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April 2022 NEWFOUNDLAKELIFE.COM Page 17
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Community
FOR THE RECORD
In the recent election for a seat on the SAU4 school board, there were some negative posts about me being a free stater. Yes, I am a free stater, but is this something to be alarmed about? I hope not, as my goal is rela- tively tame when it comes to our government schools. If taxpay- ers are to fund education for all children, is it really so controver- sial to expect decent results for more of our tax money? Why is it considered a threat to “the children” if the administration is held accountable for embarrass- ing proficiency scores year after year despite increased spending?
Yes, I am 100% in favor of school choice, which gives par- ents more control over their children’s education. If a few more children escape from the one-size-fits-all scenario inherent in government schools, is this so terrible?
Whenever a child leaves the assigned government school and accesses the state education free- dom account, SAU4 keeps the town portion (roughly $15K/ year), yet that child is no longer the responsibility of SAU4. Is that not a windfall? Yet oppo-
nents of educational freedom in- sist this hurts the schools. SAU4 gets a free $15K for not educat- ing a child, and yet the educa- tional establishment claims this undermines schools. With mud- dled thinking like this, no won- der math scores are so low these days.
During the campaign, teach- ers skeptically asked me about cutting art, music, and sports. I am not opposed to those ex- tracurricular activities, but let there be no question that the basic core subjects of English, mathematics, science, and his- tory are much more important and should always come first. It wouldn’t hurt for parents to kick in a little money of their own or do some voluntary fundraising for the less critical areas, espe- cially since they always seem to have tremendous energy at deliberative sessions advocating for more spending. It would be great if that energy could be harnessed for voluntary dona- tions from the community rather than constantly hitting up the taxpayers—many of whom are living on fixed incomes.
Aubrey Freedman
Book of the Month: Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco
By Brittany amalfi
A quest for vengeance turns into hell on earth for a young witch because she makes a deal with a demon to find out who killed her sister. This is a deadly story about dark magic. Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco tells the story of 18-year-old Emilia
and her search for answers. After her twin sister’s bru-
tal death, and a series of murders of young witches, Emilia finds herself in the midst of demons. After learning about a dark spell
cast by her sister, Emilia comes face-to-face with Wrath, one of the seven princes of hell. The two reluctant supernaturals must work together to find
the serial killer who is tar- geting the witches of the island. But as the mystery dives deeper into the dark-
est trenches of hell, Emilia finds that the truth might just be more terrifying than she realizes. And bickering with Wrath might be the least of her worries.
The seven deadly sins take a new form as Emilia Di Carlo travels through hell to solve the mystery of her sister’s death
Who isn’t a sucker for a tall, dark, and broody demon prince? Emilia and Wrath’s en- emies-to-lovers dynamic set this
story in motion as they work together to solve the murders. Maniscalco does an amazing job of setting the dark tone of the story through supernatural legends and powerful witchcraft.
was nothing short of a new twist on dark magic and witches. And even though it isn’t spooky sea- son yet, we all need a little witch- craft to keep us on our toes!
Kerri Maniscalco is a master of worldbuilding by making the seven deadly sins repre- sent different households of hell with a hot demon prince at each turn. This makes an enormous difference for Emilia who is used to her safe family’s restaurant. It was something new that I’ve seen in fantasy and the whole history of hell was quite an interesting one in this book.
Kingdom of the Wicked took me a few chapters to re- ally get into, but after Wrath and Emilia’s unexpected meeting, their interesting re- lationship pushed this story through the tension and se- crets of the deadly mystery that no one could seem to fathom. Emilia grew into a
new person and an even more powerful witch as she stopped at nothing to get vengeance for her deceased sister. With a satisfy- ing character arc, anyone would absolutely love reading about Emilia and her wicked interac- tions with Wrath. Their enig- matic dynamic kept this story fun and entertaining no matter what dark demons were hiding in the shadows.
Summer Is 'Round The Corner
The dark magic flowing through this story drove Emilia to new heights as she would do any- thing to figure out who killed her sister. Emilia, a more reserved and play-by-the-rules witch, was challenged to her core with every dark twist and turn that furthered her character devel- opment immensely. We soon learned that Emilia was no witch to be missed with, and certainly not underestimated. This story
BRISTOL - Town Beaches will be open for the start of the season beginning Memorial Day Weekend. The beaches will be staffed by attendants this year as usual. Annual permits for resi- dents and taxpayers will be sold and visitor permits will be sold at the Town Office, but no day passes will be sold this year. This means that parking is limited to Bristol taxpayers and guests (guests and family members of property owners).
Purchasing your passes: This year, you can only purchase beach passes at the Town Office. Beach passes can be purchased at the Town Clerk/Tax Collec- tor's office at the Town Office at 5 School Street during business hours. We will also be setting up a Beach Attendant at the right- side entrance of the Town Of- fice at 5 School Street. Sales of
the Beach passes from the Beach Attendant at the picnic table will be June 1-July 30. They will be sold 8am-noon. If you miss this opportunity, you can still pur- chase from the Town Clerk/Tax Collector inside during business hours. Beach Attendants will be selling Beach passes and Trans- fer Station stickers. There will be no transactions at the beaches. If you do not have a pass when you arrive at the beaches, you will be asked to go to the Town Of- fice and get a pass first. Annual Passes are $10.00, and Guest Passes are $50.00 per week and NEW THIS year Trusts and their heirs can get a pass. $10 per plate for each heir. TRUST permits can only be purchased at the Town Clerk/Tax Collector’s Office with the proper documen- tation.