Wanda Is Wonderful Thank you for the excellent article about Lund and its recently retired director of adoption, Wanda Audette [“The Matchmaker,” August 12]. I worked closely with Wanda for 21 years as probate judge in Chittenden County, from 1995 to 2016. We handled so many adoptions th at the court began to schedule an “adoption day” once a month. Each of those families received a beautiful bouquet of flowers, and the reception area often resembled a flower shop in the morning as the process started. Wanda’s competence and dedication consistently amazed me. I have referred dozens of people to her over the years, as she possesses a miraculous ability to fix problems. May her legacy continue through the dedicated work of her successors. Susan Fowler Essex ‘Jewish Does Not Equal Pro-Israel’ Hatred of any kind shouldn’t be tolerated [“Middlebury College Investigating Antisemitic Campus Incidents,” July 24, online]. Let’s be crystal clear that Jewish does not equal pro-Israel. Please don’t conflate the two; it makes Jewish people less safe. Flying the flag of any country openly committing genocide is going to offend the victims. Insert muddy conversation about free speech. Samantha Nickerson Topsham Let Sleeping Bears Lie [Re Legals: Proposed State Rules, July 29]: According to the Vermont Fish Wildlife Department, using dogs to sniff out hibernating bears, which are, in effect, helpless sitting ducks, is “hunting.” And they don’t seem to want to hear from those who disagree. Their new proposed bear rules extend hunting with hounds well into hibernation season. When I called to inquire about public testimony at their upcoming “public hearings,” I was told there wouldn’t be any. They said there would be a presentation before breaking up into small groups for discussion. I, therefore, cannot tell them that in the 1970s I helped dig out bear dens in winter to help collect medical data from radio-collared bears and change their collars. I can’t say that their proposed rules will kill mother bears and cubs because the proposed rules extend hunting with hounds into hibernation season. I can’t say that disrupting these families will kill those bears, even though the rules prohibit “intentionally hunting mother bears with cubs,” or that it will kill whole family groups, even if the hunter only takes two bears, which is the new proposed limit. I can’t say those things. But that is probably the point of the format of these “public hearings.” Shooting effectively captive hibernating bears, or killing them by disrupting their dens in winter, isn’t “hunting.” It’s just unnecessary cruelty. Mike Fry Montpelier Allow School to Build [Re “Woodstock School District, AOE Spar Over School Construction,” July 27, online]: Another piece of solid reporting by Alison Novak on the astonishing story of the Mountain Views Supervisory Union, after finally gaining voter approval for a bond for desperately needed new facilities, being told by leadership at the Agency of Education that it will have to wait while new rules for school construction aid are written … by March 2028. Never mind that the agency gave preliminary approval for the massive project twice, or that Vermont is the only New England state not to have ended the moratorium on state aid for school construction that began in 2008. Agency leadership came back with yet another stellar example of the word salad they have become known for. To paraphrase, the agency told the district, “We’re in charge here; stop your whining,” while being selective about when to act pursuant to the Common Benefit clause of the Vermont Constitution. I submit that the governor-who-would-be-king, who seems to have been bent on tearing down our public education system since he took office, could work with the agency, the school district and key legislators to craft a solution that would allow the project in Woodstock to get under way. Perhaps they could borrow from the twice-approved proposal to help craft the new state aid for school construction rules and/or simply update what was in place in ’08. The law says by March 2028. I suspect the right people could draft new rules in a matter of hours. Why not do that? Ken Fredette Wallingford Great Play [Re Calendar, July 22]: Kudos and a big thanks to the team and those at Steal Fire who have brought an intense, intimate, innovative and world-class play, No Exit, to the Off Center for the Dramatic Arts in Burlington. We went not knowing what to expect and were simply blown away by this unique view into humanity. How great to see actors unafraid of stepping out of the box and a community that supports the same. We rarely go to see the same play twice in one week, but with this one, a different seat in the small venue, accentuated by the creative black-and-white filming at the same time of different angles, will surely provide new insights. Highly recommend! Steve Gretzinger St. Albans City Farnsworth Embarrasses Himself [Re “The Chrisanthemums: Vermont’s Made-Up Music Awards,” August 5]: Chris Farnsworth is very knowledgeable and insightful about so much Vermont music, and I’m sure many readers appreciate it as much as I do. But if he lacks knowledge of a genre such as dance music and its subtleties, why embarrass himself by putting his illiteracy on display with a half-hearted attempt at wit? No quips for Vermont Latin artists? How about RB? Maybe work on those for next year. Travis Lea Richmond Skip the Unfunny Ones [Re Feedback: “Keep ‘Modern World,’” August 12; “Enough ‘Modern World,’” August 5; “Nix ‘Modern World,’” July 15]: For some of us, “This Modern World” continues to be a weekly moment of hilarity that we look forward to in this crazy world we live in. The same for Harry Bliss and Jen Sorensen. When I encounter comics that I do not like, I simply skip reading them. Just because there are comics that I do not care for does not mean