Bill Marvel: Protected by Sampson

New Hampshire’s jobless rate exceeded 15 percent by the end of April. Vast layoffs are reported nationwide, especially in tourist areas like ours. Libraries that are central to my work are closed, and the virus scare poses a substantial threat to all our household income, while self-employment means no unemployment.

Last Wednesday, however, while scanning the results of our annual meeting, I wondered if all those worries had not been a dream. Had the prosperity of recent years not collapsed, as we heard? Had those right-wing claims of a coronavirus hoax proven correct? Something like that had to be true, judging from the lopsided vote awarding Conway teachers the costliest contract they have ever enjoyed.