[Editor's note: The following is a Letter to the Editor submitted by Robert Aufiero of the Melrose Republican City Committee.] This week, the State Committee of the Massachusetts Republican Party will vote for a new chairman. I am voicing my support for Rick Green of Pepperell, Mass. I encourage our local State Committeeman Scott Conway and State Committeewoman Brittany Carisella to do the same. If you live in Melrose, Malden, Stoneham, Wakefield, Reading, or precincts 1, 2, 3, 8 of Winchester, you are part of the 5th Middlesex State Senatorial district. Please call our state committee …

[Editor's note: The following Letter to the Editor was submitted by the Melrose Clergy Association.] The members of the Melrose Clergy Association continue to grieve and reflect upon last month’s tragic massacre of children and adults in Newtown Connecticut; and we continue to pray for the precious children, their families, their teachers, and those first responders and public servants who raced to offer their aid and comfort as this devastating event unfolded. We pray that the God of love and truth will surround the community of Newtown, and inspire and enable other communities, like our own…

[Editor's note: The following is a Letter to the Editor from Laurie McCannon from Northeast Animal Shelter.] On Sept. 17th we emailed or spoke to many of you regarding a lost dog named Bailey.  Bailey was in a foster home for just a couple of days when he escaped from the yard in Lynnfield. Many volunteers searched for weeks for Bailey in the Route 1, Saugus/Lynnfield area. Many stores in that area were generously keeping their eyes out for him, ready to contact Northeast Animal Shelter if he was spotted. Many let us hang flyers in their windows to help spread the word. Many of you posted on …

[Editor's note: The following is a Letter to the Editor submitted by Martha Grover, the city's green energy coordinator.] Over the next year, Melrose will see 79 new solar PV installations thanks to everyone who supported and took part in the Solarize Melrose program launched in June. Solarize Melrose, which concluded on Nov. 4, was a renewable energy outreach program sponsored by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center that offered discounted pricing and rebates to homeowners with eligible roof space.  I would like to personally thank Lori Timmermann, who volunteered over 400 hours of her time…

[Editor's note: The following is a letter by Melrose Mayor Rob Dolan to Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Edward Lambert on the Ravine Road one-way trial period.] Commissioner Edward Lambert Department of Conservation & Recreation 251 Causeway Street, Suite 600 Boston, MA 02114 Re: Ravine Road – Melrose/Stoneham Dear Commissioner Lambert: On behalf of the citizens of Melrose, I write to express my stern opposition to any effort to continue the current, unsafe and hazardous temporary traffic configuration along Ravine Road between Woodland Road and the Fellsway East. I …

[Editor's note: The following is a letter from Melrose Mayor Rob Dolan to Johnnie's Foodmaster owner John DeJesus that was recently submitted to Melrose Patch.] October 26, 2012 John DeJesus Foodmaster Supermarkets 100 Everett Ave., Suite 12 Chelsea, MA 02150  Dear John, I want to thank you for all that Foodmaster Supermarkets, and you personally, have done for the City of Melrose over the years. In addition to being one of the largest employers in the city, and providing quality groceries for our residents, you have been a generous neighbor. I truly appreciate the donations you have made …

[Editor's note: The following is a Letter to the Editor submitted by Monica Medeiros, a Melrosian, chairman of the Melrose Republican City Committee and former Republican State Committeewoman for the Middlesex & Essex District.] TO THE EDITOR: Two years ago, like many of you, I voted for Scott Brown. I voted for him because he was committed to representing us in Washington as an outsider and as one of us. He was not running to fulfill some family legacy, nor did he have the arrogance to believe the seat belonged to him simply because of his political party affiliation. People laughed off his …

To the editor:  I am writing to voice my support for Sen. Scott Brown, in what has become an increasingly important election. My reasons are simple:  Brown is a fiscal conservative, a social moderate who respects all beliefs and refuses to force his own beliefs on others, and he continues to make a concerted effort to “reach across the aisle” on all important issues before the U.S. Senate.  He actually reads the bill before he votes on it, in order to make the best decision for Massachusetts rather than just get the best sound-bite in the news. My concern with his opponent is equally as …

Why I am voting against Scott Brown: Senator Scott Brown has claimed many times to be a moderate, and to be bipartisan[1]. How anyone who can claim to be bipartisan, and yet still vote with their party greater than two-thirds of the time is beyond me. I will concede that in this extremely partisan congress, voting with the other party for 33% of the time[2] is newsworthy, but on key votes he has failed me. He voted against women’s healthcare and their personal liberty[3]; against granting a path to citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants who know and love the United States of …

To the Editor: I am proud to reside in Melrose, where Republicans, Democrats, and many Independent voters - such as myself - reside in harmony. This welcoming culture is a bigger draw than even our charming Main Street or bucolic parks. The upcoming election will prove no test to our neighborliness, but it will have consequences for the health of our town. Lauded in Charlotte by the Democratic Party Chair as a “Democrat’s Democrat,” Elizabeth Warren does not represent the best of Massachusetts. She’s an extremist for ever-bigger government with ever more regulatory burdens placed on …

