Alzheimer’s awareness
Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month ended June 30, but it is important to remember Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and the only one in the top 10 in America that cannot be prevented, cured or slowed. The costs associated with Alzheimer’s reaches $226 billion annually, the most expensive of any disease in our country.
We have asked the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate for an additional $300 million in Alzheimer’s research funding to the National Institute of Health. Mainers should ask Rep. Bruce Poliquin to pledge his support for Alzheimer’s research. We also request Poliquin support H.R. 1559: Health Outcomes, Planning and Education (HOPE) for Alzheimer’s Act of 2015.
Maine has the highest median age in the country at 43.5 years. The age cohort 65 to 74, when we start to see increased incidence of Alzheimer’s and other dementias, is expected to increase 77 percent by 2020. Please help us raise awareness of this public health crisis by pledging support for our cause and become an advocate and take action in our community.
The Maine Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association serves Maine and the approximately 26,000 people living with Alzheimer’s disease and their caregivers. More information on Alzheimer’s can be found at our website, at alz.org/maine.
Benjamin Smith
Volunteer
Maine Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association
Bangor
LGBT fight not over
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling about same-sex marriage is a wonderful boost to LGBT people all over the country, but that does not mean the struggle for equality is over. There still are numerous states where, although people can marry someone they love one day, people can lose their job or housing for being gay the next day. Because we worked long and hard for equality, that is not the case here in Maine; but our concern for equal rights should not stop at our border.
Peter Rees
Trenton
MBNA impact
I would like to express my thanks that the BDN printed Tom Groening’s article about MBNA in the June 27-28 weekend edition. Our son received a scholarship from MBNA for each of his four years at the University of Maine. What isn’t mentioned is that these students had a job at MBNA for each school vacation and summer, as well as mentors from MBNA, who regularly met them on campus to see how they were doing, took them out to dinner and had padfolios and other gifts for them.
MBNA made a huge impact on the educations of countless students and their families.
Debora Riley
Northport
‘Dyer’ warnings
Gwynne Dyer suggests in his June 22 column returning agricultural land to wilderness and cutting back on fishing as ways to get off the “Highway to Hell” we’re speeding along. This highway ends at a future with a less hospitable climate, a dwindling catalog of species and a human population that has run out of arable land for farming.
He writes we are “on our way to 10 or 11 billion” people. Well, what if we weren’t?
In a world where an estimated 225 million women want to avoid pregnancy but — because of financial, physical or social barriers — are not using any method of birth control, a renewed commitment to voluntary family planning certainly seems in order. It could mean the difference between a global population in 2050 of 9 billion and more than 10 billion. As he pointed out, the entire human population in 1800 was 1 billion, so we’re not talking about a rounding error here.
Conserving wildlife habitats, eating lower on the food chain, burning less fossil fuel and farming smarter are all necessary for long-term survival. But the most fundamental thing we can do is slow the growth of the human population by ensuring women are able to determine for themselves the timing, spacing and number of children they have. It would improve the lives of women and protect the planet for all of us who share it.
Marian Starkey
Falmouth
Wild cougars
Beginning in 1988 and continuing through 2005, officers of Ontario Canada Conservation, were trying to establish with scientific, irrefutable proof whether wild cougars were in eastern Canada. They used baited camera traps and confirmed these cats indeed were in Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. It certainly is possible that cougars, also called mountain lions and pumas, are being seen in Maine as well.
There is a big controversy about the origin of these cats. It really does not matter. There are and will be wild, free-roaming cougars here. They will move around, breed and have plenty of food. They are not limited to deer.
It was interesting that a cougar was killed by a car on the busy Connecticut Wilbur Cross Parkway in 2011. Supposedly this male cougar arrived there after walking all the way from the Dakotas. This establishes the movement eastward.
Those of us who for years have investigated sightings of large cats say cougars from the West are joining cats already here. If readers want to get information and if you want to report a sighting, visit the Eastern Puma Network on Facebook.
Karen E. Holmes
Cooper
Lead by example
I read with interest Chris Hallweaver’s June 24 BDN OpEd, which advocated for an increase in minimum wage. Hallweaver put forth some very compelling arguments for supporting the campaign to put a minimum wage increase on the 2016 state ballot.
Immediately, one question came to mind: Why hasn’t Northern Girl already increased their workers’ wages? There is no law that prevents a company from giving workers an increase in pay.
Perhaps the general manager can write another OpEd to explain why this hasn’t been done. The workers there shouldn’t have to wait for a law to be passed.
Barbara Harmon
Cherryfield
Unsafe behavior
I was amazed to see the unsafe behavior of children and adults floating on Souadabscook Stream in a photo on page B1 in the June 23 BDN. The kids were not wearing the life jackets they had in the boat, and the adult didn’t even have one.
The stream obviously is full of rocks and rapid current, which is a recipe for disaster if any of them fell in or hit their head. Examples are set for children by the adults around them.
Don Eldridge
Milbridge