I am writing in enthusiastic support of Xuan Kong’s candidacy for the School Committee. Xuan has impressive academic credentials: a doctorate in the physical sciences from Johns Hopkins and later an MBA from Boston University. He is currently the vice president for research at an area medical device company. 

What drew me to Xuan is his personal story. Xuan’s early life through college was spent in China — a culture and political system vastly different than ours. He is now a naturalized American citizen, who is willing to take the major step and put himself forward as a candidate for an elected town office. 

Acton is a diverse town and our School Committees over the years have reflected the views and spirit of the community. Xuan Kong’s candidacy and hopeful election will add to our proud tradition.

                                                                                                Jon Benson

Peter Berry will be a tremendous replacement for either of our two esteemed selectmen who are stepping down. I have had the pleasure to serve with Peter Berry on the Community Preservation Committee since the Committee was formed in 2003.

To the committees’ benefit, he stepped up and assumed the chair position for the first two years. He is largely responsible for setting the tone and creating the consensus building process with which the committee operates. It’s a completely open and transparent process where every person has a say and the public is invited to contribute input. He will bring this style to his new role as selectmen, if elected. He is a picture of calm and equanimity and through his profession and his years of town service, he has acquired an enormous breadth of knowledge. Professionally he is an attorney specializing in municipal law as well as labor, and employment law.

On the town side he has held board positions in a range of disciplines including the Conservation Commission, Acton Housing Authority, Zoning Board of Appeals, and the Community Preservation Committee. These skills and experiences make him a strong candidate for selectman. 

The entire Acton community has much to gain from electing Xuan Kong to the School Committee.

Xuan’s personal experience and characteristics make him an excellent candidate. He believes passionately in the value of education. His own hard work in China’s educational system led to distinguished performance at one of the top universities in China and a selective opportunity to pursue graduate training in the U.S. Sending his children to public school in Acton is a dream fulfilled for Xuan and his wife. Xuan is committed to giving back to the community and to the school system that is educating his children, who will grow up with easier access to opportunity than he had.

Xuan is an open-minded and effective speaker and listener. His outgoing manner and communication skills enable him to work well with the larger community, as he has shown as an American university professor, as vice president of a medical device company and as a volunteer at Gates School.

Acton’s Chinese community, of which Xuan is a member, is an asset to the town. This community is eager for a voice in America’s democratic process. On Feb. 25, the Acton Chinese Language School hosted a forum to give all candidates for School Committee and the Board of Selectmen a chance to present their perspectives and answer questions. The opportunity to participate in representative government at all levels is a fresh and exciting experience for many Chinese Actonians, and they should have a voice.

Moreover, the rest of us should have the opportunity to listen to that voice. As we prepare our children to participate meaningfully in a global society, Xuan Kong brings an important and illuminating perspective to the town. Please join me in voting for Xuan Kong on March 27.

On March 27 our community will head to the polls to determine the leaders for a committee that is integral to our families: School Committee.

As the parent of three children at McCarthy Towne School, I am well aware of the budgetary challenges that face our schools each year. As a teacher, I am keenly aware of the challenge to meet the educational needs of all children despite budgetary restraints. Establishing a balance between what we desire as parents and what the teachers need to provide the highest quality education necessitates community leaders who share our devotion to the school system and who appreciate the priorities of our educators.

Pat Easterly shares the dreams and visions for our children’s education and offers a realistic financial plan for how to achieve them. Our community and our educators deserve involved leaders like Pat who will listen to concerns on all sides of the issues and work to devise realistic plans which will continue to lead our esteemed schools in the right direction. Please join me in voting for Patricia C. Easterly for School Committee.

I am writing to tell everyone that I support Peter Berry for selectman and I want you to do the same. I have known Peter for over 10 years. There is something very warm and calming about Peter. I have always enjoyed being around him. He has served for many years as the moderator for our church’s congregational meetings. He easily maintains a very controlled and well-run meeting. I also know him through his involvement with my employer, AccesSportAmerica, which is a national, nonprofit organization, dedicated to the discovery and achievement of higher function and fitness for children and adults of all disabilities through high-challenge sports. In fact, his whole family is involved.

