Category: Dear Editor

Letters to the editor of local newspapers.

Keep D.C. issues out of local politics

To The Editor:

 A recent letter the editor, in favor of a local candidate for county Supervisor campaigning as a Republican, begins by quoting the 2nd Amendment. Oh, good grief, why? Blowing dog whistles designed to inspire political tribalism will not do one thing to improve debates about our local land use, water supply and business development.

Local elections in Louisa used to be non-partisan. Our local candidates did not claim a party. Sadly, that has been changing in recent years. Tying local politics to political parties is a terrible idea because local issues do not follow the national fault lines dictated by D.C. power struggles. 

Please consider supporting local candidates who keep things local. Louisa candidates for re-election, Bob Babyok and Fitzgerald Barnes, have never claimed party affiliation, and that is to their credit and our benefit.

Eva Schatz
Mineral

This letter was previously published in the latest edition of the Central Virginian newspaper and is reprinted here with the author’s permission. 

Supervisor has been solid in many areas


To the editor:

Fitzgerald Barnes may have saved my life. He spearheaded a campaign to get the Blue Ridge Health District to run a series of COVID vaccination clinics locally at Louisa County Middle School. They vaccinated thousands of locals, including me.

I’ve been here 32 years, and I remember Fitz working on many issues that have brought good things to the county while protecting what we value most. He has worked for Patrick Henry District residents but has been a leader in making the county a better place to live, work and attend school.

Early on, Fitz supported creating first-class parks and recreation facilities and offerings. Citizens made clear in comprehensive plan meetings that they wanted more recreational opportunities for children and adults. Over 20 years ago, there was a referendum on the ballot to fund a swimming pool. Voters passed it, but the board delayed building it for 10 years. Fitz’s support was instrumental in getting the pool built and improving athletic fields and programs. He has always been a supporter, then and now, of the parks department.

He’s also been a consistent supporter of the public schools, improving them and aspiring for excellence. He has supported increasing teacher pay to be more equitable so we can retain good teachers. The latest project on the board is building a vocational center, a much-needed addition for students who do not intend to go to college but still need skills to make a living.

But that’s not all, as they say. Fitz has supported bringing broadband to the county, and helped create the broadband authority, which has spurred the development of broadband by installing towers and leasing space to private internet providers. Once it was clear that there was a market in Louisa County, private towers also started going up. The struggle continues with fiber development by local utilities. Barnes has been on the frontlines of this, helping negotiate the contract with Central Virginia Electric Cooperative to provide fiber networks across the county.

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs. That’s always been a Barnes priority. He’s been instrumental in bringing several large employers to Louisa. He worked to develop the Zion Crossroads area and Route 250 as places for companies to build warehouses, job facilities and mixed-use residential. Fitz helped bring in local employers like Walmart and its distribution warehouse, Lowes, the Ferncliff Business Park and, coming soon – an Amazon warehouse.

With more jobs, facilities and broadband come more people. This draws medical facilities, restaurants and grocery stores to the area. Our west end is growing to accommodate those who live there and those who live in the broader county. I can now go to the doctor, get medical tests, and have physical therapy locally at Zion Crossroads. Then I can have lunch at Rhett’s Grill before heading home.

We all love the idea of getting more good restaurants, more and better retail shopping and grocery stores. Fitz is working on it. He is committed to keeping those developments in areas designated for growth, instead of sprawling everywhere and ruining the rural character of the county we love.

As a Louisa resident, I think that Fitzgerald Barnes should not only be re-elected as Patrick Henry supervisor, but we should elect more supervisors like him who want to work for the people instead of a party. Let’s elect supervisors who work for all the residents of Louisa County.

Joanna Hickman
Louisa
This letter was previously published in the latest edition of the Central Virginian newspaper and is reprinted here with the author’s permission.

Echoes concerns about climate change

To the editor:
I want to emphasize the point Sara Elder made in her recent letter to the editor (July 29). We are indeed lucky to have young people working on climate change issues. We need young creative minds who care about what is happening in our world right now. The deadly heat waves in the Midwest, the wildfires killing people, and the flooding that is taking lives in Europe are all directly attributable to climate change.

Unfortunately, we have a representative in the General Assembly in Richmond who consistently votes against measures, such as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, that are designed to help cut carbon emissions. Does John
McGuire not understand that this is happening; that this is a matter of life and death? Does he believe that his extremist ideology will save him?

