Croydon voters, be heard

Local elections and meetings, held in March, approach. Given what happened in my hometown of Croydon last year, which made national news, my attention is heightened. While some would say the record-breaking turnout at a special May School Meeting, which restored the budget that had been slashed last March, resolved issues, tensions continue.

I am part of We Stand Up for Croydon, which rallied the town last spring. We aim “to promote ... civic engagement by helping to inform and mobilize town residents around common ground issues.” Group members have attended town board meetings regularly and have encouraged other town residents to do so. We’ve tried to inform ourselves and share information about town and state issues. We’ve joined committees, been appointed to positions and are running in the upcoming election.

One committee I joined a few months ago, Strategic Planning, put out a survey early this year, the results of which were shared and explored at a recent community meeting, and which can be accessed on the school district’s website. In a recent letter to the editor (“Public schooling versus public education,” Jan. 30), one Croydon resident claimed at that meeting, “Disdain for public opinion was ... expressed by a ‘Stand Up’ committee member who voiced concern that many voters are ‘not informed’ and that these people still vote — a rather elitist statement.”

I’m that committee member, but my words are entirely misrepresented. In response to residents’ owns concerns about filling out the survey — several people expressed uncertainty about their level of knowledge related to the school district — I said the committee wanted their opinions, regardless of their background understanding, especially since many of them bring that same level of understanding to the ballot box.

This misrepresentation reinforces my commitment to We Stand Up for Croydon’s mission. The importance of reading and listening carefully and of basing your beliefs and decisions on facts, rather than on misinformation and misunderstanding, can’t be overstated. As we approach town voting, ask whether you know the candidates and what they stand for. If you don’t, seek out reliable information; talk to someone you trust. Consider how you might become more engaged. Your opinion, demonstrated by your vote and your participation in our collective democracy, matters every time.

Amanda Leslie

Croydon

Kenyon unfair to DH executives

Jim Kenyon takes his role as an investigative journalist seriously, taking to task anyone he thinks works to the detriment of the general public. If he were going after real estate firm MG2 for throwing local residents out of their homes in the middle of the winter during a housing crisis (“Jim Kenyon: Quechee renters shown the door en masse, with little recourse,” Feb. 6, 2022), I would be solidly behind him. However, he is completely off-base with the glee and vitriol with which he often attacks the Dartmouth-Hitchcock leadership team.

I worked at D-H in information technology for 22 years, retiring at the end of August 2021 at age 70. I worked with almost all areas of the corporation. This capped a 48-year career in which I worked at the headquarters of some very large firms. Joanne Conroy is probably the most accessible and compassionate chief executive I have worked with. She rivals the fabled Jim Varnum, who was in charge when I came there in 1999. Her immediate reports are also first-rate.

I could have moved anywhere when I retired, but I chose to stay in the area in part due to the excellent health care I receive at D-H. My wife and I have such faith in them that we have remembered them generously in our will. Jim Kenyon only demeans himself when he slanders good people who are working hard in a very difficult situation.

Peter Magoon

Enfield

Fund Claremont’s schools

At last evening’s deliberative session meeting (Feb. 8), an amendment to restore the previously cut $1 million to the Claremont School Board’s proposed budget was passed. Those in attendance spoke about the importance of supporting our teachers, students, staff and families to provide consistency and quality in the education of our students.

I believe the School Board wants to work to support those efforts. Therefore, it is important for the citizens of Claremont to vote in support of the school budget being presented to the voters on March 14.

Claremont schools have the potential to excel in achievement and provide opportunities for our students to succeed beyond their public school years.

In order for this to happen we need to have your vote now.

Arlene Hawkins

Claremont

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