I asked Peter why he wanted to run for selectman and his answer was, “Acton has been very good to my family, given my children a great education and I feel the need to give back.” Take a look at his resume and you’ll see that he’s all about giving back. From being part of the U.S. Marine Corps in the Vietnam war to working in civil rights law to working as general counsel for Cambridge and then Boston Housing Authorities, not to mention countless committees — Peter is all about giving back.

If you are looking for someone who cares about Acton and all of its citizens, if you are looking for someone who will really listen to the concerns of our town, you are looking for someone who wants to give back out of the goodness of his heart… you want Peter Berry.

 Join me and cast your vote for Peter Berry for selectman on Election Day, March 27.

I am writing this letter in support for the re-election of incumbent Michael Coppolino as a member of the School Committee. My wife, Joanne, and I have lived in Acton for the past 12 years. We have four children presently in the Acton school system in elementary, junior high and high school. I have been a faculty member at Bentley College for over 25 years and am presently serving as associate dean.

I am strongly supporting Mike Coppolino for re-election to a fourth term because of his uncompromising commitment to Acton’s children. I have known Mike for over 10 years as a friend, fellow educator, and board member of Acton-Boxborough Youth Baseball (ABYB). Over the years, Mike has served our community in many ways, including president of ABYB. Throughout these years, I have witnessed firsthand Mike’s steadfast commitment to our children and our town.

Mike’s commitment to education is evident in the hundreds of hours he has spent in the last nine years calmly and carefully working with his fellow School Committee members while they discussed and evaluated school projects, issues and challenges. Mike’s experience as an incumbent School Committee member is invaluable. Being both a practical and thoughtful person, Mike is keenly aware that we must meet students’ needs while taking into consideration the costs to townspeople. Also warmhearted and affable, Mike is interested in continuing his role on the School Committee because he cares so much about Acton and its outstanding schools.

A teacher himself in the Waltham Public School system, with impeccable educational credentials, Mike’s philosophy is that “students come first.” This philosophy permeates Mike’s decisions as a member of the School Committee, and it stands as the hallmark of his tenure as an advocate for high quality education in Acton. Mike has firsthand experience working with students, and he knows and understands the importance of engaging parents and students in the educational process. He believes in the value and worth of every child, and views parents as partners in the pursuit of achieving excellence for our children.

While I am only one, I believe that everyone who has had the benefit and privilege of knowing Mike and observing his dedication to our children will support him for a fourth term serving on Acton’s school committee.

We are lucky to have Peter Berry running for Acton selectman. Working with Peter for two years on the Community Preservation Act Committee has been a pleasure.

He has the ability to sort out and research potential problems during the vetting process of the many projects that are submitted to the committee. Best of all, he does so without bias. 

Peter is well aware of the hard work that goes into being a selectman because he has already had many years of service on multiple town committees. He knows the system and the processes. No small feat. I’ll be voting for Peter because he works hard, works smart, and is fair.

Your article regarding Paulina Knibbe’s candidacy focused, unfortunately, to a large degree, on her knitting. “Kn” stands for more than “Knibbe” and “knitting”; “kn” also stands for “knowledge” — knowledge gained through attentive attendance at many long and contentious Board of Selectmen’s meetings; knowledge gained through the thorough, nonpartisan examination of issues that has become the hallmark of our area’s League of Women Voters; knowledge gained through being a member of the Acton community for more than a decade; knowledge gained through guiding children successfully through their formative years into young adulthood; knowledge gained through years of navigating the society of the workplace.

 I believe that critical, holistic thinking and the knowledge that it must be based on are the keys to good government — in fact, they are the keys to a good society. Given Paulina’s extensive knowledge base and experience with thorough exploration of contemporary community issues, I believe she would fill the position of Selectwoman with care, compassion and consummate skill.

