Discover More from This Category: Letters

Amtrak train and Vermont bus restore historic Burlington-New York City Link

October 13, 2021
Dear editor, In 2022, after decades of hopes, fears and tears, Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express should finally restore passenger rail service between Rutland and Burlington, after a 69-year absence. The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTRANS) and media will closely track this $25 million project until the train becomes a reality: Vergennes Station/Platform restoration (summer 2020),…

Make state colleges part of UVM system

October 13, 2021
Dear editor, In response to the article about combined state colleges to be named Vermont State University, it truly is time for the state of Vermont to come to terms with its support of its state college system. This problem has plagued the schools for years, not only because of the national issue colleges and…

Acknowledging White Cane Safety Awareness Day

October 6, 2021
Dear editor, Since 1964, Oct. 15 has been designated White Cane Safety Awareness Day to celebrate the achievements of people who are blind or visually impaired, and to recognize the importance of that tool for independence. The white cane is a symbol of strength and independence for blind and visually impaired people. As a blind…

A green solution will not involve fossil fuels

October 6, 2021
Dear editor, Vermont is at an interesting crossroads with the fossil fuel empire. On the one hand, our Attorney General is suing ExxonMobil, Sunoco and Citgo for deceptive and unfair practices, as a consumer protection issue. Included is a proposal to prevent said companies from engaging in future unfair and deceptive acts, as well as…

Universal school meals pay dividends

September 29, 2021
Dear Editor, I am reaching out to express my support for universal school meals in Vermont. I am a recent resident of Middlebury, a longtime former resident of Brandon, and the mother of two children in the public school system. As a mother and a former student in the public school system, I am aware…

Fond memories of Killington

September 29, 2021
Dear Editor, I wanted to take a moment to reflect back and share to a time in my youth that I have such fond memories living for a couple years in Killington. The year was I believe 1972, give or take, I was in third or fourth grade. My family had made a move to…

Revising the education property tax

September 22, 2021
Editor’s note: This is an open letter to the Vermont Legislature written by Commissioner Bram Kleppner, CEO of Danforth Pewter, on behalf of the Vermont Tax Structure Commission. Dear Legislators, Three years ago, you and the Governor asked us to spend two years studying Vermont’s tax system as a whole, and to make recommendations that…

Farming, nutrient runoff and the environment

September 15, 2021
Dear Editor, Farming, like most human activity, impacts the environment. During the last two decades — and particularly since 2016 — Vermont has taken progressive and calculated steps to reduce one such environmental impact: nutrient loss from farmland. On Aug. 19, Sen. Patrick Leahy hosted U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack at ECHO, Leahy Center…

Reduce carbon, reduce ticks

September 15, 2021
By Shaun Christean Dear Editor, Everyone living in the Northeast has heard the warnings time and time again: always be vigilant for ticks after spending time outdoors. Tick habitat has increased substantially as higher latitudes are unlocked by warming climates, allowing ticks to edge further north every year. Tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease, babesiosis, and…

Vermont’s economy depends on women

September 8, 2021
By Cary Brown, Meg Smith, Rhoni Basden, Jessica Nordhaus and Aly Richards Editor’s note: Cary Brown is the executive director of the Vermont Commission on Women; Meg Smith is the director of the Vermont Women’s Fund; Rhoni Basden is the executive director of Vermont Works for Women; Jessica Nordhaus is the director of Change The…

Save our trees to save ourselves

September 8, 2021
Dear Editor, Forest ecologists estimate that if you let a New England farm field go fallow, it takes natural succession about 120 years to re-establish a healthy soil biome, but even that will be but a pale shadow of the mature complex food web that once existed under the bowers of the ancient giants. The…

All it takes is one; living in a dichotomy 

September 8, 2021
Dear Editor, One of my dearest writer friends in life passed away early in the pandemic. She lived in an upscale senior community that provides care on every level. I wonder which worker or health provider may have carried Covid to her locked room? Everyone was restricted to remain in their apartment or room. Might…

The facts that matter

September 1, 2021
Dear Editor, Julie Wasserman recently laid out a wise series of questions that we should be asking in assessing Vermont’s current healthcare reform efforts. Among them: “What portion of school budget increases are attributable to the rising cost of health care?” Good question. But why limit it school budgets? Healthcare costs also contribute to budgets for police,…

Tour de Slate raised $64K

September 1, 2021
Dear Editor, Yep! You read it right! The 2021 ride itself raised $32,000 and then it was matched by a generous anonymous donor! So total benefit to Teen Challenge is $64,000! Thank you! Thank You! and again Thank You! Your kindness and generosity will obviously go a long way in helping to change lives from…

Hunting bears with hounds harms many species

September 1, 2021
Dear Editor, Many of us in Vermont do not look forward to the bear hunt that begins Sept. 1 and runs through mid-November. It’s one of the longest in the country. Vermont allows bears to be pierced with arrows, shot from trees, hunted with packs of hounds, just to name a few horrors. Females with…