Sherry Allen – 4/17/09

This page was last updated on April 18, 2009.

Arena a valuable community asset; Sherry Allen; Beaver County Times; April 17, 2009.

Ms. Allen wrote three previous letters I didn’t critique. One (“Conserving water for future,” 1/13/08) asked us to conserve water (primarily by not eating meat) and another (“Say ‘no’ to push polling,” 2/10/08) complained about alleged telephone “push polls” by Republicans, and the third was (“Plant a garden to offset oil usage,” 8/1/08). In one letter I did critique, Ms. Allen gushed about a book she found “that has hundreds of ideas on how to save our planet.” In a partisan letter, Ms. Allen concluded with “Let’s endeavor to walk together peacefully.” In one letter, Ms. Allen related a story of disaffected Republicans voting for Mr. Obama. In another letter, Ms. Allen tried to compare abortion and war in an effort to promote Barack Obama over John McCain. Ms. Allen’s last letter was entitled “Let’s be proactive on the environment.”

Below is a detailed critique of the letter.

“My daughter and I were sad to learn that the Bradys Run Ice Rink is closing early at the end of this month. We’re concerned about the annual Christmas ice skating show. Many local non-skaters make it a tradition.

“Our county has a wonderful skating program for our youth. There is also public skating and ice hockey.

“Last year’s Christmas ice show was wonderful. There were 60 local skaters and 60 skaters from out of town.

“The hours spent practicing for the show during their Thanksgiving break helped our skaters learn new skills. Performing gave them a sense of accomplishment, self-confidence and teamwork.

“Imagine how far our young people could take their athletic ability in the figure skating world. We’ve had a young couple competing internationally, and another currently competing in the junior nationals.

“Bradys Run has various activities it offers to our community. Many of us appreciate these opportunities. We’d like others who don’t know they’re available to benefit, too.

“Coincidentally, there’s a free spring ice show at the rink this month. Donations of canned goods for the poor for local food banks will be appreciated.”

[RWC] This letter is humorous given Ms. Allen’s previous letters. Apparently Ms. Allen is all for the environment, at least for others. There’s no mention in this letter about the ice rink’s carbon footprint, energy consumption, et cetera, and that doesn’t even include the environmental impact of travel to and from the arena by “local skaters and … skaters from out of town.”