YOUR VOICE: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Always a Chief

I heard the vote to eliminate 50 years of the Canton Chiefs was a win for those who are easily offended.

While I was disappointed in hearing this, what I heard they haven't come up with any replacement suggestions. So, allow me to share a few that popped into my head. Canton Kangaroos, since I heard it was a kangaroo court pushing for this change. How about Canton Rainbow Warriors for the colorful people who wanted to change the name, maybe even the Canton Screaming Eagles, since some of my friends were called racist and other names because they stood up to keep the name as the Canton Chiefs.

I will always be a Canton Chief and I trust that my fellow classmates will continue to leave a legacy as leaders in the community, just like Chiefs.

Paul Major Children outweigh nostalgia

Canton should change the name. The Michigan Department of Civil Rights published statements about this topic in 2013 that included summarizing research that showed that the use of Native American imagery produces a measurable, negative impact on the children in schools using that imagery. If you want to see the statement, visit www.michigan.gov/mdcr/ news/releases/2013/02/08/ indian-mascots.

The health and wellbeing of any child outweighs all nostalgia for a high school mascot, period.

Billy Wright

Keep the name

Redskins is derogatory, of course, but Chiefs? Absolutely a generic term meaning the head honcho. You can have Chief of Operations, or "chief cheese" -- a current slang term meaning a head of anything.

It’s not derogatory at all. Keep the name!

Brenda Krachenberg

Waste of money

I do not think Canton High should change the name. Both my kids graduated as Chiefs, in 2003 and 2007. I worked at Canton for many years. I was saddened at the amount of money that goes into such a wasteful endeavor as a legal name change. So much good and more valuable outcomes could come of this money. We are the Chiefs, not kangaroos or squirrels.

Cindi DeFroy

Changing name is wrong

I responded to a query regarding the proposed mascot change. Honestly, I felt, and still do, my feedback would fall on deaf ears.

I had two Native American uncles, one a Choctaw from Oklahoma and another a Cherokee from West Virginia. Both were sports fans and we had discussions about the use of Native American names in sports and how it impacted them. Both, without reservation, said they weren't offended by any of the names. Furthermore, they insisted Native American's weren't the ones upset, rather, it was nonNative Americans who believed they knew better than them. Frankly, they were offended by them, not the names.

I doubt anyone will consider this because those who "know better" than the Native Americans have already made a decision. And they are wrong.

Richard L. Bantau

Project makes no sense

I was at the recent Plymouth Township Planning Commission meeting and have a couple of thoughts concerning the efforts to rezone the Sparr’s Greenhouse property.

First, the petitioner -- Naji Kahala -- said he could not say what the proposed apartments would look like, how many units he will have or what he thinks they will rent for. Nothing was said about single family homes other than township planner Laura Haw saying that the current zoning would allow for 50 or so single family homes. I find it hard to believe that an investor would buy up almost five acres of land on the chance that the zoning would change.

Second, Ms. Haw says that this project will lead to a more walkable neighborhood. Where are these new residents going to walk? On Joy Road? On Lilley Road with almost no sidewalks? I do not see parents wanting to walk on the edge of a road with their three or four year old in tow while cars speed by at 40+ miles per hour.

Finally, only a government wonk would say that having 83% of all of the single family homes being owner occupied is bad for the township. I live on Lilley and when I look out my front window I see an apartment complex, so I don’t think it can be said that myself and the others are opposed to apartments, per say.

Robert Budlong

Keep Plymouth progressive

I have lived in the Plymouth community for 80 years. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you of the changes that I’ve seen. Plymouth has always been a progressive community. However, if all new developments are met with disdain from those who are already residing in the area then the community cannot claim to be progressive. I have lived adjacent to commercial and community properties for much of this time with no adverse effects. If done well, it can be harmonious and complementary. This is evidenced in numerous areas throughout the community if you look around.

Jerry Smith

Egregious behavior

As an attorney for more than 30 years, I’m a strong defender of your First Amendment rights. And, as a public official, I also know there are responsibilities that come with that right.

At the June 21 Planning Commission meeting, outsiders opposed to a new Meijer’s market engaged in some of the most egregious behavior this Township has ever seen at a public meeting, with agitators and other ‘ringers’ brought in to disrupt and intimidate the volunteer commissioners who were simply trying to provide due process to the applicant. Cat-calls, cheering, booing, and physical intimidation permeated the meeting, and in my opinion, influenced the outcome.

Meanwhile, a coordinated, professional ‘dark money’ website was created to slander and defame the Meijer company with lies and misinformation. The website was emailed and texted to thousands of Plymouth residents, asking them to get involved AND run for public office in the township. Again, I have no problem with political campaigning, but state law says you need to disclose who’s behind it, and who paid for it. Those responsible for the website broke the law.

But the most egregious violation committed by the dark money smear machine was the intentional ‘doxing’ of the Chairman of our Township Planning Commission. The website gave out his home phone number, leading to phone calls at his house from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. days before the Commission meeting. This created fear and intimidation for him and his family.

If you’ve lived in Plymouth Township for the past few years, you know that politics here can be rough. I know this all too well, as I’ve been subjected to online smear campaigns surprisingly similar to the dark money website created against Meijer. But when these misinformation campaigns target citizen volunteers, they’ve crossed the line. These kinds of tactics have no place in our community; the noble intent of the First Amendment should not be undermined by lies, intimidation, doxing, and threats.

Kurt Heise

Plymouth Township Supervisor

Majority doesn’t rule

I want to express my concern regarding the changing of the Canton High School mascot. It was 50 years ago, in 1972, when the students of Canton High School voted for their mascot. I was the general office secretary when the school opened. And now the school board voted to have a new mascot. How is that possible? What happened to majority rules?

A small minority seems to think that I, and many others, never found it to be offensive, and the phrase “Chiefs Are Leaders” was used with pride for many years. I would like to have the school board strongly consider changing the mascot of Plymouth High School. I think the head of a wildcat with the large fangs is much more alarming than an arrowhead. Every time I see the wildcat head, I think of all of the animals and people a wildcat may have killed and will kill. How can this be a fitting or appropriate mascot for any high school? Wildcats are predators and have no regard for who or what they attack. I am surprised that an animal rights group has not come forward to question the use of a wildcat as a mascot. Why not use the money it is going to cost to replace all of the uniforms, equipment and etc. for something more educational? I would like to think our school board and superintendent was more money conscious and would not succumb to the voice of a small minority who find the Chiefs to be offensive or derogatory. Go Chiefs!

Orlean Baker Lewelling

Don’t let memory die

I'd like to voice an opinion regarding the nickname of the Canton High School Chiefs. Personally, I believe it is acceptable to either keep or change the nickname. The name "Chiefs" is not insulting, nor is it a bad stereotype in as much as chiefs are proud leaders, usually having positive qualities, possessing great courage and strength.

I agree with many of the recent efforts to change mascots and nicknames for sports teams for their insensitivity, inaccuracy, and irrelevance. For example, the Washington football team was right in dropping the "Redskins" name. It is insulting in the same way "Whiteskins", "Blackskins" or "Yellowskins" would be insulting. It is an insensitive and obsolete term which does not need perpetuating.

Commemorating, honoring and remembering a great people has