I was thrilled when I began to read the July 12th Citizen article reporting:
The Gilford School Board is planning on dedicating a memorial for Gilford High School graduates that lost their lives serving our country Students will be asked to help with the design as well as selecting an appropriate location for the memorial. Many on the board feel that involving students will be both beneficial for the students and the project as a whole. "I see this memorial as serving two purposes. Number one, of course, is honoring our fallen graduates. Number two, is building awareness among our students of the preciousness of life and of the sacrifices others have made for them and our nation," said GHS Principal Ken Wiswell..
I know for a fact that many people throughout the community have wanted to do such a thing since the tragic death of Gilford Middle High graduate PFC Nicholas Cournoyer, killed in Iraq. I commend those in the school district who are engaged in the memorial effort.
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My pride and excitement while reading the Citizen piece was short lived, however, when I continued reading this:
School Board members have come up with a preliminary design for the memorial. While the design is far from ready and student input has yet to be given, there are already some problems with what some are proposing..In a email to School Board members, Chairman Derek Tomlinson voiced concerns over a suggested graphic that depicts, amongst other military uniform items, a military weapon.
Tomlinson stated to School Board members heading up the memorial Margo Weeks and Kurt Webber, "I think you should seriously look at alternatives before we take this to the students."
Man… was I torqued off! This person decrying the display of a soldier’s weapon in a memorial is MY elected school board chairman (don’t blame me…).
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Remembering that I am his constituent (whether he likes it or not), I sent him the following email:
Dear Derek,
I am writing this as a constituent, NOT a budget committee member…
You really never cease to amaze me! I was quite pleased reading about the proposed Gilford fallen soldiers memorial. Then I read this:
"In a email to School Board members, Chairman Derek Tomlinson voiced concerns over a suggested graphic that depicts, amongst other military uniform items, a military weapon."
What is your problem? Why are you are so afraid to honor the American military and what they do for all of us? What, would you have a soldier threatening the enemy with "time out" while brandishing a white surrender flag? Do you think showing an American soldier with his weapon is harmful to kids? What would you tell them our soldiers are for? Anything BUT fighting wars, I’ll bet! One thing, though- at least I’ll have yet another topic to write about- in addition to the crazy idea you had about astroturfing the fields. Don’t stop Derek- let’s hear some more "great" ideas- people will finally see the truth about where you are coming from!
Nothing personal- just politics!
Regards,
Doug
This guy Derek Tomlinson is the same visionary who wants to replace our beautiful sports fields with astroturf, as previously discussed here and here and even here.
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The article did leave me some hope, however, in that it further tells us that in response to the oh- so politically correct request by Mr. Tomlinson, the school board members supporting and driving the effort "felt comfortable with the design graphic preliminarily selected." Kudos to them! I suspect they’ll find a lot of support throughout the town for their endevour. As for Mr. Tomlinson, he continues to drop the mask he uses to try to hide his outright liberalism.
This is now cross-posted over at www.GilfordGrok.com
