Letters to the Editor: Playbook for creating a public spectacle

Inappropriate? Me?

Sometimes I act so dumb,

So out of place

Some actions,

So abrupt,

So thoughtless,

Realized by your reaction face.

Can’t take back my stupid deeds,

Nor erase your disgusted look.

To be myself or someone’s idea

Of what I ought,

Or should,

Or will have to become.

Where is the balance

Or will I always feel

Hard cold stares which say, ‘You bum!’?

Will I ever learn?

A part of me says, ‘yes’

But my bigger part knows better.

Keith J. Welch

Holland

Thankful for the letters forum

My sincere appreciation to the many contributors of Letters to the Editor, who have been well-informed and articulate as you expressed dissatisfaction, disgust and disappointment. You are to be highly commended, as is our Pulitzer Prize nominee, Sarah Leach. Thank you for helping to restore our Ottawa County, which we for years have been proud to call home.

Peg VanGrouw

Holland

Playbook for creating a public spectacle

Ottawa County Administrator John Gibbs didn't want to create a “public spectacle” when hiring his $130,000+ junior executive assistant so he would not name him. So much for transparency.

Unfortunately the junior exec's social media had disparaging remarks (as recently as 2021) against women, Muslims and public education. His reposting of conspiracy theories, not to mention his not meeting the job requirements, are a public spectacle.

Even more discouraging are female commissioners who don't speak out about his hiring (or that of Gibbs) and use this opportunity to support the women with a strong statement against sexism. The weakest excuse came from Talent and Recruitment Chair Allison Miedema, who refused to discuss it because such hiring had never been discussed before in this committee. The Ottawa Impact board loves to tear apart past practices of the previous board so when she had opportunity to change course, Miedema conveniently didn't.

The ongoing revenge tactics against the health department for following state mandates during an unprecedented time in our nation’s history are a true public spectacle. I don't believe OI’s proposed budget cuts, and only to that department, have anything to do with the common good or fiscally responsibility. Remember how Chair Joe Moss said he was just “correcting” the minutes from the previous board and less than 24 hours later Joe’s handpicked corporate counsel filed to dismiss Health Officer Adeline Hambley's lawsuit?

At the Finance and Administration Committee meeting the public spectacle continued. The grandstanding, playground antics and probably the most condescending behavior yet: Commissioner Cosby having Hambley sworn in under oath before her public shaming could commence.

Revenge politics hiding behind resolutions and whereas(es), personal agendas, retaliation and vindictiveness. Ottawa Impact likes to mask its actions under the red, white and blue smokescreen. Take the time to educate yourselves and vote as if your mental, emotional and physical health depends on it in 2024.

Deb Cizek

Port Sheldon Township

Vote to re-elect Nathan Bocks as Holland mayor

What I'm about to say may raise some eyebrows … read on …

I am writing you to show my support for Nathan Bocks to be re-elected as mayor of the city of Holland.

Over my two and a half decades serving the people of Holland from the First Ward, I worked alongside some wonderful individuals, a number of mayors, countless council members, and great staff both old.

I always had great respect for these people because of the tireless commitment shown especially by the elected officials. We did not always agree on everything, but what I respected most was the conversations, the compromise, the understanding, and the respect of the opinions of colleagues. Some discussions got a little heated because we all have a deep passion for the citizens, the city and the greater community.

But in the end, after the vote was put in the record books, we moved on, no hard feelings, and we stood as one voice (thank you, nonpartisan local municipal seats).

I have known Mayor Bocks for longer than either of us cares to remember. I have worked with him on a number of projects, Leadership West Coast, planted tulips at Window on the Water Front in the fall, and the list could go on.

I learned a lot about Nathan sitting next to him at council meetings. I learned and watched how he processes information, how he listens to all sides of an issue before forming his final opinion, weighing the pros and cons.

As I stated earlier, this endorsement will raise some eyebrows because it is no secret that Nathan and I are, shall we say, from opposite sides of the aisle from a political standpoint. That is the beauty of local nonpartisan politics, you work together, sometimes having to compromise for the greater good of the common goal: THE CITY OF HOLLAND.

Please join me in my endorsement and support the re-election of Mayor Nathan Bocks.

Myron (Mike) Trethewey

Temple, Texas

Cuts to county health department unconscionable

I am a pediatrician who practiced general pediatrics in Grand Haven for 27 years. I am appalled by the recent cuts the Ottawa Impact county commissioners have proposed to the Ottawa County Department of Public Health’s budget.

Imagine your child is exposed to measles, a disease that can kill. Imagine your child is bitten by a strange dog. Imagine your child cries every night because their teeth hurt and you can’t afford dental care. Imagine you are a 17-year-old girl who is pregnant and whose parents kicked her out of the house. Imagine you are a 32-year-old mother of three whose husband left you — with an STI. Imagine you have a child born with a congenital birth defect. Or imagine, horror of horrors, your child is diagnosed with cancer.

Fortunately, the OCDPH has programs that can assist you in these difficult situations. They work with schools and physicians in the event of outbreaks of serious disease. They assist with vaccines for rabies prevention. They provide dental services for children who cannot obtain them otherwise. They have a program that sends nurses and social workers into the home to assist women during pregnancy and in the first year of the baby’s life. They offer confidential sexual health services. They have a program that assists children with complicated medical conditions and their families with financial needs, referral issues, coordination of care, and other issues.

THIS is what our health department does for Ottawa County children. If these budget cuts are allowed to go through, the children will suffer. Please do not allow these cuts to go unchallenged.

Julia Davey, M.D.

Grand Haven

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Letters to the Editor: Playbook for creating a public spectacle