Groton Republican Town Committee

Groton Republican Town Committee
Scholarship Essay Contest

The Groton Republican Town Committee (GRTC) has sponsored a scholarship contest for senior students of the Groton-Dunstable Regional High School (GDRHS) for more than ten years. Five hundred dollars is awarded to the writer of the winning essay based on a patriotic theme. The award is given after completion of the first semester of college.
Would you consider a generous donation, both to meet this year’s need and to grow the scholarship fund to allow us to increase the number of awards given? For example, this year, we had a second applicant who wrote an excellent essay, deserving of recognition.
We would like to grow this scholarship to encourage young adults who are passionate about our Nation’s heritage and to help promote an awareness of the freedoms we enjoy. This year’s winning essay will be provided shortly.
The essay was to reflect on the following passage from the Declaration of Independence:
We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness–That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their Just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it and to institute new Government…”.
Both content and quality were judged to gauge the student’s level of understanding of the passage.
I received a scholarship from the Groton Police Department many years ago when I graduated from Groton High School while attending college as a Criminal Law student. I was very appreciative of their support! As you know the cost of living has gone up greatly since 1977. Our young people need all the help and encouragement they can get.
Would you consider giving generously to the scholarship fund? Please send donations to:
GRTC Scholarship, PO Box 472, Groton, MA 01450
Or bring them to a GRTC Meeting (7:30 PM, the first Wednesday of the month at the Groton Senior Center)
Or email GRTC Treasurer Brooks Lyman at [email protected] with your pledge
Sincerely,
Carrie Kneeland, Groton Republican Town Committee

Groton Republican Town Committee
Scholarship Essay Contest

Brooks Lyman is running for Selectman, supporting fiscal responsibility and common-sense respect for Groton's traditions. If you support his campaign and would like a LYMAN for SELECTMAN sign to put in front of your house, contact Brooks at [email protected] or 978-448-9947 (leave a message). For a bit more information on where he stands, see the copy of his Letter to the Editor.

Groton faces many challenges. Some are related to money - everything seems to cost more, andwe seem to have ever-increasing calls for more people, programs, facilities and equipment that only makes the problems worse. The Schools are only part of this problem.

I am running for Selectman to represent those Groton citizens who are concerned about increasing taxes at the same time as ever-larger numbers of them join the ranks of Senior Citizens, often with fixed incomes and increasing medical expenditures. I will be a voice for fiscal sanity.

Other problems are related to attempts to eradicate symbols of our traditions and culture in such matters as the Town Seal and the School Mascot (the Crusaders). Some people have likened
these efforts to those of ISIS and the Taliban, which may be over the top, but losing our traditions and historical heritage is still a loss. Better to keep the symbols of that heritage and spend some time in learning about all aspects–good and bad–of what they stand for than to try to sanitize our culture with political correctness. One could talk about exercising common sense, decency and tolerance…
Misplaced interpretations of our heritage as a nation of immigrants and the laws pertaining to immigration are another problem. If we are unhappy with those laws, then we should change them, not violate them. And given that these are mostly Federal laws, it is incumbent upon the Congress to do the changing. Write or call your Representatives and Senators with your concerns.

I am running for Selectman to represent those Groton Citizens who are concerned about attacks on our historic, cultural and spiritual heritage. Many of the members of the Board of Selectmen
would prefer not to have these messy, contentious issues erupt in the meetings of the Board of Selectmen and on Town Meeting floor. Unfortunately, we are dealing with attacks on traditions of the Town of Groton, not those of families, private organizations, churches and businesses, and the proper venue for resolving those public issues is the public forum of Town committees (Including the Board of Selectmen) and Town Meeting. I hope you will support me in these
endeavors.

For more information, feel free to call (978-448-9947) or email ([email protected]). I will soon have a web site as well (www.brookslyman.com).
Sincerely yours,
Brooks Lyman
Candidate for Selectmanditor of the Groton Herald (below).

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