Daryl DeJoy - Wasn't this in the last letters?

Frank L. Wareham - This was in the weekend letters too I think, this was actually the letter that got my post removed last time now that I think about it.

Rep. Doug Thomas - I have a plan to fix the roads but it involves investing in the future and most people in Maine don't like that idea.

Roberta M. Goodell - Great last sentence.

Tori Gaetani - Exactly why should elderly people get special care. Stupid letters like this are the reason why this country should enact breeding restrictions. Costs have to be cut everywhere not just the costs that don't affect you Tori.

Robert Greenlaw - As far as I am concerned I have no problem with anybody becoming an American Citizen as long as they do it the legal way just like my ancestors did years ago.

Frank Wareham......A bike Trek is not news anymore , everyone is cycling or running for something, the only thing your Trek did for me was ruin my luncheon plans at the Dockside restaurant with a 45 min wait due to the cyclists.....I went elsewhere, thanks a lot.......besides why do you need notoriety? isn't it gratifying enough to have the personal satisfaction that you've done something for a good cause that you believe in?

Tori Gaetani: I have emailed Senator Collins about the need to retain funding for home care for senior citizens. I hope plenty of other people will contact her in some way too.

Roberta Goodell: Thanks for your informative letter. Sometimes people make sweeping generalizations (i.e. ,compare all current Veteran Hospital's healthcare with what univeral healthcare would be.) From what I have been told, there are many really good VA hospitals and facilities, but some are very poor quality. We do definitely need more oversight and increased standards so there is, for one thing, not so much disparity in quality of care.

cm1113: My goodness...re your response to Tori Gaetani. You have a right to your opinion of course, but isn't that a bit harsh? Do you have grandparents or aging parents? Everyone is going to be old one day (hopefully, if one lives a good long quality life); I am not advocating that only elderly people get special care, but I do think a lot of these people have contributed a lot to our state and country, and should not have to suffer in some sub-par, or unhappy or unpleasant situation where they do not have good health quality later on. We are not talking about country clubs here!

Also, if many of these older citizens get to remain in their homes, there will actually be some savings in health costs.

Just thought I would say my piece!

My parents are certainly getting up their, the thing is everybody knows they are getting up there in age and I have a hard time feeling bad for somebody who thinks things will be as easy at 60 as they were at 30. You hit the nail on the head as far as I am concerned everyone is going to be old someday, that to me sounds like the thing to prepare for rather then be at the mercy of what the taxpayers can afford to give you. Would I want my family to suffer poor conditions? Absolutely not and I wouldn't wish that on any elderly people. I just think its time to be adults about the situation and take care of yourself. I just have a problem with people getting handouts for something that is no secret that is coming. Certainly I understand where you are coming from and would not wish poor care on you or your elderly family members, but to pretend old age doesn't come is naivite (sorry to the grammar police I am too lazy to look up proper spelling) to the point of foolishness.

cm1113: I am not for "handouts" either; I just believe, as far as I understand it, that not just the elderly that benefit by remaining in their homes if they can, but it is sometimes much easier on families and studies have shown there is cost saving. I am not an expert on the subject however.

cher - I'm very surprised you said you're not for handouts. If so, how can you support universal health care, stimulus, welfare, auto and bank bailouts, cap and trade, and many of the other "handout" programs the Democrats are passing? There were over 8500 "handout" pork projects in the first Obama stimulus, none of which have to be paid back or produce anything to pay for themselves. Handouts got him and his party into power. Are you sure that was what you meant to say?

Robert Greenlaw - You're right. The illegal alien mess, if not properly taken care of, is turning into one more nail in the American coffin. We need a government with the guts to call them illegal, deport those they can, penalize companies that hire them, and them make it nearly impossible for them to hold down jobs. Illegal means against the law. When are people going to realize that?

EJParsons: I was referring only to that issue in my response to cm1113. I hope she understood that (when I used the term handouts in relation to homecare for elders.) I think and evaluate each "issue" separately. I am not going to make some blanket statement about "handouts." Sorry, if I did not express it in an exact manner. In that post, I was remarking on the matter of homecare for elders only. Thank you.

I am a supporter of my President...yes , I am. That does not mean I agree with everything he says or does. And I consider myself a Democrat, although I mostly vote for the person. Everyone thinks differently.....I do not see things as you do. I respect your right to see things the way you do, and vote the way you do.

I hope cm1113 understands what I was saying in response to her remarks.

Don't worry Chersully2000 I understood what you meant. Some on here just lie to make more out of things then are really necessary.

Well Mr. Dejoy finally got one fact straight, there is no global warming.

cm1113: I thought you got it....thanks! It was rather straightforward I thought too.

And, I know what you mean!!

