BANGOR, Maine — It was more than 20 years ago when Eddington resident Rick Dumond first met U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe.
“I remember you were digging into someone about oil prices or something and I’ve voted for you ever since,” he told Snowe.
Back then, Dumond was an oil truck delivery driver. On Thursday morning, he was again meeting with Maine’s senior senator, this time sitting across a conference table from her as a consumer looking for help with his oil bill through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
“I use 450 to 500 gallons of heating oil a year. Last year my maximum benefit was $900 and this year it’s $225,” said Dumond, who has been a LIHEAP recipient for the last four to five years. “Last year I set my thermostat at 64 and this year it’s at 59.”
Dumond, a Social Security recipient who works part time, was one of 15 people — all of whom were wearing sweaters, jackets or coats — invited to attend an informal conference with Snowe at the Penquis agency’s headquarters.
The topic was heating assistance and the goal was to take questions, comments and suggestions regarding LIHEAP in hopes of helping to better fund the federal heating assistance program and more quickly get assistance to those most in need.
“My message to you is I’m going to continue to fight for the program,” Snowe told the group. “I was there when LIHEAP was created in 1979 with Tip O’Neill, but I didn’t think I’d be in this fight for the next 30 years. I would’ve thought Congress would have caught on by now as to the value of this program.”
Dumond, Catherine Larkin and her husband, Francis Larkin of Bangor, are all feeling the squeeze of LIHEAP cuts.
“We’ve received $200 so far, but that doesn’t buy too much,” said Catherine Larkin. “Our heating costs are around $186 a month, so a $200 payment only covers a tenth of what we have to buy.”
As a proud New Englander, Dumond doesn’t like being on the LIHEAP program.
“Maine people are pretty independent and we’ve always been taught to tighten our belts a notch, but there aren’t any more notches on the belt,” Dumond said.
Snowe was meeting with heating oil business owners, consumers and agency officials in Bangor and Waterville on Thursday as part of a fact-finding tour. Her goal is to restore LIHEAP funding to last year’s $4.7 billion level. It is currently at $3.5 billion.
Snowe recounted the story told to her by a woman from Machias when she met with people at Dysart’s Truck Stop and Restaurant in Hermon earlier Thursday morning.
“She makes $12,000 a year and she’s already run out of her allotment of fuel assistance,” Snowe said. “And that’s a common story for many people here as we have an extraordinary oil dependence — 70 percent — in this state.”
Charlie Newton, the CEO of Penquis, said the average benefit paid to Maine’s 12,000 LIHEAP recipients was $483 last winter. Approximately 14,000 people total applied for assistance last year. This year, 13,000 people applied and 11,000 were given assistance, which averages to about $324, Newton said.
Jennifer Giosia, housing and energy services director at Penquis, told Snowe that the agency went through about $80,000 in LIHEAP funds over a recent three-day period.
U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud is also joining in the fight. On Thursday, the 2nd District congressman sent a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to include full funding for LIHEAP in his fiscal year 2013 budget submission to Congress.
Penquis is a private, nonprofit organization that serves low-income residents in Penobscot, Piscataquis and Knox counties.
haha, when I saw “Snowe” in the headline, I thought it meant “snow”. My first thought was wait a second, snow is an insulator, why would we need more heating assistance if we have snow versus no snow?
Maybe if Senator Snowe had voted for drilling in ANWR, the price of oil would not be as high as it is today and we wouldn’t need more LIHEAP funding. Although if you want to get re-elected in Maine it was a brilliant vote: limit supply of oil, so prices go up, then ask for more money to pay for the higher priced oil that your actions just raised the price of. I hope someone challenges her on this.
http://www.heatisonline.org
tell that to wall street
who whaddya thunk that sweet face would of turned into a war criminal……eh?
see link for full obscenities
http://www.sunjournal.com/state/story/865155
Maine’s congressional delegation discloses assets
By Rebekah Metzler, Staff Writer
Friday, Jun 18, 2010
U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, continues to be the
wealthiest member of Maine’s four-member congressional delegation,
according to annual financial disclosure reports made available to the
public Wednesday.
The reports, filed by members in May, detail their wealth in 2009.
They list all assets, income and investments for members, excluding
their $174,000 annual congressional salary and benefits, and their home
residences.
Snowe and her husband, former Maine Gov. John McKernan, have assets
worth between $12 million and $46 million, according to the filing. The
reports require that disclosures be made in wide-ranging brackets, which
accounts for the vast variability. For example, the couple’s largest
asset is common stock in Education Management Corp. and falls in the
category of being worth between $5 million and $25 million.
“I was there when LIHEAP was created in 1979 with Tip O’Neill, but I didn’t think I’d be in this fight for the next 30 years.”
Being a US Senator should be a one or two term affair, not a career…
hmmmm.. Let’s see –
Funding is cut about 25 % but the benefit cited was a reduction of 75% ..
