Editor:

Just when I thought the political discourse of this election year could not get any more absurd, Mr. Paul Lauricalla Jr. spews utter nonsense and historically inaccurate statements (Orleans Hub, March 22, 2016).

First he blames “Liberals and Progressives” for the rise in popularity of that racist, hateful, bullying, no class sexist, Donald Trump. The fact that Fox “news” and other extremist right wing propaganda machines have dumbed down and lied to the redneck minority in this country seems to have escaped Mr. Lauricella Jr.

How many times did you hear on conservative news channels that President Obama is a Kenyan Muslim, not of this country. Some actually believe it. Those are the folks coming out for Trump and all his outrageousness.

I won’t bother rebutting this guy point for point. I have faith that most readers can see through the conservative tripe in his letter, but I will take him to task for the following: He said “Everything that is wrong with this country is directly related to liberal and progressive policy over the last 100 years”.

Since I am a student of history, I am very curious as to which policies Mr. Lauricella thinks tanked our country. Was it the creation of the National Parks System by President Teddy Roosevelt that preserved this nation’s natural beauty from commercial exploitation?

Was it the creation of the Social Security Act during the FDR years that still allows millions of retired citizens the ability of living in dignity? Was it the creation of Medicare that pays 80 percent of seniors’ medical expenses?

Was it the creation of the Food Stamp Program that subsidizes working Americans in low wage jobs so they can feed their children? How about clean water and clean air legislation that ensures that chemical companies don’t poison us in their quest for profits?

Was it the Equal Rights Legislation of the John F. Kennedy years? Was it the six times we landed on the moon and other fantastic space exploration efforts of NASA?

Informed people grow tired of conservative scapegoating and narrow-minded thinking.

In his haste to bash President Obama, Mr. Lauricella fails to mention what had brought our country to the brink of economic ruin. The tax breaks for the rich and the failed “trickle-down” economic policies of Reagan and the Bushes, further exacerbated by the two wars that W. Bush didn’t pay for.

He also failed to mention how President Obama has grown the national economy with consistent growth in private sector jobs, and Obama’s saving of the American Automotive Industry. This great land is hardly “in ruin”.

President Obama has waged an effective war against terrorism by ordering the raid that killed bin Laden and the systematic elimination of other terrorist leaders. The list is impressive.

The current reality is that the Democrats have two excellent candidates running for President, and the Republicans have zilch. Anyone can see the panic within the Republican establishment. The irony is it was the Republican Party, with their 7 years of obstructing President Obama, that has brought us to this point.

There are several Republican Congressional Representatives up for re-election and many of them will lose, thank God. And Mr. Lauricella’s reference to “Moderate (Liberal) Republicans” just shows how extreme he is. What he is saying is “everybody should believe, and act as he approves; anything else is wrong.” Fortunately, extremism is not the mainstream in the USA.

Mr. Lauricella Jr. talks glowingly about the need to follow the Constitution the way our founders intended, but fails to mention the Republican outrageous opposition to Mr. Obama’s nomination of any Supreme Court Judicial replacement of deceased Justice Scalia.

A college professor of mine 40 years ago said that in American society there exists enough people to allow a rise to power of someone of the ilk of Adolf Hitler. It was a scary thought when I heard it, and even more so now.

For Mr. Lauricalla to proclaim “no more progressives in any party. No more Democrats elected to anything” runs contrary to the political diversity that has lifted this democracy to one of the best places in the world to live.

Thanks to all for their attention.

Al Capurso
Gaines

Editor:

The Holley Wrestling Team and Coaching Staff would like to thank the many people and organizations who helped organize and contributed to the success of the Holley Wrestling Program throughout this wrestling season.

Several events were conducted and without their help and support these events would not have been a success. The following are the events that took place in which many volunteers were needed: Holley JV and Varsity Wrestling Tournaments, Holley Hawk Wrestling Club, Holley Junior Wrestling Club, Holley Wrestling Club Tournament, Gold Force Wrestling Club Open Mats, and the Holley Wrestling Banquet.

All your contributions, generosity, assistance and efforts did not go unnoticed. Your loyalty and dedication is the main reason why programs and students athletes achieve success.

Thank you once again!

Sincerely,

John J. Grillo
Head Wrestling Coach

Editor:

Upon graduation from the College of Business at Montana State University the first time, I worked for the Montana State Department of Highways Accounting Division, Auditing Department. I may be a “Political Neophyte” as the Town of Murray arrogantly claims, but I know numbers and what they represent.

