Loving memories
Your recent articles about Alzheimer’s were sad yet beautiful. Victims leave beautiful, loving and caring memories. Alzheimer’s robs many people of everything.
I am without a husband. Fredrik Malmborg lived until December 31, 2011. He was 81.
His Alzheimer’s began in 2004. It was a slow, painful decline. He was a school teacher, remembered by many. I was the one who sang to him up to a few months before his passing. He never complained. We leaned on each other; best friends do that. Only those who have lost relatives to Alzheimer’s can comprehend the pain. Speeding up the studies and cure of the horrid disease certainly should have precedence over fighting wars. We can pray, someday, tax dollars will go to valuable causes.
Jessie Malmborg
Fort Kent
Second Amendment protections
Regarding the May 25th article ” False Statement” by Cynthia Dill accusing David Trahan of misstating her position on gun control. She claims her statements consistently support the Second Amendment.
I do not know David or Cynthia. What I do know is that Senator Dill chooses to avoid her stand on the Second Amendment by using the excuse that jobs and the economy are much more important. Then goes on to blame the NRA for passage of laws that support Second Amendment rights. Then states there is a difference between a vigilante and a sportsman. I would like to remind the Senator that the Second Amendment does not mention vigilantes, sportsmen or hunting. It clearly states the right to keep and bear arms.
Regarding her statement allowing Mainers to take the law into their hands during an “emergency”: While our police departments are trained professionals, they cannot always be there when you need them, especially in rural areas. Human beings have a hard-wired program for self protection; for fighting back; for safeguarding their families and communities. As Americans that’s why we preserve armed self-defense as part of our Second Amendment protections. Gun control provides overwhelming advantage to criminals; their unarmed victims
cannot fight back.
Steve Ellinwood
Sebec
Wake Up!
I attended the east-west highway meeting on May 31 in Dover-Foxcroft. It was without doubt a “fair and balanced” meeting. Those opposed to the highway held a rally before the meeting and were handed out orange typewriter-size pages with “TELL THE TRUTH” printed on one side and “ANSWER THE QUESTION” on the other. These were to be held up to express our silent disagreement with Mr. Vigue’s selling points.
These signs were confiscated by the police as we entered. Once inside a proponent of the highway handed out pro-highway points on an identically sized piece of paper. Any questions we had were written on a form supplied by the organizers and they then chose the questions to be answered. The one-hour open question period where people could speak was cancelled. In this “fair and balanced” sham of a presentation the opponents of the highway were denied any voice at all. Increasingly, this is the way our democracy works. The voice of the people is silenced by the voice of money and the press accuses us of being bullies. Wake up.
Robert Shaw
Belfast
Fossil fools
When the entire world is struggling with climate change and widespread disasters it is shocking to me that businessmen like Peter Vigue still push for heavy use of fossil fuels and super highways and pipelines carrying fossil fuel.
Just when we should be finding ever new ways to conserve energy use and expand solar, wind and tidal energy and grow and eat local food he is pushing for the exact opposite with a private toll road of massive size.
Jane Sanford
Belfast
June 12 vote
This letter is for all residents of RSU 26 — Glenburn, Orono and Veazie. Please go to the polls on June 12 and make your wishes known concerning the RSU 26 school budget. After long, arduous discussions, the RSU 26 board adopted a budget that preserved the integrity of our
educational offerings. It is true that many programs were partially reduced but students will not receive sub-par educations, sit in overcrowded classrooms or miss opportunities as a result of this budget.
Additionally, this budget was fiscally restrained and did not pass a tax increase onto the communities of Glenburn and Orono and a very modest increase to the residents of Veazie. At our budget referendum meeting, a group of 42 residents amended the budget to include an additional $265,000.
This increase was not asked for and will cause either an increase in taxes or lessened municipal services in all three communities. There was no clear indication as to what this money should be used for. If this is acceptable to you then you should vote “yes” to adopt the budget with the additional money included. If, however, you want good educational programming funded by a budget that does not increase taxes, you should vote “no” to this budget and send the board of directors back to the table to rework this budget to better reflect your wishes. The choice is yours.
Susan O’Roak
Glenburn
Dill endorsement
For 30 years, it was believed that beating Olympia Snowe in the polls was impossible.