that someone else does not appreciate them. Warren Mills Essex Junction Protect Our Community’ Our July 24 online story “Burlington Dems Call for Crackdown on Drug Use, Encampments,” about Democratic city councilors’ policy recommendations to address homelessness and public drug use, has sparked renewed community conversation about safety in the Queen City. Here’s what readers are saying. Burlington Democrats at a downtown press conference Credit: File: Aaron Calvin I’ve had it with people bad-mouthing downtown Burlington and declaring to all who will listen that they stay away. We who live and work here know the situation. We’re working on it. Sorry if things are not changing fast enough for you. Sorry if less fortunate souls who have no place to lay their heads at night and feel safe or who struggle with mental health or addiction are interfering with your shopping and dining experiences. You can’t just smile, be kind and continue along your way? It is your choice to be so afraid and bothered. My mother, almost 90 years old, comes into town — alone — has lunch, shops, sees a show at the Flynn and enjoys herself immensely. Why a grown man needs to be “packing” to venture in is absurd. If you are so afraid of coming into downtown Burlington and can’t recognize that your fear is contributing to the problem, how about you keep that to yourself? Yelling about it only spreads the fear and causes more people to stay away, more businesses to suffer, more restaurants to close. Choose love, support Burlington, or please shut up. Lisa Bridge Burlington As a lifelong resident who raised my children here and watched my husband build a successful business, I love Burlington deeply. But our community is in crisis, and we are handling it entirely wrong. My son, Marty, struggled with severe drug addiction. Our family tried everything: rehab, therapy and treatment. Ultimately, following professional advice, we had to establish a painful boundary: If he was using, he could not be around us. Tragically, Marty passed away. As a grieving mother, I know firsthand that enabling destructive behavior does not help the person suffering. Yet Burlington continues to accommodate open drug use in our shared public spaces. By allowing our parks and streets to become spaces for active addiction, we are not doing anyone a favor. Just as families must draw hard lines to protect their homes, our city must draw hard lines to protect our community. We must stop enabling this behavior and restore safety to Burlington’s public spaces. Tolerating the intolerable is not compassion. Kim Bombard Burlington The scene by Burlington’s City Hall Park Credit: File: Luke Awtry The Burlington City Council is advocating for more pressure on homeless people to disappear from view. This is aligned with a trend across the country of criminalizing poverty and homelessness and is occurring as increasing numbers of people face economic insecurity and higher risks of becoming homeless. We should be attacking poverty, not the poor. We could stop problems with homeless people by getting them into stable, long-term housing and providing viable ways for them to live until they get there. Instead, we are experiencing continual growth in the number of homeless people and a lack of effective action on the part of state government. Vermont could effectively address housing and homelessness problems if it were a priority for the governor and legislature. In the last legislative session, the state approved $12 million to help build a sports arena at the University of Vermont. If that money were used to buy and rehab apartment houses, then sell apartments in co-op housing with zero percent interest, it would provide stable housing for 120 low-income and previously unhoused families. Money invested would provide the stability people need and would gradually come back into state coffers. Buying housing and selling it without interest is one part of a comprehensive policy on housing and homelessness that I advocate for as a candidate for Vermont governor. The biggest threat to public safety in Vermont is coming from agents of the state who are lawlessly abducting people, not from people who are unhoused. June Goodband Springfield Goodband is a Peace and Justice Party candidate for governor. I’m from Québec. For over 30 years, I’ve spent my summers on a sailboat on Lake Champlain. And for over 30 years, I’ve loved Burlington — its lively streets, great restaurants, festivals and, of course, the warm welcome from the people here. Since the end of the pandemic, my wife, my two children and I have moored our boat at the new waterfront marina to be even closer to this beautiful city. But over the past few years — and especially this summer — I’ve been rethinking my plans and considering moving elsewhere. We’ve given up on the sunsets at Battery Park, where we no longer feel safe. The same goes for City Hall Park, where I can’t be comfortable sitting on the lawn or playing in the water while people on drugs scream and scare my children. I can’t even have a meal on Church Street without being hassled by panhandlers. Burlington is facing a complex problem — like many other cities around the world, even in Canada — that isn’t easy to solve. However, while Burlington residents have to hope the situation improves, tourists simply leave the city and stop supporting the local economy. I’ve read that plans are currently being discussed to address the issues of homelessness and drug use in the downtown area, and I can only hope that changes will be visible soon — for the benefit of both those in need and the local community and business owners — before tourists abandon the city, dealing a blow that Burlington certainly doesn’t need right now. Jean-Philippe Pineault Bromont, Québec The post Letters to the Editor (08/19/26) appeared first on Seven Days. ...read more read less