Dangerous milk?
Close to 100 years ago my grandfather, John, and his brother, Charles, were in the milk business. Charles milked his herd and John bottled the milk and delivered it to doorsteps all over Dexter. I’m not sure if either one of them had ever heard of Louis Pasteur, but raw (unpasteurized) milk was a very commonly accepted product in their day, and if there were outbreaks of illness anywhere they must have been very few and far between.
To listen to the promoters of pasteurized milk today, we’re lucky to have lived through such a horrendous time as when my grandfather was daily dropping off bottles of that dangerous beverage to his customers.
Eliot J. Chandler
Augusta
Immigrants are people
In response to Jonette Christian’s rigid prescription for immigration reform in the March 19 BDN:
Let me begin by saying that I’m all for E-Verify. It’s a quick, reliable way to weed out those who have no papers, and ensure that jobs go to legal immigrants. Friends of mine have spent years satisfying Immigration and Customs Enforcement regulations in order to enter and reside and work legally in the U.S., and I agree that those who try to circumvent these requirements should not be given the same privileges.
If we go back far enough in time, we must admit that we are all immigrants to North America. It therefore behooves us to be humble when discussing the people who now want to come to the U.S. to better their lives or escape persecution in their home countries. Using phrases like “catch and release” to describe people instead of game animals, as Christian does, is disrespectful and unworthy of a civil debate.
Her suggestion that children brought to the U.S. illegally be treated differently from their parents, would result in families being broken up and parents potentially being deported while their minor children get to stay. Her further suggestion that no social services be provided to illegal immigrants would plunge families deeper into poverty when all they want is a chance to work and support themselves.
Christian says, “Let’s try again.” Yes, let’s try again, with a respectful discussion among the parties to this issue. I, for one, welcome it.
Nancy Asante
Perry
Common Core too tough
In regards to the BDN March 16 front-page article about the opposition to the Common Core testing and standards; I wish people could see what is actually on the test. I never would have passed the 4th grade.
In RSU 13 where you have a seven-page report card for 4th graders to evaluate the Common Core standards, is it any wonder why teachers are pulling their hair out implementing them?
Not every child is going to college and what ever happened to creativity in the classroom?
We can do much better than this in Maine.
Doug Curtis, Jr.
Rockland
Voter ID not needed
Being forced to present photo IDs to vote in Maine, in most towns, is a ridiculous requirement. Has the promoter of this notion ever visited towns in Aroostook? Or, looked at population counts in Washington County? Just about all the low numbers of inhabitants are related to one another. Those not related are usually well recognized.
Picture the clerks demanding a photo ID of a husband, child, sibling, neighbor, or an in-law just because a past university student from away tried to vote when he had no right to cast a vote in that town’s polling place.
University students from away attempted voting in a Maine town? Was it because the student did not understand where his vote was to be cast? An honest mistake due to lack of knowledge is not an attempt to stuff the ballot box.
Showing photo IDs, for many reasons, where a person is not known, is acceptable, but should never be instituted due to a “monkey see, monkey do” mentality. The fact that more populous states need the requirement as a necessity doesn’t indicate that Maine should copy. If a Maine legislator wishes the requirement that a photo ID be presented at a polling place, he/she will need to know how to write, in English, a bill with a provision for voting clerks to allow a known person to vote without presenting a photo ID. It will have to be written to prevent unscrupulous clerks from reacting negatively, because of personal whims, thereby disenfranchising legally registered voters.
Dana Allison
Castle Hill
Sprinklers should be mandated
The BDN has recently run stories on the critical lack of volunteers for local fire departments. This is a very important issue. But manpower is only one dimension of the fire protection crisis in many communities especially in rural, outlying areas. In addition to having enough firefighters respond to an alarm, they need to get to the fire scene quickly, especially if it is a structure fire. This is difficult for many volunteer departments. And when they get to the fire scene, they need to have a reliable source of water — too often that is not available.
Rather than trying to save the old system, maybe we should be looking for a different approach for providing fire protection. Residential sprinkler systems are available and fire service professionals say they work. Maybe we should be requiring all new residential units to be sprinkled. And we should be offering incentives to retrofit existing properties with sprinklers if they are outside of a hydrant-serviced area.
This won’t eliminate the need for a trained fire department, but it will give them a chance. Maine should make it a priority to have residential sprinklers in every dwelling unit within, say, 10 years.
Mark Eyerman
Freeport
King apology needed
I voted for Gov. Paul LePage in the last two elections. I have put up with and listened to all of his comments locally, nationally and watch him on the local TV. Although I do not agree with all of his proposals, I feel he is working in the best interest for the people of Maine. He really cares.
Now, what he stupidly said about Stephen and Tabitha King were obvious comments hopefully put in front of him by an idiot speechwriter or his inability to recognize the importance of the Kings and their dedication to this state the we all love. I sincerely hope our governor will apologize to the Kings.
Compton Hallock
Somesville