Target the source

September 14, 2017

Editor: Everywhere we turn, whether it be TV, internet or newspapers, the drug abuse epidemic is discussed. Substance abuse costs our nation approximately $600 billion annually. Some 24.6 million Americans, 9.4 percent of the population, abuse drugs. That is an 8 percent increase since 2002. As for spending, $12.54 billion is spent on treatment and $9.4 billion for law enforcement. Only 1.34 billion is spent on prevention. DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) has been around since 1983 and is in 75 percent of our nation’s schools. “Just Say No to Drugs” has been around ...

They served too

August 17, 2017

Editor: During the Vietnam War Navy personnel served in the offshore waters on battle stations providing continuous naval gunfire support, search and rescue, and aircraft carrier support and protection. In January of 1991, the United States Congress, by unanimous consent of both House and Senate, passed a law acknowledging that components of herbicides (mainly Agent Orange) extensively sprayed over the Vietnamese countryside were the cause of major health problems to all of the men who fought in that war. In 2002, without consulting Congress, the Department of Veterans Affairs ...

Thievery

August 9, 2017

Editor: The Senate and the House are in a gridlock over the Affordable Care Act and tax reform. These legislators are all playing gotcha games at trying to make the opposite party look bad. Feathering their own nests appears to be the order of the day. The pay of Senate members is $175,000 a year. Yet the average net worth of these senators is $1 million. It would take 50 years at $175,000 a year to accumulate $1 million. The short cut to wealth is through the wallets of the American taxpayers. Political influence is being sold for money and perks. Bernie Sanders, a native of ...

A dying breed

July 27, 2017

Editor: What has happened to America’s middle class and working families? America came out of the Great Depression and built the greatest middle class the world has known by using our own hard work and government to open up opportunities for millions of people. Ninety percent of America got most of the gains. Today the great middle class is on the ropes. People are angry because they work hard and their income barely moves. Jobs are going overseas and young people are being destroyed by student loans. Seniors can’t make Social Security checks cover basic expenses.Today this ...

Park plaudits

July 23, 2017

Editor: I am writing to commend Dana Blackburn and what she does for the Lisbon pool. She does an amazing job with what little she has to work with. If it wasn’t for her and her volunteers, the splash pad would have never happened. I have seen Dana put so much hard work and effort into the pool — a lot of it on her own time. She has done more for the pool than anyone I have ever seen in all of my years of living in the village. I would like to applaud her, her family and all of her volunteers for their hard work in making the pool awesome. Lynn Holshue Lisbon

Time lapses

July 21, 2017

Editor: Do we want Lisbon to be a one of a kind jewel, or deny its potential and become a Generica USA? Why do property values rise in historical districts where there is enforced historical protection? Have you ever vacationed and found fast food in historical buildings? Restoration of the historic PL&W train station is why we see bicyclists, their cars parked there with plates from the tri-state area. The same with the Courthouse Inn: cars with plates from outside the county. Lisbon missed the boat with the Pine Tree Inn and Discount Drug Mart, as well as Dunkin Donuts. Both ...