Letters to the Editor (9/11/24) 

'Beautifully Written'

What a splendid, warm, generous, beautifully written and illustrated piece about Jules Rabin ["A Baker's 100," August 7]! One of your best profiles. Brava, Melissa Pasanen!

Frank Muhly

Randolph Center

Pro Truss

The covered bridge in Lyndonville ["River Retreat," August 21] is a Paddleford truss bridge. The Paddleford truss was designed by Peter Paddleford (1785-1859), a covered bridge builder born in Enfield, N.H., who lived most of his life in Littleton.

His design was widely used in Caledonia and Orleans counties of Vermont and throughout northern New Hampshire. The Paddleford truss worked well for longer spans, but probably its use was later discontinued due to the amount of wood joinery required to construct it.

In 2000 I had the good fortune to be involved in the building of a new Paddleford truss in the town of Irasburg, just outside Coventry village on Town Highway 8. The original Paddleford was destroyed by fire in 1998 by Halloween vandals.

We had the advantage of power tools and a large crane, but the original truss bridge was assembled on the approach road and pulled into place using oxen or horses over temporary support piers. Other than the modern tools, it still required an awful lot of fine carpentry and hard work.

I'm not sure who constructed the Lyndonville bridge, but there sure is a lot of local history wrapped up in that old structure.

David Sargent

Barton

No Thank-You

I second the feeling of the person who contributed to the Sara Holbrook Community Center ["Shut-Down Story: What Caused the Sara Holbrook Community Center to Suddenly Close Last Month," August 7].

I, too, contributed some money and was not even given a thank-you. Since I'm a low-income senior and received some money from the president's office, which I didn't need at the time, I gave this sum to the kids' center. I didn't expect suffuse expressions of thanks, but there were no thanks at all! To top it all, they followed up by asking for more donations!

Tom MacDonald

Winooski

Roxy Reality

[Re "Reel Drama," August 21]: One fine Burlington evening, I hired a sitter and walked downtown to Merrill's Roxy Cinemas to go to a movie I wanted to see. All of us in the theater waited and waited, but the movie never started. Someone went to ask the staff, and they said, "Oops, sorry" but said they couldn't restart the movie and offered everyone in the theater a refund. I haven't been back.

The owner of the Roxy complains about Burlington being a "zombie land" and says "once there's no movie theater in a downtown, everything else tumbles behind it." Meanwhile, he has noncompete clauses on the buildings he owns that make that a reality: "If he sells ... the terms will stipulate that the new owner cannot operate a movie theater in the building."

What right does this one person have to dictate the future of Burlington's downtown? If he sells the Roxy, and I hope he does so that someone else can have a shot at it, can the city override the noncompete clause?

Zoë Keating

Burlington

Bad Ending

I read the article about struggling movie theaters ["Reel Drama," August 21]. It gave me hope learning about how the Marquis Theatre in Middlebury has found creative ways to stay in business. I was troubled by the struggle of Merrill's Roxy Cinemas in Burlington, especially since the owner no longer has the mentorship of his father to help.

But then I got to the end, where the owner made sarcastic jokes about the state of downtown Burlington. Distasteful and not helping the problem at all, but whatever, I thought. Then I read about the noncompete clause, where if the Roxy closes and the owner sells the building, the next owner of the building cannot open a movie theater. Ignoring the fact that a clause like that should be illegal, what a shame on the behalf of the owner! It's very unfortunate that his failure to keep a movie business alive in that location would prevent somebody else from trying.

Sam McAlilly

Burlington

Nothing 'Basic' About It

I want to point out an error, though not outright implied in ["Payback Time: Vermont Medicaid Overpaid Some Health Care Providers. Now It Wants the Money Back," August 7]. It states: "For a nurse practitioner providing basic therapy services, the error represented about a $15 difference per appointment."

The article does not state that psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners are providing evaluation and management services, which comprise the bulk of the claims we are submitting for many of the practices affected. We provide high-quality medical care that includes diagnostic psychiatric evaluations, medication management for psychiatric illness, and ongoing monitoring that includes assessments, diagnostic testing and referrals as indicated.

I'm not sure what "basic therapy" is to your staff, but there is rarely anything basic about therapeutic interventions that are part of a patient's treatment plan.

AnnMarie Dryden

Wolcott

Charlestin Cares

Esther Charlestin would be a breath of fresh air in the governor's office ["Former Middlebury Selectboard Member Esther Charlestin to Top Democratic Ticket," August 13]! She knows what it means to work with other people in creating policy for the public good.

She knows firsthand the experience of raising children in a difficult and challenging economy. She knows we need a tax policy in which the wealthiest share more equitably in the financial responsibility for all of Vermont's well-being. Tax equity is necessary to help Vermont create more housing and deal with climate change. She knows we need qualified leaders committed to quality public education for all of Vermont's children. She knows we need a governor who will communicate and work with the legislature on a regular and cooperative basis.

Why is Gov. Phil Scott so popular with Democrats? Vermont needs a governor who has lived experience of Vermont's struggles to be affordable. Gov. Scott talks about making Vermont affordable, but he vetoes bills passed by the legislature, with wide majorities, to help Vermont be more affordable for working people.

He vetoed a bill to provide assistance for childcare to help working families. He vetoed a bill on tax policy requiring those with incomes over $100,000 to pay their fair share of the tax burden for the common good. For whom does he want Vermont to be affordable?

It's time for change in the governor's office.

Sylvia Knight

Burlington