Upon Sen. Snowe’s retirement, despite a rush to fill the seat, it appeared even harder to find someone well-versed in politics and interested in all Americans — not just the well-heeled — and, most importantly, someone tough enough to take on a divided Washington, currently stymied in a quagmire of selfish, twisted tea party ideology.
We have that person. Democrat State Sen. Cynthia Dill. She is a remarkable woman, pledged to work for all, who is not afraid to go toe to toe with anyone.
At 20, college student Cynthia Dill, who was tending bar, was tossed into the street by a chauvinistic bar owner who didn’t want a woman as bartender. It had to be a man. The unruffled college student took her professor’s advice, sued the bar owner and won.
Now an emboldened woman, she stands firm not only in her own beliefs, but for others, too. As an attorney, she has fearlessly tackled the states of Maine and New Hampshire and even the U.S. government. She has also taken on corrupt police departments and never backed down against big corporations such as American Express and Merrill Lynch.
No shadowboxer, her common-sense reasoning embraces everything, including managing Social Security, eliminating Bush tax cuts for the rich, a single-payer health scheme, education and balancing the budget.
We desperately need someone not afraid to stand up for people. Cynthia Dill is that person.
Ken Buckley
Bangor
Many thanks go out to Jane Sanford and Robert Shaw of Belfastfor telling the truth.
Wake Up!
I attended the east-west highway meeting on May 31 in Dover-Foxcroft. It was
without doubt a “fair and balanced” meeting. Those opposed to the highway held
a rally before the meeting and were handed out orange typewriter-size pages
with “TELL THE TRUTH” printed on one side and “ANSWER THE QUESTION” on the
other. These were to be held up to express our silent disagreement with Mr.
Vigue’s selling points.
These signs were confiscated by the police as we entered. Once inside a
proponent of the highway handed out pro-highway points on an identically sized
piece of paper. Any questions we had were written on a form supplied by the
organizers and they then chose the questions to be answered. The one-hour open
question period where people could speak was cancelled. In this “fair and
balanced” sham of a presentation the opponents of the highway were denied any
voice at all. Increasingly, this is the way our democracy works. The voice of
the people is silenced by the voice of money and the press accuses us of being bullies.
Wake up.
Robert Shaw
Belfast
Fossil fools
When the entire world is struggling with climate change and widespread
disasters it is shocking to me that businessmen like Peter Vigue still push for
heavy use of fossil fuels and super highways and pipelines carrying fossil
fuel.
Just when we should be finding ever new ways to conserve energy use and
expand solar, wind and tidal energy and grow and eat local food he is pushing
for the exact opposite with a private toll road of massive size.
Jane
Sanford
Belfast
From where does Vigue get the political power to confiscate his opponents’ flyers and replace them with his own once people attende the meeting. This Vigue guy is a bad man.
This same tactic is being used in Searsport, public comment is being suppressed when the planning board won’t let citizens speak concerning the proposed mega-tank. The planning board in Searsport is a non-elected tribe of cronies who hold the view that those who wish to speak at their meetings have no right to speak. We know the scurrilous corporations want to ride roughshed over citizen concerns and will use any tactic they can (eliminate citizens flyers and replace with the toady corporation propaganda ).
This is major misbehavior on the part of law enforcement. To confiscate citizens’ flyers and replace with them corporation propaganda flyers is a direct attack on freedom of speech. The officers who confiscated the citizens’ flyers should come forward with information about how this fiasco came about. It smells of a police state type of behavior to me. It should be formally addressed and dealt with in a totally open process and not slid under the rug. Is it a matter of police theft, of private property or should this police policy be amended?
According to the moderator in Dover Foxcroft, the event was organized by the county commissioners as a way for the invitee, Mr. Vigue, to provide and clarify information to interested citizens, for and against, and to answer any and all written questions that the citizens might have during the three hour presentation. I did not see the moderator “picking and choosing” between questions to be answered. All of the questions were answered, many of them read to the cheers and applause of the opponents (I assume because they thought the particular questions were particularly tough) until toward the end of the meeting the questions had become repetitive. More than two hours of answering written questions from the opponents, through the moderator, did not constitute “censorship.” I believe the format did discourage opponents from monopolizing the event by standing on a soapbox to yell their displeasure at Vigue for who-knows-how-long, although some still managed to halt the proceedings long enough to heckle and insult Vigue, until other citizens spoke up to the opponents and said that they wanted to hear what Vigue had to say. As it was, opponents did protest to their heart’s content in Dover Foxcroft for a couple hours before the county commissioner’s event began, with all of their signs and flyers, etc, intact. And as the media coverage proves, their opposition was duly noted by reporters, as were the opponents’ heckling voices inside the meeting itself.
good
“Many thanks go out to Jane Sanford and Robert Shaw of Belfast for telling the truth.”
