Thibodeau a proven leader
John Krueger could not have been further off base in his criticism of Senate President Mike Thibodeau in his June 24 BDN letter to the editor.
First, Krueger expressed concern that the moderator of the Northport annual meeting introduced the Senate president as “someone compared to Paul LePage and Donald Trump.” It was clear to everyone present — with the possible exception of Krueger — that the moderator, who has a history of friendly banter with Thibodeau, was joking.
Anyone who knows anything about Thibodeau could tell Krueger that he is, first and foremost, concerned about the people he represents in Waldo County. During the previous legislative session, he fought to keep the municipal revenue sharing program intact to keep local property taxes low. He has been a tireless advocate for business expansion in Waldo County and the entire state. He led the way in increasing funding for our nursing homes and to combat the heroin crisis by putting more law enforcement on the streets and expanding treatment for addicts.
Thibodeau is a proven leader, and we are very fortunate to have him representing us in Augusta.
It becomes clear at the end of Krueger’s letter that it’s nothing more than a partisan appeal for votes. But as a member of Senate president’s staff, and as a woman, I can tell you that Thibodeau makes everyone who works for him feel appreciated, valued and, most of all, proud.
Dorothy Havey
Constituent Services
Office of the Senate President
Lincolnville
No junk food for state workers
Because all state employees (including the governor) are paid by taxpayers, they should be forbidden to buy soda and candy. After all, we don’t want to waste taxpayer money. As they say, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
Sandy Gardner
Bangor
No raise for LePage
Anne LePage got a summer job to supplement the governor’s salary. I wonder how the LePages would do on the state’s average annual salary of $43,260? I imagine $70,000 per year would sound pretty good to them. The LePages also have a state-salaried chef who prepares their food. Do they pay rent during their residency in the Blaine House? Is health insurance one of LePage’s benefits?
Isn’t this the same fellow who is risking the food stamp benefits of near 200,000 poverty-level Mainers in another one of Gov. Paul LePage’s “tell Washington to go to hell” fits? Maine is in the top ranks of states whose people qualify for and receive federal assistance. I don’t think LePage needs or deserves a raise — not when he’s making Maine an international laughingstock.
Diane Smith
Holden
Why not a new state park in Katahdin region?
This national monument issue is getting ridiculous I don’t think any of the people who are against the national monument don’t realize the potential economic value it could have in the area.
But what the people from outside the area don’t realize is that we are scared of losing control of our end of the state, which we continually have seen happen at the hands of down-state and out-of-state influences.
The area proposed is nice. It does have lakes, streams and plenty of woods, but does it warrant status as a national monument? I propose, and I am not the first, that the land be designated as a state park. It still will be conserved and will generate public use while being in the control of the state government, not the federal government. After all, what is the real difference except to the people who live there and the state will profit from the park, too?
No one disputes its potential economic value; just make the right decision and not the one big money and out-of-state influences are trying force on to us.
Of course, do we really have a choice? Roxanne Quimby serves on the board of the National Park Foundation, and as we all know money talks.
Gary King
Howland
Poliquin should support Alzheimer’s bill
In June, which is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month, I had the pleasure of meeting with Samantha Warren of Rep. Bruce Poliquin’s office. At the outset, I thanked her for Poliquin’s participation in the annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Bangor last year and invited both of them to this year’s walk.
I was curious, and still am, as to why Poliquin has not supported the Health Outcomes, Planning, and Education for Alzheimer’s Act, which provides support and funds for doctors to help with planning and direction in a patient’s first year of diagnosis. Alzheimer’s is the country’s most expensive disease.
More importantly, in that first year after diagnosis, families are sometimes lost as to what to do. I was diagnosed two years ago and made so many dumb decisions that I almost wrecked my family. Sometimes advice was close at hand — from the Alzheimer’s Association, for example — but I could not see the forest through the trees.
The rest of the Maine delegation, both Republican and Democrat, are on board, realizing the financial savings the bill will have on the country’s health care system. So, shame on Poliquin. The HOPE for Alzheimer’s Act makes sense all around. We are counting on him.
Dallas Dixon
Gouldsboro
1st District race
During the June primary election, Republican voters in Maine’s 1st Congressional District nominated, by a margin of 55 votes, Mark Holbrook over the better financed Ande Smith. I am bewildered that Smith is calling for a recount. I also am bewildered Holbrook thinks human-caused climate change is a hoax.
The nominee gets the honor of running for Congress against Rep. Chellie Pingree, a popular Democratic incumbent, on a ballot that will be headed by none other than Donald Trump. If I were Holbrook, I would be asking for the recount.
Michael Grunko
Chebeague Island
LePage’s junk food ban
Gov. Paul LePage’s proposal to bar recipients of SNAP from purchasing junk food is just one more of his ill-conceived ideas. Food pantries in Maine give clients a lot of “sugary junk foods” because grocery stores donate them once they pass the sell-by-date. Therefore, his attempt to force food stamp recipients to purchase more nutritious foods will not change a thing.
Dianne Cronkite
Biddeford