Letters to the Editor
Letter: Benld resident responds to Mayor’s letter
Editor’s note: This letter is in reply to Mayor Jim Kelly’s letter to the editor which was written in response to Kenneth Snider’s initial letter to the editor. Links are included for your convenience above and below.
Dear Editor,
In response to the letter by Mayor Kelly of Benld, he is correct in saying that a Special Meeting was held in July of 2018 to discuss a proposal by the City of Gillespie to provide police protection in the City of Benld. He is also correct in saying that it was well attended. I was present and the sentiments of the Benld citizens at that public meeting was a resounding “no”.
It is my opinion that it is still a resounding “no”, the only difference is that the last Special Meeting on this topic on April 17, 2020, was clearly conducted under the umbrella of the current COVID-19 crisis to avert knowledge of the meeting and any significant opposition to the proposal. There is and was no immediate police-related public safety emergency in Benld to justify this tactic and proposal. I also attended the April 17, 2020, meeting by Zoom, whereas others did participate by telephone. There were very few participants but those who did were overwhelmingly opposed to the proposal.
In regard to the informal committee of citizens that tried to help resolve Benld Police Department issues after the August 13, 2018, meeting: it was subsequently determined that adequate funding did, in fact, exist in Benld’s budget to operate the police department. This is evidenced by Benld’s ability to now funnel their tax dollars to Gillespie to provide a service they could, in fact, provide themselves. I had on several occasions offered to help in finding qualified personnel but was informed by Mayor Kelly quite some time ago that this problem had been worked out.
I have heard no word to the contrary until this topic arose in April of 2020 when apparently the contract negotiations had already been completed with the City of Gillespie.
I indeed have faults that The Good Lord has forgiven me for but untruthfulness is certainly not one of them. I offer the following responses to Mayor Kelly’s 1st list of itemized assertions:
- “I had a meeting with Ken Snider in early 2020 to discuss various issues including a proposal from the City of Gillespie to provide police protection for the City of Benld.” This is false. Mayor Kelly is somehow mistaken. I challenge him to detail the context, location and approximate date of this supposed meeting. I had not spoken to Mayor Kelly the entirety of 2020 prior to a telephone call I made to him in mid-March to thank him for coming into my establishment either on Sunday, March 8th or 15th, when I was not present. No mention of the Benld Police Department was made during that brief conversation. The next conversation was the previously described meeting in person with Mayor Kelly on Wednesday, April 8th, 2020, when in fact we did discuss the Benld Police Department and its proposed dissolution.
- True. However, Mayor Kelly did advise me that the council was going to schedule a Special Meeting but emphasized to me that it would be well-advertised and specifically advertised in the Coal Country Times.
- True. However, the only supposed notices of the Special Meeting I am currently aware of were on Facebook, a posting on the Benld City Hall door that someone would have to walk on a sidewalk closed for sidewalk construction to observe and “through the grapevine” as I did.
- True. However, I am not sure mine or anyone else’s statements were actually heard due to technical audio difficulties, which made it necessary that the Benld City Attorney paraphrase the comments of participants as he interpreted them.
In regard to Mayor Kelly’s second list of itemized assertions, I offer the following observations:
- 1-4. These points regarding the actual ordinance and contract are merely general statements, interpretations, and projections not necessarily supported by facts. For example, the projections of savings in #2 may be correct for the first year of the contract but there is no projecting the costs the City of Gillespie will choose to expend in the last several years of the contract.
- 5. The $216,000 fee will no doubt increase next year with the Gillespie Police Department purchasing of new vehicles and the likely opening of the union contract for police officer wages based upon this action by the governments of Gillespie and Benld. For the record, I am in favor of Gillespie Police Officers receiving new cars and higher wages, just not at the expense of the taxpayers of Benld.
- 6. The “Buyout” provision does nothing but bind the contract to the next Mayor and next two (2) City Councils with the three (3) year stipulation. Extending the will of the current group of elected officials to the next group of elected officials is just plain wrong, whoever they may be. If this is such a great idea, would not the next Mayor and City Council to be elected in next year simply affirm and continue the contract?
Sincerely,
Kenneth Snider
Benld, Illinois
Comments
Dear Editor:
This is not about Donald Trump. It’s not even about the sad souls seduced by him. The insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol to prevent the peaceful transfer of power were primarily guilty of being gullible. They fell for the fraud. They did not do the defrauding. Many have been held accountable for their actions. Most of the ones who fooled them have not. Yet.
I refer to Republican Party leaders who cashed in their moral courage to ride a demagogue’s coattails to power. They learned from their adored leader how to spew out coded calls to mob mentalities eager to vent their resentments. I used to believe people had to be taught to hate. Donald taught us you only have to invite people to hate. Let them know it’s OK. Normal. Join the gang. Have some fun.
Who would you like to hate? It doesn’t have to be a race, religion, or immigration status. People really want to hate “Elites.” Who are elites? Anyone who knows more than they do. People want to feel like they know more science than scientists; feel more righteous than the devout. What better leader could they have than one who tells them what they want to hear. Someone who claims to “know more about the military than all the generals.” That injecting bleach might cure Covid. Forget evidence. Forget knowledge. Too time consuming. Too boring. All you have to do is what Donald does. Just “feel” you’re right. Personally, I’d rather lose with honesty than win with lies.
They call themselves something they are not: “Conservatives.” True Conservatives value character, civility, and intelligence. Trump-pets reward arrogance, anger, and self-delusion.
