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Cape Gazette gives biased view of center

August 7, 2014

As a very active member of the Cape Henlopen Senior Center, I found the article regarding the Cape Henlopen Senior Center to be vicious and one-sided. The recent unrest at the center stems from a bus driver being dismissed for cause. The parents of the bus driver are understandably unhappy. However, the vast majority of members of the center are very happy with the board and executive director, and do not agree with the very small group of rogue members who fed your reporter the slanderous statements in your article.

Members known to disagree with the rogue group were not invited to the meeting last Wednesday. However, some members did become aware of the meeting, and attended in support of the board and Ms. Boehlert. I am an active member at the center and have never heard Ms. Boehlert use profanity or speak to anyone in a denigrating tone. The spokesperson chosen by the rogue members started the meeting by saying she is not an active member of the center. Thus, everything she told your reporter is hearsay and not firsthand knowledge. Your reporter did not bother to find out if there were members who are happy with the direction of the center.

Your article referred to a petition with 100 signatures. Many of those signatures were forged. I volunteer on the front desk and answered several phone calls for Ms. Boehlert from members who apologized for their name being on the petition, as their signatures were forged by unknown parties. Your reporter does not appear to have verified the information fed to him. The sentence in the article “Both are black.” implies racism exists at the center. Why was that sentence included, if not to imply racism? There is definitely no racism at the center.

According to your article, the top complaint is that there are too many volunteers on the board. Does that really justify the personal attacks made against the board and Ms. Boehlert? The damage done to the center, the board and Ms. Boehlert is irreparable due to irresponsible reporting. When volunteers have their names dragged through the mud publicly, I would be surprised if the center is able to get many volunteers for the board in the future. The Cape Gazette should not stoop to getting involved in petty bickering at the senior center.

Eileen Jones
Lewes

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