It’s interesting to find you praising the “truthful” comments of Jane Sanford, who talks about the value of wind energy to replace the wasteful and polluting effects of highways and pipelines. Here is one of your statements about wind energy, published online by the Bangor Daily News in April:
“We need to be decommissioning the industrial wind mistakes already installed rather than promoting their disgusting existence. I called and talked with Eric Bryant, Senior Counsel in the Public Advocates office. He said that he worked hard to deny the decision. The next steps he said might include calling for public hearing even though those were formally completed. I also called the PUC and got information about how to listen to yesterday’s discussion and follow issues and how to make a formal complaint. We Mainers must really pull together to remove all industrial wind turbines from Maine.”
I may disagree with Jane Sanford on any number of issues and still support her views on others, thank you very much. We Mainers must really pull together to remove all industrial wind turbines from Maine.
Jane Sanford,
You need to go China or India to bring your anti-carbon crusade to greater heights. Every 4 years China puts online the equivalent of the entire US coal driven generated output. In India the skies are brown due to the kiln firing of 100’s of billions of clay bricks. Experts are saying this is what is causing the glaciers in the Himilayans to melt.
Your feel good sentiments are just that, as in the grander scheme of things, Mr. Vigue’s little highway doesn’t mean squat.
I agree, but that does nothing to assuage my impulse squatting over Vigue.
I believe if the county commissioners had allowed opponents to monopolize the event in Dover Foxcroft, these sorts of uncouth attacks by opponents are what the session would have devolved to.
I apologize for the squatting remark, although notice some liked it. I normally do not use toilet humor.
Mr. Shaw and Ms. Sanford, these are great letters. That Peter Vigue would tolerate (or authorize?) censorship of his opponents is telling. Like the dirty fuel from Alberta he wishes to bring across Maine, his ideas explode if exposed to fire.
Democracy cannot thrive in imposed secrecy.
Jane Sanford, if the east-west highway is built it will save fuel. As it stands now Canadian frieght trucks have to travel around Maine on to our north. This proposed highway would cut at least 2 hours off their travel time.
You save far more fuel with a railroad and the tracks already largely exist. Upgrade them and extend them to Eastport at a much smaller cost than the roadway.
Have to agree with you there. If the motivation actually is freight, then rails are the answer.
The RRs have demonstrated in North America their inabilit or desire to give good service. Business here has moved beyond building huge warehouses to store stock that they need in their manufacturing business. They have gone to on time delivery (which rail fails at) that allows them to have minimal stock sitting taking up space. The trucking industry has allowed them to do this. They also have allowed industry to not be tied to rail for their physical plants.
If and when the RRs here can emulate the performance of their EU and Japanese counterparts, you may have a point. The evidence so far shows that the current operators of the RR lines are not willing to perform the neccessary upkeep to sustain what you invision.
Aww, that’s too bad. We do have better options using rail.
Jessie Malmborg, that is a heatwarming story of your devotion to your husband. Fortunately you were able to see him on a daily basis. Which is critical in the care of people with dimentia and alzheimers.
Too bad that the citizens of Calais will now be denied close access to their loved ones who require nursing home care.
Steve,
Perfect.
Susan O’Roak,
Since when do school board members campaign against a .25 mil increase to the school budget? (BTW, why hasn’t the BDN written an editorial supporting this budget with a minuscule increase the way they did for Bangor?)
Time to look at the big picture and support RSU 26 students instead of trying to tear the schools down and the RSU apart. This is not really about the money. This letter is purely vindictive because Susan O’Roak and other board members were not able to get their way and fire two excellent and beloved administrators. Time to grow up!
