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Letters to the Editor
Feb. 12, 2026
Teaching instead of complaining
Editor:
The letters to the editor that appeared in the Thursday, Jan. 22, VCNB are the best I’ve read in quite awhile.
Katherine Gauer effectively offered a solution to the debacle with our property taxes by instructing the county with the mantra “show your work” instead of complaining about the major error. I expect the assessor and treasurer to follow through on this, do their homework, and get back to us.
And, as far as Jonathan Gardner’s explanation of the 1823 “America for the Americas” Monroe Doctrine, he had me until the second to the last paragraph. The word “meddling” changed the tone of the piece from pedagogical to political. But, who’s complaining? Thanks to both of you.
Peggy McLoughlin
Bosque Farms
A wonderful week
Editor:
What an interesting week (it) turned out to be.
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So much so I just have to share. I think it’s a good example of all the wonderful things going on around us if we just make the effort to seek them out.
It started on Monday, Jan. 19, when I attended the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ceremony at the Belen Library. I had no idea what to expect as I had never been before. It turned out to be a wonderful, uplifting, entertaining and inspiring event. The keynote speaker, retired Lt. Col. (and the first female navigator in the U.S. Air Force) Betty Payne was excellent. I will definitely plan to go again next year.
Wednesday night I went to a Del Norte Rotary Club meeting in Albuquerque and listened to some hair-raising stories from a retired police officer. What our police officers go through is mind boggling. God bless them.
Thursday, I attended a luncheon at the Albuquerque Convention Center where the president of Hillsdale College, Dr. Larry Arnn, spoke to a large audience. Dr. Arnn, who along with Hillsdale College I consider a national treasure, spoke for over an hour about the state of education and politics today. You could have heard a pin drop; it was that impactful. The luncheon was kicked off by a group of 15 kids from the Hozho Academy in Gallup. By memory they recited the Pledge of Allegiance in Navajo, Zuni, Spanish and English, followed by the Preamble to the Constitution. Wow.
Which brings us to Saturday night in Socorro where the local Rotary Club hosted an immersive experience in the culture of Scotland, their annual dinner to celebrate with fellowship the birthday of Robert Burns (1759-1796), considered the national poet of Scotland. He is celebrated around the world every year on “Burns Night.” Complete with bagpipes, haggis, traditional songs and poems, and ample toasts in a language similar to, but not, English. And as the first verse of “The Parting Glass” goes:
“Of all the money ere I had, I spent it in good company,
And all the harm I’ve ever done, alas was to none but me.
And all I’ve done for want of wit, to memory now I can’t recall.
So fill me to the parting glass, goodnight and joy be with you all.”
George Greenlee
Bosque Farms