We are writing this letter to give enthusiastic support to the candidacy of Dr. Xuan Kong for a three-year term on the School Committee.

All of our eight children received excellent educations while attending Acton schools, K-12, and were well prepared for their college careers. Though we no longer have children in the Acton system, we have grandchildren who are now or will be in the Acton schools in the future. Therefore, we have a personal interest in seeing that the excellent reputation of the Acton system is maintained.

Dr. Kong would be a superb choice to build on this educational foundation. His background as a former engineering professor at an Illinois university gave him excellent experience in the nuts and bolts of education as well as insight into what should be the proper preparation of students at the primary and secondary level for acceptance and success at the college level and beyond.

Dr. Kong’s present career as vice president for research of a medical device company has given him “real world” experience in areas vital to the success of the school committee in 2007 and the years ahead: budgeting and working with finite resources, personnel administration and recruitment of top quality professional staff, ability to work with all stakeholders, and in-depth knowledge of technology and how it should be deployed in the schools and how it should be taught to children in the system.

Dr. Kong has a vested interest in the success of Acton’s education program since his two children, Albert and Alissa, are students at the Gates School where Dr. Kong serves on the Gates School council and has participated in other volunteer activities.

Taxes are a major concern for Acton residents and Dr. Kong has pledged “to work with state officials to seek more state education funding” and has stated his position that “A vibrant community responsive to the needs of both young and old requires a stable tax base.”

It never ceases to amaze us that very successful, extremely talented and extraordinarily busy people are willing to spend a good part of their limited free time to give back to their community and their country through volunteer service.

Dr. Kong is one of those people willing to make that sacrifice and therefore we wholeheartedly and without reservation urge Acton residents to vote for our good neighbor and friend, Dr. Xuan Kong.

                                                                        Peter and Helen Cronin

I look forward to voting for Peter Berry for Selectman on March 27. Having observed him over the last three years in the roles of committee member and the first chairperson of Acton’s Community Preservation Committee (CPC), I have been impressed by his fairness and broad-mindedness. Although he came to the CPC from the community housing sector, he has shown a remarkable ability to grasp the needs and issues of the other three areas that are eligible for community preservation funding — historic preservation, open space, and recreation.  

Adding to that innate ability his professional and volunteer experience with schools, zoning and the workings of municipal governments, I am astonished at how lucky we are to have him here in Acton, and as a citizen I am grateful that he is willing to serve us all on the Board of Selectmen. It will be our good fortune indeed to see him elected to the board on March 27.

I attended a coffee the other night to meet Paulina Knibbe, a name with which I was familiar, but a woman whom I had never met. I was impressed with Paulina’s ease of speaking, her wide knowledge of town issues, and a personal demeanor, which was both kind and strong. I hope that Acton will elect her to our Board of Selectmen.

I am writing to express enthusiastic support for John Petersen in his campaign for two-year term in Acton School Committee. Having read John’s detailed mission statement and having seen him as a dedicated and active fellow parent in local school activities, I believe John will be an excellent member of Acton School Committee.

Under the successful guidance of its School Committee, Acton school system has been one of the best in our state. As such, the School Committee needs continued dedication and hard work from members like John to address any current and future challenges in finance, regulation and demographics.

In my opinion, John is highly capable to prioritize and balance the ever-evolving needs of Acton school community. In time of need, I applaud John’s coming forward with his candidacy, and would like to voice my strong support of John in his bid for a two-year term in Acton School Committee.

With elections approaching, Acton voters must now decide whom to elect to the School Committee. As Douglas School parents, we are lucky that our decision is an easy one: the clear winner is Heather Harer.

We have known Heather since our boys entered kindergarten together. In the past six years, we’ve seen Heather devote countless hours to our school community. Heather is the PTO co-chair, and served as the secretary for three years. She chaired the Spring Social/Auction twice, which brought in critical funds.

