Letter to the Editor

Image
Body

Dear Editor,

I helped with Hart Days from 1983 until last year. After many years of shepherding the event by a few Hart community residents, it was taken away from us. We decided to cancel it for 2020 because of Covid and five of us made the same decision in 2021. I told the Hart City Council of our decision. We never needed the Council’s permission but decided this was the right move. The City had, by the way, in 2020 disallowed a fire-department event to happen in the city limits. Well, the Council unanimously voted in 2021 that there would be a Hart Days. The City has no authority to announce there will be a celebration. They can, however, disallow it being inside the City limits.

The City’s decision reflects the willingness of too many Americans to disregard public health and that is why America leads the world in Covid deaths—almost one million. Shameful! Daily, 1200 people continue to die from the virus. Plans are underway for

Plans are underway for another celebration in 2022, with no ability of some people to recognize how disrespectful this is to people who have spent countless hours keeping the celebration going. Not only do I fault a few for this disrespect, but also note the appalling lack of “doing the right thing” from people in leadership positions by disregarding tradition and not recognizing the acquired wisdom of people who have managed Hart Days for almost 40 years.

Neoma Williams Hart

Hart