I see Obama is going back on his campaign promise.

He is now thinking about raising taxes on people that make less than 250K a year to pay for this health care.

First he was saying only people that make over 250K.

Telefunkin47 - Yea and I was thinkin about retiring early this weekend. Thinking about something and actually doing a thing however are two totally different things however.

My goal for retirement is to have no house payments.

Live with the basic stuff....

Pay now and play later.

..especially when running for president, however.

" We need a government with the guts to call them illegal, deport those they can, penalize companies that hire them, and them make it nearly impossible for them to hold down jobs"

A few years ago, the border patorl near Yuma started enforcing the immigration llaws more strictly. The result was farmers didn't have enough workers to pick lettuce, so they complained to their congressmen, who got the INS to stop enforcing the law.

Truly a pathetic display or big landowners suing power to break the law so they can avoid paying beter wages. Same thing occurs in the midwest in meat packing plants. Even worse, employers are not allowed to check the veractiy of documents like social security cards, as courts have ruled this is discriminatory.

Too bad Dick Cheney wasn't as intent on getting these laws folllwed as he was toruting terrorists (who are also scum)

Missing from BDN The BDN fails to print many important issues. Like I did not see one word on one of the most important issues for this Country and this State last week. The vote on Cap and Trade. Which will drive the cost of just about everything up in this state. The average taxes payer will be paying around $1500.00 more a year in hidden taxes because of this law that was voted in last week in the House. Rep. Michuad voted against the people of Maine on this and did what he was told to do (again) by his Democrat leaders in the house. When your Electric bills start going u even more be sure to send him a thank you note.

What is " toruting"? Sounds scary.

I don't know why Frank Wareham couldn't find anything in the BDN about Trek Across Maine---I read an in-depth article about it with several photos. Perhaps if Mr. Wareham went to the BDN on Sunday evening, he would have seen the article "front page". By Monday, the article would have appeared on page 2 of the online edition.

That must be really tuff stuff, toruting.

So secret that is doesn't exist.

Mr. DeJoy's article "Coyote not culprit," is a misconception of what coyotes are capable of, and the effects they have on the deer herd in Maine. There is no argument that clearcutting practices over the last 4 decades have had an effect on the deer herd. I live in Washington County and heavy cutting is a thing of the past with no real cutting of great amounts has occured since the 1980's. These older cuts along with much of northern Maine have grown up into thick small tree forest with endless amounts of feed for deer, however the deer are not rising in numbers but instead level in population.

I have spent a lifetime in the outdoors learning first hand the traits, characteristics, habits and lifestyles of wild animals in Maine. I have found deer and moose that have been killed by coyotes in the winter, spring, summer, and fall. The old saying that "the coyotes only take the sick and the weak" is just crazy, because there can't be that many sick and weak deer. The deer become weak by being run and driven to the point of exaustion where they are then taken down.

Hunting and fishing is reaching a crossroads in Maine. We have people who want to restore existing populations of certain species that are unwilling to accept that predation is a culprit. If we refuse to look at predation, for example, the Atlantic Salmon, who suffers the consequences? All tax payers. Then we have folks who want to target certain species to save another. This is an impossible task given the amount of nature lovers who would rather see a mill close down and 400 jobs lost than to see a species attacked for being a predator that after all is "a part of the natural process."

I say this. Humans first, animals second. Putting the needs of animals ahead of the needs of our families is sloppy thinking and foolish to say the least. Given what I have seen in the woods, coyotes most certainly are a culprit, and what I see ARE facts.

I had to laugh the video showing Geoge Bush at the Mexico Border with people jumping over the fence in the background

Rep. Doug Thomas

I people where not afriad to pay a little more for gas than the roads could be fixed .

Re: Letter of Rep. Doug Thomas. I am of the opinion that the gentleman from Ripley is so rigidly partisan that he would never vote for anything that a Democrat thought of; much to the shame of our roads.

outdoorman, if there are no more animals there will be no more humans. There is a balance that is needed between predators and prey. We have screwed up this balance and we are paying for it. If you think that there is less clear cutting in the woods maybe you need to rent a helicopter. They have just changed the methods to make it less obvious. We do not need to close mills either. There are much more sustainable crops that can be used to make paper(industrial hemp) and the mills could be easily converted to adapt to this. We need to do what humans do, adapt and change.

Mr Greenlaw: if all the illegial aliens were shipped out of the country, where would your Republican business people find workers so that you may have food on the table? Even GWB saw the need.

patycat said: "I people where not afriad to pay a little more for gas than the roads could be fixed ."

___________________________________________

Well, patycat, you got your wish---the gas tax goes up again on July 1st. I wonder how many roads will be fixed then? Even at a penny a gallon increase, with the average number of gallons purchased each month in the state, the state would see an increase of over $950,000 A MONTH. Where is that money going to go?

