———— -- 1 e t t e r s — —— — — shoi>pIn9tservI<es
UITM, PUB 177, Burlington, III 05402-0177 or uitm@tagetlier.net
I Ed. Note: We cannot publish letters withoutaddress and phone mtmber. This informa-

tion will be kept confidential.]

O Ankeney Deserves
Our Support

Dear Editor:

Senator Jean Ankeney
(Democrat~St. George) is run-
ning for reelection as a state
senator from Chittenden
County. Mrs. Ankeney has a
proven record as a good and
trusted friend to the GLBT
community. She supports all
aspects of ”gay rights” includ-
ing the right to marry.

Other issues important to
Jean include insuring quality
education is available to all
Vermont children, which in-
cludes support for Act 60, the
health and welfare of families
(every type of family I) in Ver-
mont, the preservation of our
environment and open spaces,
investing in our downtowns to
control sprawl, and access to
quality health care for our eld-
erly and disadvantaged. Mrs.
Ankeney, a former public
health nurse, is a kind, caring
person who deserves our sup-
port. I encourage all my GLBT
friends, families and allies in
the Chittenden County Senato-
rial District (all of Chittenden
County except Colchester) to
cast a vote for Senator Jean
Ankeney on Election Day.

Richard Thorngren
South Burlington

0 Island Ponders Are
People Too

Dear Editor,

My name is ]o Carbonell.
I recently picked up an issue of
”Out In The Mountains” that
a gay friend of mine had left at
my house. I decided that it

‘would be a wonderful source

for a history term paper that
I'm working on for my college
History course. I read two of
the articles, both involving the
”Island Ponders” (Sept. 1998
issue) and I got very into it. A
friend of mine from high
school had been sucked into
this ”cult” and has been with
them for, roughly, two years
now.

None of his friends are
very pleased with how he has
changed. In the article "Skeeter

' Bites” he mentioned that the

”Community” lived a very
’neo-hippie’ lifestyle and I felt
compelled to correct the writer.
They actually live a very ‘first
testament of the Bible’ lifestyle.
They may look like hippies,
but their views about life are
very, very different. I wanted
to also thank your newspaper
for publishing an article about
the Community. I don't agree

with a lotof the ways that they

live their lives, but like the ho-
mosexual community...they
are people too.

Thank you.
Jo Carbonell

0 Fight the Good Fight

Dear Editor,

Skeeter Sanders raises
good points in his article on the
Island Pond sect. But I must
say that I find myself torn on
issues like this. I agree that we
must pick our fights and focus
our attention and resources on
issues that truly matter. On the
other hand, I think that we
must vigorously oppose anti-
gay actions of any sort, on all
levels. Left unchecked they
grow and gain momentum and
bring genuine pain.

The Island Ponders are
weirdos and nuts, no doubt
about it. But we can't just leave
it at that. We have to oppose
them, to expose them for what
they are. But we have to do so
in a manner consistent with
their relative importance. Yes,
in opposing these idiots we
risk elevating them and their
cause beyond anything they
maybe able to do alone. But
there is greater risk in not fac-
ing up to them at all.

Keep up the good fight.

Eugene Fox, Jr.
Bridport

O Riehle Asks For Our
Vote

Dear Editor,

Here in Vermont it is
campaign time again. As one
of 14 candidates for
Chittenden County's 6iSenate
seats, I feel it is important to
share with the OITM reader-
ship my legislative record on
issues that are important to all
of us. It's especially important
because, as a Republican, I am
acutely aware of the potential
stereotyping around political
issues that can be applied to
me without the knowledge of

how I actually vote and what I7

really believe.

I first served for 10 years
in the House representing the
south end of Burlington. Dur-
ing that period of time I sup-
ported and helped win pas-
sage ofanti—discrimination lan-
guage for housing and em-
ployment based on sexual
preference. I became very in-

volved in legislation around I

HIV and Aids. As a member of
the Appropriations Commit-
tee, I voted to include the first

state appropriations for sup-

port to VT C.A.R.E.S. as well
as proposing language to set
up a program that could use
state medicaid dollars to pay
for the continuation of health
insurance for people living
with Aids and in jeopardy of
losing thier health insurance.
While not a huge program, it
has made a difference for a
number of Vermonters.

In 1992 I ran for the Sen-
ate in Chittenden County and
won. In that capacity for the
past 6 years I have continued
to excert strong leadership
around issues of privacy of
medical records, insuring that
current adoption policies al-
lowing same sex couples to
adopt remain as we updated
adoption procedures and re-
lease of information to
adoptees, and funding for sup-
port groups and direct services
to patients and their partners
living with Aids. I have had
thoughtful dialogues with
women's groups concerning
the highly charged issue of
marriage and am open to pur-
suing legislation that would
consider delepoing an alterna-
tive approach around legal
contractual language for same
sex families.

Clearly these are not the
only issues in this campaign.
Finding a sustainable funding
plan for high quality education
for all children, creation of
good paying jobs and respon-
sible economic growth, quality
healthcare that businesses and
consumers can afford, electric
restructuring, solutions to the
sprawl issue, revitalizing our
collective and individual sense
of community and protecting
our environment are some of
the larger challenges for the
legislature. I am committed to
addressing these issues using
the common sense, moderate
and civil approach that is the
hallmark of my legislative
style.

I sincerely ask for your
support in the November gen-

eral election. And, I hope that

you can get beyond the R fol-
lowing my name to evaluate a
strong record and commitment
to individual rights and free-
doms and a reputation for
open, inclusive and thoughtful
dialogue with all. I am always
eager to speak with anyone
about the issues. I can be
reached at my home phone,
864-5460 and would welcome
your comments and concerns.
Sincerely,

Helen Riehle
Chittenden County
State Senator

* For more letters from OITM
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