To my fellow readers:

As we approach an election in Vermont with at least 18 Vermont Progressive endorsed candidates on the ballot, we must recognize they are not moderate, middle of the road, independents with new ideas that will magically fix Vermont’s problems. These candidates represent the very problems that have led Vermont to a precipice it has never seen and crises at every turn. Look at Burlington’s current Progressive mayor, who has turned a once beautiful city into a disaster with more than 200 business owners requesting help to fix the city’s mess. And, she had the audacity to ask for a 100-bed facility at taxpayer expense. We do not want or need more of this ideology and legislative mismanagement from far-left Democrat and Progressive leadership. They have had the keys and steering wheel to this states’ taxation, regulations, fees, and failure for 3 decades and it is indeed their BUS that is about to drive over the veritable cliff! 

If you need evidence of this, Democratic Governor candidate Amanda Janoo is quoted as saying “I’m always quite pleased when people will relate me to (NYC Mayor) Mamdani. He’s given me a lot of hope in this moment. I feel like I’m a part of that movement.” Her now removed Bio on New America’s website proclaimed her desire to “reimagine the definition of success”. No thanks Amanda…I don’t need you or any government bureaucrat determining my definition of success! Also, her and Lieutenant Governor candidate Molly Gray scored 10/10 on the Green Mountain Democratic Socialists of America survey. Folks, this IS socialism/communism.

All current Democratic legislative candidates in the NEK are supporting these radicals. Caledonia-1 district Democrat candidate David Tucker has embraced the Vermont Progressive Party’s endorsement and Caledonia-Essex candidate Amanda Cochrane has teamed with Amanda Janoo to spread their socialist agenda. Voters, wake up and smell the coffee! This is real and the only way it is going away is voting for the alternative which at this time in Vermont means Republican candidates that will work for common sense, REAL affordability, and safety for our communities to save what we are losing.

 As we vote this November, let’s remind ourselves of some warnings of very prominent figures in not-so-distant history.

 “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on.”- Ronald Reagan

 “Socialists cry ‘Power to the people’ and raise the clenched fist as they say it. We all know what they really mean – power over people, power to the State.”- Margaret Thatcher

“There is no difference between communism and socialism, except in the means of achieving the same ultimate end: communism proposes to enslave men by force, socialism—by vote. It is merely the difference between murder and suicide.”- Ayn Rand

 “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”- Margaret Thatcher

-Kevin Powers, Waterford

Fish and Wildlife gone rogue?

We have been besieged by accounts of AI agents that go rogue and do not act in alignment with human intent and interests.  Perhaps not as well-known is the fact that VT Fish and Wildlife has done so as well.  They initially proposed extending the bear hunting season by one week to attempt to bring bears in line with their “target population.” Then, with no further justification, they extended it to an additional month to coincide with the final day of regulated deer hunting, and they added a second bear tag in designated areas. They ignored overwhelming popular opinion.  Due to the freedom of information act, Protect Our Wildlife obtained emails and testimony from all those who responded to extending the bear hunting season and having a second bear tag. An overwhelming eighty-eight percent were opposed to each item.  However, because a former Board chair requested a one month’s extension of bear hunting and a 2-bear limit in designated areas, VT Fish and Wildlife acquiesced.  Regardless of how many or how few bears there are, accessible garbage, compost and chicken coops will attract them. Other municipalities such as Lincoln, Plymouth and Littleton, NH mandate bear-proof containers; VT should do the same.  Moreover, Fish and Wildlife did not address hounding, which many people who testified objected to. By not aligning itself with public opinion, nor with scientific evidence that would justify their decision, VT Fish and Wildlife went rogue. Our wildlife management policies should reflect the values of the public and the biological needs of the animals, not a mandate to maximize targets for a small population of hunters. 

-Alice Roberge, Waterford

To the Editor:

President Trump is not on the ballot, so I hope if one has growing frustrations with Trump and Washington, that voters concentrate on the candidates and issues in Vermont.

I see Vermont moving farther and farther away from its fierce spirt of independence and choice and a growing dependency on government for controlling more of our lives.

I see laws passed that sound like they have good intentions to lower carbon emissions but then tack on insane provisions that will control your degree of choice and restrict when and how you can travel and heat your homes. A Vermont law that also says, if emissions can’t be reduced as projected over time, that we as Vermonters can bring law suits against ourselves for not meeting those projections. That means we as taxpayers pay the legal fees when suing ourselves!

I see a law that more and more restricts private land use. Land that may be held for generations handed down and now “The State” will tell you how best you can use and develop your land.

I see a Proposition claiming more for protecting the rights of workers (that are already covered in our state constitution) but will really make it mandatory for employers and employees to be subjugated to Union dues and to obtain the job itself. (Unions have value when you can make that choice). When Vermont needs business growth and more jobs, we need to encourage responsible business growth, not turn our backs to private and dare I say corporate jobs so young adults can really afford to live here!

How smug many can be to try to proclaim in saying one distains business growth and thus force many to stay in lower paying service related jobs. A Perfect Storm that makes one look toward government for answers and more government control over our lives and less options for choice and economic diversity. We curse Amazon and corporations now but not IBM back in the day?

We decry our children leaving Vermont but blindly support more school spending that negates tax reform measures?

-Bob Devost, Jericho

To the Editor:

To date, Vermont has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to house homeless people. The expenditures pay off for people who are down on their luck and need a helping hand. With assistance from the Chittenden County Homeless Alliance, Burlington has already helped more than 150 households transition from the temporary housing in motels/pods into permanent housing through the county’s “coordinated entry” system.

Such is not the case when dealing with mentally ill and addicted people. Health care professionals and social workers concur: “You simply cannot place a severely impaired person in a motel room or temporary shelter and expect a good outcome.”

The Critical Need for Inpatient Treatment

Despite state and city procrastination, there is a groundswell of professional and private opinion appealing for an inpatient facility or facilities for homeless people suffering from serious drug and mental disorders. 

Until 2011, the state funded the Vermont State Hospital Complex in Waterbury. First opened in 1894, it once housed over 1,200 people. It closed after being severely damaged by Tropical Storm Irene. The antiquated hospital buildings were already in poor condition due to inadequate funding and had been the subject of repeated calls for closure. Nevertheless, the state spent $130 million to renovate the site and now house several state agencies there. Momentum for closure gained critical legislative support when a majority of politicians were erroneously led to believe that severe mental health patients and illicit drug users could be successfully rehabilitated with a new generation of medications, administered on an outpatient basis in “community settings.”

According to Alice Feller, MD, a psychiatrist and writer based in Berkeley, CA., whose work has appeared in the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, the San Francisco Chronicle and New York Times, American psychiatric hospitals began to close their door in the 1960s. The movement began in California, first with the large state hospitals and then the small community hospitals as well.

By 1994 nearly half a million former patients had been sent back to live with their families, who were often unable to care for them. A quarter million newly discharged patients ended up on the streets or behind bars after committing serious crimes.  So many were incarcerated that jails and prisons have become our de facto mental hospitals. Today, the vast majority of inpatient psychiatric care in America is provided behind bars.

Based on mountains of empirical data and updated medical opinion, it is clear that Vermont needs to make a long time, capital investment (with a combination of state, public, private and foundation funding) in opening and professionally staffing a State Psychiatric Hospital. State-owned land with existing infrastructure makes Waterbury a prime candidate though others sites should be examined.

-Jack T. Scully