The Murray Councilpersons indicated the water districts undergo intense scrutiny by independent auditors, Rural Development and the NYS Comptroller’s Office. The independent auditor looks at cash in and cash out or basically balances the books not looking for over taxation. Rural Development loans money not looking for over taxation either and the Comptroller’s Office is the only high ranking official reporting agency referred to by the Town of Murray.

Unfortunately for Murray, the NYS Comptroller’s Audit Report (click here), found significant accounting irregularities, see page 4 paragraph 2. “THE USE OF DEBT PROCEEDS TO PAY OPERATING COSTS VIOLATES THE LOCAL FINANCE LAW AND THE COVENANTS MADE TO THE PURCHASERS OF THE TOWN’S DEBT.”

I merely repeated what the highest ranking accounting official in the State discovered during their audit of the Town of Murray’s Water Districts. Why is the Murray Town Board denying the written facts of the Comptroller? How embarrassing for them to even reference the Comptroller in light of the scathing audit report.

The taxes levied on your property are for the loan repayment only, if the Town wants to place an additional tax on your property for water loss or maintenance that is to be shown as a separate line item. Each water district stands alone and separate funds are to remain in each.

Although I’m extremely disappointed with the Town’s side stepping response, they may have indicated they are over taxing the districts. They have a reserve fund. That’s reasonable but how are they funding it and where are the funds?? What are they doing with the money? The comptroller stated on page 7, “$100,000.00 in bond proceeds was improperly used to pay operating expenditures.”

The Town has used water district loan money to run the operations of the Town, it’s that simple and it’s against Local Finance Law. Furthermore, you borrowed the money to pay for water line infrastructure, not running the operations of the Town.

The Town of Murray could have avoided all this dirty laundry by simply being more open and honest with its operations. It’s disappointing to me that the Highway & Water Superintendent hasn’t commented on this controversial issue plaguing his departments.

All we have heard is that the political hopeful is plagiarizing the Comptroller’s findings. (LOL) The only defense the Town of Murray board can express is a personal character attack and avoidance of the issue. It would be much easier to simply answer the questions and correct any problems. I’m simply advocating for better Town Governance. It’s time for the Town of Murray Board to realize that the taxpayer deserves a little more respect.

Joe Sidonio
Murray

Editor:

All these letters denouncing Donald Trump. Who are we kidding here? They come from mostly far left-leaning Democrats and moderate (liberal) Republicans.

I have always, since his days of running for Senate, been a supporter of Senator Ted Cruz . His fidelity to the constitution and taking on of the RINO and progressive establishment in the Senate has earned him my respect. He has not sold out like many of those elected do on their first day after they have taken and violated their oath of office. He is someone a majority of our local politicians could take a lesson from.

Some say that many Republicans won’t vote for Trump. I am not a Republican but if Senator Cruz does not get the nomination I will vote for Donald Trump because the alternative would be 4 more years of a declining economy, further mind-poisoning liberal progressive programs in our schools for our children, further expansion of corporate welfare and phony Wall Street projections, the welcome mat in our country to radical Muslim extremists and Illegal aliens. More radical leftists appointed to the Supreme Court instead of Constitutionalists. Not to mention the further growth of government and the potential complete loss of the Bill of Rights.

Progressives are just that dangerous.

Another progressive Democrat President would bring the total destruction and the completion of the fundamental transformation of America that was began by this present American president who has a deep hatred for this country as it was founded. His appointment of two radical America-hating leftists, Kagan and Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. His own cabinet full of racist, incompetent America-hating leftists and Czars. His blatant disregard for the constitution and laws of the land. His radical appointments to the unconstitutional alphabet agency’s that have been rammed down our throat from liberal progressive presidents like LBJ, Nixon, Carter, Bush Sr., Clinton, W Bush and Hussein Obama himself.

We really have had some lousy presidents in my life time and since the turn of the last century. That’s why we have Donald Trump.

I read a letter recently asking Republicans (or RINOS in this county) to denounce Trump. (Sorry but you have to be a RINO to endorse Collins and Ortt.) Where is the call from Democrats to denounce Hillary Clinton?

