The County Press

READER FEEDBACK

‘So disappointed Bishop Kelley has closed’

It’s really disappointing that Bishop Kelley (Catholic School) has closed. Our extended family had six children get their education at the school, and we were generally happy with their education and experience.

One area that was a disappointment, especially in recent years, was how few trips and fun experiences the kids had with other children. Socialization experiences and seeing Washington, for example, are things all elementary kids should have the opportunity to do and that wasn’t a thing at Bishop Kelley I know really bothered a lot of kids and parents. It doesn’t sound like there was enough consideration from families what the kids should be able to experience, and maybe that was one of the school’s downfalls that ended up closing the place after nearly 70 years.

It’s a sad reflection of Immaculate Conception and the local Catholic community that the numbers have dropped so low, or else people have chosen to go elsewhere for services and religious education.

I think there needs to be better accountability by the Diocese who runs schools, because I think that that was a big problem with what happened at Bishop Kelley. The teaching and leadership of a school should be done by professional educators, and not be managed by a priest who knows little about running a successful school.

We’re so disappointed Bishop Kelley has closed, especially the way it did. The kids and parents deserved much better than what they got.

Audrey Walton
Mayfield Township

People have lost ‘faith’ with organized religion

I don’t think it’s totally fair to lay all the blame for the closing of Bishop Kelley School with Fr. Hurley. It’s more of a general reflection that fewer people are going to church anymore, and I think there are far fewer people who consider themselves religious — so that has to have some impact on the number of families who think it’s a priority to send their kids to a parochial school. Plus, there’s the issue of the expensive tuition. Things have been going in the wrong direction at the school for quite some time, so the closing while a huge disappointment and even an embarrassment probably wasn’t a surprise to many people who had the inside scoop to what was happening there.

It’s not Hurley’s fault parents aren’t having as many children, or that they can’t afford the tuition. It’s a troubling sign of the times in Lapeer County that has many ramifications.

Many people in general have lost “faith” with organized religion because of the disconnect to their daily lives and scandals that many churches, especially the Catholic Church in North America, have had. Too many disappointments and scandal coverups.

Rose McCabe
Attica Township

Promote the Vote 2022 still gathering signatures

The League of Women Voters is one of 19 partner organizations in the Promote the Vote petition drive to make voting more accessible to our citizens. If successful, the measure will be put on the November 2022 ballot for all Michigan voters to vote on.

The petition drive is hoping for a change in the state constitution that will:

• prevent intimidation of voters and interference with voting;

• protect local election funding to keep elections secure;

• ensure we have nine days of in-person, early voting;

• create a permanent absentee ballot list and online absentee ballot tracking;

• make lines shorter on election day;

• guarantee voters serving in the military have time to return their ballot;

• require audits be conducted in public only by election officials;

• require canvassing boards to certify election results based only on official election records of votes cast and more.

Our elections in Michigan are currently safe and secure and voter ID or a signed affidavit of identity to vote are already required.This constitutional amendment would make voting more accessible and convenient for everyone who wants to exercise their right to vote.

For full wording of the amendment, a list of partner organizations, frequently asked questions and updates on the campaign, seewww.promotethevote2022.com.

If you have not been approached by a volunteer to sign a petition, League members will be at the Marguerite deAngeli Library in Lapeer on Friday, June 24, from 3:30-7 p.m. and Saturday, June 25 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Please stop by and add your name to a petition so we can continue to assure that democracy works for all.

Jan Watz
Mayfield Township

Where’s the gravel supposed to come from?

People, come on. Roads and building materials for new commercial buildings and homes require products manufactured with sand and gravel. That material comes from gravel mines.

Lapeer County, I’ve been told, has nearly 30 gravel pits, some very small and others quite large. The point is there are many sources to get the material, not just on the Boy Scout ranch in Metamora Township. There are gravel pits in Goodland and Burnside townships that put a lot of trucks onto Van Dyke, and I don’t hear anyone complaining about that.

Gravel companies are entitled to run their businesses, and it doesn’t seem fair that townships like Metamora can indefinitely block them out. It’s too bad the location of the Boy Scout camp would bring many trucks through Metamora and Dryden, but there are already gravel trains hauling from other gravel pits in the area so it’s not like there isn’t already truck traffic in town. Unfortunately, that’s the way the cookie crumbles. The trucks have to be able to get to local highways.

Everybody is crying that we need to fix the roads and bridges, so road builders need sand and gravel for cement and asphalt used to fix the d*** roads. Gravel operators shouldn’t be looked at as an enemy to communities. They’re providing a valuable and necessary natural resource, which should be controlled and monitored by the State because it is a resource coming from the ground in this state.

Killian Spezia
Elba Township