To the Editor:
Former Dutchess County Clerk Dick Anderson is once again trying to fool the voters of Dutchess County.
Dick is riding around with a sign on his car that reads Dick Anderson County Clerk, implying he’s the county clerk. But Dick, you’re fooling no one. Brad Kendall is the Dutchess County Clerk, not you. How sad that you would resort to such malicious political maneuvers like this again.
Yes, again, Dick is resorting to tactics that can only be described as cheap politics.
Four years ago, in a desperate attempt to cling to the clerk’s office after his flawed administration, Dick ran radio spots inserting the name of Dutchess County Sheriff Adrian Butch Anderson. The purpose of inserting Butch Anderson’s name into these spots was to confuse voters. But the voters were not confused. Residents in Dutchess County knew they had a sheriff with an esteemed record, but they also knew that the county clerk had failed in his responsibilities. Dick Anderson was soundly defeated and rejected by the voters for his incompetence.
Dick, you had a chance to be Dutchess County Clerk and the voters removed you from that office for failing them. You even had a chance to interview with Governor Pataki to be appointed to the position following Colette Lafuente’s resignation; you chose not to apply.
Although a failed one, Dick, run on your record. Don’t resort to cheap and devious political ploys. Dutchess County residents are smarter than you give them credit for.
John Whitcomb
Poughkeepsie
To the Editor:
My name is Michael Peart and I am a senior at Poughkeepsie High School. Last week I attended the Board of Education meeting which was held at Clinton School. I felt it was a very interesting meeting.
One of the key topics hit was the ninth grade academy they will have in the high school next year. I feel that the ninth grade academy will have both a positive and negative effect on those ninth-graders. The positive effect is that they will be able to focus more while being isolated from the rest of the school. While having their own wing and own teachers, this could really be a great thing for them. Now a negative effect that I think will come out of this is, what if the kids, when they get out of the academy, are very rude and disrespectful because of being isolated? That is a thought to think about.
Now another big topic that came up at the board meeting was the reason that high school graduation is in the high school auditorium. There were about 60 high school students there and three main students stood up to the board about the issue. They were Cherish Hunt, Genise Stephens and David Millington. They were making very good points which had the audience clapping and the board at a loss for words. The superintendent kept trying to silence them, which shows they were making great points. After experiencing this board meeting, I will probably be attending the next one to talk about a couple of issues I have problems with.
Michael Peart
Poughkeepsie High School
To the Editor:
After attending a Board of Education meeting, I realized that they are not as boring as I imagined. Unlike a Common Council meeting, the board deals with students rather than the general public. Because it affects our education, many students have stood and have spoken. The May 23 meeting was interesting to me because of the two topics I felt were most interesting – the ninth grade academy and graduation.
The plan for ninth grade academy is that they will develop a plan to graduate in five years instead of four. I think that students should graduate at their rate. Some have graduated from high school in three years while others have in five years. It should be up to the student to decide. It may seem easier for some students to graduate in five years but for some it might be easier in four.
Graduation, a topic brought up by fellow classmates, was something I thought did not get a satisfactory answer. It seemed no one wanted to take responsibility for who decided where graduation was going to be. We were told that the Board of Education made the decision but at the meeting they said it was the Poughkeepsie High School who decides where it’s going to be held. The board also said that money was not the cause of why we are not going to have graduation at the Civic Center. Students asked, “Then, where is the money?” I too would like to know where did the money get used? Many students have felt that we deserve more or at least have the graduation outside on the football field where more family members can go. The idea of having family members watching from a TV is not the same thing as being there when they walk across the stage.
Erick Santos-Cruz
Poughkeepsie High School
To the Editor:
On May 23, I attended a Common Council meeting at Poughkeepsie City Hall. I have never attended a meeting before so I was really excited to find out what really goes on during it. I was surprised to see how fast they decided on issues that would have made me think for a while if it was up to me to deal with. One issue that I think they debated about for the longest period of time was having glass bottles banned from public parks all over Poughkeepsie.
While listening and learning more about the issue, I’ve come to understand how much of a big deal it is. Glass bottles are always dumped in public parks and are extremely hard to clean up, seeing how it comes up so often. Seeing how these days most glass bottles contain alcohol, it would be better to keep them away from parks and away from our children. For the most part, I enjoyed going to the council meeting and look forward to attending another one.
Joseph Galvan
Poughkeepsie High School
To the Editor:
On Monday, May 21, I attended the Common Council meeting that took place in the Council Chambers. I found the meeting tedious and some of the issues not very severe. The only issue that caught my interest was about banning glass bottles at parks. I find this a very excellent idea overall because now, children can play safely without getting hurt. Also, the park will be less polluted with garbage, making the parks a better environment for families to have picnics.
China Melton
Poughkeepsie High School