Editor's note: The author of this letter made a copy available to Melrose Patch. At the start of Monday night's meeting of the aldermen's Appropriations Committee, Alderman at-Large Don Conn, the committee chairman, hearkened back to last week's public hearing and cautioned against uncivil behavior such as pounding on the public participation table, yelling, screaming or name-calling. "It will not be allowed and we will recess the committee." Alderman Conn, Your insulting preemptive caution to the general public demanding "decorous behavior" and no "fist pounding on the table" seemed to have …

Editor's note: A copy of this letter to Melrose officials on Wednesday was provided to Melrose Patch by the author. Dear Mayor Dolan, Senator Clark and Representative Brodeur, I headed to work this morning and the traffic lights at Grimsby’s were out. There were about 5 Verizon trucks parked on the property of the home owner across the street and not one police detail to direct traffic. I am well aware that this is Stoneham but understanding the love loss that exists at present between our fair cities it’s not hard to understand Stoneham’s lack of urgency to protect public safety. I called …

To the editor: I am a long-time resident of our city, and I am writing to express my concern about the recent exodus of the Melrose Public School Senior Staff. We have a child with a learning disability; that alone is a daily struggle. Unfortunately, we have been left in the hands of Patti White-Lambright. This is a truly concerning situation. I personally left Ms. White-Lambright seven voice mails, with no return calls. I have emailed Joe Casey and incoming Superintendent Cyndi Taymore and am I still struggling to get the help my child is entitled to per his IEP. If Melrose cannot provide …

To the editor: Shock. Disappoinment. Betrayal. These are some of the emotions I felt as I read Daniel DeMaina’s article about Mayor Dolan’s press conference on Monday. I was shocked to learn that the average teacher will be receiving a 5-7 percent salary increase. I will only be receiving a 1 percent cost of living adjustment next year—as part of the agreement the MEA (Melrose Education Association) made with the city two years ago—and wonder how the average teacher managed to receive more than our bargained increase. After taking a wage freeze, which amounted to a pay cut for most, the MEA …

To the editor: I recently participated in the 15-member Elementary Principal "Super" Search Committee. The Committee, made up of two principals, four teachers, one school committee member, one administrator, six parents and a community representative screened resumes, interviewed candidates, and passed on qualified candidates to outgoing Superintendent Casey and incoming Superintendent Taymore to interview. Together they made the final principal selections and school placement choices for the Hoover, Horace Mann, and Roosevelt Elementary Schools. As the candidate screeners, our clearly …

To the editor, Last week, the Melrose School Committee voted to eliminate the only elementary library media specialist (ELMS) position in the Melrose School District. This is one unfortunate result of a plan to create common planning time for teachers advocated by the elementary principals and presented to the School Committee on June 12. Common planning time is, by all accounts, a much-needed change that will allow greater collaboration among grade-level teachers, in addition to other benefits. To gain this valuable common planning time, a fourth specialist for all K-5 students in the …

To the editor, I would like thank all those who made our 10th annual DPW Day such a memorable event. Once again we were able to open up our City Yard to the students of Melrose so they could learn about the infrastructure of our city—and have some fun in the process. This event would not have been possible without a great deal of extra work on the part of many people. I would like to especially thank Ann Waitt, Dickie O’Donnell, Jessie Schmitt, Marisa Kelly, Tina Bright, Bob Beshara, John Scenna, Nick Gove, the DPW staff, the Parks and Recreation Department, the Board of Aldermen, the Energy …

A copy of this letter to state legislators was provided to Melrose Patch by the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. To members of the Conference Committee and Governor Deval Patrick,   We are writing as concerned members of the disability community to urge you to give your support to Amendment #548, which bans the use of electric shock aversive “therapy,” as contained in the Senate FY 13 Budget. We ask that this be included in the FY 13 Budget Conference Committee Report.  For several years, Massachusetts has failed to pass a general and complete ban of this practice, which has allowed the Judge …

Mayor Robert J. DolanMelrose City Hall562 Main StreetMelrose, MA 02176 June 12, 2012 Dear Mayor Dolan, We respectfully disagree with the letter that you recently sent to Michael D. Misslin, acting chief engineer for the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), that the reconfiguration of Ravine Road “does not appear to be alleviating any of the issues where Ravine Road intersects with Fellsway East.” It is my opinion from my frequent travel there that it is indeed a much calmer and safer intersection with the reduced number of turning movements. There is less evening …

To the editor: As I was watching the parade today I saw something that I have seen in past Melrose Parades and have always disliked. People throw candy out of the cars or while they are walking by. This should never be allowed EVER!. This causes children to run out into the street to catch the candy. It runs the risk of a child being struck by a car. People should know better than to do that. AMEN! Susan ThielenMelrose Street