Additionally, Heather has had roles in the Douglas School Council and the Principal Search Committee. Bringing in our current principal was a big win for our school, and Heather’s prominent role in this effort clearly demonstrates her understanding of leadership in education and excellent judgment.

In all of her volunteer roles, Heather brings a level of energy and enthusiasm that motivates everyone around her. We know from seeing everything she has done for the Douglas community that as a School Committee member, Heather Harer will help keep our schools the best in the state. We encourage Acton voters to cast their vote for Heather Harer.

We would like to endorse John Peterson for School Committee. Given his track record, we feel he can effectively contribute to the betterment of Acton school system.

As a resident of the town of Acton for over 15 years and a volunteer with several activities within the town, I would like to urge fellow voters to cast their ballot for Xuan Kong as a member of the School Committee.

Xuan is very dedicated and a hard worker who brings a variety of life experiences and a diverse background to those of us who have not had a similar experience.

Within the last six months, as chairman of the Gates school auction, I have had the pleasure to work alongside of Xuan who stepped forward at a critical time to assume responsibility for our business donations committee. This committee is responsible for a major portion of our donations. Not only did Xuan step forward, but he did so with real enthusiasm and creativity.

Xuan had no experience with the auction, however his perseverance resulted in the assembly of a team, which produced record donations for our auction.

There is no doubt that Xuan’s approach to the auction will be duplicated when he is elected to the school committee.

I feel we will all benefit from Xuan’s experiences and leadership qualities. Xuan is open-minded and always available to discuss any and all issues regarding schools and the town.

Thank you for considering a vote for Xuan Kong as School Committee member when you vote on March 27.

I will vote for Paulina Knibbe for selectman on March 27 because she will tell it like it is and probably with a genuine smile on her face. She’s a people-person through and through and nothing in our lives phases her. She’s tireless in the face of huge problems, organized to a fault, and intelligent beyond what is normal, even in this elite town.

We are writing in support of Michael Coppolino’s re-election to the School Committee. We have known Michael for over 11 years, nine of which he has served on the School Committee, including chairman of both the Acton and Acton-Boxborough Regional school committees. Michael’s experience over three terms gives him a long-term perspective on the issues which will be invaluable as the schools and community face challenges ahead. Whether the issues are related to budgets or revenues, capital investment, the 990 mandate, or other, Michael brings a thoughtful perspective and an ability to balance the needs of the schools and the larger community.

Michael’s experiences as an educator and public school math teacher, as well as successful business owner and entrepreneur, make him particularly well qualified to serve on the School Committee. He is fair-minded and has shown an ability to address difficult situations and fiscal challenges in a thoughtful and prudent manner — always keeping the well being of the students, the schools, and the town in mind.

Michael and his wife Nancy (also a professional educator and member of the School Council) have three children, two ABRHS graduates and a third child still in the Acton-Boxborough school system. This gives Michael some personal perspective on issues ranging from the elementary to the junior high and high school level. It’s clear that Michael is committed to maintaining the high quality of education in our community and will work towards thoughtful, creative and fiscally responsible solutions.

Please join us in voting for the re-election of Michael Coppolino to the School Committee on Tuesday, March 27.

I am writing to express my support for Heather Harer as a candidate for the School Committee.

I met Heather seven years ago at the Acton Cooperative Pre-School. We both had two children in the school and a third on the way and became good friends and supports for each other. Heather was the chairperson of the preschool and a very effective leader of the parent run organization.

Heather was constantly looking for ways to improve the school, whether by maintaining the schools accreditation, replacing the old asbestos floors or updating the playground equipment. She has a forward outlook on school management that proved invaluable for keeping the school operating well and within budget. As Heather’s children moved on to elementary school, Heather became involved at Douglas with various positions in the PTO and the school council. Heather is currently the co-chairperson of the Douglas school PTO.

