My Turn: Death of children too high a price

By CLAUDIA LEFKO

The U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child issued a statement on grave violations of children’s rights in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory on Oct. 13. “We reiterate that the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) requires States...

My Turn: The heartbreak of addiction

By SUSAN AVERY

Dear Son: My December birthday came and went last week. I thought I might’ve heard from you, but I did not. And then came Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and as family and friends gathered at home to celebrate, there was something missing; I didn’t...

Guest columnist Gene Stamell: Imagine no opinions

By GENE STAMELL

One morning, a number of years ago, I found myself standing in line at a Starbucks counter.The woman in front of me was screaming into her phone, arguing about what seemed to be a rent dispute. Obviously irate, she was completely unaware of her impact...

My Turn: Our tax dollars being used for death, destruction

By KATHERINE GOLUB and STACEY SEXTON

As elected officials representing the people of Greenfield, we face the very real needs of our community every day.Fourteen percent of Greenfielders live below the poverty line. Our schools face an untenable fiscal situation leading to cuts in...

Peggy Warwick: Column on falls sent important message

Thank you Jim Johnson for the column on fall prevention [“Don’t fall,” Recorder, Jan. 2]. It was good to see it included in the sports section, a place where sports fans and many readers of all ages scan the headings. The tips to strengthen the legs...

Gordon Koncal: A job well done

I want to give a "well done" to retired Marine MSGT Jeffery Cochran who works at the VA office there in Greenfield. My brother’s veterans grave marker had an error on it that needed to be corrected. I live in North Carolina and submitted the corrected...

Danielle Miller: Timing of column irksome

It’s so typical of the Recorder to print a pro-abortion My Turn on the first day of the new year. Couldn’t you have at least waited until Jan. 2?Danielle MillerDeerfield

Michael A. Phillips: Money well spent

I’d like to address a couple projects that deserve some recognition. Kudos to MassDOT District 2 for its hard work and long hours excavating and pouring new sidewalks along Sugarloaf Street back in the Spring. With a short time frame and many bad...

My Turn: Why are feminists silent about Oct. 7?

By DANIEL A. BROWN

In 2017, in reaction to the revelations about the sexual misconduct of Harvey Weinstein that led to the creation of the #MeToo movement, feminist activist Eve Ensler (“The Vagina Monologues”) wrote the following: “I’m over the passivity of good men....

Philip Carter: Leverett housing column missed details 

In a Dec. 29 guest column, writer Michael Seward suggests that opposition to the proposed housing development in Leverett is racist and immoral (“Leverett housing a counter to injustice”). However, he neglects to describe the project being proposed.It...

Brian Smith: Why are we destroying ourselves?

I love my spaceship. It’s so fragile and I wish to leave it better than I received it. What say you? This all could end in a minute and we are so oblivious to it.Why are we fighting and not helping? We think we are creators but all we do is destroy....

Lew La Chance: Kudos to city employees 

What does one do when there is groundwater in one’s basement of their house?I called the non-emergency police number and they sent the Fire Department, who got rid of most of it. They called the local Department of Public Works, who removed sewage...

Amy Timmins: Toy drive brought goodwill 

On behalf of ServiceNet and the children we serve through the Days Inn family shelter, Greenfield Family Inn, and REACH Early Intervention Program, I want to thank everyone who contributed so generously to the recent toy drive coordinated in...

Ferd Wulkan: Hamas, Israel both use extreme violence

Hamas and Israel have a lot in common. A pox on both your houses!So much has been written about the conflict between Israel and Hamas, but what is rarely discussed are the many things Hamas and the Israeli government have in common. They are both...

Carol Crafts: Lights of Mount Sugarloaf a volunteer effort

As I read the recent article regarding the tree atop Mount Sugarloaf, I thought of the countless years I enjoyed seeing it lit and never gave a thought as to who was responsible for it being there [“Mt. Sugarloaf’s holiday lights a community...

Robert Dickerman: Does AIPAC represent the U.S. Jewish community?

American politicians could abruptly halt the destruction and carnage in Gaza by threatening to suspend aid and trade to Israel. One reason that politicians haven’t done this is that they fear losing the support of AIPAC and the Jewish vote. American...

Local to Global: Calling on Biden to back peace, not war

By H. PATRICIA HYNES

Dear President Joe Biden: I would wish you a Happy New Year but it seems trite, given all the challenges and troubles you and our country face in 2024 — some inherited from previous administrations, others of your making.Americans are 10 times more...

My Turn: Planting dates

By SARA SCHLEY

If the blood spilled on Kibbutz Be’eri, where hundreds were massacred on Oct 7 could speak, would it cry out in Hebrew for vengeance? Would the children crushed by concrete in Gaza demand retaliation in Arabic? Both screaming from their graves for...

Columnist Al Norman: Medicare Advantage and ‘disadvantages’

As of 2023, there were 31.2 million elders enrolled in private Medicare plans, known as “Medicare Advantage.” For the first time, that’s more enrollees than in the “Traditional” Medicare program. Seniors choose these private companies because they see...

Bill Beckett: West County coverage appreciated

Our thanks go out to reporter Bella Levavi and the editors of the Recorder for your wonderfully thorough coverage of important public improvements scheduled for western Franklin County in the upcoming year (“Top News Stories of 2023: Part 1,”...