To the Editor:

Three cheers for Mr. Peter Henner, Clarksville attorney, for filing suit against the state to release public records from the governor's broadband program in time to allow rural areas to apply for funds for broadband access [The Altamont Enterprise, Feb. 11, 2016: Henner to Gov: “Your Broadband for All is Fraud.”]

The governor has been sitting on this $500 million for some time now. The town of Berne applied and was told it was not eligible for any of the funds because a cable company was already bringing services to a narrow strip of homes that border the main highway that runs through the center of town. The cable company said it was not interested in expanding to the rest of the town because it would not be profitable for the company.

We are now in the digital age. Everyone’s daily lives are affected by the Internet. The days of using the encyclopedia for information are long gone.

Children need access to information that connects them to the rest of the world. No child goes to college today without a computer. Computer classes are taught in both elementary and high school.

Adults use the Internet to connect to financial and medical services. It is an important part of job searches. Companies post their jobs online. Contacts are made to employers several times before a face-to-face interview is scheduled, and then it is often done via Skype.

Sometimes there is a waiting list of people to use our new library’s handful of computers. When the library is closed, which it often is because of the need to use a limited budget to the best advantage for the patrons, you see people sitting in their cars in the parking lot in order to take advantage of the library’s WiFi connection. I have observed this in the coldest of weather.

The Internet is not a luxury, it is a necessity. What is the governor waiting for? Is any of this money being spent currently? If so, where and how? The records should be public Mr. Henner is attempting to hold their feet to the fire. May the Force be with him.

Joan Mullen

Berne