Middleboro Mashpee Wampanoag Resort Casino
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Editor's Note: We are starting to receive letters that are not only repetitious, but verge on libel towards town officials. They also present unsubstantiated data to back their allegations. A few are published below but no more will be. Only letters that are civil and will be published. Letters with statistics must be backed with academic documentation not speculation. Furthermore, letters that are sarcastic will not be published. As a basic guideline, we adhere to the same standards as a print newspaper. Please check your spelling, punctuation and grammar before sending your letter. (It takes me enought time to correct my own.) 7/29/07 Let the spin begin. I knew it wouldn't take long.
729/07 Congratulations and a job well done to all who worked hard in the effort to welcome the casino to our town. Now it is time for everyone, both for and against the casino, to work together to see that what is in the best interest of this town is also in the best interest for the Wampanoag Tribe. 7/28/07
Jessie Little Doe 7/28/07 I am a resident of Hendersonville, North Carolina. When the Cherokee Indian Tribe wanted to build a Casino in Cherokee, NC there was a great amount of controversy of the pros and cons as it seems to be with the Town of Middleborough, MA. After much debate the Casino was approved and built. It has been a wonderful resource for the Cherokee Tribe as well as jobs for ALL local people in surrounding counties in North Carolina. The Casino brought more jobs to the Cherokee Tribe as well as jobs for other people in surrounding Counties. The Casino is doing well. Many jobs have been created; revenue from the Casino has helped all the Cherokee Tribe as well bringing people to the area to learn about the tribe as well as all of Western North Carolina and Tennessee. The Casino has brought much needed monies to the Tribe as well as more health care, jobs and a much needed tax base for the Cherokee Tribe and surrounding Counties. I know that the controversy is great especially growing up in the “Bible Belt” of the South; but the creation of the Casino has helped so many people that did not have jobs to a community that was drying up and most were living day to day and filing for Medicaid and other government help. The Casino has brought revenue to the Cherokee Tribe as well as surrounding Counties that were drying up and had no jobs and people were living poor to Counties that are now able to thrive, survive and provide more services to all the local people. I personally have never visited the Casino but I do know a lot of people who do. A Casino is not an evil place. It has been a wonderful addition to the Cherokee Tribe and Western North Carolina. Even though the Casino is about an hour away, our local Assisted Living Communities in Hendersonville provide trips to the Casino for the Elderly. You have no idea how much this helps these people. They are able to get together for a day trip and have a good time meeting other people and just bringing some enjoyment into their lives that their families can’t provide. I know that my opinion may not reflect the way you feel in MA but I urge you to think about really hard before turning it down. There is always a good side to growth if it is done in a proper manner and it can help your community and give your children and grandchildren places to work and thrive without moving to a “Big City” make a decent wage and still be a part of your community in the future. 7/27/07 I have been a member of this community since 1983. As a resident of Middleboro I have seen our community try to attract business for a number of years. Middleboro has at almost every consideration given tax incentives to have new businesses move into town. None have offered to improve the infrastructure as part of their proposals. These new industries have brought jobs but have also brought vehicles which have impacted our roads, our neighborhoods and our rural lifestyle. With the 18 wheeled truck traffic increase in the 60% range, I would suggest, we would all have benefited from a plan to maintain roads as part of the negotiated approval thus freeing resources needed for other town services. 7/27/07 Good luck to both sides tomorrow; it’s been a very spirited campaign. Let’s show the rest of the state and country how great the people of Middleborough are. Wally Glendye 7/27/07 Dear Casino-Friend:
How can the selectmen and Mr. Whittlesey say it is a good deal without this information? Do they have special glasses seeing into the future that the rest of us don't? I don't walk blindly anywhere. Why is the town expecting its residents to do so? Ann Thomassen RESPONSE: My understand is that there will be the usual environmental studies and involvement by the state in highway planning as there would be in any project of this size and nature. I am not sure what you mean by development plans, but I am sure that with an investment of this size, the people that built Mohegan Sun have done what needed to be done at this stage. Like most residents I'd like to see preliminary drawings of the site and building plans but from what has been communicated these haven't been done. That isn't to suggest that experts haven't looked at the land now ownedor to be purchased and said that there are several ways to successfully create a resort there. 7/27/07 State Treasurer Timothy Cahill said yesterday that the proposed casino deal offered by the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe is not good for Middleborough and that if residents approve it, "they're making a mistake". I guess he knows by experience with his BlUNDER OF IT ALL: a $20.00 scratch ticket costing the State of MA 12-13 million, but where's the uproar! None to be heard. It's buried gone never to be spoken of again. Mr. Cahill is one of the first state officals wieghing in. Do I trust his opinion? No Way. Vote Yes Michael Quish of Raynham 7/27/07 Negotiations?
