There were four letters to the editor this morning in Foster's. They all concern Oyster River School Board member Jim Kach and his Twitter account. A.C.T Now (the group behind this blog) sees fit to publish these letters as they are part of an issue concerning our district. Choosing not to publish all sides of an argument or ignoring an issue altogether is not presenting complete truths to our community.
Jeannie Sowers/Ben Chandron - "Hate Speech"
To the editor: This is an open letter to members of the Oyster River School Board.
We are residents of Madbury with a child in the Moharimet School. We are lucky to have wonderfully dedicated teachers and staff, who strive to model respect for diverse backgrounds and viewpoints and help students to do the same...
Read More...
Nicoletta Gullace - "Unfit"
To the editor: As a mother with two children in the Oyster River Schools, I would like to join the many voices urging the resignation of board member Jim Kach. His offensive comments on "Twitter" make him unfit to hold a position that directly affects the education of our children. His contempt for women, his disparaging comments about Jews and Muslim, and his vitriolic attacks on President Obama as "a developmentally delayed ADHD president," reflect a belittling attitude toward groups of people who are represented in our school district and whose children attend the schools he purports to guard....
Read More...
Luge Gould - "Shocked"
To the editor: I am writing to express my shock and disappointment over Tweets written by Oyster River School Board member Jim Kach in which he makes demeaning comments about women, Muslims, Jews, and African Americans....
Read More...
Patsy Pratt - "Stand Firm"
To the editor: I am writing in regards to Mr. Kach and the Oyster River Cooperative School District.
Mr. Kach, Thank you for not resigning and standing firm for free speech....
Read More...
To Seth Fiermonti,
ReplyDeleteHow surprising to find there has been an organized group (ACT Now) behind your "community blog."
Until now many people have mistaken this site for a community service site rather than a political point of view format.
Could you clarify the ideology (beliefs) your group holds regarding Jim Kach’s tweets and your group’s goals for the Oyster River Cooperative School District?
Thank you,
Deb Alberts
Durham
Hi Deb,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. Please see this post to learn more about how this blog started (http://oysterrivercommunity.blogspot.com/2011/07/fosters-administrators-defend-blog-or.html)
The ACT in ACT Now stands for Accountability, Communication and Transparency. For more info on that group, please see - http://oysterrivercommunity.blogspot.com/2009/03/welcome-to-act-now-blog.html.
I am not sure how you came to the conclusion that this isn't a resource to the community. I, as well as others, offer up news coverage as well as opinion pieces here for comment. We also try to get opinions on all sides of an issue. My introduction this morning was to state that this blog will not skirt an issue just because it may be polarizing.
For me personally, I would be happy to sit down with anyone and talk about our district and my viewpoints. Regarding the recent Kach issue, I do not support those comments on the Twitter account and I, too, find them troubling and hurtful. It is very unfortunate that the current perception when you look at the recent news are those Tweets and letters to the editor.
Again, Deb, I would be more than happy to sit down to discuss.
Regards,
Seth