One progressive friend of mine thinks she would be the right person for the job. (Yes I have some wonderful but misguided friends.) Hillary has as deep a hatred for this country. A Liar. A race hustler and a complete incompetent. You want to talk about an opportunist. She allowed her husband to create a sexually uncomfortable atmosphere in the White House. Turning her back and a blind eye to advance her career.

She has been a corrupt and seedy politician all the way from Arkansas to her carpetbagger run for the NY Senate to one of the worst secretaries of state in US history. Riding her shameful husband’s coat tails for power. Leaving four brave men to die in Benghazi, her classified email scandal as of late explained with the typical Clinton mincing of words. Lie, Lie, Lie. She’s in the pockets of the big banks and Wall Street.

Her whole campaign is based on racial division lies, and freebies. Her history of corruption is long and deep. She belongs in jail in the general population.

The left has so broken this country. Everything that is wrong with this country is directly related to liberal and progressive policy over the last 100 years. In our schools, our children and teachers minds are poisoned, in our institutions, in our organizations, in our political system. In every nook and cranny of society the cancer of progressivism, liberalism and political correctness has polluted minds and hearts. That is why you have a Donald Trump.

The people of this country that works and pay the bills are tired of being stepped on. Told how to think. Blamed for everything from environmental to income inequalities and everything else. Called selfish and greedy if they work harder than others and archive. Call racist if they speak their mind. Called a homophobe if they disagree with the forcing of others lifestyle upon them. Tired of having to accept things they know are wrong. Called heartless if you don’t continually turn your pockets inside out for those in government and those who expect you to subsidize them or won’t work. Called hateful because radical Muslims have completely change how we move around in our own country and people that illegally sneak over our boarders to take advantage of what the politicians steal from us.

The thinking people need to unite around which ever of the top two Republican candidates gets the nomination. Because if Hillary or Bernie win we won’t have a country resembling anything that the founders envisioned. It’s almost gone already.

The progressive powers that be are just waiting for us over 40 to die off. They can’t change us but they can wait us out. The progressives have gotten the minds of most under 30 years old and many very educated and weak-minded elders.

Worse yet, our elected officials. Many call themselves Republican. This may be the last chance to start to restore America. Let’s leave a better country for the unborn. We owe them that.

No more progressives in any party. No more Democrats elected to anything. They don’t even hide who they are anymore. At least RINO Republicans try to hide their liberal ways till they get elected and their seat is safe. We are a country in decline.

Paul Lauricella Jr.
Lyndonville

Editor:

Several days ago, the New York State Senate passed its one-house budget resolution, kicking off negotiations with the Assembly and Governor to adopt this year’s state budget.

The Senate’s proposal outlines benefits to working families, businesses and schools, including tax cuts, education funding, infrastructure and transportation parity, and funding to combat the heroin epidemic.

We’re providing significant tax relief for middle-class taxpayers, small businesses and farmers. The Middle Class Income Tax Relief Program would create a new 25 percent tax rate reduction, saving millions of middle-class taxpayers an average of $897.

Nearly 800,000 small businesses will also benefit from this income tax cut. For farms and small businesses, we eliminate the energy tax and build upon the Governor’s small business tax breaks to help create jobs. For seniors, our budget will cut taxes on private pensions and retirement income, saving them an average of $361 each year.

We’re also pushing to make the statewide property tax cap permanent, so that we can provide certainty and relief to homeowners, small businesses and farmers. Along those lines, the STAR rebate check program would also be permanent under our plan. And, we’re rejecting the Governor’s proposal to cap savings on the STAR program.

I understand the challenges of New York’s crippling tax climate, and the annual property tax relief is something Western New Yorkers deserve in its entirety. This plan ensures that property owners continue to receive relief for years to come.

Last year, the State Legislature eliminated nearly all of the anti-Upstate, Gap Elimination Adjustment, which saved taxpayers in my district $18 million. This year, the Senate is fighting to get rid of the remaining $436 million of the GEA school budget cuts. As a result, this will provide record funding of $1.6 billion to public schools across the state so that teachers and students won’t have to struggle for the resources they desperately need.

The one-house budget also makes college more affordable for thousands of students and families. The Senate Republican conference has proposed $87 million for the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), as well as new major tax breaks to help middle-class families pay for college.

We’re also calling for parity between upstate and downstate infrastructure funding. Upstate has been dealing with a disparity for our roads, bridges and public transportation for far too long, and now, the Senate Republican Majority is pumping the brakes on this unfair treatment.