To quote, "At the outset, let me say that none of our Working Team was responsible for the sharing of a five-day old draft with the Boston Globe, and I can assure you that we will work to insure that irresponsible people within the Town don't have access to any further documents associated with this matter." The Boston Globe obtained the letter because of the Freedom of Information Act. Do our selectmen and Mr. Whittlesey forget that they represent the residents, taxpayers of Middleboro and that everything is our business? How dare Mr. Whittlesey refer to anyone as "irresponsible". I am sure if the casino was proposed to be built where he lives he would expect to have access to any documents associated with the matter! If the residents of Middleboro are to trust that the agreement is in our best interest and that we will be a part of the on-going process, why shouldn't we have access to all documents, information? Is Mr. Whittlesey negotiating in my best interest? Caring about the town I grew up and raised my family in does not make me irresponsible! Sincerely, RESPONSE: To clarify what happened with the release of the five day old draft: it was an error tp release it before it was finalized. The draft that was released was never supposed to be public. It was a working document filled with strike-outs and suggested changes. If you viewed the code in the Word document that went out you would see that it had many codes which showed it wasn't a final document. When Whittlesey refers to irresponsible people he means one or more town employees who released a working document instead of a completed one. 7/27/07 Enough is enough. This debate has become repetitive, ugly, and tiresome. Everyone has access to the proposed agreement in one form of another and the vote is in less than 48 hours. The agreement is what it is and voting on it Saturday will be just that, a simple yes or no. Now is the time to cease all talk and/or arguments going back and forth between both sides and just let it go to a vote. When it is all said and done, and no matter what the outcome is, both sides should be able to look the other in the eye and tell them they fought a great fight, standing up for what they believed in. Friendships should not be lost or changed, everyone is entitled to their opinion and it should be respected. At the end of any hard fought fight between friends and neighbors both sides should able to shake hands after it’s over and remain friends that is the mature thing to do. Everyone knows that some of the worst arguments and battles in life have come with those who we care about and respect the most. I can only hope in this situation this remains true. Good luck Saturday to those who are voting for the casino. Good luck to those who are voting against the casino. No matter the outcome, as a community, we have to stick together as a whole. Joshua A. Porter7/27/07 Dear Selectmen, RESPONSE: This is one of a number of letters with what I consider to be an unfortunate, though understandable, reaction by some to the level of conflict and is some cases animosity that the casino issue has brought to our town. I believe that we have been engaged in democracy in one of its purest form, and as such there were bound to be some hurt feelings, eggagerated claims, name calling and so on. 7/26/07 First and foremost, I wish to state my opinion. I have publicly claimed from the beginning that NO amount of money would make me OK with this proposed casino resort. I felt compelled to state that after reading your "quote of the month" from Mr. Belanger. I read the entire article that statement was taken from and I believe you should remove it from your site. I feel that you are twisting what he was trying to say.
Casinofacts demonstrates that the negative effects by far outweigh the positives. If this resort comes, one organization will be correct. Unfortunately, if the negatives do outweigh the positives there will be nothing that we as a town can do about it.
