Published: 5/26/2023 6:13:18 AM
Modified: 5/26/2023 6:13:03 AM
Lebanon’s Science Olympiad success was a team effort
As the coach of the Lebanon High School Science Olympiad team, I would like to express my thanks and gratitude, on behalf of our students, to the stakeholders in our community who have been so important to our success. The Byrne Foundation, Bio X Cell, Geokon, Mascoma Bank and Ulysses Diversified Holdings have each contributed to our teams at various points throughout the last eight years.
This year, Lebanon High School took first and second place in the state championships held in April at Saint Anselm College and was able to send a team of 15 high school students from Lebanon, Grantham and Plainfield to the national championships in Wichita, Kan., thanks to the support of our sponsors. Representing our community and the state of New Hampshire at this national competition is an impressive achievement for our students and our school district — one that will inspire generations of Lebanon students to come.
At a recent neighborhood gathering, I had a chance to catch up with some alumni from our program. Many of them have finished their undergraduate work and are working in industries or graduate programs related to science, medicine or engineering fields. They all agreed that Science Olympiad was one of the most formative, rewarding and memorable experiences they had as young students. Our community’s support of Science Olympiad has led to it becoming a rich tradition, which impacts an ever-growing number of young people.
John Tietjen
Lebanon
John Tietjen is a science department faculty member at Lebanon High School and coach of the Lebanon High School Science Olympiad program, which is in its eighth year.
Hartford missing out on money for housing
The Hartford Selectboard is potentially missing out on millions of dollars in grants and low-interest loans (state and federal) to invest in housing: Northern Border Regional Commission and “10% in Vermont.”
I’ve worked hard to amend this situation privately, but there’s a vacuum of Selectboard leadership. This is amounting to a huge cost to Hartford businesses and citizens alike.
Maybe my head will roll (again) for speaking on this publicly — I accept that — but I believe you deserve transparency. The Selectboard has a responsibility to take advantage of every positive opportunity to improve investment and housing development in Hartford. Our complacency may result in millions of dollars in opportunities potentially slipping by, and for what?
The Selectboard exists to serve the people.
Write selectboard@hartford-vt.org or Selectboard Chair Mike Hoyt to ask for leadership, explanations and accountability.
Rocket
White River Junction
Hartford Selectboard member
Hands off my Medicare and Social Security
I just do not understand it. The government, which cannot seem to pay its bills, mainly from overspending, is ready to default on it’s obligations.
We hear that Social Security and Medicare will be affected. These should be untouchable. Each of these are not an entitlement program! I paid into Social Security for 50 years and pay a premium (each month) for my Medicare coverage (not to mention what I paid in over my working life).
Our government, for a long time, managed to spend more than what it is taking in. It is time for the government to take a hard look at where it can curb spending. If it was a business, it would be closed.
Social Security, which we paid into for all those years, is not a cash cow for our elected leaders to draw from whenever they need “extra” funds. They have done this for too long a time, which I presume, they had no intention of paying back (even after writing “IOU’S”).
John M. Fragnella
Tunbridge