'More money than brains' caste has taken over Portsmouth: Letters

'More money than brains' caste has taken over Portsmouth

June 15 — To The Editor:

I find it concurrently sad and hilarious that the Portsmouth Historic District Commission can approve of the gold-plated fungus growing between Penhallow and Pleasant Streets. Still, it can find problems with the Dunkin Donuts on Islington Street, which has been there for over 30 years and has nothing historic around it.

The "More Money Than Brains" caste has taken over Portsmouth City Hall and will delight in turning it into a cheap replica of the tacky, garish nightmares they and theirs' in-migrated out of to Portsmouth over the last 20 years. I feel bad for them.

Nathan Ritzo

Hampton

More: Portsmouth board calls Dunkin' Donuts a 'blight on our historic district'

Valid concerns raised over historic marker's use of term 'first settlers'

June 15 — To the Editor:

The Dover City Council recently was asked to approve the placement of an historical marker at the site of the Roberts cemetery on the Dover Point Road. A number of people objected because of the proposed wording, most likely because it identified the people buried there as being "the first settlers" of the area. Given the actual history, I think the objection is well taken.

For way too long, we have ignored the true historical fact that the "first settlers" were the Native Americans who had been living in the Seacoast area for several thousand years before the arrival of anyone from Europe. There were established villages, tribal governments, trade … and at times warfare … between the various well-established tribal groups throughout the region.

The people who landed on what is now known as Hilton Park, then Dover Neck, and now Dover Point, were not invited here. They came for a variety of reasons. Some to escape religious and/or political persecution, some to make money for investors back in England through fishing, the fur trade, or timber harvesting. Some simply came in the spirit of adventure – the new, the unknown. They were, as we call such people today, "immigrants."  All of them, the Hiltons, the Roberts, Wentworths, Waldrons, all were seeking in some way to better the life they had been living in England. But make no mistake. They were not "the first settlers."

As we all know, there were later arrivals. The Irish, who came to work in the mills and on the railroad, followed some years later by French families from Quebec. There were people from Greece, Lebanese, Syrian, Armenian, all "immigrants" who came here in the 1800s and early 1900s for the same reasons as the early Hiltons and Roberts – to escape religious or political oppression, poverty, famine, wars – a vision of a better life. You and I would not be here today if it had not been for our "immigrant" forebears. Over the years the real "early settlers" were driven out of the region, relegated to a fraction of the land that had been theirs. There are few if any historical markers to show where they lived and where they are buried.

And in an ironic turn of events, many people who are here today solely because many generations ago their ancestors came to these shores – and who were identified and treated as "immigrants" – have turned against the immigrants of today who are fleeing oppression, corruption, wars and famine, denouncing them as invaders and threats to the "American way of life".

Perhaps the wording of the Dover marker can be changed to accurately reflect who were the real "early settlers" and the proper role played by those first families who came from England. The big challenge, however, is for all of us to accept who we really are. We are a country of "immigrants."

Anthony McManus

Dover

A positive story out of Rye about parents and an umpire

June 16 — To the Editor:

There was a terrible story yesterday about what a coach did to an umpire in New Jersey.

There is another story of what some parents did for an umpire in Rye, New Hampshire, yesterday.

I have been involved in girls softball for about 20 years. I think I have been umpiring 15 of those years.

I umpired a lot of their home games last year when they played as under-age 10 and a lot of their games this year as u-12 players.

I talk to both coaches before each game to try and keep us all on the same page. I rake the pitchers mound after each half inning, let the pitcher pick which of the two game balls she wants to throw, three warm-up  pitches ... more softball, less warm-ups.

After each game, the u12 Rye girls go out to center field to have their after game talk. I took the rake and mask and put them back in the storage shed.

As I was walking to my car ... they came running up to me. They handed me a card and thanked me for umpiring their games. There was a SIZABLE gift certificate included in the envelope. I never got that much as a coach.

Be careful when you try to give back to your community. Parents might thank you in ways you never expected.

Jim Nevin

Portsmouth

Hot air won't run your car

June 16 — To the Editor:

Why didn't Washington use an executive order to put price controls on supplies to retail gas stations? If done months ago, the ‘pain we feel’ would be much less. Instead we hear hot air about the “pain they share” with $5 pump gas prices.

Ethanol production is more costly and pollutes more than regular gasoline. Corn farmers love it, more corn to sell, and their votes count. Oil company hate price controls that cut their profits, and their votes count.

We need a Washington for the people, not for election supporters!

Lobby for gasoline price controls!

David Lincoln

York, Maine

Suicide prevention, mental health care need to be a national priority

June15 — To the Editor:

As suicide continues to be a leading cause of death in the U.S., our members of Congress must make suicide prevention and mental health a national priority. Access to timely, affordable, and quality crisis services can save lives.

I lost my sister in law in July of 2013. I saw the effects of this loss first hand. My brother struggled, we all did. I thought, if I can help one family to not experience the same sadness we did then it's all worth it.

That is why, on June 6-7, I participated in the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)'s 13th Annual Advocacy Forum with fellow advocates from across the country. Together, we met virtually with our U.S. Senators and Representatives and asked them to support:

• Grants to expand suicide prevention trainings, assessment, and screenings in Emergency Departments (H.R. 1324 /S. 467).

• Standards for a behavioral health crisis care response system to guide health care providers and communities in responding to individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis (S. 1902/H.R. 5611).

• Funding for the implementation of the 988 number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and crisis response system (H.R. 7116).

In our meetings, I was the voice for many individuals in our state who have been affected by suicide and mental health. I was joined and supported by a passionate group of AFSP advocates, leading the ever-growing movement of people who are speaking out about these issues. Together, we became the face, the name, the story, and the reason our members of Congress should support this lifesaving legislation. Join us by contacting your members of Congress and urging them to prioritize suicide prevention through the AFSP Action Center (afsp.org/actioncenter).

Heather Zyliak

Concord

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: 'More money than brains' caste has taken over Portsmouth, NH: Letters