Niel Young

To the editor,

It has been brought to my attention by someone who infrequently checks certain “blogs” to see what down-right meanness is being spewed and who is being written about. And sometimes those words are of interest to me, though you won’t find me visiting such venues.

This is a good place to point out that the record will show that my vote for accepting federal funds — “seed money” - “grant money” were seldom in the affirmative as a city councilor (three terms) and state representative (two terms).

My very first official vote (other than electing our mayor from within the council) on 1/28/74 was to vote to rescind the application for “federal funds” for the Belknap Mill. Today I look at a building that has been preserved by good people in our city who formed “The Save the Mill Society” and know they should be remembered as folks who stepped up to the plate and got it done locally by citizen involvement! A NO vote following soul-searching and additional information was an option used between 1974 and 1994, and taxpayer funded “bailouts” and “stimulus packages” would receive the same “NO” were I sitting in D.C.

In those years one of my duties was to review and vote on city, county, and state budgets.

Before assembling the text of this letter it was necessary that some questions I had needed to be addressed and here is where those answers have taken me. There was roughly $217,500 thousand in “stimulus” money available through a grant named after a law enforcement officer (Byrne) killed in the line of duty. This money was to be used for technology. For preparing the grant request the Belknap County Sheriff’s Department would receive $30,000 from Laconia and five other towns. So far is there anything sinister happening? Well, we Belknap County property taxpayers are about to be sued again by two — count the numbers, one, two — out of all the people in the county!

Bringing (expediting) improved communications infrastructure to a county with an abundance of mountains and small towns that will see an increase in crime as this economy continues to worsen, gives reason to revisit the most recent lawsuit. I question the motives of those who continually bring these lawsuits. And to the one who questions my principles, my goal is not to flex my political muscles when good, honest people are looking out for us. One should not use the argument of principles before looking at one’s own.

Niel Young

Laconia