Letters to the Editor - December 8

Censorship is not acceptable

My wife Dianne Engleke’s opinion-page cartoons have appeared in The Millerton News and Lakeville Journal since 2006. More than 270 of them have been published.

Earlier this year, she was invited by the Sharon Town Hall to have an exhibit of a selection of them in the gallery during the month of December. Dianne put a great amount of careful consideration in the selection of the cartoons to be shown in that venue. Prior to making the final decisions of which cartoons to show, Dianne took several cartoons over to show them to the woman who arranges shows for the gallery. She was told they were fine. Based on this she made her selection.

On Tuesday, Nov. 29, Dianne and I began hanging the show. We hung 24 cartoons (roughly half the show) and some promotional posters. First Selectman Robert Loucks was present when we hung them and offered to help. When we arrived on Wednesday morning to hang the balance of the work, 10 of the cartoons we had hung the previous day had been taken down. A man who said he was the building manager told us he took them down because they were controversial. He then went off and retrieved them and left without offering to discuss this with us.

We have been told that the decision to remove the cartoons was made by the Town Hall Committee. There was no attempt to discuss this with Dianne or anyone else.

 This is an example of the worst type of censorship. It is the type of thing that happens in totalitarian states. One person makes the rules on what the population can read, look at, hear, discuss. This is not what we expect from an open society such as ours. One has to question the judgment and agenda of someone who would do this. Dianne is very sorry that the people in Sharon will not be able to see her work and we are dismayed that one town official would take it upon himself to keep it from the populace. We hope people will let officials of the town know that this behavior is not acceptable.

Mark Liebergall
Millerton

 

Give thanks with a grateful heart...

That’s what the Thanksgiving weekend has been about for us this year. Our Lord has poured out His blessings to us, sending us those “angels entertained unawares” we’re told of in the Scriptures.

Among our many blessings we were treated to a sumptuous Thanksgiving feast at the Bangall Whaling Co. The family of Anne Van Vlack, the owners, invited us to what is becoming their annual Thanksgiving Day dinner. The chefs, Sean Stoorvogel and Trevor Coulter, graduates of the Culinary Institute, donated their time and created a meal fit for royalty. Sean lost his father on Thanksgiving Day last year and gave his time in honor of the man who taught him to give back — and boy did he ever!

We dined on the best squash soup we’ve ever eaten, swirled with crème fraiche and roasted squash seeds with a little piece of Italian parsley to finish it off. The presentation was almost as filling as the soup. That was served with a homemade onion foccacia bread that melted in our mouths, and then... the turkey, which was so moist and tender it could be cut with a fork, with all the fixings, including fresh-made green bean casserole (no canned onions here — these were fresh French fried onions coupled with those fancy long green beans in a creamy sauce — mmm good!).

Dessert was pumpkin pie and apple pie with vanilla ice cream that tasted like it had a little caramel in it.

Everyone was so gracious, the atmosphere was homey yet elegant and those of us who would not normally be able to afford a meal such as this felt that we were kings! A meal indeed and a day fit for heaven.

Thank you, Bangall Whaling Co., family and chefs for a memory that will last forever — we give thanks with a grateful heart.

May your life be filled with God’s love, laughter and light,

 Mike and Donna Castaner
Millbrook

 

Fedele’s pledge to North East voters

I’d like to thank everyone who voted for me in this important election. I pledge to serve the people of North East fairly, honestly, with an open mind and a clear heart. Now that the tough campaign is over, I trust everyone will come together with one goal in mind — keeping North East moving in the right direction.

Congratulations to our new supervisor, John Merwin; new councilman, George Kaye; Town Clerk Nancy Davis Vialpando and Town Justice John Crodelle.

I look forward to working with the entire council.

Again, thanks for your trust.

Ralph Fedele
Millerton

 

Tables were filled

The Millerton Fire Company thanks all who came to join us for our breakfast. We served 235 meals on Sunday, Dec. 4.

A special thanks to all who came to help. Without you it cannot happen.

Al Andrews
Bill Lutz
Vicki Moore
Millerton

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