TheTruth - If all the illegals are shipped out of the country before 2012, Obama will NOT be reelected and the Dems will lose both houses of Congress, healthcare costs will drop, welfare will come down, and over 40 Americans a day will live longer. That's just for starters.

mAineAc-Sure, balance. O.K. How can we restore Atlantic Salmon if the seals and cormorants, salmons biggest predators, are protected? How can we restore the Maine deer herd if coyotes, deers biggest predators, if we can no longer go into deer wintering areas and snare? There is less cutting, because everything has already been cut!! There are fewer mature forest today than 30 years ago, so how can there be more cutting?! Methods to make it less obvious? I think it is rather difficult to hide a skidder and it's tracks. Adapt and change what? What is it you want to change? I didn't say we had to close mills. My point was mills and other industry are often targeted rather than going after the real "culprit" in restoration issues which is more often than not, predation. Growing sustainable crops for paper is a good idea. But it will not do anything in the near future to assist the deer herd.

Man is definetly the bigger threat to animals than their predators that eat them.

Before humans, animals were getting along just fine, Remember the movie Lion King? The whole circle of life thing? Come on now.

Man needs to learn how to be content and live sustainably with the world around them.

Daryl Dejoy continues his quest to deceive the people of Maine, in an attempt at furthering his extremist animal rights agenda.

Despite his constant contention that coyote mortality increases reproduction in past writings, he now readily admits that female age is the major factor. Intentional misleading though the use of faulty information certainly reflects upon his character.

Every fact I presented in my letter is easily obtainable over the internet. They are the results of studies conducted by Universities and State agencies throughout the United States. Daryl’s accusation that they are nothing but propaganda does nothing but prove his unwillingness to accept truth, which simply does not fit into his radical vegan/animal rights views.

While my letter was not written as a representative of the Aroostook County Conservation Association, I am happy to be given the opportunity to defend the ACCA, as well as make a comparison to Daryl’s “group”, the wildlife alliance of Maine. I will, for the time being, ignore his involvement with a number of other extremist groups.

The ACCA is a conservation group which formed this past January, to address the devastating decline in our Northern deer herd. While I am a member, it is certainly not “my” group. This Association is quickly growing, well over 200 members in six months time, with new members added weekly.

Monthly meetings open to the public are held featuring quest speakers addressing the problems our herd is faced with, including predation and habitat. In fact, Lee Kanter, the head biologist for the DIFW was one of our guests.

The ACCA is determined to address all issues involving our deer, and have sponsored a coyote control contest during two weeks in March which resulted in the tagging of 36 coyotes. The tagging was conducted on Main St in Presque Isle, with over 200 NON-hunters stopping in to ask questions. Most non hunters have little time or interest to investigate the facts concerning these non-native predators, and only know what they read about them in the paper during breakfast. Unfortunately, most printed info is the result of animal rights groups which depend upon this disinterest so that their claims are accepted as truth.

The most popular comment from the non hunting visitors was along the lines of “I never realized how many were here!” This kind of predator control certainly has a limited effect, and had much more educational value. Much more effective management is possible, but our State must first stop bowing to pressure groups such as wam constantly apply.

As far as the loss of habitat problems, the fact is that the traditional deer yards are gone and will never be restored during the lifetimes of all reading this, even if all cutting were to stop today. However, that does not mean we spend our time wringing our hands and crying about the big bad paper companies.

The ACCA approached the large land owners in Aroostook County with the idea of improving habitat with the use of high protein food sources planted on winter logging roads in the vicinity of deer wintering habitat. These “plots” have multiple positive impacts. They reduce soil erosion, an important factor in the health our waterways, and are beneficial to a multitude of wildlife species, including the snowshoe hare, the mainstay of the Canadian Lynx’s diet. Over 100 acres have been planted throughout Aroostook County woodlands using ACCA funds and manpower on lands belonging to Irving Woodlands, Seven Islands Woodlands, Orion Woodlands and Whiteoak Woodlands. Irving Woodlands even started their own seeding program. The ACCA is, in its short 6 months of existence, has done nothing but improve wildlife habitat, at a rate I find astounding. By stating otherwise, Dejoys character is once again exposed.

Now let’s look at Daryl’s group, wam. In their years of existence they have,um they have…..oh yes, they have cost the taxpayers in Maine hundreds of thousands of dollars through their involvement in frivolous lawsuits filed by themselves and other radical groups. This has helped our wildlife by,,, well I guess it hasn’t, but it sure lightend our State coffers

EJParsons - your response is baseless and without merit. Again, its the Republican's who use voter fraud to win federal elections in 2000 and 2004.

