Support for Shenna
When Susan Collins ran for the U.S. Senate 18 years ago, she promised to serve just one term, six years. This year she is running to make it 24 years. She has voted against increasing the minimum wage for our lowest paid workers and against an extension of unemployment compensation for workers who have lost their jobs and can’t find another.
It’s time for a change. Shenna Bellows, who has been called Maine’s Elizabeth Warren, is running against Republican Collins this November. The life paths Bellows has chosen make it very clear she is dedicated to working for ordinary people.
After graduating from Ellsworth High School and Middlebury College, Bellows joined the Peace Corps, serving as a small-business development volunteer in Panama. Then it was on to service in this country as an AmeriCorps volunteer in Nashville, Tennessee.
Shortly after returning to Maine after her AmeriCorps service, Bellows became the head of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, helping our state lead the country in women’s rights, reproductive freedom, gay rights and environmental preservation. In her work with our legislators to move our state forward on these and other issues, she gained the respect of both Republicans and Democrats.
We need some new congressional Maine blood in Washington, and how very fortunate we would be to have Bellows there working not for corporations but for us and, indeed, for all Americans.
Sue Newlin
Deer Isle
Put donors on ballot
With the coming election I would like to share some observations. My property tax went up $200 for 2014. I went to the town office and asked why. I was told that 100 percent of that increase is because of the cuts Gov. Paul LePage made to revenue sharing. He would tolerate nothing less than every penny on the dollar for hospital debt. The hospital association is one of his top campaign contributors.
It may be a good idea to list candidates’ campaign contributors on the ballot, so voters will know who candidates are obligated to.
While pennies on the dollar were acceptable for towns and cities and schools and employees’ wages and their retirement, LePage gave a $200 million tax break to the wealthiest 1 percent. How about the million dollars he gave the Alexander Group?
He won’t get my vote. How do voters cut through the spin to see what someone really stands for?
Tony Gonzales
Milo
Hiring predators
How can we trust community leaders such as metropolitans, bishops, presidents of institutions, church councils or boards of directors who are involved in the hiring of sexual predators? When are these prominent leaders going to learn that it is their job to check the credentials and the criminal backgrounds of their employees?
Recently, two alleged sexual predators have been active in our community as a direct consequence of our leaders’ ignorance, naivety or lack of training: Bob Carlson, a popular pastor in Orrington and chaplain in the Bangor area, who committed suicide in November 2011, and Adam Metropoulos, pastor at St. George Parish in Bangor.
In the case of Carlson, neglect on the part of his employers allowed him to allegedly sexually abuse numerous children for many years. It would have been simple for them to check his credentials, which turned out to be in part fraudulent. Their excuse for not doing so was: “Bob was bigger than life.”
It is equally baffling to think that Metropoulos could enter a seminary, and then be named pastor in spite of a conviction for a sexual offense. In both cases, if our leaders had done their job properly, victims and their families would have been spared much suffering.
Robert Gossart
Salisbury Cove
Scrutiny in Lincoln
I would like to congratulate my petition partners (Bea Szantyr, Mark Weatherbee, Dorance Clay and Burt Weed) in the successful petition drive in Lincoln. The question that will appear on a future referendum ballot is: “Shall the resolve of the town council entitled ‘motion to enter into amended memorandum of understanding with Sterling Osgood as proposed in the request for proposals submitted for a town office’ be repealed?”
Most of the residents I spoke to are disappointed in the Town Council. The residents believe that this project should have been made by a referendum vote. The total cost of this project is significant and will result in a commitment for years to come. All the information should have been disclosed to the residents and the decision made by a majority vote.
I also want to thank the residents who took the time to talk to us and then sign the petition. Thank you to the other folks who helped gather signatures as well. I am proud to have been a part of this important issue.
I encourage all residents to continue to come to the Town Council meetings to voice your opinions. It might be time to start from scratch. Get a building advisory committee, seek professional guidance for building needs and structural integrity for any new or existing buildings, at all times keep the process open to the public and get voter approval for the final product.
Gilberte Mayo
Lincoln
Oh, deer!
A map of Mount Desert island found on Google images shows the eastern part of the island, about two-thirds of which is Acadia National Park where no hunting is allowed. The one-third of the land outside the park is where a proposed hunt would take place. This area includes the downtown with its businesses and homes.
The people of Bar Harbor live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Why would they attack some of the most exquisite creatures who live here?
When the deer task force was asked how many deer reside here and how many deer would be optimal, no answers were provided. There are many ways to prevent deer from eating plant life. Killing them is the least appealing.
Annemarie Vickers Quin
Bar Harbor
Fair to bears
There is nothing fair or “sportsmanlike” about luring an animal into a spot and killing that animal for pleasure. It may be fun for the killer, but it is not a “sport” as a sport is defined as “fair and honest.” Nothing fair and honest about shooting an unarmed and hungry critter as he or she looks for food that was thrown into the forest.
Let’s not litter our beautiful forests with garbage so the killers can have their fun. Vote yes on Question 1. Let’s keep this state clean, beautiful and fair.
Elaine Miller
Brunswick