(Editor's note: The following is an open letter to the Planning Board regarding a proposed tree-cutting bylaw that is to be discussed at the board's March 15 meeting.) On behalf of the Hopkinton Chamber’s Economic Development Council, please let this letter serve as...
Letter to Editor
Letter to the Editor: Center School preferable for Main Street construction staging
(Editor's note: The following is an open letter to the town manager, Select Board and Parks & Recreation.) Reasons for using Center School as a staging area for the downtown project: 1. The open field at Center School will only be used by 5-7-year-old campers for...
Letter to the Editor: Pick up dog poop on Center Trail
Time for the annual Center Trail refresher course for dog walkers. FAQs: 1. Do I have to pick up my dog’s poop? Yes, please. 2. What if I don’t have a poop bag? Bag dispensers and waste cans are at both the Main Street and Loop Road ends of the trail. Take two if...
Letter to the Editor: Select Board too soft on gun use
Regarding the Hill Street resident’s plea to extend the buffer zone for [firearm use], to alleviate the war zone in his neighborhood, and the Select Board’s timorous response, hesitant to step on the toes of hunters, it appears that they’d rather pander to a cohort of...
Letter to the Editor: Bullying must be addressed
Your article in January 2020 about Hopkinton High School [hockey] coach Chris MacPherson facing a lawsuit from the parents of a former Hopkinton freshman brought back my unpleasant memories. The suit was about the coach failing to stop players from harassing and...
Letter to the Editor: Letters inspire internet search
The [Feb. 10] edition of the Hopkinton Independent featured some interesting letters, which stimulated me to do a bit of internet research. I searched “countries with highest standard of living,” “happiest countries,” “standard of living by country,” etc. I looked...
Letter to the Editor: 5th-graders share facts about Inauguration Day
Editor’s note: The following two letters were written by students at Hopkins School as part of a class project. 20th Amendment has U.S. prepared Inauguration Day takes place in Washington, D.C., and is the day the president comes into office. In the two months between...
Letter to the Editor: More details needed on downtown project
Did you know that construction on the Main Street Corridor Project started on January 19? Neither did I. On January 30, I reached out to Town Manager Norman Khumalo to express concerns and ask questions regarding the Main Street Corridor Project’s two-way bike path....
Letter to the Editor: Capitalism over socialism
I can’t believe my fellow citizens actually want to destroy capitalism for socialism. Socialism has been tried all around the world with zero success. Now you socialist Democrats think you’re smarter than everyone before you and that only you can make it work? Not a...
Letter to the Editor: Right-wing militants pose most serious threat
I was dismayed by Selectman Brendan Tedstone's comment in the January 13 issue of the Independent. While I applaud his condemnation of the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, I beg to differ with his there-are-fine-people-on-both-sides assertion that, “These...
Letter to the Editor: MAPC pledge an important step
I wholeheartedly agree with Richard Germaine’s support for the town adopting the MAPC pledge, as expressed in his January 13th Letter to the Editor. It was the correct affirmation that since racism exists everywhere, our society requires more introspection, education...
Letter to the Editor: What happened to my America?
I am an 80-ish veteran. I served in the Navy right out of high school, 1959-62. I believed in my country and protecting it. I served 30 years as a firefighter/EMT for the town of Hopkinton. When I was growing up, my parents were staunch Republicans and so was I. In...
Letter to the Editor: More transparency in state government
Massachusetts has a long history of being the nation’s leader. Ever since we incited the American Revolution, a tradition of excellence has pervaded the commonwealth. We were the first state to legalize gay marriage. We consistently rank as the top state in the nation...
Letter to the Editor: Support for modified MAPC pledge
I applaud our Select Board adopting the modified MAPC Pledge. As a community we need to work to remove the inequities that exist among us so that everyone is treated with the same respect and equality of opportunity as everyone else. I am pleased that the references...
Letter to the Editor: Fighting racism should be emotional
Working to dismantle the structures that have perpetuated systemic racism in our communities and replacing them with systems that encourage and sustain diversity and equity is hard and emotional work. Anti-racism work is about being human and doing what’s right for...
Letter to the Editor: Select Board should adopt MAPC pledge
This is in support of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) pledge to address systemic racism. This has been on the table for months (I believe since end of June or early July) and a public statement/pledge matters because it shows that town leadership...
Letter to the Editor: Successful mercury recover program ends
On behalf of the button cell battery/mercury recovery rebate program at the Hopkinton Senior Center, I want to thank you for participating in the collecting of button batteries over the past several years. Our goal was twofold: 1, to remove mercury from the municipal...
Letter to the Editor: No solar in forests
I believe in solar power, and I also believe in conservation. My wife and I have driven across the country from Florida to Oakland, California, and back, and taken the train from Boston to Oakland and back. There are hundreds of miles of nothing. There could be any...
Letter to the Editor: Residents concerned about highway work
The I-495/90 Interchange Improvement Project is expected to last six years, potentially exposing more than 100 property owners in the Roosevelt Farms, Huckleberry Road and Hopkinton Meadows neighborhoods and along Fruit Street to myriad temporary and long-term...
Letter to the Editor: Leave yard signs alone
The Hopkinton Democratic Town Committee (HDTC) is deeply concerned about reports of recent yard sign thefts. We believe that whether they support LGBTQ+ Pride, Defend or Defund the Police, or any political candidate, yard signs represent the kind of civic engagement...