'Memorable Plates'

Jordan Barry and Melissa Pasanen's recent mosaic of short pieces about diners around Vermont is excellent ["Order Up," July 3]! We need this type of reporting — clear-eyed and sympathetic rather than nostalgic — because it is not easy to run a restaurant, even in the best of times. Each piece tells a unique story and fully integrates the voices of those who labor each day to provide us with those memorable plates, be it a short stack or a cheeseburger with onion rings. And, as the stories accumulate, we can begin to see what it will take for diners to thrive in the future: committed and flexible customers willing to support what really are community restaurants. The reporting eloquently provides the past and present, and we are responsible for the future.

My primary takeaway? Please enjoy a meal at your nearest diner, accept that the hours might be quirky and the prices higher than 10 years ago, and keep these important Vermont venues around for the next generation!

Amy Trubek

Cornwall

Love for the Dutch Mill?

Great article ["Order Up," July 3], but you sadly didn't mention the Dutch Mill Diner in Shelburne. It might not be an old train car, but I think it was an old garage and inside looks like an old diner with booths and stools bolted to the floor. That place deserves an article of its own — very interesting local history embedded into the place.

Ginni Stern

Burlington

Editor's note: Read Melissa Pasanen's March 12, 2024, story titled "Dutch Treat: Approaching Three Decades, Shelburne's Dutch Mill Diner Gets a Refresh."

'I Never Heard This Story'

I want to thank you for this story about Walter Kinkel ["Spectral Force: The 'Ghost Army' of WWII," July 10]. I met him through his wife, Muriel, when they lived in Hinesburg. Our King's Daughters state committee met at their home frequently. I was an art teacher, too, and interested in Walter's career, but I never heard this story! I was always impressed with all the beautiful banners he created for the Congregational Church in Hinesburg since I, too, am a banner maker for the United Church of Colchester.

Thank you again for showing me another wonderful side to a talented man who gave not only to his country and students but also to his church. We need more people like him in this world.

Fran Allyn

Colchester

Welch Is No Wise Man

Rising from the Democratic circle of self-satisfaction, U.S. Sen. Peter Welch reaches for his AK-47 and joins the party's circular firing squad ["Welch Calls for Biden to Withdraw From Presidential Race," July 10, online].

He has never shown himself to be a wise man, though he is old enough to remember how the Democrats assisted president Richard Nixon's election in 1968. History does not repeat itself, but the echoes loudly reverberate.

Perhaps, with Sen. Welch's advanced years, it is time for him to be replaced.

Stephen A. Jarvis

Swanton

Kick Start

I loved ["Green Dream"] and Paula Routly's "Football Fans" [From the Publisher, June 26]. As a person who spends every October and February in London attending matches (20 this past visit), as well as walking the canals and parks, visiting the museums and pubs, and attending the plays and musicals, I share Tim Ashe's love of football.

Support of women's football in Europe has also grown — I was one of the 60,000 at the Emirates Stadium for the Arsenal-Manchester United WSL match in February — to the point where the United States' zenith as the superpower in women's football has passed. The Vermont Green FC's exhibition match highlights how football is leading the charge in elevating women's sports for spectating in the U.S.

One of the things I love most about football is its equality in the size of the person who plays. Yes, one has to be athletic, but a purportedly five-foot-five Ilias Chair can score 34 goals and star for London's Queens Park Rangers the past five years. Name another mainstream sport where a person of his stature could excel.

Bill Wade

Burlington

Message to Burlington

[Re "Burlington's Burden? Queen City Officials Ask Surrounding Towns for Help Confronting the Homelessness Crisis," June 26]: Burlington officials like City Councilor Gene Bergman (P-Ward 2) are calling for surrounding towns to do more to help with its homelessness problem. He suggests that other towns should help Burlington defray the costs and manpower of this financially and mentally taxing, refractory issue.

This request is beyond absurd, unless Burlington allows residents of the other towns to vote for members on the city council. Then issues like policing, safe injection sites, and stemming the tide of homeless out-of-staters coming here for perceived better social services and lax drug enforcement, etc., might be subject to less of an echo chamber during debates and voting.

Progressive council members might not appreciate the input. That's understandable, but don't try to guilt others to cover for your mistakes when the others have no voice in what they perceive as misguided positions.

So, until things shape up, we'll be a part of the increasing number who only visit Burlington during daylight hours.

Rob Mann

Colchester

Gov Wrong on Education

Kudos to Alison Novak for her coverage of the lawsuit filed by two Vermont senators over the appointment of the Vermont secretary of education — and, of course, to the senators themselves ["Vermont Senators File Lawsuit Over State Ed Secretary Appointment," June 20, online].

Gov. Phil Scott and administrative spokespeople have brought the office of the governor down to the level of name-calling and finger-pointing. The governor called lawmakers "a bit arrogant" and accused them of not listening to constituents — this, after flouting the Vermont Constitution and ignoring the informed opinions of 19 senators (elected by constituents), as well as the hundreds, maybe thousands, of Vermonters who wrote or called them to express legitimate concerns about the appointment. I submit that this could be seen as an attempt to divert attention from the true issues, and it is most certainly projecting his own attitude and actions onto others.

Scott has a history of undermining support for our public schools, then making rhetorical claims of their mediocrity and unfairly blaming them for property tax increases — finding fault with the very problem he helped create.

It is time to put an end to the bombast. It is my hope that Scott will pivot from combative to constructive during forthcoming discussions on how to improve Vermont's already excellent public education system — the only public service mentioned in our constitution.

Ken Fredette

Wallingford

Fredette is a member of Friends of Vermont Public Education.

Ides of July

Our contemporary Ides of July remind us of the Roman Ides of March so celebrated by William Shakespeare ["Welch Calls for Biden to Withdraw From Presidential Race," July 10, online]. Regicide — whether figuratively contemplated, threatened or consummated — replays itself. It makes for powerful drama. Witness President Joe Biden and his brother Dems.

Jim Hughes

Burlington

Myth or McNeil?

It is unfortunate that, in their letter of June 26, Barry Bernstein and Roger Fox perpetuate the myth that "renewable" equates with environmentally responsible [Feedback: "Utilities Invest in Renewables"]. Implying that because Burlington Electric Department's electricity is "renewable," it is somehow clean or environmentally responsible is preposterous. The wood-burning McNeil Generating Station, the primary source of electricity for Burlington Electric, is the biggest point-source air polluter in the state, despite the fact that wood is "renewable." When will we wake up to the fact that burning wood pollutes our air?

David Ellenbogen

Calais

'No Better Advice'

I'm afraid the Reverend was too generous in her faith in the cheater's ability to stop her behavior [Ask the Rev: "My Fiancée Cheated but Wants Me Back," January 31]. Yes, someone can make a one-time mistake. If they truly amend their behavior and you both get counseling, perhaps this relationship can be salvaged.

I hope my advice is not too late for this man who was cheated on. He is likely dealing with someone who exhibits poor impulse control, possible narcissism or dark-empathy traits (look it up; it's on the rise), hyper-sexualized behavior (possibly from sexual trauma), an empathy deficit, unresolved emotional needs, stunted ego states — all the way to full Machiavellianism. There is no better advice than the old saying: "Fooled me once, shame on you; fooled me twice, shame on me."

When red flags are waving in front of you, heed them. Learn about your own attachment style so you can understand how not to attract this type of person into your life again. You deserve a fully committed life partner and should accept no less. If you settle for less, you will receive far less than you can imagine. Good luck.

Donna Constantineau

Newport City