RESPONSE: First, I respect your postion that no amount of money would lead you the change your mind about the casino. In fact, Mark Belanger's quote is not removed from any context that would alter it's meaning. While he has written about many reasons he is against a casino, if he is really as against it as he states he should be able to say what you did. Instead he wrote:
Instead your position is that there is no aceptable amount of money which would change your opinion. Second, I appreciate the time you took to find some references. However, when I say documentation I don't mean newspaper articles or members of the FinCom voting a recommendation. By documentation I mean primary sources of information such as reputable studies about the effects of casinos on host communities. I refer you to the final report of the casino impact committee which recommended a yes vote on the agreement while still noting some negative effects. Third, I take issue with what you said about if the negatives outweigh the positives there will be nothing that we as a town can do about it. In fact there will be a joint town and tribe commission or committee to work togther to mitigate or resolve any unanticipated negatives. It is in the best interests of both groups to assure that our partnership is a success. 7/26/07 Dear Editor, Is the Wampanoag Resort Right For Middleboro? ABSOLUTELY! Was I intrigued when my father brought home an arrowhead from a freshly plowed field? Absolutely! Has four generations of my family farmed and paid taxes on Thompson and Precinct Streets in Middleboro? Absolutely! Was it a daily routine to herd Holsteins down Thompson Street (now Route 105) to a pasture? Absolutely! Will rural Middleboro continue to change? Absolutely!
7/26/07 Dear Casino Friends; 7/25/27 One of the NEGATIVES that I keep hearing is that the Casino will only provide low paying jobs and that is untrue. Here are some of the good to excellent paying jobs that would be available If the Casino/Resort is built: Catering, Restaurant Managers, Chefs, Cooks & Supervisors Retail, Health Club & Spa workers & Hotel Sales Carpenters, Electricians, Plumbers, Painters, Engineers and HVAC technicians Human Resources & Marketing Professionals Legal, Purchasing, Procurement, Finance, Accountants & Auditors Information Technology, Telecommunications, Facilities Management, Surveillance & Security Golf Course, Theatre, Transportation, General Grounds Keeping & Landscaping
Best regards, Wally Glendye RESPONSE: I think this comes under the category of an inconvenient truth best ignored by those opposing the resort and casino. They want Middleboro residents to view employees as downtroden and exploited workers laboring in the skullery for barely a living wage instead of a range of employyes all with one thing in common: they want to earn a good wage and better themselves and their family. 7/25/07 You all are just listening to what the town selectmen, and the Wampanoag Indians are saying. You are missing all the TRUE facts about it. Including the traffic that will be all over our town. Also, they say money is going to the schools, but what happens when all the new casino workers come to work. They are not going to live on the Casino land! This means allot of the money is going to be put into building new houses all over. And their children will be going to our schools, so the schools population will increasing using the money from the casino to pay for all the new children. After the casino is put in, our town will no longer be safe. We will have many houses broken in, by people looking for money. Why is the town pushing this casino so fast? Because the selectmen are getting paid allot of money by approving it, and they want it in before the new elections. Why did the publish a 40 page contract 3 days before the voting? These are just some of the facts, behind what's being told. Middleboro is signing a deal with the devil, and ruining our town! see more on www.casinofacts.org Troy Doyle RESPONSE: Troy, I hope you and others from CasinoFacts read this response and other rebuttals to your arguments. If you make an effort to put bias aside, you can find out what are the true TRUE facts? Let's be realistic, there will certainly be an increase in traffic in town as the population grows. However there will be little increased traffic from that going to and from the casino because entry will be direct from Route 44. Most people are hoping for more traffic because it will mean some visitors to the resort are coming into Middleboro to patronize local businesses. New revenue will enhance the student to teacher ratio in the schools by stopping the layoff of teachers and bringing staffing level to what they should be. Nobody knows how many new residents will move here to work at the resort - casino. Obviously some will, but many (perhaps most) other will simply commute from where they already live. But what's wrong with Middleboro, already a growing town, grows as a result of a major (the major) new business moving here. This would happen - hopefully will happen - when any new employer moves to town and offers hundreds or thousands of new jobs. Only this new business is the only one that will pay us to be here. All the others want to be rewarded with tax incentives. This notion that our town will no longer be safe is pure fear mongering. It is overblown rhetoric designed to scare people who are psychologically vulnerable to such underhanded tactics. To state without evidence that "we will have many houses broken into by people looking for money" is patently absurd. Having been a reserve police officer for 20 years I know that most instances of breaking and entering (B&E's) are single events done by one (or usually two) perpetrators, but by the same thieves responsible for dozens or other break-ins. When you catch such a person or team in a town the size of ours they often admit to many more similar crimes, and when they go to jail there is a significant drop-off in the rate for B&E's. We already have houses being broken into and with more police on the road at any given time the chances increase that these thieves are apprehended I am not sure why you write that the selectman are being paid money for approving the agreement, but the implication of this is that there are illegal and unethical activities. This comes perilously close to libel. As for why the contracts came out when they did, it seems to me that we already knew what would be in it when the summary came out. The document didn't add much now. Anti-casino people always refer to it as a 40 page document but in point of fact is that the meat of the information is on the first 20 pages, and that on those pages most of the crucial information is on a few pages. As for this being a deal with the devil, honestly I was waiting for someone was going to bring that up. This is the time for serious debate, not hyperbole. 7/25/07 To our neighbors on the other side, RESPONSE: Your facts are simply incorrect. Adam Bond explained that if the town kept getting an increase of 3.1% (or the % equal to the CPI), which are compounded quarterly, eventually we'd basically own the casino. This is from the agreement:
The town ending up receiving 2% of net revenues as defined means that as the resort - casino prospers, so will Middleboro. It also assures that our payments keep up with inflation. 7/25/07 Dear Casino-friend I have always had respect for the Native people of this country. I admire their reverence for nature. The wisdom of their elders is something everyone should reflect on like the following:
With that said I believe it to be a misnomer to call this a Wampanoag casino. They are merely a pawn for the outside developers looking to take advantage on sovereignty. I would never deign anyone the opportunity for prosperity unless it’s at the expense of another. The question that needs to be asked, although it must have been addressed already, is… will an influx of casino revenue resolve the financial “crisis”? Having more funding will not change the financial managment. This seems to be where the work needs to be done. Prostituting the character of the town for financial gain gives a sobering glimpse to the moral integrity of Middleboro’s leadership. Sincerely, Travers Charron RESPONSE: Everyone is entitled, and indeed, ought to hold our town officials to a high standard in every respect, not in the least for fiscal management. However, it is an insult to the Mashpee Wampanoag to call them pawnssay that this won't be their casino. Of course it will. Like many tribes without casinos as a source of income, they have been impoverished. How else could they build a mega-resort without outside investors? Would anybody expect them to going into negotiations without high powered legal representation? Language like you used in your last sentence and questioning the intergirty of town officials without facts to back your claims, has no place in civil debate and generally would lead me not to publish your letter. However as an example to others, I do want to respond. Invoking the image of a prostitute who sells sexual favors, even though using a dictionary correct definition of the word, is a classic political ploy. In fact, that entire sentence, which impugnes the moral intergity of Middleboro's leaders is an example of wallowing in the mud of dirty politics. 7/25/07 Both my husband and myself were registered voters in Pembroke for 34 years before we moved to Middleborough. We made sure that we registered to vote here right away so that we could participate in our new town. We love Middleborough and care about the future it faces without the money it needs for basic services. I understand that some don't want change but it's coming whether we like it or not. The Wampanoags will have something on their land and it most likely will be a casino. The agreement seems fair and will help Middleborough restore services that were cut in the current budget year. Our future without the casino agreement is very bleak. I hope all that are able to attend, go to the meeting and vote "yes". 