The Senate’s budget proposal also focuses on our veterans. It would allow our vets to obtain up to three years of additional credit toward their state retirement benefits for peacetime military service. Our veterans have done so much for us and our country, it’s time we do more for them.

One of the last topics in the budget I’d like to highlight is the record funding of $167 million to help put an end to the dangerous heroin crisis. The heroin epidemic is sweeping across our state at an alarming rate without discrimination of its victims. This budget proposal represents our conference’s firm commitment to addressing and ultimately eradicating the epidemic in New York State.

From educating the public, to helping addicts, to putting more dealers behind bars, we’ve put forth proposals to attack each area of this public health crisis. I’m hopeful the Assembly and Governor will follow our lead to deliver resources to communities and families in dire need of relief.

I believe our Senate Majority budget proposal touches on many of my legislative priorities that will help to make Western New York a better community to live, work, and raise a family. I look forward to working with the Assembly and the Governor in order to achieve these key goals and deliver a fiscally responsible, on-time budget by April 1.

State Sen. Robert Ortt
62nd Senate District

Editor:

A political hopeful in the Town of Murray has recently charged that the Town has “broken its agreement on the water districts and violated Local Finance Law.” In addition, this political neophyte states the “Town has overtaxed it’s water district residents for years.” Perhaps the true facts on the funding of water districts need to be explored.

While it’s always important to ask questions to ensure that taxpayer dollars are collected and spent properly, it’s even more important to ask the right questions!

For instance:

If the fire department puts out a fire at your house, who pays for the water? If a break in the waterline causes hundreds or thousands of gallons of water to escape the service, who pays for the water? Who pays for the materials and labor to repair a broken water line? Who pays for the testing that each water line must undergo on a regular basis? Who pays for the waterline flushing that must be done on a regular basis?

In addition, the Town of Murray buys all of its water from a variety of sources. Did you know that when these sources increase water rates to Murray, the Town often absorbs these increases without passing the additional costs along to the local water user? The money to pay for all of these costs comes from a reserve fund that it built into each individual water district for the sole purpose of fire protection, maintenance and other unexpected expenditures.

This same political apprentice often states that the Town of Murray should compare itself to other towns in the county in order to judge the efficiency and prudent spending procedures in Murray.

Well, when you compare Murray with a couple of neighboring towns this is what you find. First, one town is exploring the idea of turning over it’s water district to Monroe County Water Authority as a way to keep the financial strain off the town. They are even exploring the possibility of imposing a daily meter charge as a way to build a water maintenance fund.

In a different neighboring town, they have struggled with the loss of 60 million gallons of water at a cost of $170,000 over a 4-year period of time. That’s 19 percent of their total water usage! While we understand the plight of these neighboring towns, when you compare, we’re glad we live in Murray!

Each year the water districts in the town under go intense scrutiny by independent auditors, Rural Development and NYS Comptrollers office. To quote one of these high-ranking officials, “all of the Murray water districts are fine, and in fact, we wish that all the water districts in the Western New York area were run as well as Murray’s”! As Board members, we trust the word of these experts over individuals who are only interested in their own political aspirations.

In the end, accusations of overcharging in the Town of Murray are “All Washed UP”!

John Morriss – Supervisor

Kathy Case – Councilwoman
Lloyd Christ – Councilman

Ed Bower – Councilman
Paul Hendel – Councilman

Editor:

The dust has settled from this year’s election in Lyndonville. Local elections are not political, but they are a referendum on job performance.

Normally, one person runs for mayor and is elected by a few voters. This year, some folks in the village, in a critique of one candidate’s job performance, selected a former town supervisor at the eleventh hour to be a second candidate.

They used social media to encourage people to cast a vote for that person which produced a landslide victory for him. They were able to mobilize people who never voted, had not voted in years and even one who was not registered to vote.

The winner said, “I’m very honored, it was a very good turnout. The people spoke and I want to thank them for their support.” The question is, what do they expect of him once he begins office in April?

Besides taking the oath of office, he will have a specific set of duties and responsibilities to follow. That should be their payback. So let the voters come to meetings to monitor the mayor’s performance for the next four years.

The victor also declared, “I’m going to make some changes and bring back the community to where it should be.” Do others know where that is?

So the voters have expressed a hope for change.

For my own reasons, I did not.

