Opinion/Letters: Island residents should be given first shot at local summer camps

Island residents should be given first shot at summer camps

OK, Campers!

Well, it’s that time of the year again - when well-meaning parents arm themselves with spreadsheets and set their alarms: in an attempt to get their children enrolled in a local camp or two!

Good luck parents. More challenging than securing tickets to a T.Swift concert, if your trigger finger isn’t flexed and ready, you’ve lost your spot - oftentimes within 3 minutes of an online enrollment opening up.

It is wildly frustrating for those of us who live locally to find ourselves competing with “transient campers” from out-of-town whose aggressive pursuit of these spots to align with their vacation-weeks mean that we are missing out on opportunities for our own children by mere seconds.

Jamestown camps have a far better system: allowing local residents an opportunity to sign up for camp in advance of those who live off-island. Jamestown goes so far as to allow residents weeks in advance of other families. Most of the frustrated parents on Aquidneck island would be happy with a 15-minute advance!

What I’m suggesting isn’t “tribal.” Rather, for those of us who live on this island full-time, who attend the local schools, who support the community and contribute locally year-round - and later who endure a home-town inundated by tourists and traffic - is it too much to ask that our children be given a fighting chance at participating in their local summer camps and activities?

Not one of the camp programs on the island currently allow for that - and by doing so, I think they do a disservice to the children of Aquidneck Island.

If you are a parent who shares in this frustration, please share this letter with your local camp director and with the board of their organization. Maybe we’ll be lucky enough to get into a camp in 2024!

Alana Hearn, Newport

Don't let government infringe on gun ownership

In response to the city of Newport's support for an "Assault Weapons" ban.

Let's commence from when it all started, the beginning, the foundation. Ten Amendments to our Constitution (the Bill of Rights) were ratified in 1791. Right there on the top, that's how important our founders thought it was, is the Second Amendment, which reads:

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

One sentence, three commas. Direct and to the point. No mention of the kind of Arms we are allowed to bear.

Seems very straightforward.

And just sayin', the Bill of Rights does not grant rights, those rights are understood, the government can not infringe upon them.

Which kind of sounds like what the government is trying to do, don't you think?

I like history, so if you need to understand why our founders put such an amendment into the Constitution just Google General Gage in Boston, when he ordered the people to turn in their weapons and what happened next. Or even Google our forefathers thoughts, in general, on having an armed populace.

Then Google the Yugoslav War in the 1990s, the breakup of the country and subsequent slaughter of unarmed people.

If you don't like to read just watch the 1978 mini-series Holocaust, or the 1984 movie The Killing Fields, or the 2004 film Hotel Rwanda.

But, you say, those events are outdated, that wouldn't happen in 2023. Well then, look at something more recent, on the news every night, just Google Russia and the Ukraine.

These are the reasons for the amendment. That's the foundation our forefathers laid. This is where the discussions begin.

So thank you very much, I would rather that my right to keep and bear arms, if I so choose, not be infringed.

Ken Kossak, Portsmouth

Time to rework RI's education funding formula

The burden for RI Education is not fairly distributed among its citizens. The state’s funding formula unfairly distributes citizens' money; disrespects taxpayers; and drives failures of government schools.

Aquidneck Island is an example of the formula’s failure. The average annual cost is $19,000 per student for about 6,000 students in three districts - Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth. RICAS 2022 results for Aquidneck Island schools show that in each district, greater than 92% do not master English language arts or mathematics. Fewer than 50% of all students in each district meet minimum English or mathematics standards.

Newport has the highest population and most wealth on Aquidneck Island per RI Revenue Department data used to compute education aid. Portsmouth is second in wealth. Middletown is a distant third. The estimated 2024 school funding-formula allocation for Newport is $8,100 per student; for Middletown it’s about $4,000, and for Portsmouth it’s $1,600.

All Aquidneck Island schools fail; all children suffer. Why does Newport's failure warrant more state aid than Middletown’s or Portsmouth’s failures? Is it because the Funding Formula says so? The RI legislature should abandon the funding formula. It should thoughtfully determine funding based on student and teacher motivation and commitment, and administration competence in driving excellent outcomes. The burden of Rhode Island’s government schools might then be distributed fairly and with better results for our future - the kids.

Paul Mankofsky, Middletown

Help keep your neighbors warm

Rhode Islanders are facing higher prices for essential everyday items these days, including food, clothing, and their utilities. With that, more and more Rhode Island households may be in a temporary crisis but not eligible for federal or state assistance. They are finding themselves in desperate need of help and needing assistance with the payment of their home energy expenses. The Rhode Island Good Neighbor Energy Fund, administered by United Way ofRhode Island, can provide some help.

The Fund, sponsored by Block Island Utility District, Ocean State Power, Pascoag Utility District, Petro Home Services, Rhode Island Energy and RISEC, is often the last resort for families who are in need of a little help to get through a tough time. With this in mind, those looking for assistance from the Fund should visit their nearest Community Action Program (CAP) agency or call the United Way 2-1-1 information line.

Unfortunately, we expect the urgency of need for energy assistance to continue to endure into the spring. To help us satisfy the more than 1,000 requests for heating assistance anticipated this winter alone, I appeal to everyone in the state to join the sponsoring energy companies to “Warm Thy Neighbor.” The Fund has provided warmth to more than 47,750 Rhode Island households since its inception in 1986.

Rhode Islanders can give to the Fund by using the Good Neighbor Energy Fund donation envelopes found as an insert in monthly utility bills. You can also donate by texting WARM to 91999, via credit or debit card at www.rhodeislandgoodneighbor.org or by sending a check, payable to “Good Neighbor Energy Fund”, to Good Neighbor Energy Fund, c/o United Way of Rhode Island, 50 Valley Street, Providence, RI 02909-2459.

David Bonenberger, chairperson 2023 Rhode Island Good Neighbor Energy Fund, president Rhode Island Energy

This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Letters: Island residents should be given first shot at summer camps