Letters to the Editor: Only time will tell if Jamestown Twp. is into banning books
Wanting to honor the teachers of 1951
Is it not too late to praise the teachers of the two Longfellow sixth grade classes of 1951?
The 24 boys of the two classes had a high school graduation rate of 96 percent compared with a national average of 68 percent for that time, 67 percent graduated from college compared with a national rate 7 percent, 36 percent went on to graduate degrees compared with a national rate of less that 1 percent. The girls did equally well on high school graduation, but the times were not conducive to going to college or becoming professional.
Some of the class moved away from Holland, but many stayed like Bob Klassen and Bob Holman, who graduated from Hope College and pursued local careers. Bill and John Winters went into the fields of engineering and education with graduate degreesTom Klassen went to Hope and added a graduate degree and became a college economics professor.
Bill Kuyper was a Hope graduate who became the principle French hornist with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. George Boerigter was first a minister and then became a successful businessman in Hudsonville.
And what about Hewitt Johnson who graduated from Hope and became an Episcopal Priest and Ed Van Eenanam who first served a time in prison and then became a minister? These are classmates with recognized achievements. In addition, the class had two physicians, another college professor, teachers and engineers and a smattering of local business people.
Generally most of us went into lives of service as did the girls. We want to recognize our sixth grade teachers Mrs. Meppelink and Mrs. Sharland and our other Longfellow teachers for getting us off to a good start on our academic and life careers.
What a wonderful trip we have been on since grade school: from Elvis Presley to Adell, from black and white TVs to Apple Watches, from "I Love Ike" to "Build Back Better." Many of us have survived to this day and are thankful our friendship made in grade school have sustained us.
As teachers come under increasing attack and new teachers are hard to find we want salute our teachers who have made a differences in our lives. Today we need good teachers more than ever an we attest to the benefits of good teaching and learning.
Ron Wiegerink Hope College, 1961
What has Bill Huizenga actually done for us?
The problems with the leadership of Congressman Huizenga: Bill recently failed to support our veterans by withholding his support of the PACT Act. Yet, Congressman Peter Meijer, a veteran himself, supported our veterans.
Our congressman has now been flying to D.C. for more than a decade. Yet, can any of us here in Ottawa County name one piece of legislation he co-authored besides some small things that were passed nearly unanimously? Ten-plus years of our taxes funding his leadership — to where? Ten years of him defending the financial sector, real estate people and people of great wealth.
Yet, what does Bill really believe besides the party lines? When President Obama was leading, Bill would continually remind us: “We are a nation of laws and order.” However, after our last presidential election, without any proof whatsoever, Bill joined a Texas lawsuit that sought to void our democratic process. Now, Bill regularly attacks the FBI, our highest law enforcement agency.
When President Trump attempted to stay in office illegally, Congressman Huizenga joined in the fray. Our laws, including the Constitution, became irrelevant to Rep. Huizenga. Instead, lies and insurrection became pearls of great value, and power has proven to be the pearl that our congressman holds daily.
So, I ask: Why do we continue to elect a man who has chosen deceit and lies over honesty? Why do we give our votes to a man who has literally done nothing in terms of real leadership in D.C. for over a decade? Why do we support a leader who failed our veterans in recent weeks? If you have a quick and easy answer, let me suggest that you need to think more deeply. I have zero doubt that Max Dupree would be asking similar questions.
Let us reimagine what it means to elect leaders who will embrace honest public discourse rather than hiding behind walls. Let us find leaders who embrace all of us rather than leading by creating fear at every turn.
We certainly can do far better. We should expect more of ourselves.
Randy BuistJenison
Only time will tell if Jamestown is into banning books
On Aug. 2, residents in Jamestown Township, Michigan, voted down a proposed millage to continue funding the Patmos Public Library. The millage failed with 1,905 no votes to 1,142 yes votes. Less than half of the eligible electorate cast ballots.
Anti-LGBTQ zealots chose to defund their library based on a few dozen books being made available to adults. To be precise, 90 titles are related to LGBTQ issues out of 67,000. None are accessible by children. Unlike guns in homes.
On Aug. 8 the Patmos Library Board of Trustees voted unanimously to put the millage on the November ballot. The general election will attract greater voter turnout, providing a more complete picture of voter sentiment. Time will tell if book banning is indeed a thing in Jamestown.
Heather McGee, in her book "The Sum of Us," recounts how many communities, rather than integrate their public pools, chose instead to just fill them in with dirt and pour concrete over. Pools [and now libraries] were deemed offensive because they dared to be inclusive of people [and now of information]. Hence, everyone — every single soul that had previously reaped the benefit of free recreation [and now free books] — was thereafter denied the opportunity to access a common good.
Not unlike cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face, the outrage of destroying public resources while groveling to rank prejudices is mindless, disfiguring and harmful to everyone — 66,910 books, everything from art, to history, to fiction, to poetry, to reference material and more are at risk in Jamestown, Michigan.
Including Ray Bradbury’s "Fahrenheit 451."
Richard WolfePark Township
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Letters to the Editor: Only time will tell if Jamestown is into banning books
