Re: Springfield, Vermont votes for a prison

Michael S. Lorrey (retroman@turbont.net)
Wed, 15 Sep 1999 20:26:21 -0400

Larry Klaes wrote:
>
> >STM-Secretary@home.com wrote:
> >
> >> To All:
> >>
> >> The revote results are in. The prison vote has passed by a wider margin
> >> than before. 2345 For and 1535 Against. Springfield has chosen the State's
> >> offer to build a prison. We must respect the democratic will of the
> >> majority.
> >>

As a person who lives about 30 miles from Springfield, I cannot be happier. While I am as pro-science as anybody, the Stellafane people are mostly out of staters trying to inject their unwanted two cents into local politics (and Vermonters have gotten sick and tired of carpetbaggers), and with total disregard for the local economic situation. Springfield is one of the most depressed areas of Vermont, and has been that way since the collapse of the US machine tools industry 20 years ago. There are plenty of better sites in Vermont and New Hampshire to view the sky from. I suggest they contact the Astronomy Dept. at Dartmouth College in nearby Hanover, NH for help in locating a new site. I know, for instance, that the college owns a whole township in the northern tip of New Hampshire that they just use for student and alumni camping and logging to support native american scholarships. I have a hunting cabin about 30 yards outside their township (Called the Second College Grant) and can vouch for the outstanding quality of the night sky there. For access to 'The Grant', you can contact Earl Jette at the Dartmouth Outing Club in Hanover, as the DOC controls recreational access...

Mike Lorrey