To set the record and address the critics -- yes, I am a flatlander. I
also volunteered for this state to go fight in Iraq. My wife is a
third-generation Hancock resident; our daughter is the fourth. No, I do
not pay property taxes. I am a disabled veteran who has money saved in
the credit union and a debt balance of zero. But we cannot get a home
loan, so we rent. The wounds and injuries I received in Iraq pain me
every day and haunt my every night. I think my personal taxes should be
enough for one vote and my opinion stated.
To the 41 people who voted to close the school, you did more than close
a 209-year-old school. From my point of view the school was closed to
be vengeful. Can you go to your job and tell your boss and coworkers
that you wanted to pay more money to close a school and put Vermonters
out of work? What are you saying to the children of Hancock? What are
you saying to children everywhere?
In my opinion you are not just closing the school, you're closing the
town. In 2002 voters refused even to discuss removal of the inventory
tax which led to the mill closing. Who will buy your houses when you
wish to retire to warmer climates? No mill and no school make a tough
sell. Shall we next raise the speed limit to 50 and watch the dust
settle on our town?
To close the Hancock school is closing something that is so historic,
valuable and one of a kind. Most places in the world do not have
something as special as the school in Hancock. Certainly not in Iraq.
Kevin deMeurers
Hancock, Vermont
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