It's time to register to vote
To the editor:
The Derry School Deliberative Session is on Saturday, Feb 4. You must be a Derry registered voter to vote at this Deliberative Session. You can register at the town clerk's office any time they are open. Additionally, there will be a session of the Supervisors of the Checklist on Saturday Jan. 28 from 11 to 11:30 a.m. to register voters or make changes to your voter record. Also, we will be registering voters the day of the Deliberative Session, Feb. 4, from 9:15 to 10 a.m.
If you've moved into town from another city or state you need to register in Derry to vote in Derry. Or if you've moved from one part of Derry to another you need to do a change of address. You may now have to vote in a different district and you won't know if you don't make the change. Name and party changes can be done also. This gives you a chance to change back to undeclared in case you didn't at the Jan. 10 presidential primary. Remember you must change back to undeclared because the computer puts you into the party of the ballot you took.
Voting is a very big deal and an incredible right that many other countries don't have.
Countries are fighting to get this right and we are born with it. Let's start this year right by registering to vote and getting out there and doing it!
Renee Routhier
Supervisor of the Checklist
Derry
Questions remain on cruise ship disaster
To the editor:
As a former naval officer; officer-of-the deck underway, independent and formation steaming; and qualified marine navigator and instructor, I have questions concerning the grounding of the cruise ship Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy.
Was the captain on the bridge exercising control of the ship? If so, why was the ship so close to the rocks? If not, who was on the bridge conning the ship? What were their qualifications? Was there a maritime pilot on the bridge? The most dangerous period in peacetime for a ship underway is when it is leaving and entering port or traversing in close proximity to land. This is when you have to be on full alert.
Why did the Costa Concordia only hold emergency evacuation drills once every 15 days? During a 15-day period the ship would normally visit a number of ports and embark new passengers. A drill should be held prior to leaving every port.
The maritime industry should evaluate the viability of lifeboat systems which fail when a ship takes on a significant list that makes it very difficult or impossible to launch lifeboats.
More attention must be paid to the safety of passengers and crew.
Donald A. Moskowitz
Londonderry
Lynx study must not lead to hunting
To the editor:
As have many New Hampshire residents, I recently received New Hampshire Fish and Game's special appeal for donations to help the Nongame Program study the Canada lynx living in New Hampshire, referring to the "exciting possibility of an increase in lynx in the Granite State."
I'm worried, though, that the future of Canada lynx might be like the current reality of New Hampshire's threatened American marten. The Fish and Game Commission is considering opening up trapping/hunting seasons on martens. The commission is also considering opening up hunting and trapping seasons on the bobcat (lynx rufus), a close cousin to the Canada lynx.
Is it not unfair that the Nongame Program has solicited donations from the public to conduct studies of the marten which may become legal targets for trappers again? Is the Nongame Program asking for the public's donations for Canada lynx studies with the same result?
The people who donate to the lynx recovery program need assurance from Fish and Game that their donations will not eventually result in the deaths of Canada lynx.
Suzanne L. Fournier
Coordinator
Speaking for Animals in New Hampshire
Milford
Children need the help of volunteers
To the editor:
As January is "National Thank You Month" I would like to take this opportunity to give a special thank you to all of you involved with CASA of New Hampshire, especially the guardians ad litem, or GALs, who work with our state's most vulnerable citizens, our children in state custody. Also, I am enlisting your help in the search for additional CASA/GALS to serve in family courts throughout our state, being the voice of these children, who have been abused or neglected by their caregivers. I invite you to visit the CASA website at www.casaNew Hampshire.org and learn more about the program; then if you or someone you know think you are ready to meet this challenge, fill out the application to become a CASA volunteer. The challenge is great, the needs are many, but the rewards are immeasurable.
Again, thank you for all that you do.
Denise Burton
CASA/Guardian at Litem
Manchester
Guinta is wrong on Medicare reform
To the editor:
At his recent senior center visit in Somersworth, Rep. Frank Guinta said that seniors "worry about the future," especially about Medicare and Social Security, until he manages to "assuage" their fears "somewhat." But seniors should worry. Guinta's slick line is deceptive.
Guinta keeps on denying the undeniable, namely, that he voted to privatize Medicare and yes — to turn it into a voucher system. He voted for privatization; he should have the courage to embrace it. He voted to terminate Medicare as a guaranteed benefit program and to make seniors — many of whom have preexisting conditions or serious illnesses — buy insurance on the private market. The premium support payments (yes, they're vouchers) would be tied to the cost of living and not to the cost of health care (which has been rising more than three times faster). The ever-increasing gap between voucher support and premium costs will eventually force seniors to choose between, say, food and medical coverage. What insurance company would even want to sell affordable insurance to seniors, who are certain to need medical care? Where's the profit in that?
This is why Medicare was instituted in the first place — because by the 1960s, most seniors had no health insurance and couldn't afford it. Though Guinta is too young to remember how it was, he should at least inform himself. Is he ignorant or does he just not care about his constituents? Either way, he's in the wrong job. He should go back to the insurance business.
Susan Newman Manfull
Portsmouth
