The Suffield Observer (https://thesuffieldobserver.com/category/opinion/page/15/)
The last several weeks have changed the lives for all of us. The COVID-19 reality has created a storm of varying proportions worldwide. For some, it’s more a time of forced catching up and slowing down, but for many others, it’s scary, disruptive and life-changing in disappointing and terrifying ways we never could have imagined even four months ago.
I read the recent article in the Observer “What do People Mean” with some interest. I am a former resident of Suffield and RTC Chairman but still read the Observer to keep up with Town news. I must confess that I did hold the opinion that the paper was biased on the liberal side of the political aisle. It used to be that it was difficult for a conservative to read the Observer and as Mel identified, more often than not, it was Rick’s cartoons which created that impression. I think that if you look at the recent years of the Observer (March, May and July 2017 and April, June and September of 2018) you would see a number of cartoons that cast President Trump in a very negative light (to put it mildly) and there were others prior to this on other national issues.
During our town’s state of emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic, I was disappointed to see the Suffield Democratic Town Committee (DTC) take the symbolic action of removing our First Selectman Melissa Mack from its membership. While the DTC was holding its meeting on March 25, the town announced that another resident had tested positive for coronavirus.
I am 85 years old and have always felt fortunate to have been born and raised in this country where we have the privilege of voting without being threatened, as in some other countries. I voted for the first time in 1955 and have never missed a vote since.
Included in this issue, you will see a Letter to the Editor from Michael Stevens, regarding his perception, undoubtedly shared by others, that too many articles, editorials and cartoons demonstrate a negative tone, particularly in respect to our First Selectman.
For years, Suffield has worked at trying to build a community center in Suffield. As early as 1995, the town studied how this might be done. In 2002, the town created the Community Center Steering Committee, chaired at that time by Tim Reynolds, to plan and implement the construction of a new indoor recreational facility. Over time, committees were created, studies were made and proposals were presented to the town both in 2003 and then again in 2014, but nothing ever stuck until 2015, when the town finally voted to convert Bridge Street School to a community center. The expectation, of course, was that this project would see fruition.
I have been involved with The Suffield Observer for many years. During that time, it’s not unusual to hear comments from people working on the paper, as well as from citizens in town, saying the paper is too liberal; I wish the paper would be more middle of the road or conservative.
As I’ve read the Observer over the years, I have noted that it has become more of an opinion vehicle than an objective source of information.
