Letters to The Editor: April 6-12, 2023

The Editor:

Regarding the article in the March 30 issue of The Northern Light about probable staff layoffs in Blaine school district’s 2023-24 school year, it would be a great loss to our community if drama teacher Olivia Theilemann was to be removed from the staff roster. She has brought creativity, enthusiasm, expertise, appropriately challenging theater education to our students, and is well deserving of employment at Blaine. 

If my voice counts for anything, I hope Dr. Granger and the school board carefully decide to keep our theater program healthy and active with Ms. Theilemann at the helm. After the heart-wrenching losses caused by Covid-19, especially in the arts (music, theater), let us not go backward; our children are thriving with Olivia.

I have spoken with many students currently involved in the production of “Into the Woods” – April 20-23 and 27-30 at the Performing Arts Center at Blaine High School (BHS); tickets available at the door – and they are extremely enthusiastic about “Miss T” (as they affectionately call her). They cite the camaraderie of the company, express admiration and appreciation for Ms. Theilemann, and are hopeful BHS will continue with a healthy theater curriculum under Miss T’s leadership.

“Order of employment” should not be the only reason the school board makes financial decisions. Keeping the arts alive in the Blaine school district is very important to the inspiration and well-being of our students.

Jeanne Halsey

Blaine

The Editor:

I met a mother of three boys who she had raised as a single mom, who were in their late teens and early 20s. She told me all of them did well in school, while holding down part-time jobs. She said none of them ever smoked, drank or did drugs. I asked her how she accomplished this and she replied, “I never spanked them, grounded them or punished them in any way – we always just talked everything out.”

The following is a story from a parent of a high school student. “My 16-year-old daughter Carol, told me she was studying child development in her home economics class, and one day their teacher asked, ‘What do you think would happen to a child if he or she were never punished?’ 

When Carol told the class that she had never been hit or punished by her parents, the other students looked at her with their mouths open. One of the girls said, ‘But … but … you’re good!’ I guess they couldn’t believe that someone could turn out to be ‘good’ without having been punished. I suppose if children were raised with spankings and punishments, it would be hard for them to understand that when parents trust kids and talk to them respectfully, the kids can end up being very ‘good’ and very responsible people.” 

Case in point, the parent went on to say she and her husband returned late one night to find a note on their pillow from Carol. She had accidently hit a tree while backing out of the driveway and dented the fender of their car.  She enclosed some money as a first payment toward repairs and said she would pay a similar amount every month until it was all paid for. Then she wrote, “I’m really sorry!!  It was an accident. Love, Carol”

The above story is an excerpt from the book, “How to Talk So Kids Can Learn At Home and in School” by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a more positive approach to successful parenting and teaching.   

Cindy Kisska

Birch Bay

The Editor:

An important meeting of the Blaine planning commission on Thursday, April 13 at 6 p.m. in council chambers will consider a zoning code change to allow a mobile home park of 300 sites on H Street Road east of Harvey Road.

Falsely touted as a way to provide affordable housing in Blaine, but instead of that the code change shifts the investment benefit to the developer who retains ownership of the land and rents it to the home buyers, generating him a potential yearly cash flow of potentially $2.8 million (300 lots x $800/month).

This means that the investment opportunity isn’t there for the homeowner but for the owner or other investors to whom the land is sold in chunks. 

Little tax revenue is generated to deal with the impact of so many new residents and school-age children. Clearcutting the land will dramatically affect drainage and water quality close to Blaine’s source for city water. 

So come to the hearing on the 13th and object to this massive land grab that can only hurt Blaine.  

Jackie Braverman 

Jack Kintner

Blaine