Letters: Justice for Vedam; Strawberry Festival was a success

CDT readers
·5 min read

Justice for Vedam

Our justice system is stronger when we have the integrity to correct past mistakes.

Longtime residents of Centre County will remember when, in 1982, 20-year old State College resident Subu Vedam was convicted of killing his friend Tom Kinser. Even at the time, many shook their heads: Mr. Vedam was a non-violent young man, no motive or weapon was produced; it just didn’t add up. Then last year, attorneys connected to the Innocence Project uncovered evidence pointing to Mr. Vedam’s actual innocence, evidence that the original juries did not get to see. For details, please go to freesubu.org.

I invite our Centre County District Attorney’s office to follow the lead of Jackson County, MO prosecutor, Jean Peters Baker. Baker’s efforts helped free Kevin Strickland, another innocent man who had been convicted of murder over 40 years ago. Baker writes: “Our office had clearly made a grave, almost unthinkable error four decades ago. It was now our duty to correct it.” Kevin Strickland was freed in 2021.

Now it is Centre County’s turn. At a hearing that is scheduled for the morning of July 22 at the Bellefonte courthouse, Mr. Vedam’s attorneys will argue for his right to have the exonerating evidence be seen and considered. If there is even a small chance Mr. Vedam is innocent, then we have an obligation to explore that line of inquiry.

Whether Mr. Vedam gets justice is a matter that affects all of us. Please express your support for a fair process.

Janet Irons, State College

Strawberry Festival was a success

On behalf of the Lemont Village Association, and Granary Committee, I would like to thank the Centre Daily Times for excellent coverage of our 42nd Annual Strawberry Festival. Thanks to the great publicity, we had a crowd of over 1,000 strawberry lovers who enjoyed a beautiful afternoon, consuming 272 quarts of strawberries, 55 cakes, 45 gallons of delicious Meyer Dairy ice cream, and lemonade. The event will help fund the final work on our historic building renovations.

Too many helped to name but thank you to 25 people who washed and hulled strawberries from Mark and Marla Kurtz’s Belleville farm. Fifty provided cakes, and many more helped to set up, clean up and serve refreshments. We had a waste-free event, composting 17 large bags. Giant and Weis Market, Hills Plaza, and Weis Market, Westerly Parkway subsidized the supplies, and W.R. Hickey’s supplied lots of ice. College Township officials and State College police also helped, and neighbors were tolerant of traffic and disruptions. Bellefonte Historical Railroad Society volunteers provided “speeder” rides, and music was provided all afternoon by Mary Madigan, Gwen Stimely, Steve Buckalew, Andrea Miles and Patty McKenna.

Summer fun on the Village Green continues with free concerts every Friday evening, 7:30-9 p.m. Please bring your own chair or blanket. Check our website for details, www.lemontvillage.org.

Susan F. Smith, Lemont. The author is the board chair of the Lemont Village Association.

Protesters made rounds in State College

I appreciated the CDT’s coverage of the protesters at Faith UCC church last Sunday (“State College leaders voice support for LGBTQ+ community,” June 21). It turns out those angry folks were busy that day because they came to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church too. They were out in front of our building yelling at worshipers, including children, as they entered for our regular service. In fact, we had every intention of inviting them in to enjoy some refreshments following our service just to show them that we accept everyone, but we did not have the opportunity as they obviously had to run to harass our friends at Faith. I am happy to live in a country where people can exercise their freedom of speech. However, we were disappointed not to be able to share Christian hospitality and fellowship with them. Perhaps another time. Until we meet again, I will be praying for those folks that they discover the true nature of the Gospel of Christ, that God loves all of us sinners.

The Rev. Jeffrey Packard, State College. The author is Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church’s rector.

Alternative to Thompson

The latest Glenn Thompson scorecard shows who our Congressman cares about ... and it’s not a pretty picture.

While he’s been in Congress and, more recently head of the House Agriculture Committee, big agribusiness has grown fatter while family farmers and people of his district suffer.

Consider this:

  • Thompson’s new Farm Bill cuts $30 billion in SNAP (food stamp) benefits over the next 10 years. This despite more than one-quarter of the families in 12 of the 18 counties in his district rely on public assistance. In Cameron County it’s more than 50% of residents.

  • The cuts from SNAP are being used to subsidize Big Agriculture. (It’s no surprise that Thompson’s largest donors are corporate agriculture firms.)

  • Meanwhile, Thompson’s district has lost more than 600 small farms since 2017.

Fortunately, the people of the 15th District can end the Thompson embarrassment by voting for Zach Womer.

Womer doesn’t take corporate donations and is actively campaigning to remove corporate money from politics.

Womer supports family farms, not the huge corporations that are putting family farms out of business.

Womer knows that SNAP benefits are a lifeline to people of this district.

Womer lives in Philipsburg and knows the struggles many families in the 15th District face. He worked construction to pay his way through Penn State and is now a top student in Penn State’s Law School.

Want positive change in rural Pennsylvania? Vote for a candidate committed to the needs of this district. Vote for Zach Womer for Congress!

Norita Chyle, State College