James Tuk
Lyndonville

Editor:

National and local support for Donald Trump is beginning to grow to a frightening level. At this point in the Republican primary race, it has never been more apparent that Donald Trump is racist, misogynic, and fundamentally hateful.

His suggestion that Muslims should be registered is nothing short of the policies enacted by Hitler in Nazi Germany.

What he has said about women is extraordinarily insulting; “26,000 unreported sexual assaults in the military-only 238 convictions. What did these geniuses expect when they put men & women together?” (A tweet on May 7th, 2013) and “You know, it doesn’t really matter what [the media] write as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of a–“.

It is safe to say that Chris Collins, Nicholas Langworthy, Carl Paladino, the Erie County Republican Committee and Orleans County Republican Committee all share the sexist, racist, hateful and islamophobic values that Donald Trump has displayed.

If a Democratic candidate was spewing the same rhetoric that Trump has been spewing for months, I do not doubt for one second that WNY Democratic leaders like Jeremy Zellner, Jeanne Crane, Brian Higgins, and organizations like the Erie County Democrats and Orleans County Democrats would all denounce that candidate.

As children we are taught to stand up and speak out when someone is being bullied. We are taught not to blindly follow the “popular” kids. We are taught to be kind, caring and welcoming to people that are being bullied. All of the above mentioned Republican leaders and organizations have failed to put those lessons into action when they endorsed Donald Trump.

Women, immigrants and Muslims are being bullied right now in America; they are being torn down, embarrassed and written off as real people by Donald Trump.

It is too late for local Republican leaders to do right thing, but if you’re reading this and have been undecided and have considered voting for Donald Trump, I ask you to please think twice and find an alternative to him.

Sincerely,

James C. White
Gaines

Editor:

Anyone who tries to cover the good being done in Orleans County knows it is an impossible task. Local reporters Virginia Kropf, Jim Krencik, and Tom Rivers spare little effort in their vain attempt to do so. They cannot keep up with the efforts of Margie Buck, Debby Wilson, Jim Greanier, Bob Golden, Sister Dolores O’Dowd, Alice Preston and so many others who do the things that help make America great.

America will always have work to do, but it is great and has been for a long time. Those who try make mistakes, but still we strive to attain the lofty goals of “liberty and justice for all.”

As shown by things such as “Operation Provide Comfort” in Kurdish Iraq and our N.A.T.O. intervention in Bosnia, among many others, America’s commitment does not stop at the water’s edge.

In the past month, ample evidence of our national greatness has been inescapable. One needs look no further than the campaign trail.

How encouraging is it that, here in Orleans County, one Republican after another has expressed to me revulsion over what has been going on with his/her party? Several have told me there is “no way” they would ever vote for Donald Trump. Only one has expressed admiration for their frontrunner.

The reactions of Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and John Kasich to their party frontrunner’s demagoguery and incitement to violence have been admirable. They have nonetheless stopped just short of saying they would not support the brash billionaire should he become the nominee.

Though their genuine concern over what is happening to their party is interpreted as purely political, many Republicans have spoken without equivocation. Mitt Romney was one of many sincere, patriotic Americans to plead with people to wake up. As badly as they abhor Clinton and Sanders, they are speaking out. Such courage and concern are indicative of American greatness.

Overlooked by the pundits is the civility of Trump’s own followers. Despite their favorite’s shameless rhetoric and clear incitement to violence once the cameras roll, those who attend his rallies have not beaten up protesters and attacked the media.

Nearly to a person they have shown respect for the rights of others to protest even when the “disrupters” fail to respect a repugnant candidate’s free speech. The restraint shown by Trump’s backers has been exemplary in all but a handful of cases.

Donald Trump only wishes he was as decent as those “ordinary” people he purports to represent. In the face of his repeated attempts to shred civility, the thoughtful response of his legions could be seen as a tribute to our education system.

Just as those who do so much to positively impact Orleans County, it is the people whom our leaders seek to represent who make America the great nation that it is.

Sincerely yours,

Gary Kent
Albion

Editor:

The national political landscape is changing and Town of Murray taxpayers have taken notice. Our town hall is full for meetings and it’s the place to be on the 2nd Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m.

People are participating. And for good reason.

The 2014 NYS Comptroller audit revealed significant problems with capital project activity and use of certain debt proceeds. In other words, the loans that were supposed to pay for your water lines were used for other purposes.

