Letters to the Editor - 7-4-24

‘67 Housy grad comments on shrinking classes

I just got my copy of last week’s Journal yesterday, an anomaly in these days of the woes of the USPS here in Georgia and its inability to get a paper here sometimes in less than a month.

As a graduate of Housatonic in 1967, the section with the photos of the graduates this year caught my attention. I added up the number of photos shown, plus those not shown, and came up with a total of ....57. Fifty seven? When I graduated in ‘67, we had the largest class to ever graduate, in the neighborhood of 175 or so. The entire school population was a bit over 700 if I recall correctly.

Those numbers ought to scare the hell out of everyone in Region One! If the current class is but 1/3 the size of my class in ‘67, and the total number of students less than 1/2 what it was in ‘67, why aren’t more people rushing to the front with any sort of attempts to pump up the number of families able to live in the area. I realize that the percentage of retirees and/or non- resident weekenders likely has increased but to the point that Housatonic must have cobwebs across empty hallways?

If any other evidence of the absolute need of affordable housing in the area is required, I guess folks will perhaps finally realize it when nobody shows up in the middle of the day when the fire siren goes off (they still do that, don’t they?) or ambulance staff doesn’t exist.

Good luck, Northwest Connecticut. It looks like you’ll need it…soon.

Dave Becker

Dahlonega, Georgia

(Editor’s note: On June 23, 1967, 148 seniors graduated from HVRHS, according to Lakeville Journal records.)

Open Letter to Senator Chris Murphy

Dear Senator Murphy:

What we saw at the debate on Thursday night was horrifying. But the denial on the part of the Biden camp is almost as frightening. They don’t seem to realize just how much better Biden’s performance made former president Trump look. Even to me, and I’m a Democrat.

We need a president who can functiion when the teleprompters aren’t telling him what to say. Trump can do it. Biden not so sure. The man we saw was neither a competent decision maker nor an effective communicator.

And we need public servants who will call it like it is, especially as the Biden family isn’t stepping up to the task. This isn’t just about him.

Please, Senator Murphy, uphold the Democratic tradition of telling the truth and say for all to hear that the emperor has no clothes. You can do that.

Willard Wood

Norfolk

Unsafe on our sleepy backroads

Which phrase sounds better to you — ‘idiots with wheels,’ ‘dumb as a wheel with no spokes’ or ‘I let my wheels speak for me.’ Well, for me, after driving last weekend on the roads of the Northwest Corner I’d say they all speak pretty clearly about what is going on out there in the land of ‘Vrroooom!’ All happened in broad daylight.

When, on your sleepy little backroad, you are obeying the 25 mph speed limit, you are coming down to the bottom of a long steep hill — so you are gently braking — because a couple with a newborn or any number of elderly people with their dogs might just be walking along that part of the road, as they often do. How exactly do you have a meaningful conversation about road safety with someone flying by you on a racing bicycle at 50 mph, 1 foot from your driver’s side door— followed by five of his friends?

Equally. On the same local trip. When you are on another well paved backroad and are again obeying the now 30 mph speed limit, and hugging the right side edge of the road as you go — how exactly do you have a meaningful conversation about driving safety with the driver of the oncoming silver SUV as it pops up and over an ever closer rise in the road completely in your lane?

The answer to the first question is — I found a safe place to pull over to the side of the road and exasperatedly reflected on what had just occurred. Any or all of those bicyclists could easily have been seriously hurt or killed — because of their actions. Any pedestrians could also have had the same fate. Would I be at fault in any way?

The answer to the second question is — as soon as I saw the potential killer SUV totally in my lane — I laid on the horn for what seemed like an eternity as I firmly applied my brakes until at the very last second, I started to ditch my car off the right side of the road just before a large tree. The SUV swerved back into its lane just barely avoiding a severe head-on collision.

All of you involved in the preceding events know who you are — I do not.

The above mentioned phrases — ‘idiots with wheels’, ‘dumb as a wheel with no spokes’ or ‘I let my wheels speak for me’ — are my assessments of your commitments to road safety. Please, I implore you do not ever, ever, ever let them become someone’s, anyone’s last thoughts.

Michael Moschen

Cornwall Bridge

Living locally & globally

Hats off to all pursuing their days with zest, with sports and sense of team in America and around the world during this time of the Olympics! The wars are still a major concern and a more humane way to iron out diplomatic responses is needed now more than ever! Let’s live locally with the global concerns in our game plans for people and the planet, trusting there could be more support than we know to find inner peace so that can play out on wider scales. That’s some of the insight shared by HeartRiver.org and which I explore locally and on Facebook, blogs (livfully.org, livfully.medium.com) and on Clubhouse.com.

The greater team of humanity not only with ‘extremely talented people physically and mentally’ but also with that sense of unifying our identity and purpose of people at this time on the playing field of planet Earth!

We have many inspirations to view life on planet with the eyes of the soul, heart and mind. Scientists are mapping out how to feel on top of our game to get through each day, age youthfully with a sense of connection and grow skill sets rather than feeling isolated (even if living alone or in a nursing home.)

The ADLs (Activities of Daily Living) are key skill sets for everyone to recognize on their report card of competency as well as qualifying for support. Transportation around a community to appointments or events and shopping are all ‘top order’ considerations for more to plan for as affordable and accessible.

That goes hand in hand with living arrangements with others (in a single home, an apartment, co-housing, assisted living or nursing home). When we look at who can do what in a country, state and town then we can vote for more ways to meet people’s basic needs education and access to learn and work. Let’s listen to “Both Sides Now” (the Right, Left, the Moderates) and find ways to meets our needs and not leave paradise paved and the world one big parking lot. Please vote on every level, nationally, locally and for yourself, family and community to be on a path toward shared care and success for all in our “BeYouToFull” world that includes respect for land and water, nature and all the other living beings on the planet and those ‘on the other side.’

Catherine Palmer Paton

Falls Village