Dear Editor,  I am writing this letter in honor of Juneteenth, a day that commemorates June 19, 1865, when the last enslaved people in Texas were freed from captivity.  In many ways this represented a transition in our country. It was the final act to physically abolishing slavery. But that did not mean the legacy…

Dear Editor, Congratulations to Avery Provin, Jeannette Langston and everyone responsible for organizing Pride in Rutland! I lived in Rutland for most of my adolescence, graduating from Rutland High School in 1966.  During all that time I could not recognize that I was gay, having recently survived some horrific bullying in the small New Hampshire…

Dear Editor, “A rose by any other name would smell the same,” wrote William Shakespeare. Not so apparently, in the Raider vs. Raven standoff here in Rutland. The cancel culture has reached Rutland in the form of challenging the racist implication of the Raider team mascot, an arrowhead. Symbols have meaning, it is true. But…

Dear Editor, If anyone has the right to hold a soft spot in their heart for the Raiders, it is the extended family of Roger Laird. In the 1920s, as a Raider, Roger suffered a traumatic brain injury on the football field behind the high school on Library Avenue; one that would take his life…

Dear Editor, During my 35-year career as a naturopathic physician I noticed that the natural treatments that had been successful in keeping people healthy in the 1980s became less and less effective. During these years the toxic load of chemicals in the environment has increased drastically. One group of fluoride containing chemicals known as PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and…

Dear Editor, It’s hard for people to understand there is more to life than pop culture, because that is the thing we are engaged in almost every minute of the day. Our particular society, unlike many others, spends an infinite amount of time and resources on two aspects of that culture: glorifying celebrities and evaluating…

Dear Editor, Are the fractures and divisions in America today worse today than they were in the 1960s? In the 1960s no one questioned whether Vietnam existed or claimed that the military casualties were really crisis actors. No one claimed that China and Venezuela had manipulated the presidential election. No one claimed that lizard people were behind the…

Dear Editor, Nearly half of the governors—23 and counting—have decided to end federal supplemental unemployment benefits for workers in their states. Evidently, they never heard the old adage: "Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face." In these bizarre times, I guess we have to be grateful that Governor Scott was raised with more…

Dear Editor, Kids’ Kingdom is a destination playground. Countless families, including my own, have become acquainted over the years at Kids’ Kingdom. Words that are often heard exclaim joy, admiration, and envy of such an amazingly fun, well built, and creative structure. Upon meeting new friends, my own children proudly proclaim, “This is OUR school.” It is outrageous…

Dear Editor, I want to address an article from the May 12 edition “Killington Softball League’s return is conditional.” I want to clarify a few things because I feel I’ve been misrepresented. I’ve been the commissioner of the Killington Softball League for the past 15 years. I’ve had a great relationship with the town and…

Dear Editor, I recently learned that the Bennington Housing Authority no longer provides housing for people with a disability if they are under the age of 62 in their existing subsidized apartments. While "seniors" who no longer can age in place because of the architecture of our current homes will face slightly less competition for a…

Dear Editor, I wish to agree with Rebecca Holcombe’s views about religious schools taking public money on the basis of “nondiscrimination” for a religious school, while those schools not only discriminate, as the Grace School in the article does in a heinous manner, denying gay people’s humanity as they do, but have traditionally been allowed to do…

Dear Editor, The Vermont State Auditor’s report, which tells us that the cost to taxpayers for supporting the Vermont dairy industry during the period 2010-2019 has been very high but stops short of saying largely ineffective, has already stimulated the predictable responses from the industry’s apologists: that “agriculture isn’t an optional industry, but rather a…

Dear Editor, Many people don’t realize that global weather patterns can actually have a bearing on their health. I consider it part of my responsibility as a medical professional to explain these challenges to my patients, especially as the weather starts to get unseasonably warm. During physicals, I remind patients of all ages to check…

Dear Editor, You’ve probably heard a lot about the personal actions we can all take to help mitigate the effects of the climate crisis. Bike to work more. Stop eating meat. Turn off your lights. Sound familiar?  I may be jaded, but in my experience, individual actions alone, however gratifying, will be insufficient to get…