Lebanon scares more than crows

In response to Maggie Cassidy’s wonderful article (“Lebanon acclimates to the sound of no crows”; March 15), I would like to say that I do not hear the BirdXPeller device at all. I am just a bit north of 65 and the frequency is out of my hearing range. I expect that it may be out of the hearing range of most people over 60, particularly men.

But the thing is, it’s not about me or about any of us who don’t hear the sound, it’s about those who do. To those with acute hearing, the continuous high frequency rapid pulse chirps can be painful and stressful. When my daughter lived in Lebanon we enjoyed walking from our home to Colburn Park together and eating at the restaurants in the pedestrian mall. She moved to Boston before the BirdXPellers were installed but now when she comes to visit she won’t walk into town with me anymore. The sound of the BirdXPellers is silent for me but unbearable for her.

Geoffrey Wool

Lebanon

Don’t tax endowments

As a teacher in the Upper Valley, I know firsthand the power of education to expand minds and change lives. My own liberal arts education shaped me into the educator I am today, and now I’m watching my daughter thrive at a small liberal arts college that we would not be able to afford without the financial aid made possible by that school’s endowment.

That’s why I’m deeply concerned about a proposed federal law that would impose a tax on university and college endowments — potentially as high as 35%. This dramatic increase from the current 1.4% would threaten the very financial aid programs that make college accessible to middle-class families like mine.

Proponents argue the tax is about fairness and revenue, but in practice, it would punish schools that use their endowments to fund scholarships. Students across the country who rely on endowment-supported aid would not be able to afford the schools that challenge and inspire them. The tax would make it harder for schools to support those who need help most, cutting some off mid-stream and precluding others from ever getting started. These students deserve access to a life-changing education.

I urge lawmakers to reject this proposal and defend every student’s right to an affordable college education, regardless of income. Don’t sacrifice our children’s future opportunities in the name of short-term gain.

Jennifer Blue

Cornish

Control your dogs on the trail

With spring arriving, the number of people and dogs on our scenic local trails will increase. I am a regular trail user and have experienced multiple versions of the following scenario: Someone is hiking with their dog unleashed; the dog exuberantly runs toward my party. (Sometimes the dog owner is visible, sometimes not.) The gleeful greeting of a family pet is a special joy; however, the unbridled approach of an unknown dog is another story. An unsuspecting hiker can get rammed by a rambunctious running dog. Some people are afraid of dogs. There are dogs that jump on people. A loose dog may approach someone’s leashed dog and cause an unexpected tussle, possibly endangering the leashed-dog’s owner.

Sometimes the unleashed-dog owner says, “My dog doesn’t jump on people,” or “He is friendly.” Those statements may hold true in many circumstances, but in the excitement of the moment, a dog approaching new people or dogs without restraint in the woods may result in an unsafe encounter. Calling your dog after a situation escalates is too late.

My respectful entreaty is, in the interest of ensuring a safe, considerate, non-traumatic experience for all users, that dogs on local public trails be either leashed, or, upon approaching other hikers, be restrained by their owners to ensure that parties can pass each other without incident or injury. If a trail is heavily used, perhaps that is not the place to take an unleashed dog.

Judy Danna

Hanover

Whoa, easy there, Don

Regarding the Valley News Article from Friday, March 14, “Bill cuts circumcision from Medicaid.” I do not write this with any more knowledge about the topic than anyone in the article, nor have I done any research on the economic impacts of the bill, the medical or psychological or physiological impacts of the topic.

I write to illuminate for readers who might typically enjoy some sections of the newspaper for local human interest, the Forum and, of course, obituaries, but may have not caught some of the political coverage.

I would like to draw your attention to the quoted statements by the Republican representative to the New Hampshire House for Grafton County District 18, Donald McFarlane of Orange, N.H.

The closing paragraph of the article reads as follows: “ ‘This bill does not ban circumcision, but simply says that the government should keep its hands off where they don’t belong,’ Republican Rep. Donald McFarlane, of Orange, said. ‘We Americans can and should make female orgasms great again.’ ”

I’m just going to let that speak for itself. Re-read if you need to, I know I had to.

The majority of residents of the district voted for this individual to represent them in the New Hampshire House. I hope you are happy with your choice and with the serious issues to which he has chosen to lend his voice and expertise.

Beth DiFrancesco

Orange, N.H.