The report went on that the town does not create proper financial statements and cannot evaluate its true financial condition or effectively monitor the Town of Murray’s financial operations.

As a result, the town has broken its agreements on the water districts and violated Local Finance Law. But in the Town of Murray its business as usual. According to our Supervisor, “We regret that the State does not like the way we choose to do business in Murray. It works for us.”

Now it’s apparent that the town has been overtaxing its water district residents for years. The special district tax on your bill is for the principal and interest on the loan to pay for the water line infrastructure, nothing else.

According to the 2016 Town Budget you have been over taxed $63,142.00 and over the past 4 years it appears to be $286,000.00. How far back do you want to look? It also appears that the money is no longer in the funds. Where’d it go?

Taxpayers deserve answers. The board must look into this more in depth and I hope our town supervisor will step up to the plate and be cooperative and transparent. I have requested an explanation at the April Town meeting. Come to the meeting.

Joe Sidonio
Town of Murray

Editor:

So much for transparency. At a public hearing March 10 in the Town of Yates, there was a hearing on a community block grant for the purpose of ? The amount of ? I was told at the beginning of the hearing that questions could be asked but no one had to answer them if they didn’t want to.

So why were IDA representatives there, including IDA board members, a county legislator and the owner of the business that will be taking our tax dollars and NONE would answer any questions? Oh I did get some response from Mr. Whipple (CEO of the Orleans Economic Development Agency) that this wasn’t a pilot program and that my questions where my own opinions.

Excuse me, my opinions were formed from and words were used from the horrible audit on the IDA from the NYS Comptroller – something the IDA is still in denial of. Ms. Barone (EDA vice president of business development) stated some “Hillary” facts that in all the years she has been at IDA that they have always made sure that the job hiring projections were met, except the comptrollers report says there was no way of knowing that because of incompetence. From the audit: “The Board and COIDA officials do not adequately monitor projects to ensure that the businesses are held accountable and are achieving, or making progress toward, job and investment goals.” Click here to see the full report.

The audit reports are given and it is up to the citizen to hold those accountable to do the right thing with our tax dollars. I feel I’m not the only one who is sick of the abuse by the people who take our money, turn around and run a business into the ground and walk away because of incompetent appointed officials who hand out our monies like casino chips with no stipulations. Only at a casino you have to buy and gamble with your own chips. I only ask that the public’s investment be protected. For that I am a Peoria. The people work hard for that money that is taken from them by force and we have less of it to spare.

I want to see development in my town very much. I am not anti-development but I cannot support giving someone money when I break my back all year to pay excessive taxes and none will answer my questions and have the attitude that they don’t have to.

Here is my opinion. It is better to answer questions to me and others at the meeting whether you like them or not. Now we can discuss it for all to see in the news media.

The embarrassing audit is published again for all to see. All it accomplished was further mistrust and a solidification that there are two classes of people – the slaves and the ruling class.

Disgusted.

Paul Lauricella Jr.
Lyndonville

Editor:

I had a very scary event that happened and I can’t thank the first responders enough or the anonymous caller.

I want to take the time to thank the Medina Police and Fire Department for the quick response time when a neighbor walked by my house and called 911. I want to thank the person that called 911. I don’t know who you are but to me you are a guardian angel.

The electrical wire outside of my house was sparking and on fire on Feb. 2. I am not sure if the neighbor was walking or driving by but I have a great deal to be thankful for. I was sound asleep on the second floor when I heard pounding on my door. My home had smoke throughout.

Officer Joe Frentz said he was only giving one more knock and he was kicking in the door.

I was blessed that day. I lost power for the day until the electrician came and ran a new service to my home. Damage to the outside is the worst.

I also want to thank my neighbor Sue for taking me into her home until Rick got home and we were cleared to enter our home again. Thanks you all so very much.

Monica Tobin
Medina

Editor:

Not understanding why it would be a disaster to have a bully representing the United States as President is like thinking Michigan Governor Rick Snyder isn’t responsible for the lead poisoning crisis in Flint. Both may be based on a lack of information.

Though bullying is normally associated with children, adults are subjected to bullying as well. Fearing retaliation, adult victims, who often work for the bully, may acquiesce to intimidation. But what happens when the targets of the bully are elected officials, life appointees, or leaders of independent countries?

