Miramant for Senate District 12
Democrat Sen. Dave Miramant is a pilot and local businessman who has served District 12 well in the Maine Senate and deserves to be re-elected. I have had the pleasure of working with Miramant on myriad issues in recent years.
Miramant has worked hard to balance the need for a healthy environment and the need for a robust economy in our state. He has been a vocal advocate for Maine’s fisheries and the coastal economy as a member of the Legislature’s Marine Resources Committee.
Miramant has a positive attitude and pays close attention to the needs of his constituents. I urge the voters of District 12 to re-elect him to the Maine Senate.
Janet T. Mills
Maine attorney general
Farmington
Bennett for Bangor City Council
Andrew Bennett is seeking a seat on the Bangor City Council. Growing up in Bangor, attending what is now the William S. Cohen School and graduating from Bangor High School provides someone like Bennett with a solid education and community roots. After graduation from the University of Maine with a degree in engineering and minor in economics, Bennett worked around the country and the world. He has returned to his childhood home with his wife and three boys to offer a similarly rich environment.
He is strongly motivated to focus the city on key issues: improving the quality of life in our neighborhoods, supporting our public schools and reducing crime, without overburdening the taxpayers or going into debt for our future.
Bennett brings the experience, education and motivation to make Bangor more than just a good place to visit but a great place to live.
Barbara Daigle
Bangor
Question 2 keeps our promise
As an English teacher at Skowhegan Area High School for the past 20 years, I have had to teach many lessons. Whether the topic has been distinguishing an adjective from an adverb or discussing the nuances of Robert Frost’s decision in “The Road Not Taken,” I have always taken my charge very seriously.
As voters we are at a defining moment. Like Frost, we are confronted by two paths: Our children and future generations of children will either suffer or benefit based on the road we choose.
By choosing to support Question 2 on Nov. 8, we will, for the first time, allow the state to keep its legislative promise to provide 55 percent of education funding with a 3 percent surtax on annual income over $200,000.
In my many years at Skowhegan Area High School, I have witnessed the devastating local impact of the failure to meet this 55 percent threshold. I have seen a thriving elementary school in Cornville closed. I have seen a dramatic reduction in the number of teachers — my own department has dwindled from 12 to seven. I have seen programs, especially the “extras,” such as foreign language, art, music, home economics and physical education, scaled back so that students now have fewer enrichment opportunities than in the past.
Now is the time to teach our students the valuable lesson of keeping a promise. Honoring this promise will — to paraphrase Frost — make all the difference.
Jeremy Lehan
Bangor
Reject Belfast school bond
I urge the residents in Regional School Unit 71 to defeat the $7.3 million bond to fund renovations at the Belfast Area High School in November until a comprehensive plan is in place for the elementary students of Searsmont-Belmont-Morrill.
The Weymouth School in Morrill has been outdated for more than 20 years and deserves priority. There is only so much tax dollars to go around in Waldo County, and I am most certain the residents in this district will only be able to support one bond issue and the elementary needs must be met first.
Another consideration is that the high school has been improved in recent years with projects that last for a few years then another request comes in while the student population continues to decline.
This $7.3 million bond is poorly drawn up to pull resources from our elementary school. Another consideration is that parents will continue to place their children into the new Belfast Montessori School and draw financial resources from our taxpayers until we realize the needs of elementary students must be met first.
Alan Wood
Belfast
Welcome, peepers
Greetings to the leaf peepers who have come to Maine to enjoy the fall foliage. For those hearty souls venturing to Aroostook County, I have advice that may enhance your experience.
The distance between Bangor and Houlton is a long but very fast one at a legal 75 mph. There are no convenience stores on Interstate 95, so pack food. My sister’s stash includes granola, tuna fish and circus peanuts. Use your own judgment. If stopped by law enforcement, you want to have palatable food to share.
Listen to books on tape. A murder mystery captures everyone’s attention. Foreign language tapes may annoy other passengers in the car who have no interest in learning Swahili, for example. Avoid meditation tapes or those with sounds of bubbling brooks. It is a known fact that fully relaxed drivers suffer unfortunate consequences.
Watch for eagles and deer in the road. This is such an exciting activity that the Maine Department of Transportation posts electronic road signs recommending it.
Stop in Houlton. Houlton is the “Deep Woods 95” outpost of Aroostook County. Everyone in The County passes through there going or coming. Be prepared to encounter those friends or neighbors you’ve otherwise been able to avoid. There are no bad restrooms in Houlton, and the coffee is pretty good, too.
Enjoy the beauty of The County and hospitality of its residents. We welcome you.
Dale J. Gordon
Caribou
Not a rung on Poliquin’s ladder
Emily Cain has spent more than a decade working for all of us in the 2nd Congressional District. She is smart, hard-working and collaborative. She gets things done.
Rep. Bruce Poliquin established residency in the 2nd District just barely in time to run for Congress two years ago. I can’t shake the feeling that all of us in the 2nd District are just a rung on Poliquin’s ladder.
Douglas Coffin
Stockton Springs
Election notice
The BDN is no longer accepting letters and OpEds related to the Nov. 8 election. Not all submissions can be published.