Editorial

Pay to Play and Student Parking Passes

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As a former 12-year member and Chair of the Suffield Board of Education during difficult economic times, I faced more than my fair share of difficult budget fights. Class sizes soared, building maintenance and desperately needed capital projects were put off, (to the town’s ultimate detriment I might add), administration was reduced, and extracurricular activities at the high school especially were eliminated. The high school was threatened with loss of accreditation due to the insufficient per pupil expenditure. In all that time, however, although it was discussed, the then Board of Ed did not institute a pay for play in the sports program. The reason was simple and equally applicable now.

Editorial

Signs, signs, signs

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When someone places a sign on the Town Green or along a roadside, I assume that they want the public to know something. Usually the main message is in large, readable letters. However, the rest of the important information is in letters so small that it cannot be read from your car. Now we all know that Suffield is not exactly a walking town, so most of the info cannot be seen by a passing motorist. What to do?

Editorial

Response to Selectman’s Criticism

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As a volunteer and occasional coeditor at the Observer, I take exception to certain comments in First Selectman Melissa Mack’s column about the paper. In a discussion with Suffield Middle School students about her job, she chose to take a cheap shot at the Observer due to her distress over an article written about the Suffield Police Department. Referring to the paper as the Obscurer, a term the Observer staff themselves coined in a satirical issue created in jest many years ago, Ms. Mack takes the volunteer staff to task for not living up to “the most basic of journalistic standards” and cites the article “SPD Review Causes Stir” as evidence that the Observer lacks a “devotion to impartiality.” To the contrary the Observer goes to great lengths to ensure that the reporting is accurate and unbiased, often spending many hours attending town and commission meetings, reviewing documents, reports, agendas and minutes and talking to those involved in the issue being reported. Likewise, if there has been an error in reporting and it is brought to the Observer’s attention, a correction is printed. Moreover, the Observer clearly states that editorials and opinions are those of the writer and not of the Observer.

Letter to the Editor

Pay to Play

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Dear Editors,

The Board of Education has just imposed pay to play and parking fees on high school students in Suffield. To quote the Yankee Institute’s recent review of the State Legislature’s budget diversion of public transportation funds to create a crisis requiring tolls: “Creating a crisis to justify the imposition of unpopular and unnecessary measures is an offensive way to conduct public policy.”

I hope the citizens of Suffield will see through this maneuver of Chairman Davis and the rest of the Board for what it is, offensive to say the least.

Editorial

Get Involved Before It Is Too Late

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There are issues today in America that are happening and it scares me. It scares me because they are happening without our knowledge or consent. We will wake up one day and realize that we don’t have any civil rights left. History is full of events driven by greed for power and money, complacency and/or fear. Salem Witch Hunt, Nazi Germany, Bosnia genocide.

Editorial

Measles – A Battle Report

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Connecticut has one of the nation’s highest rates of vaccination for the measles virus. Many of our State’s legislators, including Governor Lamont, have expressed serious concern with our State’s compliance rate. Both of these contradictory statements are true. The discrepancy arises from the latest State vaccination report. Past data disclosed only state averages for school vaccination rates, perhaps creating a false sense of security.

Letter to the Editor

Connector Road

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An important issue that has troubled and eluded our town for many years is the lack of a connector road from Bradley International Airport to the Enfield-Suffield Bridge to divert traffic from Main Street. It is a proposal that I vigorously advocated as First Selectman, but I could not get traction at the time. I urge the town, its leaders and citizens, and local, state, and congressional representatives, to wage a bipartisan effort to resurrect this project. Area industry is expanding and Bradley is growing, with a current passenger count of over 6.5 million yearly. There are plans this summer to build a new car rental facility, plus a new terminal in the near future, as DOT projects the passenger count to go to 10 million plus.

Letter to the Editor

Pay To Play

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Our recent Town budget includes a potential Pay to Play option going into effect for future school years despite overwhelming comments at the last meeting to not have this happen. I believe the Pay to Play fees will pertain to athletics and potentially, clubs/activities at SHS and/or SMS.

My concern is that we are pricing some students out of participating in said activities. If you are familiar with Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, you know kids/teens that are able to pay for the elite teams (travel, premiere, private training) already have a distinct advantage over those that cannot afford it. In turn, their skill set will allow them more success and advantages. Think college scholarships.

Op-Ed

Happy 95th Birthday Bridge Street School

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I always love coming back to Suffield. It is such an incredibly beautiful town – both in its landscape and its people. I was recently in town for the annual Suffield PMC Kids Ride, which had a record number of riders (208 children) and raised over $55,000 for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. An event like that does not come together without a dedicated group of volunteers and families willing to actively participate. The sense of community spirit was very strong on that beautiful Saturday in May.

Editorial

Embrace the Volunteer in You

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In last month’s issue, the Observer reached out to the community looking for people to write. For some time, finding people to get involved and commit time and effort has been an ongoing concern for this organization – as it has for many others in town. The Observer came to life in the spring of 1999. A significant number of residents were enthused about this grand endeavor of providing news of all the activities going on in Suffield that the city papers failed to notice. They reasoned that an informed town would lead to better public participation and better transparency.