National park support
Thanks BDN for coming out in support of a national park and recreation area located east of Baxter State Park in northern Maine. We are in desperate need for our congressional delegation to lead on this opportunity and it is my hope that the increased volume of support will grab their attention and they will be compelled to act.
We need help. The mill closings and depressed economy over the last decade and a half forced people to leave their homes and the places they love for work and economic prosperity elsewhere. We need to reverse that trend and create jobs so that not only those who live here can continue to live here but also attract new residents to enrich our communities and schools.
It’s time to be bold and fearless and act on this wonderful opportunity. Let’s hope Washington is listening.
Shelley Farrington
Millinocket
Civiello did right by Bangor
I would like to commend Pauline Civiello as she leaves her position on the Bangor City Council.
Pauline’s work during her tenure was a fine example of the best of public service.
She was dedicated to her work overseeing city operations and making Bangor a better place.
Her efforts on the school budget, the methadone situation, quality of life and a myriad of other issues in which she immersed herself set a standard of excellence for all future city councilors.
She did not posture, grandstand or promote any “grand schemes” for Bangor. She put her head down and did the hard work without rancor or pettiness. Pauline did a great job, and she is to be commended for it.
Paul Trommer
Bangor
Assessing charter school success
I’m responding to the recently released reports on virtual charter schools by CREDO and Mathematica, cited in Amy Fried’s Nov. 2 column and the Nov. 8 BDN editorial. As principal of Maine Connections Academy, the first virtual public charter school for students in grades 7-12, I’ve seen firsthand the positive impact that school choice and online learning can make in the lives of Maine students. Based on my experience, these reports do not reflect what I know to be true of virtual school, particularly schools, such Maine Connections Academy, that contract with Connections Education for curriculum and other services. Because the academy is only in its second school year, it was not included in the study.
We must keep in mind that virtual school is attractive to many Maine families because it is unlike traditional schooling options. To fully assess its benefits, we cannot view virtual school through the same lens — the academy operates differently by design. With online options, the educational landscape is dramatically changing — and assessment metrics have to change with it, while still maintaining strong accountability.
Our mission is to provide education options to students who are unable to reach their full potential in traditional settings. Learning standards and benchmarks are the same for Maine Connections Academy as they are for traditional brick-and-mortar schools in our state. Our goal is for every Maine student to have equal opportunity and access to a quality education. That is the yardstick for how we should assess Maine’s virtual schools moving forward.
Karl Francis
Principal
Maine Connections Academy
Portland
Ex-Im Bank value
In a July 1 OpEd, Plant Manager John Kenney carefully explained the value of the Export-Import Bank to General Electric Co. and the Bangor region. Clearly the Ex-Im Bank is of critical importance to large companies, especially in the aerospace and technology industries, but what is less well known is the vital financial backing the Ex-Im Bank gives small businesses seeking business abroad.
In a flagging regional economy, the Ex-Im Bank provides the loan assurance for the often-heard Maine goal of championing entrepreneurship, as well as expanding our global economic reach. The hard reality of the matter is competitive countries provide, in one form or another, financial similar support to exports. In the Ex-Im Bank model, the goal is support with no taxpayer cost.
In February, the Promoting U.S. Jobs through Exports Act of 2015 was introduced to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank. Our congressional representative Bruce Poliquin dithered on support for the bank for months. Democrats and Republicans in the Congress took the unusual step of securing 218 votes to force the discharge of the bill from committee, only the fifth time in history this action has happened. Poliquin’s name was not on the list.
If money means votes, and in this world it does, a recent audit of his “ war chest” indicates major support from the financial services industry and the members of the House Freedom Caucus, the same group that brings us the inability to conduct government. Not surprisingly, they are against the bill.
Sandy Ervin
Holden
Who is bullying now?
David Farmer’s Nov. 4 column, “No place for intimidation on Election Day,” is in lockstep agreement with the shrill declarations coming from progressives, including those expressed in BDN editorials, regarding the exposing of Planned Parenthood in recent videos that have been widely viewed. Many of us wish that Farmer, the BDN editorial staff, the president, Hillary Clinton or others claiming foul would be specific as to precisely what has been “ doctored” or “falsified” on the video and audio recordings.
There is a crime against humanity happening right in our midst, and these progressives are attempting to portray the pro-life movement as a war against “women’s health,” as if the killing of one’s unborn baby is one of the plethora of health services.
And, as for “bullying,” Farmer and his evolved, bureaucrat ilk have popularized the view that the dignity of each soul is relative to what our desires might be. And, that these are reflected by the latest referendum, black robed U.S. Supreme Court justices or, more importantly, media opinion, through anti-life, anti-family lobbying and legislating. Espousing any dissenting ideas that dispute that abortion as a sacred right (rite?), will induce a bullying effect of the type progressives have spent decades constructing.
Abortion, a lethal form of domestic violence, is superfluous as an example of power imbalance. Progressive-defined bullying has become a catch-all that elevates untruth and renders truth no more than one opinion in a sea of equal moral meanderings.
Donald Mendell
Palmyra