How is that? No change in overhead. or ???
Why don’t we sue whoever threw away a half billion dollars on Solyndra ? That was energy related (or political contribution) That would fund liheap a bit.
The dept of energy costs us about 5 Billion a year !! What doe sit do except INCrEASE the cost of energy. Easily absorbed by other depts.
It was cut by more that 25 percent and many people that were approved last year no longer qualify because they lowered the income eligibility. Less people qualify, the one’s that qualify are getting much less. The people who no longer qualify now, no longer qualify for electricity discount either.
Hey Snowe you are a 1% er, you have millions of dollars from Lobbyists, donate.
why not put a wood boiler in and dam with the oil? Every one wants the tax payers to pay for the program of there choice. We are at the point that the tax payer doesn’t have the money to continue paying your bills. I’m at the point I want to quit my job and let everyone pay my bills. Unbelieveable!
Wood is expensive too. I paid $275.00 a cord for stove length, dry wood this year. I used to be able to buy enough for the whole season for that much. Lots of people are buying their fuel oil in 5 gallon pails because that is all they can afford.
Firewood is by far the cheapest, easiest to acquire fuel in Maine.
Spend your Spring, Summer and Fall collecting a bit at a time.
Then you’ll have enough to make it through the Winter.
Heck, Today in the snow “storm”, I cut up a small, Dead, standing pine dry enough to burn for FREE!
(I run a brush through my chimney once a month so it’s Clean & Safe.)
Look around your yard, Ask the neighbors and friends, there is Lots of Free wood to pick up.
Offer to help “thin out and clean up”, some neighbors will Deliver the load to your house.
Lots of businesses want to get rid of pallets, a few zips with a saw and you have some nice free firewood.
I line cardboard in the back of my station wagon and take loads home. The trunk of a car works for small loads also.
Just because some are poor doesn’t mean they can’t do a little Work to keep their own butt warm.
Where there’s a Will there’s a Way!
So true. Every 2 years i get a truck load of tree length. couple of hours after work every night running the saw. one weekend splitting and stacking and im done for 2 years. Scavanging here and there, removing dead tree’s ect add’s even more to the pile. Cost to heat whole house $500 a year. Watching the dogs pant with the doors and windows open, priceless!
For the record: I PAID for every gallon of oil and every cord of firewood that has been in my house for the last 25 years. I am getting to be an “older” lady and I can’t lift 4 foot green wood by myself anymore. My chimney is professionally cleaned every year and that is worth every penny that I pay for it. There is free wood around and I have collected that as well. I am fortunate to be working and I can provide quite well for myself. What oil I still need is paid for on the “Budget Plan” where I pay the same amount of money every month from June to April. It’s sort of like a “Layaway Plan” for heating oil. I could never come up with the money to pay for a tank of oil at one time with the price that it is now.
I think that it would be a good idea for the Bangor Daily to do a series that describes what options are available to Mainers and to compare the differant oil companies side by side. Most of the options available require the consumer to enroll in the Spring so when we get in the middle of the winter folks have very few choices left.
A person will need another chimney for a wood boiler, not to mention it costs money to buy new heating systems. Many of these people do not have 2 nickels to rub together.
A Direct Vent Pellet Stove will go a Long way to supplement the oil heat for not much money.
Pellets are One HALF the price of oil BTU for BTU.
That is quite a good idea and something to consider. I am using a radiator looking space heater and a ceramic heater to heat the living room. Course my electric bill is now over $200 per month.
Don’t quit, get a PELLET Stove !
Why doesn’t she take some of her millions and make a charitable contribution? She is running again isn’t that the least she could do? Some of these people did vote her into office.
Despite the snarky comments, I hope LIHEAP funding increases.
Another Snowe Job!
Obama care would still be in committee if she hadn`t voted to let it go to full senate.
She is a democrat in posing as a republican.
Snowe sides with the democrats more then with the party she ran under
Time for the people in Maine to vote in new blood and get rid of these senators
this and what is happening to mainecare sucks
Firewood is by far the cheapest, easiest to acquire fuel in Maine.
Spend your Spring, Summer and Fall collecting a bit at a time.
Then you’ll have enough to make it through the Winter.
Heck, Today in the snow “storm”, I cut up a small, Dead, standing pine dry enough to burn for FREE!
(I run a brush through my chimney once a month so it’s Clean & Safe.)
Look around your yard, Ask the neighbors and friends, there is Lots of Free wood to pick up.
Offer to help “thin out and clean up”, some neighbors will Deliver the load to your house.
Lots of businesses want to get rid of pallets, a few zips with a saw and you have some nice free firewood.
I line cardboard in the back of my station wagon and take loads home. The trunk of a car works for small loads also.
Just because some are poor doesn’t mean they can’t do a little Work to keep their own butt warm.
Where there’s a Will there’s a Way!