Susan O’Roak,
To say “This increase was not asked for…” is incorrect. Resident after resident at the budget referendum meeting stood up and asked for additional funding for specific items, and in the end, a clear majority of people present voted in favor of this increase. This is the way the process is supposed to work. But just as Mrs. O’Roak’s letter illustrates, time after time this Board has demonstrated their belief that the public has no place in the development of the budget.
Even with the increase added by the public, the RSU is experiencing severe cuts. This will simply mitigate those cuts. I would argue that it is not the job of the RSU 26 School Board to absorb taxes imposed by the state. That should be decided by the public.
I hope the public will get out June 12 and support the schools with a YES vote on the budget that was indeed developed after long, arduous discussions – and with input from the public – as it should have been.
About the Highway:
Vague Vigue
Peter Vigue has told some Canadians that Maine is committed to New
Brunswick to build a highway corridor through Maine (St. Croix Courier,
April 3, 2012). The east-west corridor would give eastern Canada access
to Quebec and the west.
Vigue told his Canadian audience that international trade through the
Suez Canal could be off-loaded in Nova Scotia and trucked through
Maine. He didn’t explain why that trade would choose trucks when it
could go much cheaper by the railroad that already goes through northern
Maine. Forty tons by truck would cost, with diesel at $4.00 a gallon,
$230. It would cost $78 by rail.
But Vigue argues that industry calls for on-time delivery, which only
the truck can do. Yes, but that is delivery from the freight’s
destination point, which won’t be on the wharf in Nova Scotia, but
somewhere in middle America. The freight would be off-loaded from the container
ship onto railroad flat cars for maybe a 2,000-mile trip on the
existing railroad through Maine for $678. By truck, it would cost the
shipper $2,000.
Maybe Vigue knows something he’s not telling us hardscrabble Mainers,
but we know the difference between those two figures. Truck freight
costs about three times as much as rail.
Jim Loomis
Cambridge
If all it takes for the railroads to surge forward in the competition against trucking is some investment to upgrade the tracks, why haven’t the rail companies made those investments, and why do businesses in Maine continue to choose “more expensive” trucking over “less expensive” trains?
Because the trucking companies don’t have to upgrade the interstate highway system out of their own pockets. Any OTR tax they pay on fuel gets passed to the consumer. If we spent as much on rail infrastructure as we do on car & air the rails would be moving all our frieght.
Take a trip to Japan (Shinkansen trains) or Europe to see rail at it’s finest.
Just curious: Upgrades to the rail company’s own rails would not get passed to consumers? What about claims of certain types of train cargo arriving as “damaged goods” at their destination due to the lack of rail company oversight of the goods they haul compared to nearly constant oversight by truckers hauling goods? Also, you did not address why it is that businesses choose trucking over rail, even if it is a fact that rail operates cheaper than trucking in terms of overall hauling of units per mile. Thank you.
Something is wrong with the message program. I did not write it. I clicked I the Like button and it went into edit as if I wrote it. This happened to me yesterday also.
“East-west highway critics mislead, bully, Cianbro chief Peter Vigue says [Bangor Daily News, Maine] ”
Sounds like you got the bullying backwards. As I Heard it, “police” confiscated critical flyers when entering the meeting who received pro-highway pamphlets once inside. And, the one hour public discussion was canceled. Where does Peter Vique get the clout to have police confiscate literature and replace it with pro- highway propaganda? This kind of behavior needs full scrutiny. We demand full free flow of information in America. People who disagree can go elsewhere.
Were you at the event? Judging from your reliance on second-hand information, undoubtedly biased, you were not there and are reacting on hearsay.
Democracy depends on the free flow of information. Some may call it hearsay, some may need further verification, such as you provide. We are not on opposite sides, We just differ in opinion on some issues. If the opponents don’t have the right to express their views than neither does Vigue.
The opponents of the highway proposal are doing very well getting their points of view out into the public discourse, through the press, social media, and by the multitude of questions they put to Vigue in DF which he completely agreed to answer. To claim “censorship” after all we hear (and should hear) from opponents, is nothing but a distortion of the truth, in my humble opinion.
RE;Highway Debate?
Welcome to Maine. The Corrupt,
Non-Transparent seat of Plantation politics.Some day it may act
like a state, with controversy and two way speech allowed.
Someday,Maybe…