Team thanks supporters
To the editor:
The Granite State Rockettes AAU Basketball Team recently competed in the National Championships in New Haven, Conn. The team worked very hard and was able to place in the top 10 in the country. Without help from our sponsors, the trip would not have been possible. We would like to thank the following businesses for their generosity and support:
Sunsweet Growers
Smith Medical
Continental Paving
Gaucher Electric
D & R Plumbing & Heating
M & N Sports
St. Laurent Construction Co.
Vulc-Tech Auto Repair
Columbus Dental Care
Prolman Realty
Water Works Supply Corp
Drs. Ahern, Nichols, Ahern & Hersey
Keller Williams Realty
Chiropractic Associates
The French Insurance Agency
Seasonal Specialty Stores
and Michael Dion, DMD
Patricia Tulley (fundraising coordinator)
Londonderry, N.H.
Cancer Plan worthwhile
To the editor:
Over the past several months, the unintended consequence of the current plight of excessive spending has come home to roost. A prime example is the Cancer Plan, which was developed in the last budget cycle to provide breast and colon cancer screening, tobacco control/cessation programs, and survivor support. The Cancer Plan was targeted to provide those most at risk and in need of these services to those who are either underinsured or not insured. Only one out of five eligible individuals receives cancer screening under the existing New Hampshire program due to limited resources, according to the American Cancer Society. The proposed funding level of $6 million for the biennium would provide the resources to address this low screening rate.
Now that the excessive spending and the resulting deficits have become evident, the governor has reduced the Cancer Plan from the $6 million originally allocated to $750,000 (almost 88 percent less) over the two-year budget cycle.
Those who are trying to avoid responsibility for the issue of excessive spending will argue that cutting the funding for breast and colon cancer screening by approximately 88 percent is being fiscally responsible; I disagree with this position. I would consider being fiscally responsible and mindful of the taxpayer in difficult economic times as not growing the budget by 17 percent in the first place.
I believe that our Democrat-controlled legislature and governor's office could have greatly reduced the current stress on the state budget by showing respect for the average taxpayer, which they claim to represent, through spending restraint a year ago. Instead, they grew the state spending to the highest level in history, facilitating cuts to state programs such as the Cancer Plan. I believe that the state cannot and should not pay for every program under the sun. The state should utilize its resources for activities that reduce health care cost in the future. Early cancer detection is a good example of how taxpayers dollars can be spent to lower future costs and is fiscally responsible for the state.
Don Van Patten
Hampstead
A faux conservative?
To the editor:
I have some questions regarding John Stephen's claim that he is a conservative Republican. On Mr. Stephen's campaign website, he praises past congressional candidates like Bob Smith for espousing true conservative Republican values and then snipes at Jeb Bradley calling him, "a moderate." I am wondering how conservative Mr. Stephen can possibly be after having worked on Michael Dukakis' N.H. campaign for president.
In a May edition of the N.H. Gazette, Kathy Sullivan, former N.H. Democratic Party chairwoman and former state chair of Hillary Clinton's campaign for president, recalls how enthusiastically Mr. Stephen supported Mike Dukakis while working on his N.H. campaign.
Mike Dukakis supported tax increases as a way to balance the budget, while at the same time opposing freezes on government spending. After working such a campaign, John Stephen now expects us to believe he is a fiscal conservative?
Andrew Morris
Merrimack, N.H.
Sununu fails voters
To the editor:
Once again Senator John Sununu has voted to protect special interest
groups instead of his New Hampshire constituents. This time Sen. Sununu
has voted in favor of the private insurance industry instead of the
200,000 of New Hampshire elderly and disabled Medicare recipients.
Sununu recently cast the deciding vote against a bill that would have
raised the wages of doctors who treat Medicare patients. With the failure
of this bill, many doctors acknowledge that they will not be able to take
on new Medicare patients and may have to stop treating current Medicare
patients altogether. By casting this crucial vote, John Sununu has put the
healthcare of the 200,000 New Hampshire citizens as well as 29,000 New
Hampshire veterans at risk.
Instead, John Sununu supports an alternative bill that would favor private
insurance providers and protect their profits. For Sununu, protecting
private insurers is a no-brainer, given that he has taken up to $650,000 in
campaign contributions from the insurance lobby. We seriously need to
consider whether New Hampshire deserves a senator who values his special
interest ties more so than the elderly and veterans who rely on Medicare
as their only source of healthcare. It is time for a senator who stands up
for New Hampshire, and that senator is not John Sununu.
Conor O'Brien
Windham, N.H.
Bradley the right person for the job
To the editor:
I am writing in support of Jeb Bradley for Congress: It was not long ago
when we, New Hampshire District One, had a Congressman that would always be
there to insure our needs and veterans rights were first and foremost on his
schedule. We did not have to worry about pork spending as we have now to the
tune of an additional $17.5 million and the largest tax increase in
history. We are not yet burdened with payment of these increases, but be
assured when the new tax rates are before us, all of us will ask, "What has
happened?" It was the election of Carol Shea-Porter and others in
Washington, D.C. who voted for this increase. We have a Republican
challenger in the September Primary, but my vote will be for Jeb Bradley.
For those who can remember our grandparents and parents telling us of the
time when we took a man at his word or we could seal a deal with a handshake, Jeb Bradley is that type of individual. Talk to him personally and
you will have no doubt why I support Jeb for Congress. Please support Jeb
Bradley for Congress.
George L. Bailey
Barrington, N.H.
