L E T T E R S
SEND YOUR VIEWS AND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: INFO@NANTUCKETINDEPENDENT.COM
HEAD SOUTH, JUDGE O'NEILL

To the editor:

That's it. That was the straw that broke the people's back. No more injustice in Nantucket District Court. Judge O'Neill, it's time to head south. You've slapped our faces for the last time but most of all, you've slapped your last Nantucket Police officer (you must have a degree in the art of slapping). Every poison pusher that comes through your court gets a slap on the hand while the dealers laugh at our police department as you slap them in the face.

I thought that the good ole boy politics and same ole same ole make one drug bust per year days were gone with the old NPD top two gone into retirement, a department with low morale within a lack of trust of the people. You, Judge O'Neill, and your handpicked court officer (also your personal valet), the former number two at NPD, are trying to keep the good ole days alive and well.

You see, Judge O'Neill, we have a new, improved department with leadership that allows their officers and detectives to do their jobs, jobs that since #1 and #2 left they do very well. We only have to read the joke report, I mean the court report, to see the dealers are now forever looking over their shoulders when they are handing off their poison. But you continue to roll out the welcome mat, give 'em a wink and that famous hand slap (you must have been a great paddy cake player as a kid) and a good ole boy - You all come back now, you hear!

How many times do I have to read the same names in the paper? One guy recently has been in two times for assault and battery on a police officer, two drug charges, breaking and entering (I can't even count the times), and the last one was when he was picked up on a warrant two weeks ago for no payment of court costs. He spent two days in the NPD lockup, so you decided to waive payment in lieu of time served!

Now I know you are a busy man, you have to fly over on Monday, meet with lawyers for a couple hours, get valuable input from #2 on who walks, who gets fined, who gets continued - that's just the small stuff. Then you and #2 meet with the highpriced lawyers. That's when you become Bob Barker, let's make a deal - and #2 opens the door and says "Come on down!" Distribution - door #2 for your prize of continued without a finding, court cost. Trafficking - door #3, guilty - no wait, come back in one year then you can have door #2. Brick assault - door #1, dismissed - big winner!

The real problem, Judge O'Neill, is that you don't live here. This is not your home. We are not your neighbors. You just don't care. You just want to be back on that plane by 1 or 2 p.m. at the latest. Yep, back to your home and your neighbors, safe for another week.

I live here, work here, this is my home, my island, my neighbors. I want them to be safe. Judge Anastos lived here. This was his home and when someone came before him one too many times they got a boat ticket - one way. With him on the bench we could walk the streets and even leave our houses unlocked. We were safe. I think it's time that the powers that be take look at your record and send you south where it's warm and safe. It's time to say goodbye to all your friends, the dealers, the brick layers, and most of all the high priced suits. Let the powers that be look long and hard at your record. Let them see the injustices you have dealt our island. Then they will send someone who cares with a fist full of one way tickets.

We together, as one, need to stand by our police department. Let them know that they have made a difference, that we do trust in them, that we will not allow them to be slapped any more. I ask that we speak out and have Judge O'Neill removed from our court. Those police officers know that this is their home and ours and I am proud to call them friends and neighbors.

P.S. - #2 You are retired. You can't bring back the good ole days. So just drive off with Judge O'Neill, head south, kick back and most of all, keep safe.

- William D. Ciarmataro

THANK YOU, MARCOS

To the editor:

The Nantucket community spirit is alive and well, as "John W" (as I was identified on a scrap of paper wedged into my storm door handle last Thursday) can attest. Also on that scrap of paper was the message, "I am Marcos" and a telephone number.

When I reached him at that number, I was greeted with the question: "Did you lose your wallet last night?" I had in fact done so when I exited a midtown pharmacy around 7 p.m. and failed to put it securely in my pants pocket.

Already underway was the process of replacing my ATM card and obtaining a new license. Ahead lay the dreary process of dealing with credit cards. Try as you did, Marcos, I couldn't decipher the name of where you initially wanted me to go, so we settled on the parking area at the Muse, where, some quarter of an hour later we met and my wallet was returned with only my license having been moved so you could identify the owner.

We often hear voices which express the fear that we are losing the community values we associate with Nantucket's past. I hope I recognize you if our paths cross in the future, so I can thank you again, face to face.

In the meantime, this is my public salute to you, Marcos, that in you those values are burning brightly!

- John W. Belash

Increase in fees hurts arts

The following letter was originally sent to the Board of Selectmen and is reprinted here at the author's request.

To the editor

I am writing as both a private citizen and a member of the Board of Directors for the Nantucket Arts Council to express my grief over the approved increase in fee for non-profits to use Children's Beach. Let me begin by saying that I understand that our Town and its Departments are in need of revenue to sustain our community. That being said, I also believe that having a healthy cultural community is as important in many ways as having a community with a healthy infrastructure, and I do not believe that they have to be mutually exclusive.

As one of the only affordable venues available to non-profits and other small cultural organizations, Children's Beach has been a blessing for anyone wishing to offer a free event open to the public. The new fee of $1,000 will make it impossible for most groups to use the Children's Beach, and will make it much more difficult to offer free events at all. It certainly jeopardizes the Arts Council's plans for the Summer Shakespeare Festival. I have also heard (unofficially) that the Nantucket Film Festival will no longer be using Children's Beach for their free screenings.

It breaks my heart that we are trying to balance budgets at the expense of local non-profits and organizations which already provide a public benefit. The increase in cost for Jetties will surely have an effect on the bottom line of the Pops concert. The increase at Tom Nevers will hurt the Atheneum's Circus Flora event. However, none of these increases will cover the cost of our sewage treatment plant, nor will it be enough to prevent the $40 million deficit projected by the FinCom last summer. I fear that rather than making a dent in the amount of badly needed income, this fee will simply reduce the number of fun and free events available to families on Nantucket and it will reduce the amount of money that our non-profits are capable of raising through their programming.

Although the Selectmen already voted, I still strongly urge a reconsideration of these increases. If we need revenue, I can think of many other ways to raise funds without nickel-and-diming the groups and people who can least afford it. In fact, I would be happy to share my ideas on generating income for our town departments if they would be welcome. Fundraising aside, please consider the tremendous loss to our cultural community that this fee creates. Without free venues, there cannot be free performances. Please don't take away this precious space from those of us who work hard to give something to our community to enjoy without expecting anything in return.

Sincerely,

- Elisabeth Hazell

GIVES THANKS FOR ARTS SUPPORT

The following letter was originally sent to Thomas Bresette and members of Nantucket Golf Club's Children's Charity Classic grant committee from the Artists Association of Nantucket and is reprinted here at the author's request.

To the editor:

Thank you for your grant award for our children's arts programming. Your support is very important to us.

Your contribution will make it possible for the AAN Arts program to offer children's classes at affordable prices for the winter and spring sessions. We will also be able to give financial aid and scholarships to those who would not otherwise be able to afford classes. In addition, your contribution will underwrite the expense of hosting the elementary, middle and high school exhibitions in our Joyce and Seward Johnson Gallery in May 2007. This exhibition represents students from all public and private schools on Nantucket and provides a wonderful opportunity for the community to celebrate the artistic achievements of our island youth.

Thank you for making a difference in the lives of our students by helping us to provide quality arts educational programming.

Sincerely,

- Penny Scheerer

President, AAN