Stepping up

Friday, October 28, 2011

Once again the Merrimack Police Department has stepped up to help its community. By the time you read this, the Senior Information Fair, sponsored by the department, will be over. We reported it on Page 1 of the Journal last week, and we hope you saw that story by our Jake Berry and took the time to attend.

The fair was, of course, aimed at seniors, but not them alone: It was also for their friends and family members – those who sometimes need to step in and help their more elderly relatives or neighbors.

And there was a lot to learn about things like fuel assistance, transportation and housing, to name a few things of concern to the elderly.

It’s a sad commentary on the state of the nation that our senior citizens, many of whom worked hard to make America a better place, still need help. But so do the poor, so do returning members of the military.

Not every community has a police department as caring as Merrimack’s. We should consider ourselves lucky, because we are, and wonder why the need is still there.

Speaking of sad commentaries, in his piece in last week’s Journal, Rep. Frank Guinta clearly blamed the U.S. Department of education for the problems caused by the No Child Left Behind law. He wrote:

“Just think what our local education systems could do if parents and educators got the chance to decide for themselves how to spend the money that’s currently shipped to Washington, and determine what works best for educating children without towing the line dictated by the U.S. Department of Education.

If that department is “dictating” to New Hampshire, it is because it was directed to by the administration of George W. Bush which created No Child. But for Republicans like Guinta, the Department of Education is a bugaboo, a Headless Horseman stalking the land.

We’re not fans of No Child, but Guinta’s apparent plan – leave it to individual towns and cities – conveniently forgets that not all towns and cities can raise enough money to do the job properly because of our reliance upon the property tax.