Heather has actively attended School Committee meetings at the local and regional levels for many years and is interested in continually improving our schools. The operating budget and long term capital planning process are of great interest to Heather and will receive much of her attention and administrative talents. 

Heather’s experience with children’s education, her energetic involvement at Douglas and her interest in the School Committee make her an ideal candidate for this very important volunteer position. Heather’s drive and desire to constantly improve herself and our town are apparent to the many people who have had the pleasure of working with her. I am sure you will agree that Heather is more than qualified to be an effective member of the School Committee.

Please join me in actively supporting Heather Harer for School Committee.

It is my privilege to write to you to voice my support for Dr. Kong’s candidacy for the School Committee of Acton with a three-year term. I personally know Dr. Kong for a long time. He is a successful professional involved in upper level strategic planning and management in high tech industry. The experience of working both in academies and in private sectors makes him a distinguished candidate for the School Committee position.

Being a member of School Council in Merriam, I see many minority students’ parents facing different difficulties and struggling with various challenges. It will help them a lot if there is a member on the School Committee who shares their background and feelings, so their concerns and interests can be conveyed to the Committee in a prompt manner. Our School Committee will be better representing the population if it is more inclusive and diversified. So voices from different walks of life can be heard and the decision-making process will hopefully be more rational and reflective of the changing reality.

Dr. Kong is also actively involved in a variety of community activities both in Chinese community and in Acton community in general. This gives him better understanding how to help members of minorities in Acton community to bridge the difference among the ethnic groups and working toward a common goal to make Acton a better place to live and raise a family for everyone. He will add special value to the School Committee given the fact that minority population continues to increase in Acton.

Being a member of School Committee means more sacrifice, responsibility, rather than an honor. Based on his record of devotion to our community, I believe Dr. Kong will serve the School Committee better.

Member, School Council of Merriam

Just a quick note to express my support for John Peterson a candidate for School Committee.

We met the Peterson's when they moved into our neighborhood and our sons were together in preschool.

I have found John to be articulate, humorous and very well informed about all issues.

These characteristics and his boundless energy will be an asset to the School Committee, and he has our strong support.

My wife Sarah and I are writing in support of Heather Harer’s campaign in the upcoming School Committee election on March 27. We’ve had the opportunity to know Heather since our children began school together and I’ve had the pleasure of working with her as treasurer of the Douglas School PTO while she served as co-chairman.

I firmly believe Heather will make an excellent addition to the School Committee. All residents of Acton will benefit from her addition to this most important group.

For those of us with children in school, there is no more important service the town provides than their educational experience. Even for those not currently using the school system, all residents benefit from their excellence, as the schools success is one of the most important drivers to our property values.

For most of us, our homes will be the single biggest investments we make. We all want to see the best possible school system and that it’s run with the utmost fiscal responsibility.

Heather has excelled at Douglas in that same environment. She’s done a wonderful job balancing the schools needs in relation to the PTO’s financial resources. In the time I’ve worked with her at Douglas, she’s been incredibly dedicated to the school, its faculty and students. I know she will take that same dedication, that same passion to all schools, all faculty members, and all students in Acton. All residents will benefit from her addition to this committee.

We look forward to supporting her on March 27, and hope all your readers will support her as well.

I strongly recommend Acton residents vote for Dr. Xuan Kong for member of the School Committee. I have known Xuan for over seven years, both personally and professionally. He is a qualified, committed individual who values education highly and will bring a global perspective to the committee. I know first hand that one of the reasons he moved to Acton was because of the quality of the schools and our commitment to education.

As a former professor at Northern Illinois University, Xuan knows the challenges involved in delivering quality education to students. If he is elected as a member of the School Committee he will add diversity to our school leadership, which is increasingly underrepresented. For these reasons, I ask that you support Dr. Xuan Kong for School Committee on March 27.