Candidate Trump’s repeated assertion that Mexico will pay for a border wall is the tactic of a bully. Does he value our relationship with Mexico or not? We have seen the reaction it evokes. The last three Mexican Presidents have, in effect, told candidate Trump to “go pound salt.”

When the brash billionaire told Jeb Bush to “Shut up,” he displayed the petulance and disrespect that might make one wonder who he would not talk down to. Perhaps to appear Presidential, Bush went along.

How does Ted Cruz running a tape of Tim Russert’s interview with the stridently pro-choice 1999 version of currently pro-life candidate Trump warrant the threat of a lawsuit? Was he saying, “If you exercise your First Amendment right of free speech, I will sue you?” Such a legally baseless, ridiculous attempt to intimidate is nothing more than the m.o. of a bully. His threats to sue or run as a third-party candidate are further attempts to bully.

Donald Trump has said he is smarter than most of our generals. Who, then, does he intend to take counsel from? When you think you are smarter than anyone in the United States government, do you really need to surround yourself with anyone other than sycophants and bodyguards?

When questioned about Paul Ryan’s stern admonition that there was no place in the Republican Party for hate groups, Trump bragged, “I’ll get along fine with Speaker Ryan, and if I don’t, he will have a very big price to pay.” Does he think Paul Ryan is a bell hop at Trump Tower? Perhaps he thinks Ryan’s youth, stature, or hair style, make the Speaker of the House someone he can bully with empty threats.

Attacking people on a personal level is indicative of a bully as well. Though Carly Fiorina’s interjection cut short his implosion in the first debate, he later questioned, “How could anyone vote for that face?” Those who question him are “losers,” “fat pigs,” or “stiffs,” or, in Megyn Kelly’s case, something else. Or perhaps their ears are big and they sweat a lot (like working people do). Ted Cruz is “Liar Ted,” and Marco Rubio is “Little Marco.” These, too, are typical of bullying behavior.

Though he chirps a lot about veterans, Trump has even disrespected the military. The McCain prisoner thing was a pathetic example. He said the military would break the law and torture if he told them to. That may not be how it works when it comes to ordering people to break the law.

As we found out disastrously in 2000, anything can happen in an election. If the American people do not inform themselves quickly, a great nation may be in for an unprecedented four-year embarrassment that will make George W. Bush look like Mt. Rushmore material.

Sincerely yours,

Gary Kent
Albion

Editor:

Village elections will be held Tuesday, March 15. There will be three candidates who will be on the ballot:

Mayor – Mike Sidari. For the last two years, Mike has had a great experience as a Village Trustee. Mike has quickly learned the interworking of local government, and has been pro-active in saving the taxpayer money. Being retired, he has the time to be readily available to all of the department heads, as well as to the residents of Medina.

Trustee – Marguerite Sherman. Marguerite has also had an enlightening experience as a Village Trustee for the last two years. Marguerite likes to investigate the issues that come before the board and makes conscientious decisions from the facts that are gathered.

Trustee – Tim Elliott. Tim is currently on the Village Planning Board and regularly attends Village Board meetings where he has readily shared many innovative ideas. Tim owns a local business on Main Street, along with several apartments in the village.

All three of us candidates are committed to serving the village. We believe that the Village is on the cusp of rejuvenation. Along with our two other current Village Board members, Todd Bensley and Owen Toale, we will work hard to improve the village.
Please show us your support in our efforts on March 15. Thank you.

Your Village Board candidates,

Michael Sidari – Mayor
Marguerite Sherman – Trustee
Tim Elliott – Trustee

Editor:

I normally keep my opinions to myself, especially about politics, but the recent decision by the Orleans County Republican Party to endorse Donald Trump for President has forced me to break my silence.

Donald Trump has proven himself to be a xenophobic, bigoted, racist who would be a disaster for the country if elected. The things he has said about women should be enough by themselves to convince people. I have not heard of a single world leader saying anything favorable about him except Putin. That’s enough for me.

I fail to see how our local party leaders think Trump would be good for us. He wants to build a wall to keep Mexicans out. Tell me who will pick our apples and harvest the vegetable crops that our county depends on.

If you criticize or disagree with Trump he calls you names and insults you. Not very presidential.

The man seems incapable of speaking in complete sentences.

We can do better.

I have been a registered Republican for over 40 years. It’s not the party it once was. The only reason I haven’t switched parties yet is so that I can vote against Trump in the primary.

Ronald Mathes
Albion