You can't gamble your way out of fiscal problems
To the editor: One favorite trick of Karl Rove - master of the media slight of hand - is to call the opposition "a small minority" and their claims "inflammatory rhetoric." This has been done to the Plainville opposition to slots at Plainridge from the very beginning. The problem is, we've been right so often, can you afford not to at least investigate the points we make?
On our Facebook page and website, we cite study after study, newspaper article after newspaper article. Our "rhetoric" is one long list of scholarly articles and investigated stories from around the country. We didn't make it up. We've shared verifiable information about the economic impact to small business, the loss to the consumer economy, the repercussions of increased gambling addiction on families and businesses, the lie that harness racing will end if we don't get slots at Plainridge, and the experiences of the towns in Connecticut that border the casino towns. And so much more.
On the other hand, the proponents of slots seem only to be able to come up with "Because we say so! Plainville needs money!" to back up their assurances that all will be right with Plainville when the slots come to town.
Any recovering gambling addict will tell you that you can't gamble your way out of fiscal problems. Plainville needs a better plan for prosperity than expanded gambling. Please join me in voting no on slots on Sept. 10.
Mary-Ann Greanier, Plainville
Keep Plainville a friendly town
To the editor: I just finished reading the letter from Dale Bergevine ("A 'yes' vote Sept. 10 could mean a brighter future for Plainville," Sept. 3). To be opposed to drinking and driving, crime, burdening our resources, traffic, and gambling in general is called "a caterwauling clutch of high minded Democrats"?
I am opposed to gambling. I believe that even one fatality due to drinking and driving is not worth any amount of money. I don't see any brighter future and progress in minimum wage jobs, pawn shops, pay day lenders and crime.
We know nothing about Penn National's intentions and have not had a chance to vet them. Shouldn't we have the opportunity to make a decision based on their intentions?
Because I have a dissenting opinion and am asking questions doesn't make me worthy of negative assumptions.
I find Mr. Bergevine doing the same thing he is accusing those opposed to slots - inflammatory rhetoric. There are facts in the gaming consultants' reports which make me opposed to this venture. Facts.
Let's talk in town and work together to decide what is best. We are a small town. Let's keep our town friendly and nice for everyone, even if we disagree.
Robin Chandler, Plainville
Plainville's leaders show willful blindness
To the editor: The expressions of shock and betrayal from town hall regarding Plainridge former president Gary Piontkowski are hard to swallow.
Our former police chief's wife worked for the track and selectmen saw no potential conflicts of interest. The chief was an aggressive advocate for track interests, which had a chilling effect.
When the ACLU successfully defended a neighbor against a lawsuit initiated by Piontkowski, no Plainville officials stood up to the outrageous attempt to suppress freedom of speech. Requests for mitigation regarding traffic and pedestrian safety were countered by official worries about costing "Gary" too much.
Piontkowski attempted frightening Harness Path homeowners into silence over blasting literally in their back yards, claiming a deed restriction prevented residents from lodging complaints against the track. He delivered the warning to the workplace of at least one of these local homeowners.
Our town administrator raises the specter of horse farms converted to housing. Why didn't he object to expansion of sewers to the rural west side of town - benefiting developers at the expense of neighborhoods with failed septic systems in dire need of limited treatment capacity.
The Lions Club, which performs many public services, meets monthly at Plainridge and supports the slot barn. Their president is our former police chief. Does the Plainville Lions promote diversity of opinion among members?
The Attorney General's Office found Plainridge ran an illegal raffle in conjunction with the Plainville Athletic League, which told parents questioning the practice that they had to participate in the raffle if their kids participated in sports. Better judgment from PAL instead of boosterism would have benefited the town.
Now we are being asked by the selectmen who were deaf to complaints about Piontkowski's intimidation tactics and violations of gambling laws to blindly vote for a gambling facility.
Harness racing may or may not survive Piontkowski's misdeeds, but Plainville has already lost something more precious; neighbors leaving because civic leaders failed to protect our rights and interests. We will survive the loss of the track, but can we survive the willful blindness of our local government?
Marcia Benes, Plainvillle
Playing chicken, getting a turkey
To the editor: What do you get when you cross a chicken with a turkey?
Plainridge, the Plainville selectmen and town administrator are all being chicken. They've put all their eggs in one basket, counted their chickens before they hatched, and now they are crying wolf.
Everyone knows that it is poor financial advice to put all your investments in one stock - diversification is key to any prudent financial plan. Yet the leaders of Plainville have done just that, anchoring their economic plan on the fate of one company.
Your elected officials also got greedy, like a chicken whose feed includes those nasty growth hormones no one wants to eat - it needs more, more, more. They saw revenues from the "garage to nowhere" and started baking the glorious slot revenues into the town's financial forecasts. Now that those forecasts are at risk, the town could have sold eggs that may never be hatched.
Today Plainville town officials are crying wolf, chirping if Plainridge doesn't get the slots, Plainville will be in dire financial straits. That is not a plan, that's playing chicken and is no way to run a town.
Plainridge is so desperate they are willing to bring a strange and unknown animal from Pennsylvania into the coop, still looking for a home after it was already labeled a turkey by Springfield and Tewksbury, saying it wasn't good enough for their towns. Why is this cold and slightly congealed leftover Penn National soup good enough for Plainville when it didn't meet the standards of two other towns?
So what do you get when you cross a chicken with a turkey? A fowl? I don't know, but my guess is that it's a surprise mystery meat that no one would want to bring home for dinner at any of the thousands of Plainville homes that will be affected by this chicken pox of a plan.
So please vote in the best interest of Plainville, vote no. And while you're at it, tell those turkeys running the town it's time to fly to coop.
Thomas Keen, Foxboro
The author is co-founder of NoPlainvilleRacino.org and was sued by Plainridge Racecourse for defamation of character. Plainridge lost the suit and was ordered by the court to pay almost $25,000 to cover his legal costs.
Installing slot parlor the wrong path
To the editor: I have lived in Plainville for many years and I have often marveled at its dichotomy: good geographic location next to so many highways with a rural, small town character. I now am raising my family in town because the schools are good and I think that the town has the potential to develop and grow in positive ways. Installing a slot parlor in town is not the right path for Plainville.
Plainville is a family community now, but if expanded gambling is approved, it will forever have its reputation associated with gambling, which the National Realtors Association has reported has an "unambiguously negative impact" on property values for residents. Many, many families in town will lose on their home values.
Plainville does not need the problems that accompany casinos, alcohol-related crimes, drug-related crimes, thefts and break-ins, prostitution, increased problem gambling for residents. The promised revenue for the community is a red herring when measured against the costs of these problems.
The associated industries that accompany gambling parlors are often pawn shops, check cashing joints, and "massage parlors." Is this how we want our little stretch of Route 1 to be developed? I urge citizens of Plainville to stand up for Plainville. We may be small, but this is not the development direction we need to take. We can do better Plainville.
Vote "no" on the host community agreement on Sept. 10.
Leo Brehm, Plainville
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