I am writing to express my support for Heather Harer as a candidate for the two-year term on School Committee created when Marie Altieri resigned earlier this year. Marie served the community extraordinarily well, and I believe Heather can do an excellent job filling her shoes. I have known Heather as a mom, a Douglas parent, as co-chair of the Douglas PTO, and as a member of the principal search committee at the Douglas School. She is intelligent, concerned, and understands the workings of the school system, including the critical financial piece of the equation.

As a member of the School Committee, the citizens of this town deserve someone who is both knowledgeable about finances and the needs of our children as well as someone who can take a critical view on how our tax dollars are spent. Heather can strike the proper balance in this regard.

In addition, my experience working with Heather on the Douglas principal search committee showed that she can work well with others to develop consensus. She listens well to those with differing points of view, and understands the importance of communication and cooperation. She also understands our educational philosophy, and the critical importance of a nurturing and challenging environment for our kids.

Heather has been very successful in her professional endeavors as well as in her many volunteer capacities, and she has the time and the desire to serve our community as a leader on the School Committee. I urge voters to elect Heather Harer to the two-year School Committee seat.

I am writing to enthusiastically recommend Peter Berry for election to the Board of Selectmen.

Peter’s record of service to our town is both broad in scope and deep in his attention to the issues in each role he has played over the years in Acton. I have known Peter for 15 years, but my first opportunity to work with him was when I joined the town’s Community Preservation Committee three years ago, which Peter at that time chaired. I was immediately impressed with his objectivity, his sensitivity to all sides of any issue and his demand for thoroughness from every project that came to our attention.

Peter ensured that the CPC had an effective and successful launch in our town. Ask anyone who has served in our town in either a volunteer role or on town staff and I am sure you will get a ringing endorsement of his qualifications for this most important role.

Experience, energy, creativity, discipline, commitment, skills. What more could you ask for? Join me in voting for Peter Berry on March 27.

As your readers are hopefully aware, the local election for town positions will be held on Tuesday, March 27. We are writing this letter in support of John Petersen who is running for a two-year term on the School Committee. John decided to run for this position after reading in The Beacon that many of the races, in particular the one for School Committee, might be uncontested. John believes that it is essential that citizens be given the opportunity to hear, read and learn about a candidate and that candidates deepen their understanding of the concerns of the citizens through the campaign process. Then the voters can select a candidate they feel the most aligned with — and a truly representative government can be put in place.

Adopting a “If not me, then who?” and “If not now, then when?” mindset, John pulled the papers to become a candidate for the two-year opening. This type of enthusiasm for the democratic process is one of the many reasons we feel that John would make an excellent addition to the School Committee. His willingness to focus his energies on the goals of educational excellence and opportunities for the Acton students and their educators cannot be underestimated.

We all have had the opportunity to work with John on many activities at the Conant School and know him to be committed, caring, intelligent and purposeful. Whether he is assisting with his children’s nature walks or helping the PTO brainstorm on fund-raising ideas, he is both thoroughly prepared and yet eager to learn more.

We know that he will bring considerable insight to the many challenges that face the School Committee and you can expect him to devote substantial time and energy to looking for solutions to budget woes, staffing issues, and 990 mandates. We know that John is interested in students of all ages and are confident that he can fairly represent all of the elementary schools and still be an advocate for the substantial junior high and high school populations. We believe that he can craft a balance between lofty ideals and the realities of budget items increasing faster than revenues. Whether you have children in the school system or not, we think you will be pleased with John Petersen’s sense of fairness. We hope you will join us in voting for John Petersen for the two-year School Committee position.

I am writing in support of Heather Harer as a candidate for School Committee. Heather is the current PTO chairman at the Douglas School, where my eldest is now a first-grader.

In the time I have known her, I have been consistently impressed with Heather and I feel she is eminently qualified to serve on the committee. In particular, I think she has repeatedly demonstrated the things I would most like to see in a public servant.