7/23/07 Dear Casino-Friend 7/22/07 To Casino-Friend I am very shocked by James Johnson’s comment today. First he told those of us who didn’t match his quota of living here for ten years or more should get out of town and now his last letter smacks of total racism against Asians & Hispanics. I can only imagine what this wonderful spokesman off our great town will be writing next about the Wampanoag tribe. He is truly a role model for our youth but at least we know where he stands! On another note, Jackie Tolosko tried to assassinate my credibility in last week's Gazette but she made a terrible mistake: I was invited to the meeting where they were going to disrupt the Wampanoag Pow Wow by one of her board members. At that point it became apparent that I didn’t want to be involved in this type of group or have my children learn about this type of behavior. Out of respect to the members of CasinoFacts I have never use any of their names in any editorials because they are good people but Jackie is very misinformed so I must speak out. I have sent an E-Mail to her yesterday and am waiting for an apology or a retraction in this weeks Gazette but if not, I have a pretty informative rebuttal. Wally Glendye 7/22/07 To Casino Friend:
You mentioned that a casino will benefit the schools...ARE YOU REALLY THAT NAIVE??? We will see how far the money will go in 8 years from now when our schools are flooded with Asian and Hispanic immigrants who do not speak a drop of english. The cost to facilitate these individuals is not a benefit. Below is a quote from today's Boston Globe.
Traffic is up as much as 275 percent near the casinos -- a source of frustration for many residents. With the traffic, though, has come job growth. And with the job growth have come developers scooping up land and immigrant families seeking steady employment at the casinos as janitors, cooks, and dealers.
How can you rationally conclude that a casino will be good for the schools. The teacher to student ratio will be absolutely catastrophic and the costs to facilitate them will be huge. According to your website, thats okay right? Once again, people need to get there head out of the clouds and FINALLY ADMIT, for fiscal reasons alone, a casino in beautiful Middleboro is not a good idea. Middleboro is within a stones throw to Brockton, New Bedford, Fall River, Taunton, Providence, and Boston...completely opposite of the Connecticut casino's. The town's assessibility will be its downfall. The deal will not hold up. So here is the alternative...promote smart growth, build it in New Bedford.
Thank you.
Jack Johnson RESPONSE: Our parents and grandparents, and some of us, came here as immigrants and worked long hours at low paying jobs so our children could realize the American dream. We are a country whose ideals are, thankfully with most of us, built on tolerance and acceptance of those who are different than we are. We are a country which welcomes cultural and ethnic diversity. This is one of our greatest strengths. 7/21/07 Here is a nice deal to Middleboro people, who are saying there going to move. This offer is contingent only on a Casino being built, No Casino No Deal. I want to live and work in Middleboro. I am ready to buy! I have a nice raised ranch in Raynham for sale we can do this transaction without Real Estate agents which would be a big plus for both of us. Im looking for a 3 bedroom with in-law UPSTAIRS or beside, Not in the Basement!! Michael Quish 7/21/07 Casino-Friend: 7/21/07 I have not been pro or against the casino but I will say $11 million is a Thank you. Lisa Diethelm Editor's Response: The "deal" isn't just for $11 million as you can see from the details already spelled out. But I hope you note that Middleboro is running about $4 million in the red, $11 million is nearly three times that. In the second agreement, the one that was scraped, the town wanted 1% of gambling revenues. Now, instead they will get a 4% tax on lodging income which is another way of getting a percentage of the revenues. As far as keeping up with inflation, the agreement calls for either a 3.1% increase on $7 million a year or an increase based on whatever the consumer price index is, whichever is larger. Regarding scraping this agreement and going back for further negotiations, my reading of the other article is that if the town votes that it doesn't want a casino, it says the town can have no more delaings with the tribe. Therefore the tribe is free to develop a casino without paying the town anything. 7/20/07 Congratulations to everyone involved including the selectman that everyone wants to get rid of. Maybe now we can focus on bringing the town back, restoring everything that was cut from the budget over the past several years and maybe my two freshmen will be able to play high school sports this year. Wally Glendye
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