Pamela Finer

To the editor,

I’ve just finished reading Mr. Peter Miller’s letter in today’s paper, entitled “SB-2 Proponents Tunnel Vision Will Eventually Boomerang Against Taxpayers”. I have to say that he’s really done it, this time. I’m sitting here steaming mad and would like the chance to speak my mind.

To begin with, I am so sick and tired of being made to feel by Mr. Miller, and others like him, that because I am a proponent of SB-2 then it just stands to reason that I must be a brain dead moron (with tunnel vision) who needs to be led around on a leash by him and all the others against SB-2. Because obviously, THEY are the truly smart citizens of Meredith and as such, feel a great responsibility to us dolts who don’t know any better. Of course we don’t deserve the right to vote — we’re apparently incredibly stupid and therefore, would just screw things up. Let’s just let the same few people continue to make all of our decisions for us and life will be so much simpler.

I realize that Mr. Miller has probably never used these words to describe the citizens of Meredith who favor SB-2, and would never claim that he did. But trust me, even though those words may not come out of his mouth, the feeling that I get after hearing the words that DO come out is one of pure aggravation. You may not actually call me stupid Mr. Miller, but you sure do imply it. Just because I don’t agree with you does not mean that I don’t know enough to come in out of the rain. Why, I’ve even been known to go in to the house BEFORE the clouds open up, on occasion! I’m not an idiot. I have a brain and by golly, it works! I am smart enough to know how to vote. I am smart enough to do the research on anything that may appear on a ballot, and then make an informed, intelligent decision as to how to vote. And, unlike you, I am willing to bet that all of my friends and neighbors here in Meredith are just as smart as I am. By the same token, I am also smart enough to know that if we get SB-2 passed in Meredith, then a select group of Meredith citizens will not be allowed to make all of our decisions for us anymore. Those decisions will then be made by any number of the registered voters, and as such, things just might change around here. I’m sure that really frightens people like Mr. Miller.

The fact that Mr. Miller uses scare tactics to convince people that SB-2 is the wrong way to go really speaks volumes. Instead of using facts and discussing the pros and cons rationally, he tries to scare all of our town employees by making them worry that if SB-2 is passed, then they’re never going to get a raise or a good benefits package. He wants the town staff to think that if the residents of Meredith have the right to vote, and a voice in how the town is run, then we’re going to vote down every single COLA request that comes our way. WHAT? How does he even come up with that stuff? Just because we can ALL vote, then that automatically means that we will always vote against our town employees? That is utter nonsense. How on earth does that make any kind of sense? Once again, I truly believe that Mr. Miller thinks that most of the people in Meredith are dummies and will believe anything he tells them. If not, than why is he trying to scare them like this?

The biggest issue I have with Mr. Miller’s letter doesn’t even concern his opinions regarding SB-2. It actually has to do with the fact that he felt it necessary to state the value of Mr. Richard Juve’s property here in town. What the heck does how much Mr. Juve’s property is valued at have to do with the price of tea in China? I’ll tell you what — absolutely nothing. Mr. Miller and I both know exactly why he did it. He’s trying to paint Mr. Juve as a rich land-owner whose only concern is being rich and staying rich. And, one of the ways to continue to hold on to all of his money is to make sure that SB-2 is passed. In Mr. Miller’s convoluted way of thinking, if Meredith passes SB-2, then everything that has to do with spending money and/or raising taxes will be voted down. And, if it all gets voted down, then that means Mr. Juve’s taxes won’t go up, thereby keeping his pockets and his bank accounts full. Whereas Mr. Miller, whose homestead is only valued at a third of Mr. Juve’s, and who drives a 1992 Volvo with 240K miles, is not concerned with saving money. We all know that rich people like Mr. Juve (who are obviously “ultra hard-line conservatives”) strive to keep all their money to themselves, and the poor people like Mr. Miller (the more liberal and therefore, smarter ones) are the only ones who care enough to spread the wealth.

Well guess what, Mr. Miller? My property is valued at almost the same exact amount as yours. I, too, drive an old Volvo. We even have the same birthday month, although I am a little younger than you. So by your calculations, I should be against SB-2 and should really distrust Mr. Juve. Nothing could be further from the truth. I back Mr. Juve 100-percent. I consider him a very intelligent man who is well-spoken and highly educated, and one of the friendliest people in town. He knows what he’s talking about because he does his research. I’ve never known him to speak about anything that he’s passionate about without being fully informed about it. And just because he happens to own two pieces of property, with a combined value of about $450K more than my one piece of property, does not make him the “bad guy” and me the “good guy”. You neglected to mention that Mr. Juve’s property is on Lake Waukewan, and we all know that the value of lake property has gone through the roof lately. And through no fault of Mr. Juve’s. I am willing to bet anything I have that he certainly didn’t buy his property for as much as it’s now assessed. And I will also bet that he truly doesn’t believe that his property is actually worth its assessed price. I know I don’t believe mine is, that’s for darned sure. His property is valued at $700K, and mine at $270K, because of how this town has been run the past few years, pure and simple. Hey, didn’t you use to be a Selectman? Hmmm……. Interesting.

Pamela Finer

Meredith