Heather has shown a willingness to commit significant amounts of time and energy to her community. She is open-minded and willing to review facts and consider different aspects of issues before drawing conclusions. I have seen her rally people to become more interested and involved in the issues that affect them. I have seen her interact with parents, teachers, administrators and town committee members, and in doing so, she is both tactful and diplomatic. She has the skill to both initiate and facilitate dialogue among diverse groups.

I feel strongly that Heather Harer would make an outstanding member of the School Committee. She has already established herself as an active participant in the schools. As a 15-year Acton resident, she is also aware of the many fiscal issues faced by the town of Acton, both in the schools and the community at large. I believe she will play an active role in mapping out a responsible course for the schools in the coming years. Her professionalism, positive outlook, and level-headedness will be an asset not only to the committee, but to the community as a whole.

I encourage other Acton parents, taxpayers, and citizens to join me in voting for her on March 27.

This is to urge your readers to join me in voting for Pat Easterly for School Committee.

I have known Pat these last years as a member of the Finance Committee. She knows and understands very well the issues facing our schools as she has been attending School Committee meetings as the Finance Committee’s liaison to the School Committee. In addition, she is currently the chair of the Finance Committee where her leadership has been both efficient and effective. She has the ability to encourage members with divergent views to reasonably debate and then come to decisions. She is a hard worker and, in addition with all of the above, she has this year headed a sub-committee of the Finance Committee, School Committee, and selectmen dealing with town-wide capital planning for the municipal operations and the schools.

As a Finance Committee member she demonstrated a willingness to work hard, to listen carefully to the views of others, and has demonstrated clear analytical abilities. As the chair this year she has been a clear and steady advocate of the committee’s positions in dealing with the rest of the town.

I know that she would bring her sense of dedication, her willingness to ask pointed questions, and her understanding of the needs of all of the students, the parents, and other citizens to her decisions as a member of the School Committee.

In closing, let me again urge you to vote for Pat Easterly for a three-year term on the School Committee.

I’m writing in support of John Petersen for the Acton School Committee. He has worked as my assistant coach for the Boy’s Under 7 Division in Acton-Boxborough Youth Soccer, the kid’s first year with organized soccer teams. And I found him to be endlessly patient with our players, a fantastic role model, and an all around exceptional coach.

I know these qualities will serve him well on the Acton School Committee, so he has my strongest endorsement.

Sean CoughlinCharter Road
Acton

I am writing in support of the candidacy of Peter Berry for Selectman. Peter and I served together for several years on the Conservation Commission, and during that time I developed an appreciation for his keen intelligence, his common sense, and perhaps most importantly, his patience in dealing with difficult issues as well as the citizens who might stand in opposition to a project.

Peter served as interim chair during perhaps the most complicated project the commission has ever reviewed, that of the transformation of the Palmer lands into Quail Ridge Country Club. There the myriad issues of abundant wetlands, perennial streams, vernal pools, well drilling and proximity to Nagog Pond combined to make the Quail Ridge project into a tremendously complicated project. Throughout the process Peter demonstrated the patience to work methodically through the issues, and held the applicant and the various designers and architects to a high standard of performance. The final document permitting the project, with over 100 special conditions, has made the Quail Ridge project into a model of wetlands protection, not to mention a model of cooperation between an applicant and the town.

The Conservation Commission was sorry to lose Peter, but I am certain he will put his probity, intelligence and patience to excellent use on behalf of the town as a member of the Board of Selectmen.

We felt compelled to spread the good news when we learned that John Petersen was running for School Committee.

Looking at his Web site, http://mysite.verizon.net/vze332qu/petersenforactonschool/index.html, you will find his qualifications extremely impressive and we would encourage you to check it out. Equally important as his management, analytical and visionary skills are his willingness to roll up his sleeves and do what ever it takes to get the job done, including parking cars for our annual fund-raiser and helping out in the school library.

On numerous occasions working with John on school issues we experienced first hand his ability to sort through all aspects of an issue and evaluate the best solution for our school.

We enthusiastically support John Petersen for School Committee and hope you will too.

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