Letters to the Editor (Nov. 17)

Our water affects the valley, and our farmers

Editor:

As a local farmer, I ask you please refuse the raping of our aquifer by Niagara.

Every drop of water given to them takes away my irrigation rights. I pay taxes both to you on my property and to MRGCD to farm.

This season, I gave up my right to farm to help save water despite still having to pay taxes. And the only compensation I got was enough to offset about 1/5 of what I could have made.

And now you want to allow Niagara to use up almost as much water as Belen uses?

I’ll remember when I vote. Niagara should be run out of the county.

 

Dr. Daniel Brannan

Los Chavez

 

Focus on education

Editor:

In response to the article “Absenteeism is Chronic at Belen Consolidated Schools” (Vol. 112, No. 42), my suggestion to the problem would be incorporating some inactive policy for students so they engage with online classes more actively.

The inactive policy can be as simple as if students don’t turn on their Zoom and participate in class for a week, they’ll be kicked out of the school website and have to report this to their instructors. Hopefully this generates some form of responsibility on their part as students, but also with their parents to recognize that it’s also on them to ensure that their kids are indeed participating in school.

My parents are both teachers in Los Lunas Schools (middle school and high school), and in the height of the pandemic, I listened to their stories of students constantly turning on their Zoom without appearing on screen for the class, or not even accepting the invite at all and disappear for the remainder of the day.

Such behavior is detrimental to a student’s wellbeing, not aware of how their habit to avoid class will remain with them in other ways, possibly outside of school and beyond as they grow up. Not every situation at home is the same for every household, but if the school is providing the same resource to each of the students, then I feel justified in saying each child is accountable for their schooling, including online classes.

The idea is to focus on their strength of responsibility, exercising it so that they grow up as dependable and reliant young adults, and gain confidence knowing they are taking action in their lives as well.

 

Michael Sanchez

Belen

 

Ready for Thanksgiving

Editor:

Now that the elections are over and our lives are somewhat back to normal after Covid, I’m hoping we can come back together and be a loving and helpful community again.

We’ve all been through a lot during the last few years. We’ve lost a lot of people to this pandemic. We’ve lost a lot of people in our lives all because of divisive political beliefs. We’ve lost our way as a country and as a community.

There has been a lot of infighting in this community and it has to stop. We’re better than this. I hope we can come together and spend Thanksgiving being grateful for who we have in our lives and think about how we can make our community better.

 

Charles Garcia

Los Chavez