legislation, and could increase the successes locally at next years conference.

Willie Dickerson

Snohomish, WA

Supporting Potter for affordable housing

During the decades I’ve lived in Sharon, I’ve regretted that so many who grew up in town cannot afford to live here anymore.

Since the lack of affordable housing is a huge problem in northwestern Connecticut, we are extremely fortunate that Justin Potter, president of Kent Affordable Housing, is running for the state senate on the Democratic ticket.

What’s interesting about his approach is that he doesn’t see a conflict between creating affordable housing units and violating our beloved open spaces.

He has proposed a way to create accessory apartments in existing houses and in multi-family homes. His idea is to create a Connecticut Housing Improvement and Production Program (CHIPP) to give owners of larger homes and smaller landlords state grants to create apartments on their properties in exchange for five-or-ten-year affordability commitments.

Such a program would enable property owners to renovate spaces, to offer reasonable rents, and to earn rental income.

And it would be a much quicker and less expensive way to go than creating large affordable apartment buildings under existing state and federal policies, Potter says.

Let’s vote for Justin Potter for the state senate from District 30!

Laurie Lisle

Sharon

Deciding how to vote this November

Voting should be about weighing policies and agendas, not about blind loyalty to parties or hatred of media-twisted personalities.

Ever since the unprepared and unserious Kamala Harris was unexpectedly thrust into the presidential race by her own Democratic party’s back-room strong-arming of their primary vote winner Joe Biden, Harris has been pretending, with the help of extensive media grooming, to be a centrist.

But she and Tim Walz are as far left as you can get. They are the Democrats’ Junior Varsity edition of Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. They will pursue a far-left agenda on everything from open borders to unlimited genders.

Donald Trump, of course, is endlessly demonized by the press, but most of it is a lie. He did not align himself with neo-Nazis at Charlottesville. He cannot make himself a dictator. He cannot destroy democracy. If he talks to Putin, that’s better than silence. The only “existential threat” he presents is to the left’s agenda.

At least with Trump, you know where he stands. He doesn’t bother with the professional politician’s fake veneer. That’s one of the things that appeals to many people.

As for the VP candidates, JD Vance looks like a better leader than Walz. Vance has an excellent grasp of policy, a quick mind, a good memory and a willingness to see other points of view. Like Trump, he’s not the demon the liberal press makes him out to be.

The habitually red-faced and bug-eyed Walz always looks like he’s about to blow a fuse. He’s a “rah rah” cheerleader who laughs off his decades of lying about his military rank, his falsely claimed combat service and his Tiananmen Square appearances by claiming he’s just a “knucklehead” who gets caught up in his own rhetoric. That’s called lying, Tim.

Walz may be good at hyping Kamala’s newly minted “joy and opportunity” slogan, but the country needs real leaders, not cheerleaders, real policies, not bumper stickers. Vance looks ready. Walz looks as out of his depth as Harris.

With the election just weeks away, it still comes down to policies and agendas:

If you want open borders, vote Democrat.

If you want one party attacking the Supreme Court every time the court doesn’t rule its way, vote Democrat.

If you want 100 fake genders with transitioning among teenagers and children being pushed by the left, vote Democrat.

If you want fully intact biological males in female sports and locker rooms, vote Democrat.

If you want to pay the debts of the college-educated while the working class foots its own bills, vote Democrat.

If you want never-ending victimhood with divisive identity politics and authoritarian DEI mandates, vote Democrat.

If not, vote Republican.

Mark Godburn

Norfolk

Voting to support women’s rights

As Election Day approaches, it is crucial for voters to take a hard look at the values and policies of the candidates. Justin Potter is the candidate for Connecticut’s State Senate who truly respects the rights of women.

Justin Potter, a consistent supporter of reproductive freedom, has deservedly earned the endorsement of Planned Parenthood Votes! CT. Meanwhile, Stephen Harding voted against Connecticut’s Reproductive Freedom Defense Act of 2022, which safeguards the rights of Connecticut women, individuals traveling to Connecticut for medical care, and Connecticut clinicians providing legal abortions. Stephen Harding is out of touch with the values of our state.

For those who believe in protecting a woman’s right to choose and ensuring access to safe, legal reproductive healthcare, Justin Potter is the right choice for the Connecticut State Senate in District 30.

Athenaide Dallett

Kent