“Alternative facts” is an oxymoron. Except in minds that can’t face an uncomfortable truth. They’re just opinions masquerading as facts. Using partial truths is not just a way to fool others. It’s how we fool ourselves. If you embrace Donald, you embrace his lies and self-delusions. You become what he is: a fraud. In the end, you will be a mere follower of a pathetic, narcissistic bully. I would rather be dead than that.
If you are one of those silent conservatives who still respect the Constitution, Democracy, and the rule of law, but allow yourself to be intimidated by Trump Trolls, the death of our democracy will be on you.
James Tweed; 1512 Wesley Ave. Ocean City, NJ 08226; (609)398-3124
Comments
President Donald Trump will formally accept the Republican Party nomination for President at the Republican National Convention next week.
America is a country divided and by virtue of accepting the Republican Party’s nomination for president, half the country will embrace him while the other half will want nothing to do with him.
The divide between Democrats and Republicans is nothing new, but what is new is the use of lawfare to target political rivals. Here in Illinois, the moment President Trump and his delegates filed their paperwork to be on the ballot in the Land of Lincoln, a group of far-left radicals immediately filed an objection to the filing. The objection was an outlandish legal charge that President Trump was the instigator of the events on January 6th, 2021, and was therefore not eligible to be on the ballot.
In the end these bogus accusations went nowhere. Even legal experts who were no fans of the 45th President thought the objection was ridiculous. But this is the state of affairs in politics today. Instead of putting ideas on the ballot and campaigning on the merits of those ideas, the far-left radicals are weaponizing our courts and targeting people solely on the basis of political ideology.
Donald Trump is without a doubt the most famous person in the world and like all famous people, he has his fans as well as his detractors. He is not “literally Hitler” as the extremists on the left claim. He is not the enemy of Democracy. He is a candidate for office like any other candidate. His ideas of a strong border, a strong military, low taxes, reduced business regulations, trade deals that protect American interests and a desire to protect America’s interests abroad have been a part of the public discourse for a long time. The notion that these ideas are an “assault on our Democracy” is just nonsense.
President Trump was leading in the majority of the battleground states long before the country saw Joe Biden’s decline in real time during the recent Presidential debate. And the reason he was leading in the polls is because Americans in growing numbers have rejected Joe Biden’s failed policies. The fact that Joe Biden has demonstrated his complete inability to serve has only served to give President Trump even more momentum than he already had ahead of the Republican National Convention.
It is time for our party to rally around our nominee. We cannot afford to continue Biden’s open border policies that are crippling our cities. We need a President who is strong on crime and who will work with state and local governments to keep our communities safe. We need a leader who will put an end to the inflation hurting so many families. I hear all of the time from constituents who are overwhelmed by the price of food and other household necessities. The current Administration won’t fix a problem and in fact they won’t even acknowledge the problem exists.
I call on everyone who may have voted for someone other than Donald Trump to watch the Convention and rally around our nominee. So-called “Republicans” like Adam Kinzinger who have done the unthinkable and endorsed Joe Biden are not only embarrassing themselves, but they are contributing to our nation’s decline.
We cannot afford another four years of the Green New Scam, the open border policies and the weaponization of the justice department to target political opponents. Joe Biden ran to heal our country and all he has done is fracture us even more. It is time to put America first and Donald Trump will do just that. It is time for Republicans, Independents, Libertarians, and moderate Democrats to rally around President Trump and Make America Great Again!
State Representative Adam Niemerg
Comments
Dear Editor,
Domestic Violence within Macoupin County is prevalent. It is destructive and can be both physical and psychological. It can affect anyone of any age, gender, race, or sexual orientation. It may include behaviors meant to scare, physically harm, or control a partner. While every relationship is different – domestic violence generally involves an unequal power dynamic in which one partner tries to assert control over the other in a variety of ways. The following statistics are all according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
We can see domestic violence inside the home: through the use and control of household pets. In one study, 85% of survivors who experienced co-occurring animal abuse reported that the behavior of their pets had changed. An even higher percentage of survivors who reported partners had harmed or killed their pet, have also reported their partner for domestic violence. We can also see an increase usage of firearms within the intimate partner violence home. A survey of contacts by the National Domestic Violence Hotline found (of those with access to firearms):
- 10% said their abusers had fired a gun during an argument.
- 67% believed their abusers were capable of killing them.
We can see domestic violence inside our schools: as partner violence is not exclusive to the home. There are many instances of violence between dating partners that begin in high school. Nearly 1.5 million high school students in the United States are physically abused by dating partners every year. Within those relationships, 13.4% of male high school students report being physically or sexually abused by a dating partner.
We can see domestic violence inside our community: Macoupin County provides a specific set of needs for those victims and survivors of domestic violence. There are several complex concerns within a violent relationship that come to light once action has been taken. Safe Families sees a few main re-occurring concerns within the county:
- Survivors have fewer financial resources, making them more financially dependent on an abusive partner.
- The lack of rental units or other affordable housing options makes it more difficult for survivors to leave spouses or co-habiting abusers.
The Macoupin County Safe Families program provides support for residents as they journey the emotional endeavors to leave behind domestic violence. As a contributor to that experience, we will be hosting a Domestic Violence Awareness Walk on October 7th on the Carlinville Square. An event shirt will be included with a ticket sale. The online tickets will close 09/29 at 5pm. Tickets will be sold at 9am day-of event at the Safe Families booth. More information about the Awareness Walk can be found on our website at mcphd@mcphd.net. We urge Macoupin County residents to join us and rally against domestic violence together.
Juliet Wooldridge and Lilly Booth
Domestic Violence Advocate Coordinators
Community Health Worker
Macoupin County Safe Families
Comments
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