Further, Mr. McGuire also voted against the House budget bill that included money for broadband and bonuses for state troopers. I’m planning to vote for Blakely Lockhart to replace him because she will vote in the actual interests of the people of the 56th district.

Peter Sugarman
Louisa
This letter was previously published in the latest edition of the Central Virginian newspaper and is reprinted here with the author’s permission.

Lockhart protects the right to vote

For someone who is always talking about how he will protect the right to vote, Delegate John McGuire certainly has a strange way of going about it.

Having voted NO on:

  • No-excuse absentee voting. (HB 1)                                                                               
  • Same-day voter registration. (HB 201)

In 2020, and following up in 2021 with these NO’s:

  • The Virginia Voting Rights Act. (SB 1395)                                                                     
  • Ballot drop boxes and pre-paid postage for vote-by-mail. (HB 1888)
  • Automatic restoration of rights for people who have served their time (SJ 272) 

He publicly admits to participating in the January 6th Rally in DC, joining white supremacists and proud boys.   

McGuire is an insurrectionist

This week he is scheduled to repeat those lies about the elections integrity at an Election Integrity Rally . 

The right to vote-Hiding their deeds

Most people don’t know that a three-bus caravan chartered by the Culpeper Republicans took like-minded Louisa County residents to join him. Or, that they are doing their best to hide this inconvenient fact.

Patriots erasing their participation

There have always been those who dislike their Party’s embrace of racial hostility and culture wars but have swallowed their distaste as long as their taxes were low. And now that the G.O.P. has become the party of election lies and violent insurrection — are they still willing to make that trade-off? 

Their ceaseless lies about the legitimacy of elections make it clear that they don’t support protecting the right to vote. And while everyone was paying attention to these distractions, one third of the country has passed laws to restrict voting.

Winning with a minority

Their goal is to normalize the theft of a constitutional right. Treating it like a privilege, which can be restricted if voters fail to meet their expectations. Ensuring they can win elections even when in the minority.

So what should you do when one Party does not want every legal vote to be counted?

Start at the local level by rejecting the two astroturfed challengers for Board of Supervisors. And clear out the deadwood in the General Assembly, electing Blakely Lockhart as your next delegate

Jon Taylor

This letter is an enhanced version of a letter published in the August 5th edition of the Central Virginian and is reprinted here with the author’s permission. 

 

Wrong vote on animal abuse bill

To the editor:

If you care about animals as much as I do, you may be glad to know that we have a new law in Virginia that will help protect our beloved companions from being abused in breeding situations and pet shops. The bipartisan bill, SB1412, was introduced by Republican Sen. Bill Stanley and passed the Senate 29-10 and the House of Delegates 67-28.

It is now a misdemeanor for anyone working with companion animals as a pet shop owner, dealer, breeder, or employee of these people to have a criminal record of animal cruelty, neglect or abandonment.

One would think that this law wouldn’t be controversial. After all, who would be in favor of animal abusers working with animals? Apparently, Del. John McGuire is. Our representative for the 56th istrict voted against this bill.

This makes me suspect that he is in the pocket of puppy mill breeders and the unethical dealers who sell these mistreated creatures. Hard to say, but whatever his reason, it can’t be a good one. It is a well-known fact that pet shops that sell puppies get their animals from puppy mills, which have a long record of horrific abuse. If you wonder why so many pet stores do not sell dogs or cats, or only provide space for animal rescue groups to support pet adoption, ask anyone working in animal rescue, animal control officers, or veterinarians. The one thing that would make this egislation stronger would be an outright ban on selling puppy mill dogs in Virginia. The fact that it does not is evidence of the strength of the puppy mill lobby.

There is nothing good about animal cruelty, and there is nothing good about McGuire’s refusal to support legislation aimed at stopping it. So far, on any piece of decent legislation – even bills patroned by members of his own party – John McGuire is batting zero.

Sincerely,
Claire Kaplan
Troy

Administrator’s Note: This letter was originally published in the Central Virginian newspaper and is reprinted here with the author’s permission.

Current supervisor has been an asset

To the editor:
I hear a lot about Supervisor Fitzgerald Barnes supporting business in Louisa. I would like to remind people that he pushed to get the Betty J. Queen Intergenerational Center funded, and the swimming pool, too. Those facilities and the programs they support are just as important to me as business development. Fitz works hard to better all aspects of life in Louisa.

Sue Rayburn
Louisa

Administrator’s Note: This letter was originally published in the Central Virginian newspaper and is reprinted here with the author’s permission.