In response to Charles Kent's letter of Nov. 11, I'd like to clarify a few things.

Kent said the selectmen "kicked 16-year veteran Carol Richardson out of the town office."

That's wrong. Selectmen cannot "kick out" a town clerk in Benton. It's an elected position, not appointed. Richardson chose not to run in 2006.

Kent refers to a "town clerk problem." What problem?

The current clerk has 20 years of municipal experience. She has more responsibilities and more technological requirements than any clerk in town history. In this year's presidential election, she processed 250 new voter registrations and over 400 absentee ballots (the most in town history) using the state's online Central Voter Registration system. She oversaw acquisition of a voting machine and ensured that she/her staff had the requisite training. The machine was flawlessly used for the first time in the November election with an 80 percent voter turnout.

The result? Candidates and local reporters commented that Benton was the first to submit vote tallies -- in one case, 90 minutes before any other town. Plus all birth, death and marriage license requests, dog licenses, boat/ATV/snowmobile registrations, hunting/fishing licenses, etc. are all handled in a totally professional and very timely manner.

Kent owes the selectmen, the town clerk and the citizens of Benton an apology for implying that there is a "town clerk problem" in Benton.

Shane Morrison

Winslow