TheTruth - 2000 bought us the year of the recount, all demanded by the left, run primarily by the left, and supervised by lawyers from the left. Yet, Gore lost. Then in 2004 the Dems sent a weak opponent and lost again. Voter fraud? You've been reading public school history books. How about 2008? Can you spell ACORN? Talk about a baseless argument. You should change your login name.

I was living in Florida in 2000. I witnessed the hanging chad fiasco first hand. I heard the mainstream media declare Gore the winner while on the way to vote. You see, the Panhandle is in the Central Time Zone and many of us voted after the main portion of Florida had already closed the poles. I was on my way to vote when I heard Gore declared the winner. I went to vote anyway. Many others did not because they heard the same news and thought it all for naught. Then, after several court cases and recounts, Bush still won. Even after he entered the office, the Dems wanted to prove that he lost in Florida. Finally, after nearly a year of investigating, recounts, and bad press, they gave up because they could not get the proof. Of course, they forgot to apologize or officially declare Bush the winner. Instead, and to this day, they still say Gore won Florida and Bush stole the election. They need to drop the issue. Bush did his time and tried his best to protect us from terrorism. Admittedly, he let the government expand far too much and he let the Dems get away with way too much name calling. But, and history will one day confirm this, Bush was ten times better a President than Obama will be. So, get past it and start looking at your President with the same critical eye that you look at others. Wake up and smell the rotting of America.

TheTruth: No, don't change your name.

L. Kantar is the deer biologist at IF&W. He has said that the drop in deer populations up North is due to severity of winters and loss of habitat. He followed that up with the statement that the coyote had NOTHING to do with it. The coyote boogie men proponents are sadly misinformed and spout nothing but kill all predator hyperbole. As a hunter myself, why not stop hunting deer for a few years in the affected areas? It's always kill something when it comes to our Dept, the Committee on Fish and Wildlife, and the bonehead lobbys that anchor themselves in backwards thinking.

CecilG

Is Kantar on record saying that? I find it hard to belive since DIFW claims predation as THE major cause of winter losses.Take a look at IF&Ws site,under winter feeding. I think you've been listening to Daryl Dejoy too long.. In fact, I recall Kantar saying at an ACCA meeting that hunting has little to no effect on the overall population, this is why

the season has not been stopped.He also encouraged the hunting of coyotes to lessen predation during the yarding period. I find it hard to belive that you are a hunter,however,if you are, I suggest you research this on your own,staying away from anti sites,before you discredit yourself much more.

Mr. Kurt Lane; AGAIN, Please tell me which websites on the internet contain the information you claim are "facts." Which science, which universities, etc? Also, why do you guys always label people who care about the environment, the mismanagement of same by state agencies and folks with a point of view that differs from yours,"animal rights extremists.' That is a McCarthy type tactic which labelied lots of people "communists" because they weren't right wing enough for his tastes and had a different point of view about what it meant to be American. He was discredited and disgraced. You could possibly be more credible if you didn't expose your vitriol and bias. Thanks.

One more point. A campaign to wipe out every coyote you can get your traps and sights on seems a bit "extreme" to me!

bobbrooks,

I see you can use a computer. If you really want the truth,do the research. As for the label,it is what daryld is. His goal is to force everyone to interact with nature in a manner he see's fit,period. It really has nothing to do with caring about animals,other wise he would tell the truth. Have him explain what "self regulating populations" means. He won't of course,since it's not very humane.

I do not know where you came up with "a campaign to wipe out every coyote" Certainly not from me.Speaking of labels, I notice this phrase along with backwoods/blood thirsty/uncivilized/redneck/barbarian and on and on every time someone supports MANAGEMENT of this non-native invasive species.

BTW,while your researching, you'll most likely come upon the study suggesting coyotes will prohibit the re-establishment of the Red Wolf, the species most agree is the one native to the east-coast.That is,unless the population is Managed.

KurtJLane: You just spout off everything you think you know as if it is fact, like most others who refuse to accept the best science and the evolving awareness of those who are not afraid to accept new ideas. You have little understanding of the need for a predator to keep the prey species strong. That is a fundamental truth of nature. Nature is not cruel. Man is cruel, men like you who enjoy blood sports with little care for the larger effect. You exemplify the quote "There are none so blind as those who will not see". Like it or not, change is happening, consciousness is evolving, unlike you, and your judgements of the majority, who do not think like you, will go largely unnoticed. Coyotes will be the dominant predator in Maine unless the wolf returns. Even then, this resilient predator will live on, most likely persecuted by those of your ilk, but the coyotes intelligence will allow them to outlive those who would kill them for the fun of it, for the "sport" of it. Sorry.