Letters to the Editor
> Heron Pond Road is wrong place for sports fields
To the Editor:
Heron Pond Road is the wrong place for the town of Milford to build sports fields. There would be serious negative environmental impacts to an important part of the Heron Pond Wetland Complex, including to rare, threatened and endangered wildlife species.
Increased traffic, noise and lights won’t exactly be welcomed by the neighbors, either.
Expansion of Keyes Park and better use of Kaley Park provide more suitable locations for a variety of sports fields.
It’s also the wrong time to be spending money on building new fields instead of repairing roads and bridges or fixing the costly problems with our existing municipal buildings, all true necessities.
But the selectmen are moving ahead with sports fields anyway and have actually already applied to the state for approval, all without giving the general public an opportunity to provide input beforehand.
Now after the fact, a public hearing is scheduled for Thursday, July 14, at 7:30 p.m. in Town Hall to discuss the matter. But will the selectmen be listening, I wonder?
If the public’s voice really does matter, then the selectmen ought to be willing to withdraw their premature application to the state and wait to really hear what the general public has to say.
The public’s voice ought to count for something, or is the town simply going to put on a show and pretend that the concerns expressed by the public matter.
Suzanne Fournier
Coordinator
Brox Environmental Citizens
Milford
Wrong time for Brox sports fields
To the Editor:
The selectmen’s decision to build roadside sports fields next to Heron Pond School is a fiscally irresponsible action, in my view, that requires a public response.
It is being done (a) in the absence of a public vote, (b) under a default budget, (c) in the face of a declining town population rate, (d) while there are three other existing and underutilized sports fields and (e) causing further accumulation of deferred maintenance and upgrade of needed town facilities, products and services.
I take issue with several of the comments made by Tina Philbrick in her July 7 letter. It is inaccurate to imply that "a vast majority of the town" voted in favor of sports fields when we’ve not had a vote on the fields.
Nor is it accurate to use the "future growth of our town" as a reason for sport fields. New Hampshire Employment Security census data indicate a declining trend in Milford’s population growth rate from 15 percent in 1990-99 to 11 percent in 2000-09 and a present growth rate of only 0.3 percent (www. nhes.nh.gov).
I think "current needs" can be readily satisfied by the additional 5.8 acres at the town-owned 127 Elm St. property that allows expansion of facilities at Keyes Field. There is an underutilized sports field on the playground side of Heron Pond School. Might it be used for soccer by the Milford Community Athletic Association?
Selectmen shouldn’t be spending a penny on Heron Pond Road sports fields without voter approval.
Money would be more responsibly spent on town projects identified in the 2016 Capital Improvement Plan (www. milford.nh.gov), including Town Hall renovations, highway/bridge repairs and equipment upgrades, and Wadleigh Memorial Library upkeep and improvement.
These and other necessary improvements still require urgent attention and are priorities over sports playing fields during this time of a default budget.
Paul Cunningham, Ph.D.
Milford
Support Weeks for Executive Council
To the Editor:
I met Dan Weeks recently at the start of his remarkable 33-town "handshake tour" of District 5. We talked about his campaign for Executive Council and how the needs of District 5 residents – especially in the key areas of passenger rail, jobs, renewable energy and access to health care for all – have been consistently undermined and hamstrung by partisan ideology in the Executive Council.
This is the kind of backward thinking that Dan has been fighting from his earliest days at ConVal to his work with former Gov. Walter Peterson, Sen. Warren Rudman and Granny D to launch Americans for Campaign Reform and leadership with Open Democracy.
In an effort to get big money out of politics, Dan and his team walked over 30,000 miles across New Hampshire. For research, he rode a Greyhound bus across 30 states on a poverty budget of $16 per day. Little wonder he was named one of New Hampshire’s Forty Under Forty.
Now Dan wants to bring that bipartisan energy and fresh leadership to the Executive Council, where he will advocate for the interests of the 300,000 people of District 5 and serve as an experienced, responsible watchdog for district taxpayers. His familiarity with complex budgets and contracts at the state and institutional level, his concern with gender equality, public education, opioid treatment and prevention all make Dan a superb candidate for Executive Council.
I urge voters to seize this opportunity to bring intelligent, bipartisan leadership to this important post by voting for Dan Weeks for Executive Council, District 5, in November.
George Duncan
Peterborough
Thanks for help on Family Fun Day
To the Editor:
On Monday, July 4, the Milford Recreation Department held its eighth annual July Fourth Family Fun Day and its second annual Star Spangled 5K at Keyes Memorial Park.
We had great participation for our field games and activities hosted by Dave Alcox. We had over 280 people join our free day pass at the pool and another 1,000 spectators for the fireworks between Keyes Memorial Park and MCAA fields.
The Recreation Department wants to give a big thank you to Dave Alcox, our band of the night Rob Oxford and Familiar Echo’s, Recreation Commission and volunteers. Thank you.
Our second annual Star Spangled 5K, 3K and 1K is continuing to grow, with 84 participants in this year’s race.
We want to give a special thank you to all of our sponsors Rite Aid, Anytime Fitness, Northeast Promotion & Apparel, Family Dental Care of Milford, Physical Therapy Center of Milford, Lefty Lanes, Cirtronics, Fleet Feet and Northeast Delta Dental. This race couldn’t have been possible without our sponsors and volunteers. Thank you.
We would also like to thank the Milford Department of Public Works, Milford Police Department, Milford Fire Department, Recreation Commission, Keyes Pool staff, along with all the volunteers who came out to lend a hand with this community event.
Photos of the event will be posted on Facebook. "Friend" Milford Recreation today!
John Kohlmorgen
Recreation program coordinator
Milford
NH Wounded Heroes raises funds
To the Editor:
My name is Chuck Siragusa and I’m representing the New Hampshire Wounded Heroes Inc., a 501 (c) (3) organization.
This year at the Amherst Fourth of July celebration on the Village Common, the New Hampshire Wounded had a tent to spread the word about the good work we do on behalf of all our military heroes.
The mission of the New Hampshire Wounded Heroes Inc. is to raise funds for the benefit of nonprofit organizations who have proven to be cost efficient and whose services best meet the needs of our Wounded Heroes. We seek to involve our local, church, state, private and public communities to raise funds, procure and secure donations, both monetary as well as in-kind, and to offer opportunities for volunteerism.
We do this because it is the right thing to do and we consider it our privilege to be able to serve those who serve our country.
Chuck Siragusa
Public relations director
New Hampshire Wounded Heroes
Help for high-risk pregnancy sought
To the Editor:
I am writing to request that you print the below story to help raise money for my friend.
Hillary and Paul Paro of Milford had an angel baby Desmond who only blessed us with his presence for 10 days. For Desmond’s second birthday this year, he gave his parents another sibling. Paro 2.0 is due in November.
While this "Rainbow Baby" is the blessing and prayer answered, it is a high-risk pregnancy. Hillary is currently ordered on her side for 20 hours a day. Her doctors are not allowing her to work. The lack of work is causing financial stress, which is not good for 2.0 or Hillary. Paul is trying to get a second job.
They have waited so long and are so deserving, they shouldn’t worry about how the bills are going to get paid.
To help try to relieve some stress and get the bills paid, I have set up a Go Fund Me page. Here is the link: gofund. me/22t4zdpc. We need to make sure that Paro 2.0 stays in a zen womb until October.
On behalf of myself, Hillary, Paul, Desmond and 2.0, thank you for your donation! Your act of kindness will not go unnoticed; you will always be a part of 2.0’s life.
Jennifer Heinrich
Milford