The following Letters to the Editor are from the June 2024 issue of The Lenawee Voice. Letters should be 350 words or fewer and may be emailed to [email protected]. If space is limited, preference will be given to local authors and local topics. Please include your town of residence and a phone number for verification.
In defense of Christian empathy
In his opinion piece in your May edition, Hank Cetola criticized Republicans as lacking “empathy.” Mr. Cetola specifically named Christians as being among those who need to be more compassionate. What’s sad is that Mr. Cetola didn’t do his homework before making such an outrageous statement.
Look up Christian charities on your computer and you will find hundreds if not thousands of Christian charities that work in the United States and around the world showing kindness and compassion to those less fortunate. And, they do so without concern for race, religion, or gender identity! These charities run the gamut from providing food and shelter for the homeless and assistance after a disaster like the Salvation Army, Lutheran World Relief, and Samaritan’s Purse to providing free surgery and life-giving medical treatment like St Jude’s Hospital and Mercy Ships. Christians travel around the world at their own expense to provide life-saving clean water, wheelchairs, eyeglasses, and other necessities to communities in need. Michigan Christians volunteer each year to mow lawns, fix fences, mend porches, etc. in the inner cities. Closer to home, here in Adrian, there’s Share the Warmth homeless shelter, Neighbors of Hope food pantry, Catholic Charities, and the Care Pregnancy Center among others. These charities are supported both financially and physically by Christians in our own community. Even non-Christian charities come to the churches for financial and physical support for their missions.
Conservative and liberal Christians alike choose to “put their money where their mouth is” and show the love of Jesus Christ to the world instead of just mouthing hollow words like “compassion” and “empathy” and expecting the government to do it all. I invite you to join us. We are not as cruel as Mr. Cetola would have you believe!
— Vikki Ritzert, Adrian
Point-of-sale ordinance would be a needless burden
The city of Adrian is once again proposing a point-of-sale ordinance which would require an exterior inspection before you can sell your home.
Policymakers often look to real estate transactions as a seemingly convenient place to impose new requirements for household upgrades, inspections and remediation of a variety of concerns. Although well-intended, these actions can create a number of issues for property owners, would-be home buyers and the Realtors assisting in the transaction.
We feel adding another ordinance would be a costly mandate with unintended consequences such as:
- Hurting affordability.
- Complicating the sale of a home.
- Increasing the number of vacant homes in the city.
To be clear, the Lenawee County Association of Realtors shares in the city’s commitment to establish a sustainable and vibrant region. We stand ready to support plans that will accomplish these goals without placing unnecessary and avoidable burdens on our current and future property owners.
We feel the current blight ordinance and rental inspection ordinance, along with all the other inspections that typically occur with a sale (private home inspection, appraisal inspection and insurance inspection), should be more than enough to accomplish this vision, before imposing unnecessary and costly mandates on the taxpayers of the city of Adrian.
— Gil Henry, Lenawee County Association of Realtors
Clean energy benefits all
As a former fourth-grade teacher, I know it can be easy to believe incorrect information. In the classroom, I saw kids take shortcuts on math problems, attempt the latest “hacks” to get through quizzes, or argue that the wrong answer was, in fact, correct. My students quickly learned, though, that the only way to do things correctly is to know the facts.
I no longer spend every day in the classroom, but I see these same principles all the time. I see it right now as people try to muddy the waters surrounding the Clean Energy Act. Opponents want you to believe that renewable energy is not benefiting our state, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Clean energy brings jobs and money to Michigan. As the No. 1 state in the Midwest for solar manufacturing, jobs in clean energy generate significant tax revenue for local governments. This revenue is invested into our schools, our parks, our roads, first responder resources, and reduced property taxes. This is income our communities need.
The 2023 clean energy laws will benefit consumers, too. A study found that average households will see $145 in reduced energy costs because of the expanded investment in renewable energy.
We cannot let misinformation win. Please join me in supporting our state’s future in clean energy leadership.
— Debbie Rosenman, Bloomfield Twp.
