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Letters to the Editor

The Obvious Answer to an Insincere Question

At the end of a recent Board of Education meeting, board member AJ MacArthur asked a question. He wondered if having a child in the school system is a prerequisite to being on the school board. MacArthur said he was tired of hearing people say a child in the school system should be a prerequisite to having a board position. What people are suggesting to MacArthur is having a child in the school system assures some element of “skin in the game.” They are indicating if he had children enrolled in APS maybe some of his decisions would have gone a different way… as in supportive of ...

Send in the Clowns

The August 25th school board meeting started out humorous enough, turned repulsive and ended with just plain goofery. The amusing part presented immediately. Three out-of-towners, who had traveled from Wayne and Eaton Counties, hijacked the meeting with repeat trips to the podium during the public comment times to lavish praise on School Board President, Eric Lawson… music to Lawson’s ears. A robust chorus of accolades from people who don’t live here, vote here or pay taxes here. Funnier still, presumed clown show facilitator, Monica Dziesinski, evidently had to exceed a 250-mile ...

Lawmakers Prioritize Power Over People

I just finished reading the article about the tragic flood in Texas. What a horrific experience for those people to endure. Something else that is horrific in Texas is the legislators. Instead of dealing with legislation to prevent another such tragedy: (early flood warning systems, restrictions on inhabiting flood plains, etc.), they chose to prioritize and pass legislation gerrymandering voting districts to keep the party of their Fuehrer in power in Washington. Those in power in Texas are obviously not concerned about the people of Texas. They are only concerned with keeping ...

Education Over Politics

Recently, I read with interest two Letters to the Editor… one expressing “thanks” for electing certain, current members of our local school board as advocates for a particular political persuasion. The second letter admonished folks for “getting what we got” and chronicled a number of very specific “at what cost” issues which several members of our APS School Board have publicly advocated and/or approved. Without going into the details of the specifics of each of these several matters which the second letter identified, each appears to raise considerable concern ...

Is This Really The United States of America?

Donald J. Trump is an old, punch-drunk narcissist that commands the use of committed loyalty and there is only one man or one thing that he is loyal to. That one man or one thing is a man who in the late-20th Century took Donald J. Trump’s failing facade and made him into what he is today. It is unfortunate for The United States of America the man that Donald J. Trump is totally loyal to above all else spent his entire career committed to studying and working to destroy Democracy and The United States of America. President Donald J. Trump does not meet with this man as the Leader ...

Deaf Ears

I have noticed an interesting trend with the Alpena Public School Board. There could be 12 people speaking during public comment or via email, in support of the rain garden, or in support of LGBTQ students or for any number of other issues that have come before this Board in the past eight months. Those comments fall on deaf ears! But if they receive “one” email or “one” person speaking in opposition to one of those topics, the Trustees hyper-focus on that comment and want immediate change. One email suggesting that Pride Month is a religion, stimulated an immediate rewrite ...