Common sense spending for Orford

If the taxpayers of Orford were concerned with your property tax bill last year you may want to consider changing the direction and make up of the Selectboard on Town Meeting Day which is this coming March 12.

There are two Selectboard positions that we will be voting on this year. The first position is a three-year term with two candidates running; John Adams who is currently the chairman of the Selectboard, and former Selectboard member Larry Taylor. The second position is a two-year term, with Kevin Follensbee who was appointed to the Selectboard to fill a vacant position being challenged by Terry Straight, who has stepped down as fire chief, road agent and recently resigned as chairman of the Orford Planning Board.

I would encourage taxpayers to look into why and how much some of the departments and boards continue to increase spending, such as why did the Highway Department over spend its $30,000 gravel budget by $215,000 for a total of $245,000 in 2022?

To me, when budgets get that far out of whack it’s time to make a change in town leadership. I encourage you to think about what your tax bill was last November and join me in supporting Larry Taylor and Kevin Follensbee on the two positions for Orford Selectboard members on the March 12 ballot.

Tom Thomson

Orford

Tax deal harms Lebanon residents

In December 2023 the Lebanon City Council voted to grant 11 years of property tax abatement for a planned residential development at the former Kleen Laundromat property. This project is for 183 apartments off Mascoma Street. The council’s rationale for forgoing tax revenue from a for-profit organization is to compensate the developer for high interest rates and for the higher costs of labor and building materials. Did the council forget that with increased developments come increased costs of infrastructure and require greater emergency resources?

The councilors voting for this proposal were Clifton Below, Karen Liot Hill, Douglas Whittlesey, Chris Simon and Erling Heistad. Heistad will be on the March 12 ballot running for councilor at large while Simon will be running in Ward 1. While this may be a worthwhile project, many of us homeowners have paid higher interest and tax rates along with higher labor and material costs for the maintenance of our homes over the years/decades with no tax relief.

How many more developers will our taxes need to support? And will your city representatives support and give tax relief to its residents or just to the developers? And if the city continues to discourage homeownership with excessive tax burdens to support developers how much longer can this inequitable system last?

Mary Ann Mastro

Lebanon

A new leader for Lebanon schools

Richard Ford Burley would be an outstanding addition to the Lebanon School Board, and I encourage the voters of Lebanon to elect him.

Richard is a deep thinker and a quick learner. When we discussed educational issues, Richard highlighted three for me. First, special education. Not only do we need to fund it, but we also need to recognize that it benefits students at various levels of ability. Second, representation. We need to make sure that all students — not just those who are cis, white or male — are represented in the materials presented to them. Third, trades. Many of our students would thrive in practicing a trade far more than if they were to go to college. Moreover, we need smart, capable tradespeople. Richard wants Lebanon schools to support students who want to go into the trades.

Please vote for Richard Ford Burley for Lebanon School Board on March 12.

Tom Cormen

Lebanon

Re-elect Cousineau as
Cornish Library Trustee

Elections for library trustees generally don’t garner headlines or letters. This year in Cornish is different. Cornish is in the midst of a multi-year effort that will culminate in a new library and community center for our town. Laura Cousineau, a librarian with 30 years of experience, who has already served four years as a library trustee, has filed to retain her seat on the board.

Over the course of this next three-year term, the Library Board of Trustees will be perhaps more important than ever before as we make the transition to our new library. Laura has and continues to serve on exploratory and planning committees for the new library. That knowledge, combined with her experience as a librarian, lifelong library user and current trustee makes her an indispensable member of the board.

Please support the Cornish Library now and in the future by re-electing Laura Cousineau to the Cornish Library Board of Trustees.

Kate Freeland

Cornish

A divisive issue
in Lebanon

On Feb. 21, the Lebanon City Council passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire, release of hostages and provision of humanitarian aid in Gaza in response to a lengthy petition that was on the City Council agenda that night. The petition itself is under discussion by the City’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Commission this month.

As a member of Kol Ha’Emek, the Upper Valley Jewish Community, and a resident of Lebanon for 26 years, I had serious concerns about the City Council addressing an international issue that is complex and heartbreaking and could only cause divisiveness within our local community. The brutal attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians on Oct. 7 and the subsequent war have caused enormous loss of life, suffering, anguish.

Our Jewish community is incredibly diverse; we represent a wide range of perspectives, religious and political. Yet, across the spectrum, our hearts break for the suffering that has occurred over the past five terrible months.

Our congregation strives to provide a safe place, a sanctuary, for all of our members, regardless of their points of view. That said, we are painfully aware of the rapid rise in antisemitism in our world and, yes, even within the Upper Valley.

Is this a safe place for us? Is Lebanon truly a welcoming community when it adopts a resolution in which the very words it uses are biased and the city’s DEI Commission is seriously considering a petition that a good many of us consider one-sided and antisemitic? Hamas’ stated aim is to eradicate not just Israel, but also Jews worldwide.

I would ask our city’s leaders to ask themselves if taking a position on a war, not between “Israel and Palestine,” as the resolution says, but actually between Israel and Hamas, builds community right here and right now, at a most fraught time. To quote the Anti-Defamation League, antisemitism — and, certainly, Islamophobia — “tears the fabric of societies.”

We pray for peace. We pray for humanity. And we pray for our community to be welcoming and safe.

Roberta Berner

West Lebanon