Dear Editor, I would like to address changes happening in Grants. While there have been a number of developments, it does not seem that many of them are benefiting the people of this community. I had hoped to see changes that would improve life for residents and strengthen the community itself.
Instead, what I see is the City of Grants purchasing buildings for its own use, including the old Hanosh/Ed Corley building and the old bank on the corner of Roosevelt and First Street, while also remodeling City Hall. At the same time, our golf course seems to be falling apart.
I am not sure whether the city manager, the mayor, or the council have confidence in the golf course, but it is clear that it is not being managed properly. A few years ago, it was a highly rated course. People came from all over to play there. Now, it looks neglected and dry, almost like a desert.
In my opinion, city leadership needs to take a serious look at how the golf course is being managed. Overall, it is frustrating to see money spent on new buildings while the golf course is neglected, our streets are in poor condition, and our sidewalks are unsafe.
Many sidewalks are so bad that people cannot even walk on them and are forced into the streets, which is dangerous because of the potholes and poor road conditions. I understand that these issues take money to fix, but where is the money coming from for these building purchases and the remodeling of City Hall?
That is what I would like to know. It simply does not seem right that so much money is being spent on government offices while basic community needs, like streets and sidewalks, are being overlooked. I realize there may be more to the situation than I know, but it still raises an important question: what should come first?
Also, what’s up with the school lights when school is in or out of session, the lights blink at the wrong times? I know between the City of Grants and the GCCS, they have plenty of money to get new ones.
Right now, we need leadership that is focused on doing what is best for the community, not just for itself. Our leaders need to lead with the people of Grants in mind.
Thank you. Henry Meyer
Climate Change Affects All Life
Dear Editor: We continue reading about the effects of human-caused climate change, yet our actions to address it are falling short, and some of us continue ignoring climate scientists.
As we humans dominated nature for centuries, we destroyed the basis for life for countless other species--plant and animal. We have gone so far in our effort to treat Earth as nothing but a resource that we threaten our own existence.
In 1624 John Donne wrote, 'No man is an island, entire of itself: every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main...' What Donne may not have known is that 'the main' includes all life, not just humans. We do not exist apart from nature. We could not have risen to our current level of consciousness without all the other life we grew up with and depended upon. We must respect the needs of our fellow species, plant and animal, or our own species will not survive what we have done and are doing to Mother Nature.
Sincerely, John Hamilton