As usual, it would seem a few less-than-thoughtful souls are ruining a good thing for the larger community.

For decades, a boat ramp has been available to the public by the Hooksett District Court. It is unclear exactly who owns the land the ramp is on; no records seem to exist. We're told by one long-time resident that, more than likely, Roger Hebert, who owns the property by the ramp, does indeed own the land the ramp is on and that it was most likely a handshake deal that led to the town and Amoskeag Rowing Club being allowed use of the ramp. The club was even allowed to erect a boathouse by the ramp.

The agreement is now fading in people's memories, and there are now young boaters using the ramp who were probably not even born when the agreement was struck. To the many people involved in crew, that ramp probably feels like their property. Why wouldn't it? They've been able to host regattas and practice there for decades. And for the most part, they've been troublefree.

But every so often, someone else wants to use the ramp, and can't get to it. They're unhappy with the rowers. So things get nasty and they block the crew teams. Now the rowers are unhappy with the other boaters. Everyone's upset, and action is demanded. The town is drawn into the fracas and now has to outline an agreement in writing.

Isn't it a shame everyone couldn't just allow courteous use by all? It makes us long for the old days of the handshake and belief that all would behave nicely.

- Editorials published by Neighborhood News Inc. are written by an editorial board. The board is composed of Publisher and President Amy J. Vellucci, Executive Editor Ginger Kozlowski and Managing Editor Christine Heiser.

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To the Editor:
You are incorrect. You have the problem backwards.

If a student will only eat hot dogs or pizza, that is a parent problem , not a school problem.

Phil Daley
Hillsborough

 

To the Editor:
With the number of terrorist acts, claimed to be reported, how much time is being spent on teenagers, like this 16-year-old Pakistani girl, with no apparent links to terrorism, surfing the net? Who is evaluating the ones really needing to be pursued? Wasn't Tashnuba doing what a lot of teenagers do, speaking her mind, something we do in a democracy?

It is sad to think, that she might not be the isolated case. Maybe we need to go back two years from now, to see what has happened to her.

Things like this tell us that we do need to re-evaluate The Patriot Act, not just keep it as it is.

Regis Lemaire
Pembroke

 

To the Editor:
I am very concerned by the letter last week about Hooksett Police Department's undocumented immigrant policy. The writer states that "there is no gray area here" and calls for citizens to "form our own version of minutemen."

What I want to know is just how are the Hooksett police, (or the Candia police, or any police) supposed to know who is illegal? Are they going to ask everyone stopped in a routine traffic violation to provide proof of citizenship? Am I going to have to get a passport, or is my birth certificate good enough?

Does this scenario scare anyone besides me? Or am I exempt from having to prove my citizenship because I am white?

What the police in New Ipswich and Hudson are doing is singling out people because of their race. It is not the job of the police to choose which laws they get to enforce, and immigration laws are beyond the scope of local law enforcement.

Our courts are packed enough with frivolous law suits; let's not flood them with some vigilante police chief's idea of a political statement.

What Mr. Groves is really proposing with his citizen vigilante group is to have bands of citizens look for and harass people of color, because I bet you any amount of money they won't be asking me (or other white folks) for proof of citizenship.

Sounds like the KKK to me. What's next, lynching?

Susi Nord
Candia

 

To the Editor:
I wish to commend Ray Cote and Don Duhamel for their tireless efforts to assist Vietnam veterans in need. For those lessfortunate veterans, it's wonderful to know that someone cares and is there to help them.

However, I must say that the facts just don't support the assertion that only about 10 percent of Vietnam veterans have made a successful adjustment to civilian life after the war. Documented information refuting this stereotype is as near as your computer's search engine.

One excellent source is the book "Stolen Valor," by B.G. Burkett and Glenna Whitley. To paraphrase those authors, Vietnam veterans are as successful or more successful than men their own age who did not go to war; that a disproportionate number of Vietnam vets serve in Congress, one has been Vice President of the United States and another Secretary of State; they run Fortune 500 companies (Frederick Smith of Federal Express); write screenplays (Bill Broyles, formerly of Newsweek); and they report the evening news (Jack Smith of ABC).

Actors such as Dennis Franz and game show hosts like Pat Sajak served in Vietnam. Beyond the famous, the ranks of professions such as prosecutors, attorneys, and public safety agencies are filled with Vietnam veterans.

There is honestly no facet of American life that has not been positively touched by Vietnam veterans. They are in large part running the everyday life of this country now.

A U.S. Labor Department study in 1994 showed that the unemployment rate for Vietnam veterans was 3 percent, which is lower than the 5 percent for Vietnam- era veterans who served outside the Vietnam theater, and also lower than the 4.9 percent unemployment rate for all male veterans of all wars.

Again, there are veterans who are in need of assistance, and I commend those who provide it. It's important, though, to not infer from those numbers that the majority of Vietnam veterans have not made a very successful and contributory adjustment to life in these United States.

James C. Pitts
Franklin

 

To the Editor:
Did you know that in Darfur, Sudan, genocide is taking place? Tribal people of Darfur are dying at a rate of 15,000 a month. They are victims of genocide. Not since Rwanda of 1994 have we seen so many people slaughtered, raped, starved and displaced.

I'm a worried student at David R. Cawley Middle School in Hooksett. I'm worried because I don't want to stand by while another genocide occurs like the one in Rwanda. Already, there are an estimated 200,000 people who have been killed. What really gets me mad is that the United States is doing nothing.

I'm writing to you because I think that if you report on this terrible event about Darfur, Sudan, then you could make a difference by educating the American public and encourage them to do what they can to help. Please write articles describing the terrible things that are happening in Darfur. We do not want another genocide.

There is another genocide happening right now. there are so many people dying. People are put under genocide. We need your help so there isn't another genocide. Please help them now.

Brittany Wilcox
Hooksett