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Old-school mentality
I agree completely on the phrases that I hear quite often [see “No, it’s not like this everywhere,” Dusty Rhodes, IT, Dec. 18]. I have lived in Springfield all my life. I cannot stand that phrase,
“That’s the way we’ve always done it.” I have many examples of this same phrase said to me over and over again and
still nothing gets done.
One example is the trouble I have with tenants in my rented house. You cannot
evict them unless you get a court order from a judge. Then the judge gets to
tell you when you can take back your rented property. All the while deadbeat
renters are living in my house, rent free, until I can get them evicted. My
alderman, Mark Mahoney, did not even know it worked like that. He thought you
could just evicted them after a 30-day notice.
Then I get the famous phrase “That’s probably the way they have always done it.” How do we stop this old-school mentality in our state, city and county?
LaDonna McClanahan
Springfield
Brandon from Berlin
Our class is doing a project. We live in Berlin, N.H., and are wondering about
other cities in the United States that are also called Berlin. We hope your
readers will be able to help us by sending letters, pictures, postcards, etc.
We would be very thankful for anything that comes to us. Thank you.
Brandon
Bartlett Elementary School
56 Mt. Forist St.
Berlin, N.H. 03570
Neighborhood libraries
I agree wholeheartedly with Patricia Erford about how important branch libraries
are for our communities [see “Don’t close library branches,” IT, Dec. 18]. Libraries are a wonderful neighborhood asset for both learning and
entertainment. If I could vote to use our city funds on maintaining and
upgrading our libraries or saving the Maisenbacher home, the home would be
gone.
The residents of our community use and need the services and programs that the
libraries offer. Where else can a student go in their neighborhood and do
research for a school project, access the Internet and then bring a treasured
book to read home and maybe a movie or two to watch? Where can an adult go to
use the Internet free of charge, maybe to search for a job or a better place to
live?
My kids and I moved to Auburn this past summer and the library there is a major
place to go for a lot of kids. Guess what? They are book-loving, smart kids
because the library is a welcoming place to be. Please don’t let the city of Springfield shortchange the citizens of one of the most
valuable assets any neighborhood could have.
Tory Moore
Auburn
This article appears in Dec 18-24, 2008.
