Letters to the Editor
Apply for Youth Exchange
Dear Independent:The York Rotary is accepting applications now thru Sept. 22 for the Rotary Youth Exchange for the 2007-2008 academic year.
This coming school year, 2006 - 2007, Emily Silin is being sponsored by the York Rotary Club on an exchange to Peru.
The typical Rotary Youth Exchange usually lasts for an academic year. During that time, the student will live with more than one host family - typically three different families for some three plus months each - and attend school as a high school student or a post grad.
If you are a high school student between the ages of 15 and 18, then you are eligible for Rotary Youth Exchange.
As the oldest exchange program of its kind, Rotary Youth Exchange takes pride in choosing students who are academically above average, articulate and demonstrate leadership in their communities. Ideal candidates should also possess qualities - like flexibility and a willingness to try new things - that will enable them to become excellent cultural ambassadors. You do not have to be involved with Rotary in any way in order to apply, although children of Rotarians are more than welcome to participate.
We believe the most powerful force in the promotion of international understanding and peace is exposure to different cultures. The world becomes a smaller, friendlier place when we learn that all people - regardless of nationality - desire the same basic things: a safe, comfortable environment that allows for a rich and satisfying life for our children and ourselves. Youth Exchange provides thousands of young people with the opportunity to meet people from other lands and to experience their cultures. This plants the seeds for a lifetime of international understanding.
As a Rotarian, and the parent of two daughters who have spent a year in Taiwan and Romania respectively, I highly recommend the experience to both the student and their family.
For more information about the program please visit the Rotary International web site at www.rotary.org/programs/youth_ex. Out-of-pocket costs for selected students have been about $3,500 for the academic year.
If this is the type of experience that might appeal to you please ask a York Rotarian, or contact me at donaldnsweet@netzero.com for an application. We will be collecting applications through early September. Applicants should expect to be interviewed by a team of Rotarians in September as part of the selection process.
Thank you,
Donald N. Sweet
York
Looking for local Wymans
Dear Independent,Is there a Wyman in your family tree? The Francis Wyman Association (FWA) will hold its 106th Annual Meeting on Sept. 23 at the Historical Society of Cheshire County (HSCC) and the Wyman Tavern Museum in Keene, N.H. Wyman descendents and interested friends are welcome to attend.
The genealogical library at the HSCC will be open for research from 9 a.m. to noon. Tours of the Wyman Tavern will be given between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. A light luncheon of sandwiches, beverages and dessert will be served at 12:30 p.m. followed by the business meeting at 1:45 p.m. To make a reservation for the luncheon, send a check for $10 to Ginny Mucciaccio, president FWA, 14 Thompson St., Dedham MA 02026-4911 by Wednesday, Sept. 20.
Local hosts for the gathering, Steve and Sharon Wood of Claremont, N.H., will present a historical program during the afternoon. Steve, a descendent of Francis Wyman, is an Abraham Lincoln presenter who will offer a sample of his portrayal of our 16th president. Sharon will take on the role of Ann Wyman Blake, her husband's ancestor, to speak about
life in West Cambridge, Mass., in the 1860s.
The Wyman Tavern Museum is Keene's most historic house, maintained as a period house museum representing the years between 1770 and 1820. It was built by Captain Isaac Wyman, great-grandson of Francis, in 1762. In 1770 it was the location of the first meeting of the trustees of Dartmouth College, under President Eleazar Wheelock. Five years later the tavern was the starting point for the march to Lexington and Concord by 29 New Hampshire minutemen led by Captain Wyman.
For over 100 years, the FWA has maintained another historic Wyman homestead, the Francis Wyman House in Burlington, Mass. Brothers Francis and John Wyman emigrated from Westmill, Hertsfordshire, England in 1634. Francis, whose main residence was near Woburn Center, used the Burlington house as a country home. The house, built in 1666 and expanded to double its size in the 1700s by grandson William Wyman, Jr., remained in the family until 1899.
Benjamin F. Wyman, concerned over its neglected condition, formed the FWA in 1902 to restore and maintain it. After a devastating fire in 1999, FWA members have been even more focused on restoration and preservation. A barn foundation was discovered in 2001, timbers from an antique barn were purchased and a replica will be built to house utilities, sanitary service and meeting space.
Annual fall meetings have traditionally been held in Burlington, with tours of the Francis Wyman House, a luncheon, and business meeting at a nearby location. It is hoped that this year's meeting in New Hampshire will draw Wyman descendents who may not have previously known about the Association or members from northern New England who might not have been able to make the trip to Massachusetts in prior years.
For membership information visit www.wyman.org or contact Ginny Mucciaccio at ginny.mucc@verizon.net. Directions to the meeting site are at www.hsccnh.org.
Sharon Wood
Claremont, N.H.
Think again about taxes
Dear Independent,It's time the selectmen, town manager and assessor looked into taxing at a fair and reasonable rate. Our assessor told us shortly after the reevaluation that taxes would be kept at a steady increase to avoid having a huge spike in any one year.
This year our land value went up 59 percent. This is outrageous when you had a tax task force that wants the budgets to not go above 5 percent-plus from the previous year. What is the town doing for us for the extra 59 percent? We are being punished for no reason.
It seems to me that because people with big bucks team up with realtors looking for big commissions every one is doing their best to get rid of the people that have paid the way over the last fifty years or so to get the town and schools where they are today.
If you think for one minute that people like us struggled when we were young to build our homes and raise a family and now at 80 years old are expected to support cheap housing and tax breaks for workers making $50,000-plus to over $100,000, you should really think again.
Norman Stevens
York
Send your letters to the Editor at PO Box 6, York, ME 03909 or via email to editor@yorkindependent.net. Deadline for publication is 12:00 noon on the Monday prior to that week's publication
