Too fragile to understand our history?
Re: “Signs posted seen as threats to ‘whitewash’ dark side of history,” June 28 news story
The term “snowflake” is often used to insult political liberals. With the power invested in me as a U.S. citizen, I nominate President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Bergum our Snowflakes in Chief.
Are these men so fragile and fearful that they need to waste and abuse our time and space by defacing signs in our National Parks and Monuments because these two men can’t cope with the truth?
Bergum says signage should highlight the beauty of these places. We are people with sense. We do not need signage to tell us what is beautiful.
Are President Trump and Secretary Bergum insulting our intelligence to infer that visitors to these sacred places cannot simultaneously appreciate beauty and absorb difficult information about past occurrences? Shame on them!
Face the truth! Do what the people say! Hire more rangers and maintain the trails!
Evan Siegel, Westminster
Sad to see the end of Job Corps
Re: “Great Society-era program on the chopping block,” June 29 news story
I was saddened to read the article, which states that 99 Job Corps centers across the country have been ordered to close because of low graduation rates and failure to achieve the intended outcomes of its charter. What an inglorious end to a program that benefited so many young people during its formative and early years.
I served as a remedial education teacher in two conservation centers in the first two years of the program’s existence in 1965 and 1966 and as a consultant to the program for several more years. In those early years all enrollees participated in meaningful and productive work programs during the day and in education programs in the evening. The outcomes of both program components made enrollees and staff, as well as program auditors and members of Congress, proud of their association with the program.
The program has obviously deteriorated over the years. I’m sorry this is coming to an end, but it appears it is no longer the stellar program it once was.
Mark McGoff, Arvada
What does Denver’s Central Library need?
Re: “Denver spent $60 million on its library — and it still closes every Friday,” July 10 commentary
Thank you, William Porter, for your commentary. I came to Denver right out of college. My first job did not require a college degree and did not pay a commensurate salary.
My first week in town, I got my library card. The Central Library was my haven, a place where I could still dream about my future. That was 55 years ago. I have avidly supported any funding for the library for all those years, but, because of its limited hours, it is much more difficult for me to use the new improved library, and more difficult for me to justify voting for additional funding.
Is that what it would take to return the library to a full-service level? Or do they need increased staffing, more security, more volunteers, or what? I think the library needs to be transparent about what it would take to return to being the award-winning library it once was. The status quo is not good enough.
A. Lynn Buschhoff, Denver
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