Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Memorial Day not fitting for track meet date
I would like to express my disappointment with the recent KVAC track meet that was rained out on May 25 and rescheduled for Memorial Day.
Lawmakers acted wisely in keeping lobster bycatch ban
The Legislature recently took a step to protect one of Maine's most valuable industries. L.D. 1549, "An Act To Provide an Exemption for Incidentally Caught Lobsters," died in the House of Representatives on June 11. This bill woul ...
RSU 18 voice of reason lost with resignation
Regional School Unit 18 suffered a huge loss in the form of Donna Doucette's resignation from the school board. Donna, a tireless advocate for teachers and children, was one of the only members of that school board who dared quest ...
Support bill to reduce toxins in products
I strongly support the new bill, L.D. 1181, which proposes to strengthen the Kid-Safe Products Act, Maine's innovative law that protects children from toxic chemicals. L.D. 1181 fosters progress on the front of toxic chemical poli ...
Contract for BIW doesn't help America
I was distressed to read about the contract for destroyers awarded to Bath Iron Works for $2.8B. I know it is Maine jobs, but at what cost? The military people will tell us it is to protect our country. From whom? The Afghan milit ...
We will not become land of monitored, fearful
The home of the monitored and fearful. First our government extracted our consent to monitor our overseas enemies who reached and hurt us domestically. The price to protect a "free society" requires certain minor concessions. Then ...
Problem of addiction must be recognized
Rarely a week passes any more that the headlines involving the victim(s) of addiction do not make the news here in the Kennebec Valley area.
Maloney's reasoning doesn't make sense
Was Adam J. Keene properly charged with reckless conduct by District Attorney Maeghan Maloney? In a June 6 article she described why she decided to charge Keene with reckless conduct after his handgun was discovered in his son's b ...
Addiction must be part of crime discussion
Every day we keep reading about pharmacy robberies in Maine. We have all seen the increase, but no one is addressing where this problem starts. First clue, prescription drugs. I'm pretty sure prescriptions come from doctors.
Lockman is wrong about Cony survey
Dear Mr. Lockman, you may be a representative from Amherst, Maine, and you may think you think you have a good pulse on the education system of the state of Maine, but you are wrong. Dead wrong. If a bunch of Cony kids want to com ...
Not funding MSP, DEL programs will hurt elderly
My wife and I are in our late 80s. Recently, we made the trip to Augusta to testify against the governor's proposed budget cuts to the MSP and DEL programs that help cover Medicare expenses and prescription drugs for seniors and p ...
Viles should be named 'Queen of Augusta'
Just recently I returned to the Augusta area after a winter in Florida. It is not the same here! The community has lost a dear friend, Elsie Viles. I miss her charm, wit and inspiration from the many visits over the last decade or ...
Everyone loses ifMonmouth leaves RSU 2
There are three major stakeholders in a school system -- students, staff and taxpayers. If Monmouth withdraws from Regional School Unit 2, all three groups will lose.
Legislation helps clear the 'chemical swamp'
Face it, we all live in a "chemical swamp" as a by-product of our material wealth. Better living through chemistry has afforded us cheap and remarkably useful materials for our homes, toys, cars -- and food packaging. Unfortunatel ...
Religious right's claims make for fragile US
I never realized how fragile America is. It's frightening to contemplate.
Sentinel must stop using offensive term for Bechard
Why? Why? Why does this newspaper, the Morning Sentinel, keep using the term "nun killer" in referring to Mark Bechard?
Laptops in schools mean disengaged students
The school laptop program is a joke. As someone who has worked in the public schools, I can tell you that the kids do nothing with the laptops but play games while the teacher speaks to the air in front of a disengaged classroom.
Sales tax isn't new; give us break and raise it
I do not understand how the Republicans can keep saying that we won't vote for any new taxes! The sales tax is not a new tax, the cigarette tax is not a new tax, but for some reason they won't raise those taxes, but go along with ...
Eskelund's death was loss for entire community
Kenneth Eskelund, DVM, passed away on Thursday, May 30, 2013. Hopefully, area readers took the time to read his obituary. Dr. Eskelund was known worldwide for his work in avian (poultry) medicine. In reading his obituary, it is ha ...
Lockman, Wenckuseducation insight right on
The June 8 opinion page in contained the very best information regarding education that we have seen, or heard, in eons!
Tax dollars pay forvital public employees
The current trend of elimininating school teacher, police officer, fireman and city employee jobs on a yearly basis is quite troubling to me. Twenty years from now there will be no qualified candidates to choose from for these pos ...
Cutting Medicare savings will hurt poor, elderly
Balancing a budget is full of tough choices. It's a game of give and take. There are some years where certain line items need a little more and others need a little less. But some programs, like the Medicare Savings Program, shoul ...
Thanks to the young man who helped unhonk horn
I would like to thank a young gentleman who twice came to my honking Nissan on Commercial Street recently. I attempted to unlock my car after my dental appointment and must have tripped the theft alarm.
Mainers have already paid a lot for state employees
Since 2009 some of the most utilized tools for the Legislature to balance state budgets were to freeze merit and longevity pay for state employees and make those employees pay more of their health insurance costs.
Climate change has effect on state's economy
In the article "Climate Change Throws Forest Industry a Curve," (May 12), North Cairn summarized the negative impact climate change will have on Maine's forest products, which is our largest manufacturing industry.
Medicaid expansion creates jobs, too
Tax increment financing lures business to an area with tax breaks paid for by taxpayers. It is justified as a way to create jobs. Meanwhile, the expansion of Medicaid to pay medical costs of poor Mainers will bring 3,000 jobs to M ...
Augusta should choose gas firm with best prices
The Augusta City Council is currently deciding between two natural gas companies for service to municipal buildings. I'm writing today to encourage council members to choose the company with the best prices.
Lockman's op ed insulting to Cony students
Rep. Lawrence Lockman, R-Amherst, recently wrote an op ed in this newspaper criticizing the Cony Student Council for creating its own "report card" for Augusta's high school. His column was intimidating, mean-spirited and inapprop ...
Ideology trumps sense in Medicaid refusal
If the federal government offered Maine $250 million per year for three years to build highways that would create 3,100 jobs per year (the equivalent of another BIW) shouldn't Maine take the money? Then why are Republicans in our ...
Bashing governor trumps DC scandals in press
I've been looking for mention of the many scandals coming out of DC these days (IRS, Benghazi, AP; forget about Fast & Furious).
We can't afford to cut state income tax
The state income tax cuts were not funded when enacted because there wasn't any money. It is reasonable to assume that the supporters believed that when the government's revenues recovered from the recession, that it was better to ...
Maybe singing 'Kumbaya' isn't such a bad idea
I'm sure most of us have sat around in conversations when someone made a statement that encouraged a peaceful resolution to a problem or alluded to us all getting along together. Then someone would wise-crack, "Oh yeah, let's all ...
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